"my" park

I spent a little time walking around Prospect Park last weekend.
It was so gorgeous and the Gingko trees were amazingly golden...I had to go.
And, of course, I have some pictures to show for it.

Camping in Taconic State Park (a while ago)

When I was in Yellowstone over the summer, I met an employee at the Old Faithful Lodge. When I mentioned I was from New York, he said, "Oh, you have one of the most beautiful states in the Union!" Needless to say, this man was much older than me. I haven't ever heard someone call the U.S. the "union." Nonetheless, I think he was right.

I chaperoned a three-day trip upstate to Taconic State Park with my 6th graders in mid-October. The weather was a little damp and chilly, but not too unbearable. The scenery made up for it by far. I had about 30 minutes to myself over the three days, but those 30 minutes were filled with wide-eyed enjoyment of the colorful scenery and the peaceful woods.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I shared the holiday with friends in Ditmas Park yesterday. We had a feast including turkey, two types of stuffing, green bean casserole, biscuits, sweet potato souffle, baked vegetables, acorn squash and more that I am probably not remembering. I topped all that off with (my) homemade pumpkin pie and a cup of tea along with a game of 'Scene It?'. It was really nice. I wish I had taken more pictures, but here are just a few...

Some of the people just hanging out after dinner.

Kathy and me (and the back of Asher's head).

This is Asher, Kathy's youngest.

Australia or BUST!

I just finished reading this book and the descriptions of Australia have completely intrigued me. I have been talking of saving money for a trip this coming summer. I have a couple friends I could visit, but I have this desire to spend months on end discovering all that this country has to offer. I heartily recommend this book, not just for travelers, but for people who love random facts like I have discovered I do (at least about this far-off country). It's a fast read and also thoroughly enjoyable. (Enjoy it Kathy!)

some pictures from visiting family in florida

this is Hannah. almost 1 year old. she has such gorgeous eyes and dimples.

4 year old princess samantha. she loves dressing up these days.

me and my silly sisters. fun times.

(picture courtesy of brother-in-law andrew)

a first for everything

This is my friend Dawn. She's great. She is leaving Brooklyn in December for the 'greener' pastures of Columbus, Ohio.

She's moving to be near her family and her new neice/nephew, for which I envy her, but she's the first good friend I've had here who is moving away. I wonder if this is a trend that I will have to get used to if I continue living here.

I will be very, very sad to say goodbye to Dawn but will find comfort knowing that the same God who brought her friendship to me will go with her to Ohio and sustain her there and also be with me as I miss her here.

pictures to come

I was in Florida last weekend to visit my (now) 4 year old neice, Samantha. We celebrated her birthday a couple times and it was so much fun seeing her, along with her 11 month old little sister Hannah.

What broke my heart, though, was leaving Samantha. She screamed, she cried, she bit her stuffed animal...she was really upset. I was a wreck for a while afterward, even after talking to her on the phone about 30 minutes after leaving her and hearing her definitely not crying anymore.

She's growing up. She's bonding more with me, with people. She's realizing that saying 'goodbye' means that it will be a while before she sees me again. She's experiencing actual sadness instead of just being fussy. It hurts me to know that she'll have to grow up to understand pain. I wish I could shield her from it.

unreasonable expectations

I am stressed by my school and I'm only blogging for the therapeutic advantage of it.

Today, I am asked if I have my emergency lesson plans stocked up in case of any future 'unplanned' absences. I say, "No." I am asked, "Do you know what they are going to be?" which basically means, "You should have them done by now...why haven't you spent all waking hours making sure these stupid lesson plans are done?"

Probably because I spend all my waking hours doing my freaking job. Based on my schedule (and the schedules of all other teachers at our school), it seems like we must appear like super-heroes who can accomplish all preparation that a teacher needs to accomplish in one 40 minute period, which you sometimes have and sometimes don't. I have no 'prep' periods two days of my week. When I do have a prep (like today), I'm assigned to cover a group of students during my prep instead. At least I got two lesson plans done while I did that, but still.

I read once somewhere that as a teacher, I shouldn't talk too much to my non-teacher friends about school and everything. The book said they would be bored and probably wouldn't care too much. I sometimes think they're wrong because I think my friends are nice. But, then again, I've never really asked them. They probably are all bored.

I know that being a teacher isn't a job you can always 'leave at work.' I know it comes home with me. I am FINE with it coming home with me, but I am not fine with home being the only place where I ever have any time to do work. Shouldn't schools allow teachers time within the school day to be more successful instead of putting useless things into their schedules?

If you read this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you respond...well, then that means that book I once read is entirely wrong.

i miss this

Sometimes I think that I was made to live somewhere like Tahiti.

a multiple choice quiz

I'm taking a poll. When you think about online dating, you think:

a) It is a last resort and I will only bring myself to do it when I've exhausted all other 'resources'.
b) It is the only way to meet people these days.
c) I think it's great.
d) I don't think about online dating.
e) It is scary.
f) None of the above. (Please explain.)

more love for my neices

This is gorgeous Hannah. I love her arm wrinkles. She's 8 months now.

This is me and Samantha. She's doing her "shy and mysterious" pose.

I know, I need to figure out how to rotate these pictures before posting them, but you (whoever you are) are lucky I am even blogging at this very moment.

In Yellowstone!

This was my favorite part of being in Yellowstone: stopping to play in the creek alongside the road, collecting pebbles and feeling the smooth rocks under my feet. Reminded me of many summers spent playing in creeks with my family on vacation.

Welcome to Seattle!

I really love this city. If I didn't already live in the #1 coolest place to live, I might live here (#2 probably) but I'd probably miss the sunshine too much. We made it last night, with time to grab dinner at a local cafe and get settled into Jackie's new place. Being that we were so excited to be in Seattle and ready to conquer the world, we went to bed early by 10:30 p.m.

Today, however, we have enjoyed sleeping in, eating breakfast at some pancake house, visiting a friend's cafe which was really cool and walking the scenic-but-over-an-hour-long route from Jackie's house to her new school near the water. It is a beautiful city. I love the water, the hills, the color of the clouds and the excitement of the sun shining for some short period of time!

day two: the flat tire

yes, a flat tire. thankfully, we were off the highway seeking some lunch when thud-thud-thud. a shiny screw in my friend's lovely tire. having some experience with tire changing (two flats in the first 6 months of owning my car in orlando), i was quick on the job of emptying the trunk, finding the donut, jack and tools. what i couldn't find, however, was the 'reinforced area' underneath the car where you should place the jack. it was, of course, right in front of my nose but it just didn't look 'reinforced' to me. so, by the time i was working on the jack, a man named lee saw us (me) suffering and came to help. donut on, we went to a tire store down the street, got it plugged and were on our way with only a 2.5 hour delay. good times. good memories.

we made our way through columbia, missouri to kansas city, missouri to council bluffs, iowa (a short detour into omaha, nebraska) and finally to sioux falls, south dakota. what does south dakota look like, you might wonder (but who ever would)? well, there is corn everywhere, along with barns, some trees and a short green plant that we think are potatoes but another source says it might be soybeans. i am skeptical about the beans.

so, what is coming tomorrow?! a long, annoying and uneventful trek across south dakota going due west. to make it more exciting, however, we will make a quick stop at mt. rushmore. then we will keep on truckin' until we get close to yellowstone. but, we will also be stopping at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. yes, it IS a palace made out of corn. i know, you're incredibly jealous. you should be. it's even listed in the book we saw at Barnes & Noble called "1,000 things you must do before you die."

here's a preliminary viewing of the corn palace (which apparently becomes food for the birds from the time it is re-created each year!)

day one

birmingham, alabama...nashville, tennessee...paducah, kentucky...illinois...st. louis, missiouri...and a little further.

highlights of the day:
-rolling hills of kentucky
-looking for "exciting" water towers (pictures to come)
-getting to st. louis and walking around a little bit
-CRAZY MAN WITH A PYTHON ON HIS CAR! (in st. louis, picture definitely to come!)
-getting to a hotel...and sleeping in something other than a car

the night before

highlights of the preliminary day of travel:
-safe plane travel to Birmingham
-reuniting with my friend Jackie
-hearing southern accents in their fullness
-buying iTunes for my own playlist in the car (a treat from Jackie)
-watching "Don't Forget the Lyrics" for the first time
-going to a Super WalMart (brings back old memories)
-listening to my new playlist
-seeing stars!
-going to sleep...

define "adult"

I just realized that I'm 27; I'm in my 'later twenties.' So it makes me wonder: What does being an adult really mean? I feel like 27 crept up on me and that I'm too young to be this age but I couldn't explain why. I read somewhere recently that because of college and other things, adolescence has crept its way into the lives 20-somethings, meaning the uncertainty and turmoil of being a teenager doesn't only apply to those actually in their teens. So, should I feel like an adult? I have a full-time job, which is probably turning into a career without me really knowing it. I have my own little apartment to rent. I cook for myself. I have to clean everything myself. I am 'responsible' for all that stuff, so I guess I am an adult. I just wonder what little 10-year old me might say to 27-year old me. Probably something like, "Really? You like vegetables?"

a new do

I went for my first haircut in NYC this week. A friend recommended a guy in the neighborhood who I am now heartily recommending at Vespa Salon on 7th Avenue (for any Brooklyn peeps). His name is Schlome and as my friend says, "he's worth the price of admission." (I hope he doesn't read this...) He was a riot. I felt like I got a haircut and a show at the same time! This picture doesn't reveal it very well, but Schlome gave me quite the layered-do. In the front, he went shorter because (in a heavy accent that I couldn't pick out) "it is sexy and mysterious and what is most important, is to be sexy."
p.s. sorry but I didn't have time to rotate the picture before uploading it. plus, your neck could probably use the stretch from sitting at the computer.

from the mouth of a 4-year old

This note was written to me by a 4-year old girl who I babysit occasionally. It says, according to her translation, "You are not a stupid idiot...and I love you." Thanks, little girl.

don't go brown if you can help it

Last Wednesday

- Ordered new bathing suits* from J. Crew online

- mood: excited!

Thursday - Sunday

- awaiting next week's delivery

- mood: more excited!

Monday

- out for morning coffee with friend Christy

- check online: missed delivery at 9:32 a.m.

- no UPS notice

- called UPS, they said probably the same time tomorrow

- mood: little annoyed, little less excited

Tuesday

- stayed home all morning even until 2:30 p.m.

- no buzz, no phone call, no notice

- check online: failed delivery attempt at 1:05 p.m.

- mood: significantly more annoyed and significantly less excited about new bathing suits

Wednesday

- stayed home all morning again

- no buzz, no phone call, no notice

- check online: (3rd and final) failed delivery attempt at 9:45 a.m.

- mood: UPS SUCKS!!!

Thursday

-will go pick up package myself

- will speak with manager to see if UPS driver hasn't gone insane

- will try on new bathing suits and hope they remove all memory of this frustrating experience

- mood: skeptical about package actually being there for pick-up

* New bathing suits, thank goodness, are not brown.