Rashes & Randoms

Things I've been up to lately:

--lab rat for the flabotomist at my doctor's office and ended up being allergic to the bandaid they put on to stop the bleeding (no surprise there my friends).

--went jogging--yes dad--went jogging and what do I get as a result?? Oh, well you win a nice rash of hives all over your upper body. (this is why I dispise jogging).

--leg wrestled. beat one guy. lost to another guy.

--rocked out on Guitar Hero II.

--joined a book club

--started a diet

--writing a new song

--learned to play a song on the Violin

--survived a "talk" with the neighbors

--pretty much think my roommates are crazy...but awesome

--met a ton of new friends (yeah for new beginnings)

Dear Match Advocate...

Me: "Hello Christian how are you doing?"

Little Brother: "Good, good, good good good good...can we skip all this next part and get to the activities part?"

Me: "sure! What about activities?"

LB: " I just want to tell you that I love Chicken."

Me: "Oh, that's great. So what sorts of activities have you and Eric been doing?"

LB: "No, that's not what I was talking about when I said activities. I was talking about the part where I tell you ideas that I have about activities we should do."

Me: "Oh, okay--so what kinds of ideas do you have?"

LB: "I want to tell you that I love chicken...and pickles."

Me: (a little laugh) "oh, right you told me that before. So did you get to go to a Baseball game with Eric?"

LB: no, we didn't get tickets...but Eric likes Chicken too...did you know that?"

Me: "No, I didn't know that and I sometimes like Chicken too but I want to find out about how things are going in your match."

LB: "Well, they're going good of course. What do you expect? We both like Dolphins and Pop tarts and lots of sports."

Me: "So I guess you like to do sports with Eric when you get together?"

LB: "Yes, we do (said at a very rapid speed) swimming, play Baseball, soccer, football, track and did I mention we both like chicken and pickles."

Me: (now laughing out loud)...I like Chicken and pickles too...not together...so do you ever call your BB.....

And believe it or not I actually got some good information from Christian about his match with Eric. What a hoot! It was like this kid was on speed! Hilarious! oh and to end the conversation...

Me: so Christian do you have any questions for me?

LB: " well, I just wanted to tell you that not only do I like Chicken and Pickles...but I also like sausage...Click.

60's/70's Dance

So it's that time of year again...

Natalie so excited she's already dancing the night away!


Natalie and I. Both outfits are Natalie's and doesn't she look rockin'!


Michelle and I


Denver, Marianne, Jack, and John


Abby, me, and a friend of Abby's

Jenny and I


Natalie, Colleen, and Jenny

Jared and Seth---couple of studs!

Michelle and I

Ky and Ju (Natalie did my makeup...thanks girl it was loud and fun!)


Whoa---close up of Joseph!


Kylee and Joseph


Trisha, Lora, me , and Marci


Oh, yeah...we had fun alright!


Dance, Dance, Dance!


Joseph and Julie


Colleen and Seth

All in a Saturday

Saturday morning dawns: Hair Revolution 2007!
Natalie's hair before...

David Truscott goes to the North Bennett Street School where he makes Violins. He was very kind and took his friend from NYC Anne Marie, My new roommate Marianne, and I on a tour of what he does on a daily basis. This school is amazing and it was incredible to see how a Violin comes to life!

Welcome to North Bennett Street School

Marianne, David, and AnnMarie checking out David's violin making abilities

This is Marianne and I handling David's first Violin in the process of coming together

Marianne just moved out here and is my new roommate

She's out her for the summer as an intern for the Romney Campaign

Here's David with his first Violin in the process and behind him is his work space

This is how the violin starts out...a great (and expensive) piece of wood

This is a box of Ebony...

hard to imagine that this is what is made into the black keys on the piano

Violins in differnt varnish stages

So what color of Violin do you want?

The mixes and colors that go into making the varnish that goes on the Violins

This is where they cure the varnish and oxidize the wood in a UV light box

The jig that cuts the wood and stuff

And so they wait...

What would the tour be with out the instrument being played in the end

David is an incredible musician and it was beautiful to hear him play!

You really need to check this place out!

David is holding the Mike's Pasteries we stopped to get on our way

The tour ends with us eating at Quincy Market

I love this place full of great food and good friends

John Bowers joined us to get some grub

John and Marianne are working on the Romney Campaign for the summer

Saturday closes with the new do. From Blonde to Red--pretty brave!

Whoa Natalie love the hair revolution!

Sunday Dinner at Spruce

Natalie, Rachel, Julie, and the mystery foot??


David, me, and Seth

The Elders

They just bring it out in us!

Girl's Time Down Town

We were just goofing off! Hey anyone know where we took these pictures...??


What do you think this caption should be??


What do you think this caption should be??


What do you think this caption should be??

Meet Brendan!

This is my mentee Brendan. I use to work for Adoption & Foster Care Mentoring (AFC) and I had a mentee named Sasha. Sasha's circumstances changed and she had to move out of state so our match match ended just after our 1 year mark. I decided to get match again at AFC Mentoring but this time I decided to be a pilot cross gender match. Thus Brendan (14) and I got matched. this was our first outing and we had a blast. Here's to many more memories and fun times with Brendan!

The Prom Dress

I was one of those lucky girls who got to go to her first Prom with the boy of her dreams. He played the saxophone, had curly hair, and was one of the 6 Mormon guys I knew. Prom was so much fun but I'll be honest as much fun as I has with my date and our friends nothing compared to what had happened before he ever showed up.

My mom is an amazing seamstress and so she and I had picked out a pattern, the color of my dress, and the material for Prom. Being one of 7 (at the time) kids kept my mom busy and so the making of Prom dress (like most dresses made by mom) happened in the wee hours of the night and right up to the night before Prom.

Mom and I had decided on this green satin material. The dress pattern was simple. It was an empire waist with a bow that tied in the back. We decided that we would turn the material inside out (still very nice material) for the top of the dress and leave it the satin side for the button. The pattern wasn't too formal looking but the satin material made it more elegant. So mom went to task making the dress. she made a few mock dresses and had me stand for measurements etc and all was well...or so I thought.

the night before Prom mom brought the dress in for final touch ups and I all but gasped. I tried really hard for a girl of 16 not to cry--but the dress looked horrible. I knew my mom had been slaving away to make this dress for me so I didn't know what to say. It just hadn't turned out looking good at all. Mom apologized and I sucked it up and I put it on and resigned myself to just wearing the plain, simple, drab, ugly dress to prom. The idea mom and I had of the dress was a good one but the material turned out too simple on top and so it just looked awful. I just felt so awful because I knew I wasn't hiding the fact that I didn't like the dress very well, but I was trying so hard for my mom's sake. I went to bed crushed that my Prom dream wasn't going to come true. I had the dream date but not the dream dress I had imagined.

This is the part of the story that I love. There are so many things I could tell you all about how I know my mom loves me--so many attributes that I wish I possessed--how I can't imagine a world with out her. My mom has told me a gazillion times how much I mean to her and how much she loves me but there is something so true about the idea of actions speak so much louder than words.

when I woke up in the morning the first thing I thought of was how I had to make myself get into that dress and smile and greet my date later on that night and how I would really have to be strong because that last thing I wanted to do was to hurt my mom's feelings. Those thoughts quickly evaporated when I saw my Prom dress hanging up on my bedroom door. This was not the same dress as I tried on the night before. My mom had stayed up the entire night and hand unpicked the entire bodice (top part) of my dress. She went and bought some white satin material and completely redid my dress. To this day I can barely think of this story without getting teary. I couldn't believe it. My mom had seen my disappointment and decided to fix the dress even if it meant no sleep for her.

It goes without saying that I had the best Prom ever complete with dream guy and dream dress. I remember looking around at all the other girls dresses and taking a moment to realize how blessed I was to have the mom I have. My dress was modest, beautiful, unique, and made with so much love. Mom, I'll never forget what you did for me. I love you!

Did You Know...

... Although I may not be in school these days I'm am ever learning. There are so many things people teach me. Here are just a few of the things you are teaching me.

Grandma B-- the past is full of treasures left behind for the future to find

Grandma S-- family matters

Mom-- constant communication keeps hearts connected

Dad-- set goals, work towards them, enjoy the journey--be inspired

Chelsea-- make it happen-live your dreams-there's always another side

Grant--show/tell the people you love how you feel

Danielle--people worth loving take work, time, and forgiveness

Kaitlin-- good dating advice can come from an unlikely source

Alexa-- be yourself and love it

Clay-- in a crisis your true character comes through

Camryn "Elizabeth"-- life is too short-be a kid-simplify

Mike-- life is meant to be enjoy--so don't rush through it

Brendan--how "rich" I am

Michael-- come what may a constant friend can make all the difference

Julie-- honesty is the best policy no matter what people may say

Marie-- to get outside myself-to stretch my abilities

Preston-- humor is necessary in order to survive

Seth-- good food makes life taste great--let go

Timothy-- people are full of surprises--with God all things are possible

Jared-- sympathy and empathy-different-both matter

Natalie-- be comfortable with who you are-the value of noise

Cheryl-- patience pays off

Sara--you get out what you put in--but sometimes you get more

Kristen--some people make you feel like you are coming home

Alycesun--faith requires action-living what you believe is the difference

Annalee--keeping a commitment matters--change is good

Bonner--what it truly means to be a friend--not strings attached

Boo-- the Lord above all else

Bro. B--..."without compulsory means..."

Katie W.--sometimes you get a second chance

Eliza--don't compare paths or places in life

Alan--you can't change the past--and sometimes that's a good thing--FF