Are you kidding me?

The weather last Friday (for my birthday party) was a beautiful 60 degrees. So lovely, so perfect, I got all excited that spring was finally on it's way!

Well, that dream came to an abrupt end on Sunday morning. It was snowing lightly, and I thought well, hopefully it won't be too much.

Boy was I wrong.


I woke up to so much snow this morning that Harvard even canceled their classes. Unfortunately our work did not proclaim it a snow day, so I trudged in.

I'm going to keep dreaming of this:

Photos: David Paul Ohmer

I can't wait to ride the Swan Boats at the Boston Public Gardens during tulip season... how much longer will I have to wait?

Long time comin'

Ok, I started this yesterday and then got an admonition for my aunt to post, so perfect timing! I know! Sorry it's been almost a month since I last posted! I'm bad. Oh well, I've been busy, having fun as usual, plus getting ready for my big trip, which I am soooo excited for!

London here I come! I leave on Wed and will be there for almost a whole week, I can't wait! I have lots of plans of things to do in London (most of which I never got a chance to do before) including:

Shakespeare's Globe Theater
Buckingham Palace
Harrod's (especially the food level!)
Tower Bridge
Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey (how did I miss this?)
Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park
Going back to see:
British Library (of course)
British Museum
Victoria & Albert Museum (mostly the historical clothing exhibit)
Museum of London (maybe)
Top Shop
Wagamama's

Plus, I'm going to probably go see Les Mis! I haven't seen this since the last time I was in London, 7 years ago! Wow, I can't believe it's been 7 years. It's been so fun to think and plan about everything I want to do, I've had fun remembering everything I did before. I'm sure it's going to be great.

On Monday I'm renting a CAR! Yikes, I'm a little nervous, but excited to have the freedom to go at my own pace down to the south to visit the school. And guess what? I'm going to go visit Jane Austen's House!! I'm so excited! Especially since I just learned that they are having an exhibit through the end of May of dresses from the new Sense & Sensibility movie which was on Masterpiece! Awesome!

I'm also getting excited and nervous about my interview with the school. I think it will go well, but I'm working on putting together a portfolio to show them now and that's stressful.

Anyway, I'll be sure to post pictures and a recap when I get back, but for now, here's some things I've been up to in the last month:

*Checking out more blooming trees! On Mother's Day we walked around the Mt. Auburn Cemetery and then went to the Arnold Arboretum for "Lilac Day" to have a picnic. It was beautiful and of course all the trees were blooming, so here's some more pics!

My roommie, Abby, and Barbara

Lilacs!
At the cemetery
Beautiful pond at the cemetery

Oh, and here is what the one in front of our house looked like a couple weeks ago! Beautiful!



*Goodbye party for lots of friends, like Kylee (see pics at the party with the link)
*Cheering on my roommates in the Big Lake Half Marathon up at Lake Winnipesaukee (see pictures here)
*Visiting the best circus in town at Laura's Big Top Birthday Bash! (this was an amazing party, I might have to try to procure photos)
*Going to see a couple movies (Made of Honor and What Happen in Vegas)
*Hosting book club at my house (Northanger Abbey) and making fabulous Banoffee Cream Pie!! This is my favorite dessert from England (it's toffee with banana, hence the name) and I've been craving it for 7 years, you don't know how good it tasted when I made it! Heaven! Here's the recipe, if you like sweet, rich desserts, you'll definitely like this. I'm going to try to have some this week and see if turned out like the real thing! (One note on the recipe, I didn't use the coffee, of course, but I used the traditional method of boiling the cans, I used a lid on the pot to prevent the water from evaporating and checked on it every so often, to make sure the cans were still covered. I only used one can for my pie, but boiled four, so now I have tons of toffee to make a spur of the moment pie!)

More signs of spring

I feel like I'm awaking from a winter funk, or maybe even a hibernation with all the great spring weather (even almost summer-like) we've been having here in Boston lately. Warm weather makes me really really happy. Really, even though I've been frustrated about some things lately, every time I walk outside, I just can't help but smile. I even got some sun this weekend! It's my goal to be "un-pasty" this summer. Not tan, I know that's not really possible for my skin (and also really bad for you), but I just want a little color, a glow, if you will. I'm already on my way and it's only April!

The trees around Harvard are blooming! Another thing that makes me so happy about the arrival of spring and warm weather. I'm hoping to get down to the North End and the Public Gardens soon to see more beautiful spring blooms!

Ok, so I'm feeling random and felt like combining a couple tags that have been floating around my friends blogs in the last little while and make it my own.

5 Things

5 things I'm grateful for right this second:
*the view out my window at work (I love people watching)
*my iPod and rockin' music
*Thai food with friends on a Monday night
*Chick Lit (specifically the historical fiction kind)
*planning my trip to London

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
*graduating from High School, how crazy is that?
*getting ready to start BYU in the summer
*going to California with my Swing Choir for a competition at Disneyland
*injuring my neck during said trip and having to get wheeled across Disneyland and in front of the Hercules Parade (yeah, embarrassing as it sounds)
*having surgery (luckily not because of said injury)

5 places I've lived:
*London, England
*Anchorage, Alaska
*Salt Lake City, Utah
*Houston, Texas
*Boston, Massachusetts

5 jobs I've had:
*Entertainment & Tour Coordinator at a chocolate factory
*Summer "Intern" on the North Slope
*Project Assistant at law firm
*Manuscript Processor at BYU Library
*Book Conservation Technician

5 of my guiltiest pleasures:
*Reality TV (Beauty & the Geek, The Bachelor, America's Next Top Model)
*old fashioned frosted donuts from Starbucks
*Anything fried, especially fried veggies (aka Tempura)
*Shoe shopping
*Celebrity Gossip Mags

5 places I have to visit one day:
*Egypt
*Italy
*India
*All 50 states, especially Hawaii
*Greece

5 favorite foods (in the last little while):
*Dr. Pepper
*candy (yes this is a food group, I like anything chocolate, gummy, fruity or cinnamon)
*any kind of potatoes, especially garlic mashed
*pesto
*Mango Tango Oddwalla Smoothies

5 things that really annoy me:
*slow walkers that walk in the middle of the sidewalk so you can't pass them without being really rude
*the sound of people chewing with their mouths open
*people who don't turn their cell phones off or on silent during movies, performances or church
*guys who think I want to marry them just because I talk to them
*smokers, tourists (see the slow thing) and rude customer service people
*oh, and not having a car (ok, so I know that was more than 5)

And just so I don't end on a sour note:
5 things on my to do list:
*finish my essays and submit my application for Grad school
*go grocery shopping (I'm going to make this amazing recipe from my new MS Everyday Food, "Spinach and Brie stuffed Chicken", wow I'm excited)
*watch American Idol and the results from DWTS
*iron out some plans about London trip
*pick up books on hold at the Library (said Historical fiction... yay)

Ok, well there you have it. I've fulfilled my need to blog and hope you all enjoyed that. If anyone wants to do this tag, feel free! I will have to post pictures from the party I went to last weekend sometime soon. Adding that to my to-do list right now...