Fun, Family, Florida

The Florida trip already seems like it was so long ago, even though it has only been two weeks.  Stacy came back with me to New York and we spent a few days having fun in the city.  This past week I started classes again.  I am also preparing for my first doctoral recital, so things are moving along.

Spending time with family on a little vacation was fun.  We had a great trip!  It's so hard to get the whole family together, since we are spread out all over the place, so it was really a special and nice thing to be able to relax and have fun together.  We rented a really great house in Florida.  It had enough space that we weren't always on top of each other (except that I slept in a top bed of a bunk bed, so maybe I was on top at that point, but that's okay :)  The house had game tables that we took advantage of, TVs to veg out to, a big pool and patio, a lake with a paddle boat (which Jared and Alma Lee got caught out in a storm!), and maybe my personal favorite: a hot tub.  And I loved the weather!  It is GREAT to be able to wear sandals and summer tops in January.  That was a nice way to break up the frigid winters I'm used to. I think I may have a calling to be a snow bird.

I think we were able to have a nice balance of "doing stuff" and relaxing.  Splitting up at times, and going as a group at other times allowed everyone to vacation in their own way.  From biking with alligators, shopping for shoes, eating everything in sight, to playing "Bananas" and "Settlers"...we did a lot!

One day I joined the "Brothers with Babies" group and went to the zoo.  I took my camera, of course, and had so much fun hanging out with them and taking pictures.  Joel was my buddy.  He always wanted to "push the button" on my camera.  He got a few interesting shots.  I'd share them, but I don't want him to sue me for copyright infringement when he starts his own blog.  

We each took a spin (or two) on the zoo's carousel!

I really enjoyed getting to spend time with my nieces and nephew.  I wish I could see them more often!  I look forward to one day when all the cousins can come visit Aunt Megan in New York!  I think we'll have a lot of fun....and not get into too much trouble.

And here is a view of our lovely lake after sunset.

It's December!!!

Look who is coming into style:

Red, White, and Blue

Just a moment before it's over, I have to say Happy 4th of July!  Happy Independence Day!  I had a wonderful holiday weekend and was so glad to be able to spend it with family in West Virginia.  I had to come back to New York today, so we did most of our celebrating yesterday.  We had a cookout, ate festive homemade cheesecake, and watched the fireworks in Charleston.  Today I caught a glimpse of the NYC fireworks, but it was through a peephole view down the street. Since I wasn't able to get all the way over to the river most of the fireworks were blocked by tall buildings. Too crazy!  But I heard the booms and it was exciting.

For some reason, which I am not sure of, the Coney Island hot dog eating contest is on July 4th too.  I heard some guy ate over 60 hot dogs in however many minutes it is.  Sounds pretty ridiculous to me.  I wonder if that guy really likes hot dogs.  I wonder if he will take some time off, or will he fire up the grill again tomorrow.... Well, I remember last year I was at Coney Island and saw the original Nathan's hot dog shop.  I ate one because you have to, right?  It was pretty good.  I rode my bike (moment of silence) to Coney Island and had a great time that day.  If you are curious as to what day it was, you can check out the clock on the picture that counts down to the next hot dog contest and do the math.

Dawning of a Decade

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

...and Dad, and Ben, and Dave, and Adam, and Vanna White, and John Travolta, and even Yoko Ono.  What a day!

The 14th

This day is dumb.
I liked it when I was a kid and Dad brought home chocolates in a heart shaped box for his GIRLS!  Where's Dad?

*-*-* 2011 *-*-*

Merry Christmas!!!

Halloween 2010

Usually Halloween kind of gets on my nerves.  I often feel like I'm trying to come up with a costume idea at the last minute.  I don't get into getting ridiculously dressed up and I definitely don't want to spend a lot of money on some costume that I will never use again.  I prefer fancy dressed that I will never wear again...
I also hate that most girls use Halloween as a time to dress (or UNdress) like a skank.  I don't know when Halloween because a licence to go around half naked, but it's just not my thing.  Anyway - let's not get on that path.

I actually think this Halloween turned out pretty well and it was super easy so I am super excited about that.  We had some events at work and I participated in the pumpkin decorating contest.  I did not win, but I thought my Pumpkin Pi was quite clever and nerdy and I definitely get some points for that.

One of the orchestras I play in, the One World Symphony held a couple of concerts over the weekend too.  We had one in Brooklyn on Friday night and one in Manhattan on Sunday night.  We dressed up in costumes for those concerts and played fun "Halloween' like music.  I decided to go a Rosie the Riveter.  I think (and based on all the comments on my facebook pictures) that the costume came off really well.  It was super easy and a LOT of fun.  I love that all I really did was tie some fabric around my head and put on a denim shirt and there she was!  Yay!

CHRISTMAS!

I know we are well into January now, but I do want to take a minute to say how nice my Christmas was this year...or this past year...2009. I am so glad I got to take a few days off work and get away to West Virginia. As I mentioned before, getting the entire family there during the wintery December days was a bit of a challenge, but eventually did work out. A few days late and many reroutes later, Ben and Jen made it from Montana with my new little nephew, Joel. Meeting him for the first time and being able to be around him on his first Christmas was an absolute delight. He is the cutest little thing. This is a picture of when I first met him at the airport. The poor little guy had just had quite a time with his trip, but he seemed to do pretty well. We even had to wait around for luggage to arrive on a different flight. He didn't even cry (he saved that for the car ride home! Yeah!) He spit up a bit on Stacy, but not on me, so I guess he liked me. Not that he didn't like her, but he just respected me more, right? I am the 'elder' sister and he may have learned to 'respect the elder' or something like that. Well anyway, I managed not to get spit up on and I don't mind that at all.

Besides baby fun, Christmas was really nice because of all the normal things...like making men with Stacy. That's always an enjoyable tradition. The stories we tell and quotes we come up with as we roll out, cut, create, and bake our guys get better with each passing year. Mom tried to give us some tips on how to help our men hold together when they started falling apart. She had some good ideas, but it ended up being quite a messy batch regardless. Maybe better luck next time...

Snow Capped Santa

I am thinking that maybe we should move Thanksgiving and Christmas to the middle of the year. Whoever said "Christmas in July" may have had a good idea. Sure, a white Christmas is pretty and we all feel nostalgic when Bing Crosby helps us dream of it, but it sure is a hassle! And that snow that is so beautiful when it is falling creates quite a mess for days (or weeks!) to follow.
I am lucky and I have arrived at my Christmas destination: wild and wonderful West Virginia. I was delayed about half a day due to the weather. After work on Monday night I went to my car and it was completely snowed in from the storm we had over the weekend. Because I live in the city and rely almost completely on public transportation, I had not seen the car since before the storm. I was not sure what to expect, but I didn't have time to visit the car and dig it out any earlier, so I prayed for the best and went to the car. I didn't have a shovel to dig out the car but I thought there was a scraper inside that would at least get me started while I came up with a game plan. Plus I was freezing, so why not sit inside and let the car warm up a bit and start defrosting? I'll tell you why not: because it had a dead battery! So now I need to clear off the car in the dark, freezing cold (wearing my nice work clothes) so that I can try to jump start the car and THEN dig a path to drive out of. Oh fun! To make a long story short, the jumper cables did their job and the shovel did its and I made it out. I did not get to leave that night as I had planned, but I got up extra early the next morning and did the entire drive in one day.

It's good to be here!!!

I hope everyone makes it in... Ben, Jen, and Joel were supposed to fly in on Monday. That flight was cancelled due to weather. They were supposed to catch another one this morning. The last I heard it is delayed. I hope it takes off some time!

So really, what would be so bad with having a major holiday during a month that doesn't get snow, ice, and freezing rain? I make a motion... any takers?

The snow is pretty falling over the city.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Nearly every Thanksgiving of my life I have rolled out of bed and onto the couch to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. As I watch the floats and balloons and listen to the bands a delicious smell develops in the kitchen and slowly takes over the entire house. By the end of the parade I am starving and ready to dig in to a juicy turkey, assisted by mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. I love Thanksgiving.

Well this year I stayed in New York for the first time. Instead of rolling out of bed and turning on the TV I rolled out of bed and went to the parade! It was so fun to see the huge balloons going down the streets. Many of them I recognized from seeing them in past years. Most people who had great spots to view the parade arrived at 6:30 this morning. I left my apartment at 9, so a great spot we did not have. Luckily you don't need a great spot right on the street to see the huge balloons. They are so big and high up that you can see them from several blocks away! Here are a few of my favorites as they pass by. I was jealous of the people in the apartment buildings surrounding the parade. I could see little faces in the windows watching everything pass by. What fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!