Thursday, January 8, 2009

Christmas Recap...

So, Christmas has come and gone – not to mention 2008 – and I can’t believe it. Not to use an already over-used phrase, but time certainly flies!

I had a nice time in Utah (My parents, siblings and Grandma all went to stay with my sister and her husband in Utah this year instead of going home to Ohio. Needless to say, my brother-in-law is such a good sport for letting the 6 of us invade for two weeks!) with my family! It was definitely hard to come back. Especially when I have the lovely winter months in the city to look forward to (insert sarcastic tone here)…but I really am excited about the upcoming months and everything the New Year promises!

Some photos/highlights from my Christmas break:

I got to help my sister decorate her apartment. I was put in charge of the banisters. I love bows!


And I love wrapping…

Look at these sugar cookies one of her students gave her. Seriously? I'm going to have to compete with moms like this someday?


We had a Paint Like Bob Ross night where we each had to paint the same image. My Grandma (an acclaimed artist with several awards herself) was the judge and awarded my littlest sister “Best In Show” and my dad First Place. I got Second and am not bitter at all :)

This is my painting (it’s supposed to be a flower, in case you couldn’t tell…for some reason my computer won't let me flip it counter clockwise - the whitish part is supposed to be on the bottom...)


We went to a mall…I don’t make it to one of these very often so we had a lot of fun. Complete with requisite trip to the food court. My older sister and I had a lot of fun. She was very impressed by the fact that McDonald’s has “fancy ketchup”. I opted for lemonade form Hot Dog on a Stick (yes, that’s really the name of the place) and a cookie (oatmeal raisin, of course) from Mrs. Field’s. Yum.



My mom makes absolutely amazing pies and we had all my favorites: grape, pecan and pumpkin. The grape is a family recipe and is simply heavenly. Maybe if you’re very lucky you’ll get to try it one day.


Every Christmas Eve it’s tradition to visit Santa and have our photo taken – yes, we still sit with Santa. Although, after last-year’s Santa got a little fresh I refused to be the one that sat on his lap this year.

I don’t have the group shot, but here’s what his workshop looks like…


I went sledding! Needless to say, I have absolutely no snow gear. Zero. Zip. So I had to borrow from my brother-in-law and sister...love my getup.

All in all – It was a great break and even though I’ve only been back in the city a week I miss my family already!

My next big blog post will probably be for my birthday. I’ll be turning the big 2-5. Watch out – I’ll finally be able to rent a car without the additional fee!!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Tour Guide Barbie

...(not that I think I look anything like tour guide Barbie, mind you...)

My little sister and her boyfriend were in town last weekend.

It’s been a while since I’ve done the tour guide thing, so it was kind of fun. The tour included the usual:

Times Square – which, I always forget how fascinating people who don’t live in New York find Times Square. Kate’s boyfriend was so excited about it and wanted to soak it all in while we were there. I, on the other hand, couldn’t wait until that particular part of the tour was over.
The Rockefeller Tree
Woman Rink in Central Park
Serendipity
The Bethesda Fountain in Central Park
The Christmas bazaar in Columbus Circle (best gingerbread cookies ever!)
FAO Schwarz
Tiffany & Co.
Etc, Etc, Etc.


It was so much fun to have my sister (and her boyfriend) in town! I have been really stressed at work lately and seeing family is always wonderful. It reminds me that I have what’s most important in life – a loving family – and that whatever else is going on doesn’t matter.
It’s also fun to have guests come into town because it reminds me that I really do live in an amazing city and I’m so grateful for this opportunity! I love my life!

Friday, December 19, 2008

I've been obsessed with this song lately...

And I haven't been able to find any place to download it (Shouldn't iTunes carry everything?!). The closest thing I've been able to find is a version by Nick Lachey and, somehow, it just doesn't have the same effect...


Monday, December 15, 2008

You think I'm kidding, but I'm not...

It seriously happens every day...or at least every other day. People always think I'm Russian.

I was walking to work this morning and two guys walk by. One says, "Why good morning to you".
I smile.
As I walk past I hear him say "She must be Russian."

Seriously? I can understand thinking I look Russian...but it's the need people feel to comment on it/approach me about it all the time that gets me.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Addressing Concerns

I'm just going to put a few of you at ease...
I pretended to eat the sandwich in the back seat and then threw it away when I got to the airport - I wouldn't want to offend him, now would I?? :)

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

And I'm Back in the Game...

Okay, so it’s been, um…forever since I updated my blog. So long that if it were possible for blogs to decay and become overrun by cobwebs mine would have met that fate a long time ago. I’ve resolved to be better about updating my blog (and by that I mean actually update it!) and figured the best way to ensure this was with a fresh start…a new blog. So…here goes.

Let’s see, where do I begin. What have I been up to? Events. Events. Events. And there was a trip to Peru thrown in there too…

Since September I’ve had an event a week (or more), so things have been busy, to say the least. Most have been in Chicago, Boston and New York. My habit of breaking limo/taxi drivers’ hearts continues (http://icecreamvignettes.blogspot.com/2007/05/so-we-all-do-stupid-things.html) To make a long story short – there’s now a driver in Chicago that is quite fond of me. Every time I’m there (my company uses the same car service each time) he finds out and ensures that he’s my driver. The last time he even brought me lunch. Ha! A falafel sandwich…from his cousin’s restaurant. He plays me special music while we’re driving and keeps trying to convince me to move to Chicago.



Don't worry. I didn't actually eat it.

And, guys...I've gotten to stay in some fabulous hotels! One of my rooms had a separate lounge area with a projector for movies...love it!


I went to Utah for my church’s General Conference and not only thoroughly enjoyed that, but got to spend a fabulous weekend with my sisters.

My sister was a real trooper and ate all the Indian food we made her try.

Aubree and I had a fun afternoon tea at a cute shop in Salt Lake and had fun touring around Gardner Village.

And I love being able to keep the flowers from my events!

Over Thanksgiving I went to Peru. It was an absolutely amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget. This trip deserves a posting of its own, so you’ll have that to look forward to.

The Christmas season is in full swing and there is no more fabulous city to be in for the holiday than New York. The Rockefeller tree…ice skating in Central Park…the Christmas windows…the list could go on and on. We decorated our apartment for Christmas this weekend, so photos for that will be up shortly.


This is a short post to kick things off. Basically…it’s good to be back!

(PS - I didn't proof-read this for typos...so here's hoping there aren't any!)