Our Neighborhood Visitor

Here are some pictures of our neighborhood visitor from this past weekend. He was maybe 10 feet outside of our dining room window for a couple hours on Saturday.



This guy was intently watching but wisely decided not to get any closer to that hawk!

Baltimore

Two weekends ago we took a super quick trip down to Baltimore to see Jeremy's parents before his dad's surgery (by super quick, we mean drive Friday night overnight, spend all day Saturday in Baltimore, drive back Sunday... Baltimore is 6 1/2 hrs away). Here are some pictures from the trip:

We stayed in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, which is right by the water. Apparently, this was the 2nd largest immigration point after Ellis Island back in its day (I listened on the ghost tour)... so quite the history. It was beautiful. We stayed in the Admiral Fell Inn, which is apparently one of the most haunted hotels in America (and stunningly beautiful I might add...made affordable by the Johns Hopkins Medical Rate). Nice. Of course on the ghost tour which went through the Inn, they stopped outside our room to tell of a ghost in our room. I didn't see her.
This is what happens when you sit down after staying up all night the night before:

We did some touring in Fells Point (2 different ghost tours, and some walking), but took the water taxi to other areas of Baltimore that we wanted to see. We toured the only surviving Coast Guard ship from Pearl Harbor, and a WWII submarine. Jeremy and his dad had a great time looking at the engines of both which were open for viewing.


In the background of this next one, you can see the coolest B&N ever... the architecture inside was crazy:

Jeremy, his dad, and his mom outside the submarine. Keep his parents in your prayers!

The torpedo area of the sub:

And finally, a picture as to where you end up when you follow the road sign for the "detour" to avoid "major traffic" through NYC. Do detours to avoid major traffic exist in NYC? I'm pretty sure they don't... It was a good sightseeing venture though.

We took a video as well, but our old computer is having trouble with the movie files from Jeremy's new camera.

Girls Weekend in TX

A couple weeks ago, I few down to DFW for my friend Elissa's wedding and also spent some time with my college girlfriends (or as Jeremy says, "the hens").

Here we are... Don't we look all grown up? Notice everyone but me is wearing long sleeves. I think it was a "chilly" morning...just shy of 70 degrees.

So, my friend Elissa got married at the chapel on TCU campus with the reception in Sundance Square in downtown Ft. Worth. Beautiful wedding, her new husband, Larry, seems perfect for her. Congratulations Elissa and Larry! This is the best picture that I got of them...

And the beautiful cakes made by Larry's sister. If you need a cake decorator in Ft. Worth I recommend her!


And my friend Kristen who I hadn't seen since before my wedding. We are really smiley in this picture because her husband, Mike, is really funny...similar personality to Jeremy.

And finally Elissa and I! KXA Big and Little!

Fall Foliage Around Brighton/Brookline

We didn't get up to NH or VT this year to do any leaf peeping...honestly, Jeremy didn't want to go, he felt that the roads would be too crowded given that the foliage was supposed to be "very good" this year. Alas, we did take some pictures around our area of town. Many of these were taken on Halloween, so the foliage is considered a bit "past peak," but still beautiful! Here goes:



This house is on the road on which we frequently walk the dogs (just up the street from where we live) it is my favorite...

Walking through leaf piles...

Look at the size of these leaves!


The next two photos are from just a couple streets away from our own (again on the dog walking route). Breaks between houses and trees produce views of Harvard and the Cambridge area.


A posting of our Halloween costumes to come soon.

Franconia Notch

Jeremy and his buddy Nick went hiking last weekend in Franconia Notch in NH. From what I've been told, it was a nine mile hike... many parts which included hiking and climbing over boulders. So, we are sharing these as it is humerous, shocking, and sad to note the temperature difference from the beginning of the hike to the summit. And the pictures are beautiful as well! Enjoy.
Notice the clothing at the outset of the hike...

And then, the layering began...

This is the best that Jeremy could do to document the wind.

Whoa! Frost. 6" or so on this bush.

Beauty!




Enjoying a snack!

The Beard

In case you didn't notice from the newer picture that is now headlining our blog, Jeremy has been sporting a beard since spring of this year. Here is one from the Roger's wedding in July:

Delayed Post-July 3&4, 2009

Well, we finally got the summer's worth of pictures uploaded onto our computer... sadly slow, I realize. So, I'll try to catch up the masses on what is worth seeing pictorially (is that a word?)

Folks, this year Neil Diamond was in town. Great if you are my folks coming to town, which they were in town as well as an aunt, uncle, and cousins from my dad's side of the family. It was good to catch up with extended family whom I haven't seen since the wedding and haven't spent real time with since 2004. And they got to know Jeremy and he them as well, so that was nice. A great time had by all. And, did I mention Neil was in town? Oh, my, I've never seen my mom act in such a manner. If you remember from past July 3/4 blogs, we go on the 3rd to hear the dress rehearsal for the performer... it is free and a bit less crowded than the 4th (by a bit less... there are 10,000 or so there compared with 1/2 million or more as is the case on the 4th). Here was our seating on the 3rd in the Hatchshell:

And here is one so that you can gain an understanding of the position in which my mom was found when Neil was on stage (with binoculars stuck to face singing):

And then here are some from the 4th. Here is a view from our seating on the Memorial Dr. side of the river... we were east of the main MIT building, but still in front of MIT campus...

And then one of the crew...

And then as the sun is setting.

Another view... this one back towards the financial district... if you look closely you can see Beacon Hill and the State House. We could watch people on their rooftop balconies from Jeremy's binoculars.

P.S. The fireworks were amazing this year. Best we've seen since being here!

The End of the Season and then some...

Well, we survived the month-o-visitors and have spent a couple weeks in hibernation/enjoying each other/enjoying what is left of a Boston summer.

Our softball team has finished its season... 0-# of games played. But, we had lots of fun. To recap, Jeremy and I (along with TJ, Nick, and Kelly) joined a softball team from Trisha's workplace. As most of the team works in a medical lab doing medical research, our name was the Biohazards. Jeremy reports that I've improved at throwing... but that is about the only area of improvement. He, of course, was outstanding. Anyhow, the group apparently enjoys playing enough that they have joined an Ultimate Frisbee league for the Fall... Jeremy is playing and I'm sitting this one out (his co-worker, Paul, is playing in my stead). Given the amount of running involved in ultimate (and the fact that Jeremy reports my running style to be similar to that of a dinosaur... and not a fast one), I feel better suited as the one bringing snacks and gatorade to the players. Here is a picture of the softball team:


My job continues to go well. The hurt and tragedy that I deal with on a daily basis is unimaginable to most... but if you know me well, you know that for some reason, I feel drawn to work in the midst of these types of settings. Until the opportunity presented itself, I hadn't really seen myself where I am... with crisis/acute trauma work becoming a skill which I hone into and become specialized in, but alas... I'm on the road. If you want to know more, you'll have to call, email, or otherwise ask directly as sometimes it is easier to not talk about what I do as I'm not sure who is open to hearing about the issues/situations with which I work.

God has been so good in his provision! His provision is for my good regardless, however, we really find that we are overtaken by his goodness to us right now. I mean, why us? Why should he provide so perfectly for us? We are so excited about the weeks and months and years to come as his plan for us here in the city and in ministry continue to unfold.

Lately I've been thinking a bit about bringing a renewed sense of discipline into my life. Almost as if I'm being called to a new level of discipline in new areas. This has all been brought on by Daniel 10:10-12, where, after receiving a terribly frightening vision, an angel appears to Daniel, and thus verse 12 comes into play... I've thought a good bit about the lifetime of discipline and steadfastness in a counter-culture (Babylon for Daniel... here for me... somewhere else for you). Just thinking about the continual action of Daniel setting his heart... the ongoing discipline required. Isn't it interesting how action follows the tune of our hearts? Some mornings I unintentionally set my heart on myself (which by lack of intention, make it intentionally, unintentional)... so prideful...but see it takes setting our hearts...

You see I've thought about this before, but more in the context of the verse in Colossians 3 and "setting my heart on things above"... but something about the context under which Daniel did this, and the example of Daniel's life has made this principle a fresh pursuit for me. Just thought I'd share.

I'll try to update more often and/or get pictures up of our current diggs, the summer, my mom with binoculars watching Neil Diamond, etc.

Masterfully

Yes, way behind here, but thought we'd share a picture from my graduation. And, yes, it was cold enough on May 18 for the winter coat. Jeremy checked the temp during graduation and it was 46 degrees. Not cold for Boston, but very cold for mid-May. And, the ceremony was outdoors. :O)

Hello World...We Still Exist

Hi blog world,

We still exist. It seems our lives have been so crazy. They sped up to a speed faster than we can ever remember them being with the end of winter, and they don't look to be slowing down for the remainder of summer. We have so much to update on, but little time, and our computer and camera are not syncing (so sorry, still haven't posted graduation pictures!). If we don't update, and you want an update, give us a friendly phone call or email! :O)

Update and our 1st Red Sox game!

Whew! Well, I feel like we disappeared from the planet for a while. Let's see....since Easter. Well, it has been getting warmer...actually the beginning of Spring was quite cool and then wham...it was like 85 for 3 days...all the trees bloomed at once. Now we are back to "average" temperatures...like the mid 60's. April brought physicals for both of us, and we are both healthy (although if we weren't I don't think I'd post it on here).

Most of our time was spent getting me out of graduate school. I'm officially done and will be "hooded" next Monday. Now, I'm doing lots of interviewing, job searching, etc. Long story short is that I'll be glad to get a job and be able to stop talking about myself. :O)

We are also beginning the long process of packing our apartment. It wouldn't take too long, but then again, I'm married to mister perfection and fit everything in the moving van perfectly man... if you helped us move you might remember.

And we also got to go to our first Red Sox game! We got to use a couple of tickets from one of the families that I nanny for. Great!

Jason Bay up to bat.... Manny who?

Here we are!



Singing Sweet Caroline...

Boston is a bit more sports crazy than usual at the moment....the Celtics, the Bruins are both in the playoffs, and then the Red Sox are in season....and for some reason they have scheduled the playoffs on all the same nights at the same time...if you are a sports fan, you either have a busy DVR or a thumb flipping from channel to channel.

Oh and hopefully I'll be diligent to update on other matters. We also took a day trip to Cape Cod and we both are playing softball... me, I'm pitching and holding up the bottom part of the batting order (humerous, yes) and Jeremy is short-stopping and succeeding at the top part of the batting order.

On our minds...

Being that it is Holy Week leading up to Easter, here are some things that have been on our minds and subject to conversation with our friends:
-Do we participate in lent? Why have we chosen to or why not?
-What does Easter mean to us?
-How are we "celebrating"/ what are we doing over the long weekend?

In other news, (and man this is quite a jump in topics...don't judge! We have little time to keep everyone up to speed) the opening day for the other religion in Boston (the Red Sox) was rained-out. Everyone bummed...except for Jeremy as Red Sox season ruins his commute home. So, the many, many, who called in "sick" today will have to be "sick" again tomorrow...you think I'm kidding...no, seriously not. :O)

I, however, am ok with the postponement as the newly scheduled time is 4:05 tomorrow, so I'll be able to catch some of the game when I get home. Yay!

In additional random news, I'm trying to start sweet pepper plants from seed...I'm obsessed with planning my small summer garden...

Jeremy is playing his last basketball game with his work friends as we speak.

Grocery Shopping Revolutionized

Well, I have to say that grocery shopping in Brighton has changed. Today, I went to my local Stop and Shop to find that the personal shopping assistant has arrived. There are all these electronic scanners by the door, you sign in, take one, and presto...you go about beeping and bagging your groceries as you go. When done, you swipe your card to pay and go home. Fabulous. I loved it!

We made it!!

The first day of Spring!



You know, before moving to Boston, I don't think I ever paid attention to Spring's arrival. However, the weatherman, people on the streets, friends, etc... everyone has been talking about the arrival of today for a couple weeks. Sadly, it is only 40 degrees here today, but hey...we are moving in the right direction. Jeremy said last night that he didn't realize how long winter really was here until going through it the second time. Somedays, it really does feel that it will never end!

Things are looking slightly better at Jeremy's work...he has been a bit more busy these past couple weeks, which is great for him. He is such a hard worker and truly does put every bit of effort he has into everything he does. Me on the other hand have been busy at my internship with lots of extra child protection stuff. It is always icky and sad to see babies come in that injured. Our cases are up quite a bit...more than double this time last year is what I hear.

We are excited about moving to our new place. Jeremy, being his engineering self, has drawn a to scale floor plan of our new place. He has calculated all the square footage, and has talked about projects he can now undertake in our city-sized backyard (you should have seen us on our apartment porch building a desk this past summer...humorous to say the least). Me on the other hand, I've been strategizing how I'm going to be putting our painting allowance to work... We are excited because we feel that this is a place we can grow into an put down some roots (as Jeremy notes the layout and location of the 2nd bedroom is in a perfect location for a future "offspring"). And, we hope to be able to put that big open living and dining space to good use by having friends, neighbors, and others over. On the other hand, I've really grown to love our little apartment penthouse, all 558 square feet of it, and will miss it greatly. It has been a good home!

Also, I've been starting the post-Master's job search. Oy, not my favorite. Although I would be really sad to leave CHB, I feel that I need to start looking outside as there aren't any positions right now. I just went to a career fair a bit ago to talk with MGH. It was my first career fair experience and I have to say that although I'm a pretty confident person, it is really awkward to go up and give your "elevator speech" and talk about yourself and your qualifications in 60-90 seconds.

Oh and the picture up at the top is the Boston Public Garden's but that is a photo of Boston at the END of Spring...not the beginning. :O) Still brown here.

Domestic Transition

Well, that is what Jeremy calls it. You can look for a new Brighton address for us coming your way June 1.

Additionally, we are booking moving assistants (aka...friends, family, etc) now. :O)

My dad asked if the new apartment (he hasn't seen pictures) was on the fifth floor somewhere. We told him yes.

Take a look...

Funny Commercials

Thought I'd share some funny commercials. I'm not sure if these are broadcast around the country or just up here.... We can't decide which we think is more funny/revolting/awkward. This one....

Or this one....

Weather, Healthcare Policy, and such...

It has been a bit warmer lately, which is a big plus. Now, by New England standards "warmer" means that it is above 35. We even hit 50+ this past week and I walked home from work in a short sleeved sweater. The snow is gone (quite a feat after this winter) except for the gigantic piles in the back of some parking lots.

I'm more than 1/3 through my last semester of my Master's. My motivation towards my classes is so low that I haven't done any of the readings for 2 of the 3 classes. The one that I have done a few of the readings is quite interesting. It is on health care policy. So, if you know me, you know I'm interested in this. We've been reading about health disparities in the U.S. and about the health care systems in different countries around the world. I thought I'd post a link to a video series that we've watched done by PBS:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

Outside of that, life is pretty status quo here. Jeremy's b-ball team finally won its first game this past Monday, I had a psuedo job interview this past week, we are preparing for a team from BMBC in March, and we are sorta weighing the idea of buying a condo rather than renting for another couple years before buying. Again, just sorta thinking about it.

A Brief Conversation

I thought I'd post a short conversation so that you could laugh and imagine what it would be like to sit on the couch and watch TV with us.

We were watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 during which J reports:

J:Boy, I can't wait to have kids!
C:I know.
J:No really. I can't wait.
(Commercial then comes on that show mom giving birth)
C:You realize that part comes first...before the kid.
J:That's you, not me. Plus, I've taken some pretty big dumps before so I know how it is.

Seeing Friends

So I was just reading my friend Meghan's blog which reminded me of the reunion that I missed this past week....Boston was a bit far from the DFW Metroplex. Sad. Here they are:
So, for the Boston or non-Baylor folks, these are all KXA girls. Stacy (second from right) was my first college roomate. We had a color coordinated room and matching Target bedding. We lived on the same floor as Ashley (far right) in Collins. We were definitely not the stereotypical Collins girls. I didn't know that Collins was the prissy dorm...I just chose it because there was a dining hall in the bottom (you see my priorities). All of these girls either did SING as a babboon with me or with a side pony tail or went to the hospital with me after a bridal shower when I broke my leg. Good, good times. And, all these girls have served to teach me what pursuing Christ looks like. I did get to see Lara and Ashley in Houston over our Christmas Texas Tour.
I do believe that a Boston in the Fall reunion would be a great deal of fun. :O) Hey, I can dream!