happy thanksgiving

i'm thankful to be spending thanksgiving with my family in chicago.

i'm thankful for such amazing parents.

i'm thankful that i'm a teacher and i get holidays off.

i'm also thankful for my students and that they told me they were thankful for me today (it was so sweet)

most of all i'm thankful that i have a relationship with my amazing savior.

tomorrow i will be celebrating thanksgiving in a house full of about 50 crazy people. i love the fact that even though we're a huge family we're all so close and would do anything for each other. sometimes i wish i lived in chicago so i can spend every holiday with my family and see them even when its not a holiday... but only sometimes because then i think about how much i love warm weather lol.

i hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving and has many blessings to be thankful.

happy friday

so many other things i would rather be doing on a friday night instead of grading 2 billion papers (ok maybe i'm exaggerating a little), but duty calls.

hope everyone else is having a fun friday night! hey at least it's the weekend!!!!!!

i hate making decisions...

especially ones that will affect the rest of my life.

i plan to get my master's in the fall the only problem is what program to choose. there are two i would like to do and i can't decide which one. i'm so indecisive to begin with and now i have to be sure because grad school is expensive and its what i'm going to do with

the rest of my life, ahh! can someone make this decision for me??

wish i was back here in yosemite contemplating my future

chilly willy

it finally feels like fall! we had our first chilly day today and it was divine. after work i went for a run and it was perfect weather which made my run so much better.

i just wish i had somewhere to go tonight so i could dress up in a cute dress with tights and boots. boo!

this is miela all bundled up with her favorite blankie, she's a kinkajou

confessions of a shopaholic

today i had an excellent shopping day! i got new boots and some cute clothes. i also went shopping last weekend and i bought a lot of clothes. i kind of think i might have a problem because i love to shop way too much. i literally can not fit one more thing in my closet (one of the downsides about living back at home).

shopping may be a coping mechanism for me, i think i should figure out a cheaper way to cope.

p.s. happy veteran's day! thank you vets!

birthday in paradise

finally here are some pictures from my puerto rico birthday vacation. i wish i had pictures of my absolute favorite thing we did in puerto rico which was the bioluminescent lagoon. they told us that it was pointless to take pictures because it wouldn't show up so i didn't. but it was the most beautiful thing i've ever experienced. we went kayaking to a lagoon and whenever you touched the water it glittered. when fish swam by they shimmered and lit up. i can't even describe how amazing it was. definite must do if you're ever in puerto rico. as you can see from my pictures the rest of my vacation was pretty great as well.

in front of el morro which is an old spanish fort

kelly and i in front of el morro

i love the cobble stoned streets of old san juan

the beach was beautiful

we did this everday

my birthday dinner at the parrot club. it was was one of the best meals i've ever had.

chocolate and banana empanadas were my birthday cake.

my new friend sebastian took us out one night.

the club was called la respuesta. awesome place.

i had the best birthday ever!

trick or treat

i hope everyone had a fun halloween.

i spent the weekend in my second home, orlando. i have more friends there than down here in miami so i knew there would be plenty to do.

i have to be honest though, i think i really am getting old because we went out friday night and stayed out waayy past my bedtime and when saturday night rolled around i was pooped and spent the night sleeping.

all in all it was a great weekend, seeing my good friends is like a breath of fresh air.

some of my favorite girls in the world

fall festival

today i had a fall festival party in class with my students and i spent a lot of money and time getting everything ready but it was so worth it because they had so much fun. my favorite was when they played the mummy wrap game.

working with kids is the best, i had a lot of laughs with them today.

just saying

i love balloons.

all i need to make me feel like the birthday girl is balloons.

i have an obsession with disney princesses.

they just make me smile.

25 is starting off right

this is me with the title to my car.

i officially own my little jetta and will not have to make anymore car payments.

i am over the moon ecstatic to have paid off my first car.

cheers to 25

i've had the most awesome birthday week!

my birthday was last saturday and i spent the weekend in beautiful puerto rico and it was perfection. but more about that later with pictures.

last night i celebrated with my miami friends and we had an awesome time. we went to splitsville which is the best bowling alley and the food is amazing there.

i think 25 is going to be a good age.

fins to the right, fins to the left

so last weekend i went to my first pro football game ever and i had an awesome time.

it was dolphins vs the bills and the dolphins did not disappoint me and came through with the win. i am surprised how much i loved it, i'm ready to go get some season tickets, who's with me??

my old friend jo-nathan who i haven't seen in quite some time so it was great to catch up.

i loved his shirt, muy creative!

very near and dear to my <3

"all that i am or ever hope to be, i owe to my angel mother"...

... by abraham lincoln

a day late but...

happy birthday momma dukes.

how did i get so blessed with such an amazing mom?!

pic from our italian vacation

hello fall

i am so excited for fall. don't get me wrong summer is my favorite season but i'm ready for this fall season. i can't wait for it to cool down. although this is miami so the cold days will be few and far in between but thats the kind of relationship i like with the cold weather, short and sweet.

i think all the shopping i've been doing is what's really getting me excited. i'm a huge fan of tights, dresses and sweaters! please come soon chilly weather.

{photo from here}

windy city

so chicago did not get the 2016 olympics, boo!!!

i could have easily experienced the olympics for the first time in my second home. oh well looks like i'll just have to make a trip to rio de janeiro in 2016;)

but even though the olympics won't be in chicago, i will be there in november! i miss my family so much and i LOVE getting to spend holidays with the whole family.

can't wait to see these people.

Great America, circa 2003