Delphi 2010

Clearly, I'm becoming a wee bit baby-obsessed! But I don't want to forget our lovely trip to Europe... in part because, with Mike's new job, I've been kissing him goodbye in the morning (during our 7 minutes of quality time) and often not seeing him again until the NEXT morning.

In comparison, the Europe trip was an embarrassment of riches. We had so much time to chat and sight-see. It was really just about the two of us. And as we move forward with the hectic pace of our current schedule, I don't want to forget that. I don't want to forget how important it is to make "just the two of us" time.

So.

I'm going to put up one more post for each of the places we visited. In Greece, we've still got to cover Delphi, Crete, and Naflpio.

Delphi is a definite contender for my favorite spot on the trip. We were only there for one day and night... but every moment was memorable. The Temple of Apollo was amazing... and much less crowded than all the Athens sights. The guidebook really built a picture of how these breathtaking ruins used to function.

The Treasury of the Athenians

Temple of Apollo


Theater (4th century B.C.)

Stadium for the Pythian Games

Next to the ruins was a perfect little museum--not too small, not too big, with a variety of pieces (small finds interspersed with statues and building ornamentation, dishes and jewelry placed next to huge blocks of marble).

After our investigation of the sanctuary and museum, we headed back through the modern town of Delphi. The alleys and streets were gorgeous, with plants growing on balconies and windowsills, then hanging down the warm stone walls. We had beautiful views on our whole walk back to the hotel, where we showered and rested before an awesome dinner.

Everywhere we looked inspired awe.

(Note to future Delphi travelers: the Acropoli Hotel might be a bit expensive, but it's worth it! It was our only Greek room that consistently had both air conditioning and hot water. And did I mention the views from the balcony? Gorgeous, as you'll see below.)

Dinner at the Taverna Vakchos: some of the best food on our trip. The salads consisted primarily of incredible olives. For an appetizer, we had fried local cheese with lime juice. And Mike is still dreaming of his entree--rooster with wine sauce on a bed of bucatini pasta. Our appetites were primed from all the hill-hiking, and the view was, again, truly awesome. We ate on a covered patio, surrounded by clean air and grapevines. Who could ask for a prettier dining experience?

March 2011: Belly Watch

I haven't found the perfect March "belly watch" picture. So I need you to help me pick from the possibilities.

The perfect picture would (a) show off the belly (b) catch me on a good hair day and (c) at least suggest that I'm awake (as opposed to totally fatigued and spaced out). The photo would also be focused, with reasonable lighting.

This is actually harder to achieve than you might think, given that I now work twelve hour days with no benefit of caffeine. I'm also often asking coworkers (or my mom) to take my picture under the lovely fluorescent school lights.

And don't even get me started on the hair! Sigh. I miss the days of being able to dump chemicals all over my scalp for brighter, fuller tresses.

Farewell, various beloved toxins! This whole pregnancy thing is making for a much healthier me, in many respects. (Well, aside from the whole gobbling of Girl Scout cookies part...)

So... which photo should we put in Buffy's scrapbook? (Have I started the scrapbook already? Of course! It's called "nesting"... also known in certain circles "avoiding my grading.")

Feeling the Love

Can I just say how much I adore being pregnant? Yes, it's amazing to grow a little person. Yes, it's awesome to feel her kick (often at odd hours--she's our little night owl already).

But what I really appreciate right now is all the love and support from our friends and family. It thrills me that we'll be bringing our daughter into a world with so many good people in it... especially since they're all ready to welcome her!

I've got loved ones all over the globe, spreading from New York to China. So many people, be they near or far, have offered their congratulations. It means a lot. Truly. On top of that I've got hand-me-down baby items coming my way. I've got experienced mothers (including my own) patiently answering my frequent (and ridiculous) questions.

When I came back to school after discovering the baby's gender, my gal pals at work surprised me with adorable pink goodies. It was the perfect way to liven up what I'd thought was a regular humdrum Monday. I was (and continue to be) grateful for their support and enthusiasm. Plus... how adorable are these baby clothes? Seriously.


Even my students are getting in to it. One of my T.A.s named my baby bump "Buffy," and some other kids tacked on "Jane." (Apparently "Buffy" was too informal, but the "Jane" just classes it right up... shades of Blue Castle, anyone?)

A whole class period--in which many of the members have issues with vulgar language--decided to give up swearing because "it might harm the baby." They've since begun policing my other class periods and have expanded their ban to include (a) all peer-to-peer unkindness and (b) "anything that might stress out Ms. D." It's incredibly sweet. All I can really say is "wow."

Chivalry isn't dead, folks. It is alive and well in American teenagers. They don't get nearly enough credit for their decency, so spread the good word!

Work in Progress

The Europe trip: it would be nice to finish our blog entries about that... oh, soonish.

Why? Because there's a whole new adventure up ahead that I anticipate will pull focus from just about everything else. That's right: we're having a baby!

I'm due July 9th. I'm also past the stage where my students stare at my belly, wondering if I'm (a) getting fat or (b) finally pregnant. (I finally put them out of their misery and just told them... though it was really fun to watch them stew.) My belly finally looks like a baby bump, instead of just spare flab. Yay!

On Thursday, we had our second ultrasound. Baby is doing well and is quite active--the ultrasound technician commented, "You've got a wiggler on your hands!" We also found out gender: we're having a girl.

At 21 weeks inside Mommy, Miss Sassy Kicks already has some definite opinions. (I would expect nothing less from a daughter of ours!) She's a huge fan of peanut butter, and keeps begging Dad for more Girl Scout cookies. He's already fabulous at spoiling his girls, so we have quite the stash of Tagalongs in our pantry! I'm adding walnuts to everything I cook or bake, and we go through tons of milk.

Now, if only I could get her more excited about the benefits of gentle exercise for Mom... or maybe I'm just blaming my preference for napping on the wee one!

Driving to Delphi

It took us five hours to get to Delphi--two and a half hours longer than advertised. If you're asking why, you've clearly never been driving in Greece.

The good news is that we survived this ordeal and, surprisingly, so did our marriage. And now that it's over, we can look back and laugh.

Several factors contributed to the long drive.

1. In Europe, they don't fill the rental car gas tanks... you have to do that. Our pit stop for petrol turned into a forty-minute odyssey--first trying to find the gas station, then trying to get back on the freeway after wards.
2. It was hard to match the map to actual driving conditions; some towns (and many roads) didn't appear on the map at all. Others were spelled multiple ways in English--on the map, on various road signs, and it made us nervous. (Lavidia, Livadia, Leveida... same town? You be the judge!) This made for several painful detours and mis-turns.
   
3. Our fear of getting lost had us driving through rather than around several towns.

Things got better once we (a) obtained huge bottles of water and (b) figured out how to turn on the air-conditioning. Still, Mike had to contend with a pretty crazy driving culture. Everyone in Greece goes fast, nobody uses turn signals, and the painted lines for lanes seem to be negotiable guidelines more than anything else. People love to pass slow (re: speed limit abiding) vehicles. It doesn't seem to matter whether the road is curved or straight, in the flat lands or the mountains. Cars were pulling all kinds of death-defying stunts.

Mike did what he could to assimilate, but our little tin can of a car was not made for aggressive driving. (Aggressive parking? Definitely.) The engine struggled every time we passed someone, turned a sharp corner, or went uphill. I could hear it humming frantically even as Mike would chant, "you can do it! You can do it!"

One thing's for sure: we will never forget our adventures in that orange Fiat Panda.

Sweet Teaching Victory!

We interrupt the (probably) never-to-be finished posts about Europe in order to bring you a real-time life update: I passed my National Boards!

Here is a picture of me, triumphantly holding up the computer notice that I passed:

What does this mean, exactly? On an intrinsic level, there's validation for what I do. On a practical level, there's a slight pay hike. More importantly, it means my certification is valid for 10 years, so I've got a decade off from worrying about that particular maze of bureaucratic red tape. No longer will I be jumping through hoops to keep my job. No longer will I have to worry that, if I take a year or two off for kiddos, I'll be ineligible to teach when I'm ready to come back.

Never you fear... I'll get plenty of exercise jumping through other kinds of hoops. This is, after all, public education we're talking about. :)

Athens: Other Sites

Other sites we visited in Athens included the Roman Forum, also known as the Agora. It was built by the Romans after they conquered Greece. While the ruins were very tumble-down (and the plaques were few and far between, we got an excellent view of some mosaic floors.




The Library of Hadrian was built in 2nd century A.D. and once contained a library, lecture halls, garden, and art gallery.


It may not be a typical tourist activity to attend the open-air markets, but this was one of our favorite things to do in Greece! The market in Athens did not disappoint. We enjoyed the shiny mounds of olives, as well as the butcher stations full of recognizable animals (as opposed to ambiguous meat blobs).


We toured several flea markets and plakas, but didn't really take any pictures. Then it was off to the Temple of Olympian Zeus (started in 6th century B.C., finished by Hadrian 7 centuries later) and Arch of Hadrian (2nd century A.D.)


The Temple of Zeus was truly impressive; it's the largest temple in ancient Greece and originally stood 360 feet by 145 feet.






Having traipsed about for a good portion of the day, I entered my "fatigued and obnoxious" phase of the tour. Poor Mike--it's a wonder he didn't pitch me over the wall into some unlabeled archeological dig. We cut through the National Gardens to get a respite from the heat. Hurray for shade!

I wasn't fully recovered, however. My attention wandered a bit at the Byzantine and Christian Museum... tragic, really, as it had a huge collection of art and artifacts pertaining to my favorite era of history. (By the time we got to the awesome display on the fall of Constantinople, I was like, "hey, look. More religious icons. Whatever." So sad!)