Sunday, August 7, 2011

Finally...

Having been lectured by my mom today about partially abandoning my blog, I decided today was the day to do my update. I warn you this may be a tad lengthy, but I'll try to be concise and include lots of pictures!!!

1. The New Do
So perhaps you will recall my post about my hair fiasco where I was rockin' the red/orange/yellow (not blonde, YELLOW) tiger stripes which then faded into pretty much an orangish-blonde. Not my best hair experience ever. The day I got home my mom demanded I get my hair fixed and I was already planning on it. I went into the hair salon, told them my hair dilemma and begged her to fix it and NO STRIPES. Natural color and then on a whim I decided to get bangs. It's exactly what I wanted!!! So I'm rockin' a new do and I'm in love. My hair is back to its natural brownish/red and I had a few subtle highlights and I'm very happy!
2. The New Wheels
I have a new car, a Toyota Corolla, metallic gray. His name is Jasper. It's cute, zippy, get rockin' gas mileage, and it's mine! Clifton (my '96 red Ford Taurus) bit the dust when I got back home, and honestly, I was delighted to see him go. It was his time to go and he served me well, more than I could have ever imagined! For a car that was bought with the purpose of being just a work car during the summers he did well driving to Utah, driving to Arizona, and then driving back east. He had over 200,000 miles on him. I love my new car! It's exciting! I do love having a reliable car, one I don't have to worry about whether or not it'll work, start, or breakdown each time I drive it. (I did take pictures of it but I don't know what happened to them so this will suffice; plus right now I need to wash it).

3. Clary Comes to New England
My dear pal, Clary, who is from Tucson (and is pictured in the header--our Wilma and Betty picture) came to visit for a week! I try not to overwhelm my visitors but that always fails. There is just too much to see and do and show and tell that we ended up pretty exhausted the last couple of days but it was well worth it.
Just after she arrived---I was VERY excited!!!

One of our signature car pictures.

Clary was introduced to New England on her first day by joining my mom and our church youth group going ice blocking in Amesbury, MA. It was beautiful and wicked fun! Clary and I went exploring in this gorgeous meadow near the hill where we were ice blocking.
We had ice cream practically--practically? practically? That's a lie--we had it every day. And dang it I loved it!
Mom made homemade ice cream and so we had that on the days we weren't indulging in the many homemade summer ice cream stands spotted throughout New England. Of course I took her to my personal fave, Lago's.
We went to the midnight showing of the final Harry Potter. This was my first ever midnight showing experience it was delightful. We breezed through the crowds and had time to spare and decent seats. And the movie was great!
We visited the ocean several times and I made Clary undergo the test: Hop the rocks on the land-bridge without using your hands all the way to the end.
Clary passed, with flying colors I might add. She's a rock-jumping pro and has excellent balance.

We went to Portsmouth and Newburyport and visited all the little shops, jewelry stores, antique shops, and bookstores to our hearts' content.
Then we went to Boston. But before we got to the T station I showed her our LDS Boston Temple. It's quite lovely, set right on a hill in Belmont and really pops out once you go over the hill.
Clary will be back here again someday for my future wedding :) but hopefully sooner!

And, of course, we had lunch at Regina's pizza. And I have a HILarious story about this--you dietetics students, RDs, and the like, and those of you who know me pretty well, might especially enjoy this.
First of all, I ordered a small pizza, like Clary's pizza, but they gave me a large. Now I'm not about to complain because I love their pizza but I certainly couldn't eat it all. So they boxed the leftovers and on our merry way we went. However, after about an hour I got really annoyed carrying around a pizza box so I decided that I would give it to a bum. Well, for about 45 minutes we couldn't find one which is actually ok by me but I was getting agitated trying to get rid of this pizza! Finally I found one on Washington St. He made eye contact with me and I knew instantly my plan would work. He asked for money and I told him I had no spare change but I had a pizza and offered it to him. He shrugged his shoulders and accepted it and off we went, me delighted to be rid of my pizza and him happy with a decent pizza from the Regina's! About a minute after we walked away I busted up laughing and explained to Clary that I would have died to have seen his facial expression when he opened the box, excited to eat a delicious pizza only to find it was broccoli and spinach pizza!!! Hopefully he was grateful but maybe a little disappointed there wasn't pepperoni or sausage on it or some sort of protein. Sorry dude but hey, at least you got some delish pizza!!! It kept me cracking up for a few days.
I took her all over the North End, through the Financial District, through the Common and Public Gardens, down part of Newbury Street, through Copley Square and to Chinatown where we met up with one of Clary's friends for sushi. The sushi place looked shady but it was wicked good and even more amazingly priced. We didn't make it to Mike's Pastry through, but made up for it by having ice cream when we got home!

We--Clary, Mom, and I--headed to Marblehead, MA and went through the infamous Salem, MA.
We showed her the adorable town, the incredible harbor and just soaked up some of the beautiful sights of New England.
We also went kayaking, walking, beaching, and did lots of driving. It was a blast and I was sad to see her go. I do love having friends visit, especially friends who have never been here before!!!

4. The 4th Annual Sargeant Pie Social
Each year our family hosts a Pie Social and we invite all of the people from our church over, indulge in homemade pies and socialize. Typically it's in August as a way to celebrate the summer and get together with friends before the school year begins. This year we had it the last weekend of July due to several conflicting schedules. My mom made 20+ pies, two batches of her "celestial brownies" for brownie sundaes, and a blackberry lemon tart.
It was a hit!!! We had a fantastic turn out and it was a blast. I look forward to this every year.

5. Ipswitch and Boston
One of my mom's and my favorite things is to "cruise the residentials," meaning to just explore towns, get lost, discover, etc. My mom pretty much knows every road in New Hampshire and most in Massachusetts so tagging along with her is always fun and I learn a new route or shortcut or a cool place to check out. One Sunday we decided to drive to Ipswitch, one of our favorite Mass towns, to just sit at the harbor and chat and take it in. I caught some sweet sunset pictures:
Boston: last week I had a day off and decided to venture into Boston and just explore. My immediate tendency is to hit the North End because it's my absolute favorite but I controlled myself and decided to explore the Back Bay with the goal of hitting the Museum of Art to check out the Chihuly exhibit (he's responsible for the awesome ceiling at the Bellagio in Vegas). I spent hours on Newbury Street wondering into any and every shop that I wanted. It was a blast. The Chihuly exhibit was magnificent. ALL of his stuff is made of glass. It's stunning. And he wears an eye patch, so cool. Additionally I have a hilarious boy story to go along with this but I don't think it wise to post it for the general public so if you really want to know, e-mail me or ask me next time you see me and I'll tell you. It's a story told in true Gabe-fashion, not to disappoint and bound to leave you giggling or at least with a smile on your face.

I decided to top my wonderful day off with a visit to the North End to get a cannoli at Mike's Pastry. I know! I cracked! I'm addicted to the North End. Seriously. But that place is hopping at night!!!! I loved it! I had to wait about 15 mintues to get in but well worth it. I've not had a cannoli in a while and OH MY LANTUS it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. Chocolate chip cannoli all the way. And I couldn't resist an eclair. I shared with the family when I got home but wow was I in heaven.
6. Dietetics Stuff
I had two friends take the RD (Registered Dietitian) exam last week and successfully pass (not surprising, these two are brilliant!), which has really helped to boost my motivation, determination, and confidence in studying for this thing. And I've finally set the date for my exam and I'm ready to rock it. I can't wait.
Look at all those books??? Good thing I really only use 1 or 2 of them at best and my handy Inman's packet.

7. Running
I think I've mentioned this before, I really don't enjoy running but I'm really starting to get back into it. I was running an average 7:30 minute mile but this past week has been horrible for me. I've gotten minimal sleep and haven't been feeling well--I have a fever right now--so my time has been horrible but I'm being consistent and aiming for 10-12 miles/week, running 3-4 days a week. My goal is to sometime run a half marathon but I've got to start somewhere.


In all honesty, this is the happiest I think I have been in a very long time. I'm writing another post I'll probably post tomorrow or in the next few days inspired by a conversation I had today with a friend and it will go into more detail but I am so happy. I'm in a happy place in very many ways and it is such a nice and relieving change after a year of hell. Honestly, I've been waiting a long time for this and I am absolutely blissfully happy. I have my worries and concerns but even on a bad day, I'm thankful for where I am and, I'm so happy.

2 comments:

Ashley said...

I have many things to say about this.
1. You are such a babe. I know I say that all the time, but honestly. You are gorgeous, woman!
2. You are such a skinny minny! Whatever you diet plan/exercise is, I want on that. Seriously.
3. I want to hear the hilarious boy story, heaven only know us old married women does get to hear those kinds of stories too often.
4. I want to come to New England and have you as a tour guide. For reals.
5. Lastly, I want an invitation to your Boston wedding when that goes down. That is all.
Love you, Gabe Babe!

Ashley said...

Oh, I forgot... your hair looks fabulous! Super chic.