Anniversary No. 3!

Yesterday Joy and I celebrated two things:

1) The end of my first semester in my program here at Miami;
2) Our third anniversary.

To be honest, I started the day not sure which one I was more excited about. It turned out that Joy had the day off of school due to weather, so we were able to sleep in and then go out for breakfast. Yummy. Then I had to go to the psychology building to take my statistics final (I nailed the ANOVA!) before we had an afternoon of shopping. We met up with some friends to celebrate the end of the semester before heading home to get dressed up and make dinner. And what a dinner we made. Here was what was on the menu: steamed green beans, roasted rosemary Yukon gold potatoes, and pink peppercorn rack of lamb. That's right, rack of lamb. We had never made lamb before, but figured we'd try something new, and it was fantastic. After dinner, we watched part of our wedding video and ate Joy's molten spiced chocolate cabernet cakes. Amazing.








Happy Anniversary, Joy!

A Christmas Party & Joy's Graduation

Well, I have officially had my last class of the Fall 2008 semester. I'm focusing on the fact that I've completed one and trying to avoid thinking of just how many are still left. To celebrate Christmas and the end of our first semester, we first year clinical psychology students had our First Annual Christmas Extravaganza last night. And what an extravaganza it was, to be sure. Joy made some amazing cookies, we all shared highs and lows of the semester, Christmas pajamas were encouraged, Secret Santa was pure madness and glee, and at midnight we all surrounded the piano for the singing of some Christmas carols, which I'm sure our neighbors below just loved.

Although she completed her Master's a few months ago, Joy's graduation ceremony in Indiana is today, which she decided not to attend. So, last night at the Christmas Extravaganza, we decided to have a make-shift graduation ceremony of our own...










And yes, there's a video of the ceremony for your enjoyment!!!

Mayfly Designs

Looking for some custom handmade jewelry? Mayfly Designs is the place to go, and I think it just might be the stocking stuffer of 2008.

Joy and I have known Holly for years, and we've known that she's had a dream of having her own jewelry line. For Holly, creating unique and one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry is a passion, and making this passion a business has been a dream. And now that dream is a reality.

I love Holly, and I love her jewelry. I think what I love some much about the combo of the two is that Holly knew what her dream was and chased after it. How many of us have dreams that we simply let fall like sand through our fingers? We come up with all sorts of excuses: we're too busy, it's too impractical, it will never work.

I encourage you to do two things today:

1) Check out Holly's jewelry. Each piece is hand-made by Holly herself and she uses crystals, pearls, and semi-precious gems to create many of the pieces. (Don't forget to find the "Joy" necklace and ear-rings, named after my lovely wife!)

2) Check out your own dreams. What are they? Or, if it's been a while, what were they? What's a new dream you have? I hope you'll think it over and contemplate just how you might be able to see that dream come to fruition.

Thanksgiving 2008

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's, does it really get any better? Joy and I spent Thanksgiving this year with my parents, sister Jess, and brother-in-law Tim in north-central Ohio. AND...yes AND...we met our new nephew, Caleb Andrew!!! Now, people usually go on and on about how cute and funny and unique and...yawn...newborns are, but there can't be much better in life than being an uncle, and yes, this baby really is cute, funny, and unique. My brother, Nate, and his wife, Jessica, who live in the Philippines, had little Elijah this summer, and now there's two nephews! (And, indeed, there shall be four come spring when Joy's brother's wife has twins...).

Our Thanksgiving was the usual mix of sleeping and feedings, so the newborn fit right in with our family traditions already. And between the baby's feedings and my own, I think we got along quite well. Here are some pictures of our weekend for you to enjoy...

Halloween Weekend, Part 2

Hi friends! It's Joy again, ready for my second installment on No Man Is An Island.
Stephen and I are gearing up for our second Thanksgiving of the year. That’s right, the second. Our first Thanksgiving of 2008 happened over Halloween weekend with Luke and Becca. As mentioned in my previous entry, Luke and Becca Lentscher came to visit over Halloween weekend. They not only brought those sweet caveman/cavewoman costumes, but they also brought a 14 pound turkey. Becca and I share a love for cooking and entertaining, and often exchange recipes and ideas. However, neither of us had yet taken on the challenge of cleaning, stuffing, and baking a turkey, especially not for a high profile meal such as Thanksgiving. So we decided to tackle it together! This was a genius idea for multiple reasons: 1. It is way more fun to cook with a good friend. 2. Uncooked turkeys are heavy and somewhat gross, so it’s nice to have help. 3. Since it wasn’t actually Thanksgiving, if we did end up with a disaster, we could give it Colby, head to Chipotle, and call it a night.

So we got up early Saturday morning, headed to the farmer’s market for some fresh ingredients, and began the cooking. And I’m not just talking turkey; it was the whole Thanksgiving shabang! Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, corn, fresh bread, and apple pie! There were a few intense moments right near the end when the food processor wouldn’t work, the cider was boiling, and we couldn’t find a bowl big enough to hold all the mashed potatoes. But, let’s just say, Chipotle was not needed. It may not have looked like the cover of Martha Stewart magazine, but the meal was delicious! It was such fun to share a holiday with great friends, and perhaps we have even started a new tradition. So, bring on Thanksgiving! Becca and I are ready! (Well….as long as we don’t have to do it alone!)

Halloween Weekend, Part 1

Hello faithful readers! Stephen is claiming that this masters/PhD program is "a lot of work," so he just hasn't had time to write. (I'm not sure I buy it since moments ago he was Gmail video chatting with multiple friends):) Nevertheless, I, Joy Allyce Bellito Becker am taking over the blog this week (mwuh ha ha). If all goes well and I receive positive feedback from the readers, I may start making appearances on a more regular basis.

About a month ago, Stephen announced that the first-year clinical psychology students were throwing a Halloween party, and we were on the PPC (party planning committee). With nearly 80 crazy psychologist wannabees invited, it was sure to be a great time. The greatest challenge: finding a cheap, easy to construct, and innovative costume. Many ideas were thrown onto the table, some of which might show up at future Halloween parties, but in the end, we went with Stephen's plan to be snorkelers. After a trip to Wal-Mart (ok, I think it actually took 2 or 3 trips), we had all the goods: coral reef shower curtains, swim caps, dowel rods, elastic, pins, and Duct tape. It took some carefully engineering, and the help of our small group from church who came through with the snorkel equipment, but I think the costumes were a hit! Mobility was limited, and we had to turn sideways to get through the door, but it was worth it. Oh...and there may or may not have been a choreographed number to Under the Sea.... ;)

As if all that wasn't enough excitement, our dear friends, Luke and Becca Lentscher also came to visit from Chicago that weekend. They are such great sports! When we told them they would need to be packing Halloween costumes, there was not a word of complaint! And although Luke's left nipple made multiple appearance throughout the evening, they looked great!

Election Day

Well, it's here. Bush is out and someone new is in. And sometime in the middle of the night, we're going to know just who that someone is. I got up early this morning to go vote, hoping I'd be able to do it before class. I was shocked to see that there was no line at 8:30. I easily found a parking space, and just walked right in. I am wearing my sticker to prove it.

On Sunday night, I was studying with a classmate, Anusha, when we saw online (okay, maybe we weren't studying 100%) that Barack was in Cincinnati that evening. Sadly, we found this out at about 8:15pm, and the rally at Univ. of Cincy was going to start at 9. We decided we'd go anyway. We figured, heck, it's two days before the election, and there's going to be lots of energy and news people regardless of if we can get in or not. We got directions, jumped in the car, and found our way to Cincinnati. We left Oxford around 8:45, fifteen minutes before the event was supposed to start. When we got the Cincinnati, we found parking quite easily and then just followed the crowd we could hear and the stadium lights we could see. And similar to my election experience this morning, we just walked right in. There were thousands and thousands of people there, but I was surprised to see how many empty seats there were too. We settled down near the opposite goal-post from Barack, and took in the scene.

It was a few minutes later that I realized we had gone through absolutely no security. No police checks, no sniffing dogs, no metal detectors.

All in all, it was a fun time, and we actually heard Obama speak for about 45 minutes even though we were substantially late. And while there was definite energy in the crowd, there were no trumpets, there was no lightening from Heaven, there was no Hallelujah Chorus.

In fact, The One With The Golden Voice sounded tired. Sounded like he was pounding through a speech he'd given hundreds of time as he pressed towards the finish line. People were leaving long before it was over. But towards the very end of the speech, he really started to get going, and a sense of excitement did surge throughout the crowd.

Regardless of your choice (or non-choice) for president, this election has caused some electricity to surge through the nation. What we do with that electricity will be another story. If we sit back and hope The Elected One comes to office and rushes to save us, I'm afraid we'll likely be no better off than where we are now. So go out and vote, and then go and be some change yourself.