Texas Travels

I spent last week in Texas recruiting for work so sorry for being MIA! I thought I would share some photos from the week... I left Monday morning and got to Dallas about 10am. I got to rent a car for the week and it was awesome! I ended up with a Chevy Cruze and loved it. Every time I got into the car it had that new car smell :)

I didn't have to be at the college fair (the reason I was in Texas) until 4pm so I hit the outlet mall and went to In-N-Out! Our friends have always talked about In-N-Out and I had never been. The verdict? Delicious! If you're ever around one, make sure to go.

I went to the college fair that night and then got to go see my best friend Jess and her husband Michael afterwards. They live in Texas so that was one of the things I was most looking forward to about being in Texas. It was so nice to catch up and finally see where they live! I got up on Tuesday and headed to Austin for the next college fair. It was about a 3 hour drive and I left way too early, so what did I do? I hit the outlet mall again right outside of Austin! Ha. I know, I have a really hard job :) This is my setup at the college fairs.

They have these really big college fairs called NACACs where hundreds of schools come and thousands of students can receive info about the schools and talk with counselors (like myself). These were my first NACACs and they really wear you out. I had some pretty bad congestion last week and my ears didn't ever pop after my flight, so it made hearing at the fairs pretty interesting.

On Wednesday I woke up early and headed to Houston to pick my boss up from the airport. She was coming to help with a dinner I was hosting that night for some of our admitted students in the Houston area. The dinner turned out great and she was impressed with how I handled everything. And I had TONS of leftovers!

Thursday was the final college fair in Houston. I didn't really do much that day because I wasn't feeling 100% but it was nice to just hang out in the hotel room and watch the Food Network :) I forget how much I love that channel since we don't have cable. Friday I headed back to CU and got home about 5:30 that night. But not before making a stop at the most delicious popcorn stand, Garrett's, which was conveniently located right next to my terminal gate!

Hello Spring!

Disclaimer: I wrote this post a couple weeks ago and never posted it. Whoops! So let's pretend that it's still March...

So this last week has been tons of fun! My parents visited us last weekend while my sister was in Cancun (jealous!) and we had a great time. I didn't realize they hadn't been to Papa Del's yet so we made sure to have dinner there. We saw The Lorax on Saturday and it was so cute! After church Sunday they headed back to OK and we decided to go play golf. It was my first round of the year and it went surprisingly well.


I also received my copy of The Pioneer Woman's new cookbook last week! Thanks Mom :) I made her perfect iced coffee recipe and it is awesome! I feel so cool bringing my new tervis cup with homemade iced coffee to work each morning. Ha!

We have finally started using our grill on a regular basis. I love using the grill because our dinner options multiple a ton! Plus, Taylor does most of the cooking when we use the grill :)

Since Taylor is on Spring Break this week, I took Wednesday afternoon off and we went to play golf. The weather was perfect but I can't say the same for our golf games. But any day on the golf course is better than any day at work, right?

Tonight we are having friends over for a grill-out turned crockpot BBQ sandwiches party since there is an 80% chance of rain. After dinner Taylor and I are attending the midnight showing of The Hunger Games! I am so excited. We bought tickets about a month ago once I realized I didn't have to work this Friday. I have only ever attended one midnight premiere so I can hardly wait.

Have a great weekend!

Sorry for the delay! I'll try to get back on track with posting :)

Comfort

So for my job I do a lot of standing, I mean a lot. At college fairs I can be standing in one place for 4 hours or during our campus visit days each week I could be on my feet all day long. My professional shoes (heels, flats, etc) have just not been cutting it. My feet are killing me after an hour or so and it just makes the rest of the day miserable. All that to say, I have found the cure! And they are...

Crocs! One of the girls in the office has been talking about these shoes since I started and I finally bought a pair the other day. They are amazing. I could hardly believe how comfortable they are. I like that they are simple and blend in well with dress pants so you don't notice I'm wearing a somewhat casual shoe.

I walked across campus all day last Friday and Monday and had no problems at all. It was great! So next time you are in need of some simple and comfortable flats, I encourage you to check these out. They come in lots of different colors, are reasonably priced, and will be great for summer because they are so breathable.

A Special Day

I always consider March 8th to be a special day because many people that I love are celebrating their birthday!

First, my dad. Happy Birthday Dad! We can't wait to see you next weekend :) I'm so lucky to be your daughter.

Next, Jess. Happy Birthday Jess! A lot of people use the expression "I am who I am today because of you" and this phrase is seriously true for Jess. We have been friends since 3rd grade (she says 2nd I think!) and have experienced so many of life's big moments together. She was my maid of honor in my wedding and has been like a sister my whole life.

Finally, Laine. Happy Birthday Laine! I can't imagine being in Illinois without you. I feel so blessed to have you as a friend.

Happy Birthday to each of you and I love you very much!

The Artist

Sunday morning at church we had a Family Life service. All the different family life ministries in our church, so the kids ministry through youth ministry, spoke about how they are trying to use their ministries to impact the families in our church. Throughout the service, when a new speaker when come to the stage, they would ask you to create a different item with the playdo at our seats.

I think this was more to keep the kids busy while the parents listened to the speakers, but Taylor took full advantage of the playdo to show his artistic abilities. As you can see in the picture above we have a key, lock, door, and a golf ball on tee?? I think someone is ready for golf season.

Run Taylor Run

Taylor was gone last week attending the annual APS March Meeting in Boston. This is an annual conference that physics graduate students across the country attend and luckily it was in a fun city like Boston! Besides attending the conference, he was really looking forward to running in some of the beautiful parks around Boston. These are a few photos he had sent me last week:

Happy Monday everyone!

Big News

So I have some big news to share today. As of last night, at 7:30pm, I officially submitted my application for the Masters in Education program at UIUC. This is the email that was waiting in my inbox when I got to work this morning...

Admissions • Admissions FAQs • Application Instructions • Programs and Contacts Illinois Connect Login to your Illinois Connect portal for Illinois news, as well as important program and admissions information! Dear Jamie, Congratulations on submitting your Illinois Graduate Application! Your application and supporting credentials will be reviewed by your proposed program of study for admission consideration. If you have any questions regarding this review, please contact the program. Throughout your application process, we hope that you found our email communications to be helpful. Thank you! Graduate & Professional Admissions The Graduate College at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 801 South Wright Street, 301 Coble Hall, MC-322 Champaign, IL 61820-6210

I can hardly believe that we may have two graduate students in our house starting in the Fall. I remember a day, not many years ago, where I was so happy to never write another paper or take another exam in my life! This program will be a great way to increase my credentials as I hope to pursue a career in University administration. I would love some prayers during this next month as we wait to hear back. I'll keep you posted with any new information we hear!