And a happy new year

It's interesting, looking at the "archive" list that I have of this blog and seeing the number of posts I have throughout the year. Last year I had a pretty low number of posts. Working on a PhD can definitely do that to you, especially as time starts to become not your own. So many deadlines, so many chunks of reading to do. I'm happy to say that the semester is now over (and has been for about a week or so), and there was SUCH A HUGE BURDEN OFF MY SHOULDERS when I turned in those papers, because I am officially done with coursework for my Phd program. And that feels so good. Now it's just onto general examination time, which is its own beast to face, but it's something different.

So, that brings me to my (what seems to be) monthly update on my life (though, this is a resolution of mine--to be more deliberate about writing on my blog because 1) I like it, and 2) it's the kind of social media sharing that I like the most, even though I know it gets the least amount of traffic).

To close out 2018, Sam and I spent a lot of time with family and friends in Utah and Boston. We also enjoyed getting to be outside a lot (in Utah) and eating at really yummy places (in Boston . . . though unfortunately I got food poisoning at one of those places, so now I'm sadly turned off from lobster rolls. But the rest of the food was really good!).

[Loving those bright blue Utah skies]

[Tubing with the family]

[Sam and I went snowshoeing in Sundance and it was really fun.]

💗

[In the meadow, we can build a snowman]

[Different view of Timp]

We were also able to attend the wedding of our good friends, Bailey and James, while in Boston, and it was so lovely, and very much them.

[The Emmanuel Church in Boston]

[We love Bailey and James!]

[In between the ceremony and the reception, we hung out at the Boston Public Library]

[At the reception. So literary. Very lovely. Much wow.]

[I might have taken two . . .]

[At the Dostoevsky table with all the cool kids]

[Quite the view]

[We also got to see Greer and Nathan, which was so nice.] 

And then, when we got back to Princeton, to ring in the New Year (and to take a break during essay-writing time for me), we were able to go to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where we saw Aida. Princeton has an opera ticket lottery, and I ended up winning tickets, so it made for a nice date night, complete with a very classy dinner at a gyro food truck. (And, honestly, the gyros were really yummy.) We also ran into some Princeton friends, so when the opera ended around 11:30 pm and the next train to Princeton was at 12:45, we had some friends to talk with on the train ride home.

[The Lincoln Center at night--also, New York shows up to the opera.]

[Feeling fancy]

[For the record, we did enjoy the opera, especially the scenery and costumes--the spectacle of it all. It was reallllly long, though, and I didn't know that it would be about 4.5 hours long.]

At the moment, I'm in Russia doing research while Sam is in Uganda for work. Let's just say that we're looking forward to being together again. 

Cross-country college tour highlights

Oh haiiiii. I disappeared from my blog for awhile. Happens. Especially when real life gets in the way of this online diary. But whatevs. But when I get back on after a hiatus, it means that there is a lot to catch up on and that there will probably be a deluge of blog posts. #sorrynotsorry

Last month, I traveled to a lot of different schools to make a decision about grad school (and, as part of that blog post deluge, I do plan to write a "real talk" post about making the decision--I think we assume that decisions like where to go to grad school are obvious, but that's not always the case. Anyway. I will get on that soapbox a different day. Most likely.).

It was fun (but exhausting) to go around the country and visit different schools. The best part was seeing people across the country whom I love.

[Spring in Kansas. This whirlwind tour meant a whirlwind of different climates/weather--it was spring-like in Kansas and Missouri, winter in Boston, super rainy in Princeton, and then spring-like in D.C.]

[First day of spring, first sign of spring at Mizzou.]

[Jesse Hall]

[And again. With the columns which have been compared to the Death Star by KU fans.]

[Boston Public Library.]

[Stained glass at Boston University. 

[The Esplinade.]

[Best part of BU? Having Greer take me around and talking with her. This woman, though.]

[Nassau Hall, Princeton]

[Finally a sunny day after three days of pouring rain]

[I love it when stained glass shines like this on stone walls]

[My cousins have some pretty cute kids. And it's nice having family around the country.]

[Last but not least, Washington, D.C. And I'll post more pictures from this trip on a separate post because there were so many. Read: cherry blossoms.]

I think I'll go to Boston

Over the break I had the opportunity to go to Boston and work in the Massachusetts Historical Society's archives, where I pored over the Adams Papers. (Hurray for funded research trips and double-hurray for productive research trips.)

I love Boston. I've loved it since I was two. And it was good to be reminded of my love for this city.

[Boston in the morning.]

[Boston in the evening.]

I have some great friends in the Boston area and they were so kind to let me stay with them and show me their city. 

[Lucy and I explored the Boston Back Bay area together.]

[Boston Women's Memorial. Also, this is what I look like after 7 hours in the archives. A bit disheveled and sporting the Marian Librarian look. What can I say? It's what I do best.]

My friend Sarah also hosted me while I was in Boston. I don't have any pictures (sad), but she is a gem. And it was so fun seeing her after five years--we hadn't seen each other since 2011, I think. That feels like an entire lifetime ago. But you know those people who it doesn't seem to matter how long it's been since you last talked, you get back together and can still talk easily and deeply? Thanks for being one of those people, Sarah. 

Also, it was just kind of fun to be back on the American side of the pond, seeing American history up close and personal. It was doubly delightful being in Massachusetts, the birthplace of the American Revolution, knowing that I'd be returning to England . . . it was just funny to me. 

[Church where Massachusetts ratified the Constitution.]

[Old North Church. "One if by land, two if by sea."]

["Listen my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere." Who didn't actually say "The British are Coming." But whatever.]

Also, for as many times as I've been to Boston, I had never seen the Boston Public Library. And guess what? It's beautiful. 

Boston always seems to get me to come back in some way or another. Glad to give her another chance.