One More Sleep...

...or one might call it a nap.  I am leaving for the airport in about 5 hours.  Call me crazy but I waited until the last minute to pack.  It might be because of all the Christmas celebrating I did last weekend and the preparing for my sub next week and preparing for a week of teaching the week I return from the trip.  Or maybe it was because I had other things that I felt were more important like spending time with an important person in my life.  Or maybe it was a combination of all of the above.  Whatever the reason, I am now almost packed.  It's tough to pack for 3 weeks when a lot of my time before and after the cruise will be spent in the air.  I'm not complaining one bit, but it's a challenge.  On shorter trips, I've been known to plan out my wardrobe for each day, but there was no way that my mind was able to even think about doing that this time.  The weather was also a challenge that kept me from packing early.  It is supposed to be colder (in my mind) since it is almost winter, but it hasn't been that cold.  So I was wearing most of the clothes that I needed to pack.  Oh well, I'm packed now and all good :)

I'm really excited about the whole experience of setting foot on another continent....actually I'll be setting foot on two other continents.  Besides Australia, I'll be adding Asia too.  We won't be in Asia too long but it'll be enough time to stay overnight.  I'm excited also about spending the time with my mom.  She is a good travel buddy.....we take care of each other.  She lets me do what I want to do and I let her do what she wants to do.  All in all, we are a good team!

I have been somewhat distracted this evening in the midst of packing by the terrible and horrible news from Connecticut.  My heart breaks for those families and friends of the innocent children and teachers who lost their lives and those who were in the midst of the chaos.  It hits way too close to home.  I want my students to be and feel safe in my classroom and not be afraid to come to school.  I want them to know that I will protect them when they walk in the door and that no one will hurt them or do them any wrong at all.  The fact that someone would do something so horrible to sweet children is so disturbing.  Pray for those families....it's going to be a long road ahead of them.  Pray for the children that lost their best friends, their friends that shared their snacks with them, were in their dance class, or on the same soccer team.  Pray for strength, comfort, and healing.  I know the Lord hears us and knows our hearts.  He wants us to trust Him that He's got this.

With all that being said, I'll blog when I can and update as time allows, and I'll be tweeting probably more often so follow me on twitter (@ka204).  So sit back and enjoy the ride!

girls trip to nyc in 2004

Going back to my previous trips that I said I was going to blog about.....one of my favorites.....NYC during the holiday season.  It was wonderful!  Basically the timing was perfect.  We had been talking about going to NYC to see it at Christmastime.  It had been at least 6 years since I had been to NY and I don't think the others had been at all.  An airline was fighting to stay afloat at this time, and had a killer sale on tickets.  We got ROUNDTRIP tickets for like $85 a person.  That was a steal and there was no reason to think on it.  We booked the trip.  It was my first friends trip after college.  We had great luck on the way there.  We were supposed to have a connecting flight somewhere but they needed 4 people to get bumped.  We volunteered and ended up on a non-stop flight and a voucher for another airline ticket to use sometime during the next year.

Four girls in NYC was pretty exciting....they all wanted to shop, we all wanted to see a show on broadway and we did both.  We did the scary back room shopping in China town.  I'm pretty sure we all bought fake Coach purses that we just KNEW they were real, but when you put them right next to a real one you could tell they were fake.  It was all part of the experience though :)  We saw Wicked on Broadway which was incredible!  That was one cold winter for sure.  I wanted to go stand out and wait for The Today Show to start and make a sign to be seen on tv but no one would go with me.  I was ready to layer and layer and bring a blanket from the hotel, but I didn't want to go alone.  Oh well, we had a blast on the trip and I would love for all of us to go back again one day!  Here are some pictures from the trip.

We had just arrived and were waiting for a cab at the airport.  Yes, I am aware that I look ridiculous in the hat!  

This was on our evening cruise.  It was so cold outside!

They ready maps.....I follow unless forced to navigate.  

We had to take a picture with the tree.  

It started snowing so Jenn pulled out her umbrella.  

We took a carriage ride in Central Park.  It was frigid!

I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane!

the day landree claire was born and tornadoes hit north texas

Let me preface this post by saying that it has nothing to do with traveling. It has nothing to do with any sort of upcoming trip of any type. It however is a major life event that I would like to document. So many people have been anticipating this day for quite some time. Landree isn't technically due for another 3 weeks but the doctors wanted her to be induced today. She has been a stinker from day one and we should have all guessed that some sort of major happening would be taking place today because it is Miss Landree's birthday. Today started like any other day. I always check the weather to see if we will get to have outside recess or not. That's a big deal for an elementary teacher (and the students). Believe me...it's tough having a long day without any time to run around and play...I"m talking about the kids, not me. So anyways, I saw that there was some storms in the forecast but I figured they weren't going to be a big deal. I anticipated that they would hit after dismissal or sometime right before afternoon recess. Sure enough I was partially right. Well, those storms started right before recess. We were lining up for recess and I looked out the end hallway door and knew we would be having inside recess. My students said, "I thought we were going outside." They didn't know it was raining because there was no thunder and the blinds were down and have been all day. So they just know the routine is to go watch 15 minutes of some sort of "movie" when we have inside recess. Well I also happened to get a text from a dear friend telling me to make sure that I let her know if I'm ok when all the mess passes. I had also checked Facebook to get an update on Landree to see if she had entered the world. Sure enough I see NBC updating saying that there were confirmed tornados on the ground. I start to freak out a bit but then quickly compose myself because it has to be nothing that will affect me. Well parents started checking their kids out early. I had about 6 leave early so I just brought my kids back to my classroom because the tornado sirens were starting to go off. That's when the announcement was made that we all needed to have our students get to an interior wall in the classroom. We did just that and the kids started questioning "why" just like 5 and 6 year olds do. They were so good. I do have to brag on them. Yes they asked questions like "why are we here?" and "why can't we leave?" Some of them were afraid that no one was going to pick them up. I assured them that someone would pick them up. The art teacher came in our room to and was with us so I had another adult. We were on tornado lockdown for about 45 minutes before they let kids leave. In the meantime, there were parents filling the library and teachers lounge. They did allow parents to come be with their child if they felt it necessary. Thankfully we just had 2 parents join us. All in all I would say that it went as well as it could have gone for a "tornado drill" or what they thought was another drill. They were very very ancy but what can you expect when you request children to be still and silent for 45 minutes. I got word when I got home that Landree had entered the world and she is just as beautiful as we all knew she would be. She is lucky to have such a wonderful family that will love and cherish her with their everything. I can't wait to see what big sister AB says. Of all the days to be born, we should have guessed that it would be the day that multiple tornadoes touched down throughout North Texas. Let's just hope she is far from the tornadoes that took place this afternoon and she is the calm after the storm. I can't wait to take some newborn pictures of that sweet girl!

Here is a picture taken 10 miles from Forney where I few of my friends live and teach.  Scary!!!  I would have completely lost it if I saw this....I don't do storms and I certainly don't do tornadoes!

Colorado Spring Break 2012

During Spring Break, I went to Colorado with one of my good friends, Angie, and we visited one of my good friends from college, Trixie.  We had a blast!  We went snowshoeing and snow tubing.  I still haven't gotten up the courage to attempt snowboarding again or try to learn to ski.  One day though I will.

Our Monday started with an afternoon flight to Denver.  It was perfect because we didn't have to be up super early and we could finish running errands if we needed to, which I needed to because I spent my Sunday sick on the couch (blame it on dirty 5 year olds that have their hands in their mouth all day long even when told to remove them from their mouth because they are spreading germs).  We landed and Trixie was there to get us.  We went home and picked up her husband Ryan and also got a tour of their very cute little house.  I love it!  They have spent some time remodeling and they have done a wonderful job of making it a perfect home for the two of them.  I love that they were so gracious to let us stay there with them even though they have very little space for guests.  They blew up the air mattress and gathered all the extra pillows they could for us :)

That night we went to the Cherry Cricket.  I think that was what it was called.  It was a neat little burger place that I highly recommend.  It was delicious but if you get the fries, one order is enough for at least 2 people.  I had a ton left over.  They did card everyone that went in so I didn't take offense when they asked for my ID.  I know that one day I will be so grateful that I look very young for my age, but now, I wish I looked somewhat close to my age.

Tuesday morning we got up somewhat early....well about 7:30am.  We got ready and got all of our snow gear and headed out.  We first made a stop by a fabulous Denver breakfast hot spot.  It was called Snooze. There are a few in the area.  I had this french toast that was to die for!  It had this gooey maple nutty goodness on top.  It was so good that Angie and I ended up going back on Thursday before our day in Denver.  So after breakfast we headed for the mountains.  Trixie took us to a beautiful location near Copper Mountain called Clinton Gulch.  I don't know if that is the given name for the place or the name they made up but it was beautiful.  The snow was just like I remembered.  We put on our show shoes and headed out.  Snow shoeing is not for the out of shape.  Yes, I am out of shape and yes I managed just fine but it was tough, especially when I fell in the snow and tried to put my hand down to get up and would just sink again.  Or how about when my snowshoe came off and I couldn't stand.  I had a few difficulties.  We kept trekking until we got to a small little hill.  That's where we decided to stop for lunch.  We packed lunches...correction!  Trixie packed our lunches.  She made a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich :)  We sat and enjoyed the beauty that surrounded us.  It was so peaceful!  We eventually headed back down and to the car.  By the time we got back to Trixie's it was time to sit and relax a bit before enjoying some delicious dinner.  I would like to mention that I picked up a new recipe while I was there.  It is a super easy crock pot meal that I have already made once and I foresee making again in the future because it was #1 easy and #2 delicious!  We were wiped out that night.

The next day we were on our own.  Trixie had to work so she had one of her friends come pick us up so we could be at the rental car place at 9am.  We got there and had the choice of a Versa or a Chrysler.  I don't know cars so I didn't care.  We decided that it would be best if Angie drove and I navigated because she doesn't read maps too well.  I'm a map reader by nature so I had no problem figuring our way around especially with the trusty iPhone.  The only problem is I should have remembered to bring my car charger. Anyways, that day we headed off to Keystone.  I have been there before but to snowboard and I have horrible memories from that so I try to forget about them.  We didn't make tubing reservations until we got there because we weren't really sure when we were going to get there but it worked out fine.  We had to wait maybe an hour.  It wasn't a bad wait and it definitely allowed for some fun people watching.  So tubing was a lot of fun!  We had an hour to tube and it was a perfect amount of time.  It actually got hot up there tubing.  You could do single runs or doubles or up to four people but obviously we kept it at 2 people since it was just us.  When we were done there we headed over to Breckenridge.  I'm pretty sure the place was over populated with Texans.  They flock to that place apparently.  It's a cute little town with lots of little shops that I loved.  We were there for maybe an hour or so.  Half of our time we spent in line at a little crepe hut.  The guys had to have been making a killing on their crepes.  The line was forever long and we waited.  They were absolutely wonderful and had us googling crepe places in Denver the next day.  So after our walk around town we were ready for our non-trafficky ride home.  It was a nice drive followed by a quick fast food dinner and a nice quiet rest at home.

The next day was our last day.  We spent the day at Snooze, REI, and 16th Street Mall.....all lovely places. We made our way back to the airport early and got to people watch and such.  We had exit row seats on the way home and thankfully didn't have to step up and do anything.  FYI, if you ever fly with a cold, BEWARE.  Apparently you aren't supposed to.  My ear got extremely stopped up on our descent down and I was in a lot of pain.  It has just recently been relieved of all the pressure and I think my hearing is back to normal.

Overall, the trip was a lot of fun and great practice navigating for Amazing Race one day :)  I even used a copy of a paper map to get us around at one point.  It was perfect practice because I'm pretty sure they don't allow iPhones on Amazing Race!

I can't wait for some more beautiful Colorado time.....and of course fun times with Trixie.  She is one of the best hostesses our there that I know.  Oh and I can't forget her husband Ryan and their dog Nigel!

getting closer

I'm definitely ready for my spring break traveling! After tomorrow, I just have 2 more weeks. It can't get here any faster. The sad part is that it will be over before I know it.

I'm somewhat in denial that I probably won't take a summer vacation this year. I mean it's really tough considering I spent more than 2 weeks in Alaska the last 2 summers. I love that place and would do anything in my power and budget to get back there this summer but I just don't think it is going to happen. Sad! Maybe I'll figure out something equally fun. Alaska is hard to top unless it's Europe and that's certainly not happening this summer.

I guess I'll keep my eyes focused on Colorado right now because like I've said before I absolutely love the beauty of that place. I'll get to see large amounts of snow without me having to make up any days of school and that makes me happy. Even though there will be no moose sightings, I get to see the mountains and good friends. What more could I ask for?

Happy New Year!

2011 was a wonderful year! I got to experience a lot of new places and go back to some old places. I checked off some things from my bucket list and added a few more places to my bucket list....ok well a lot more places. I thought I would do a short recap of the fun places I went and my favorite people that I got to experience these places with.

1. Vegas : I wanted to do something fun for my 30th birthday. I thought about going to Vegas the weekend I turned 30 but I thought it would be more fun to go nor NYE so me and 2 of my besties (and one of their husbands) made our way to Vegas. It wasn't my first Vegas experience but it was my first with friends. One of my dear friends lives in Vegas now so she got to join in the fun. We had a blast ringing in the new year in Vegas.

2. Italy : The planning started back in November 2010. One of my dear friends who also happens to live in Vegas wanted to do something fun for her 30th so Italy it was. We did a lot and made the most of our time.  We had a private tour guide to show us Vatican City, experienced true Italian cuisine, went to Wine School in Siena, saw some beautiful things in Florence, relaxed and hiked in Cinque Terre, saw the incredible Swiss Alps on the way to Zurich, and experienced the high prices in Switzerland.  The trip was definitely a trip of a lifetime!

3. Alaska : What an adventure! As you remember I got to share the experience with my mom. Those are some of the best memories I have with my mom.  I will remember that trip forever.  We saw parts of Alaska that a lot of people never experience.  It was beautiful!  The weather was wonderful compared to what we were hearing about back home.  We saw some neat wildlife including moose, bears, caribou, and a few reindeer :)  I could never list all that we did because they pretty much cram packed in everything into the 10 days we were on the tour.  I will say though that going to Denali was one of my absolute favorite parts of the trip.  It was gorgeous!  I would love to go back and it's definitely on my bucket list!

4. NYC : How could I leave out Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade adventure. One of my besties that was mentioned earlier endured the early morning cold weather to score a front row seat to see the parade. Another experience I will never forget for sure.  We also were among all the black friday shopping in NYC.  I would most certainly go back for this annual event even though we were up early for the parade. 

It was a wonderful year! I'm hoping 2012 is just as good and even better. Here are some goals for my year(I don't make resolutions)

1. Go somewhere that I have never been before.
2. Go somewhere that I have been before.
3. Leave the country for a vacation.
4. Take a trip with a friend or friends.
5.  Take full advantage of airmiles and travel rewards. 
6. Make the most of every opportunity I get to travel.

Hopefully I'll check off a few places from my bucket list.  I guess I need to post said bucket list so you can all hold me accountable. 

Thanks to all of you that encourage me to travel and go with me on all of my adventures.  Thank you for following along with me.....I feel loved! :)  I just want to make the most of life and experience as much as I can. 

Stay tuned for more fun this next year!  I'll see ya when I see ya! Hopefully sonner rather than later :)

NYC Trip in a Nutshell

The trip was wonderful!  It had been at least 7 years or so since I had been to NYC and it felt so good to go back.  Our flight there was fine, no problems, getting to our hotel was fine, no problems and basically there were no problems throughout the whole trip. 

Day 1:  I already blogged about that for the most part down below.  That night we went to see Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.  The show was great as always and we loved it all.  I was so tired throughout the show that I could barely keep my eyes open so when we got back to the hotel that night, I was ready to bed! 

Day 2:  That was our morning that we got up and went on the NYC Water Taxi.  I really wanted to visit the 9/11 Memorial while I was there and this was the only way that we were able to get tickets to see the memorial.  It rained most of the time we were on the taxi that day.  We did get to stop and take pictures with the statue of liberty in the background which was a nice photo stop.  I'm all about photo stops :)

 Then after we made our rounds on the taxi, we ended up going back to the hotel before heading to the balloon inflation before the big parade.  That was really neat to see.  They started it around 3pm and it was supposed to last until 10pm.  There were quite a few people there and it took us extra time to find the place because I wasn't looking at the map very good but we finally found it.  Oh, I forgot to mention that before we went to the balloon inflation, we scoped out a place to watch the parade.  We did some research ahead of time and decided that we needed to try to get close to the beginning of the parade route and we also needed to be near a public restroom.  We located a Starbucks close to the beginning of the parade so that is where we decided we would go the next morning.  After we located our spot and saw the balloons being inflated, we made our way to time square and checked out the scene and took some Times Square pictures.  Of course it started raining again but oh well.  We made the best of the situation.   

Day 3:  The next morning started very early.  We got up at 3am and then left by 4am.  Our plan was to take the subway but for some reason it appeared that it was blocked so we got a taxi.  It took hardly anytime to get there because there weren't many people on the roads.  However, we weren't the first ones there.  We did get a front row spot though (and we should have because we were there by 4:30am).  Once we arrived, we set up camp.  We brought chairs with us from REI that we bought.  We found chairs that were comfortable and that would fit in our carryon luggage.  We were going to be sitting in them for quite a while so we insisted on finding comfiness.  They were quite comfortable.  I'm not sure what time the bulk of the people started getting there.  I do remember though that at 6:30 I left to go to the restroom a block away and it took me almost an hour because there were a ton of people in line.  At lease I was waiting in the warmth instead of in the 30 degree weather.  When I got back, I had to fight my way back to my seat.  I was a little annoyed with people that were in my way and didn't seem to be going anywhere.  I tried to explain to them that my seat was like 10 feet away and people weren't letting me through.  I even tried to be a bold new yorker about it but they weren't budging.  We slowly moved and I found my seat and didn't move until the parade was over.  We watched and waited and finally the parade started.  There were some kids next to us that were in the way quite often.  The boy was probably 10 and I had to be strategic about getting him out of the pictures I took.  The little girl was probably 6 or 7 and sweet and quiet and she loved Hello Kitty.  It was really neat being so close to the action.  It ended close to 11am at our spot and then we left to go back to our hotel to unload all of our stuff.  We ate lunch at a burger place not too far from the hotel and then we went back over to time square.  The weather was much nicer on Thanksgiving than the other days we had been there.  I know at some point we went back to our hotel to rest because we were exhausted and wanted to get out to do some black friday shopping at macy's at midnight.  So, we slept for probably 3 hours and then we were up at 11:30pm to get ready to leave.  When we arrived at Macy's it was crazy!!!  There were so many people but the doors were about to open and we were squished in the doorway and scooted up the escalators.  If you've never been to Macy's on 34th in NYC, it's huge!  There are 9 levels and a basement.  I found some great deals and bought a new suitcase because it was such a great deal, a new coat that I love, and then some fun souvenir stuff. 

Day 4:  Black Friday.  We got back to our hotel around 3:30am and then finally got settled and in bed just in time to have 3 or 4 hours of sleep.  We were up at 8am and ready to leave by 9am and headed to the airport in New Jersey.  It was very easy to get to and there was NO ONE there.  The plane left on time.  I tried to sleep but it just wasn't possibly with the loud kid in the row in front of me.  I could hear him with earplugs in my ears.  Ridiculous!  We made it back 30 minutes earlier than scheduled and then back home just in time to unpack and pass out. 

Overall the trip was great!  People ask if I would go again, and I totally would.  I'd love to see the parade again.  I loved the location of the parade and would sit there again or would even try another location.  We had a good time, walked alot, and ate some good food.  Good food and good friends always make a good trip :)



day 23-27

I missed a few days of my thankfulness posts so I'm making them up today. I know you are also waiting on my trip blog to hear all about NYC. That will have to wait until I don't have to blog on my iPhone. Tomorrow I'll have q normal computer to blog on and pictures to upload so I'll do that tomorrow. Until then I'm thankful for:

day 23: email: it's a great way for me to check on people and keep in touch. Of course I love snail mail but it's not used as much as email.
day 24: pinterest: It brings out the crafty side in me and gives me new ideas of things to cook, make, photograph, etc.
day 25: airplanes: They take me places far from home and allow me to experience parts of the world that I wouldn't have the opportunity to otherwise.
day 26: sunshine and rain equally but not at the same time: I love sunshine but ibalso love the rain when the time is right. They can both make for equally wonderful days but depending on what the plans are for the day.
day 27: football: It keeps me occupied when I'm at home on the weekends. I've probably learned more about football during the last few months than when I had cable.