"I may be weak but I'm never defeated And I'll keep believing In clouds with that sweet silver lining"

So my little boys have a new nanny...
Her name is Colette and she is great. Truly. But it is still weird...
I know she'll fit in great and it will ultimately be fine, but so weird!!
Connor likes her, which is good, but I still don't think he fully understands what is happening because the other day Connor and I were talking and this was the conversation:

A: "Connor. Do you like Colette?"
C: "Yeah.."
A: "would you like it if she came over and played with you again?"
C: "yeah, but for longer this time."
A: "I think we can do that! Would you like it if she came and watched you sometime?"
C: "yeah! that would be fun."
A: "maybe she could come watch you all the time when I go back home to Utah"
C: "sure! but only until you come back."

talk about heart breaking! :(
but it is all really happening and Lori, Jonathan and I are figuring out the best way to transition from me everyday to Colette everyday..So far we have that for the month of July she comes day once a week for a significant chunk of time and then for the last week either everyday for smaller amounts of time or 2 or 3 times a week where one of those days she has them by herself...

so that is that and i can't talk about it anymore right now.
what I can talk about is this:
The CRUISE to the BAHAMAS is officially on!! hells to the ya! haha :D

AND
it was my good friend Emallie (and yes, that is how you spell it)'s birthday last Thursday so for her birthday I got her (okay, us) concert tickets to see Kate Voegele at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston last night!!! SO AMAZING!!!
for those of you who don't know who she is, shame on you. but seriously, she is my new backstreet boys. haha jk...kinda
I truly love all of her songs and when her new album comes out May 19th I know I will love all those songs just as much! I thank the show 'One Tree Hill' for introducing me to her and her first album was written just for me, I'm pretty sure.
Okay I'm done.
I'm going to end with this:
SMALL VENUE CONCERTS ARE SO AWESOME!!!! :D
okay, i'm done!

(the post's title are some lyrics from her song "Sweet Silver Lining")

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river, With tangerine trees and marmalade skies"

So, pretty much I'm just gonna ramble. :D

My Anatomy class is DONE! And I feel unbelievably confident that I passed the final therefore passing the class!!! *Not sure with what grade yet though* I put so much time, effort and energy into that class that I shouldn't be surprised that I feel this confident put given my past and how poorly I've done in science and math classes before, it is kind of hard to let go of that fear of failing. But I'm over that now. At least for science. Math I'm still terrified of.

And speaking of classes, I am now officially a full time student again. Well, at least I will be once school starts August 26th! I am signed up for 14 credits and I am so nervous, anxious, happy and excited!!! I will be taking 3 English classes (one I've taken before but NEED a better grade in) and Spanish 1010! Yay! I finally get to learn Espanol! Haha...luckily my future roomie knows Spanish and is willing to help language challenged me!!

And speaking future roommates--YAY!!! SO excited for that to happen in mid-August!!
Oh yeah...and we WILL go on that cruise!!!!

Yes everyone--a cruise! At the beginning of August. unless actual cosmic issues happen, we will be going! BAHAMAS baby!!!

AND the Gorski's have unofficially found my replacement. Ah! Actually, I found her. Her name is Colette and she is way nice and I think she will be great, but it is a very bizarre bittersweet moment. It is really happening. and sooner than I want to believe. Bitter. Sweet.
Happy and excited to go home and get back to school. Sad and slightly in denial.
July 31st (ish) and I'm done...

But if that is true--then I get to go visit with Dad and Dana before the cruise and before I go home to Utah! That will be great!

Oh and side note--it was my really good friends birthday on Wednesday and we went to bar's karaoke night and for me-not so good. but watching everyone else was extremely entertaining!

Okay. I'm done!!! Enjoy all!

"Are you sad because you're on your own? No, I get by with a little help from my friends"

So my TWO weekends have come and gone in NYC and it was AMAZING!!!!!!!! Diane and I had lots of fun and I'm so glad that I was able to go! :D My highlights are put mostly into pictures but the few that aren't are these: my TWO new pairs of shoes, the TWO broadway shows I saw (Avenue Q--so funny!!--and Mary Poppins) the TWO new purses I got ("gucci" and "burberry"). Are you noticing a trend? I did a lot of this weekend in twos...haha. Oh and if you notice from the pix, we also got TWO kinds of cheesecakes...
Anyway, this was so fun and I have decided that I truly LOVE new york! I wish I had more time/energy to write more about the FABULOUS weekend, but I don't, so I won't. But understand that it was FANTASTIC!

and yes. the person above in the bottom left corner is JEFF DANIELS! My requested celebrity sighting was fulfilled!!!

Di, I decided we needed a collage of just our moments--with one of mike! haha :D
In the Di/Abbey collage I was cut out of these pictures. It is MY blog and I was cut out. How rude. oh well, I fixed that problem by posting them again. :D haha

"Life is a maze and Love is a riddle"

In the attempt to blog more, this post is just going to be pure randomness. zero real point!
I AM GOING TO NEW YORK CITY TOMORROW MORNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love that I live so damn close to NYC and that I can get there for $40 dollars (and a 4 hr bus ride...) AND that I have somewhere to stay so I don't go into debt with hotel charges.
I LOVE that I am going to be able to spend 2 weekends in a row with my FABULOUS cousin Diane.
I love that I can truly say for probably the first time in my life that MY life is drama free. I am just pure happy--sure, I wish some things were different (who doesn't)--and it rocks. Hard core. Ha.
I love who I'm becoming and I love that I have an exciting future ahead of me.
Okay, I'm done for now.
I still have to pack! haha luckily it is just over night...
haha...

"She said I think I'll go to Boston... I think I'll start a new life, I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name"

To start off this post, I just have to ask--has anyone ever found a song that PERFECTLY fit into their lives at that moment so amazingly that it has somehow become the "theme" for your life?
I have.
Okay, so with that said: I have been here a YEAR! Today April 5, 2009 is officially the one year mark. And wow. what a year it has been. I have come a long LONG way since I left Utah. And yes folks, this does mean a list! :D
In the past year I have:
-been to VT, RI, NH, ME, and of course MA (and on Saturday, NY (again) )
-been whale watching (so cool!!)
-lost 40 lbs
-figured out what my next few steps are in life
-found some AMAZING friends
-found me
-become happier than I think I ever have been

I am THRILLED that I get to stay here until early August and it will be really hard to leave but I do honestly believe that when August comes around it will be time for me to go home. I have had a great time here, gained some wonderful experiences that have shaped who I am and will continue to be, and I have had the opportunity to watch two beautiful, wonderful, and crazy boys that I just love.

Also over this past year I've been able to have wonderful people come and visit me while I have been out here (in order of visit): Rachelle--best friend from college from those who don't know; DIANE--beautiful! wish you were here!; MAMA--so glad I got to show you my world!; Dad & Dana--i'm so glad that i got to show you my world as well!

I have narrowed down my favorite places in MA to 3 places:
1) Salem, MA...the history there is mind blowing and the actual city is beautiful...
2) Concord, MA...it is just awesome...
3) Regina's Pizzeria in the North End (Italian Boston)--Leonardo DiCaprio ate there while filming the Departed and I have now taken a picture of his picture hanging on the wall AND sat in the same booth as he has!!! *if the pathetic-ness of this one is a surprise, you haven't talked to me since I was 11. :D haha

There is so much to say about my last year here in Boston but it is to much for a blog post so I have ATTEMPTED to narrow it down to the highlights which are as follows:
Me and Rachelle at Martha's Vineyard; my closest friend out here Suzzie and me in VT; WHALE WATCHING!!!!; me and Diane in Ogunquit, ME; me and Mom in Provincetown, MA; a group of friends in Portland, ME over thanksgiving; thanksgiving at the Pritchetts; my ward's sub 4 santa presents; a group of friends at the Waltz and Schmaltz held at Wellesley; me holding a baby alligator while visiting dad/dana in LA; mom, isaac, and Lesley (and will!) at Mesa Falls; Dad/Dana in front of the Bunker Hill Monument.

me 1 week before I left UT

ME NOW.

Okay...that is enough for now because nothing can top that picture....

"I heard he controls the weather and wrote the screenplay to Glitter!"

Two weeks ago my friend Christy was worrying about who was going to make the ward dinner for what is now last Sunday's dinner. So because I am a good, caring, nice person I offered to be in charge of making the dinner. Why not right? I mean, what could be an easier meal for 65-80 ppl than taco salad? Brown some beef ("some" being 12 lbs), chop up some lettuce ("some" being 8 heads), chop up tomatoes--really small (6 toms), throw some already grated cheese in a large bowl ("some"=3 bags), and put corn (3 reg. cans), kidney beans (2 big cans), and black beans (2 big cans) in 3 respectively separate bowls. Set out 2 bottles of ranch, 2 containers of sour cream, and a large bowl of salsa and 4 bags of tortilla chips and you're good to go right? Oh and make roughly 75 chocolate chip cookies (yes mia, pre-made).
In theory yes.
I honestly thought I could do it alone. HA! I like to pretend I'm superwoman but let's face it I'm not. But I had 3 (4 at one point) fabulous people help me out and the dinner turned out GREAT! I was surprised by how many people were impressed that I organized it alone, did the food shopping alone (seriously. that is a difficult task. food shopping for roughly 75-80 ppl..HARD), and that it all turned out as awesome as I thought it would. I'm not gonna lie, it felt good to get a little praise. :D
It was fun. I am glad that I was able to help my friend (who is overall in charge of organizing who does the dinners each week) and that it all turned out as planned.

Other than that, things are pretty good for me. Happy, healthy (hell ya!), and not stressed out (well, no more than normal; a little less in fact)! The Nervous System in the body is complicated and annoying, but surprisingly interesting. Still sucks to read 55 pgs about it, make flash cards, and type up 8-10 pages of notes BUT I am enjoying it (again, surprisingly). I am so freakin' ready to be back in school, but I'm not going to pretend I'm not nervous about it...I am. But it is also what is next for me. I know it is.
Also, in roughly 2 weeks it will be one year since I arrived in MA and I CAN NOT believe how fast it has gone or how wonderful it has been. I am THRILLED that I get to stay until August--summer here will ROCK because I actually have tons of friends to hang out with and I actually know things to do this time around! yay!

Okay. I'm done for now.
laterz!

p.s. I have almost officially used up most of the GOOD Gilmore Girls quotes for my blog post titles so vote in my poll so that I can figure out what to do next!

"Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe. That was very immature."

Last weekend was a surprisingly fun time. I honestly didn't think that I'd have as much fun as I did! The reason I was surprised is because it was a dance. Called the "Waltz 'N' Schmaltz". As we waltzed and then we schmaltzed.
Further explanation you say? Well okay.
The girls of Wellesley College who are in my ward currently (and girls in the past) throw a semi-formal dance each year where the people who go get taught the basic waltz steps and then for the first 10-15 minutes of the night, we waltz. And then for the rest of the night we just dance--or schmaltz. :D
It was surprisingly fun because I am NOT a dancer and I usually don't enjoy dances but I had never been to the Wellesley campus before and so many people told me to go I figured why the hell not. I am really glad I went (even if my feet hated me for most of the night and next day...LOVE my red high heels...). It was fun to get ready (I borrowed a friends super sassy dress) with a bunch of girl friends and then I WALTZED with the 2 boys I'm crushing on most out here (NO QUESTIONS pleas cuz there is NOTHING to tell...) so that was fun. And the rest of the night was just fun fun fun. The pictures below are just some of the few from the night, go ahead and look at the rest (plus the rest of the pictures from dad/dana's visit) on my flickr.
I am LOVING life out here, but stressing (hence the limited blogging time) about my Human Anatomy class, which I am actually doing alright in...















don't i look super skinny here???? LOVE this super sassy dress!













Okay. I'm done! :D