Oh Hey Blog!

So I completely abandoned by blog for several months....but I have a few great excuses of why!

First, I was studying insane amounts for my boards! My life was seriously so boring for a good 3 months--every free second I had, I was studying. Thankfully, it all paid off! I passed both my state and federal exams on the first try! It is very rare for someone to pass both on the first try, usually one or the other. Ever since those stressful exams ended, my life has gotten 10x better. I was promoted to Associate Administrator at my facility and have been loving it!

After I passed my boards, the next week I was off to Europe! A trip of a lifetime that I seriously think about pretty much everyday since I've been back. If I had the opportunity to go back tomorrow, I would. If you hear of any European nursing homes looking for an administrator, let me know....This trip will have a few posts of its own once I get the motivation to write all about it.

Once I got back from Europe, I was in a bad car accident that totaled my car...no my car did not look like what you are probably imagining but enough damage for them not to repair it. I was fine, only have scars from the airbag burns. Being the creature of habit that I am, I ended up buying the same exact car, in the same exact color. But hey, I loved that car so I am happy to have it back. The week after my accident, I had a work conference to attend in Columbus all week so I looked hilarious with my hands all wrapped trying to network and shake people's hands (I looked like I took up boxing as a sport, not to mention I was in a ton of pain when someone would actually shake my hand). I got a few laughs when people believed my story that my accident actually occurred on the autobahn in Germany, not a residential street in Cincinnati...

Trying to recreate a "Hugo"--drink I fell in love with in Germany.

Summer has officially arrived in Cincinnati, all 97 degrees of it...

Schwaben joke from Germany.

My people.

Drunk Stephanie in action.

Since being back in the US, I was able to spend Memorial Day with my family back home which was so nice. The following weekend my two best friends from out of town were in Cincinnati!! Javier came in from Colombia and Kacie was in town from Boston! Our mini reunion made me so happy-that weekend did not last long enough.

Just a quick update on what has been going on. I am going to try and be better with writing on here. I have a ton to write about Europe, so be prepared!!!

Beautiful Boston

Ohhh Boston, where do I even begin? Boston & I got off to a rough start, mainly because I thought I could survive 2 plane rides and numerous public transportation trips without Dramamine....I was wrong. It was storming in Cincinnati when I left at 6 in the morning, causing almost the whole hour and a half plane ride to have horrible turbulence. It felt like I was on a roller coaster, and I cannot do roller coasters. I finally made it to New Jersey (Newark) and I was not feeling too hot. FYI Newark airport is disgusting. A short 45 minute plane ride to Boston later, the pilot announces we have arrived in Boston, Massachusetts and are descending. My stomach couldn't take it anymore, so I puked all over my jeans and my purse....(I am so embarrassing). Honestly, I don't think anyone around me noticed, thank god. The girl next to me was sleeping and the other woman had headphones it. I'm sure you're thinking, why didn't you use the puke bag? I TRIED, as gross as it is to admit this, it just projected out of me. Needless to say, I made my entrance to Boston, with puke and all. But I did feel much better after that! Lesson learned.

My friend Kacie met me in the airport, and so kindly put me on a 15 minute shuttle bus ride, then 3 subway trains....then we FINALLY arrived to her apartment. The Boston airport is way outside of downtown Boston. I was just happy to get out of the subway and be on the ground with fresh air. Once I relaxed a bit in Kacie's adorable little brownstone, I started to feel better, so we headed out for lunch and explored the city. Check out the following pictures to see the rest of my trip!

 That mural appeared on the building overnight, no one knows how it got there...

 Childhood memory: The Suite Life of Zac & Cody ^^^ That is the hotel!!

 Central Park or Boston Public Garden? I was in heaven, the leaves were so pretty and this park was beautiful. I could've stayed there all day. Boston really does feel like a mini New York, now I see why there is so much rivalry between the two cities!

George Washington doing his thing.

Beacon Hill--my favorite part of Boston. The cobblestone streets and side walks won me over, but Kacie did make a valid point, cobblestone streets are all over Boston. However, these brownstone row houses are adorable and each one has so much character. Life goals...

Beacon Hill is no joke, we got our workout that day.

 Cheers! (the TV show)

 There was a few loose cobblestone bricks on the sidewalk when we were walking around Beacon Hill and I joked that we should steal one as my souvenir. I'm a bad influence.Well, when no one was around I picked one out of the side walk and stuck it my purse. Yes, that is probably some sort of crime since these bricks have been around for 100s of years. But anyways, we thought it would be cute to keep it in Kacie's apartment and have everyone that came to visit her sign the brick! She thought it was "dirty" so she stuck the brick in her dishwasher, I joked that I was appalled because she washed away years and years of history. It is crazy if you actually think about how many people have probably stepped on that brick.

The Harvard Yard. Oh how I loved Harvard. It really is a beauty. The strangest thing was all of the tourists. Kacie & I agreed that we would actually hate going there because everyone just walks around your campus and gawks at it. The groups of people in the picture above are not "prospective student tours," they are just tourists, like us. You could tell who the real students were and I have to point out that I mainly saw men...

 Harvard Library. Besides Beacon Hill, Cambridge was my second favorite place we visited. The town of Cambridge, in addition to Harvard, is actually really cute. It is outside of the city so it has a more relaxed feel but still has the old character. I now have a super sweet Harvard sweatshirt..legally blonde?

So I decided I can't walk and take pictures at the same time. This was some "frat" house or in Harvard's world it is a club.

 Back on the subway...

 Even the bars are old pubs, I loved it! Boston doesn't mess around, the bars were packed at 9pm and by the time we left at 11:30pm this street was full of lines just to get in!

 Midnight Raunchy Improv Show!! Hilarious!!!

 Holocaust remembrance path. Those glass sides were full of tiny numbers...so sad.

Faneuil Hall

Another one of my favorite places--the harbor. Boston is such a unique city, it has the downtown busy city feel but in a few minutes you can be relaxing by the ocean. 

I only almost lost my hat like 3 times...I think Boston is the real windy city.

Finally got my seafood fix: lobster roll & shrimp cocktail!

 The freedom trail

THE MOST DELICIOUS CANNOLI EVER. I officially know what all of the hype is over. Ever since I have been back in Cincinnati I have been trying to find a place that makes then and can't find one. Why did I not discover this on my first day in Boston??

As much as I loved Boston, I decided I could not live there for two reasons: 1-it is SO expensive, 2-I hate public transportation, something about riding underground freaks me out. Despite those two things, I had such a blast in Boston, the weather was absolutely perfect, I was able to explore and see a lot of different areas & enjoy some excellent food! I will definitely be back!