2 posts in one day?

Well I guess I've got a lot to say! *haha*

Is this weather crazy or what? Yesterday we were in the 60's, thinking Spring had sprung too early...then last night that thought was backed up with a full blown thunder storm! (When I thought I saw lightning through my blinds I told myself I was nuts! Then came the thunder...what a crazy night!) Then today we had a beautiful, mini-blizzard! And now the sun is out, shining bright! Total weirdness. 

I wanted to get out in the falling snow for a while, so I loaded the doggies up in the car and we went for a drive. Hmmm...where shall we drive to? Why not Andover to visit ScrapFunattic? *hehe*  I have that freshly acquired Christmas cash burning a hole in my pocket, after all, so it was a natural place to visit. 

I picked up two Basic Grey paper packs that I've been wanting for quite sometime... Offbeat & Urban Prairie. They didn't have the extras that I wanted (like the chipboard and rubons) so I guess I'll be ordering those from 2P's.  But they did have this new Valentine's Day paper from Fancy Pants that is too cute for words. I think this is becoming one of my favorite companies. They continue to make the CUTEST stuff!!

I had seen this paper pad from Die Cuts With a View before but this time I decided that I had to have it. I'm a sucker for cupcakes and candy. :) 

So thanks, Mom and Dad, for the mullah that powered my little shopping spree! *hehe*

I'd like to share my Christmas photos with you, but since I'm feeling lazy, we're going to try something different. I've already posted them all on Facebook, so I'm going to provide the links here. You should be able to view them even if you don't have an account on Facebook. If you have problems, just let me know and I'll come up with a new solution.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning (Jeremy, the doggies and I)

Christmas Day

Wonderful Christmastime!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas 2008!  Though overshadowed early in the week by lot's of sickness in my family, everyone was well enough to celebrate by Christmas Eve! I was so relieved that we didn't have to "cancel Christmas." Jeremy did have to work both nights, which meant he had to sleep most of yesterday away, which was kind of a bummer. 

Once he got up we opened our presents to each other (and for the puppies) and then headed over to Lauren & Rich's for our gift exchange and dinner. I always love spending time with my family...and those two precious kiddos make Christmas even more fun. Livvie was so into opening presents this year. When we got there on Christmas eve the first words she spoke were, "We gonna open presents?!" And we told her, "Not yet, but soon!" "OK!" she'd say. And of course she loves her "Jernomy," which is always fun to see.  (Pictures of the whole shebang coming soon.)

I hauled in an impressive amount of Christmas loot, including many pairs of new, comfy P.J.'s.  Lauren and Rich gave me the Storybook & Graphically Speaking Cricut cartridges I've been wanting....which is super! I'm hoping they'll give me a new burst of inspiration to get me back into my Scrapbook room. :)  Jeremy gave me the Jillian Michael's Fitness "game" for my Wii Fit. It has new exercises you can use the Wii Balance Board with so I'm excited to test that out. And my Mom and Dad have supplied me with the funds to do some after Christmas shopping, which is great because I could really use some new jeans. *haha* 

Last night I watched "Prancer" on TV after Jeremy went to work. I remember seeing it in the theater when it first came out when I was 6 years old. I don't know how it kept my attention at that age, though. It's a pretty sad, slow little movie! But I have to say I was kinda impressed by the little girl's acting. She was very believable!

Well I'm sorry that I still haven't finished posting about my NYC trip. I'll try to get the last few days up real soon!

Top Of The Rock, to ya!

Sorry I'm slow getting on with my posts about NYC. Seems that current life needs to get in the way now and then! Even though we had a splendid (yes, splendid!) time on vacation, I really do feel as though I lost a week! Coming back home and being so close to Christmas with absolutely NOTHING Christmassy accomplished is a bit overwhelming.  I've never been 10 days away from Christmas with no decorations up...until NOW! *haha* But since our home renovation project still isn't completed and the furniture isn't even in place, it seems absurd to bring in MORE "clutter," even if it is Christmas clutter. So just as I'd feared initially, the decor will be very minimal this year. I'm going to yank out the little 4 footer tree that normally goes in my Scrapbook room, and prop it up on a table. Gotta pull the stockings out too, but other than that I don't really see the point. Kinda makes me sad, but like I said in an earlier post, I understand the trade-off. Spend a week in the most decorated city in the world - don't decorate as much at home. So be it.

Now let's remember some more of that trip, shall we?

Day 4

When planning this trip I read repeatedly that, if wanting an excellent view of the city, we should choose the Top of the Rock (the Rockefeller Building) and not the Empire State Building. The E.S.B. has chain mesh all around, blocking the view, plus the crowds are apparently horrendous and the elevators are slow, making for long waits. So even though my idea of a trip to NYC always included going to the top of the E.S.B, we opted for the Top of the Rock instead. Plus they have a Sunrise/Sunset package where you can go up twice in the same day; once during daylight and once after sunset! I thought that was great!

The views really were spectacular! I could have stayed up there for hours. Unfortunately, my poor hubby is much more afraid of heights than I ever realized. I mean, this is the guy who goes on crazy roller coasters with me! But it was all I could do to even get him close enough to the edge to take these pictures. He just kinda hung out in the center of the platform. He was a good sport but clearly the whole thing made him very uneasy. And he didn't appreciate me leaning over to get shots like this: 

 

But I made it up to him by traveling over 45 minutes by subway to eat at a steak place in Brooklyn he wanted to go to. It's been voted the best steak in New York for 25 years runnin', and my carnivorous husband couldn't resist that! We got a little lost when making a subway transfer, but we managed to arrive in time for our reservation. The prices were OUTRAGEOUS but I will have to admit, it's about the juiciest steak I've ever tasted. Jeremy was in red meat Heaven. 

 

One thing that was kinda cool...they served the steak on this platter that was SIZZLING hot. Literally! So if you didn't think the steak looked like it was cooked enough, you could just put the piece on the side of the tray for a minute and it would cook it some more! Crazy. Definitely one of those, "Please don't touch the plate, it's very hot" moments. *haha*

With full tummies we headed back into Manhattan, specifically Rockefeller Center, so we could take a quick glance at the tree. That area was just ridiculously packed. I don't normally get antsy in crowds but this was beyond what even I'm comfortable with. 

 

The insanity was well worth it, however, because on the edge of Rockefeller Center lies a wonderland I've dreamt of visiting since I was a child: The American Girl store!!! *hooray!!!* I would've dragged Jeremy in here anyway, but it was even more fun because Lauren recently snagged a Kit doll for Livvie off of Ebay, so we "needed" to go! See? That's great logic, right? 

Talk about chaos!! Toss about a billion excited, squealing little girls and their exhausted, broke parents into a fairly small space and you get quite a mess. 

"BUT YOU SAID I COULD GET TWO OUTFITS!" 

"I WANT JAMMIES THAT MATCH MY DOLL!" 

"I WANT TO GET THE HOOOOOOOOORSE!!!!" 

Jeremy was way out of his league, but I found it all quite amusing. 

After we dropped our AG purchases off at the hotel room we headed out for our dinner location, a BBQ Jazz Club called Jazz Standard. It was fun to take in a live Jazz show, neither one of us had ever had that kind of experience before. The food was really good, too. I didn't take any pictures in there...it was kinda shwanky and I didn't want people looking at me weird. :)

Then we had to take advantage of the Sunset portion of our Top of the Rock package. Jeremy was thrilled, as you can imagine. ;) But the views at night were well worth his discomfort, in my opinion. *hehe*

A Very Jonas Christmas?

After months of wondering and waiting, I've finally found a list of who will be performing at the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree.  Among the talent for the evening? The Jonas Brothers. Heaven help us.

Don't get me wrong. I happen to like the Jonas Bro's. I even have their first CD on my workout playlist on my iPOD (which means I never listen to it *haha*).  And if I were about 10 years younger (or single) I'd probably be DYING to go to one of their concerts. But, when I read they would be there, my first and only thought was, "Great. Now the crowd will be tripled and the average age will drop dramatically." Let's face it, the Jonas Brothers are about the hottest thing out there right now. And you know that about a billion little girls that live anywhere CLOSE to that vicinity (and even the spoiled ones that live nowhere near) are gonna make their way out in the cold that night just to see those curly-headed boys in their skinny jeans. Again, Heaven help us. :)

I AM excited, however, because David Cook will be among the performers that evening, and even though he's wearing eye liner in his latest promo picture, I did vote for him as American Idol and I think he's got an awesome voice. So that will be exciting. Again, not that we'll be anywhere close enough to HEAR him (or be able to hear anything above the echoes of preteen screaming) but it's the thought that counts. Harry Connick Jr. is also supposed to be there and even though I can't stand him as an actor, I LOVE his music so that's exciting too!

Beyonce' will also be there, as well as Tony Bennet, Faith Hill and Rascall Flatts.  I'm definitely going to DVR the whole event, since we'll probably be so far back that we won't be able to see or hear a thing. But I LOVES me a big crowd and I LOVES me a big Christmas tree...so the whole experience is sure to be a thrill!

Time for Joy and Time for Cheer!

 Jeremy is a big ol' stickler about waiting to acknowledge the Christmas season until AFTER Thanksgiving. This is something I've had to honor since he came into my life almost 10 years ago. At first I had a lot of trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that Thanksgiving needed "the respect" of sole recognition, and it's hard, because in my family the house was always fully decorated by at least the week of Turkey day. 

So while I try not to shove anything red & green down his throat, I usually begin listening to Christmas music during my "me time" by at least mid-November.  (And now department stores and radio stations have caught the fever...they're on the schedule our family has been on for years! *haha*) And I've been known to pull out my favorite Seasonal movies or cartoons early too, so I can fit in at least a couple of viewings before the end of December. :)

Well, the other day I was at the kitchen table editing some photos on my laptop while listening to a Christmas station on iTUNES. (Did you know iTUNES had "radio" stations? They're pretty spiffy. I found at least a dozen that play nothing but Christmas music, 24/7.) Jeremy woke up earlier than I'd expected (he sleeps days since he works 3rd shift, for those of you not familiar with his schedule). He showered and came into the kitchen to get something to eat and I didn't shut the Christmas music off...I wondered if he'd say something. Well he didn't and we even proceeded to sit together, eat, talk and surf the net...all to a soundtrack of jingle bells and Bing Crosby. Finally after a few hours, I mentioned something to the effect of, "I'm surprised you haven't said anything about the Christmassy music!" He shrugged and said, "I don't know, I'm more open to it this year." I dug deeper and we decided that it must be because of this upcoming to New York. We both kind of feel like we need to be in the Christmas Spirit BEFORE we get there...so we can hit the ground running. 

So even before we get there, this trip is giving me a wonderful Christmas season and a more "jolly" husband! *haha*  HO HO HO!