Thanksgiving: New York Style (part 2)

So where did I leave off? 

Oh yes..

Friday Morning: 

The boy always has grand plans of waking up early, and filling our days with adventures,

whether home in MPLS or elsewhere

However,

His excitement woke him at 5:30am, when everyone else was sleeping.

When I awoke at 8:30am,

he was fast asleep again. 

I enjoyed a piece of pumpkin pie and some orange juice

and went to wake him around 11:30am.

We finally started towards the city at 12:30.

As we drove, we discussed the adventures that awaited us:

which ones were necessities and which ones could be given up if we ran out of time.

The boy and I are opposites in many ways.

He loves sponenaity and randomness.

Me? I love planning and order.

Don't get me wrong, I'm an adreneline junkie

but it's always PLANNED.

However, having been to NYC a few short months ago,

I knew how vital it is to have some sort of game plan.

And God bless him,

We made a game plan for our first night.

We arrived in Queens (where we stayed),

and we immediately hopped on the Long Island Railroad into the city.

I must say, I don't think I could ever not be mesmerized by the skyline of NYC.

The LIRR leads straight to Penn Station

so we hopped off and headed toward Times Square.

What I underestimated was that it was Black Friday

and we were walking 5th Ave.

Quite different than my workday visit in July.

After we checked out the sites a bit,

we headed to Rockefeller Center to see

Top of the Rock.

In my opinion,

it's much better than the Empire State Building.

You get to be outside, and the highest level allows you to see the city without glass walls in the way.

Unfortunately,

my camera doesn't like nighttime

(I keep waiting for a new camera to drop out of the sky!)

So the pictures from Top of the Rock are few and not all the great.

After the Top of the Rock,

we ventured down to the Rockefeller Plaza.

The boy discovered the Ice Skating Rink

So of course we had to go!

I haven't been Ice Skating in Years.

It was wonderful and highly entertaining!

And I'm proud to say, I didn't fall

So after ice skating (which was more fun than it should have been!)

we headed back to the hotel to change and regroup.

Back on the LIRR around midnight.

Now mind you,

We had NO idea where to go out at,

so we headed to the closest bar we saw:

Hard Rock Cafe: New York City

We got a couple Jack&Cokes and chatted up the bartender.

He told us his favorite spots around the area,

so we said our goodbyes and headed out. 

The rest of our night was a blur.

We met some fantastic people from all over Europe,

did some chocolate pretzel shots,

and ended the night at a hookah bar.

Did I mention we didn't make it back to the hotel until 6:00am?

What a night out!

Part 3 Coming Soon to a Screen Near You

Thanksgiving: New York Style (part 1)

So as I shared previously, I had the amazing opportunity to go to NY for Thanksgiving.

Since my mother moved to Phoenix, I find myself less and less inclined to go to WI for Holidays.

She was always my stronghold.

Holidays are...Rough for me.

She was really the person that always got me through them.

So although I did miss my Grandma, Aunts, Uncle and cousins,

I can say that I truly had a spectacular Thanksgiving.

We arrived at Newark Airport around 7pm

rented a car

and began our trip to Lagrangeville, NY

with the boy's mother at the wheel.

Holy Moly.

What a ride!

It was highly entertaining to watch the dynamic between mother and son,

as this was my first time meeting his mother.

We pulled into a long driveway to the cutest big house I ever did see.

Just like the movies.

The house was massive, with antiques all around.

In fact, in every drawer of the bedroom I stayed, 

there were piles and piles of antique jewelry (YES. I snooped!)

Our host greeted us with:

"Well I didn't know you would need supper so I didn't prepare a whole meal!

But I ordered a Pizza.

I also have a whole roast chicken, macaroni salad, BBQ pork, deviled eggs, grapes, rolls, and ham.

If I had known, I would have cooked a meal, but this will just have to do"

...

So you can just imagine what the Thanksgiving dinner was like.

I'm pretty sure it would be quicker to list the food not present than list everything we had.

Simply Spectacular!

Thursday Morning:

The boy and I woke up and took a little exploring trip through their woods.

After that adventure, Our host's brother piled us in the car

 and drove us to The Appalachian Trail (which runs from Maine to Georgia!)

From there, we hiked about 3 miles total and crossed from NY to Connecticut, how neat!

I regret not taking pictures of the insane amounts of food,

but the truth is,

we were drinking a whole lot of delectable wine from the moment we arrived back from our hike

and I got caught up in the delicious food

and the hilarious company.

Upstate New York is simply stunning.

The people I spent time with were charming to the nth degree and I am so thankful for their kindness and generosity.

I have never felt so immediately at home with people I have never met before.

The rest is yet to come...

Chatterings

I am back safe and sound from my adventures in New York.

In one word: Spectacular.


I do believe we managed to do quite a bit despite our pinched time frame.
The boy and I spent 5 whole days together. Non-stop.
At the end of it all, our conversation went a little like this:
Him: "This is definitely the most time we have spent together consecutively. AND, I still like you."
Me: "I still like you too. Guess that means we work well together"

The more I travel, the more thankful I am for my bed. Yup, you read that right.
I absolutely love a good adventure. 2 hours away or 2 days away- I love to travel.
But I adore coming back to my bed, curling up (in freshly washed sheets) and falling fast asleep.
My mom used to always say (and still does): "My bed is my friend".
My take on the quote? "My bed is my [best] friend."


Expect a post filled with pictures and stories.
For now, I'm going to go spend some quality time with my friend, my bed, that is.

Things I Should Be Doing Instead of Writing This Post

Laundry
Cleaning
Dishes
Feeding the cats
Making the bed
Organizing
PACKING.

We leave tomorrow morning for the glorious state of New York.

There are no words for my excitement, really.
NYC took my breathe away the very moment I saw the skyline in the distant fog, sitting on a bus, next to a man who was all too irritated at my obvious excitement.
I desperately wanted to not fall in love with the city.
I desperately wanted to be one of the few who didn't fall rapture to its magnificence.
And then I saw it, and all I wanted was to move there, desperately.
I put it on my bucket list : "Live in NYC for any period of time"
Little did I know that I would be visiting my love again in 4 short months.

And this time, I'm going with someone who constantly shows me that life is meant for living. Someone who doesn't know how to sit still for more than 30 seconds. Someone who gets so excited that he feels the need to dash ahead, living purely in the moment. Someone who makes me smile approximately every 5.3 seconds.

NYC, you're in for a treat :)

Winter Treats

Here's a weird thing about me...

I LOVE to bake
but I don't like to eat baked goods.

The result?
Lots of goodies for my friends and coworkers.

Below are two of my favorite cookie recipes.
I'm thinking that as the winter season continues along, I will post more of my favorites.


Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is simple and delicious. I have struggled to find a Chocolate Chip recipe that I actually enjoy, and this one is good enough to get me to have a whole cookie, not just a bite or two!
To try this creation yourself: Click Here!


White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies (Logan style)

These cookies are summed up in one word: Delectable.
Check out the recipe: Here!
When I made these beauties, I actually sent some out in a care package to a friend and discovered that they get crunchy fairly quickly.
The solution?
Substitute a half cup of Flour for a half cup of Vanilla pudding mix (cooking only type, not instant).
The result is that your cookies will stay softer longer and still have their delicious flavor!

I also couldn't resist the urge to mix in a little honey with the batter and then drizzle a little on top once the cookies came out of the oven. Makes them a bit sweeter, so choose your preference!


Ready, Set, BAKE!

Blessings.

Just a little note to show some love for all the blessings in my life.

In less than a week, I go to New York for Thanksgiving. All Expenses Paid.

I simply adore the city. Every.single.corner. 

December 4th,
the boy and I will have the privilege of seeing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra perform.
Holy Moly, am I excited about that one! I'm also pretty darn lucky to have a guy that loves going to concerts, plays, and cultural events just as much as football games (ok, I'm sure football comes in first!)

Then, a few short days later, the boy and I are attending Cirque Dreams Holidaze! He is especially excited about this one, little boy excited, to be exact :)

After that, it's off to the Wisconsin Dells for me. We celebrate our family Christmas waterpark style these days, due to the fact that I have 16 nieces and nephews and 6 step-siblings. A living room just doesn't hold our crew anymore.

I can't help but feel blessed beyond measure. For all the "things" but also for all the incredible people in my life. I do not know where I would be without them. We humans truly are connected. We truly need each other. And I've been pretty blessed by the group that was given to me.

True Colors

Welcome to me.
A ball full of good intentions and millions of unfinished projects.

I struggle with continuity. I struggle with discipline. I struggle with sticking with it.

I get bored easily. I get distracted easily. I get sidetracked every five minutes.

This blog is already a wonderful example. It started with a slew of entries and then nothing. For two months. Yup, sure sounds like me.

But I'm back at it. Currently inspired by the Christmas music playing on my computer. I know. It's not even Thanksgiving. I normally have a rule- no Christmas talk before Thanksgiving. Similar to my - no Thanksgiving talk before Halloween. I get frustrated with how quickly department stores push through holidays. Using family traditions to market and make money. But I'm succumbing to the guilty pleasure of Christmas music and just calling it holiday music. Because I CAN.

See, throughout my childhood, I dreaded holidays. Dreaded, despised, hated, loathed. Whichever word works to get the point across. It was inevitable that there was fighting, there was anger, and there was always some crying. Actually, more like a lot of crying. I am a child of divorce. I'm a child of a dysfunctional family (although these days, who isn't?!) Holidays were simply a reminder that my life was complicated, messy. My immediate family was chaotic and often treated me much as much older than the little girl I was. I am thankful for the way it made me grow up so quickly. Thankful for the way it taught me how to read emotions. Thankful for the ways it showed me how to pacify people. My communication skills most definitely got their start from spending time with my family. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

The holidays, however, remained a dreaded tradition. Until I moved away and began living my own life. And three years ago, right around this time, I declared that I was taking my holidays back. I was reclaiming these precious celebrations. I was tired of running from my past. It was time to define my future.

And that's exactly what I've been doing since then. Taking back my holidays. I've spent 4th of July alone, hosted an Orphan Thanksgiving, grabbed drinks with friends on Christmas Eve, and ate Lucky Charms for my Easter lunch. I've also started my own traditions- Macy's 8th floor, Adventure behind Minnehaha Falls, baking my own assortment of Christmas cookies, and many more.

I'm looking forward to sharing more holiday agenda items as they happen. I am so blessed and will be spending Thanksgiving in New York this year. I am eagerly (with a bit of nervousness) anticipating meeting my boyfriend's mother. The trip should be filled with plenty of new lessons and learning moments. I really am counting down the days!