The Plan

My last day in Boston is two weeks from tomorrow! Sean got on a plane this morning for Benin, Africa where he will be spending the next 15 days working with kids and in a medical clinic. (Please pray for safety for him and his team, and that God would use them as vessels to serve His people.)


On the way back to the States, Sean's connecting flight is going through NYC. So, I told him "You're not allowed to get on that plane to Denver. Instead, I will drive you there myself." What better way to overcome jetlag than to spend two days with your girlfriend's parents then drive a couple thousand miles?


We are not yet sure which route we are going to take - Anyone have any suggestions? - but we have 3 days to get from NJ to Denver in my well-loved, previously-owned-by-my-step-mom Jeep Cherokee. It's kind of fun inheriting a car that I already have so many fond memories in!

I know you're all wondering about the job situation, but I'm going to hold off on that post just a little bit longer...

Patience is a virtue.

Teaser

I just got back from a LOVELY five days in Colorado. The trip involved quality time with Sean, a successful interview (more about that in my next post), Happy Hour (unheard of in MA) at a schnazzy wine bar with Liz and Shane (CONGRATS on the new job, Shane!), and an incredible camping/hiking/backpacking trip in and around the Rockies with some of my favorite people!

The fam is still out there trekking around, so the good pictures will have to wait until their return. One of these days I'll buy a real camera, but for now, here are some shots I snapped with my handy Blackberry.

Our first night was spent on Lost Lake after a 2 mile hike up (that we may or may not have been prepared for...)

So worth it though!

Candid of Savanah, Aunt Janette, Noelle and Aunt Debbie

Yes, Sean carried about 100 lbs

The hike back down on day two

Day two continued with a hike up to Alberta Falls

My Blackberry does this place NO justice

New Hobby

I have recently found a new distraction to help with my daily commute. Everyday I have a lovely 15 min walk from my apartment to the T (Boston's subway, for all the non-locals) in which I pass a large variety of flowers and plantlife. It is not uncommon these days to see me crouched down in front of someone's house, using my blackberry as a camera.

Here is some of my more recent work:

I shall never be called listless

I have come to realize that I love lists. I mean, I have always known this, but in going back to look over my newfound blog, it has become that much more apparent.

Almost every entry is a list of sorts.

So, here's to sicking with oldest-child, pseudo-perfectionist-when-I-want-to-be, pre-planning-control-freak tendencies.

Another list:

However, this one is not my own. The idea came from my friend Ahnika's blog when she was googling "How to get rid of Asian spam." (See her blog if you have questions)

Now, I am a user of Bing myself, and as all modern search engines do, it prepopulates the find line with the most frequent searches of the moment. Following in Ahn's footsteps and curious to see how Bing users differ from those of Google, I typed "How to..."

Do you want to know what the most popular searches beginning with "how to" are??


5. How to write a resume

Useful in this job market.


4. How to tie a tie

I learned from my brother when I was 14 in order to help inept high school boys before band recitals.


3. How to treat a snake bite.

My question is, who is doing the Binging? The one bitten or the friend who just witnessed the incident and luckily is carrying an iPhone that happens to have service despite being in the Mojave Desert?


2. How to recognize a meth house.

WHAT!?


And...


1. How to tell if a guy's lying.

Whoever learns this trick will be a wealthy woman.

An Ode to a Friend

Disclaimer: This is a day late, but I'm hoping with the time change she won't notice :)

July 12th is a day to be recognized. It is my dear friend/practically sister's birthday.

Amy Trexler, thank you for being born!

A few things everyone should know about Amy:

1. She is currently living in Tanzania working for the Jane Goodall Institute (check out her blog)

2. We lived together (in some form) for seven years.

3. She loves animals and nature of all kinds...minus her extreme distaste for Satan incarnate, aka, snakes.

4. She is a big fan of Harry Potter, Seamus, Lord of the Rings, Akon and So You Think You Can Dance.

5. She loves food. Of all types. In fact, at any given moment of any day, there is a very good chance she'll be thinking about something edible.

6. One time when she was a Park Ranger for the City of Boston, Amy got repremanded for exclaiming "There is a naked man in the Charles!" on the radio. It was heard by every ranger in the area, including those of high ranking. We like to call it the diggity-danker incident.

7. Her nicknames include Trexler, Ames, Trexicle, T-Rex, Mex, Amison, Kilimanjaro Queen or Desert Diva. OK...I may have just made those last ones up. But they could work!

8. Besides Tanzania, she has also lived in Kenya, Syracuse, NY (well, technically LaFayette) and a desert in Nevada outside of Vegas, as well as Wenham, Beverly, Cambridge and Somerville, MA.

9. She is my favorite person to sing with. Our specialties include, but are not limited to, Beautiful Soul by Jesse McCartney, Journey to the Past from Anastasia, Two Steps Away by Patti Labelle, Mr. Lonely by Akon, and anything from Moulin Rouge or Disney.

10. She may be the best listener I have ever met. Which is great for chatty best friends like Sherri and I. Pretty much, she is an awesome, amazing woman who I am so blessed to have in my life.

I love you, Ames.

My Boston Bucket List

As made widely known by the mediocre Nicholson/Freeman film by the same name, a "bucket list" is a list of things one wants to do in his or her life before "kicking the bucket." Now, I don't plan on dying anytime soon, but I am going to be making a fairly large transition out of one life and into another. Thus, my
Boston Bucket List: Things I would like to do before I leave this city.

This past weekend, I had the privilege of hosting my good friend, Jen Good and her boyfriend, Kevin on their visit to the Cradle of Liberty. They were nice enough to help me fulfill some of my Boston wishes.


Boston Bucket List Item #1:

Go on a REAL Freedom Trail tour. Costumed character guide and all.


Boston Bucket List Item #2:

Go on a sunset harbor ferryboat ride.



Boston Bucket List Item #3:

Watch the USS Constitution fire off her canon.


Not so much on the Bucket List, but also adding excitement to the weekend was the mid-day downpour and flash flooding that we got caught in. But it gave us an excuse to hang out in an Irish pub and watch Germany beat Uruguay in an exciting match!

Overall, a wonderful weekend.

Other recent Bucket List accomplishments: went deep sea fishing, drank in a real Southie bar, waded through Frog Pond, got on the jumbotron at Fenway.

Next up: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum After Hours event. Join me this Thursday if you wish.

You know a party's good when grandma's playing beer pong

About seven or more years ago my step-dad, Anthony, built an amazing wood-burning-fire-pit-grill in our side yard. And thus began my favorite tradition of giant family bbqs. This year's combo 4th of July/Corinn and Savanah's college graduation party was maybe the best yet!

The lovely graduates!

Lots of family and friends made an appearance

The new puppy, Rocky, was the guest of honor.
Diesel didn't seem to mind giving him the spotlight.

For the second year running, a massive game of flip cup was sandwiched between plenty of pong, corn hole, ladder golf, and, of course, a pinata.

Shout out to Megan for breaking it!

Some of my favorite people in the world.

It's the little things

A few things I am loving right now:

This song. So obsessed.

"The River" by Anathallo

Don't be freaked out by the strange picture.



This show. So addicted.

So You Think You Can Dance...dance...dance...dance...dance...

A favorite from last season:



This site. So in love.

Buy me any ModCloth dress and I will love you forever.

Ten things I am going to miss in Boston

(In semi-particular order)

10. Harvard Square - All of its restaurants, bars, and hang out spots. Urban Outfitters. New England brick buildings, the Charles River and all the wicked smaht people.


9. The T - You may not get it till you live it, but there is a freedom in being dependent on public transportation.

8. The Boston Public Library - Simply entering it will make you more intelligent.

7. One Boston Place - The management team, the tenants, and ready access to the rooftop of the third tallest building in the city.

6. The history - The old mixed with the new. The foundation and start of so many aspects of this country. Pretty architecture.

5. The North Shore - OK, so technically this isn't Boston, but I'm so obsessed it had to at least be mentioned.

4. Dunkin Donuts - Every 2 blocks.

3. Fresh seafood - Two weeks ago I caught my own 14 lb striped bass and had that thing for dinner. (Actual picture below)

2. The water - Colorado may have beautiful mountains,

but they will never be my ocean.

1. These people. (Especially Sherri...roommate of 7 years)

*Photograph credits go to: Google images, Sherri Lane, Sean Switzer, Corinn Springer, Dave Krauss, random guy at Earth Fest, Phil Walton