weekend getaway with the girls

i am finally getting around to blogging about some of the fun i had in november. i headed back east for a girls weekend and got to see some friends i hadn't seen in a year (or more).

my trip started off with a quick stop in virginia to visit gina and her cute family. they live in a darling town and we had so much fun just hanging out and talking. right before we left we realized that we never took a picture, so we did our best and took this awesome self portrait in the mini van! doesn’t gina have beautiful blue eyes?!

then it was off to nyc for a girls weekend with liz and andrea (the purpose for the whole trip). ryan and lynda were out of town, which meant their apartment was empty…the perfect opportunity to score a free place to stay in an expensive city. we arrived via the megabus late friday night and hit the town the next morning.

the events of the day included:

a stop at a local bakery for breakfast. who knew a bagel could taste sooo much better in nyc. trust me, it did.

then we headed to the tkts booth in time square to get tickets to a show. you may not be able to tell from the picture but it was FREEZING! seriously. frigid.

we got tickets to the rockette’s christmas spectacular and it was a great kick-off (haha) to the holiday season. we had stellar seats…2nd row orchestra. they were practically kicking us!

paying tribute to the rockettes by doing our own kick line in front of radio city music hall. yes, the guy who took the picture for us thought we were pretty crazy. we offered to take a picture of him and his friends doing their own kick line, but they passed. whatever!

one of our highlights was attending a wedding at st. patrick’s cathedral. no, we weren’t technically invited but we, along with many other tourists, joined in just the same. it was really interesting to see the catholic ceremony.

the happy couple. can you imagine tons of stranger “attending” your wedding? i guess you know what you are getting into if you book it at st. patrick’s.

we cruised 5th avenue to look at the decorated store windows and tried not to turn into icicles. seriously i’m not joking about how cold it was. this was in front of bloomingdales (which had a cute holiday window, not a wierd one).

and no trip to nyc is complete without pizza. we went to a place in little italy (i can't remember the name) which claims to be the first pizzeria in america. it was really good. and it was there that i think i had my first celebrity sighting: penn badgley. no, I don’t watch gossip girl, but i know who he is (thanks to my people magazine addiction) and i swear it was him trying to get into the single-stall bathroom that liz was already occupying. pretty exciting!


things are just bigger in nyc…like this huge wreath (and the mixer in the picture above). andrea couldn’t resist…mainly because we told her to stand in front of it and let the ribbons drape around her!

we wrapped up the evening by getting cupcakes and banana pudding at magnolia’s.

the next day we were lucky to hear elder holland speak at a special conference of the ny ny stake. how incredible to be in the presence of an apostle. he spoke with such optimism and hope, a good reminder of how the gospel can bring happiness and peace even during troubled times.

can't wait to go back to nyc...hopefully when it's warmer!

merry christmas!

"jesus christ is the son of god, who condescended to come into this world of misery, struggle, and pain to touch men's hearts for good, to teach the way of eternal life, and to give himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. how different, how empty our lives would be without him. how infinite is our opportunity for exaltation made possible through his redeeming love."

president gordon b. hinckley

Where is Christmas?

OK, so I told myself that after I told you all about my job with the Art Institute, that I would never post something on this blog ever again. That I know is a lie because when our little baby comes I'll be putting up pictures. I know it's shocking, but we can all get over it (I know I will never live this down from Stephanie either). Anyway I wanted to share something I've been thinking about the last week or so.

Charlie Brown wandered around trying to figure out where Christmas went, and what the true meaning of Christmas is. I myself have been wondering the same thing. Our Christmas tree is nicely decorated, and our creches are displayed with pride. The houses down the street are decorated with light up deer, and frosty the snow man inflatables, and the house on the corner of Hampden is complete with Santa in a classic car getting gas. I love all of these things, and yet it doesn't feel like Christmas! WHERE HAS CHRISTMAS GONE?!! Where is the excitement, and anticipation? Where are the feelings of gratitude and thanksgiving? Where has Christmas gone?

So my only glimmer of hope has been listening to Alice 105.9 as they hook up families who are able help this holiday season with families who are in need. The morning show helped less fortunate families give their kids somewhat of a Christmas. As I listened to one particular story of a boy and his mom who have been saving for 8 months to buy a Nintendo Wii give that money up so that another little boy could have something to open Christmas morning, I began to feel that spirit. To most it wouldn't seem like much, but that little boy gave what to him was most precious.

After listening to that story I thought about the song "The Little Drummer Boy". This song is about a small boy who wished to worship the new born Christ child but had no gifts of gold, or anything of worldly worth, but he gave what he had, a song from his drum. Then BOOM! There it was, the spirit of Christmas! It's been here all along. I've been so tightly wound with so many other things, I missed it. It was there when I gave my lunch to a homeless lady on the street corner, or when we were shopping for the giving tree at church, or it was there when we were doing priesthood visits with a new member, and we were talking about how we all fear at one point or another being a priesthood holder. Small, insignificant gifts that were much to me, but might make a world of difference to those we give to.

I know that we are looking forward to tearing into those brightly wrapped packages sitting underneath the tree, but take these next few days to open the bible, and read about the small gift Heavenly Father sent us a little over 2,000 years ago. Take the time to reflect on the gifts that have been given, both spiritual and physical.

Where has Christmas gone? It's still here, I guess we just need to stop and look a little harder for it. Merry Christmas everyone!

christmas in july!

we've got a stellar gift coming, however it won't be arriving until july (hence christmas in july). here's the latest picture of what we will be expecting. 

i know it doesn't look like much now (it's only 4.35 cm long), but we got to hear the heartbeat today and it was *amazing!* plus we got to see baby wessler moving those tiny arm and leg buds around for a second...maybe trying to say hi. needless to say we are *so excited* (talk about the understatement of the year). just wanted to share the exciting news!

welcome to winter colorado

it is snowing here right now. it’s winter in colorado so it’s bound to do that. afterall, it happens every year. but you would think it was the first time by the way people are driving. seriously people, it’s barely snowing and the roads are only wet…not icy. so why do you insist on driving 20 mph on the freeway. now don’t get me wrong, i’m not a fan of those suv’s and big trucks that fly around in the winter like they are invincible. but I think people could drive normal, although maybe a bit more cautiously/not follow as closely. who knows, maybe it’s the influx of californians and texans that flood into colorado each year and they don’t know how to drive in snow. all I know is it took me almost twice as long to get to work today. ok, i’m done venting. welcome winter.

the small things

it’s often the small daily things that matter most…especially in relationships. last night it was almost time to go to bed (since i’ve been having trouble staying awake at work we’re trying to go to bed earlier). there were still dishes from dinner in the sink and i hate leaving dishes undone…especially overnight (i'm a little ocd when it comes to dishes). my sweet husband told me to go read blogs for 10 minutes before bed :) and he went and did the dishes. now dave is always good about helping around the house (including dishes) and he had already made dinner that night (so really i was on dish duty), but he did it anyway. it really was a small thing but meant a lot to me. i sure love him. he makes me want to be better. so everyone go do small (or big if you’d like) acts of service for others. it will make others..and you...happy. what better way to celebrate this season than to serve like the one we celebrate did.