So much sadness in Boston

Yesterday morning as I walked to work I was so excited to watch my first Boston Marathon and to cheer on my friend Jason with his wife, sister, parents, and our friends.  I had been in Colorado over the weekend and I was happy to be back with my boyfriend enjoying the spring weather.  We stopped at Starbucks on Charles Street to get breakfast, we paused in the Public Garden to admire the blooming trees, and we talked about where we eat lunch.  It was such a pleasant spring day. 

Jason was expected to finish the race sometime around 2:30 so we walked down Boylston to mile 26 where we found a bit of a clearing.  Everyone else in our group was further down the course but we couldn’t cross the road to get to them so we texted while we were waiting for Jason to pass by.  Jason passed us, we cheered, took pictures, and decided to head back to the office and see if we could catch Jason on the way.

We had just passed the finish area when we heard the first bomb right behind us.  At first I thought it was a car backfire or a cannon, but when we turned around to see what happened we saw the smoke and people started screaming.  My boyfriend wanted to see what was going on but I started to panic so we just tried to get as far away from the race and Boston landmarks as fast as possible.  Everywhere around us people were crying as others shouted to stay calm. Not likely!  I am pretty sure my panicking was a completely normal reaction to the situation!  We made it back to our office, which is just about a block down Boylston from the finish line, but at that point we weren’t sure what else was going to happen so we thought it would be a good idea to try and get back to our apartment just outside of Boston.  We told the security guard in the building what happened and then ran out to Newbury Street.  Our building was evacuated not long afterwards.

We walked home as fast as possible, trying to process what happened while trying to check our cell phones for news updates while we walked.  It was insane – people around us were crying, and telling friends and family on the phone about the bomb. We walked past MGH as the ambulances and police cars began to drive up.  There were sirens everywhere.  As soon as we got home we turned on the TV and watched the news from our bed with Lola curled up in there with us.  We only had cell service off and on, so I sent a message to my parents that we were okay and posted to Facebook.  Messages from family and friends poured in throughout the evening and was really comforting.  All night we just kept saying to each other “one minute later and it would have been us.”  We were very grateful to be able to speak to our parents, especially my boyfriend’s parents who woke up in India to the news.

I don’t know why bad things like this happen and some people are injured while others are spared, and I don’t have some deep philosophical insight into the day, but I can say that I feel so grateful to be able to hug my boyfriend and dog and tell my friends and family I love them.  I have so much respect for the heroes who jumped in to help the injured when all I could do was run.  I am thankful the Boston police and fire and local medical teams were well prepared and were able to mobilize so quickly.  I am thankful for the medical tent that was so near to the finish line and probably made the difference between life and death for many people that day.  I feel very loved by friends and family who have been checking in on us and sending us emails and notes on Facebook. 

Our office is reopening tomorrow and will have counselors available for those who choose to come back in on Wednesday.  I wish I could say I was ready to head back in, and that I would be a part of those in Boston who refuse to let the bad guys win, but the truth is I just want one more day in our cozy apartment before I have to remember what happened.  It is probably going to take me a while before I can walk down that part of Boylston.  I guess in a way it is good that we don’t forget what happened, but right now I know I am not ready to physically be back there when my mind keeps replaying it over and over.  One thing I can say is that this doesn’t change how much I love Boston.  In fact, the kindness and bravery of yesterday just makes me love the city that much more.

I realize this is probably my longest post, but writing this has helped me process some of what has happened, so thanks for sticking with me.  More importantly, thanks to those who have contacted us to offer words of comfort, it means so much to both of us!

Krista

 

Some pictures from the day:

The view of the finish line from earlier in the day (this is where the first bomb was)

Mile 26 where we watched the race

Jason (in the yellow jersey) with .2 miles to go

What, more blizzarding?

In Boston we are still digging out from the blizzard – roads are clear but there is still a lot of fun snow/ice/salt piles along the side of the road and sidewalks that make it hard to cross streets or park.  In fact, a lot of people are still digging out their cars.  We are so grateful that we have covered parking and a valet service in our apartment building!  Especially since today we had a fresh round of blizzard conditions and about 6 inches of snow!  I am glad we didn’t really need to do too much running around the city today.

I shouldn’t complain, because I really had a great week!  For Valentine’s Day my sweetie surprised me with my favorite flowers (tulips), a new iPod, and tickets to Disneyworld!  I am sooooo excited for Disneyworld – Disneyland was our first trip together as a couple, so it holds a lot of good memories for us.  I have never been to Disneyworld, so I cannot wait to get away for a week to enjoy the Disney magic with my sweetie!  In return, I treated the BF to burgers and beer at our favorite burger place, RF O’Sullivan’s  in Somerville and storm trooper cookies! 

On Saturday my girlfriend Lisa and I went to the Boston Wine Expo.  What can I say other than, OH MY GOSH so much wine to taste!  I am not sure how many vendors were there, but our strategy was to wander down the aisles and sample from the wineries that we could and eat as much free food as possible.  We had so great wine, and some less than great wine, and a wonderful afternoon!  Such a fun event, I am already looking forward to next year!  After we had about as much wine as we could drink we hopped over to our favorite bar the Salty Pig.  Not for more wine, but for their awesome cheese plates!  Seriously, I love this place!  You pick your forms of pork (we just had prosciutto this time) and your cheeses (we had manchengo, stravecchio, gorgonzola, and the bonaparte goat cheese) and then they serve them with grilled bread, homemade pickle chips, and grainy mustard.  Love love love!  Lisa and I were on a mission to find a good place to get cheese plates in the Back Bay or the South End so we were so lucky to find the Salty Pig! 

Today the BF and I set off on mission to try a new Mexican place, El Centro,  for lunch in the South End that had good reviews on Yelp.  It was a good time to go – I think the blizzard conditions kept a lot of people away and lunch was probably less busy than dinner.  The restaurant was a cozy little place tucked back into the South End and it looks like my mom could have picked out the art from Mexico.  We were the only English speakers in the place, which we took as a good sign.  I’ll be honest, Boston has great food, but so far we have yet to find a good Mexican place here, so we have been sticking to Chipotle or the local chain Anna’s Taqueria which is about a level above Filiberto’s in Phoenix or La Casita in Colorado Springs (for my Phoenix and C. Springs friends!).  Good food, but not exactly fine dining!  I am so happy we tried El Centro!  Awesome guacamole and my carne asada burrito was so awesome I couldn’t stop telling my BF.  Seriously, he asked me to stop talking about my food! 

So, the moral of the story…what a great week!  Boston – you rock my world!  Oh yeah, and my BF is pretty awesome too!

On a side note, a big congratulations to the Chick 9 giveaway winner, Domestic Diva!  Thanks for entering, check your email!

Krista

Giveaway clarification

I am seeing lots of new likes on Facebook and new followers on Twitter....so just a clarification - to enter the giveaway, you also need to leave me a comment letting me know what you have done!  Still time to enter!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Krista

First Boston Blizzard

We survived our first Boston blizzard!  I wasn’t exactly worried about it, but in case any of you were worried about us, we are totally fine!  Growing up in the mountains of Oregon and Colorado, I am used to some pretty bad winter weather.  In fact I have been in a few blizzards already.  But when everyone starts talking about how this blizzard will be a record setter and people clear the shelves of grocery stores, you tend to take it a little bit more seriously. 

Thursday night the BF and figured we should head to the grocery store to stock up on ice cream and other necessities before the storm hit.  What an experience!  It took us half an hour of circling the parking lot before we could find a place to park, and the store was an absolute mad house!  At that point our closest grocery store still had bread, milk, and water, but the shelves were starting to clear.  People all over Boston were posting pictures online of completely bare shelves, so we were lucky.  Not that most people choose ice cream when preparing for a blizzard, but we just wanted to make sure we had enough!  The store was so packed that you could barely move a cart through the rows, and forget about moving your cart near the checkout lines!  We had an hour wait to checkout because the lines wrapped through the front of the store, even with every counter open.  We entertained ourselves by checking out what other people were buying to prepare for the blizzard.  I thought it would have been funny to buy 20 cakes from the bakery, but that was vetoed by the BF for some reason.

Friday the BF and I worked from home.  Not because of the blizzard, but because we are lucky to have that flexibility, and because I had been on calls with my offshore team until midnight and barely had the energy to get out of pajamas.  I am not completely sure if I brushed my hair at all on Friday.  My BF is so lucky!  The snow started around 9, along with the major wind gusts.  Lola loves the snow, but hates wind and gave me lots of dirty looks on our morning walk.  The snow didn’t really start to stick until the late afternoon.  Our Boston offices officially closed at noon (I still had meetings so in no way did that help me), the MBTA shut down all subways and buses at 3:30, and the driving ban started at 4.  I was supposed to host an alumni event that night but had to cancel as the driving ban also included taxis – and a $500 fine and a year in jail for violators – so I had no way of getting to the bar unless I wanted to walk 2 miles in the blizzard.  It was a little eerie to see the freeway behind us totally empty except for snow plows.  When the snow really started sticking, the snow plows made pass after pass on the freeway, but it looked like they had never been there because there was so much snow coming down.  This is when I realized I had to take Lola out.  Lola was thrilled to play in the snow, and it wasn’t too bad with my down parka, but it was weird to see no one outside or in the lobby of our building.  Normally on a Friday night the lobby is insane as people are either getting home from work or heading out on the town.  I waved at the snow plow drivers, but saw no one else.  Kind of cool. 

Here is the view out our back window around that time.  Normally our view stretches for miles.

Total whiteout.  I wanted to take more pictures during the worst of it, but it was hard to hold the camera and a dog leash in the wind.  I guess there were lots of people out wandering the streets in the Back Bay, so I am a bit sad I missed it.

Saturday morning was still pretty bad.  Here is the snow pile in the entry to our building.  It was at least 6 feet high.  We tried to get Lola to climb the snow mountain but she was NOT interested.

I wanted to walk through the park in front of our place, so we could let Lola play in the snow and I could get some nice pictures of the Boston skyline, but the drifts were more than 3 feet high, which made walking tough.  We sort of climb/fell/dug our way through and Lola swam in the snow.

After 7 years of Phoenix, I am really enjoying this snow!  If only I had cross country skis! 

So don’t worry about us – we are warm, well fed, and have watched almost the entire season of House of Cards.  Thanks for a mandatory weekend of relaxation Boston!

Krista

Valentine’s Day Giveaway!

I haven’t done a giveaway from my shop in a while, so what better time to show some love than Valentine’s Day?  Here’s the deal – visit my shop and then: 1. tell me what your favorite item is, 2. add me to your circle on Etsy, 3. follow me on Twitter, 4. like my page on Facebook, and/or 5. follow my blog.  You don’t have to do each one, but each item gives you 1 entry into the giveaway, so hey, why not?  One extra entry for referring someone else to do ANY of the above AND telling me you referred them!  Want some even better news?  Because I am really feeling the love this year, I will be picking not just one winner, but 3!  Each winner gets the item of their choice and free shipping!  Sweet deal right?  Okay, you have until midnight PST on February 14th to enter!   

xoxo,

Krista

2012–Chick 9 Clothing’s BEST YEAR EVER!

So, I haven’t had a chance to share this yet, but I am very excited because 2012 was Chick 9 Clothing’s best year ever!  I had 3 times the listing and shop views than 2011, more than 3 times the listing favorites, more than 2 times the orders, and 4 times the revenue!!!!  I still won’t be quitting my day job anytime soon, but things are going well with my shop and I still enjoy making the shirts so life is good!

So what was the most popular shirt?  This one:

So to celebrate, I now have a limited number of Women’s Weight Lifter/CrossFit t-shirts in black!  They are awesome!  If you want one, you will need to act fast!  Check them out:

Here’s to an even better 2013!

Krista

What, Christmas is over???

I always feel like there is a bit of a let down after Christmas.  It takes me so long to shop for presents, wrap everything, put up the tree, decorate everything, and plan for holiday food….and then it is all over in a flash!  I spent weeks planning for everything, and it took us less than 10 minutes to open all the presents!  All the planning for a fun Christmas meal went out the window when I came down with the flu on Christmas morning!  I have spent the last 2 days in bed, half reading on my new iPad mini and half napping.  Now I am desperate to leave the house and have a reason to get out of my Christmas pajamas!  My BF has probably already forgotten what I look like with makeup on and my hair brushed!

In spite of the flu, I have had a wonderful Christmas!  My BF and I spent our first Christmas together in Boston, enjoying the city.  We would have loved to fly to Phoenix to spend the holiday with my parents, grandma, aunts, uncles, and cousins, but it is so hectic to travel at Christmas and we have the dog to deal with as well, so it just made sense to stay here.  Boston at Christmas time is awesome!  The BF and I spent hours and hours walking around the city, looking at lights, the beautiful Christmas trees in Quincy Market and the Boston Commons, visiting the New England Aquarium, and hoping for snow!  I saw the Nutcracker in the gorgeous Boston Opera House a few weeks ago with a girlfriend.  We had a holiday party with friends at our place, saw the Hobbit (way too long of a movie for someone who can’t sit still well!), had Christmas Eve dinner at our favorite Thai place AND….we got our wish for snow on Christmas Day!!!  It was just a little bit of snow, but it was great to take Lola for a walk in the park and let her play in it a bit!

Now that Christmas is over (and I am recovering from the flu) we are trying to plan for New Year’s.  I am not really a NYE person, mainly because I can never stay up that late, but also because I don’t like getting dressed up only to battle crowds, the cold, and have to spend huge amounts of money to drink and celebrate with strangers.  I would rather go back to the good ole days of high school and college when we had a big house party with our group of friends.  Now I would be up for a grown up version of slumber party!  Rent a big house somewhere in the woods.  Cook dinner together, invent some fun drinks, have desserts, play board games, and try not to be the first person to fall asleep!  Is that totally uncool? 

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  Here’s to the end of 2012 – it was my best year yet, and I can’t wait to see what is in store for 2013!

Krista