It's been raining for 4 straight days, and I had an utterly obnoxious day at work today, so all I can say is... I'll keep this post as positive as possible.
On Monday night Eric and I enjoyed a little Restaurant Week Boston. Eric and I have a bit of trouble with Restaurant Week because we have such different tastes in food. They usually only give you a couple of choices of entrees so it's hard to find a restaurant with food I want and food he wants. Plus I'm not a big 3 course meal person, I'm full after the appetizer.
However, we have been wanting to try Ristorante Olivio in Arlington for years and they actually had a restaurant week menu we could both get on board with.
Our meal started with some delicious bread. Bread makes or breaks an Italian restaurant in my mind...
Definitely passed the Kelly taste test. For the appetizer I ordered the mussels with crispy pancetta, cherry tomatoes, and garlic simmered in white wine. I had never tried mussels until a few weeks ago but now I've decided I really like them. I'm assuming they are good for you, right? Might want to look that up.
For dinner, I ordered the Homemade Fusilli with shrimp, zucchini, plum tomatoes, basil, oregano and garlic. Can't go wrong with homemade pasta, can you?
Yeah amazing. As I established, I am not good with 3 course meals, but Eric and I both agreed dessert at home would be wonderful. So coconut gelato to-go it was...
It was a fabulous dinner all around. We will definitely be visiting this restaurant again.
Yesterday was spent being tourists with Eric's parents and their friends from England. I've never actually done the crazy Duck Tours that go around Boston but they were actually surprising cool!!!
The guide was fantastic and Boston was gorgeous, as usual, even in the rain.
I even learned a few interesting things about Boston I never knew before. Like did you know we have a small piece of the Berlin wall near EF Education in Cambridge?
You learn something new every day.
Today was spent tutoring (time went by SO slowly for some reason- I had to play games with myself that involved not looking at my watch) and attempting to interview people for my 1:1 aide. Then I found out my classroom assistant took another job, so now I have to start over the interview process instead of going to the Cape like I wanted to. The major issue lies in the fact that the state of MA is stupid and elementary certification is grades 1-6 and does not include K, so nobody wants to be a K assistant because it doesn't build their resume for what they are certified for. But WHY is 6th grade considered elementary?! And why isn't K? I am SO much more like a 1st grade teacher than a pre school teacher! Most elementary schools are K-5!!!! If I had a dollar for every really STUPID decision made in education, I wouldn't need a job at all.
On a more positive note, I've been hard at work on my classroom. Want to see my new Star of the Week poster? (I had to re-do it, a few things have changed since I started teaching 4 years ago hehe)
In case you are wondering why I put a ? for my age... it's because I don't want to redo this every year as I change ages haha. When I did my first Star of the Week poster I didn't want the parents to know how absurdly young I was, but now I figure I've proven myself and I will openly tell whoever asks that I am 26. Still, I'm also lazy and I'm not doing a new poster every year :)
The hardest part of this poster for me was figuring out where my favorite place is. On my first poster I said Australia, which was true at the time. But now I haven't been to Australia in 6 years and the Cape is always my happy place no matter where else I travel to. It's just the right distance away, it's almost always relaxing, and no matter how much Eric and I explore I don't feel like we've seen it all yet. That doesn't mean I didn't consider just about every other place I've ever been....
Where is your FAVORITE place? And why?
Posts
oh that meal looks great!
ReplyDeleteomg this rain has just been the worst! maybe this weekend will be better? i've heard summer like temps!
ReplyDeleteI honestly think my happy place is going home to my parents. It's a little over a two hour drive and when I am home there are little to no plans what-so-ever, and I love it. Plus, that's where my boyfriend lives. Long distance is horrible, but we're making it work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on all those decisions in education. I find myself questioning things over and over again. The past couple weeks, prior to school starting I have found one of my new, biggest pet pieves when it comes to work... requesting or expecting things of me during the summer (ie. student information, meetings, working on para schedules) and get no pay in return. We don't start work until tomorrow, that's what my contract says, so don't expect anything of me prior to then. It's bad enough that I spend the past 3 days in my room organizing and working on student accommodations. I am sorry I didn't get my para schedules done... they weren't a priority.
There's my rant. LOL
That is so cute! Aw, I remember being Star of the Week years and years (and years!) ago. My favorite thing to do is travel, too. ;) As for favorite place... besides DC, it has to be London. I have this strong memory of walking across Millennium Bridge near sunset and seeing the sun perfectly outlining St. Peter's Cathedral. It was such a powerful moment that always sticks in my mind and makes me miss London.
ReplyDeleteLove your poster!
ReplyDeleteI think Maine will always be my favorite place on earth. I have so many memories there - and it is so beautiful. Who can resist the seafood either?
I love the Duck tour - I've been a few times - its a lot of fun!
Cute poster! I want to do a little all about me poster too, but I don't know if I will get to it! So much to do, so little time.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place (recently) is Austria. It was so pretty there, I absolutely loved it. Otherwise my favorite place is home. I like my own space and having my own things!
First off, I am envious of your very neat handwriting. I suppose that is a prerequisite for a K teacher but yikes - I have the worst penmanship!! Yikes!!
ReplyDeleteThat meal looks freaking delish!!!
That picture of you and Eric on the duck tour is great! Duck tours of Boston are fun :)
ReplyDeleteLove your poster! So cute!
ReplyDeleteSince my trip is still kind of fresh in my mind AND I just watched Eat, Pray, Love today I'm going to say ITALY is my favourite place! Specifically Cinque Terre or Venice!
holy crapola that fusilli looks AWESOME! i love pasta so much.
ReplyDeleteSunapee : )
ReplyDeleteUgh, I hate those weeks where it never stops raining. It looks like you and Eric have still enjoyed yourself though, and gotten outdoors, so that's nice. Mussels ARE good for you, but I'm not sure how many omega-3s they have, I don't think much, or at least not as much as salmon.
ReplyDeleteLove your poster. Smart not to write your age. If it means you don't have to do it every year I think it was a great idea!
Favorite place? NYC! I only got a small taste of it but I Want to go back, TODAY!
I would have loved that meal! And you're right...bread does make or break my opinion of a restaurant.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you have to interview candidates over the weekend instead of going to the Cape. I agree that the way they divide up the certification makes no sense. Usually, 6th grade is middle school.
I love your poster :) I might have to move to your town in a few years so you can be my little guy's teacher!
I LOVED the duck tour in Seattle. Too fun and a great way to see all kinds of secret places in the city.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place is a camp site where my family has gone ever since my MOM was a baby. Unfortunately the owner sold the lands a couple of years ago and we had to find a new spot... so not the same.
my favorite place is the beach and i am not real picky as to what beach it is!
ReplyDeleteToo cute- I bet you are a really great teacher!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place for always is Wildwood NJ because it is such a piece of me...but my most favorite destination is without a doubt, Aruba!
Your poster is so fun and cute! I love it. Teachers are always so creative and neat...
ReplyDeleteHence why I never even considered teaching ;)
That meal looks heavenly. I definitely agree that bread makes or breaks an Italian restaraunt. That's why I kind of laugh at Olive Garden's hot-dog buns soaks in salt & butter.....
Mm....
I love mussels, also. Probably my favorite way to have them is in a big seafood boil with potatoes, carrots, mussels, shrimp, & scallops. Heavenly.
That picture of the mussels got me drooling. We used to harvest mussels and clams on our family camp trips to Gabriola Island back in the day. We'd also set crab traps and go fishing. I still can't understand how people can hate seafood.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite place would be Sigriswil, Switzerland. It's a village of 800 people that I briefly called home. It's halfway up a mountain and there's an oak tree with a couple of benches under it at the edge of the dropoff. I loved to sit there and watch all the boat traffic on Lake Thun below while the setting sun would cast shadows on the alps. When the wind is right, all you can hear is church and cow bells. I haven't sat there in five years and my heart aches for it. Sigh.