Husky Pride!

I'm loving March Madness right now! My brackets are busted but it doesn't matter. My UConn Huskies are in the men's Final Four and the women are in the Elite Eight.

This weekend was all about the tournament! We watched basketball all day and all night! Saturday morning we headed over to Long's Jewelers for a wedding band event so JO could shop for his ring. There was no way I wasn't going to wear my game day outfit. I was quite the sight in my UConn warm-up pants and player jersey. I'm pretty sure there were a lot of jealous fiances in that place. My favorite moment was when the security guard started talking to me about the big game that night!

Last night when the men won a come from behind thriller to make it to the Final Four we went out to celebrate. Before leaving we put this sign in our window. It was left over from a women's tournament game I went to back in the Diana Taurasi days!

Unfortunately our first choice, Bukowski's Tavern, was filled to capacity. Not a problem for us since we live in the best neighborhood ever. We took a short walk over to Trina's Starlite Lounge where we celebrated all things Husky! It was so much fun to walk around the neighborhood decked out in my Husky gear.

Today I got up early to go the grocery store before the women's game. I was, of course, decked out in head to toe Husky wear and got several "Way to go!" and "Great game last night!" comments from my fellow shoppers. So much fun!!!

Taking it to the Next Level

Friday night was a night to have fun with good friends and live the high life for a little while.

We headed out around 7:00 and splurged with what proved to be the longest cab ride to Copley Square ever. Anytime a transfer to the Green Line is in store the sticky subject of walking arises. The last time I ended up with ice packs on my legs.

Our first stop of the evening was the Oak Room at the Copley Fairmont. Although this place is a bit pricey it's totally worth it if you're looking for an injection of Boston sophistication. Another huge plus is the big comfy chairs and couches. It was such a nice way to start the weekend after such a crazy week.

Our second stop on the tour was dinner at Smith and Wollensky's in the Castle. Normally this would be a restaurant reserved strictly for only the most special of occasions but it's Restaurant Week here in Boston so we were able to take advantage. I'm not a huge steakhouse fan but this place was super! The atmosphere is so relaxed but it still feels so special. We were seated in a large room with a fireplace and the chairs were big arm chairs (once again over sized, comfy chairs are awesome!) There were four choices for dinner and they all looked so good so it ended up being really hard to pick.

I started with a mozzarella, tomato, and portabello mushroom Neapolitan drizzled with Balsamic oil. That mushroom was the best mushroom I had ever eaten...until I tried some of the mushrooms that were served with dinner :-) My main meal consisted of three huge short ribs, which looked more like dinosaur bones, served over deliciously smooth mashed potatoes. Delicious is not an acceptable word for this meal.

I spent all day in a food hangover lounging on the couch, watching March Madness! Anyone who knows me knows that I live for March Madness! Bracket Sunday is like Christmas Day when I was a kid! I'm loving the new tv format...I can literally watch three or four games at once...throw in the women's games and it could be as many as six!

Saturday night we went out with friends to the Thirsty Scholar. Back in November we went to see Social Network and unknowingly had gone to two of the places featured in the movie the day before, one of which was the Thirsty Scholar. The opening scene of the movie was shot at the Thirsty Scholar. Saturday night we ended up sitting at the table the scene was filmed at which was kind of neat. Thirsty Scholar was also a great place to go on Saturday because they simultaneously showed all of the basketball games on their 8 different tvs, which for me was March Madness awesomeness! It was also great to hang out with such great friends. We made it home in time to watch the UConn men's team fight their way into the Sweet Sixteen...I'm not really sure I should watch UConn games in public :-)

Sunday we got up early in order to be at Gampel by 11:15 to watch my UConn Huskies in the first round of the women's tournament. It was a pretty strong start for the Huskies and I'm looking forward to going down Tuesday for the second round game!

I'm a Union Worker...I am not the Problem

I'm taking a break from living the city life to vent for a moment. I just watched the most disgusting commercial ever and I'm livid!!!

I'm a public employee; I'm not the problem. Teachers, police officers, paramedics, firefighters, etc. are not the enemy. If you have an issue with our benefits, fight for your OWN, not against ours. The rich who created this crisis are putting middle class families against each other. We live here, pay taxes, work hard, and try to support our families too.

This has been really bothering me ever since everything started happening in Wisconsin. I am not at fault for what is happening to town and city budgets. If you broke down my pay by the amount of time I work both at school and at home it wouldn't even equal minimum wage. Yes, I get lots of vacation time but I still do work on vacation and I might even take a class or two in the summer. I am required to take courses to earn points towards my re-certification. Most districts only reimburse a portion of this expense but I'm expected to take them.

What about classroom supplies? What about all of the money I spend to ensure that my students have what they need to learn the best way possible?

My retirement is not tied to the city at all! I have to pay 11% each paycheck to the MTRS (Mass Teacher's Retirement System) but my district pays nothing. It's like that all over. In addition, I should (but can't afford to) get a 501b (or whatever the public version is) to supplement my MTRS money.

My union fights for me and for fair working conditions. Without a union I could be totally taken advantage of. Unions are not the problem! Unions fought for minimum wage, fair working hours, safe working environments, etc. If you have a 40 hour work week thank a union member!

Ughhh!!!! I love teaching (even when my kids get on my nerves) and can't imagine doing anything else but lately I don't want to tell people I'm a teacher. Everywhere I look I'm being attacked for being money grubbing, lazy lumps!

Birthday Fun and Bridal Brunch

This has been the week that wouldn't end. I planned on writing a post last Sunday but that didn't happen. I was sure I would have time during the week but I was definitely wrong! It was a long week at school and a long week at home. Trying to get my dad organized for his taxes his more stressful than preparing my 4th graders for our state writing test!

Last weekend JO and I celebrated my birthday with a night out. Our first stop took us to Alibi at the Liberty Hotel. Yes, I was there just a week before but I couldn't resist. After drinks we walked over to The Grotto. I absolutely cannot say enough about this restaurant. Everything from the atmosphere, to the service, to the food is impeccable. It's one of those restaurants where going to the restaurant is as much of an experience as the food is. It was great to spend my birthday in a place that represents the best things the city has to offer. On our cab ride home we talked about how lucky we are to live where we do. If we lived somewhere else it might be a production to come into the city for a birthday dinner but for us it's just another night out.

On Sunday I got up a lot earlier than I normally do to go the Brides of Distinction Bridal Brunch at the Omni Parker Hotel. I had seen this event advertised the last time we were at the Omni Parker. Since I will probably never have another chance to eat in the rooftop ballroom I jumped at the chance. The event was so much fun and featured table decorations for all four seasons. It was really fun to see all of the different centerpieces even though some of them were a bit much. There was also a Priscilla's of Boston fashion show and 20 different cakes to taste.


I loved these colors together


I didn't get a great picture of this one but it was really pretty

JO would love this one


That fruit cup was way better than it had any right to be


This was the centerpiece at our table. It was very pretty but a bit too much


My favorite cake!