Snow in the Wood

As I write this blog I'm sitting on my couch, in my warm, comfy clothes. The heater is running, my iPod is on shuffle, at least 4 inches of snow is covering the ground and I just put down a good book. It doesn't get much better than this!

I love snow! One of all time favorite Gilmore Girls moments is an episode when Lorelei describes her love for snow. It's just such a magical phenomenon (in Texas at least) that is so beautiful, clean and quiet. Snow is calming and comforting to me - plus it is so much fun to play in! This morning, before we closed for the day, I went around and took some pictures of the HPU campus covered in snow. The snow was untouched at the point, because students hadn't gotten out in it yet, and it was breathtaking. Imagine one of your favorite places on earth wrapped in a white blanket - that's what I had the pleasure of seeing!

One of the many reasons I love snow is because it reminds me of living in Wisconsin. I actually wore my snow boots that I bought when I lived up there today and I may have been the only person on campus with warm, dry feet! All of the snow that we have had this year fails to compare to a true Northern winter! I think our first year that we lived there one storm brought 3 feet of snow in one day - THREE FEET! It was incredible! I remember Madie was 4 or 5 and jumped into a big pile in our little front yard. She lost one of her boots and we didn't find it again until 3 months later when all of the snow had finally melted. I actually learned to drive in the snow and I blame my poor parallel parking skills on it. I always end up about a foot away from the curb, which coincidentally is how far the snow stuck out. :) Winterfest, sledding, snow angels and snowball fights, oh it was so much fun!

Snow doesn't slow you down in Wisconsin - you just put on another layer and go on with your day. But in the eyes of a frozen Texan it was so wonderful. If every snow I see for the rest of my life reminds me of Wisconsin, then I will be a happy person!

In the know

I love to be "in the know." I don't know how to describe it beyond the fact that I just love to know as much as I can about everything - people, places and things (yep, all of the nouns).

I've known this about myself for a long time, but just recently I have noticed that I'm also a researcher. When I'm reading a story online, if there is a link, I'm probably going to click on it. Whether it provides some more details about whatever I'm interested in, has some photos or a video to watch or presents a new topic to consider, I'm hooked. Basically, I'm a constant clicker which leads me to some very interesting places on the web.

Today I had lunch with my friend Cassie and her husband, Tucker. It was so funny because at one point Tucker and I were comparing information that we have learned recently from the CIA world factbook. Apparently Tucker is a fellow researcher. We were talking about how neither one of us like to just read one story - we want to know more. We will go investigate to find the background information, more details on the story or what others are saying about it. Why do I love to know more?

I'm also a blog clicker. Ever since I started my blog back in July, I have become a big blog reader and fan. I love to see what other people are writing, what kind of style they use and get updates on my friends. Oftentimes I find myself reading a friend's blog, clicking on another blog they follow, clicking on something in that and before I know it, I'm lost in the blog-o-sphere (and I love it!).

Here's a good example - I was just reading my friend Caty's blog and she was talking about her ideal cast for a new movie based on the book The Hunger Games. Well, I'd never heard of The Hunger Games before, so I went to look it up on amazon.com and this is what I found. Did I mention that I also followed her link to some girl named Lenzi's blog? I don't know Lenzi but apparently she talked about this book on her blog. Now, you ask, did I need to know all of that? Probably not, but at least now if someone else is talking about The Hunger Games, I will know what's going on!

I think my job is well suited for this aspect of my personality. Essentially, it's my job to find out as much as I can about what is happening at HPU and share that information with everyone else. Isn't it great that God knew this about me way before I did and provided me the opportunity to use this crazy quirk for good?

(Did you click on any of the links that I put in this post? If so, you might be more like me than you think!)

Packing idiosyncrasy

When preparing to go on a trip each person has their own priorities for packing. Some, like my mom, start packing weeks in advance, intentionally planning each article of clothing and accessory. Others wait until the very last minute and are pulling their clothes out of the dryer and throwing them into a suitcase while everyone else is sitting in the car ready to go (this would be my dad). I think I fall somewhere in between the two. I like to start thinking about what I'm going to bring in advance, and sometimes I make lists to ensure that I don't forget things, but I'm usually still throwing things into my suitcase at the last minute.

Clothes, accessories and toiletries are all important but here's my packing idiosyncrasy: the very first thing that I consider when I start preparing for a trip is what books I'm going to bring.

This may seem trivial to some, but books are so important to me. I love reading and trips are a great time to get in some good books. I usually remember what I read on a trip and associate them with my traveling. Picking the book up again reminds me of wherever I've been and memories come flooding back.

When I went to Italy with my friend Cassie I brought Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. I had been wanting to read a Dan Brown book for a while and this one turned out to be great. It was set in Rome and so as I traveled around the city I was able picture the book so much more vividly, because I was seeing what he was describing! Sometimes I like to bring challenging books with me that I wouldn't read otherwise and other times I bring fun books that are just enjoyable and make the time on the plane pass quickly. When I went to Milwaukee over Labor Day I brought Same Kind of Different as Me because I had heard great things about it, but couldn't make myself sit down and read it. Being on a plane with nothing else to do, I opened it up and couldn't put it down. It was incredible! On my spring break trip last year to England I brought Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic and it was so much fun because it was set in London and I could identify with a lot of the references because I was there. I ended up buying the second and third book in the series on my trip because I couldn't get enough of them!

I usually bring two or three books to make sure that I never run out things to read - haha, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I think one of my biggest fears is facing a plane ride without adequate reading material.

So, in preparation for my trip to Taiwan, (which keep in mind is a 13 hour plane ride each way) I'm already thinking about what books I'm going to bring.

Here are some of my options -

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Love walked in by Marisa De Los Santos
The Gospel According to Lost by Chris Seay (my new Thomas Nelson book review book)
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Sparkles by Louise Bagshawe
Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

This is quite the compilation, I realize, but they are all books that I have bought or received recently and want to read. I'll let you know what I end up picking - probably a combination of fun/fluff and interesting/challenging. While you are laughing at me and thinking how crazy I am, ask yourself this question. Do you have any packing idiosyncrasies?

Taipei 101

In 29 days I'm boarding a plane with a final destination of Taipei, Taiwan. I'm so excited because I am going to visit one of my favorite people - my friend Danielle (who is currently living in the city of 2.6 million). Having never been that far east, I can't wait to see all that is to come during my Spring Break for 2010.

The other day Danielle was listing off places that we can go see while I'm in town - Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Taipei 101. I figured the first two were buildings, but I was a little puzzled by Taipei 101. I assumed it was her Chinese class where she must also be learning about the history of the city. Turns out I was wrong, haha. Taipei 101 is actually a skyscraper that was the world's tallest building from 2004 to Jan. 4, 2010. Inside it is a entertainment superhouse - with a shopping mall, cinema, restaurants, observation deck and more. It sounds like so much fun! Danielle laughed at me when she realized my assumption, and rightly so. Unfortunately I don't know much about Taipei, but I'm looking forward to learning more!

I'm not sure all that we will do during my 10 day trip, but I know it is going to be so much fun. Danielle and I became travel buddies back in 2008 when we took an AWESOME trip to Europe together to visit our friends who were studying in Austria for the summer. Along the way we built a great friendship that has been such a blessing to me. I can't wait to see this new city that is now her home and to see my friend, who I have missed so much!

Mini Donut Cupcakes

Dear blog readers,

I have found that while the main purpose for starting this blog was to share my travel stories, I have a lot of other random things I like to talk about as well (as I'm sure you have noticed if you are a frequent reader). So, for those of you who want to hear all about my exotic adventures, stay tuned - there will be plenty more to come {for instance, in just one month and 2 days I'm heading to Taipei, Taiwan! More on that later}. So, anyway, thanks for humoring me and for being such a great reader and friend - here's a little treat for you. I found a new recipe that is so simple and so good. It's from a new cookbook I bought called "Quick Fixes from Mixes."

Mini Donut Cupcakes

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake as the box directs and add nutmeg. Then, pour into mini muffin pans (that have been greased). Bake for about 14 minutes - you probably want to watch it because while it doesn't take as long to cook as cupcakes, it takes longer than you would think. Meanwhile, put the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. When the mini cupcakes are done, let them cool for a few minutes (important, otherwise they tend to crumble - this is the voice of experience talking) and then roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. And tada - all done. It's delicious, I promise! And when I made them yesterday I was able to get 6 dozen out of the mix. Enough to share with lots of people. But beware - they are so good that you can't just eat one, or two ... :)

Enjoy! and Happy Tuesday!