"NO SOUP FOR YOU"

or is it Sandwich?

Yesterday I had, what I was anticipating to be one of the scariest and most intimidating experiences of my grown up life so far. However, it turned out to be one of the best and most entertaining things I have ever seen.

I was really hungry and didn't bring a lunch that day because I was bound and determined to try out one of the many great places to eat down town. I had heard about this place from Kristin a while ago called Al's State Street Cafe and even had one of their sandwiches during one of my visits. I remember loving the sandwich but also remembered Kristin telling me about how crazy it can be to get through the door. So, I googled it just so I would be prepared (I'm a dork I know).

Most people referred to Al's as the soup Nazi of sandwich shops which if you've seen Seinfeld you know that that means, make one wrong step and ... "NO SOUP FOR YOU!" Why would anyone want to subject themselves to complete humiliation like that? Well, because the sandwiches are so good of course!

After reading all of the instructions from all of the helpful Bostonians who were kind enough to post the rules, I sent myself whirling out of my comfort zone and walked over to the shop. The place was packed, not out the door yet, but almost. People in line were yelling their orders while the people behind the counter (there were like 20 people back there) were screaming, "NEXT!" It was complete and utter chaos!

The nice guy behind me, upon seeing my eyes bugging out of my head and realizing that this was my first time, took me under his wing and was very helpful. He even told me which sandwich was best. After being told the rules again for good measure and waiting for a total of about 2 minutes a worker behind the counter yelled, "NEXT" I wasn't even close to the counter but I was clearly the next person and was told not to hesitate. So, I shouted, "Small State Street Special" the guy smiled and nodded. Two minutes later I had my sandwich and was handing 5 bucks (over someones head) to the cashier. The cashier told me to have a nice day and gave me the cheesiest smile I think I have ever seen. I smiled back and quickly exited the shop before I was trampled.

(This is what I saw on my way back to the office.

I love how this old building where they first read the

declaration of Independence is almost hiding under the big buildings

but still holds its own)

I walked back to the office feeling triumphant. I literally couldn't wipe the smile off of my face, which thoroughly scared some people on the street judging by their reactions. And I just have to say, that sandwich was SO good!

The State Street Special in all it's glory!
Extra lean prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, basil and plum tomatoes, topped with just enough olive oil and balsamic vinegar...YUM!

Adventures in Boston

So, after a few months of preparation, stress and some serious thinking...I packed up my lovely apartment in Meridian and headed out to Boston. I have to say, it was harder than I thought it would be to leave.

Most of you already know but I stopped off in Pittsburgh on my way to Boston and had a blast with Shelly, James and Hailey. It was a great mini vacation in a really crazy place. I am here to confirm that Pittsburgh does have a million boarded up houses and pot holes in the streets and there are some grocery stores that you do not go to at night. However, the graffiti was always fun to look at as were the boarded up houses, that museums were So fun, the city was beautiful from up high, the Strip (like one big farmers market but better) was fantastic and the grave yard was unreal!!! I will post soon with pictures from that trip. In the mean time though I wanted to let you all know that I got to Boston and I am doing great!

The day I got in Kristin and Kenley had a little welcoming party for me which was such a fun surprise. Kristin had decorated the house, which Cora loved, and Kenley and Kristin got me a little welcome to Boston package with all the essentials for living here in Boston (hand sanitizer, an umbrella, a Boston magazine, wet ones wipes etc.)

Kristin even made me a Boston Cream Pie!!!

Kristin and Kenley were here with me for a few days and then ventured off to Utah for a little vacation. They showed me around a little and left me their car which I was so grateful for. So, I have been learning the "T" and the bus system, driving a little, and I have met the greatest people.

For those of you who don't believe that I am in fact driving out here...I attached the following picture. It really isn't as scary as I thought it would be. I know how to get most places that I would need to and I even drove to the airport and back. I haven't even been honked at yet!
Okay, now before you start thinking that I am a pro out here... here is a funny little story to assure you that I am not. I have to take a bus for about 20 minutes and then I have to walk for about 10 in order to get to church. After getting directions from my friend Ellen, I felt pretty good about it and being able to find it. We had a pretty good snow storm over the weekend but they keep things pretty cleared off out here, so I figured the sidewalks would be cleared and it would be okay to wear heels. Boy was I wrong! I walked out to the bus stop where there were heaping piles of snow built up right were I needed to step to get on the bus (see below). When I got on the bus and had to step into that the bus driver just sat there and laughed at me. I can't say that I blame him, everyone around me had on snow boots and here I was in tights and high heels!

After I got off the bus, I realized that only some of the sidewalks are cleared off here. Below is a path that I had to take which was pure ice. People had to pass me because I was sliding all over the place. I had to go super slow in order to put some serious thought into my next steps.

I did make it safely though and church was so great! The people out here are so nice and helpful. I even got a bunch of offers to be driven home. That is one mistake I will hopefully not be making again! I'll try to keep my blog better updated in the future.

Treacherous Roads lead to Surprisingly Good Times

This last Thursday and Friday Mom, Kathy, Kaitlin and I all had ourselves a little adventure. We started out at about 4:00p.m. driving out to Rexburg to see the new temple. When we started driving the snow started to come down lightly, but before we knew it it was coming down in buckets! Mom was driving and was having a hard time seeing the road and could feel herself sliding. So we made the tough decision that we probably should stop. Rexburg was just not going to be a possibility this time around.





None of us wanted to go to work the next day so we were all totally bummed...Until...mom came up with the great idea of staying in Twin Falls. Well, Twin was about another hour out and the roads were getting worse and worse the farther we drove. So we looked at our next option and had a great Girls trip in Mountain Home!





We were really scared that we were going to have to stay in one of the many scary motels that we saw as we drove into town but got really lucky when we found a Hampton Inn. Those hotels are awesome! Only one problem...Kaitlin and Kathy didn't bring any swim suites. So, we were off to locate something for them to swim in without paying a lot of money. We wondered through two thrift stores and actually found shorts for them to use. We then wondered into a little antique store and had dinner at a really great Chinese restaurant that we were told people drive all the way from Boise just to eat at. We lounged in the hotel room and by the hot tub and totally enjoyed every minute.

Mom and Kathy digging in the Youth Ranch

Kathy explaining to Tim the Mountain Home situation

Kaitlin and I messing around in our awesome hotel room

Kathy and Mom in front of the cutest little antique shop, The Black Crow

The next day we wondered through a few more stores, found some great winter wear at killer deals, ate at Taco Johns and even came across a little train car which was in some serious need of exploring and picture taking!

Mom and Kathy trying to fit in with the locals

This is the train that we found and just had to explore

We climbed on top of the train and dropped down inside for a better look.

This is what the inside looked like...We thought it would be perfect for the filming of a new Supernatural show!
Mom and Kathy looked around as well but stayed outside to take all these great pictures.


Taco John's...Yum!

We then headed back to Boise on not-so-treacherous roads, took in a movie and explored the new Anthropologie in town. All in all the trip was a complete success! We had a great time and decided that we need to do these girls trips more often. Mountain Home was surprisingly Great...I think the company had a little something to do with that!

Chinchilla...ever heard of one?

So, the other night Kaitlin and I ran to the Karcher mall to check out the new Steve and Barry's store. We were completely disappointed...everything was pretty well picked over considering nothing was over $8.00 and on top of that we could only fit into extra larges! Since when did we become extra large? Anyway, so on our way out we decided to stop in the pet store to look at all the cute animals. However, Cute is not what we found!!!

As we made our way to the back of the store Kaitlin kept talking about something called a Chinchilla and how she wanted to go look at it. When we reached it's cage I knelt down to have a better look at the gigantic rodent that was in the cage. At first I thought it was cute all snuggled up in the corner with its eyes closed. This cute little bunny thing...I just wanted it to wake up so I could see it better. So, what did we do? Exactly what you're not suppose to do...we started tapping on the glass. It took a while but finally the 'Chilla opened it's eyes and let me tell you...That was the scariest bunny I have ever seen!

It put it's mouth on the glass and started kissing it (so says Kaitlin), or better yet showing us it's massive teeth and warning us to stay back or suffer the consequences. Then it hopped/ran from one side of the cage to the next with lightning speed! Kaitlin wanted to get someone so we could hold it and I wanted to run for my life!!! It was an awkward looking rodent that could snap and bite at any moment. I mean this thing may have looked cute at first but that's what made it all the more scary! It could use it's charm to rope you in and then WHAM! You're rushing off to the hospital with a huge chinchilla bite praying that you don't have rabies! I mean it took me almost a month to hold a rat that I had to train in college there was no way I was going to hold something that was even bigger than a rat but had the same "rat like" qualities!

It amazes me that when I was little I really wanted a rat...what the heck happened between then and now that made me hate them and all creatures like them so much?