New (school) year, new start?

Geez. I don't know what happened...

The short and long of it for the past school year:

1) Moved into new apartment downtown. Love it.
2) Met awesome new friends. Love them.
3) Kept teaching middle school math. Excellent.
4) Kept coaching middle school basketball. OK.
5) Family visited, went to Nurnburg, Bamberg, & Strasbourg. Fantastic.
6) Went to India in February for work and then stayed with a couple friends for a vacation. Interesting.
7) Whirlwind trip to Galveston, Texas to stand in one of my best friend's wedding. Fabulous.
8) Went to Singapore to visit an old coworker and friend. Awesome time.
9) Considered a last minute move to Paris. Super stressful.
10) Quick trip to Wurzburg. Very neat.
11) Changed flight to go early to Texas. YES!

That's my last year in a nut shell... lots of up and lots of downs. New stresses at work. New excitement outside of work. A memorable year.

I'll try to do better with this year... I promise!!

Oh, Monday.

Oh, Monday. How I love thee. Let me count the ways...

You started out with so much potential! I was asleep before 8:30 on Sunday night. Monday was meant to start with a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, happy-about-life Kelsey. I suppose you couldn't be convinced because I was really just catching up on sleep from Friday and Saturday. Fair enough.

But then you made me leave my phone on the stool in the hallway. I hate that. OK - I didn't do ANY work this weekend, so I need to stay busy at work anyway. Fine. I can survive a few hours without my phone. I don't need to be attached. Buuuuuut I JUST bought a new album this morning, and I was so looking forward to listening to it on the train.

OK, I'll just finish grading papers and read a book. Oh, nope... Kindle's still on the bedside table. Damn. At least my hair looks adorable (if I do say so myself). Pinterest and I have become close friends recently... I'm so loving this Gibson roll right now. I hope this coffee kicks in soon... I seem to be moving like molasses. But I had 2 double espressos before I left the house. Hmm.

So I get through the day, and when I finally have a minute to go to the bathroom... WHAT IS THAT? Why can I see the floor THROUGH my pants right now??? WHAT?!? The seam of my pants are split. AWESOME. I wonder when that happened. I'm gonna go with... on the train this morning. AWESOME. Four classes of pre-teens with my pants split up the butt. Oh Monday, you're super. =) And have I mentioned awesome?

I think the BEST part is, though, that this isn't the first time this has happened. What?? Yes. True story. It might even have affected my self esteem if I thought this was because my butt was trying to bust out of my pants, BUUUTTTTTT that's about as far from the truth as you can get these days. I guess I should really be having my work clothes dry-cleaned and not keep throwing them in the washer and dryer all the time. ;) And maybe wear pants that aren't 4+ years old.

*sigh* Monday, you sneaky bia. Thanks for making me laugh until I cried today.

...excuses, excuses...

*note* I wrote this a few days ago, but I don't have internet at home yet... just now getting a chance to post it online! =)

So in the battle between time and … I don’t know… life?... time won. Big time. Time got the best of me, and I got busy. And stressed out. And busy. Unfortunately for you, that means I didn’t have time to update you on what was keeping me so busy. So I’ll fill you in a little at a time…

The school year ended on a Wednesday, and I left town for the next 10 days on the following Saturday. When I got back to Frankfurt, I had 72 hours to move apartments, do laundry and pack for the next trip. I flew to Texas on Friday, went to a wedding on Saturday and left town again Sunday morning. After a conference in Memphis, I returned to Houston just in time for the weekend, and spent the next 7 days shopping or hanging out with friends, and left town Friday morning for a long weekend in Wyoming for my cousin’s wedding. That left Tuesday to pack and make any last minute USA purchases before leaving for Frankfurt again on Wednesday. I went to Italy the next day, got back Wednesday, and sent my travel buddy home yesterday.

So here we are… August 5. *Big breath* A moment to myself. No agenda. No responsibilities. No deadlines. Finally. Don’t worry though, only ten days of this. Then it’s back to work!! ;)

But that doesn’t explain what happened since the last post… in MARCH! So let’s back up, shall we?

Julie and I forced our friendship through the ultimate test, and I am proud to say we survived… AND still remain friends! =) We spent our Spring Break – the last two weeks on April – in Ireland. We flew into Dublin and spent the next ten days driving our trusty rental around the entire island. The only blip in the trip was just after landing, waiting in baggage claim, and that awful moment arrived – all the other passengers had their bags, and the conveyor stopped. NO!!! When talking with Aer Lingus, the man even had the audacity to say, “Well, where did you connect from? The Germans never lose bags.” OK, well THANK YOU. Upon repeated explanations that we did, in fact, check-in in Frankfurt with no previous flight, and that we were not late for the flight, we were told to give the address and phone numbers of our next three nights’ stay. Not encouraging. Our bags turned up late on the second night, in Dingle. The B&B owner knocked on our door around 9pm and told us, “I have good news and bad news. The good news is they found your bags. The bad news is they won’t be here for three days.” After seeing the panic on both our faces, as we were leaving after two nights, he laughed and said, “Just kidding, they’re downstairs. I called the pub to see if you were there, but when you weren’t I thought I’d come up here to check on you.” He called the bar. Seriously. Called a pub… and asked… for the two American girls?!? Who knows? It made us laugh and put us in a great mood.

Driving on the “wrong” side of the road was quite the experience! And a first for both of us. I am proud to say neither of us hit anything or anyone and returned the car scratch free and the end of the trip! WOOHOO! Julie took the first drive and passed with flying colors! We ended up alternating driving days and made lots of memories laughing, grasping door handles in panic and pumping imaginary brakes on the floor on the back roads the Irish call highways, pulling over for cows and fording streams in small towns, and constantly telling each other to “scoot over, you’re too close on this side!!!!”

The other random thing worth mentioning is the weather. We had amazing weather in Ireland, and a little part of me thinks I should never go back so I don’t spoil the memories. Out of the ten days we were there, we had one morning and one afternoon of rain or sprinkles. That’s it. Sunny days on nine of ten days. Incredible!

In lieu of a Kelsey-style play-by-play, I’ll try to condense it to a highlight or two of each day (and I’ll try to get some captions on the fb pics soon)!!

Monday – Drinking Kilkennys in a pub in Kilkenny to drown away the lost-luggage frustration.

Tuesday – Seeing the view from the Rock of Cashel. So much GREEN around that church!!

Wednesday – Slea Head Drive. Every minute of it was incredible. And running into friends from work on the streets on Dingle.

Thursday – Walking on the beach in Ballinskelligs. Trying to convince the B&B owner that we’d prefer a route that went around the mountain to Portmagee for dinner. Trying to convince ourselves that we would not die as we drove over the mountain to Portmagee for dinner.

Friday – Walking into our “Harry Potter room” in the attic at the B&B in Galway. Finding out pubs are closed in Ireland on Good Friday (Yes, seriously). Finding a back street pub serving beer illegally and drinking with a couple Irishmen and an English Rugby team.

Saturday – Trying beers at a bar near the beach in Galway. Dinner with friends in a restaurant that took us hours to find!

Sunday –Happy Easter! Inishmore (the largest of the Aran Islands). Hanging over the side of a cliff from Dun Aengus. My favorite day of the trip.

Monday – Learning the history of Northern Ireland in Derry.

Tuesday – Eating the best tapas dinner I’ve ever had.

Wednesday – Visiting the old Dublin jail. Drinking Guinness from the Guinness storehouse panoramic bar.

Thursday – Arriving home WITH luggage. =)

I loved every bit of my trip through Ireland. I still think it is one of my favorite places that I have been to so far. I recognize the fact that I felt more “home” in Ireland than anywhere else though. It is amazing what a big difference a lack of language barrier can make. I think the timing of this trip was perfect in helping ease some homesickness. Being able to understand an overheard conversation on the street or reading a sign in a store and knowing what it says were little luxuries that made life easier. The island has so much history and so much beauty, and I’m so happy that we were able to enjoy it all in the sunshine!

My last thought for you… not every man looked like Colin Farrell. Disappointing, I know. It was probably just half of them! ;) The other half looked like Conan O’Brien – but with fire-orange hair. So many Gingers!!! =)

Slán leat!!

Love and love,

Kels

PHEW!! I made it!!

Through the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, that is!

With only one major breakdown and three or four hissy fits, I have survived my first March without working Rodeo since our brilliant introduction three and a half years ago. In spite of the photos, FB posts, and drunken emails from friends... I tried to keep HLSR out of my head. Clearly it didn't work out too well, and I had my first absolutely miserable day in Germany. One of those oh-poor-me, my-life-is-ending, awful days. Which is just ridiculous. I know this. But I missed my friends, and knowing they were ALL together having a blast, doing something I love... well... I was truly homesick for the first time since leaving Texas.

In the meantime... I filled my thoughts, and time, with plenty of work and fun. The basketball season kept me incredibly busy. I am happy to admit - Jessica and I have an undefeated coaching record. We might have to quit now, though, because there is no going up from that!! =) We had a blast with our girls, and while the hours on a train with fifty 12-14 year-old students were surely torturous at times, I had an amazing time. I hope they gained a lot from the season, and I look forward to the opportunity to try again! AND - I learned there is a song called Kelsey. Regardless of the fact that it's by Miley Cyrus' brother's band... and I hate the electronica version... I love the acoustic version. And whenever I hear it, I'll think of Ella, since she was the one who made me listen to it. And Luke and Matthew when I hear Mumford and Sons. And Tasha and the B-Girls when I hear One. So fun. And so lame, I know, but remember - I teach middle school! They rub off on you. ;)

And then the vacations...

I love traveling. The last weekend of February (Ski Break), was not spent on the slopes this year, but rather on the beaches in the Canary Islands. Kelsey, Julie and I went to Madrid for a few days of culture, and then Gran Canaria for a few days of nothingness - Perfect Plan #1. We quickly adopted a must-have, Spanish sleep schedule and imposed mandatory siestas - Perfect Plan #2. And a pitcher of sangria with every meal - Perfect Plan #3. While we certainly met some hiccups on the trip (Guten Morgen, Deutchland! screamed through the intercom at the pool... excuse me, how did I sign up for a German retirement cruise?!?!?), I had a fabulous time. I did learn, however, that I am not yet mature enough for European beaches. Although I still FIRMLY believe that no man should ever wear a speedo AND proceed to hike said speedo up his butt crack like a thong to prevent tan lines... apparently not all people of the world share my opinion. When faced with such a situation, it is generally frowned upon to erupt into giggle-fits... although I have yet to understand the logic of that.

After that, I got to travel with the girls' A-team for an end-of-season tournament to Zurich. For the first time on a basketball trip, there was a little bit of time to see the city. While I only went in for dinner and drinks with some of the other coaches, I thought Zurich was a pretty gorgeous city that I would love to visit again!

I just got back from Prague this weekend, where I got to spend some time with some fabulous college girlfriends (and their husbands), whom I miss dearly!! They came to visit for a week, did some day trips while I was working, and then we went out for dinner and drinks in the evenings. Although they were packed like sardines in my apartment on the last night, AND had to wake up at 4am for our train, I think they had fun. I know I had a great time, and I loved Prague. We spent St. Patrick's Day taking up a giant table in an Irish pub, and saw so much of the city in a short amount of time. I hope they enjoyed their European spring break, and I hope they come back again before I leave!!

With the end of Spring Break in Texas, I know my teacher-friends back home are anticipating/dreading the upcoming (and last ever) TAKS test. I must say, I do NOT miss that pressure. While I am certainly drowning in my own set of nonsense, procrastination, and work responsibilities right now, I really enjoy that stressing over the state-mandated exam is not one of my current problems. My love and prayers to everyone at home to make it through this year's test with all your sanity, and through the school year (and into next) with your jobs. I am afraid to admit, coming home to the mess in education in Texas is not very appealing right now, and I'm gonna need that to get straightened out before I can come back!! With that in mind, back to work so I can keep the job I have now!! =)

Love and love to everyone. I miss you all!!

K

Top 10 of 2010

In no particular order...

RODEO. Oh my gosh. I know it's terribly cliche to be from Texas and love the Houston Rodeo as much as I do... but good grief. It is amazing. So much so that I would consider flying home for a weekend. A 9-hour flight - each way - for 36 hours of amazing. The only downside is that Rodeo 2010 is the reason I now drink coffee. I could barely keep my eyes open all month while I was teaching, and my friend Craig across the hall made the best coffee. After it was over, TAKS was around the corner - equally as exhausting, certainly not nearly as fun - so the coffee just kept coming. Rodeo, oh sweet Rodeo. You take all my money... but you give me Crown, so we stay friends. You will be sorely missed this year. With only Oktoberfest to take my mind off the pain of missing you, I'll do my best to get through the year without you. Drinking and dancing and Chute club and Crown and concerts and runaway bulls and late-night slide races and pot-bellied pigs and shopping and scandal... I hope I can make it though March without too much jealousy this year, because you might possibly be the highlight of my 2010...

WEDDINGS. All FABULOUS and all great memories!!

Garrett & Heather.

Jamie & Garrett.

Catherine & Jon.

Diana & Mike.

SANDCASTLE. On the last day of school with my fabulous CLIS girls - whom I miss dearly. And will laugh as hard as I am now when they also remember the peep-show photo shoot! ;)

MIAMI. My friend Catherine planned her Bachelorette Weekend in Miami in May, and it was fabulous in every sense of the word! I had so much fun, and I am so glad I was able to make the trip!! Except for the scar on my leg - story known only to the few close, personal friends ;) - I made it out alive! The hotel view. The free booze at the VIP table. The dance class (and practicing). The dinner and dancing on top of the table. OPA!!!

FOURTH OF JULY. The Elite Eight. Enough said.

OKTOBERFEST. One twelve hour day trip to Munich is enough explanation. 5am train to booze? Yes, please!

TRAVELING. Rothenburg, Germany. Fussen, Germany (Neuschwanstein Castle). Alvor, Portugal. Vienna, Austria. All in two months. I love Europe.

SNOW DAY. Okay. Not actually "the" snow day when school was cancelled - although, having the last day of work in 2010 on account of snow was kind of nice - but the first day it actually snowed while living in Germany. I had just gotten back from my vacation in Portugal (where I swam in the ocean), and there was snow on the ground. Quite the weather-shock. The next day at school, when it started snowing again, I found myself almost more distracted than the kids as I stared out the windows in the back of my classroom. At break, I bundled up, and looked just as ridiculous as the children walking around in the falling snow and grinning. It was a peaceful happy. A little-kid happy. The best happy.

FAMILY. My parents came to visit me. I got to go to Wisconsin to see my cousins and aunt and uncle on my dad's side. I saw all my mom's family at my cousin's wedding. I only wish there was more time and more money to have made it to Wyoming to see the rest of my family. I absolutely love my family. Love. Love. Love.

MOVING. Moving to Germany is the first truly selfish, ME choice I can remember making in a long time. Although my mind was made up move by the end 2009, I didn't know where I was headed until after the job fair in February 2010. The months between Tuesday, February 9 and Thursday, July 29 were some of the most excited and most stressful days I have ever experienced. They were not, however, terrifying days - which tells me this is right. Being where I am now is the best decision 2010 allowed me to make. Although I miss my friends and family every day, I love the life I am experiencing here, and I can't imagine what I would be doing if I had not made this move.

"Give up the life you planned. Find the life that's waiting for you."

So long, 2010. Let's see what 2011 has to offer..................................

... love actually... IS... all around...

Last Sunday was spent on the couch - pulled out into bed form - watching movies and eating Kraft macaroni and cheese with a friend of mine. I don't know if it's better or worse to know that is was a recovery-Sunday... but at least now you know I don't make a habit of lounging like a fatty...... just a habit of making bad choices on Saturday nights! ;)

Watching Love Actually got me so incredibly excited to go home for the holidays! I love love love that movie. And now I actually live somewhere that takes more than 5 minutes of planning and a few hours of driving to see them, so it made me even more excited to get home and spend time with everyone I love!!

These last few weeks have been a complete whirlwind, and now - as per usual - I am avoiding the work I need to do to catch up before my next big break! I spent last weekend traveling with the middle school basketball teams to Zurich. 4+ hours on 3 trains and 2 buses with FORTY-EIGHT 11, 12, and 13 year olds is not exactly my idea of a good time.... and twice in under 48 hours... wow. I can already tell you I am NOT looking forward to the eight hour train home from Vienna. I am so thankful that we will take a plane to get there so I don't have to do that one twice! It was the first weekend of actual coaching, and we won both games! Our girls are now 4-0!! With only a few minor issues, it was a successful trip!

After I got back in town Saturday evening, I went to dinner with a friend and somehow managed not to fall asleep at the table. And somehow - even more inexplicably - I managed to convince myself (and her) that we should take the train into the next town to go drink at a new bar... which somehow led us to another bar with great music on the way to the taxi line... which ended up being a Hookah/Shisha pipe bar... and we were the only non-Middle-Eastern people inside. Awesome night... which explains the recovery-Sunday.

Back up another week... and I was in Vienna. The most beautiful city I have seen, to date. After 3 hours of delays to get there and hotel room reservation screw-ups, we made it into bed after 1am Friday night/Saturday morning. I went to the Belvedere and saw the art exhibit Saturday morning before spending a full day at Christmas markets all over town. The market at the Rathaus was like a winter wonderland. There was snow and lights and gluhwein. Absolutely breathtaking. I certainly spent far too much money on Christmas ornaments, but they were all so beautiful!

The weekend before that... I was on the beach in Portugal. Fall Break II (the Thursday and Friday at Thanksgiving) was spent with a couple friends in a little town on the southern coast of Portugal. I would go back there in a heartbeat, and I would love to see what it's like in the summer time and "alive." I sang more karaoke in 1 night than I have in my entire life on the first night we were there. On the last night, we didn't get home until after 8 in the morning... closed down a bar at 3, danced the night (or morning) away at a bar in the next town until after 7, and swam in the ocean outside my hotel after that. After less than an hour's sleep, I nearly missed my morning massage... and had an argument with my friends who were trying to wake me up for almost 15 minutes. It wasn't until half-way through my massage that I realized the dream I was having while they were trying to wake me was really things they were saying to me - and I have not laughed so hard as when I was explaining to the girls later that I was convinced they were trying to put my on a slave ship to Africa, and I wanted none of it. Hearing about the things I was saying to them, combined with the memories I had of what was happening in my head... it made my abs hurt from laughing so hard.

So now you finally have stories of my travels. I have finally had a little time for some vacations. I know I keep disappointing friends back home when I have nothing fun to talk about, but life here really is the same. It's the time off from work that gets to be more fun...

SEVEN DAYS. See you soon.

love and love,
K

Notable Quotables....

I love it when I randomly hear a quote or a line that perfectly describes my life at that moment.

At some point in my life... probably high school... I started writing quotes down in a book. It didn't matter if they were song lyrics, or bible verses, or movie quotes, or famous sayings, or lines from famous people, or just something I heard. If it struck a chord with me, I wrote it down. The book reads like my own personal diary... and the best part is only I really know what I was thinking. I can flip back through the pages and remember why I wrote each one down. Or who I was thinking about when I read a memorable line. Or what flashed through my mind when I heard a particular song.

I like to go back and read through them sometimes. Usually on particularly hard or stressful days. The past 36 hours definitely fall into the hard and stressful category. Negativity and anger at work, which brings unnecessary stress and burden on others, is not really something I like having to deal with daily. Unfortunately, it's not only been around lately... but in the past two days, it's been practically shoved down my throat.

But then on bad days... I go back and flip through to the fun ones. The cute loving ones. The happy ones. Sometimes even the sad ones. Going down my own little memory lane of emotion helps me get past the stress of now. I heard a quote on a show I was watching tonight, and I caught myself rewinding to hear it again and smiled. I didn't bring the book with me, so I can't go and write it down tonight, but I will definitely be looking for it when I'm in Texas in December.

So with all that in mind... I'll leave you with these two for the day... because I don't have anywhere else to write them!

"Most people are about as happy as they make their minds up to be." -Abraham Lincoln-

"Don't give up on someone or something that you can't go a full day without thinking about."