Monday, January 28, 2008

Busy week

Greetings everyone! We hope you all had a good weekend. I received some very good news on Friday... I have been accepted into the Masters Program! Yea!! I am very excited. I will begin taking classes in August.
Work has been incredibly busy with students returning to classes and Fall applications pouring in. For example, on Tuesday I got 25 new files to go through and on Friday, 14 DHL packages! Yikes! To emphasize this point, I took a few pics of my chaotic desk.


On Saturday night we went out to celebrate my acceptance to MU. We went to dinner and had some wonderful food.
Zoie did what she always does... sleep, eat, and poop. She's awfully cute though!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Weekend

We had a long three-day weekend spending time with familyt. Above are Jonathan and Rachel, Dad and Anja. Jonathan and Rachel are re-living their childhoods by playing Nintendo games on the Mac.
Yes, it's Jonathan with braids. He is so good at humoring me!
Jonathan and Jeremy striking gangsta' poses.
Rachel and Jeremy. It was nice to see them this weekend. Our schedules are completely opposite so it's a real treat to get together. We all enjoyed Outback for dinner.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Good food and plenty of exercise

Hello, everyone. Sorry for not posting for so long. We had a very good, though seemingly long, week. Jonathan has been busy studying for his final in his correspondence course. His test is Thursday. Today he starts a new math class. He will have class from 5:15 to 7:30 every Monday and Wednesday night for 8 weeks. I am happy that he won't have to do another course by correspondence but I will miss having dinner together!
We did well this week on our fitness goals. Jonathan worked out and I ran three days last week. (I'm up to 5 miles in 30 minutes and ran for 1:20 last Saturday!) I have also progressed to the Intermediate level in Astanga (power) Yoga. I am really loving it.
The sky on our way to work one morning last week. We are happy to see the days getting longer.
Saturday Jonathan and I had lunch downtown. It is such a lovely restaurant and the food is wonderful. Jonathan even ate some veggies!
The spring rolls were incredible.
Sunday I made my new favorite recipe. Indian Flatbread (parathas) and Vegetable Rice Curry. Above are the parathas in step two of the process. You roll out the dough, spread some sauteed garlic oil on it, then roll them up like cigars and twist into rolls. Then you roll them out flat and cook them in a skillet. Yummy!
The cooked parathas and vegetable rice curry. The curry is composed of rice, chickpeas, garlic, green pepper, green beans, and corn. I am hooked on this now!
This is what Zoie did all week and weekend. I wouldn't mind to trade places with her sometimes!

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Working at a University

I have discovered in the last few months that working in a University has an amazing number of benefits. Here's why I love it:

1. Tuition discount- I can take classes at a reduced fee.
2. Library membership- how many jobs do you know of that allow you to stroll through a library with hundreds of thousands of books on your lunch break?
3. Understanding bosses- my boss will allow me to take courses while working full time. I can take them in place of my lunch break. Also, there's no commute. My classes will be in a building that I can see from my office.
4. Professional Development- many opportunities to take free courses on everything from managing stress at work to mastering various computer software programs.
5. Month-long casual days- our office allows us to wear casual clothing when school is not in session.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Happy New Year!

Zoie was too sleepy to stay up for the New Year.
We played Jenga on New Year's Eve...
I won.
First kiss for the Year 2008.
We spent New Year's Day at home reflecting upon the last year and setting our goals for the new one. Theme song for 2008: "All Will Be Well" by the Gabe Dixon Band. (Jonathan recently discovered them. You can hear our favorite song on Amazon by following this link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00122BC9I/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk3?ie=UTF8&qid=1199285018&sr=8-1)

Happy New Year everyone!

A Look Back at the Year 2007...

Biggest Adventure- New Zealand
Favorite Place- Wellington Public Library
Favorite Restaurant- NZ- Abrakebabra US- Papa John's
Favorite Books- The Silmarillion, Geisha by Liza Dalby, The Concord Quartet
Favorite Movies- The Last Samurai, Moulin Rouge
Favorite Music- Moulin Rouge Soundtrack, Enigma
Theme Song for 2007- "Into the West" by Annie Lennox
Happiest Moments of the Year- Arriving in New Zealand, Seeing family again in the US
Hardest Moments of the Year- Saying goodbye to Grandad RC, Leaving family for New Zealand
Biggest Regret- Not seeing my best friend Els in New Zealand
Biggest Decision- Returning to the United States
What I've Learned- The importance of family, To accept myself for who I am, The Value of Honesty, To appreciate friends

It was a great year. Full of adventure, tough lessons, and laughter. Here's to wishing the best for 2008!

After Christmas

After Christmas my sister Amanda came home to stay the rest of the week with us. We had a great time making homemade pizza, shopping, and playing games.
Amanda and me getting ready to go downtown to the art galleries.
On Saturday we took Amanda home and then went to stay the rest of the weekend with family. Our youngest nephew Grayson was there, as well as Mikaela. Here he is below with Uncle Jonathan, showing us a peek of his Buddha belly.
He loves his big sister.
It's never too early to learn to brush, even if you only have 4 teeth!
A happy baby.
Oh no, I'm discovered!