The Good Times and the Bad

This week started out wonderful with MLK day, which translated into a day off from work. Who isn't excited about that?! Four day weeks of work are one of my favorite things and would be in favor of making it a regular occurrence if I had anything to say about it. Since we had the day off we decided we would do something fun and ventured to Saccos Candle Pin Bowling with our friends the Donigans.

Candle pin bowling is not as easy as it may look. The pins are all straight without the curves of regular bowling pins, and the balls are much smaller and lighter than regular bowling balls. The rules are basically the same as regular bowling but you get to use 3 balls each turn instead of two. Even with three chances to get all 10 pins down, it rarely happens.

We had a great time, but the best part of the trip for me is during the 2nd game when I won. I am highly competitive and love winning, but what made the victory even sweeter was how competitive Patrick Donigan is and how it was neck and neck the whole game, and he totally choked the last frame and I was able to beat him. Patrick hates to lose and I don't think it helped that he lost to girl so it made my victory oh so sweet! Patrick will never live down that he lost to a girl! HA!

Patrick chokes and loses the game! Laci WINS and the fans go wild!

This week was a popular week for birthdays as well. One of my best friends since I was 5 years old, Mrs. Kara turned 27 of the 24th. Happy Birthday girl! Kara and I grew up across the street from each other so we have lots of fun stories growing up. Our biggest competition in elementary school was trying to convince each other of who was most allergic to grasshoppers, we really hated those creepy jumping creatures. Kara has always been super intelligent and spiritual and I have always looked to her as an example. She has and will always be a great friend to me! Love ya! Here she is with her two cute kids, Katelee and Grant in the background.


It was also our friend Lisa Hadley's Birthday on Saturday and she turned 29! We had a fun time going with them and the Wangsgards to the Good Time Emporium. This is like Nickelcade on crack. We were really stoked about skee ball until some stupid little kid got his hand stuck in the machine and they had to shut all the machines down. The kid was fine, we were not! So we had to settle with virtual jump rope, Deal or No Deal and foosball instead. It was really fun! Happy Birthday Lisa, thanks for letting us share your special day with you!

Now you may be wondering where the bad times come in and it is NOW. I should have know the weekend had taken a turn for the worse when we came home from having lunch with some friends on Saturday to find that McDuff had helped himself to a serving of my W2. Yes, he ate half of one of my W2s. It is not salvageable at all! We taught McDuff a bad habit, and it is probably our fault this happened. In Louisville, he loved to go to the mailbox and get his own piece of junk mail and rip it to shreds. We found it funny and an easy way of shredding mail we didn't want. This tradition didn't really work out to our benefit when we moved to Somerville, as we have a mail slot in the door that the mailman puts the mail through, giving Duff all access to any mail he wants if we are not home at delivery time. He has been pretty good about finding the junk mail and shredding it up, but we were not so lucky this week.
On Sunday we were feeling pretty good about ourselves, we had been reading our scriptures all week, Christian did his home teaching in the morning and shoveled the neighbors drive way and we were headed to church. As we backed out of the drive way to go to church......BAM! we were hit by a black truck coming down the street. Christian was driving and had looked for cars but with all the street parking it is hard to see if any cars are coming down the road. We were fine, but Louie our car was not, his back end has seen better days.

Poor Car

I was a bit shaken up by the whole event; this was the first car accident I have ever been in and it was hard to see my beautiful car in this condition (it still is). I think I went into shock and slept for 3 hours. Christian said he tried to wake me up several times but I have no recollection of this at all! I am doing better with the reality of what has happened now and hopefully we can get the car fixed soon as I need it for work. A special thanks to McDuff who snuggled with me during my nap to make things easier, he is such a great companion.

A special thanks also to Christian, my mom, and Tracie for talking me through this accident and giving me the much needed sympathy.
Here's to a better week!

Championship Weekend

This weekend has been filled with fun. Christian and I headed to Wrentham, MA yesterday to do some shopping at the HUGE outlet mall there. We only made it through half of the stores but left with some pretty good loot. Our main reason for going was 1) to get out of the house and 2) to get some snow boots. We have been talking about buying snow boots for awhile now and we decided it would be a good investment to purchase some since we will be experiencing at least 5 Boston winters. It turned out to be a good time to buy snow boots because they were on sale! I guess most people have bought their seasonal snow boots by now (as there have been a few snow storms at this point in the season), so companies are trying to get rid of their stock this time of year. We are both happy with our boots, in fact I wore mine today and they are so warm and stylish! We found some other good deals as well and overall had a great day shopping! We are a sucker for shoe stores; Christian and I both realize there is one thing we are, shoe junkies. There was no limit to shoe stores so we were in heaven. Christian found a pair of Steve Maddens for $11, I think they are ugly but he is quite pleased with them and that is the important thing I suppose. I was quite happy with myself for leaving without a new bag or purse, this is also one of my weaknesses!
On our way home, we decided to stop buy and see Gillette Stadium where the Patriots play. It was the day before the Big game so it wasn't too crazy. The stadium looks super awesome and we enjoyed it from the outside as we realized we will probably never make it to the inside for a game (especially if the Patriots continue to do this well). Go PATRIOTS! Superbowl or Bust!

I have really missed working in child welfare since our move here. I am enjoying working with the elderly population but do miss working with children. At the end of last year I decided I wanted to be a mentor. I signed up through the Boston Red Sox Mentoring Challenge to do this. I have had my initial interview and am waiting for my training which I am told will be soon. Once that is done then I will be assigned a mentee, whom I am told is a 6th grade girl. I am really excited about this opportunity to make a difference and mentor someone who needs a positive influence in their life. Today there was a mentor appreciation event at Fenway Park where the Red Sox play! It was really fun and I got to meet some neat people. I even got to see the 2007 World Series Trophy.

The trophy weighs 30lbs and only 2 people have keys to it.

We also got a tour of Fenway by a hilarious tour guide. Not only that, but all the mentors got free Red Sox t-shirts. It was a great event and I was glad I could go. It is a really exciting time to be in Boston with all the sports teams doing so well.

Snow Dayz

It was another big snow storm here in New England this morning. They were forecasting for 5-10 inches in Boston from 11:00p.m. last night until 1:00 p.m. today. I woke up to get ready for work and hopped in the shower. I tried to call my work's "winter emergency line" to see if work was canceled, but the call wouldn't go through. A few minutes later I got a call from my supervisor telling me not to come in and to go back to bed. I was so excited I started doing a happy dance with Christian and couldn't go back to sleep. Snow days are quickly becoming one of my favorite things about New England. I took this opportunity to be completely lazy! We started watching a television series we rented from the Library called Freaks and Geeks at 7:30 a.m. and finished around 6:00 p.m. Of course we took a short two hour break for Christian to help Charlotte and Dick, two of our neighbors shovel their driveways. Then of course Charlotte needed to go to the store, so Christian took her. (He is such a great guy!) Once he got back from doing his daily deeds of kindness we jumped right in front of the television again. If you have not seen Freaks and Geeks, I highly suggest watching it. I am not sure why this show only lasted one season. If you need a good laugh, this is a great waste of time!



It will be back to the grind tomorrow, but every once in awhile it is very nice to have a day like this!

Card Making Club

This weekend I had Card Club at our house. It is a fun time when ladies from the church come over and we all make cute cards and are crafty. Each month we choose a theme, this month was Valentine's Day, and then make 10 of the same card. When done, we exchange the cards with the other group members. If all goes well, everyone should end up with 10 different cute cards. I am amazed at how easy it is for so many women to come up with these amazingly cute ideas.




I started this group in my ward because I am trying to be more crafty and I do love to send cards. It is really fun to get together with fun friends and chat and have a good time once a month. They are putting up with me patiently as I learn the craft. I was very proud of the card I made this month. This is it:


Cute huh? I can't take all the credit, I did get the idea from a scrapbook page I saw on-line, but I was proud that I re-created something into a cute card. I hope all the Valentine's I have enjoy their fun cards this year. Next month we will be doing Birthday cards, which you can never have too many of!

IMPOSE MAGAZINE

For those of you who don't know, Christian writes for an on-line magazine called IMPOSE. He reviews bands through CD's and concert going. Thought you might be interested in reading some articles he has written to see if you should or should not check out these bands. Just click on the title or google: IMPOSE MAGAZINE and search for Christian. Hope you enjoy!

An it came to pass that it was winter in the city of Boston, and the Gentry's live in a home with no heat.

Last night I got home from work to find the house freezing cold. I looked at the thermostat to see that Christian had turned it down to 60 before he left for work. So I turned it up hoping that the house would get warmer (this approach has always worked for me in the past). A few hours later, and still freezing, I finally figured out that even with the thermostat at 70 there was no heat being placed into my home. This morning we called the landlord and she quickly called the heating company. They told us they would be here to fix the heater between 12pm-6pm. Here it is 4:30p.m. and we still have no heat. Luckily it is not a 16 degree day today!
We have been dog sitting Gatsby this week for Bonnie and Patrick. He is a little min pin and weighs no more than 10lbs. He has not been enjoying this cold too much. We have been using a space heater to keep us warm today and well.....Gatsby has made a new best friend. He has been sitting and rotating his body around that heater all day. It doesn't seem to bother McDuff at all, but that is probably because he is a much bigger boy than little Gatsby.

Gatsby literally stood there rotating sides for an hour this morning.


By the afternoon, he realized he could lay in front of heater and rotate as needed. Smart dog!

A Year In Review

Happy New Year! This time of year always makes me reflect on what I have been able to accomplish and do for a whole year. Here are 10 events that are highlights for our little family. WARNING: THIS IS A BIT LENGTHY!!

#1 Spark Festival
Christian was invited to attend an Electroacoustic Music Festival in February in Minneapolis, Minnesota @ University of Minnesota. While there he was able to present a paper he wrote about his piece "A Parenthetical (Meditation)." He was able to attend some great concerts and lectures, including a fascinating lecture by composer Morton Subotnick. He also learned a bit about the cold and snow of Minneapolis and and spent much of the time trying to dry off and warm up.

#2 Seattle or Bust

Over President's Day weekend I flew out to Seattle to visit my gal pal Julia. This was my first trip to Seattle and I absolutely fell in love with the city. I had such a wonderful time hanging out with Julia. She is an amazing friend and we know how to have a good time no matter what we are doing. Julia is always game for adventures so we were able to visit the Animal Game Park where we fed bears, bison, and oxen and peacocks from the car. Yes, Bison came right up to the car and ate bread out of our hands; we were screaming for 2 straight hours as we drove around and could barely talk the next day!

I was also able to eat my first fish while looking at the ocean which was incredible. Fish really is better when you are close to the ocean. We went on a few ferry rides,to Pike Place Market, KEXP radio station (Christian's favorite), and other fun events in Seattle. We have decided to do a girls trip each President's Day Weekend and 2008 is bringing these two hot girls to New York City Baby!

#3 Anthem 5K
In December of 2006 our friends, the Parkers, issued a challenge to the Gentrys. They challenged us to run a 5k in March and who ever could run the the 5k with the quickest time as a couple would win a dinner paid for by the other couple.
If you know me at all, you know that I HATE running! I had never even run a full mile before this challenge. But you also know that I hate to lose and I am always up for a challenge. So Ollie bought a treadmill and I hit the gym. Shane and Christian hit outside in the cold winter. I found myself running a mile or 2 3-4 times a week and hating ever minute of it. I really do love working out but running was a huge task for me.
So the big day came, the day to see if I could run the entire 5k. You wont believe it, but the Parkers both pulled out the sick card and didn't even run the race. Christian and I decided we had trained hard and we were going to run either way. I was so nervous and there were so many people I thought I might get trampled; amazingly enough it didn't happen. I ran the entire race without stopping and it was the most exhilarating feeling crossing the finish line. I ran 3.2 miles in just over 34 minutes and felt pretty stinkin' awesome! I know some of you are not impressed with a measly 5k but it was freakin' amazing to me. I will never run again if I have anything to say about it.

The Parkers still owe us dinner!

#4 Nashville, TN trip

My grandma Taft and Aunt JaNean came to visit us in Louisville and we decided to take a trip to the heart of Country Music. We had such a fun time, on the drive down we stopped by President Lincoln's birthplace; yes Honest Abe is from KY. We had fun going to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Tootsies, and Wild Saloon where Christian and I won a line dancing contest with our smooth moves. We had a really fun time and it was fun to have my grams and aunt visit. Nashville is such a cool city with so much country music everywhere.

#5 Applying for PhD programs
Christian's Master's Program at UofL went by quickly and we found ourselves applying for 10 PhD programs in Music Composition across the United States. For any of you who have done these applications it is long drawn out process that is a lot of work and a LOT of money. Christian has his friend Collin Santos design a cool CD cover for all of Christian's works. All of Christian's hard work paid off by getting accepted to 4 different programs. Money talks, and Brandeis was talking our language ; they offered us a deal we couldn't resist.
Christian and I both felt good about moving to Boston and for him to attend Brandeis. He will be funded for 5 years while he works on his PhD.


#6 Christian Graduates from UofL with his Masters in Composition

Christian's parents flew in from AZ to hang out with us and of coarse see their eldest son graduate from UofL and become a Master Jedi. Christian got a Graduate Dean's Citation and we were able to attend a breakfast while Christian got a real pretty certificate. His graduation was very nice and much more personable than any UofU graduation I attended. It was a really special experience for us. That night we were able to go to P.F. Changs with some of our good Louisville friends to celebrate the event. It was so fun to be able to spend time with Mom and Dad, we miss them so much.

Christian with Professor Rouse and colleague and friend, Jeremy

#7 Kirtland, Palmyra, and Niagara Falls

Kirtland Temple

I had the opportunity to drive from Louisville, KY to Somerville, MA twice. I know lucky right? My first time it was with my handsome hubby and adorable doggie in the Budget truck and all our junk. We were able to stop by Kirtland, Ohio and Palmyra, NY. We were able to see some of the church history sites and really loved our experiences there. Sacred Grove was my favorite stop, the spirit and peace we felt there was so wonderful. It was such a great opportunity.


Julia was the best friend ever to fly out to Louisville from Seattle to drive with me to Boston and then fly home. She was wonderful company and we were able to stop by the church history stops as well and also took a little excursion and went to Niagara Falls in Canada. This was my first trip to Canada but it was a lot of fun. The falls are beautiful and wet. If you ever go to see the Falls bring a rain coat or an umbrella, because it is not a dry experience. A BIG thanks to Julia again for making the drive with me, it was so much fun. I could have never made the drive on my own!


#8 Move to Boston
In July we made another huge move, this time is was from Louisville, KY to Somerville, MA.


We couldn't believe how fast our time in Louisville went; we really loved our time there. We really miss all of our friends there. But we found that it is possible to make good friends no matter where you live.
Moving to Boston came with all sorts of challenges, mainly driving and not getting lost. We moved into the bottom floor of a house in Somerville on a street that we love. We couldn't ask for a better neighborhood or neighbors. We also became members of the Cambridge 1st ward and have made so many wonderful friends there. Being able to see the city of Boston and the surrounding areas has been such a great experience. Anyone who wants a cool city to visit should come stay with us! We are really happy to be where we are (just wish the cost of living was a little less) and think it will be a fun place to be for at least the next 5 years.

#9 Christian visits with Pauline Oliveros

Christian had the pleasure of going to Kingston, NY with his new music pal Peter to interview a famous living composer named Pauline Oliveros. Christian thought this was an awesome experience. In the world of modern composers apparently Ms. Oliveros is pretty talented. This was a great experience and one Christian will never forget.

#10 New Job
One of the parts I struggle with when moving is finding a new job. I struggled when we moved to Louisville and the struggle was no less when we moved to Boston. While applying for jobs I also applied at a temp agency and got a job working for Food services in the Cambridge School District. I entered over a thousand applications into a computer for free or reduced school lunch. While I was very grateful for the work and the friendly New Englanders I got to work with , I was able to realize why I love social work so much....because it gives me purpose. I was so excited to finally find a job here in Boston at Ethos working with elderly. I am working as an Elder Protective Service worker and learning a lot about a whole new population.

The Lord has blessed us so much this year. Thanks to all the family and friends who visited with us this year, we wouldn't be the people we are without all your love and support. We hope this new year finds you all with good health and happiness!