"Super" Weekend

So basically if you have not been living under a rock the past few weeks, you know that the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl. And, if you know my wonderful husband at all, you know that he is perhaps the biggest Packers fan of all (ok maybe besides his brother).

yes, that is cheese on my head... the things you do for love ;)

Anyway, beyond the fact that the Packers beat the Steelers to be the #1 team in football for the 2010 season, four of our friends from college came to visit over super bowl weekend. Good friends and a Packers victory pretty much made it the best weekend ever- a "super" weekend if you will :) Here are some pictures of the weekend's festivities, both football and non-football related.

Good Stuff Eatery for burgers & milkshakes

playing Sheepshead with Lincoln

the guys @ Good Stuff

the Washington Monument! (its there...really...behind the fog)Thank you guys, for coming to DC for the weekend. It was a blessing to spend time with some of our favorite people, to relive college memories, and to have something to distract Geoff from the stress/anticipation of Sunday's game!

Braving the Cold

Great Falls National Park

Last weekend, our church community group went on a hike to Great Falls National Park. Yes, it was the coldest day of the year, but we managed to have a great time anyway :) After a 2 hour hike, we went to Sweet Thai for dinner to get our energy back, and to warm up of course! We have been so blessed since moving to NoVa to find a wonderful group of believers at Portico church and a small group of friends to be in community with throughout the week. Here are some pictures of our adventure:Scenic OverlookDanielle T & Rebecca M at the top of the cliffAfter traversing the valley... they don't look cold, do they ?What's fellowship without food, right? Sweet Thai in Falls Church. Yum!

HS counseling

I just finished week 2 of my high school internship, and thought I'd share some of what I've been up to. I don't know what experience you may have had with your school counselor, if any, but I often get asked "so what does a school counselor actually do?" While I may only be a counselor-in-training, let me fill you in on some of what goes on in a high school counseling office...

- I listen to teachers complain about students: their attitude, their lack of effort, their late assignments, their skipping of class... I mean I figured this happened, but I was surprised at how much it happens!

- I listen to students: complain about their teachers, complain about their parents, explain (poorly) why they skipped class or failed a test or didn't turn in an assignment. Don't get me wrong, its not all bad... some kids come by to ask for college guidance, to switch classes, or to say that they got accepted to so-and-so college! woohoo!

- I wrote a recommendation letter to a college for a girl I have never met. And it was good.

- I observed special education meetings, to determine if a student is eligible, or to write their individualized education plan

- I gave a presentation to 8th graders about what electives we offer in 9th grade (most of which I learned about myself as I was talking...)

- I talked to some students who applied to Old Dominion about what it's like there

- I leave school everyday overwhelmed at how much I don't yet know, trying to retain the thousands of facts thrown at me that day

- I have learned that high school is not nearly as scary as I thought it was :)

just in case...

You may be one of those people who, like me, follows your blogs on googleReader and rarely visits people's blog pages individually except to help pictures load faster. I love the convenience of reader, but realize that I miss out on the beautified pages people have spent time (minutes, hours, days?) creating for my viewing pleasure, or because they had nothing better to do? Anyway, the point of this is to invite you, our blog follower, to visit our individual page to see the new design my handsome and handy husband created! He was supposedly teleworking that day ;) You will notice that the name of our page has changed since, sadly, we have been dog-less for a year now since putting Jeter to sleep. On a good note, it now tells a little history of how this girl and that guy came to be a couple :) Enjoy.

oh my darling, clementine

We had a staff meeting all afternoon at school today and our director provided pizza and fruit for us since it started during lunch. I walked in holding my beautiful green salad, telling myself how delicious it was going to taste (despite the intoxicating smell of Papa John's pizza nearby... my favorite of course), and reminding myself that I could be perfectly content with this tasty grilled chicken salad. I ignored the looks of other staff eying my salad with disdain as they bit into the gooey cheese, crispy pepperoni and soft crust. I would have been fine if the meeting was shorter, the pizza was all gone, or there was not a giant bowl of fruit directly in front of me on the table. Eventually I decided it was either fruit or pizza but I couldn't resist them both. I caved. Oh clementine, you were just what I needed. Thank you.