...5 to go until my 3 week break. I'm kind of liking this year-round school business. Always something to look forward to. I MIGHT regret saying that when I only get 6 weeks off starting the middle of June for summer, but for right now, I like it ;) Well, I've been a first grade teacher for 2 weeks. Week 2 was definitely way better than week 1. There are definitely still some things I need to work on, but it should be fine. I feel a LITTLE more confident and I think the rest will come. I think this next 3 week period will be better because I was actually there for the planning of it...I wasn't just given the materials and told to go for it! I was finally put in the online system a couple days ago, so this weekend all I've been doing is grading worksheets and entering them in my gradebook...not very exciting!
My students are adorable. I absolutely love each of them (even though a few drive me crazy every once in awhile) and I know that this was the right career for me, as incompetent as I feel most of the time ;) They really are so precious and they are constantly making me laugh. I had some hilarious quotes from them that when they happened I said, "Oh I have to tell people that!" because I was almost rolling on the ground laughing at it, but I forgot them now...so maybe next time I'll remember to do it right away :)
In other news, my volleyball team is doing really well...with little thanks to me! I feel bad because I'm gone all the time and only make it to the last half hour of our practices during the week (if I don't have a meeting or car troubles)...but I've made it to both the tournaments, so that's good! At the tournaments they have seriously been playing so well! I'm so proud of them! I was SUPER nervous at tryouts and our first practice or two, but these girls have been so coachable and willing to learn and they have seriously improved SO much! Thanks to my awesome assistant coach, I think our team will be great by the end of the year! I am mainly the "rotation specialist" with this team, which makes sense because when I used to play, I knew EXACTLY where all 6 players on the court should be...so now I'm shouting out orders from the sidelines to tell people to be behind or in front of or to the left or right of someone else. It's a lot harder from a coaching standpoint because I'm not actually IN the game and I have other things to focus on besides just the rotations! Some girls on the court are getting the hang of it now though, so it's taking a little "pressure" off of me ;)
Pretty much that's my whole life...teaching and coaching. It's great, but it's kind of sad that I don't have a life...not like I ever did, but it would be nice to have one hahaha :) But I love my two jobs and am so grateful to have them! :)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Wow.
So it has almost been a full week of teaching (tomorrow will complete that week...) and I feel completely inadequate! I do NOT know what I'm doing! It's getting better each day though, so hopefully when I've been teaching for like 5 years, I'll feel at least satisfied with my performance.
My kids are absolute angels...and there's only 16 of them, which is a huge plus. They all know that it is my very first teaching job and pretty much all of their parents told them that they need to help me a lot because I'm nervous about this new class as much as they are. Honestly, every time I need someone to do something for me, they will all jump out of their chairs raising their hands as high as they can go. If I ask someone to turn off the lights, you can bet there will be a stampede towards the light switch. I need to stop asking for "someone" because someone is going to end up with a black eye one of these days.
So today, they were all writing about snowmen. Each of their snowmen had to go on an adventure. One little boy wrote this, (or something close to it...) "Once upon a time, there was a snowman that went to Hawaii. He went surfing and ate ice cream all day. Then he kissed his girlfriend. On the lips." He was at his desk giggling while everyone else took turns reading their stories to me to make sure they were acceptable (because they were writing one liners and calling it good!) He brought his up to me and he asked me to read it. So I start reading it semi-aloud and when I got to the kissing part, my kids start CRACKING UP. Seriously...like rolling on the floor! You forget how funny kissing is to little kids. They laughed for like 5 minutes straight and I laughed with them :) Probably the best moment of the week.
The job is getting less and less stressful, but I am still stressed to the max, which explains how stressed I was Sunday night and Monday. Part of my stress is because my classroom is a DISASTER. I don't have a teacher desk yet, so my stuff is absolutely everywhere and it's driving me NUTS! I mean, if I had a desk, it would just be in piles on my desk, but at least it would be in a central location and not on every counter space, table, and floor space I have!
Anyway, I have to get going...the kids and I have P.E. tomorrow...which should definitely be interesting! Ha! TOMORROW IS FRIDAY! And then I get to cut lamination out ALL WEEKEND. Seriously...I have like 100+ pages of lamination to cut out. Anyone feel like bringing their scissors over for a party? ;)
My kids are absolute angels...and there's only 16 of them, which is a huge plus. They all know that it is my very first teaching job and pretty much all of their parents told them that they need to help me a lot because I'm nervous about this new class as much as they are. Honestly, every time I need someone to do something for me, they will all jump out of their chairs raising their hands as high as they can go. If I ask someone to turn off the lights, you can bet there will be a stampede towards the light switch. I need to stop asking for "someone" because someone is going to end up with a black eye one of these days.
So today, they were all writing about snowmen. Each of their snowmen had to go on an adventure. One little boy wrote this, (or something close to it...) "Once upon a time, there was a snowman that went to Hawaii. He went surfing and ate ice cream all day. Then he kissed his girlfriend. On the lips." He was at his desk giggling while everyone else took turns reading their stories to me to make sure they were acceptable (because they were writing one liners and calling it good!) He brought his up to me and he asked me to read it. So I start reading it semi-aloud and when I got to the kissing part, my kids start CRACKING UP. Seriously...like rolling on the floor! You forget how funny kissing is to little kids. They laughed for like 5 minutes straight and I laughed with them :) Probably the best moment of the week.
The job is getting less and less stressful, but I am still stressed to the max, which explains how stressed I was Sunday night and Monday. Part of my stress is because my classroom is a DISASTER. I don't have a teacher desk yet, so my stuff is absolutely everywhere and it's driving me NUTS! I mean, if I had a desk, it would just be in piles on my desk, but at least it would be in a central location and not on every counter space, table, and floor space I have!
Anyway, I have to get going...the kids and I have P.E. tomorrow...which should definitely be interesting! Ha! TOMORROW IS FRIDAY! And then I get to cut lamination out ALL WEEKEND. Seriously...I have like 100+ pages of lamination to cut out. Anyone feel like bringing their scissors over for a party? ;)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
...First Grade Teacher...
I went in yesterday for a job interview and it went really well. I had a good foundation because my cooperating teacher is friends with the principal I was interviewing with, the principal where I did my student teaching is good friends with her, and my cooperating teacher's sister works at that school. But all of those good recommendations did not stop me from being incredibly nervous! It almost made it worse because I had to live up to all of the hype!
Anyway, it paid off! I got the call this morning and was offered the position of a first grade teacher! I am so happy, but so nervous. I keep expecting them to call and say, "Oops, we made a mistake." I seriously can't believe it. I've already started to make a list of everything I need to do and I am so overwhelmed. I have little over a week to get everything set up and I am going to need ALL of that time. I have a lot of people that have offered to help me with everything though, which is so amazing! I have such a good support system here in Utah already and at home.
Even though I am so nervous and feeling overwhelmed, I KNOW I can do this and I am honestly so excited! Things will come together soon and life will be good! I can't wait to meet my little kiddos!
I will be starting at Butterfield Canyon Elementary in Herriman, Utah next week...observing, setting up my classroom, and meeting parents...and then the next Monday, January 31st, will be my first day with all of my kids! It will be so great! I can't wait! :)
Anyway, it paid off! I got the call this morning and was offered the position of a first grade teacher! I am so happy, but so nervous. I keep expecting them to call and say, "Oops, we made a mistake." I seriously can't believe it. I've already started to make a list of everything I need to do and I am so overwhelmed. I have little over a week to get everything set up and I am going to need ALL of that time. I have a lot of people that have offered to help me with everything though, which is so amazing! I have such a good support system here in Utah already and at home.
Even though I am so nervous and feeling overwhelmed, I KNOW I can do this and I am honestly so excited! Things will come together soon and life will be good! I can't wait to meet my little kiddos!
I will be starting at Butterfield Canyon Elementary in Herriman, Utah next week...observing, setting up my classroom, and meeting parents...and then the next Monday, January 31st, will be my first day with all of my kids! It will be so great! I can't wait! :)
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Life Advice from 3rd Graders
I had the opportunity to substitute teach yesterday. At the same school I'll be teaching at in January. It seems like a great school. Anyway, I was in a 3rd grade classroom, which I had some experience with that age since that is where I student taught for half the time. Anyway, they seemed like great kids and we were having a great time, but they were getting really curious about my life. Who knows why, but they started asking questions. I read a few books aloud (per teacher's request...not because I was slacking) and had about 5 minutes left over before the next thing so I decided I'd let them ask questions...in hopes that they would stop while I was actually teaching. They asked me all sorts of questions from "What's your favorite color?" to "Are you married or do you have a boyfriend?" It was fine...harmless questions and not too much commentary about each one.
We then did rotations with another class, so my class went to a different teacher and I had a different class in the room I was in. Then THEY started asking me questions while they were working on their art projects. One little boy was just crazy the whole time...I could definitely tell he had attention problems. They asked me if I was married and if I had a boyfriend and how old I was. I told them, "No. No. 24." The little attention boy (let's call him "Billy") looks up from what he's doing and he says, "That's a really scary age to not be married." It was just perfect. Some girls told him he was being rude, some agreed with him, I just thought it was hysterical. He said it so matter-of-fact. We were making Incan masks out of paper plates and one little boy wrote "Pucer up!" coming out of the mouth of his mask. (Yes, that is how he spelled it...I actually know the correct spelling.. ;) Some boys asked me what it meant, so I told them. "Billy" came up to me with "Puker up!" on his mask because he thought the other kid's was just great. I was helping him do something with his mask and he looks at me and says,"I know how you can get a boyfriend." "How?" "Walk up to a random boy and say, 'Pucker up!' and then kiss him." "Oh you think that will get me a boyfriend, huh?" "Umm...no. He'll probably just think you're a weirdie." Later, I said, "Billy! You are just off the walls today!" (I was totally joking...a little girl had come up to me earlier and said, "You can send him to another classroom if he gets too out of control." But I could definitely handle him...I've dealt with worse!) And then he looked at me and said, "That's because I have ADHD!" Hahaha, it was so funny! Like I didn't already catch on to that! ;)
Anyway, my class came back in and we started to work on 12 Days of Christmas books. I don't even remember how it came up, but the focus came back to my love life. One little girl said to me,"I'm going to ask Santa for a boyfriend for you." Then a little boy said, "You can marry my dad's friend. He doesn't have a life." (He might have said "wife," but I heard "life" and I think it's funnier that way!) Then a little boy was walking back toward his seat and it was one of those moments where you don't hear what they say, but you do...and he said something to the affect of, "I'll marry you." I said, "What?" And he turned back around with a bright red face and said,"Nothing!" It was so funny. They said a lot of other things about my love life and giving me advice, but I can't remember them all. I seriously wish I had a tape recorder because it was hilarious. These kids were hysterical. I really hope I get to sub for them again.
However, today I'm back to being home alone and bored. Ugh. Life isn't so interesting when you don't have school or work or a boy to distract you and keep you busy! :)
We then did rotations with another class, so my class went to a different teacher and I had a different class in the room I was in. Then THEY started asking me questions while they were working on their art projects. One little boy was just crazy the whole time...I could definitely tell he had attention problems. They asked me if I was married and if I had a boyfriend and how old I was. I told them, "No. No. 24." The little attention boy (let's call him "Billy") looks up from what he's doing and he says, "That's a really scary age to not be married." It was just perfect. Some girls told him he was being rude, some agreed with him, I just thought it was hysterical. He said it so matter-of-fact. We were making Incan masks out of paper plates and one little boy wrote "Pucer up!" coming out of the mouth of his mask. (Yes, that is how he spelled it...I actually know the correct spelling.. ;) Some boys asked me what it meant, so I told them. "Billy" came up to me with "Puker up!" on his mask because he thought the other kid's was just great. I was helping him do something with his mask and he looks at me and says,"I know how you can get a boyfriend." "How?" "Walk up to a random boy and say, 'Pucker up!' and then kiss him." "Oh you think that will get me a boyfriend, huh?" "Umm...no. He'll probably just think you're a weirdie." Later, I said, "Billy! You are just off the walls today!" (I was totally joking...a little girl had come up to me earlier and said, "You can send him to another classroom if he gets too out of control." But I could definitely handle him...I've dealt with worse!) And then he looked at me and said, "That's because I have ADHD!" Hahaha, it was so funny! Like I didn't already catch on to that! ;)
Anyway, my class came back in and we started to work on 12 Days of Christmas books. I don't even remember how it came up, but the focus came back to my love life. One little girl said to me,"I'm going to ask Santa for a boyfriend for you." Then a little boy said, "You can marry my dad's friend. He doesn't have a life." (He might have said "wife," but I heard "life" and I think it's funnier that way!) Then a little boy was walking back toward his seat and it was one of those moments where you don't hear what they say, but you do...and he said something to the affect of, "I'll marry you." I said, "What?" And he turned back around with a bright red face and said,"Nothing!" It was so funny. They said a lot of other things about my love life and giving me advice, but I can't remember them all. I seriously wish I had a tape recorder because it was hilarious. These kids were hysterical. I really hope I get to sub for them again.
However, today I'm back to being home alone and bored. Ugh. Life isn't so interesting when you don't have school or work or a boy to distract you and keep you busy! :)
...Life Thus Far...
So I've been back from New York for...4 months now and haven't touched my blog since. I feel like my life isn't as interesting without creepers on the streets of New York trying to sell me stuff and tell me I'm cute. It's weird how much I miss my life being interesting!
Anyway, student teaching has now ended. It was a sad farewell to all of my little kiddos at my school and an even sadder (am I making up words?) farewell to the friends I made with some of the faculty there. I had an amazing experience and I think it was just right for me...considering that before I did my student teaching, I was seriously contemplating my career choice.
Life is great...now just enjoying the real-world job search. Ha. Not. Anyway, I've had two interviews...one for a long-term substitute position for when a 1st grade teacher has a baby, and one for a part-time resource teacher. I got the substitute one, but not the part-time one which is fine because I think I would have rather had the substitute anyway. Basically because I'm poor and need money...not because of preference of regular education versus special education...because I really have no preference. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Well, this principal told me that if I find something full-time between now and the end of January (when this teacher has her child) that I am free to take it, as long as I give him as much notice as possible. So...I'm searching. And searching. And I hope it pays off soon! Until then, I am substitute teaching wherever and whenever I can, but mainly just being BORED hanging out at my house all alone while my roommates live their lives going to school and/or work. I thought I'd like having all this time on my hands...wrong-o!
Anyway, student teaching has now ended. It was a sad farewell to all of my little kiddos at my school and an even sadder (am I making up words?) farewell to the friends I made with some of the faculty there. I had an amazing experience and I think it was just right for me...considering that before I did my student teaching, I was seriously contemplating my career choice.
Life is great...now just enjoying the real-world job search. Ha. Not. Anyway, I've had two interviews...one for a long-term substitute position for when a 1st grade teacher has a baby, and one for a part-time resource teacher. I got the substitute one, but not the part-time one which is fine because I think I would have rather had the substitute anyway. Basically because I'm poor and need money...not because of preference of regular education versus special education...because I really have no preference. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Well, this principal told me that if I find something full-time between now and the end of January (when this teacher has her child) that I am free to take it, as long as I give him as much notice as possible. So...I'm searching. And searching. And I hope it pays off soon! Until then, I am substitute teaching wherever and whenever I can, but mainly just being BORED hanging out at my house all alone while my roommates live their lives going to school and/or work. I thought I'd like having all this time on my hands...wrong-o!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
3 DAYS!
Why is packing such a daunting task even when you are really excited to go where you're going? I usually somewhat enjoy packing but it takes me forever to get around to unpacking. When I came to New York, I had one medium sized suitcase checked, a mini suitcase and a computer bag/purse to carry on, and 3 decent sized boxes and one box a little smaller shipped to me here. My family was here last week (I'll get to that after I sufficiently do my pack-venting some justice) and they took home A LOT of my crap...my mom says it's almost a large suitcase worth of...what? I don't even know! Stupid things! My dad took home all of my shoes and high heels in his carry-on (I would have DIED laughing if it got searched! But he didn't think it was as funny as I thought...) and he took home some of my sweatshirts in his suitcase (I apparently thought it was going to be way colder than it actually was...) and my sister took home a bunch of shirts and things that I NEVER wore once while I was here...good thing I brought all of this crap with me! The problem was that I figured I'd be getting up and getting ready a lot more than I did...I usually just hung out around the house in yoga pants. Anyway, so back to my packing woes...I sent all of that stuff home with my family and so naturally I could do without one of the decent sized boxes that I shipped to myself...think again. That is where my problem lies! I am desperately trying to squish all of my things into two biggish boxes and one smallish box and my two suitcases...it is NOT working out so well. I'm doing laundry right now so that I can have ALL of my stuff ready to pack and finish tonight...we shall see what comes of it...I might just have to break down and ship the other box too...ugh! Why do I have so much crap?!
Anyway, my family left on Sunday and so I now have one week and then I'm D-O-N-E! (Well, I only have 3 days until I'm done, but at the time they left it was a week.) I think we could comfortably say that we had the best worst vacation. EVERYTHING seemed to go wrong for us! It was horrible and I felt SO bad.
Day 1 - Both flights got in on time and they were able to get all of their luggage and their rental car without problem (except for the fact that we all completely disliked the rental car...Ford Flex, even though you are made to seat 7, you should really only seat 5 because your back-back seat is worthless...) But...as they were driving toward me, Garmin led them straight into East HARLEM. Yeah...imagine people that have never been to New York before guided straight to Harlem. Perfect. They have now seen things only real New Yorkers have, I'm sure. Anyway, my boss spent about 40 minutes trying to guide my mom out of Harlem and back to the real world...and road...they were supposed to be in/on. Needless to say, an hour long journey (add some time on for middle-of-the-day-New-York-traffic) took them approximately 3 hours. We were going to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, but since I didn't know where it was, I only had directions, we decided to go somewhere that GARMIN didn't have to take us and that I knew where it was so we could avoid any confusion. My boss and the family went camping that night and so when my family and I got back we had the house all to ourselves.
Day 2 - We decided to ride the 10am bus in to the city...give my family some time to get a little acclimated before we headed out. We bought tickets for the double decker bus tours...which actually turned out to probably be our best purchase. We then walked to one of the places where the bus picks you up and took it down to Battery Park. We decided to go the Staten Island Ferry route so we didn't have to pay anything and we still got to see the statue. I hadn't done this before, but I probably should have because we had NO idea what we were getting ourselves into. We were near the back of the line so when all of the people started piling onto the ferry, there wasn't even room for us outside. Not to mention we were on the complete opposite side of the ferry that the statue was on. This was probably really stupid of me, but I was definitely thinking the ferry would be exactly like the one from "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" which wasn't crowded at all. Wrong. Anyway, we exited the ferry and instead of getting right back into the end of the line, we decided to hang out and wait so we could be in the front of a line. We went to some random "deli" that was more like a gas station grill and ordered something...they really were out of everything. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, they decided to turn off their grill that makes most of the things that any of us wanted. We sat and ate and then decided to go and ask two rent-a-cops where the ferry was coming in and what side the statue would be on so we were prepared. They told us a door and then said it would be on the right. We were FIRST in line...except for the few people that thought they would just step around and in front of us. Anyway, then comes this announcement saying that the ferry we were standing in front of was out of order. Perfect. So we were now near the end of the line in front of the other doors. We talked to a guy that looked like he was from around there and he told us that the ferry was on the LEFT. Don't worry...he was right...which means the rent-a-cops we talked to were pretty much full of USELESS information. Anyway, we split up to find good seats...which was probably the wrong thing to do because then we didn't have enough seats/railing to fit very many people. My mom and sisters got some good pictures of the statue though. After that fiasco, we decided to ride the double decker bus to a couple other stops. The first stop we took was Rockefeller Plaza. We went to the NBC store and we pretty much went crazy. My sisters and I each got 2 shirts and my brother got 3. Evan and Melissa each got an Office bobblehead, but then when you buy two, you get a Dwight free, so I think Evan ended up with two bobbleheads. Evan got a lanyard, and he, Melissa, and I all got small tote bags. After that, we walked to the NBA store for Evan. He got a Rondo shirt and a pair of Celtics shorts. We walked back to Rockefeller Plaza and were going to take the bus to Central Park, but there was some sort of a traffic jam and since we didn't feel like walking to Central Park, we were out of luck. So we just went back to Times Square and ate dinner at Dave and Buster's. (My mom doesn't want me to tell this story, but I will anyway...) On our way to Dave and Buster's, we are just struggling through crowds of people trying to get through the people handing out pamphlets and the people just walking. I usually keep my face straight forward and don't make eye contact so people don't try to hand me pamphlets. Evan hits my arm as I walk by someone with pamphlets and he starts pointing with his mouth open. (You have to get him to demonstrate his reaction for you...it's priceless...he says he was starstruck haha!) Evan said, "That's the guy from One Tree Hill!" (Which is my favorite TV show, PS...has been since high school...I just can't let it go haha!) I turn to look and the guy kind of smiles at me over his shoulder because I'm SURE he knows what Evan told me...and so I go back a few steps to my mom and tell her and SHE turns around...as does Jessica. We are all staring at this guy and then everyone is trying to get me to go talk to him to see if it's really him. I hesitate for a bit because I hate talking to people I don't know because I usually make a fool of myself, but then I decide that it's worth it. I walk up to him and say, "Excuse me...can I ask you a question?" He said, "Yes...." but he wasn't telling me I could ask him a question, he was already answering my question. But I still said, "Are you on TV?" and he said, "Yes..." and then I said, "Are you on One Tree Hill?" and he said, "Yes..." Hahaha, it was sweet! I asked him if I could have a picture with him and he said yes and so there you have it! I loved it! He is super nice in person and really cute, too! One Tree Hill is the only thing he's been in, but I think he'll be done handing out pamphlets soon! I hope! :) His name is Paul Teal, PS :) We got back to the bus station and got on the bus and everything and then the bus driver came on and told us we couldn't share tickets out of one book (I bought a book of 40 tickets since we would be using 36 of them...) because they are rip-offs at the bus station. After 10 minutes of deliberation and conversations with the bus driver and the manager on duty, they FINALLY started to drive away back toward Tuxedo Park. When we got off, the bus driver acted as if he was doing us a huge favor and we should name a kid after him or something.
Day 3 - We decided to get an earlier jump on the day and took the 8:30am bus into the city. We held our breath as we boarded the bus, but no gripes this time. We hopped onto a double decker bus right away and headed to the Museum of Natural History. We had a way better time than we should have here...especially because my siblings and I all act as if we're 12 year old girls when we see anatomically correct animals, paintings, or statues. I think it may be more Evan's reaction to them that makes us all laugh, but I'm sure it's still the actual artifact on some level. It was quite hysterical, actually. Evan is definitely the comedian of the family! We got back on the bus and rode around to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (If you ever go to New York and to these museums, they always say,"Suggested price is..." and it's way too expensive for just walking around and looking at things, so that's when you say, "I'll pay..." We did this with both and saved about $40 per museum. We still paid most of the outlandish fee, but enough so that we could still say we saved money on them! :) We were going to walk through Central Park to the Met, but after all the time walking around in the museum, we decided we wanted to be lazy. We went to the Met and had Jess pick places she wanted to go...no way were we going to walk all the way through one of the largest museums! Jessica and my mom really liked the Met (I think...) but it wasn't really the rest of our "scene." Evan, my dad, Melissa, and I walked around decided which works of art we could recreate and WHY some of these things are art. Let me tell you...I am a HORRIBLE artist, but there were a few of these things I would definitely be able to do. There was one that looked like it was drawn on notebook paper with Crayola markers. I mean, I'm not knocking it...I just don't understand it...I just don't think I have the "artistic eye." ;) After that museum, were going to go to Central Park (again), but we were too tired (again). So we went back to where we caught the bus...where we saw one of the restaurants Evan really wanted to go to called "Shake Shack." It's probably comparable to In 'N' Out, Dicks, and Five Guys. It was pretty good...I'm not sure which place I prefer though...they're pretty close (except maybe Dicks...too much grease most of the time...and no "special sauce." Don't get me wrong though, I still love it!) We then walked around Times Square for a little while because we were waiting for the night tour on the double deckers to start. We were going to go into Toys 'R' Us, but my dad kiboshed that idea real quickly. (I don't really know how to spell that...) We went into M&M World and the Hershey's store, but both were SO CROWDED it was overwhelming...we waited for my mom to go to the bathroom for about 30 minutes because the line was so long at M&M World. Anyway, besides the bathroom fiasco, we didn't stay there very long. Melissa and Jessica DID get some M&Ms though :) Next we went to Fossil to get Jessica a watch. Jessica really loves my "Sandra Bullock watch" (I got a watch like the white one she always wears on "The Blind Side") and so she wanted to get one. My mom, while we were there, decided she loved my watch too...so Jess got one the same style as mine, only a slightly smaller face and band, and my mom got one the same size as mine, only with a blue face instead of a white one. I like both of them! :) After that was all done, we had to go and buy some souvenirs. We went to a store and tried to haggle with some guy and he was NOT having it...so we went right next door and the guy there gave us a pretty good deal because we were buying so many shirts and things. He even through in a free pen for my mom. Probably because he felt bad for her to have to put up with all of us all the time! Then we caught a night tour double decker bus...this bus takes you all around the city and through Brooklyn. It was so nice! Our tour guide was amazing! There were a lot of things I haven't seen or that I didn't know even though I've been here for 3+ months. We had a little time left before the 10:15pm bus (we figured out that there were more buses after 8:30pm...which I could have sworn there were!) so we went and all got a piece of cake from Junior's. My friend Jane and her dad introduced me to Junior's when they came to town and I spent the day with them and I am so glad they did! My family all LOVED their desserts! (Except Melissa because my boss's husband decided to help himself to her cake...which was kind of weird, but oh well haha!) When we got there, my parents were freaking out about the whole "not getting on the bus thing," so I decided to go and ask the night manager that was on duty (a different one from the day before) if my BF bus driver was driving that night. I knew he drives the 6:15pm on Sunday, but I didn't know if he came back to drive another one that night. After a drawn on explanation ("I'm not sure I'm saying his name right..." "I don't know his last name..." "He's from the Dominican Republic..." "He wears NY Yankees driving gloves...") they finally caught on and gave me a couple looks as if to say, "Oh, you WANT him, do you?!?!" and told me he WAS driving the 10:15pm bus...which was the one we were planning on driving. He let my family and I get on...no questions asked...and we chatted the entire way. When he's not asking me out, he's pretty pleasant to chat with. AND he got a job driving the Jonas Brothers tour bus starting in September (apparently...I'm STILL a tad skeptical...) as a backup driver, AND I have his number, so I'm going to see about getting some backstage passes or something. I mean, I am no JoBros fan, BUT...why wouldn't you want to go backstage and meet them if you had the chance? I just hope their opening act is good!
Day 4 - My family left for Philadelphia and was there overnight, while I just worked...dealing with tired and cranky little boys.
Day 5 - My family got in from Philly around 8pm and we ordered pizzas and hung out with the little boys. :)
Day 6 - My family went to the city on the 10am bus while I stayed behind and worked for a little while. I think the bus company NOW has it out for us, because after that bus driver saw my dad's ticket and then Evan's (the very first tickets) he said it was a no-go and made my family pay for 4 of their tickets. I outlined on a map the places they should go and subway routes they should take...but apparently they didn't follow any of it so that was no help. They went to the Empire State Building and wasted a lot of time waiting and a lot of money, but they got some good pictures, I think. They went to Grand Central Station and the Wall Street Bull. They also went to Canal Street to buy some purses. This story is probably better than mine...maybe not as sketchy because I was out in the open and NOT on Canal Street, but definitely funnier. They're standing there, looking at the shops, not really knowing what to do (even though I told them to go into one and ask for a certain brand and they'd take them into the back room) when an Asian lady spots them and says, "Handbags?" Jessica says, "Yes..." and the lady asks what kind. Jessica says, "Umm...Chanel..?" and the lady tells them to follow her. So they start following her...and following her...and following her...all the while she keeps looking back at them to make sure they're still following. Well, she starts taking them pretty far away and so they start getting restless thinking this lady is taking them into some back alley. Once they know she's not paying attention, they quickly go down a street and start walking away from her. She notices they aren't following and sprints to try and find them and she says, "Come! We're almost there!" They ask her how much further and she says just one block and that she can see the store. Apparently that was a lie, but it wasn't THAT much further than a block. When they get there, the guy tells my family that only two people can go in...yeah right. My dad is NOT letting 2 of his daughters go into that back room all alone. He barely lets us go to the bathroom in a restaurant without someone. (SLIGHT exaggeration...just slightly though!) Anyway, so the guy ends up letting all 6 of them go into the back room. I guess there was already a couple back there and so it was quite the tight squeeze! While my mom and sisters are looking at the purses, my dad talks to the other guy in there and makes a joke and the guy starts laughing and the Asian lady (or someone else, I'm not sure) was like, "STOP LAUGHING! Cops hear!" Hahahaha oh gosh! So my family gets out of there with 2 purses for me, 2 purses for Jessica, 1 purse for Melissa, and 1 purse for our cousin Aleen for $220. Through all the confusion and hysteria, my mom forgot to buy a purse for herself! :/ I met up with them almost immediately following this (they went to Hard Rock for food while I was on the bus and then I grabbed a salad from a place across the street from the theater) and we all went to Mary Poppins on Broadway. We really enjoyed it. It was really good, I thought! After the play, we went back to the bus station and headed out of the city for good (but not before we had to buy 5 tickets for the ride back home!) My boss told me that she would buy all the tickets we couldn't/didn't use off of me because she has until the 30th of this month to use them, so that's perfect! :)
Day 7 - My family hung out around the house with me today to catch up on sleep and do some laundry. My siblings really just wanted to play with the boys. I can see why...they're cute when you're not telling them the can't or have to do something :) We toured the park a little bit and got to see all of the amazing homes...every morning, my dad has been waking up early and so while everyone has been asleep, he's been reading the Tuxedo Park history book...and he was a WAY better tour guide than I was! It was pretty funny! We left that day around 4pm for our road trip to Palmyra, New York and Niagara Falls, Canada. We stopped for dinner in Syracuse at another one of Evan's restaurants called Dinosaur BBQ. It was pretty good...I had delicious soup and mashed potatoes...my sandwich was alright, but I should have gotten the one that didn't have the sauce on it that mine did because the sauce wasn't my favorite. We all ate a ton though...especially Evan! We got in to Palmyra around 11pm because of our 45 minute wait at the BBQ, but it was alright :) We stayed in this ADORABLE house that I recommend anyone who is going to Palmyra to stay at. Our little "cottage" had places for 9 people to sleep (3 twin beds, 1 queen, 1 double, and a hide-a-bed) and had internet, fully stocked kitchen (with utensils and things, not food...), cable, etc. etc. etc.! And I think my mom said it was like $150 a night. We seriously loved it....not to mention Evan, Melissa, and I got the room with the A/C unit! ;)
Day 8 - The next day we went to all the sights in Palmyra (LDS church sights in case anyone is reading this and is wondering what there is to see in Palmyra haha) including the Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith's houses, the temple, the BoM publication site, and Hill Cumorah. I loved it all...I think the publication site was really interesting...it was a really good tour. We went to lunch at Mark's Pizzeria (there was a brochure on the fridge at the "cottage") and it was seriously to die for. I don't know why, but their pizza was DELICIOUS. I loved it. I could only eat one piece at the time (so I would not upset my stomach for the drive to Niagara) but don't worry...once we got to Niagara in the hotel, I ate 2 more pieces :) We left for Niagara around 4:30pm or so and got all checked into our hotel by 7pm. Because my parents bought a tour package for Niagara, we got free tickets to a magic show. Ahahaha...wow. He wasn't the best magician I've seen, but no matter what magician I do see, I never understand how they do it. I rack my brain the entire time they are performing trying to think how to re-create these things. I know it's not real and it's all an illusion, but I am one of those people that NEED TO KNOW HOW! It won't ruin it for me...I promise. I am the type of person that will read the last page of a book because I am DYING to know who ends up with whom or if a person that is struggling to live actually dies. It's horrible and I hate it, but I just can't help it. One day, I will ask a magician to reveal their secrets to me...one day. We got back to our hotel room just in time to see the fireworks over the falls. Amazing! It was super short, but way cool. The view from our hotel room (Embassy Suites, Fallview) is seriously the BEST. It was so nice! After the fireworks, we decided we were starving, so we ordered 2 desserts and an appetizer from T.G.I.Friday's (inside the hotel) and seriously chowed down at 11pm at night. HORRIBLE. UNHEALTHY. It was mainly us four kids, but my parents snuck a few bites in :) When it came time for me to pull the couch sleeper out (there were two double beds and one couch bed), I hear a CRACK and do I stop? Of course not. So I finish pulling the bed out...don't worry, it's broken...I don't think I am the one that broke it...I pulled it out like you're supposed to...I think it's been broken for awhile. Anyway, the bed is at a tilt...my side being higher than Evan's. I actually slept pretty good though...despite the bed malfunction.
Day 9 - For some reason, my mom was up to see the sunrise over the falls. I was sleeping...I missed it by a few minutes...or more...but it was beautiful...or her pictures of it are at least! :) We left our hotel room for breakfast at 8am and then headed off for our tour that started at 9am. We went to the Skylon Tower which looks a lot like the Spaceneedle and I think the guy said the same guy designed both...to look at the view of the falls and the city. After, we got on the bus with our bus driver/tour guide and he took us to a place where we got to kind of experience the "making" of Niagara Falls. It was pretty cool...and our favorite of the events. Except for I got the most wet...but that seems to always be the case! :) We went to a few other stops...Souvenir City and the flower clock...and then went to The Maid of The Mist ferry ride. That was pretty intense! It was almost scary being that close to the falls and knowing like how dangerous it could be if you got sucked under that. It's ridiculous. After that, we were all pretty beat because of our early morning and long, eventful day so we decided it was time to go home. BUT...I really wanted a shirt from Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. There were two really cute ones that I wanted, but they were $35! Yeah right! Like I'm going to pay $35 for a T-SHIRT! Thanks, but no thanks, Jimmy! The bus driver told us that Jimmy Buffet was actually IN Niagara the Tuesday before! Missed him by just a few days! I probably would have bought the shirt for $35 if it had his autograph on it! Then we left the hotel and drove 3 hours to a random city and a random hotel and stayed there for the night.
Day 10 - We woke up early and drove to Tuxedo so that my parents could pack up the ol' Ford Flex with all of their big suitcases and hit the road. I had originally planned to go into the city to do some shopping and maybe stop by Canal Street to get my mama a knockoff, but when we got back to the house, I was EXHAUSTED! I just sat in my room, took a nap, and read a book. I was not in the mood to get ready and ride a bus into the city! Evan and Jess made their flight the SLC just fine, but my parents' and Melissa's flight to Seattle was delayed from 5pm something until after 8pm! They didn't get home until around 2 or 3 in the morning and then my dad and Melissa had to go to work the next morning!
Well, now that I have successfully written too much and been way too informative on my blog AGAIN...and have ditched packing for the last few hours while I have been typing this in between dealing with two grumpy boys (who are now napping, THANK HEAVENS!), I need to return to my boxes and suitcases of crap and save myself from just wanting to throw it all out the window or leave it here for the new nanny to deal with! ;) Ooooo...that's not such a bad idea!
Anyway, my family left on Sunday and so I now have one week and then I'm D-O-N-E! (Well, I only have 3 days until I'm done, but at the time they left it was a week.) I think we could comfortably say that we had the best worst vacation. EVERYTHING seemed to go wrong for us! It was horrible and I felt SO bad.
Day 1 - Both flights got in on time and they were able to get all of their luggage and their rental car without problem (except for the fact that we all completely disliked the rental car...Ford Flex, even though you are made to seat 7, you should really only seat 5 because your back-back seat is worthless...) But...as they were driving toward me, Garmin led them straight into East HARLEM. Yeah...imagine people that have never been to New York before guided straight to Harlem. Perfect. They have now seen things only real New Yorkers have, I'm sure. Anyway, my boss spent about 40 minutes trying to guide my mom out of Harlem and back to the real world...and road...they were supposed to be in/on. Needless to say, an hour long journey (add some time on for middle-of-the-day-New-York-traffic) took them approximately 3 hours. We were going to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, but since I didn't know where it was, I only had directions, we decided to go somewhere that GARMIN didn't have to take us and that I knew where it was so we could avoid any confusion. My boss and the family went camping that night and so when my family and I got back we had the house all to ourselves.
Day 2 - We decided to ride the 10am bus in to the city...give my family some time to get a little acclimated before we headed out. We bought tickets for the double decker bus tours...which actually turned out to probably be our best purchase. We then walked to one of the places where the bus picks you up and took it down to Battery Park. We decided to go the Staten Island Ferry route so we didn't have to pay anything and we still got to see the statue. I hadn't done this before, but I probably should have because we had NO idea what we were getting ourselves into. We were near the back of the line so when all of the people started piling onto the ferry, there wasn't even room for us outside. Not to mention we were on the complete opposite side of the ferry that the statue was on. This was probably really stupid of me, but I was definitely thinking the ferry would be exactly like the one from "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" which wasn't crowded at all. Wrong. Anyway, we exited the ferry and instead of getting right back into the end of the line, we decided to hang out and wait so we could be in the front of a line. We went to some random "deli" that was more like a gas station grill and ordered something...they really were out of everything. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, they decided to turn off their grill that makes most of the things that any of us wanted. We sat and ate and then decided to go and ask two rent-a-cops where the ferry was coming in and what side the statue would be on so we were prepared. They told us a door and then said it would be on the right. We were FIRST in line...except for the few people that thought they would just step around and in front of us. Anyway, then comes this announcement saying that the ferry we were standing in front of was out of order. Perfect. So we were now near the end of the line in front of the other doors. We talked to a guy that looked like he was from around there and he told us that the ferry was on the LEFT. Don't worry...he was right...which means the rent-a-cops we talked to were pretty much full of USELESS information. Anyway, we split up to find good seats...which was probably the wrong thing to do because then we didn't have enough seats/railing to fit very many people. My mom and sisters got some good pictures of the statue though. After that fiasco, we decided to ride the double decker bus to a couple other stops. The first stop we took was Rockefeller Plaza. We went to the NBC store and we pretty much went crazy. My sisters and I each got 2 shirts and my brother got 3. Evan and Melissa each got an Office bobblehead, but then when you buy two, you get a Dwight free, so I think Evan ended up with two bobbleheads. Evan got a lanyard, and he, Melissa, and I all got small tote bags. After that, we walked to the NBA store for Evan. He got a Rondo shirt and a pair of Celtics shorts. We walked back to Rockefeller Plaza and were going to take the bus to Central Park, but there was some sort of a traffic jam and since we didn't feel like walking to Central Park, we were out of luck. So we just went back to Times Square and ate dinner at Dave and Buster's. (My mom doesn't want me to tell this story, but I will anyway...) On our way to Dave and Buster's, we are just struggling through crowds of people trying to get through the people handing out pamphlets and the people just walking. I usually keep my face straight forward and don't make eye contact so people don't try to hand me pamphlets. Evan hits my arm as I walk by someone with pamphlets and he starts pointing with his mouth open. (You have to get him to demonstrate his reaction for you...it's priceless...he says he was starstruck haha!) Evan said, "That's the guy from One Tree Hill!" (Which is my favorite TV show, PS...has been since high school...I just can't let it go haha!) I turn to look and the guy kind of smiles at me over his shoulder because I'm SURE he knows what Evan told me...and so I go back a few steps to my mom and tell her and SHE turns around...as does Jessica. We are all staring at this guy and then everyone is trying to get me to go talk to him to see if it's really him. I hesitate for a bit because I hate talking to people I don't know because I usually make a fool of myself, but then I decide that it's worth it. I walk up to him and say, "Excuse me...can I ask you a question?" He said, "Yes...." but he wasn't telling me I could ask him a question, he was already answering my question. But I still said, "Are you on TV?" and he said, "Yes..." and then I said, "Are you on One Tree Hill?" and he said, "Yes..." Hahaha, it was sweet! I asked him if I could have a picture with him and he said yes and so there you have it! I loved it! He is super nice in person and really cute, too! One Tree Hill is the only thing he's been in, but I think he'll be done handing out pamphlets soon! I hope! :) His name is Paul Teal, PS :) We got back to the bus station and got on the bus and everything and then the bus driver came on and told us we couldn't share tickets out of one book (I bought a book of 40 tickets since we would be using 36 of them...) because they are rip-offs at the bus station. After 10 minutes of deliberation and conversations with the bus driver and the manager on duty, they FINALLY started to drive away back toward Tuxedo Park. When we got off, the bus driver acted as if he was doing us a huge favor and we should name a kid after him or something.
Day 3 - We decided to get an earlier jump on the day and took the 8:30am bus into the city. We held our breath as we boarded the bus, but no gripes this time. We hopped onto a double decker bus right away and headed to the Museum of Natural History. We had a way better time than we should have here...especially because my siblings and I all act as if we're 12 year old girls when we see anatomically correct animals, paintings, or statues. I think it may be more Evan's reaction to them that makes us all laugh, but I'm sure it's still the actual artifact on some level. It was quite hysterical, actually. Evan is definitely the comedian of the family! We got back on the bus and rode around to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (If you ever go to New York and to these museums, they always say,"Suggested price is..." and it's way too expensive for just walking around and looking at things, so that's when you say, "I'll pay..." We did this with both and saved about $40 per museum. We still paid most of the outlandish fee, but enough so that we could still say we saved money on them! :) We were going to walk through Central Park to the Met, but after all the time walking around in the museum, we decided we wanted to be lazy. We went to the Met and had Jess pick places she wanted to go...no way were we going to walk all the way through one of the largest museums! Jessica and my mom really liked the Met (I think...) but it wasn't really the rest of our "scene." Evan, my dad, Melissa, and I walked around decided which works of art we could recreate and WHY some of these things are art. Let me tell you...I am a HORRIBLE artist, but there were a few of these things I would definitely be able to do. There was one that looked like it was drawn on notebook paper with Crayola markers. I mean, I'm not knocking it...I just don't understand it...I just don't think I have the "artistic eye." ;) After that museum, were going to go to Central Park (again), but we were too tired (again). So we went back to where we caught the bus...where we saw one of the restaurants Evan really wanted to go to called "Shake Shack." It's probably comparable to In 'N' Out, Dicks, and Five Guys. It was pretty good...I'm not sure which place I prefer though...they're pretty close (except maybe Dicks...too much grease most of the time...and no "special sauce." Don't get me wrong though, I still love it!) We then walked around Times Square for a little while because we were waiting for the night tour on the double deckers to start. We were going to go into Toys 'R' Us, but my dad kiboshed that idea real quickly. (I don't really know how to spell that...) We went into M&M World and the Hershey's store, but both were SO CROWDED it was overwhelming...we waited for my mom to go to the bathroom for about 30 minutes because the line was so long at M&M World. Anyway, besides the bathroom fiasco, we didn't stay there very long. Melissa and Jessica DID get some M&Ms though :) Next we went to Fossil to get Jessica a watch. Jessica really loves my "Sandra Bullock watch" (I got a watch like the white one she always wears on "The Blind Side") and so she wanted to get one. My mom, while we were there, decided she loved my watch too...so Jess got one the same style as mine, only a slightly smaller face and band, and my mom got one the same size as mine, only with a blue face instead of a white one. I like both of them! :) After that was all done, we had to go and buy some souvenirs. We went to a store and tried to haggle with some guy and he was NOT having it...so we went right next door and the guy there gave us a pretty good deal because we were buying so many shirts and things. He even through in a free pen for my mom. Probably because he felt bad for her to have to put up with all of us all the time! Then we caught a night tour double decker bus...this bus takes you all around the city and through Brooklyn. It was so nice! Our tour guide was amazing! There were a lot of things I haven't seen or that I didn't know even though I've been here for 3+ months. We had a little time left before the 10:15pm bus (we figured out that there were more buses after 8:30pm...which I could have sworn there were!) so we went and all got a piece of cake from Junior's. My friend Jane and her dad introduced me to Junior's when they came to town and I spent the day with them and I am so glad they did! My family all LOVED their desserts! (Except Melissa because my boss's husband decided to help himself to her cake...which was kind of weird, but oh well haha!) When we got there, my parents were freaking out about the whole "not getting on the bus thing," so I decided to go and ask the night manager that was on duty (a different one from the day before) if my BF bus driver was driving that night. I knew he drives the 6:15pm on Sunday, but I didn't know if he came back to drive another one that night. After a drawn on explanation ("I'm not sure I'm saying his name right..." "I don't know his last name..." "He's from the Dominican Republic..." "He wears NY Yankees driving gloves...") they finally caught on and gave me a couple looks as if to say, "Oh, you WANT him, do you?!?!" and told me he WAS driving the 10:15pm bus...which was the one we were planning on driving. He let my family and I get on...no questions asked...and we chatted the entire way. When he's not asking me out, he's pretty pleasant to chat with. AND he got a job driving the Jonas Brothers tour bus starting in September (apparently...I'm STILL a tad skeptical...) as a backup driver, AND I have his number, so I'm going to see about getting some backstage passes or something. I mean, I am no JoBros fan, BUT...why wouldn't you want to go backstage and meet them if you had the chance? I just hope their opening act is good!
Day 4 - My family left for Philadelphia and was there overnight, while I just worked...dealing with tired and cranky little boys.
Day 5 - My family got in from Philly around 8pm and we ordered pizzas and hung out with the little boys. :)
Day 6 - My family went to the city on the 10am bus while I stayed behind and worked for a little while. I think the bus company NOW has it out for us, because after that bus driver saw my dad's ticket and then Evan's (the very first tickets) he said it was a no-go and made my family pay for 4 of their tickets. I outlined on a map the places they should go and subway routes they should take...but apparently they didn't follow any of it so that was no help. They went to the Empire State Building and wasted a lot of time waiting and a lot of money, but they got some good pictures, I think. They went to Grand Central Station and the Wall Street Bull. They also went to Canal Street to buy some purses. This story is probably better than mine...maybe not as sketchy because I was out in the open and NOT on Canal Street, but definitely funnier. They're standing there, looking at the shops, not really knowing what to do (even though I told them to go into one and ask for a certain brand and they'd take them into the back room) when an Asian lady spots them and says, "Handbags?" Jessica says, "Yes..." and the lady asks what kind. Jessica says, "Umm...Chanel..?" and the lady tells them to follow her. So they start following her...and following her...and following her...all the while she keeps looking back at them to make sure they're still following. Well, she starts taking them pretty far away and so they start getting restless thinking this lady is taking them into some back alley. Once they know she's not paying attention, they quickly go down a street and start walking away from her. She notices they aren't following and sprints to try and find them and she says, "Come! We're almost there!" They ask her how much further and she says just one block and that she can see the store. Apparently that was a lie, but it wasn't THAT much further than a block. When they get there, the guy tells my family that only two people can go in...yeah right. My dad is NOT letting 2 of his daughters go into that back room all alone. He barely lets us go to the bathroom in a restaurant without someone. (SLIGHT exaggeration...just slightly though!) Anyway, so the guy ends up letting all 6 of them go into the back room. I guess there was already a couple back there and so it was quite the tight squeeze! While my mom and sisters are looking at the purses, my dad talks to the other guy in there and makes a joke and the guy starts laughing and the Asian lady (or someone else, I'm not sure) was like, "STOP LAUGHING! Cops hear!" Hahahaha oh gosh! So my family gets out of there with 2 purses for me, 2 purses for Jessica, 1 purse for Melissa, and 1 purse for our cousin Aleen for $220. Through all the confusion and hysteria, my mom forgot to buy a purse for herself! :/ I met up with them almost immediately following this (they went to Hard Rock for food while I was on the bus and then I grabbed a salad from a place across the street from the theater) and we all went to Mary Poppins on Broadway. We really enjoyed it. It was really good, I thought! After the play, we went back to the bus station and headed out of the city for good (but not before we had to buy 5 tickets for the ride back home!) My boss told me that she would buy all the tickets we couldn't/didn't use off of me because she has until the 30th of this month to use them, so that's perfect! :)
Day 7 - My family hung out around the house with me today to catch up on sleep and do some laundry. My siblings really just wanted to play with the boys. I can see why...they're cute when you're not telling them the can't or have to do something :) We toured the park a little bit and got to see all of the amazing homes...every morning, my dad has been waking up early and so while everyone has been asleep, he's been reading the Tuxedo Park history book...and he was a WAY better tour guide than I was! It was pretty funny! We left that day around 4pm for our road trip to Palmyra, New York and Niagara Falls, Canada. We stopped for dinner in Syracuse at another one of Evan's restaurants called Dinosaur BBQ. It was pretty good...I had delicious soup and mashed potatoes...my sandwich was alright, but I should have gotten the one that didn't have the sauce on it that mine did because the sauce wasn't my favorite. We all ate a ton though...especially Evan! We got in to Palmyra around 11pm because of our 45 minute wait at the BBQ, but it was alright :) We stayed in this ADORABLE house that I recommend anyone who is going to Palmyra to stay at. Our little "cottage" had places for 9 people to sleep (3 twin beds, 1 queen, 1 double, and a hide-a-bed) and had internet, fully stocked kitchen (with utensils and things, not food...), cable, etc. etc. etc.! And I think my mom said it was like $150 a night. We seriously loved it....not to mention Evan, Melissa, and I got the room with the A/C unit! ;)
Day 8 - The next day we went to all the sights in Palmyra (LDS church sights in case anyone is reading this and is wondering what there is to see in Palmyra haha) including the Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith's houses, the temple, the BoM publication site, and Hill Cumorah. I loved it all...I think the publication site was really interesting...it was a really good tour. We went to lunch at Mark's Pizzeria (there was a brochure on the fridge at the "cottage") and it was seriously to die for. I don't know why, but their pizza was DELICIOUS. I loved it. I could only eat one piece at the time (so I would not upset my stomach for the drive to Niagara) but don't worry...once we got to Niagara in the hotel, I ate 2 more pieces :) We left for Niagara around 4:30pm or so and got all checked into our hotel by 7pm. Because my parents bought a tour package for Niagara, we got free tickets to a magic show. Ahahaha...wow. He wasn't the best magician I've seen, but no matter what magician I do see, I never understand how they do it. I rack my brain the entire time they are performing trying to think how to re-create these things. I know it's not real and it's all an illusion, but I am one of those people that NEED TO KNOW HOW! It won't ruin it for me...I promise. I am the type of person that will read the last page of a book because I am DYING to know who ends up with whom or if a person that is struggling to live actually dies. It's horrible and I hate it, but I just can't help it. One day, I will ask a magician to reveal their secrets to me...one day. We got back to our hotel room just in time to see the fireworks over the falls. Amazing! It was super short, but way cool. The view from our hotel room (Embassy Suites, Fallview) is seriously the BEST. It was so nice! After the fireworks, we decided we were starving, so we ordered 2 desserts and an appetizer from T.G.I.Friday's (inside the hotel) and seriously chowed down at 11pm at night. HORRIBLE. UNHEALTHY. It was mainly us four kids, but my parents snuck a few bites in :) When it came time for me to pull the couch sleeper out (there were two double beds and one couch bed), I hear a CRACK and do I stop? Of course not. So I finish pulling the bed out...don't worry, it's broken...I don't think I am the one that broke it...I pulled it out like you're supposed to...I think it's been broken for awhile. Anyway, the bed is at a tilt...my side being higher than Evan's. I actually slept pretty good though...despite the bed malfunction.
Day 9 - For some reason, my mom was up to see the sunrise over the falls. I was sleeping...I missed it by a few minutes...or more...but it was beautiful...or her pictures of it are at least! :) We left our hotel room for breakfast at 8am and then headed off for our tour that started at 9am. We went to the Skylon Tower which looks a lot like the Spaceneedle and I think the guy said the same guy designed both...to look at the view of the falls and the city. After, we got on the bus with our bus driver/tour guide and he took us to a place where we got to kind of experience the "making" of Niagara Falls. It was pretty cool...and our favorite of the events. Except for I got the most wet...but that seems to always be the case! :) We went to a few other stops...Souvenir City and the flower clock...and then went to The Maid of The Mist ferry ride. That was pretty intense! It was almost scary being that close to the falls and knowing like how dangerous it could be if you got sucked under that. It's ridiculous. After that, we were all pretty beat because of our early morning and long, eventful day so we decided it was time to go home. BUT...I really wanted a shirt from Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. There were two really cute ones that I wanted, but they were $35! Yeah right! Like I'm going to pay $35 for a T-SHIRT! Thanks, but no thanks, Jimmy! The bus driver told us that Jimmy Buffet was actually IN Niagara the Tuesday before! Missed him by just a few days! I probably would have bought the shirt for $35 if it had his autograph on it! Then we left the hotel and drove 3 hours to a random city and a random hotel and stayed there for the night.
Day 10 - We woke up early and drove to Tuxedo so that my parents could pack up the ol' Ford Flex with all of their big suitcases and hit the road. I had originally planned to go into the city to do some shopping and maybe stop by Canal Street to get my mama a knockoff, but when we got back to the house, I was EXHAUSTED! I just sat in my room, took a nap, and read a book. I was not in the mood to get ready and ride a bus into the city! Evan and Jess made their flight the SLC just fine, but my parents' and Melissa's flight to Seattle was delayed from 5pm something until after 8pm! They didn't get home until around 2 or 3 in the morning and then my dad and Melissa had to go to work the next morning!
Well, now that I have successfully written too much and been way too informative on my blog AGAIN...and have ditched packing for the last few hours while I have been typing this in between dealing with two grumpy boys (who are now napping, THANK HEAVENS!), I need to return to my boxes and suitcases of crap and save myself from just wanting to throw it all out the window or leave it here for the new nanny to deal with! ;) Ooooo...that's not such a bad idea!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
...Counting Down...
Alright, so we're approaching 2am and I can't sleep. I don't even want to think about the fact that I have to be up in 6 hours to entertain children.
I don't really have anything super important to write about...no experiences, no fun adventures...just the fact that I have begun the countdown. I actually have a few countdowns going. A countdown for when my family comes, for my last day of work, when I get home, when I leave home, when I arrive in Utah and start student teaching, and when I move into a house with my friends. All of these events happen within about 2 weeks of each other, but as soon as I realized that they were closer than they seemed and that this summer has gone by extremely fast, everything started to go in slow motion. My days have been dragging on! It seems like I went to the Hamptons a month ago and that it should be Friday today, not Wednesday (okay, it IS Thursday by now, technically...)
I am pretty much over New York. I love the family I'm with and the boys and I am going to be SO SAD when it is time to leave them...I even love this state and the area I'm in (it reminds me a lot of home...really woodsy with a big--no city is as big as this one--city somewhat nearby) even though I would never choose to live here. I think I have just grown accustomed to being at school with all my close friends that I love and that know me and being able to see my family at least once every three months for at least a week at a time. Okay, granted, I just looked at it and it was exactly 3 months yesterday since I've seen them and I'll see them soon, but I think just the fact that I'm 3,000 miles away with NO ONE...no friends, no one I even know remotely anymore...is what's making this so hard. It's just so WEIRD. I have never been on the East Coast...let alone LIVING over here. I have never lived anywhere besides Washington and Idaho...and in both places I have been surrounded by friends and/or family. I don't know...it's weird. When I first got here, I didn't think I'd ever want to leave. Tuxedo is so gorgeous and it is just far away enough from the hustle and bustle of the city...but I need to live near SOMEONE. One of my friends and I were talking the other day and he said to me, "You pretty much don't do anything by yourself, do you?" That is so true...until now. I have not gone out on my own and done something all by myself without anyone I know...ever. This is my first real solo adventure and I'm proud of myself for doing it...it has been an amazing experience and I am so glad I got to do this. I have learned a lot about myself and have just learned a lot in general.
But....I can't wait to be around friends and family again :) I love having comfort in knowing that there is someone I can physically turn to, rather just by using a phone. Until then, my countdowns are keeping me sane! I'm just sad I haven't made an extravagant countdown like the graduation countdown my roommates and I made in the winter!
I DO, however, have a lot of construction paper...maybe I'll go old school and make a ring countdown like we used to do for Christmas in elementary school! :)
Anyway, approximately 31 days until I leave New York (exact date is undecided currently), 35 days until I leave for Utah/Twin Falls, 40 days until I start student teaching, and 41 days until I get to move in a house with my amazing friends! Yay! :)
I don't really have anything super important to write about...no experiences, no fun adventures...just the fact that I have begun the countdown. I actually have a few countdowns going. A countdown for when my family comes, for my last day of work, when I get home, when I leave home, when I arrive in Utah and start student teaching, and when I move into a house with my friends. All of these events happen within about 2 weeks of each other, but as soon as I realized that they were closer than they seemed and that this summer has gone by extremely fast, everything started to go in slow motion. My days have been dragging on! It seems like I went to the Hamptons a month ago and that it should be Friday today, not Wednesday (okay, it IS Thursday by now, technically...)
I am pretty much over New York. I love the family I'm with and the boys and I am going to be SO SAD when it is time to leave them...I even love this state and the area I'm in (it reminds me a lot of home...really woodsy with a big--no city is as big as this one--city somewhat nearby) even though I would never choose to live here. I think I have just grown accustomed to being at school with all my close friends that I love and that know me and being able to see my family at least once every three months for at least a week at a time. Okay, granted, I just looked at it and it was exactly 3 months yesterday since I've seen them and I'll see them soon, but I think just the fact that I'm 3,000 miles away with NO ONE...no friends, no one I even know remotely anymore...is what's making this so hard. It's just so WEIRD. I have never been on the East Coast...let alone LIVING over here. I have never lived anywhere besides Washington and Idaho...and in both places I have been surrounded by friends and/or family. I don't know...it's weird. When I first got here, I didn't think I'd ever want to leave. Tuxedo is so gorgeous and it is just far away enough from the hustle and bustle of the city...but I need to live near SOMEONE. One of my friends and I were talking the other day and he said to me, "You pretty much don't do anything by yourself, do you?" That is so true...until now. I have not gone out on my own and done something all by myself without anyone I know...ever. This is my first real solo adventure and I'm proud of myself for doing it...it has been an amazing experience and I am so glad I got to do this. I have learned a lot about myself and have just learned a lot in general.
But....I can't wait to be around friends and family again :) I love having comfort in knowing that there is someone I can physically turn to, rather just by using a phone. Until then, my countdowns are keeping me sane! I'm just sad I haven't made an extravagant countdown like the graduation countdown my roommates and I made in the winter!
Anyway, approximately 31 days until I leave New York (exact date is undecided currently), 35 days until I leave for Utah/Twin Falls, 40 days until I start student teaching, and 41 days until I get to move in a house with my amazing friends! Yay! :)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
SOUTHAMPTON!
I went to Southampton for the 4th of July with the family I nanny for. We were staying at their friend's house. My boss described it to me as "a free hotel." She was completely right. We left late Thursday night and after about 2 1/2 hours, we pulled up to the house. The house is gorgeous! It doesn't look like a mansion from the outside, but it is definitely one from the inside. The rooms are amazing. I had my own room with my own bathroom and a great view of the tennis court and swimming pool in the backyard. I forgot to take pictures of the outside before I left, but here are some pictures of my bedroom and bathroom.
The bathroom drawers were fully stocked with all different things: a sleeping mask, bug spray, first aid kit, Altoids and Tic-Tacs, curling irons, hot rollers, etc.! It was so nice!
My boss had originally told me that about 80% of the time we were there would be "me" time and then I'd only be "working" about 20% of the time, which was exciting for me! It was like a vacation while working! The first day my boss' husband was sick and had to work for the first half of the day, so we went to Kmart and then hung out by the pool...practically all day. The next day, we hung out by the pool and then went to the beach later on in the evening. We played in the sand, flew kites, and one of the boys even let me bury him in the sand!
The next day we spent more time by the pool and just hanging out...I watched the kids and put them to bed so that their parents could go out to eat. Monday we went to the Southampton parade...it was alright...the kids got sick of it after an hour and a half though (plus it was HOT!!!!!!) and so we left and then went swimming (thank goodness!) It was just me and the boys this time because their parents went to lunch at the beach club with the couple who's house we were at. It was really difficult trying to make sure two kids don't drown in the pool all by yourself! Wow! Anyway, more hanging out and then we left that evening back for Tuxedo! It was an excellent weekend and I'm really glad that I was invited to go!
The next thing I have to look forward to is my family coming! Thank goodness! I'm getting pretty "family and friends sick"! Trying to figure out what we have time to see and what is important to see has been hard work! Hopefully we can manage it without any regrets of things we wished we would have been able to see! :) After that, another week of being a nanny and then HOME (for approximately 36 hours) and Utah :)
My boss had originally told me that about 80% of the time we were there would be "me" time and then I'd only be "working" about 20% of the time, which was exciting for me! It was like a vacation while working! The first day my boss' husband was sick and had to work for the first half of the day, so we went to Kmart and then hung out by the pool...practically all day. The next day, we hung out by the pool and then went to the beach later on in the evening. We played in the sand, flew kites, and one of the boys even let me bury him in the sand!
The next thing I have to look forward to is my family coming! Thank goodness! I'm getting pretty "family and friends sick"! Trying to figure out what we have time to see and what is important to see has been hard work! Hopefully we can manage it without any regrets of things we wished we would have been able to see! :) After that, another week of being a nanny and then HOME (for approximately 36 hours) and Utah :)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Aubrey's Last Weekend...
So this weekend was Aubrey's last weekend in the city! It was really sad! She is now home, but I think we went out with a pretty good bang! :)
I went down Friday night because I had to take two tests REALLY early Saturday morning. When I got in on Friday, I still needed to stop and get some #2 pencils that weren't mechanical because I didn't have any. We stopped at two Duane Reade stores and NEITHER of them had pencils. They had erasers, sharpeners, etc...but no pencils. We went to Pinkberry while we were still looking for pencils and then went to the Walgreen's in Times Square. They happened to have pencils.......but no sharpeners or erasers........perfect. I already was in a bad mood because I had to take these tests in the first place and this wild goose chase was NOT helping! We went back to the Duane Reade where it all started and bought the pencil sharpener I needed. We finally got back to Aubrey and Angie's around 11 and I went to bed at 12:30am...not very smart.
I woke up at 4:30am....got out of bed at 5:15am.....to get ready for my test. I left Aubrey's at 6:20am and headed for NYU. I was walking around looking for the building...and looking lost because the numbers were ALL messed up! I got off the subway around 160...a few blocks later I saw 70 and was excited I was getting closer...60...and then all of a sudden, there was 20! I was looking for 40! I kept looking at the buildings, thinking I had missed something...looking completely lost. Some lady asked me if I was looking for some place to take a test and so I said yes! Finally someone to help me! This is what she said next,"Well you can just follow me...the SAT is right down this street..." Apparently I look like I'm 17 when I'm almost 24 years old. This is like the 3rd time I have gotten mistaken for a high school student in the past 4 months! I don't know why people think I look so young...I don't think I look like I could still be a junior in high school! Anyway, I told her I was looking for the Praxis and she pointed me in the right direction. I LOVED NYU. It is so cool...I don't even know how to explain it...the classrooms, the hallways, the hang out spots...the stair cases even! Anyway, I was supposed to be there for my first test at 7:30am (which I JUST made it...) but my test proctors were really slow and a lot of people were late, so we didn't start until 8:20am. It was a two hour, 120 multiple choice question test and I finished in an hour and 20 minutes, so had to sit there for 40 minutes doing nothing...I'm pretty sure I nodded off a few times. My next test was supposed to start at 11am, but started at 11:20am and again was a two hour test, but it was 60 multiple choice questions and 6 essay questions. This test took me the whole time and I even skipped an essay question because I knew I wouldn't have time for it : / I'm so glad my tests are over! Now I just have to wait a month for my scores.
I met Aubrey and Angie in Washington Square Park...by the arch that's in August Rush. While we were in the park, Aubrey wanted a jumping picture in front of the arch. I told her I'd take it because I have taken a lot of her jumping pictures during our expeditions through the city. I tell her to jump and then see it all in slow motion. There's a pigeon walking slowly toward her...she jumps up...the pigeon gets scared and flies away from her....away from her and toward my face. Mind you, I am completely disgusted and grossed out by pigeons. I hate them. They make me shiver just thinking about them. So, this pigeon is flying toward my face and here I am, still taking Aubrey's picture. I have a terrified expression on my face, and so does Aubrey as she lands and rushes to my rescue. She's just lucky I didn't freak out and throw her camera or something. That would have been tragic! And I still got a decent picture...so basically, I'm good even when I'm having a personal crisis.
We walk away from the park, toward our previously decided shopping locations. There is a HUGE Indian parade going on down the street toward the park. It was pretty cool, I must say! Anyway, we went shopping pretty much all day and then went to Max Brenner for some dessert before Broadway. It was pretty delicious. Chocolate isn't my favorite candy (weird, I know...) because I tend to lean toward the chewy/fruity types of candy, but Max Brenner was pretty much chocolate HEAVEN. It was insane! I ordered churros with milk chocolate, white chocolate, and raspberries for dipping and I LOVED it. So good! :)
After Max Brenner, it was time for In The Heights on Broadway with Corbin Bleu. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I was wondering if I'd like it, but I LOVED it! Not to mention, Aubrey lives IN the heights and so it reminded us a lot of where she lives/where I stay every weekend. However, we DID flirt with the theater manager trying to get him to let us meet Corbin, but he wasn't catching our subtle hints. Dang him!
Sunday we went to church and then Aubrey and I came home early to get her to the airport. I went with her in case her suitcase was too heavy and I had to take some stuff and ship it to her. Good news! It was only 50.5 pounds! :) I took a taxi to a subway system (because Aubrey telling me about taking a bus just confused me...) and then headed to the NBA store to get my little brother a Playoffs shirt like I promised him. While I am on my way (I was wheeling my mini suitcase around the entire time...ANNOYING!) it starts to rain. I get into my suitcase and get my umbrella out, so I am now rolling my suitcase with one hand, and holding an umbrella with the arm that is holding my purse. I get to where I can see the NBA store from a distance and also see a HUGE parade. It was the Puerto Rican Pride parade and I had TOTALLY forgotten about it. I had to go really far out of my way to get to the NBA store. It was ridiculous. If I hadn't been so annoyed, the parade would have been really cool. If I had three arms, I would have gotten my camera out to take some pictures because it was pretty sweet, I must admit. They had rappers, cars with hydraulics and huge rims, and Puerto Rican men with their shirts off everywhere in the pouring rain. Because of the stupid parade, when I got out of the NBA store, I was so turned around that I walked 3 AVENUE blocks in the wrong direction. By that time I was at Grand Central Station...on the OPPOSITE end of 42nd that I wanted to be...so I just hopped on a subway to get to my bus station. I was SOAKING wet and had dried pieces of paper all up and down my legs and capris. The Puerto Ricans left A LOT of paper on the ground that dissolved into smaller pieces because of the rain, and ended up on the backs of my legs and on my feet. It wasn't pleasant.
I took the 6:15pm bus back to Tuxedo...which just so happens to be the bus my "best friend" drives. (I've taken this bus like...3 times...and this bus drive ALWAYS talks to me. He probably knows my whole life story by now, and me his...whether I wanted to or not. He is QUITE the talker!) Boy was that a mistake. He was on one...seriously. He is the chattiest person EVER! Not to mention he asked me out and I didn't know what to say. Here is how our conversation went (I had one head phone in my ear and one out, so I couldn't understand him sometimes...):
Bus Driver: "So Nichole...how about a date?"
Nichole: "Umm...what?"
Bust Driver: "I didn't stutter!"
Nichole: "Sorry...my music is loud..."
[Bus Driver wastes 5 minutes talking nonsense...]
Bus Driver: "Nichole, I'm serious. Date? You know...dinner, movie, etc..." (Not so sure what the "etc." was supposed to mean, but it kind of scared me, not going to lie...)
Nichole: [While trying to quickly remember if I had previously told him I was currently unattached...] "Well...here's the thing...my friend that lives in the city actually left today...so I won't be coming around every weekend like I have been because I don't have anywhere to stay..." [I was really nervous about adding that last part because I half expected him to offer me a place to stay...ew.]
Bus Driver: "Sure, Nichole....." [To the two other passengers that were near the front] "Man, did you hear her? I just got REJECTED! Can't believe it!"
Needless to say, if I DO go in to the city this next month to hang out with Angie, I will NOT be taking the 6:15pm bus anymore. Oh, and he also told me that one of his bus driver friends told him I was "caliente." Oh perfect. Now there are two bus drivers after me! Of COURSE I attract THOSE guys...of course! What a PERFECT ending to Aubrey's last weekend in the city....if she would have been able to witness it, she would have LOVED it hahahaha! :)
PS-I went downstairs this morning to get a Nutrigrain bar for one of the babies and definitely saw a mouse dead in a trap. Eww. What an excellent start to the morning. My boss said that there were actually two...I didn't see the other because I didn't look close enough. I thought I heard a trap go off downstairs last night, but thought it was just my boss doing something downstairs. Then I went down to get the little boys something for dinner and saw ANOTHER dead mouse just laying there with its paws up in the air not in a trap. That is when I saw a HOLE...that's right, a straight up HOLE next to the dishwasher. My boss thinks that is where their "lair" is...well yeah!!! Seems obvious enough to me!!! So three down, who knows how many to go! Good thing I still have that Kleenex stuffed in that hole in my room! Eww!
I went down Friday night because I had to take two tests REALLY early Saturday morning. When I got in on Friday, I still needed to stop and get some #2 pencils that weren't mechanical because I didn't have any. We stopped at two Duane Reade stores and NEITHER of them had pencils. They had erasers, sharpeners, etc...but no pencils. We went to Pinkberry while we were still looking for pencils and then went to the Walgreen's in Times Square. They happened to have pencils.......but no sharpeners or erasers........perfect. I already was in a bad mood because I had to take these tests in the first place and this wild goose chase was NOT helping! We went back to the Duane Reade where it all started and bought the pencil sharpener I needed. We finally got back to Aubrey and Angie's around 11 and I went to bed at 12:30am...not very smart.
I woke up at 4:30am....got out of bed at 5:15am.....to get ready for my test. I left Aubrey's at 6:20am and headed for NYU. I was walking around looking for the building...and looking lost because the numbers were ALL messed up! I got off the subway around 160...a few blocks later I saw 70 and was excited I was getting closer...60...and then all of a sudden, there was 20! I was looking for 40! I kept looking at the buildings, thinking I had missed something...looking completely lost. Some lady asked me if I was looking for some place to take a test and so I said yes! Finally someone to help me! This is what she said next,"Well you can just follow me...the SAT is right down this street..." Apparently I look like I'm 17 when I'm almost 24 years old. This is like the 3rd time I have gotten mistaken for a high school student in the past 4 months! I don't know why people think I look so young...I don't think I look like I could still be a junior in high school! Anyway, I told her I was looking for the Praxis and she pointed me in the right direction. I LOVED NYU. It is so cool...I don't even know how to explain it...the classrooms, the hallways, the hang out spots...the stair cases even! Anyway, I was supposed to be there for my first test at 7:30am (which I JUST made it...) but my test proctors were really slow and a lot of people were late, so we didn't start until 8:20am. It was a two hour, 120 multiple choice question test and I finished in an hour and 20 minutes, so had to sit there for 40 minutes doing nothing...I'm pretty sure I nodded off a few times. My next test was supposed to start at 11am, but started at 11:20am and again was a two hour test, but it was 60 multiple choice questions and 6 essay questions. This test took me the whole time and I even skipped an essay question because I knew I wouldn't have time for it : / I'm so glad my tests are over! Now I just have to wait a month for my scores.
I met Aubrey and Angie in Washington Square Park...by the arch that's in August Rush. While we were in the park, Aubrey wanted a jumping picture in front of the arch. I told her I'd take it because I have taken a lot of her jumping pictures during our expeditions through the city. I tell her to jump and then see it all in slow motion. There's a pigeon walking slowly toward her...she jumps up...the pigeon gets scared and flies away from her....away from her and toward my face. Mind you, I am completely disgusted and grossed out by pigeons. I hate them. They make me shiver just thinking about them. So, this pigeon is flying toward my face and here I am, still taking Aubrey's picture. I have a terrified expression on my face, and so does Aubrey as she lands and rushes to my rescue. She's just lucky I didn't freak out and throw her camera or something. That would have been tragic! And I still got a decent picture...so basically, I'm good even when I'm having a personal crisis.
We walk away from the park, toward our previously decided shopping locations. There is a HUGE Indian parade going on down the street toward the park. It was pretty cool, I must say! Anyway, we went shopping pretty much all day and then went to Max Brenner for some dessert before Broadway. It was pretty delicious. Chocolate isn't my favorite candy (weird, I know...) because I tend to lean toward the chewy/fruity types of candy, but Max Brenner was pretty much chocolate HEAVEN. It was insane! I ordered churros with milk chocolate, white chocolate, and raspberries for dipping and I LOVED it. So good! :)
After Max Brenner, it was time for In The Heights on Broadway with Corbin Bleu. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I was wondering if I'd like it, but I LOVED it! Not to mention, Aubrey lives IN the heights and so it reminded us a lot of where she lives/where I stay every weekend. However, we DID flirt with the theater manager trying to get him to let us meet Corbin, but he wasn't catching our subtle hints. Dang him!
Sunday we went to church and then Aubrey and I came home early to get her to the airport. I went with her in case her suitcase was too heavy and I had to take some stuff and ship it to her. Good news! It was only 50.5 pounds! :) I took a taxi to a subway system (because Aubrey telling me about taking a bus just confused me...) and then headed to the NBA store to get my little brother a Playoffs shirt like I promised him. While I am on my way (I was wheeling my mini suitcase around the entire time...ANNOYING!) it starts to rain. I get into my suitcase and get my umbrella out, so I am now rolling my suitcase with one hand, and holding an umbrella with the arm that is holding my purse. I get to where I can see the NBA store from a distance and also see a HUGE parade. It was the Puerto Rican Pride parade and I had TOTALLY forgotten about it. I had to go really far out of my way to get to the NBA store. It was ridiculous. If I hadn't been so annoyed, the parade would have been really cool. If I had three arms, I would have gotten my camera out to take some pictures because it was pretty sweet, I must admit. They had rappers, cars with hydraulics and huge rims, and Puerto Rican men with their shirts off everywhere in the pouring rain. Because of the stupid parade, when I got out of the NBA store, I was so turned around that I walked 3 AVENUE blocks in the wrong direction. By that time I was at Grand Central Station...on the OPPOSITE end of 42nd that I wanted to be...so I just hopped on a subway to get to my bus station. I was SOAKING wet and had dried pieces of paper all up and down my legs and capris. The Puerto Ricans left A LOT of paper on the ground that dissolved into smaller pieces because of the rain, and ended up on the backs of my legs and on my feet. It wasn't pleasant.
I took the 6:15pm bus back to Tuxedo...which just so happens to be the bus my "best friend" drives. (I've taken this bus like...3 times...and this bus drive ALWAYS talks to me. He probably knows my whole life story by now, and me his...whether I wanted to or not. He is QUITE the talker!) Boy was that a mistake. He was on one...seriously. He is the chattiest person EVER! Not to mention he asked me out and I didn't know what to say. Here is how our conversation went (I had one head phone in my ear and one out, so I couldn't understand him sometimes...):
Bus Driver: "So Nichole...how about a date?"
Nichole: "Umm...what?"
Bust Driver: "I didn't stutter!"
Nichole: "Sorry...my music is loud..."
[Bus Driver wastes 5 minutes talking nonsense...]
Bus Driver: "Nichole, I'm serious. Date? You know...dinner, movie, etc..." (Not so sure what the "etc." was supposed to mean, but it kind of scared me, not going to lie...)
Nichole: [While trying to quickly remember if I had previously told him I was currently unattached...] "Well...here's the thing...my friend that lives in the city actually left today...so I won't be coming around every weekend like I have been because I don't have anywhere to stay..." [I was really nervous about adding that last part because I half expected him to offer me a place to stay...ew.]
Bus Driver: "Sure, Nichole....." [To the two other passengers that were near the front] "Man, did you hear her? I just got REJECTED! Can't believe it!"
Needless to say, if I DO go in to the city this next month to hang out with Angie, I will NOT be taking the 6:15pm bus anymore. Oh, and he also told me that one of his bus driver friends told him I was "caliente." Oh perfect. Now there are two bus drivers after me! Of COURSE I attract THOSE guys...of course! What a PERFECT ending to Aubrey's last weekend in the city....if she would have been able to witness it, she would have LOVED it hahahaha! :)
PS-I went downstairs this morning to get a Nutrigrain bar for one of the babies and definitely saw a mouse dead in a trap. Eww. What an excellent start to the morning. My boss said that there were actually two...I didn't see the other because I didn't look close enough. I thought I heard a trap go off downstairs last night, but thought it was just my boss doing something downstairs. Then I went down to get the little boys something for dinner and saw ANOTHER dead mouse just laying there with its paws up in the air not in a trap. That is when I saw a HOLE...that's right, a straight up HOLE next to the dishwasher. My boss thinks that is where their "lair" is...well yeah!!! Seems obvious enough to me!!! So three down, who knows how many to go! Good thing I still have that Kleenex stuffed in that hole in my room! Eww!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Creepy Crawlies
Okay, so naturally, we live in the woods so there are TONS of bugs around. I hate bugs. Growing up, I always made Evan kill them for me...even when he was like 5...before that, I made my mom or my dad do it. I hate having bugs in the house. I've never really had a huge problem with bugs in houses until here...I don't know how they do it, but bugs find their way in the house ALL THE TIME! I think it might be because the house is so old that there are cracks big enough everywhere...just thinking that makes me shiver! Not to mention, the little boys always want me to get the bugs and put them outside. Ha, yeah right. I grab enough toilet paper/Kleenex/paper towels so I know there is no way I will have to touch it, put it around my fingers so that I can easily smash the bug between my fingers without touching it or missing it and having it crawl on me, and then when the boys say, "Did you hurt it?" I wave my hand like I'm letting the bug go outside and then throw the paper towel away. It's pretty funny...they don't want me to hurt the bugs yet they scream like little girls when one comes near them. Just today we were cleaning up their room and there was a dead bug on one of the shelves and the 4 year old wanted me to get rid of it. I said, "Oh no...you're doing this by yourself." I had him get some toilet paper, go in to his room, and pick that bug up. He acted like it scarred him for life. However this is also the boy that asks for a new fork when he goes from eating his tomatoes to eating his avocados. I am going to turn this boy into a man yet! That's my goal!
Anyway, I don't think I ever mentioned this, but a few weeks ago when I got home from the city, my boss showed up to pick me up with a caution. She told me that the boys had seen a snake in the grass on their way back into the park on Saturday and it was now living in an aquarium outside the front door. It just so happened to be a rat snake, so there were 3 mice and 4 fish sharing it's cage with it. Apparently the boys really lobbied to have the snake in the house, but my boss had won that argument. Thank goodness...if one of those boys had opened the lid of that aquarium while I was alone in the house, I would be standing on the kitchen table until someone else got home to save me. There would be no way I would touch it...eww. So two weeks (I think) go by and I'm home alone for Memorial Day weekend. I get home Saturday morning from the city because I went to the Yankees game Friday night...I can't see the snake anywhere in it's aquarium. Perfect. I can just picture it sneaking into the house and crawling into bed with me. My boss calls like 15 minutes after I get home and so I ask her about it...she says that he likes to burrow under the dirt on hot days. After I get off the phone with her, I go look at the snake again, but can't see him still...and I can't see anywhere he could be "burrowed." I find out a week later that he actually HAD escaped that weekend in between when they left for the Hamptons on late Friday night and when I got back Saturday morning.
It has been really hot lately, so my boss put an air conditioner in my room, thank goodness! I was really confused last week though because I kept getting a TON of moths in my room. Then I realized that I am an idiot! When the air conditioner was put in, it made it so there was a crack in between my windows leading directly to the outside..naturally. I saw a moth crawling in and that is how I realized it! So I tapped the glass a bunch of times to make it fall off and then got to work. I covered the "hole" with notebook paper and tape...it looks VERY classy, to say the least! :)
Now, for my last and current dilemma...I get home from the city and my boss informs me that she found a MOUSE in our house on Saturday. Eww. I IMMEDIATELY thought of the hole in my room that I have stared at a countless number of times trying to decide if it could be, in fact, a mouse hole. I went directly to my room and shoved Kleenex into that hole. I was/am slightly worried that shoving Kleenex may be a bad idea, but it was all I could think of at the moment. So...we have mouse traps set all over the house and I am now nervous that I will be sharing my bed with a MOUSE. Gives me the shivers. I took a picture to put on here and I SWEAR as I pulled the Kleenex out to take a picture I heard little footsteps moving toward the flash. I swear to it! Eww! (The pictures are out of focus, but you should get the point...and this hole is literally 10 inches away from the side of my bed where my head is. Ugh!)
So I LOVE living here, but I HATE sharing this house with mice, ants, gross centipede looking things, moths, and possibly snakes. But I DO love looking outside my window every morning and seeing deer outside in the back yard! :)
Anyway, I don't think I ever mentioned this, but a few weeks ago when I got home from the city, my boss showed up to pick me up with a caution. She told me that the boys had seen a snake in the grass on their way back into the park on Saturday and it was now living in an aquarium outside the front door. It just so happened to be a rat snake, so there were 3 mice and 4 fish sharing it's cage with it. Apparently the boys really lobbied to have the snake in the house, but my boss had won that argument. Thank goodness...if one of those boys had opened the lid of that aquarium while I was alone in the house, I would be standing on the kitchen table until someone else got home to save me. There would be no way I would touch it...eww. So two weeks (I think) go by and I'm home alone for Memorial Day weekend. I get home Saturday morning from the city because I went to the Yankees game Friday night...I can't see the snake anywhere in it's aquarium. Perfect. I can just picture it sneaking into the house and crawling into bed with me. My boss calls like 15 minutes after I get home and so I ask her about it...she says that he likes to burrow under the dirt on hot days. After I get off the phone with her, I go look at the snake again, but can't see him still...and I can't see anywhere he could be "burrowed." I find out a week later that he actually HAD escaped that weekend in between when they left for the Hamptons on late Friday night and when I got back Saturday morning.
It has been really hot lately, so my boss put an air conditioner in my room, thank goodness! I was really confused last week though because I kept getting a TON of moths in my room. Then I realized that I am an idiot! When the air conditioner was put in, it made it so there was a crack in between my windows leading directly to the outside..naturally. I saw a moth crawling in and that is how I realized it! So I tapped the glass a bunch of times to make it fall off and then got to work. I covered the "hole" with notebook paper and tape...it looks VERY classy, to say the least! :)
Now, for my last and current dilemma...I get home from the city and my boss informs me that she found a MOUSE in our house on Saturday. Eww. I IMMEDIATELY thought of the hole in my room that I have stared at a countless number of times trying to decide if it could be, in fact, a mouse hole. I went directly to my room and shoved Kleenex into that hole. I was/am slightly worried that shoving Kleenex may be a bad idea, but it was all I could think of at the moment. So...we have mouse traps set all over the house and I am now nervous that I will be sharing my bed with a MOUSE. Gives me the shivers. I took a picture to put on here and I SWEAR as I pulled the Kleenex out to take a picture I heard little footsteps moving toward the flash. I swear to it! Eww! (The pictures are out of focus, but you should get the point...and this hole is literally 10 inches away from the side of my bed where my head is. Ugh!)
So I LOVE living here, but I HATE sharing this house with mice, ants, gross centipede looking things, moths, and possibly snakes. But I DO love looking outside my window every morning and seeing deer outside in the back yard! :)
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