From the kids of PS22!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Stalker
So, I'm pretty sure John Stossel is going to begin thinking I'm stalking him. Remember when I saw him on the subway back in December? I'm pretty sure he noticed me staring at him that day. I really wasn't staring because it was John Stossel, but more because I was just trying to figure out if it really was John Stossel. I'm sure he's great on whatever Fox show he's on now, but I promise, I'm really not that enamored with John Stossel. I'm pretty sure he noticed me staring.
Well since that first sighting in December, I've shared a subway car with him three more times. He seems to live one subway stop south of me and works in the Fox building which is right next door to the NHL building. I always situate myself on the south end of the train when going to work and the north end of the train when going home as this puts me right by the station exits nearest to where I'm heading. Apparently, he does this, too. And it seems we must commute around the same time. Every time, I fear that he remembers me from that first time when I stared at him a bit too much and a bit too long.
Well, it gets worse. I have tickets to The View on Monday morning (watch in case I'm on!) and I just checked their calendar to see who will be on that day. Any guesses? Yep, John Stossel. Boy, is he going to be freaked out when he sees me sitting in the audience.
It's actually rather depressing, I mean of all people I could be stalking, John Stossel would not be near the top of my list.
Well since that first sighting in December, I've shared a subway car with him three more times. He seems to live one subway stop south of me and works in the Fox building which is right next door to the NHL building. I always situate myself on the south end of the train when going to work and the north end of the train when going home as this puts me right by the station exits nearest to where I'm heading. Apparently, he does this, too. And it seems we must commute around the same time. Every time, I fear that he remembers me from that first time when I stared at him a bit too much and a bit too long.
Well, it gets worse. I have tickets to The View on Monday morning (watch in case I'm on!) and I just checked their calendar to see who will be on that day. Any guesses? Yep, John Stossel. Boy, is he going to be freaked out when he sees me sitting in the audience.
It's actually rather depressing, I mean of all people I could be stalking, John Stossel would not be near the top of my list.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Vermont Cuteness!
This is the Public Library I grew up going to in
Columbia. It didn't actually look like this back then,
as it's been remodeled, but it was just as ugly then.
This is the library I used during my college years at Baylor
This is the library at SMU where I spent
MANY hours studying for the CPA exam.
This is the library I just became a member of in NYC
And this is a library in Vermont!
Do you see how cute that is?!? Oh, my.
And here? A Town Hall in Vermont
This one is a School District building
And here we have "Little Barn" situated
right next to a similar bigger barn
The weekend included:
- A late night drive Friday after work. We took Kim's car and it took us about 5 hours (only 4 to get back on Sunday).
- We stayed in a loft apartment over a garage next to a couple's home. It was SO nice. They just built it 2 years ago so everything was new and clean and it was the perfect size for the four of us. We loved it and I seriously think I'll be back there some day.
This is the main part of the home
And this is the loft where we stayed next to the home
The view out our front windows...wish it had
been sunny this day..the pic would have
turned out much better. It was gorgeous!
I was driving when we pulled into our home away from home about midnight on Friday/Saturday. There was a slight incline and I just didn't give enough gas to get up over the snowy/icy hill. Then, we slid back into a snow bank and were officially stuck. The owners of the home came out to help, but we just couldn't get it out. We left it where it was for the night and a neighbor came over the next morning with a truck to pull it out. Angela then tried again to park closer to the home and got stuck AGAIN...literally 10 minutes after the neighbor had left. Our lovely hosts called their neighbor to come back and pull the Jeep out again. At that point, I was a little glad that I wasn't the only one who'd managed to get the car stuck! We decided it was the tires. Although we had 4-wheel-drive, the tires weren't all-weather radials and didn't have the traction needed for snow and ice. We parked at the end of the very driveway for the duration of the trip and just walked down the long, snowy driveway to our home.
- Shopping! I didn't hit up too many great stores, but didn't conquer everything on my list. I know of a couple of other towns I'd like to scope out next time I go back. I did find some antique stores I enjoyed, one was particularly good and the owner of our loft told me that New York designers go there to find treasures! They had some really great furniture. I love looking at that kind of stuff and dreaming about what I could do with it...if only I had the space and an unlimited source of income. We stayed just 15 minutes from Weston, VT which gets a big spot on maps because the Vermont Country Store is there. It's a VERY famous store and I was so excited to go. Unfortunately, I wasn't all that impressed. It was HUGE and had a little bit of everything. Almost like a department store, but on a smaller scale. And a little bit more random and lower quality. I found it to be a little odd and hillbilly-ish. I would go back there again if in the area, but mainly for the free food samples they had which became my light lunch on Saturday :)
- A lot of my time was spent driving around the countryside taking pictures of cute things, which I found to be all the more quaint in the snow.
This was a little Inn I ran across. The icicles on many
of the buildings made everything so charming!
I took a detour to visit this farm where they make
maple syrup and cheeses. It was a cute place,
but stank to high heaven there, so I left pretty quickly!
So many pretty churches in the snow!
Even the old boarded up churches
in Vermont are cute!
I believe this is a child's playhouse.
It was so cute!
I ran across this Bake Shop on Saturday and made
a mental note to go back Sunday, but it was closed.
Next time. I wanted to try their Whoopie Pies!
Instead, I went to this bakery which was
literally a room in the back of someone's
house. I saw A LOT of those types of
businesses while driving across Vermont.
I found two covered bridges of Vermont!
This one was down a pretty large hill and I was
too scared that if I drove down I would get stuck!
So, I hiked down and it was worth it! Such a
pretty, quiet place in the middle of no where.
The water and ice below the bridges was
pretty magnificent as well.
- Home cooked meals! I cooked dinner on Saturday for the girls after their day on the slopes. We had chili with fritos and cheese, corn bread, and wine. It was yummy! Our hosts had left us Vermont cheese and crackers and homemade brownies. We used the cheese as an appetizer and shredded some to go on our chili and had the brownies for dessert! On Sunday morning, Angela made us scrambled eggs and potatoes. I don't usually like breakfast potatoes, but these were soooo good. I might start trying that at home some weekends. We spent a little over $10 each for the food for dinner and breakfast (including wine!). We NEVER eat that cheap in the city.
- While the girls skiied Okemo on Saturday and Stratton on Sunday, I checked out the lodges a little. Okemo was a little small-town and the lodge was a bit run-down. I didn't spend much time there at all. Stratton was much nicer, but I ran out of time to spend there. Next time, I will take a book to read and go in the shops there.
My skier and snowboarding friends!
Kim, Lucy, Angela
On the way out of the mountains, we were treated
to a beautiful sunset. Perfect way to end a perfect
weekend.
I really think this is a weekend trip that we will re-do at least once in the future!
Friday, January 08, 2010
Proclaim the Year of the Lord's Favor!
Happy New Year!!! 2010-- can you believe it? I'd been calling it "Two-Thousand-Ten", but now that I've heard people saying "Twenty-Ten", that sounds way cooler and easier to say. My New Year's Eve was verrrryyyy low-key this year. I wasn't feeling well that day or most of the weekend following. But, I rallied a bit to ring in Twenty-Ten. I didn't go out until after 8pm and picked up my friend Kim at her place. We went out for sushi and it was sooo yummy and fun. Afterwards, we headed to Lucy's for a little gathering. It was only a handful of people. We had snacks and treats and watched the ball drop and the atrocious performances happening across the USA. What is up with little Selena Gomez dressing so provocatively?? And I thought Robin Thicke was supposed to be good...he was awful and looked awful to boot. We had fun laughing at them and getting Lucy up-to-speed on a little pop culture! I spent most of New Year's Day at home. Got out for a bit for a little run/walk in the park and some errands. That night, I met Lucy & Kim to see "Precious" and then we went to a coffee shop for a while. I don't know what to say about that movie. It is such a sad story, and unfortunately, probably very accurate to some real life situations.
I only set one New Year's Resolution this year. I wanted to keep it simple. If I set several, I'll probably not reach any of them, but if I concentrate on one, well, maybe I can experience a life change. So, this year, I'm trying to get in bed by about 10pm, lights out at 11pm. Of course, there will always be exceptions, but on the nights I get home late, the idea is to be in bed as soon as possible. This is going to be VERY hard for me and will take a while to adjust to and create new habits. I am a TOTAL night-owl. The only reason I'm not a morning person is because I've stayed up too late the night before. If I could just get to bed at a decent hour, I'll wake up feeling more refreshed and hopefully have some time to either work-out and/or have my quiet time in the mornings. That is my hope. I have not done great this week, but better than normal and will continue to work towards some consistency in getting to bed on time! I am not resolving to be in bed by 10pm every night starting Jan 1 going forward, I am resolving to make the changes that are needed to get to that point and to continue to try to make it work until I'm consistent. It's a habit change for me and I recognize that changing a habit can take months. So, I'm resolving to change this during 2010.
I sent out some New Years cards this year since it gave me an extra couple of weeks to get it done and I also had a theme I wanted to carry-out. I had read the verses in Isaiah this past fall and immediately decided it was time to act and "Proclaim the Year of the Lord's Favor". And, I wanted to do a 4-seasons of the year theme. I had already picked out 4 photos to use when I went online to find a card that would work. I was super excited when Tiny Prints had a picture card for 4-seasons...couldn't have been more perfect for the theme I was already going for. My pictures are kind of silly....and not really accurate. I used a pic from Tonya's wedding for my spring picture. It was actually in August, but the weather in Maine was more spring-like and it was the best spring "looking" picture I could find from 2009. Besides, the card doesn't actually say that the picture was taken in the spring, it's just the picture I chose to celebrate that season.
As I started putting my cards together, I began to ask myself what that little verse from Isaiah meant to me. It had been a while since I'd actually read it and came up with the whole idea for my card. What is the Lord's Favor, exactly? I looked up the word Favor in the dictionary and found the following definitions:
-- the state of being approved or held in regard
-- preferential treatment
-- a gift bestowed as a token of goodwill, kind regard, love
The first word that comes to my mind is "blessing". So, who wouldn't want that? To have the King of this World granting His upmost blessings to you? Receiving His preferential treatment? Having confidence that you are living a life He approves of?
So, then, you have to ask how you can Proclaim. What does it mean to Proclaim something? I looked that one up in the dictionary, too:
-- to praise or glorify openly or publicly
Okay, so if you're compelled to praise something openly, you must be personally experiencing it on a very deep level. I keep looking at the second half of that word "claim". The dictionary says that claim means:
-- to take as the rightful owner.
So, I know that I want the Lord's Favor and I know He has made it available to me, but I have to TAKE it as my own. How do I go about doing that? I believe that anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Lord & Savior is going to experience the Lord's Favor on some level. But, I believe there are things we can do in our personal lives to experience that Favor on a deeper level. To receive more and more of His blessing. Walking in His will and Abiding in Him are the 2 phrases that come to my mind when I think about how one can experience more of His Favor. And to me that means being obedient to His plans and experiencing a deep, rich relationship with Him. But, to know His plan and to experience a life with Him requires us to seek Him diligently. This is best done through spending time in the scripture and in prayer.
So, let's wrap this up. This year, I seek to:
1) Spend more time in the scripture and in prayer.
2) As a result, I should experience a deeper relationship with God and His will should be more clear to me. I should see my will more closely aligning with His.
3) A close relationship with God and obedience to His plans will result in His blessing, goodwill, kind regard, love, His preferential treatment (i.e. His FAVOR!)
4) I will choose to make His favor in my life known to those around me. To PROCLAIM it for all to see. With the hopes that He would be glorified and others would want to experience that Favor in their own life.
Not that these things aren't already happening in my life to some extent. I just want to experience it more and I want to be better about sharing How God is working in my life. I pray and hope for YOU to experience the Lord's Favor this year as well - and to proclaim it as your own!
I am VERY excited for twenty-ten. I think it's going to be a great year!
I only set one New Year's Resolution this year. I wanted to keep it simple. If I set several, I'll probably not reach any of them, but if I concentrate on one, well, maybe I can experience a life change. So, this year, I'm trying to get in bed by about 10pm, lights out at 11pm. Of course, there will always be exceptions, but on the nights I get home late, the idea is to be in bed as soon as possible. This is going to be VERY hard for me and will take a while to adjust to and create new habits. I am a TOTAL night-owl. The only reason I'm not a morning person is because I've stayed up too late the night before. If I could just get to bed at a decent hour, I'll wake up feeling more refreshed and hopefully have some time to either work-out and/or have my quiet time in the mornings. That is my hope. I have not done great this week, but better than normal and will continue to work towards some consistency in getting to bed on time! I am not resolving to be in bed by 10pm every night starting Jan 1 going forward, I am resolving to make the changes that are needed to get to that point and to continue to try to make it work until I'm consistent. It's a habit change for me and I recognize that changing a habit can take months. So, I'm resolving to change this during 2010.
I sent out some New Years cards this year since it gave me an extra couple of weeks to get it done and I also had a theme I wanted to carry-out. I had read the verses in Isaiah this past fall and immediately decided it was time to act and "Proclaim the Year of the Lord's Favor". And, I wanted to do a 4-seasons of the year theme. I had already picked out 4 photos to use when I went online to find a card that would work. I was super excited when Tiny Prints had a picture card for 4-seasons...couldn't have been more perfect for the theme I was already going for. My pictures are kind of silly....and not really accurate. I used a pic from Tonya's wedding for my spring picture. It was actually in August, but the weather in Maine was more spring-like and it was the best spring "looking" picture I could find from 2009. Besides, the card doesn't actually say that the picture was taken in the spring, it's just the picture I chose to celebrate that season.
As I started putting my cards together, I began to ask myself what that little verse from Isaiah meant to me. It had been a while since I'd actually read it and came up with the whole idea for my card. What is the Lord's Favor, exactly? I looked up the word Favor in the dictionary and found the following definitions:
-- the state of being approved or held in regard
-- preferential treatment
-- a gift bestowed as a token of goodwill, kind regard, love
The first word that comes to my mind is "blessing". So, who wouldn't want that? To have the King of this World granting His upmost blessings to you? Receiving His preferential treatment? Having confidence that you are living a life He approves of?
So, then, you have to ask how you can Proclaim. What does it mean to Proclaim something? I looked that one up in the dictionary, too:
-- to praise or glorify openly or publicly
Okay, so if you're compelled to praise something openly, you must be personally experiencing it on a very deep level. I keep looking at the second half of that word "claim". The dictionary says that claim means:
-- to take as the rightful owner.
So, I know that I want the Lord's Favor and I know He has made it available to me, but I have to TAKE it as my own. How do I go about doing that? I believe that anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Lord & Savior is going to experience the Lord's Favor on some level. But, I believe there are things we can do in our personal lives to experience that Favor on a deeper level. To receive more and more of His blessing. Walking in His will and Abiding in Him are the 2 phrases that come to my mind when I think about how one can experience more of His Favor. And to me that means being obedient to His plans and experiencing a deep, rich relationship with Him. But, to know His plan and to experience a life with Him requires us to seek Him diligently. This is best done through spending time in the scripture and in prayer.
So, let's wrap this up. This year, I seek to:
1) Spend more time in the scripture and in prayer.
2) As a result, I should experience a deeper relationship with God and His will should be more clear to me. I should see my will more closely aligning with His.
3) A close relationship with God and obedience to His plans will result in His blessing, goodwill, kind regard, love, His preferential treatment (i.e. His FAVOR!)
4) I will choose to make His favor in my life known to those around me. To PROCLAIM it for all to see. With the hopes that He would be glorified and others would want to experience that Favor in their own life.
Not that these things aren't already happening in my life to some extent. I just want to experience it more and I want to be better about sharing How God is working in my life. I pray and hope for YOU to experience the Lord's Favor this year as well - and to proclaim it as your own!
I am VERY excited for twenty-ten. I think it's going to be a great year!
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Celebrate Good Times!
Okay, like I said previously, I have LOTS to catch-up on and camera issues, so we're going to be out of order and behind on here for a while. While we wait for my Christmas photos to come in, let's look back at a fun day in November!
This is me with my friend, Brooke from Dallas (love her dearly!!) and her FIANCE(!!!), Michael.
The picture was taken the Monday before Thanksgiving and just about 24 hours after they got engaged. I received a text from Brooke the Friday before stating that she was in New York and Michael had surprised her with a trip up. I immediately texted 3 of our other Dallas girlfriends to tell them she was in town and to ask "are they getting engaged this weekend"? All three girls responded back that yes, that was most likely the case!
It was fun to see Brooke & Michael and to get to be the first friend they could tell the news to in person. We had a great lunch at an Indonesian restaurant, which is quite fitting since Brooke lived there for 2 years and she and Michael plan to make a move there together in a couple years after he finishes Seminary. I plan to visit them :)
I am very excited for our Brookie and that she is finally making this big step. I'm also very excited that she is getting married on June 6th since I'd already been contemplating a trip home the week before that, so I should be able to go...yea!
This is me with my friend, Brooke from Dallas (love her dearly!!) and her FIANCE(!!!), Michael.
The picture was taken the Monday before Thanksgiving and just about 24 hours after they got engaged. I received a text from Brooke the Friday before stating that she was in New York and Michael had surprised her with a trip up. I immediately texted 3 of our other Dallas girlfriends to tell them she was in town and to ask "are they getting engaged this weekend"? All three girls responded back that yes, that was most likely the case!
It was fun to see Brooke & Michael and to get to be the first friend they could tell the news to in person. We had a great lunch at an Indonesian restaurant, which is quite fitting since Brooke lived there for 2 years and she and Michael plan to make a move there together in a couple years after he finishes Seminary. I plan to visit them :)
I am very excited for our Brookie and that she is finally making this big step. I'm also very excited that she is getting married on June 6th since I'd already been contemplating a trip home the week before that, so I should be able to go...yea!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
SNL, A Kennedy Family Reunion, and Other Fun Stuff
I had a lot of fun in the 17 days I was in NYC between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's one of my favorite seasons in the City, but this year, I had a few very cool, yet non-Christmasy events to attend.
Saturday Night Live! I was so excited that I won tickets through the Lottery System. You basically email them in August and cross your fingers you get tickets at all. Then, when you do get tickets, you cross your fingers again that they are for a night you are actually in town. This was my first year to try the lottery and I consider myself very lucky that it all worked out. It was a blast!!! I took my friend Lucy...I had a REALLY hard time deciding who to take to this. Lucy was very excited to go, so I'm glad I asked her. Bon Jovi was the musical guest and Taylor Lautner was the host that night. Not necessarily the people I would have chosen to see, but still pretty good. Taylor did a great job hosting, especially for his young age. I mostly just enjoyed watching how everything on set works. It is actually a very simple show. They use backdrops they've probably had for years and use rolling carts and rope pulleys. I was shocked at the lack of technology, but hey, if it works, why change it? It was very fun and I will definitely apply for tickets again in future years! We couldn't take pictures - sorry!
The 92nd Y is an elite Jewish Organization located on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. It is a community center of sorts where classes are held, lectures are taught, there's a fitness center, and even a private school. They often have evening events that sound interesting to me, but I've never been available to go. I finally went to my first one: an interview by Katie Couric of Ted Kennedy's wife, Vicki, and son, Teddy Jr, remembering the life of their husband/father. I've always found the Kennedy family somewhat fascinating and was excited to go hear this. It was a very sweet interview and quite interesting. They spoke mostly about Ted Kennedy as a person, a hard-worker, and primarily a family man. They told a lot of family stories - I love stuff like that. Their whole family seems so tight-knit and close and loving. The audience was full of Kennedy's. I couldn't see most of them, but I could see Ted's sister Gene from my seat. Also in the audience were Teddy's cousins Bobby and Caroline (would have LOVED to see her, but couldn't spot her anywhere). Isn't that cool that they all came out to support their family? Love it. Again - no pictures allowed!
Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker were discussing their new movie at the SoHo Apple store one night. This store occasionally holds Film discussions and this was my second time to go. It's a pretty great deal because it is free and in a small/intimate setting where you are up-close and personal with the stars. SJP is the tiniest thing you've ever seen. No, seriously. I mean really, really, small. I was trying to figure out how she can even buy clothes - she must wear children's clothing or have everything custom made. She was really cute and upbeat. I got kind of annoyed while they were being interviewed because they could not answer a question seriously. Sometimes it was funny, but after a while it got kind of old and not so funny. It was as if they felt pressure to be funny. Still fun to see, though.
My friend Ashley hosted a girls-night-in Fondue party. It was so much fun. I couldn't believe when I left at 1AM that we'd been there 6 hours. It went by too fast. Ashley made awesome chocolate fondue and we all brought dippers and ate all night long...it was so good. We had some Christmas movies going all night long, but talked more than watched. It was a mix of her friends, but a few girls from my current church and a few girls from the Journey I hadn't seen in years (Ashley used to go there, but I only met her once back then) and some girls she knows from work and such. It was a really good mix of people - we all had a lot of fun! We also played the Mexican Train domino game...love it and it reminded me of Texas parties!
Rosella and I had dinner at Tavern on the Green in Central Park. It is closing soon and since I'd only been inside, but never eaten there, I wanted to try it. It's such a famous New York restaurant. It was pretty good food, and most of the restaurant is gorgeous, but I found the actual dining room to be a bit strange. Not well decorated and not laid out very well. I'm glad I got to eat there just once, but it isn't a place I would've necessarily wanted to go back to.
I went to a going-away brunch for Danise at a Tea shop in SoHo. It's called SanctuaryT and was recently seen on MTV's "The Hills". It was so good!! I got an excellent egg dish and some yummy tea. It was so cold that day, so hot tea was just what I needed. I would definitely go back to this place.
Saturday Night Live! I was so excited that I won tickets through the Lottery System. You basically email them in August and cross your fingers you get tickets at all. Then, when you do get tickets, you cross your fingers again that they are for a night you are actually in town. This was my first year to try the lottery and I consider myself very lucky that it all worked out. It was a blast!!! I took my friend Lucy...I had a REALLY hard time deciding who to take to this. Lucy was very excited to go, so I'm glad I asked her. Bon Jovi was the musical guest and Taylor Lautner was the host that night. Not necessarily the people I would have chosen to see, but still pretty good. Taylor did a great job hosting, especially for his young age. I mostly just enjoyed watching how everything on set works. It is actually a very simple show. They use backdrops they've probably had for years and use rolling carts and rope pulleys. I was shocked at the lack of technology, but hey, if it works, why change it? It was very fun and I will definitely apply for tickets again in future years! We couldn't take pictures - sorry!
The 92nd Y is an elite Jewish Organization located on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. It is a community center of sorts where classes are held, lectures are taught, there's a fitness center, and even a private school. They often have evening events that sound interesting to me, but I've never been available to go. I finally went to my first one: an interview by Katie Couric of Ted Kennedy's wife, Vicki, and son, Teddy Jr, remembering the life of their husband/father. I've always found the Kennedy family somewhat fascinating and was excited to go hear this. It was a very sweet interview and quite interesting. They spoke mostly about Ted Kennedy as a person, a hard-worker, and primarily a family man. They told a lot of family stories - I love stuff like that. Their whole family seems so tight-knit and close and loving. The audience was full of Kennedy's. I couldn't see most of them, but I could see Ted's sister Gene from my seat. Also in the audience were Teddy's cousins Bobby and Caroline (would have LOVED to see her, but couldn't spot her anywhere). Isn't that cool that they all came out to support their family? Love it. Again - no pictures allowed!
Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker were discussing their new movie at the SoHo Apple store one night. This store occasionally holds Film discussions and this was my second time to go. It's a pretty great deal because it is free and in a small/intimate setting where you are up-close and personal with the stars. SJP is the tiniest thing you've ever seen. No, seriously. I mean really, really, small. I was trying to figure out how she can even buy clothes - she must wear children's clothing or have everything custom made. She was really cute and upbeat. I got kind of annoyed while they were being interviewed because they could not answer a question seriously. Sometimes it was funny, but after a while it got kind of old and not so funny. It was as if they felt pressure to be funny. Still fun to see, though.
My friend Ashley hosted a girls-night-in Fondue party. It was so much fun. I couldn't believe when I left at 1AM that we'd been there 6 hours. It went by too fast. Ashley made awesome chocolate fondue and we all brought dippers and ate all night long...it was so good. We had some Christmas movies going all night long, but talked more than watched. It was a mix of her friends, but a few girls from my current church and a few girls from the Journey I hadn't seen in years (Ashley used to go there, but I only met her once back then) and some girls she knows from work and such. It was a really good mix of people - we all had a lot of fun! We also played the Mexican Train domino game...love it and it reminded me of Texas parties!
Rosella and I had dinner at Tavern on the Green in Central Park. It is closing soon and since I'd only been inside, but never eaten there, I wanted to try it. It's such a famous New York restaurant. It was pretty good food, and most of the restaurant is gorgeous, but I found the actual dining room to be a bit strange. Not well decorated and not laid out very well. I'm glad I got to eat there just once, but it isn't a place I would've necessarily wanted to go back to.
I went to a going-away brunch for Danise at a Tea shop in SoHo. It's called SanctuaryT and was recently seen on MTV's "The Hills". It was so good!! I got an excellent egg dish and some yummy tea. It was so cold that day, so hot tea was just what I needed. I would definitely go back to this place.
Me with Joy, Ilyse, Danise, and Treeny
A Season for Giving
Oh, I am very, very behind on my blog! Can you believe I've basically skipped the entire month of December? I was just so busy both at work and outside work. Plus, I currently don't have a camera so that messes up things a bit as well. It may take a bit for me to catch-up and it will probably be in some random order, but I'll try to get it all in here one way or another.
I had the opportunity to serve many different disadvantaged families this Christmas Season. It is so nice to be able to help give to and serve families in need during this time of year.
The first Saturday of December, I headed up to The Bronx with my Community Group girls and some other people who are in CG's on the UES and in Queens (groups that meet in other areas did other projects). There is a pastor of a church in The Bronx who puts on a Toy Store for the people of his community every December, but he doesn't have the resources or help to do it on his own. My church has been partnering with him in this the past few years. We collect toys throughout the month of November at each of the services in hopes of having enough for all the families who come to the Toy Store. I donated one gift, but after seeing what they had to offer, I think I'll donate more next year and probably for older girls because they were really lacking in that area. This was the first year I've been able to go help at the Toy Store. It is held in the community center of some Projects in The Bronx and happens to be in the 3rd poorest Congressional District in the United States and it is the #1 community for the number of men from there who are in prison. So, you can imagine that the kids there receive very little or nothing at all for Christmas. I like the way the Toy Store is set-up because it allows the parents to shop while their kids are taken care of by volunteers in another room. That way, the parent can give the gift to the child themselves. All the families had been pre-approved as eligible to receive gifts for their kids and had tickets that identified how many children they had. I worked as a "Personal Shopper" that day and took about 5 different parents through the Toy Store to help them pick out gifts for their kid(s). It was neat to be able to interact with some of the people and I met some really sweet ones. Wrapping is provided for a suggested donation of $1. Many parents don't have $1 to give, but many did pay the $1 and it is a way of making them feel as though they are able to contribute towards their child's Christmas. It was a good experience and I'd love to continue to work with this in future years and hope to see it grow into something much bigger.
The Bike
The Saturday after I arrived to Dallas, I had brunch with friends and my parents went off to serve with their Sunday School at a Toy Store in Dallas. It sounded like a HUGE toy store, held in the Auto Building of the State Fair (if you've ever been to the fair, you know how HUGE that building is). It sounded like they had a ton of toys and really good ones and they also sent each family away with bags of groceries. My mom happened to meet a mom who mentioned that her family had arrived at 9:30 the evening before to wait in line outside for 12 hours to get in when the doors opened. Crazy! Unfortunately, that was not early enough to get the bike they wanted for their 3 children to share. Her husband is out of a job and at this point I'm sure they were exhausted and disappointed. My mom felt so bad for this lady and said she was so nice and beautiful! She kept thinking about her and decided to step outside and see if she was still there. As my mom walked out, she prayed that if God wanted her to help, then the lady would still be outside. Well, the lady was still outside, but she was off in the distance and my mom could only see her because she had reached the top of an incline. Again, my mom prayed that if God wanted her to help, the lady would stop so she could catch-up. And suddenly, the lady just stopped. My mom caught up to her and got her information and promised to deliver a bike. My mom shared the story with the volunteer she was partnered with that day and she, too, wanted to help. Mom and I spent a few days researching the size of the bike we should get. The family planned for their three kids aged 7-12 to share the bike. But, we soon realized that a 7 and 12 year-old really needed different bikes. In the meantime, the other volunteer my mom had met came across a brand new bike for FREE that would be perfect for the 2 older kids. Mom and I did a little more research and got a smaller bike for the 7 year-old. We went to deliver the bikes with Ryder and Beau who toted some Christmas treats for the family and a bag of little toys for their 2-year-old. The dad was outside when we arrived and he was so nice and appreciative. His 12-year-old was across the way playing tennis and when he saw us, he yelled, "MY BIKE!!!!!" and came running over and hopped right on. It was such a joy to see the excitement on his face!!! As we pulled out of their apartment complex, we received a phone call from the boy's grandma also thanking us. It was so fun to do something so simple and see so much excitement and gratefulness.
Brother Bill's
Christmas Eve was probably my favorite full-day of my Texas trip and Brother Bill's definitely helped make it that! This is our 3rd year in a row to go and I love this new tradition my family now has! Only part of the family made it out this year. Last year was a bit difficult with Ryder and Beau, and everyone agreed that it would be much easier if Beau didn't come this year (we sure do love him, but he has some issues with obeying and sharing and SCREAMing)! So, it was just my mom, dad, Ryder and I this year. It is a Toy Store somewhat similar to the one I did in the Bronx, only a lot more people and a lot more toys. Each child gets 4 toys, plus some other things, and a Chick-Fil-A lunch to go. Sweet! We were in charge of giving out toys to the boys aged 12-14. They each got 3 pre-wrapped gifts (a book, a CD player, and something else) and then they each got to pick out 1 ball (football, basketball, or soccer). Most of the boys were pretty shy, but some of them were really excited about their balls and one boy just reached out and gave me the biggest hug. Ryder was a big help putting the gifts in the bags and I think he understood why we were there and what we were doing. It started SNOWING while we were there and snowed all day long!!! I heard it was the first time it has ever snowed in Dallas on Christmas Eve. So fun!
I had the opportunity to serve many different disadvantaged families this Christmas Season. It is so nice to be able to help give to and serve families in need during this time of year.
His Toy Store
This is Jackson & his dad, Jeff. Jackson is in my Sunday
School class and is the smartest 5-year-old I know!
The Toy Store, all set up
Erin, Jen, David, and Robyn busy wrapping gifts
The Bike
The Saturday after I arrived to Dallas, I had brunch with friends and my parents went off to serve with their Sunday School at a Toy Store in Dallas. It sounded like a HUGE toy store, held in the Auto Building of the State Fair (if you've ever been to the fair, you know how HUGE that building is). It sounded like they had a ton of toys and really good ones and they also sent each family away with bags of groceries. My mom happened to meet a mom who mentioned that her family had arrived at 9:30 the evening before to wait in line outside for 12 hours to get in when the doors opened. Crazy! Unfortunately, that was not early enough to get the bike they wanted for their 3 children to share. Her husband is out of a job and at this point I'm sure they were exhausted and disappointed. My mom felt so bad for this lady and said she was so nice and beautiful! She kept thinking about her and decided to step outside and see if she was still there. As my mom walked out, she prayed that if God wanted her to help, then the lady would still be outside. Well, the lady was still outside, but she was off in the distance and my mom could only see her because she had reached the top of an incline. Again, my mom prayed that if God wanted her to help, the lady would stop so she could catch-up. And suddenly, the lady just stopped. My mom caught up to her and got her information and promised to deliver a bike. My mom shared the story with the volunteer she was partnered with that day and she, too, wanted to help. Mom and I spent a few days researching the size of the bike we should get. The family planned for their three kids aged 7-12 to share the bike. But, we soon realized that a 7 and 12 year-old really needed different bikes. In the meantime, the other volunteer my mom had met came across a brand new bike for FREE that would be perfect for the 2 older kids. Mom and I did a little more research and got a smaller bike for the 7 year-old. We went to deliver the bikes with Ryder and Beau who toted some Christmas treats for the family and a bag of little toys for their 2-year-old. The dad was outside when we arrived and he was so nice and appreciative. His 12-year-old was across the way playing tennis and when he saw us, he yelled, "MY BIKE!!!!!" and came running over and hopped right on. It was such a joy to see the excitement on his face!!! As we pulled out of their apartment complex, we received a phone call from the boy's grandma also thanking us. It was so fun to do something so simple and see so much excitement and gratefulness.
Brother Bill's
Christmas Eve was probably my favorite full-day of my Texas trip and Brother Bill's definitely helped make it that! This is our 3rd year in a row to go and I love this new tradition my family now has! Only part of the family made it out this year. Last year was a bit difficult with Ryder and Beau, and everyone agreed that it would be much easier if Beau didn't come this year (we sure do love him, but he has some issues with obeying and sharing and SCREAMing)! So, it was just my mom, dad, Ryder and I this year. It is a Toy Store somewhat similar to the one I did in the Bronx, only a lot more people and a lot more toys. Each child gets 4 toys, plus some other things, and a Chick-Fil-A lunch to go. Sweet! We were in charge of giving out toys to the boys aged 12-14. They each got 3 pre-wrapped gifts (a book, a CD player, and something else) and then they each got to pick out 1 ball (football, basketball, or soccer). Most of the boys were pretty shy, but some of them were really excited about their balls and one boy just reached out and gave me the biggest hug. Ryder was a big help putting the gifts in the bags and I think he understood why we were there and what we were doing. It started SNOWING while we were there and snowed all day long!!! I heard it was the first time it has ever snowed in Dallas on Christmas Eve. So fun!
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