New ID card

It turns out that I can't go to my work orientation this week because of paperwork issues, but I may still do some training. It may work out a little better with my school schedule, so it could conveniently fall into place this way.

It is beyond cold in Boston right now. I just walked the dogs and when I turned on the news to see the current temperature is roughly 5 degrees, but when you factor the wind chill, it "feels like" around -5. OUCH! Nick and I headed to MIT yesterday and we were both in pain from the cold. We originally went to MIT to pick up Nick's T-pass, but while we were there I suggested we talk to someone about me joining their gym. We attempted to do this in December, and we were told I needed a spouse/partner card. The woman at the card office was scary and she wouldn't accept our proof of partnership- which was having the same address on each of our checkbooks. She wanted a credit card with both of our names on it or something similar. I noticed another guy was at the card office yesterday, so we gave it a try. He was very laid back, and he essentially granted us a spouse/partner card without seeing any proof. We were then able to walk right over to the MIT gym and I bought a membership. There is a huge discount for partners, so it is a great deal! My new job is right around the corner from MIT, so having this gym membership will be amazing! 

Here is my new ID card: Crazy!

Gillie's collar had been pinching her little neck, and I knew it was time to invest in a new one. There is a cute dog shop on Newbury street, so Nick and I headed over to find her a collar. I love this store! I realize it's odd that I could spend large amounts of time in a store for dogs, but I am a dog freak, so it's not all that surprising. They have adorable collars and leashes, toys, dog beds, and little treats. The person who owns the shop brings their 2 Boston terriers to work with them and the dogs play in the shop all day- what a life! I told Nick that I could see myself owning a dog shop/photography studio and bringing my dogs to work everyday. Maybe after being an RN/midwife, I can retire at a little dog shop! ha

Gatorade and Toast

The last week has been almost a complete blur. Last Thursday I began feeling a little "off" and I woke up with a sore throat. By Friday I spent most of the day on the futon and napped on and off most of the day. I would've done the same Saturday but I had to babysit about 7 hours that morning, and another 4 hours that night. Of course I wasn't the only one not feeling well, the twins I babysit were throwing up all day. Bad day!

Sunday Nick made me pancakes and I felt ok until about an hour later. I managed to get some stomach bug, probably from the kids I had watched the day before. Nick was good to me all day. He brought me everything from 7UP and meds, to cool wash cloths and checked on me to make sure I was alright. He is amazing. I felt much better Monday, but still not quite 100%. I went to class that afternoon and I got a text from Nick saying that he was sick. I brought home gatorade and the cycle continued.  He got the same "bug" that I had the day before. He spent the next few days in bed/on the futon and rested.

This week has been a whirlwind, but I am unfortunately still not quite back to normal. Whatever cold or sinus thing I had last week is still bugging me and I am wishing I had more energy. I had an anatomy quiz this morning and tonight I am baby-sitting for a 13-month old who likes to scream. I start my new job next week, and I am happy to be done with the chiropractor's office! He responded to the e-mail I sent him by leaving me a voice message letting me know he was disappointed since they had trained me for so long. Oddly enough, I did very little "training" and he really did not need a second person in the office. He also told me not to bother coming in this week-which I happily agreed to!

I am sitting at the desk with Gillie on my lap and she is watching the snow fall. We are currently in the process of getting a huge storm and the snow is falling quickly outside. It is unbelievably cold and I would love to spend the next few hours being lazy, but I know I need to get some things done for school before I pick up the screaming toddler from his daycare. 

This is primarily what we have eaten for the past week: plain toast! What a balanced meal! haha

New Semester, New Job

I got the job!! I interviewed yesterday as a research assistant for a lab in Cambridge and I got it! I really liked the man that interviewed me, and will be my primary boss. He seems very laid back and yet still organized. I will be doing fairly basic work that requires little thought, but I am fine with that! There is a guaranteed number of hours, which makes things much more predictable and stable. It is 5 days per week, which will be rough during test weeks, but I know I can do it. It still has to be verified through the HR department, but I am enthusiastic about being in a research environment! I just sent my current boss an e-mail and I am a little nervous about how he might respond. The worst case scenario is that he may flip out, in which case I will not return to work next week and I won't have to deal with it at all. 

I had my first day of class for the semester today, and I feel refreshed and re-energized from my break and ready to begin another term. I am saving myself almost $300 by buying my books online as well, so that is a great way to start off! My anatomy professor's name is Dr. Gray, and I sat next to a girl named Taylor Swift today in class. I am easily amused as it is, so it was a funny morning! 

Nick got the desk yesterday and he spent hours putting it together. He was so excited to finally have it that he didn't waste any time getting it assembled.  It was dark, so it was difficult to get a picture of him sitting proudly at the desk, but I did get one of the finished product. It matches our other furniture well, and it will be nice to have more space to study!

I'm feeling like I might be getting sick, so tomorrow I am going to try and rest most of the day before the real insanity of the semester/work begins. Tonight I will be baby-sitting a toddler that will most likely scream the vast majority of the evening, and it makes me exhausted just thinking about it! Maybe I will take a nap now...

Snow Globe Day

Nick came home on Sunday night, and Gillie and I met him at the airport. While we waited for him, large groups of people approached Gillie to admire her, and she enjoyed every second of it. The flight ended up being over 2 hours late, so I was excited when he finally landed. We went home, relaxed and watched the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. We saw it in the theatre when it came out, but I decided to rent it to see it again. I cry like a baby each time I see it, but it really makes me appreciate the beauty of life. It makes me appreciate everything I have, and Nick and I both love it. 

Yesterday we decided to go have lunch and wander around Barnes & Noble and then we came home and cooked dinner together- salmon, salad and rice pilaf..yummmmm!  It was nice to spend a full day together after being apart the last 2 weeks. Nick went back to work today, and I headed to school this morning to take a proctored exam for a competency test. There was an error with submitting the exam, so it looks like I will be taking it again sometime in the near future.  I start class on Thursday, and I have a feeling this semester is going t0 fly by. 

Today it has been snowing non-stop and it's beautiful outside. (I will try to get a few photos once it stops). I work later tonight, but for now I am soaking up the calm before the storm. I made some hot tea and the dogs and I are spending time together before I head back out. The desk Nick's dad got us is going to be delivered tomorrow, so I will probably do some organizing to get ready for it. 

In an unrelated topic, how is it January 19th??!!! I am not sure where the past few weeks went, but I certainly don't recall them being here long. 

Photo Booth

I re-discovered some photos the other day when I opened photobooth and thought I should share them. Most of them were taken in our tiny apartment in LA. Now that we have an apartment over twice the size, I honestly have no idea how we managed to squeeze everything into the old one. We made it work somehow and I have so many found memories there.

Nick playing with the special effects

This might be one of my favorite pictures of Nick and I. Nothing fancy, just happiness =)

Trouble had injured his foot while we were in Colorado, and this is his pathetic pose as he lounges on my parents' couch. Tough life for a dog. 

Trouble's face is hilarious in the above photo

And of course my [not so] little dachshund

Midwifery

This week is going by fairly quickly, which is partially because I have been busy with baby-sitting.  I have also been spending quality time with the dogs, and wishing I had a car to take them to the dog park. With the freezing temperatures, it is difficult to take them for long walks and I know they need exercise. Nick and I are looking into becoming members of ZipCar, which is a rental car that you can pay for by the hour or by the day. It is surprisingly affordable, and the annual fee is 50% off because Nick is an MIT student. Gotta love those MIT discounts on nearly everything! 

We have a "heat wave" coming this weekend and we could possibly see 40 degrees by Friday! I can't believe I have come to see 40 degrees as warm, but the reality is that 40 is much better than the 25 degrees we have seen consistently over the past 3 or 4 weeks.  At the moment, with the wind chill it is about 10 degrees... it's harsh! I am ready for winter to end so that I can attempt to get back into photography and work on improving my skills. 

This spring will be my last semester of pre-requisites and in the fall I am moving into the actual nursing program! Everyone I talk to says that the program goes by incredibly quickly, so I am bracing myself for a very speedy 2 years before I will finally be a registered nurse.  In the last few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about my goals for my nursing career. I have been doing a lot of reading and have become a follower of quite a few nurses blogs, and I think I've decided to get my masters degree in midwifery. (Nick is incredibly amused by the word "midwifery.") I am not interested in jumping into grad school right after getting my RN license, so I think I will wait until Nick is done with his program to go back. I will have been in college for 7 years, and I need to get away from textbooks for a couple years before I dive back into them. I have really become fascinated by the work midwives do, and I think it's something I am already becoming passionate about. There aren't a ton of midwife programs out there, so I will have to wait to see where Nick and I end up after he is done with school. 

Here are a few more pictures from my Colorado trip:

Year of the Tiger

Nick and I went to dinner on New Years Eve and we saw an amazing ice sculpture in front of a restaurant. It said "2010- Year of the Tiger." Nick and I are both tigers, according to the Chinese calendar, so I of course was amused by it! It is still strange for me to say or write "2010." 

I had a productive day, which consisted mostly of cleaning and making a trip to Target. We have needed a humidifier for months, so I finally got around to picking one up. Our apartment gets extremely dry from the heater, so this should help. I go back to work at the chiropractor's office tomorrow and have a fairly full week of baby-sitting, which I am incredibly grateful for! The dogs seemed happy I was home most of the day, and Gillie is now exhausted after a day full of playing with Trouble.  We are already missing Nick, but I am happy he is getting to spend time with family and friends, because he deserves a break after the last 6 months! 

It's A "Stay-Indoors" Kind of Day

Thursday night Erin and Ryan both became emotional when they were getting ready for bed, knowing that I was headed back to Boston the next morning. They always have a hard time with me leaving and they usually ask when I will be back again. It breaks my heart and I just hug them and tell them how much I love them. I am remarkably close to both of them, and I hope it stays that way over the years.  

I flew back to Boston Friday morning and it was very cold when I left Colorado. Of course it was also very cold in Boston. Nick met me at the airport and anytime I don't see him for a few days, I get flashbacks from the days I would drive to LA to see him. Even now, I get butterflies in my stomach when I see him smile at me. That's an amazing feeling after 4 1/2 years together.  After an entertaining train ride home with some comical Bostonians, we couldn't wait to see the dogs' reactions to me being home. Trouble was beyond excited, and Gillie was spinning in circles and crying in excitement. It is hard to beat that kind of home-coming!

Yesterday morning Nick left for the airport and I met with a family about a new baby-sitting job I am starting this week. They are both musicians and the father is a jazz professor at one of the schools here in Boston. When his wife mentioned that, I asked if he knew Nick's Uncle John. Just as I said that he ran into the room and said, "You are related to John Patitucci??" Apparently he is a big fan, and obviously I got the job! haha! I then returned to baby-sitting for a family that was gone for the holidays. The kids grew like weeds over those two months and it is nice to be back into my routine with the family. 

Nick sent me a message last night saying, "We are moving back here [California] and never going anywhere else." He said he and his mom went for a walk along the beach while the sun was setting and talked about how much more he appreciated the weather and the beach now that we're on the east coast. I am glad he is enjoying it, and I can't wait to get out there in March to appreciate it myself! I know it will come quickly, but when it is 10 degrees in Boston, I secretly wish I had a fast forward button! 

This morning I slept in and have been playing with the dogs and enjoying my coffee. I came home on Friday night to an apartment that had clearly been inhabited by a man and two dogs, so needless to say I have a LOT of cleaning to do this week. I am trying to get at least a little bit done today. When I walked the dogs this morning, Gillie's little feet were frozen. She picked up her paws and cried , and it was pretty sad! When I went inside and looked at the weather, it said with the wind chill Boston "felt like" about 5 degrees. Yikes! On a positive note, the sun is out! 

Here are a few pictures we took as I was leaving for the airport. I look exhausted with my eyes barely open, but I think it was mostly the sun bouncing off the snow that caused it! Ryan was emotional and was not in the mood to take pictures, so his facial expression is pretty funny. 

Sledding

As soon as the kids got home from school, my dad and I took them sledding. We weren't out there long-it was cold and the sun was going down quickly. We came back inside and slowed warmed up with some hot tea...mmmmm.

I think I managed to capture some good shots. Now I have to make sure to get some pictures with my mom in the morning before I leave!

A rare shot of just me:

First Trip of the New Year

I have begun my New Year in Colorado and I have spent most of the week cuddling up and hanging out

with Ryan and Erin. We have gone to the Recreation Center and yesterday we took a trip to Starbucks

and they were both in heaven! Ryan had hot chocolate and a giant marshmallow treat and Erin had an

Izzy drink with a blueberry muffin. It was snowing most of the day yesterday, and today it is -9 here!

They have grown so much just in the last few months and I hope I can get some more photos today

if they go sledding after school. We will see how motivated I am in the cold!

Lucy kisses!

I went to pick up my Mom from work yesterday, and I had to pull over to take a picture of the sunset: