A Girl and Her Boy

Day Trip to Cambridge, MA

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 17:30:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago John's parents came up to visit. One of the days we took a day trip up to Cambridge to see Harvard and to check out their natural history museum. The building was a lot larger than we thought it would be and held some pretty interesting stuff. If you enjoy flowers, there was a whole room filled with replicas made out of glass.

The natural history museum is attached to the Peabody Museum which "engages in, supports, and promotes the study and appreciation of ancient and contemporary peoples from around the world."

There are so many interesting buildings in Cambridge. On our walk back to the train station, we passed the gorgeous Memorial Hall.

George B. Parker Woodland

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 21:38:00 +0000

A couple weeks ago, John bought a book about local hiking trails throughout New England and we decided we'd hike each one throughout our time here in Providence. The first hike we chose was the George B. Parker Woodland. It's located in Coventry, RI and we thought it was the perfect way to start our hiking adventures. I enjoy trails that are surrounded by woods where you feel like you're exploring rather than following several people around a walking path.

Along our hike we stumbled upon natural deposits of quartz. Because they were shaded by the trees, these two rocks were cold to the touch and a pleasant surprise.

One of the reasons we picked this trail was because of these rock structures called cairns. No one knows why they were built or even when. It was even crazier to learn that parts of the woodland was once farmland. It's amazing how quickly a landscape can change in the course of a couple hundred years.

July Birchbox

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 05:28:00 +0000

Most people who know me, know I'm not a beauty expert. The most I use is concealer, eyeliner, maybe mascara, and maybe lip gloss (when I remember). So why did I join Birchbox three months ago? Because I am one of those people who would actually like to update their beauty regime but are essentially clueless when it comes to buying products. That's why I like having someone (something?) telling me what's cool or what I should try. It's also nice to try out a product before buying it, which is my biggest issue with buying beauty products. I hate to buy things without knowing if I'll like it or if it'll actually do anything for me.

So what is Birchbox, you ask? According to their website it is:

...the best way to discover new grooming, beauty and lifestyle products. Sample top products from high-end brands, get expert advice, [and] buy new favorites...

Birchbox also likes to come up with themed samples (May was Gossip Girl and June was flying/travelling) which is kind of nice instead of just random samples put in a nice box.

This is (sort of) what the box looks like when opened. The theme for July was the five senses, thanks to Glamour magazine.

Birchbox always includes a card with a list of everything inside the box and a description of each item. On the other side is usually a message from the co-founders and the Birchbox team explaining each month's theme.

Boscia Green Tea Blotting Linens // Full-size: 100 sheets/$10

I'm actually kind of excited to try these out. It's summer. It's hot. I live in a desert. I'm bound to sweat buckets for the next couple of months, so these will come in handy. They're also small enough to fit in practically any purse so they're easy to carry with you for fast touch ups.

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner // Full-size (included): $15

My eyeliner came in olive. Not sure how I feel about the color since I hardly ever stray from black, but I love how much it feels like a marker than a liquid liner. I'm looking forward to trying this out and possibly buying this in black (unfortunately Birchbox only has olive and turquoise available in their store; black is available at Sephora though).

Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint // Full-size: $38

I'm interested in trying this. It seems like a lot of folks over at Birchbox like Jouer, so it must be worth trying. They say it's an award-winner (of what, I'm not sure), so that must mean something...right? Plus I'm always looking for new moisturizers and I've never tried a luminizing one before, so we'll see.

Oscar de la Renta LIVE in LOVE // Full-size: $25-78

Can I just say how picky I am when it comes to perfumes? There have only been one or two that I would consider ever wearing (ie. citrusy scents and the Burbury that my old roommate used to wear). This is definitely a floral scent. Not my kind of perfume but I'll at least give it a shot.

LÄRABAR über in Cherry Cobbler // Pack of 16: $27.95

I've seen these bars all the time in grocery stores but I've never actually tried them. I'm always looking for tasty yet (somewhat) healthy bars for post work-out snacks or something I can quickly snack on on my way out the door. I saw some people got a bananas foster flavor and I'm a tad jealous, although you can't go wrong with cherry cobbler (and a little ice cream...er). I like the fact that the ingredients are simple and not unpronounceable chemicals that I don't have the faintest idea what they are. They're also gluten free, non-gmo, and kosher for those of you who are curious.

Birchbox Earbuds // Not for sale

These earbuds also came in the box. They're pretty typical looking and since I lost my Skull Candy ones a while back, I've been in need of some nicer looking earbuds other than my generic Apple ones. Maybe one day I'll actually invest in a nice pair of headphones. Maybe. I also heard some people got these in pink and blue (hey, I like blue). You can also go to Glamour's website and listen to playlists that they created on Spotify.

FINAL VERDICT:

All in all, I'm very happy with this month's selection. While I would have liked to have also sampled the AHAVA Purifying Mud Mask or one of the Juliette Has a Gun scents, I can't complain. This was definitely the best box so far. Good job, Birchbox! I can't wait to see what they have in store for next month.

Warrior Dash...Can You Handle It?

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:32:00 +0000

This Saturday I'll be attending my first ever Warrior Dash. It's a race involving "3.28 hellish miles" filled with crazy obstacles that have names like Storming Normandy, Warrior Roast, and Muddy Mayhem. I'll be climbing over walls, crawling through mud, and trying not to catch myself on fire (just kidding about that last one...sort of).

All joking aside, this is also my first race, ever, so I'm a little nervous about it. I'm a little nervous about running outside since most of the time I run is either at the gym or at home, and the few times I have run outside were usually early in the morning when it was still cool (aka my favorite time to run outside in Arizona). Even though we're running at 9:30 in the morning, it'll probably already be fairly warm (and it's supposed to get in the low 90's that day). And if we're being honest here, I haven't actually ran anything longer than 2 miles. But I'll be running with two other friends so I'm sure it'll all work out in the end.

To get some idea of what to expect the day of the race, I did a little Google searching and came across an old post on Back to Her Roots that I thought was pretty helpful. There were a few things I didn't think of but should have (like a towel to wipe the mud off and one for your car). Plus the pictures were fun to look at. I'll hopefully have an update on how things went after this weekend. Bring on the mud!

P.S. Did I mention you get a fuzzy viking helmet just for participating? You can't be a good warrior without your helmet (duh).

"I'm shipping up to Boston."

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:23:00 +0000

I went to Boston in January with John for a math conference. Going from 70 degree weather to 20-30 degree weather was a major change. Luckily I still own a jacket and scarf that I put to good use while I was there.

Guest at the Joint Mathematics Meetings

We stayed at the Westin at Copely Place which was attached to a mall and the convention center that the conference was held at, which allowed us to avoid most of the cold and windy weather.

Taken from Cabot and Company

Not far from the hotel/mall is Newbury Street. Shops and restaurants line the street and is a hotspot for shopping. I walked along the street during one of our last days in Boston, enjoying the warmer weather and the neat little shops that lined the street. John and I later went to dinner at Stephanie's On Newbury. They're noted for having "sophisticated comfort food." It was delicious!

Boston Public Library

Inside the library:

One of the hallways:

There were two stone lion statues at the end of the staircases:

John and I also visited the Museum of Fine Arts. It has three levels and a ton of art that you can't truly look at all in one day.

I took the above picture for John. It was the first thing we saw walking into one of the rooms and we couldn't help but laugh at this baby. Poor thing.

Pennsylvania Dutch artwork

I wonder why this artwork never caught on... (face at the end of an arm chair)

And then we reached the modern art section. Honestly, this was probably my favorite section of the whole museum.

Don't Hate the Game, Hate the...Vamplayer?

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:26:00 +0000

I was on Goodread's website this morning and noticed the above ad in their sidebar. Do they really think this is my kind of book? I read a page or two thanks to Amazon and I can safely say this is not going to happen. I also saw that the author has another novel in this "series" called Zombies Don't Cry.

Yeah.

Flying Cats & Bats

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:42:00 +0000

Tonight I'm on a cute/funny animal theme. Baby animals are cute (especially this little one) too. Sometimes you just need a little cuteness at night.

I've had this photo saved on my laptop for quite some time now. And every time I look at it, I can't help but laugh at the poor cat. Hopefully whatever was happening in the photo, the cat is fine now. It's face, on the other hand, is priceless.

A friend at work showed this video to me. According to the owner, the cat didn't like the daughter of their one friend. I feel a little bad for laughing so much at this cat, but you will see why when you watch.

This video is about a bat that was rescued from a zoo that was closed and whose mother abandoned him. Apparently it's not uncommon for this to happen when a mother bat is stressed and unsure about their own safety. Bat World Sanctuary rescued and hand-raised the little guy. And in case you want to (which I suggest you do), you can watch the first video here.

For more cuteness, you can check out Cute Overload.

The Flood of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:19:00 +0000

On September 7th, my hometown along with many other areas from Maryland to New York were hit hard by Hurricane Lee. Below are videos from some of those places. My family was lucky and did not get hit by the flooding (although some, like my mom, came awfully close).

This video is just a slideshow of a bunch of different parts of PA that were flooded. It's pretty interesting if you don't mind the noise (aka the music...you might want to mute this one) or the length.

This video is about Hersheypark, ZooAmerica and the damages they had to deal with.

I don't know why, but it's always sort of...surreal? when I see events like this happening to my hometown. I guess it's a little weird to be viewing things on TV and online rather than actually being there. Especially when I know the locations pictured.

M-I-C-K-(E)Y M-O-U-S-E

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:16:00 +0000

The original Micky

Most people only know about Walt Disney and his famous mouse. What they don't know is that Mickey (or Micky as the original toy was called) originated in my hometown of Middletown, PA. According to the Middletown Borough, around 1931:

The Disney Corporation sued the Performo-Toy Company claiming they took Micky from Disney. The small toy company was no match for the large production company and the courts ordered the Performo-Toy Company to stop all production of the Micky toys and destroy any existing stock. Even catalogs containing Micky had to be destroyed. This tragedy, along with the Great Depression, was enough to put the Performo-Toy Company out of business.

But the Performo toy was patented in 1926; while Disney did not receive a trademark until 1928 and oddly enough, both used the same distribution company once Disney started distributing their toy dolls.

Taken from the Middletown Borough

As the story goes (or rumor depending on who you listen to), the Performo toy Micky was being sold across the Northeast when Walt Disney took a trip to New York City. The Middletown historians believe that Disney borrowed the idea from this toy and the rest, they say, is history. Feel free to read more about Micky and my town here.

My Water-Loving Cat

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 21:23:00 +0000

This is Chase. Chase loves water. The second he heard me turning on the faucet for my bath, he came running in. He loves to watch the water. He also has a bad habit of wanting to watch the water swirl down when you flush the toilet too, sometimes trying to paw-paw the water as it flows out (yuck).

Mashed

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 03:21:00 +0000

John and I made dinner tonight. It's kind of nice cooking simple meals together. We had pasta (again...but that's ok) with his new favorite sauce (see previous post). Tonight, we decided to try something a little different. It looks like a normal meal, but those aren't mashed potatoes. They're mashed cauliflower. They're not as disgusting as you might think. Although, after eating most of it, it started to become too much. Kind of like when you eat something for the first time and it's good but your body isn't used to it and says ENOUGH after a while. Kind of like when I eat too much French food (too rich?), or authentic Asian food (too...authentic? I don't know with that one).

I still give it a thumbs up although I don't know when the next time I'll make mashed cauliflower again. Maybe I'll try this roasted garlic cauliflower recipe next time we buy some.

What Is There To Do In Minnesota In March?

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:42:00 +0000

Way back in March, my mom and I decided to take a trip to the Mall of America. When I first told John where I was going, he asked me why I would travel somewhere to visit a mall. Trying to tell him that it was Mall of America (duh) and the largest mall in the country meant nothing to him. He was definitely glad he was staying at home for this trip.

When we first arrived, I wasn't expecting it to be snowing. Sure, it was only March but living in Arizona you get used to the 364 days of sun and the lack of the white stuff. While most of the snow wouldn't stick to the roads, they stuck to the sidewalks and turned to ice mostly. That was fine because I brought a fleece jacket for the short amount of time I knew we would (or wouldn't) be spending outdoors.

The mall itself is four stories high (with a gross area of 4,200,000 sq ft (390,000 m²) or 96.4 acres) with over 500 stores, an amusement park in the middle that has 25 rides and attractions, a 14 screen theatre, and an aquarium in the basement. That's a lot.

Woody made out of Lego's

Next to the rides and attractions is Lego Land. They really go all out when they put in stores at this mall. It was cool to look at and if I was younger, I probably would have bugged my mom to buy me some (what kid doesn't like Lego's??).

There was also another attraction next to the center called the Human Doing. For a month starting in March, a man named Scott lived in a glass apartment in the middle of the mall. The project was created by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota to promote healthier lifestyles and every day he asked people to choose what activities he would do for that day. The day that I saw him, he was playing some figure skating game (which is why his arms are out, he was landing a spin I think). He was allowed to leave his box and did other events at some of the stores in the mall. Apparently, he lost 27 pounds afterwards.

This was outside the Mexican restaurant located in the mall. There were others at the other entrance.

We also went to the Aquarium. It wasn't as big as I was hoping, but it was still pretty amazing considering the location. We took a behind-the-scenes tour and got to see a turtle they had quarantined. I remember he kept snapping at us because he thought we would feed him.

All in all, it was a fun trip. Will I ever go back to MOA? Probably not, but not because I disliked it. It's just that it has pretty much the same stuff as you have anywhere else. It was fun to see and experience though.

"You Better Move."

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 05:23:00 +0000

credit to la fitness

I went to the gym tonight. I know, big news, right? A lot of people go to the gym every week. I'm only doing the free two-week pass and I hate how the second I sat down the gentleman (who was really nice) asked if I was ready to sign up. Umm...can I look around first? Maybe try a class or two? I know they're sales reps, but relax a little. I don't like people who push or bug me too much. I won't buy whatever it is they're trying to sell me that way. I might end up joi- I MEAN...I'm still looking into if it's the "right place" for me (I hope LA Fitness reps don't use google).

Some friends and I went to the kickbox cardio class and despite my doubt, it kicked my butt. Which is the point. The lady running the class was intense. She had so much energy and was super buff. I was a little jealous. Halfway through the class though, I started lagging and it started to get a little hard to follow. I give myself some slack since it was only my first class. I'll probably go back again on Wednesday with my friends to do some more work outs. I've never done weight training, so we'll see how that goes!

Home-made Food is Mm-Mmm Good

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 04:58:00 +0000

Sometimes you forget how good food can taste when you're always eating out and stocking your fridge to the brim with pre-made, processed foods. So John and I have decided to start eating a little simpler and have been going to the store pretty much every day to pick up only a handful of food. We keep it simple with a loaf of bread (like a baguette, French bread, etc.), some meat and veggies and/or fruit (the kind you find in the produce section, not the frozen or canned vegetable section). We're not really trying to be one of those people who ONLY eat pure foods (although I'm sure that's 10 times more healthier), as we'll still eat out every once in a while and will probably fall prone to laziness at some point. We just want to live healthier lives.

John has found a pasta sauce that he actually likes. And he even enjoys making it. It's a simple tomato sauce with minced garlic and basil, but it's good. And simple. We topped it off with some fresh bread we bought at a French bakery called La Baguette Bakery. According to Yelp, it's not the "best" bakery in town, but for my unsophisticated palate it's pretty good. We got a loaf of French bread and an apricot and almond bread. I would have liked it if there had been a little more fruit in it, but it wasn't bad.

I also made some home-made French toast the other day. I'm hardly a chef and I had never made French toast before, so the results were pretty satisfying considering. I sliced up the remaining French bread and I used some fresh eggs John had bought at a farmer's market (along with the cherries). The recipe I used didn't have enough mix for the four slices, but all in all it was a success.

I had to add that last photo. Chase is always so nosy. He had to come and see what was going on and sniff the new "objects". He didn't seem to understand why I'd want to photograph them. Silly cats.

Maisy Pie and the Chocolate House

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:48:00 +0000

John and I spent about three weeks watching one of our friend's cat, Maisy. She was a stray cat that kept visiting our friends until they decided to start feeding her, and luckily, take her in. They made sure no one else was searching for the pint sized cat before officially taking her in. And let me tell you, they made a good choice. She's a super sweet cat that is so small that she probably weighs less than our own miniature, Nova. But then Nova was also super tiny when we took her in (also a stray), too.

Maisy looking a little demonic. She actually has an adorable golden, lazy-eyed look to her which makes her look extremely laid back.

It was sad when our time watching her was up. We had grown attached to Maisy Pie (as I affectionately started calling her). She was a shy little thing when we first started taking care of her and by the end, she was a head-butting, purring machine who loved her lazer pointer and oddly enough...her ping pong ball. But at least we know she's well taken care of.

As a thank you for watching their cat, our friends brought back some chocolate from the Old Chocolate House from Bruges, Belgium. Totally unexpected, but definitely appreciated. I don't know about anyone else, but I can't say no to chocolate (European chocolate at that). But honestly, we could have watched Maisy without expecting any sort of gift or payment. We enjoyed our time with her and I'm sure she enjoyed being with us too.

My San Diego Trip - Pt. 4

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:05:00 +0000

While in/near the Gaslamp District, I caught this on the side
of one of the buildings. Invader street art.

And last, I took home a little memorabilia from the Zoo.

My San Diego Trip - Pt. 3

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 23:05:00 +0000

Our last day in San Diego, we went to the San Diego Zoo. It's huge and they have buses that can take you to different points as well as a ski lift type ride running north and south. The plants that they grow in the zoo are also for the animals and are actually more expensive than the animals themselves.

I heard some peeping coming from the plant/wooded section of one of the pathways
and these little guys came waddling out. Of course, once they came out people
began to surround them and the momma duck almost lost some of her
peeplings. I was not thrilled (and before anyone says I was distracting them too...
I was actually standing out of the way to allow the mother to keep track of them all.
Some kids chased two of the babies across a bridge and the parents didn't do a thing...ugh)

My San Diego Trip - Pt. 2

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 22:05:00 +0000

The view of San Diego from Cabrillo National Monument.

Boats a block from where our hotel was.

Dire wolf bones

Museum of Man

California Tower near Museum of Man

Alcazar Garden

My San Diego Trip - Pt. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:05:00 +0000

John and I went to San Diego a couple weeks ago and yeah...I'm just getting to uploading a few pictures from the trip. We had a ton of fun. We saw the Phillies play the Padres two days in a row, went to the San Diego Zoo, and visited Balboa Park. The weather was amazing, if a little cool at night. All in all, it was great.

So, on to the fun part and the reason for this post...pictures!

PETCO Park

Phillies fans might be the only one to appreciate this picture.
Chooch and Halladay.

Oh, and this one too.
An interesting shirt another Phils fan wore our first night.

It's Been A While...

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 06:31:00 +0000

So, not a lot has been going on lately. So why the lack of posts then, you ask? Because the past couple of weeks, I've either been sick or working and/or tired. Not a lot of fun there. But cool news, John and I (I have his permission to use his name, so I don't have to call him "the boy" anymore...which will make him happy) will be heading to San Diego to see the Phillies play. We're both pretty stoked and we have our Phillies gear ready to go (red, red, red!) and we're excited to see the guys in action again. Plus I'm excited to visit San Diego (we're going to the zoo too!) and enjoy their nice weather. I just hope it's not too "cold" for me!

John took this during the one day I was sick: Nova and I napping together.

How I Came Up With The Name

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:52:00 +0000

Since it's been an uneventful couple of days (err...weeks?), I thought I'd give the short story of how I came up with the name for this blog. Most people probably won't find it that interesting, but I'm throwing it out there just in case anyone down the road is ever curious (hey, it could happen).

First off, I'm horrible with coming up with ideas for blog titles. I'll literally spend days and weeks trying to come up with something witty or cool until I get too anxious about not coming up with anything that I'll almost use anything that comes to mind first just so I can get started. How I could feel the pressure for a journal that wasn't even created yet, I don't know...but that's what I do. Anyway...

For this blog, I tried to think up something that would be related to both me and the Boy. Something that would tie us together without being too cheesy or too boring. It's probably a little nerdy, if anything.

Depending on your age, you've probably played - or at least seen - one of these games (or if you're not into video games, it's called A Boy and His Blob). The old NES version was hard! First, you had to figure out what each jelly bean flavor did to the blob (for example, the vanilla jelly beans turned him into an umbrella). That wasn't really the hard part. The way the game was made, it's just impossible to beat. The Wii version is almost nothing like the original. It's so much easier and frankly, a lot cuter. You don't have to figure out what the jelly beans do in the new version and the levels are fairly easy to beat.

So what does that have to do with this blog? Both the Boy and I grew up on old S/NES video games. We've both played ABAHB. And as I already said, I thought the new version was cute and I could picture us as the two characters in the game (although to be honest, I'd probably be the blob...I follow his lead more than he follows mine!). I guess the whole idea of the two being friends and depending/trusting each other made sense and honestly, it was the first game that came to mind that I could remotely tie to a relationship. And that's about it!

Maybe some day I'll find someone to create a cool header of the two of us as a mock-up of one of the games (hint hint).

And FYI, the Boy does not look like a blob...and I do not look like a boy.

Flash Mob

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 03:24:00 +0000

I first saw this on Bloody Brilliant! and I thought it was pretty awesome. Why can't I ever be somewhere when they do a flash mob? I think it'd be so insane (and awesome).

Not much else to report today. I worked all day and it was rainy and I hung out with the boy (which always makes me happy) and...that's about it. All in all, not a bad day.

A Late Valentine's Day Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:18:00 +0000

Last night the Boy and I went out for a late Valentine's Day dinner. Neither of us like the craziness of Valentine's so we always decide to do something special a couple days before or after when the crowds have died down.

Taken by Mark Voss

We decided to go to Athens of 4th, which has quickly become our favorite Greek restaurant. It's a bit expensive, but the food has always been worth it (at least the two times I've gone so far).

Taken by Mark Voss

We started off with an order of tzatziki (which is a Greek yogurt, cucumber, and garlic dip served with pita bread) for an appetizer and then I got the britzoles arnisies (lamb chops) and he decided on the fish of the day (which was a crab-stuffed Idaho trout). Everything was delicious and the staff was friendly.

Athens on 4th has quickly become our new favorite (Greek) restaurant.

Afterwards, the Boy really wanted to play Castle Ravenloft, so we spent the last two hours playing his new favorite board game (which we lost in the end).

All in all, it was a good night!

Bad Habits

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:10:00 +0000

We all have our own bad habits. And living with another person, they can sometimes get on their nerves. I'm sure I have a few that the Boy finds annoying and I know he has a few. I try not to let them get to me because I have a lonnng road ahead of me of dealing with these habits and I'm trying to look at them as quirks rather than something negative.

Well, last night the Boy made me a little dinner after a long night at work. I was feeling crappy and a little feverish and he offered to make me something to eat since I hadn't eaten all night. After I gobbled down the food, I went out to the kitchen to find not one, not two...but three cabinet doors open. That's one of his "quirks". I don't know why it annoys me so much, but last night instead of getting mad I simply took a couple pictures. He didn't even remember leaving them open, either.

One of my bad habits that probably annoys him? I hardly ever make the bed. So you can guess what I forgot to do this morning! It doesn't help that our cats love to lay on the bed and I feel like I'm being mean when I have to push them off (not literally, of course) to make the bed. Oh well, I better get on that!

Hello!

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:15:00 +0000

First, I would like to thank you for visiting my new blog! There's not much here right now, but I hope to change that in the future.

To start things off, my name is Nichole. The boy and I are originally from Central Pennsylvania (which means we're not from Philly OR Pittsburgh). We met 10 - almost 11 - years ago when we both worked at Hersheypark. When he graduated college, he went off to Arizona for grad school. I stayed behind in PA for a couple years before we both realized how miserable we were with only seeing each other for a couple days every three months. So I ended up moving out to Arizona where we currently reside.

A little more about ourselves? We're big Philadelphia Phillies fans (don't get me started on Jimmy Rollins...he's my boy!). We own two cats - Chase and Nova. We love to read (I'm currently reading The Day of the Triffids & True Grit) and watch movies. The Boy loves to garden and all things nature. We like to hike and be outdoors.

This blog, I guess, will be about my/our adventures as we navigate the crazy world of academia. The Boy is almost done with grad school (he's so excited) and the next chapter of our adventure will be starting. The uncertainty of where we'll be heading next is both frustrating and exciting for us. Where will we end up next? Only time will tell.