Christmas Decorations!

 

This week my brothers all sent me pictures of their cute little decorated houses. I live in an embarrassing shamble of a house, that I share with bunches of people. So I will not be decorating my house. However, I did decorate my dental office!

Halloween

I wasn't too creative on Halloween... but I wanted a $2 burrito from Chipotle.

Washington, D.C.

I have never been to Washington, D.C. before (well technically I think I went when I was 4 years old), so when my friend Natalie was in D.C. for an internship, I thought it was high time I explored the nation's capitol! I took the midnight bus from Boston to D.C. and arrived around 11am (the bus was late, and I ended up stranded for several hours in South Station with nothing but McDonalds French Fries to tie me over). 

When I arrived, Natalie was at work, but we were able to have lunch together (burgers and a S'mores milkshake). Afterward I waited for Natalie to finish work, so with my backpack on I walked around the Capitol, the Library of Congress and The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I loved it! It was bloody hot, and everything was under construction (no reflecting pool, so national mall), but I absolutely loved the Library of Congress which was doing an exhibit on Books That Shaped America. It was so interesting and I added several to my reading list!

We went to the zoo and saw baby cheetahs!! and other fun animals (red pandas!), but the cheetahs were my favorite. I love that the zoo was free! I was so impressed, I thought it would be a dinky little zoo, but it was actually very nice. I don't know how they offer the zoo for free, but I surely appreciated it! I think I sent out about 12 postcards that day - many from the zoo!

It was a lot of fun spending time with Natalie, and it only rained once! After the zoo we went to a tapas bar (I think it was both of ours first time) and ate a lot of octopus. Well I guess nothing in tapas is a lot, but it was tasty nonetheless. We left the restaurant to go on a boat tour of DC, and when we got out of the metro, it was pouring down rain! It let up and we were able to walk Georgetown, but as soon as we got on the boat, it just starting raining like a monsoon! Seriously a lot of water! We couldn't even see the Washington monument from the Potomac. Ridiculous.
But it was fun, and by the time our boat turned around for the return journey, it had cleared up and we could see everything. So that was very pleasant. I saw the White house and many of the monuments around DC. I was surprised by the Martin Luther King Jr. monument, I didn't think I would like it. I have seen pictures and always thought it looked kind of odd. But seeing it in person, I really appreciated it more. I have to say it might have been my favorite. I also really liked this button on the White House fence. I was really hoping it was a doorbell and someone would answer after we pushed it. Shockingly, nothing happened. Michelle didn't invite us in for lemonade, Bo did not come bounding to the gate to meet us. It was a little disappointing. 
I took the afternoon bus to NYC and had dinner with a friend I met on the Berkshire trip, then the midnight bus back into Boston. I got into Boston around 4 am and was at work around 10 - as per my usual schedule. It was a fun trip, and hopefully I will be able to venture out more in the future!

Biking the Bershires!

Last week I went on a grand adventure! I have never been on a vacation by myself, but being the single gal that I am, I also don't want to miss out of fun and freedom- so I packed up my car and went on my first solo trip. For my birthday in February I signed up for the Mass Bike Pike Tour - which I affectionately refer to as Bike the Berkshires, because that's basically what it was. Thus on Wednesday afternoon, amidst pouring rain and a sore throat, I loaded my bike onto the back of the Mini and we took off on our grand adventure!
There were so many firsts for this trip. First time biking more than 70 miles in a day. First time doing a large group ride. First time setting up a tent. First time in my new tent. First real time in my sleeping bag. First time drinking Gatorade and actually needing to. First time feeling defeated by the road. First time using my light up frisbee.

Day One: Me and my new tent

It was originally meant to be a 5 day bicycle trip with 4 days of cycling, but due to an environmental disaster, it turned into 3 days of cycling and 1 day of running and swimming. The first day there was a chemical fire and we had to evacuate the area, so we moved up to New York. There was a pool there and I went swimming, set up my tent, took a nap, went running, and used my new frisbee. It was a relaxing start to a great trip.
The second day I woke up at 7am, thinking that was early. Man, was I wrong. I was probably the 5th to last person to leave. Ridiculous. Some people. 73 miles later I was probably the 10th to last person to finish. Woo! It was a tough 73 miles, especially since the longest I had done prior was most likely around 45-50. Did I mention we rode up a mountain in Vermont? Because we did. It was beautiful, and fantastic and there were about 4 times when I thought I was going to die - emotionally. That night I ate 2 dinners, and took the coldest shower of my life (on purpose).

Day Two: Another guy had this exact same outfit.

The third day, I wizened up and awoke at 6. Still not anywhere near getting out of there before 80% of the people. This was the day most people were going to climb Mt. Greylock - the tallest mountain in Massachusetts. After my measley VT mountain, Grelock was a big no in my mind, so I took the short 45 mile trail to our next camp in Lenox. This was a delightful ride, full of trees and shade and a rail trail. The only bummer was it got really hilly right at the end! I kept thinking I was done, and bam! there was a big ol' hill in front of me. When I finally crested the final hill, I was the very first person back at camp. Take that! (Sure most people did Greylock, but a girl can still be proud). A small group of us went into Lenox and had lunch, and dessert, then dinner. It was a wonderful evening full of happiness. Maybe we didn't go to bed until 2am.

Yes, I'm at lunch with a box of cookies in front of me...

Day four and I was up at 6, and on my saddle by 6:45. I meant business this time. I was not going to be the last person to leave. I was not going to be the latest arrival. I refused. And yet. AND YET! As I made my way up the freaking steepest hill I have ever ridden in my whole life (I've only been cycling 2 years) I noticed that there weren't too many people around. A few, of course, but not as many as I expected since I left so early. 65 miles later I straggle into camp only to realize that most people took the short route and once again, I am like the last person to finish. Well fine! Steal my victory. See if I care. I did care.

Scenic!

After the ride, I packed my bike and things back onto/into the Mini and we made our way back to Cambie. I just missed the rain on my ride, thank goodness, but it poured down rain the entire trip back. I was a little tired on my way home. So once I got home, I showered and said to myself, I deserve a little nap (as it was now only 5pm). So I crawled into bed for a 'short nap before dinner'. 6 hours later, I rouse myself barely enough to unpack and spread my tent and sleeping bag out to dry. Then I collapse onto my bed again for another 8 hours. By 8 am I am up and feel GREAT! I'm not sore, I'm not tired, I just feel wonderful. Which is fortunate, because I then proceeded to go to work.
So basically this was the best bike trip of my life. And I now feel entitled to call myself a cyclist.

Ceiling Fan

 And then I installed my very own ceiling fan!
I found this little cutie at Home Depot, at a whopping 24 inches, she's not very big - but I do drive a Mini Cooper and wear a size 6 shoe - so I guess she fits right in!
I even wired it up all by myself... well kind of by myself. I checked online and called my poppi to make sure that when I flipped the switch the house didn't go up in flames (thank goodness it didn't!). My summer nights have been so much breezier since I became an accomplished electrician. :)

Post Triathlon

For many people, waking up at 4:30 am and completing a triathlon is enough for one day. To them I say, Bah! After we drove back up to Boston, I dropped off Tyrel and put my bike away. I cleaned out the car, and put my foot up. I took a short nap, then headed out to Tanglewood for their 75th anniversary concert. I got there around 7:30 pm, and was told by the Yammy that I should park in the town and walk down because parking was a nightmare. I am positive he lied to me. It was one of the most brutal 2 mile walks of my life. I had my basically broken foot that was now swollen to twice the size of my right foot and I had a blister. I ended up taking off my shoes and walking the last mile barefoot. By the time I got to the concert, I was ready to never walk again. Sam had sandwiches and other picnic supplies set out. The concert was amazing! I saw John Williams, and Yo yo Ma. It was phenomenal. There was a violinist - Anne-Sophie Mutter, and I swear I have never seen anyone's hands move faster than hers did on that violin. Absolutely crazy. The concert finished sometime around 11 and we set off to NYC around midnight (stupid walk back was just as bad). Sam was flying out of La Guardia at 6 am, so we got some drinks and snacks and made our way south. After I dropped him off, I couldn't resist.
I just couldn't. I had to buy a cheesecake. Specifically a cheesecake from Juniors. I stuffed my severely over-sized feet into my little shoes, well I attempted to, but they were so swollen at this point that it would have defied the laws of physics. So I had to bend the backs of my shoes down and wear them like slippers. Pathetic. But I was determined to get that cheesecake and walking around without shoes really wasn't an option. I didn't risk it, I went ahead and got 2 raspberry swirl cheesecakes. I took an hour nap at a rest stop around Bridgeport, CT and was back in Boston around 11. After almost 32 hours, I finally crawled into bed and slept until 6 when I had a meeting with the bishopric. Probably one of the longest days of my life. Not probably, definitely. But really awesome and definitely worth it. Also, that cheesecake was absolutely delicious.

Triathlon

Well I completed my very first triathlon! On Friday after work, Tyrel and I set off to Falmouth in Cape Cod to stay at our super classy motel. Seriously, classy. And such wonderful service (for those not used to my humor, read: a little ghetto and worst employees ever). Once we checked in, we went grocery shopping for breakfast foods and Cliff bars, then we had Indian food for dinner. I don't think Tyrel was thrilled with dinner, but I thought mine was great! So my evening was off to a great start, until I realized the hotel doesn't even have a bathtub and the shower door didn't close so the floor got soaking wet. But hey, it was all going to be worth it on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning dawned beautiful and warm. I say dawned, but truth be told we were up several hours before the dawn. 4:30am to be exact. We got up, got dressed, had our parfaits for breakfast (seriously yummy) and started loading up the car. Check out was at 11 in the hotel and we didn't think we would be back before then, so we put everything in the car and planned on biking over to the tri start. As I am bringing my bike down the small stairwell (along with my bike pump, my bag, a purse, car keys, and probably a banana) I drop my bike while trying to open the door. It lands with the crankshaft impaling my foot. I am in a serious amount of pain, and am pinned in the stairwell - unable to move and unable to get the bike off me. I yell to Tyrel who comes running and hoists the bicycle off my foot. As the blood starts flowing freely anywhere and everywhere (I left a nice trail from the motel to the car) I start to feel faint. I grab the only thing I can find to stop the blood (maxi-pad anyone?) and go back in the hotel to clean off my foot and lay down for a minute. I am in serious pain, and have lost a small amount of blood. I feel queazy. The bathroom is covered in blood, I feel a little bad about that. After a few minutes, I regain my composure put on a sock, strap on my cycling shoes (compression on the wound!) and we head out for the starting line!
There we are, on the beach at our first triathlon. We get out goody bags and numbers and set up our transition stations. I am number 31, so I have basically the best spot ever. It also helped that we got there 2 hours early. I gimp along and we inspect the starts and finishes. I get 31 sharpied on my arms and 24 (my age) put on my leg. I put on my yellow swim cap (age division color) and we go to the starting line. My division starts 3 minutes before Tyrel and I am off! I get kicked in the arm a few times, and my leg is grabbed a bit, but I am doing well! Swimming, swimming. I pass the first buoy before I even realize it, round the second buoy and then - wait a minute - where did the third buoy go? I lift my head out of the water to look, and I hear a concerned woman yell, "Where's the buoy?" In place of the large orange buoy there is not a small yellow one. No matter, swim around, conquer the fourth and before I know it I am out of the water running to my bike.
When I get to my transition area, it is mostly deserted. The benefit of being in the first wave I guess. There are maybe 10 people total in the transition area of over 900 bikes. I gingerly put my sock over my foot, strap on the shoes and run to the bike start! Off I am on the bike route, which is almost completely empty. I see maybe 10 people during the whole ride. It's so weird having the course to yourself. I thought it was going to be super packed. It isn't until I am cycling back on the final mile that I see the bajillion people in my age group already on the run and all the older groups heading out on the bikes.
Up until this point I am doing well. I did well on my swim (didn't finish last!!) and only got passed maybe 5 times on the bike, but I passed a few myself. I transition into my new Five  Fingers as they are playing "Pumped up Kicks" and start out of my run. I am still soaking wet from the swim, but I persevere. It is at this point that things become disheartening. I run, and I run and I run. And it feels like I am on a treadmill. I am going nowhere. Everyone is passing me. The turn around feels like it's 12 miles away. I can't even see it out there in the distance. Older people start to pass me. What the? Is that guy 40? He started like 40 minutes after me... Most dejected point of the whole race? A man pushing a stroller casually jogs past me. Show off. As I start my run, I see Tyrel start coming in on his bike. After I make my turn around I see him on the run. The last 1/2 mile or so (or really the last 5 miles because it felt like I ran a marathon) I start sprinting (which is code for running and not my usual meandering jog). The last few paces are in the sand, and then SLIP AND SLIDE AT THE FINISH LINE!! 1:33!! Once I pass the finish line they ask me for my timing anklet. I am so bewildered and I have so much Velcro on my feet I almost hand the poor woman my shoe. About 5 minutes later, Tyrel comes sliding to the finish line! By this time I am recovered and have my wits about me - so I cheer him on and we high five. He seems to take his timer off without much effort. Jerk. We get bananas, bagels, gatorade, and nutter butters while waiting for the results. Mine never get posted so I finally am like let's blow this popsicle stand! I wear flip flops on the ride back to the car because my foot hurts to high heavens and I can't even imagine putting a shoe back on it. We get back to the hotel by 10:30 and have enough time to shower and change before check out. We load the bikes on the car and TRIumphantly drive back to Boston. Feeling awesome. Also feeling terrible because I am pretty sure I broke my foot and then did a triathlon on it. Seriously. Ow.
It was somewhere around 6am when we realized neither of us brought a camera, and neither of us took a single picture, or had our phones with us. So that is the story of my very first triathlon. Next up in the Lobsterman (where I am still the only person in my category/division!).
Bring it on Lobsterman. Bring it.

Baseball

I absolutely love baseball games. I just love going to Fenway, people watching, listening to the fat lady sing, eating cracker jacks and hot dogs.

I just love it. I love living in Boston, and I love that I can go to a Sox game and wear a hat, and eat a hot dog and have a most fabulous time whenever I want!

Quarter Life Crisis

I'm a sailor!

So it appears I am having a quarter life crisis. This past week or so (probably 2 weeks by now) I have decided that since one thing is changing (I am moving out of my cushy living situation and into the cold, hard world), might as well change everything! So - I signed up for not one, but two triathlons, I got a gym membership with a pool, I found a new apartment on Craigslist (I'm moving in with a stranger) in a new neighborhood, I signed up for sailing and windsurfing lessons, I dragged Jenn out to Lowell so I could buy a guitar, I started asking people to teach me guitar, I joined a cycling group, and I moved to a new ward.

Some of these are things I have been wanting to do for a while (cycling group), some are bucket lists (triathlon),  and some came out of nowhere (guitar? What?!). But this has added a fun new twist to my life, and so far everything seems to be going well. I talked a friends into doing the tris with me, I have some potential guitar mates, I hope to meet lots of awesome people sailing, and the best of all is that I am the only person signed up (so far) for my Lobster triathlon. There are still about 500 people before it sells out, but at this rate, if only 2 more join: I WILL WIN A TRIATHLON!! I am keeping my fingers crossed. The winner gets a bag. A TOTE BAG! What could be more rewarding than a tote bag?

Only one in my age group!

Also, apparently blogspot changed their interface and you can't go back to the old one anymore, so I don't know how to move the picture to where I want it. So things are just going to go random places from now on, I guess.

Fromage Roulette

Many of you may not know, but I like to live life on the wild side. Indeed, sometimes I can be quiet the rebel. One of my favorite ways to live dangerously is to play Cheese Roulette. Cheese or Fromage (depending on my mood) Roulette started with an over abundance of cheese. I pick up a new cheese just about every time I go to the store, and I had acquired quite a collection. So I decided to make a grilled cheesy sandwich - one of my very favorite things. But I had so many cheeses, which ones would go well together? And that's when Cheese Roulette was born.
At first it was pretty tame, a quick jaunt over the line of convention. Things like Fontina and Mozzarella, or Jarlsberg and Gouda. Then as cheeses came and went, it became a necessities game. I had cheddar, Monterrey, and Manchego - which to choose? Sometimes the combinations were clear winners, and other times they were less than satisfying.
Which leads us to my adventure today. Today I had a variety of cheese left over from a Grilled Cheese Party I hosted a couple weeks ago. I took out my great bag of cheeses and saw that goat cheese was winning in the quantity department. I don't eat a lot of goat cheese so I decided to cut down on the amount. As I put the goat cheese on the bread, I thought some mozzarella would add some stringiness to the otherwise crumbly goat cheese sandwich. As I was getting the mozzarella I remembered how good bacon was. Unfortunately, I did not have any bacon. but I did have turkey bacon from a failed attempt at going on the P90X diet. As I was in the fridge getting the turkey bacon, I saw strawberries. Strawberries would definitely offset the goat cheese and add a lovely sweet and juicy flavor to the salty turkey bacon. So together they all went: butter, bread, goat cheese, mozzarella, turkey bacon, and strawberries.
I'm not going to lie to you, at this point I was seriously worried about my sandwich. It was 9 pm after I worked a long shift and came home to wash my car and bundle stray twigs. I was hungry. And this sandwich looked, well... ambitious.
While I cannot say this will be appearing on Wolfgang's next frozen pizza creation, or even at an ambitious fusion restaurant, I can say that it was pretty tasty. It might not be a Drew, but it was a unique little blend of things that filled my belly and intrigued my taste buds. So next time anyone has an abundance of cheese and is feeling a little dangerous - to them I say, Walk on the wild side, and play Cheese Roulette. Because even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

Good Life Choices

It has been gorgeous here in Massachusetts - Spring has sprung! We even installed an air conditioner at work because it's been so warm.
To celebrate I went for a pleasant ride up to Walden and back through Wellesley. It was an absolutely beautiful trip full of rolling hills, some hills I wish were a little less rolling, and a sign to Drumlin Farms Woolapalooza! If that doesn't sound like a party, I don't know what does.
Later that evening, I met up with some friends in Harvard Square to see the midnight premier of The Hunger Games! It was such a fun night! I re-learned how to play Hearts, someone brought us ice cream from J.P. Licks and I got to sit down and rest my bike weary legs! And it was soo warm! The theater was actually just hot, they never turned on the air conditioner. But at 2:35 in the morning as I was walking back to my car and it was 67 degrees!
Unfortunately for me, however, I got home around 3:30 am and then woke up for work at 6:30. Not a fun Friday at work for sure! But well worth the fun Thursday!

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

My first resumé, fresh out of Loma Linda, was pretty basic. I had zero real world experience, a wicked expensive fancy education, four sets of blue scrubs, and a need for monies. Once I landed my first job largely based on the grace of a doctor who hated interviewing, I was looking to update my resumé to add all my real world awesome experience. I was working two days a week and hoping for four.
I wanted to have a resumé that dazzled. I wanted everyone to be like, 'Whoa, what a great resumé. I don't care what position, I want to hire this person.' After a few weeks, I realized I had no patience for formatting, no money for software, very little helpful creativity and I didn't like being criticized. So my resumé took an interesting turn. I decided to use language to make me seem more interesting and awesome. My resumé then included the phrases, "To engage in the practice of fulfilling dental needs," and "Seamlessly integrate quality hygiene care with modern technology," and finally, "Gently and thoroughly approach the topic of oral health care for patients." I wanted to be engaging – well CHECK! Anyone who read my resumé would walk away remembering the word engage, and maybe they would be confused and think, “I was engaged by that resumé!” I don’t really know why I put seamlessly integrate. But that sounded a little mathy. I live near Boston. Boston is a little mathy. Maybe that would make me seem local (in case Loma Linda didn’t give it away that I wasn’t). Plus dentists always like to think their office is ‘modern’ even if the last update happened in 1974. Apparently having a single computer in the office makes the office ‘modern’ and ‘high-tech.’

But the funniest one to me was the gentle and thorough approach. I don’t know where I got that. No one has ever said to me after a cleaning – Wow! I feel like you did a thorough job! That is until I got my new job. The one with this resumé. I think people tell me I did a thorough job about 90% of the time. I hear this often (like 6 times a day), “Doctor, that hygienist of yours did a great job! Very thorough! I don’t think I have had such a thorough cleaning in years!” At first I thought this was a backhanded compliment saying I was rough, or not very gentle. So I toned it down – considerably. I asked patients if they were comfortable throughout the entire cleaning. I warned them before any deep scaling, and made sure they didn’t wince a single time during a cleaning. And guess what, everyone still tells me I am a ‘thorough’ hygienist. Everyone. The 81 year old lady with 9 teeth, the 24 year old man with immaculate hygiene. Sometimes I wonder if they peeked at my resumé before coming in, or if the last hygienist was just terrible. I don’t know. But I guess it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I said I was, “gentle and thorough’ and now I know that I definitely am.

Yoga

This morning, I just wanted to go to yoga. I bought a Groupon fitness pass - and I know a lot of things on Groupon are hit or miss. But I've been to a few other places with the fitness pass and they were awesome! When I tried to sign up for this yoga class last month, everything was full. So I have been anxiously awaiting this class for a month.
I picked a closer location so that I could bike there when the weather is nice. And I was really looking forward to some awesome yoga.
Here is what happened today: I worked out my shoulders yesterday, so I was really sore. Reaching to get plates from the cupboard weas a struggle. It felt like my shoulder was on fire - and not in a good way. This morning dawned rainy and cold, definitely not biking weather. But that was ok - I would persevere anyway. I put on my yoga pants, got a mat and water bottle and headed for the studio. Things were going to be great, I thought. Very erroneous thought.
As I'm paying for parking, the wind knocks down a sign on the sidewalk which slams into my ankle. OOWW! Why would you do that? Ohmygoodness - shooting pain on my left ankle and leg.
Shake it off, yoga is going to be great. Walk into the studio - the woman in front of me is taking off her shoes. Great sign! I don't like shoes in yoga, so I kick mine off as well. As I walk into the building - there is no one. There is so much incense burning it stings my eyes a bit. Shake it off, it's yoga time. I wait 7 minutes - still no one. The woman who entered before me is in the bathroom and I can hear her peeing from the lobby. This is awkward. Where is everybody? Once the woman emerges, I ask her what I am supposed to do. She grabs a small - Angela looking person in what looks to be a martial arts uniform. She whispers to me that this is not like regular yoga, but is more based on my meridian - not stretching or strengthening muscles. Also there is a lot of 'tapping' or pounding your body with your first or palms. Oookkkaaayy.... But what the heck - let's give this a shot. It could be fun. It's cold outside and I am looking forward to a good sweat.
Enter the room. Where everyone is standing, 'tapping' themselves on the abdomen - (p.s. we didn't do most of the things on the video - it wasn't an 'essential' class) like that's a normal thing to do on a Thursday morning. So I start whacking my belly like everyone else. And I feel weird. Just weird. The whole time. Then everyone takes turns counting out loud. Again, weird. But maybe this is just the warm up? Next is 'intestinal exercises' where I need to focus on my Dong Jung. Not only do I not know what that is, I am also working out my GI tract? Next up some circling exercises. I got this. I can do this. I am comfortable and happy with this. But why aren't we working out yet. This is the longest warm up ever. More pounding ensues, then tapping. Btw if you tap your head and you are a little sore by your right temporal - that's your gall bladder trying to tell you something. If your left hips is sore when 'tapped' that's your spleen. Release the energy! Open your meridian!!!! Breathe with your palms. I couldn't shake the feeling that this was a large scale practical joke. But everyone there seemed dead serious. They even laughed aloud on command (to add vibration energy).
Then they finally lost me. Up until this point I was handling it, albeit uncomfortably. Then - around minute 35, we bent our legs into a slight squat, tilted our hips forward, and raised our hands above our heads. Opening our palms towards the sky we were told to breathe with our palms. Then she told us to get comfortable - we would be here a while. And she wasn't joking. 5-7 minutes later she announces, "Nothing can harm you in this pose. Your body will try to tell you to move, but you don't need to move from this pose. This is a nice position. Stay in this position. By standing still, we are building our energy and being strong. The temptation to move will weaken you." Keep in mind those burning shoulders from earlier. I really thought my arms would light on fire then fall to the earth in ashes. I was done. I snuck out after we finished our death pose and everyone started pounding again. I can legitimately say that that was the most awkward, and weirdest 'workout' of my life, and it was also a huge disappointment. I had scheduled like 10 classes there. What a bummer. I just wanted to go to yoga. A nice, normal planking/warrior/downward dog yoga.

24th Birthday

Well, I am officially twenty four years old. As a patient of mine sang, "Twenty-four and there is so much more," (apparently a drunken ballad from his own 24th celebration).
This has been a big year for me. So let's name 24 things milestones of this year:
1. I got a Mini Coop!! This is the first thing on the list because it is the most funnest thing on the list!
2. I got my very first real person job!
3. I took and passed my boards!
4. I took and passed my boards again in Massachusetts!
5. I moved to Massahusetts - just a small 3,000 mile jaunt.
6. I received my first real person pay check - whoa!
7. I had my first massage and went to my first spa.
8. I made my first French Macarons - and they were delicious.
9. I went to New York City and saw a Broadway show.
10. I met a real life ballerina.
11. My fair cousin came home from his mission! YAY!
12. I graduated from Loma Linda University with a bachelor's degree! Wee!!
13. I started reading non-fiction books. It's been an uphill battle.
14. I learned how to make souffles.
15. I finally saw (and absolutely loved!) Wicked.
16. I had my very last summer vacation. Sad story.
17. Started watching Doctor Who.
18. Hand selected, chatted with, then boiled my first lobster.
19. Ate a grilled cheese from a food cart truck.
20. I got an iPhone.
21. I also had to start paying for real things - I made my first student loan payment. Bought my first tire. Had my first oil change that wasn't from my dad. I even pay for my own gas now.
22. Made an entire Thanksgiving meal - appetizers to desserts. With only one oven. (First world accomplishments)
23. Really started cycling. Technically I bought my bike before my birthday, but it wasn't until the spring that I really got started - with shoes, and pedals, and falling on my hips, and bruising my entire knee to butt area, and figuring out how to get my water bottle out of the cage without veering into a tree. The important things.
24. Met 2 new nephews!

I did lots more things, and I am so happy to have such a blessed and full life. I hope there are many adventures to come and I am anxious to see what 24 brings! Hopefully lots of good things, and even more delicious things!

Apron

Sometimes I feel like I have hit cruise control on my life and I'm not doing a lot of growing. That is how I feel about now, which might explain all my recent exercise, sewing, and cooking adventures. A few weeks ago I decided that I need to cultivate some new talents. So I decided on a sewing project. The only things I have sewn before were for my hedgehog. I miss that little Lola bean. I made her bedding and little sleeping bags. They started out a little deformed, but gradually improved until her sleeping bags were adorable. This time I decided to try something a little more daring, something with a (gasp) pattern. And so one bright and cold afternoon I headed to Joann Fabric and purchased two contrasting colors to start on a little half apron - perfect for making grilled cheese.
This was the first time I have made pockets, scallops, anything reversible, or gathering. It was also the first time using Jacy's sewing machine instead of my mom's. And it was my first time using a pattern. A lot of firsts went into this little apron.
And here it is! I think it turned out quite lovely.My camera can't handle indoor lighting - especially fluorescent lights - so everything has a very bright orange hue - so I played with the settings a little bit - that's why they look a little interesting. So there it is - Julianne's first homemade apron. I even matched the stitching (for most people I guess that would be assumed, I will go ahead and point it out).

Cold

Right now, it is just bitter cold in Boston. Bitter cold. Six degrees this morning, that is 26 degrees below freezing. Going outside feels more akin to jumping in an ice bath. The cold goes through all my clothes and skin, and settles into my bones. Brrrrr.
I miss you California!

Laduree

The first week of December, my mom (and Jan) flew out and we took the train to NYC! Wee! Christmas in New York! We stayed in Time's Square, went to the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular, The NYC Ballet of The Nutcracker, The Museum of Natural History, shopping, a little more shopping, eating, and... Laduree! It was so nice to see those fluorescent macarons sitting on my hotel dresser, just like times of yore. You better believe I ate them up without any hesitation at all! Mom and Jan tried to muster up the self discipline to bring some home. I can't say either of them succeeded, however.