Vida

i do think 2010 has been a somewhat rough year for me. with the abrupt end to my time in mexico to job searching for what seemed like forever to just now starting a job. but, through the turmoil i've learned who's really there for me through thick and thin. so here i am...hoping for a better 2011, but i can only hope for as much personal growth because in 2010 i grew A LOT. i made a list for myself of ideas i want to put more effort to implement in my life in 2011 and beyond: *i keep saying i need to clean out my closet, but i'm going to DO it! i have so many unneeded clothes. i need to donate them and open up space and refresh. i could easily count the number of clothing items i had in mexico. now there's no way i could do that. i don't necessarily want to go to the level i was at in mexico, but i do want to clear some out. *sort-of with that i want to eliminate clutter. it just happens so easily a little here a little there and bam. i have a mess.

as it gets cococolder & snow coats the earth it's undeniable the holidays are here so after having a completely different experience for christmas than what i'm used to last year i'm really looking forward to celebrating what i've always known. last year was great and super interesting celebrating the holidays in a very different way. full of posadas, where we would walk the street and then at the fiesta one group would go in and one out and they sing back and forth asking for entrance. and piñatas, i don't want you to picture the nice piñatas from your childhood where it just sits there while you're turned around 3 times nicely. nope, it's not like that. they swing that piñata around after spinning you quickly and of course blindfolded. and singing and rocking baby jesus. and different food. and celebrating the three kings. even a visit from santa clause with kiddos. and a topper. i cannot believe i went to a water park around this time la

i really do like my job...seriously. #1 because it's a job, but for reals. I love jean Fridays. This is silly, but I'm not used to dressing up everyday, considering I've never done it before in my life. I will say as an update from my shopping for work clothes. I did some thrift shopping and did very well if I say so myself. I actually got a pair of Ann Taylor nice pants, with the tag still on saying $98 for $11. I did have to pay $8 to get them hemmed, but I don't think that's bad at all...I guess they might be a little loose too, but I'm not complaining. They're perfect. And my next plan of action is to hit up after christmas sales like whoa. Anyways Fridays if I don't have any programs on the floor I get to wear jeans. Yippee! I love my view. I try to go upstairs to the Cafe as often as possible and I take a seat right by the window so when I look up from my book I see one of the best views of the skyline in the city. I'm definitely bl

ok so it wasn't quite a partay per se. more like a party, but it was good. i was walking up with the other AEs (...remember Assistant Educators-what i am-there's 3 of us) and I was just telling them how we actually are lucky considering lots of places pay big money to have events at the adler. (no one generally looks forward to the holiday party at adler) I got to get to know Elena (another AE) and one of my bosses much better. With a gorgeous city view in the background. i was assigned to small talk duty with one of the volunteers, who Elena knew. She kept saying how she knew she should talk to her, but small talk annoys her. I said I can do small talk and there I went. Another plus. The commute home was SUPER fast! there we go. i didn't win any raffle prizes (but i think i would only enjoy like 1 of them). we did all get cards with pictures of the adler through time on the front. i guess that was nice. AND i found out i can hook up anyone with the full package a

Not sure if i've told you yet, but my least favorite part of work (by far) is the commute. I'm figuring out the best way to get here and home without becoming too frustrated.... It's not a good way to start out my day But i've been thinking about it and thinking of ways to make it better. This morning I incorporated music. I heard from my friend kel about this christmas album on target for free. not sure how long it's there or anything, but it let me add some modern christmas music. which is awesome. i got on a full bus so i stood. but it was a comfortable standing. i wasn't smushed. and i was positioned so i got a lake view the entire ride, which i always appreciate. traffic was awful...to say the least. but i had my own little party going. i had the lake view, i was warm, and i was doin a little dancin. then it was time to transfer. i just missed the bus at transfer point #1 so i decided to get on the el and hope i'd catch it down the road.

isn't it just funny how after a week of below freezing temps 33 degrees can feel like a heat wave. I saw people walking around in hoodies. Now I didn't take it that far, but i didn't wear a hat, scarf, OR gloves! it's nice that some of the snow is finally melting a little bit from when we got hit last weekend. even though i really liked the snowman someone built on my bus route, near my place. and we're supposed to get more tonight into tomorrow, but it's not supposed to be as bad as last weekend. i guess we'll see. i thought it was funny when karen was here we got some snow thursday night and we were on our way to meet up with some of her friends. on the first part of our walk she couldn't stop talking about how pretty it was, but by the end she said i'm just going to look down and you tell me when we get there... conclusion. it's not fun to walk in snow. even for the people who love snow

So here I am at my first real job. I'd like to thank everyone who called to wish me good luck. I told myself I'd call everyone back and let them know how it went after my first day, but I still haven't had the time/energy to do so. Sorry! But I really do appreciate it! So I'm on my lunch break...don't worry I'm not doing this during work time (i honestly don't have time). There are 2 other Assistant Educators who work with me (we each have a different focus) and we're pretty diligent about taking our lunch time for ourselves (well today is my third day and my first day the department took me out and yesterday i didn't have time for lunch so i guess i should say today is my first time and i'm going to be diligent). I will start with the most frustrating parts so i can get it out of the way. The commute. It's awful basically. Getting here can take anywhere from a half hour to an hour. And how would you know. You can't. That's

i just got a membership lakeview athletic club, which is the nicest gym i've ever been a part of. except for the week free kel shared with me to try her gym. that would probably beat it, but there are several parts of my new gym i actually even like more. so here i am super excited about my new gym this week and i couldn't wait to delve right in to the classes....which i did. i mean at first there's always a little hesitation. where do i get my towel? how do these lockers work again? they're actually awesome. you set your lock, lock it, mix those numbers and you don't even need a key! what are these shoes doing outside the yoga room? take your shoes off before you go in. so i started with two classes wednesday. they were good. i was sore thursday so i just did my normal work out. i did two again today. and let me tell you: the second class was awful in a totally awesome way. but i really do mean awful. #1 we had to use free weights...like a lot. do yo

so here we are december 1st, every time i've walked outside for the past 24 hours it's been snowing or flurrying and i got a job! i got one! for reals! job searching takes creativity. i think bryan told me he thinks job searching can be as taxing as actually working at a job, if not more. i think i have to agree. while searching i was stressed and usually i got to the point where i ran out of ideas of where to look. Many times I took a step back, thought creatively and found another outlet....other times i got frustrated and gave up for the day. so you want to hear about the job? i'll tell you the whole story. the last couple weeks have been a WHIRL! so two weeks ago...let's start there. monday round 1 and 2 at highlife adventures tuesday round 1 at the aon building round 3 at highlife adventures thursday highlife offered me the job friday round 1 at adler planetarium monday i went to missouri and had lots of confusion with getting calls where ad

as the weather turns colder i probably won't be riding my bike as much anymore, but i think i will still ride it until there's snow and ice on the ground. i mean once i get going the cold subsides and i usually break a sweat. so in honor of my bike i have some wonderful biking tips for you. and some reasons why i think biking is the best form of transportation in the city. #1 always brake with the back brake first. i learned this one the hard way. i think it was my first and only bike reck (at least the only one i remember). i just got a new bike and was going on a ride with one of my friends. i broke with the front break first and flipped over the top. learned my lesson. back first. although my back break is wearing out so i have to pay attention. #2 try to stay on streets friendly to bikers some streets have bike lanes. find them and remember them. if possible only use them. so when i'm riding i often pray because i'm scared people will hit me when

~Cherokee Indian Proverb so i have 3 interviews set-up for this week...so far. another one is pending. lately i've been trying to catch myself when i'm not focusing on the current moment. and i'm realizing it's definitely going to be essential this week. i need to prepare and focus on one interview at a time (they're all pretty different). and i can't start getting excited and planning the future. as i've learned: an interview doesn't mean i'm getting the job. i think about staying in the moment and enjoying each moment in life a lot so i can stay more positive. i was walking tonight and decided i would call them my sprinkles in life. who doesn't like sprinkles? i mean they don't have much taste and they're so pretty. that's why funfetti cake is so popular. ...and i like colors too. lots of them i started feeling i was dwelling in the past a little with my thoughts. i mean things change, people change, it's all

so i have a little tradition. every sunday (...well usually sunday, sometimes saturday) at mass i take time to reflect on my last week and i pick out one or two things to say thank you for. i guess i picked up on this tradition from isaac where every week he goes to the same statue in church and thanks God for his last week and asks to be blessed with another. so i don't have a favorite statue like him, but i modified it because i liked the tradition. so i always think of something. i won't lie i had a couple weeks where it's hard for me to think of one, which is just ridiculous and i know that. i am very lucky to have A LOT of things and sometimes i don't always recognize it. BUT other weeks i have so many wonderful things popping in my head i have to take a step back and say thanks for everything, but really focus on a couple. last week was one of those weeks where sunday i was like "whoa! where do i start?" karen visited me for the majority o

i decided to make my costume for halloween this year. honestly because i wasn't going to pay $30 or more for a costume. and i couldn't find what i wanted at thrift stores. so i decided to make it. as i started painting my first stripe i realized it was going to take me much longer than i expected. which at first made me groan a little to myself, but then i just let the painting happen and really enjoyed it. i got to thinking about art and art fairs and how i love when i just set some time aside to do some form of art. it's so expressive. ...even if you're just doing stripes so i LOVE art fairs...especially when they're free. this year i only went to 2 and i found an artist i'm really liking right now. Jen Rosenthal . I went to Clayton's Art Fair in St. Louis and the Pilsen Art Fair in Chicago. While I was walking with Sarah & Bryan I discovered my new artist (new to me). This piece really drew me in. So true. I don't even t

the day started out with a beautiful sunrise. as i readjust back to waking up bright and early, since i'm working i'm running as the sun rises over the lake. it's so beautiful. the last few days have been overcast so you couldn't see it for all it's beauty, but today i could. it was terrific. one of my friends is with teach for america and she's placed at a preschool in Pilsen so i was going to help out today and be the "celebrity reader." so i made my way to pilsen. One of the first fabulous things that happened was the first train to come up was the pink line! just what i needed. Pilsen is a mexican neighborhood and i just loved it. i loved getting off the el and looking at all the colorful paintings at the el stop and actually understanding a lot of them. I loved walking around and most of the signs were in spanish. I was so wrapped up in it i had a bit of a problem finding the preschool, but i did. even if cinthya did come to the do

think i found a place i'd like to volunteer once a week met a new friend i can practice my spanish with have my second round interview tomorrow maybe things are coming together

i LOVE summer. i love the hot stickiness. i love the summer clothes. i love summer activities. i love sitting outside. i just love it. but i also love fall and with fall now arriving i'm excited for the falling leaves, the fall smells and can't wait especially because i feel like i kind-of missed it last year. so i decided to do a little recap of my summer (since i've been ummm.... not blogging) had a great summer with part of it unlike any summ er i've ever experienced (chilly and rainy) and the other part normal (super-humid) what did i do this summer? * boating-my aunt and uncle took Karen and I and one of our cousins out on the boat one saturday. i hadn't been boating in like 3 years and it was great! and i'd like to think i was a better tuber this time around * visited Acapulco -i loved this city and this trip * visited Oaxaca-i enjoyed oaxaca a lot too and it gav e me a chance to catch-up with one of my friends from a service trip i took