2012- In long worded nonsense

Let's see, this is probably the 1200th post in your blog reader mentioning the end of 2012 and recapping, so if you are tired of hearing about the amazing things people did this year, move forward until next year. If you want to relish my awesome year in NYC, they stick around for a few paragraphs.

 

First, I spent the entire year living in New York City and it was amazing.

Second, I made some pretty awesome friends this year. Friends that share similar ideas on life, careers, and getting married before 30. Friends that I can laugh with, play trivia with, read books with, and watch sports with. Friends who have super awesome jobs that I am jealous of and friends who can rant or rave about their roommates. Friends that challenge me intellectually, but also laugh at "That's What She Said" jokes.  I know that I have some superb friends from childhood and college, but there is something comforting in knowing that I have friends in this city, because I plan in being here awhile.

Thirdly, I explored Broadway a time or two or twelve. I made a goal last year to see three plays and I accomplished that withing weeks of 2012 kicking off. My favorites were Once (so simple and beautiful), Newsies(the dancing was amazing and the entire story fit in with the curriculum I'm teaching my 8th graders), Mary Poppins(the coolest set and the music was whimsical and reminded me of my childhood), and Wicked (seriously, worth the money, but thankfully I won the lottery). I apparently have a thing for musicals.  I also saw a few shows that I could have survived skipping, but I am not going to call them out, because someone might find them awesome.

Fourth, I started my career. This really should be first, but let's be honest, it's not as fun as hanging out with friends or going to broadway, it just makes those things financially possible. I am so excited to be teaching, full-time, in my own classroom! Middle school is challenging at times, but in positive and negative ways. I have really enjoyed learning the curriculum as I plan and I always knew that if I taught older students, I would teach history. The job takes a lot of time, which has left little time to blog, but I really want to get better at this. I love having this little space to keep track of my adventures in the city and I want to be able to look back in ten years and remember these times.

Fifth, I had visitors. This year was full of friends and family who came to visit. I love sharing my favorite spots in the city with those who know me best. I'm hoping to get a few more friends to come in 2013, because I want everyone to experience this city at least once in their lifetime.

Sixth, I know this city. When I moved here, I was worried that I would wind up lost and halfway to New Jersey before I realized I was no where near the Upper East Side. Actually, I couldn't even make that statement because I didn't know where the Upper East Side was. Now I know this city. Sure there are blocks I have never explored and thousands of restaurants that I haven't eaten at, but if I need to get to a location, I no longer have to look up directions on HopStop. I can figure out where something is located because I have figured out how the streets in Manhattan work. I know the subway lines and which lines stop at certain places, I know a lot of the bus routes, I like to think that means I made it.

Lastly, it has been a good year. I unfortunately slacked off on documenting all of the amazing things I did the second half of the year, but it doesn't mean I didn't do great things that I enjoyed. I have settled into a routine, which is nice. I have my grocery store, my nail place, my favorite restaurant. I have routine things like a carpool to work and standing evenings with friends. I also have a good roommate who is always there to drink wine and watch Law and Order: SVU with. I have friends in my apartment building to borrow sugar (or cookie sheets) from. I like it here and I think I'll stay for awhile, unless I change my mind, which sometimes happens.

Christmas Cheer

My roommate and I decorated our tree this week. If the ornament had glitter, we put it on our tree. I love the combination of red, gold, silver, and pink! It really helped me get into the Christmas mood and I even managed to buy the majority of my Christmas presents! Is it really December 4th already?

Family Visits

In the month of November I had a few visitors.


First my good friend Amy came to town and we partied. Not really.  We really just hung out with my friends, saw some sights, and had a good time catching up.

We went to see Elf on Broadway. Fantastic. We ate Korean BBQ. Also Fantastic.We (she) sung karaoke. Pretty Fantastic.


Then my sister came to town. We also partied. For Thanksgiving.

We skipped the actual parade, but we made it out to see the balloons get blown up the night before.

 

My roommate, her friend, my sister, and I had a feast for Thanksgiving. I think I cooked a pretty awesome looking )and tasting) turkey! Our tiny table looked very festive too.

 We joined some other alumni and friends to watch the Gators beat our in state rivals FSU! 

We also made it to two broadway shows! Wicked and the Fantastiks.

Wicked was fantastic, The Fantastiks was not. However, Aaron Carter was the lead in the Fantastiks and my sister got to pretend we were little girls with giant boy band crushes again.

All in all, we had a great Thanksgiving holiday!

This past weekend, my mom came to visit and it was a short relaxing visit but we accomplished a lot of great things! I got errands completed, we did some Christmas shopping, we ate ridiculous amounts of food, and we relaxed (which was much needed)!

We also managed to make it down to Rockefeller plaza to see the tree!

 

I love when company comes to visit, but I am also looking forward to weekend without visitors when I can sleep in until 10 and not change out of PJs all day. 

....Is this thing still on?

I've sat down to write a new post almost daily over the last month, but I could not capture what was happening in my life without sounding ridiculous.

Things are good.

by good, I mean awesome.

by aweosme, I mean stressful and busy and perfectly how I like it.

Since the last time I posted, I have been working, I went apple picking, I lived through a storm named Sandy, I had friends visit, I bought new furniture, I bonded with my roommate, I've attended numerous Broadway shows, I've karaoked, I've purchased new furniture, I've tried Korean BBQ, I drank a few too many Salted Carmel mochas, I had a snowball fight, I went to the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, I celebrated on Election night, I tasted the beer my friends and I brewed, I've babsat, I've celebrated birthdays, I snuggled with my cat, I've cheered my Gators on, I've teared up after the Georgia loss, I made a terrarium, I met lemony Snicket, I've been obsessed with Dexter, I became an IKEA assassin, I got a manicure or 12, I went to Florida for a long weekend, I've caught up to Season 3 of Breaking Bad, I made a Halloween costume and wore it multiple times, and I hid in a corn maze.

Basically, I haven't neglected my blog on purpose. I have just been too busy doing awesome things over the past month and a half to write them down. I do however miss keeping a record of my adventures and I am going to work on getting back into that. Until my life slows down, here are a few clips of whats been happening.

When you realize it was all worth it

This week has been one of those weeks when I look around and have to pinch myself.

I love that this city has started to feel like home. I have multiple groups of friends, I have a real job with a real commute, I have an apartment that I dig with a roommate that I am friends with. I can recommend restaurants to people when they visit from out of town and I know the shortcuts to take when I need to get across town quick. I can give directions when a stranger stops me on the street and I feel that urge of anger when tourists walk super slow on the sidewalk.

I embrace the cool crisp Fall weather and I love the sound of the traffic outside of my apartment when I am drifting off to sleep at night. I can tell you the difference between the Lower East Side and Murray Hill, I know which train to take without actually looking at a schedule (unless I'm in Brooklyn, then it all goes downhill.) I have favorite places to hangout and routines that I follow. I know where I can get the best greek pastries in my neighborhood and the restaurant that allows you to bring your own beer.

I seriously don't know why I ever thought this giant city wouldn't feel like home, but I did. I thought I would get eaten up with it's expansive girth, I figured the subway map would become a fixture in my purse (It never did! Thanks HopStop!) I am pretty sure that my first year of job exploration and tourist filled adventure allowed me to become familiar with so many aspects of the city and I would not do it any differently if I had the chance again.

I know that I have so much more to learn and experience, but for now, I am home and I like it.

September/October Bucket List

I totally made it through September and I enjoyed myself and worked like crazy!

I will NOT order food just because I am tired. I will cook dinner almost every night! I think I managed to accomplish this most of the time!

I will attempt to go or do one thing I have never done in the city before. I accomplished this! I went and saw a movie at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, I attended a street Festival called Atlantic Antic, and I found a few restaurants and bars that I have come to love :)

I am going to see Imagine Dragons this month and I'm pretty sure it will be epic! It was amazing. I am head over heels for this band. I might be known to listen to their new album on repeat during an entire commute to work.

I want to buy a crockpot and make some awesome crockpot dinners :) Fail, it's on my list of things to do!

 
Maybe I'll get around to painting the other walls in my bedroom...maybe. Again, Fail.

I might be going home to Florida this month and if it happens I want to spend some time relaxing with family and friends. I haven't seen anyone from home since April. This didn't happen in September, but it is happening in October :)


September was a whirlwind month and it was great. I made it through my first month of a real job without major issues, I continued to go out with friends, have a life, and I somehow made it all work. Things are good. Plus, the weather is cooling down and that always makes things better.

 
In October:

I will go to Florida, my ticket is already booked! I am going to celebrate one of my best friend's 25th birthdays.

Apple picking is on the calendar for this month, and I am excited to head upstate for my second annual apple picking adventure!

I want to do something awesome for Halloween.

I need to buy some more Fall clothes, I deserve it. 

I am also going to take the opportunity to make as many pumpkin flavored things that I can! 

I might get a haircut. I want something new, but I can't decide what I want. 



 

I need a weekend to recover from my weekend

The fact that it is Wednesday night and it is the first time since Sunday I can share with you my weekend means I am a tad bit overwhelmed.

In all honesty:

I'm tired
I have a ton of work to do
I am thankful for a job
I still don't like my commute
My friends are awesome
My first paycheck was awesome
My life is feeling very adult


This past weekend was great! I spent my Saturday afternoon having lunch with the family I worked for all last year. They were my family away from my family and it was fabulous to catch up with them and see how this new school year is treating them. It's really nice to have people that want the best for you even though they don't have to because they aren't related.

Then Saturday night I saw the movie, the Perks of Being a Wallflower, and I loved it. I then turned around and read the book and I loved that too. See it, read it, feel awkward.

My friends and I celebrated Saturday night, by going out to a German bar and drinking two liters each. That's about all I remember.

Just kidding, I remember it all and it was really fun! We drank, we ate German sausages, and played card games. It was exactly what I needed to get my mind off of work.

On Sunday, I went to brunch, then traveled through a street fair, then a few friends and I took a hand at brewing our own beer. The brunch was excellent, the street fair was crowded, and the beer brewing was intense. It takes about a month before we can actually taste the beer, but I'm hoping it's pumpkin deliciousness. 

Now excuse me while I take a nap because I'm exhausted.

Yep, I do

Balancing work and play

Weekends tend to fly by when one works a normal 7-5 Monday through Friday job. Needless to say, I made the most of the weekend and had a lot of fun, got a lot of sleep, and did some work too.

On Friday, I got home around 6 and the internet at my apartment wasn't working, so I decided to take a nap in hopes that it would work itself out. At 9, it was still not working, so I decided to continue sleeping. I woke up at 6:30 Saturday morning, and was refreshed after a much needed 12 hour nap.

The internet was still out, so I made my way to Starbucks and got some papers graded. Then I met up with some friends to watch the Gators play Kentucky! We went to an Alumni bar up here and it was a great time. 

The Gator bomb shots had nothing to do with the great time, it was mostly the winning that made everything awesome. I have gone to an Alumni bars a few times, but they are usually so crowded that I haven't stayed long. This time, we reserved a table, so we had a place to sit and it was really nice.  I also found out that our Alumni Association in New York has these T-shirts and it may be the next purchase I make:

My friend Jenny and I had a few hours to kill before her team (K-State) played, so we ate chinese food, watched the end of the Yankees game (14 innings!), and I may have taken a nap to sleep off those drinks from earlier.

We then headed to her Alumni bar and watched K-state beat Oklahoma, which is quite an accomplishment for them! It's always fun to watch football games with football fans, they get so pumped when their team does well.

After a day of food, drinking, and football, I came home to meet the newest member of my household. 

Sunday morning, I ran some errands, baked some pumpkin bread, and then went and tutored for a few hours. Now I am preparing for an Emmys party, even though I am bummed that Revenge isn't nominated for anything. I do hope New Girl wins something and Girls goes home empty handed.

Overall, a weekend well balanced. I just hope my body feels the same at 5:30, when that alarm goes off.

We are starting a zoo.

My roommate bought a new puppy this weekend.

 

  This is Veruca Salt, from Willy Wonka, and she is a teacup pomeranian.

She is itsy bitsy, but she is pretty adorable.

Now I just have to hope my cat doesn't disown me. or eat her.