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Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts

Sunday, January 19, 2014

What I've Been Up To: March 2013 Edition

So... It's been a while. I've posted short little snippets here and there but nothing about what I've done since March. Whoops! My bad. Can I use the argument that I've been super busy? Well, I have but even to me that's a lame excuse. One of my New Year Resolutions is to be better at posting stuff on my blog.
So to make up for my slacking, I'm going to recap the major things that have happened since March.
March was a busy month with midterms, research, and spring break. It was probably my busiest month of the semester but I got to do a lot of awesome things outside of school!
For Spring Break, I went to New York with Nella and Faith. I wanted to visit the city one more time before I moved in the summer and it just so happen that all three of us could fit it in while I was off for break. It was so much fun!
We stayed in a hostel not too far from Central Park! We didn't get to do everything we had planned but we did a lot! The first thing you do when you get off an early morning bus ride at noon is get food and what better food to get than New York style pizza!
New York Style pepperoni pizza!
Does this even need a caption? Okay. It was delicious!
After we ate, we went and saw the Harry Potter exhibit at the Discovery Center. It was super cool but we couldn't take pictures inside the exhibit. Which is really unfortunate because it would have been awesome to commemorate the moment I got to sit in Hagrid's chair and looked like a little kid. We did get one picture at the exhibit.
Photographic proof that I saw it.
After that, we checked into the hostel where we stayed the night. Mostly we just slept there but Nella and Faith immortalized our stay by putting our names on one of the giant Jenga pieces. I was dead asleep when they did this.
I should mention that before we went to check in, we went and stood in line at the Broadway discount ticket booth. Guess what we got tickets for?
Yeah! We got super cheap tickets to Phantom! I was able to see The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway during its 25th anniversary! It was amazing! It was everything I had hoped it would be and more! If you ask Faith and Nella, they'd tell you that I was a ball of barely suppressed excitement. I bet you're thinking with discount tickets that we didn't have good seats. Would you like to place money on that?
This is what heaven looks like.
Bam! Look how close we were! Fourth row, baby! It was amazing! Okay, I'm done gushing now.
After the show, we went and got cheesecake at Juniors and hit up Times Square.
Obligatory tourist photo in Times Square.
When we were there, we watched this guy make this awesome picture using spray paint and a couple tools. Nella bought it.
See? Look how cool that is.
 And you can't go to Times Square without going to the M&M's store. Okay, I can't go without going to the M&M's store.
Look at all the M&M's! It's paradise!
We also stopped at what would be the first of five toy stores we visited while we were there. We stopped by the Disney store where I proved that I can indeed act like a lady and perform a curtsy without falling over.
See? I can do it.
The next day I got to walk through Central Park for the first time! And by walk through Central Park, I mean we walked the whole length of the park! My pedometer tracked the mileage and we walked about six miles that day. Most of it was in the park. Good thing it is a really lovely place!
View of Manhattan from the top of the Castle in Central Park.
An actual picture of the Castle.
Proof that I was really there! It was a little windy up there!
My traveling companions: Nella and Faith!
So weird tangent. Have you ever seen the animated movie, Balto? I loved this movie when I was a kid and I told myself that one day I would go to New York and see the Balto statue. Guess what? I found it! With a lot of trouble and a considerable amount of help from a Central Park app on my phone.
Balto!
Faith and I on the rocks just above the ice skating rink in Central Park. It was a great pic of part of the skyline!
After Central Park, we hit up a bunch of toy stores! The first one is just outside the park and was the infamous F.A.O. Schwarz.
 You can't see it but the doormen for the store dress up as toy soldiers! How cool is that? I got a picture with one but I can't seem to find it.
Have you ever seen the movie Big with Tom Hanks? Remember the huge piano he got to play by walking on it? I totally got to do that! The Big Piano resides in F.A.O. Schwarz and they let your group spend 15 minutes playing it. One of the best days ever!
Another item on my bucket list checked off!
It was fun playing on that piano!
Giant pianos aren't the only think we found there.
Well, hello giant Lego Batman. I know this is presumptuous, but would you like to go home with me?
The next stores we went to were the Nintendo store and the Lego store. The Lego store was kind of disappointing. F.A.O. Schwarz totally had better Lego statues.
The last toy store we hit was the Toys 'R' Us in Times Square. It has a giant Ferris wheel inside the store! It's awesome!
The Ferris wheel is three stories high!
This car seems oddly appropriate.
Yet again, this store had better Lego statues than the Lego store.
Aw! Does the Hulk need a hug?
They had things besides Lego statues too. Like Optimus Prime and Jurassic Park!
Why hello you giant robot, you?
Please don't eat me, Mr. T-Rex!

Why is it that every time I see a T-Rex that I need to quote Meet the Robinsons? Sigh. I have a big head and little arms! Okay. I'm good now.
I found my people! And they were awfully tasty!
New York was super fun and was the biggest thing that happened in March. But the week after I got to do something equally amazing!
I went to the Holi celebration just outside of DC. For those who don't know, Holi is a Hindu festival also known as the Festival of Colors. It occurs in the spring and celebrates new beginnings and life. You also get to throw colorful powdered dye at each other. It was awesome and free! I went with my friend, Lauren, from school. It was a great stress relief after our last set of midterms.
Lauren and I. I'm the one with the derpy face. This was after our first color throw.
We changed colors by the end of the day.
This is what is left after you shake yourself off as good as you can.
I went through half a bottle of shampoo getting all the powder out of my hair. My bathtub was purple for a few days.
I stripped on the stairs so I didn't get any powder on the carpet. I should have taken a picture of all the powder that was on the stairs after I put my clothes in the washer.

I highly recommend going to Holi at least once if you're able. Just be prepared to spend 30-45 minutes in the shower getting clean afterwards. I had light blue and purple streaks in my hair for a few days after even after using copious amounts of shampoo.
March was a memorable month to be sure! I was able to cross off like six things off of my bucket list. I'll call that a win!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

A Day With Galen

 So cutest thing ever happened a few weeks ago! It started when I got a phone call from Jeanette and she started out the conversation with, "Hi Jess! I have a proposition for you." Which is usually how she starts off requests for me to babysit her kids.
She then proceeded to tell me that two of the triplets, Brock and Quinn, had been invited to friends' houses the next Saturday and Galen, the other triplet, had not. She had asked Galen if he wanted to invite a friend over while Brock and Quinn were gone. He thought about it for a couple of minutes and then informed her that he wanted to invite me over or go to my house. So the whole phone call was to ask me if I wanted to hang out with Galen that Saturday.
Of course, I said yes. And apparently Galen was waiting close by for the answer so I heard Jeanette tell him that I had said yes. I then heard Galen shouting at his brothers, "I get to go to Jessie's house on Saturday and you don't." I then heard Brock and Quinn begging Jeanette if they could go to my house instead of their friends' houses. All I can say is that I felt very loved at that moment in time.
So that highly anticipated Saturday rolled around. I had racked my brain to think of something really special for me and Galen to do because I wanted to make sure it was awesome.
It truly was an awesome day. We ended up going to the Natural History Museum to the see the dinosaurs and stuffed animals. Then we went to the closest bookstore afterwards where I bought him a couple books. I have a feeling that these books will be fought over in his house starting with his Dad.
Oh, have I mentioned that Galen is a miniature me. He always has a book with him. He has a little backpack that Jeanette made that has a little bookworm on it with the caption "I devour books" on it. It is super cute and houses at least four books at a given time. He won't go anywhere without it!
In fact, I will be at their house and his brothers will be watching a Disney movie and he will be in a chair reading. He's reading chapter books and he is five!!! Well, all of the triplets can read. I guess that's what you get when your parents have PhDs and are professional scientists. He even does little things for his parents to earn money to buy a couple new books each month and he uses his library card like a shopaholic uses a credit card. This kid has stolen my heart. I love them all but I'd have to say Galen is my favorite.
To be fair, they actually read books as a family. Just a few chapters every night of the week with a couple extra hours on Sunday. They love this so much that they'll bring the current book they are reading with them when they spend the night at my house. Although, I guess I'm easier to talk extra chapters out of than their parents. They are so fun! I'm going to miss them when I move!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

12 Books For 2012

 
I know I've mentioned my friends' Matt and Jeanette and their horde of kids a lot lately. It's just because I see them a lot now that they live near DC and I live near DC. I love spending time with them and their kids! They have this awesome tradition of reading a few chapters of a book each night as a family. The kids will not let you forget to read to them. In fact, if they stay the night at my house, they bring the book they are currently reading with them.
So it shouldn't have surprised me when I was at the triplets' birthday party when the twins' brought me one of the presents. Thinking that they were confused on who to give it to, I tried to get them to give it to one of the triplets. I was then informed that the present was for me. I was a little confused since it wasn't my birthday for at least a week.
The gift was a book with a card that informed me that for my birthday and Christmas in 2012 I would be receiving 12 books spread out between now and Christmas. 12 books for the year 2012. Apparently, I babysit too much since a couple of books were books the horde wanted me to read to them.
It was an excellently executed plan. I found myself eagerly anticipating and trying to guess which book would be next. The best part was the horde's excitement over every book I was given. I can't help but smile every time I see one of the books. And I'm happy to report that we are about halfway done with one of the books and they are loving it! Also, thanks Jeanette for being my book soulmate and not letting your kids choose all of the books!
  1. Call of the Hunt by Patricia Briggs
  2. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
  3. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
  4. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
  5. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
  6. Bitterblue by Kristen Cashore
  7. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
  8. They Called Me Mad by John Monahan
  9. Spindle's End by Robin McKinley
  10. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
  11. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
  12. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Thanks for the books, Matt and Jeanette!!! I love them! Now I just need to find the time to read them...