First Weekend of Christmas Break

...and I did nothing! It was glorious and so enjoyable to lay back and relax and not do anything. And, the best part about it was that I didn't have to feel guilty about it!!! :) Shirin left Friday morning, Neil left Saturday morning, and Hannah and I both left Monday. So, Saturday and Sunday, it was just me and Hannah...doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying our time NOT in class and NOT studying. :) Oh, Friday night, man was that a cold night. We went ice skating...Hannah, Neil, and I, with our friends and classmates Erin and Trisha. We went to the outdoor rink and it was ridiculously cold. I think it was about 10 degrees out and my toes felt like they were going to fall off. It was so cold, so painful, but we really wanted to go ice skating. Ha! What a story it makes, but I don't think I'll go ice skating again when it's that cold out. Yikes. Saturday morning I went to a women's breakfast at church, which was nice. It was a small group of about 12 or so women, but it was nice to meet more women at church. I came home and for the rest of the day, Hannah and I lounged, watched television, watched a movie, baked a loaf of bread (which was so good! herb and garlic from Avila Valley Barn in SLO). It was a perfect day to relax and do nothing, which is something we haven't done in who knows how long....maybe in 3 and a half months (since September pretty much).

The weather report said it was supposed to snow Saturday night, beginning at about midnight and there was a storm watch. I was so excited about the snow and I wanted to see it come so badly. I kept looking out the window to see if it was snowing yet and it started maybe around one o'clock in the morning. I was so thrilled and like a little kid for the snow to come. :) Sunday morning, I woke up and it was amazingly beautiful outside!!! I opened my blinds while I was getting ready for church and caught myself getting distracted multiple times looking outside at the snow on the branches and on the ground and falling from the sky. I tried to go to church Sunday morning, but the train didn't want to work properly, so I didn't make it to church. Instead, I went back home and watched the snow fall from my room. It was so pretty; I still can't get over the beauty of God through nature and specifically now, through the snow. I think it snowed almost a foot, if not a full foot, when it finally stopped snowing at around four o'clock that afternoon. So, I ended up going to church that night, to the six o'clock service, which was the same as the morning and still good, just a smaller service. Sunday was a little bit of a cleaning day. We didn't do too, too much cleaning, but we did a little bit. My flight left Monday at 5:00 and Hannah's left at 7:30, so we had all morning Monday to get things straightened and cleaned before leaving. Sunday was our last night in Boston in 2009, and for the next three weeks and it was quite nice, but a little sad. Then, Monday morning came and the weekend was over and little did I know what was in store for me for the next 48 hours...

Mamma Mia

After a crazy week of finals and constant studying, I had the pleasure of going to see Mamma Mia on Friday night. It is part of the ten-play package. It was a great end-of-finals, beginning-of-break/good-bye Boston event. The only downside was that I had to go by myself because my friend, Suzie, who also got the season ticket package deal left to go home on Thursday, so she went by herself on Wednesday night. I have seen the movie version of this musical and was not impressed. But, the play was so great! It was a lot of fun to go to and people were singing along and having fun. It was so much more enjoyable than the movie and during the curtain call, people were up and out of their seats dancing and singing along. I, however, was not because I was by myself and everyone around me remained seated as well. But, I was hoping that someone was with me so I could be up and dancing around. Oh well, it was still fun and such a great play!!! :)

December 11, 2009...

After two reading days, it was time for our first final. It was also my mom's birthday...Happy Birthday Mom!!! (Pretend it's December 11.) The reading days were new for me. We actually had two days of absolutely no class to being preparing for our finals. The first day, I studied a bit, but I also decided it was time to really prepare for a New England winter and buy some warm clothes. So, that first day, I chose coats and sweaters and fleeces and shoes and boots to buy and received them all during finals week. What an exciting time and uplifting gifts in the midst of finals! And, now, I am all prepared for the snowy winter that will come soon enough. Then, the second reading day, I decided that I needed to study, study, study. So, that's exactly what I did and got all ready for my final. Friday came and I took my first final. That evening, I went to church for our Christmas "Eve" service, which was pretty fun! I was a part of the choir at this service and I had an enjoyable time. I met a few new people, got to know a couple others better, and learn some new songs and some old songs better. My roommates, Shirin and Hannah, came to the service, which was fun for me to have them there and exciting they wanted to come. After the service, we returned home and made a birthday call to my mom. Yes, I did talk to her on her birthday and no, this is not the first time I'm wishing her a happy birthday. :) Then, it was a weekend full of more studying for the five finals I had the next week.

Christmas Tree Lighting

There are several trees around the Boston area that need to be lit up every year. This year, I went to the Christmas Tree Lighting in Faneuil Hall, which is an area in Boston that has many different shops and restaurants that isn't as nice as Newbury Street, but is still nice. It's closer to downtown and a good place to spend some time. So, it's nothing too, too big and not much to say about it, but I met up with a friend/classmate, one of her friends, her fiance, and his roommate and watched the lights on the tree come on. There was a stage and some singers that were not too spectacular and a lot of people. After the lights came on, we all cheered, and there was confetti shooting up. It was a fun time and fun to spend time with my friend outside of class. After the tree was lit, we met up with a few other classmates and then we kind of split ways. I ended up going to dinner with three of my roommates and another friend to a Mexican place. It was alright, for Mexican food in Boston. Here's a picture of the tree with the confetti flying all around and also a picture of Faneuil Hall with lights on all the trees that line the shops and walkway.

Mannheim Steamroller

Have you heard of them? You may have, but if not, it is a group of five extremely talented musicians with an orchestra consisting of a trumpet, french horn, a few violins and violas, a clarinet, an oboe, and maybe a few others. But, the main five musicians play an incredible amount of other instruments. Percussion, which consists of probably ten instruments, piano, electric keyboard, recorder, four or five different kinds of guitars, violin, electric violin, and some other instruments I don't know the names of. Well, I went to see them perform their Christmas concert on December 5. Before going, I didn't really know what to expect, but came out of the concert amazed and so glad I had gone. A friend of mine and I bought season tickets to Broadway across America and this was one of the ten shows we will be seeing. We have already seen Fiddler on the Roof, which was good, and Avenue Q, which wasn't the best show.

Anyway, I went to dinner with a few roommates and friends that night and then after dinner, one friend and I went to the concert while the other girls went to a holiday party with some people from school. Mannheim Steamroller was so entertaining and such an enjoyable performance. There was a screen behind the musicians and there were some scenes projected on the screen to which the music went along with and it made the concert feel much more than a concert, and added more of an active performance element. Also, there were times when the musicians were dancing along while playing and incorporated some movement during their pieces. The show was so fun and so enjoyable; I recommend it to anyone who is even remotely considering seeing them perform, whenever you have the opportunity.

I thought I had a picture of us girls at dinner before the show, but I can't find it right now. So, that can be something to look forward to. :) And, it snowed that night! It was gorgeous to be eating dinner and watch the snow fall out the window. We went to a restaurant called Cafeteria Boston on Newbury Street, which is a well-known street with fancier, more expensive shops and is a street with beautiful brick buildings. It was a very enjoyable dinner, show, and whole evening. After the concert, I was able to stop by the holiday party for a little bit and spend the evening with some classmates, which is pretty much always a fun time. :)

Wow, it's been a long time...(Thanksgiving)

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted a little something about my life. Sometimes I get so caught up in what's going on that I don't take the time to update you all back at home (or elsewhere) about what I have gotten caught up in. So, I suppose the last time I blogged was just before Thanksgiving. Now, I'm going to take it one step at a time to avoid one massive post. For Thanksgiving, I was not able to go home, but I was able to go to my Aunt Tanya and Uncle Al's home in Pittsburgh, PA. It was a different Thanksgiving as I'm pretty sure it was the first one I spent away from home. I was pretty sick the weekend before Thanksgiving, so I wasn't even sure I would be able to go. But, I woke up Tuesday morning with no fever, still feeling pretty awful though. So, I stayed home from school and rested and left that afternoon to drive to Pittsburgh. So, I was thankful that I was able to go and spend the weekend with family, but it wasn't home. We ended up going to their neighbor's home for Thanksgiving dinner and there were a lot of people there, but I only knew four of them. Nevertheless, it was a pretty good weekend, I was able to spend time with the Champagnes, which doesn't happen too often, and I go to see a little bit of Pittsburgh! :) And, by the time I got back to school on Sunday night, I was feeling MUCH better, but still a little icky. Here are a few pictures of Pittsburgh; I didn't take any of Thanksgiving or with my cousins...silly me!