Must.Write.Blog entry.

February vacation: Me, Larissa and Sylvia - my Swiss roomies for 2 years

Hello everyone...seems like my blog posts keep getting further and further apart! Oh well...it'll just make you guys happy to get my email with the link :)

One piece of 'big' news is that I've moved :) I'm now living pretty much in Boston, in a city called Brighton. I'm extremely happy here...I can walk out of my place (it's a 2-family house) and walk to any number of restaurants, coffee houses, pubs, pharmacies, grocery stores...you name it, it's here. So cool! It feels a little like Europe for me....a little. Not a lot! My roommate is nice, too, and is almost never here. So, it feels like I live alone most of the time. My neighbors are super nice, too, and apparently have tons of BBQs in the summer where everyone is invited. Looking forward to that :)

I've met some really nice girls here through my French club. We get together once a month to do a dinner, and try to organize other things like wine tastings, etc. They've been a positive bunch for me over the last few months :)

I had the most awesome vacation EVER in Switzerland in February. From the moment my feet hit the ground in Geneva, I went non-stop for 8 days! It was so fantabuloso...I miss everyone there so much, and it was definitely hard to get back on the plane to come back. I even met with people that I hadn't seen in years...even while I was living there! It was just awesome to be there...felt like I hadn't even left. My friends all made me feel so special, too. They came to pick me up at the airport, rearranged their schedules (and trips!) to spend time with me...we celebrated the Chinese New Year, had an unbelievable raclette evening, traveled to Vaud to spend the day in the mountains, walked around town, had a great fondue dinner, and laughed so much that I didn't even gain one pound while I was there! Seriously, with all that wine, cheese and bread...I didn't gain ANY weight! I credit that to all the talking and laughing I did, as well as all the walking. I have to go back again in the summer....

Here's a link to my photo album from my Swiss vacation:

The weekend after my trip back to Boston, I had my great friend, Kevin, come to visit me from DC. Little did he know when he booked his flight, but he was 'forced' to help me move :) Kevin and my other friend, James, helped me move my stuff from Framingham to Brighton....I really didn't think I had as much as I did, but I had managed to stuff a lot in my little room! Good thing James had a trailer!!! It was a rainy Saturday on moving day, but we got it all done and then Kevin and I explored my new 'hood a little :)

I recall posting something about how change was the only constant in my life...definitely true at this moment!

Next up: Easter with my dad's family in Pennsylvania in a couple of weeks. After that, I head on down to Texas for a Midwestern State University (MSU) alumni game (if it's still on!) and a visit with the family. Then, for Memorial Day weekend (last one in May), I'm making the drive down to Virginia for a family reunion at my uncle's house. Should be fun! And hopefully, for the summer, I will be able to plan a trip to Europe with a stop in London to see a good friend. Fingers crossed!

Hope everyone is doing well...drop me a line when you get a chance :)

2010 already?!

Kev and I in front of the reflecting pool and monument, Washington D.C.

Seriously?? 2010 already?! It feels like yesterday that I was graduating from Midwestern and wondering what I was going to do with my life. 10 years later, I'm still trying to figure that out! :)

It's been a ridiculous 6 months since I last posted. For the longest time, I felt that nothing was coming together for me here. I always knew that moving back to the States was going to be a challenge, but I just wasn't prepared for what was in store. But I'm happy to say that within the last 2 months, things have really started to turn around. I joined a couple groups to help feel a bit more connected here, and my French group is really working out. I've met some awesome people that have turned into friends. I've also been playing on 3 soccer teams, which seems crazy to most but is actually pretty cool :) It's not cool, though, that I've injured my knee and need to rest it for awhile...ugh. I hate not being able to play.

What have I done in the past 6 months, you ask? (Or maybe you're not asking! But something tells me that if you're reading this, then you must care a little :) ) Let's see...I spent a long weekend in Washington D.C. to visit my awesome friend, Kevin, who I became friends with while I was working at Starbucks in Geneva. He's going to Georgetown U., so I was able to walk around campus a bit. I met with my brother and his family, which was a lot of fun. I'm definitely thinking about making a Spring trip back to D.C....isn't it funny how you start to appreciate places once you leave them? I grew up 30 min. from D.C., but never really cared until I moved away from it.

So that was over Columbus Day weekend...in November, I trekked on down to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving with my dad's family and had an absolute blast! I love all those guys so much! It makes me happy to know that I'm not that far away, and that I can spend those family holidays with them. I got to spend some quality time with my cousins, who are super cool :) One of my favorite moments: going shopping at midnight on Black Friday with Jake and Josh, and making an Arby's run at 2 am after fighting crowds for 2 hours. We'll definitely have to make that a Thanksgiving tradition ;)

Me and Lucy, who loves to say, 'So...how was your day?' like an adult would say it!

I had an awesome time just hanging out with family and friends (ok, friend...Kim's the only one I still hang out with who lives there!) By the time I left, 3 out of the 4 nieces and nephew were sick. I was bummed that I didn't get to spend more time with Maddy (4 yr. old) and Lylli (1 1/2 yr. old - my brother's girls) because they were really sick. Hopefully, next time I can. I did spend quite a bit of time with Lucy (3 yr. old) and Mark (6 mo. -my sister's kids), which was awesome. Lucy is hilarious! The things that come out of her mouth...and Mark is a chunk! He's seriously going to be over 6 feet tall. At 6 months, he's 20 lbs and almost 28 inches. Big guy...he's such a cutie :)

My dad, stepmom Susie and stepbrother, Dustin

My 'little' brother and me at the OG (Olive Garden :) )

My sister, Amanda, with her husband, Nick and my adorable nephew, Mark

December was a pretty busy month for me, but I didn't mind at all. I hung out with some amazing new friends, and just enjoyed the holiday season. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, so I generally try to buy all my gifts ahead of time so that I can soak in all that holiday cheer :D I drove down to my aunt's house in PA for a family Christmas dinner, but that changed when PA got 2 feet of snow dumped on them! I drove down on a sunny day, but Saturday was intense...so I was the only one that managed to make it to my aunt's! Fortunately, I did NOT have to eat all the food that was prepared for 25 people :) Sunday cleared up, so everyone came that day instead. But...I had to leave to get back for work the next day, so I missed seeing about half of the group :( Hopefully, it won't be too long before I can make another trip down.

My cousin's wife, Cindy, with her daughter, Bridget; my aunt Sylvia and me (sporting the awesome scarf my aunt made for me!)

Then, on Dec. 23rd, I left for Texas. Can you believe that Abilene, TX, had a white Christmas?!? Unbelievable! I almost didn't make it back home because the snow was causing so many problems for travelers that they shut down the only interstate between Dallas and Abilene. My dad and I were really lucky....we only had to sit there for 20 minutes without movement. My sister and her family (including a 6 month old and a 3 yr. old) were stuck, without any movement, for almost 4 hours!! Their 2 hour trip turned into an 8 hour trip....my poor niece and nephew :( They managed to get through, but there were about 200 people who got stuck on that highway overnight....they spent Christmas Day in churches, shelters and convenience stores until they could drive again. Crazy stuff!

My trip back was not as great as I would've liked. Cancellation and delays made my trip about 15 hours long. But I made it back, despite the snow. Snow has kind of been an issue for me and my travels :) Oh well, I've been complaining for a couple decades now that I don't get enough snow, so I should shut up. What I do need, though, is a vehicle with either 4WD or AWD!! Getting stuck in my bosses' driveway today because I kept sliding down and burning rubber was not cool.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to update my blog more frequently than twice a year :) So, hopefully, you'll hear from me soon! I wanted to post more pictures and videos but Blogger is having some issues with this. I can't cut and paste where I want them to go, so I ended up cutting and pasting the text around them. Not ideal...if any of you have Blogger and know how to fix that, let me know!! Happy New Year, everyone! 39 days until Switzerland :)

A little video of Mark :)