The Heart of Life is Good

Many changes to blog about!

2009-11-23T17:32:00.003-05:00

I cannot believe how long it's been since I last blogged. Of course, I don't have that many followers, so it doesn't matter that much. But I'm going to try to write more frequently now, especially since so many things are changing in my life, and exciting things are to come!

As of last Friday, it's official, I'm going to Zimbabwe for my practicum! You may remember that for my Master's in Public Health program, I have to do a field practice placement. Well I chose Zimbabwe because they have an amazing orphan care center in Norton (not too far outside of Harare ) and they do a lot of HIV education work. Perfect! The plan is to work with the organization here in Boston for the next few months to put together a project and scope of work. Then I'll be going in March and April to Zimbabwe to implement the project. How exciting! I'm a little bit scared of the prospect of living in Zimbabwe, but I know it'll also be an incredible experience.

In other exciting news, my sister is pregnant! She's due at the end of April, so I'll be swinging by Paris on my way back from Zimbabwe (because, you know, it's totally on the way) to meet the little one. I'm super excited, it's the first baby in the family!

Then, when I get back in early May, I will be "graduating" from the school of public health! I put that in quotes because I'll only be walking at the graduation ceremony, but won't actually receive my diploma because I'll have to complete graduation requirements over the Summer. I'll be an official MPH as of Sept 2010! Yay! I can't wait to be done and to start my career!

After that, I'll probably take the summer off to write my final paper for school and look for a real job. I'll most likely live with my parents in North Carolina for a little while, since I'll be down there for Philippe's wedding in June anyway. It should be nice to just take a couple months off and not worry about rent and other grown-up things!

I'm applying for an Albert Schweitzer fellowship, which would take me to Lambarene, Gabon for 3 months at the end of next Summer to do public health work at a major hospital there. Fingers crossed that I get it!

So, there you go, my life update in 6 paragraphs. More to come shortly as plans become more concrete. Snuggles for now.

It's snowing...

2009-03-09T10:47:00.002-04:00

This weekend, it was sunny and 60 degrees. Today, I woke up to snowflakes the size of quarters. TINE (This Is New England). I've been saying lately that I don't mind the cold and snow. But I think I've had it. It's mostly annoying because of the teasers we've had, with warm weather and sunshine. When I talk to Dad and tell him it's snowing, he always says "That's your problem for choosing to live in the crazy north." I guess he's right.

Aside from the mildly-depressing weather, I sang in a concert at Trinity Church yesterday. We played a long arrangement of Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts. We were joined by the Berklee College of Music Concert Jazz Orchestra. It was really cool hearing them play, and also very different for a group of singers used to doing church music! The turnout was great and we had a lot of fun!

I am still waiting to buy my plane ticket to France for the summer. When I looked a few weeks ago, they were $1200! Then, about 3 weeks ago, they went down to $900, and were at a whopping $630 last week! But, I didn't buy then because I was hoping they would go down further, and mostly because I was waiting for my brother to tell me the dates of his trip so we could coordinate. Unfortunately, they're back at $875, and I'm worried they're not gonna go back down...we'll have to wait and see. But I'm really excited, because my trip will include 3 days in London, 3 days in Paris, a week-10 days at my grandparents' in the Loire valley (where my sister's wedding is) and 4-5 days in Rome!! I've never been to Italy, so I'm very excited! Louis and his friend Jayce and I are going to explore Rome and the surrounding countryside. Should be amazing!

In other news, Marc and I are cheating on our apartment. We saw an ad for another place on our street, that looks bigger and prettier, for $200 less than what we pay! So we're going to check it out today or tomorrow, and see if it's really all it's hyped up to be. We don't really want to move, but who knows, maybe we can convince our landlord to decrease our rent!

Ok, time to do some work. Next week: NYC!

Happy new year and all that jazz.

2009-01-30T15:01:00.004-05:00

It's 2009. What the heck? That means that I turn 25 on my next birthday. Not quite sure when that happened.

But isn't it good that I can say that I love what I'm doing with my life? I'm genuinely proud of myself, every day, for the path I've chosen. I know that in a few years I'll be able to say that, thanks to me, someone suffered a little less from their illness. Even if I change only one person's life, make it a little easier, I'll be happy. I just started my fourth semester of my MPH program, and the classes and professors just keep getting better. They inspire me. They assure me that I will be able to save the world. As of right now, according to my plan, it looks like I'll be graduating in Jan 2011. I like having a plan, working towards a goal keeps me sane. So that's what we'll say for now. No promise that I'll keep up the 8 credits a semester, though.

If I play my cards right, my travels of the next year and half will look like this:
July 2009: France for my sister's wedding
Sept 2009: Rwanda for implementation of a cardiology program
Jan 2010: Dominican Republic for a medical relief trip
Summer-Fall 2010: South Africa for a 6-month internship at an HIV research unit

Not bad for a girl who's never been anywhere outside of France, England and the US...I'll keep you posted on what pans out. Fingers crossed.

Other exciting thing to look forward to: 2 (3?) of my best friends from NC moving to Boston this Summer!

But, following many people's advice, I'm learning to be happy in the moment. Enough relying on future plans to make me happy. I have so many things right now that will do the trick.

Marc and I moved in together last July, and we're really liking living together. We have a super cute apartment in the South End, and we're working on making it even cuter. And it's coming along quite nicely. For example, a couple weeks ago, we added a gorgeous oriental-style rug to the living room; the best part was that I found it on the sidewalk, so it was free. It's nice having this place together, because we get to see each other more, have dinner together every night; and there's always someone to greet you with a smile and hug when you get home.

I started singing in the choir at Trinity Church last fall. This choir has quite a reputation in Boston. They audition, practice a LOT, and expect near-perfection. It's been a lot of fun, I had missed singing. It's a lot of work, and a little tiring sometimes, but generally worth it.

My parents finally got a computer with a WebCam, so I get to video chat with my family on a regular basis. It's so much fun! We tend to goof around a lot on it.

Oh, and I got a raise today! $1080 more a year! haha, excellent.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do. And maybe some work. It is 3:30pm on a work day, after all.

Snuggles.

A wind of change is blowing through America.

2008-11-05T14:05:00.002-05:00

I figured today would be a good day to come out from under my rock. Barack Obama has been elected the next president of the United States of America. What a wonderful night it was, Tuesday November 4th, 2008. A landslide victory for the first African-American president. North Carolina going blue (even though no one is calling it yet). Breaking through the red to color the map with gorgeous blue. 28 states for Democrats. History in the making.
I couldn't be happier.

And now I'm booking my trip to DC to watch the inauguration on January 20, 2009. Finally, we'll get rid of Bush. Finally, good people will take back the White House. Finally, America will be able to breathe again. I'm so excited.

It's a beautiful day. Congratulations, change is coming!

What? Dec 20 was my last post?

2008-06-25T14:36:00.001-04:00

I realize it has been MONTHS since I last posted on here. I must play catch up. I will. Soon. I promise. :)

Doo Bi Doo Bi Doo

2007-12-20T16:53:00.000-05:00

I loooove celebrating Christmas early! Because of finals, and me leaving Boston early for Christmas break, Marc and I decided to celebrate Christmas with each other on the 8th. Good thing we did it early, because I was excited about giving him his presents, and I couldn't wait any longer.

We ate a fabulous lunch at Top of the Hub, the restaurant on the top of the Prudential Tower. The view from up there was sooo beautiful! We could see the whole city, still covered in snow. The weather was fantastic: blue skies, sun shining, bright white clouds. Just a perfect setting.

Opening the bottle of Moet et Chandon Champagne...yuuum!

Opening presents! I got a BEAUTIFUL Burberry scarf...I loooove it!

It snows in Boston

2007-12-20T16:11:00.000-05:00

My Starbucks girls came up to visit for the weekend! They'd already visited Boston last year for Labor Day, so this weekend was more relaxed--eating at nice restaurants, checking out fun bars, shopping downtown. It was sooo cold! We all went out and got new winter hats and bundled up. It snowed on Sunday; so much that their plane back to Raleigh was cancelled that night. So they went out a enjoyed their last night on the town (while Marc and I celebrated our 2 months!), and then left on Monday morning. Here are some snapshots of the weekend:

November: preparing for Christmas

2007-12-20T14:45:00.000-05:00

I love November. The month when it's officially OK to start singing Christmas carols (which I've been singing since before Halloween, of course). The month when the weather really starts to turn cold. The month when you eat a lot, but it's OK because it's the holidays. Mmmm, turkey.

Shelly and Christian were in town in mid-November for an audiology conference Shelly was attending. We met up downtown and watched the tree lighting at Faneuil Hall, then we had brunch at Johnny D's before they left on Sunday. It was great to see them again, especially in the Christmas spirit!

For Thanksgiving, Marc's family invited me to spend the holiday with them in Connecticut. It was fabulous getting to go home with him and meet his family. Connecticut is beautiful, I had a fantastic time! And we even got some studying done!

Louis and I made warm eggnog and SoCo and nutmeg, and decorated our house for Christmas!

Three of my favorite local musicians/bands played a gig at the Lizard Lounge at the end of November, and Louis, Amanda and I went to check it out. Great show, great beer, great friends!

A trip to the ER

2007-12-20T14:34:00.000-05:00

Saturday night, November 10th, Marc surprised me with tickets to see Boston Symphony Orchestra play Berg and Mahler. What a fantastic surprise! We'd been talking about seeing the BSO for a while, so I was really excited! Unfortunately, the night didn't turn out quite as planned...
Marc had started feeling sick a couple days earlier, and was sleeping a lot and trying to get better. He felt alright Saturday afternoon, so we decided to still go. The concert was great, very moving! After we left Symphony Hall, we went to take the train home. While we were waiting for the train, Marc started feeling strange. All the sudden, he turned completely white, and then fainted in my arms. I wasn't strong enough to hold him up, so he fell straight back, and hit his head really hard on the brick sidewalk. I got really scared and started screaming for help. Just as the woman who works for the metro came up, he was coming to, and sitting up. She said we should go to the hospital, or she'd call an ambulance for us. But Marc wouldn't have it. He thought he had just fallen asleep, and found it very silly that she wanted to get him an ambulance. I finally convinced him he needed to get checked out, just in case he'd gotten a concussion. So we took the train one stop over to Mass General Hospital. We then spent 4 hours in the Emergency Department, to make sure everything was OK. We saw/heard some rather funny things. This one lady, apparently schizophrenic, kept yelling at the top of her lungs "Get the hell away from me! Why are you touching me?" It was actually kind of funny. So, after many tests, some blood work, and even an ecocardiogram, it turns out he was just dehydrated, from being sick, and probably had not had enough to eat that day. They told him to go home and get some rest, and sent us on our way.

What an eventful night! Needless to say, we were the best dressed couple in the ER that night!

Autumnly beautiful

2007-12-20T14:09:00.000-05:00

Autumn is my favorite season in New England. The trees all change colors, you start wearing sweaters, you order Pumpkin Spice Chai's at Starbucks, leaves crunch under your feet. Basically, it makes for a lot of merriment. Louis and I had a Fall party to celebrate the season. Lots of autumnal brews, pumpkin pie, hot apple cider, and pumpkin spice martinis. Mmmm. What a fun night!

Coworkers, Michelle and Lejla, and Lejla's boyfriend, Said:

Andrew, Paul and Bobby:

Marc and me:

Lounging around, sippin' on pumpkin yumminess

I just don't ask anymore...

Bobbert and I are loooovers

The Montreal crew, reunited

I'm bad at blogging

2007-11-19T14:56:00.000-05:00

Soooo, I apologize for not having kept up my blog in forever. But I finally found some time to myself. So here we go. Read on, and enjoy!

News in my life:
School is going really well. I'm taking 2 intro classes, and they're super easy! I'm glad my first semester back as a student is going so smoothly...makes the transition easier. I'm pretty sure I have a 99 average in Biostatistics and a 97 in Epidemiology. Not that I'm bragging.

The weather has gotten progressively colder, and I love it! I took my wool Winter coats out about a month ago, and it snowed for the first time this morning! Makes for a happy Mathilde!

I guess the biggest new thing is Marc. :) My boyfriend. Hehe. I love that I can say that. He's going to read this and laugh. Marc and I met through a mutual friend, Stephie, who set us up on a "blind" date at the end of September. I really didn't expect anything to happen beyond that, because, let's face it, who's ever heard of blind dates going well? BUT, it went REALLY well, we got along great. So we started seeing each other a lot more, and really enjoying each other's company. Now, almost 2 months later, I'm going to Connecticut with him this week to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. Big step. So ready for it.

Here are some snapshots from the past couple months...

The Charles, right before sunset, with sailboats, as seen from the Longfellow bridge

Marc had a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of lilies delivered to my house on the one month anniversary of our first date. So cute!

We went to my coworker's Halloween party, dressed as a Christmas tree and Christmas present. Lol.

Lejla and me:

When I found out Marc loves John Fogerty (almost) as much as I do, I surprised him with tickets to his concert in early November. The show was absolutely incredible! I can't believe how much energy the man has, at his age!
At dinner before the show:

Soo excited about John Fogerty!

My handsome boyfriend

Blurry shot of an amazing musician

That's all for now. Louis and I had a Fall party on Nov 9th, but I haven't uploaded the pics from that yet. So more to come soon, I promise.

Until then, Happy Thanksgiving. I've already started singing Christmas music. Obvi.

J'aime Montreal

2007-11-19T14:24:00.000-05:00

Columbus Day weekend, Louis and I decided to take a 3-day trip to Montreal. I'd never been to Canada, and he'd only spent a night in Montreal, so it seemed like the perfect vacation. Bobby and Ernest came with us. We loaded all our stuff into Le Tigre (Louis's car), Eleanor (GPS) led the way, and off we were!
Montreal is a gorgeous city! Apart from a little rain on Saturday morning, we had great Fall weather. An overall fantastic weekend!

Riding in the car with Bobby

Bienvenu au Quebec!

Getting ready to go out on our first night in town!

This cracked me up! Starbucks in Montreal is called Cafe Starbucks Coffee...how repetitive!

Out at the Karaoke bar on our first night

Walking home, Louis found this amusing, so we had to take a picture!

The next morning, we hiked up to the top of Mont Royal, which overlooks the city. Unfortunately, it was raining, but the colors of the trees were beautiful, and we still got to enjoy the skyline!

Sitting outside Chez Alexandre, which looked so much like a Parisian cafe!

Boys, it's nap time, stop being silly! Or at least let me join in!

Pre-gaming in the hotel room...

Saturday night, back at the karaoke bar!

Sunday morning, I took some time to myself and walked around downtown Montreal. I visited McGill's campus, which was so pretty (but not as gorgeous as Carolina, obvi!).

Louis and I live in Dorchester. So we HAD to take a pic by Square Dorchester!

The Smart is such a tiny car!

Bobby and I standing by the Metropolitain!

Sunday afternoon, we walked around Le Vieux Montreal, which has some pretty architecture, and sits on the water. The weather was great!

The botanical gardens:

Hanson, parts 7, 8 and 9

2007-11-19T13:45:00.000-05:00

I've been a Hanson fan for 10 years. Since the beginning. Since Mmmbop got in everyone's head and drove everyone crazy. So it seemed fitting that I would dedicate yet another weekend to my favorite band. The weekend after the wedding, I flew down to the DC area to stay with Jana for the weekend and have ourselves a Hanson-moving in-birthday extravaganza! Such a fantastic weekend, such a wonderful band!

Walking around in Baltimore before concert # 7...getting impatient!

Soooo excited about the show!

Taylor fell off the stage because a fan pulled on his hand too hard. So he sat on the edge of the stage to finish the song. Lol.

The next day, we went to the DC show, concert #8. This time we got to participate in Hanson's "Walk". In each city on the tour, they've been staging one-mile walks with the fans to promote awareness about AIDS and poverty in Africa, and to encourage people to take a small step towards aleviating the problem. The small step could be as simple as buying a pair of TOMS shoes (www.tomsshoes.com), a great company who donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair bought! So I got to walk with each of the guys and talk to them about these issues, and tell them about what I want to do with my life. Sooo great!!

The boys, getting ready for the Walk

Walking with Taylor Hanson (and looking down to not trip on the curb)!

Walking with Zac Hanson!

Walking with Isaac Hanson!

The crowd ending the Walk

The boys putting on a great show!!

When I got home from DC, I decided I hadn't had enough Hanson. So, a little over a week later, I went to the concert in Hartford. Unfortunately, Jana couldn't make the trip up on a Monday night on such short notice. It was so weird, it was the first time I went to a Hanson concert without her! I took my friend Todd instead, who'd fallen in love with Locksley, the opening band, and was open to listening to Hanson. What a blast! We drove down after work, waited in line (Todd was a little overwhelmed!), drank some beers, danced to Locksley, and rocked out to Hanson. I even got the 3 guys to sign my ticket (at this point, I've met them so many times, it was rather easy...) and I got a picture with the guys of Locksley. Yay!!

Webter Theater says "Welcome to Hanson concert #9!"

Todd is sooo excited about Hanson!

Rockin' out

Ever since my first Hanson concert in 2000, I've been trying to get a picture of the boys holding hands and bowing at the end of the show...to no avail. Until Hartford. I FINALLY got it! Sooo excited.

Me with the guys of Locksley. Such a great band, you should check them out!

My signed ticket!

I heart Chapel Hill

2007-11-19T13:37:00.001-05:00

After Debbie's wedding, Jana and I drove back to Chapel Hill and hit up some of our old favorite bars. Sometimes I forget how much I miss CH until I go back. I decided to make it sort of a birthday going-out. No Pants, Kyle and Olga met up with us to help me celebrate. It was so much fun seeing them all again.

I hadn't seen Olga in over a year! She's my baby daddy...lovehersomuch!
Clearly, she loves me too!

Kyle and me at TopO

No Pants bought us a round of birthday cake shots!

And then we sang along to "Don't Stop Believin'" Ooooh, 80s night!

My best friend's wedding

2007-10-25T10:42:00.000-04:00

I started classes on my birthday. So great! I love being in school again! And I'm taking classes I'm actually interested in. So yeah, great decision, going into Public Health.

I then flew down to North Carolina the next day for Debbie's wedding. My parents took me out to lunch for my birthday, then Jana and I drove to Hickory to reunite with Debbie. We figured out that the 3 of us, though we'd known each other since middle school, had not been together for at least 3 years! It was definitely fun to be able to hang out again.

First night in town, dinner at a steakhouse, compliments of the manager:

Debbie's lingerie shower:

Debbie on the phone with Wes...she can't go a couple hours without talking to him!

Wedding rehearsal:

Rehearsal dinner:

Wedding morning...no jitters!

Getting hair and make-up done:

She's almost ready!

Pre-wedding photo shoot:

It's tiiime!!

"You may now kiss the bride!"

The 4 of us have known each other since middle school. We danced to NSync's "This I Promise You", and cried the whole time:

Husband and wife, off to the reception

Boston loves me...or something

2007-10-25T10:02:00.000-04:00

After getting back from France, it took some getting used to being back in the States. I didn't have to work for the rest of that week, so I got some rest and enjoyed the company of my fabulous roommate. He decided to take that Friday off and we rented a Mini convertible and drove to Scituate. Twas quite fun, but I forgot to take pictures...oops!

I started my new job at Boston University School of Medicine on August 6th. I must say, I like this job much better than the last one. It's basically the same position, but I enjoy this lab a lot more. My boss is a lot nicer, and believes in me a lot more. The people I work with are awesome, and I can totally see myself being here for a while. Not that I really have a choice, since they're paying for school...

The last weekend in August, Benoit was coming back from France and had an overnight layover in Boston, so I hosted him for the night. After all, what are big sisters for? He loved visiting the city with me, but thought it was much too short! I took him to my favorite Indian restaurant down the street, then we walked around downtown and on the waterfront, and I took him to Mike's Pastry. He left the next morning for North Carolina, ready to convince Mom and Dad to let him come back for a longer trip.

The following weekend, I celebrated my 23rd birthday with Boston friends. I'm not a fan of being 23. Somehow it seems so much older than 22. But, so far, it's been the best age of my life. So I'll take it...We went to a new French bistro, Gaslight, and then Bobby and I went out for drinks at Clery's. Which just so happens to be my new favorite bar in the South End. Here are some snapshots from that night:

Bobby and me at dinner:

The 3 Frenchy roommates, Kate, Bobby and Amelia:

The group at dinner:

On the way to Clery's, showing off my gorgeous Kookai dress:

Bobby and me again:

Our Appletini's at Clery's:

I love cherries and martinis!

St. Pierre de Granoupiac

2007-08-24T13:17:00.000-04:00

The last leg of my trip to France was one week spent in the glorious southern countryside, just 30mins west of Montpellier. My maternal grandfather owns a family property in St. Andre de Sangonis, where we have been spending our vacations ever since I was little. It's a fabulous place to retreat to: there's enough room to house all my aunts and uncles and cousins (the grand total coming to about 40 people!), there's a huge pool to cool off in, and we're close enough to the city to recharge when we get sick of being out in the country. I've always cherished these family moments, but it was even more special this year because it had been such a long time since I last went. We took advantage of the fact that most of my mom's family was there to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday, which meant a fabulous meal and lots of dancing in the living room.

Here are some snapshots of the family reunion.

The main house, as seen from the yard:

Potted trees lining the house:

You can't swim in the pool till all of the algae has been cleaned out!

The most efficient method proved to be ducking into the water from inside the boat, while being held by the ankles, and tugging on the plants; and then being pulled in to "shore":

As family tradition will have it, you can't have dinner without first having pre-dinner drinks!

Eating dinner outside by candlelight (I didn't eat a single meal inside the whole time I was there, that's how great the weather was!):

More playing in the pool:

My baby cousin Paul being a "sousmarin" (deep-sea diver):

We drove to Montpellier one day to see the latest Harry Potter movie, which was kind of a disappointment:

Mom and Caroline with Paul:

The girls with Paul:

The guys love getting together over vacation because they can play soccer EVERY day!

Benoit is a great story-teller. Here he is telling jokes to a captivated audience:

And then the party started...We got all dressed up, had a nice fancy dinner, then danced until the wee hours of the night to celebrate Grandma's 80th birthday!
The kids' dinner table...there's a lot of them!

The girls eating dinner:

Caroline and Joe:

Gregoire, all smiles:

And then there was dancing...

The next day, my Mom organized some outdoor games for the kids to play. There were sac races, ring tosses, egg transfers, bobbing for apples, blind-folded obstacle courses...They got kind of competitive!

And then the boys thought it would be funny to race on piggy-back...but it turned sour when Damien fell under Louis' weight and scraped his knee really bad...

L'Allemandiere et Lyon

2007-08-18T19:04:00.000-04:00

After Paris, I headed to the Loire valley for a week at my paternal grandparents' family farmhouse. It was so much fun, because all my aunts and uncles and cousins were there. We celebrated my grandma's 80th birthday with a catered party, complete with skits and songs, and lots of dancing into the night.

The Sabourin men/boys, plus Joe:

The Sabourin women/girls:

My grandparents...they're so cute!

Caroline with my cousin Marion's husband, Julien...Caroline adores him!

Grandma playing with baby Philomene:

The boys hanging out:

The little kids singing/dancing around Grandma:

Caroline playing her part well in a skit:

Benoit and Mom and uncle Xavier putting on a show...so funny!

Grandma's birthday cake spectacular!

And then there was dancing...

The kids passed out on a matress in the yard

Fun in the sun:

L'Allemandiere, my grandparents' house, with a rainbow!

As you may know, the Loire valley is littered with hundreds of castles, one of which is le Chateau de Valencay, really close to my grandparents'. Joe, Benoit, Caroline and I went for a visit around the castle and grounds. We even played in the maze!

My uncle Hubert hosted a fantastic crepe party at the lakehouse he was renting...yummmm!
Tickle fight:

Philomene posing for the camera:

Raphael showing off his mouth and hands covered in Nutella:

Louis acting like a model...with a wet spot on his shirt where he tried to clean off the chocolate he spilled on himself:

Hubert with a crepe on his head...he's always being silly:

Marika, Joe and Nastassia:

This super relaxing week was followed by spending a weekend in Lyon, second biggest city in France. Joe, Louis and I took the train there together. They were going to visit Louis' Godmother, and I stayed with my friend Mickael, who I know from UNC. Lyon is also a gorgeous city! And has a great night life! We went out every night (twas weird to go out with my brother, who is only 16) and visited the city during the day.

Fourvieres, the Cathedral that sits on a hill overlooking Lyon, and the city seen from up high:

Lyon at night, seen from a bridge over the Rhone:

Louis and Joe "being cool" at Bar 42:

Dancing to 80s music at Bar 42:

Mickael and I visited le Parc de la Tete d'Or, with the rose garden. And we also pretended we were rhinoceroses...

We also went to Virgin Megastore so I could buy the new Harry Potter the day it came out...and I started reading in the store:

Eating moules-frites in a seafood restaurant on rue Merciere, famous eating street in Lyon:

Sometimes, I like to make silly faces

Out with Christophe, Louis' Godmother's son:

Paris, je t'aime

2007-08-18T13:14:00.001-04:00

What a busy, busy 5 days! It's hard to catch up 3 years of being away from my beautiful hometown in just 5 days. So many museums, churches, restaurants, quais de la Seine to visit in so little time. And add to that all the family I was visiting and all the parties I had to go to...made for a few days that felt like about 3 weeks. Not that I'm complaining, Paris is so gorgeous, I got an eye-full! The weather went back and forth between cool and sunny to rainy, but I made the best of it.

Day one: get off the plane (at 7:30 am Paris time, aka 1:30am Boston time!!), shower and head to my mom's cousin's house for a family reunion. Needless to say, I was a little tired, as you can see in the pictures...but it was fun to see my family again!

Grandma and me:

My sister Caroline with our cousin Benjamin:

Three sisters:

The youngest generation of Leroy's:

Caroline with cousins Juliette and Benjamin:

Day 2: Meet the family at my aunt's house for a lunch to celebrate July birthdays.

Anne-Helene and Louis:

My cousin Benjamin and I lounging around talking:

Uncle Lionel riding piggy-back on his son Tristan:

Happy birthday Philippe!

Happy birthday Grandma!

"Alright, enough standing around already, we want cake!"

Now time for a quick game of soccer:

Day 3: A stroll around Montmartre with a photo shoot at the Sacre Coeur; lunch on the Place des Tertres in Montmartre, during which we got poured on; some shopping in Paris 8eme, where we managed to lose my brothers and Joe...silly boys!

Louis and Joe at lunch; notice how nice and sunny it is:

Anne and me at lunch:

And then it started pouring...we had to wait like 30mins before being able to leave the outdoor restaurant:

The photo shoot at the Sacre Coeur, with Paris in the background. You can sort of see the rain and gray clouds that forced us to hang out at the restaurant:

The Eiffel Tower as seen from Montmartre, and Philippe "holding it up":

Day 4: We pretty much walked ALL over Paris. I finally got to see Notre Dame (although we didn't go inside, the line was too long), and we took a stroll to the Eiffel Tower. We also saw l'Institut Francais and le Louvre and le Palais de l'Elysee. It was a gorgeous day in Paris, and the whole family was there...what fun!

Standing outside this pretty church, whose name I don't remember:

A bridge over the Seine, waiting for our parents:

Oh beautiful, Notre Dame:

Joe "walking" on air, on the way to a delicious Kebab lunch:

L'Institut Francais:

Hotel des Invalides:

Caroline walking in the rain:

The Eiffel Tower, symbol of Paris; and us having some fun:

Day 5: Joe, Louis and I stayed in Paris one extra day and got to see l'Arc de Triomphe and visit le Louvre. I can't believe I finally go to see this gorgeous museum!

Me in front of l'Arc de Triomphe:

Gregoire swinging at the Arc de Triomphe:

And then we climbed the many steps up to the top and got some breath-taking views of Paris:

Les Champs Elysees, with cars coming at me. Notice the French flags: we were there just a few days before Bastille Day.

And, finally, le Louvre...it's sooo big! We only stayed 2 1/2 hours (because the boys started whining) but still got to see some beautiful things:

Les diamants de la Couronne, the room where they keep the old crowns and jewelry of the royalty:

La Joconde, aka Mona Lisa...it was crazy how many people crowded around to take pictures...

Les Noces de Cana, which i studied in history; it was pretty cool to see the real thing!

The apartments of Napoleon III; which aren't where he actually lived, but were named after him; they housed cabinet members. Pretty nice place to live, huh?

Transition

2007-06-19T09:59:00.001-04:00

I'm at a big transition point in my life right now, a lot of things are changing. It's a little bit scary, but also really exciting! I'm in a new apartment, which I still totally love! I'm starting school again in the Fall. And, most recent of all, I am leaving my job at Children's Hospital Boston to start working at BU Medical Center. I had an interview Friday afternoon, and was offered a position Monday morning (quick turnover, I know!). I'll be working as a lab technician (same thing I'm doing now) in a lab that researches the body's response to trauma and injury. Seems like a pretty cool job. And I'll have a lot more responsibility than at my current job, which means less being bored at work, and more things to do...which is good. The building is right next door to the School of Public Health, so it'll be super easy for me to go to classes. And, best of all, I won't have to worry about tuition, because the University covers tuition for full-time employees. That's good news. I just told my boss this morning that my last day will be July 6th. It was kind of nerve-racking to do that, because I feel bad leaving on such short notice...but I didn't really have a choice. It makes sense for my last day here to be right before I leave for France, and my new job to start when I come back.
I changed my flight reservations for France yesterday, so I'll be spending 5 extra days there. I'm super excited! I get to go to 3 big family reunions, visit some friends, and just enjoy my country that I miss oh so much!
Last Thursday, Louis and I went to hang out with John Edwards at a bar downtown. He's pretty much amazing, and I'm really excited about what he wants to do for this country, especially for the poor. I hope he wins! John Edwards 08 baby!

I drove up to Portsmouth, NH with Allison to see Someday Rome play at the Blue Mermaid last Friday. It was really fun to see them play a show again, although the traffic on the way up was not exciting.

A church steeple in the sunset in Portsmouth:

Someday Rome rockin' out:

Allison and me listening to Someday Rome:

Louis and I walked 7 miles for Children's Hospital last Sunday, after having spent all day and night Saturday partying for the Pride parade...what a fun weekend! The blisters on my feet still haven't completely healed, but the walk was fun and the weather was gorgeous.

The Gay Pride Parade and other fun stuff:

Walking 7 miles for the kids...the smiles are to hide the pain from the blisters...

Heather is here visiting from North Carolina! She came in on Friday, and is leaving tomorrow morning. We've been all over Boston in the past few days: lots of shopping, eating out, walking around my beautiful city, taking great pictures, etc. Tonight, we're going to the Burren for open mic night, because I've raved about it for so long, I figured I had to take her!
Listening to a Beatles cover band at Toad:

Pretty Boston skyline with sailboats:

The gorgeous rose garden in the Back Bay Fens:

Paolo Nutini doing a free show at the Prudential Center:

This weekend is also going to be super-packed! Two parties, entertaining Louis' aunt Linda, a concert, a Haitian lunch...can't wait!
I'm planning a party for the 29th, as sort of a celebration of this transition point in my life, and a send-off before I go to France. Should be fun, having all my friends together!

All moved in!!

2007-06-01T21:49:00.001-04:00

I'm all moved in to my new apartment in Dorchester! I looove it! The apartment is great, the roommate is fabulous, the commute is much shorter...who could ask for more? This week has been pretty crazy, what with moving, getting used to new buses, going shopping for the apartment. etc, but I finally have time to sit for a bit and post.

By popular demand, I bring you pictures of the move and my new place.
Here's how the layout works: walk in facing a long hallway; immediately to the left, the living room, open to the dining room further back; a little down the hallway to the right, my bedroom; just past my room on the right, the bathroom; on the left, just past the dining room, Louis' room; then finally, the kitchen at the end of the hallway, with built-in laundry.
Keep in mind that I just moved in, so it's still a work in progress, but I think it looks pretty good. Of course, Louis did live here for a month before I moved in.

Louis helping me move in:

The mess during move-in:

My room mid-way through being done:

My living room:

The dining room (with some left-over boxes):

The bathroom:

The kitchen seen from 2 corners:

And finally, my room all done up:

In other news, my choir had an end-of-the-year dinner party at an Italian restaurant, complete with Karaoke and dancing. Super fun! I don't think I could ever leave this choir, even though I've moved away now.

Dancing and having fun

Let's play catch-up

2007-05-17T11:40:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted on here! So much has happened. I guess that's why I haven't written, I've been too busy!

Bobby and Matt and I planned a surprise birthday party for French-convo Sally on the 28th. We were in her apartment, decorating, when she came home early with her "Little Sister" to show her around. Boy was she surprised when she saw us in her entryway.

Of course, the surprise would have been better had she come when all the guests were there, but it was fun anyway. So we shooed her out of her home, and told her to come back a couple hours later. The other guests had no idea she'd been by already, she's that good of an actress. Super fun party over all, and I got to take LOTS of leftover food home, which was great.

I went out for Cinco de Mayo with Louis. We did a little shopping, then went to Cottonwood for some margaritas and mexican food, then back to his place for martinis, then met up with some of his friends for Ethiopian food in the South End. Damn, that was so delicious. I'd never eaten Ethipian before. They serve the meat on a huge crepe-like thing, then you use another crepe torn into pieces to pick up pieces of meat with your hands. What a fun experience. Of course I drank way too much, and the next day wasn't very fun. But it was totally worth it.

The second round of the French presidential elections were on May 6th. Nicolas Sarkozy won. I hope he can change the state of the country and make the rest of the world stop disliking the French. His family is really cute. Not that that should matter. We'll see how he does.

The Boston Pops, the popular music symphony orchestra, had their opening night on May 9th, and Ben Folds was playing with them!!! I got tickets at the last minute, so Louis and I went together. Of course, I didn't want to wear jeans and a t-shirt to Symphony Hall, so I got a new dress and new shoes. Yay. The concert itself was amazing. I loooove Ben Folds, and the way they arranged his songs to play with the orchestra was incredible. It was also an eventful opening night, as a phyiscal brawl broke out between 2 guests arguing over talking during the show. It was pretty funny to hear female screams coming from the balcony, followed by the sounds of falling chairs, and the director stopping the music.

I announced to Louis that night that I've decided to move in with him. So I'm moving to Dorchester by the end of the month. It's going to be great. The apartment is gorgeous, and it's really close to my new school, and hopefully my new job. Plus I'd rather live with Louis than 2 roommates I don't really know. I can't wait to move in! The whole decision process was pretty stressful, and involved a loooong list of pro's and con's, but I think I made the right one in the end. The only thing I'm worried about is being far from my church and the choir, but I'll make it work. I'm definitely going to miss Davis Square and all the friends I've made there.

Now I'm busy looking for a new job. I really need to be able to work at BU so they pay my tuition. I would love to be able to start at the beginning of August, right after I get back from France, that way I can leave this job before I go on vacation. I've sent my resume out to many people. Fingers crossed that I'll hear back soon.

This weekend is pretty busy. I'm helping this French baker sell macaroons at Formaggio Kitchen in the South End on Saturday; should be fun; anything for some extra cash.

Then Louis' birthday/our housewarming party is on Saturday night. Many fun people coming in to town for that, can't wait!

And of course, I have to start getting ready for my move, which should be Memorial Day weekend. Yikes!

Toodles!

Much needed family time

2007-05-17T11:16:00.000-04:00

I went down to North Carolina last weekend, and it was a very welcome rest. I guess with everything going on lately, and all the thinking and decision-making I've been doing, I needed to recharge. Nothing better than 3 days with my family to fix a saddened/stressed heart.

I flew down early Friday morning. But they had overbooked my flight, so they needed volunteers to switch to another flight. So I did. And I got $150 flight voucher. Nice.

My baby sister's first communion was on Saturday. She was really excited about it. She'd been preparing for a few months, and she knew it was a big deal. I helped her get ready in the morning. It was weird, since I was dressing her all in white, with a veil, and helping her put everything on, I felt like I was getting her ready for her wedding. Lol. Not yet, she's only 8. But she looked absolutely adorable.
Here she is with Daddy:

And in the car on the way to church:

The ceremony itself was nice. There were tons of kids, so it took a while. But the whole family, minus my older sister (she's in France), was there, so that was cool.
My little angel poking her head out of the crowd:

Standing with her banner that she made:

With Mom and Dad at the altar:

When we got home from church, we toasted with Champagne. Caroline chugged hers.

Then we had a nice lunch, and a pre-dessert of mini-eclairs and mini-choux.

Caroline opening her presents:

Then friends of the family came over for the cake. Dad, by request of Caroline, had made a white chocolate mousse and strawberry cake, and I had decorated it. If I do say so myself, it looked pretty gorgeous, and it tasted awesome too.

Saturday night, middle brother Louis had his junior prom. I helped him get ready, in his fancy tux and blue tie and vest to match his date's dress. Then we went to his friend's house, where about 50 high school kids were meeting to take pictures. Who knew my brother was part of the popular crowd? Haha. They were all super gorgeous, but it was weird being surrounded by 16-yr olds who thought nothing was more important than the limo they were about to get into. I took tons of pictures of Louis and his date Jordan, of him with his friends, of the huge crowd of kids. And then my computer deleted them from my camera when I got home. I was super upset, cuz they were really good pictures. Oh well. You're forgiven, Madeline. The only pics I'm left with are the ones I took at home before he left.

After swinging by the mall to buy stuff to protect Madeline, and a present for my mom for Mothers' Day, I went to Durham for a Trifecta + 1 + Cate + Shelly and Christian reunion. Many wonderful memories of playing cards late into Thursday nights in college. It'd been a year since we'd all seen each other, so it was fun to see them all again. I'm surprised we still haven't made the shirts.

Sunday, we had a fancy breakfast for Mothers' Day, with yummy pastries from Whole Foods, and gave Mom her gifts. She got a brand new huge tea pot imported from Britain from Dad; lots of pretty artwork and poems from Caroline; and I got her a new wallet, since her old one was falling apart. Caroline set up a "fancy" lunch buffet and waited on us, which was super cute.

I've instilled a love for Pumas (the shoes) in my siblings. Both Benoit and Caroline have a pair now. We went for a walk on Sunday night, and we were all wearing our Pumas. Caroline dubbed us the "Puma family." It was pretty funny.

I left early Monday morning to ride in the cab with my dad to the airport. I missed the early flight to BOS by a few minutes. But that was OK, because it turns out they had overbooked my flight again, so I waited in the airport for 5 hours and got paid $200 in flight voucher for it. Didn't make it to work until 2pm, and still left at 5. Nice.

New computer!!

2007-05-17T11:06:00.000-04:00

Sooo, I got a new laptop. A wonderfully beautiful white Apple MacBook. It's slick, light, powerful...I love it. And I got it for pretty cheap. I ordered it on Amazon, and got a rebate and free shipping. So for the wonderful machine that it is, it didn't come out to much. Of course, I spent more than 2/3 of my savings on it, but that's what I was saving up for. And I'm starting school again in the fall, so I really needed it.

I've spent many long nights playing with my new toy. I'm new to Mac, so I'm learning all these new tricks, and still trying to figure out how everything works. There's this really cool "Mac 101" course on the Apple support website, so I've been doing some nightly studying.

Pictures of me with my brilliant new best friend to come soon.

Happiness is contagious

2007-04-23T15:05:00.000-04:00

I've had a wonderful couple of weeks. The weather is finally turning, and Spring looks like it's here. Although, it's not here to stay. But the weekend was gorgeous, and I'm thankful for that. I must have gotten some sun because my freckles have come out like crazy. Hehe.

I got to see 2 of my French cousins on Thursday! They were staying with a family in Connecticut on an exchange, and they came to Boston for the day. I hadn't seen them in almost 3 years, so it was fun to catch up. They're so grown up now! Talking about boys and stuff. Too cute!

This is us standing in front of the State House.

The long and stressful process of deciding to go to BU for School of Public Health (as opposed to paying 8 times less at Carolina) finally ended on Friday. I went to the "Accepted Students' Day" and fell in love with the school. Everyone was super nice, the classes all seemed very interesting, and the professors are really dedicated. Plus I love Boston, I don't want to leave, I have a lot of things tying me down here now. I'll make it work somehow. Just to reassure me even more, I got an email from Financial Services today, and the school is giving me $500 a semester! It's not much, but every bit helps. And if I work at BU, they'll pay for most of my tuition. Phew, that's a load off my shoulders. I think I'm going to be really happy there.

Friday night, I met up with the French convo group, and we went out for pizza and beers. That was super fun. Then went bar-hopping downtown with Guillerme and some of his friends. I'd forgotten how much I love to go out! AND I took a cab home. All by myself. That's a big deal! Lol.

Saturday was fantastic. I went for a run (part of my marathon training, duh) and then did some laundry and sat on the porch reading for a few hours (and soaking in the gorgeous weather). I met up with Louis in Dorchester, and he took me to IKEA, which was super fun, but also kind of stressful. I don't do well in large stores with a bunch of awesome stuff when my time is limited. But I ended up with some really cool stuff, including new shoe-shelves to hold me ever-growing collection. And a cheese-grater. Because IKEA is good at making you buy things you don't need.

We then went upstairs to a dinner party with Louis' neighbors, which was a lot of fun. Funny how Louis just moved here a couple weeks ago, but he's introducing me to a bunch of people already.

After church on Sunday, Louis and I decided to drive North to explore. We figured the weather was perfect for some driving and beaching. Went up to Gloucester, then back down the coast, stopping by Manchester-by-the-Sea and Salem, where we walked around a bit and had a fabulous dinner at the seafood restaurant FINZ. Of course, what beach trip is complete without a photo-shoot? Here are the works of art we came up with.
I may be smiling, but that doesn't mean my feet weren't freezing.

Louis thought it'd be funny not to warn me before taking this one. Hence the weird face.
I love arm pictures! And we look so cute. The "perfect couple". Haha.
Look at the pretty boat!!

Ok, enough of pictures of me at the beach. My boss is back from vacation, so I guess I better do some actual work.

Thank you, Sun, for making everyone happy.

Winter...still???

2007-04-11T09:49:00.000-04:00

It looks like Winter is never going to end...they're predicting snow for tomorrow. Haha, that's funny. Snow in mid-April. My co-workers keep telling me that Spring doesn't actually start until June here. And then it lasts all of 2 weeks. We'll see.

Holy Week and Easter was absolutely wonderful. I sang, a LOT. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and Easter Sunday Mass. My voice is strangely OK. But all the services were incredibly beautiful. Easter really is the most amazing holiday. And I wasn't alone for Easter. I got to spend it with friends and their family. Such warm, welcoming people. And such a delicious meal. I'm a pretty lucky girl. Plus I got to wear a really cute dress. Amazing weekend overall.

Louis moved to Boston last weekend! I helped him move in to Dorchester on Saturday. What a gorgeous apartment! Went and saw it again last night, I love what he's done with it. I'm kind of jealous, it's a great place! And then we went driving to the beach and took some awesome pictures of downtown Boston at night.

This one looks a little blurry, but I love it because of the red-ish tint to the clouds.

And this one is just so pretty because it's Boston. I love my city!

I'm starting to fill out financial aid stuff for school. And I'm also starting to freak out because I have no idea how I'm going to pay for it all. Yikes. Any ideas on how to get free money?

New blog!!

2007-04-04T11:12:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my new blog. I figured I would start one that wasn't on MySpace so that others can have the joy of reading all about my life.

The title of my blog comes from a John Mayer song, my favorite from his latest album. It pretty much sums up my philosophy on life. To quote John: "Pain throws you heart to the ground, Love turns the whole thing around, No, it won't all go the way it should, But I know the heart of life is good."

I just got back to Boston from a long weekend down in North Carolina. It was fun. I got to hang out in Chapel Hill for a couple days, went to 80s night, and then saw my family. The weather was absolutely amazing. Then I came back to Boston and it was cold and raining. And it hailed today. Not that I'm complaining. I love it here.

I just sent in my letter to BU School of Public Health saying I'll be coming next Fall. Along with a $250 check. I'm gonna be in over my head with debt before I'm done with the Master's program, but I'm really excited! It's weird, but I can't wait to go back to school. Look! This is a picture of the School of Public Health on BU's Medical Campus. So pretty!!

And here's a shot of Jordan Lake, NC, from the scenic country road I take to drive to Chapel Hill. It's a beautiful area!

I have a super busy week at church this week. It's Holy Week leading up to Easter, so I'm singing in 4 services! Some of which are 3 hours long. Yay for a being a Catholic.

Smooches.