guten tag.

Well, hello there, finally. The past few weeks I have been outofmymind busy. I had the privilege of being sent on a two-week school field trip to Germany (yes, you heard right) but this meant that grades had to be done early, tutoring sessions and appointments had to be crammed in, and final projects had to be prepared and explained before my departure. So, phew. Despite the panic attack that ensued beforehand, and the constant stream of correspondence I had to keep during my time abroad, the trip was exciting and fulfilling, as every new adventure should be.

While we were in Germany, the students and I stayed with host families and I lucked out by having the most wonderful host family one could hope for. Christina and Holger, and their two blond babies, were the most generous, entertaining, gracious hosts you can imagine. I feel truly blessed to have met them and to have been the lucky recipient of their hospitality. Most evenings, despite having spent longs days sitting in conferences or exploring local cities, I stayed up till unholy hours simply because I could not get enough of the conversation.

The field trip was scheduled as part of a global conference that one of our student organizations takes part in every year and, as of this year, I am the lucky supervisor who gets to escort the diligent students overseas. All year we have been working on research tasks to present at this year's conference, and it was such a thrill to watch the students finally show off all their hard work. While we were there on "business," rather than pleasure, and the conferences took up large portions of our trip, we were given day tours of the nearby cities of Hamburg and Münster and also got time to spend with our host families. Though the responsibility of chaperoning eight teenagers across the Atlantic is a serious one, and though I will admit my patience wore thin on more than one occasion, everyone had a great time and all that prep work beforehand was worth it. Summer adventure #1 - accomplished! Now on to #2, finding my baby in the midwest.

the weekend.

phew! I feel as though I blinked and the weekend whirled past... I think as a general rule, whenever I set out to be productive the hours just seem to pick up the pace and pass by before I even have time to think about the things on my to-do list. Another weekend come and gone; I cannot believe that mid-April has already found us. Douglas is busy with his last month of classes: databases, operating systems, and lots of other things I cannot begin to comprehend. I have begun my own programming adventures, however, as I start my web design self-education adventures: a combination of books, online tutorials, and "guess and check" fiddling. I am happy to say that I have actually made quite a bit of progress in the last 48 hours. Aside from our usual work-and-errands weekend routine, Doug and I managed to squeeze in a few beverages, some Ben and Jerry's, and, of course, lots and lots of dreaming.

Now, it is 10:30 and I am in the middle of my regular Sunday night panic attack - when the anxiety begins to set in that tomorrow will come and I, underprepared and without enough sleep as per usual, will have to kiss my sweetheart goodbye until next week. On the plus side, the warmer, sunnier weather seems to be settling in and the school year will slowly start winding down. More time with family and friends, more time out of doors, and more time to put slumbering dreams into action. I can't wait!

easter, birthdays, and dusting off the cobwebs.

Why, hello there... it has been quite a long time now, hasn't it? I am happy to be with you again today. Today is a special day. Along with being a day of celebration, a day of forgiveness and thankfulness and joy for many people around the world, it is also my mother's birthday and the fourth anniversary of my having started this blog. Douglas and I spent this beautiful day doing wonderful things with wonderful people... we started the morning off with a little bit of scrambling (I am a perfectionist, after all) and a few tears (I have to constantly remind myself that perfection is not attainable) but everything worked out, as it always does. Doug and I caught a nice sermon at church and followed it up with a family brunch at the apartment. With my pretty new pink glasses filled with bright, bubbly prosecco, some lovely spring flowers, and my "famous" potato salad, I was in hostess heaven. We followed up the nice visit from my family with an early Easter dinner with our dear friends Danielle and Jason. After a long nap we are still filled to the brim with food and slowly transitioning back into school mode. 

If you have not noticed by the long bouts of silence, this year is crrrrrazzzzyyyy! It is flying by and Douglas and I have so many exciting, overwhelming things in the mix. Weekends filled with classes, school field trips, interviews, frisbee matches, weddings. Oh, hello, life - did you have plans for me?! My tenure year is every bit the overachieving, long-houred, beautiful mess that I expected it to be, and Douglas is busy with internship applications and senior projects. I am happy to have a small break next week and the opportunity to visit two of my favorite girls, Carolina and Kim, in my beloved Boston. I have been filling most of my free time with reading, something that I cannot get enough of right now, so I apologize for the silence. April is expected to be even more swamped, as I start preparing for an upcoming festival that we are planning for one of the clubs I run at school with after-school rehearsals every day of the week. I promise I will try to fill you in during my free moments. So many wonderful things are going on it is hard to breathe!

glimpses.

1. Wishing that this "ball buster" wine was a little cheaper because we HAVE to try it - Doug's surname is Tait, and he is always "b'ing my b's"
2. Loving the soft, red scarf my aunt got me for Christmas!
3. Pretty painted nails and nearly broken toe. Me = klutz
4. Cheesecake. Just because.
5. First draft of a map project I am working on. More to come. I'm excited.
6. New winter staple: target shirt, black leggings, Douglas's hat. Maybe too cozy?
7. Dreaming that life had one of these little buttons... still learning how to let go and give up control on a daily basis.

Sigh. Another February break has come and gone. I am headed back to school tomorrow, and although I will probably perk back up when I am with my students again and slip right back into the ol' routine, for now I am ruing the fact that I have to return to work. Wahhh... complain complain.

In other news, I cannot believe that in a few short days it will be March already. Where does the time go?! Though I am someone who loves all seasons, I have to admit that this year I am very ready for warmer weather to get here. I have been sick more times than I can count and I am ready for some fresh air and time spent out of doors. I definitely had a small case of the winter blues this year. What do you do to keep up the positivity during the cold months?

raising arizona, part ii.

Snow. Can you believe it? And there I was, thinking that I would be trading the frigid Jersey air for a few days in the warm Arizona sun. Is there anyone out there who still does not believe in global warming? My second full day in Arizona was a sharp contrast to the clear day spent in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Freezing rain, enormous snow flakes, cold, wet toes, Christmas music on the radio... not really what I was expecting. Despite the inclement weather, it was still nice to visit with friends, experience the American Southwest, oh yeah, and EAT!

My brief trip to Tucson was filled with delicious treats. Spending time with my beautifully pregnant friend was a great excuse, um I mean opportunity, to stuff my gourd with the irresistible local fare. Authentic Mexican cuisine, my first In-N-Out burger (I personally like Five Guys better), fully loaded Sonora hot dogs... I mean, how could I resist? Here is a quick glimpse at some of the reasons Douglas and I are juicing this weekend:

The remainder of my vacation was spent digesting. We also made a lot of progress in Douglas's hunt for internships and Renée and I attempted to solve her poor little chickens' mystery murder case (we later discovered it was a bobcat attack). All in all, it was a short albeit fun-filled few days and I am so glad I made the trip. Thanks, Tucson, for showing me a good time. I cannot wait for my next adventures... a wedding in Philadelphia, a short trip up to Beantown... who knows what else is in store :)

raising arizona, part i.

I beat myself up quite often for not accomplishing all of things on my various to-do lists. Despite my constant failures, big and small, I am rather good at going places. I love to travel and I have found ways to sneak trips in whenever I am able. In the last seven years I have been to 27 different major cities, both national and international, not including my semiannual trips to New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. This week, I find myself in Tucson, Arizona, visiting my lifelong friend, Renée, before she and her husband, Mark, welcome their first baby. I have been in Arizona for about 36 hours now and I have already bore witness to all four seasons. I have experienced cool spring breezes, hot summer sun, chilly autumn rain, and even some short-lived winter snow. The weather is crazy here!

Yesterday, Renée took me up Mount Lemmon in Coronado National Forest. The temperature dropped about twenty degrees while we drove toward the summit. When we reached a nice lookout point, we stopped for some photos and a bit of sunshine - the views were incredible! My favorite parts were the rock formations and the saguaro, which reminded me of the dancing cacti in one of my family's all-time favorite movies, Disney's "The Three Caballeros." I had never seen either in person, and it made me feel like I was really absorbing a true piece of Arizona.

Today, I am huddled up in The Chocolate Iguana, an independent coffee shop in downtown Tucson. I have been watching the icy rain fall through foggy windows, contemplating my wet, frozen little toes and gulping down hot caffè latte in an attempt to warm up. I am here escaping the rain and struggling to lesson plan before Renée picks me up for some more culinary indulgences (this afternoon I enjoyed delicious tamales and cochinita from The Little Cafe Poca Cosa and I have been scarfing down fresh eggs from Renée and Mark's hens in the morning). No matter how lightly I plan on eating when I go on trips, I cannot help trying local cuisine and always end up eating way too much... juice fast this weekend, Douglas?

I really miss the mountains. Doug and I have been waiting for a bit more free time and some warmer weather; I hope we can hit the trails soon!