Moving Fun

Things have been pretty crazy around here lately. Marcy and I moved to Ballard (a neighborhood in Seattle). We are really excited to be closer to downtown/my work/friends, but the move brought some big changes. Marcy is working full-time with a live-in client, Linden, who has Down's Syndrome. We moved into Linden's house so her parents could travel to Mexico to teach English for the next 8 months. We have free rent, minimal bills, and a great view, but it's definitely an adjustment to have a roommate that requires a lot of extra care. We're almost out of our old place - just have the couch and kitchen table left to move over - and we have until November 30th to get those moved and the cleaning done. However, since I leave Tuesday to go to my parent's cabin for Thanksgiving, that doesn't leave much time... Looks like I know how I'll be spending my weekend.... :) I'll post pictures of our cool new house soon - gotta wait for the rain/wind/more rain storm to let up a bit......

Green and White, Rose and Pearl

....I hope all of my sorority sisters are singing along now :) .... I'm a Kappa Delta Girl!!

I officially stepped in as the Chapter Advisory Board Chairwoman for the Washington State University KD Chapter!! I am SO excited to serve Kappa Delta in this new role!! Pullman, Washington is about 4 hours from Seattle, and I've made the commitment to travel to Pullman once a month to visit the chapter. I know I'll face many challenges, as I know my advisors faced when I was in college, but I'm thrilled to be volunteering for KD!! This chapter is one of the top on the WSU campus and I'm looking forward to going out there soon to meet all the members. Check out their website: http://www.myrso.wsu.edu/kappadelta.aspx.

One More Candle on the Cake

I turned 28 on Sunday, and celebrated with a weekend filled with fun activities.

Thursday night Marcy put together a Happy Hour at Chandler's Crabhouse (can I just say, YUM!). It was great to get together with close friends for some delicious wine and appetizers. I even scored a $50 gift card to go back to Chandler's because it was my birthday. How cool is that?!?!

The last of our group (Melissa, Trish, Brandie, Me, Marcy). Everyone else had to leave early, but we stayed until the lights dimmed signaling the end of happy hour :)


Thanks for a great night, Marcy!!


On Friday, I worked a half day and then enjoyed the rest of the day lounging at home!!

Saturday morning, my weekend of surprises began. Marcy planned the whole weekend and it started with brunch at the 5 Spot Cafe in Queen Anne. I had the black bean omlette, which was awesome! Our next stop was Sonic...I know, probably not a treat to all my Texas friends, but there's only ONE Sonic in Washington, and it's not close to our house. It is on the way to Mt. Rainier, so we had to stop for a brunch dessert. YUM!

The 5 Spot. They change the theme of their restaurant every few weeks to a different region of the world, and this time it was "St. Louis." They had a bunch of memorabilia from St. Louis - reminded me of Grad School.


SONIC!!


We spent the afternoon in Mt. Rainier National Park exploring and enjoying the crisp fall day. We got a few peeks at the great mountain, but not quite the view we had last year (We made this same trek for my birthday last year. Perhaps it will become a tradition!!).

Isn't she gorgeous!! - I know you can't see much of her, but trust me... On a clear day...breath taking!!


Awesome photo-op


Our signature picture


We checked in to Wellspring Resort around 6:00 and enjoyed a nice picnic dinner, wine and Scrabble (LOVE that game!). Our room had a hot tub right outside on the deck under the stars, so we had private access to that all night. It was incredibly relaxing, and I had a great time. Our picnic breakfast was waiting for us in the morning, and we enjoyed leisurely strolling around the property before heading home.

Entrance to the Resort


The resort is very "hands-off" and don't want to disturb you, so this is how they handle check-in. Your key is pinned to a cork board and you just take it from there, park your car, and hike to your cabin. LOVE IT!


The hot tub.


Our cabin.


On our drive back we stopped at the cute little winery, had lunch at a Greek Cafe (yum - Veggie Euros), and stopped for cupcakes at Trophy - delicious!

Isn't this winery cute!



Trophy Cupcakes - AHHH-mazing!


I chose a S'more cupcake - that's marshmallow buttercream frosting on top. The cupcake is chocolate with graham cracker crumbles.... Perfect end to a great birthday


Back at home, opening presents. I got some cute Vera Bradley stuff from my brother. And an iPhone!!!!! from my parents!!


Thanks for all the birthday wishes, treats, and fun!! I had the best birthday!!

Gossip Girl

Does anyone else watch this show? One of my coworkers loaned Season One to me this weekend, and I can't seem to get enough. What is it with the teen drama that draws me in?? I used to watch "Privileged" until they cancelled it...sad day. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has the same obsession as me...

Going to Red River for Turkey Day!!

I am so excited. I procrastinated buying a ticket and last week when I checked, the ticket prices had jumped to over $700 to fly to Colorado Springs for Thanksgiving. Tonight, by chance, I decided to check ticket prices again and I got lucky!! I found a flight for just over $300!! Colorado Springs is about a 4 hour drive from my parent's cabin in Red River, so they'll have to do a lot of driving to come get me, which I know they're not thrilled about. Hopefully the fact that I am coming makes up for it though :)

The typical fall weather (gray and rainy) has set in for the week here in Seattle. I'm actually enjoying it because a nice warm bowl of veggie chili for dinner coupled with old "How I Met Your Mother" episodes makes for a great fall evening!!

Red Raider on the West Coast

I love reading the "Show Us Your Life" posts on Kelly's Korner, and since I love my Red Raiders so very much, I thought I'd participate today. It's not often that I get to celebrate my school spirit up here in Washington, since Red Raider fans are few and far between. I also have to pay homage to my Mizzou Tigers, since I went there for Graduate School. I love a great Mizzou basketball game!! My younger brother and I both went to Tech, and then I worked a year at Tech in the Office of Admissions. I decided after that to go to Mizzou for Grad School, and my brother decided to go there for his Master's, too! So, we got to move to Columbia together, which was so fun!! It was nice to have him close, and it meant that my parents only had to make one trip to visit both of us!

The year after I graduated from undergrad, one of my good friends, Dayme, had her grandma make her a t-shirt skirt, and I fell in love with the idea, so I decided to make my own. Then, when I went to Mizzou, I made one for the Tigers, too. I turned some of my students into Red Raider fans after I taught the "Gun's Up!" and the Fight Song before the big Tech/UT weekend this fall. Even though we didn't win, it's always fun to recruit new fans. Some of them even ask how the Raiders are doing - LOVE IT!!



Here's some of my favorite pictures of the Tech and Mizzou campuses:
Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas:




University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri:

Ear Infection

It's only been a couple of weeks since I posted, but it feels like it's been months. I got a cold a week after I started teaching - everyone in the education world has told me that you will be sicker than you've ever been during your first year of teaching. While this isn't my first year, it's my first year with the same kids every day, so I think that's what makes the difference. And now, to top of the cold, I have an ear infection. The doctor laughed because he says he doesn't see many adults with ear infections. My mom said I used to get them all the time when I was little, so I guess this is nothing new. My manager at Girl Scouts substituted for me today, and if my ear pressure doesn't let up, I think I may ask her to substitute for me again tomorrow. It's only 8:00 here, but my Theraflu Nighttime is starting to kick in, so I'm off to bed. Hope all is well in your corner of the world!! And, hopefully it won't be two weeks before I post again :)