The Calm Before the Storm

Hello everyone!

I am almost done with the crazy couple of weeks I've been having, and today is quite blissfully chill.  I only have about 7 hours of things I have to do today, so other than practicing, I decided to catch up on the blog, write some emails that need to be written, etc.  Though I do have an orchestra concert tonight, this week is going to be the calm before the storm that is about to hit next week.... next week is my first recital here at Boston University, and I CAN'T BELIEVE IT IS SO SOON!!!!  Freaking out a little bit here...  but that's ok.. I still have a little bit of time to memorize and polish everything...  But anyway, if you are in Boston, I would love to see you at Boston University College of Fine Arts Concert Hall on November 7th at 8:30 PM for my recital!  =D

Anyway, for the pas couple of weeks, I have been able to do a bit of exploring in between practicing and rehearsing sessions!

A bit of different side of Boston from where Boston University is located  haha 

hanging out with this lovely lady

social dancing at MIT and finding a little bit of Rice  =)

hanging out with an old friend (like.. waay back to our teenage years) and eating some Thai food!

oh, this is Boston Phil, but I had to take a picture of all of the college students huddled around the food during a break  haha

and lastly, MONTAGE!!

It's a dance recital the BU Ballroom hosts every year, and I am so glad I got to catch half of it after the Boston Phil Concert!

It was so fun to see all of the different groups, like this hip hop group!  i kept looking for my baby bro there because he's in a similar dance team at his school as well haha

and of course, cheering on these lovely folks who danced their hearts out  =)  it was so much fun to watch, and I was so proud!!  haha

after the show, we all went to the Sunset Cantina to celebrate! I've been eating really healthy lately, mostly because I simply don't have time to cook and so smoothies and over-night oats are all I can have...  The other day, I had a dream about eating pizza, so I figured a little eating out was in order!

and this plate of nachos was so. freaking. good.  pulled pork nachos all the way!

If you want to watch a little bit of Paso Doble action from Montage, go ahead and click the video box above!  =)

thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!
--Janny

Busy Week Life Saver :: Overnight Oats

Hello everyone!

wow, this week has been..  really crazy.

Don't get me wrong, I am loving every moment of it, and I feel so blessed to be able to play with the Boston Phil, but adding their rehearsals and concerts to my schedule has completely... swamped my schedule.  

I will have to do another post later when I have more time about what I've been doing exactly during the absence from the blog, but today, I just wanted to stop by and let you guys know about something that has been really saving my life during this week.  It has single handedy prevented sooo many fast food runs when I haven't had time to go home to make lunch or dinner.

So the star of the post?  

the Overnight Oats!!

There are many different kinds and variations of overnight oats, but Shawn, my roommate, introduced this particular way of making them to me, and I am forever grateful.

All you need to make this filling and super quick meal-to-go is!!
-a mason jar
-1/2 cup oats
-1 cup almond milk (or any other milk)
-and toppings!
This time, I chose 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, and some fresh dates.

You can make this meal in literally 1 minute.

I'm not kidding.

all you do is, dump in your oats (1/2 cup if you are hungry, 1/3 if you aren't), pour in your milk of choice (double however much you put in for oats), and add your choice of toppings!

and shake it off, shake it off~ shake, shake~

couldn't be easier right?  

I know it doesn't look all that appealing, but I promise it's delicious.

You just have to let it sit for a couple of hours and it will be ready to go!

Pack your cute little mason jar and a spoon, and you will be saved from running to the fast food restaurant for every meal during your hell week!

Have a wonderful weekend, and I will talk to you all soon if I survive this weekend (actually, add monday and tuesday to that...)

thanks for stopping by!

--Janny

Harvard Beginners Ballroom Competition!

Hello everyone!

Last weekend was the first ballroom competition for Boston University Ballroom Dance Team!  It was just across the Charles River at Harvard, so I went to help dancers get ready and go cheer the team on during the competition!

I had forgotten just how early the getting ready process started... (after all, my last competition was like... half a year ago...)   but waking up at 5:45 am was definitely necessary since we still couldn't get everyone's makeup finished until we got to the comp.

Photo Cred :: Sarah Wu!

Dancers getting ready!!   

and the lovely Christi doing hair!

and then the dancing began!

stellar form everyone!  =)

I thought all of the dancers danced so well, and I was so proud of everyone!  =)

It was kind of hard not getting to dance since David is still in Houston, but I loved being around so many people who are so excited about dancing!  I can't wait till next year when David will be in Boston and we can dance together again!  =D

Photo Cred :: Sarah Wu!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

--Janny

Otto Pizza and Garlic n' Lemons

Hello everyone,

If you've been reading for awhile, you already know how much I love eating.  Whether it's my own cooking, other homemade cooking, or eating out, quite a bit of my blog content is about food  haha. So it probably won't surprise you that I've begun exploring the restaurants here in Boston!  

One of the best excuses for going out to eat has to be to catch up with an old friend, so that's exactly what we did!  Zac and I go like..  waaayyy back.  all the way back to elementary school.  We went to the same elementary school, same middle school, and to high school, and now, we also have Boston University as our alma mater together  =)

for our big reunion, we chose Otto Pizza.  Zac is a Boston pro/veteran, and he was nice enough to show me around town for the afternoon.

and this place?!  so. amazing.  I mean..  just look at this pizza.
it really was delicious.  I can't remember what it was called, but it had spicy pork, and we almost finished the whole pie by ourselves  haha

I'm so glad to have gotten a chance to catch up with him, talk about all of our experiences that we went through together, and how we have rather different memories about certain experiences, even though we went through it at the same time.  That's what's so fascinating about our memories though, isn't it? it all depends on who does the remembering, and what we choose to remember.

Another new place Zac recommended that I tried with my roomies was Garlic n' Lemons!

great Mediterranean place that's also great for vegetarians!

the food was great, the service was really quick (it's really more like fast food) and the servers were really friendly!  afterall, they are a Mom and Pop, I mean, Mom and Son Restaurant!  ;)

Everything we tried was really wonderful, but I have to say... the Baklava...  guys... the Baklava...  

  

I would go back just for the Baklava.

It was so great to go exploring with these lovely peeps, and I can't wait for more exploring and more roomy dinners to come!  =)

Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by!  =)

--Janny

Boston Bound!

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the long absence from the blog, but these past 2 weeks have been pretty insane with the move to Boston!  But I'm here now, in one of my favorite cities ever, all settled into my new apartment with great roommates, and have 1 week of classes of my doctorate degree at Boston University under my belt!  =)

So here are a few of the photos of our road trip to Boston from Houston (yes, we actually did that. and yes, it took 3 days. and no, I would not do that willingly again  haha)

Having said that, it really wasn't unbearable, and some parts were quite fun, especially since I was in good company  =)  most parts, though, were pretty uneventful.. we just drove and drove and drove some more.  through Texas, through Louisiana, through Georgia, etc until we got to Boston!

the only scariest part was driving through Louisiana one day, and it started to pour. I mean, like I thought the window was going to break kind of pouring rain.  and there were lightening strikes everywhere.  we drove like 20 mph, but we probably should have pulled over because we couldn't see anything...

The scary part was soon over though, and by the second day, we found ourselves snuggling with this beautiful kitty!

We're so thankful to Mary and her kitties for letting us crash with them for the night!  =D

And then we were in Boston!  and Allston Christmas began.  In case you've never heard of Allston Christmas, it's when some ridiculous number like 80% of greater Boston area residents pack up and move all on the same day.  This year, it was on September 1, and my gosh, was that a crraaaaazzzyy day!  We survived moving though, with lots of trips to Ikea before and after the move in day.  I had never been to Ikea before, and I loved it! I don't know why I had never been there before  haha but we did the whole shebang and tried the food and everything!

It wasn't all work and no play though!  I got to meet up with a few friends,

got to try my first lobster, which was from Maine, and it was ahhmazing.  people have told me that lobster tastes just like crabs, but I really don't think so.  I much prefer lobster for the ease of eating (crabs can be so difficult to eat...) and for the texture  =)

So yeah!  I'm basically settled in (I'll maybe do a post of my room once everything gets put into place!) and really enjoying my classes at my new school!  the doctorate degree is much more intense than all of the other degrees I've done so far, which I suppose, is to be expected haha  But I'm really excited to continue my education here and to explore this amazing city!

Stay tuned for more Boston blogs coming soon!  =D

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend!
--Janny