After two hours of waiting, the parade finally begins.


It's Dolly Parton! I guess that would be yet another celebrity sighting

Over here Big Bird!

Sesame Street supposedly takes place in New York. I have yet to find the neighborhood on a map.

Hello, Kitty!

Lifehouse. Really? Do they have a Christmas album or something?

Hi-ho, Kermit the Frog here.

Oh good, Santa's arrived. Now we can go eat.

Using my mad knife skills to carve the turkey.

It's pretty, but let's eat.

I am thankful for Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. It really is my favorite patriotic holiday. It's probably because I really like food. But I also always enjoy spending time with my family. In the days leading to yesterday's holiday, I must admit I felt a twinge of homesickness when I thought about the drive from Seattle to Spokane that I had taken to be with family. I missed everyone tons, but I am THANKFUL to have new traditions to make here.

Sure, I stayed here last year, but I didn't stay in NYC. I actually went up to my friend Brenda's house in West Point. I had a really great time, but this year I wanted to stick around for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

To be honest, when I crawled out of bed at 5:45 Thursday morning, I nearly regretted that decision. I really wanted to sleep instead of standing outside waiting to see something I could watch on television. But as soon as the first balloons came by I was as giddy as a little girl to actually be watching the parade live. I was fortunate that we had amazing weather. It was really warm (and I was grateful that I decided against the long underwear). The floats were great--my favorite was the Sesame Street float. I just love Big Bird. I was actually glad that it was a "celebrity" I recognized. If it wasn't for the high school kids next to me I would have never known who Corbin Bleu was.

The parade you watch at home is actually a lot longer than it is in real life--depending where you stand. My roommate Lynette and I stood on the corner of 72nd and Central Park West (just outside the famed Dakota Building where John Lennon once lived) which just so happens to be five blocks south from the beginning of the parade. By the time the first float reached Herald Square we were waving good-bye to Santa Claus. Next time I go to the parade, I will try to be in that same general area. But I will probably get their earlier, bring a camp chair, and check the weather so I can dress accordingly. I may have left the long johns at home, but the big pouffy sleeping bag coat was a little too much for the 60 degree weather.

I did have a really nice dinner to attend. A few people from my former singles ward (including a pastry chef) organized a rather large Thanksgiving get-together. Somehow they managed to put enough tables and chairs in a typically small apartment for about thirty people. Surprisingly, I didn't feel overcrowded. The hosts handed out food assignments, so we had plenty of food. I was asked to bring pies. Let me tell you I was a little apprehensive about bringing dessert to the home of a pastry chef, but luckily everything looked and tasted fine (I brought a pumpkin pie and a French apple tart). Phew! I even had the fun job of carving the turkey. I was a little hesitant because for some reason I have always felt that it was "the man's job" at big fancy meals. None of the boys wanted to wield the knife, so I went to town. Thanks to Martha Stewart and my dad, I handled the task pretty well. Oh, thanks also to some pretty fancy knives that I now want for Christmas. Hint, hint.

It was a really great evening, and I feel even more THANKFUL for the wonderful, talented people I know here in New York. They make a great second family. I also really liked the fact that the trip home takes 20 minutes instead of four and a half hours.

Ooopsies

Did you know that when you write a draft of a blog post, save it, and come back later Blogger will catelogue it as the day you began to write not when you actually posted it. So, in order to read the story behind the following pictures, please scroll past the daffodil entry.

Thanks and enjoy!

PS. In that long story, I forgot to mention that I got sick in Arizona and didn't get to see a former missionary companion and her kids. I was really sad about that.

Michelle, me and some yummy treats from Sugar Sweet Sunshine


A quick little shopping excursion with Mary. Thanks for taking me on my shopping errands!

Mary's son, my manicurist

The best full shot of the dresses

I had to lean over a lot because I was wearing 4-inch heels

Nate and Erin

I love cake. This one in particular was lovely and delicious

A row of jack-o-lanterns. Mine is the 2nd from the left

A scary person and a pirate.

OK kids! Greet the trick-or-treaters!

I am a Daffodil What Flower Are You?

"You have a sunny disposition and are normally one of the first to show up for the party. You don't need too much attention from the host once you get there as you are more than capable of making yourself seen and heard."

My cousin Alicia (and all of her fans) have taken this quiz. I was curious and decided to follow suit. After all, I am another of Alicia's fans. I am amazed that the questions came up with that answer; it is surprisingly accurate. Especially that "first to show up" bit.

PS. Sorry about the length of time in between posts. I have been incredible busy and haven't been able to finish writing my recap of a recent trip. Hopefully this Saturday (while I am watching all the shows I DVRed this week) I will be able to put up some stories and pictures. Until then, what kind of flower are you?

I Took a Trip!

Yikes! About a month ago I took a trip to Utah for my best friend's wedding, and afterwards I swung down to Arizona to see my sister and her family. I have been wanting to write about this very fun trip for the past few weeks, but I have been a little busy. I even started writing it but it was taking too long. So now I am trying again.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I headed to Salt Lake for a wedding, but I took advantage of the trip to visit friends from BYU. In fact, I visited with two friends that I have known for ten years. For me, that seems a little mind-boggling. My family moved around quite a bit and I'll be honest I'm not super about staying in touch. (That's why blogging ROCKS!) So I was more than pleased to visit friends that I have known for an entire decade. It really is the mark of a great friend. So, if there is a theme for my trip it would have to be "The Tour of Super Fab Friends."

My first visit was with former roommate and creative superstar Michelle (author of the Where Flowers Bloom Blog). Since she manages a craft store at BYU, we met for a quick lunch at the Cougareat. We had salad wraps and a whole lot of fun. We reminsced about that crazy semester we lived together in 1997 (seriously crazy, complete with Honor Code violations and mental illness--umm not us, don't worry). I adore Michelle. She is amazingly creative and has a very uplifting personality. I just wish I had more time to visit.

I also wish I had a chance to shower before seeing her. My alarm clock didn't go off that morning, so if I had taken a shower I would have missed my flight.

Since the wedding took place in Salt Lake, I decided to stay with my friend Mary and her family. Mary is the other friend I've known since 1997. She, however, was a coworker from my days as a custodian at the Conference Center. She was also my most faithful non-familial corresponder on my mission. I was very glad that she let me stay with her. As I've mentioned before, I'm not so good with emails and calls, but we had so much fun at BYU (toilet papering, "scavenger hunts," X-Files, ballroom dance...), and I have really tried (could be better) to stay in touch. Mary has a sweet little boy that I bonded with rather quickly. I was so glad that he wasn't shy around me. We read, played basketball and gave eachother manicures. Funny story. He pulled out the nail clippers and asked me to clip his nails. When I was done, he decided to return the favor. So I had a few really short nails for the wedding, but that's ok because short nails are preferred when using black nail polish. Anyway, I had fun with Mary. In a lot of ways it felt like we were back at BYU, but with less X-Files.

The Friday night before the wedding, I hung out with my friend Carrie whom I've known since my last year at BYU when we both lived in the Foreign Language Housing Complex. She knows loads of languages and for that I am totally jealous. I just know two. We ate Thai food and saw Lars and the Real Girl. Very unexpectedly hilarious and not at all what you may think. So see it. Anyway, it was fun hanging out with Carrie. I always wanted to know her better at BYU, so I'm really glad I have managed to keep contact. (See self, it's not too hard.)

Saturday was finally wedding day, and I am so glad that I was able to attend. Erin and I were pretty inseparable in Seattle, and I must say there have been times that I wished I could have convinced her to move to New York. But obviously she had an excellent reason to stay in the city. I miss my shopping, tv, music, food, magazine, etc...friend. As you can see from the pictures I posted of the wedding, she looked lovely as usual, and I looked pretty stylish in that trendy boutique dress I bought for the occasion. I really wished I had a chance to spend more time with the bride. We had lunch and hung out for a bit on Friday, but what with wedding stuff and family, it was limited. But I enjoyed every minute of it.

The reception, held in a beautiful room at the Joseph Smith Memorial, was great. We ate good food and there was this terrific jazz combo that covered songs from Coldplay, A-ha, Alphaville and other cool bands. I also sat near a couple of other friends from Seattle: Sarah and Torrey. (Yeah friends!!)

The next day I was off to Arizona to see my sis, her spouse, my niece and nephew. Did you know that in the fall it is still warm in Arizona? It is. My sister thought I was silly because I was wearing my green fall/winter coat when she picked me up from the airport. It didn't fit in my suitcase.

Since it was Sunday, I attended church with the fam. I also got to help my sister out in the nursery--a little place that I like to call instant birth control. haha. Actually it wasn't that bad, surprisingly. The kids didn't scream, and one or two let me hold them. There was one little girl that had this icky snotty nose and she refused to let us wipe it. She used her hand and had a great snot stripe across the cheek.

Monday evening I had dinner with another friend (I know, that's a lot of friends. I must be kind of cool) from Seattle. LeeAnn moved to Arizona about the same time I moved to NYC. She really is having a good time in that brown state. We ate at Mimi's Cafe and they gave us free muffins. Afterwards LeeAnn showed me her fancy condo that is, yes, bigger than my apartment. One of my favorite things about LeeAnn is her giggle. It is very infectuous. So, to entice the giggle, I showed her my favorite Flight of the Conchords song on YouTube. If you have never seen "Business Time" I demand that you stop reading this and check it out. Then please come back. Come to think...you should also see "Can I Have Your Number." As desired, LeeAnn giggled.

I was really fortunate to be with my niece and nephew at Halloween. I got to carve pumpkins with them, see them in their costumes and teach them how to greet Trick or Treaters. I pretty much said it was o.k. for them to talk to the kids who came requesting candy. Outside of the holiday, it was fun hanging with Sam and Liz. They played their musical instruments for me and I got to find out a little about their friends and such. I even impressed Sam with my Converse sneakers. Oh yes, I am that cool. Liz and I shared a room and we even got to tidy up together.

I really liked spending time with my sister. We didn't always get along when we were adolescents, but over the years our relationship has gotten better. However, I do blame her for my new-found Nutrageous love. That is a mighty good candy bar. I am glad that she let me chat her ear off, and she indulged my desire to try In-N-Out burger.

I have a great-uncle who lives in AZ as well. He took me and my sister out to lunch at his favorite restaurant. He knows all the waitresses there, and he flirts with each and every one of them. It's kind of fun to watch. I ordered the meatloaf sandwich. I know, rare choice, but when you crave meatloaf you just have to indulge.

I think that is all I can remember from my trip. Oh! One more thing. Congrats to my brother-in-law for taking 8th place in that shooting competition. And, that was some tasty acorn squash.

So now I am back home from that much needed trip. Please allow me a quick moment to wax a little personal. Here in the big city I feel have struggled to find good friends, and I have felt lonely a lot more than I admit. This trip reminded me that I do have good friends and I need to do better at staying in touch. An added bonus to the trip, upon my return Heavenly Father has helped me see that I do have good friends here as well. And yes, I have to do my part to stay connected to them as well. Lesson learned.

Big Girl, Small Spaces

As you can probably imagine, I have a pretty small bathroom. If, while primping over the sink, I should happen to drop something, it usually lands in the bathtub or toilet.

You don't know how many things I've had to replace.

I currently do not have a photo of said small space. I'm typing this from work. And by "work" I mean that place where I go to do freelance work until someone takes pity on me and hires me.

New Blog Alert!!!

I have a very important announcement to make. And, no, this has nothing to do with a boy. My very good friend Michelle has started an all-food blog and has asked me to contribute. I am very honored. Michelle is a creative genius, and I am very humbled that she would ask me to lend my skills to her new blog. I am even happier to note that my cousins will contributing as well. (I do come from a foodie family.) You will be able to check out all entries at the "Food For Thought" link located near all the other blogs I love.

Of course, I am now wondering what my first entry will be.