Day 9: A picture of you and yor friends

These people are  my friends, my family, my life!!! Without them I wouldn't be able to keep my sanity.

Day 8:A place I've traveled to...

Tanner and I went to the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon.We stayed for a week and had a very relaxing time. My favorite part was the entertainment staff at the resort we stayed at and I also loved loved loved snorkling.  The Dominican is a beautiful country and I am glad we were able to go there for our honeymoon. The next place I will travel to however better be Italy. I have been waiting to go there and hopefully will be able to soon.

Day 7: Favorite Movies

This one is easy I am a movie junkie..
1. Beaches(Bette Midler is incredible absolutley my favorite movie of all time)
2. My Best Friends Wedding ( Can't help but stop to watch it when it comes on)
3. The Notebook (Obvious I know)
4. Never Been Kissed (I have watched this movie over a hundred times)
5. Little Mermaid
6. Beauty and the Beast (I just got this on blue ray for my Birthday)
7. Love and Basketball
8. Drop Dead Fred (This movie reminds me of my cousin Vani and one of my best friends growing up)
9. Life As We Know It (Its a new movie but I could watch it a hundred times)
10.It's a Wonderful Life (I must watch it at least four times over the Christmas holiday)

Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy!

My Husbands Kiss!!!

Day 5: My siblings

I was raised as an only child until the age of 11. I still remember the day my father (biological) called to tell me that he and my stepmother were going to have their first child (John). I was absolutely thrilled I had always wanted to be an older sister and I had all these plans for me and my new brother! Once John was born I realized how great being an older sister was. John and I are the most alike of me and my siblings. We are both spontaneous, silly, and love to make people laugh. He is really a great kid and seeing him grow from a child to a teenager he has been and will continue to be incredible. He has such a big heart and is going to do amazing things with his life.

Although my father had already had a child I was still being raised as an only child. I lived with my mother and my Manny and we did everything just the three of us. When we moved to SC my mother informed me that she was having a baby. I was 13 years old and at a very difficult stage in my life. We had moved to SC and I had left all of my friends in eighth grade and really did not feel like I had anyone to talk to. I was devastated with the news and remember not speaking to my mother for a long time after she told me she was pregnant. The day Sofia was born I experienced a mix of emotions I was immediately in awe of her and loved her but I was still scared that I was going to lose the relationship I had with Mom and Manny. The first night my parents put her to sleep in her crib I remember walking into her room in the middle of the night just to make sure she was safe and I stayed with her for a while. I went back into my room and remember thinking how I absolutely loved my sister and was so proud to be her sister. That feeling has yet to go away. I am so proud to be Sofi’s sister. She is the most opinionated, self aware, and confident ten year old I have ever met. I could not be prouder of her.

William is my youngest brother he is one of the most unique individuals I have ever gotten to know. He is very shy and quiet but once you break through to his core and he feels comfortable with you he will share everything. He is silly but in a very different way than the typical nine year old. He has a very dry sense of humor that is much older than his age. He is also very sensitive and his feelings can easily be hurt. Unlike John and Sofi, who I can say anything to, I have to monitor the tone I use when I speak around Will. I once told him to “wait” to loudly and he thought I yelled at him and became very upset. He is a great kid who is very patient with others and very helpful.

All of my siblings are very different from each other. There is a little bit of me in each of them and a little of them in me. I love them more than anything in this world and would do anything from them. I am proud to be their big sister and can’t wait to continue to see them grow.

Day 4: Your Parents

My parents and I

I consider myself very lucky to have my parents. When I was younger my biological parents separated. It was just me and my mom for a while. When I was about five years old my mom met Manny and the three of us became a family.

My mother is a very headstrong, independent, and opinionated person. I admire her for all those traits. She knows when something needs to be said and what to say to make you feel better (most of the time). I joke around with my husband and tell him that my mother is my conscience, she taught me right from wrong, however sometimes when a decision is hard I call my mom just to hear what she thinks. My mother has always encouraged me to be a better person and taught me that sometimes in life you have to work for what you “WANT”!!! My mother’s most famous quote is “It’s good to want, when you want you have goals. “ When I was younger I always hated that saying but as I have gotten older I have realized why my mother taught me to work for what I want. I consider myself very fortunate to have a mother that encourages me, loves me, and that I can confide in.


My Mom and I!!!

I will start by saying I absolutely HATE the term stepfather. It sounds so distant and impersonal. With that being said I will now tell you about My Manny. My Manny is my father; he raised me along with my mother. I never felt that I missed out on having a full time dad, like some children with divorced parents. My mother and I were lucky that Manny came into our lives. He didn’t have to treat me like a daughter and yet he did. He was at every cheerleading practice, soccer game (I played one season), gymnastics practice, school play, swim meet, graduation, and every other significant event in my life. He did homework with me and helped me study and even listened to me read papers when I was finished writing them. I consider myself very fortunate that I had someone to do all these things with. The best part about my Manny is that unlike some fathers he didn’t take the responsibility for me because he had to he did it because he wanted to!

Me and My Manny!!!

I have the absolute best parents. I have always felt that I can come to them about anything and everything. Like most families we have our moments but that doesn’t change the fact that my parents are incredible and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.

Day 3: First Love

Growing up I remember watching movies and seeing people who were "in love" and wishing that one day I would also feel like they did. When I started dating in high school I never really experienced LOVE I dated people, one in particular for nearly two years, however it just never felt right. I cared about them but I knew that I was not in love. For a while I thought that the kind of love you see in movies and that your parents tell you about is unattainable. Then one day sitting on a barstool at Summers’ (Tanner’s former job) I looked at my best friend and realized that I have a “crush” on him. I remember avoiding him for two weeks after that realization because I couldn’t be interested in my best friend. Several months later I got brave and told him I was interested in him and that we should go out on a date. Not too long after our first kiss I realized what it felt like to truly be in love. It isn’t just about sweet romantic things and it isn’t like the movies it’s much better. It’s the everyday things that let me know how much I truly love him. Its waking up to my coffee already made because he knew I would want some, its laying around on lazy Sundays and doing absolutely nothing together, its laughing uncontrollably together over silly things, and talking about everything and nothing until the wee hours of the night. Love is knowing that it isn’t easy but every day working at it because it is worth it. I often find myself thinking how did I get so lucky to be with someone who loves, supports, and encourages me regardless of anything or anyone else. I consider myself to be truly lucky to have Tanner in my life and I am so blessed that I get to go through the rest of my life with my best friend.

Day 2: The meaning behind your blogs name!

I think my blog name is pretty self explanatory. My maiden name is Pinon but on May 23, 2009 I was fortunate enough to marry my best friend Tanner Garrick! I took his last name and shortly after we married I decided to chronicle the first year of our marriage using this blog. Hence the name the Garrick’s First Year!!!

Day 1: Introduce yourself

Well, if you are reading my blog I hope you know who I am! My name is Victoria Garrick formally Victoria Pinon. I am 24 years old as of TODAY and I am married to an amazing man! I love my life, my family, and my friends. Here are 15 random facts about me!


1. I married my best friend from high school. I never expected to fall in love with him but I am glad I did.

2. I have three younger siblings that are my world. I would do anything for them.

3. I am blessed to have a mom, who drives me insane, but I would never change for any reason. She is absolutely my best friend and confidant.

4. I consider myself lucky to have my Manny (dad) not everyone is as lucky to find a Manny who loves you and encourages you.

5. My biggest aspiration in life is to be like my Abuela!

6. I am a teacher. I love my students and YES I take it personally when people who know nothing about education tell me how I should do my job. I am there every day to teach, love, and support students who may not get support and love anywhere else. My biggest challenge is making these kids believe they do deserve the best and can achieve anything they set their minds to.

7. I have had the same group of friends since I was about 3. My new friends from SC are like my second family as well.

8. I absolutely LOVE Cooking and Baking. Food in general is my obsession!

9. It takes me a while to warm up to people I sometimes come off as snobby but its just that I am easily intimidated.

10. I am not good at forgiving people. Once someone has made me angry or betrayed me they are out of my life. I need people I can depend on not sketch individuals.

11. I graduated from Carolina (GO COCKS) and I am starting my masters in May.

12. I am not a religious person however I do believe in God. I hate when people try to preach to me. I prefer to practice my beliefs my way without the influence of others.

13. I DO NOT like animals yet I have two dogs that I love. Other people’s animals gross me out!

14. I am a little anal about a lot of things I hate being late, I hate when others are late, I love to have attention and hate being ignored, I am 100 percent a type A personality.

15. My secret dream in life is to own a bridal boutique and help people look beautiful on the most important day of their lives.

So, Those are my fifteen random facts. I hope they give you a better idea of who I am as a person!

So, Those are my fifteen random facts. I hope they give you a better idea of who I am as a person!

30 day Challenge

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your first love
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your siblings
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Favorite movies
Day 8-A place you've traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you're afraid of
Day 11-Favorite tv shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Bible verse
Day 16-Dream house
Day 17-Something you're looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Picture of yourself
Day 22-Favorite city
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you've learned
Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture
I found this 30 Day Blog Challenge and will be participating in it. I won't promise I'll write something every single day- because I know I won't but I will do my absolute best to keep up with it. :)

Why did I ever WANT to grow up?

I am completley aware of how insane this sounds however, I feel that I must get it off my chest. Today is my birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. I should be pretty excited except that I'm not. I turn 24 today and although I know that in the long run 24 is still fairly young I just can't help feeling OLD! I understand that I am being ridiculous and am perfectly aware of how crazy this is. I just can't help the feeling. At 23 I still felt as if I had every right to make poor decisions and act crazy and wild and not worry about anything because I have the excuse "I am ONLY 23" Now I feel that I no longer have an excuse to not act like an adult. Twenty-four seems like an official adult age. Although overall I must admit I am not quite like other 23 year olds I still am fighting my way against adulthood... Why did I ever want to be an adult when I was younger. I should of listened when mom said "stop trying to grow up so fast"!!! I should have taken extra years in college instead of doubling up on classes to graduate on time. I should have gone straight to grad school, not bought a house, or a car, and live the life that most immature/irresponsible 23 year olds live...But now its to late I am 24 and officially an adult. This makes me a little sad! Goodbye my youth! I know I am totally being dramatic but thats me so appreciate it!

Josh and Autumn's Wedding

Two weeks ago two of our very good friends Josh and Autumn got married! Tanner and I are both so happy for them and were extremly glad to be a part of their special day! Congratulations to both Josh and Autumn! Welcome to the old married peoples club!

MUD RUN!!!

After a summer of training every other Sunday the day finally arrived! September 25, 2010 otherwise known as the day of the USMC Mud Run!I woke up that morning so excited and a little bit anxious. I have practiced all summer long yet worry steadily crept up. Four and a half miles 33 obstacles and a whole lot of mud!!! All I could think of was what have I gotten myself into? Once my team was started the adrenaline kicked in and the worry suddenly disappeared. My team completed the mud run in an hour and 36 min which placed us at about 84th out of 438 womens teams. Overall, I think we did a great job especially after I fell and jammed my finger at obstacle 14!!! I am very proud to say that I completed the run and that the money raised was for a good cause. All money from the race is donated to families of wounded soilders in the midlands area. I had a blast and it was all for a great cause!!!

Crazy Days

Things have been a little bit crazy lately. School has started back and I am attempting to get back into the swing of things. So far I feel that things are going well but fourth grade curriculum is much different than third and fifth. I do absolutly love my class though, I have several little characters!!!! Tanner has started going back to school again! WEW WHO I am so proud of him. He works a full time job, goes to school, and does lawn care work on the side. I have never met a more hardworking person. That is one of the many traits about him that I LOVE! Mixed into all the craziness is GRAD SCHOOL!!! I haven't started yet however I have applied and expect to start in May. As you can see life is a little hectic right now but I am loving every minute of it!

Finished Cake

I am so proud of this cake. It was the first time I have worked with fondant and I found it so much easier (and neater) than working with regular buttercream frosting. I really enjoyed creating this cake and I am extremely proud of it! The best part of creating this cake was that I got to work with my husband. Although I did all the baking and the fondant work Tanner is the more artistic one and painted all of the zebra stripes. We both had a great time creating this one!

It's a process!!!

Viv's 16th Birthday Cake

Vivian is turning 16 and I have agreed to make her birthday cake. I am really excited about making it. The design will either be a one teer or two teer birthday cake with white fondant frosting, zebra stripes, and hot pink fondant ribbon around the edges. This will be the first cake I create using fondant so I will let you all know how it goes!!!!

Have your cake...and EAT it too...

I have been decorating cakes for fun this past year. I did one for my class, Tanner's birthday, and my Manny's birthday. Matt's cake (shown below)was the first official cake that I decorated for someone else. While at his birthday party I was asked if I would be interested in creating a cake for someone else. This really got me thinking and I have decided to take a class at the local technical college on cake decorating. I figured by taking a class I can perfect my pipping skills which right now arent that great. A class will also show me a lot of new and different techniques that I could apply to my cakes. I really enjoy baking and this seems like a great way to make some extra money on the side while doing something I really enjoy!!!I am so excited.. I will start taking pictures of the cakes and posting them as I do them.

Matt's Birthday Cake

This is Matt's birthday cake!!! It took me three days to make but I think it turned out pretty good due to the fact that it was only my first real cake!!!

Finally

Finally, after a long search for a new tenant the rental house is rented!!! Our new tenant seems very promising and to be honest I am just so happy to have someone in the house!!!

Finally, after planning and cancelling a trip to Boston/Jersey I am heading up there to see my BFF's. I have not seen any of them since my trip to Jersey after Christmas. Therefore, I am extremly excited!!!

Rental House!

Tanner purchased a house in 2006 that we currently rent out. It has been a great investment and a great supplement to our income. However, our tenant moved out this month which has left our house available. Tanner and I have posted it on craigslist, the newspaper, flyers, etc and still no bites!!! It is very frustrating. If anyone happens to know of someone looking for a place to rent please let Tanner or me know!!! Thanks

Being Productive

I had several things planned for this summer including painting my kitchen, working in the yard, taking the GRE, taking sewing/cooking classes, visiting NJ, etc... However, I have not accomplished even one of the things on my list, and it's already July!! So once again I have to ask myself "How did this happen?" " How is it possible for one person to be so unproductive?". As of this moment I am vowing to be more productive. I am going to start by planning my trip to NJ to visit my absolute favorite people! Then I am going to register for the GRE (maybe). I am having a really hard time commiting to the GRE. It scares me!!! Hopefully, starting Monday, I will become a more productive person.

LOVE...LOVE...LOVE...SUMMER

So after a month filled with conferences on positive behavior, crisis prevention, and assessment analysis I finally started my summer vacation!! I began celebrating Thursday, over a couple of drinks, with a few of my best pals and the husband. It was nice that everyone came out and had a good time. Tanner and I then headed to the lake for the weekend and hit the beach on Sunday. All in all it was a very relaxing weekend and a good start to my summer vacation. I have about three weeks of vacation left before I have to start packing and moving my room. (Once again they have moved me and this coming year I will be teaching fourth grade). However, for know I am going to sit by the pool, read several meaningless books, and relax!!!!

Frustration!

Recently Tanner and I have changed the way we eat. I have really been focused on eating healthier homemade meals and excercising regularly. Since January I have been pretty commited to changing the way I eat and my activity level. However, I am not losing very much weight at all or toning up for that matter. Tanner however eats the food I cook ontop of the junk food he sneaks and rarely excercises and has lost 20 lbs and everyone instantly notices!!!! Men!!! Everything is easier for them!

KINDLE=NEW LOVE

I am an avid reader and have been for most of my life. When ever I have time I love to kick back and read books, newspapers, magazines anything I can get my hands on really. I recently purchased a Kindle (Splurge)! I purchased it for several reasons 1. I never have time to actually drive to a decent book store 2. I spend way to much money on books 3. I never return books to the library (I know thats awful). Any way, I purchased the Kindle and absolutly have fallen in LOVE with it. I LOVE being able to automatically upload books at midnight when I can't sleep. I LOVE paying half price for new books. I LOVE the free books that they offer. I LOVE absolutly everything about my KINDLE!!!! I have recently become quite a fan of Sophia Kinsella, she is a british author, most popular for her shopoholic series. Although, I have not read that series I have read Remember Me? Twenties Girl and The Undomestic Goddess. I love her books they are silly, hysterical, and a very quick read. They were a great excape during the school year when I really didn't have time to read a serious book! I definatly recommend her books if you are looking for a quick interesting read. One more thing I absolutly love about my kindle is that amazon compiles a list of books that I might enjoy based on the ones I have recently read. Lately, I have read a lot of great books, recommended by amazon, that I haven't even heard of in the past!!! If you have the extra money and you are a book lover GET A KINDLE!!!

Vacation? What? Me? NEVER

The school year officially ended on Thursday of last week!!! This year absolutly flew by and I can not believe its over. My vacation officially started Friday and I was completly BORED!!! I am not a person who can sit around and do nothing all day. That is why I have signed myself up for Professional Development seminars throughout the month of June. My first seminar begins on Wednesday of this week. I am actually pretty excited about it. It focuses on Positive Behavior Reinforcement. For the month of July I am planning (not final yet) to take the GRE and enroll in some prerequistite courses at USC. Also, at some point this summer I am going to paint my kitchen again. I think my grandmother was right (although I will not ever tell her that) GARNET is a very strong color in a kitchen. I haven't picked the color yet but I want it to be a more peaceful color! As of now those are just a few of my summer plans hopefully the summer will stay pretty eventful!

Anniversary!!

Tanner and I celebrated our first year anniversary in Savannah, GA. We had such an amazing weekend. We started by eating breakfast at a small little restaurant off of river street. We than toured the city by carriage. After the carriage ride we walked in the city and stopped at some very interesting shops that lined river street and East bay street. That night we ate an amazing restaurant and took a nightlife cruise through the river. We danced, ate, and enjoyed being alone. On Sunday we spent the morning and the majority of the afternoon at the beach and found an interesting restaurant where we ate lunch before heading home. All in all I would say it was one of the best mini-vacations we have taken. We truly loved spending time away and out of our normal element!

One Year!!!

Our one year anniversary is quickly approaching! There are only four days left until Tanner and I have officially been married one year. I am so excited to celebrate our first year of marriage however, I can not believe it has flown by so quickly... This year has been filled with so many memorable moments. I am truly lucky to have such an amazing husband (hes lucky to have me too) who loves me unconditionally. I am not the easiest person to live with so I consider myself very lucky to have found someone who not only tolerates me but also finds me absolutly hilarious and is patient with me. I married an incredible man and I am greatful for him every single morning when I wake up next to him!

A QUARTER CENTURY OLD!!!! WHAT??? OH, Good Luck with that!!!!

Tanner is officially a quarter of a century old!!! Friday night we cooked out and invited our family over to join us. We had such a great time and I am so greatful that we have such a wonderful family. We spent Sat afternoon riding the boat and enjoying the beautiful weather at the lake with our friends. We then ended the night by cooking out at the lake house and enjoying drinks at the tiki bar!!!! Tanner was ready to go home by midnight!! This proves my point that he is officially O.L.D (but hey old men are sexy)!!!LOL

St.Pat's in 5 points

For the last five years Tanner and I have tried to make it to St. Pat's in five points. Every year something occurs to stop us from going whether it be a birthday party for our nieces (both are born on St. Pat's day) or rainy weather. This year the weather was beautiful and birthday parties postponed a week. We finally made it!!!! I will say I had a lot of fun with my friends who joined and seeing people I haven't seen in years. However, places charging to use the restroom was a bit ridiculous... Things that I learned for next year include green beer is fabulous, Starbucks closes that day in 5 pts, there is a free bathroom at the music store!!! LOL

MMM Good!!!

Today was an extremly crazy day!!! I have been very fortunate this year and was blessed with such a great class. Today, it seemed that almost all of my students had been abducted by aliens... Fortunately, for me, I have an amazing husband, who realized I was having a stressful day and took it upon himself to make dinner for me. I have been on this healthy cooking/healthy lifestyle kick for about two months now and I know it can't be easy for Tanner, who loves anything fried and greasy, but he has been a real tropper!!! Tonights dinner consisted of turkey burgers (not premade or store bought), mushrooms and peppers, sweet potato fries and a nice large glass of water!!! I know Tanner would have preferred to eat regular fries and a big large greasy burger but he made it healthy for ME!!!! This will be added to the list (which I will give him on our 50th wedding anniversary) of the million things I love about him!!!

Oh the joys of living in SC!!!

I would love to say that most of the time I am not a big fan of South Carolina however the last two weekends I have very much become a fan!!! I finally felt like I had an actual winter last weekend when it snowed 7 inches!!! It was absolutly beautiful!!!! Tanner and I had our friends come over we all bundled up in our winter gear and went outside to have the absolute best snowball fight in the history of snowball fights. Britt-no and I made snow angels and I nailed Pot and Tanner with a hundred snowballs. LMAO....Then this weekend it was 66 degrees and sunny!!!! I did some much needed yard work and relaxed... Only in SC can you have two incredibly different weekends in the same month! :)

AHH Christmas Break Where did you go???

The last two weeks have flown by so fast it is ridiculous! I am very glad to have chosen a profession in which I get two weeks off during the holidays and nine weeks off during the summer. However, it would be nice if those weeks went by really really slowly as oppose to flying by. Tomorrow my life goes back to normal. No more sleeping in, playing on the computer, lunch with the pals, etc. Instead my days will now consist of 5:00am wake up calls, packed lunches, and being to exhausted to even look at a computer at the end of the day! AHHH the joys of being a teacher. If you think teachers have it easy because they get off work "early" and have "vacation" please be advised to never make such a comment to a teacher. We don't get out early!!! I spend anywhere from 9-10 hours a day at work and my job is not the type of job where you can just leave and forget it until the next day. I do love my job and I really missed my kids but like anyone else I would not mind another couple days of sleeping in and relaxing.