Announcing...

Exploring Nassau

Well, I've finally found the time to continue writing about our trip down to the Bahamas in June. (What? It was only three months ago!) Peter and I went there for our anniversary and we had a great time. On a hot Saturday morning we walked around part of the city of Nassau, which is the capital of the Bahamas, doing some exploring. It was fun at first, but the heat got to me and I quickly became an impatient grump and just wanted to get back to the hotel and sit on the beach. I was six months pregnant, so I had that right! Here are some pictures of our explorations:

A nice pink building in the government district. Many of the buildings were pastel-colored and pretty.

Pirates once ruled in Nassau! This is my tribute to them.

More pink! This is where the governor lives.

And right across the street from the governor's place was a broken-down slummy area. What an interesting and all-too familiar contrast.

We hiked up to this old Fort, named Fort Fincastle. It almost killed me. It was difficult to find but a native led us there. It had some nice views...

A view of our hotel from the Fort.

The view looking inland from the top of the fort.

Our next and last stop (we took the bus there instead of walking...the heat was too much!) was a big open-air marketplace right on the water near our hotel. It was full of various crafts, knickknacks, clothes, and knock-off designer handbags, literally stacked up to the ceiling. Haggling was the name of the game, which I stink at, but it was fun and I got some cute things there.

I've never seen so many designer knock-offs, not even in New York City. I didn't get one, although I was a little tempted to get a "designer" diaper bag.

I spent the rest of that day back at the hotel, relaxing on the beach and in the ocean. That's what a beach vacation is all about! These are a few of my favorite pictures from there.

Our hotel was right near where the cruise ships docked. I never realized how huge those ships are! It was neat to see them go by.

This is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

Just chillin' in my pale fair skin. I'm not very interested in tanning!

I forgot my sunglasses in our room. Darn it!

Cruise ships in port.

This picture really makes me want to go back! The water was warm, clean, clear, and beautiful.

I have one more post to make about this vacation, and it's about our day trip over to Atlantis, one of the most stunning resorts in the world. I think I took around 150 photos there, but I'm going to be a good editor and include no more than 15 of the best ones when I write about it. That will be a challenge, but I think I can do it!

Nancy Pelosi Cracks Me Up!

Did you watch President Obama's national healthcare speech last Wednesday night? I had it on, and there was an unexpected and very unusual moment of suprise when Representative Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!" during the President's address. I've never seen anything like that happen before, and I couldn't believe he did that! It was rude and disrespectful, and it's good that he apologized for his outburst the next day.

But I have to admit, I got a kick out of Nancy Pelosi's reaction. As the House Speaker, she was sitting directly behind the President, so you could see her the whole time during the speech. When Wilson yelled out, first she appeared to be shocked and completely taken aback, and then she looked totally ticked off. She looked like she wanted to leap out of her chair and whack that guy on the head with her gavel. It reminded me of the expression I sometimes see on mother's faces when one of their kids does something appalling and they want to punish them right there on the spot (I know this expression has been on my face before!). It was funny to be reminded of that in a most unexpected setting. Nancy Pelosi, you crack me up!

The Liberal Lion of the Senate

When I heard about the passing of Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy from a cancerous brain tumor on August 25th, I was saddened by the news. He was a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, my home state. Even though I'm not a Democrat and I disagreed with a number of his views, I respected him very much for the service he gave our country. I had an experience with his Senate office in Boston in the summer of 2000 that solidified that respect.

In the summer of 2000 I was between my sophomore and junior years at Penn. I was home in Massachusetts and looking for a good job or internship for the summer. Since I was majoring in political science and was interested in going into behind-the-scenes work in American politics, I decided to look into getting an internship with one of my state's U.S. senators, either Kennedy or John Kerry. When I called both of their Boston offices to find out about their internship programs, I found out that neither of them offered paid internships. I needed to make money for school and living expenses, so this was not good!

Senator Kennedy's internship program, however, did offer a flexible part-time schedule so that students who needed to earn money over the summer (i.e., kids who don't come from very wealthy families) could do so. The woman in his office who I talked to about it was very friendly and encouraging, and I would have loved to apply and gotten that internship. I ended up not doing so because I got another job that was full-time, but I appreciated so much that his office offered an option like that. I felt like they weren't catering just to the more privileged kids who didn't need to earn money. This to me showed that Kennedy meant what he said about helping students out and that education was important. He practiced what he preached, and I'll always remember that. I guess it's a pretty small thing overall, but it made a big impression on me!

A Little Note: I'm Back!

I can't believe I haven't done anything with my blog since the end of July. It was a busy August and it's been a September full of things to do, but I've missed blogging and I've been wanting to get back into it again. There are lots of things I've been wanting to write about. So, I'm back! At least for now. My baby was due yesterday but he hasn't arrived yet, so I have some extra time on my hands. Once he comes, I may be out of it again for awhile, but hopefully for not as long!

Summertime Break...

I was hoping to get my Atlantis pictures together and to write up a post about that this week, but unfortunately time is not on my side! My life is full of appointments and things to do right now, and we're getting ready to go away for the first half of August. So I'll finish up my Bahamas posts in a few weeks. For now, I'll post some of these beautiful family pictures that my sister Elizabeth got done with Justin and their adorable 5-month-old baby, Rocco (my first nephew!) last week. I'm so impressed by how well these came out. What a talented photographer!

Isn't he precious, and aren't they such a cute little family? I just love them!

Tomorrow is my 29th birthday(!!) and then we're leaving this weekend for our annual summer vacation to Cape Cod for two weeks. I'll be back to blogging when I get home. I hope your summer is going well!

The Beautiful Bahamas

Peter and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary in style last month--we flew down to the Bahamas for three days and three nights. I'd been looking forward to this trip very much since the winter when we booked it. It was just the two of us who went--John was happy to stay with my family in Massachusetts while we were gone (he loves it there). I missed him terribly at first, but I got over it soon enough. It was a wonderful trip to a beautiful place and I've been wanting to document it here on my blog. So consider this Part 1 of what will probably be a three-part series!

We stayed in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, at the British Colonial Hilton, a big lovely hotel right on the ocean that looks like a grand castle from the back. The only disappointment was that our room faced the street instead of the water. Bummer!

I've always taken pictures of the interiors at the places we stay so that I can remember the trip better. This was our room:

And this was the hotel lobby. I snapped this picture wistfully on the morning we left, just before we got into the taxi that took us to the airport. Even though I was eager to get home to my little boy, it's still depressing when vacations end!

These were the lovely views from the balcony on our floor the first evening we were there.

Peter, checking out the view.

Don't these hammocks look very relaxing?

I took this picture down by the pool at sunset. Even though I'm a New Englander, I love palm trees and tropical places.

Next time, I'll write about one of the most famous resorts in the world...the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. It was an amazing place and I got some great pictures there. Stay tuned!

MIA...A Short Explanation!

Hi! It's hard for me to believe that my last post was a month ago. I don't think I've gone that long without posting on my blog ever since I started it about a year-and-a-half ago, not even when I was enduring the woes of first-trimester exhaustion this past winter. There are a lot of things I want to write about, I just haven't had any free time to do so. I also haven't had time lately to read my friend's blogs, and I'm missing that. I will be back soon to reading your blogs and writing on my own, if not this week, then next. It still won't be as frequent as normal, probably not until the end of summer. (But then my baby is due in September, so...we'll see what happens!) I hope you're all doing well and having a nice summer. I miss you! See you soon!

June 15th is a Special Day!

Today is our seventh wedding anniversary. I can't believe I'm old enough to have been married for seven years! I was 21, almost 22, at the time, and Peter was 23. It seems like so long ago now. We had just graduated from Penn together a month earlier. We got married in Boston, honeymooned in Prince Edward Island, and then moved to New Jersey and started our new life together as young married working professionals. It's been a good seven years (mostly!), and I'm looking forward to the next seven.

These are a few of my favorite photos from our wedding. Sweet memories!

We had a ring ceremony at our reception because none of Peter's family are members of the (Mormon) church.

The beautiful bridesmaids.

Cutting the cake. It was such a delicious cake!

Those crazy groomsmen!

How cute is this woman!?

New Moon Trailer!

This Made My Day!

I saw the official movie poster for New Moon for the first time today, along with the trailer. (Thanks Cheryl!) I'm one of those people who loved the series, so I'm looking forward to the movie, which comes out in November. I think the poster captures the essence of New Moon really well, and from the trailer it looks like the movie will follow the book pretty well. I have a little crush on that guy Taylor Lautner who plays Jacob. He's HOT!! So's Edward, of course.

Another thing that made me happy today? The weather forecast was wrong! Instead of rain and clouds it was sunny and beautiful, so we weren't stuck inside again. Sometimes, (often), the weather can make all the difference in the world, especially when you have an active little boy on your hands!

Summertime, and the Blogging is...Harder

Today I wanted to do a post about a fun day I recently spent with my friend Alyson and our 4-year-old boys at a place that we all love, but my carefully planned week didn't work out, so I didn't have the time to put the post together. John got a bad case of poison ivy, couldn't go to preschool, and has needed much more of my time and attention than usual, and I've been really tired due to sleeping troubles that have cropped up again. Needless to say, I haven't been able to get very much done at all this week! This has led me to think about summer, when John will be home more, and about how life in general changes (often for the better!) in the summertime.

These are my summer plans: relax, read books, and spend good quality time with John and Peter and my friends and family. I also need to get some projects done before the baby arrives in September. We're going on two vacations: two weeks at Cape Cod, Massachusetts in August and a couple of days in the Bahamas in June. And I'm probably going to be fairly tired from the heat and the last trimester of my pregnancy this summer.

In short, I know I won't be able to do blogging as much, so I probably won't be posting as frequently and checking friend's blogs as often. If you're one of my blogging friends, don't worry, I'll still be visiting you because I really do enjoy reading your blogs, it just probably won't be as often during the summer months.

I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend to kick off what to me is the best season of the year!

A Little Q & A

We get a lot of catalogs in the mail, and one that I enjoy looking through is the Boden catalog, not only for the cute clothes, but also because on each page that has a model on it, a random question is asked of her, and it's kind of fun to see how the women answer. These are a few of my favorite questions with my answers.

1. What makes you feel glamorous: Wearing high heels and/or lipstick.

2. What's your driving style: Slightly aggressive and usually a little too fast (but I've never been pulled over!).

3. Recent discovery: Prenatal yoga. It's great!

4. I've never mastered: Cooking.

5. If I had a year off I would: Travel all over the place, read lots of books, and become skilled in photography.

6. Never underestimate the power of: your spirit.

7. I wish I had a dollar for every time I'd: made a fool of myself.

8. To feel better after a bad day: I like to lay on the couch, read whatever book I'm reading, and eat something sweet.

9. I'm told I look like: Uma Thurman!

10. I'd love to be able to: Paint beautiful pictures.

11. I'm surprisingly good at: Keeping my house clean and organized.

12. I'm notorious for: Not answering the phone.

There are a lot of other questions from the catalog that I like, but I'll do separate posts on them sometime in the future!

A Sure Sign of Spring

Ever since we moved to Connecticut three years ago in the spring of 2006, we've been greeted each year by what has become a sure sign of spring in our backyard. This lovely bush blooms in mid-April and lasts for about three weeks before returning to just a green bush again. I really enjoy it while it lasts, and every April when I see those tiny purple buds start to appear, I know that spring is in the air.


Can you see the bumble bee?

I love the combination of the yellow flower buds on the trees and the lavender flowers in front of them.

At just about the time the lavender flower bush is starting to wane, another flower bush picks up the pace and starts to bloom. This one is next to the front door. Fortunately, these vibrant flowers stick around until summer's end!

And finally, also at about this time, the big lilac bush that borders one side of our patio comes into bloom. The lilacs are simply beautiful and they have such a wonderful light scent. They're in bloom right now and I love them. After roses they're my second-favorite flower. I wish they could last all summer too, but they only stick around for a few weeks.

A few other signs of spring that I've been enjoying:

-My son John can once again wear shorts and sandals and go to the playground and climb trees and do all of those good classic outdoor childhood activities. No more being stuck inside!

-Great photo opps like this:

-The sunlight shines down through canopies of green leaves rather than bare branches.


-Mother's Day and the simple, sweet pleasures that it brings.

I hope you're enjoying the beauties of spring too!