Giving thanks

Welp. I survived my first major holiday away from home. I also got to cook my very own version of Thanksgiving dinner for my Spanish family. They seemed to really enjoy it. I made some green beans, mashed potatoes and a chicken (they don't really do turkey in Spain...). It was delicious and I felt proud to have accomplished this tiny miracle, especially since I was totally making things up as I went along.

Thanksgiving is always a time for reflection, and this year, being so far away from the people I love, I find myself especially thoughtful and even more thankful. I am so, so thankful for my family. It took me a while to realize it, but my parents are truly the coolest people. They have supported every decision I've made for my life and taught me so many important lessons. I am thankful for my aunts, uncle, cousins and family friends. I certainly wouldn't be who I am today without their love and support.  I am so thankful to have such good friends. They really help keep me sane, and as we support each other through the beginning of adulthood, I am just that much more thankful to have them stumbling along with me.

There are so many things to be thankful for, so many blessings. I really am looking forward to another year filled with health, happiness and adventure.

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The Broke Girl's Guide to Travel: London & Glasgow

One of the most compelling reasons for moving to Spain was the ability I would have to travel around Europe, so I'm planning my first weeklong trip to the United Kingdom in January. My birthday is January 9th so I figured I would consider this trip a little birthday gift to myself.

My flights and buses have been booked! I even have a couch to crash on in Glasgow. As plans emerge I will continue to update my itinerary.

January 22nd - Depart Coruña at 15:40, arrive in London at 16:40, travel overnight to Glasgow

January 23rd - Arrive in Glasgow 8am

January 24th - Glasgow

January 25th - Glasgow, Depart Glasgow, travel overnight to London

January 26th - Arrive in London 7am

January 27th - London

January 28th - London

January 29th - Depart Heathrow at 17:35, arrive in Coruña at 20:40

This gives me about three full days in Glasgow Scotland, and nearly four full days in London. By traveling overnight I am eliminating the need to find a hostel or couch to surf for two of the seven nights. The cost of the plane and bus tickets totals US$185, round trip. I found the flights through Vueling and the buses through Megabus. My plan is to travel light - just my trusty Vera Bradley overnighter and camera bag (which also functions as a super cute cross-body purse!). I will be staying with a friend near Glasgow. So now all that's left to plan is accomodations for London and to pack my week full of exciting sights and adventures!

Update Jan 8 2015

With the craziness of the holidays and traveling back and forth to New York I haven't had a lot of time to plan my trip to the UK. Luckily I had some time today to sit down and get some more plans sorted out.

I've sent a message confirming my weekend of couch surfing with an old friend near Glasgow and I've booked a bed at a youth hostel in central London. I used Booking.com when I traveled with my friend to Ireland, and everything worked out well on that trip, so I decided to check and see what deals they had for accomodations in London.

My must-haves are cleanliness and a great location. I decided on YHA London Central which had good reviews on TripAdvisor and on Booking. I reserved a bed in female dormitory for the three nights that I will be in town. YHA scored a 8.1/10 overall with a 7.8/10 for cleanliness and a 9/10 for location. It was also really affordable at US$83 for the three nights. I like that they have lockers for secure storage and luggage storage for the days that I arrive and depart.  And of course, the free WiFi is huge plus.

Several of my friends have been to London, so now come the task of gathering advice on places to see and things to skip so that I can make the most of my time. Also, Booking.com favorited my tweet and it made my morning #itsthelittlethings

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Last Place

Yesterday I ran my first race. It was a 7K road race along the Paseo Marítimo in Coruña, it was also the most excited I've ever been to fail miserably.

I was so far beyond unprepared it's not even funny. And despite it all, I was able to finish absolutely last with a ridiculous grin on my face. The support from the spectators was incredible. The encouragement from the elite runners lapping me was overwhelming. Claps, cheers, pats on the back - probably the only reason I was able to finish.

As a relatively intelligent person, I know that failure is a part of life, a very big, very important part of life but it still doesn't feel good. Yesterday I learned just how amazing failure can feel and how good it can be for your mind, body and soul. I should probably mention that it was freezing and pouring rain the entire way. Yes, this last place as an accomplishment. It was a struggle to run the race in the first place but to add insult to injury I was being pelted by freezing rain and totally soaked through. It was all very poetic and special and I have a newfound appreciation for dry socks.

After this race, I have some serious goals. The first being to get my butt into shape to be able to run another race a little more successfully. The next, to be kinder to myself. I advocate kindness towards others in so many ways but it's not often that I give myself a break. If total strangers can cheer for me, I should probably start cheering for myself once in a while.

I'm so proud of my accomplishment yesterday and I look forward to many more miles of success and failure.

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Amen.

On a scale of 1 to the Jonas Brothers, how ridiculous is it that I'm listening to this on repeat? (No offense, Jo Bros)

So many thanks to my friend Rachel for bringing this magical version of Nick Jonas' Jealous into my life. Where has this guy been anyway? Apparently he's been working out... a lot. You can also find a scantily clad Nick Jonas in pretty much every tabloid and entertainment news bulletin.

Can I get an "amen" for a full version of this heavenly tune?

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Descendant Records

Listen to this song from The Lone Bellow before, during, or after reading this post and I promise you won't be sorry - unless you have terrible taste in music... (just kidding...but not really...)

In all seriousness, even if you aren't usually a huge fan of folksy American, indie music you have to admit lead singer Zach Williams has some real talent. I thought it was Gavin Degraw's long lost twin brother when I first heard them. If you want to know more about them, and you should, check you their site, thelonebellow.com. I'm a little sad I won't be in New York in March to see them play.

One of the things I love about The Lone Bellow is the way they talk about making music as telling their stories.

"These are true stories. These aren't things we made up. We tried to write some songs that had nothing to do with our personal stories, but we just didn't respond to them...we know each others' personal stuff and trust each other to figure out what needs to be said and how to say it" says Brian Elmquist, guitar player and vocalist. "We do this thing together, and we carry each other. Hopefully that makes the listener what to be a part of it. It becomes a communal thing, which means that there's never a sad song to sing. It's more a celebration of the light and the dark."  

Contrary to what it seems, the point of this post isn't to tell you about the awesomeness of The Lone Bellow, it's to tell you about the internship that I just applied for with Descendant Records, home to... yep! you guessed it, The Lone Bellow and another awesome band called Colony House (check them out too - über talented!!) 

I came across the postion on a job board and after a fair amount of social media stalking I became so excited about the possibility to work for Descendant Records I almost couldn't focus enough to update my resumé. I had the same feeling I got when I first emailed Michael Justin Films about an internship. 

Music is always been a huge deal in my life. If you put my iTunes songs in date order you can probably pretty accurately guess what was going on. That said, I think allowing someone access to your iTunes is one of the most vulnerable things you can do.  

Speaking of vulernability, have you checked out Standbuy.us yet? Just needed to fit in my daily dose of #standbuy because that's still hugely important to me. Ok, I digress...again. 

Even if nothing comes of my application, I am so happy to have found some new music to listen to and a new path that I could possibly pursue for a career. And I highly suggest keeping an eye on The Lone Bellow and Colony House - I predict they're going to continue making spectacular music. 

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Helping Hounds

The mission of Helping Hounds Dog Rescue is “to take unwanted, neglected, abused or homeless dogs, and provide them with emotional, medical, behavioral and physical support so they can be adopted into loving, permanent homes.” They are located at 6606 Kinne Road, Dewitt, NY. HHDR is a non profit organization that relies on community volunteers, donations, fundraisers and adoption fees. They work tirelessly to find "furever homes" for rescue dogs in the Central New York area. To learn more about HHDR, watch this and to offer your support visit helpinghoundsdogrescue.org/ 

Helping Hounds Dog Rescue

DeWitt, New York 

Spring 2013

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Hating Pork in Spain

I hate pork. I live in Spain. Hating pork in Spain is not only difficult, it basically makes you an outcast. I never thought I'd be one to discuss my eating habits, but moving to a different country isn't only a physical adjustment, it's a gastronomical one as well. I thought moving to Spain would be wonderful for my diet, all that hype about a Mediterranean diet had me excited.

For those as geographically clueless as me, the Mediterranean Sea does not border Spain. And even if it did, Coruña would be the farthest point in Spain from the Mediterranean coast... so, yea. That's a little embarrassing, but I digress.

Living in Spain is like living in a carbohydrate heaven. The family I was living with in Madrid had fresh baguettes delivered to their door every. single. day. They had a little mailbox like structure right outside the front door where the hot, fresh, baked to perfection bread was delivered daily - even on the weekends. I'll admit, there were some days when that's all I ate, that and a jar of pickled garlic (more on that magical culinary discovery later).

Combine the number of Chase banks, Starbucks, and street meat vendors in NYC and you won't even come close to touching the number of bakeries in Spain. Flakey, buttery goodness surrounds you at every turn. Much like a terrible eyebrow wax, you cannot escape.

Fried. Everything in Spain is fried, battered, and fried. The family I live with now has a deep fryer attached to their stove range. I mean, what is that?! There is also meat in everything, which bring us back to the difficulties of being a pork hater. There is meat in almost every dish. I would like to take a moment to admit that I did try a croquet with ham the other day, but that's only because it was chopped up into little pieces inside a deep fried dumpling like snack. That very same day I also tried pulpo, which is octopus. It wasn't earth shattering. It tasted like tuna. What is earth shattering is that pickled garlic I told you about. It's garlic that you can eat clove by clove without any of the consequences of un-pickled garlic. Try it. Put it on everything. It will change your life.

Basically, what I'm getting at is that my diet has been terrible and it's been much more difficult than I thought it would be to be healthy. When my pants started getting tighter (like super tight) I finally said to myself, "Taylor, you need to pump the brakes. You have a limited number of pants to last you the duration of your visa so chill with the bread and palmeras and pastels de crema and empanadas, etc." Also, all the dairy and wheat was making my stomach hurt and giving me headaches and that was awful.

So after my little pep talk, I joined a gym and started getting my culinary act together. Being healthy in moving to Coruña has had it's challenges, but it hasn't been as difficult as I thought, especially since my Spanish mom is a health nut. The lady is a stick. A stick with muscles and who runs a lot and eats very little. I don't particularly think the way she eats is the most healthy but it's nice to have someone to balance your act out.

I've been trying to cut way back on the dairy and bread. I do make my oatmeal in the mornings with milk, cinnamon and sugar. That keeps me full through the morning and through my workout. When I get home I have lunch, usually consisting of salads, all kinds of salads or leftovers if I'm feeling lazy. The veggies and fruits are really fresh here so I like to chomp on those with a little bit of protein for lunch. Snack is a big deal in Spain so for snack I usually have a yogurt or some more fruit. When Lola is home it's great because she cooks, but given the nature of her work there are many times when it's just me and the kids for dinner. Having to cook dinner for myself and three semi-picky children is interesting. I've had some hits and some misses. When in doubt, I just deep fry some potatoes with steak or whip up some pasta. I had a winner a few weeks ago with a lemon-y chicken and rice. I went a little overboard with the lemon so I'm not going to share my recipe until I perfect it.

I do miss the convenience and familiarity of eating in the US but I think inevitably, it will be okay that I hate pork in Spain, it might even make me a better person.

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Cancer costs, so she's doing something about it

Watch this video. It will change your life. Then, donate to her incredibly worthy cause #standbuy

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And maybe stories are just data with a soul...

This TED talk by Brené Brown is easily one of the most inspiring I've ever seen.

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Standbuy

Dear friends,

As you might know, I've been given the tremendous privilege of working with the super incredible internet startup, Standbuy.us. I'm really excited and proud to be working for Standbuy because of the amazing ways in which they are helping people. Standbuy allows people to create personal fundraisers to help alleviate some of the financial burden of a cancer diagnosis. Even with insurance, a diagnosis can cost families hundreds of thousands of dollars. The cost of care can amount quickly and have serious financial implications for a family.

Standbuy has seen great success so far, but in order to improve our platform and better serve our clients, our amazing founder and CEO, Sashka, has created her own fundraiser. In the next month we hope to not only raise funds, but to get the word out about Standbuy. This is where you can come in. If you are able and willing to donate your dollars - thank you, thank you, thank you! But more importantly, I am asking that you please donate some social media space. Like, follow and share Standbuy on your social networks and with your family and friends.

Along with the fundraiser, we have started the #standbuyeachother campaign. To participate, share a photo and story relating to a time you were helped and supported by your friends, family or community. Use the #standbuyeachother hashtag and tag at least three other friends to share their own story. The story does not have to be cancer related, it can be about any time of need during which you were helped. 

I am immensely hopeful for the future of Standbuy and know that with just a little bit of your help we will be able to make incredible strides towards reaching our potential.

Follow the links below to Standbuy goodness!

Website: https://www.standbuy.us/
Fundraiser: https://www.standbuy.us/profiles/sashka-3d67
Sashka's Story: http://blog.standbuy.us/in-her-own-words/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/standbuy.us
Instagram: http://instagram.com/standbuy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/standbuyus

With sincere appreciation and love,

Taylor

www.standbuy.us

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The best laid plans...

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry..." of this I am certainly certain.

Since I last wrote about a month ago, a lot has happened. I've moved to a new city in Spain, A Coruña, and well... that's about it, but it took a lot to find a place to move to and I've been very busy since the move about three weeks ago. My previous living situation in Madrid wasn't working out. I'll spare you the gory details but suffice it to say I was pretty miserable, but I refused to allow myself to waste a year of my life like that.

I'm actually pretty proud of the way I recognized a bad situation and then took steps to fix it. In the past I have chose to let frustration and disappointment consume me until a bad situation became much worse. Again, I will spare you the details but if you're really interested, ask me about that one weird year at college.

Four week ago when I recognized that I needed to get out of Madrid I was able to find a really wonderful family, living just outside of A Coruña, who was in need of an au pair. The schedule leaves me plenty of time for classes and private tutoring. Lola is a flight attendant for Air Europa and Chuny is an engineer and professional sailor. I haven't been able to meet Chuny yet because he is currently competing in the Volvo Ocean Race. He will be home for four days this weekend between the first and second legs of the race, and I'm looking forward to meeting him. They have three children Lola (12), Carlos (10) and Pepa (7). What a world of difference from the family I was living with in Madrid. Literally. This family is a global family, having traveled all over the world, even living in New Zealand for six months.

The children are fun to be around, they are smart and generally pretty respectful and polite. They really have become like younger siblings to me and as an only child, that really does mean a lot. Susana, the family's previous nanny is looking for work outside of Spain, but since she's still here she has been so tremendously helpful. Everyone that I've encountered here has been helpful and lovely.

The first few weeks I immediately connected with Lola and Carlos, but it took Pepa a little longer to warm up to me. I was nervous about it,  but eventually she came around. In fact, one afternoon I was doing Pepa's hair for Lola's 12th birthday party when Pepa asked me if I was coming to the party. I replied "Yep! If that's okay with you." She turned to me and said "Of course! You're part of our family now." That about brought me to tears. The family you're born to is one thing, but the family that you choose and who chooses you is a special kind of family and I don't remember the last time I felt so special. I'm just so much happier and now I'm really looking forward to spending the rest of my year with this wonderful, generous and kind family in Galicia.

Carlos, Lola, Me and Pepa at Plaza de Maria Pita

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Toros in Las Rozas

I got to class early yesterday so I decided to sit and have a coffee. I was doing some writing when I looked up to see people gathering in the streets. I could feel the energy so I decided to make my way down to see what the commotion was about.

I stopped and asked a sweet lady, Julia, what was happening. She was thrilled to tell me that the last day of the Fiesta de San Miguel, the saint of Las Rozas and that as per tradition there was a running of the bulls. Below are some images I made of the event. I wasn't going to bring my camera to class but I'm so glad I did. I only had my 50mm 1.8 with me but I think I still managed to get some good shots!

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Writing Contests

The following are links to a few writing contests I've entered. I figured in addition to blogging I should be building my own personal writing portfolio. I'm enjoying working on a few short fiction pieces. It would feel pretty incredible to get recognized for my work.

https://ellipsis.westminstercollege.edu/

http://winningwriters.com/templates/contest_detail?contest_id=1936

http://winningwriters.com/templates/contest_detail?contest_id=1647

http://winningwriters.com/templates/contest_detail?contest_id=1816

http://winningwriters.com/templates/contest_detail?contest_id=1245

http://winningwriters.com/templates/contest_detail?contest_id=2691

http://sparkanthology.org/contests/seven/

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My First Weekend

This weekend was my first free weekend in Spain so I decided to do a little exploring.

I caught the 622 bus from Las Rozas which took about 40 minutes to arrive into the Moncola station in the Madrid city center. From there I walked down Calle de la Princesa, passing the Plaza de España. When I reached Calle Gran Vía I stopped into a book store for a guide to Spain. I walked along Calle Gran Vía and eventually reached La Plaza Mayor. There I sat at a cafe, enjoyed a café con leche and dove into my book. It would have been handy to read this book before my travels as I had to learn the hard way that "eta" is not just a designation for my sorority chapter but also a terrorist organization in Spain. I could have saved myself a lot of embarrassment had I done a little reading first (more on that later). The book I got is by Rick Stevens and has proven very informative and very digestible. I read for a while and when I noticed a storm seemed to be moving in a decided to head back.

On my way back I walked through El Corte Ingles. There is so much shopping to do in Madrid, especially in this area. After looking into some stores I continued on my way, stopping at La Plaza de España. I sat by the fountain and people watched for a little bit. Then I walked around to the various booths set up along the plaza. I stumbled upon this one little booth with some great pants so I decided to treat myself and get a pair. Then I worked by way back up Calle de la Princesa to the Moncloa station. I took the 625 bus back which after a 40 minute ride left me just a short three minute walk from my new home.

I'm really enjoying Spain. Although I didn't do too much this weekend I have plenty of time to experience all Madrid has to offer. I look forward to learning about some of Spain's other major cities and the deciding which ones to visit. I enjoyed having the afternoon to myself and liked that I could set the pace for the day. I look forward to getting Madrid well enough that I can act as a tour guide when my family visits next summer.

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September Playlist

Love. Love. Loving this cover of Whitney Houston's How Will I Know by Sam Smith. This is some first dance material right here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwHACITShSI

This girl's got some major talent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv-fqXGum2g

You haven't really lived until you've bought bottle service with your rent money. I couldn't help myself. It reminds me of college and it's fun to run to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RMQksXpQSk

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I'm too tired to blog...

I'm too tired to actually blog (#jetlag) but I'm rather proud to let anyone reading this know that I have learned to drive a car with a manual transmission! My motto from now on is, "CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH" - it's what my host mother kept saying while I was learning because she can't remember the word "clutch" but I got the idea.

Bueno, ahora, voy a descansarme porque mañana tengo que levantarme muy temprano para llevas los niños a colegio - Entonces, buenas noches!

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Your choices will change the world.

"Your choices will change the world."

Some of the most profound wisdom I've ever received happened to be via a quote on a tea bag. Ironically, I don't like tea very much. 

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I should be packing...

I should be packing... but instead I'm watching New Girl and eating leftover red velvet cake, feeling the anxiety build up in my brain. Since Sunday I haven't been able to shut my thoughts off and unfortunately, I now find myself in the position of having only one day left to gather and pack all of the belongings I will need for an undetermined amount of time in a foreign country. Oh man... someone pass the wine.

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