the swine flu won

my best friend is brilliant! H1N1 halloween costumes!!! <3dr. turk and JD made sure we didn't spread our sickness around too much~
[i'm like "joel, what are you doing in this picture??" he goes "making sure you're ok". haha]
we planned to be the black eyed peas as a back-up plan. good thing we didn't!!


[the party was super fun. everyone thought we were hilarious. lots of my friends showed up. the weather was SO awesome (no coats necessary!). i've never had such a great halloween~]

this always happens...

...when my co-worker is home sick, i'm bored to tears during lunch time. and i always update my blog. haha.

i was just cleaning up some books off the floor next to our classroom library. one of my favorites caught my eye, so i decided to do another post about children's books. in no particular order, here are few good ones:

1. officer buckle & gloria. an absolutely hilarious story about a police officer and his funny k9 who does tricks to make boring safety seminars more exciting for the kiddos! 2. a chair for my mother. i used to have this book when i was a little girl & i love it just as much now! [p.s. they have a spanish version, too: un sillon para mi mama] 3. click, clack, moo, cows that type. so cute & funny~ 4. miss nelson is missing. ok, i'm obviously biased b/c this book is about ME. it was one of my favs when i was little & we have TWO copies in our class library. i always recommend it to my students. they laugh. and they think i'm clever. and then they don't borrow the dang book.

how embarassing. and fun!

a few weeks ago my [girl]friend invited me to this halloween party. i said i couldn't go... mostly b/c i don't really like halloween [it's a kids' holiday; i can't think creatively about costumes; people get obnoxious on halloween; i'm lazy; all sorts of good reasons to dislike halloween, right?].

and partly b/c i thought i'd have plans with someone else. and i did. that someone else invited me to a halloween party. and i said yes. granted, i whined about not having a costume idea, but i absolutely couldn't say no to him.

about an hour later i realized it was probably the same party. so i checked facebook later that night. and it was. [oops-- how embarassing!] i quickly emailed my friend to explain the situation. she was so very kind & just said she was glad we'd get to see each other. WHEW!

so nowwww melissa and i are planning our hilarious costumes. NOT gonna announce them yet, but pictures will be posted this weekend.

cheers to meg&kyle

two of my very favorite friends got married 10 days ago.

their wedding was phenomenal. the ceremony was so unique & musical. [jim & kyle relived their days as musical roommates!] we partied in a barn [basically my dream come true!]. my college favorites were all there. the food was the best wedding food i've ever tasted. they had a photo booth. we danced for a wicked long time. i got a TON of good hugs [plus one awkward one from kyle, but i truly didn't mind this time!].
i'm soooo dang excited for them to have a new life together. they are such hilarious and loyal friends... i know their marriage will be full of love & fun!

totally out of order!

i blogged about this past weekend BEFORE i had a chance to blog about last weekend. zoiks. my life has seriously become a whirlwind.

basically it can be boiled down to two important facts: 1. out of five saturdays in october, i will only be at home for one. double weddings and a trip to VA wiped out my weekends for the month. seriously. 2. it's an interesting challenge to add another important human being to my schedule & life [which is already incredibly full of human beings!!]

so now-- a few fabulous photos from my weekend in rochester. [i'll add some details about kyle & meg's wedding, aka the most unique and awesome wedding EVER, later.]

life in yorktown

i was just sitting in the backroom. reading my book. "watching" the BC vs. notre dame game on tv. on mute. with my lovely mom, my hilarious grandad, and my darling grandmom.

a few hours ago i helped grandad on his new, special "senior" computer.

a few hours before that i walked through marlbank with my mom.

these little things about life in yorktown make me SO very happy.

top 25 from being 24

soooo monday's my birthday & i'm a tiny bit apprehensive about being a quarter century old...

to pysch myself up, i've created a list of the top 25 lessons and/or experiences from my past year. it's been a big year. lots of changes. lots of growth. lots of adventures. just the way i like a year to be~

1. it's fun to plan an event with a group of people. everyone brings different things to the table.
2. my musical tastes always have room for improvement
3. the chinatown bus to NYC is incredibly cheap & convenient. yet not incredibly comfortable.
4. having a non-crappy car isn't essential to a good social life. but it's a nice confident boost on bad days.
5. road trips are more fun with a passenger
6. rhode island is beautiful!! and my parents live there now!!! [lucky me]
7. i can't really ever have enough time to catch up with my brother...
8. living across the hall from your best friend is an absolute treasure <3
9. it's nice to have family dinner a couple times a week. even if family dinner doesn't include blood relatives.
10. weekend reunions are a special kind of glue when it comes to holding friendships together
11. sometimes it's better to experience an event without photographing it.
12. i could eat mexican food multiple meals in a row and be a happy camper.
13. every once in a while a situation occurs where it's good to NOT have planned ahead
14. all the seasons have their good and bad points. fall is my overall favorite, however.
15. if your co-worker is different, you have to stretch yourself. it helps you to become a better person.
16. 25 things makes for a LONG list. i'm running out of steam here...
17. exercise [for me in the form of biking] does a body and a mind good.
18. i used to wish my life was like the movies. this year i realized it's better than the movies. b/c it's real.
19. chain restaurants are over-rated. but they aren't automatically bad just b/c they're chains.
20. it's fun to let a guy drive
21. the world doesn't revolve around me. and it doesn't fall apart without me.
22. friends who have little kids are good friends to keep around for mental health purposes
23. sometimes i don't get the things i wanted. and then i realize i've gotten something far better
24. 250 text messages per month runs out fast when you add a cool guy to the already long list of texting friends.
25. it's funny how a single phone call can brighten a dull day.