Baja, Mexico

Jake and I will be taking a mission trip to Baja, Mexico for our Christmas break from Dec. 27th - Jan. 4th.

If you think of it, say a prayer for us. We will be leading a team of 20+ teenagers while we build houses and teach Vacation Bible School to the local kids there. 

This is some of what we will be seeing:

If you'd like more information about this trip, you can go here.

Boy Scouts

I joined the brave and the few back in August:

I am a female Boy Scout (BS). Yes I have a uniform. Yes I know the Scout sign. I know... it's hilarious. But I enjoy it. A typical day with BS includes teaching boys and girls different games, sports, etc. My position is different than the typical BS leader; I work with inner-city, low-income schools and do programming for them. Every day is a new challenge and adventure. 

Yesterday was a great day with BS. It was a day that reminded me that even thought this is a part-time, temporary job while I'm in grad school, I love it. I was at a school and was talking with a 3rd grade girl who didn't know who to give her Christmas card that she was making to. I suggested her parents, but she said she didn't have any. I suggested a brother or sister and she said her brother was in jail. I just wanted to give her a hug and take her to a warm, loving home where someone would brush her hair and tell her she's lovely. I'm so thankful to get a few hours every day with this girl and others like her who need some extra love and hope for a better world. 

I'm also so thankful because the Boy Scouts have a Christian heritage and I am allowed to mention God, Christmas, etc. in these schools that ban teachers from the freedom to teach any Christian-minded programs. 

Lastly, I am thankful because I am a now officially famous because of the BS's. I called into a local radio station (Alice) yesterday that was featuring calls from people in opposite-gender dominated fields. As a female Boy Scout, I won them over and ended up getting a VIP package to a downtown hotel and the art museum! 

I guess all the comment like "You're a BOY Scout?!? But you're a GIRL" have finally paid off. 

Cheers to my future! :)

An early Christmas gift...

The Great White North

While we were in Cleveland, we made a trip up to Canada for the weekend. We stopped in Toronto for a night and headed back on Saturday. We didn't take many pictures because we were too busy being disappointed by everything. Seriously. The hotel we stayed at in downtown Toronto was a "4-star", but had duct-tape holding up appliances and had random holes cut in the walls. We did not eat one good meal. And it was frigid. Eye-watering frigid. A lot of bad combinations that equaled me not wanting to ever go back to East-Coast Canada.

So, here we are mustering what we could out of the Great White North:

The skyline leaving Buffalo, NY and entering Canada. Niagra Falls is on the left and you can see the vapor from the falls if you look closely.

On our drive up we stopped at Tim Hortons, which is famous up there. You can't tell but Jake's smile is actually him gagging on the playdough-tasting doughnut. Seriously gross.

Driving into Toronto!

The fourth and last picture of the trip was of something maple. It was mediocre but I felt I had to capture my attempt at Canadian food.

Tips to survive Toronto:

1. Avoid Tim Hortons unless you like food that tastes like play-dough.

2. Do not eat at the first restaurant you find outside your hotel, even if it is moderately priced and has people inside. 

3. Just because there are a lot of Chinese people in the area does not mean the Chinese food is good or edible. 

4. Be prepared to be ripped off. The hotel we stayed at charges $27 parking for hotel guests. So if you book a good deal on priceline, it turns out to be way less of a good deal when you factor in ridiculous parking.

5. Don't drive downtown while being tired and hungry. You may end up feeling grumpy.

6. Drive very slow any time your exit may be coming up on the highway. The exit marks are sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right, and sometimes non-existent. 

7. Don't expect any technology past 1982. If a 4-star hotel has a TV that is older than me, I can't imagine what a 2-star hotel has. 

8. Prepare to be extremely disappointed. Maybe if you go, you will end up loving the city. I hope that happens to you. But just in case, set your expectations low. Like, Detroit low. 

Thanksgiving Chorus

Part of the fun of getting married is getting a whole new family with quirks to know and love. My new family, the Jones', largely live in Cleveland, OH. So... off we went to Ohio for Thanksgiving for another year of festivities.

A huge surprise I had last year was the fact that Jake's family sings a family prayer over dinner instead of speaking it. I was also surprised that they like to sing hymns after dinner including the Hallelujah Chorus. Not many families can pull of a four-part harmony acapella hymn, but the Jones' are a rare breed. This year, I came expecting the treat and will now share it for your enjoyment:

I love that Jake set the video up to capture the family in secret. I also love that the video captures his uncle tripping right in front of the camera. I also may or may not have had an extremely difficult time keeping a straight face during the singing. I have a long way to go to catch up to some of the more seasoned singers.

And I hope that you made it to the end of the video. If not, go back and watch the very last part, because it is the best. "1, 2.."

Passive-Aggressive Smiley Faces

I have a complaint against smiley faces. Not the ones that my mom puts in my birthday cards or the huge ones at Wal-Mart. No, these are the ones that are masters of disguise. They masquerade as a pleasant end to a sentence, but really they are caustic, mixing symbols of kindness and intentions of meanness together in a great passive-aggressive cluster of annoyance.

Here are some of my recent real-life examples:

Me: Assignment X is unclear in the syllabus because of .... Could you explain it a bit more to me?
Professor #1: Please refer to your syllabus. :)
Meaning: I did not take the time to fully read your question, so I don't understand that you already went through the syllabus and still have a question. I will pretend to answer your question without giving you an answer,  put a nice little smiley face on the end of my statement to add an air of lightheartedness, showing that I am a kind, nice person, and in the end, make you have to re-ask the question because I did not answer it the first time. :)

Me: The class I was hoping to enroll in for the next term has been cancelled. Do you have any recommendations for taking this course?
Professor #2: Please enroll in GIS.
Me: I am unfamiliar with GIS. Could you provide me more information, please?
Professor #2: Please enroll in GIS: Graduate Independent Study. :)
Meaning: I am incredibly busy and do not have time to fully explain the acronyms we use at this school. It is unfortunate that you do not understand, but I will go ahead and make you feel out of the loop while I stoop to explain the simplistic acronyms you should already know. But of course, I'm happy to help. :)

Other examples could include the following:

- Looks like you get to work every major holiday this next year. :)
- Next time, remember to not use peanuts. I'm still allergic. :)
- I'm actually not your biological mother. :)
- You look just like Cher. :)

I did just find out it's reason #59 to be socially responsible in punching someone in the face, so I feel justified.

And here's the perfect comic from toothpastefordinner.com:

Birthday Voyage to D.C.

Last week, I was in D.C. visiting my bff Gina for a fall-festive birthday weekend.

The good news: This was my first time experiencing an east coast fall and it was GORGEOUS!

The bad news: My camera was broken. Gina's camera was broken. We found a disposable camera, which mostly worked (reminds me of this: Erin from the Office).

Here's some of the disposable camera highlights:

The most delicious apples in the world. MMM.

Gina might be picking apples or needing to go to the bathroom. I'm not sure... (I'm not a good photography poser). :\

Typical.

The dog's title read: "I live at the bottom of the mountain and take myself on a hike everyday. I can take myself back home." It was the cutest dog ever, and I don't really like dogs...

Gina scrambling down the trail.

The rock scrambles were the best part.

 A nice view approaching the top of Old Rag Mountain.

The east coast in the fall is just as gorgeous as everyone says it is. So picturesque.

BFF's.

Too bad it wasn't all play and no work; we had to shoot some modeling pictures while we were out.

I think this might be the next cover of Outdoorswoman. Don't tell anyone...we're still waiting to hear back from Gina's agent.

Alexandria, VA on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

I love Karissa and my new friend Christy.

Thanks, Gina, for the awesome birthday trip!!! :)

Albuquerque Balloon Festival

For my birthday present from Jake, I asked to him to take me down to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival in lieu of gifts. I've wanted to go for a long time and the timing finally worked out this year. Little did I know the extent of a gift my request would turn out to be! :)

Jake's work landlord, Dennis (a quirky, older gentleman), is an avid balloonist. Jake mentioned to Dennis that we would be headed down to the festival, curious if he had any insiders tips for us. Instead of offering tips, he was able to connect us with one of his good friends who would actually be flying in the festival! We were connected with Dennis' friend, helped him crew the balloon and then got a ride in the festival! It was awesome way more thank I could have asked for. What a great birthday present, Jake! :)

Early, EARLY morning start, but well worth it. 

How was I so excited so early in the morning?!?

Jake took about 15 pictures of me doing really weird poses. A little balloon action is apparently thrilling. :)

Over 600 balloons were at the festival. Such a cool sight.

Once the sun came up, we finally started to thaw.

My favorite balloon was the owl. So cute.

Our view from above. The field was about the length of 6 football fields. It was huge!

Up in the air! So fun!

Last Day of September = Life Updates

So here are the few new things going on in my life:

• Jake and I submitted our applications to the Peace Corps! Not sure how this process will go and if we'll even get accepted, but we're moving forward with the idea. :)

• My best friend is deploying to Afghanistan in December. AH! I'm going out to visit her for my birthday here in a few weeks. 

• Jake is taking me to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival for my birthday gift. We're going down the weekend before my birthday and are currently pulling every string we can to try to get a flight on a balloon. I'm not holding my breath, but I'm pretty excited!

• Lastly, I will say that my wedding profile has been featured in two blogs! I'm actually already sick up putting wedding stuff up on this blog, so this really will be the last mention of it. Here are the links:
• http://www.coloradoweddingsblog.com/coloradoweddings/2010/09/evergreen-wedding.html
• http://offbeatbride.com/2010/09/colorado-rainy-barn-wedding

And, back to school...

ruckusruckusweddingblahblah...

I'm trying to get organized with the wedding pictures. Today I finally uploaded all the pictures to my computer, so I'll share a few of my favorites. I'm mostly excited to share the more awkward/hilarious pictures next. Stay tuned...

6/13/10

My mom was so excited. :)

Pre-ceremony "knucks" with my dad. Hilarious.

Rainy day = cool umbrellas

Waiting on the switchback for the ceremony to begin while my dad kept watch.

The first look

Bridal Party

Mr. and Mrs. Jones

It's official!

Carefree...

The barn.

I think we were talking about how overwhelmed we were...

Beautiful barn!

Jake can throw it down on the dance floor. So fun!

Goodbye wedding!

Sucker Punching the Blog World.

I am joining the blogging world again.

I fought off the temptation plenty of times and it has finally worn me down. I tried to rationalize myself out of the idea: I don't have any kids, so it's not like friends and family need to see updates and pictures of the little guys. I live in close proximity with the people I love, so it's not like I can't just meet up with them within a few hours notice.

My life is just really not that exciting. But, I will squeeze all the excitement out of mundanity that I can! I am back, sans-facebook, with hopes of becoming the next Hyperboleandahalf.com or something awesome with saterical updates on a normal life.

Cheers to the blogging world (insert my rice milk hot chai that I'm toasting)!