3.30.2011

Guest Post: The Texas Transplant



Q: Tell us about yourself! Where are you from? What do you do? Where did you go to college? Give us a little bio.
I’m a Midwestern girl at heart.  I grew up in Ohio and Chicagoland, and then I went to a small liberal arts college (Hope College, home of the Flying Dutchmen) in Holland, Michigan.  I’ve lived in Austin, Texas, for almost 2 years now – talk about living in a different world!  (I’ll explain how I ended up in the Lone Star State in a bit.)  In college, I studied elementary education, and now I work in elementary special education.  Trust me, there is never a dull moment when you work with kids with Learning Disabilities, Autism, and behavioral/emotional disorders!  I really do love my job.  I love to cook and play with my KitchenAid mixer.  Lately I’ve also really gotten into photography, and I’m slowly learning how to use my fancy-pants camera and Photoshop.
 

I’m married to Jon, who is a Freakishly Tall Dutch Boy.  (He’s 6’6”.  I’m 5’3”.  Do the math.)  We met in college after he hit me in the face with a snowball.  (No joke.  That was literally my first impression of him.)  We got married on June 20, 2009, and then moved here to Austin so that he could pursue a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Texas.  (Hook ‘em!)  Jon is a sports fanatic, and is currently glowing because the NCAA tourney is on 24/7.
 

And then there’s this girl:  Miss Lady is a 5 or 6 year old Black Lab who we adopted from the Austin Humane Society not long after we moved here.  Lady’s interests include sleeping, being scared of people she doesn’t know, sleeping, eating Dingoes (and food in general), sleeping, giving kisses, sleeping, and playing at the creek.
Q: What outfit of yours do you feel the absolute best in? (work clothes? gym clothes? daily uniform? sexy black dress) Can I dare you to include a photo?
Right now, I’m really into wearing dresses to work because it’s so warm here.  I love that I can throw on a cute dress in the morning with a pair of sandals, and be good to go!!

Q: What is your worst vice?
Depends on who you ask!!  I would probably say it’s that I procrastinate and work best under pressure, but Jon would probably say that it’s my love of shopping!

Q: What is your favorite U.S. City and why?
Hmmm.  I guess I’m partial to all of the Midwest.  I lived in Chicago long enough that I love it, but I also love Grand Rapids, Michigan, because that’s where I spent so much of my time during college.  After moving to Austin though, we’re loving getting to explore all this city has to offer.  There’s so much going on here all the time!

Q: What is on your DVR right now?
Believe it or not, we are probably the only 20-somethings who don’t own a DVR!  We watch way more TV than we should already, but we especially love The Big Bang Theory and Castle.  We have both of them on DVD, and lately we’ve been watching a couple of old episodes of Castle a week.  (P.S.  If you haven’t seen Castle on ABC on Monday nights, you should!  It’s fantastic!!)


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5 [everyday] items that you can't live without out.

  • My cell phone.  I got my first one as a freshman in high school because I rode the train to school and then had to walk through a fairly sketchy neighborhood…and I’ve had a phone attached to me ever since.
  • My planner from BlueSky.  It goes everywhere with me and helps me to keep track of my life and my to-do lists.
  •  My Garmin GPS.  My parents just got us one, and it’s so handy!  We use it to find directions or even to decide where we want to eat or shop.
  • Clorox Wipes.  This is the housewife in me doing the talking now.  We buy them in bulk at Costco.  I keep them under all the sinks in the apartment, and they are the single reason why our counters stay clean.
  • My FlipVideo camera.  I keep it in my purse, and it’s always handy for a quick video or even for something that I want to take a picture of.


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