New York, New York!!! Photos - Part 2

"And I said, what about Breakfast at Tiffany's?" :)

The Plaza Hotel...I will forever associate this place with Home Alone 2, haha.

Coolest toy store ever!!! :)

This would have been a way better pic if I had turned the bottle up and pretended to guzzle the syrup, however, I didn't want to risk getting kicked out of the happiest place on earth (next to Disney World, of course! :)

I really really wanted this penguin, but Mom insisted that I didn't "need" another stuffed animal...so she took a picture of me with it instead. In hindsight...I still want that penguin!!! LOL

Mom with the Steiff teddy bears...I wanted those, too :P

Panda bears are my fave!!! I almost bought one, but again, Mom lobbied against it...I would have spent so much money in that store if she hadn't been there to keep me in line!

Mom playing "The Big Piano"

Indiana Jones!!!

Totally snooping on Captain Jack Sparrow

Central Park Zoo

After returning from our NYC trip, I decided that I need to find the best cupcake shop in every city that I visit...so far I've checked off NYC, D.C., and Richmond....guess I've got a LOT more cupcake shops to find!

Windows at Lord & Taylor decorated for Christmas!

Great spot for lunch!!!

Eggplant & artichoke panini = delish!

Eating NY Cheesecake is obviously a requirement for visiting the Big Apple! :)

I snapped a quick pic of the stage before the show began. Also, we had legit seats...Center Orchestra, 5 rows from the stage...they were worth every penny!

Cheese blintzes for breakfast at Cafe Edison...sooo unhealthy, but oh so rich and delicious! Haha :P

 The most AMAZING show everrrrrr!!!!!!!!! :D

If you've ever seen it, then you understand why it's the longest-running show in Broadway history...props to Andrew Lloyd Webber for being such an incredible playwright!

Based on the number of pics, has anyone figured out the highlight of our trip yet? :)

We already have our tickets for The Lion King when it comes to Richmond in February!

In a New York State of Mind...at Christmastime! :)

First, I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas filled with family, friends, good food, lots of happy memories, and many blessings! As some of you know, Mom and I took a trip to NYC during the weekend before Christmas. It was my first time ever visiting New York and we had a blast! Some of the non-facebookers have been asking to see some pics, so I figured better late than never :)

First glimpse of the city through the bus window...

Super excited to be standing in the middle of Times Square (in 60 degree weather, too! :)

Times Square Disney Store!!!

Grand Central Station

Playing with the lighting of this shot...

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree!

There were SO many people hovering around the tree, it was very hard to get a good picture, but we took care of that at 7:30 the next morning...keep scrolling to see those :)

Alternate view

Okay, my lack of sleep is finally catching up with me...and since it's back to work bright and early tomorrow, I should probably head to bed! Check back for more pics tomorrow!

Night y'all!

Reminiscing over fond Christmas memories

Christmas is almost here, which means that you, like me, have probably been bombarded with the popular question "Are you ready for Christmas?!" Whether it's asked by a teller at the bank, a co-worker, or a friend, it might be intended as a simple conversation starter or as a lighthearted inquiry as to whether you've finished your holiday shopping.  My typical response to this question has been along the lines of "Not yet! I'm a procrastinator and still have lots of gifts to buy!"  In past years, that was probably a fully accurate statement, however, this year, deep down there's a much bigger reason why I'm not ready...Sure, we made it through Easter, and Father's Day, and Thanksgiving, and every day in between. Some days have been harder than others, but we've made it. Now, with Christmas Eve upon us, despite having had 11 months to realize this holiday would eventually come and we'd have to experience our first Christmas without Dad, the reality has set in once again. Needless to say, the whole getting in the holiday spirit thing hasn't come easy this year.  I've tried listening to Christmas music, but eventually that reminds me of Dad and the fact that he's not here. Every time I head out to the stores to search for the "it" gifts that I hope my family and close friends will enjoy, I find myself coming across items that make me think "Oh, I bet Dad would have loved that!" and wishing that he was still here to give gifts to.

As I was wrapping presents after dinner last night, some fond memories of Dad popped into my head, as often happens several times throughout any given day. This time, I was reminded of past Christmases before Dad got sick, and the tradition that he and Jon had wherein they would head out on Christmas Eve Eve (sometimes a day or two earlier if they were getting an early start :) to brave the mall crowds together and pick out gifts for Mom and me. Then, because I was a super duper smooth snooper who always managed to find the gifts when they hid them in the garage...or bedroom closets....or [insert clever hiding place here], they began the tradition of stashing the gifts at the hardware store. Either that night, or on Christmas Eve morning/afternoon they would drive back down to the hardware store to wrap the presents, then would bring them home where they were no longer susceptible to my snooping abilities (I drew the line at upwrapping/rewrapping :P).

Mom and I spent most of this morning and some of this afternoon baking Christmas cookies...I made Christmas brownies and she baked her famous gingerbread cookies and orange balls, as well as snowball cookies. It's a fun (and tasty) Christmas tradition, with the difference being that this year, Dad wasn't here to taste the cookies fresh out of the oven like he always loved to do. Man, he loved baked goods, and whenever I decided to use the fam as my test subjects for my new recipe experiments, he was always a willing guinea pig. :)

Tomorrow morning is going to be tough, there's no question about that....For the first time in my and Jon's lives, and the first time in 35 years for Mom...Dad won't be there when we wake up on Christmas morning. He won't be there to watch and make his typical funny comments when we open gifts. I know he's always with us in spirit, but it doesn't make him not being here in person much easier.

But, my selfishness aside, I'm happy that Dad gets to spend his first Christmas in Heaven with Jesus, Grandma & Grandaddy, and everyone else up there! I'm sure it's amazing beyond our wildest imagination!  And I know he wouldn't want us to be sad on Christmas, so I'm gonna do my best to make the most of it. I'm still looking forward to spending the holiday with family, but it just won't be quite the same. I know many others are also experiencing their first Christmas without a loved one, and my heart and prayers go out to them.

But on a happier note, time to sign off to watch my absolute fave Christmas movie, Home Alone 2, with Mom & Jon! Then, I'm heading off to visit my cousin, her husband, and their adorable baby boy, before going to the Christmas Eve service at my family's church.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a happy and blessed one! :)

JMU has lost one of its finest...

I know it's rare that I post twice within a few days, much less on the same night, but sadly I learned of some unexpected and heartbreaking news earlier this evening and felt compelled to write at least a short post. Tonight, the JMU Nation is mourning the loss of an incredible friend, student, cheerleader, JMU sports fanatic, and all around great guy. I met Nick through mutual friends in the Student Duke Club...we would all sit together at basketball games and other SDC/athletic events. Then, once our group broke off and hosted our own tailgates separate from the SDC, he usually dropped by to hang out with us for a bit before heading to the stadium to cheer. His enthusiasm and school spirit were contagious...at every football game before he became a cheerleader, you would always find him decked out with his whole face painted purple and gold, and wearing his infamous purple vest that was decorated with various JMU gameday buttons. Nick was one of those people who was a friend to everyone...he had an incredible personality and always seemed to be in a great mood. He will truly be missed by the entire JMU community, but we will keep his legacy alive at every gameday...

Nick at one of our tailgates - Sept. 2009

Please keep Nick's family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.

This sudden loss definitely puts things into perspective and makes you realize that tomorrow isn't guaranteed for any of us, no matter how young. He was only 23...I'm also 23.  Here's hoping that Nick's life will inspire us not to waste a single day, but instead to live each day to the fullest, pursue our dreams, and always, always tell those close to us how much we love and care about them. 2011 keeps finding ways to remind me of how very important all of those things are...especially the last one. Even though it's been almost 10 months since Dad died, I'll always regret not being home near the end, and I wish more than anything that I would have been there to tell him one last "I love you," but now I have to wait until we are reunited in Heaven, which will be amazing beyond our wildest dreams, but that doesn't make living life on earth without him any easier in the meantime.  Situations like this just bring those feelings rushing back to the forefront, and while we can't change our past actions, we can adjust our priorities for the future. So, I guess what I'm trying to suggest, in my roundabout way, is to make sure that you invest more time, energy, and love into your relationships and make them a priority over every other aspect of your life...and believe me when I say that I need to take that advice more than anyone else I can think of.

On that note, I suppose I should attempt to get some sleep. Signing off tonight with a heavy heart, and keeping Nick's family in my thoughts and prayers...RIP JMU Jester, we'll miss you, but will see you again someday...

Yay for laid back Saturdays!!! :)

For the first time in quite a while, as this weekend approached, I realized that I didn't really have any plans for Friday or Saturday. Since that's not typical for me, I almost panicked...I mean, weekends have so much potential for fun or productive things, who wants to waste a perfectly great weekend without any plans?!  So, being the spontaneous person that I am, I tried to plan an impromptu trip to D.C./Georgetown...after all, Georgetown Cupcake is now offering their seasonal flavors: pumpkin spice and caramel apple! That fact by itself is enough cause for a trip to D.C.! Not to mention the fact that Georgetown is one of my favorite places to visit and it has been far too long since the last time I was there last February. But alas, none of my Richmond friends were up for the impromptu trip, and since it obviously wouldn't be much fun alone, my spontaneous plan failed. So I was back to the drawing board..

As Friday afternoon rolled around, I decided that I needed to go to the gym after work, no excuses accepted. While I love having a busy social life and wouldn't have it any other way, it often cuts into my gym time. This week was no exception, as my evenings consisted of Halloween festivities, baking pumpkin cupcakes for an office party, small group Bible study/potluck, a movie at the Byrd Theatre, and Sweet Frog, among other things. So, thank goodness for not having any plans on Friday, since it definitely needed to be gym night! And boy did it feel good when my workout was finished!

Today was one of those wonderful, lazy Saturdays where I woke up around 7:15, thought for a split second that I had overslept and was going to be late for work, only to realize that it was Saturday and I didn't have anything going on that would force me to get up out of my cozy bed at that early hour. I finally got up around 9:00ish, did some laundry (so it wasn't a totally lazy day, haha), pulled out my scrapbooking stuff (which now looks like it exploded all over my living room) and finished a few pages. It was a beautiful day outside and I was excited to meet my wonderful friend Christine for brunch (okay, so I did end up making some plans on Friday evening after all, lol). So, I took a nice stroll through the neighborhood and met up with her at one of my fave local spots, DeLux, where we spent an hour and a half enjoying some tasty food and catching up on each other's lives since we last got together.

After that, I made my third trip to the grocery store this week (I should really try to do a better job of planning everything I'm going to need for the week, but just like the rest of my life, I tend to spontaneously decide to make things on the spur of the moment, so it's hard to plan for those moments until they happen. Hehe). My friend Mary's birthday was Friday, but we are celebrating tomorrow so I made her an eclair cake this afternoon, which should be a nice surprise, assuming she doesn't happen to read this post before then, but I think I'm safe. Haha. Then, after more scrapbooking, I tried out a new recipe that was shared with me on Tuesday after I tasted the most amazing macaroni & cheese at our office Halloween potluck, and I decided that I needed to learn to make it for myself. It turns out, the recipe came from a Ukrop's cookbook (which obviously explains why it was so delicious), so I will refrain from posting the recipe here, but I will share a few pics.

My favorite ingredient! Did I mention this mac & cheese has a bit of a kick to it? :)

Ready to go in the oven!

Voila! Piping hot from the oven

After eating 2 helpings for dinner, I can confidently say that this is by far the best baked mac & cheese that I have ever made, and I will definitely be using the Ukrop's recipe from now on! Yay for finding stellar recipes that you know you will rely on again and again!  What's even better is that, in my usual fashion, I swapped out the full fat ingredients and replaced them with fat free or reduced fat versions, yet it still came out super creamy, cheesy, and full of flavor. Delicious and healthified...it's a win-win! :)

Juliana's Crockpot Vegetarian Chili is on the menu for Monday night...I can't remember if I posted my recipe on here last winter after I entered it in the office chili cookoff or not, so I will go browse through my archives and if I don't see it, I will post it at some point during the week.

Hope you are all having an awesome weekend! :)