9 Countries, 22 Days - Ready Go!

The epic Europe trip begins tomorrow!  So excited to see my FFFFs (Favorite Faraway Female Friends, duh).

I'm a little bit of a procrastinator (shocker), so packing and organizing are yet to happen.  There's still tomorrow, right?

Are you worried about my out of control, vomit-inducing, pass-out provoking motion sickness?  Don't be!  I got myself some of these:

Yup, acupressure bracelets.  Totally go with all my outfits.

Here is my trip itinerary for all you stalkers out there:

Date	Events	Notes
Wednesday June 6	Depart Denver 5:15pm Icelandic Flight 1670
Thursday June 7	Arrive Reykjavik 6:35am Depart Reykjavik 7:40 am – Flight 1542 Arrive Charles de Gaulle 1pm	Jo arrives Charles de Gaulle 8pm Jeff and KT in Paris HOTEL CONTACT: Hotel du Champ de Mars 7 Rue de Champ de Mars Paris 75007 Phone: +33 1 45 51 52 30
Friday June 8	Paris	Jeff returns home
Saturday June 9	Paris	Mom arrives
Sunday June 10	Paris	Germans arrive by train Jo leaves
Monday June 11 – Sunday June 17	House boat	Travel to house boat via train from Paris Mom’s birthday on June 13
Monday June 18	Paris	Return to Paris from train Stay at Hotel du Champ de Mars
Tuesday June 19	Depart Charles de Gaulle 1pm Jat Airways JU241 Arrive Belgrade, Serbia 3:20pm Depart Belgrade 4:10pm Jat Airways JU112 Arrive Skopje, Macedonia 6:50pm	Germans, Mom, KT leave Meet Allison in Skopje Sleep in Skopje
Wednesday June 20 – Friday 22	Pristina, Kosovo and Albania	Play with Allison
Saturday June 23	Depart Skopje 9:05am Turkish Airlines 1004 Arrive Istanbul 11:30am Depart Istanbul 4:35pm Turkish Airlines 1769 Arrive Prague 6:15pm	Take cab early to Skopje from Pristina Reconnect with Allison at airport. Allison taking Austrian flight 778 to Vienna and flight 709 to Prague.  Arrives at 6pm.
Sunday June 24 – Wednesday June 27	Prague and surrounding areas	Play with Allison
Thursday June 28	Depart Prague 8:45am Czech Airlines Flight 768 Arrive Paris Charles de Gaulle 10:35am Depart Charles de Gaulle 2:15pm Icelandic Flight 1543 Arrive Reykjavik 3:45pm Depart Reykjavik 4:45pm Arrive Denver 6:40pm	Pretend you’re on The Amazing Race

My layovers are the best part.  Reykjavik! Istanbul!  And don't forget that extra stop in Serbia for scheduled maintenance, where we all just sit on the plane - not even at an airport!

It's going to be insane.  Don't expect me to blog.  I'll be having too much fun. 

See you in July!

The House That Built Me

I said goodbye to a very dear friend this week. 

 My house. 

Well, not the house I grew up in.  But the house that turned me from a college kid still on her parents' insurance to a self-sufficient grown adult. The house where I got to live with my sister, her husband, and my best friend in the best location in town.

I want to take a moment and recognize something incredible. 

Here are a few highlights from my four years on 5th and Odgen:

Reconnected with my sister after years of barely knowing each other, only to become best friends

Came to love my future brother-in-law

Met Alyssa for the first time

Became a teacher

 Brought home Baby Bear

Found out I was gluten intolerant

 Lived with 5 different roommates

Watched my sister get proposed to (on the front lawn)

Celebrated my parents' 30th anniversary (in the back yard) 

 Held a viewing party for the Royal Wedding

Got my heart broken

Bear and Marley celebrated their first birthdays

Met some really great coworkers/friends for life

Watched 10 complete seasons of The Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad

Cried through 2 of Alyssa's birthday parties

Threw some wild parties

Turned 23, 24, 25, and 26

Let Lime's margaritas get the best of me

Watched my sister get married

 Tillie Toto died after12 years

Graduated with my Master's degree

Got a tattoo

Threw Katie's Bachelorette Party in the living room

Got introduced to Coco's dance moves

 Managed to not run over the DAMN YORKIES that are always in the street 

Overcome so many childhood fears, only to find new scary adult ones

Found a great support system and community

 Yup, pretty much everything important happened in this house.  

But the best part is that everything that made this house great - I get to take with me. 

Here's to the next four years.

I Might Have Too Much Fun

Things are getting out of hand.  I might be having too much fun. 

Friday night was a girls night extraordinaire.  After two months apart, Emily and Alyssa were reunited with downtown Denver.  And we made up for lost time. The video of our dance floor moves is priceless.

I am just so thankful that upon return to our house at 2am, I decided to put on some comfy clothes, cook myself a 4 course meal and watch 3 hours of television.  What was I thinking?  Two hours of Celebrity Apprentice reruns? Really? I need supervision.

Needless to say, waking up at 7am was a shock to the system.  But, it was COLOR RUN day!  Obviously, my Celebrity Apprentice marathon turned the Color Run into a Color Walk. 

Either way, it was a blast.  What could be better than throwing color at strangers as they attempt to run past you?  Nothing.

Don't worry. I went home and got straight back into bed. 

Alyssa and I are moving out of our amazing home in 3 days.  Which is bittersweet for all involved.  We threw a house cooling party that night to celebrate our years together at 1005 E. 5th.  

Plus, I get a Kinghorn family BBQ? 

Ok, Memorial Day.  You've won me over.

Now I need a nap.

An Apple

Yesterday I got my 3 year apple.  

The apple that is presented in front of the school to a teacher after surviving three years of teaching.

The apple that signifies that it is now pretty much impossible to get fired (thanks American education system!).

I have been thinking about this apple since July 29, 2009.  

And it's even more beautiful than I expected.  

Today I was driving through Aurora on my way home from school.  

As I was driving I spotted a teenaged boy running as fast as he possibly could (with his pants falling down). 

I looked for the people who were chasing him. 

I listened for the police sirens coming for him. 

All I saw was a yellow school bus stopping traffic.

Three small children got off the school bus and ran to the teenaged boy.

He had made it on time, after all.  

He took their hands and walked them home.

I teared up a little bit.  

He does as much for those kids as I do.  Probably more.

He deserves a fancy red apple.

What a Workout!

I don't sit in front of a desk all day.  But sometimes I wish I did.  Because walking back and forth from the front office to the copy room is about as exciting as it sounds.

So, I decided to find out how far I walk during my work day.  I set up my iPhone to measure my distances walked and calories burned during the time I am at work. And then I carried my phone around for 9 hours.

And the results are in!  Yesterday, I walked 2.27 miles and burned 842 calories.  

But the best part, BY FAR, is the map of my route:

I mean, thank God, I survived the two times I wandered into the street. 

With this job, it is no surprise that all teachers have buns of steel - right?

Rose, You Bitch

There totally was enough room for Jack!  In fact, there are a variety of positions that would have sufficed. 

Really, Rose - you will never let go?  Really?  Try harder.

Thanks to Kate Mae Broyles Daigle for bringing this important breaking news to my attention. 

And cheers to the French, for having the ambition to solve this taxing mystery. 

Speaking of France, in less than a month I will be bringing MY ambition to floating down the canals of France on this:

It's named "Le Cruisader".  Let the crusades begin.

Daily Dose of Gramma

We took Gramma and Mom to see The Avengers on Mother's Day.  

During the blasting and blaring preview for The Dark Knight Rising, Gramma turns to me in the theater and shouts: "Wow, that looks like a quiet little love story!"

After the movie, I had an emotional breakdown on my couch.  The pressures of moving, graduation, work and life just all hit me at the same time.  Luckily I had Gramma there to comfort me: "Emmy, it's going to be ok.  I just think we all need to go get drunk now."

Thanks Gramma for being my best friend, my personal comedian and my biggest cheerleader.


I love you more than words.