Jack's Place

My dear friend Sue is leaving Boston soon. In all her Boston years, she'd never been to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, so we decided to go as a little goodbye to her.

Pat, Me, Sue, Mollie

Some of my favorite displays were actually about Jackie. Look at the adorable cartoons she drew in her scrapbook.

Here is one of her dresses. I love her classic, elegant style.

This is Rhonda and me in front of a piece of the Berlin wall.

You know, even though I'm not a Democrat, I think that JFK was truly inspiring. But let's face it, he would probably be the most conservative Democrat in Washington right now. He did so much in such a short time that he was President, from the Space Program to the Peace Corps. I think this quote sums up well.

Elephant Walk

My company decided that since the holiday season is so busy, our annual holiday party is held in January after all the rush is over. This year, we went to the Elephant Walk on Beacon Street. They serve an interesting combination of Cambodian and French food and have adorable elephant decorations everywhere.

It's nice to have social time away from work and always good to see the wives and significant others.

The food was terrific, but dessert is always the best part. Love the little elephant cookie. :)

Socialism

My sister referred me to a survey panel a couple of years ago. The gist of it is, you get points for surveys that you take, then trade them in for great rewards... like the nano ipod Jess got for her son. (If anyone wants in on it, let me know and I can send you a referral e-mail.) As part of this panel, occasionally they'll send me products to try for a month and then tell them what I thought. I've done a facial moisturizer and this week I received a shower cream. This is the packaging it came in:
When I opened the box at work, Mike saw it and it bothered him a little. He likes to play devil's advocate in our mostly politically conservative office, and will often tout more liberal points of view. After seeing this non-descript, homogenous packaging, though, he changed his mind. He told me that if he ever started saying socialism or communism was a good idea, all I had to do was pull out this shower cream and he would concede. Can you imagine if all the products on a shelf at the grocery store looked like this? Or if there were only one product to choose from in the first place? No thank you!

Presidential Failure

When we heard that President Obama was coming to Boston for a rally for Martha Coakley, my roommates and I decided to try to see him after church... we tried to be inconspicuous, since we're really Republicans. ;) On the other side of the street were rallyers for Scott Brown.We got off the train at North Eastern and saw the beginning of the line, then after half a block, how it snaked around this plaza...... then down this block......then around the corner, down one side of this street and back around the other side......and a little bit around the corner again, where we were finally able to get at the end of the line. Needless to say, we didn't get in to see Obama, although we may have seen his limo drive by. ;)It was a little too cold to be standing out there too long in nylons and heels anyway.

Chopped

I had a Groupon at a fancy salon in the Back Bay, so I decided to go with a short style again. This was the cut I loved that my hairstylist in Utah, Melissa, gave me five years ago. (If she were still cutting hair, I would schedule appointments with her whenever I was home... but alas, I have had to do without her amazing skills since she moved to California at the same time I left for Boston.)

This is how it turned out. So fun and sassy. I know I'm going to miss ponytails though.

Welcome 2010

When I got back to Boston from my Christmas trip, all of my roommates were still gone. So I was home... alone... all by myself. So I spent much more time in my pajamas watching tv, 'cause at least then I could hear people talking. After the second day, I tried calling some friends who live nearby... but they were also still out of town. On the fourth day, it was New Year's Eve, so I tried reaching out to even more friends, but by 7 p.m. still hadn't found anyone in town where I could tag along. I resigned myself to ringing in the New Year alone, maybe even already sleeping... which I haven't done since I was little. Just about then, I got a call from Daryl, who had not been planning on celebrating New Year's Eve, but he and his roommate were willing to go to a movie. Aren't they sweet? We decided on The Princess and the Frog at Boston Commons. I got there a little early and walked around the park a bit. I had been feeling tired of the city... the hassle of parking, the terrible winter weather, not having any friends... It's funny, though, because every time I actually go into the city (working on the South Shore affords me little city time), I fall in love with it allover again.

People were walking all around for First Night Boston. Some were a little tipsy, but everyone seemed happy and excited. I could feel the energy in the air and it made me smile to just be walking through the park, listening to the live band playing at the grandstand. It was a good New Year's Eve.

I do have to show you the sorry Christmas lights in Boston:

They don't hold a candle to Temple Square!