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. 

April, she will come

Spring has been shy this year. She comes for a day or two, and then quickly hides behind clouds again. (Case in point: yesterday it was about 80 degrees, and then today it is 40 degrees and rainy. And so it goes.)

But I am grateful for the sun and the spring when it comes. And I've been enjoying the sunshine while I can--and fun for me, it's been in different areas of the country and with different friends and loved ones (old and new).

Two weekends ago, I spent the weekend in D.C. with Sam, friends, and my aunt and uncle's family to celebrate LDS General Conference and Easter (which happily fell on the same Sunday this year).

It was a gorgeous time to go to D.C. The cherry blossoms were just starting to bloom, and we all went to the Mall to listen to Conference. We spread out blankets and jackets, and after many attempts, got the audio speaker to work so we could listen to General Conference, while watching kites float lazily and gracefully (and not-so-gracefully) in the air. Yes. There were kites. It was the annual Kite Flying Festival and it was just one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Such a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

[Sam and I found a little hidden park en route to the temple. We were enchanted.]

[And I'm always enchanted to have him around. Cheesy? Yes. True? Absolutely.]

[Busy Saturday on the Mall.]

[Cherry blossoms!]

[Not quite peak, but still really pretty.]

[Kites! So many kites!]

[It really was such a beautiful scene.]

[Let's go fly a kite] 

[I am not sure if this will even work, but I hope it does. If it doesn't work, it's our group listening to (and singing to, since it was the congregational hymn) General Conference on the National Mall.]

Last Saturday I was in California for a conference, which I was hoping would be sunny, but it was raining nonstop (until the day I left, of course). But the conference itself was friendly and uplifting, and I would rather have a good conference environment and a gloomy day than a gloomy conference and a beautiful day. So I'll take it.

[One day of California sun is better than none.]

And then, Princeton. Princeton in spring is beautiful! There are beautiful pink and white magnolia trees everywhere, and the flowers look so striking against the grey stone of Princeton's campus. It has made studying both easier and harder. Easier, because my soul feels lighter. Harder, because I just want to be outside and soak in the day. I hope spring decides to stay this week. And that next year she comes earlier and stays longer.

[So, so pretty]

[Can't get enough of this corner.]

P.S. I totally forgot to write about being home for Spring Break. It was good to be home. There was too much to do, but it was good to be home. Highlights include family, mountains, and dear friends who organized and came to a bridal shower for me. The older I get, the more I realize how I'm indebted to that town and the people in Utah County.

[Home.]

[Bridal shower!]

[Cute decorations]

[The fabulous Em. The sad thing is that I got more pictures of the decorations than the actual party and the people there. But luckily we snapped a few photos before Em left. Thanks for everything, Em. xx]

[Typical.]

[And more mountains. I will never, ever tire of these views.]