2017 ~ The Reflection

As it's the last night of 2017, I'd thought it'd be fitting to reflect on my adventures this year. If you meet me in person, and you me what I've been up to, my first response is, "Nothing much. I'm pretty boring."

Yeah, have I mentioned that I'm a total introvert and mostly socialize with different online communities?

Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Disneyland

Because really, 2017 had some good adventures. Here's a look back at this year:

*Disneyland ~ I spent my 40th birthday with my family in Disneyland. I wasn't expecting my family to join me but we were all heading down to LA for a family thing, so it just worked out that way. I was thrilled to enter my 40s walking through Sleeping Beauty's castle (one of my favorite places on the planet) with one of my favorite people on the planet (my niece) at my side. Ah-maze-ing.

*Snow day at Donner Lake ~ my brother, his wife, my niece, and my giant snow dog and I took my CRV up to spend the day in the snow. We walked around, took pictures, threw snowballs, Dakota took a snow bath, and had a picnic in my car. As we left, it started snowing...which turned into a storm that left one of my friends stranded right by where we were. We, however, beat the storm and had arrived safely at home by that time. 

Dakota giving himself a snow bath

*Field Trips ~ I went on two overnight field trips this year. I went to Fort Ross, California for an overnight trip with another 4th grade class. I had just decided to change grades and thought it would be a good idea to check it out. It was because I'm not going back again. But I also went to Coloma, Ca (which you can read about here) and that was a good trip. It was a 2 night trip but totally worth it.  

*Conferences ~ I went to one incredible conference and one that I didn't need to attend. The one that I didn't need to go to was about cochlear implants at Stanford University. It was a good conference but not for a 4th grade teacher. The conference was designed for parents who are just starting the journey of getting implants and what to expect in the coming years. Most of the children are under the age of 4 and it just didn't work for me. And even the sessions lead by the doctors didn't teach me anything. One doctor said, "Well, everyone here knows this part, so for the sake of time, let's move on." And I was the only person in the room who had no clue what he was talking about.

Halls of Stanford University

The other conference I attended was incredible and truly deserves it's own post because this conference took place at Columbia University in New York City. It was not only a great conference that I got so much out of but it was also an incredible adventure in the city with my sister-in-law. 

*New grade level ~ Changing what grade level I teach (kindergarten to 4th grade) has been a huge adventure. New curriculum, new classroom, new age group, and new teaching hours for me. I'm liking it a lot, it's not easy but I'm finding that I'm loving a lot about it. K was hard to teach. I had to teach how to be a student and then the foundation of reading, writing, and math. Now, we dive into deeper levels with all that stuff. The math was a little tricky but I think it's going okay. 

Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park, NYC

*Books, books, and more books ~ This year, I read a ton of books! Okay, yes I'm introverted but I still do things. I spend time with my family, I walk my dog, I even went to the gym in 2017 (more than once!) but one thing I did was I stopped watching TV. I caught up on all my shows over the summer. I made a point to watch Game of Thrones and Last Week Tonight but other than that, I'll watch Youtube videos for a bit and then I read. And I read more than one book at a time (they have to be different genres so I can keep them straight) and BAM! I read over 100 books. Goodreads says I read 111 books but I DNFed (did not finish) 7 books and reread 3 books....so really, I read 107 books this year. I count audiobooks, children's chapter books, and graphic novels as books I've read because I just do. When I was working out, I was listening to an audiobook. Any road trips? I've got an audiobook. I even read with my students during our library time (that's when I read the chapter books) so my students will see me reading and I can keep up with the new level books that my students read. 

Some things to look forward to in 2018:

I've got my trip to Europe which I have blogged about in great detail here and here. I'm hoping for another Disneyland trip but I haven't planned one out. I'll be going to Coloma again at the end of 2018. I'd like to take my teardrop trailer out this year but I discovered that I don't like camping so maybe I'll just sell it. I dunno. 

I plan on continuing on my weight loss journey although my focus will be on getting in shape to handle all the walking I will be doing this summer. I do need to lose weight for 2019 because I'm going on a desert camel ride in Morocco and that would be cruel to the camel. 

I'm setting my reading goal at 100 books. I don't know if I'll make that but I can try.

I'm leaving the negative from 2017 behind and taking with me the good. Just as it should be. 

Happy New Year!

Booked My Flights Today!!

I'm so excited!

My flights to Europe are booked! (Go Ahead Tours booked them for me!)

I'll be flying out directly from San Francisco to Paris. 

I had wanted to fly out of Sacramento because not only is the airport nicer and less crowded, it's also so much easier to get there and back. San Francisco takes twice as long to get home than to get there with all the crazy Bay Area traffic. Finding someone who's willing to drive you is a lot to ask for.

However, the only flight to Paris that I could get for that day was to fly me from Sacramento to San Francisco and then to Paris. Now, that's just silly. My Go Ahead Tour contact and I decided to just fly out of SF. BART (Bay Area's subway) goes directly to SFO, so I am planning on taking that to the airport so I won't be hassled with needing a ride. I won't have much luggage, so that won't be too annoying. 

My flight home is gonna be an adventure!

I'm flying out of Vienna 11 days later. I'm flying to Zurich, Switzerland for a 4 hour layover to San Francisco. 

I have no problem spending 4 hours in Switzerland! I will buy a magnet from there for sure. My flight looks like it's going to be 3 hours with all the time zone changes. 

I figure I'll take Lyft to get home or take BART home again. I'm not sure what would be better. BART would be crowded but it would avoid the traffic and maybe be quicker. And after all the flying around the world, maybe I want to just get on a train and sit for an hour. I can do that. 

I am so excited. Booking flights is one step closer to going. My trip is almost all paid off and in a few months, they will book the hotels for me. My last trip had very nice hotels, nothing fancy but still very nice and with some great locations. 

I have a referral link if you are interested in checking out Go Ahead Tours for any trips in your future. Clicking on that link will give you $100 from Go Ahead to put on your trip with them and I get credits to use on my next tour!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and I'll see you in the next post!

I'll Just Sit Here and Get Comfy....

I promised weekly updates and by god, you're going to get weekly updates.

I'm not in the mood to write about my adventures though. I saw the new Star Wars movie last night and I thought about talking about my adventures with Star Wars but even that leaves something to be desired. And really, I haven't had any REAL Star Wars adventures. They do have a Star Wars cruise with the Disney Cruise Lines but Star Wars commercialized to that level may not work for me.

I lit my candles and decided to write. And then it hit me: I'll write a quick post about Hygge.

What is Hygge? Well, check out the picture below. It's cool, I'll wait.

Sounds awesome, right (It's a Danish concept)? Connecting with friends and family more, being comfy by a roaring fire (or in my case, candles. I even have some fake ones kitty level for safety), and just being more mindful. 

My journey started a few weeks ago, although I often curl up with a comforter and a book. My sister-in-love told me about it. I pintrested it and the rest was history. 

I started decluttering my house, bringing out my candles and scent warmers. Looking around my house now, I see the flickering glow of candle light, the soft pink glow from my Himalayan Salt Lamp, and the outline of a moose in my Scentsy warmer. I've got my books next to me, ready to start reading, and a kitty curled up next to me on the comforter I have wrapped around my legs. My giant dog is stretched out on the carpet before me, ready to take a snooze. I'll start some tea soon after I finish this post. 

Visiting my brother's house yesterday, we talked and laughed without our devices. I think being screen free is a huge part of connecting face to face. How many of us talk over screens while we multitask, severing a connection with one another? Their house already exudes some Hygge qualities: they connect over board/card games (Exploding Kittens is a house fave) and they read together sharing a hot beverage. 

I find that my creating more moments of comfort has decreased my stress and helped me fall asleep easier at night. I feel more relaxed and my home feels more calming. I also think it's important to not take what we have for granted. Yes, it's fun to see new places but it's also fun to come home and just breathe. 

During the school year, I like to stay at home. I take staycations during my breaks. And that's fun for me, especially now that my house is all comfy. 

What do you think of Hygge? Are there some things you do already? Or something you might try?

Some ideas to try

Coloma, California

Today is my recovery day after a 3 day, 2 night field trip with 73 4th graders. I'm not going to get into the teacher aspect of the field trip (not the hours planning, gathering permission & medical forms, the shopping, the prepping, or the calling homes of bad behaviors & sick kids needing to leave early, nor my frustrations as what I felt as an educator) but I would focus on the adventure side of it. 

I'm not going to go into the program much because do you really need to know that I sat through meetings and half hour lessons? No, unless you want information on the program itself, then by all means visit Coloma Outdoor Discovery School (which is a great program and if you are a teacher, please consider attending). 

American River

My grandparents lived up in gold country for a while, but that's the extent of my experience with it. I learned about the California Gold Rush in school but that's about it.

Sometimes, we take our own backyards for granted. I've been to San Francisco a bunch of times, Sacramento & LA too. Because places like that are close by, it doesn't seem like a big deal to go there, but for someone who isn't from this area of California, it is a big deal. 

So today, my adventure will be about Coloma, which is a 2 hour bus ride away, in between Placerville (aka Hangtown) and Sacramento.

original location

If you aren't familiar with the history of the California Gold Rush, here it is in a nutshell: John Sutter set up Sutter's Mill in Coloma and while there James Marshall was in the American River, saw something, reached down and pulled out a gold nugget in 1848. Word spread (President Polk said to go check it out) and people flocked to California in the thousands hoping to strike it rich in 1849 (hence the 49ers). Mostly, they didn't. It was lawless and dangerous. The native people and the environment suffered as well.

So, onto Coloma today.

You can visit the original site of Sutter's Mill in a park that was established to preserve the history and the area. Sites offer troughs of river water and silt to go gold panning and you can still find gold in the river, however don't get too excited, it's not going to make you rich or pad your wallets.

mountain lion prints

My first day there, I spent at the camp. There are bunkhouses for the students and parent chaperones and cabins for the teachers. It's located right on the river. You have to cross a narrow bridge that is only room for pedestrians and one car. The bridge was built in the 1930s and while the cement was drying, a mountain lion decided to take a look around and left it's paw prints behind for us to see almost 90 years later. 

The program for the children was great, they baked corn bread over a fire, panned for gold and we ended the night with a hoe-down. The temperature had dropped around 40 degrees and I hadn't been cold like that in a while. I should say chilled because I had my Akiak jacket and was warm enough but my face was cold.

spot on the river

Despite my knowing the schedule, I didn't know what to expect as far as everything else. Sure, on paper I could tell you about it but having never been there, the vibe caught me by surprise. It reminded me of my time in Alaska, showing up for a training and having to check out my surroundings, being totally out of my element...which actually feels like my element now. The excitement, the unknown, the nature....I felt totally comfortable and ready to enjoy myself. 

I had to share a cabin with another teacher. I let her have the bedroom and I took the futon in the living room. It was cold but I had brought my Alaskan sleeping bag, which is normally too hot for me, and a comforter. I spread open my sleeping bag as a base and slept with the comforter. I was cozy and warm the whole trip. Score!

we're hikin'!

The second day was the big hiking day. Breakfast was cold! Some kids chose to go gold panning despite their fingers going numb. I decided to wait. There are all these places to check out in the valley, including a museum. I missed out on the valley stuff because of a sick student who needed my care (no complaints, that's part of my job and I'd rather I be there with my student than someone else) but I caught up to a group to hike up to the ridge.

I need to take a moment to talk about how people label hikes. This hike was labeled "moderate". It was heavily suggested that I go on this hike. Moderate to a plus size person should be taken as "difficult" because it was a difficult hike for me and for one other asthmatic student who attempted it. The inclines were steep in some parts and even going downhill hurt my toes. The view was truly impressive but honestly, I expected my breath to be taken away, and it was, just not from the view...more the getting there.

Granted, the pace was set up for children so there were many breaks. Just when I thought I was going to legit have a heart attack on that trail, the group stopped and I had a chance to catch my breath. Luckily, one of the dads in my group was a paramedic so I figured he'd step in and help me in case I got in really bad shape. He ended up helping the asthmatic who was struggling. I was glad he was there.

stairs in a forest

Moderate my ass.

I didn't break down. The students helped me, even if they never knew it. Because it wasn't easy for them either. Or weird things would happen like dropping a water bottle and it shattering so I would share my water with them, or being terrified of getting a tick or touching poison oak. I couldn't break down, they needed me.

So I carried on. I completed the hike and wanted to take a huge moment for myself when it was done but the naturalist was still teaching the kids and they needed to listen to her. Me chanting, "I DID IT! I DID IT!" wasn't appropriate.

By the way, the naturalists working with the children were phenomenal. Seriously top notch.

After dinner, we got to listen to a Native American speaker who was amazing. 

It wasn't as cold the second night but we were all exhausted so maybe we were too tired to feel the chill.

panning for gold

I tried my hand at panning for gold the next morning. My hands got cold (mostly my thumbs) and I didn't find anything. The kids were having a blast, many children I didn't know were coming up to me to correct my technique and show me how it's really done. Next year, I'm going to bring a gold necklace and throw it in my pan saying, "Look what I found!!" Instead, I announced that I couldn't find any gold and that the gold rush was officially over. One of the dads gave me a pretty good sized nugget he found and as I was transferring it to a student, I dropped it, never to be found again, much to the horror of the surrounding children. But let's face it, that's so typical of something I would do.

You'd think a 2 hour bus ride would be horrible but both rides went by pretty quickly and my students were really well behaved on the bus. 

It was quite the adventure. If I teach 4th grade again next year (and there's no reason to think I won't be) I think I'll avoid the hike and play around more in the valley. But overall, it was a very successful field trip and adventure. 

Miss Ruark at the top of the ridge

Coming Summer 2018!

I'm not in a reflective sort of mood today, so I wanted to write about my next upcoming trip this summer: I'm going to Paris, Venice, & Vienna!

I never thought I'd be going back to Paris but I am so glad that I am! There were things that I didn't see or do that I plan on fixing that this time. When I was in Paris, I kept thinking, "I need to come back here one day." And while part of me knew that would happen, another part of me never believed it. 

But it's true!

I'm not going back to the Palace of Versailles because I was there last time and instead, I'm going to spend the day in the city. I had set the bar so low the first time, just being happy to see the Eiffel Tower that as long as I did that, I would be content. This time, I've got more plans. (BTW: I totally cried when my lifetime dream of seeing the Eiffel Tower became real. Totally cried.)

So here's the itinerary and my booked excursions:

An emotional moment in Paris!

Paris:

The 1st real day I'm taking a guided tour of the city! Here's what I'll see:

• Drive down the sycamore-lined Champs-Élysées to view the Arc de Triomphe
• Pass Pont Neuf and the legendary Notre-Dame Cathedral, located on an island in the Seine River
• See the Eiffel Tower, the Palais Garnier opera house and Place de la Concorde, the city’s grandest square
• Marvel at the iconic architecture of the Louvre and Hôtel des Invalides

Then, my afternoon will be free to do whatever so I'm thinking a visit to the Eiffel Tower will take a large portion of my time. I am going to touch the Eiffel Tower and actually go up this time. 

The 2nd day, I have most of the day free, so I'd like to explore Notre Dame and the Louvre. Then I booked an evening cruise down the Seine River. I did this cruise last time and it was one of my favorite experiences in Paris. 

I see now that I'll have to write about what I actually did last time in Paris. I had a great time and saw a burlesque show....I didn't exactly go the PG route. More on that in the next post.

Venice:

Venice, Italy

This is a bucket list city for me. I cannot wait to see Venice. I'll probably cry.

My first day is a travel day where I'll be flying from Paris to Venice.

My 2nd day in Venice, I will be taking a guided tour. Here's what I'll see:

• Step into the iconic St. Mark’s Square and enter St. Mark’s Basilica
• View the stately Doge’s Palace, built in the Venetian Gothic style in 1340
• Marvel at the Bridge of Sighs, the link between Doge’s Palace and the New Prison
• See a glassblowing demonstration to learn about the city’s most celebrated art

Then, after much personal debate with myself and my fear of tiny boats, I've booked a gondola canal cruise. I figured, when you go to Venice, it's something you just need to do.

My next day in Venice is actually not a whole day, I've booked an excursion to visit Verona, and see Juliet's Balcony. I hate Shakespeare and that play in particular but when you get the chance to visit another historic city in Italy, you go.

Ljubljana, Slovenia:

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Woah! There's another city on this trip! 

We are going to be crossing over into Slovenia and spending the night in Ljubljana, which is known for it's love of dragons. I'll be taking a walking tour here and this is what I'll see:

• Stop in Prešeren Square to see the France Prešeren Monument 
• Pass by the Triple Bridge, Town Hall and Baroque Robba Fountain
• View Ljubljana Cathedral, the Dragon Bridge and the famed open-air market

Graz:

Wait, another city? 

Yes, this one is a quick stop over to this World Heritage city. I have no idea what we will be doing here. But I'm down for what ever!

Vienna: 

So my first real day in Vienna will start with a guided tour of the city. Here's what I'll see:

Vienna, Austria

• Visit Schönbrunn Palace, the Rococo Hapsburg home with impressive gardens
• Travel down the Ringstrasse, Vienna’s tree-lines thoroughfare

• See the Parliament building, the Vienna State Opera and the grand Hofburg Palace, the Hapsburg’s preferred winter residence

Then that evening, I've booked a dinner and opera in Vienna excursion. I'm not sure if I will like opera but hearing it in Vienna, which is considered the capital of classical music, if I don't like it in Vienna, I won't like opera anywhere else on the planet.

My second day in Vienna will consist of a Danube River Cruise! This the website's description of my excursion: Travel to Melk for a visit to one of Europe’s most beautiful Baroque monasteries, an architectural wonder perched high atop a cliff. Then, enjoy some free time in the charming, red-roofed town before embarking on a leisurely cruise down the Danube River. Your ship will take you by age-old castles and picturesque villages. Disembark in Dürnstein, where Richard the Lionheart was held captive, and enjoy free time for lunch. En route to Vienna, stop in the Wachau Valley for a wine tasting of regional vintages.

The next day will be my return flight home. There was a Prague extension that I debated taking but there's another tour that involves Budapest and Prague and I want to take that tour one day. So I decided that 12 days would be enough for this trip. I'll be stopping in 3 countries, 6+ cities and I think that's going to be well worth my time and money. 

Let me just say, I cannot wait for this summer!