Homeless and feelin' good

The last two weeks have been a frenzy of packing, planning, and farewells. The apartment is officially Hannah's now and we're officially homeless wanderers. Or maybe a better term for it is adventurers, or perhaps vagabonds. I'm in Melrose and dropped Matt off at Logan airport for his flight to Orlando. He'll be visiting his family for a few days, amazing that it's been a three year hiatus. I'll be repacking our stuff, organizing the car, and visiting friends and family for the next few days. I keep getting chills of excitement!!

Life has been amazing the last few weeks. The cousins weekend went perfectly, despite some rain. I think everyone had a great time and there were no casualties! We packed a lot into a few days including Shelburne Farms, Ben and Jerry's Factory tour, North Beach, and Sunset Drive-In.

The fourth of July was spent on the waterfront watching the fireworks show. The funniest moment of all was the ducks dive bombing out of the air into the lake after the first fireworks were set off. They then proceeded to launch themselves several feet out of the water after subsequent booms. Hilarious! The show was beautiful, although I do miss the music choreography that Boston does. Mom was here for the 4th and then stayed for a few days. We also had a small yardsale. Dave and Sully came for a couple of days too. The apartment was packed!

Went camping the following weekend with Hannah and friends. Had a blast and the weather was gorgeous. It was a trip being back at Silver Lake again. Camping also reminded me of how much work and stuff we'll need for our cross-country journey (16 days and counting)! Also, sefore we leave on the trip Matt is spending four days in Orlando with his family!

Matt and I have a rough route we're going to follow.

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I'm thrilled, ecstatic, excited!!!!!

Things have been busy. I have been slowly sorting and selling a bunch of our stuff. Our time in Burlington has been dwindling and there is so much to do! Traveled to Boston Sunday night, bought a roof rack for the car, and the M had a meeting in Manchester, NH the next day. I drove up back to VT in the van with Mom. It was fun and great to catch-up with her. Yesterday we went to M's company dinner at the Icehouse. It was a good time, we as good as that type of thing can go. :-)

This weekend the cousins are coming to Burlington for a few days. I'm borrowing mom's minivan and picking everyone up Friday afternoon. It is going to be nuts! There is a lot going on in the area so there will be many choices. Hopefully they won't mind all crowding in the living room! I'm hoping that it will be nice enough to go for a swim, tubing, or a hike.

R.I.P. Nick

An amazing man with inspiring energy and heart.

NYC 08

Hit up NYC for a few days. Went by bus from Boston to NYC early in the am. We stayed at this funky hotel in Manhatten called The Pod. That day we went to see the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Awesome time and we barely made it in since there were so many people in line. Jon Stewart is hilarious and I was laughing the entire time. The guests were Scott McClellan (former Bush Press Secretary) and B-52s' Fred Schneider!


Besides that we did a ton of touristy stuff like visiting the Met:


On the rooftop there were some big, bright, and shiny sculptures by artist Jeff Koons:

We did a bunch of other things like walking through the city and spending time in central park. We also ate the biggest sandwich I have ever seen from the Carnegie Deli. Oh man, there was so much brisket on two tiny slices of bread. We had to eat it with a fork!

Cal and Steph came out with us one night for dinner and drinks at an Irish Pub. The trip was really fun and I am still in awe of the city!



p.s. We ate some really yummy cuban corn:

Had ILEHP graduation on May 29, 2008. It was a great day and Matt came at the end for the actual graduation celebration. The trainees also made up little 'role-cards' for each faculty member which were meant to be a funny play on the traditional ILEHP meeting roles. It was fun and I think everyone enjoyed the laugh! It was also an emotional day for me especially since this year started as such a challenge and became so rewarding throughout the months. Marty gave me a beautiful wine stopper with a river rock top and a silver bottom with a little engraved swirl. I love it! Also, they gave each trainee a notebook with cards, quotes, and well wishes from each of the faculty members. I will cherish this forever and I am still reading the pages!

Presented my research for the last time for ILEHP today. The poster presentation went great and everyone seemed engaged (phew). Funniest part was my star bullets somehow changing into little bombs with lit fuses in the implications section of the poster. Definitely good for some laughs. Drinks followed at Radio Bean with the trainees. Good times and I really enjoyed my screwdriver with fresh squeezed oj and the song on repeat about sleeping with the paramedics!
It's amazing to look back at the crazy amount of work we all did. It feels great to be moving on but tough to leave behind such a supportive and talented bunch.

I graduated! Now the MSW is official! :-)

It's graduation weekend! M and I did a whirlwind cleaning of the apartment last night to get ready. Still planning what food etc we need to buy. I think we might go see Blues and Lasers play at Higher Ground tonight too. I'm excited!
My mom will be staying with us for the weekend. I'm ecstatic to be officially ending my academic career. I always regretted not walking for my undergraduate graduation so this will be an important step.

Turned 26 a month ago.

Walked/jogged my first 5k with Hannah last week too. I'm continuing to jog a few times a week, slow going but feels good.

I go for my ILEHP evaluations tomorrow. What a ride that internship has been. I think back to the grueling work and ALL THE WRITING!! Jesus, I'm glad I had no idea when I began. I know it's been worth it because I have learned so much. Those people are so inspiring. I am ready to move on.

Graduating with my MSW this weekend. Looking forward to celebrating this long journey with everyone and finally beginning life unencumbered. God, the privilege and the sacrifice to study have been immense. People say I will miss school, but right now I think they're crazy.

Matt and I are planning to move somewhere out west, San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle. Depends on where we get jobs. It's time for an adventure!

C-2-5K Week 1/Day 1

I've decided to begin the Couch-2-5K running program. I woke up early and did the Week 1/Day 1 interval. It was really cold this morning but my layers kept me warm. I found it to be easier than I had originally expected, but after several intervals I began feeling the strain. At one point I began to feel a slight pain in my left knee, but after I began paying attention to my foot placement, it went away. It felt good and I got to check out a bunch of neighborhoods that I had never been to before. I'm hoping that I can keep this up as I know and want exercise to be a regular part of my life. I definitely need to invest in a good pair of running shoes too! I know it wasn't much but doing this today feels great and like a big accomplishment.

Almost one year

Right now I'm at Uncommon Grounds working on my research. It's been flurrying all day but I can still feel spring coming. My body has been soaking in the extra hour of sunlight, re-energizing me. I can't help but get excited about summer.
Tomorrow is my one-year anniversary from starting my weight-loss journey. Amazing. 23 pounds lost.