When did I become an adult?

It really hit home this weekend.

A friend and I wanted to take a quick trip to NYC to see a show, but we didn't want to pay for a hotel, so we caught a 3:30 am bus out of DC. It dropped us off at Penn Station with just enough time to grab a quick breakfast before hitting the theater to pick up our tickets. (Being a student is the best - second row seats for $27!!) We spent a couple hours just wandering around Central Park before our matinee, which is when the sleep deprivation started to kick in. In my anxiety to not miss our ridiculously early bus, I hadn't slept the night before, and I definitely didn't sleep on the bus. Luckily the show was fabulous enough that I stayed awake, but I was more than ready to crash when we boarded the bus back to DC at 7:30 pm. A couple big discoveries: First, a trip like this would have been no big deal in college. I didn't sleep much for those 4 years. Now, it was a little painful. Second, I love that I have friends that will still do crazy things like that with me, even if we pay dearly for it afterward.

Worth it? Absolutely. Bernadette "the BP that isn't destroying the planet" Peters and Elaine Stritch were brilliant in Sondheim's "A Little Night Music".

Other recent "Whoa. I'm really a adult" moments:

• Dealing with identity theft
• Actually owing taxes for the first time
• Getting called "Ms Chamberlain" every day for 3 years
  
• Choosing to stay home on a Friday night because I was too tired from the week.
  
• Replacing all the tires on my car
• Road tripping to visit college friends with 2+ kids
• Someone asked me last night how long I'd been playing the piano. And I realized the answer was TWENTY years. Holy cow.
• I am a "former" teacher
• Cody's wedding & Michael's graduation
• Paying for my own insurance
  

Maybe going back to school will make me feel more like a kid? Here's hoping...

Summer Vacay

In approximately 288 hours, I will be released from my voluntary captivity and free to enjoy my summer! In case you're wondering, I really do like my job... but when you're this close, you can just taste summer... It turns out that teachers are just as excited for summer break as the students. I didn't realize that growing up - I thought they just LOVED spending all day every day with us. Turns out I was mistaken. Somehow I don't think I'm going to miss the daily arguments: "You stole that pen from my desk!" and "Ms. Chamberlain, Rakim is still singing under his breath". And if I ever start to get nostalgic for the impromptu dance parties that break out in the halls periodically, I'll just remind myself that I'll be back here soon.

But in the meantime... I've got a pretty rockin' summer planned.

First, these two lovely ladies are coming to visit me:

Well, ok, there would be a picture if I could find one. A &A - why don't I have any pictures of the three of us?

We'll be touring DC for a week (just ask them about The List... let's just say I'm a compulsive trip planner) and maybe even making a jaunt up here:

Then at the end of July, Emily and I will be heading here:

and here:

and here:

And on August 13, my favorite sister gets home from her mission to Brazil!

Add in a few camping/backpacking trips, a weekend at Virginia Beach, trips to Kings Dominion or Six Flags, a road trip or two and plenty of extra sleep, it's going to be pretty fabulous.

June 16th can't come soon enough!


P.S. If anyone wants to join me on any of my adventures / come visit me in DC / more suggestions, let me know!

Les Fotos

Day 1 in NYC. Forecast: Rain

No explanation. Not because you don't need one, but because I have no idea why.

My next job: UN Ambassador

Hello New York! And a closeup of my face.

Mom & me on the ferry back from Ellis Island

From the top of the Empire State Building. See the clouds? Yeah, that's all we saw too.

In our defense, this is what it looked like when we went in

And some extras, in case you don't know NYC sites.

New York, New York!

Best birthday ever: Mom met me in NYC for a great touristy weekend.

Thursday: Arrival. Mom got there a few hours earlier than I did, so she wandered around Rockefeller Center for a while. Once I got there, Times Square and Juniors in the rain. Walking back to the hotel (which, fabulously, was on 51st St, right next to Gershwin Theater), we ran into Katie Holmes & John Lithgow coming out of the stage door for All My Sons. Awesome.





Friday: U.N. tour - finally. I've been to NYC four times and never when the UN is open. Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty. Mourning at the NYSE. Dylan's Candy Bar & Serendipity. Yes, we were on a sugar kick all weekend. And I definitely brought home a Frozen Hot Chocolate mix if anyone needs some. =) Wicked. Wicked awesome. And then Becco. Stuffed peppers, spaetzle and pannacotta. I was a happy woman.

Saturday. Yay for the new Magnolia's in Rockefeller Center! Brooklyn Bridge (some day I actually need to spend some time in Brooklyn.). Empire State Building. In the fog. Bad idea, but funny all the same. The Strand bookstore, which I LOVE, and some shopping before Mary Poppins.

Sunday. Attempted to go to church at the Manhattan LDS Temple, but the 3rd floor is closed for renovations, so we spent the morning wandering Central Park before Mom headed back to Boise and I missed my bus to DC.