NYC is magical

So for 4 years in a row I have in some form or another made it to NYC during the month of December and have had the opportunity to see the Magic of NYC during the holiday season.  My first year I took a road trip up and was in Time Square for the whole New Years celebration, this was my first time in the city and I was in HEAVEN!  Ok it was freezing cold with the constant snow and drizzle going on, but there was no way in H E double Hockey sticks that I was going to not experience it this way... The next year I was a resident of DC and my visiting teacher (fellow church member assigned to take care of me and make sure I am doing ok) was Amanda.... I know it was fate ;) She and Shara were planning a weekend up to NYC to shop and enjoy the city and invited me along; I never say no so I went! It was a new experience because we stayed with a friend and took it slower on the touring side of things but spent our time enjoying people watching, eating, shopping, and eating. Last year my girl Jen Jarrett and her now husband Michael Teagle were going to go to NYC to enjoy the city and invited me along again ;) From this I invited Amanda and Shara and then we also tacked on 4 more guests: Angela, Mike, Rusty, and Todd. It was a great time, we stayed in a studio apt which meant there was one bed, a miniature couch and lots of floor space ha ha it was an adventure but once again fun! We all went out to see Nutcracker at the Lincoln Center and that brought a whole new level of Magic to my heart... So amazing! I also saw my first and still only Broadway show, How to Succeed in Business without trying, Daniel Radcliff was staring in it and being a avid HP fan, I couldn't resist so I went with Mike and Jen. (I also went ice skating in Central Park which was another dream of mine).  Each year has given me something new to appreciate about the great city, and this year was no exception to that. Planning to meet Amanda and new friend Emilee (weirdly my 2 sisters names.. spelled the same way) in NYC and stay at another friends house when Amanda called me when I was a hour out of the city and said we couldn't stay with the friend Dayna. I immediately started thinking of how we were going to find a hotel half decent and affordable on one of the busiest weekends of the year... and then Amanda said something about a storage unit.... I had her repeat herself and she actually said, "my stepdad Tim got us a room where he and my mom are staying, the Waldorf Astoria...." (astoria and storage sound very familiar fyi) But yeah, we were going to have the awesome opportunity to stay in one of the most famous hotels in the city, where all the movie stars use to stay, royalty stays, Paris Hilton grew up in, etc etc yeah it was going to be a bit different than any other year ha ha ha 

After us girls met up, we grabs some pizza, garlic knots, and a cab and headed to the hotel (we had about 90 min before we had to be to the Nutcracker so we needed to eat) we pulled up the the hotel and I had a pizza box in one hand and marinara sauce in the other; the door man approached opened my door while I was trying to gather myself, needless to say I didn't have ample time and ended up with sauce all over my coat and bag, Amanda had too many bags to handle, and sweet little Emilee tried to hold us together... arriving like a Class act=FAIL. 

We walked into this lobby looking 

like the newest version of Beverly Hill Billies

and that's being generous ;)

We took a awesome and old limo to the show, had a fabulous time watching the elegance and feeling the Christmas spirit, and then were treated to one of the fanciest dinners I have ever been to by sweet Tim once again.

Tim Lorraine and Amanda on the way to 

Crack or Nuts

Emilee and I in the awesomely lit 

up limo....

Enough words ;)

Mother and daughter could hardly contain themselves!

At intermission, I think it took like 21 

tries to get this picture and I still hate how

I look in it lol

Waldorf Astoria has 1900 rooms/suites

Beautiful view from our window of the Rock

Us 3 chicas in heaven and comfort!

Mysterious dark picture....

Tim and Lorraine= Power couple

 Saturday was a day to do as we wished, we Starbucksed it (a actual verb) and took the Subway to the 9/11 memorial and then walked the Brooklyn bridge. Tim, Emilee, and I did the Empire State bldg and then we all walked over to the Rockafellar tree and time square where we then ate at another amazingly nice dinner... my palate was beyond spoiled! 

Look at those 3 beauts waiting for the signal. 

Emilee's first time on the Subway!

Look closely in the top right corner you will see the

McDonalds' golden arches and then in the left top 

corner you will not a baby grand... yes this is happening

in a McDonalds' site, it was a fabulous dream

The only acceptable drink to have while sitting 

and watching tourists walk all around NYC

What is that bright light in the elevator?

Oh its the Angel Kjersten come down to 

visit during this holiday season 

86 floors up on top ;)

Brooklyn Bridge

Dylan's candy bar

I call this, Stairway to Heaven

Sunday Tim and Lorraine left to DC and us girls spent the day going to little food places we love lol Magnolia bakery, Dylan's candy bar, Serendipity and then met up last minute with Dayna before we trekked it to the fancy bus station back home. Time always flies by way to quickly when in a land of Magic.

Also on the way to NYC I heard the news about the school shooting in Newtown, CT and was brought to reality when the kid next to me leaned over and told me that we were about to pass the town that it happened in. A 20 yr old boy who was mentally imbalanced took his mothers guns and shot her then went to the elementary school where class was in session and opened fire on 2 classrooms, 20 children from 6-10 yrs of age and 6 adults lives were lost that day. The sadness is too much to bear and my heart continues to go out to those who have loved and lost in such a sudden and tragic way. 

#smorgasbord

First night in over a month that I have had the time to sit down and update all my avid readers ;) ha ha Seriously though, this has been a stressful/busy/wild/crazy/fun/exciting/adventurous 1.5 months. I know it may seem like my life is always a random combination of these adjectives but this time it has been such a blur that I barely know where the time has flown... It's a good thing I did a decent amount of documenting because if I didn't then I am not sure I could prove where I have been.

Failed attempt of Waisal, Tiffany's apt with my crap everywhere, 

Orientation book, and Cadbury Christmas balls to get me 

through that first stressful week

So last I left you I had been in Boston for 24 hrs and was almost positive I had secured a place to live... well life is funny and never predictable! Work was cancelled on the 29th because we had a little hurricane named Sandy coming to town so it gave me a day to move into my room that I had secured late Sunday night with 2 of Tiffany's friends, however when I got halfway up the stairs to the attic I was told that they wanted a different girl to move in and I wouldn't be able to move in ;) right..... okay so I continued my search for the next 2 days looking at multiple places trying to find something that would work. On my first day of work 10/31/12 I got a message from a girl who was my first choice of a place to live and she told me her friend John had a room that had opened up, I jumped on it and called immediately and went to look @ the place the next day, fell in love with the fact that I could have a non-commited month to month place close to a metro and for only $700 a month=STEAL!!

Sooooo that next weekend we moved me over to the house which took ~20  min to unload my car lol but man it felt nice to sleep in my own room that Sunday night ;)

The next week I started training for my new job, ordered my bed, slowly set up my room, found a gym I liked, experienced my first snow storm in Boston, and welcomed my boo boo Amanda to Boston for her first time!

TJMaxxin, Anna's Taqueria, Harvard Square

Mt Auburn Cemetery, best view of the city!

We had a great weekend watching movies, crying together, buying me Christmas decorations, seeing some sites, visiting candy stores and meeting up with some friends... needless to say, it was a busy weekend. She sadly left me on Monday morning and I had a few days to build my bed, set up the rest of my room, see a fantastic movie (Argo) in Boston and prepare for my next house guest who was on his way up from NYC....

Found these trunks @ the good will, they work great for 

some storage and for a nice decoration/table 

The finished product! First time I have had my own room 

and decorations up since March ;)

This week I also decided for a few days to hop on the 

Instagram band-wagon and start posting 

thing/people/blessings in my life that I am grateful

for and these are some of them....

Friends, tasty drinks that brighten my days, the 

amazing places I get to live because I am so blessed and my 

family of course!!

Coolidge corner, feels like I take a step back in time 

when i am on this street, love it here!

Thursday the 15th Filip came to visit me, he has been published in previous posts, we met in Mexico when I stopped him in the cereal aisle at the market ha ha he is from Czech Republic and lives right in the middle of Prague!! He wanted to visit in the fall and the one week I knew I had off happened to be for Thanksgiving so... that's when he came ;)

The great thing about Mr. Soucek is that he is laid back most the time but will speak up if there is something he wants to do, so easy to travel with lol well he is a bit of a complainer but I think that's expected with most guys ha We went out to eat the first night and I taught him lesson #1 on being a gentlemen: When walking down a street, a guy should always walk on the street side so that if anyone is hit by the car, splashed with standing water, or bumped into by a passerby... its the gentlemen that it happens too. He caught on in seconds and I didn't have to remind him again!

The next day we worked out and took the T to the North End for a Celtics game, it was Filips' first NBA game!!

Section 5, Row 8 ;)

I am so into the game.... with phone in hand,

how embarrassing....

Oh and Filip is a bit of a paparazzi, stay tuned for

more random pics of KJ

Celtic fans are crazy and great lol

We went to the fresh farmers market afterward and that's the first night I realized he was a keeper... he made a tasty meal for us AND did the dishes afterwards! ha Sunday we hit church for all 3 hrs, I was worried about him but he did a great job, when we were walking out of the church he hushed me and told me he didn't want to hear any more English for a while lol I guess he had met his brain quota for the day... That night he humored me and went to Breaking Dawn part 2 with me, it was a fantasy of a movie and I got the good news that one of my favorite sci-fi books The Host is going to be a movie this next year!!!!

Papa papa razzi...

In Harvard square

 Filip humored

me by going to see Breaking Dawn part 2 ;)

The next few days flew by and before we knew it we were waking up @ 445 AM to catch a flight out to California...

I had a great time with a travel buddy!

what a long day that was lol Filip got his first fresh breath of west coast air outside of a 7 eleven along the PCH south of San Clamente ha he loved it and couldn't understand why I lived in Boston or anywhere else when there was a place like California ha

Met up first with Amanda, Nate, Gavin, and 

Lincoln for dinner then to pick up Dave @

the airport ;)

This was the second time I realized he was a keeper, his grateful attitude for everything never ceases to amaze me and it's contagious. I had done all I could to prepare Filip for meeting a large part of my family, however there are not enough words in the English vocabulary to accurately describe what a spectacle the Evans clan can be ;) *only prayers could help him now*

We had a great couple of days filled with beaches, food, Disneyland, food, billiard games, food, beaches, naps, site seeing, family, food, shopping, beaches, Royal donuts and much more ...

Laguna beach, the kids were wild and ran right 

into the freezing Pacific ocean fully clothed...

rough lesson learned for the little ones

Filip about to make a stupid decision... 

lesson learned,  never trust a Czech

David Taylor the gentlemen helping Rachel to not 

get wet, Filip take note ;)

Poor Ginger boy, Benjamin 

Love this beach, childhood memories ;)

KJ and Bryelle, her first time ever to the 

beach..... I love this little girl!

Some of the Crew on the beach

Thanksgiving day

Disneyland!!!!!!!!!!

Matterhorn, one of my favorite...

Pirates of the Carribean and Haunted Mansion 

all decked out in Christmas garb 

It's a Small World After All..... childhood memories 

Huntington beach

(and the kiddos working on the club house)

Filip does take some nice shots though...

Nate and Gavin, this little boy loves his 

dad to pieces, he can do no wrong ;)

Huntington Pier

At the end of those 3 days filled with family, this is how Rachel and Filip 

felt about a fun with the Evans'.....

Dave, Rachel, Filip, and I took off to San Diego on Sunday afternoon and spent some time on Balboa Island and went to tour a old Navy fighter ship, the USSR41 Midway **I think this was the name** and ate in Old Towne...

Normally Dave is not this funny.. 

clearly Rachel is not amused

but I am overly amused...

Amelia Earhart... fighter pilot ;)

totally distracted listening to the headset/history

of the ship... I am sometimes such a kid

Filip giving the "go ahead" for take off

Amazing shot from Filip again, notice Dave and Rachel

are the 2 shadowed people in the background

behind me while we watched the sunset on the

flight deck

Flight deck on the ship

Filips first In n Out :)

.....needless to say on Monday after everyone else had left, and Filip and I were walking around the top of Hollywood hills, all we could hear were birds chirping and wind blowing... it was like music to my ears, I can't even imagine how fabulous it must have felt for Filip!

Hollywood Blvd...

Taking a shot of Destiny's Child star ;)

Filip loved this corner which was filled 

with a lot of his favorite actors, he was like 

a little kid in the candy store when we got here to 

the Chinese Theater

Hollywood observatory point.

**The Hollywood sign was originally constructed 

to advertise for a new housing development

that could be for people who didn't want

to live in LA but wanted to be close. It's crazy

to me that this is basically a billboard like a 

'Ivory Homes' sign but has been up for so

many decades and is such an iconic symbol ;)

Something about a guy in leather...

Some of my own shots... #HPforlife

and I am standing on Uranus hehehehehe

Venice beach for one last afternoon of

warm California sunshine on our faces

and peaceful sound of  waves and dirty 

seagulls flying by ;)

We had survived a weekend of Evans madness and I this was another time I realized how great he was, this was not a easy task but yet he came out with a medal of honor lol Back to Boston came too quickly, all of a sudden I could count on one hand how much the time Filip had left here and it was lame... We headed down to DC on Friday 11/30/12 and had a great time seeing my Rita and Bud *Bud's family is from Czech Rep* Friday night I was reunited with Jesse (4th honorary member to the trifecta #quadfecta) and Josh, it was a great night of laughter and good times! Saturday we did a Segway tour around DC with Filips cousin Martina and husband Peter, it is honestly one of my favorite things to do in DC (besides the Ford theater tour) 

Out in front of the Capitol getting some

of the history and architectural facts from 

our tour guide.

In attendance: Josh, Amanda, Kj, Martina, Peter, Filip

+2 randoms from Virginia ;)

Backside of Lincoln 

Frontside of Lincoln 

Then the Czech folk took me to a restaurant in over in Shaw neighborhood that is all Czech food :) I was a bit nervous but I had a chicken Snitzel and have lived to tell the tale lol it was really flavor filled and I can see myself liking their food, however it is pretty heavy so it will be important to watch portion control! lol 

The DC annual Christmas party was that night and we dressed up and went to socialize with a bunch of single LDS people in DC. It had such a beautiful message for the holiday season, "It's a Wonderful Life" which they expanded on to say "It's a Wonderful Life because he lived." It was nice to see people, most everyone asked where I had been on vacation to the past month lol I guess I can't blame them for not realizing where I really was...

 ha ha Sunday was a tough day because it was going back to life without signs of another vacation, back to work, back to the cold, back to no friends yet again.... what a rough ride home it was on the plane. I am making friends slowly but surely. There is a girl from work (Gina) who has a great accent and says "Wicked" all the time... Bostonians are really just great! But she has told me she will keep being my friend once we are in separate offices lol so promising! As far as my next travel plans.... I am going to NYC next weekend to meet up with Amanda, plans to see the Nutcracker I also hope to catch a Broadway on Saturday for a cheap matinee.... I am going to check options this week Its crazy to me that this has become a tradition, **this will be my 4th annual trip to NYC for the Christmas season, so strange sometimes when I sit and think about my life, I don't feel like I am the one doing all these great things, it's almost as if I am the passenger in the car and there is some random crazy taxi driver who has taken over... but wait that's me!! :) I am here in town for Christmas and New Years; I have Justin coming here on the 23rd-4th so I won't be alone by any means, I am sure I will have some fun things to update on during that time, always a good time when Mr JT is around ;) 

I will update when I have free time... Promise!! ..... So this blog has taken me longer to post than I thought and it is now Sunday night and I have a quick update from the weekend! Some pics were taken but I don't have them in my possession..... yet ha but I went out to try some salsa dancing on Friday night, I was not pumped to try it because my ability to follow and trust a guy is terrible but I want to expand my hobbies so I went! Havana club is where we went in Central square, there was a hour long lesson prior to the real dancing... this hour saved my life ha the night went mostly well except for one heel spiking I received to my left foot and the Mexican boyfriend, Alvaro I had at the end of the night ha ha I plan to go dance once a month so I can improve and one day actually enjoy it lol Then Saturday was a day for KJ ;) I went to the gym then headed into Boston to see Lincoln ****an amazing movie, I laughed, I cried, I applauded at the end... seriously go see it!!**** then did a little shopping, wandering around Boston Common, sipping some cocoa, and also stopping to read about a few of the one billion statues around the area; I learned all about the Irish potato famine "Gorta Mor" which I had learned about before but I learned that 2 million people came over from Ireland... wow! Then last night I had my work Holiday Gala (legally couldn't have it be called a Christmas Party, but that's what it was). It was a lot more fun than I expected! I took Mike Layton as my +1, the food was great, the people were alright, and the dancing was a the best! I didn't know if people would get up and dance but I think every person in attendance hit that dance floor at some point or another ;) We then went out with Gina and her boyfriend Buster (that's really his name) to a bar and I had a guy come up to me and tell me I reminded him of Angie Everhart, a redheaded super model that I look nothing like but we both have red hair so ok.... ha Church today was amazing, it was the Christmas music program in my congregation and the talent and talks shared were amazing and spirit filled, I absolutely love this season. Lauren Rollins, a new friend in the congregation, made a Christmas music CD mix and I have been jamming that all day long ;) Then this evening I went to another Christmas "Wine and Dine" party that was at a coworkers house... Some people say that I moved up here to Boston at the worst time because of the weather, however I think I came at a great time, it has been a never ending party from one to the next since I came into town ;) 

 Now sadly I need to finish up so I can snooze, hope all of you out there are taking care of yourselves. I hope this finds you all in good health and happy spirits. The season is a joyous season to remember others above ourselves so I hope you take the time to smile at a stranger, give of yourself to someone in need, and most of all remember the Savior Jesus Christ and the Wonderful Life he gave so we could all be here!!