Birthday Recap: Episode 1

Birthday weekend began early Friday morning. There was an impromptu stop at Dunks for a hot chocolate then arrived at school to these beauties. 

The teachers I work with planned an early birthday party for me! There were flowers. There was cake:

Which was delicious...like a brownie with frosting! There were so many cards. Cards from the principal, cards from the class, and cards from every single student. These are some of my favorites:

A dinosaur card
A card for Mr. (instead of Ms.)
A card that opened backwards and said, "Dear [Student Name]
A card that says it's awesome to be 22. <---The kids started singing "are you 1, are you 2, are you 3..." so I stopped them before they started hyperventilating so according to my class I'm officially 22 years old!

And yes...I covered incriminating details with Starburst wrappers.

 

3:30 AM

What were you doing at 3:30 am on Sunday night?

Hanging out with your landlord watching water rain out of your bathroom ceiling vent?

ME TOO!

Let me rewind. I returned home from the big birthday bash at the casino of the sun at noon on Sunday. The paint on my bathroom ceiling was swollen with water and small cracks were forming. I put a towel under the drips and put off calling my landlord until I had a chance to pick up my apartment a bit.

Fast forward...parent's house...dinner...Super Bowl...back home. I furiously cleaned my apartment then tried to hit the sack but I couldn't sleep because the dripping sound was bouncing around inside my head. I finally drifted off about midnight only to be abruptly woken up 2:30 am but the sound of rushing water. Upon investigation I found water raining out of my bathroom ceiling vent at a steady pace. I put a bucket under it and attempted to sleep again but it was soo loud. After getting up to check on the mess at 3:00 am, the bucket was filling quickly.

I texted my landlord at 3:00 am and made a tinfoil slide for the water to drain into the sink. It was at this point that I realized that I was not going to school/work in the morning. I slept 3 hours on Saturday night and 2.5 on Sunday night. It was raining inside my apartment and I had to drive to Worcester to run an errand today.

My landlord arrived after 3:30 am, shut the water off to the building and called the property manager. But hours later it was going on 6:00 am and the dripping was minimal. The landlord left, I crawled back in bed and woke at 10:00 for a day full of errand running.

Birthday recaps are coming but are temporarily on hold because things have been crazy in the life and times of Amy.

It's a good thing I'm no stranger to apartment flooding.

   

It's Official!

While birthday weekend actually started yesterday, the real festivities begin tonight. Some things you should know:

• Nails will be painted.
• Hair will be did.
• Goodie bags will be given.
• Fun will be had.
• So much fun.
• Drinks will be drank.
• Food will be eaten.
• Money will be gambled away.
• I will win big!
• Memories will be made.
• 30 will be awesome.

And the theme song of all this awesomeness (minus the outfits) is: 

Also, along with an epic birthday recap, updates on The List are forthcoming. AND, you guessed it...a NEW list is on its way!

    

I Am in the Twilight of My Youth*

It's Birthday Eve! My last night as a twenty-something. <---That is kind of a BIG DEAL! Although what is even more of a bigger deal is that by turning 29+1, I am actually beginning my 4th decade on this planet!

In case you were not aware, I've been anticipating freaking out about this birthday for the past year 10 years of my life. I always assumed that by 29+1 I would be settled in a career, married, a property owner and possibly thinking about having kids. Instead, I find myself still figuring things out...on all fronts. And...this may surprise you...but I think I'm okay with that.

I've always done things at my own pace, in my own convoluted way so why would I think major life decisions/milestones would be any different? I'm slowly coming to accept the fact that I should not compare my life circumstances to others and certainly not against a number. <---Evidence of me growing up!

Tomorrow, I officially become a grownup. Remember that Britney Spears song, "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman"? Well tomorrow, I move from the girl side to the lady side of that equation.

As Dirty Thirty weekend is about to commence I would like to summarize the last 10 years...bullet style.

• Transferred from UVM to UMASS.
• Studied abroad in England.
• Traveled to Spain, Italy, Scotland and Ireland.
• Spent a final summer at camp.
• Earned a Bachelor's Degree.
• Moved home.
• Worked retail for the first time.
• Realized I wanted to be a teacher.
• Earned a Master's Degree.
• Got my first "real" job.
• Got my second "real" job.
• Moved out of my parent's house.
• Lived alone for the first time.
• Spent 6 short months as a 4th grade teacher.
• Started a blog.
• Spent 12 long months unemployed.
• Made The List.
• Returned to my second "real" job.
• Made some new amazing friends.

Here's to the next 10 years being even more awesome!

Read last year's birthday post here.

* Ryan Adams sang this.

Happy...

LAND BEAVER DAY again! Last year I wrote about discovering the secret life of the groundhog. Today I got to witness it first hand. I live streamed the festivities and was completely dumbfounded. I can't believe that groundhog handler is a real job!

These men that form Punxsutawney Phil's Inner Circle are bat-shit crazy. They parade through the crowd in top hats and have names like "Rainmaker" and "The Big Chill." The groundhog handler bangs on Phil's stump, grabs the groundhog by the belly and hoists him into the air. People scream, the groundhog sits on a red rug and tells its handler in a special groundhog language whether he sees his shadow.

Oh. Also, they give the groundhog magic medicine to make him live forever. Watch this if you need some clarification:

P.S. Did you know there are lots of weather predicting groundhogs?

 

Number Fifteen

Make a serious effort at writing outlining a book...check!

I've spent the last 10 years hemming and hawing about writing a book. But what kind? A novel? A children's book?

In the fall, I was finally inspired to write...and then my computer crashed. Luckily D&O lent me a laptop and I got to work on...a memoir. I know, I know. How exciting can my life be? But I think that a good story teller (and yes I'm insinuating that I am one so don't tell me otherwise) can capture an audience with any story.

So while I did not pen a memoir in the past 12 months, I made a serious effort at outlining a memoir.

11 Chapters.
4,000 Word Outline.

Stay tuned.

   

Number Five

Try 5 new foods....check!

This is the goal that people were most excited about "helping" with...and by helping I mean shoving weird food in my mouth and laughing as I made faces like this:

I managed to try more than 5 things thanks to all my friends who like to see me squirm. Here is what I tried:

1. An olive. By far, the worst and most traumatic taste test. (Everyday Brother promised it would taste like olive oil.) It was actually the first new food that I tried so it's basically a miracle that I continued to try new things.

2. Refried beans. Tried these on National Margarita Day in front of people who I had never met before. Gross.

3. A jalapeno slice. Surprisingly, not as horrible as I thought it would be. Still probably won't be eating them in the future.

4. Guacamole. No photo. Didn't like it.

5 & 6. Sun Drop and Sweet Red. Liked the wine...have had it since. Feared for my life drinking the Sun Drop.  Nothing in nature is that color. It was the color of liquid highlighters.

7. Greek yogurt. In big, red letters it said, "DO NOT STIR"...but I did...obviously. Plain Greek yogurt is bitter and gross. Of course you are supposed to mix in the sweet strawberry syrup-goodness.

8 & 9. Quinoa veggie curls and Tofu noodles. Did not compare to real pasta. At all.

10. Homemade hummus. Didn't like it...didn't hate it. It just didn't do anything for me. I prefer my chips white and my dip made of cheese.

11. Some type of sauce at a Mexican restaurant that I was told was BBQ sauce but was most definitely not. Perhaps the spiciest thing I've ever tasted. I made both of my dinner guests try it just so I could feel less awful about having to try it alone.

12. Vegan Rosh Hashanah. Tried LOTS of new foods in one night...and lived to tell about it.

When I added this goal to The List, I hoped to find new foods that I enjoyed, but mostly I wanted to be more open to trying new things. I am a picky eater and often assume that I won't like something without trying it. Accomplishing this goal has really pushed me into taking chances on new things. I didn't like a lot of the things that I tried, but at least now I can say I tried it and I don't like it.

A few weeks ago, I was at a friend's house and she had made dip for veggies using Greek yogurt. Even though I don't really care for Greek yogurt AND the dip was GREEN, I dunked a carrot into it without thinking twice. Said friend noticed my brave behavior and commented that I was trying new things without  being coerced!

Moving forward, I hope to keep trying new foods sans the pressure of people watching for my reaction!

     

Happenings...

in Second Grade:

• Kids collecting rock salt because it looks like crystals...maybe licking it...definitely putting it in their coat pockets.
• Crying...there is always crying.
• Arm flapping. Today, the inability to control one's body sent a girl to the doctor after being poked in the eye.
• Bloody noses.
• Skipping...lots of skipping.
• Root beer flavored fluoride.
• Crouching down on all fours like a frog and licking the trampled snow from a muddy hill.
• Tattling.
• Finding scary pictures during animal research. Case in point:

Demon bunny.

     

Numero Dos*

Read 56 books...check!

As part of my Read 1,000 Books initiative, I set a goal to read one book per week.

Shortest book read: 32 pages...Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl.

Longest book read: 912 pages...The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest (Large Print) by Steig Larsson.

Oldest book read: 1911 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Newest book read: 2011 Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling.

Biggest waste of time: Behind the Bell by Dustin Diamond.

Favorites: On Writing by Stephen King

                  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

                  The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs

                

I achieved this goal ahead of time due in part to some high volume reading months:

This year I read mostly fiction books, but also enjoyed many memoirs and non-fiction books:

It's no surprise that because of #12 on The List, I read a lot of Roald Dahl books. But I also read a lot of books from:

And one last chart because obviously I had fun learning to make charts in Pages:

I'm glad that I read so much this year and I fully intend to continue reading as much as possible because it drives me crazy that no matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to read all the books. <--- Yes, I realize I'm a nerd. I've embraced it.

I've decided to add all of the picture books that I've read in second grade this year to my 1,000 books list for two reasons. 1) I did, in fact, read them.  2) It will bump up my total!

* In Spanish because I didn't want to call such an epic post Number Two.

 

Six on Sunday

1.  I went to my first ever 3D movie today. S and I saw Beauty and the Beast and I got to relive my youth one song at a time. Although, I have to admit I TOTALLY forgot about Gaston! Watching a movie in 3D was crazy. I wanted to reach out and grab things, I flinched as things came at me, and I felt like I was in a snowstorm. Oh...I also looked awesome!

2.  Everyday Brother is going on a cruise to Mexico and I am JEALOUS! While he is soaking up the sun, I'll be spending 5 whole days at work/school.  Boo.

3.  Note to self: Don't leave gallons of water in the car during the winter. They will freeze, expand, explode, and leak EVERYWHERE when you try to thaw it out.

You know how there is usually a handle on a gallon of water? Yeah...that is where it exploded.

4.  Every January/February I contemplate moving somewhere warmer. I want to be outside. I want it not to be dark before 5 pm. But just when I think I can't take it anymore, the days begin to get longer, the snow melts and New England becomes amazing again.

5.  Currently, I'm watching the Drew Peterson story on Lifetime and I'm kind of afraid to go to sleep because I know I'm going to have crazy dreams.

6.  Saturday was smoothie day. Smoothie with a SANTA STRAW!

Don't drown little Santa!