I have been trying to think of ways to encorperate the "real meaning" of Christmas into my daily life as I celebrate this glorious holiday.
David came up with the idea to share e-mails with each other encompassing "What I would give Christ for His Birthday" each day in December. As we read the Christmas Story out of the the Bible on Sunday, I think the story of Christ's birth had new meaning, more meaning to both of us because we had already been focusing on the Savior for the past few weeks. I am so grateful for such an incredible man in my life who inspires me and encourages me to focus on what is important this time of year. David you are the BEST!
Speaking of David, aside from spoiling me with umteen gifts...today the delivery truck arrived with one last gift, Red Converse Shoes! Ladies, if you don't have a man who listens to you enough to first, know you've wanted converse shoes for years...second, to know your favorite color is red...and third to be insightful enough to e-mail your friend and find out your shoe size and then have them delivered...I suggest you get one! I'm keeping David around for sure, but not because he sends me gifts...because he is Amazing!
WISHING YOU A MAGICAL CHRISTMAS AND FANTASTIC NEW YEAR! HAPPY EVERYTHING!
There is no more exciting place to be at Christmas time than in the heart of New York City! From the window display's on fifth avenue, to the tree in Rockerfellar Center I totally fall in love with Manhattan each December.
This year however, I had some special visitors (wink). The first being Aunt Janene and Uncle Warren, who I don't have many pictures of but...we went to dinner for meat loaf at a local restaurant and then to see Billie Elliot on Broadway. BEST BROADWAY AROUND right now in my opinion. Aunt Janene and Uncle Warren are a hoot and I am so lucky to have such awesome family who come all the way from Texas to Enjoy Manhattan.
To make the season particularly special, my boyfriend David (yes family and friends...I did say boyfriend) came to New York for a visit this past weekend. It was his first time in this part of the country. Although nearly all of our plans fell through to do a gigantic snowstorm, we had a delightful time and loved just being together. It was *Magical*
Here's a few pics to capture our wonderful time in the city!
Every year, the day after Thanksgiving is the day I put up my Christmas Tree. I anticipate this day every year. This year my tree is small, but it smells like pine and gingerbread and is perfect for my little cottage here in New England. I wanted the children I nanny to help me decorate it. All three of them helped me make the ornaments out of gingerbread cookies and yarn. We dressed the tree with lights and ribbons and Madeline drew and cut out a star. Because the children are Jewish and aren't accustomed to trees in thier home this time of year, this was a fun activity for them...just as lighting the Manorah will be for me in a couple of weeks at Hanukkah time.
I completed my decorating with a Christmas Blanket and pillow and I have to say I am loving every minute I get to spend retreating and wrapping presents while listening to my holiday playlist on iTUNES in this room. Tonight I helped the kids I nanny decorate Gingerbread Houses, also a holiday tradition for me. It's been so fun to see the wonder in thier eyes and the creativity each of them possess. I heart these kids, I heart my job and I especially heart Christmas and all that comes with it.
Hope your season has been as Merry and Bright as mine so far!
This year's Thanksgiving was spent with my amazing girlfriends here in Connecticut. I am going to brag and boast about my friend Rhonda for a minute. Um, there are not words to describe her intoxicating creations with food. She is absolutely amazing and pretty much should have opened a resturant, like yesterday. I am so thankful for her hospitality and generosity. She's hilarious on top of all of that and an absolute delight to cook with and talk to. We decided to go traditional with our feast. I did the turkey, rolls and beans and Rhonda took on the rest with Joyce aside from Taurus's white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake (even typing that makes my eyes light up). Everything from the Brie and cherry puff pastry with apples to the Parmesan Cream Cheese Mashed potatoes was like an out of body experience to eat it was so delicious. I wish I could have that meal over and over and over. Thank You ladies for making this dinner in Connecticut special. Love you!
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." — Melody Beattie
It's Thanksgiving Day and I am sitting here as I do each year thinking about all that I am thankful for. The list keeps getting longer as I ponder so I thought I would spare you and keep the list to the five things that pop into my head first when I sat down to think about it.
1. The Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This Gospel is True. I know it, and I feel lucky to know it within the depths of my heart. It provides me happiness, peace, and understanding. That's amazing to me and the Gospel is facsinating. I can't learn enought about it.
2. People. This will include first and foremost my family. My ancestors, aunts, cousins, uncles, parents, siblings and thier posterity. This also includes friends..old and new and people who I don't know personally or haven't met in person yet, but admire from afar. I am influenced so much by brushing shoulders with others and I really am so blessed to know so many wonderful people all around the world. I have wonderful examples to follow.
3. Stability. In this economic time I have to say that I am extremely grateful to have a job, and one I enjoy at that. I have been fortunate to find families to work for who provide me a way to accomplish what I set out to do financially. I am also very thankful for my education. I love learning and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to go to a University that expanded my mind and challenged me to get better at things.
4. Opportunities. I have been extremely fortunate to be provided with so many opporutunities to grow. Whether through traveling or jobs or school my opportunities have seemingly become limitless. I know that I am blessed to have this. I am blessed to have choice in the things that I do and a way provided every time I set my mind to do something. I find that remarkable and I don't know why I am so lucky.
5. Talents. Ok, so I am not going to sit and write here about my talents but I am thankful for them because they provide Me with a means to be Me. They define me. Talents help me help others which is the most important reason to be thankful for them. But they also bring light to my own life. I love working on my talents, trying to become better. The best is when I try something new and can forsee that I will have some talent in it. That's like a double bonus right there.
I hope you all have a Wonderful Thanksgiving full of Turkey, Family and Love. Everyone deserves that, and I am grateful for it! Below is a video put out by the LDS church in "The Spirit of Thanksgiving". Enjoy!
with THIS! Michael Buble you have done it again! This CD is full of icing on your cake, butter on your popcorn goodness and I pretty much want to marry it I like it so much!
Once upon a time there were two cousins. One dark scary Halloween night a witch cast a spell on them and they suddenly turned into pigeons. That's right...pigeons. They didn't know how to break the spell, nor how they ended up in that ghastly state but the witch had achieved her goal. Holly and Jessica were definatly the scariest, ugliest looking animals in all of Greenwich. As they turned the corner in Target, a little lady bug grabbed her mommy's hand and said, "look mom, they're scary".
As Holly and Jessica made thier entrance in Wilton, the crowd of monsters turned their heads...and laughed...hard.
The spell was only broken at midnight, by poisoning the witch with three and a half of Thing One's candy bar brownies and a caremel apple. Witches can't handle rediculous delicious goodness.
As Holly and Jess returned back to the cottage, there was a note on the mirror with five specific words in bold letters which read, "DONT EVER DO THAT AGAIN". This could only be referring to thier feathery state. Feathers flickered everywhere around the cottage as a reminder...that hanging out with witches who turn you into birds is an aweful idea.
Holly and Jessica remained the fairest in the land, jk, until next year atleast...
which is why I HAD to plan this little dinner for the kids that I nanny. The three year old has requested that I be and talk like a witch almost daily, so I finally decided to dress like one and perfect my cackle. I surprised the three kids and thier friend when they got home from school the other day. I opened the door in my costume and their mother escorted them to put on something festive. In the kitchen I was getting my brew ready, complete with rats and spiders floating around. Our special guest was Mr. Bones (pictured).
The menu consisted of some spooky items: Goblin Guts (spaghetti and meatballs) Bat Bread (bagels halved with garlic butter) Vampire Teeth (corn) Monster Salad (greens with tomato) Eyeball Cupcakes Spider Cookies Witches Brew (sprite mixed with apple cranberry juice)
The best part was just seeing thier faces and when they were asking me, "Mrs. Witch...can I please have some goblin guts?"
I love love love doing things like this! Enjoy the pics!
Hi. Well, the blogger thingy asks me to describe myself. When I was a child I thought I was a super hero and I called my self the Hollinator. I had power over all of the neighbor kids...and thier pets. I grew out of that stage and became a wildly passionate Family and Consumer Science and Early Childhood Educator. I'm super adventurous, and intensely curious about everything. My guilty pleasures are cupcakes, cinnamon bears, and anything from a farmer's market. I'm obsessed with pearls and I prefer to spend my free time traveling the world. These are my stories.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
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