Another Angel

Today I found out that one of my classmates from High School passed away. He was diagnosed our senior year with a very rare childhood cancer and was whisked away to NYC and Sloan-Kettering Hospital where he underwent multiple chemo treatments. After 6 months in remission he found out that he had beaten the rare cancer, but that he had developed leukemia. Two to three months ago the doctors told him that there was not much more they could do and that he should go home and enjoy his time there. He did just that by doing everything that he loved and over the weekend was taken to the hospital due to an infection. He passed away today in the afternoon. If you could please keep his family in your prayers, I could not imagine the grief that comes with burying a child. 

Book Review: The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture written by Randy Pausch was written to follow the lecture that Randy actually presented where he previously taught, Carnegie-Mellon. Randy was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and a bout with chemo and a very serious surgery he found out that his cancer had metastasized. He the decided to give a life/last lecture about childhood dreams and possibilities. The book has many great life quotes and it makes you realize a lot about your personal life and how you want to live. Some of the quotes that I enjoyed were:

~We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how you play the hand.

~Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

~The brick walls are not there to keep us out . The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough.

This book was an amazing read and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. I give it a  5 out of 5.

Travel Report: Salem, Massachusetts

Happy New Year! I hope yours was safe and happy :) So I recently got back from a 'business' trip to Salem, MA. I say 'business' because I am a first aider for my college and traveled with the team to a tournament there. The bus ride was a little hellish (13 hours) but once we got there it was quite enjoyable. The town is very nice and they many things to do for all ages. There is a port right there so if you are into sailing then you can sail, if you are into art and history then this is a spot for you as well since there is the PEM which is the art museum and the Salem Witch Trials took place here so there is a lot of history. The weather was delightful, however it was a little rough to find food. Almost all of the delis closed around 5 so you had to drive quite a ways to find fast food but there were restaurants and pubs galore. The people seemed friendly there were a few times I smiled at a passerby and they stared at me like I was a witch but whatever, I guess you will have that anywhere. This was not my favorite place to visit but I did like how quiet the town was. When I would wake up in the morning I would go for a walk to one of the millions of Dunkin Donuts in the town and just enjoy the quiet.  

Reviews again!

I told you that when I am break, I am able to do things like go to movies, and play new games. Well this time I got to read new books. I am traveling with the Men's Basketball team right now and we are in Salem, Massachusetts which is a very interesting town. I will give a review about his later considering my trip is not over yet. However, I would like to review two of the three books I brought with me on the trip (not finished reading #3 yet). The first book is part of a series by James Patterson. It is titled The 5th Horseman and if you have not started reading these books, you need to. It is a great book that lets you tag along with a police lieutenant and the SFPD on murders. They are easy read books and they do not take a long time to read (do not let the thickness of the book fool you). A problem I noticed with the entire series and not just this book in general is if you read these books very quickly one right after the other you feel like they are just repeats, however if you read them with about a month in between them they do not get boring. I give this book a 4 out of 5 since I did not like the ending. I felt that Patterson just quickly finished it instead of giving details like he typically does.

The second book that I read was The Alchemist, I had always heard of this book and when a friend offered it to me over break I obliged. I am glad that I did, this book was very interesting and it tells of a boy traveling from his homeland to Egypt to find a treasure at the pyramids. It also talks about Personal Legends which are things that everyone has and wants to accomplish. Throughout the book, everyone that the boy meets becomes an omen and they tell him that in order to find the treasure he needs to follow and listen to these omens. The boy does what he is told and through following his heart, listening to the omens, and telling the truth he finds his treasure. This book was a 5 out of 5 and I want to add it to my collection just so I can always refer to it when I am down.

Reviews!!!!

So being on break from school has given me quite a bit of free time and I am really enjoying it. So I got to go to a couple of movies as well as play some new games and I am here to tell you what I think about them. First the game called Partini...okay so I have not honestly played this one with a group yet, but I was reading some cards and playing some of the things with my sister and we are excited to get a group together to play it. So far a 5 out 5 on my scale. Do remember with this game it needs to have partners and a group of people who are hanging out, works well for a couples night. Second game I received as a Christmas gift was called Identity Crisis. This game is a lot of fun. The object is to identify the a celebrity based on either a numerous amount of clues or one clue depending on the round. We had so much fun playing this game on Christmas Day. This is definitely a 5 out of 5. The last game I wanted to review is called Last Word. At first it was confusing but once everyone got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun. It is fun to see what people come up with for the subjects and the letters given. I also give this a 5 out of 5. I also saw movies over the break and the first one I saw was Four Christmases. I absolutely loved this movie. It was a romantic comedy and it was so cute, if my family was the way Reese Witherspoon's and Vince Vaughn's families were, I would do the same thing. The length was perfect and the one liners and scenes were great to watch, I give this movie a 5 out of 5 and recommend it for anyone who is going on a date. The second movie I saw was 7 Pounds. At first, I was skeptical to see it, however at the end I was glad that I did. It is a great drama and Will Smith was perfect for the part. I give this a 5 out of 5 and recommend for anyone who loves drama. 

Merry Belated Christmas!

This year's Christmas was so much fun. My mom pulled out old family videos and we spent countless hours prior to Christmas day watching and enjoying the memories. (I will spare you the pain and craziness of my family by not posting any). The food was delicious, on Christmas Eve we have ham and cheese potatoes and on Christmas Day we have a variety of foods consisting of chicken noodles, lasagna, ham, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, and green beans and ham. My mom can definitely cook and my family can definitely eat. I only have to return one thing this year due to incorrect sizing which is better than years before where I have had to take multiple items back. Church was also nice, my family and I are Catholic and I enjoyed the Mass very much. We typically attend the children's Mass and I think it is a lot of fun to see the children get into the Christmas story the way I used to. Tomorrow I am headed off to Boston with the Men's Basketball team so enjoy the rest of your post Christmas celebrations and Happy New Year!

Sorry

So first thing is first, I am really sorry that I have not updated for almost a month. The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas mesh for me considering that I am preparing for finals and and Basketball Season starts. So quite a bit has happened in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. One, I got all my Christmas shopping done in like two days, which is very impressive considering I am sometimes very indecisive when it comes to gift giving. Two, I have been working with the Men's Basketball team and we have been traveling like crazy but we have also won two games! Yes you may think this is not a lot, however this is considering that last year we only won three. Three, finals are finally over!!! It was a long and grueling three weeks for them to be over, but they finally are over and I do not go back to school until January 19th. Granted I am working but I also get to travel to Salem, MA and spend time at home, which is well needed after a fun semester. Four, the past two days, I got to spend with my niece and family. It started yesterday with taking Sophee to watch Trish get her hair cut, which by the way is a fabulous haircut. Then we took my mom to Olive Garden for lunch and then went back to my house to bake cookies. We made those pillsbury already pre-made cookies, sugar cookie cutouts, peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses, and colored rice krispie treats. We had so much fun that she came back today to finish decorating the sugar cookies and decorate the tree. After dropping her off at home, we headed to my dad's side of the family for our Christmas. We had a great time reminiscing about our families old stories and eating pizza. It was so far a great weekend and the week is going to get better!!! Tomorrow I am going to Grease, the Broadway play, which I am excited for!! I also posted a picture of the cookies that we made!