Staten Island

Jed's family was in town over Thanksgiving. They really wanted to go to Ellis Island, but we talked them into a ferry ride that goes past Lady Liberty and other main attractions.

Hats off to Bryant Park!

Jed and I took his family to one of our favorite NYC spots: Bryant Park. BP has an ice skating rink for the holidays, and LOTS of Christmas shops...one of which sold HATS. Jed and I both bought a hat to keep not only our heads, but our ears warm as well!

Macy's Day Parade

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving a little bit different. We started off our morning at 5:15am, met friends at Central Park West and 66th Street, and were ready for...the Macy's Day Parade!!! It was SO much fun. I love parades, I love holidays, and I loved sharing it with Jed!

Heather's favorite floats/participants:
Thanksgiving turkey, a girl dressed up as a cinnamon roll, and of course, Santa Clause






Jed's favorite floats/participants:
McDonald's shoe car, the marching bands, and of course, Dolly Parton

Gobble Gobble!

Bring out the fine paper plates and the best plastic cutlery, it's Thanksgiving time in NYC! Ok, so we were a tad bit early this year, but it's gonna be a mad house in a matter of hours with family coming in from all over the country, so we figured we'd do Thanksgiving dinner early while it's just me, Heathe and Hebe in our little apartment.

Heathe did an amazing job...with a little bit of help from her hubby. :) We got a pre-seasoned, pre-stuffed boneless turkey breast from our favorite local butcher that could have fed about 10 more people. We made yummy mashed taters in our fancy Kitchenaid (thanks Sheri!) and topped it all off with copious amounts of gravy. YUUUUUUMMMMMMYYYYYY!

So, in the spirit of the holiday...a Thanksgiving list from yours truly:

Top 10 Things I'm Grateful For on This Day of Giving Thanks:

10. An apartment in New York City that's bigger than a closet
9. A closet in an apartment in New York City that's bigger than a rat hole
8. A view of both the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building
7. Cuban sandwiches and corn on the cob from Cafe Habana whenever I want
6. Banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery whenever I want
5. Two legs that run to burn off all the calories from #6 and #7
4. Ikea for providing all the storage and shelf space with a sleek Scandinavian flare at such an affordable price
3. A brand new family to call my own (even if it is only a 2-pack for now)
2. A brand new wife who's the best any guy could ever ask for
1. A brand new best friend who happens to be the best wife a guy could ask for and the other half of a brand new 2-pack family

Updating

Sorry we are behind! Here are some updates in our lives:
#1. I was a victim of downsizing. I am no longer working at Detica...this is a good thing! I am so excited to find a job where I feel that I am contributing...and, they are paying me until the end of the year, so I am not feeling so rushed to find a job (don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing!)
#2. Jed's brother has been visiting for a couple of weeks, so we have been entertaining him.
#3. We prepared our Thanksgiving dinner last night...we had a great turkey, potatoes/gravy, green bean casserole, stuffing, etc. It was fun to conquer such a feet in such a small area in less than 2 hours.
#4. I made my first attempt at cinnamon rolls...they turned out really tasty but looked less desirable!

Jedders

Reasons why I appreciate Jed
1. He's a VERY hard worker...sometimes I get selfish and want him all to myself, then I remember that PWC likes him just as much as I do...AND, they pay him!
2. He carries the laundry to and from the laundromat...clothes get freaking heavy!!!
3. He's so funny. He makes me laugh all the time.
4. He always has nice and encouraging things to say to me.
5. He rationalizes why we NEED new clothes, with me.
6. He is an amazing navigator...he always walks me through uptown and downtown and helps me figure out how to get places.
7. Because he brought me to this crazy amazing city!

Welcome to Avenue Q!

Our first Broadway show together in the big town! Way funny, way good singers, way loved it.

Run Run Run!!!

Front row seats to the annual ING New York City Marathon...all for the low, low price of, well, living in New York City. Our friends happen to live right next to the spot where the runners cross over into Queens (they run through all 5 boroughs), so we went over there and checked it out. Turns out you see some pretty crazy, and famous, runners...bugs bunny, a carrot, Lance Armstrong (ok, so we didn't see him, but he ran in it...finished in 2.5 hours!!!), uncle sam, and much much more.





PS We're running in the marathon next year

My Favorite Halloween treat of all...

is Jed!

SPOOKTACULAR Halloween

Spooky!!!!


Ok, I may have fibbed a bit in the title...this Halloween we were a bit, ummm, unprepared. Jed had to work later than expected, the costume selection was a little risque, and we just didn't have the spooky spirit that we wanted. We did attend a Halloween party at the Williams family, and we went to the ward party. It was a decent Halloween, so here's to hoping next year is even more spooktacular!


Me and Kelly...loving the treats!



Ghouls from my ward

Around NYC

Here are a few random shots I have taken of things in the city. Things that may be out of the normal in most places, but in NYC, nothing is out of the ordinary...because there is no ordinary!

A clown on a bike...ok, so this isn't so out of the ordinary. This was at the Columbus Day parade















This is Olive crawling in and out of a newspaper stand.










Just a big pink hippo truck