I have just graduated from Sonoma State University with a BA in Sociology. I have absolutely loved my time in wine country- it really doesn't get more beautiful than vineyards and endless green, but I am ready for the next adventure!

I am from the Bay Area and as much as I want to travel, I want to end up here later in life. I love that someone can go out for a different kind of ethnic food everyday of the week and still have endless options!

In July/August, I will be visiting one of my great friends in England where we will tour multiple castles, London, Paris, Paris Disneyland (we did meet at the Disney College Program anyway), and will be attending the 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS!

Click here for the official website for Edelweiss Lodge and Resort

In September, I will be working as a civilian employee for an American military base in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. I will be in the hotel indusutry working for Edelweiss Lodge and Resort. They say my backyard will be the Alps. I have my hiking boots packed already.

Click here for the official website for the Disney College Program and Professional Internships

About two years ago I participated in the Disney College Program, working and living at Walt Disney World, Florida. It really started my love for traveling and throwing myself outside of my comfort zone. I highly recommend it to anyone who respects the Disney Company and wants to get their foot in the door or just wants a break from life- it was definitely both for me.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Goldfish, Bouncy Houses, and Children

This is just a fun blog post.  I have been working as a preschool teacher for two summers now and I cannot tell you how many stories I have come back with, so here are a few that have made me laugh, shudder, and laugh some more. 


You know you work at a preschool when:


- Growing up into a Pirate Princess is a very practical career path


- You will run/act faster than any Olympic Track and Field gold medal winner when a child says, "I have to poop" in a bouncy house


- A hug is THE way of communication and can really mean anything, which is great.... but first you double check to make sure that they are not using you as a human kleenex (this will always be learned through one mistake).. and they think saying "but Miss Debra, I love you" will still get them a hug 


- Being "it" in tag is a matter of life and death..and even if you played freeze tag when you were little there are SO many more rules nowadays... so prepare to lose


- "Curling" your hair really means five girls twisting your hair so tight and tying it at the end so it will "stay" curly... and get immediately distracted by legos while you will be untangling your hair for hours upon hours


- Your lap will be comfier to a three year-old than any person considers a LZ-Boy chair, the Queen's throne, or really anything for that matter


- A girl will be wearing polka dot leggings, a pink tutu, a striped shirt with a rainbow, and confetti like hair bands and she will tell you she doesn't like your fashion sense... four year- old girls do know the word "fashion" so get ready for a four year-old Tim Gunn criticizing your outfit choices


- You have more Goldfish crackers in your room than people in this world....and every time they eat them (once a day) you will always hear about how it is the "snack that smiles back"...one night you will dream about it I guarantee you


- Your greatest accomplishment is getting a child to fall asleep during nap time... seriously if this has never happened for you, when you have kids or whenever this time occurs you have my complete permission to call me at any time- day or night to gloat about your new "talent." It is worth bragging about


- When setting up the nap time beds, blankets, etc. one of the kids will look at you, head shaking, and whispers, "Miss Debra, it's a trap!"


- Girls know about the world wide male epidemic called "cooties" but don't believe in it.....quite yet

- When boys only want to grow up to be Daddy... and a Power Ranger on the side



- When kids seem to be more logical and smarter than adults.... and then five minutes later they cry over having to share the "My Little Pony" figures


- You feel bad for people who have boring jobs when you get to search for treasure, play games, and be an idolized grown-up... and get paid for it





Friday, June 8, 2012

Pictures and Links: Bucket List and Life Adventures

Okay so the next task about figuring out this whole blog thing is uploading my own pictures and posting links. So I thought I would do that through showing my bucket list and then the craziest/best things I've ever done. Enjoy, comment, and give me some/any/all your advice on figuring out this whole blog thing. Seriously please.

Bucket List
1. Go on a real African safari
2. Visit an internment/extermination camp
3. Bungee jump- the obvious bucket list answers
4.  Skydive
5. Spend New Years in New York
6. Go to the Olympics
7. Feed a giraffe- DONE! 1/5/2012

8.  Stay at a five start resort- DONE! 5/28-5/30/2012 Disney Aulani Resort Oahi, Honolulu
9.  Go to the Oscars
10. Run a marathon (half is completely acceptable)
11. See the Borealis Lights
               Borealis Lights Video- I would stand out in the cold for hours to see this!
12. Win something on the radio- setting myself up for identity theft so the prize better be worth it
13. Go to the playoff of some kind of sport- I don't even care what sport! Maybe if its the Sueprbowl I need to complete bucket list #14, but really I just want to yell, cheer, and people watch
14. Learn football
15. Ride on a motorcycle
16. Walk the entire Golden Gate Bridge and back
17. Go on the craziest roller coaster ever

Craziest Things I Have Ever Done


1.  Zip lined in Alaska


2. Lived and worked at Walt Disney World for 7 months (a blog post on its own, but if someone ever needed the top 10 reasons on why to do the Disney College Program, I could probably give you 50 in 30 seconds)


3. Walked in Anne Frank's footsteps at the house her family hid before being found and transported to several extermination camps- I would love to revisit her house after taking a Sociology: Holocaust and Genocide class and reading stories, hearing survivors history, and being older (and hopefully wiser). Being that it's in Amsterdam and again being older I hope to visit Amsterdam for not only the historical aspect..naturally. 


4. Went traveling through Western Europe for 6 months- my parents took me and my brother out of school (I was 12 and he 14), home schooled us, and traveled through Europe for 6 months. We went to England, Scotland, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium. I don't know how I did my parents did it financially, emotionally, physically, etc. but I full on intend to do it with my kids...when I win the lottery or strike rich. I seriously think thats why the teen years weren't too bad in my family and why we have remained so close. I mean we survived a bull fight, a witch, cows attacking us, escargot, etc- it really doesn't hold a comparison.

5. Interned at Make-A-Wish- I worked for the Make-A-Wish foundation in San Francisco and I can easily say it was one of the best experiences in my life. I interviewed children over the phone on if they could have anything in the whole world what would they have? And then interviewing parents on how their wish trip went.  I ended up many great stories but some with a boy wanting a super secret man cave (aka a playhouse of his own), fighting with a seven year old on who was the coolest Disney princess (the obvious choice is Princess Tiana), singing the Spongebob television song to a scared child in the hospital, lots of tears from ever grateful parents, and a new perspective on life. Nothing puts a girl in check more than talking to a child who has already faced a life threatening illness. Suddenly whats served for dinner is not so important.
If anyone is interested in such an internship in the Bay Area, they have constant internships, and all the chapters are all great people!  Click here for the official website

6. Fed a giraffe- Giraffes are my absolute favorite animal. And even if it isn't who wouldn't want to feed a giraffe? Instead of going to Africa or some place where the plane ticket is 1500$, go to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. For 30 minutes and 5 extra $ you can feed a giraffe all you want. I got this as an excellent Christmas present and I think I was the only adult at the Kiddie Adventure Giraffe Feeding that day (maybe the whole year), but I had no shame in shoving those kids out of the way to feed the giraffes. They were so young they won't remember, where as it was on my bucket list.... again no shame. But seriously, if your going to Six Flags any way try it, its super fun.. and call me!




7. Rush- Best decision I EVER made in college, but if your not freaked out by a bunch of stranger girls asking to know everything about you then props to you cause that was completely outside of my comfort zone. And then the next year your on the other side of recruitment and wondering why girls aren't opening up more. Its the circle of life.

8. Snorkeled With Sharks- Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Shark Reef Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Disney has two water parks in Florida with countless water slides, lazy rivers, but of course Disney has to stand out. So they have this attraction which takes you snorkeling with rays, fish, and of course sharks. After seeing Jaws and Shark Week I didn't see the logic in voluntarily for fun getting in a large pool with sharks, but I did! I'm pretty sure I saw one shark, found my olympic swimming abilities, and found myself at the end of the pool in about .2 seconds... but thats not the point of this story.
         

Okay so it wasn't like this, but those sharks weren't no goldfish either

9. Summit Plummit Blizzard Beach Florida- the tallest and fastest free fall body slide. Find a tall hotel, go inside, and find the elevator. Now, press floor 12, get out, and look straight down. Then imagine falling 50-60 mph... I don't think I ate the whole time before going on this ride. Heres a video that pretty much sums it up... can you guess that I did once and only once?
                            Summit Plummit Video: Random Kid, Same Facial Expressions

10. Queen Elizabeth smiled and waved at me- This is nothing crazy, but I couldn't think of anything and I think its pretty cool! And to be honest I was in the front of a crowd (a short 12 year-old) at the horse races, so I highly doubt the Queen was waving solely to me, but for the sake of the story we will say she did. My family and I were going to the horse races and being 12 I was just glad it wasn't another art museum or historical tour. There was a big crowds and lo and behold it was the Queen! I should have bought a lottery ticket that day, thats as lucky as we are ever going to get.