Washington, DC

Last weekend I went to DC round trip for $2.50!!!! And the bus shows movies and has plugs and wifi! Now that I know about this MegaBus amazing-ness its going to be hard not to make more frequent trips! I had such an awesome time!!

My friend Mina moved to DC a few months ago and I decided to visit her! Mina is a friend from high school so its amazing how much we still connect all these years later! I love her to death - aaaaand it was her BIRTHDAY! (Happy Birthday Mina!)

We brunched, we wandered, we frolicked, we drank. I had a lovely time! It was a great "mini-vaca".

I felt like DC was basically a more "home-town" version of NY. All the big city appeal but with a much calmer, cleaner, prettier, more open feel! Georgetown was soooo precious and the cupcakes really are amazing!

I also LOVED the market area we went to - only confirming my need to visit high quality markets more!

All these important monuments and buildings kept popping out of nowhere! It was crazy kinda haha.

I really loved DC. and I really loved hanging out with Mina!

I'm going back for 4th of July and super excited about it! Where better to celebrate our nation's birthday than in our nation's capital?!

Aaaand here is a picture of my new favorite bar in Brooklyn. All outdoors. Great margs. Have I mentioned I love NY? ;)

Oh and do you remember The Sandlot? Because I just rediscovered how AMAZING it its!

picnics and parks

Spring in New York has made me appreciate park life more than ever before! I absolutely love going to the park to read, play, relax, etc. Our picnic featured...

- koolaid (do you remember that?! next time, wine... more grown up i guess haha)

- various fruits

- bread and cheese

- (melted) easter candy/bunnies

-bananagrams (one of my new favorite games)

- boggle

-bubbles!!!

- the game where you have a velcro pad on your hand and play catch with a tennis ball... forget the name, but super fun!

Saturday, lots of people came for a day of fun in the park! We had snacks, games, catching up... overall fun! Here are some pictures, featuring my new picnic basket and blanket!!

Me + park

Alison + picnic spread
(don't worry - the bubbles are spill proof. made for kids!)
(see that velcro ball game?)

Goodbye park - see you soon!
(isn't my basket adorable?!)

NYC + spring = AMAZING

LYMI

Ireland!

A few months ago, Mike Olson, my grandpa passed away - I'll always remember him as a loving, kind man who enjoyed life in simple ways. After he passed, I inherited some money and took this trip in his memory.

Ireland was amazing! Two main reasons:

1. The people

- Megan! It was so great to see a little bit of Megan's life! I really miss her a lot and it was great to get to experience the beautiful life she's living over there!

- Kristi and Kat: two of Megan's friends who I got to hang out with - I love meeting new people and these girls were tons of fun to make the trip with!

- Mark and Ben: two friends who are from Dublin who I haven't seen since we studied together in France. It was amazing how despite how little time we spent together over there and how much time had passed between how much we connected right away. :) These guys are seriously two of the best out there, and I was so happy to get to see them again!

- The Irish: a country full of incredibly friendly, "no worries" people. I was consistently impressed with the Irish.

2. The landscape:

- Truly a gorgeous country. Rolling hills, furry green grass, beautiful cliffs, etc. Driving around was great - especially coming from this "concrete jungle". :)

Highlights of Ireland

Cork, Ireland - I loved getting to see Megan's life! Cork was a lovely city - great craic. :)

We rented a car and drove all over the country! Here is a beautiful rainbow that appeared after a very typical bit of rain! haha If you look hard enough, there's a pot of gold... ;)

A great view of the shore from Old Head.

Megan and I at the Cliffs of Moher.

Kat and I went to Blarney Castle. We kissed the Blarney Stone and now have the gift of eloquence!

I spent the last two days in Dublin. The city kind of surprised me - I expected it to be bigger and more like New York for some reason. It was actually pretty small - easy to walk around and see in a few days.

Enjoyed a pint of Guinness at the Storehouse. :)

Went out to Temple Bar to grab some drinks with Mark/Ben. We ended up having too much fun to call it quits and I grabbed my stuff from the hostel and we caught the last train out to Marks. Good times held by all.

Gorgeous country. Wonderful people.

Can't stop smiling :)

AF ENY

I love the people I work with. I feel like it was the perfect transition after college - a group of people around the same age with similar interests. Since I live alone and have relatively few friends in the city, I am so lucky to have people at work that I can genuinely call my friends.

I still don't know how to upload YouTube videos... I'm behind on this technology. But watch this to see how awesome our school is. This was at a professional development event that gathers all AF teachers/staff from CT and NY. Each school performs a "cheer" and this was ours. It was a fun moment and fun experience with my coworkers. (Yes, I have a small singing part in the beginning... ignore that and watch the rapping sections!)

AFENY = awesome.

Oh and SPRING IS HERE!!! (Too bad for you OK/TX with your snow?! wtf...)

Oh AND 5 DAYS TILL IRELAND!!!!

resolutions and thoughts

How did my February resolution go?

Well... pretty good I guess. I did do something social every day, but I think what I realized was that I need more than a little convo or sending a note, etc. I need real, up front human interaction. I think part of it is that I work with kids all day and I crave more adult human interactions. Little short term steps - things to consider for longer terms.

What is my March resolution?

I'm doing okay at this... but when I do it right I feel really great about it! Work-Life separation. I cannot do work at home. I'll stay late at work or bring "work home" but I have to go somewhere else to do it. This way home is a relaxing, fun, happy place!

One of my work "personal priorities" that I'm working on my growth in is playing my flute. I have a chart at work and I have to play at least 2 hours every week. Its been really nice and really ...eye opening at the same time. I love playing so much, and it has really been my one major passion in life. I'm really glad to be playing more again.

In a way, however, it is a reminder that I'll never know if I made the right decision. I am happy now, and I genuinely think I'm more of a complete person... but I miss that part of my life. And in a way, its kind of comforting to have something define you.

Its made me realize too, that I got a lot of my confidence as a person from playing. I think its the only thing that I have ever felt really comfortable saying "I'm good at ______"... and even then I had some doubts. All in all, I have realized that I am in many ways a person who lacks confidence. We should all be confident - be aware of what we're good at and be proud of that. To not be ashamed of who we are - recognizing our flaws, but also proudly saying our strengths. Something for me to think about... and apparently blog about ;)

Oh, and... I'm going to Ireland in 17 days!!!!!!!!