sometimes you just want to go look at ships and stuff

so you walk across this overpass

and pass some nice rocks and dead berries and moss

and then walk under this creepy bridge and still like those green mossy rocks

then take a picture of this cute little lady right before she asks to take a picture of you which is so nice of her but is a gross picture so you don't actually post it on your blog. 

this walkway makes you feel like you don't quite know if you are going the right way but you like the view anyway

then you come across paul revere park! which seems like it would be exciting but wasn't at all

and then finally you see it! the uss constitution! she is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. world's oldest! aint that neat?!

so after checking her out and taking a picture of some ropes you move on to the uss cassin young, a real life WWII destroyer! 

(i'm not even a boy and i was eating this stuff UP)

then since you didn't really feel like checking out the museums that go along with the ship and destroyer above you have time to go to bunker hill before they lock it up for the day!

so after ship/destroyer time you head over to bunker hill. you really like it. 

then you make the trek up all 294 steps of the thing. 

and at the very top there is a little window on each side of the monument allowing you to see out over every part of boston. the view above will probably be your favorite.  

then you take a picture of just you and bhm. you really had a good time together! 

and since it was such a pretty day you didn't even wear your coat half the time! and then you have a feeling you and spring time boston are going to be great friends. 

the end. 

valentimes

remember how little kids say valentimes day? that is fun. 

so. i just found this in my drafts. i have gotta stop thinking i post things and then never actually do it! 

i feel like these four photos sum up my valentines day activities. 

1. v-day cookies with grace. not on the actual day but still worth noting. we didn't actually have any cookie cutters besides one in the shape of a shark and then we just put frosting on them with spoons so they looked goooooood. emma. don't be jealous. hey grace! that was fun let's do it again soon. 

2. my parents sent me the nicest v-day goodies! my favorite being those earrings pictured above. at times my sweet mom thinks things are "so megan" when in reality they aren't really me (i'm very difficult to shop for so it is completely my fault) at all but this time she won! she really really won. her words: "i was just looking for grandma earrings so when i found these i knew you would like them!" smart mom! nice mom.

3. valentines day was the day after my sisters left and for some reason i was so tired and had no desire to do anything. but in the spirit of the holiday i showered, got dressed, got ready, and wore my pink pants and leopard print blouse. and i took that picture for the instagram picture of the day (which was "heart"). oh! i also ate a few cinnamon hearts my parents sent me. but other than that i didn't do anything and i felt completely happy about it. 

perhaps i don't go crazy on this holiday but i am definitely not a hater and never will be. people who call it single awareness day are dumb and need to calm down. you do not need to have a kissingonthemouth type relationship with someone to enjoy a day that celebrates love. now those thoughts are coming from a girl who is blogging at 11 pm on a saturday night and feels completely fine with it so maybe my opinion of things like that doesn't count? anyway.  that is all i wanted to say. bye.  

we r who we r

i'm way sick of thinking of titles so when i can't think of one i will just scan my itunes and pick a song title and use that. today's title is brought to you by ke$ha. i know. i'm embarrassed i have that song too. 

i'm going to miss this place

does this feel like a cop out to anyone else?

i went a little overboard on the ketchup but look at that zhuabing i found in chinatown! a little bit of taiwan in my mouth every morning = best. in other news, that thing at the top of the fridge like melted off and it cost $600 to get fixed. what?

i'm still trying to get back into running (let's be honest i mean jogging but running sounds so much cooler) but seem to do it on days with the worst weather. also, massachusetts wants to get more money out of people so they make you put your garbage in special garbage bags that cost $3 a piece. i knew there was a catch to not having sales tax on clothing!

is this not the best thing you have ever seen? i want those on my headstone toooooo

God knew i lived here, so he put a little bit of utah in malden massachusetts

so after seeing how warm it was today (yes! today! this might be a blogging first) i knew i should probably go for a run and do it in the early afternoon rather than later (like usual) when it gets really cold and sad. i had my phone with me so i wasn't super worried about getting lost so i went the opposite direction of where i've gone before.

within about twenty minutes of my run i saw this above and was immediately intrigued. 

as i came over the little hill i saw this

and this. what? another little hidden pond?

and this nice bosnian lady feeding the birds who thought i was russian?

by this part i was already really happy about my discovery.  you can't see it from the road so i didn't even know it existed!

but lucky for me it just kept getting better and better. 

look at that nice moss all over those rocks!

after walking up to it i found an even higher spot to climb to (i use the term climb loosely) 

and when i got to the top (it took five seconds) i felt like i was in utah hiking again (kind of)! 

i was so happy i had to sit right down and take a bunch of pictures of myself being so happy about it and then i laid down and stared at the pretty sky and felt the sun on my face and really couldn't think of the last time i felt as happy as i did in that moment. interesting how i've been here in boston and seen so many wonderful things and yet i'm happiest when i feel like i'm back home in utah. ..interesting. 

i loved my pretend mountain. 

i kind of thought the fun was over at that point because my day had already been made but as i continued to explore this magical place i found a trail. A TRAIL. not a brick trail made for tourists to easily check out 16 different historical sites but a real life in the woods trail. it felt too good to be true! i think i might have even looked around to make sure i wasn't being punked before i began jogging on it. 

it eventually led me to this part that really felt like i was in utah and back at my family cabin up snake creek canyon with all the leaves on the ground and that drop off. and then as i walked through it (i couldn't jog anymore, i had to take it all in) i smelled it. it smelled exactly like it does at my cabin and i think i got a little choked up  (okay i did) because i was so happy. i just kept smelling and smelling and wished i could capture the smell like i would capture a picture because i wanted it to last forever. 

i didn't realize it until i saw the pond but i kind of went on a real hike! look how high i was! 

(i'm showing how i'm almost as tall as the tree if you didn't get it)

utah!

 it turns out that i was actually at pine banks park and that park will never know how happy it made this utah girl today. 

as i walked away i came across my favorite cemetery that i was telling you about! it is so close to the park, i just never knew because i never went down that part of main street. i could have been loving this place for a whole month if i just went a few blocks further than usual. so many analogies began running through my missionary trained brain at that moment but i'll spare you. 

since i now knew where i was i decided to walk back home through the cemetery 

i found this little thing and decided it would make a good seat to enjoy the weather and this nice day a little bit longer (while continuing to listen to jonsi and bon of course)

 you see the past few days i've been really stressed about finding a job. coming out here i wasn't too worried because i had a couple options lined up. well now that i'm almost two months into this journey, all those fell through and it just isn't turning out quite how i had imagined. and since i thought those would work out i didn't spend too much time looking elsewhere so this past week i've just felt panicked and unprepared and confused as to why i felt so good about moving here. 

but as i sat on that hill and thought about all the nice things that happened that day i was reminded that God knows me and he knows my heart. He is aware of me and all things, like it says in the doctrine and covenants, will give me experience and will be for my good. since i assume most of you are my family and friends i feel okay with saying that a part in my patriarchal blessing blesses me to be one who loves nature. it also says they (meaning God's creations) will lift my soul as i take advantage of them. i thought that was so odd because i never cared much for nature but as i've gotten older my love for it has grown to the point where i feel confident saying nothing makes me happier or has the ability to fill me with such peace and comfort. with that being said, i really don't think it was a coincidence i found that park today! so hooray for being lead to a miniature forest and then back to my favorite cemetery and being able to enjoy it all since it felt like spring. God really is the best! i can't ever say that enough.