Holiday Attire!

Welcome to my new holiday-themed blogging background! haha. I'm working on a new picture, don't worry.

This is a fake post... on my to do list was
- change blog name (although, I still want a more creative one...)
- change blog background
- blog

2/3 isn't bad for one night eh?

Well... in general life is good, and I'm getting soo excited for the holiday season!

Heather, Alison and I went to see the Rockettes on Saturday and they WERE AMAZING!!!!! Oh my gosh. I LOVE synchronized dancing (Megan...) and I LOVE the holidays - what a more perfect union could I have asked for!

And I saw the tree lit up so nicely! I love all the holiday decorations... oh heck, I just love everything about New York! haha

I need snow boots... I fear the winter. (that was random, yes.)

This weekend I have my work holiday party AND my TFA holiday party! It's going to be such a festive weekend! haha

Quick update, not really saying much, just wanted to check in!

LYMI!

Countdown to best NYC visit: 22 days!!! :)

(PS - I just noticed my posts per month... wow. lame. I need to get on that...)

Lady Gaga?

I love Halloween! So much. I've always loved it, but I love it even more in NYC! (Although I did not see any costumes as good as PS ones!) I just love the festivities! Everybody in my neighborhood was out on their stoop with the candy and all the adorable kids, and everybody in the subway looked ridiculous - awesome. :)

So, for Halloween Heather, Alison, and I went as ...masks? haha I just wanted something easy and so did they - and it was the easiest costume maybe ever. We got so much attention from it too! haha We got free drinks for winning a "best costume" contests that these guys were having for themselves haha and then played lots of beer pong. One of our favorite quotes "I like your masks... I can't even tell if you're pretty or not." ...Thanks? hahaha

It was tons of fun though and now the bar that we like to go to calls us "lady gaga"... who know why really haha but we like it! They recognized us the next weekend even though we had our masks on before! Crazy! and cool! haha I love having a local bar, but its even better when they call you lady gaga! :)

Which reminds me - so jealous of everybody going to her concerts (including you, Megan!)

Here are some lovely pictures, courtesy of Heather:Haha, the masks. Meow.

Just doing a little dancing. Oregon style. :)

Love playing beer pong at "Halloween Bar" :)haha. Present for me? Dick in the box - never goes old.
At our friend's house party :)

Home Sweet Homa

First let me say that though I have been slacking on both blogging and commenting on other's blogs, I have been avidly reading your blogs and loving them!

Why haven't I blogged in sooooo long? Well... probably the 60+ hour work week, going to grad school, and restarting life in a new city! But, don't be fooled - I have had much to blog about and I will try my best to be better at blogging! :)

TRIP TO NORMAN!!!!

I had such a wonderful trip to Norman!!!! It was kind of strange - it had only been a few months since I had been there, but it has literally felt like years!! Weird things that are so normal seemed so strange! Like carpet. haha

Well it started with the best party-squad-like airport pick up - people running at me with these beautiful car-made signs:
I can't explain how excited I was to see Kirsten, Tracy, and Brad!!! I should have been really really tired, but I wasn't at all - I was just so happy! And then we just chatted and had fun and had a big slumber party! I wish every night was a fun slumber party! :) Some pics from the night:

I love Brad!

I love Tracy and Kirsten!

Then Saturday was GAME DAY!!!! Again, you would have thought I hadn't been to a game in ages - false. But it felt so good to be back!!! And it was funny how I didn't think twice about drinking at 10am... and then realized that it's really not that normal a thing to do! haha

It was good to be around sooo many sooner/football fans! And to hang out around campus! And I ended up seeing Bradfords last game in Oklahoma!!! Didn't know it at the time, but pretty awesome that I got to be there for it! Well timed, universe.

This blog is going to be picture happy :)

Yay red TOMS!!! Pretty neat that we all have different red ones :)

More love!

Love Lauren Brockman too!

haha. I love our campus. And I can't wait for Tracy and Kirsten to graduate... they know what I mean.

The game was lots of fun and then we took a much needed nap and got ready to go out to campus corner! You know, campus corner may be small, but I do love it. Although the night took a weird turn (unfortunate drink that was just not normal...) I enjoyed the evening very much!

Haha, silly pictures.

On Sunday, we went to this lovely cafe Michelangelo's! It was super fun - relaxing, productive, not productive, yummy, etc. It had all the elements of a good few hours spent on a Sunday with friends.

Yummy! Don't you love a cafe that still cares? Gives you a real cup? Makes you enjoy your drinking experience? I certainly do.

See - look at that expression - thats an expression of productivity! Oh... but I just realized that Tracy is texting... well Carolyn was productive!! haha

Then we made dinner and ate yummy yummy cotton candy! haha

We topped the night off with some cheap drinks at Blu, celebrating Noah's birthday! It was a great way to end it!
haha. good job Brad.

It was a really amazing trip! I loved every minute and it was soooo fun to be back with everybody and in Norman! I miss everybody! I miss Norman!

I'm lucky though, because a have a current situation that I absolutely love and get so excited about, but I also have this wonderful past with amazing people who will continue to be a part of my life forever!

Next post: Happy Halloween!

And yay for falling back this morning!! :)

Finally feeling at home!

Well... I must say that my time in New York so far has been amazing, but I have struggled with "feeling at home". The transition ...well, all the transitions have had their challenges, but I'm really starting to feel "at home" here in all aspects (home/work/social), which is very exciting!

One thing that really helps is my apartment! Even after I finally moved in, I still didn't feel "at home" in it. I'm so blessed to have parents that are so supportive - they helped me furnish my apartment and it lifted a huge amount of stress off the whole thing. Moving and starting your adult life can be very stressful at times, I've found haha. But it's a great experience, and an important one, too.

Now, when I walk through the door, it feels good to be home. Yes, there is still a lot to be done, but I like coming home. It's a small apartment, but I really think its the perfect size for me! And since I promised to do so, here is a little tour of my apartment!

I'm starting to really love it! :)

Monday we didn't have school because it was a Jewish holiday!! It was the best thing ever! I needed that three day weekend! So, Heather and Alison and I had Monday Funday!! We met up and did some shopping, ate dinner, and saw a show! Chicago, like all the others, was amazing! I love seeing how different it is from the movie - the stage requires such a high level of creativity, I feel. Chicago was fun, sexy, and well executed. It was Heather's first show on Broadway - isn't that exciting!

I loved Monday Fun-day! It also fit in the theme of "feeling at home" very well - a day off of work spent in the city just enjoying life with two friends. Lovely. :)

Tuesday was a day of catching up with friends for me. I literally skyped or phone chatted for about 4 hours that day! And I still haven't caught up with everybody! It was wonderful though - I got to talk to Tricia and Lauren and I 'ate dinner' with Tracy and Kirsten and chatted with Megan! That is one of the hardest things - missing everybody. I will say that I love love love modern technology and airplanes (haha) and I love that they are still as important to me today as my last day in Norman/Texas. I can't wait to see Norman people next weekend and for people to visit in the winter!

Fall weather. It is gorgeous!!! I heard that the leaves are already changing in Central Park! I'm going to have make my way over there this week for sure! I've always been indecisive as far as what my favorite season is, but I think in New York its fall without a doubt! Granted, its really the only season I've been here for, but I think it's going to be the winner!

Today: Atlantic Antic
Oh, Brooklyn's largest fair right outside my door? Sounds like fun! I will save this for another blog, because I must return to lesson planning and things of the like. So look forward to that.

Countdown to Norman: 5 days!!!!!!

Love.

Bodega Boys

Another blog so soon? Lucky you! haha

Well, for those who don't know (because I didn't when I first cam here...)

bodega [boh-dey-guh]
1. (esp. among Spanish-speaking Americans) a grocery store.

Now, this definition is misleading. It leaves out the delicious cheap sandwiches, the interesting environment, and the wonderful workers who really give me my "neighborhood feel".

I have loved many a bodega in my short time here, but the one I love most of all is the one caddy corner to my school. I went there twice during training, and didn't return until a few weeks later at which point both the sandwich man and the checkout man said "Hey mami! We haven't seen you in - whats it been - 2.5, 3 weeks? Where you been? Vacation?" haha I was amazed they even remembered me!

One day it was raining and I didn't have an umbrella. I said "Oh no! I'll just run." One of them was so concerned that running with heels on would be disaster - I'd slip - I'd fall - my sandwich would get ruined. "No, no, mami - you gotta take the umbrella for today. You can bring back tomorrow" "Eh - she's a big girl - she knows what she's doing, don't you mami?" haha

And Yesterday: "Hey, mami - come here - I want you to meet someone - this is my sister and my brother-in-law!" (you know you're in when you get introduced to the family haha and only after a handful of sandwiches!)

And they always leave me with "Have a gorgeous day... even if the weather 'aint so nice"

I love those bodega boys. They brighten my lunch time.

And PS... because I also didn't know why they kept calling me "mami"
Mami is "an endearing term for a lady from a man"... or "is Spanish slang for baby or sexy" - courtesy of urban dictionary

Read, Baby, Read

Well, since my apartment is not ready for its reveal yet, I shall blog about books. But fear not, next weekend is a three day weekend, so I'll have more time to figure out apartment details. (Its crazy trying to move in and everything!)

You gotta read, baby, read! (say what?)
You gotta read, baby, read.
The more I read,
The more I know.
The more I know,
The smarter I grow.
The smarter I grow,
The stronger my voice,
While speaking my mind,
or making my choice!
You gotta read baby, read!
(a little chant we sing in reading in my class haha)

So the subway is this wonderful opportunity to read! So far I have read three books and am on my fourth! Now, this may not seem like a lot, but considering I usually read about 2-3 leisure books in an entire year, I feel like I read a lot! And its great!

David Sedaris, you are one funny, funny man. Haha This books made me laugh. Out loud. And made strangers look at me thinking "why is that woman laughing at her book?" To which I would have replied "Because he is such a funny, funny man!" I loved this book - lighthearted, short stories that make you want to keep reading. Additionally, it will encourage you to think of how very funny little things in life are. Highly recommended.

Catcher in the Rye. Classic tale, right? Well, I am really glad I decided to re-read this, because you know what?! Somehow I had it in my mind that he went so crazy that he committed suicide in the end... and that is definitely not how the book ends! haha I really enjoyed re-reading this book - I love the conversational flow of the words. I love that I feel like he was a person I knew... rather than a person I read about in a book this one time. Again, highly recommended.

"Life changes in the instant.
You sit down for dinner and life as you know it ends."

For those of you who don't know, Joan Didion is a noteworthy American journalist/author. This book examines her life for the year following the death of her husband. In general, it was a powerful description of the delicacy of life, the power of grief, and optimism and hope which never really fail. I would recommend this book, but to someone who's looking for an "inquisitive read".

I saw the previews for this movie and I thought it would be a movie I would just love - I mean who doesn't love a middle-class drama? Well, as I was piddling around B&N I saw this book. So I decided to read it and then watch the movie. Well... middle-class drama indeed. I'm 100 pages in (this book is definitely not one that's 'hard to put down' haha) and all I've really gathered from it is that there are two characters who more or less hate their life but don't do anything about it except continue to live their life as they are supposed to, rather than how they want to. And 100 pages in, I'm still not sure of the author's style - often times I'm confused about what I'm reading and why. haha. Recommend? Maybe see the movie first... haha

What book shall I read next? Looking for recommendations please :)

Oh. and having internet in your home makes life soooo much better! hahaha Oh, this modern life of ours. haha

its about time...

I can’t wait to finally cross “blog” off my to-do list! Its been hard to blog with no internet and living on a sofa and during my first week of teaching… haha but now is the time to play catch up. I am making an agreement with myself and putting it in my flexi-friend (...flexi-friend deserves a post in itself!) that I will blog at least once a week! So no more waiting, dear friends :)

Random people make me happy :) This morning when I got to the subway before 6am and you're not supposed to enter that gate until 6:10 but my train was going to be there in any minute I was a little distressed... until the MTA employee brightened my day!! She said "oh, come on in here - lets get you inside already" and took me over to one of the gates and opened it. After she told me to just swipe my MetroCard at any thing and it was giving me trouble, she said "oh, honey, don't worry about it - its you're birthday - happy birthday - now go on and get to work." :) It was a great way to start off the day.

So what's new in my life...

Living on a couch.
Two of my good friends Heather and Alison let me crash at their place while I was in transition from our sublet to my new apartment. I must say, couch surfing without internet during your first week of teaching sounds pretty terrible... but it was actually fun! I'll miss living with them!

Montglorious
That is the name of my group of friends who gets together on a weekly basis! Why is that our name?... long story about really bad food. haha Its wonderful and as Heather says, "Monglorious keeps me going." I feel so lucky to have found those friends and to be able to continue to see them each week!
We most recently ate out in Little Italy (sooo precious!) I love exploring the city!

Can you believe I live in NYC?!
I still can't believe it. Its pretty amazing! I'm looking forward to when I'm settled down, all moved in, and in a routine so that I can enjoy living here even more!

In the Heights!!
Alison's best friend Ella was visitng in town and on Sunday afternoon we went to see In the Heights! (isn't that amazing that Sunday morning we can just say "would you like to see a Broadway show today?!!") It was sooooo good! I just love Broadway soo much! :)

It was especially neat because the show takes place literally where our sublet was! So there were all these references that were even cooler because I lived there for a month! :) The dancing was great! The culture was great! And it had a really nice message about overcoming obstacles, living your dream, and all that jazz. I really enjoyed it! :) Thanks for the invite Al/Ella! :)

Apartment
Don't worry... you will be taking a video tour of my new apartment on my next blog - I want to finish setting up all my furniture so you get a better idea of what it will look like! But let me tell you something... I love it!! And its so cute - I was walking around today and ran into a coworker! A lot of my coworkers/some of my friends live in the area so it makes it feel pretty neighborhood-y! And its right by the Trader Joes, American Apparel (Kirsten!), Urban Outfitters (Tracy and Megan), and the Promenade which provides a beautiful view of Manhattan! :)

Plus, you have no idea how wonderful it feels to finally be settling in and starting to not live in bags... after 2.5 months haha. :)

Work
I love my job so far - my coteacher's name is Nisah and I think we will grow into a great working relationship together and have a great time! I have a great bunch of 1st graders and I enjoy getting to know them more every day. Each lesson, each day, each week I am learning and growing so much as an educator and I enjoy working towards providing my students with the best education they can possibly get - the level of education that they deserve! I also just feel so lucky to be working with such a supportive administration... who also loves happy hours and social time too! :)

Well that's all for now... look forward to the tour of my apartment and eventually my classroom!
And I need to take more pictures... look forward to more pictures too! :)

I'll leave you with some favorite quotes from recent subway performers...

"It don't matter if you're Latino, Black, or White...
Tonight we gotta get hyped!"
- dancers getting the subway excited for a Saturday night

"I play for smiles... we live to love... but stress gets in the way now don't it... thats why we gotta smile... love... and live your life with happiness. I play for smiles ladies and gentleman."
- drummers (who got people in the subway to get up and dance!)

Countdown: 31 days 'till Norman! :)

ENY dancers!

Watch this!! I couldn't figure out how to post it as a video, but its pretty much amazing - they are the 2nd and 3rd graders at the school I work at - AFENY!

big blogging time.

I should start by saying that it has been an absolutely crazy past three weeks, this blog will surely not do it justice, but in attempts to do so, it shall be long, so brace yourself for three weeks packed with joy, stress, inconvenience, love for the NY and happiness overall.

I will not have any cool pics to show some awesome action shots going on for this particular blog, because my computer is broken, but Google images will certainly fill in those visual aid gaps. Once I get settled in to life a little more I will add real life visual images. :)

And when I say long... I mean long. Here we go!!!

Well, two weeks ago I finished my institute experience. I think I had it pretty lucky - during all of institute, I had no breakdowns, I worked well with my colab, my adviser was great, and I grew a lot as a teacher. And most importantly, my students impacted my lives even more than I impacted theirs. Post-institute, I sometimes find myself missing the little things... bagels and coffee every morning with roommates, setting up the classroom to music, making posters, making fun of the lingo, the terrible food/bathrooms/beds haha. And the people. Institute was good to me... but I'm also glad its over. :)

No... I did not see the musical (yet) BUT I did move there! haha The day after institute ended I moved to Washington Heights in Manhattan. It was kind of crazy... I hate moving haha. But I love moving out of St. Johns! haha Washington Heights is very nice place. We can see the GW Bridge from our street, there are tons of bars, restaurant, and overall difference in culture that I enjoy. And the sublet is fully furnished (with a Wii!!) haha. Its super nice having a place thats "home-y" to come to home to! And sooo much better/easier to be close to Midtown! I will only be here for a few more weeks, before I move into my new apartment in Brooklyn Heights! :) I'm very excited for that as well! (and I keep thinking... "would you like to come to my apartment?!" hahahaha, inside joke on the blog... sorry.)

And the very next day, I started my masters at this lovely "castle" on the Upper East Side.
The first week was... long. haha And I/we have discovered that keeping up with our masters work while settling into life in NYC, and beginning our career in education will be a difficult balance. But, do-able indeed.

Then! To my surprise! In the mere matter of 24 hours, my financial outlook changed drastically because I...
Officially became employed as a teacher!!! :) I will discuss this in more detail later in the blog... so there's some incentive to keep reading, eh?! I'm very excited for my new job! And the night that I found out, some friends came over we had some celebratory kosher champagne (haha, that was interestingly delicious). I tell you what too, kind of separate but also related - I absolutely love my NYC friends :)

Oh... speaking of amazing friends. Remember my guru?
This is why (well one reason) Emilie Jones is AMAZING:

Wicked! (bum) Wicked! (bum) WIIIICCCKKKEEEDD!

Emilie won lottery tickets to Wicked (hardest one to win on Broadway!! - she got a button for her hard work) BUT because she and Lindsey had already seen it a few times she let me and Abby go!!!! It was basically AMAZING!!! In case you don't know, lottery means you get to sit on the front row for really cheap. So... basically the coolest thing ever! The music was AMAZING! The stage set was perfection! I'm not even sure how to fully describe how wonderful it was! It ...defied gravity?! haha (that was for sure my favorite part of the show!!)

Additionally, in the past three weeks...

This is a wallet. Mine was stolen.This is a computer. Mine broke. (But work gave me a new one - so thats good!)
This is my phone. I lost it on the way to CT (tell you about that soon). and the Lost and Found hours are 8-5... inconveniently when I work! and I need to have a new phone shipped to me... but my sublet does not allow me to receive mail. So hopefully, by Wednesday a new phone for me will arrive at a friend's mailbox.

Those three things made life very increasingly difficult over the past week, especially. But, happily, its all working out :)

So why was I going to CT?
For new staff training for my new job!!! I was hired to work for a school system called Achievement First. I invite you to check out their website to find out more about them. They are an amazing organization of people truly dedicated to closing the achievement and ensuring that all students, regardless of class or race, receive top quality education with equal opportunities.

We stayed in New Haven, and it was really lovely! :) I got to know many of my colleagues and I look forward to working with them in the following years.

What exactly am I teaching? Its hard to say. I think 1st or 2nd... I will know more details during this week of training.

My school is in East New York (a neighborhood of Brooklyn). I can't wait to start teaching!! :)

I will leave you with this.I am going to miss OU football sooooooo much!

But more importantly, to all my friends and family who are far away, especially OUPS, I miss you dearly. I love you.

Oh, and have I made clear how much I love Central Park?!?!
slash how amazing it is that I live in New York?!?!!

Love.

Lucky.

First of all, I can't believe how long it's been since I've been able to blog! Secondly, as soon as I typed "Lucky" I thought of that Brittney Spears song and now its super stuck in my head. Finally, I feel very lucky - to have wonderful friends to share memories with and continue our friendships across the country or wold, to have opportunities of a life time, to meet amazing new friends, to be able to make learn so much each day, to impact the lives of others, and to live in this amazing city!

On BroadwayOne of my roommates Emilie is my Broadway guru. She knows all there is to know about Broadway, okay. Its pretty amazing. So two weekends ago, we went to go see Avenue Q and it was AMAZING! It was so funny I can't even tell you. We were running across town, we had to take a cab because the subway would have taken too long but then we got stuck in traffic and had to hop out of the cab and run (literally run) down the streets to the theatre - we sat down literally just as the overture started playing! Amazing timing haha.

The show was sooo funny! I would say "you gotta see it" but its closing in a month... so that may be a little hard haha. Its about this boy who graduates from college, moves to NY and doesn't have any money ...it was pretty easy to relate to! hahah. The performance was fantastic! There are these puppets in the show... kind of hard to explain and I thought it'd be weird but I loved it! haha And the songs were sooo funny! I just loved it! I can't wait to go to another show! haha

Tricia's wedding!!!
Mrs. Wynn!!! Tricia was such a beautiful bride!!

I was sooo glad to be a part of such a beautiful union between two wonderful people!

So let me tell you what - it was such a great weekend! First of all, I had been looking forward to this wedding since I found out about it, and it was crazy that it was finally here! Tricia looked absolutely beautiful and everything about the wedding embodied "Tricia". We were all talking about it during/after and it just completely displayed her character and personality - very classy, beautiful, romantic, and fun! Its amazing when two people love each other as much as Tricia and Nate, and I hope they live a very long and happy life together!

And I got to see some friends from OU who I didn't know would be there!Its funny how not that much time has passed since I've seen them, but oh my gosh does it feel like so long! It was great to catch up and chat about whats new in our lives.

Welcome home!
So let me tell you something. I had the most amazing flight back on Sunday night after the wedding. As you know if you read my previous blog, you can use the internet on the airplane!!! To answer some questions, yes it costs money - $6, but thats how much you have to pay for it in the airport anyway! And it kind of saved my life because I had work I had to do and turn in - I was going to turn it in on my layover, but weather made our flight longer so I would have like no time on my layover so good thing I could turn it in while 25k feet in the sky.

Now the amazing part. Because of the weather we had to fly around the airport... I have never been happier to have the window seat. I'm looking out and I see water, and then a bunch of big buildings and then a huge gaping whole... and I think to myself "that must be ground zero... what else could it be... but you're not allowed to fly over that area" and then I hear a kid on the other side say "look mom - the Statue of Liberty!" and I was like "oh my gosh - thats ground zero!" Then we preceeded to fly over all of Manhattan - birds eye view from Financial District with ground zero, across Time's Square, over Central Park, and just for Callie - both of the Yankee's stadiums. Then we turned towards the airport and got an amazing view of the skyline. All of this, at dusk! It was potentially one of the most beautiful views I've ever had and something so few people probably get to experience. It was an amazing way for the world to say "welcome home." I didn't have a camera with me, but I kind of liked that I didn't - I captured it with my eyes and will always have it with me, and no lense would have done it justice.

I love/miss my old home.
I love my new home.

Random pic from NY:
One of my new favorite restaurants... and $3 Margs!!! :)

Love,
Laura

airplane!

Airplanes have internet now! I'm writing this blog from waaaaay up in the air! How cool is that?! Gotta go!

week one!

I've just finished week one of teaching and finally have some free time to blog! I wish I had some pictures to add to this blog, but something to look forward to in future blogs!

I love teaching, and I'm learning a lot! It's amazing how much goes into being the most effective teacher possible, especially when you're faced with greater challenges. Its also funny how even though I've only spent half a day for four days with the nine students who regularly show up - I feel like I've known them for weeks, at least. You get so invested and so connected to the outcomes of your students, and you can't help but love them. And no matter how tired or frustrated I may be, it doesn't matter when I'm with them. Being a teacher is pretty awesome.

My favorite quotes from this week:
"Ms. Olson, can I apologize for what I did on Wednesday? I'm sorry I got mad at you for making me that book... I know you just want me to be a better reader."
She was also the student who made sure to point out that she was wearing a baseball t-shirt to match the baseball theme of our classroom. (so cute!)

There are some definite challenges that need to be worked through, and I wish I had more than just a month with them... but I hope that in that month they can become better prepared to succeed next year and after that. I'm excited for the fall when I'll have a whole year to help move kids forward.

My adviser, group members, and friends at TFA are amazing. I love going to them for ideas, support, having fun - the whole experience is really great. I feel very lucky to be a part of this organization, and to be able to join this movement with such amazing people!

Time is flyyyyyying by... mostly because we're always busy! Take a look at my typical daily schedule:
5:00 - shower
5:45 - breakfast/lunch pick up (social time with friends)
6:30 - bus (listen to music while prepping mentally for the day... and drinking coffee! My favorite part of the ride is when we pass over a Brooklyn cemetary and behind it, you can see the whole skyline over the dawn-colored sky. Its beautiful :)
7:30 - prep time at school
8:30-11:00 - teach
11:00-12:30 - sessions (professional development)
12:30-1:00 - lunch break... debrief on day
1:00-4:15 - sessions (professional development and group/individual work time)
4:30 - bus
5:00-6:00 - gather thoughts, check in with friends about day, lesson planning
6:00-6:30 - dinner (social time with friends!... but the food is terrrrible!)
6:30-11:00 combination of lesson planning, making posters, meeting with groups, attending sessions, and a random variety of other things that make it a constant go, go, go.
sleep and repeat.

I don't think I've ever worked so constantly before really... at least not on like one 'subject'. Its good though - I love it, and I don't tire of it.

I'm lucky to be where I am. :)

and last weekend I was super lucky because I got to spend an awesome weekend with Callie and her crazy/awesome family!!!! It was really nice to have a taste of home and to be able to spend that time with her! I can't wait for her to visit me... and I guess Terry and Megan too hahaha. (which reminds me that I'm excited Megan and Molly decided to move here!)

Look how cute we all are in our matching July 4th tie die!!!! I love Callie and fam!

And happy 4th of July!!!! (best holiday ever.)

so this weekend I'm going to my first Broadway show! hopefully a little apt hunting, and lots of lesson planning, preparing etc. Oh and going out and celebrating/relaxing of course! (and btw, is it clear that I absolutely love NY?)

Next weekend is TRICIA's WEDDING!! I'm so excited!!!!!

much love from NY!

super fast

HELLOOOO! Super fast update while I'm waiting for my lesson plans to load up on this computer.

I'm busy, but I'm happy. I will explain in further detail ...when I have time = soon! haha I also don't have internet in my room so that makes it harder too.

I have read everybody's blogs but I do it on my phone so again, its harder for me to comment. But don't worry - I am reading them and LOVING them!

I just wanted to write and say hello to hold you over until my next post. Get ready to hear about my baseball themed classroom!!! :) (I'm going to LOVE being a teacher!)

And a special shoutout to my best old roomie - HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIGIDAIRE! (you can finally drink with the rest of us legally!!!!)

Love love love.

I love New York!!

thats it really. I just LOVE NEW YORK! :)

New York, New York!

Hello from New York!! :)

So most people only brought enough stuff to move here for the summer and are going back home or having things shipped for the rest... but I couldn't really afford that (and by that I mean not at all) so I brought everything I am going to own basically in two suitcases, one duffle bag, and a backpack.

My last day was an emotional festival haha. Apparently I JUST then realized that I wouldn't get to hang out with everybody anymore and I was going to live so far away and 99% of my life as I had known it for a long time was about to change a lot. I mean, I always knew that, but I hadn't let myself emotionally deal with it... until Saturday haha. I was all upset thinking the only thing in my life that was consistent anymore was clothing... and I could only take like half of that! haha And then my phone was messed up and then my computer broke! But all in all, it was just a silly emotional day that I needed to get out of my system.

So I make it to NYC and I'm at Laguardia airport... and I'm on my way to get a taxi and the only big doors I see are for handicap... so I say - I'm able bodied... I guess I'll have to use these other doors - the only other type of doors I see are those rotation doors... this is a lovely animation of what happenedThat is me - stuck in the revolving doors with my bags. haha I could not move forward. I could not move backward. I was literally stuck in the doors. One employee was sitting in eye shot of me and just watched me for... a while haha. Then his friend came by and they BOTH had to come help me out. I don't even know how it happened! haha. So RIGHT AFTER, the next thing I see is a REGULAR DOOR!!!! hahah Funny story. I laughed.

So yesterday and today has just been a lot of initial meet and greet, general information sessions and the rest of the week will be pretty similar - next week is when we get working reeeally hard. But so far I've met a lot of really nice people and its really fun to kind of feel like this college freshman again - out meeting new people everyday. I've only been here for 24 hours, but it feels like so much longer haha.

I am SO EXCITED to start working in the classroom and start making a difference!
I am SO EXCITED to be living in New York and having so many new experiences!

I miss my old life already... but I'm also loving my new one!

loveyoumeanit. missyoumeanit.

almost here...

So I had soo much fun this past weekend with you guys! (Brig, I wish you could have been there!) A lot has been said about it, and we all lived it, but I just want to say that it was one of my favorite nights with you all!!! and it was really weird saying goodbye the next morning... its strange because I fee like we're not leaving each other... but we are. But I feel like we're not because I know we'll talk a lot and I'll see you as often as I can! But now I've officially said goodbye to everybody... that is of course, until we see each other again! :)

Point of the story: LOVE YOU!

So Monday Megan and Kirsten and Cailin and I went to Glorias for some food and margs and it was so delightful!! :) I love a relaxing evening out with the girls... and I love me some Glorias margs!

And I heard about a cool language-learning website too! www.livemocha.com - its totally free and its also got networking aspects to it (kind of like facebook) - so if you want to learn a language or brush up on one you've previously learned, its a great place to check out! I'm going to use it to enhance my french speaking skills :)

So from now on I'll basically just be finishing up pre-institute work and packing... so my next post will probably be from NYC!!!! Its so crazy that in four days I'll get on a plane and then I'll be LIVING in New York. Living there! Not just visiting! Its crazy! I'm so excited!!

Love!

power!!

I finally have power! yay!! I was in a tent for 5 days and then a house with no power for 3! I love electricity!! And this is going to be a long one... so prepare yourselves.

COLORADO TRIP

Colorado was fun! It was a lot colder than I thought it would be actually... and very thin air. haha. I will share the trip via pictures!

our mountain.

our tent.
SKYDIVING!!! sky diving was so much fun!!! I think everybody should do it! and not be afraid of it! It was funny - our instructors were opposites of us. Jessica's was giving her very detailed instructions while mine was goofing around or sleeping... and the only instruction I got was "put your foot there... no, no - there." haha and mine was like this old hippie nomad - much more like Jessica. haha. but Skydiving is soo much fun! :) and it was beautiful doing it right among the Rockies!

We went hiking. And found a big rock. And thats our mountain in the background.

Jessica's first s'more - can you believe that?!?!?!

White water rafting!!!! I had so much fun! haha I was at the front of the boat and got soaked! haha I like our raft guide and I loved the rapids! Megan got a black eye (which I'm sure she'll tell you about)... but it just makes her look tough. (haha a guy in Campo Cafe asked "what did he look like?" haha)

So that's all my pictures, the rest is story time!!

Josh Dawes came to visit us! I tell ya, I could never do what he is doing, but I kind of admire him - so free! He's just living on today and doing what makes him happy! Anyway, it was so good to see him! and feed him. hahaha I love you, Josh (in case you stumble across this blog...)

We went to Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods the next day (Josh came with us!) Pike's Peak was really beautiful and really cold... and I was driving so it was also incredibly nerve-wrecking haha. That mountain is big and windy and steep...
Garden of the Gods was kinda lame... but I think its a great spot for family fun. And the rocks are impressive I guess.

Coors Factory!!! It was actually really interesting and fun and free!! haha I've always enjoyed a good Coors/Keystone/Moon but now I have a good appreciation for the company as well! And enjoyed 3.5 beers on the house! yeah!

Then we finished up with a nice dinner, Seven Falls, and a hotel room!! haha Seven Falls was actually really pretty... and we participated in some Native American dancing! hahaha I thought it was going to be seven waterfalls, but its one waterfall with like seven parts? I don't know, but it was really cool - Megan has pictures.

Favortie part of the trip home: Campo Cafe in Campo, Colorado: population 150 (wikipedia). They had one large table in the middle and people from the town (probably about 20% of the people who live there) come in and sit down together and enjoy a good (cheap) meal over some crop talk. haha. Two guys walked in and one said "its crowded today" and the other replied "yeah, and we got some outsiders" - pointing to us. haha. I loved it. Love you, Campo.

Oh, but that ties with seeing my Norman peeps on the way home. I love me some Norman! I miss it so much, and it has not been enough time for me to miss it this much! haha

RECENTLY

So I go the doctor about my knee to find out that my knee cap is slightly off center... so I'm doing physical therapy - thats you Brig!! and the whole time I was with my lady I was thinking about Brigidaire and how one day, she'll be that lady! and how I would love to have her as my physical therapist!

I went to the Flower Mound Family Activity Center and its awesome! I wish they had it when I was a kid. Its a full gym and pool and outdoor play pool and basketball and ping pong and senior citizen center and everything! Good job Parks and Rec!

So Wednesday afternoon/evening a tornado touched down in FloMo! and our neighbor said he saw the funnel pass over our neighborhood. So there has been lots of picking up and sawing of trees, lots of cleaning the yard and pool, and very little power... (but its back now!) It was really nice how it brought the neighborhood together though. Sharing saws... helping with pick up, using extension cords to plug in fridges to houses that had power... and just gossiping about the damages. haha. I'm glad the storm wasn't any worse though! The only thing wrong with our house is that the huge tree in the back yard is leaning on it... so hopefully we'll get that removed soon! Other than that, I've just been spending a lot of time in the dark... haha

Yay POWER!

I'm sooo excited for Megan's birthday tomorrow!!!!!

oh, and side note - I really wish I was a teenage girl with nothing to do over the summer so I could buy the Sims3 and spend obnoxious amounts of time playing it.

lymi.

damn that was long...