Happy Halloween!

I admit, Halloween is not my favorite holiday. I’m just not creative when it comes to thinking of costumes and dressing up. However, I do have some great Halloween memories and on Halloween I always think of my Grandma B. Not because she is scary (she isn’t, of course!) but because my Grandma always held the best Halloween parties throughout most of my life. She really decked out her house in wonderful Halloween style, and the most fun part was that she and my Grandpa ALWAYS dressed up! We’d play games like “Laugh Witch Laugh” which gave us lots of great laughs. Never heard of it? It’s just “Grunt Piggy Grunt” changed for Halloween. Still never heard of it? Well, it involves being blindfolded, and sitting on people’s laps and… well the description just doesn’t come out right! Anyway, I always complained about dressing up, but it was always fun to see what my extended family came up with for costumes. One of my favorites when I was a kid was when my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Mark dressed up as a couple but my aunt was the husband and my uncle was the wife. I will say that my Aunt Barbara is a much better looking woman than my Uncle Mark was! And then as we all grew up and my siblings and cousins had their own children, it made it even more fun to see these adorable kids in their costumes. So I am thankful to my Grandma B every Halloween for all these memories she created for our family. I hope that she still smiles when thinking of them too. And that everyone reading this has a a very happy Halloween, whether you are trick-or-treating, handing out candy, helping your kids dress up, or skipping it altogether and going out to dinner (like me)!

FINALLY finished!

Well it took me over a month, but I finally finished reading Atlas Shrugged!

So what did I think of this book?

This is what Steve's shrug looks like every time I mentioned the book (which he calls Shruggy). :)

I am glad I read this book, but in retrospect should not have started it right after The Fountainhead. I am pretty Ayn Rand'd out. Maybe it was the 60 page speech near the end. That's right, 60 pages!! This book illustrates the same ideas as in The Fountainhead, but seemed more unrealistic and preachy to me. However, Ayn Rand's ideas are provocative and really made me think- even when I really disagree with her philosphy it has been interesting to think about my point of view on the issues she brings up. I found the parallels between this book and current events to be fascinating. I won't bore everyone with a long explanation but the bailout sounds like it could be a chapter straight from Atlas Shrugged. As I was reading it I was wishing I knew someone who could discuss some of the ideas with me... Lisa its your turn! For now I'm happy to be finished and move on to some lighter reading.

Today I was feeling so lucky to be taking a walk through Boston Common on a sunny fall day!

Regatta

This weekend I was finally able to see the Head of the Charles Regatta. It is one of those things that I have wanted to do for several years, but always remember right AFTER it happens. Each October they have rowing races with people competing from around the world. Since my office is near the Charles River, I was able to walk down and watch a few of the races. The reason I have wanted to see it because I think rowing looks like so much fun. I just think it looks really neat to see a group of people rowing together. I also love water and imagine that it would be beautiful to be rowing in the morning and to see the sun shining on the water. The side effect of having well toned arms would be a nice plus too! Ever since I moved to Boston I have been telling myself "Next summer I really need to sign up for rowing." Unfortunately, it has remained on the "next summer" list. I wonder if my aversion to getting up early in the morning has anything to do with this...? I still love the idea of it so hopefully next summer I will really do it!

Fun Visitor!

I was so excited last week to have a visitor! Flat Stanley came to visit me with the following note:

"Hi, my name is Flat Stanley. I am a friend of Jordan. I used to be a normal boy until my headboard fell on top of me and left me flat! Now I must get used to a new life. I have found one big advantage of being flat. I can travel very inexpensively in envelopes. That is why I decided to come and see you!

Back in West Jordan, Utah, Mrs. Lynch's 3rd grade class is learning about maps. They would like you to please send them a postcard, letter or photo telling them about my trip to visit you."

Flat Stanley was a great visitor! I had so much fun taking him around Boston and taking pictures of him. He is very quiet and well mannered :) but I think he had a good time too! I was so happy that my nephew Jordan thought to send Flat Stanley to me. I sent him back yesterday with pictures, a couple of books about Boston, some Red Sox pencils and Boston Baked Beans candy. I hope the kids have half as much fun welcoming Flat Stanley home as I did having him visit me! Thank you Jordan!

Imagine how much fun we would have if everyone could travel as inexpensively!

I wish I could bottle up these days and open them again in February!

Today was a perfect New England fall day. It was so sunny and the fall colors were beautiful. It was one of those days where you don't want to miss a single minute! Especially knowing the cold weather is coming. I took these pictures on a walk in Rocky Woods (in Medfield near my apartment), and also in Lexington. I wished I could share this day with everyone and wanted to capture some of the beauty I was so thankful for.

Jessica's Baptism

My niece, Jessica, was baptized today. When I saw her in July she was so excited about this day coming up. As I thought of her today, I could just picture how big she must be smiling. Doesn't she look like such a princess? I wish I could have been there to share this day with her. I remember the day I was baptized, I was so proud and happy to be baptized and to have all my sins taken away. I wanted to stay perfect the rest of my life. This lasted until that evening when I fought with my sister (and may or may not have said not very nice things)! I had a few hours of goodness at least. :)

It doesn't even look real, does it?

This is a picture of the most interesting building on MIT's campus. It is a beautiful fall day here so I decided it was a good day to take a walk and get a picture of it to share with everyone. Every time I go by this building I want to find out the story behind who designed it and what it is used for. Of course I don't remember to look it up by the time I get home!

Happy 4th Birthday Elijah!

Elijah, I love this picture of you because it reminds me of your great laugh! Grandma sent this to me before I got to meet you and it gave me a glimpse of your fun personality.

I took this picture on my cell phone one day when we went to lunch at McDonald's. You have grown so much since then!

This picture is from the cabin when we were there for Grandpa's 80th birthday celebration. You did not want to leave those horses! I think you must get this from your mom.

You probably won't understand until you are a proud uncle how much it meant to me when you remembered my name and sought me out to play with you when I visited this summer. I was so excited because I realized you remembered me! I am so glad that you are my nephew! I hope you have a wonderful birthday and that you get to eat lots of ice cream. I love you!

Steve in a box!

Andrea, I don't mean to brag, but....

2,000 words!!!

Typing Test

Or not.... :)

The best place to go after the dentist!

If the sight of this box doesn’t make your mouth water and bring a smile to your face, you really should come to visit me! It's a Boston icon!

It’s a long (and boring) story how I came to have a dentist in the North End, since I live about 30 miles away. But it definitely has its side benefits! I did feel (a LITTLE) guilty going straight to Mike’s Pastry after leaving the dentist. But I dare anyone to go there and then have the willpower to walk by it without going in! The North End is Boston’s Italian neighborhood, and has some of the yummiest food I’ve eaten. Mike’s Pastry is definitely high up there on the list! I’d say it even makes up for having to go to the dentist.

Its a beautiful fall day in New Hamp-cha

Happy Birthday to my bestest littlest sister!

Lisa,

In September 1979 I started kindergarten and turned five. But what stands out more than anything during that time is how excited I was to have a new sister. I had decided that you would be a girl and that your name would be Alisa. I couldn't wait for you to come to our family! The day you were born I stayed at our neighbor's house, the Ormes'. When Mom called to say that I had a new sister (I knew it!!) I was estatic when she told me that she also named you my favorite name, Alisa! Wow! As you can guess, I heard wrong. :) Lisa's a much better name for you anyway, I just didn't realize it yet!

You are my only sibling that I remember being born. I remember going with Dad to pick you up from the hospital. I was fascinated with your long fingers! When you were a baby I had the chance to hold you and feed you once in a while and that was a great privilege to me. You were such a beautiful and sweet girl. You brought so much sunshine to our house. I remember when you would wake up from naps Mom would be worried about us waking you, and you always, always woke up smiling. I had so much fun being your older sister. I always felt so much love from you. One day, I think I was in 4th grade, I came home from school crying because my best friend Erin and I had been in a big fight. You asked me why I was sad, and as I told you, still crying, you hugged me and were crying too. I couldn't believe my little sister cared so much about me having a bad day!

Through most of my teen years, we shared a room. I didn't spend much time thinking about how it was for you (sorry!) but you were a great roommate for me. I had fun sharing a room with you and you never complained about my New Kids on the Block posters or the music I listened to every night. You were so easy to share with that I wonder looking back how many times I drove you crazy that you never said anything about!

When I moved away for school, I remember feeling that you were so proud of me and that meant a lot to me. During my really lame "I'm too cool for everything now that I'm an 18 year-old college student" phase, I had no idea how sucky this attitude would be for an adoring 13 year-old sister. I wish I could rewind time and that I would have stayed closer to you during those years. I just want you to know that I have always loved you very much even when I have not been good at showing it.

It was such an amazing experience when you became a mom. I loved seeing you with Carolyn and how much happiness it brought you to see her with your family. You brought our family closer by your love of sharing your beautiful daughter with us. I have never seen you happier than when you were introducing your each of your new children to us.

The picture above is from when you and Bella visited me in Boston. It was so great to have you here and to show you around the city. I'm glad we had that chance to spend some time together, and that it also led to us running a marathon together two years later. That was an awesome experience for me that I will never forget.



I'm so glad that you are my sister and I hope that you have a wonderful birthday!

Love you!

Christina

PS- We must have some elephants to celebrate this special day also!