The Little Things

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. Between finishing finals, catching up on doctors appointments, moving 1100 miles to the south, and starting my summer work tour at NASA Johnson Space Center, you could say that there has been a lot happening over here in my world. But I couldn’t be more excited to start the summer and to fill it to the brim with all the things that make me the happiest–like long runs in the evenings, family BBQs and pool parties on the weekends, and early morning farmer’s market runs that supply me with lots of fresh bright vegetables and fruits for breakfast-lunch-and-dinner all summer long. Last weekend we celebrated my dad’s birthday with a big family get together and I got to meet my baby cousin Emmi for the very first time. Needless to say, my heart melted the moment she was put into my arms and I already can’t wait to see her the next time I’m in Tulsa!

For those that don’t know, this will be my sixth (yes–6th!!!) work tour at NASA’s Johnson Space Center as a Pathways Intern. I began working for JSC back when I was a sophomore in college at Texas A&M and have since accepted a graduate student internship with the Flight Mechanics and Trajectory Design Branch (when I started my M.S. degree a few years back). Fast forward to starting my Ph.D. degree at CU Boulder last August, and I’m still just as excited to intern at JSC as I was six years ago. It’s one of the most incredible places I’ve ever been to, much less worked at, and I’d highly recommend a visit if you’ve never been. The passion for space exploration in every single employee is contagious and something I haven’t found anywhere else. Needless to say, I am soooooo excited to be back with all my friends and coworkers in Houston where we can nerd out on the next big things happening in the space industry. And to top it off, I’ll be working on some really fantastic projects whose aims are to expand mankind’s reach into the Solar System. Space is a true passion of mine, so I’ll try to share little tid bits and updates here as much as I can (some of the information is classified).

At any rate, I hope you are having a great start to your summer! Do you have any big plans coming up? I’d love to hear about them! As for my past week, here are a few of the little things that brightened it.

— The teeniest little cacti for summer. —

— The cutest Cookie Monster doughnut. —

— Meeting sweet baby Emmi for the first time! {heart melting} —

— All the colors of the IZZE’s under the rainbow. {I’m obsessed with them.} —

— My first Houston Dash game of the summer. {the first of many} —