Happy New Year?

Happy New Year? Where did 2011 go?!? It's hard to believe that it was a year ago that I started to talk about my great escape. Last January I started telling people that I was moving out of the state in the summer. I started planting the seed throughout my family and friends so that I would have eventually told too many people to back down. I played a game of chicken with myself and I didn't swerve out of the way.

Thinking back on 2011, it was a big year for me. And I can honestly say when the clock struck midnight on December 31st, 2010, there is no way I could have ever dreamed where I would be just one year later. But when as the countdown got to one on New Years Eve, I was so happy. I felt like I really accomplished something, I felt like I actually moved forward instead of just standing still. I shook up the snow globe of my life and sand settled on the bottom. What a fantastic change of pace!

I'm actually not sure what the point of this post was.... I think it was to reflect on 2011 but I really want to just say how fantastic my New Years Eve was. Around my family and Andrew at the little motel we spent so many holidays when we were growing up. I wanted to freeze that moment and hold onto it, just as it was. But I think 2012 holds a whole new set of adventures, so we celebrate at midnight and we keep moving forward. Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

My Apologies

My apologies to all the bloggers and bloggees (a bloggee is someone who reads blogs... give me a minute and I will add it to Wikipedia). I have been TERRIBLE at blogging over the past month or so... really I haven't been consistent enough overall. I know "they" say you have to keep your audience engaged or you are going to lose them. Maybe I can claim writer's block!!! In reality, it was laziness and the holidays. Well, I am back in action. I have a whole line up of topics... don't get your hopes up or anything, I will be as equally entertaining as before... which I hope is at least semi. So, get ready to READ ON, my happy bloggees ('bloggees', it's gonna catch on!) 

Thoughts on an Airport from an Airplane

Can I just say a couple of things about airports? Some people dread the idea of the whole experience of an airport: lines for security, hours of waiting, giant terminals to navigate, extreme pricing on the most basic of necessities. But I enjoy my adventures to the airport. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I start my day in one place and end it somewhere completely different, but I really look forward to it.

I am not a patient person by any means. Anyone who knows me can vouch to that. But for some reason, I stay completely calm and relaxed at an airport, even waiting in the most ridiculous lines. I in fact enjoy arriving early for my flight, just so I can browse the terminals and read a book at my gate. I find that airport bookstores are so fascinating. I always find at least five books I would buy instantly if I had somewhere to store them for the flight. I guess it is because they only have a small space to work with and it is prime real estate so they have to have the most interesting of books, but I still can’t resist the gander. Speaking of books, I get the best reading done in airports and on airplanes. It is probably because I can’t feel guilty that I am just sitting around reading because, really, what else could I be doing at the time?

And I know most people don’t feel this way, but I really enjoy traveling alone. Don’t get me wrong, I love having right company with me, but traveling alone is some people’s worst nightmare. I find it relaxing. People watching is fantastic at the airport because you get some of the craziest people. I just today saw the worst sweater dress ever made!  You see businessmen and military men, you see families and college kids. And then you see sweater dresses…

But if you are friendly, people are generally friendly back. I am always talking to strangers at the airport. I’ve even met someone at the airport and became pen pals half way around the world! I had a man say to me today at the airport that I was too pretty to carry my own luggage, however, he did not offer to then carry my luggage for me for the remainder of my trip…

But thinking back to the beginning, I think my favorite part of the airport is that you end up somewhere else. I like seeing and experiencing new things that the airport is the best at facilitating that. I suppose it is less enjoyable when I am not really going anywhere.

Visiting “Home”

My first visit “home”… it is hard to put into words. I’m sure everyone who has moved away has experienced it. I’ve mentioned before how quickly the time has flown by and so when I rolled into Lake Zurich, it felt like I hadn’t been away at all. Everything was mostly right where I left it. Everything was as familiar as it had always been. But yet, it felt different. Even when I went away to school, when I came home, it was home. When I walked in the front door of my parents’ house, it all felt slightly off. The cat came around the corner and he looked like a different cat (honestly, he looked like the cat that came and ATE the old cat). My old room had none of my stuff anymore. But the weirdest feeling of all was the fact that it just didn’t feel like “home”. At one point I even said that I couldn’t wait to go home and sleep in my own bed.

Don’t get me wrong; I loved seeing my family and friends. Catching up on old times and goofing off with my siblings, those are things that I really do miss. I hate that I won’t be around when my very first niece is born. I hate that I can’t be home for holidays and get together randomly with the family. But this trip has confirmed for me, without a doubt, that this move was the right thing to do and it was the right time to do it. It was time for an adventure!

My first Turkey Day

Now, before I go any further, this was not Thanksgiving. This was me wanting to try to make a turkey. I was not going to be home for Thanksgiving and I even had to work, so I have decided to sweep Thanksgiving under the rug.


With that being said, I decided I wanted to make a turkey. Making a turkey is a HUGE undertaking and if not planned properly, can be a total disaster!!! I had never even made a whole chicken before, but as I was wandering through Wal-mart doing some grocery shopping, I decided I wanted to give it a shot. I figured it was my only chance at having some homemade turkey. The smallest turkey I could find was a whooping 15 lbs, which meant not only was there was going to be a turkey, but there were going to be guests as well since I surely couldn't eat all 15 lbs by myself.

As I invited people, I was asked "well, aren't you going to be make this and that as well?!?" All of a sudden I was making a feast! It took me three trips to the store and one last minute "wait, we need a meat thermometer to know when it is done?" trip before I had all my supplies for my NOT Thanksgiving meal.

Prepping the turkey was not the most pleasant of experiences. The wrapper of the 'bird' said to take out the gravy pack, neck, and giblets. I found the gravy pack and what I could only assume was the neck, but no giblets to be found. I eventually had to call my mom because I was just plain out of ideas of where to look. A word to anyone who has not prepped a turkey, they shove stuff in both ends!
Once that was straightened out I was off and running! I put the turkey in the oven at about 9:45am and got to prepping all the other things I was now responsible to make. After the experience, I would say that its not the making the turkey that is hard, it is the timing of all the other stuff that you are making. Everything has it's varying times, and you have to account for the fact that you only have one oven in your house. And for the record, craving the turkey is just as nasty as prepping it!

Overall, it was fun. I had about seven people over throughout the day and everyone enjoyed the food. Apparently I am able to cook a turkey. It wasn't what Thanksgiving at home would have been, but it was a fair substitute. I'm just pleased that I didn't botch my first turkey day!!!

Run as fast as you can...

A couple of years ago, Give Kids The World started having an annual 5K run to help fundraise for the village. As soon as I heard about it, I knew I wanted to be involved since it was my first year here and I miss event planning. Plus, supposedly I am a "runner". As soon as I saw that the Gingerbread Run site was launched, I let the proper people know I wanted to help out and I joined the committee.

The whole committee experience is not worth talking about because nothing really exciting happened. I did learn a couple of things and it was worth my time because it was all for a good cause. But I did get acknowledged at the race, so that helped too.

Yesterday was the race. Now, I still stand by the school of thought that running is not fun but this race was a blast!!! What made the whole experience so exciting was the fact that there were SO many familiar faces. Well, first and most impressive was the fact that Heather heard about the race and just bought a plane ticket out here to run. She decided she wanted to visit and what better reason than to come out here and support a great cause. But even beyond her, there were my coworkers, my superiors, and even volunteers who I knew. Throughout the whole course, I had people cheering me on, cheering me through the village that I am so familiar with. It really makes a difference. 

Even the post-race party was a lot of fun. I loved that there were lots of characters there. I had a chance to get a picture with Mayor Clayton and Miss Merry, and even got a picture with the star of the race, Murphy the Gingerbread Man. Best of all, they gave me a gingerbread cookie at the finish line! I know, those aren’t the important things, those aren’t the “take away” from the race. The number one goal of the race was to raise money, and I did my part. But the “Fun”, that is important too. That is what gets people to come back year after year. That is what makes the event grow. And with growth, with more people, there is more money!

Overall, I am glad I was involved. It was really one of my favorite races I have done so far. And, next year I plan on running as fast as I can, I have to catch that Gingerbread Man!!!

We got a kitten!

In Florida, there are a lot of feral cats (that means stray cats... I'm not sure why there are two different names for them). Where there are a lot of feral cats, there are a lot of feral kittens. Now Florida is not really a safe place for kittens. First the extreme heat, then it gets rather cold at night once fall arrives. Kittens can't keep their temperature regulated. And, do I even have to mention the threat of getting eaten by alligators? I don't have any statistics on this, but I am sure that it is a thing.

We saw a cat wandering around at work and that's when I really started to consider the possibilities. Maybe we could get a cat. I floated the idea to my roommate and she didn't say no...

A co-worker found him one of the first crisp mornings we had. He came into a security hut to try to warm up. He had a big abrasion on his right shoulder and he only weighed about 2 lbs. One thing lead to another and now we have a Terror Kitty running around our house. Of course he is super cute... and I'm glad we have him, but I forgot how excited kittens always are and how clingy. He's a curious little thing and now there is an extra mouth to feed.

A kitten is really a long term commitment, but I think I am ok with it. I even find myself feeling slightly guilty when I am not home all day because I know he gets lonely... he is a people cat. But it is what it is now because WE GOT A KITTEN!!!