A Timeline

So, I stumbled upon my old 2005/2006 date book and I have to say, I am pretty jealous of my younger self. I was just amazed at how much I used to travel and sad that "growing up" means spending more time on the house, the yard, cooking and working. Don't get me wrong, I love my house, but it's fun to get away too.

So here is how I spent my time in Grad School (Iowa State University):

February 2005: Traveled to St. Louis for the grand Mardi Gras festival... little did I know at that time that I would be living in Soulard 4 years later.

March 2005: Spent 1 1/2 weeks in Grand Cayman Island. It was amazing and a bit saddening to see the post Hurricane Ivan destruction. *I also ran my first 5k race in Grand Cayman, on St. Pats Day! After the race, we went straight to the bar for a much needed Screwdriver.

May 2005: Great Lakes Tour. Traveled to Upper Michigan, Toronto, Niagara Falls.

early-July 2005: Drive to St. Louis again to see fireworks under the Arch.

mid-July 2005: Embark on a 2 1/2 week road trip from Iowa to California. Spent time in Denver, Moab, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Palm Desert, Temecula Wine Valley, Escondido, San Diego, Tijuana Mexico, The Grand Canyon...

late-July to August 2005: Fly to England for 3 1/2 weeks...travel around southern England, London, spent 3 nights in Paris France.

November 2005: Camp in Kauai Hawaii with friends for 2 1/2 weeks.

December 2005: Drive up to Michigan for Christmas, fly to New York City for a week. Spent New Years Eve in Times Square (amazing).

January 2006: Leave all my stuff behind and "move" to England, stayed there until late August 2006. Traveled to Scotland, all around southern England and spent many days in London. Profession: Barmaid. One sure thing, I was happy to come home in August.

August/September 2006: Spent time in Iowa working/living at the Bed and Breakfast (I had worked here throughout Grad School). Traveled to Florida for an interview. Trying to finish up school and find a big person job. While staying at the B&B, I woke up to the most gorgeous sunrise...it was truly breathtaking.

October 2006: "Move" to Florida to start job and continue to work on thesis.

November 2006: Decide I don't want to live in Florida and interview for a job in Missouri. Spend time in Florida finishing thesis - - defend thesis in Iowa mid-November. Move to Missouri in late-November. WOW, can I just say how STRESSED I was!

December 2006: Start job in St. Louis Missouri. Graduate from Iowa State!

Grad School was awesome, but woah, what a whirlwind. I'm kind of surprised I made it out!