Santa Clause is coming...

Okay I'm in New York City, one of the most magical places in the world at Christmas time. I am here for 19 more days during which time I must write 3 finals (really isnt' a lot of time, as I also have internship 24 hours a week and a fiance who I love spending time with)... and some how cram in all of the Christmas-ness I can. Here is my list of desired activities:

1. Walk down 5th Avenue. The windows at Christmas time are supposed to be amazing. FAO Schwartz, Tiffany's & Co, Lord & Taylor, Macy's...etc. 

2. Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Some way, some how, I will see this and I will make Dan come. Just you watch.

3. The Nutcracker Ballet. Not my favorite so it's not crucial, but New York City ballet, come on!

4. Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center. It's the lighting of the tree tomorrow night, I'd like to go but I don't think I can handle those crowds! Dan and I will go another night and enjoy it without being cheek by jowl with a bunch of tweeners. 

5. Ice Skating. At central park, at Rockefeller center... where ever! Very classy and quintessential New York Christmas. 

If anybody else has any other ideas, send them! I don't know how I'll be able to do all of this but, I definitely want to! 

It's beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTMAS!

My friend and old college roommate Rachel the wonderful came down for Thanksgiving!
Friday night we decorated the Christmas tree. Is there a bette thing to do the day after Thanksgiving? nope, definitely not!
Dan is a pyro. He likes to build fires.
Jan has little ornaments with the kids names on them, I got one too! : )
Here's Jan putting some finishing touches on the tree!

I heart Christmas. End of Story.

                                   Well not really end cause I have so much more to say!

I would put up pictures of Thanksgiving, but I didn't have my camera out and so...yeah, maybe I'll post some pics later if I get some from Jan's camera. But Thanksgiving was yummy of course, and we had baby Nicholas to entertain us of course. Babies make everything better. So we had good grubbin' and good family and friends and it was good times all around. 

Then Friday happened. What happened Friday? Well the good things were: we ate Garden Catering with friends which is the preferred way to eat that wonderfulness, Rachel and I got to walk up and down the Avenue and I tried on wedding bands at Tiffany's : ), we got to decorate the Christmas tree and get in the holiday spirit! What was the bad thing that happened on Friday? I awoke with a somewhat scratchy throat and watched my tonsils progressively get bigger throughout the day. I hate my tonsils, they are already kinda big and when they get infected... they get infected. Why didn't mom and dad get them out when I was young and easily mendable? Probably because I always had ear aches as a child and not sore throats...

Saturday. I woke up feeling like absolute crap...at about 3 am and didn't really fall back asleep. It killed to swallow and my lovely tonsils were almost touching as what usually happens when I have throat problems which then leads to problems of eating and breathing and hydrating. Jan, the wonderful future mom-in-law that she is, drove me to a walk in clinic where we waited forever to have the medical assistant take a swab of my gargantuan tonsils and tell me the strep test was "very positive" with an annoying little smile. Then the doctor came in and told me the same thing while checking my ears and breathing (why?) and charging me $230. 

Then we went to the pharmacy which also took forever, but because for 1 more month I am on 2 healthcare plans I only had to pay $5 for my extremely large pills which of course you had to take with food. What's the problem with large pills that you have to take with food when you have strep throat? YOU CAN'T SWALLOW! Jan drove me home as I cried like the wimp I am wishing for my mom and dad to take care of me cause mom would drive me around every where and tuck me in and dad would buy me yummy foods I could swallow and rent movies such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I went straight up stairs and Dan raced up all stinky from playing football with his friends and hugged me tight and told me to get in bed. He then fetched me some yogurt and water and broke my large pill in half which decreased my chance of choking and dying from trying to swallow such a large pill with my tonsils almost touching. 

It was a grand day.

Now I sit here in bed on a Monday after my supervisor told me to "just take the whole day Maddie." When I suggested coming in for a half day. Hopefully I can be somewhat productive as I have 3 very large and important papers due very soon. Not in 24 hrs! but soon : ) 

Anyways, that was long. But I'm feeling better and the tonsils are no longer as large. Hooray for antibiotics!

Charlie Brown

As I avoid homework a little bit more, I sit here listening to the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack provided by Daniel Lawrence who is a total jazz nut and thus in love with the soundtrack. Last Christmas Dan and I discovered our mutual love of A Charlie Brown Christmas and we watched it during finals week on my roommates laptop thanks to youtube.com. However, this year, Dan and I are moving up in the world and he recently purchased the Charlie Brown holiday set. Now we've watched the Great Pumpkin and this weekend A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and I must admit, I fell asleep during both of them. Not that they're horrible but... they are not A Charlie Brown Christmas. 

I love this movie because it reminds me of my daddio who does an excellent Snoopy drawing (which he used to draw on our napkins for our lunch boxes along with a little love note, yeah my parents kick your parents trash like that) and who also loves this movie. Each Christmas we'd watch it and I would love it. Just like mini chocolate covered doughnuts, A Charlie Brown Christmas will always remind me of my daddio and get me truly in the holiday spirit : ) 

When a cold wind blows, it chills you, chills you to the bone...

Some may ask... "Maddie how is New York treating you?" Other's in the know may ask... "How's that wind treating you?" Well my friends I found myself at a complete loss for words as to how bitter and bone chilling the zephyrs of New York are as I hiked to my beloved Trader Joe's and Sweet Julie Mack's apartment. Even with all of this (see below) I was still freezing, mostly because my face was exposed. These winds.... they're gonna be the death of me!

And braids are my new favorite hair style. They keep everything so nice and neat and they are so in right now : ) Just check America's Next Top Model to be sure! 

James and Kohl's, my fave's

Guess what I saw this weekend?

That's right, my lovely James. He was a dashingly handsome as ever, however, the film on a whole was somewhat lacking of the typical James Bond charm and charisma. It was much more akin to the Bourne series rather than my boyishly charming classic James. 

Now...

Guess where I went this weekend?

My happiest place on earth : ) Where I purchase a cute pair of dark jeans, a new black skirt (can you have too many?) and a cute black top with a V-neck (the most flattering neck on any body). That was a nice highlight. Dan and I spent quite a lot of time there. It made me happy. and I enjoy the fact that Dan enjoys shopping fairly well and will beckon me over to ask my opinion on every single thing. It's really quite adorable : )

We also went to his stake conference on Sunday which was really nice. There was a great talk on families and on marriage which I think was poignant to both of us. Always nice to have a reminder of what we're waiting/working towards and what the rewards will be once we get there. Eternity together with our family? Yes please!

Subway Adventures

Tonight I rode home the D-train. As usual it was not crowded (it never is which is super nice) so I plop myself down. Somewhere around 161st St. (I get off at 125th) I notice the man next to me is watching something on his phone. He's hunched over, holding the phone out for the world to see.

What is it I see?

A bum bouncing around.... is that a naked bum?

humm that's kinda wierd...

I go back to reading my book.

glance over again....cause well naked bum! you'd look again too!

Something really inappropriate is going on, on that screen that's what's going on!!!!

Needless to say, my eyes grew wide and I quickly lifted up my book to a strategic blocking position. 

Subway rides... you never know what you'll see!

I update this waaay too often...

What happens the day after an epic all-nighter? 

                    It's 4 o'clock, and I have yet to leave my apartment

I went to bed at 10:30 pm and slept until 10 am

                   I have done nothing school related all day. Watched online TV? yes. Read my current book? yes. Surfed the internet? oh yeah. Eaten chocolate? of course. 

Am I thankful for sleep and the opportunities it affords my body to recupe from the day before and give me energy. YES!

Have I learned my lesson?

                                                                     I certainly hope so. I know Dan was working on a project last night as a result of my episode. At least                                                                                                                                                                            someone learned!