I AM SO DONE!!!

I just want the world to know that I am officially done with all my papers, projects, finals, and even my long research proposal (which I might add, I finished ahead of time, it was not due until tomorrow at 4 pm, and even with all my playing and never-ending to do's lately, I totally finished it and turned it in tonight)! I am done with the semester, and officially done with all of my coursework for my Masters degree at BU!!! I feel great, and pretty exhausted all at the same time. Now I just have student teaching left, 5 weeks starting next week, while schools are still going. I will be at a middle school in Braintree, MA (which will mean a commute, and ways needed to fill my time-anyone want phonecalls at the crack of dawn in your time zone?!) Then I will have 10 weeks at an elementary school in the Fall! Oh, it's just fabulous to be done with classes, as much as I do love school and learning (yes, you should know by now that I am a nerd who likes school)!!! Well, that is that...I should be in bed soon and then I get to relax the rest of the week, and work on my million non-school related to do's...I think I am justified in going out for ice cream tomorrow, right?! Too bad I need to find a great place still in Boston...Well, Lots of Love to ALL!

The Circus is in Town!

So when we were out and about on Monday, we realized that the circus was in town. Tuesday night while I was in class, Rachel called and left a message. She was excited to go to the circus and wanted to get us all tickets. So I went. Did I mention that it is my last week of school (I will be all done next Wednesday, April 29th)? And I am playing all the time? Umm, yes. My school work is getting done, mostly, and my research proposal-eek, well, I will get to that. So last night, we headed into the city, grabbed some dinner at Faneuil Hall, and then went to the circus. There were not lions, and tigers, and bears...but there were: dog tricks, horse stunts, trapeze artists, tight rope walkers, twins who juggled and did stunts simultaneously, incredible acrobats, gymnasts, and dancers, etc, etc. Only 2 goofy guys, and they weren't really clowns. It was a good old time, being a kid again?! I never had been to the circus...here is Rachel and I outside the tent.

I loved Marathon Monday

So Patriot's Day here in Boston is also known as Marathon Monday. Every year, the Boston Marathon takes place on this day, and I was so excited. After an early morning in Lexington, I went home to shower and then watched the marathon on TV. I was watching the elite female and male runners. I timed it so that when they would be finishing, I could be just a couple miles from the finish, on Beacon Street, to watch them past. So I called Amanda and Rachel on my walk over, who live right off of Beacon Street, and we met up. Here are Rachel, Amanda, and I as marathon spectators.

This man was amazing, running on 2 athletic, prosthetic legs...I was inspired.

Here are the male elite runners, Ryan Hall (the white guy who ran with the pack of Africans) ended up in 3rd place at the finish.

Here was the 1st place male runner, and at this point he had gained considerable distance over the other men.

Here are the elite women, the fast pack. Sadly, Kara (american in front) did not end up winning, she got 3rd-an Oregonian. I believe one of the Ethiopians got 1st.

Needless to say, Marathon Monday was inspiring. We watched lots of the fast runners, then we headed into the city for shopping, and on our way back home, we got to see runners still finishing, this time the really slow runners. I saw several 75 year old men still going. I saw overweight individuals who were accomplishing a major physical feat for themselves. I wanted to cry again and again. Some of them looked so tired, and others looked like they were in pain. I was inspired, did I say that yet?! I am definitely doing a Marathon in the next year or so, and I am definitely doing Boston sometime soon! Happy running to all my runner friends and family out there! This all made my half marathon look like a stroll in the park :)

Happy Patriot's Day

So here in Boston, well, in Massachusetts, we have our very own state holiday. It is Patriot's Day, and commemorates when the battles began. To celebrate, we got a big group together (probably about 18 of us) and drove to Lexington to watch the reenactment on the battle green. The reenactment starts at 5:30, so that meant that I left my house at 4 am to start all my pick-ups and get my car load of people there by 5 am. Here we are posed with some "British soldiers." Front row: Rachel, Pat, Aimee, Me, Joseph, and Charlotte.

Here are the "regulars" doing a salute and showing respect, after the battle, to their soldiers who had fallen dead. Today it is the cemetery.

Rachel and I, in the cemetery

Pat, Aimee, Molly, Cassie, Katie, Denise, Joseph, Charlotte, and Rachel (the 3 blankets in my car did come in handy to keep us warm on a cold, crisp New England morning)

Here are the British marching off of Battle Green and down the road.

The drum line

Here is Battle Green. It is insane how many people pack in and get up so early to witness this reenactment. People sleep out to get front row seats, and others bring ladders-they climb them, sit on top, and watch the battle. Here is what my camera took from some ways back-the British marching off the field.

It was a foggy morning, which kinda set the mood and the perfect ambiance to the whole event. We had a boy behind us on his dad's shoulders, and he sure knew his history, he was giving us a play by play of what was going on down on the field when we couldn't see certain things.

Aimee, Cassie, me, Rachel, Katie, and Charlotte in front. I think our group was the happiest bunch to be alive at that early in the morning, people probably wondered why we were so "happy" and laughing so much.

Aimee, Cassie, Me, and Rachel-rise and shine...how many people can say that they are perky and bright-eyed at this hour of the morning?!

After all of the events in Lexington, we headed back to Boston and all had breakfast at IHOP. Fun morning, and we got so much accomplished by 9 am! Amazing.

Some of my favorite things...

One of my favorite things is definitely running, as always, and these days with warmer weather (40s, 50s, 60s if we are lucky), I love being outside. I just bought some new running shoes last week and that made me really happy :) They (my shoes) have already been out numerous times, and they will take me through the rest of my training and onto my half-marathon. The 13.1 mile race is in New Hampshire on May 9th, who's excited to sweat?!

There is lots that still needs to bloom here, but I love these trees (I think they are magnolias). These flowers are so lovely, and made me really happy last Friday!

I hope that you are enjoying more consistent spring weather than we are here in Boston.

Happy Easter!

Easter was a very special day and a blast. We had a beautiful meeting at Church with lots of wonderful music, and special musical numbers. I love Easter, and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. After church, we had a dinner at Cami's with lots of fun people from our single's ward. The meal was complete with ham, my au gratin potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables, salads, rolls, bread, fruit, cake, etc. Someone also brought robin eggs, and I was taught how to properly eat them. Apparently, you lick them with your lips, the blue ones, and then rub the egg on your lips like lipstick, and then you can eat them. Here is my roommate, Melissa, and I having fun with the robin eggs...on our lips and on our tongues!

Melissa and I

The night before Easter, we had people over to our apartment for Easter egg-dyeing and banana splits. It was a fun group of people, and some proved extremely artistic at egg-dyeing. Check out Carly's egg above, she is very artsy! Hers was my favorite.

Melissa, Cami (in the doorway), Lora, and me...in front, Joseph, Candice, and Carly (in the hat)

Our beautiful eggs, we had such fun with all the colors!

Here I am with mine, it was blue and I used an awesome silver Sharpie to make stars.

Here is Joseph, my nice home teacher, with his very happy egg.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Easter like me!

GUESS WHAT?!

I am so excited! I have some great news! I am so grateful...oh, so would you like to know what my good news is?! Well, I will tell you. Today I finally heard back, after weeks of waiting, and 2 interviews later, and I have been offered the job that I really wanted for the summer. I am in an interesting situation with school. I finish classes on April 30th, and then I have to do 5 weeks of student teaching this summer...well, that means that I have to student teach while kids are still in school, so I am most likely going to start student teaching the week after classes wrap up, while simultaneously finishing up things with my assistantship. I will student teach through June 12, most likely. Then I have to student teach again in the Fall, and will finish up around Thanksgiving time. So what did that mean? It meant that I was going to have a very small window of time, from mid-June through August, unemployed and without school commitments. I was going to need someone to hire me for 8-10 weeks, and that seemed unlikely. I could always nanny, I had thought. Well, to make this long story shorter, I found a job listing on BU's website for a summer camp program. It is called YouthCare, and is run and funded by Massachusetts General Hospital. It is a program designed for children and adolescents with high-functioning Autism and Aspergers Syndrome. I interviewed with the lady in charge of the kids' program as well as the lady in charge of the teen program. So in the end, I got a job as Program Facilitator for the Summer Explorations Teen Program. I will be working directly with several staff and mentors, and a total of 12-15 teenagers. I am really excited to have a rewarding, challenging, and beneficial (for my future) job. In several of my education classes, we have discussed Autism extensively, it is more and more often diagnosed these days, and so I know that what I learn about these kids with Autism will help me in the future with a variety of children. I am excited to learn more about the disorders, the therapies that are used, and I know I will learn a lot from these kids, too. I am also excited to have fun. The kids do morning exercises, outings, field trips, therapy sessions, social skill activities, games, service projects, ropes courses, cooking, etc. It should be fun and challenging. So hooray! I am excited for the opportunity, and I am just so grateful to have the job, with the economy as is. I am so blessed, always. I will probably be free after mid-August until schools start after Labor Day in September...so visitors will be most welcome, or your proposals as to what I should do, who I should be with, and where I should spend that time are welcome, too?! The best, most persuasive proposals just might convince me where to go! :)

General Conference Weekend

This weekend was wonderful. Friday was actually really, really productive for me. I studied and got lots of school work done. I cleaned. I even rearranged my room, which is always a fun change, and somewhat refreshing. I am really enjoying the new set-up. I did errands, babysat, and went for a run in the pouring rain. It was a bit warmer, and I find running in the rain to be rejuvenating. I wanted to get lots done on Friday, so that I could really enjoy all of General Conference this weekend.
Saturday morning my friend Alison and I ran 10 miles. It was a great run, and went by really, really fast, probably because I am not sick and I can actually breathe, unlike last week when we went. After getting ready, we grabbed some food and headed to the Church to watch both sessions of Conference. I could watch it on my laptop, but I like being in the chapel, and I pay so much more attention there. After sessions, we went out to dinner with some other girls in our ward to an Indian restaurant in Harvard Square (right by the Church). Then I had a sleepover at Alison's with our friend, Lindsy, and Alison's other roommates, Amanda and Rachel. We chatted, watched Funny Girl (an old Barbra Streisand movie). This morning we woke up and enjoyed a yummy breakfast-french toast! Then we headed to the Church again to all enjoy the two sessions of Conference. Today it wasn't rainy or windy, so we actually went outside between sessions for a picnic and to enjoy the sun. I think Spring might actually be coming. It was 55 today, the sun was shining, and everyone in Boston seems a little bit happier!
I loved Conference, I always feel so inspired, and I was reminded of why I love the temple so much. I love to go, and it was good to hear so much focused on the importance of regular temple attendance, and what we can continue to learn and feel there. I love you all, thanks for supporting me.

Just Random...

So I have been back from Spring Break for 3 weeks now, and it has been a busy, random few weeks. This first picture is to show my mom how I attempt to french braid my own hair. I have a Monday night class, right after I work all day on Mondays, and no matter how productive I try to be over the weekend, I still always have to get up at the crack of dawn (literally, like 4 am) to make sure I am prepared for class. The last couple of weeks, I have taken to practicing french braiding my hair while I read, study, review materials, etc. to keep myself awake. I am getting better...
Since I have been back, I have been busy with church activities, going to the temple, doing lots of running for my upcoming half-marathon, had a cold (after I had just told people that I don't get sick all that often), babysat for some cute kids to make extra money, had an interview and then a follow-up interview for an ideal summer job (I hear back about that this Wed!), played with friends, gone out to eat, studied, attended classes, worked, made a Costco trip with friends, been to a Luau party, enjoyed cold, sunshine, and rain, etc.
So I have also had several opportunities lately to help the missionaries, the sisters who serve in our single's ward are fabulous. I have been to a couple of appointments with them, and I have done some street contacts with them-totally fun, and it took me straight back to the mission-I loved contacting and talking to everyone! The missionaries have also started going to Boston Common, a park/central square area in Boston to contact people on Saturdays. They need members to come sing hymns and be supportive. So one Saturday my friend Alison and i went to help them. Right before we were about to leave, we observed something very interesting...

What are these crazy college kids playing? Look closer...yes, that is Quidditch!

They were totally serious and into it. They had different names on the backs of their shirts, real Hogwarts Quidditch players' names. They ran around with these brooms between their legs the whole time. Not house brooms...but real brooms.

They all played in a field, but the two seekers were running freely throughout Boston Common trying to find the Snitch (a player who wore yellow and had a small ball tied to his waist), who they had to catch. It was hilarious...Alison and I decided that it would make for a fun Family Home Evening activity! Anyway, I love Boston and its randomness. I guess I love my life and its randomness, too.