|
| It's been a little over a month now, but I had so much fun at the Star Wars Celebration event, I had to include a recap of the fun here on my blog. I hope to add pictures later (I think this is a big part of why I don't blog more frequently - putting up the pictures is such a pain in the butt!). But for now - here goes!
Brenda and I arrived in Orlando quite late on Thursday night, so basically when we got there it was time to go to bed. We did stay up, though, for at least a hour talking and looking over the amazing suite. I think it was the same size as my apartment!!! It was really lovely, and I think Melissa and Alex enjoyed it especially since they do not stay in hotels very often! It was quite luxurious- with a balcony, and beautiful furnishings. I would definitely stay there again!
On Friday morning we got up pretty early and headed to the convention center. We checked in and got our badges. Very cool! I'm really glad we got the 4-day passes, because otherwise we would have had to check in each day, which would have been a real pain in the neck. We spent a lot of time the first day walking around and soaking it all in! There were life-scale AT-ATs, a Death Star, a Wampa, a TIE fighter. We had lunch in "Jabba's Food Court" where I got a burrito from the Tatooine Tortilla Traders (LOVE IT!). It was all as corny as it could be and I ate it up with a spoon! We went to the official Merchandise store to get official t-shirts and lots of goodies. They even had "Lando Calrissian disguises" which consisted of a mustache on a piece of paper. Pretty hilarious. They also had Welcome to OrLANDO posters. Pretty clever!!!
Then we spent at least two hours walking around the exhibition hall. SO much to see! We didn't buy a whole lot the first day (more on Sunday - the final day- actually), but it was so cool to walk around and see all of the things for sale. Alex was especially excited to see the Tattoo pavilion where at least 15 people were getting "tatted up" at the same time. I think my dad should come in costume as George Lucas next time! Although he'll need to work on a little more white hair. George is getting old!
Mark Hamill was set to speak that afternoon. People had been lining up since that morning to see him at 2:30 and we just weren't willing to do that. We did swing by the theater, just to see if there were any seats left. We went back to the hotel, and we all played "The Office" Clue board game, which I'd brought with me. That was a big hit! Then after a nap, we headed out to Alex's suggestion - Bahama Breeze, which is a Carribean chain restaurant down here in Florida. There is one somewhat close to where I live and it's so yummy! Their strawberry pina coladas are amazing! As is the coconut shrimp and everything else. I think it was a good pick, as everyone was happy. We also walked down the street and saw the upside down house in Orlando.
Then we went back to check out the Star Wars dance party at the convention center. It was fun to see people in costume dancing and equally amusing to see all the dance moves of the nerds! | | |
| I'm not even going to go into how behind I am on this blog. I'll just forge ahead and hope that at least some people check in here still. At the very least, it's a great online diary for me. One that I hope at some point to compile into a keepsake. This past weekend was my 5th year reunion at Wellesley College. Fitting, then, that I compose a blog post, as I began this blog around that time. So much has changed, but it was still good to go back, reminisce about the good times and reconnect with friends.  Here are some of the highlights: -Spending a lot of time with Jen. You might remember Jen - she was featured very heavily here for the two years I was in Austria.  It had been forever since we'd been together, so it was a lot of fun to reconnect. We even squeezed in a trip to both Amarin (amazing Thai food) and Anna's Taqueria (amazing burritos). 
-Introducing Brenda to my Wellesley friends and showing her around the campus. She fit right in! By giving her the Wellesley tour, I was able to walk down memory lane and remember how things were.  -As the Residence Hall Coordinator, I was in charge of the decorating. I had the idea to label each of the rooms based on who was staying there. Then I decided, in keeping the with green theme of the reunion, I would use seed packets for each person. What better kind of seed for a reunion than a Forget-me-Not?! I think they were a hit! 
-The German Department mini-reunion. So much fun to reminisce about Austria stories and see my favorite professor Herr Hansen again! 
-The Alumnae Parade - can you believe it - they had two alumnae in attendance who graduated in 1935?! At one point the parade was held back a little because one of the women who had graduated in 1955 wanted to walk and she had some friends who were helping her along. It literally brought tears to my eyes. It was amazing to see a parade of inspiring women. SO cool! 
-I also had the opportunity to meet the new Wellesley president. She came to our dinner and went around and introduced herself to each of us. She is a scientist so Jen and I mentioned we were glad to see a scientist in that role. She asked me what I did and when I told her I was a medical librarian she said "What an exciting career! What a great future!" and then she talked about how important it was for the science departments to stress that there are many things you can do with a science degree (implicit: not just go to medical school). It was a GREAT exchange! Made me feel very validated. 
-Stepsinging with all the generations of Wellesley sisters. I especially enjoyed the events where we all participated together. It was fun to be a part of a multi-generational sisterhood! -Of course seeing so many great friends again: 
With the Reunion Chairs: 
Looking forward to the reunion in 2015! | | |
| Once again, terribly behind! I can't believe I haven't written a post about my amazing Olympic adventures yet. Hopefully that'll come soon! I had a great weekend here in Miami, so I'm going to write a quick post on that for now! Every time I write a blog post, I say I'm recommitting myself. Let's hope I mean it this time. Of course you can always check out my library's blog, because I'm almost contractually obligated to update once a week! The posts on the health fairs we help out at are especially entertaining (in my humble opinion!).
There was lots of cultural excitement this weekend! On Thursday, Brenda and I went to see Venus Williams play in the Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Tournament.
I received an invitation to attend from the Wellesley College Club and thought - why not?! I was also invited to attend an Ivy League Happy Hour one hour before the game on the tournament grounds, but when we saw the stuffy people in the lounge, we decided against it! The game itself, though, was a lot of fun! Venus played really well and had a cute outfit!
Brenda and I really don't know anything about tennis, but it was fun to be in the middle of the excitement and especially fun to see such a tennis superstar!
On Friday, we had tickets to see the Cleveland Orchestra (in their Miami residency) perform Chopin and Prokofiev. It was a great concert and it really inspired me to get out my oboe again soon. I can't believe it's been so long since I have played! I really want to look around for some playing opportunities in the area.
On Saturday, we had tickets to see "In the Heights" (I'm telling you - it was a cultural weekend!). What a great show! Excellent songs and story line. It was just a terrific show all together and one that I think will continue to be popular and a show to represent the decade (something like Rent was for the 90s). The choreography was great, and I loved the mix of music. It was fun to see the show in another city with such great Latin influences. Some of the plot developments could be seen coming a mile away, but the performers kept it fresh and the music is so unique for a Broadway show, that it kept my attention the whole time.
That evening we met up with Brenda's friend Maria to see her new apartment in downtown Miami. What a view!
She's really living in the middle of all the excitement! We had a great time walking around her neighborhood as well. I get a kick out of the fact that I live so close to the beach and the water!
I would have never guessed I would live in Miami, but it's a very vibrant city and there is always something different to do. I also love living close to skyscrapers. Is it weird there is something comforting in that?!
On Sunday, I played my fourth or fifth game with the softball team that I joined. It's been a lot of fun to play with them all. Most of us aren't that great, but we have a lot of fun playing, and it's a great way to get a little sunshine and exercise! Unfortunately this week I got a pretty nasty injury (after someone hurled a ball directly at my shin), but that's all part of the game!
This weekend the cultural events continue. Here's hoping I'll make the time to blog about that soon, too!
| | |
| I may have set a new record for length of time gone without a blog post. Sorry! It's not that I haven't had things to blog about - I suppose I have too much to blog about! It's great when things get busy! Instead of blogging about my life, I'm living it, and that is a blessing.
One of the highlights of the last two and a half months was certainly my family's trip to New York (updates to come soon - I hope) and Ireland. What a wonderful getaway!
There were so many highlights! Though the weather was terrible for about half of the trip, we made the most of it and squeezed in as much fun as possible - Vardell-style!
We couldn't get over how old everything in Ireland was - especially Newgrange - which is from 3000 BC. That's right folks - a 5,000 year old "building." It was absolutely incredible to be there. We really felt like Indiana Jones!
We enjoyed the great views from the Guinness Factory in Dublin. We were there for the last day (December 31, 2009) of their 250th Anniversary!
We celebrated New Year's Eve at our hotels swanky bar and toasted with yummy, Irish beer!
We enjoyed a trip out to Blarney Castle where my brother and dad kissed the Blarney Stone. My mom and I took one look at the monumental drop below the stone and decided it would be safer to simply kiss the Blarney Castle. It is made out of Blarney Stone, so that counts, right?!
We loved all of the old churches and relied on Rick Steves to give us the inside tours!
We also soaked up gorgeous countryside - from beaches to cliffs to green hills to snow covered mountains. The contrasts and colors were breathtaking and different than anything I'd seen before.
Not only did we enjoy all the yummy beer, but the food was great, too! You don't necessarily think of Ireland as having fine cuisine (probably the terrible reputation of the British is transferred to them as well), but they had some of the best bread I've ever had in my life!
We didn't go to as many museums as one normally does in Ireland for a variety of reasons - weather, distance between things, other sites (like outdoor churches, scenery, ruins, etc). But we had to make it to see the famous Book of Kells. It certainly didn't disappoint!
All in all, a wonderful trip! It gave me the chance to spend some real, quality time with my family. It was great to reminisce about the good times and create new memories. It was also great to be back in Europe - to soak up the lifestyle there and remember what it was like to live there not too long ago! I'm glad to finally share a few of the memories and highlights on my blog.
I'm off to the Vancouver Olympics this weekend. Hope to update on that soon, too!
| | |
| I've had a great week at home! It always feels like there's not enough time to do everything and see everyone. I've managed to squeeze in a lot of fun, though! Tuesday was a busy day. I saw the movie "An Education" in the afternoon, which I absolutely loved. What a great snapshot of the early 60s and a great coming-of-age story. The performances were great and the costumes were so much fun! It makes me want to run out and buy countless floral, vintage dresses! In the evening my mom and I met up with Dani for dinner. We've been making it an annual Holiday tradition to meet up for dinner. Usually Dani's mom Pam joins us as well, but this time it was just the three of us. It was great to see her and catch up. 
That night I watched the first half of the Dancing with the Stars finale with Gamma (still to painful to talk about it!) and then my parents, brother, and I hit the road for Shreveport. Wednesday was our full day in Shreveport. We did some outlet mall shopping (I got 3 pairs of work pants from the Gap for less than $20 each!) and then toured the different casinos. 
It was my brother's first trip to Shreveport as a legal gambler, so it was fun to show him around. We even joined in a slot tournament and got really close to some money! Maybe next time. It was great to spend time together as a family. The next day - Thursday - Thanksgiving (!) - we celebrated with a casino buffet. It was a lot of fun to have all those food choices and that family time. 
That night I met up with Kristi and Matt, and we had fun catching up and playing Trivial Pursuit - Pop Culture Edition (I won, of course). Friday was our official family Thanksgiving. We had eleven people total at the house. 
(part of our group, l to r: Mimom, my paternal grandmother; Pearl, my grandmother's friend; Diane, another of my grandmother's friend and adopted family member; Alex; Aunt Sophie; Zack, my cousin; and Uncle Bob) We had a scrumptious meal! Lots of yummy turkey and my favorite - Gamma's famous mashed potatoes. 
I have to include this picture of my brother from dinner. It was great to spend time with him. Oh, and we loved having his dog Sophie visit as well. She is so cute and fun to be around! 
Since the last picture I had up of my family on my desk was circa 2004, I insisted that my aunt take a few of the family so I could put out a newer one at work. I think this portrait turned out well. 
We also had fun playing the card game "Hand 'n Foot" with the family. We have some cut-throat competitors in the family and things can get ugly, but we always have a great time! Too bad my team didn't win!  After the extended family left, we also took down some of the boxes my parents had of stuff up in storage. I spent a good chunk of today (Saturday) going through the boxes. It wasn't as painful as I thought! It was fun to go through my things and remember all the treasures I have. Some of the boxes are great little time capsules - it's so fun to reflect back on all my interests through the years. I'm closing out today with seeing "New Moon," which was better than the original "Twilight," in my opinion. I haven't read any of the books, but the movies are amusing enough to watch. I usually spend a good chunk of time laughing! Now I'm sitting with my parents watching "Elf," one of my favorite Christmas movies. What a great way to get in the Holiday mood! | | |
|
