December 23

I was lucky enough to have December 23 off work this year, so we decided to do something awesome. We decided to finally take that trip to New York that we had to cancel before. We got up in the morning, made it to Chinatown to catch the bus, and before I knew it (since I slept on the bus the whole way there), we were in New York City. We began our excellent adventure on Times Square where we dined at Olive Garden (yum yum). It was the perfect lunch since it was so cold outside. We had warm soup, breadsticks, and pasta, and we were sitting up high right by the window so we had an excellent view of the goings on outside. We reluctantly left the warm restaurant to go stand in line for discount Broadway tickets. We had done some research about the various plays since you never really know what the discount booths will be selling tickets to. I had a particular preference, but it is a popular show so we weren't holding our breaths for them to be selling tickets. Well, they were. So after standing in line in the FREEZING cold (and not just by my standards, mind you), we got those tickets. We had several hours before the show started, so we headed off for Christmas festivities.

We decided to do a walking tour of the major department stores to see their window displays and the inside of the stores.

Macy's (it really was very cold)

We saw a ton of department stores (probably 8 or 9) and I won't bore you with a million pictures.

On our walking tour, we also made a little stop at the New York Public Library, which neither of us had actually been in before. All I can say is WOW. The inside was breathtaking.

We also stopped at the famous toy store FAO Schwartz.

And, of course, we saw the tree at Rockefeller Plaza... it was huge. I don't think I have ever seen a picture that does the size justice.

This little tour of ours took several hours, so when we finished, it was about time to go see our play. For years and years it has been my dream to see this play on Broadway. We saw...

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!

When I was young, I would borrow the CD from the library and listen to the entire musical from beginning to end and read the spoken lines and some of the stage cues found in the booklet that accompanied the CD. I got a CD with some of the more well-known songs later, which I still have and listen to. My parents saw Phantom on Broadway a few years back and I was very jealous.

Once, a friend of mine wrote on her blog about seeing Wicked. She cried because she was so blown away. When I read that, I thought that maybe she is one of those people who cries over everything. Well, I guess that was pretty rude of me. I didn't cry, but I really thought I might. When the opening song started playing, I was just overwhelmed that I was actually sitting in that theatre about to see that play. Some of you have probably seen the movie adaptation that was made of it a few years ago. I like it alright, but I was disappointed by the guy who plays the Phantom in the movie. His voice is fine, but it's just not Phantom-ish enough. So I was nervous that the Phantom in the play might be mediocre too. Plus I have listened to Michael Crawford sing the Phantom on the CD for years and years, and he is pretty much awesome. Well, the guy who played the Phantom stole the show. He was excellent. So, so excellent. Everyone was very, very good. Oh my goodness. I left that theatre floating on a cloud of awe and bliss. Guys, I loved Wicked, and it's a funner storyline and such, but the Phantom of the Opera is a Broadway classic, and I am pretty much happier that I have seen it on Broadway.

After grabbing a bite, we went to our hostel and slept (or was it all tossing and turning?) on a very uncomfortable bed, but oh well. It was right in Manhattan and it was cheap. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We got up Christmas Eve and made our way back to Philly on the bus. That trip was so fun. Oh my goodness.

Maybe a little festive

Brittney did this on her blog and I thought it was cute so I will follow suit. I will do a post about what we've been up to soon (and we've been having a blast) but here's something festive for the holiday.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Mostly wrapping paper, but some things just work in gift bags.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. Easy to maintain and it keeps giving year after year.
3. When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? I don't think I have a specific date or anything, but pretty soon after Christmas.
5. Do you like eggnog? Yucky!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Oh brother, who knows. I remember these awesome pajamas I got one year, and my sister and cousins got the same ones in different colors.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Zack. He is very particular.
8. Easiest person to buy for? My parents. They get the same thing every year. We make them a photo book.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yeah. I have several things that would probably qualify as a nativity scene. My favorite is a little set that is very colorful.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Meh. Neither really. I sent some out this year because I got almost all the stuff free during my bargain hunting endeavors.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? My great-grandma had a way of giving.... interesting gifts. One year I got this enormous orange ring (I'm not in love with the color orange). Another year, I got this gigantic t-shirt (night shirt?) with a scary angel thing on it. One year we got this movie from her that no one was even remotely interested in. It was years ago. It's still in the shrink wrap at my parents' house as far as I know. It's kind of a running joke and memorial to great grandma. She was a really sweet lady though.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon).
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I feel like it, but early.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't really get this question. Does it mean have I ever regifted? I don't know if I have. Probably, but nothing comes to mind. I have probably actually recycled Christmas presents too. I try to be earth friendly when I can.
15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Hot chocolate. I guess that's not really eating. Turkey maybe. Or that toffee stuff with the chocolate and nuts on top.
16. Lights on the tree? Sure

17. Favorite Christmas song? I love O Holy Night.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Usually we travel, but not this year because of my job.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? yes

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We have a Liberty Bell on the top of our tree. We live in Philadelphia after all.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We usually open 1 on Christmas Eve (often something bed related such as pajamas), and the rest on Christmas.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? That's easy. Winter
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I have gotten an ornament for Christmas every year since I can remember. It's usually something that sort of represents the year (a statue of liberty the year my family vacationed in NYC, a graduation cap when I graduated from high school). I want to carry on that tradition in my own family. It makes for a very sentimental and fun Christmas tree.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Home Town Buffet... or was it Chuck-A-Rama. Hee hee. Ok not really. Don't care really.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?

A big storm

I know I have been neglecting my blog. Sorry about that. December is a busy month.

The pace has slowed down this weekend though as we were slammed by a HUGE snowstorm. We were supposed to drive down to DC to visit my grandma this weekend, but we decided to cancel on Friday when we read the weather report. It's a good thing we did because we got almost 2 feet of snow here, and I think they got even more than that down in DC. It was nasty outside and the roads were TERRIBLE. We only drove a couple of blocks total yesterday, and that was more than enough. We made plans to go somewhere for fun in the afternoon, but after going outside, we decided we would skip that and we rode the subway to the mall instead. Church was canceled today so we have just hung out at home in a terribly lazy state. I am glad that it is my weekend off work so I didn't have to try and brave the snow. We did take some pictures, which I will post later. Turns out that we got more snow in this single storm than Philly usually does in an entire winter. Does that mean we can get out of it snowing for the rest of the winter?

As for this coming week, we both work Monday and Tuesday, then we're taking off for New York on Wednesday for some Christmas fun. Thursday we will cook the free turkey that my work gave me and watch the Grinch (the cartoon one, not Jim Carrey). Friday we are planning on doing Christmas via Skype with the fam, followed by our annual tradition of going to see a movie on Christmas. No, we are not going to pick Avatar. Please don't suggest it. We are excited for a nice holiday week. Now if only it were warm....

Regular shift

This week is my first week working what will be my assigned shift- 3 PM to 11:30 PM. I already have mixed feelings about it, as I do about any of the shifts. I liked 7-3:30 because I got home at a really nice time and could spend the entire evening with Zack, but I had to get up so early. I like sleeping in for the 3-11:30 but I am at work when most events happen. For example, I will miss the ward Christmas party this week. Also, I am home when Z is at work then am at work when he is home. It's all good though. I will just try to make the most out of the shift I have. I slept until 9:30 today. :)

First snow

Dang. I was hoping winter might not come this year after all. It decided to snow today. First snow of the season. Maybe it'll be the last too....

We were supposed to vacay in New York this weekend. We decided it just didn't work out. So we rescheduled for next weekend. Then I got my work schedule and it turns out that I have to work. So we cancelled altogether. Looks like New York City at Christmas time might just have to wait until next year.

New Calling

It was nearly a year ago when I left my church calling working with the Primary kids and got moved into Young Women's. At the time, I waxed on about the change of heart that I had about working in Primary. You can read that HERE. Well, a couple of weeks ago, we had some big boundary changes in our stake, the young women president was moved to another ward, and I was released from my calling with the young women.

This time, I am not going to wax on all sentimentally about how it turned out to be a way better experience than I thought and I am sad to go. I will miss the girls, don't get me wrong, but that was a challenging calling for me, and I must admit that the dominant emotion this time around is relief. It's not because of the girls. They are completely awesome, and I love them to death. It's just that it was a time-consuming and heart-wrenching calling. We were working short staffed for most of the last several months. Plus I didn't top the favorites list of the president. I am ready to move on.

Looks like that opportunity has presented itself already because I am now the Relief Society secretary. Maybe I will end up eating my words later but I am thrilled. I love secretarial callings. I am a paper pusher extraordinaire. Also, I haven't had much of a chance to be in Relief Society since I have been old enough to go. I guess that makes me much less than an expert on the organization, but here's my chance to learn. So here's to a clean slate and a new chance to make a difference.