It's been a long, been a long, been a long...

Well, aside from the cheesey musical reference (+10 pts to someone who can name it!), it has been a long time since I've written. I've since graduated with my Master's Degree from Columbia University! I received a 4.0! And I returned home! I'm so happy to be back home in Colorado; o, how I missed it. Further, I am enjoying relaxing before beginning my summer position with Exploration Schools.

Since I've last updated, so much has happened! As I've stated, I moved back home to Colorado, and I'm loving it. I really missed it here. Sadly, also, my grandfather (my dad's dad) passed away on the 22nd. My family will be coming to Denver so we can all drive to Casper for his funeral next weekend. While I'm very excited for them to come, I'm sad that it's for this. We'd been talking about going to Casper for the 10 year anniversary of Dad and Grandma's deaths, but we never thought we'd end up doing it for Grandpa's burial. We're saddened and grieved, but glad to be together.

Other than those things, life's been pretty normal. I'm still job searching (hate that) and hoping (and praying like crazy) to get a job. I'm preparing for my summer position and enjoying the relaxing CO life for now.

Post more later...

Reflection is Natural

As time passes and change approaches, it is only natural to become reflective. Right? Sure!

So, as I look back on my nearly one year spent in New York City, I think about all I've learned and accomplished and the things, people and places I'll miss so much.

Things I've learned:
1. Some things, only NYC can teach you. For example, crosswalk signs are worthless. The only thing that dictates whether you cross or not is traffic. You can always spot the tourists/people that don't belong because they're waiting when there aren't cars in sight! Another example: how to hail a cab. It's funny; it seems intuitive, but it's really not, and nobody really teaches you. So, I'll teach you and save you the frustration next time you're here: the light on top is the key. The middle light on means he's available. All lit up means he's off duty and won't stop. Unlit means he has a fare (again, he won't stop). Finally, if you want to survive, don't be afraid to ask! New Yorkers seem so rough and tumble, but really if you just ask, they're friendly and very helpful (especially with directions).

2. I love teaching, and I'm born to do it! Not that this is really news to me, but it has definitely been reconfirmed in this year here.

3. I am strong. Again, this may not be new news, but I've been taught over and over these past few years just how strong I am, and this year was no exception. It was hard being out here alone, but I not only did it--I thrived! I love New York, and while I'm happy to be going home (I've missed it a lot), I will definitely miss it!

People/Places/Things I'll Miss:
1. My friends! This is obvious! I've made some GREAT friends out here. I'll really miss seeing them, and I hope they come visit me out in CO soon. I'll also really miss being so close to the friends I grew up with. I've seen them more this past nearly-year than I have since I left New England 12 years ago! It's been great. I miss them a lot, and it's been so nice being so close.

2. Jesus Taco, Wafel Truck, S'Mac, Max Cafe, Appletree, Subsconscious, Metro Diner...are you getting a theme here? I'm totally gonna miss the food here. Not only that, I'm gonna miss that I can get it any time day or night delivered to me, usually for free! I love this place. Haha. How am I not 6000 pounds?

3. I'll miss discovery. I've discovered so many new things and places while here. The abundance of learning astounds me. It's my crack (perhaps that and food). And while I've desperately missed my mountains being out here, I'll miss the discovery of the City once home.

Overall, it's been a fabulous year, but I'm so glad to be done with school and going home. I've missed it a lot! I'll come back and visit; the City can't quit me that easily. ;)

I heart NYC! :)

Awesome awesome weekend!

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but there’s good reason…I’ve been working! My school work and work-work are pretty much consuming my life, and I haven’t really taken many adventures around the city or otherwise.

However, this weekend was different. This weekend was a girls’ weekend adventure

extraordinaire! The plan was for Ali and Kate and me to paint Bean Town red with style! However, unfortunately, Ali wasn’t able to join us. So, Kate and I had to make up for her missing and cause havoc enough for the 3 of us, right?

Saturday was the Five O’Clock Shadow 20 year reunion show, so what better excuse did we need for a trip, right? Right. It was decided. We rented a car from Newark Airport and booked a hotel outside the city and were gonna make a memory *cue Bon Jovi*!

Kate and I left Saturday morning at 7:30 to head to Newark. According to The Great Goog, it should have taken 1.5 hours to get there from our house…wrong, goog, wrong. We took a subway, then had to kill 45 minutes to wait for the train. Took the train and had to take an airtran to the other side of the airport, then another shuttle van to the rental place. That’s a lot of modes of transportation just to pick up another! Anyway, by about noon we were finally on the road headed out.

We were snuggly situated in the car, ready for a ride. Cabbot was quite comfy lounging across the backseat. And we were off! We had the GPS unit (which we lovingly named Iris) programmed and talking us through navigating the City. By the time we finally made it out of NY, we decided that since we were travelling through New Haven anyway, we should drop Cab off and not have to worry about him.

After stopping in New Haven and then getting on the road, we made it to our hotel by about 4. It was a long day. Since the show was soon, we decided to just chill there and hit Boston

tomorrow.

Lunch at Friendly's--SCORE! Miss that place!

Hot ladies, ready for a great show!

What a show it was! The guys did amazingly (not that there was any doubt)! It was so fun. Way to go, guys!

Tribute...one of my absolute faves!

Once we finally made it to Boston Sunday morning, we wandered around Quincy Market and had some Chowda! Kate had never had clam chowder before…crazy! I was popping all kinds of V-bubbles for her (FOCS, Boston, and now chowda). Wandering around one of my favorite cities in the country, I felt a bit nostalgic and homesick (surprisingly, since I've never actually lived in Boston). But, amazed and engulfed in its beauty I was so happy to share it with Kate.

After wandering and pestering the city, we met up with Oren and got to properly hang out, since after the show was so hectic with all his fan-mob and whatnot ;). It was a nice time to catch up and introduce Kate. Then it was time to hit the road again *cue Daddy singing for the road trip "On the Road Again"*!

RAIN! OMG RAIN! Apparently we drove the length of the cloud because it rained the WHOLE trip. There were times it was rather torrential. But alas, I made it (dropped Kate off in New Haven to stay with Bill). I finally got the car back to NJ and really wanted to just cab it back home (love that cab is a verb in NY). But they wanted to charge $130! Um no. So I took the train, finally getting home at 1am.

It was quite a weekend and had SOOO much fun. We really missed Ali, too. Made lots more fun memories (as we always do when we go out).

Will really miss it here.

Weekend Warrior

I love it when I have a productive day. I always tease Patrick, that it's his favorite kind of day, but I can see why. It just feels so good to get your shit done!

Anyway, this weekend, I had a seminar class. I was really not looking forward to it. I just knew I had a lot of stuff to do and didn't want to give up my whole weekend to do it. But, I had to. So, Friday morning bright and early I reported to class. It was on Augmentative & Alternative Communication. It was FULL of speech pathology students (as it was part of their program), and I was generally lost in the mix. O well. But...good news came! I found out late Friday that class was not meeting on Saturday, after all! What? Really? AWESOME! I got a whole day I thought was lost! Fantastic!

So, Saturday I vowed to make the most of my time. I slept in (seems like a counter-productive move, but it was needed!) and got rolling right away. I got up and went to the gym (a foreign concept, in general, but I'm trying to get better) and came home to wash up and get going. I finally made it out to queens and ran some errands. It was only 2:00, and I had already gotten a lot done! I was so excited. I was multitasking, too. I was reading on the trains and getting some homework done. WOO HOO, look at me! When I came home, I buckled down and wrote and wrote and wrote. It was a good feeling to get some things crossed off (as it always is). Then, Saturday night I watched the UConn men's game with mom on the phone (just like old times). It was a fantastic victory, and a really good game.

Then, Sunday, I went back to class and finished up. We got out early, which was nice, so I went back to the gym (2 days in a row! Who am I?) and came home to write some more. After working a bit more, I decided I'd be done for the day. I vegged a bit and curled up in bed with the UConn women's game. At halftime, though, I called it quits. I just couldn't stay up longer.

I was saddened to wake this morning to find out my girls had lost. :( But, there's still hope for the men tonight! LET'S GO HUSKIES!!!

So, while it may not sound like much (and certainly not exciting), it was a good weekend for me. I feel good, productive, and happy. YAY!

Always the adventure

I live in one of the greatest cities in the world, filled with some of the greatest food in the world. Hence, I travel great distances to try these amazing places. So, when a coworker of mine told me that there is a restaurant downtown that serves nothing but mac and cheese, I was all over that! Tonight, Kate and I decided to track it down. It's in lower east side at 12th and 1st, which means about 45 minutes by 2 trains.

We were so excited! It's gonna be awesome. The menu looks fantastic, and who doesn't love a place devoted to mac and cheese? When we finally get there, we walk in and it's tiny. Like, not just New York tiny, but TINY! And it's only carry out and delivery. What!? Are you kidding? This is so our luck. Of course I blame Kate because in our walk over to the place she joked that it would totally be our luck that they closed yesterday or moved yesterday or something. "Don't jinx us, Kate! You know our track record!" Then, we see this. Are you kidding me? We're discussing what we want to do, if we can figure out a place to eat it or we just want to find something else in the neighborhood. It's weird, though, because their website didn't mention anything about being take-out only. I decided to ask the guy at the counter if they had another location and maybe I had just taken us to the wrong one not realizing. He says no, this is it, except for the sit-down one. What? Where's that? That's what we want. "O. It's like 2 doors down," he says with a look like, you moron!

O thank goodness we didn't leave. This long of a trek for nothing when we were really that close really would have pissed me off! So, we went next door and it was small, like NY small, but worth it! I got glorious Americana Mac & Cheese with hot dogs, just like childhood (minus the Kraft part...sorry mom), and Kate got a slightly fancier 4 cheese variety with chicken. Overall it was pretty fantastic and well worth the trek. Plus it was a fun date with Kate (which they always are).

Until next time...

Really? All that for a sandwich?

It's been a while, but here's the update: I've been working hard on my Master's Thesis project. This curriculum is going to be awesome! I just hope I get to actually teach it one day! :) And for Spring Break, I got to go home! It was a short visit, but it was a much-needed break. It's always hard to leave, though. I know I only have 2 months left and a LOT going on till the end, so it'll be ok.

Now, for the adventure! :D

I bought some shirts online (why do I pretend like I can actually shop successfully online? I don't know!), and, of course, they didn't fit. I bought them for an interview and they didn't arrive in time, anyway, but then they didn't fit, so I really don't want them. Unfortunately, because Sears owns Kmart now, you can apparently buy stuff from Sears through Kmart, but if it's from Sears, you have to return it to Sears, not Kmart. Grr! So, I have to trek out to Queens (at least 45 min and 3 trains) to go to Sears to return these stupid shirts instead of the nice direct shot down to 34th for Kmart. So, I decided to give it a go this evening. In the mean time, I also decided it was dinner time and I needed peanut butter anyway, why not make a pitstop at the Peanut Butter & Co. store?

Unfortunately, the train was running pretty slowly tonight (traffic or construction or something) and it took longer than I thought it would to get down there. So, by the time I ate and got done at PB&Co, I figured it was too late to head to Queens, as I didn't really want to walk home from the Harlem stop at 10. So, essentially I wasted 2 hours and 2 trips on my MetroCard for a peanut butter sandwich. O well, at least it was tasty! :D

I also had a fabulous lunch date with Tomomi today, and discovered chai lattes. Wow! Yum! Then I had the shakes all afternoon...apparently they're wicked high in sugar and caffeine. Ooops.

Other than that, I've been really good on this whole sugar-less diet thing. Over spring break I went back to the doc and she was amazed at my improvement! She said I may be ready for my races by summer if I keep it up, but it's still kinda a long shot. But more importantly, we can focus on my muscles and joints now (like we're supposed to) instead of just my ligaments! YAY!

So, overall, things are going well. I have just under 2 months till I graduate; things are looking pretty positive! I'll definitely miss NY and the wonderful friends I've made here, but I'm happy to go home, too. I miss it terribly.

Anyone for a swim?

So, I went to dinner with my friends Ali and Kate before Spring Break. It was really nice, and the 2 of them finally met. However, it was raining like CRAZY! We're supposed to get 2-3 inches of rain tonight, and it's certainly looking like it'll happen. On our walk back from the subway, we got so soaked. I included pics! It really feels like I've been thrown in a pool with my clothes on. It's crazy.

Adventure Du Jour

Bonjour! Today's adventure in The Big Bad City was neither bad nor overly adventurous. But, it was big and fun! As you know, I live way uptown in Harlem. Today, I ventured down to NYU area and got a picture of something I've wanted to see since I moved here. Here it is:

As you can tell, it's a street sign. What you may not be able to see is what street corner this is. It's the corner of Chrystie and Delancey. This corner was made famous in one of my favorite movies, (and therefore why I wanted to go down there) Happy Accidents. I have been working hard on my thesis work and decided to get out and enjoy this most gorgeous New York day. It was warm, beautifully sunny, and amazingly perfect. I re-fell in love with the city today. Only to then realize I only have about 2 short months left.

After visiting here, I decided to walk a few more blocks and visit Bleecker Street. This was made famous (to me, anyway) by the show Felicity. It is also very known (apparently) for its fashion and shopping (any shocker why I didn't know that!?). So, I took a pic of that subway stop, that Felicity is leaning on in the credits. However, I didn't go down INTO the station to actually get a pic of the pole (maybe one day) because I didn't really feel like wasting the money. I realize the whole adventure was essentially a waste ofmoney, but why waste more? So, here's that one.

And on my return to my neck of the woods, I decided to stop at Central Park. I had brought a book along to read on the train, and it being such a fantastically gorgeous day, I thought I'd make more of it. On my walk from the train to the park, I saw this:

If you can't tell, it's a sculpture of roses. It's in the median at Park and 62nd, I think. Somewhere around there. It was just so random and pretty.

I love being a tourist in my own town. Today was a lot of fun! It got me outside (which I haven't really been able to do and enjoy in a while) and gave me a break from my work. Yay! I ♥ NYC!

Crazy Week

Hi everyone! What a crazy week I've had. As you probably know, I work 2 jobs and am a more-than-full-time student. It's just the way it is. One of my jobs is that I work for the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. It's kind of like a separate company within the school. It works with teachers around the city doing professional development in literacy. It also works (on a much lighter scale) with other schools around the world doing the same thing. Anyway, each year TCRWP puts on institutes. There is the coaching institute (which has people from all over the world coming to learn how to coach classroom teachers to be better literacy leaders, and it's for those that are the lit-support specialists in their schools), the February mini-institute (don't let the name fool you - there are still 450+ participants. And this year, it was scheduled for the week after coaching...ug!), and a Summer Writing and Summer Reading in July and August (1 of each in each). There are a total of 6 institutes. It's a madhouse.

However, this past week kicked it all off. Coaching started last Monday. All was great. It went smoothly, and Monday was just a bit hectic trying to set up, but it was fine. Come Wednesday, shit hit the fan! We realized we didn't have the materials necessary for Registration on Monday. And it would be VERY difficult (and at the time, we believed impossible) to get them in time. However, miracles (obviously) do happen, and it all worked out.

After many LOOOOONNGG hours last week and working every day (including Saturday and Sunday), the institute kicked off yesterday so smoothly! It couldn't have gone better! See, all that hard work pays off. :)

Last Challenge Day...oops

Oops, I guess I never posted this...sorry! :)

Day 30 - A Picture

Well, the most recent good picture of me is from this past weekend. Patrick and I flew down to Florida to surprise Julie at Disney and go to a Guster concert with Becky. This picture is from the latter. It was such a great weekend!

And then come all the other pictures from that trip! :)

Challenge Update

Day 24 - Something I've Learned

I've learned a lot in my life, that's for sure. A major lesson I've learned, sadly the way most of the important lessons are learned--the hard

way, is to not take advantage of things you have now, because you don't know when they'll leave you. This goes for people, pets, things and even places. I love my mountains, and I never get tired of seeing them. I love my family and friends and boyfriend, and I tell them all the time! I constantly remind myself how lucky I am to have such wonderful people and things in my life, and that I need to be cognizant of that.

Day 25 - iPod Shuffle

For this day, it says to put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs played. Ok. Here goes.

1. Dirty Little Secret - All American Rejects

2. Glycerine - Bush

3. Amid the Falling Snow - Enya

4. Eden - Guster

5. One Day - Trading Yesterday

6. Photograph - Weezer

7. Nothing Left to Lose - Mat Kearney

8. Paper Planes - M.I.A.

9. Foreward - Linkin Park

10. Lover Lay Down - Dave Matthews Band

As you can see, quite a mix. It's pretty much what happens in my iPod...a mix of soft to punk, death to Christian, randomness--like me!

Day 26 - Something I have yet to learn

Anyone who knows me knows I struggle with one major flaw - patience. I really only have patience when it comes to teaching. I often say that God put all my patience allotment in one bucket - teaching. So, I really don't have patience for much else, but I'm working on it.

Day 27 - Pets

I have Sam, my kitty, who's 7 month's old and already 11 or so pounds. He's a Maine Coon whose daddy was 25 lbs!

I also have Gus, my puppy. He's nearly 4 no

w, and I love him and miss him terribly. He's a puggle (part pug, part beagle). He's a rare one...he's brindle. Most puggles are fawn.

Here are some pics:

Day 28 - Something that stresses me

Like day 26 mentioned, I'm not superly patient. So, unfortunately, many things stress me. I'm working hard on this, but in the mean time, I'm rather easily frustrated (ESPECIALLY by technology). It's supposed to be instant, right?!

Day 29 - Three Wishes

If I had three wishes, what would they be? Apparently, as a woman, it's supposed to be for a pony, a seagull, and something other than socket wrenches (like world peace). But, alas, I have no space for a pony, birds scare me, and I really could probably use some socket wrenches. :) But, for my three wishes, I'd wish for health and happiness for all I love; I'd like to be able to follow all my dreams (including making dreams of my loved ones come true); and I'd wish for ability to make a difference. Those are the things that mean the most to me, and if I had wishes, I'd like to make those things come true.

What a FABULOUS Weekend!

I had an amazing weekend! I truly have an awesome excuse for not blogging. This weekend (Thursday-Sunday) I flew down to Florida to see Becky, Kevin and Porter. My best friend, Julie, and her baby, Sara, were there to visit Disney for Sara's wish from Kid'sWish Network. Patrick and I came down and surprised her at Disney and then went to a Guster concert with Becky and Kevin and some other friends on Saturday.

The whole weekend was magical. Friday was so fun, surprising both Sara and Julie. They had no clue. They were excited just to finally meet Becky and Porter and hang out with them for the day at Disney, but then Patrick and I were there too---FUN! The reaction was awesome. :D

Then, Saturday, we hung out, and just relaxed. Because Saturday night ROCKED!!! I still can't believe that in all these years as hard-core Guster fans (WELL over a decade), that Becky and I have never been to a concert together. But it was totally awesome. It was the close of the spring tour, and the concert was great. Being there with Becky was just super great. Patrick kept saying that it was so fun watching Becky and me have so much fun. :)

Then, Sunday, we went to the science museum in Orlando. That was pretty neat. Definitely a nice way to kill some time before the airport. That was just the three of us.

Overall, it was by far the best weekend I've spent with Becky. I'm really glad we're becoming so much closer. And OMG Porter is the cutest! What an angel. Perfect weekend! (Plus Greenbay won! :D)

Day 23 -- Favorite Vacation

Ha! Like yesterday, I'd say my favorite vacation is, again, one I've never taken. I've planned it (many times actually, with many different variations) but never gone. This, of course, would be my trip to Europe. Ideally, I would go all around Europe, visiting all the best places, and seeing all the best things. Or, I could just focus on one place--France. Or, honestly, anywhere. I just love traveling.

Now, for a vacation I've actually been on, I'd say either Belize or the cruise my family took when I was in middle school. It was so much fun. And the islands were beautiful; the culture captivates me. Belize, too. Amazingly beautiful and culture-filled. I love it!

Day 22--My Favorite City

Well this is interesting. I'm not sure I can answer this. Part of me wants to say Paris. I am completely enamored. I love it. However, since I haven't been there, I suppose I can't really claim it as my favorite city.

So, moving on to a city I've actually been to, I'd say, like my sister, Boston. While I do love New York, I've loved Boston since I was a little girl. It's beautiful, historical, and absolutely amazing. Plus, it's full of intellectually stimulating opportunities.

As far as the city I've lived in, totally would be Boulder. It's beautiful, seated at the foot of the most amazing playground, and my love is there. They say, home is where the heart is. Totally. Boulder!

Blogger Update

Ok, so clearly I'm not very good at blogging every day. But, after another weekend of no internet, I'm back. :)

Day 18 -- Regrets
While I try to not regret anything and, rather, choose to learn from mistakes, one cannot help wishing some things had happened differently. One major thing I wish I had done differently in life is learn to stick up for myself and not live in fear long before I did. It would have saved me a long time of unhappiness and a lot of money. But, I have learned a lot from those times!
I think one always "regrets" not taking advantage of things/appreciating things until they are gone. I wish I had had a better relationship with my dad while he were alive. I feel almost that our relationship is better now, as I have learned to appreciate him and accept things about him that I could not as a teen. Perhaps it's age, perhaps it's loss. Not sure.

Day 19--Something I miss
Obviously, if you've ever met me or read my blog, you know I miss my dad. But, on a slightly cheerier note, I also really miss home. Also, if you know me, you know I move A LOT! My family always told people to never keep the Davis address in pen in an address book, because it will change. We warned people to write in pencil, always. However, mine changes so much, my family's gone to keeping me on sticky notes! I've worn a hole in my mom's book with her erasing so much. Because I move so much, I don't get tied to places easily. I don't allow myself to truly take root and establish "home" often. However, I've truly fallen in love and accepted as home Boulder, and I miss it. While I'm in NY I know that Boulder is home, and I will return soon.

Day 20--Nicknames

O here's a fun one. My middle name is my mother's first name, Sue. So, when I was growing up, although I'd hardly count this as a nickname, my sister used to love to torment me by calling me my full name and adding my mother's middle name. Thus creating Kimberly Sue Ellen Davis. To which I would always respond, "That's not my name!" It has now become a fun joke with us, but boy did it drive me crazy growing up.

Since then, I've been honored with a different, rather better nickname--The Hammer! It started when I was working as an assistant at the car dealership under the top salesman. As such, I would often finish up paperwork and do administrative things while he would work with another customer. Soon after I had been hired, such an occasion came up. He was working with an older couple and was paged to greet a new customer on the floor. He informed the older couple, who were at the stage of just doing paperwork, that his assistant would come and assist them with the completion of the paperwork, to which the older gentleman joked, "O, here comes the hammer!" which everyone (namely, Dennis) found hysterical, as here I come around the corner (still new to the job) timid and meek. Apparently in the old days of selling cars it was customary to have the "salesman" type make you fall in love with the car and decide to buy and then hand you off the strong-armed paperwork person to nail out numbers. In this case, that had already been done, but Dennis found it greatly amusing and it stuck. He was certainly one for nicknames. So, I became Kim "The Hammer" Hudson. And that's how he always referred to me, even when paging me over the loudspeaker at work. "Hammer to the Honda showroom, please, guests waiting" or "Kim The Hammer Hudson, call on XX." O he loved it. Honestly, so did I. It was fun. :)

And today: Day 21--The Meaning of Life

Wow, a hard one. Well, my senior year of high school had a final project in English class to explain the meaning of life...any way you wanted, any meaning you wanted. Seems kinda reminiscent. To me, at least right now (if not always), the meaning of life is love. To love and be loved is the ultimate human experience. It's all we can ask for, right? I mean, without love, what is there? That's my thought. Yeah, I'd like to travel the world; I'd like to see everything and experience it all, but really, I just want to share a love. That's really what it all boils down to. I'm lucky, really. I have an amazing boyfriend, wonderful family, fantastic friends--all of whom love me. And I love them. Life's pretty good, no?

Day 17

Well, since I'm not a mom, I'll take Becky's idea and say something I'm looking forward to.

I'm looking forward to a lot of things. Most soon I'm looking forward to graduating. I really want to graduate with honors, and I'm on the right track. Additionally, I'm really looking forward to going back home and getting my teaching career started for real.

I'm also looking forward to being a wife and mother some day. I'd love to have a family of my own (not that I don't have an awesome family now) and share my wonderful life with them.

I also look forward to traveling. I hope to do a lot of it in my life, and I look forward to that!

I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them now.

Day 16 Blog Challenge

My Day 16 is my favorite season. This is really difficult. I love all the seasons. Each one offers the fresh outlook and hope of a great new thing, and the reprieve from the last. I love that I live in the best place in the world, one that has all four seasons.

Spring is awesome because it offers new life and hope. It gives the relief from winter's harsh cold. Plus, you can play in the rain!

Summer's awesome because you can hike and enjoy the mountains, after they've thawed from winter. They're a great way to escape heat.

Fall's great because you have beautiful colors and awesome smells. It's starting to be a family-oriented time of year with holidays and things. It's great.

Winter is fun because there's snow! You can ski, snowshoe, etc. Plus, there's snow to play in! :D And who doesn't love sweaters!?

So, I'd say my favorite season is: all of them and the fact that I am fortunate enough to call home a place that has all of them. I love Boulder!

If I had $1,000,000

I'd be rich! Haha, but seriously, today's blog is about my dreams and what I'd do with the money to make it happen. Firstly, I'd get rid of ALL my debt (and there goes a big chunk of change) and that of my family. I'd donate a bunch. And, with what I had left (if any), I'd travel the world. I'd take the ones I love and explore! I'd make dreams come true (mine at least, and torture those with me to follow along, haha)! I'd go everywhere! Obviously, this is a dream of having endless money. If I were set to have $1,000,000, I'd do as much as I can and still have a secure future. Even in my dream of endless money, I'd work. I'd find a school where I could teach and be truly happy, because I love teaching. It's in my blood and it's my passion. So, with endless money I'd see the world and teach to my heart's content. That's my dream. :)

Blog Challenge Continued

Oops, forgot to finish this last night...my bad. :)

After a long weekend away and no internet access, today I'm playing catch up (all the way up to Day 14). Sorry for the big post, but it'll be worth it. :)

Day 10: What I'm Afraid of:



I'm afraid, like many people of failing. I'm not talking about college tests (although if I had them I might be), but on the bigger picture. I'm afraid of failing the people I love and letting them down. I'm afraid of failing myself and repeating old mistakes, thereby letting myself down. I want to make people I love and care about proud. I'm afraid to fail. I set pretty high (sometimes unrealistic) expectations on myself in order to please/make proud/etc. the people I love, and I really want to live up to them. Unfortunately, sometimes they are pretty lofty and I fall short. I'm working on it, as always.


Day 11: Something I've Lost and Miss:



As you know, I've lost my dad. It's been nearly 10 years now (June), and I obviously still miss him. A lot. Like with anything, some days are worse than others. Important days in his life (birthday, anniversary of his death, Christmas Eve, etc) are harder than others, but randomly it's hard, too. I wasn't really a daddy's girl (that was Becky's area), but we definitely had our things. Theatre was our sacred place. We could fight like cats and dogs, but in the theatre, there was nothing wrong. We just synced. It was great. Our McDonalds trips, too, were our thing. Becky had donuts with Daddy, I had McDonalds breakfast. It was just us time. And I cherished it. Maybe that's why I still love McD's breakfast to this day.


Day 12: Favorite Trait About Myself:

I think my favorite thing about myself, which I sometimes forget, is that I am strong. I have been through a lot in my 25 years, and I strive in them. I more than survive. I am strong and just keep getting stronger. I know what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I've had my fair share of strength builders. :)

Day 13: Some things I believe:

I believe everything happens for a reason. God has it all planned out and wouldn't present you with something you can't get through. You may not know it at the time, but everything happens to better you. You may not understand it, like it or want it, but it makes you stronger, better, and is for a reason. I also forget this sometimes, but I know deep down it's true.

And finally, Day 14: My favorite color:

If any of you know me, you know it's orange! I love it. It's so cheerful and happy. It's always been my favorite color, ever since I was a kid. It also happens to be Patrick's and my dad's. Weird, huh? I think it's just cuz it's an awesome color! :)

Blog Day 9

Hmm...my options...a picture of friends (which I don't have many pics of) or a book that's had a profound affect on my life. Wow. Hard. I'll attempt Julie's.

My favorite book of all time is Le Petit Prince. I read it in high school French class and have loved it ever since. I've read it so many times. It has some of the best quotes and lessons in it. I think it's probably had a pretty significant impact on me. Both its lessons and its language are in my soul. I try to live them. As you know, I'm obsessed with all things French, so what better, right?

Another pretty significant book is "The Night Before Christmas" because Daddy read it to us every Christmas Eve. I've continued that tradition. So, in a way, that story has had an impact.

Never a Dull Moment

Similar to Mary's always telling Julie to write a book, my friend at school here, Kate, keeps saying we need to write a book about all the adventures we have. It seems they're ceaseless. Every time we go out, it turns into an event. Although, I think it's just the city, personally. Or maybe it's just me. :)

Anyway, I got back to NY late Sunday night. Yesterday was MLK day and the school was closed. It was nice to have a day to recoup and rest before the routine started up again. Plus, it gave me a chance to get my apt set up again, after being gone for a month. MAJOR grocery shopping needed. Plus, with my new diet, anything that was left over, I pretty much can't eat, anyway. :)

So, Kate and I decided to make a day of it. Running errands...what a day! She needed a new blanket and I decided there was probably some housey stuff I needed, too. She mentioned she'd been to Times Square with her boyfriend the day before and seen a Target there. Ok, cool! We headed downtown only to find out that it's not a Target, but rather, just a giant sign. Poo. So, in the bitter cold, we walked the 9 blocks to the Kmart I knew was just a ways away. Not a biggie. We found an awesome blanket for Kate and a toaster (I mean, "stapler") for me and headed back up.

Riding the train with our new exciting housewares, we stopped in Harlem for the grocery store. I'm tellin' ya, it's an exciting day of hanging out, yeah? I know you're jealous! We wandered through the grocery store and $120 later were out of there headed home to cook some yumminess. As we were walking out, we found a cab that took the sketchiest way back home...unappreciated, sir. Finally we made it back and unloaded. We had our DELISH dinner of lasagna casserole and pampered her poor puppy who had just had surgery. Poor Cabbot. He's doing much better, but of course he hams up the injury to get lovins. He is her seeing-eye-dog and had to have a toe removed, so he can't work for another couple weeks. Luckily it was during break. Anyway, I felt bad that I couldn't give him any noodles; he looked so sad and pathetic with his cone on. But, I was good and didn't feed him.

So, laughing all the way through dinner, we enjoyed our eventful day of Target-less Times Square, sketchy cabbies, and late dinner. All for a day of errands. Love this city!

Blog Challenge Update

Ok, so I fell behind...shocker :)

Day 6 is (on Becky's a picture--done that and on Julie's a sad memory--no thanks) interesting facts! So, Becky put 15 interesting facts about her on her Day 1, but I didn't, so I will share some now.

1. My favorite number is 6. I was born on the 6th at 6:00 and weighed 6 lbs or something like that, I think. Anyway, I like it. But my lucky number is usually 7. Weird!


2. I love stupid trivia. Useless knowledge fascinates me, and I can always find a place to share it. Usually it's with my students (kids love the stuff). I make a fun time of the day to share a new fact.


3. I don't like escalators. I never have. When I was a kid, I had this Sesame Street book where Ernie and Maria go to the mall. They get on the escalator and the line in the book says, " 'One, two, three, step!' said Maria" and anytime I had to get on an escalator mom would say that to me. To this day, I still say it in my head every time I step on. If you watch me, you can probably see me concentrating getting on. They scare me. I hate them!


4. My favorite color is orange. It's just such a happy color. Coincidentally, it was my father's favorite, too. Neat. It's also Patrick's favorite. Convenient. :)


5. I too have the uncanny ability to find misspellings and typos in things. It drives me CRAZY. It seems like such a good ability to have, right? NO! It's annoying as hell! They're everywhere! It amazes me how people don't understand their own language!
6. As you know, I'm in grad school. But did you know....I only have 4 months left!? To the day, I'll graduate in 4 months. So excited.
7. I have adrenal gland problems and can't eat sugars or fake sugars. And there's sugar in EVERYTHING!
8. I, also, don't find myself that interesting. If it weren't for Julie, I wouldn't have this blog at all. :)

Day 7 is my favorite movies: O boy! Well, in no particular order, some of my favorites are:

• Empire Records


• Happy Accidents


• Life as a House


• Must Love Dogs (and pretty much ANYTHING with John Cusak in it)


• Princess Bride

I'm sure I'm missing some, but o well.

And today is Day 8! Today we'll discuss a place I've travelled!

You all know how I love travelling, so today's more of it! :D This past March, I went to Belize, Central America. It was beyond amazing. I went with a few of my friends to love on the kids of Belize. We painted a school, hung out with some orphans and learned immense amounts about how others live. It was a very humbling experience to see the joy these kids have with so little. The whole trip was so amazing (we went cave tubing, monkey hunting--SO FREAKING AMAZING!, and to a Mayan ruins site--also way cool). But the kids really made it for me. During the lunch and recess breaks at school we played with them; man they have energy! It was so great to be able to share the love and get dirty for kids! :D

Blog Challenge Day 5

Well, the challenges Julie and Becky are doing for their Day 5 I've either done or don't know what I'd say, so I'm gonna make it up :). For my day 5, I'll explain some goals I have! Sounds fun, right? haha. We'll see.

So, I have some pretty expected goals, you know, graduate (seems like I've had that one my whole life, no?). But more specifically, I'd like to graduate with honors. I know it's prestigious to go to an Ivy League school, but I'd like to prove to myself I can do it and to some caliber (and I kinda think I'm part masochist). One goal is to get my Master's with honors.

Along with that, I'd like to teach. DUH! But not just be a teacher in a classroom, I want to really teach. I want to be the teacher that changes some kid's life. I want to inspire and motivate my students to be the changers of the world, to love learning and never quit!

Goal in life #2: See the world! This is really 2 goals: I'd like to visit all 50 states (I have 5 left) and all 7 continents! Yup, even Antarctica. It sounds soooo awesome!

Like most women, I have a goal to be a wife and mom. I want a family. I want to spread all this love around (gosh, I'm gushy today haha).

Some more minor goals: I'd love to teach abroad, at some point. Maybe not for a full year, maybe so. Maybe just take some kids abroad and teach things (like the curriculum I'm writing now). Either way, I would love to combine my 2 passions.

Anyway, it's a short post today, but at least I didn't cheat, eh Julie ;) haha. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Blog Challenge

Ok, so everyone is doing these "Blog Challenges" and wanting me to do it, too. So, ok, fine. I figure I'll just make it up as I go. So, Day 1 generally seems to be an introduction to myself. Well, since the only people that actually readmy blog are my sister, my boyfriend and my best friend, I think I can skip that, eh?

So, moving on...Day 2 is generally the meaning behind the blog name. Since I don't really have a good meaning, it was something I came up with on

the spot as Julie was making the blog for me before I left for NY (she doesn't have fb, so she insisted I have a blog, but I made her set it up). Since that's not really a whole post's worth, I'll move on.

Day 3--A love or a recent pic. Hmm...I'll do both! I've attached this pic of Patrick and me because I think it's a really sweet picture. It overlooks a golf course in Golden and was taken in September at a friends' wedding. It has the mountains I love in the background and I'm with the man I love...WIN!

Day 4 (Since they've been short) seems to be discussing family. This one might be longer. My family: I have a mom, a step-dad, a sister who's married, so a brother-in-law, and two step-brothers (each married, so some sisters-in law, too).

My dad passed away nearly 10 years ago (this June), and my mom, whom I consider one of my best friends, remarried in 2008 to Jeff. They are amazing together and have really shown me what a healthy and loving relationship should look like. Jeff is a great man both for her and for Becky and me. He is wonderful and I love him and am happy to call him part of my family.

Becky is my sister. She's 5 years older than me and has recently become rather close. It most definitely wasn't always that way, but like we say, the best thing to happen to us was 3000 miles between us! It really has been good. We've grown up and are now able to really have a sisterly relationship, which is really nice. PLUS: she's given me a nephew...how cool is that!? She and Kevin (her awesome hubby) brought Porter Davis Menard into our crazy world in September, and he just lights up all of us (even though I haven't officially met him).

My brothers Nick and Ryan are both older than me, Nick's closer to my age and Ryan only 3 weeks younger than Becky. Nick lives with his wife, Andrea, and their puppy in Dallas by Mom and Jeff, and Ryan and Valerie live in Iowa near where I was born. They're pretty cool guys, and I always wanted brothers :) so it's pretty neat. I only wish I saw them more.

So, in a nutshell, that's my family. It's growing and expanding and I love it! That doesn't even include my friends that might as well be family, but that's ok. They know who they are. :)

Love you all! Till next time...

Blog Challenge

So, my sister, having stolen my glory for making a blog, started this blog challenge thing in January. I thought it was interesting. Mostly, I was impressed at the insight she shared into our family that, honestly, I had not even paid much attention to. It's the little things, things I took for granted, but it's nice to hear them and see them spelled out. So, maybe when she's done with hers, I'll use the prompts and write mine for Feb...maybe. :) So, thanks, Becky for sharing. I'm interested to see what all the topics are for this challenge.