Hi friends,
So, it has been wwwwwaaaaaayyyyyy too long. Apparently getting a job + being lazy does not = blog updates. But here I am. I have a little incentive because I am on my brand new Mac :) It's so shiny! Now let's see.... where to start....
Ah yes, the fall. This fall we got to head down to Texas to see two of our besties get married. The lovely Kristen and Bryan got married in the hill country in a BEAUTIFUL ceremony. We had so much fun with our friends and we even got to see (for a very short time) our families.
For Thanksgiving, my WHOLE family came! We were so lucky to have Mom, Dad, Laura, Carter and Craig join us for several days over the Thanksgiving weekend. We saw Grand Central Station, Bryant Park, SOHO, Little Italy, the statue of Liberty, the 9/11 memorial, Times Square, Central Park, FAO Schwartz, and soooo much more. We were busy, but we made sure to eat our way through the city :) We had so much fun, and the weather did pretty well. Not too cold, but good for fall weather. Oh, and how could I forget to mention... we went to THE Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. That's right my friends, and it was glorious. Be jealous. I really thought I might faint when I saw Santa. Everyone should feel joy like that as an adult :) It was a very cool experience and I'm glad we braved the crowds. Then came Thanksgiving dinner. I was very nervous seeing as how I have never even brought a side dish to Thanksgiving, but with the help of Mom and Laura, we did a pretty good job. We had a wonderful time and it was so sad to see them go. The only comfort was that the end of Thanksgiving meant the beginning of Christmas... and if you know me, you know how I feel about that :)
Christmas in New York was certainly interesting. The tree at Rockefeller Center was breathtaking. I could have just stared at it for hours. The store windows were also spectacular, especially the ones at Bergdorffs. B-E-A-UTIFL! The cold weather actually made it feel like Christmas should be coming. The night we went to the tree, it did not get above 25. 2 pairs of pants, a hoody, and a bubble coat were no match for the cold. I even enlisted the help of two grandmas. Grandma Minnie's knit hat and Gongy's knit scarf were my best defense. So, I had a warm head and neck, and the rest of me was an icicle. How do grandmas do it? I prefer to think that it is the love that makes it so warm :) We also had the unique experience of purchasing our first NYC Christmas Tree. Wow... that was something. If you don't already know, we do not own vehicles. You aren't allowed to take a tree on a city bus, and a cab driver would literally kill you if you even thought about asking to put it on the roof, so that left one option... carrying it to our apartment. Luckily, 600 sq ft of apartment only allows for so much Christmas tree so it wasn't too heavy. In the 10 minute walk from the tree lot, approximately 5 people stopped and took our picture, laughing at how ridiculous we looked. I would have done the same thing in their shoes. Good times.
Then, on December 22nd... we flew HOME!!!! It's funny how much being away from home around the holidays can mess with you. Christmas songs that I have always enjoyed and never thought twice about now turned me into a sobbing mess. "I'll be home for Christmas" and "Have yourself a merry little Christmas" and "There's no place like home for the holidays" were all written by monsters. Because if you think about it, if you are already home, then the song is merely a song. If you are not home... TORTURE. I will also throw the writer of "Christmas shoes" under that bus, because seriously???? That was just written to be mean to everyone. Anyway, I digress. We finally got to go home and spend time with EVERYONE. We spent two days with Timmy's family where we got to spend quality time with our 6 nieces and nephews, 2 of whom I'd never met (because the are babies, not because I'm a horrible person). I was so worried that they would not remember us. On Friday we went out to run a few errands and meet another new baby the lovely Isla, my friend Patricia's sweet new addition. When we got back, the kids were at the house (we hadn't seen them yet) and we walked through the door and Abby, who is three and hadn't seen us in months, screamed "AUNT ALLY!" and ran to me with a big hug. I about lost it! Then when I asked Wendi, 6, if she remembered us, she looked at me like I was an idiot. All in all, I feel better about the whole memory thing :)
Then we got to head to my parents for a few days. We got to see everyone on my side too. It was so nice and relaxing. It was a generally quiet and relaxing break from the noise of the big city. I say generally because there are these birds that only come out when I come home and sleep in my bed. They feel that I would not feel at home if they didn't wake me up at 6:30 with a beautiful song outside my window. My mom swears they never come any other time. They are probably in on something with those song writers... Anyway, we had a blast and got to hang out with everyone, eat wonderful food, and spend quality time with the people I love the most.
For New Years Eve, the lovely newlyweds, Kristen and Bryan came for a jam packed, super fun visit. We ate and rested, and ate and toured, and ate... and we went on a boat that took us to the statue of liberty for fireworks at midnight on NYE. That's right, NYE in NYC... OMG :) We went to the Museum of Natural History which was pretty sweet. We spent most of our time with the dino bones, and if you know me, you know that this is one of my biggest fears. After seeing them in person, I'm pretty sure I could take a T Rex. I'm still not comfortable watching Jurassic Park though. We also to to see The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes. Let me tell you something, they do not throw the word "spectacular" around. It was awesome. We also got to see my other friend named Kristen and her brand new awesome fiance Jace. Kristen and Kristen... what a great way to start off the year!
That brings us to now... Timmy and I have been playing with our new toys (laptop and apple TV) and enjoying a wonderful Sweatpants Saturday. We have also become addicted to the Hunger Games books. No snow yet, besides the freak storm in October. That really freaked me out. But we have been getting some cold weather. The other day when I walked to work it was 12 degrees. That's right 12. With the wind chill they said -1! What the crap is that? I really do not know how my face didn't freeze off. I'm dead serious. I half way just thought about sitting on the sidewalk and seeing how long it would take my veins to freeze. But instead, I went to Starbucks. Thank goodness Santa brought me some sweet sweet Uggs. Otherwise, I would have quit my job and hunkered down.
Sorry this was so long! A lot to catch up on. One of my New Years resolutions is to blog more so hopefully I will stick with it. We miss you and love you all! Happy New Year! and GOOOOOO Texans!
