More of my humble abode

My humble abode in Boston

Well, I have had some requests to see pictures of my new place in Boston, I actually live in a neighborhood of Boston called Brookline. There are more homes with yards, more families, and the schools here are supposed to be better than some in other parts of the city. I love it. I like my new place, now that I have deep cleaned it a couple of times. I live on the 3rd floor of a red brick house built in 1923. It looks a little worn on the outside, but I learned that our apartment was very recently redone on the inside-a plus, even though I do seem to enjoy older homes with personality. We have newly finished wood floors, and all the woodwork around the doorframes and windows is nice, a darker wood stain. We have a living room, dining room, a kitchen, a pantry/food preparation area, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a covered back porch/landing for extra storage (which is a plus in New England). My bike is temporarily parked in the dining room until I decide where to put it...it's a bit tacky, sorry. I also have a little driveway space right behind the building just for my car, which makes me feel that it is quite safe there. So I will attach the pictures...I like my room a lot, even though I am without my queen-size pillow top bed and my love sac, etc. (I hear that Alex and Stacey are quite enjoying the furniture). Oh, the couch in the living room makes into a sofa bed...so free space if you want to come and stay...or I would recommend a charming bed and breakfast. Enjoy the tour.

Day Trip in Massachusetts...

...wow, I think I spelled that right, I hope that means that I am ready to go back to school...I start on Monday, crazy?! My friend, Cami, and I took a day trip around MA today. It was a blast, one of those relaxing, perfect days. I met at her house at 9 am and we headed out in her car. We drove to Salem to the Peabody Essex Museum, where we saw a special exhibit entitled, "Wedded Bliss" with history and details of weddings and different cultures, and what some of the symbolism really means. I saw a beautiful wedding gown, I would have stolen it, but it's immodest, so that wouldn't do. I saw a fabulous cake. I was also reminded of what a blessing it is that in my country, I get to have the choice as to whom I will marry for time, and for all eternity. After walking around some of the other exhibits, and stopping in the museum shop (which I sometimes find more exciting than the actual museums), we headed out for a stroll of Salem, no witch tours...just a walk around part of the quaint town, and we found a place called, Finz, where we stopped for lunch, and ate outside along the water...yachts parked...and I enjoyed some great fish and chips. After a walk back to the car we decided to head to a town called Marblehead. There is so much history packed into all these little towns. We went to the Jeremiah Lee Mansion, there wasn't much about it in the book, but we are glad we did...it was beautiful, so well preserved, and our tour guide had lots to share. We walked around town, over to the town hall to see the famous painting, The Spirit of '76, and then we got in Cami's car and drove along the water, onto a little cape, out to the lighthouse, and back out of town. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE NEW ENGLAND HOMES! They are so...well, Cami's word is best...CHARMING! I could drive and look at these homes and towns for hours. We got some super yummy ice cream and ate it at a bench on the beach. Then we headed another direction, with plans to go to the Revolutions soccer game (they were playing David Beckham and teammates), but we made a stop at the Outlets-they were great! And guess what...Ally and Ruth, I bought that cute black/purple dress top from Banana Republic, they had the same one that was in Colorado...I HAD to buy it! I justify it as my one new back to school clothing item. So after some shopping and browsing, we headed over to the game, traffic was horrific, so we decided we would rather avoid the drama of going home late in all of it. So we just drove back to Boston, ate some dinner-I had an awesome hamburger, and you all know that I am picky about my burgers, but this one was fabulous. Then Cami and I did our grocery shopping, where she likes to go...I am just trying to find something not so expensive, but alas, that's impossible in Boston. So all in all, I had a fabulous 12-hour day with Cami-great company, great conversation, great food, and lots of fun. There is so much to see and do here, the trick will be to find some time once school starts...I would love visitors...then we could go on some fun excursions like this one. Pictures of my place have been requested, that will be my Sunday project...so expect photos to be up in a day or two of that. Later.

It's raining...

...well, unfortunately NOT men (haha, the song, "it's raining men")...but it's raining blessings, perhaps pouring...so in the scriptures it talks about being obedient and that the windows of heaven will pour out blessings until there isn't room enough to receive them...well, that is about how I could describe my life. My dreams are coming true, I am in Boston, for goodness sake, and then along with that, everything is working out so well in my favor. So I have a great place (which is now sparkly clean-thanks to me), I have nice roommates, I have a fun ward, I love Boston, I have mastered public transport, I am making good money as a nanny, I am pretty much all ready for school...and so to top it all off, I got a phonecall today saying that after waiting and being persistent for over 3 months...I GOT MY ASSISTANTSHIP. HOORAY!!! For those of you that need an explanantion, Boston University is a private school, so ridiculously expensive (try $36,000 +)...however, I was offered a scholarship like right away, but it doesn't cover all of tuition. So a friend, Cami, who I met when I came to visit in April, told me about this Graduate Student Coordinator position available in her program. It is for BUILD (Boston University's Initiative for Literacy Development). I will be 1 of 3 coordinators that oversees this literacy program that is implemented by BU undergrad students in 15 inner city schools. So it will be a great job, working with great people...and oh, let me add, it will cover the cost of the rest of my tuition, my medical insurance, and then I get paid a stipend! Life couldn't get much better, and for this year, school will basically be free except for a few fees and my books...which I will be able to afford out of pocket, since I have been nannying...things couldn't get much better. Prayers are answered, dreams come true, and I am just so so so blessed. So next Tuesday starts my new job and school...I can hardly wait. Boston was made for me, or I was made for Boston!?! Love y'all!!!

Pictures from Short Trip in Salt Lake City

Pictures:
1. Madeleine/Maddie (5) making her monkey face with Jack, the monkey.
2. My darling niece, Isabelle/Izzie (8 months)
3. I met up with my dear friend, Sarah, for ice cream at Coldstone in Orem...yummy!
4. My sister, Allyson, holding Izzie before my cousin's wedding
5. Maddie holding her sister Izzie right before the wedding, they love their party outfits-poofy and girly!

In Boston...

So I have not blogged in forever...I do apologize, I have been really busy, and well, I don't have pictures from all of my Colorado fun with my family reunion and my little brother, Alex's wedding. Most of the rest of my family took pictures there on their cameras, and I am waiting for a cd with all of them. So hmm...I also did not put up lots of pictures of my road trip since my mom and I didn't have the best of internet along the way. I have had a good summer, a great one, and I am grateful for all of the memories. My mom and I had an enjoyable time in Boston, after a long, but fun road trip. We moved me in, moved in boxes, unpacked, painted furniture, bought new bedding, etc. We saw some parts of the city, and enjoyed some great food. There are just too many great places to eat her, all kinds of food, all price ranges...too bad I love dining out and too bad that I am going to be a super poor college kid again. We had yummy Thai, yummy pizza and salads, some seafood, and yummy home baked treats at our little Bed and Breakfast. We had several adventures in my car, getting around, etc...my GPS for my car, her name is Yolanda, by the way, unless she is in British English mode and then we call her Gemma, is truly a lifesaver. I love walking in Boston, I guess that is why the call it America's walking city...it's a gorgeous city, and you can cover a lot of ground walking. Then I flew back to Salt Lake City to meet up with my sister, Allyson, and her 2 girls, Maddie (5) and Izzie (8 months). We were able to help set up and attend my cousin, Nicole's wedding in Bountiful. Then we left Salt Lake City and flew to Denver where we met up with the rest of my immediate family. We had a fabulous week in an awesome mountain house up in Breckenridge...all 18 of us. We played, watched the Olympics (everyone is now convinced that Michael Phelps is my secret boyfriend...I am a fan of swimming, and he is pretty darn amazing), ice skated, walked Main Street, shopped, went to a mine, searched for gold, and river rafted twice. I love river rafting, I was the only one to fall in during the rapids, but I guess it is a good thing it was me and I know a thing or two about swimming and water safety. I am alive, only had a few scrapes and bruises. The highlight of the week was on Friday, August 15th. We attended the sealing of my little brother Alex and his wife, Stacey. It was in the Denver Temple and despite the rain all day, it was a beautiful day. The reception was great, our side of the family kept the dance floor going, thanks to the nieces, and I got to MC the event, my loud voice is good for something. We all started to go our separate ways...and last Sunday I made it back safe and sound to Boston. I have been cleaning my house from top to bottom like crazy, yes, I am a clean freak and a bit OCD. It looks great though, and I now know which spots just don't come out and can say proudly that most did. I have also been nannying, I did it all this week and will do it one more week before school starts. I get paid to feed Charlie, he is 18 months old, play with him, take him out in his stroller so I can walk the city for an hour or so, and read a lot while he takes his naps. All in all, I am moved in, enjoying Boston, and anxiously awaiting the start of classes...I haven't been to school for like 3 1/2 years, we shall see if I still love it as much as I remember loving it, haha. Please call or email me when you like, I would love to hear from you...my cell phone is the same for now. Lots of love from the East!!!

Jack's Journey Continues...

Well, we have not had quite the regular internet access that I am used to, but we have survived. Sorry I have not been able to update my blog daily. Let's see, after our stay in Grand Island, Nebraska, we headed out on Wednesday around 8 am. We drove through the rest of Nebraska, and on to Iowa. Then we went through Illinois. Nebraska and Iowa grow LOTS of corn, and there is some in Illinois, too. Illinois is not quite as clean and pretty as Nebraska and Iowa. We hit Chicago outskirts around rush hour, but missed most of the traffic. Then we were on to Indiana, and I realized that there actually was something in South Bend, Indiana-Notre Dame. It is kind of like Texas A&M University, a pretty campus that is quite secluded and basically in the middle of nowhere. Notre Dame was a gorgeous campus, there are a lot of neat old buildings, some with gargoyles, and there are also some newer buildings. They have tons of green lawn! We saw the stadium and other playing fields, too. Wednesday we ate continental breakfast, subway for lunch (for those of you that don't know, I am really not a big fan of fast food), and Fazoli's for dinner. We kept driving after we left Notre Dame after 8 pm, and arrived in Ohio after 10 pm. We stayed the night at our third Holiday Inn Express for the trip! It was fine. After a decent night's sleep, I got up for a morning run on the country roads of this podunk town in Ohio. Just after starting my run, I had 2 dogs run up to me from this trailer home...aaaah, I love dogs, but am immediately thinking, they are going to attack, I am going to get rabies. One backed off when I approached the train tracks. The other just kept following me. He stayed with me for my 4 mile run. It didn't even cross my mind that he was a stray. He was quite obedient, listened, and I had to keep him out of the road from on coming traffic, cause I didn't want someone's dog killed. It was fun running with a dog, and on my way back to the hotel, I asked some kid about the dog, he said it was a stray and that the neighbors had called the pound on him the day before. I asked my mom if we could keep him, and she said no. Haha, well, at least he got a friend for 4 miles. After continental breakfast, we headed out and drove through Ohio, saw the city of Cleveland, etc. Then we got off at Kirtland, Ohio. We hadn't really planned that stop, but my mom and I are both glad that we did. We saw all of the really neat Church historic sites where the early members of the Church gathered before getting kicked out and moved all over the country. There is an incredible spirit there. We saw the Kirtland Temple, grabbed frozen custard cones across the street and headed on. We passed through part of Pennsylvania and then on to northern New York. Our next stop was Palmyra. We arrived last night. On our way in, we stopped to see the Hill Cumorah and see the Visitors Center located there. We checked into our little hotel, the Palymra Inn. The city is very quaint. This morning, Friday, I woke up and went on a run past the chapel and the temple and the other historic sites, it was so peaceful. There are so many trees and everything is so green. We are going to see the other historic sites this morning and then be on our way to finish our trip to Boston. Hope all is well...we are having a great time! I will post pictures when I have better internet in Boston. Love y'all!