Begging

As I was driving to class tonight (in which I am writing this...don't tell) I was caught at a traffic light that lasted most of the day, when I noticed something very common in major city. A man was walking up and down the rows of cars, holding a sign, and asking for money. The reason he made such an impact on me was the sense of humor in which he had, particularly given his circumstance. His sign read:

"I'm broke and homeless, and need a billion dollars...visa, mastercard, check"

Awesome. If he hadn't have run across the street to catch the next line of cars on an off ramp, I would have reached out and added to his cause with the $5 bill in my pocket. I can appreciate when we can laugh about our lives even when they seem difficult. That's a great reminder for since the weather dudes said it was going to rain and snow this weekend....oh great!

P.S. I'm not trying to make light of this particular person's circumstance....but all of us can appreciate the humor in the midst of it! This is a little more like my circumstance...may not be a bad idea to pay for school!

Up in Flames

Today I read an article on the CNN website about a town very closely situated next to mine in Washington. Apparently it is being speculated that a group from an Eco-friendly activist group set fire to $2 million dollar homes in Woodinville. All I have to say is, leave it to people in Seattle to set fire to people's homes and lives for the sake of the earth. I almost think they may have done more damage to the ozone layer with all those chemicals and particles of house floating up into the atmosphere as the house went up in flames. I don't know....I could be very, very wrong. Maybe if they burned up the houses for the sake of bringing attention to our habit of consuming in excess as Americans while neglecting the poor, instead of for the sake of the environment, I might be able to get on board. Except, I've never heard of burning people's houses as a good way to make them aware of their need to give back to the earth and the world around them. Ridiculous....Here's the article for those of you not watching this unfold on local tv:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/03/seattle.fire/index.html?eref=rss_latest

I think I spoke too soon...

when I said spring was in the air....I was just lying or having a lapse of judgment. Because, although it is now March I was greeted with snow and rain pouring from the skies last night and upon going downtown this morning. Therefore, I am not thrilled. There is still hope...but I'm not crossing my fingers that it will not snow in May.

P.S. I promise my next blog will be more exciting than a discussion or rant about the weather. I promise...

Spring is in the air....kind of

Today's high was a nice crisp 45 degrees which meant a couple of things. 1. I could run outside next to the beach. 2. The sun was out in fine form and warmed me up a little more than normal even with snow on the ground. 3. Spring is on it's way!! Although the official Spring season will not begin for quite a while here in Boston, I was grateful for the reprieve from all the snow. After a little jog on the path by the water, I took my camera out for a spin. Here are the results:

The beach by my house

The Boston Harbor Yacht Club

A little park with some cute old guys sitting on a bench

Spring is in the air

A little seagull returning to the North for the Spring

Benches at the Beach

Loving California!

I took a little mid-winter break back to California to visit friends and the warm weather! Although the weather was little rainy the last couple days, spending time with friends was much needed and so much fun! California and my friends seem to be pulling at my heart strings these days...who knows, maybe I'll move back someday! (no promises girls!)

We went on a little "hike" by the Newport Dunes on a beautiful Monday afternoon! My friends took the afternoon off from work...how nice!

On the "hike".....Lauren, Kaitlyn, Kellee, and Me

Haning out at Beth's place with the girls!

I also got to see lots of other wonderful friends and share great meals together...I just forgot my camera...oops! Thanks friends for the great times!!

Friday!

I do love Fridays. I usually get very little done but enjoy doing things a little out of the ordinary or something new and adventurous from time to time. On this Friday's menu: baking Cinnamon Raisin Bread. I am not entirely sure what compelled me to bake bread, or Cinnamon Raisin Bread for that matter, but I'm glad I gave it a whirl. I worked out this morning, got ready for the day, and headed to the grocery store to get all of the ingredients. After realizing that the recipe I printed out from Martha Stewart's website calls for a Kitchen-Aid $250 mixer....I did a virtual time warp and sent myself to the "days of old" when they didn't have those silly mixers. I was convinced that one day they used to make bread without mixers...so that's what I did. Here's the final result....and they taste pretty darn good if you ask me!!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everybody!!
Love to you all!