Happy New Year!!! Okay so just 29 days late.... I can sadly say it's been worse before I am sure, but all I know is that I have had one hell of a crazy busy past month! I have now officially had one whole weekend in Boston where I didn't have any visitors or prior obligations.... I was free to do what I wanted with my time, it felt so strange Ha I just barely got my Christmas decorations taken down and vacuumed my room for the first time this year on Saturday, don't judge me lol After this blog update, I am going to make it a goal... that's right, I just said I was going to set a goal, (something that I don't do often) and it's going to be to update my blog weekly ;) I think what happens is that I get so far behind on events and trips and adventures that when I get around to posting a new blog, it takes me 15 hrs just to type it all up! So if I can stick to a weekly update it will be easier for me... it might not be very exciting, however this way those who don't know much about Boston will be able to see some of the happenings out here and those that do can just appreciate that I have captured some of the randomness of the road signs, people, and awesome history of the place.
I have NEVER seen this in real life... Real live
Ice hockey outside on a pond, I was so excited to see it
that I pulled over just to watch, yeah I prob creeped
the poor kids out lol
Its officially cold... water bottle frozen solid!!
Started taking a spanish class once a week with
a girl from church... motivation to work on my Espanol!
Random Pig statue in someones front yard... I couldn't
resist. And it was so cold this morning that my heater
took 25 min for me to feel any type of warmth ;(
So to begin, I must say that I felt very blessed for my holiday season, I had my dear friend Justin visit from San Antonio for 2 weeks and Janan come up from DC for 5 days of her holiday time to see me as well. They had the great task of navigating the city and entertaining themselves while I worked and then each night we had a great time hanging out, going out, or just being us ;) Christmas Eve was magical, we found ourselves in one of the oldest churches in Boston listening to the choir, joining in on certain parts, and finishing by singing all of Silent Night by complete candlelight.... it was amazing. Then Santa came on Christmas!! We went to the movies and sang carols the whole way ha and later on had a Christmas feast with my roommate John and a few of his friends. Janan then left on Friday and then on Saturday night Justin's sister Donnie came into town, (her husband surprised her with a plane trip out here to be with Justin and go down to NYC for NYE)!!!
Christmas ham, my gifts from Justin and Janan *Ipod from JT
and cute workout jacket from Janan.
My landlord insists on calling me Christine.... seriously
dont know what is wrong with him!!
We took a drive one day to Salem and toured the Witch museum and then on NYE we took a bus down to New York and the adventures began ;) ;)
Donnie is a light sleeper, and this was her
face mask... I woke up to this and started laughing
my head off ;)
Then random pics of Salem
I have done NYE down there once and have vowed not to go back because it is sooooo crazy and cold, however I told Justin that if he planned it all out then we could go.... So when I was working one day, he found a party for us to go to for reasonable prices and planned it all out.... Everything fell perfectly into place. We jumped in line and picked our tickets up in record time, we met Amy Q who was in NYC with her boyfriend at Shake Shack next to time square, and then headed into time square by 830 to get in line at the Bowlmor which is normally a bowling alley in Time Square, however they had a big dinner and dancing all night until 3 AM ;)
The Bowlmor, Donnie and I
Amy and I
Then Donnie and Justin
Well the party started and we danced the night away, it was a way better experience this time around for me (my first time was magical because it was my first trip ever to NYC, however it was so cold that I just remember it being more miserable than fantastic) we went and slept at Amy's hotel for a few hours and then woke up and dragged our tired booties to the bus station to catch the 740AM bus.... and snooooooze ;)
Amy and me in Time Square, Justin and Donnie
the official party tickets!!
in bottom corner picture, and I cheesing it up before
midnight... the hat came from my midnight kiss ;)
the next few days we just hung out and spent some fun times together, I didn't know I would like Donnie so much, but we became instant friends and found out we have so much in common, can't wait to keep this friendship growing! Justin and I have had some up and down history, but now a days our friendship is better than it has ever been and I am so happy to have him in my life ;)
A few weeks before the holidays Amanda got a wise idea to take a quick trip down to Cozumel and found a ticket that was really well priced, she of course then called me and told me she already bought hers and if I wanted to go then the flight would go straight through Baltimore and then into Mx together... tempting right? How could a girl like me resist? Well I did for about 1.5 weeks and then one day I was eating lunch in Chipotle and checked tickets and BAM they were down even cheaper than they were before, now I really couldn't resist so I bought a ticket and that's the end of that story ;) So on 1/3/13 Justin drove me to the airport and I took off to a tropical destination, met my girls at BWI (Shara dropped amanda off and gave me a huge hug :)) then we jet set down to Mexico!
Waiting together at BWI.
Amanda sat next to a girl on the ferry with a white
poodle puppy... of course she did ha ha
We finally made our way over to Cozumel and were picked up by our good friend Ruben and taken to him and his wives Palapa on the water, Love Cafe. They had made a welcome BBQ for us which just made it feel like we were coming home <3
Meal after a day of diving ;)
And of course a double decker chocolate cake
to wash it down....
The next day we got to the dock and headed out diving bright and early, it just felt right! The sun on our faces, the sand in our toes, the salt water on our dried out pale skin.... all so right ;)
First sun set in Mexico, something so magical about
this place ;) Us and our dear Ricardo and then
Amanda and Alemendra at the bottom
I must pause and say that I am so blessed, I have no idea what I did right in the pre-existence but man I am glad that I did it lol That night we met up and went to Love listened to the band then went to Vive Mexico to listen to Ruben's band, The Red Eye Band and dance the night away; such a awesome feeling to be there surrounded by our friends and making new ones everywhere we turned. Saturday we did a morning dive and then joined the Love crew to go on the Love boat which is a big boat that goes out and cruises all over the ocean. It's just a fun time with friends and sunshine.... nothing better!
Heading out to dive in pain and then later on the Love Boat
looking like lesbian lovers, drinking Naranjada's
and just catching some sun rays
Saturday night was a replay of fun and dancing, meeting more people and riding our bikes home at 530 AM... oh happiness ha ha ha Sunday we SLEPT.
What else do you eat at 5 AM? #coldpizza #chipsahoy
Last night pic of us at Love bar and our table full of
candies ;) The cake at the bottom is a king cake
which is eaten on January 6th each year, there is a
baby Jesus and other figurines in it and each
represent things the person who gets it is suppose to do ;)
*baby Jesus finder buys tomales for everyone at the party
on February 2nd*
Spent Sunday evening as our last night in Cozumel, went out and danced danced danced... we beat our all time record and made it home by 8AM. Yeah nothing we are proud of, but hey you're only young once ;) Amanda and I had plans to go with Osmar and Christian to Playa Del Carmen for the big BPM music fest for our last night. So we caught the ferry and hit the town running.... we were out dancing and having fun til about 5 AM then headed to a friends house for 4 hrs of sleep then woke up and took a cab to airport. For such a short time there, we sure did fit a lot of fun and games into the trip, I for sure wasn't mad about it ha ha .... only exhausted lol
Once I got back, my work wanted me to work...and put me to work they did lol I was on call the next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday which kept me busy, I wasn't able to unpack my luggage until the next Wednesday lol I was also asked to speak in church the first Sunday back and it was on having a Personal Plan, something that I didn't realize I actually had until I sat and thought about it.... It basically came down to me having a very unique personal plan which consists of: me being a good person to all those I come in contact with, to give back in a life where I have been so blessed, and to enjoy the bumpy ride of my life. An excerpt from my talk was: In 2012 I used the year as a time of healing and happiness for myself. I didn't realize I was going to achieve it, my only wish was to be happy again. However bit by bit last year I was able to become a happier and self fulfilled person. I am not complete, no one ever is, but I am a lot closer than I was a year ago. This year i have one goal: improve my health. My first plan has been to cleanse my body out.
Some of the things I have made... Cinnamon sweet potatoes,
zucchini bread with almond flour and applesauce, Omelets
on the daily, and some broccoli and Salmon. My cooking skills
have improved Ten fold ;)
I started the Whole30 cleanse on 1/10/13 and am not on day 20, only 10 more days to go!! I am only allowed to eat un processed foods, no preservatives, no sugars, milks, grains, or legumes.... I must say I have had to get very creative, but have had help and support from Justin and Donnie through this all. I have been feeling more healthy and energized than before. I won't continue to eat like this all the time, however it is has been a great jump start to treating my body a lot better already ;) This is a little updated with the progress of the cleanse, but let me tell you what, days 3-6 were very rough... I wanted to eat everything tasty that I saw and was the most hangry (hungry+angry) person I have ever been lol
Working and driving all day long I run into a few hazards,
about every couple of months I will lock my keys in
the car... I know exactly how to break in now with a
coat hanger and the correct amount of pressure on the
passenger door, however on this freezing cold morning
it took me longer than usual and left me very
disgruntled by the time I made it into my car lol
For Martin Luther King aka Civil Rights day I had the Monday off, so my new friend (and Amanda's long time friend) Laurin Rollins took a train down to DC.
Taking off from the station and cruising
through... adventurous way to go, but not likely
to train all the way to DC again lol
Top pics are of the cartoon KJ and Amanda ;)
The middle picture is dear J Cott who offered to take my
coat to the car and all of a sudden he had
a arm full of coats... such a good guy! Melissa and her
special Vegan cake, happiest birthday to my Twin ;)
While at lunch on Friday we got a wild idea to have our dear Melissa fly up for a late birthday weekend... So we got her a ticket and 24 hrs later we had her in our arms!!
Me Amanda Melissa and Shara outside
of Shake Shack.... Not my words, but a quote
from Melissa's friend "you girls are like the Mormon
version of Sex in the City" #cantarguethat
We spent the weekend hanging out and laughing and loving being back together.... just what girls do right? ha ha
At church on Sunday, we got a special visitor....
This is Elder Tom Perry, he is one of the 12 apostles
in the LDS/Mormon church. He was in town for
the Inauguration and paid our singles ward
a special visit, it was my first time ever being in a
meeting with an apostle!!
Melissa has connections which also got us tickets to the Inauguration of President Obama.... my favorite part of it all was of course, BEYONCE SANG THE NATIONAL ANTHEM!!!!!!!!!!!!
Me, Lauren, Amand, Melissa, and Shara
before splitting up. Amanda and Melissa were
in a different section then us. The metro
station was a wreck!!!
*my favorite shot here are the people on top of the
Port a Potties. The crowd kept yelling and chanting
for them to move because they were blocking the
view, saying "Get of the Pot, Get off the Pot"
Seriously, not quite a concert (which is a goal of mine) but to see and hear her in person was AMAZING ha It was such a super crowded event and it made us want to blow our brains out by all the crowding on the Metro and streets afterwards, however it was totally worth it!
The one and only miss Beyonce
along with Lauren, Shara, and I... The bag
I am holding up is my favorite "clean" snack to eat
its 2 eggs, 1/2 banana, and cinnamon just
grilled like a pancake, mmmmm mmmm good!
Being back here in Boston this week has been rough because it was reaching record lows for a few days, we are now back to it just being icy and cold but who knows what tomorrow will bring? ha
Celtics vs. Knicks game with miss Lauren, Jordan
and Elizabeth enjoying the game... Still a
Jazz fan at heart but always enjoy a good game
of basketball and eye candy lol
I went out on a date to a annual Pie Fest for national pie
eating day (1/22/13) and just got to sit and look at
all the deliciousness... The one I made and didn't
even cheat on is a banana nutella cream pie... I
received a few praises for it ;)
I am extra excited because I am sitting in Charlotte NC airport waiting for my connecting flight out to Utah... Tomorrow I get to see my baby bro Mckay come home from his LDS mission. He has been serving in Independence, Mo for the past 2 years!! I have been so proud of him, but am so pumped to see him and the rest of my family ;)
I feel like maybe I have set myself up for failure by making a weekly update goal, however I hope I can keep it for the sake of my own sanity..... ha Until next time, keep it easy and keep it breezy.
-Kj
