my Word

Instead of the usual pleasantries of "I was busy" and "wow it's been forever," I am going to jump into what has been rolling around in my noggin as of late.  Thinking about it too much might make the urge to blog go away...

As I lay reading "Eat, Pray, Love" this afternoon, I came across a notion explained ingeniously by Elizabeth Gilbert (the author).  She explains that every city has its own word, a word that if you were to peek into the minds of its citizens, would be on the minds of most.  She lists SEX as Rome's word, POWER as the Vatican's, and SUCCEED as LA's.

Invariably, the conversation shifts from the words of cities to the words of people.  She wonders aloud about her journey and restlessly decides upon SEEK as her word.

Of course, this got me to thinking about my own word.  It couldn't be TEACH anymore, it couldn't be CHILDREN (lordy be, not yet), it couldn't even be SPORT.  My word is:

LEARN.

So much of my life is consumed by a thirst for knowledge.

I want to LEARN how to be a wife.

I want to LEARN how to live out-of-state for the first time.

I want to LEARN how to cook for two.

I want to LEARN what the Holocaust was about, what denotes a republic, and about the background of Jerry Jones (all of my Wikipedia searches from today).

I want to LEARN about my surroundings.

I want to LEARN why soldiers always nod at civilians.

I want to LEARN about educational philosophy and technology.

I want to LEARN about myself as a communicator.

I want to LEARN.

I must LEARN to go forward.

What is your word?

greetings

wow. i have been neglecting my blogging duties. my november resolution is to blog more.

i have been working hard on wedding stuff for the past month. i got my dress, worked out more with the budget, started planning centerpieces, and created & ordered my save-the dates. i hope to start picking out colors soon -- so bridesmaids, when are you free?

here is a teaser from our save-the-dates


chris was in town this weekend and we had a wonderful whirlwind of a time. we visited all sorts of people and had the surprise shindig at shamrock's last night. he is already nearly to NY already. here is our schedule for the next months:

*two weeks: thanksgiving in philly w/ the andersons
*one week after that: army/navy game in philly
*two weeks after that: xmas break/xmas cabin

this is one of the best stretches of our relationship yet, in terms of getting to see each other so much. i can't wait until i get to be with my best friend and love every DAY.

okay. one post down, dozens more to go.
i resolved; therefore, i type.

okracoke

last weekend, chris surprised me by booking our honeymoon.

i gave him full reign over the travel plans and didn't really care where we went...north, south, warm, cold...etc.

we will be spending a week on okracoke island in the outer banks, NC. i am so very excited. i have been to outer banks before, but always stayed in condo-like locales.

this place is a private island with:
*our own private beach
*two story house
*hot tub
*outdoor shower
*private kayak
*hammock (the ONE THING i said i wanted for our honeymoon)
*etc etc etc

i was in steve & barry's when he called with the news. i was immediately brought to tears. it seems like the perfect place with the perfect person. i want to go this week!

upcoming travel

being in a long-distance relationship means one of us is always traveling. we have several trips lined up in the next 8 months...as well as some tentative plans for after the wedding.

sept 22: dinner in frankfort w/ erica
oct 1: BLC dinner in winchester
october 9-12: chris in town for my cousin's wedding
nov 26-30: chris and i in philly for t'giving (at one of the groomsmen's houses)
dec 5-7: army/navy game in philly

feb 7-10: reading recovery conference in columbus (teacher thing)
feb 21: 100th night @ WP
may 23: WP graduation

chris will have 30-60 days of leave after graduation. we will be going on our honeymoon and settling in together. we don't know official dates yet, but we do know this much:

*BOLC II: 6 wks in either ft sill, OK or ft benning, GA
*BOLC III: 11.5 wks in ft lee, VA
*after that, we will get our official post. we can post at many places: 3 posts in germany, 1 in italy, or any major post in the US. (not sure about asia yet)

it's crazy to think about all of this actually happening, since we've been talking about it for so long. i can't wait to be together with chris every day. it will literally be a dream come true.

mini-update

i signed the lease last week and am in the process of moving apartments. it's nice not to have to rush and do it all in one weekend. i'm trying to get the apartment at least a little presentable by this weekend because i might have a few drunkies crashing the place. :)

open invite to anyone: atomic cafe this saturday

today is a great day! chris and i are going to IKEA (aka mecca) to pick up some things for the new apt. then, we are going to the beach waterpark. if you go after 4pm, it's only 10 bucks to get in. and you KNOW this red-headed, pale beauty can take all the precautions she can get.

i took pictures of the new apartment, but i haven't uploaded them yet. can't wait to do a before/after type thing.

today, i am specifically looking for shelving, a sleeper sofa, kitchen storage, and maybe a comfy looking ottoman.

cincy-bound...

hi, my name is...

rapid-fire update:

• good lord, redlegs. PATTERSON hitting leadoff? dusty the douche needs to grow up and remember he's not managing the cubs anymore.


• dunn DOESN'T have a passion for the game. he is the laziest and suckiest player ever. i'd take 18 million griffeys over him anyday. go back to tex-ass and sit on yours you oaf.


• the JJ concert was AMAZING. i didn't much like the venue, but JJ was wonderful. he played many of my favorite songs.


• erica is in meh-he-co with her lover and his fam this week. i am anxious to hear about their adventures (and perhaps a ring?) when she returns this weekend.


• RIP tim russert. your zest and whiteboard brought a sense of home to an otherwise elite political world.


• i love joe torre's brand of managing. PLZ come to cincy!


• we had a wonderful vacation in florida. we went to all the disney parks and recouperated on the other days. it was so fun to relax and brush off the school year.


• we got my dad a new kitten for father's day and she is so freakin cute. she doesn't have a name yet, but she is gray, 8 wks old, and tiny. lily is none too pleased about it. being around the kitten has really made me want to get lilah a playmate. if i find an orange female kitten, it's mine.


• my lease is up on sept 1. i would love to move downtown. anyone know of any great rental properties that are NOT on campus?


• yoga tonight.


• there is this kid on my brother's baseball team. i literally cannot stand him. i know i tend to be crotchety sometimes, but this kid is more than i can stand. he's 16 with a trash dash and a baby on the way. more than his problems in life, i can't stand the way he hangs outside the dugout with his entourage during the game. he couldn't give two shits about his team or teammates. i am kind of a baseball purist and i can't stand it when one person thinks they are bigger than the team (see: clemens, roger). also, he is inconsistent at the plate and on the rubber. he threw his bat last night all the way to the dugout, THEN the coach apologized for getting on him. grow a pair! after all of that, his mom handed him a cigarette on the way to the car. yeah...smoke in front of your baby mama who is carrying your unborn child you POS. i have NO PATIENCE for low-life, low-class people like that in this world. sorry....had to vent that somewhere.


• we are thisclose to signing our contract for our reception site. :)

"i was crazy about you then and now the craziest thing of all..."

OMG today could quite possibly be one of the best days of my life. tonight, i will see jack johnson live. holy crap.

i have loved his music since the release of his first CD. i have fink to thank for introducing me to this marvelous musician.

chris and i will be carpooling with allie and her friend dara to indy. the forecast predicts a 90% chance of rain, but come rain or come shine, i will be cheering my head off.

7 on sunday, vol 3

here's an interesting topic from a few weeks ago

places you'd take a tourist* in your hometown:

1. triangle park -- hands down, favorite place in the world of all time
2. keeneland -- to include tailgating
3. putt-putting @ the ice center. then a snowcone afterwards
4. ale8 factory. winchester is NOT lexington, but this is my mecca
5. richmond rd fazoli's
6. KY theater
7. joe b's

*i am super anti-tourist in lexington. yes, i know they contribute to our economy, but get the hell off the road, quit clogging up target, and yes, no one actually goes 55mph on new circle.

** yes, i know there is some place i'm leaving off, but it's late and i'm sick.

on the road again

greetings from the road! we have internet at our hotel in cleveland. here are a few highlights from our trip so far.

• a glorious lunch at wendy's
• 90s sing-along
• catching the bus by a nose.
• "um...what do i do, then?"
• honey brown at the stadium
• nacho cheese waffle fries
• blind pig -- sing along and free beer
• losing our way back to the bus
• interesting bus ride back through the heart of cleveland at night

today, we are travelling to chicago. we have no game today so we are going to soak in some of the sights. au revoir, friends.

PS: friday night, i'm going to the 80s dance party at the dame. then, keeneland on saturday.

PPS: RIP mr. wildcat

PPPS: dang you, darren horn.

wanted....alive.

i swear, i'm not dead. time has just slipped away from me. chris was in town last week and it was wonderful. finishing up KTIP crap. march madness. PLUS i called the bottom FOUR in antm last week.

i hope to update before monday morning. the bestest and i are taking a baseball roadtrip. i couldn't think of anything else i'd rather be doing.

wknd update

sometimes, i get so discouraged at life and the pursuit. the pursuit of what? oftentimes, it seems i am a lone reed in the world...authenticity revealed, but never appreciated. but then other times, it seems i am one with every tribe and tongue. yes, we can.

as i went through this school week, i reflected on the lives of my students and my heart broke. i have tried to stay emotionally distant from the horrible home hells of most of my students, but this week, it just hit me. i grew up with one of the best upbringings possible. loving family, excellent education, open opportunities, and the chance to literally do anything i wished. interesting that i chose a profession in which i would impact those the most different from me. yes, my students may have nothing, but they have me. and i will fight for them -- they will always be my children. yes, we can.

i have still not processed the transition my life is undergoing. two weekends ago, chris made me the most honored woman of all time. he asked me to be his wife. i was and am still in awe. this man, this honorable, gracious, accomodating, lovely man wanted to have me in his life. us in our lives. forever. on february 16, 2008, we went to the philadelphia museum of art, dinner at the victor cafe, iceskating outdoors, and then for a walk along penn's landing. that moment, the one i had dreamt of since august 2006, had arrived. and i am still in awe. darling, yes, we can.

last weekend, i took a trip in which family was the theme. from the dames to the duricks to the gosselins, family was all around. i was impacted not by words said or things given, but by authenticity. that one word can change a mind, change a mood, change a life. yes, we can.

W.W. part tres

this morning is the official start of women's wknd part three. we will be traveling to the hotbed of american wildness...ft wayne indiana.

we will visit all 103 members of ria's family (jk) AND see jon&kate+8 speak at a random church. a good time will be had by all.

full rundown and pics of engagement weekend should be up mid-week next week.

loving!

wascally wodent

on my way home from g'town last night, i almost hit a raccoon. he was actually kinda cute...like a fat cat. if not for the fact that he had garbage in his mouth, he might've been the perfect playmate for lilah.

goin' to the chapel

it's official. i am engaged! many, many posts to come.

it happened on saturday night in philly.

check facebook for pics of the ring/wknd.

wknd wrapup, et al.

since today was a SNOW day, i figured i would update a bit.

i am so excited to hear that the writer's strike is over, but only because that means my most beloved show is coming back on. here's a hilarious tribute to my favorite cornell grad.



i had a great time in columbus this past weekend--except that it was freezing. enjoyed food and spirits at these fine establishments:

• frog bear & wild boar
• barley's
• starbucks (in the hotel lobby)
• darby's sports bar (yes, it's IN the hotel). things got a little crazy here when allie and i had several brews and put elton john and justin timberlake on the jukebox.

for all you teacherly folk, the reading recovery conference was great...even if you're not at a reading recovery school. i learned so much about guided reading, writer's workshop, and other such wonderful activities. i got to see regie routman, jeffery williams, and katherine paterson speak. all of these are ASTOUNDING educators and actually have applicable ideas for today's classroom. i would recommend this conference to any teacher i know.

this weekend, i will be in philly with my love. i can't divulge where we are staying b/c it is a surprise, but pics and stories are to follow, i'm sure.

stay warm!

all apologies

i realize i have been missing from my blog for quite some time now. it's hard to describe how busy things have been lately, but i will attempt to do so now.

*NY trip: i traveled to west point two weekends ago for the 500th night banquet. i was greeted by chris at LGA. it was the first time i had seen him after his eye surgery and he sure was a sight for (and with) sore eyes. we had a MARVELOUS time just being together. i finally got to meet the anderson's and a grand time was had by all. and yes, i had yuengling while i was there. DEE-VINE.

*school: my fabulous teaching assistant got the flu this week, so that meant i was pretty much alone w/ 23 five year olds all week. not to mention that several of my students were sick, but their parents refused to come get them. apart from that, i am loving my job more every day. i absolutely love where i am, who i'm with, and anticipate what each day will bring.

*KTIP: not so bad...just annoying.

*yoga: i have been going to yoga once a week and THIS week...i halfway accomplished one of the goals i set for myself. i did a headstand!! it was so freaking exhilarating! if anyone ever wants to join me, it's only $2. thursdays from 6-715ish.

*columbus trip: this afternoon, i am leaving for columbus until tuesday. another teacher and i are going to a reading conference (all paid) and it should be a rocking time. i'll have my phone, but no internet access.

*philly trip: chris and i decided to take a random trip to a random city over prez wknd. i will be leaving lex around 5 next friday afternoon and won't be back until monday afternoon. who knows what we'll be getting into, but chris will be SURE to have his camera this time around.

*ft wayne trip?: potential trip to ft wayne, IN the next weekend to see jon&kate+8 and ria's grandmother.

*hofbrauhaus trip?: potential trip to newport for februaryoktoberfest the next weekend.

yes, that's right...i'm travelling for the next four weekends. thank goodness for my parents who are taking care of lilah during my jetsetting.

catch you all mid-week next week.

return of the mims

back from ny.
blogging to follow...busy week, though.
100th day of school, KTIP observation, PD sub day, etc.

had a marvelous time :)

hall's on the river

one night while chris was here, we decided to trek down past athens for a romantic dinner at hall's. he had never been there and i had been dying for some beer cheese.

i had the seafood fettucini and he had crab legs. chris is always an adventurous eater and i am trying to timidly follow suit. i am proud to say i ate crab legs and LOVED them.

i would recommend hall's to anyone looking for a romantic dinner. and if traveling to the country for dinner isn't your style, you can always pick up some of their famous beer cheese at meijer.

NYC trip -- Sunday

Sunday was the big day for travelling around in the city.

We decided to start at the MoMA (museum of modern art). chris and i both love art, so we were hella excited to get to go here. to spare everyone the bland details, it was an AMAZING experience. we got to see everything from matisse and monet to van gogh and warhol to everything inbetween. my favorite part was seeing the george seurat exhibit because he is one of my favorite artists. what a fun time!

us at the MoMA

next, we FINALLY were able to go to the times square toys-r-us -- aka: one bigass toy store.

i went in the barbie house

i met new and interesting friends.

chris bought a huge gummy snake

all was well with the world.

then, we decided to take a ride on the always luxurious staten island ferry. the ferry takes you near the statue of liberty and from manhattan --> staten island and then from staten island ---> manhattan. we met some brilliant people and families...and then headed back to phebe's for some beer.

the bar was rockin' because the game had already started. i would have never expected to see that much orange and black in the middle of the city. but there we were. unfortunately, i didn't have enough room in my suitcase to pack my housh jersey. fortunately, they had yuengling on tap and i got to have my first (and second and third) taste of this glorious beer.

sadly, we had to leave before the game was over because we had to get me to LGA...but we had a wonderful, lovely time together.

NYC trip -- Saturday

on saturday, we bid goodbye to my host and caught the train to the city.

we went to the SONY Wonder Lab. the coolest thing we saw was this projector that showed raindrops falling. as you would move your arm around, the raindrops would change their course to follow your arm. really hard to explain, but totally cool to watch.

next, we went to this AMAZING bar/restaurant in the east village called phebe's. this is not your average bar...but a BENGALS bar in the middle of nyc. i love that they spread who dey throughout the land. we were told to come back on sunday during the game...more to follow on this.

next, we traipsed downtown to ground zero to check on construction progress. there wasn't much to see, but we did get to see the plans for the upcoming freedom tower.

after this, we spent a good while traveling around the Port Authority trying to figure out how to get to the Meadowlands. Luckily, we finally found our way and had some amazing pineapple/chicken pizza for dinner.

i loved having a relaxing day with chris in the city. it was nice to not feel rushed and we still have a perfect subway record :)