Merry Christmas from Switzerland!

There are a couple of perks to being the only single child left in a family. There is the standard pity that everyone throws at you, the extra presents at christmas, the fact that I get to be the "Roamer" during family pictures standing wherever I want. These are all great, but I have to say the best thus far has been that fact that I got to come to Switzerland with my folks. My little brother, (not so little any more considering the fact that he is married and has a child), lives in Switzerland with his family. My parents planned to come and spend the holiday with them because it is their "off" year with the rest of the kids, meaning that all of their other children are with inlaws this christmas. The dilemma soon arose - What do we do with Trisha? Answer: Take her with us. And that they did. It has been absolutley amazing. I have had a chance to go for a drive through the Swiss alps, walk through a Christmas Festival in Germany and spend some quality time with my brother and his wife AND my new favorite snuggle buddy- my niece Natalie. It's times like this that I realize that my life isn't all that bad. I am living in an incredible city, I am continually shaping into this person that I always wanted to be, I have a family that loves me and supports me no matter what because they trust my decisions. And I feel so lucky right now to be in this place half a world away from my normal life with those I love.

The Results Are in!

And the biggest loser is . . . . drum roll please . . . . ME!!

I had a horrible week, health wise, and was feeling especially cruddy, so this was a nice little cap on my week. This biggest loser competition has been amazing. Combine (6 girls) we lost 105 lbs., we are all in the BEST shape we have been in, and we are all so excited for each other. I honestly think that we would have all been excited no matter who won. THEN . . . we celebrated by ordering pizzas and eating goodies from my roommate Britney's would be bridal shower (the roads were so bad and treacherous we had to cancel her shower last minute, but we still had the goodies!)

I would like to spend a little bit more time telling everyone about the mess that was Massachusetts on Thursday. We had a snow storm that started around 1 or so. School was let out early, thank goodness, and I canceled tutoring in Concord just in case it got bad. I live about 10-15 minutes away from work, and because of the snow piling so fast and the mad amounts of people trying to get home- it took me an hour and a half to get to my house. I thought that was bad, my roommate Kirsti had an hour and a half traveling time to go a total of one mile in her car, AND my other roommate Esther was in her car for three and a half hours driving a route that would usually take her twenty minutes. It was horrible. There was still rush hour traffic at eleven o'clock at night on I-95. People were running out of gas in the middle of the freeway, cars were stalled, it was just horrific. They think their were a couple of reasons that it was so bad. 1. There were three rush hours rather than the usual one. People left work at 12:30 or 1 trying to beat the storm and ended up getting stuck in it. Then there were the people who left at 2. They got stuck behind the 1 o'clock rush hour. Then we had the people who left at the normal rush hour time. 2. The snow plows and salt trucks didn't get a chance to get out on the roads ahead of the traffic. 3. People were just completely impatient with one another. As I was watching the news at 11 o'clock Thursday night, I was so grateful to be in my house, warm, fed, and free from work the next morning (they canceled school). Welcome to Massachusetts . . . I guess.

My twinkie . . .

I was parusing my sisters' blogs today and I saw this one picture of my neice Riley being a total cheese. It looked so - familiar.

My favorite things . . .

Lists are fun, lists about things that make people unique are fun, lists about things that make me unique -the most fun.

I am uber grateful for:
-Electrice blankets, no more going to bed with long johns, sweats, socks, mittens, hoodies, AND hand warmers for me hands and feet. Turn that puppy on about 15 minutes before I get in bed and I am cozy for the rest of the evening.
-The color "pumpkin". I like the color and the things I associate with it - pumpkin pie, pumpkin crisps, pumpkin carving, terms of endearment.
-Self photos at arms length. I'm really good at this, I should get paid.
-Music that moves me. When a song has the ability to drown out everything else that might be on my mind and transport me to someplace where I don't have to worry.
-Tamborines. They're just so damn happy sounding. Add a tamborine to any song and you've got a happy tune.
-Homophones. See. Sea. Si. So many possibilities.
-Pictures of people I know in their akward phases. It brings us all down to the same level. So maybe not everyone had the mullet that my mother so generously gifted me with, but not everyone's mother was "ahead of their time" (words from my mother's own lips, seriously).
-Clothes that finally fit the way they are supposed to.
-Having the kid that hated you at the beginning of the school year, smile at you in the hall and acknowledge you with out glaring. I won this victory this past week.
-Wearing soft sweaters in hopes that someone else, preferably a dashing handsome charming someone else, will appreciate your soft sweaters as much as you do someday.
-Having someone look at a family picture and say, "Wow, you can definitely tell who the Cheney's are. You look so much alike."

My music library

As I was going through my iTunes, I was realizing how eclectic the library was. I started to wonder why that was, and I thought back to all of the times that friends have either shared music with me or have implanted a love for a certain band or genre. There are even those songs that I already had that somehow became associated in my mind with certain people. Here is a tribute to all of those who have permantley damaged . . . .err, shaped my musical inclinations and the music I now tend to associate with them:

Casey: Phil Vassar
Jacki Ann: Toad the Wet Sprocket and Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Jilly: The Zolie Band (Yes! I do have them on my computer . . . crazy)
Blake : Ben Harper and G-Love and Special Sauce
Christy: Rusted Root
Arianne: The Samples
Shannon: Modest Mouse and Ani Defranco
Sam: Journey
Dave: Mason Jennings
Kerrie Anne: Blessid Union of Souls
Kirsti: Damien Rice
TJ (my bro): The Cure AND They might be Giants
Britney: Rosie Thomas
Erica: Colbie Caillat
Emmy Lou: Barbara Streisand

The list could go on forever, but those were some of the ones that stood out in my mind. Thank goodness for good friends, and thank goodness for good music. I love you all!

Biggest Loser Week 9: Picture Update

I thought it might be fun to see a before and ALMOST after picture of me.

Here is before . . . .

And here is now . . .

I will post a picture of the end result, we still have about 4 weeks left until D-Day.

Ain't no party like a Cheney party . . .

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!

I got to come home for Thanksgiving, and as cliche as it sounds, I am thankful. My whole family was here - Todd and Christina flew in from Switzerland with their new little one, to surprise us. It's crazy to see them take on their new roles as parents, but they do such a good job.

The little ones that were born in July and August are in their tubby smiling phase and let's face it, they love me. My favorite is when they snuggle with me. I got Tyler to snuggle up to me and even fall asleep. There are few feelings as satisfying as having a chubby little baby asleep on your chest.

Joleigh Mae and Tyler: Cousins born 1 week apart

This is one of me and Tyler, so sweet. Here is another picture of Tiffer and her little guy Porter. He just needed some Mama love.

A typical Cheney gathering usually involves at least one game night. So . . . we played Scum. That was fun, but what was even more fun was the little photo shoots that went on in between rounds. My grandpa Worsley was here with us, I love that in some of the pictures you can see him just laughing at us in the background. We're crazy, we embrace it.

Nellie and I were a team to begin with and we were rockin'. So to show just how rockin' we were, we sported the side ponies. This trend soon caught on with the other ladies in the room, so we HAD to take a picture . . .

THEN . . . the photo shoot really began. Have you ever heard the term, "Shake it like a poloroid picture"? Let me show you just what that might look like. . .

It then went on to the shaking/dazed looking/I just got punched in the face pictures . . .

Halloween 2007

So I have been browsing the blogs of others (I wanted to see what Nellie was talking about), and I noticed that everyone posted what they did on Halloween. I think, even though I don't have cute kids to show off, I'm still cute right?? (that was a little too ambitious to say, I know, but wait till you see the costumes . . . .)

My good friends and I decided to be something truly unique this year, something that no one else would be. So we started brainstorming and Katie came up with the "Mugshot" idea. We each picked a celebrity to impersonate, and not just any celebrity, but a celebrity that has had a mug shot taken in the past year. We came up with: Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Nichole Richie, and Britney Spears. As you browse through the pictures, please notice the accessories . . .

When we got to all of the Halloween parties, we found some of our buddies from the correctional institution.

Note: The cigarette is fake, and the drink I am carrying around is NOT alcoholic . . .don't worry mom and dad, I'm not falling off the band wagon.

Biggest Loser - Week #8

Week 8: -2 lbs.

:)

Darn it Tiff . . .

So thanks to my sis Tiff, I get to do a little questionaire about myself. If I wasn't in such a great mood from eating home made Cafe Rio, I probably wouldn't be doing this right now. But because I love food and I love my sister, here goes:

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


1. I cheat in almost every card game known to man. I don't like to lose, and I don't mind being called a cheat. So it works out rather nicely. As I learned from my good friend Miss Kerrie Anne - "If you're not cheating, you're not trying."

2. I saved my family from sure death by fire when I was nine months old. Some say I was gassy, and that's why I started screaming - causing my mom to pull the car over - causing her to notice the smoke coming from under the hood - causing her to open the hood and notice the flames leaping up at her - causing her to get all of the kids out of the car and then watch the car burn into a pile of mangled burnt car parts. Yup, I'm a super hero. Like I said, some say I was just gassy, which wouldn't be far fetched. I say I have super human powers.

3. I can't fall asleep at night unless I read a book. This has it's ups and downs. Sometimes I am up until 3:30 in the am because sometimes I can't put the book down. Get it . . . ups and downs . . . dang I'm a genius.

4. Once I thought the flavor of a candle was "burning instructions" because that was the only bolded printing I could see on the bottom of the candle.

5. I love NPR. There's nothing like the soothing voices of NPR to calm me down when I have had a stressful day.

6. I have written love songs inspired by other people's love but never inspired by my own. One day.

Hmmm . . . I hate to do this, but Marci and Jo. Your time has come. Tag - YOUR IT!

Biggest Loser Week 7

So, I skipped updating everyone last week because I didn't make any progress :( Well, I didn't do anything really, I stayed the same, but this week I made progress!

Week 7: -1 lb.

Yes . . . I am STILL in first place.

Biggest Loser Results: Week 5

Week 5: -3 lbs.

I'M IN FIRST PLACE!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!

Why I love living in New England . . .

I have officially lived in Boston for a little over a year, and today I spent some time reflecting on my experience here. In an effort to share with you my thoughts and feelings about living here. Here are some pictures of some of my favorite moments and places.

My first activity in Boston - the YSA campout at Camp Joseph. This is where I spent the first chunk of quality time with my wonderful roommates, and I had my first taste of authentic vermont maple syrup.

Trips to the Finnish Sauna in Pembroke, MA. The sauna is a little shack in the middle of the woods, on the edge of a lake. You sit in the little room until you can't handle it anymore and then you go outside and jump into the cool lake and swim around until you are ready to go back inside. There is a floating dock about 60 feet out from the shore, and my favorite thing to do is sit and watch the sunset on the dock. It is one of the most serene and peaceful experiences.

Walden Pond in the Fall. I don't think I have ever seen anything so beautiful. It was quite the experience sitting on the shore, looking out over the beauty of the changing foliage and thinking about what Thoreau said about living life deliberatley.

Watching how maple syrup is made, up at Lake Winnepasaukee in New Hampshire. Amazing.

Night swimming in Walden Pond - this may not be the most legal thing I have ever done.

A night in Fenway park watching the Sox play, the atmosphere was delicious.

* Just a side note: I am in a fight with the Red Sox right now. Because they are in the playoffs, they have suddenly taken precedence in EVERYONE's life - excluding mine. For example, I haven't been able to watch my favorite shows for the past week because no one is willing to change the station away from the game, I have friends canceling plans on me because they would rather watch the game. I am not happy with the Sox. I guess you could say I'm a fickle fan, and that's ok, at least I am being honest.Apple picking in Harvard, MA. Many yummy apple pies and crisps were made from these beauties.

I'm not sure how much longer I will be in Boston - maybe a year, maybe longer. Regardless of how much time I have left here, I am so grateful for the time that I have had and for the memories I have been able to create.

Education Conference with Elder Holland

This past weekend the Boston Young Single Adults hosted a regional Education Conference. Our guest speaker was Elder Holland, and it was such an amazing experience. First of all to be able to have an apostle of the Lord in such close quarters, and second of all to have everything that he's talking about be directed to my circumstance in life. As I listened to the speakers in the different classes, I realized a couple of things. One being, that our Heavenly Father truly loves us and shows that love in tangible ways. I was in a room at the beginning of the conference with 600-800 other people in the same place in life that I am. I'm not alone in my worries and anxieties about the future, and more importantly, those concerns don't go unnoticed by the Lord. As Elder Holland commented on this, I felt completely certain that he was carrying a message for us, specifically for us, from Father in Heaven.

As he spoke of our relationship with the Savior, he recounted the story of Peter walking on the water. Here are the disciples of the Lord on a ship in the middle of the sea. They are far enough away from port that they cannot get there, and there is nothing they can do. The Lord comes to them on the water and we all know the rest of the story. He beckons to Peter, Peter starts to come forward and then looking around him, starts to fear and falls in the water. Elder Holland focused on a part of the story that we don't often look at. While His disciples were on the ship, Christ was on mountain praying. He wasn't there when the storm started, but he sensed that His disciples needed Him. So he went to them. Christ is described as one who succors his people. Elder Holland pointed out that in Hebrew the word 'succor' literally means - "to run to". With this in mind, Christ went to succor his disciples, He ran to them in their hour of need. When we are in our own areas of distress, when Christ comes to succor us - he doesn't mosey over, he runs to our aid. I loved that imagery.

I know that my Savior lives and that His sacrifice and love are real and tangible. I can experience joy because of these things, no matter what my circumstance or situation in life. I have just as much access to his atoning love as everyone else, and that means so much to me.

Biggest Loser Week 4

Week 4: -2 lbs

* I don't know how this happened - total fluke of nature, I really gorged myself all week. If this is the result of gorging, I'm not holding anything back!:)

Biggest Loser update

Week 3: -3 lbs.

WOOHOO!!

The Biggest Loser

Although this sounds like the ultimate insult, it's not. I am a firm follower of the show (http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/) and have even become part of a modified version of the game. A group of about 6 of us have decided to host our own "Biggest Loser" challenge, complete with weekly weigh ins and a $300 prize ($50 each to start out) to the biggest loser. While none of us has TOO much to lose, it's nice to be motivated to do something. I'll keep you updated as to my success. This week's not going so well - blast those darn treats they keep in the office at my school . . .

Weigh in #2: -2 lbs. YAY!!!

( you thought I was going to tell you the beginning weight?? Seriously?)

Stay tuned for next weeks results:)

A Wicked Fun Weekend

Last weekend my parents drove up from North Carolina for a visit. Last Christmas my dad bought tickets for the three of us to see "Wicked" the musical here in Boston. Those of you who haven't heard of this musical yet, are missing out, it was incredible. Even my dad liked it, well at least he laughed out loud so I took that as a good sign.
My parents got here on Wednesday night. They may have been a little grumpy at first because I gave "bad" directions and got them lost about 3 miles from my house. Bummer. But once they got some food in their stomaches, all was well. Thursday I had school off because of Rosh Hashana (a Jewish holiday) and Friday I called in sick. I was feeling a little guilty about calling in sick when I wasn't really sick, so I made sure to eat some dairy so my call in the morning was full of genuine illness. And trust me it was, I have a very serious love/hate relationship with dairy . . . .I love it, it hates me.
On Thursday we drove up the coast to Maine where we saw a quaint little lighthouse and stopped off to the side of the road at a lobster shack to get fresh Maine lobster. We got back around 2, took a nap and then went into Harvard Square. Dad really wanted to get a Harvard sweatshirt, so we were on a mission. We went out to eat at "Fire and Ice", which is a mongolian type barbeque - delicious. We also got a chance to walk around Harvard Square and around Harvard Yard. The library was really impressive, especially at dusk when all the lights were just starting to come on. I took a picture of my dad and I'll have to say he looked pretty intellectual.

On Friday, we drove to Vermont to see the birthplace of the prophet Joseph Smith and to sample Vermont cheese and maple syrup (don't worry folks, I brought my Lactaid). We stopped at a farmer's diner where all of the food used was from local farms and 70 cents of the dollar spent went back to those local farms. It was a really cool little place where they used bandanas for napkins. Saturday we went to the Boston Temple in the morning to do a session and then spent the day walking around the city and eating yummy Italian food (including gelato and canolis) and finally on to see "Wicked". I thought this was especially funny because I affectionatley refer to my sister Nellie as "Smelly"
I had so much fun with my parents, I truly consider them some of my best friends, and there is nothing like the comfort and safety that always seems to surround them. I know they love me and are proud of me and where I am in my life . . . there's nothing better than that. I was sad to see them drive away Sunday afternoon, but it is comforting to know that they are relatively closer than they have been in the past (ONLY a 12 hour drive versus a 2 day drive)

Boston Tea Party

There has been something that has become quite the tradition whenever visitors come in town that I thought I would share with all of you. I like to think of it as a way of becoming one with our past and having a first hand experience with history. As many of you know, once upon a time before our country WAS a country in its own right, there were a string of events that ultimately ended in our independence. (I know this is sounding like a history lesson) One of those events was dubbed the Boston Tea Party, where a group of men dressed as Indians raided a British ship carrying tea and dumped the tea in the harbor. A sign of resistance that was part of a snowball effect. So where am I going with this you may ask? Well, whenever a visitor is in town, the Boston Tea Party is recreated, modified a bit, but recreated. We go out to the harbor, take some tea, wind up, and throw it as far as we can into the harbor, cursing the British all the while. There have been all sorts of ways to participate in this event. Some people merely drop the tea in, some open the bags and empty the tea in (environmentally friendly folks), and some throw with all their might only to have the wind catch and blow it right back. Some say, "CURSE YOU BRITISH!!!" (this is my personal favorite phrase) while others are a little more colorful in their remarks - I don't encourage this, but it does happen :)

Needless to say, it is always a good time. While my friend Dave was visiting this weekend, we had a chance to once again recreate the magic. We took some pictures that turned out great, you can actually see the bag leaving my hands. And some pictures that turned out ghostly, still don't know quite how the camera captured the city skyline THROUGH my body. Anyone who is debating about whether or not to visit me while I am in Boston, think about it - hands on history.

First Fenway Experience . . .

Last night I went to my first Red Sox game, and I can honestly say that it was an eye opening and heart pounding experience. Those of us who are too cheap to buy tickets ahead of time and at a higher price, can stand in line starting 5 hours before game time. By doing this, one becomes eligable for "cheap tickets", which are basically tickets that season pass holders aren't using for that night. They range anywhere from $12-$40 a seat. While we waited out in line we had some AMAZING hotdogs with roasted red pepper and onion, for a whopping $3 versus the $6 the same thing would cost inside the game. Once inside, the green of the grass constrasted with the green of the "Green Monster" aka the patented green scoreboard, was awesome. Every fan sported some sort of Red Sox attire, be it hat or shirt or jacket. While we waited for the game to start, the organ was being played with songs like, "Bohemian Rhapsody," or "Hungry like the wolf". It was genius.

Our seats were almost back row, so we sat up as close as we could get until we got kicked out - then moving back slowly getting kicked out every 15 minutes or so. The nice thing was, no one was mad we were sitting in their seats, it was almost expected and as long as we moved without a fight everyone could smile and be friends. I anxiously awaited the moment at the bottom of the 8th inning when they would play, "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond and all the fans would erupt in karaoke style sing along . . . .and when that moment came how sweet it was!!! Those who know me well, may know of my love for Neil and this moment was perfect on so many counts. I also loved the moment in the game when the crowd started chanting . . . ."Yankees Suck!"??? Yup, Fenway Park is the only place in the world where you will hear those words when the team being played is NOT the Yankees. Brilliant.

The game itself started off a little slow. The Sox played Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and the first run was scored in the third inning by Tampa Bay. No one else scored until the bottom of the 9th, with one out when we got a homerun. This brought the score up 1-1 with a promise of extra innings. Personally, I didn't want to stay there for another 10 innings, as I thought this would be the case. We finally had a double hit, putting one man on 2nd base, and good ole' Coco Crisp (yes folks, that is his REAL name!) was up to bat. Bottom of the 9th, 3 balls-2 strikes-2 outs. We were holding our breath as he swung at his last chance and . . . . foul ball. So we had one more chance. The anticipation was thick and then . . . . ground shot to left field, Crisp makes it to second while our runner on third slides in for a run and we WIN THE GAME!!!! I've never screamed so loud, or heard a roar so loud as the one that came from this crowd of fans . . . this is what life is all about.

Expedition #2: Dogtown Commons and the Babson Boulders

I decided to continue with my theme of rock obsession with my next adventure. My cousin Kendra was in town for the weekend, so the two of us took off Saturday morning to drive north towards Cape Ann. This is about an hour north of the city, and is quite possibly one of the most quaint and beautiful places I have been since I have lived here in Massachusetts.

As we got to the area, we went looking for Dogtown Commons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtown,_Massachusetts. This interesting "settlement" was once home to settlers who chose the area because of its shelter from pirates and enemy navies. The best part about this area, I thought at least, was the massive boulders with inspirational messages carved into them. Roger Babson (who would later go on to found Babson College in Wellesley, MA), commissioned unemployed stonecutters to carve these inspirational messages into boulders along the trail. Kendra and I hiked around and found at least 10-12 of teh 36 boulders. It was like a treasure hunt - except for the mosquitos the so vicously attacked me - those were no treasure.

After we were done at Dogtown Commons, we went NorthEast onto the Cape. We had lunch at a place called "The Lobster Pool" and sat out at a picnic table that looked out over the harbor. AMAZING! All in all, it was an inspirational day.