A Christmas Miracle

I made it to Pittsburgh! My friend Josh drove me through Seattle's first of apparently many snow storms to the airport at 6am on Thursday. I'm thankful for his cautious and persistent driving skills. I then had layovers in Denver and Chicago. Not exactly the best places to stop in winter weather. But I made it to Pittsburgh only 20 minutes behind schedule at 8:20pm. I called Ron when I got off the plane and quickly made it to baggage claim.
I knew Ron was waiting for me in baggage claim, but it took me a minute to find him. I was looking for him standing towards the back where everyone else stands and waits. Instead he was standing in the middle of airport traveler-traffic wearing a suit. He was holding a large sign that read "J. Reill". At first I was a little embarrassed because the sign was so big and he was drawing so much attention to me/him. So I was laughing and hurrying towards him. I was just about to say, "That sign is way too big" when he dropped the sign to reveal a second sign reading, "Will you marry me?" Then he got down on one knee, pulled out a ring, said some nice things... and I said "YES!"
Ron and I are engaged! I'm so happy and so honored to be wearing a ring that was once worn by his grandmother and mother.

The last week has been consumed with celebration. I'm having so much fun spending time with friends and new family here in PA. Merry Christmas! We'll talk soon :)

potential enemy

Seattle's weather could potentially be my biggest enemy at the moment. It's been pretty cold the last few days. Currently it is 24 degrees. It snowed on Saturday night and that snow is still on the ground in some areas.
Now, the most skilled meteorologists are calling for more snow in Seattle beginning tonight and continuing into Thursday. There is a "winter storm watch" in effect until Thursday at 10:00am. The reason this such bad news is because I am scheduled to fly out of Seattle at 8:00am on Thursday. I'm traveling to Pittsburgh to be with Ron and I have been counting down the days until I get to be with him again. I will be quite upset if my flight is canceled or delayed. Please pray that Seattle's weather will not become my enemy and that I will be able to leave as scheduled. Pray that I get to Ron safe and right on schedule (8:00pm).
2 more days...

"celebrity" crush

So, I don't know if you would consider the local weather man a celebrity, but if Chris Warren on King 5 news counts, then I totally have a celebrity crush on him.
To be honest, I've had this celebrity crush on him for quite awhile. When I was in High School and College, Chris was living in Bend and reporting the weather on KTVZ. I would secretly hope to bump into him around town, see if he wanted to take me to prom, or at least sit next to him at a local coffee shop.
When I moved to PA and returned to Bend, OR for Christmas, I was disappointed that Chris was no longer there to warn me about terrible weather conditions or how it wasn't going to snow on the 25th. I heard he had moved on...was living in Seattle. I couldn't believe this news. We were like ships passing in the night. He moved to Seattle just as I had moved away.
Over the years, I honestly forgot about C.W. He was the furthest thing from my mind when I moved back to Seattle. So imagine the pleasant surprise I encountered one Saturday night while I was waiting for SNL to start. There he was; Chris Warren, with his pearly whites and subtly airbrushed tan skin. So now, I'm able to secretly hope all over again...
Secretly, I hope to bear witness to some weather related disaster, and Chris will call me on my cell phone wanting to hear my version of the story. I hope that he will be in front of me in the "15 items or less" check-out lane at Safeway with 18 items. Everyone would get all upset at him, he would flash me a smile that says, "I'm sorry for my poor planning" and I would then defend him to all of those ungrateful complainers in line behind us. We would instantly become friends and then grab a quick Thai food dinner.
You know... these are just little things. Typical hopes anyone has of their celebrity crush. I'll let you all know if I happen to bump into C. Dub around town or bear witness to any weather related disasters.

A break...

Tonight, the halls are quiet, it's snowing outside and I am happy.
The last few students left this morning for Christmas break and won't return until early January. I spent the day walking through the halls with each Peer Advisor making sure refrigerators were defrosted, trash was taken out and that all food that would rot was thrown away. This isn't the most exciting part of my job, but I could have skipped through the halls due to the joy in my heart. Students are home with their families, I don't have work until January and on Thursday I get on a plane for Pittsburgh for the Holidays.
(Only 5 more days until I get to see Ronnie C!)

oh tannenbaum

I would like to dedicate the following song to my Christmas tree:

Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannenbaum
Wie treu sind Deine Blätter
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit
Nein auch im Winter wenn es schneit
Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannenbaum
Wie treu sind Deine Blätter

[Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannenbaum
Dein Kleid will mich was lehren
Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit
Gibt Trost und Kraft zu aller Zeit
Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannenbaum
Dein Kleid will mich was lehren]

((Ich kenne ein Bäumchen...))

Ich kenne ein Bäumchen
Gar fein und zart
Das trägt euch Früchte seltener Art
Es funkelt und leuchtet in hellem Schein
Weit in des Winters Nacht hinein

December

How did it become December already?! I'm not complaining, I'm just shocked we are here already.