Every Day

For our campers, we like to lead a fun and silly campfire complete with skits, songs and games. This particular campfire was too much fun and extending past its usual time so a few of us naturalists started trickling off to get a head start on our evening (leaving more than enough people with the kiddos). I wasn't the first to ditch out but at one point I started starring at the fire too long and got real sleepy. So I tapped out and started walking back to camp. We have torches that light the way back along a gravel path and small boardwalk over the pond/marsh. This evening the moon was also fairly bright making the path have that beautiful evening glow. I was alone, taking note of how pretty the torches lit up the path, started walking along the board walk... clomp, clomp, clomp... when I saw something small about 20 feet ahead of me crawl out from under the boardwalk and trot away and shuffle in the leaves away from me. Wasn't a squirrel. Wasn't a goose. Was larger th...

Today after work, we all decided to keep working, cause why not? We had a mission to get crazy clothes for the Lorax skit we put on for some of the kids who come through camp. We went to a thrift store and found some gems. The high-waisted, elastic-banded, stretchy pants that we found at this thrift store, with the the silky, disgustingly patterned fabric were perfect. These pants were so hideous that all of the middle school kids are going to be fighting over them (not to mention the well dressed naturalists). We also found some other classic items including a wonderful, dragon, clip-on tie and a stylish shiny vest. Its fun to go into a thrift store and just single out all the most disgusting, ugly pieces of clothing that you can find. "This is hideous! ...perfect" After the thrift store, we all had our hearts set on ice cream but got distracted by all the cute little shops that we were passing. An italian bakery, an old-timey candy store, a toy store that was full...

Food. I like me some good food. I like local food. I like organic/natural food. I like food that is produced by good companies. I like food that is wholesome and nutritious. I like food to make me feel better, not worse. I have not been eating the best lately and have noticed that Ive been tired ALL the time. So last night I decided to change that and start eating a little better. Well, at least for dinner... Last night and tonight I cooked up lots of deliciousness and felt/feel SO much better about life. I "stole" an onion, yellow pepper and chickpeas from the dining hall last night to add into my stir fry. I had some left-over quinoa and peas last night but tonight I just stuck with the basics. Chopped up veggies, chickpeas and black beans, garlic and seasonings and of course, a bit of cheese on top. And dont forget, a hard boiled egg from Easter Sunday (look how blue it turned out!!). That meal right there is what you call some mean nutrients and protein. I feel fant...

At 12:30pm, I stepped outside for the first time all day. I hadn't really even left my room until I realized that if I didnt go outside, I probably would bum it all afternoon. I put my running shoes on and bounced outside. I started walking and after I got myself settled, I started to run. After being cooped up, those first few steps of an outdoor run is so magical. The feeling of freedom, fresh air and adrenaline is fantastic. I always have a mad smile and excitement for being able to move so fast. After my first few minutes of running, thats when the exhaustion sets in. What keeps me going longer, is adventure. Do I like running? Not really. Do I enjoy exploring? Obviously. I decided to check out a new part of the power line trail that I have not seen before and ran up the hills, or on straight path, and walked down hills. I went to the beginning of the trail and back again, smiling at the other people who were also out for their afternoon walk/bike. The sun came out and it...

This morning I did not want to wake up but the animals needed food... My co-worker, Cassie and I went down to the farm to feed the goats and donkeys, let out the chickens and give some snacks to the animals in the nature center. While we were cleaning, I noticed that one of the guinea pigs was in a different cage. I was in the middle of asking Cassie "Why is the guinea pigs in the other cage?" When I noticed that the two guinea pigs were in their cage... Cassie replied "Thats just an extra cage" But I started counting guinea pigs and in fact, there were three total. I starred at them for a minute until Cassie came to join me and confirmed that there were three total guinea pigs and the last time I checked, we only had two. After some speculation and metal visuals of a random person dropping off a guinea pig in our nature center, we got a text saying that the extra guinea pig was a school pet that came here on the holidays! After the feeding frenzy, Cassi...

I got on the train this afternoon towards Philly and there were an insane amount of people. Never had I seen the train this packed! Then I realized, Easter weekend and most schools have spring break so I prepared myself for a packed city. I got off the train in a pretty empty train station. I was the only one following the signs, up the stairs to Reading Market. There was almost silence before I pushed on the doors out into the street and was immediately bombarded with tons of people, scratching cars and music from street performers.  I was meeting a friend of Tys for a blind friend date and was a little nervous as to how I would find her in this crazy crowd. While I was waiting for her, I thought I would explore the area a bit so I walked into Reading Terminal Market and wandered the isles. It was so packed in there that at some times I couldn't move. I love cities and I love being surrounded by people, but this was a bit much, I enjoy my personal bubble and I also enjoy be...

I normally don’t write while Im on the plane but I also don’t normally fly at normal times. A 5 pm flight is the perfect time to get some blogging done in the air! The last two days of my trip were packed and awesome. I had such a great time with a great friend and it was so sad to leave especially after spending the last few hours exploring the city of St. Petersburg which will hopefully be my new home in the next year! Its such a cute city that is reminiscent of my favorite city, Milwaukee. I could see myself living there for sure :) Yesterday, we hiked Emerson Point preserve with the dog and pretty much had the place to ourselves! Seeing all the mangroves made me so happy. They are such a cool plant with their drop roots and snorkel roots! Wah! Also, lots of wildlife and history. A lot of the parks that we went to had cut-outs of people just scattered throughout and they startled me on more than one occasion… Then we rented kayaks in Robinson’s preserve! Huck reluctantly wen...