My First New England Snow Storm

Though I was told I missed the worst of the snowstorms because I spent the majority of December and January in the warmth of California, a few days after my arrival we were hit with a huge storm. I woke up Wednesday morning to snow. We got a few inches to say the least. By the afternoon, the snow had turned to rain. With the freezing temps., the rain caused the slush on the ground to turn to ice. Inches of ice. I could have ice skated down my sidewalks. Actually, walking back from dinner with a friend on Wednesday night, I hit a patch. Luckily, this woman behind me helped me up and then suggested we walk on the street. The next morning, everything was frozen over. The ice is almost as bad as the snow. Here are some pictures of the snow, i did not take any of the ice though.

The view from outside my backdoor. The pipe to the left is encrusted in ice.
Our back porch covered with snow. It covered the ice that was below it.

My street. It had been plowed the morning. We got over 4 inches. I do not think some of our snow drifts will melt until June.

The snow down my street. I did not really leave the house on Wednesday except to dine with a friend. Thank goodness for rain boots. Actually, my mom gave me those boots for Christmas that keept me waterproof and my feet are kept warm. Though i intially did not like them, she knew I needed them back here. I love them and they are life savers.

My car buried under snow, which iced over the next day. I had fun removing it this morning.

Also, I want to give a shout out to my nephew Eli. He turns 3 today. I cannot believe how big he is getting.

All I Am Thankful for...

Stealing a page from Ali, as I always enjoy reading her "Thankful Thursday" section every week, I decided to write about what I am thankful for, especially with the starting of a brand new year. I am extremely thankful for my family. My parents are very loving and supportive of me. I can always turn to them for advice or a shoulder to cry on when it is needed. I am looking forward to exploring Palmyra with my mom come Spring Break. My brother and sister-in-law are awesome. They just welcomed their second son, West, who is adorable. I love him and his older brother Eli very much. Eli is a blast. I have so much fun playing with him. However, I do wonder how such a small child can hog the majority of a Queen size bed? Oh, well. I cherish all the time I get to spend with this family.

What can I say about Renee. I am very thankful to have her in my life. She knows me better than I know myself. She really does. She knows when I am not okay, evern when I say I am. She just gets it all out of me. She always has my back. I love and miss her. Julee and Aubree, they are the best. I could not ask for a better aunt and cousin. I miss hanging out with them on a weekly business. Julee's house is my second home, behind my parents. There is such this warmth and love you feel there. We always have good times. I think, when I come back to visit Salt Lake, we should do 80s hair night again.

I am thankful for the oppurtunity to attend Grad school in Boston. I love my program and cannot believe I will be working as an archivist in a year and a half. Yeah for no general education classes. I am thankful to live in Cambridge with two great roommates, who have really been there for me in the past few days as I am going through a break-up. They just listen and offer the best advice possible. I am thankful for the gospel in my life. I do not know where I would be without it. I am thankful for the long johns I received this Christmas because they play a good defense against the winter cold. Thanks mom!!! They are keeping me warm.

Random Photos!

Before beginning my new semester, I decided to post a few pictures from my break. It was fun. I enjoyed being home in California, but I love my life in Boston. However, it was weird to come back to 30 degree weather (after being in the 80s) and snow. Oh, well. Enjoy!

Eli received this puzzle from his Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Lakey. It took Julee, Aubree, and Renee with Eli's assistance to put it together.
My cousin Aubree is unwrapping gifts. Somedays I cannot believe she is 17 years old. She turned into this teenager over night.

This is my Aunt Julee. Sorry about the picture I chose, but I wanted everyone to see the top my mom gave you because it is really cute. Julee rocks. She is a great aunt!

This train set is not easy to put together. I swear Eli always wants us to put it together just to see us struggle to get all the pieces in the right place. Though there is a diagram, none of the pieces are labelled to the corresponding numbers on the sheet.

Grandma and Eli spelling out the alphabet with cookies.

Group shot from Laurel's baby shower at the Cheesecake Factory. Laurel, Eli, Me, Sherri King, Aunt Debbie, Donna O'Neill, Mom, Renee, and a bunch of gifts. Nathan took the picture.

Celebrating Eli's birthday early.

A Happy Grandpa holding his second grandson. I love watching my dad with Eli and West because you can just tell how much he loves both of those little boys.

A Happy Grandma with her second grandson. She loves Eli and West very much.

Eli, West, and Dad (Nathan). Eli decided to explore West's face in a few minutes.

What a wonderful week so far...

This week started off great. On Monday afternoon, my second nephew, Westley Kai Lakey was born to my brother, Nathan and his wife Laurel. They are fantastic parents, who could not wait to meet their newest family member and introduce him to his big brother, Eli. West is too cute for words. Here are a few pictures:

Eli and West with the help of Nana (Laurel's Mom, Becky, hers is the hand you see)
West and I.

The day after West's birth, we welcomed a new President, Barack Obama. I am so excited for this new beginning. It feels like our nation can find a renewed sense of hope we have lost this past eight years. Yeah Obama. Do our country some good.

Crazy Diet Fades

With the beginning of a new year, many people resolved to lose weight and we become bombarded on television with ads for diets from Jenny Craig to Nutrisystem. There is even a diet that relies on cookies. How crazy is that? So the other day, in the car, my mom and I made up some of our own diet systems. Here are a few ideas:

1. The all Fried Chicken Diet
2. The all gravy Diet
3. The all biscuits and gravy Diet (FYI-We both do not like this dish).
4. The all apricot and/or peach Diet
5. The all Pork Diet

These are just to name a few. After we were done laught, we wondered what each of these "diets" would do to our bodies. It probably would not be good. If you have anymore suggestions, feel free to comment below.

My Newest Obsession...Sophie Kinsella

As I was leaving for my big move to Boston, my sister gave me this book on c.d. called the UnDomestic Goddess by British author Sophie Kinsella. She also writes the Shopalcoholic series. Renee said that her friend Christy had gotten her into all her books. So halfway across the United States, I think in Texas, I decided to give her book a go. It was great. I loved it. Kinsella's writing and humor are right on. However, I did not get to anymore of her books because school and dating kept me busy.

Fast forward to December and my six week fall break. Walking through Barnes and Noble with Renee, we end up in front of her books. I ask Renee what I should read next. She suggests Can you Keep a Secret? I pick it up and read it over the next 24 hours. It was great. After this book, I began her Shopalcoholic series. I am officially addicted. I lover her writing style and her humor. Plus, her books are pretty lighthearted and allow the reader to get lost in them. Plus, you fall in love with her lead characters, especially Becky Bloomwood of the Shopalcoholic series. So if you are looking for something next to read, pick up one of her books or come find me because I am collecting them at a rapid pace.

Oh, the Sunshine

A few weeks ago, I was freezing to death in Boston. The temps dropped into the 20s and the sun was setting at four in the afternoon. It wrecks havoc on your body. Today, in California, I woked up to sunshine and 80 degree weather. I wore capris and flip flops, which is something I have not worn in over three months. It was crazy. Luckily, the weather reports stated this weather would continue for the whole week, which I am really excited about, especially after seeing all the snow that got dumped in New England. I do not have to worry about this weather until next week. Yeah for sunshine!!!

New Year's Eve at Disneyland

Renee and I decided to try something different this year for New Year's Eve to guarantee that we would stay awake until midnight. We decided to go to Disneyland as it stays open until 2 in the morning. We rolled in around 1:30 and off we went. A note of advice, when a friend tells you it gets cold, believe them. Renee and I ended up buying pink fleece jacekets decorated with Tinkerbell. They are really warm and cute as I now wear mine to the gym everyday. Also, we confirmed too that we somehow attract weirdos to us everywhere we go. This worker on Star Tours invited us to the after park party, which we declined. Here are some highlights of our day, as we ended up staying at the park until 1.

Minutes after midnight, Renee and I decided to ride Dumbo. It was at this time both of us realized we have never really seen the movie in its entirety. They give you feathers before boarding. We were confused as first. I must confess, I dug the Disney Princess movies growing up and never really watched Dumbo. Oh, well.
Here I am trying not to freeze to death, wearing my dying light necklace before takeoff.

I am standing in line with Renee for Space Mountain. We waited for about an hour. We ended up in the front seat. It was awesome.

Here is the castle all lit up. This place was packed with people. We met up with my parents for dinner in Downtown Disney and they told us Disneyland was soldout. They had no tickets left. The place was crowded. It reminded me why I am such a homebody.

Renee is wearing her necklace as headband.

Here is the castle after midnight. It was all sparkly and shiny.

This is the castle again.

Here are my parents. We met them for dinner. My dad was proud of the parking spot he scored. It was a fun meal. I am glad they joined us.

This is the castle during the day. The park was still decorated for Christmas.

THis is the Haunted Mansion, decorated after the movie the Nightmare Before Christmas. It was my favorite ride the whole day. Renee and I loved it. Though we had a period of time before midnight where rides we went on broke down for a few minutes. We were stuck on Pirates for like 15 minutes and then in the Haunted Mansion, it stopped too.

Renee and I standing in front of the castle. We had a blast. We always do. My family is so great. I love them.

This is the tree that greets you as you enter the park.

I decided against making any resolutions this year, though I do wish to find continuing happiness and enjoy my life on both coasts.