Kev and I in front of the reflecting pool and monument, Washington D.C.Seriously?? 2010 already?! It feels like yesterday that I was graduating from Midwestern and wondering what I was going to do with my life. 10 years later, I'm still trying to figure that out! :)
It's been a ridiculous 6 months since I last posted. For the longest time, I felt that nothing was coming together for me here. I always knew that moving back to the States was going to be a challenge, but I just wasn't prepared for what was in store. But I'm happy to say that within the last 2 months, things have really started to turn around. I joined a couple groups to help feel a bit more connected here, and my French group is really working out. I've met some awesome people that have turned into friends. I've also been playing on 3 soccer teams, which seems crazy to most but is actually pretty cool :) It's not cool, though, that I've injured my knee and need to rest it for awhile...ugh. I hate not being able to play.
What have I done in the past 6 months, you ask? (Or maybe you're not asking! But something tells me that if you're reading this, then you must care a little :) ) Let's see...I spent a long weekend in Washington D.C. to visit my awesome friend, Kevin, who I became friends with while I was working at Starbucks in Geneva. He's going to Georgetown U., so I was able to walk around campus a bit. I met with my brother and his family, which was a lot of fun. I'm definitely thinking about making a Spring trip back to D.C....isn't it funny how you start to appreciate places once you leave them? I grew up 30 min. from D.C., but never really cared until I moved away from it.
So that was over Columbus Day weekend...in November, I trekked on down to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving with my dad's family and had an absolute blast! I love all those guys so much! It makes me happy to know that I'm not that far away, and that I can spend those family holidays with them. I got to spend some quality time with my cousins, who are super cool :) One of my favorite moments: going shopping at midnight on Black Friday with Jake and Josh, and making an Arby's run at 2 am after fighting crowds for 2 hours. We'll definitely have to make that a Thanksgiving tradition ;)
Me and Lucy, who loves to say, 'So...how was your day?' like an adult would say it!
I had an awesome time just hanging out with family and friends (ok, friend...Kim's the only one I still hang out with who lives there!) By the time I left, 3 out of the 4 nieces and nephew were sick. I was bummed that I didn't get to spend more time with Maddy (4 yr. old) and Lylli (1 1/2 yr. old - my brother's girls) because they were really sick. Hopefully, next time I can. I did spend quite a bit of time with Lucy (3 yr. old) and Mark (6 mo. -my sister's kids), which was awesome. Lucy is hilarious! The things that come out of her mouth...and Mark is a chunk! He's seriously going to be over 6 feet tall. At 6 months, he's 20 lbs and almost 28 inches. Big guy...he's such a cutie :)
My dad, stepmom Susie and stepbrother, Dustin
My 'little' brother and me at the OG (Olive Garden :) )
My sister, Amanda, with her husband, Nick and my adorable nephew, Mark
My cousin's wife, Cindy, with her daughter, Bridget; my aunt Sylvia and me (sporting the awesome scarf my aunt made for me!)
Then, on Dec. 23rd, I left for Texas. Can you believe that Abilene, TX, had a white Christmas?!? Unbelievable! I almost didn't make it back home because the snow was causing so many problems for travelers that they shut down the only interstate between Dallas and Abilene. My dad and I were really lucky....we only had to sit there for 20 minutes without movement. My sister and her family (including a 6 month old and a 3 yr. old) were stuck, without any movement, for almost 4 hours!! Their 2 hour trip turned into an 8 hour trip....my poor niece and nephew :( They managed to get through, but there were about 200 people who got stuck on that highway overnight....they spent Christmas Day in churches, shelters and convenience stores until they could drive again. Crazy stuff!
My trip back was not as great as I would've liked. Cancellation and delays made my trip about 15 hours long. But I made it back, despite the snow. Snow has kind of been an issue for me and my travels :) Oh well, I've been complaining for a couple decades now that I don't get enough snow, so I should shut up. What I do need, though, is a vehicle with either 4WD or AWD!! Getting stuck in my bosses' driveway today because I kept sliding down and burning rubber was not cool.
One of my New Year's resolutions is to update my blog more frequently than twice a year :) So, hopefully, you'll hear from me soon! I wanted to post more pictures and videos but Blogger is having some issues with this. I can't cut and paste where I want them to go, so I ended up cutting and pasting the text around them. Not ideal...if any of you have Blogger and know how to fix that, let me know!! Happy New Year, everyone! 39 days until Switzerland :)
A little video of Mark :)
