First Class

 "I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."
— Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn was not only a gifted actress and beautiful woman, but someone who posessed a lot of class. There are many quotes she is known for but this one has always been my favorite. I think it is a great thing to remember once in awhile and overall good words to live by (well, maybe not the part about pink...). I especially love the phrase "happy girls are the prettiest girls." I find this to be true with not just women but men as well. People are drawn to those who radiate happiness and optimism. Those are the type of people that we say "There is something about them but I just can't put my finger on it...". This is the type of person I would like to be. I think I just need to paint this quote on my wall so I can see it daily and remember this :)

JORDAN

A Plan to Follow

I have been up to my ears in vacation planning (never a bad thing) and with each passing day I am getting more and more excited for this year's vacation. Zach and I absolutely love to travel and vacation time is easily our favorite time of the year. Because of the inflexibility of having my own daycare, our time for traveling is extremely limited. Every summer I close completely for two weeks and we pack as much into those two weeks as we possibly can! This year's vacation is going to be especially insane and I. Cannot. Wait!!!!! Just a look ahead....

First we will hit Colorado to climb this fourteener with my Uncle Greg (aka pro-mountain climber)

Then it will be on into Utah for some Bryce Canyon

Arches Natl. Park

Zion Natl. Park

 Canyonlands

Next we head into Nevada to visit Las Vegas where we will stay here:

And see this show (Cirque du Soleil: Ka)

See the Bellagio Fountains

Then finally we will make our way home on a North-Eastern route stopping who knows where because I haven't quite gotten that far yet...


65 days and counting....

JORDAN

I Must Say...

Time really flies. I know people always say that, but seriously- where did March go? In fact didn't it just become 2011 a few days ago? Even though every work week I am dying for the weekend, I try desperately not to wish time away because man, it's going fast enough! I think this must be one of the many reasons I take sooo many pictures. I am trying to freeze time by capturing all these bits and pieces of my life. It would be great if we had the ability to slow time down so that we could better enjoy and savor some of the best times of our lives. If I could make moments last longer I certainly would...except right now, right now I am tired and want it to be 5:30 so I can get off of work... So for this specific instance- come on time, fly! :)


JORDAN

Sage Advice...

JORDAN

What Do You Want?

I've been thinking a lot about what people want out of life, what I want out of life. We say so casually "You only get one shot" or "This is the only life you have, make it count" but to actually think about the truth in those words is a sobering yet also exciting thought. It's exciting because for whatever reason, YOU were the one given this chance, this opportunity to make your life what you want it to be. I know there are many different things that people crave, that they strive for, their ultimate goal in life...

Money

A Family

A Huge House

Fame

Acquiring their Dream Job

When I really think about happiness, about what I want out of life, I come up with something that doesn't necessarily have a picture. Something I can't just "google image search." (Well actually I can, and I did, but you just get all kinds of crazy pictures...) What I am looking for are experiences. Chances to live and to learn and be changed. There is nothing that feels as amazing as doing something you have only dreamed about, or better yet something you never even dared to dream you could do! The way I want to make my days count is by filling them with opportunities, experiences...memories. I want to have no regrets. To never be able to look back and wish I had done something differently or just flat out done something I didn't do. Don't you want to make every chance count? Don't you just want to go places, see things, DO things?!

That's what I want. To live.

JORDAN

Up on the Rooftop

I have a thing for climbing. Climbing trees, climbing boulders, I'd like to climb a water tower...but most often I love to climb onto my roof. I always wanted to have a house that had a second floor with one of those windows that you could open and climb right out onto the roof. Alas that was not to be (at least not yet) but I do have a roof with very convenient access. We have an old antennae tower that goes right up alongside the house and it is extremely easy to scale, which I do on almost a daily basis in warm weather. :) I have lived in this house for almost four years now, and yet I had never been on my roof until a little less than a year ago! Now it is a great place to read/listen to Pandora/hang out/eat food/look at stars/scare the newspaperman at 4am- you name it! So if you have never had a roof experience, I strongly suggest trying it out- you might just find your new favorite past-time!

 

JORDAN

A Moment's Peace

Last night was crazy! Tomorrow night is bound to be even crazier!! So tonight; tonight will not be crazy in the least. A very low-key evening with my husband: dinner, movie, relaxing, etc. Then tonight when Zach has a soccer game I am going to indulge in my favorite things that make a scaled down night perfect....

I mean honestly, what else would I watch at home by myself? :)

A piece of half cheesecake/half cake from our local bakery Concannon's

And a nice, tall glass of cold milk to wash it down.

Enjoy your Friday whether it be crazy-packed full of activity or a simple night at home!

JORDAN

The Patron Saint of Ireland

 There are some pretty outrageous ways that St. Paddy's Day is celebrated...

  

 I have decided that I am definitely headed to Chicago some year to see the green river.

Here are some random facts in light of the holiday:
Apparently the original color associated with St. Patrick was blue, but that must not have caught on.
In the Northeastern United States peas are traditionally planted on St. Patrick's Day.
Indianapolis (my state's capital) dyes it's canal green in celebration of St. Patty's Day ( I did not know this..)
To dye Chicago's river for just a few hours it takes  forty pounds of dye.
St. Patrick was actually born in Britain, but somewhere around age 14 he was captured and taken to Ireland.
Until 1970 the Irish bars actually CLOSED on St. Patrick's Day...quite the opposite now.
America is more Irish than Ireland having 35 million American's with direct Irish ancestry, and all of Ireland only containing 4.2 million people.

Well it's a warm beautiful St. Patty's Day here and I have a half day of work, followed by a picnic, a partial Thursday night date with Kori, and then a whole night with friends to enjoy the festivities and drink green drinks. Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

JORDAN

A Double Posting Day?

I'm not good at posting every day, let alone more than once a day, but I just happened across something I want to share! I am a pretty big fan of Katy Perry's music and like her fun, playful songs. This song that I am posting a video of has a heavier vibe though. I had heard this song before a time or two but had no idea it was Katy Perry. I saw the video on someone's facebook just now and decided I loved it. This music video portrays an era (WWII) that I have always been particularly fond of  for some unexplainable reason. The video seems very Notebook-esque to me and I wanted to share the fabulous outfits and story-line in it with all of you. Perhaps my new favorite music video...

Also, the World Travelers page has been updated because Zach and I had a new state to add :)
Done for the day now, promise.

JORDAN

Always Looking Forward

I am one of those people who gets unnaturally excited about things. Even things that may seem like not such a big deal to most people can just make me ecstatic! This past Saturday we had pretty warm weather, it was a beautiful day, and you should have seen me. I was over the moon about the temperature and could barely sit still for a second (working with young children must be rubbing off on me!) So basically I can get excited about anything that is slightly out of the ordinary from my day to day life. It honestly is one of the things that makes me the happiest - being excited and looking forward to something. I always have big things that I am stoked for (currently on the radar: skydiving, Niagra Falls, and our two week vacation in June) but it's all the little things along the way that get me by. I can get myself worked up about pretty much anything, and it's great because when something I have been waiting forever for comes to fruition I don't feel the big let-down after because I am always looking ahead..What made me think of all this today is that there are a lot of things I am really looking forward to this week!

Tonight:
Wine and games date night with my husband :)

Wednesday:
Trivia night at the Heorot (a local bar) with all of my friends. Surely with all of us on one team we are bound to win SOMEthing!

Thursday:
Date night with Kori first, then out with all our friends for St. Paddy's Day

Friday:
Don't actually have Friday plans yet, but it's Friday, enough said.

Saturday:
The whole crew is headed downtown for "Muncie Gras" to hear my dad's band and I am going to try my luck at riding a mechanical bull!

:) Nothing but good times ahead!

JORDAN

Dessert Night Update

Last night Zach and I had dessert night with Grant and Leah and it got me thinking - it is high time I did a dessert night update (last update ended at December 7th!). It is going to be hard enough to remember what we made, let alone what dates it was on, but I will try my hardest! To read more about exactly what dessert night is go here.

DESSERT NIGHT TREATS SO FAR

August 4: Michael's - Brownies in ramekins w/ice cream

    Rabensteins - Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Cheesecake

August 19: Rabensteins -Dark Chocolate Cake Balls with cream cheese frosting

August 31: Michaels -Chocolate Mousse with orange reduction

September 15: Rabensteins - Surprise Red Cupcakes

September 28: Michaels - Chocolate covered pound cake with fruit

October 12: Rabensteins - Chocolate Cheesecake

October 25: Michaels - Chocolate Candy Bark

November 9: Rabensteins - Marbled Petit Four Brownies w/ice cream

November 24: Michaels - Chocolate mousse pie

December 7: Rabensteins - S'mores Bars

December 20: Michaels - Fruit with chocolate sauce?

January 7: Rabensteins - Peanut Butter S'mores (had to make something with peanut butter the one week Grant wasn't there)

January  19: Michaels - Cupcakes

January 31: Rabensteins - Boston Cream Pie

February 21: Michaels - Blueberry Muffins

March 9: Rabensteins - Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Pie

Such a good tradition. I highly recommend people having a constancy in their lives that involves dessert :)

JORDAN

So Kiss Me

I have a thing for pictures of people kissing. Not ones that are sloppy and explicit and uncalled for, but ones that portray love, romance, fire, and passion. This is my absolute favorite kissing picture of all time. I realize that this sailor didn't even know this nurse so therefore there wasn't really love and romance involved, but oh the passion...

Alfred Eisenstaedt took this picture of an unknown sailor and nurse on V-J Day in 1945. The scene: Times Square. The reason: The end of WWII. The kiss: Legendary.

I could write an entire novel centered around this one photograph. In fact, I am sure that people have. This picture represents so much more than just a kiss and I am completely enamored with it.


JORDAN

Red Riding Hood

This movie comes out on Friday. Coincidentally my husband has planned us a date this coming Friday, and I can't help but wonder if this is going to be a part of it... After all, he knows me so well :)

Looks good?

JORDAN

A Time to Fly

Second on my bucket list (extremely closely tailing my #1- bungee jumping) is skydiving. It's one of those things that people always mention that they want to do, but rarely take the time to do it/save up the money to go/actually go through with it. Well guess what. I. Am. Going. In one month I (and anyone else who happens to join) am headed to Fort Atkinson, WI to tandem skydive through the dive company AtmosphAIR. I have a friend who went diving with this company a year and a half ago, and he was nothing but pleased. He also has the most incredibly awesome video of his dive. Videos are an extra cost, but are something I think would be priceless so I will most definitely be investing in one. You ascend to a height of TWO MILES before you jump. Then you have a 60 second free fall before the parachute deploys, followed by 6 minutes of parachute descent. Seven minutes of exhilaration. Sign me up :) They tell you on their website to "Build up your expectations as high as you can, this will top them!" This sounds pretty perfect for someone like me who is always looking for things to top my expectations. Oh, the best part about all of this? It is typically $219 for a dive, but the earlier you go, the better the special, so I will be diving for a mere $119! Definitely NOT something to pass up. To say I am beyond stoked would still be an understatement...

"...and once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you long to return..." - Leonardo DaVinci 

 JORDAN

Seasons May Change

I am beyond happy that it is March. The first month that doesn't just SOUND like winter and snow when you say it's name. Yes, it does mean lots of rain and plenty of chilly days, but it is still forward progress! Our weather is definitely not shorts and flip flop weather by any means (though I can guarantee you I will break out the flip flops way earlier than is socially acceptable). However, it is nice enough to wear lighter jackets, go for walks, and not crank up the heat every day. I am especially happy today, because this is the first day of 2011 that I am going to take the daycare kids outside. They need it, I need it...trust me, we all need it! :) So besides looking forward to that this afternoon, here are some things that warmer weather brings that I cannot wait for:

Grilling Out

Days at the Pool 

 

Picnics

I especially wouldn't mind having one HERE

Rollerblading

Camping

To name just a few...

JORDAN

Secret Millionaire

If ever there was a concept for a show that can affect lives, I think this may be it. I have been seeing previews for this show regularly as it is going to premiere this month and I think I am going to have to carve out time to watch it...or at least Hulu it :) Secret Millionaire looks like a show that not only affects the people who are a part of it, but also the viewers at home watching. Or so I hope.

JORDAN