things to love this weekend

being a child all over again with my precious niece and nephew...coloring, singing, playing kitchen and getting some good luvs...oh the joys of childhood!
just being with family...from 27 dresses with my mom late friday night (loved it!) and having fun with clothes and hair with my little sister to a little dance party with the girls and a delicious home cooked meal by mom & dad, we had a fabulous time...i sure do miss them!

spending time with my sister and the kids - even if we only got a couple of hours together
"as long as my head is warm, you can call me whatever you want!" -grandpa george
celebrating birthdays - it never gets old!

seeing a close friend start her happily ever after...the look in those eyes tells all

while watching jenny on her day, reflecting on my own day almost 9 months ago and just taking time to remember how it felt

spending time with old roommates and picking up right where we left off!

my grandma and her mad shimmying skills...enough said!

and now i look forward to seeing my cute hubby tonight...it seems like it's been forever since i have seen him (if you consider 84 hours an eternity, i guess it has been that long)!

Only in NYC

Oh the joys of life in NYC. So, I just caught a cab from a voiceover record in Chelsea back up to the office. It started as a normal experience, until we hit a red light. What happens next I wish my "trying to stay virgin" ears didn't have to hear. A passenger in a white car next to us rolls down his window and starts screaming at our cab driver for swerving around him (or something like that). "What were $#*!, you $*@%!$..." In all honesty, the only words I heard were expletives because he literally used one for at least every other word! Then to make matters worse my cab driver dished it right back to him! He didn't speak English well as it was, but he sure knew how to say all the choice words! Isn't there a right to respect your passengers and not cuss up a storm?!?! After a minute or so of that madness, the light changes and I thought to myself, "Well thank goodness for green lights!" But NO, Mr. Cab Driver sounds off to me including as many expletives as possible as he explained the ridiculousness of drivers like the white car from "California" and pointed out ever driver that was getting in the #*@*^@ way. Right, that must be it, they're from California so they don't know how to drive! Whatever! But now I'm wondering why I even tipped him at all (and it was a pretty nice tip too)...why was I so nice?

The sad thing is that it isn't much better at work. You would think the the English vocabulary doesn't provide enough words to use! Luckily my boss has noticed that I don't swear and always apologizes for swearing in front of me. She tries really hard not to and gets mad at herself when she does. I appreciate her efforts! (And she agrees it is unnecessary so I guess maybe I can make a difference one boss at a time :)).

I sure do miss by Spirit-filled job teaching at the MTC...the amount of swearing around here is enough to drive the Spirit for at least another century!

Just couldn't resist!

Check out this little gem of an outfit for a precious little holiday helper! I found it while out shopping the other day and just couldn't resist, especially after seeing the serious bargain it would be. And with matching socks! I just can't handle it! So, to all you in babyland out there, this is up for grabs. I have one in 0-3 months and another in 3-6 months. There are already a couple of contenders in the running...

Oh my darling, Clementine!

oh how i love you today!

i've already eaten three of you this morning, and a pretty full bag of you remains for me to enjoy.

thank you for being a touch of citrus goodness on such a cold and dreary day!

Why I love today...

1. Good seminary lesson this morning (thanks to Katherine for the help in brainstorming with me and thanks to preparation time)!


2. Fresh, crisp grapes and blueberries from the guy on the corner of 86th and 2nd - it takes me back (or forward) to a sunnier, warmer day!


3. A quiet day at the office!


4. Leftover pizza in the kitchen (especially on a day that I didn't bring my lunch)!


5. A clean desk and email inbox (thanks to the quiet day)!


6. Catching up on my expenses and timesheets (no wonder I like these quiet days)!


7. Getting off work at 5:30pm - that never happens!


8. An entire evening to myself - oh, all the possibilities for tonight!

The only thing that went wrong today:

1. A late night at the office for Brett - darn it, will our schedules ever synch up? First him, then me, then him again...and earnings season is coming soon!

Brett and I had the most splendid time in Italy for the holidays! We were in Florence for 2.5 days, Rome for 4 and Pisa for almost a day. It was so unreal to stand in front of these incredible works of art, buildings, and ruins that were created SO many years ago. Talk about cities rich in history. New York's got nothing on them! We saw everything from the Leaning Tower, Pantheon and Colosseum to the Life of St. Peter Fresco, Sistene Chapel and the David. We have made a Picasa album with the highlights of our 790 pictures and videos that we took. If you want to take a look, email me and I will send you the link. Here's a little preview of what you'll see in the album:

Enjoying a walk through Florence with Ponte Vecchio behind me.
At the Vatican Museum Brett had some fun snapping a picture of me as a conehead - not bad photography skills, eh?
At Trevi fountain post tossing our coin in over our shoulders.
Brett just trying to fit in in the Hall of Philosophers!
The quintessential Leaning Tower picture - it had to be done!

From the top of the Leaning Tower.

Missin' my man!

I miss Brett already! This week he and I both have our first business trips - his to a healthcare conference in San Francisco and mine to our client in Cincinnati for two presentations (one in particular that I have been working on since I started my new job). Crazy that they both fell in the same week. Anyway, as a result we won't see each other for 4 whole days! That's definitely the longest we will have gone without seeing eachother (even if a lot of days we only get about 30 minutes of interaction). I think our prior record was 3 days. Since I have been prepping a lot for this presentation I've been working pretty late including this weekend. So poor Brett hasn't seen much of me. The tables have turned :) But what a good husband I have. While I was gone at a seminary activity on Saturday, he cleaned the entire house! I came home at 4pm to a tired Brett still in pajamas armed with cleaning supplies. He's SO good to me! I just had to give him a little recognition on the blog since he has been so good! I look forward to post Friday when the presentation is over and we can spend a weekend with NO work obligations!

Sisters, sisters...

...there were never such devoted sisters! Well, Kirsten and I weren't always so devoted, but since we've finally grown up (or are in that process), we have much enjoyed spending time together. We had the fortune of spending some more time together thanks to her residency interviews in PA. In between the three interviews lined up in PA, Kirsten and Kyle made their way out to spend a couple of days in the NYC with us. It was unfortunate that Brett and I had to work, but we managed to get in plenty of sister time. Let's start at the very beginning...

Wednesday we transformed our little studio into a full-service Japanese restaurant (thanks to Brett's adorable gift...refer to earlier post). Kirst and I manned the kitchen. The results were next to perfection! Mmm...we sure enjoyed those sushi rolls-a little taste of California, shrimp/asparagus, and our own creation. All very delish!
After a visit to some of Kyle's relatives, we returned to the biggest news of the trip. Here's a little clip (ok, so the clip didn't work, but I'll figure it out and post laster...it's too good not to post):

This picture should tell all...remember, it's Kirsten's news, I'm not planning on making any big announcements anytime soon.

A holiday luncheon afforded me the opportunity to finish early for the day, so I got to spend extra time with my sis. Here's a taste of some of the happenings:

On the bus en route to Dos Caminos for dinner. Mmmm...que rico!

One of the windows in Lord & Taylor...we love the little Christmas tree.
Watching the light show in Grand Central Station.
Outside the Macy's Christmas windows. Notice all the letters on the judges desk just like in Miracle on 34th Street.
Brett considered getting them a "What to Expect when you're Expecting" book even before we knew the news. So then when we found out, we just had to get it. They wasted no time - on the subway back from seeing all the Christmas fun, they were studying up.

It wouldn't be a Nicholas get-together without some Rook action. Though Brett had to be up bright and early the next day, he a die-hard fan so there is always time for Rook. And don't worry about it, we managed to pull off a beautiful win!

Check out our game faces:

Kyle - "Hmm...what to do? what to do?"

Kirsten - "Lousy! Stinkin' lousy!"

Kris - "Ok, they're just about in number and color order. Beautiful!"

Brett - "If I have the 5,6,8,11,13 then there is a 22.7% probability that they could set us...so I think I'll bid..."

And then on Friday I dragged them around with their suitcases to shop and see more sites before they boarded their train back to PA.

In Times Square (I only venture there with guests or for Broadway shows...can't stand the crowds otherwise).

At Penn station before they took off. On theNJ Transit train back.

We had oh so much fun! I sure miss being close to my family. Brett and I are crossing our fingers that Kirsten will match in PA for her residency - we would have lots of fun times together (and that's about our only chance to get one of our siblings out here at this point)!

Goodbye 2007, Hello 2008!

Mom, that post title is for you :) We are back from Italy and have hit the ground running in 2008. I promise there will be pictures, videos and updates of the past few weeks coming soon (when I have a second to breathe). In the meantime, I didn't want to leave 2007 behind without a shout out to some of my favorite moments and memories of the year:

• marrying the love of my life
• having the perfect wedding day - thanks mom, dad, katherine and kari...you were the reason it turned out perfect
• honeymooning in Mexico
• seeing my sister sealed to her hubby - Kyle you make her SO happy!
• spending a few days with my new sisters-in-law at the 1st annual scrapaway (looking forward to upcoming ones)!
• discovering Pinkberry
• Brett's unexpected job offer - it's been a blessing
• Thanksgiving in Vegas - there's nothing like being surrounded by family and enjoying some good old home-cooked meals
• camping in Western PA
• a spontaneous weekend in CT
• visits from Becky & Ben, Kirsti, and Kirsten & Kyle
• starting a new job that has provided more opportunity for growth
• spending a beautiful 8 days in Italy - just Brett and I - and seeing what I've only ever seen in books

2007, you will be missed!

So as not to make 2008 jealous of its predeccesor (I wouldn't want 2008 to start out mad at me), I also wanted to welcome in the new year. You have the opportunity to be just as great! This year I am much looking forward to:

• a little more time with Brett!
• our one-year anniversary (any suggestions on a weekend getaway location for May?)
• celebrating Brett's accomplishments at Penn with the formal graduation in May (along with his parents)
• my sister's graduation from medical school on June 6th (and the birth of baby Gee shortly thereafter)
• a visit from my family in NYC in June - can't wait!
• my brother coming home from the mish in Brazil in August
• a holiday (don't know which one yet) together with all of my family - it's been a while since we've all been together
• finishing "thank you" cards from the wedding...sorry to all those who haven't yet received one...it's not because we're not grateful, just bad time managers and working too many hours in this crazy city
• getting up earlier in the morning to enjoy some quiet time to myself before work (maybe that's one of my resolutions)
• warmer weather in the spring and summer
• waking up next to Brett every morning and enjoying our first full year
• cooking more (I started getting lazy toward the end of 2007 and following the NYC trend of eating out/ordering in)
• learning something new - I'm thinking the violin, what do you think?
• upgrading to a one bedroom apartment (as much as I love our studio, it's time)

Happy New Year!