Happy 2015

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone brought in 2015 with love and positive energy.  It has been such a long time since I have posted anything to this blog, and I quite miss it.  So...one of my resolutions is to try to do a better job this year.  I don't know or think many people follow this blog, but I enjoy getting my thoughts and words out there, as well as simply documenting great memories.  Some things have changed since my last post.  They include:

-  Moving to a new apartment
-  Getting a new job at a different university
-  Getting a promotion at said job within one year!
-  Making some awesome new friends!
-  Kiwi (my dear Pacific Parrotlet friend) passed away :(
-  I took various trips to wonderful places I have always wanted to visit, including:  the Grand Canyon; Las Vegas; Austin and San Antonio, Texas;  Charleston.  They were all as wonderful as I imagined, and I will probably post something separate on some of these experiences.

I wish everyone a wonderful 2015!  I look forward to more positive things and want to challenge myself to become more open to new possibilities!

Alternative Break Program - Where to next?

Within the past few months, I have been able to serve as an advisor for two separate Alternative Break Program trips.  These trips are basically a week where students provide service to the community, usually in another city or state (or even country).  I just returned from an alternative spring break trip to New Orleans.  Oh, New Orleans!  How I knew I needed to visit you again!  This city just makes me so happy.  Before I talk about NOLA, let me back up and talk about the trip that started it all:  Mississippi.

In December, just about two weeks before Christmas, I drove a group of students to Pontotoc, Mississippi.  We were supposed to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, but the home we were supposed to work in was infested by bugs so we weren't able to help out with it until the second to least day of our trip.  What we ended up doing instead was working with a nonprofit organization called "Ashley's Angels."  This group helps to provide food and Christmas gifts for needy families in the community.  They raise thousands of dollars each year, and buy a bunch of gifts for the children in the families.  Some of our volunteers had the fun opportunity to go and shop for the kids (Wal-Mart was the closest major store to us and I think we pretty much bought everything they had!).  After getting all the gifts together, we put them in large trash bags and started to pull, stack, and organize them all into a large warehouse room.  It seemed like the bags would be never-ending, which was awesome!  It was an emotional day when the families came to pick up their gifts.  They were so thankful, and I feel so blessed to have been part of such an amazing experience.

Some fun things we did while on our trip:
-  Visit an Amish Farm in Pontotoc
-  Enjoy some time at the local Piggly Wiggly supermarket.  We all were so excited (okay, really just me) to visit.  The manager was so nice that he came out and gave us a bunch of free Piggly Wiggly promotional items :)
-  Attended a Christmas concert with one of our hosts at a local church - it was beautiful
-  Visited Memphis on our day off:  We saw the Mississippi River, Beale Street, ate at Central BBQ, visited the Martin Luther King Jr. site and motel
-  Stopped by Tupelo to visit the birthplace of Elvis Presley

So, now on to New Orleans.  I took nine young ladies to New Orleans, and we kicked some major booty.  We stayed with an organization named "His Hands 2 Go."  During our first two days, we volunteered our time with a community garden.  It was hard work in the hot sun, but we definitely accomplished our goal, which was moving an entire garden bed that was originally in the shade into the sunlight.  We learned that while New Orleans is a city known for its cuisine and restaurants, the city itself is considered a "food desert."  This basically means that not all communities in the area have equal access to grocery stores and fresh foods.  The community garden we were helping out with would help grow and provide fresh vegetables to the community.  If you want to learn more about this garden, please visit their blog at www.gardenonmarais.blogspot.com.

We also helped an older gentleman with his home.  We completely painted the inside of his home, as well as the front facade and gates of his home.  The home was affected by Hurricane Katrina.  What His Hands 2 Go does is provide volunteers that can help with labor.  The homeowners they assist provide all of their own supplies, but they may not be able to afford to pay for labor, or they may not be able to complete the project themselves due to age or disability.  It was an honor helping Mr. Franklin with his home.  He was the sweetest, most gentle soul and I think all of us were incredibly sad to say goodbye.  It is my hope that he will be able to move into his home soon - this is his New Orleans home and it's crazy to think that he's still waiting to get back into it after seven years!

We were very well-fed.  We ate up ten pounds of crawfish real quick!  The church also served us red beans and rice, and jambalaya.  Yuuuummmmyyyy!!  

Fun things we did in New Orleans:
-  Ate beignets at Cafe Du Monde
-  Walked through the French Market and French quarter for some shopping
-  Visited Steamboat Willie's on Bourbon Street.  We also got thrown beads and feather boas on Bourbon Street!
-  Took the trolley through the Garden District
-  Walked to a place called "The End of the World" by the levees
-  Visited the Katrina and Mardi Gras museum
-  Took the ferry ride across the Mississippi
-  Ate sno-balls!

All of the students I met on these trips were wonderful.  I feel so blessed to have been able to participate as a faculty advisor.  I know that these wonderful individuals will go on to complete awesome things in the future.  I miss them all already!  On a side note, I think I have become quite the professional van driver!

Random picture update

It's raining....so I've been trying to organize photos, clean, and do other things.  I figured I would post some random pics on here since I've noticed that I haven't done a very good of updating this blog.

Cherry blossom painting!

I went to a painting class at Creative Canvas and Wine in Altamonte Springs.  Voila!  Our painting was  of cherry blossoms.  It was a fun time!  Makes me want to open my own business.

Fiona graduating from puppy class. 

Fiona graduated from her PetSmart puppy training class.  She was awesome, and even scored some extra points for busting out her first trick - "Paw," aka a handshake.

This was Fiona's classmate, Thor.  Super cute and high energy.  Fiona and Thor...

Rose gardens at Leu Gardens, Orlando.

How I have never visited Leu Gardens in Orlando is beyond me.  I could have stayed in the rose garden for the whole afternoon.  It was beautiful, just wonderlandishly beautiful!

Peter Pan mural I helped with for Mandy's nursery.

Mandy is having a baby - baby boy Ethan to be exact!  I drove down to Boca and started to sketch out some Peter Pan characters.  Simon ended up tracing them on to the wall and painting them gray so that they appear to be shadows.  Simon used his architectural skills to draw the building and the London scene.  It's all so perfect!

So there you go, I hope you enjoyed some random snap shots!  Now, back to organizing...

Seven Days in the City

Oh summer, you tricky little thing you.  You get me all excited for vacation and then whoosh - vacation is done and it's back to work.  I recently took a week off from work and headed to one of my favorite places - New York City.  It was fun, but since NYC is so gogogogo, I really feel like I just need to go and fall asleep on a nice sandy beach somewhere to just relax.

I ended up visiting and staying with my cousins.  I was able to go and visit a few NYC sites that I still had always wanted to see, so they let me loose on the city and man, did I walk!  Seriously though, I walked from like 57th street all the way up to 72nd, walked across Central Park, then up to the Guggenheim, then BACK across Central Park and all the way down to 14th St.  All by choice though!

So why did I choose to walk so much?  Well, Central Park is one of my favorite places and I really wanted to visit Strawberry Fields this time.  It's just a part of the park where the "Imagine" (can't find the right word here....sidewalk? symbol?) is located.  And Central Park is so huge that I feel that I uncover new areas every time that I visit.  I saw the Bethesda Fountain this time too.  It was a gorgeous day.  I wish I had a bike to ride!

After walking through the Guggenheim, I walked back over to the west side and visited the Museum of Natural History.  I DID NOT realize how huge this place was.  If I did, I probably wouldn't have gone in because I was so overwhelmed.  I hit up the dinosaurs and then peaced out basically.

Inside the Guggenheim

One of my favorite parts was just going down to the World Trade Center site.  I unfortunately did not get a chance to go inside and view the museum and fountains because I didn't have a ticket.  You have to reserve your tickets online in advance and I tried, but of course all of the tickets were gone ONLY for the week that I was there - so very disappointing.  But I saw the new tower and the visitor center, which was quite emotional.  I look forward to seeing it all completed in the future.

New tower at Ground Zero

During my time in New York, I also visited the Bronx Zoo, went shopping (a little bit), and went to the Puerto Rican festival (talk about feeling claustrophobic on a subway and then even more so trying to get out at 116th street!).  Oh, and I got an ice cream cone from Mr. Softee!!!!!  Hehehehe, this made me so happy.  Mr. Softee drove through my neighborhood in CT all the time.  Yes, vanilla soft serve on a cone with rainbow sprinkles please!!! YUMMY!

One of my favorite parts of visiting though was meeting an animal control officer - Mr. ASPCA as I like to call him.  He's this big, tough-looking dude.  But this guy is so full of life, with a laugh that will shake a room.  He had two dogs that were so incredibly sweet.  He saved both of them.  And he sees some crazy things all across the city - from wildlife to horrible, disgusting cruelty to animals.  When I asked him how he could do his job everyday, he said that he just focuses on the animals.  Not the horrible people...just the animals.  As he put it, "People think I rescue the animals.  But the animals rescue me."  Tears welling up....sigh.  A wonderful person - so glad I met him.

Until next time NYC!

Craft Completed!

I finally completed a craft that I really, REALLY wanted to do: a book page wreath.  I guess I liked it so much because it appeals to my inner nerd and bookworm.  The only problem I had was deciding what book to basically rip to shreds.  That is a painful request for a book lover.  So...I essentially just ended up using an old basic dictionary, nothing huge.  So the bonus is I can increase my vocabulary by just looking at my wreath whenever I want, hehe.  So here's the final product:

So proud of my book page wreath!

It took forever

Lots of glue gun sticks, book pages and burnt fingers later, I have a ruffly, nesty-looking book page wreath on one of my doors.  

Meet Fiona!

I guess if you write a blog, your wish will come true the next day!  I am excited to introduce you to Fiona - Princess Fiona I should say.

I adopted Fiona yesterday at the Fire Station across the street.  Seminole County Animal Services was hosting an adoption event titled, "Furry Friends and Firefighters."  Did the dogs lure me?  Of course, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't also looking forward to maybe adopting a firefighter as well.  Unfortunately, all of the firefighters were inside and never really came out.  But it was probably for the best since I may not have given this little lovely pup much attention.

As I was crossing the street, I first made eye contact with Fiona and knew I was in trouble.  She has these big ears that stick straight up and she was looking right at me.  As I got closer to check her out, I noticed that it almost looked like she had been recently shaved.  The adoption volunteer said she had a non-contagious skin condition that was induced by stress and trauma.  This poor girl is a nine-month old stray and all I can think about is what her life was like before :(  After finding a permanent home and maintaining a grain-free, fish-based diet, her fur should grow in thicker.  But honestly, I love her just the way she is. Anyways, after taking her out and spending some time with her, I was sold.  This dog just couldn't stop giving doggie kisses, and she also put both of her paws on my shoulder as if she was giving me a doggie hug!

She's a tiny bit nervous and skittish, but oh so sweet!  She was freaked out by the stairs but now she walks up and down them like a pro.  She loves her crate, even though she did have two accidents already inside the apartment.  BUT I will give her the benefit of the doubt since it was a stressful day for her yesterday.

So funny thing is that she was living with a foster family prior to me adopting her.  As I was filling out the adoption application, the woman from the agency said that her foster mom had my same last name!  My last name is not super common so I just thought that was awesome.  She was meant to be a part of my family!  Originally her name was Scrappy, but I just didn't like it.  A volunteer said she should have a princess name and then I just blurted out Fiona, as in Princess Fiona from Shrek.  It seems fitting.  So welcome home, Fiona!  You found a forever home, yay!  And I've got a dog back in my life!

Doggie Withdrawals

I love having my own apartment.  It's almost where I want it to be.  The bedroom is still kind of....ehhh.  Definitely need to shop for drapes, which I have learned that I hate.  Everything is going well.  I just really miss my doggies, which are at home with my family.  I debated bringing Jerry with me, especially since I thought he would be happier without Tommy always bothering him.  BUT, I actually think that Jerry would miss him and I know for sure that Tommy would be devastated by not having someone to pull by the ears.  So here I am, dogless for the first time in a long time.  I'm not really sure what to do with myself.

Part of me thinks it's good to live without a dog for awhile, especially as I adjust to having my own place again.  I don't want the dog to start peeing on the carpet, etc. But I can't help it.  I need a furry friend with me here.  I've been looking for a dog to possibly adopt, but doing most of my looking online.  It's sooo difficult!!  I want to take them all home!  I just really need to think about what dog would be a good fit for my lifestyle.  I would love to have a small to medium sized dog that's pretty calm and definitely house-trained.  Another Shih Tzu, Cocker Spaniel, a shelter-mix special??  Ugh, this is painful, difficult, impossible....

Stay tuned.  Maybe I'll introduce you to a new friend soon!