March 22nd

After the exciting news of our new apartment and me feeling better, Kristen and I decided to go to Target to do some wedding registry stuff. Little did I know that they would give me a scanner gun to go around the store and zap things with! Kristen said I was like a kid with a new toy. This is me trying to scan Kristen. We had a good time going around and picking out things for people to get for our wedding. We figured Target has everything and is cheaper so why not. I like the cookware that we picked since it's red and is good quality. We also picked out some cool towels and board games. I think we need to go back so I can zap more things!

March 21st

So today I was still feeling a little out of it so we just had a nice relaxing Saturday at Kristen's apartment. We watched some more episodes of Lost so Kristen, Emily, and Ben could catch up. Here is a picture of some rental applications Kristen and I filled out for an apartment that we looked at in Jamaica Plain. It is on the other side of the Stonybrook T-stop and we had gone earlier in the week to see it with the realtor Javier. It's a 2 bedroom with a very nice living room and kitchen. It also has a roof deck which we can hang out on. We put in our applications with Javier and we then went to meet with the owners of the apartment. They were great people whom I was able to practice some of my Spanish speaking skills with. We left and not five minutes later, we received a call from Javier saying that they liked us and wanted us to have the apartment. Of course we said yes and we then signed the lease- so it is officially ours! This is just another step in my relationship with Kristen which I am excited to take!

March 20th

Today I had left work early because I had a fever the night before and was not feeling well. As soon as I got home I fell asleep so I knew my body needed to rest. Here is a picture again from St. Patrick's day. It is of my lovely fiance Kristen who cared for me when she got home from work. She is one of a kind and I am soooooooooo happy that we are getting married. Everything is falling into place in my life and I just know in my heart that she should be a part of it!

March 19th

Again- nothing really happened today so here is another from St. Patrick's day. I believe we had moved on to the Phoenix Landing in Camridge at this point. Here is a green beer and some shamrocks at our table. I think the fingers belong to Stephen J. Lavenberg- the fourth and final Lavenberg. Chronologically they go: Drew, Doug, Jeff, and Steve. Since I have only a sister, these guys have been like brothers to me. It is known that if one of them is absent, I am usually there to represent the absent brother (usually when it involves food). This St. Patrick's day I had to be Jeff since he couldn't make it up this year- ironicaly the one brother I have yet to live with. Overall they are a good bunch and usually bring cheesy jokes and sarcastic comments wherever they go.

March 18th

So for the remainder of the week, nothing really much happend and I was not feeling well- so I have decided to post some extra pictures from St. Patrick's day for the next few days. This is a picture of e and one of my best men for the wedding- Jayneel. We are cheers-ing with our Irish brews at the Burren. My other best man is Drew and he had to leave early so he couldn't be there with us. I can't wait for the wedding since I know I have picked the two guys in my life that are truely my best friends to be up there with me as I take the big step into marriage.

March 17th

Finally it came- St. Patrick's day! The plan was to meet up with my co-worker Clark and his sons at the Burren in Davis Square. Here is a picture of some Irish folk playing some traditional music in the bar. We got some great Irish food and drank some great Irish beers. This got me even more excited for my honeymoon with Kristen in Ireland since I do enjoy the Irish culture. We ended up separating from Calrk but had a great day anyways since we went to some new bars which we had never been to. Again just a nice day with Kristen and my friends.

March 16th

So we were deciding what to do today and being that we like free stuff, we decided to go back to the Brewery for another tour! This is a picture of the Irish Brick Red ale and a cup of barley (one of the ingredients in beer). This turned out ot be one of my new favorites. The tour guide we had was not as good as the one we had over the weekend- but we didn't care, as long as we got our free beer. Afterwards, we ended up getting chicken schawarma since I promised Jay I would get him some (it's middle eastern food). We also went to Cheers so Kyle could take a picture and to the Rattlesnake on Boylston Street which is a bar we were snowed-in at two years ago. Overall a nice relaxing day.

March 15th

So some of our friends had to leave today to go back home for work. We decidedn to go to Cabot's in Newton before they left since the Lavenberg's grew up in Newton and have to go to Cabot's whenever they are here. This is a picture of Doug and his ginormous milkshake. I believe it was a coffee-oreo mix shake. It kind of looks like the kid in the background wants a bite of the shake! Cabot's is one of Kristen's new favorite places since she and I can share a shake and they have great food. They are known for their ice cream and the craziest thing they have is the Pyramid which is a ridiculous amount of ice cream that can serve up to 150 people! The Lavenberg's wanted a go at it but decided to get the giant shake instead.

March 14th

So to start out the festivities we all decided to go to the Sam Adam's Brewery which is literally right around the corner from Kristen's place. This is a picture of all of us and our tour guide Kate (I think that's her name). Of course we all enjoyed the free beer and learning how they make it. You get a free 7 oz. glass to keep afterwards so we have quite a collection started. Of course Drew had to try and hit on the tour guide and his best line was, "So, what's your real job?" Unfortunately, that didn't work out for him. Overall a good time was had by all.

March 13th

Today is when the chaos started and the boys from Pennsylvania came up for St. Patrick's day. There were plenty of them and they all stayed at Kristen's apartment. This is a picture of Jay and him sleeping on his air mattress in the kitchen. Of course we had to give him a stuffed animal to cuddle with! It was nice to see everyone since I had not seen them in awhile.

March 12th

Today Kristen and I met up with Becca, Soctt, and Evans at the Cactus Club for dinner. We had a good time overall except for the waitress and her service. Pretty much we ended up waiting a lot since she had taken some smoking breaks and forgot about us. Pretty much the worst service I have had. The food and company were good so that made up for it. Even though I do not know Evans that much, I do know about him and his "regulator" mix.

March 11th- My Birthday!

Here are two pictures from my day of birth. On the left is a picture of some banana split cupcakes that one of my co-workers had made. He is a caterer on the side so he is an excellent baker. I grabbed my cupcake first thing because I know how much my co-workers are scavengers and knew the cupcakes would be gone very quickly. On the bottom is a picture of the delicious ice cream cake that Kristen had surprised me with. Since we had gone out the night before, I just wanted a nice relaxing dinner with Kristen, Emily, and Ben. Kristen made one of my favorite things of hers- white bean soup. Very simple (white beans, garlic, and some cheese) yet very tasty, especially with some good Italian bread. After dinner Kristen surprised me with the ice cream cake from Friendly's. I also got a chance to talk to my mom, dad, sister, and my nephew was making some noises and trying to grab the phone. Overall I had a great birthday and am looking forward to my friend's coming up this weekend!

March 10th

Today, myself, Kristen, and some of my co-workers went out after work for some beverages to celebrate my birthday week. The place we went had $3.50 appetizers and very cheap pitchers of Pabst Blue Ribbon- very cheap because it's very classy! We had a good time and celebrated what was to be my 28th birthday. One funny moment during the night was when Dan asked me if he could buy me a drink for my birthday and an elderly women who was sitting next to him on the other side thought he was asking her. A bit creepy but a funny moment nonetheless.

March 9th

Today Kristen made her t-shirt for the upcoming St. Patrick's day celebration. We got some iron-on letters from A.C. Moore and a green shirt. The phrase "slainte" for all who don't know is the Gaelic equivalent of "cheers." I am sure this will be said many times during the festivities. Kristen is very crafty and also wants to make a t-shirt for me which will be very cool!

March 8th

Today was the start of my birthday celebration week. I had just finished the graphic novel Watchmen and was excited to go see the movie. Along with Emily, Ben, Kristen, and Soctt, I saw the movie based on the graphic novel. I thought it was excellent- the movie was pretty much shot for shot the same as the novel. The actors casted in the various roles were perfect and what I had imagined and expected. My three favorite characters were Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, and the Nite Owl. Rorschach was intriguing because he was dark and understood the nature of humans, Dr. Manhattan was cool cause he could make people explode (despite several shots of his blue genitalia), and the Nite Owl had a neat airship called Archie (named after Merlin's owl Archimedes). Afterwards we went to dinner at Bertucci's where I had some good tortellini and chicken. My official birthday is on Wednesday, March 11th so there will be more fun then!

March 7th

These are ultra-cool jackets Ben and I found at Old Navy. Don't worry- we didn't purchase them (although it was hard not to!). We had just come from 5 Guys- a great burger place in Dedham. They have excellent burgers and fries. The menu is simple- burger, cheeseburger, or bacon cheeseburger and add any toppings for free. Choose regular or little burger and fries are either regular or cajun style. I highly recommend it for burger enthusiasts.

March 6th

Today we celebrated Leslie's last weekend living on Dalrymple. She is starting her new position in Albany and we had to cheers to that! As you can see I am wearing my Philly cheesesteak t-shirt- a classic. This is in preparation for our St. Patrick's day celebration which is sure to be a wicked good time!

March 5th

For today's picture, I decided to have a picture of myself and some co-workers. This is part of the staff that works in the Student Service Center at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Front row (left to right): Eric, Brittany, Maloney, and Courtney in her leopard pose. Back row (left to right): myself, Mark, and Greg. Special props to Mark since he recently had Sam's diploma printed and ready for her to receive finally (Sam if you read this today we just need your address so we can mail it to you- yay!)

March 4th

This is a picture of one corner of my desk at work. The picture of Kristen and me is my favorite of us and makes me smile when I am having a rough day at work. And obviously being a Penn State alum I need the singing Nittany Lion on my desk. The phone can symbolize my connection to the outside world or a thing that brings me stress- depends on your point of view.

So this first couple of days my pictures have been random. I wanted to try and capture pieces of my daily life and routines. The pictures will be getting more intriguing as the month progresses. Hope everyone enjoys what I have done so far and suggestions and comments are always welcome!

March 3rd

This is a random thing I found in the snow while walking to work. Somebody had spray painted a smiley face and placed a sign with a tomatoe on it. The little yellow sign in the back had a quote about smiling on it. This is interesting since the new movie The Watchmen is coming out this weekend and a predominent symbol in the graphic novel is a smiley face. Coincidence? You be the judge...

March 2nd

This is a picture of my St Patrick's day corner in my room. I am so excited for the holiday that I have this set-up and ready for a couple of weeks now. It's going to be a great time since I have off from work and my friends from Pennsylvania will be joining us for the 3rd annual celebration. I will certainly have pictures from the festivities posted that week!

March 1

This is the chilli that is one of Kristen's favorite dinners that I make. Simple recipe- ground chicken, red kidney beans, corn, onions, green peppers, crushed tomatoes, and some chilli and sazon seasoning. Throw it all in a crock pot and cook on low for up to 5 hours.

Welcome Dane!

Dane decided he wants to contribute to my Project 365, so he'll be posting pictures for the month of March. His first post just went up!

February 28

First geocache of the new year! It was warm enough today to get outside for a bit to look for some caches. The first one was in a park but when we got there the park was closed. We're still not sure why it was closed. We decided to try another one, and Dane found it! Here he is with the cache and it's secret location.

February 27

Happy Birthday Melissa!

We were planning to go out tonight, but then got tired and decided to watch Lost instead. I think Mia was happy with this decision and she made herself right at home on top of me.

February 26

Dane and I went to "our place", Applebee's, for dinner. I had to pick up prescriptions from Target and Applebee's is conveniently located in the same shopping center. We love the dollar section, and found this bunny ears. I think Dane looks especially cute in his.

February 25

I made a pasta dinner for the Dance Team tonight as a break from practice. They've been practicing so much, the officers thought it would be a nice change to hang out as a group. The girls loved dinner. I'm sure it was better than what they are used to in the dining hall. Everyone got dressed up and had fun!