wyoming

state 34! woooo wyoming!

So before I write about my absolutely amazing time camping in Rocky Mountain National Park I’m going to talk about Wyoming. Yes, Wyoming. So I knew I was going kinda North in Colorado to go the National Park but it wasn’t until I saw a local map that I realized how close I was to the Colorado-Wyoming border that it was totally possible. So Tuesday night I looked up how long it would take to get to Cheyenne from the NP and then back to the airport  to return my car and catch my flight and decided my Wednesday adventure was going to Wyoming instead of Mt. Evans. 

got this sign too! wooo!

I was up at 6:30 to pack my tent and try to wrangle everything into my bags (I need to take a picture of all my camping & conference things in their 2 bags) and on the road by 7:30. I stopped once I was in town where I got a phone signal to just check the roads (I was going close to where the really bad fires are in CO and connect for a few minutes with the outside world) and then I was off! Driving on the twisty roads out of the Estes Park area and I was shocked at how smoky the skies were from the fires. I was pretty close driving on 34 by Loveland and the smell of fire was in the air. I’ve never seen anything like it. The destruction from the fires is just massive and the fire is still going strong. Driving through Northern Colorado on I25 was so interesting – the mountains to one side and just flat prairie with cattle. I was in love just with such a new landscape passing through Fort Collins and then I was so close and luckily they have a little pulloff so people like me can easily stop and take photos of the welcome to signs!

wyoming capital! it is so small!

Wyoming is my 34^th state! Now I had a few hours to explore Wyoming before I had to head back to Denver to catch my flight to Houston. So I went to the visitors center and wanted to try to head to Fort Laramie but it was too far away, boo! So I headed to Cheyenne which is less than 10 miles over the border and is also the state capital – so I got another capital in! I walked around the capital which was soooo small and adorable! And then walked around downtown Cheyenne just enjoying my time in Wyoming! I can’t wait until I can get back to Wyoming and explore more – especially the National Parks!

downtown cheyenne - adorable

depot square and the union pacific depot - cheyenne was the headquarters for the union pacific railroad and it played a major part of the city's growth and importance in wyoming

And now I’m in Houston working a conference. (I know - my travel schedule is crazy) Then Sunday night I’m heading back to NJ (slight change of plans) and there for a week. I was supposed to go back to Charleston Monday and be there until Thursday when I was flying home for Twin’s shower next weekend, but I have something I need to be in NJ for on Monday so hopefully it will all be worth it. Keep your fingers crossed for me!  The only downsides is I’m traveling all over with 2 bags and my clothing selection is interesting and I won’t be in Charleston for almost 3 weeks. Grrr. But hopefully I'll have some good news after all this crazy!

So here are a few shots of Rocky Mountain National Park from my phone to go with Wyoming until I get some time to choose my favorite photos of the mountains from the 450 I took while on my adventure!

my love of national park signs!

MOOSE!!!!!!!! 

elk - lots of elk around the park

two miles above sea level looking down on the valley

some gorgeous glacial mountains near bear lake

5 years

five years ago today i was celebrating my college graduation and walking across the stage collecting my diploma from washington college. saying goodbye to some amazing friends and reminiscing about an absolutely amazing four years and while knowing i can always go back to visit chestertown it would never be the same. and my life in the last five years while not exactly as i planned has been nothing short of amazing. i've grown so much since crossing the stage and had some crazy adventures.

so in the last five years since i graduated from college i have:

- spent an amazing summer living in asheville, north carolina teaching at an academic summer camp
- lived in ireland for two years
- graduated with honors with a masters in history
- travelled all around europe while living in ireland
- moved back to the states and spent a hilarious spring in mystic, connecticut
- started working conferences for high school students in washington, dc in summer 2009
- moved back to new jersey and had an incredible first year teaching social studies and coaching
- spent a summer back in connecticut sailing 
- been unemployed 
- ran my first half marathon
- been a nomad between nj, dc and all over working conferences for middle & high school students
- took off for a 3 week european adventure
- spent a summer living in nova, running conferences for 330 high school students
- moved to charleston, south carolina pretty much for an adventure
- tore my ACL and spent a few months in new jersey
- enjoying living in charleston and just trying to figure out my next step
- travelled to 15 states and 11 countries
- lived in 5 states
- made so many friends and have been so lucky to experience so many great places and adventures

it is kinda crazy how much i've been able to do and see, while my plan wasn't this unstructured i've had fun and i've gotten to travel and experience life which i know when i get the chance again i'll be an amazing teacher because of it

while my next step is still unsure i know i'll be ok. life is one big adventure and i'm just doing my best to live it and take advantage of every opportunity i've been given!

george and i 

barkley and the garrett c awards

worcester girls four years later

with the lovers

family

26!

first birthday!

happy birthday to me!

i am now 26 and pretty excited for it.
25 has been an interesting year - one full of uncertainty, change and travel.
and not where i expected myself to be.
i never expected at 25 to be collecting unemployment, living at home, working temporary jobs and at times feeling so unsure of myself. i've always been a planner and knew exactly what i wanted to be doing with my life. but this year has taught me to be flexible and to adapt and to enjoy what you are doing and to have fun with life and well to have a plan z.

25th birthday!

while 25 was at times a rough year i did have some great parts to it. i had a great birthday weekend up in connecticut, spent a few glorious days with amy in acadia national park, ran a half marathon, had a fabulous fall working conferences in dc, went to charleston, sc with amy, had a lot of fun weekends with friends up & down the east coast, went to europe for 3 weeks in january by myself (zurich, prague, budapest, vienna, cologne, amsterdam) and back to my favorite city and second home cork, went to 5 new states working conferences around the US (washington, indiana, alabama, mississippi, texas), wished george washington a happy birthday with my best friends, saw my carolina tarheels play in the sweet 16, got to see my friends a lot, moved to dc for the spring/summer, went to a friend's wedding, many mini road trips, a chestertown reunion , saw sugarland, U2 and keith urban, successfully ran two conferences for 350 high school students each session in washington dc. had a fabulous weekend saying goodbye to mystic and decided to move to charleston,sc.

so with all the uncertainty and the kinda living at home and job searching and sometimes feeling like a failure i really did have a great 25. it was a major learning experience and i gained some awesome skills out of it and well i had a positive outlook on life and i made the best out of my transitional year. i gave myself a goal of finding a teaching job by september 2011 and then i would find a different path. and well that end line is in site without a job - so i'm finding a new path and am taking the huge leap to move to charleston and well hoping for a great 26! i'm looking forward to a new city, meeting new people and hopefully getting myself back on track. i've loved this year but i want to be more stable and less nomadic.

so the goals of 2011 - let's see how i'm doing...

- find a full time job where i am happy (preferably teaching) -  hopefully charleston will have that in store. i've liked what i've been doing this summer but there is no stability
- move out and get my own place - kinda - i've been in arlington since mid april and i'm moving to charleston with amy at the end of august
-continue traveling both in the US and internationally (i would LOVE to get out west again) - i'm doing well on this one! with my 3 weeks in europe and 5 new states so far! must keep traveling! i have a friend in colorado this fall i want to visit
- read 100 books - i'm probably pretty close - with the kindle i haven't really kept a running list like i did in 2010 but i'm reading up a storm. (must go through and create a list so i can keep track)
- continue working out 3-4 times a week and run another half marathon - nope - with the crazy hours and traveling for work just hasn't happened. i want to do a half this fall in the south carolina area as i want to run a full in spring 2012
- save an additional $12,000 this year - biggest no - i wish i had $12,000 in my account right now. going to europe and having to use some money from savings this had my account not happy right now
- scrapbook more - not so much with traveling and conferences. once i'm in charleston i want to do more
- continue doing my photo365 - yesss! i'm doing awesome with this! and i plan to do  26 as well! i love photo 365-ing!
- cross 5 things off my 30 by 30 list - working on it. i've been to 5 new states, 6 new countries and a book signing. things are happening
- blog more (125 posts) - i've only written 49 posts so far so making the goal of 125 will involve a lot more blogging, like 3 posts a week.
- a relationship - had some fun this spring but my nomadness makes a relationship difficult. maybe in charleston?
- continue looking for the best in every situation - i've done a lot of this! and well just gotta keep staying positive and it all works out!
- enjoy life and have fun! i had a lot of fun (see above) and really am enjoying myself even though this isn't where i expected to be in life...


so happy birthday to me! i can't wait to see what 26 has in store for me but i will enjoy it and have fun when i can!

j. lancaster!

so today after work i rushed out quickly to head into the district hoping i wouldn't hit too much traffic and it wasn't too bad because one of my favorite author's jen lancaster of "bitter is the new black" "pretty in plaid" and "my fair lazy" new book came out today and she was going to be in dc talking about it and doing a book signing! so for those of you who've never read her (check her out) she writes about her life and her first book is about going from being a vp for a company to unemployed and showing up at the unemployment office with a prada purse. she is super snarky and hilarious. and i've loved her books and was excited for a new one! but the fun is this book is a novel - and all interview long she was saying i'm a novelist it was pretty funny! and for those of you who've read her books some characters might seem familiar but it is fiction. her new book is called "if you were here" while waiting i read about 2/3 of it and i'm loving it so far!

so i get to b&n for the event at like 5.50 (starts at 6:30) buy my book and head upstairs... the chairs were just gone (and seriously b&n only like 50 chairs... really?) but i was standing in the first row behind the chairs and started reading the book. once jen came out she talked about the book and being a novelist and then read us a section of the book and then answered questions. it was pretty funny to hear her talk about her life, blogging and being an author and i really enjoyed it. and then the signing.

now b&n tried to organize it with lettered wristbands. they called up "a" wristbands but after a while the line kept getting longer and longer and i don't think they were really checking, which is super frustrating to be following the rules, waiting for the next group to line up and by the time they called c i was waiting for an hour and then waited another hour before talking to her and getting my copy signed. so i was kinda annoyed at b&n for not having a better system or at least following through with the wristbands. don't say one thing with protocol and do another thing. grrrr...

anyway, it was fun to meet her and it was great to go to my second book reading in 2 weeks (yay!)

anyone else a jen lancaster fan?

1861

so on my list of 30 by 30 one of them was to go to a book reading and i had the pleasure of going to one on saturday! and it wasn't any book reading - it was for my college professor who wrote 1861 at the smithsonian portrait gallery. so that was a fun afternoon!

so i really enjoyed the book- 1861: A Civil War Awakening - which is #28 on the NYT best seller list and was the front page of today's NYT book review! i had it read pretty much on my flight to dallas and reading it reminded me of my class and conversations with adam and his sense of humor. but having him read a section of the book made me love it even more. he read from his part about elmer ellsworth and the fire zouaves (which was fun because i went by that hotel where ellsworth died later that night in arlington) which was an interesting part of the book.


i ended up talking with a woman from chestertown about my experience at wac and having adam as a professor and doing research with him. so it was a different book reading experience than going to see one of my favorite authors, but one i loved just as much! and i ran into an old history groupie friend who was there too. i surprised adam with being there (as i've just moved to dc and have a half written email to him) and we chatted for a few minutes as he signed my book and made plans to meet up with some other history groupies over the next few months to catch up properly. but it was pretty awesome :)

so yay for accomplishing something off my 30 by 30 list!


happy easter!

and a full post about life in dc coming tomorrow!

chestertown half marathon!

so i was able to cross off another 30 before 30 goal this weekend!
i ran 13.1 miles to complete my first half marathon!
YAY!

last may 2 of my college friends and co-captains on the crew team were talking about running in the first chestertown half marathon as a fun thing to do... and i've kinda been wanting to run one so i told them i was interested in running with them. so we signed up and said it would be a fun little mini college reunion weekend!

so i attempted to train this summer and before i knew it the weekend was here! i was kinda freaking out on thursday & friday, because my longest training run was 10 miles and the last week i wasn't running as much as i should have... but after training on friday i jumped in the car and drove back to one of my favorite places on earth. driving to ctown this way was interesting - it made me feel as i had just gone to annapolis for the day and was coming back after shopping or something, not 3.5 years after graduation and almost a year after my last visit. i met up with jeanne and we went to our favorite pizza place in town and caught up on life since last may. and then walburn met us at the hotel and we chatted the night away.

saturday morning we were up bright & early because it was race day! i was super nervous but wanted to have fun and just not think. and before i knew it we were at the start line and we were off!

yay! for running 13.1 miles

i ran with jeanne the first mile and looked at my watch and saw i ran it in 8.30.... ummmm, waaay too fast! (i had been training at like at 11 minute mile pace) so i slowed down and miles 2/3 kinda sucked. but once i got into my rhythm it went better. miles 4-9 kinda rocked. i was feeling good and positive. then i hit mile 11. and my happy yay! running went. i hit the wall. and then the ipod gods intervened. i have a cute little green ipod shuffle (the one that is like 1"square) so i really don't have any control over my music. mary whipple came on my ipod and coxed me through mile 11. now for those of you not up to speed with your US national team coxswains - mary whipple is my rowing idol! she is the US national team coxswain and won a gold in 2008 and silver in 2004. and when i was in college, i used her recordings and such to help me train. and so i have a favorite recording and i put it on my ipod and so when i hit the wall - mary was there coxing the US to gold in 2003 at milan at worlds and it was just what i needed. (yes, i know i am weird... it is ok) and then mile 12 - i was running along the chester river, along where i spent so many hours rowing and it was awesome. plus i only had a mile left to go! so i finished 13.1 miles in 2:11.56 which i was super happy with!  going in my goal was to finish and run the whole way - and i would have loved to run under 2:15. so i was excited! and i ran an average of a 10:05 mile. so YAY!

at the bird

so the rest of the weekend was fun! another girl we rowed with came to cheer us on so it was great to see jones at the finish! and then the rest of the day was spent in chestertown - meeting up with the team's captains to talk to them about their goals and such, walking around revisiting one of my favorite places and also seeing coach and catching up with him. and then going to dinner along the river with many of my favorite people and watching the sunset along the river and then going to the bird - for a bit of college fun where in true bird fashion some locals bought us shots. so it was a great weekend of running, seeing friends, going back to a place i love and just having fun.

my legs are still in major rebellion - like i touch my quads and they say "haha" but other than that i'm good!

the river

how was your weekend? what is the furthest you've ever run?

library of congress library card!

me with my loc card!

so one of the things on my 30 before 30 was to get a library of congress library card! and on monday i did! i've wanted one since i was 17 and came to dc as a high school senior as a student in the program i am now working and visited the library of congress. but i wasn't able to get one. and i wanted to get one in the summer of 2009 when i was in dc - but it never happened.

so after my weekend in baltimore i went to dc and got to hang out with mj until we could move on site for work. so we decided to be tourists on monday around the capital. so we headed out and had a fun day walking around (her making fun of me for taking pictures) and playing in the supreme court and library of congress. i absolutely love the library of congress - it is sooo gorgeous inside and is the national library. plus tj helped found it and it has a great history. so it isn't like a regular library where you take out books - it is a research library and they have awesome books and some cool historical documents. and in order to look at anything they have all different reading rooms and you have to ask for a book (like in an archive) and this is why you need a library of congress reader card. and now i am eligible to do research in the loc! which i am super excited about.

so in the next few weeks i'd love to be able to see what i can find in the loc and do some research on my irish domestic servants, because i really miss doing research.

so excited to be able to cross off my first thing on my 30 by 30 list! (and the 2nd thing i'll be able to cross off after this weekend - YAY)

so i'm in training for the conference i'm working the next few weeks and it has been interesting. i'm loving being back with patricia & mj and i've met a few cool people. it is an interesting staff dynamic but it should be fun next week when the students are here!

so i'm headed to chestertown tomorrow to run the half marathon on saturday! eeeeeeek! i'm getting nervous about it!

how was everyone's week?