Christmas in Arkansas, 2011: Gingerbread House Edition

The Structures:

Ellee's and Will's houses are in the front of the first picture - we built them with a sugar paste so they could eat the whole thing when it was over. But the paste was difficult to work with and caused quite a bit of stress trying to make it work easily...so Abby and I reverted to hot glue for our houses - it's just cleaner. I opted to build a split-level home, also known as a tri-level, which gained popularity in the home design business in the 1980s. It's a little plain right now, but it will be a really charming home in just a few more pictures. Abby built a mansion, which is cool, too, I suppose.

Okay, onward.

Our Design Tools:

And the completed home:

And the Details:

Picture Top Left: the Orange Sour Patch Kid is the dad trying to put up the Christmas lights around the house - he's hanging on for dear life. Which is why you shouldn't try and hang lights without a ladder or supervision. Or in the dark, since Picture Right necessitates it being nighttime.

Picture Right: the Doorstep Scene (oo la la). And the yellow dots in the windows are candles.

Picture Bottom Left: a Snowman. I wanted to make him look like a normal snowman, bigger at the bottom and smaller at the top. But it looks something like a snowclown, with its big nose. Whatever.

And the Rest of the Town:

Ellee's Shack.

Will's Frat House.

 The Neighborhood Chapel.

 Abby's Estate.

 It was a pretty impressive neighborhood. To say the least.

Christmas in Arkansas, 2011. Part 1.

Last night, the second night of "Christmas in Arkansas, 2011," Abby and I took her kids on a drive through Regional Park in Pine Bluff, where the city has a surprisingly impressive lights display. I won't lie, it might've been the best light display I've seen in a long time - and it was in little Pine Bluff, ARKANSAS!

I apologize, PB, for not believing that I would find this here. It was AWESOME.

Fantastic start to "Christmas in Arkansas, 2011." Big plans for the next week. Stay tuned, friends.

An Unnecessarily Long Post About New York City During the Christmas Season

I had hoped this year to make it up to New York City before Christmas, so I could see the lights and the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Plaza, and get the general experience of Christmas in New York. But I never really made any plans to get up there any of the past weekends, and suddenly December was come and half-over. So I decided I'd have to plan better (earlier) next year to get up there.

Until two Sundays ago, when I was chatting with two girls I knew and one of the girls, Kathryn, mentioned she was going to go to NYC the next weekend. She finished that statement with, "if you want to come with!" And I said, "yeah, actually I do!" And 5 days later, I found myself on a bus, heading up to New York City.

And it was AWESOME.

(Me and Kathryn on the bus, on our way to the Big Apple. This was the best of many attempted pictures...)

I have a friend going to graduate school in the city there - we had both moved to the East Coast from the West at the same time, so we decided we would have to use this casual friendship we had made shortly before our moves to our advantage. So I called him up and asked if my friend and I could crash on his couch. Turns out, he and his roommates are perfect hosts. Kathryn and I got in late Friday night, and after chatting for just a bit, the boys showed us to our room (one of the roommates, who has his own room, was out of town for the rest of the month, so we got to stay in his room), motioning to the sheets, blankets, and towels sitting in the room waiting for us (and throughout the weekend, they also offered me their shampoo and conditioner for my shower - like, they both offered theirs, trying to one-up the other with their hygiene products - and pointed out the milk in the fridge and the cereal on the counter for us to have breakfast before we left Sunday morning. They were so cute!), so we enjoyed our accommodations for the weekend. It was like staying at a hotel, but with such a better price ($0) than you could find at the dingiest of NYC hotels, and more enjoyable employees.

But where we stayed was, believe it or not, not the highlight of the trip, so I'll continue on.

So we got in late Friday night, but still managed to get out and attack Times Square around 10am Saturday morning.

We walked around TS a bit, then I decided I was beyond famished, so we went looking for brunch. My co-worker had told me about Ellen's Stardust Diner at Times Square, which is where a lot of singers/actors work while they wait to make it big on Broadway. They spend most of their time singing different songs they love, and sometimes they serve you, too. We thought it sounded fun, so we stopped in.

(So excited! And soooo hungry...)

I tell you what - the food wasn't great (I'm pretty sure I've made better pancakes than I ate there, which is saying something) and it took one HOUR to get our food. BUT, while one might complain that we overpaid for just decent food, Kathryn and I saw it as we paid a for lunch and a show - these waiters and waitresses are GOOD singers. And by good, I mean really good. They had an order they went through, with each person singing a song. They mixed in duets and whole performances. And we ended up sitting at a table which was right where the performer/waiters would often get up for the big moments of a song and perform on the backs of the booth seats - that doesn't even make sense, I know. Just look at the picture:

(Did I mention we were seated right where they perform? Yeah, I meant it.)

(Our waitress. Couldn't get us our food fast at all, but she had a great voice, so we'll give her a shout-out here) 

My favorite performance was probably a song from the Lion King (which is not in the movie originally, so I hadn't heard before) - a guy sang the main lead, and our waitress (see above) and another girl with a great voice provided the African music back-up vocals. It was like we were watching the musical itself, it sounded really great.

The meal and show took a good 90 minutes of our day up, but we made up for lost time and walked through the city to the Macy's store to check out it's famous window displays. I thought they were really cool-looking. It was so crowded, I didn't get to just stand and soak them in, and we kind of walked them backwards, so the story written through it all didn't really make it's full effect on me as I read it the wrong way. But I liked the windows - I'm just so impressed with the designers for 1. the idea, and 2. the engineering. It was a ton of marionettes and stuff, everything was moving, and it ended with this interactive feature (that we never would've gotten close to testing out) that allowed you to create your own ornament, I think to be put on a tree Macy's had or something? Anyway, I thought it was really cool.

We also went into Macy's for a bit - and it was packed with people! But it really is huge - we didn't explore it too much, because we didn't really want to get lost and never make it out again.

When we left Macy's, we stalled a little bit in our activities. We had come to NYC with only two places we needed to go - and both were evening activities. So the "day" part of our day was completely unplanned. We tried to think of some other places we thought we should go, but everything was kind of far away and I was getting a little tired, and it was a little bit cold at that point. So we decided to head back to the boys' apartment for a minute, get freshened up and make a better game plan for the evening (like figuring out how to actually get to the places we had planned to go) and perchance watch a few minutes of the BYU/Baylor basketball game one of the boys was so excited about the night before (spoiler alert, BYU lost, but it was a very close game, and fun to watch).

After taking a bit of a break, we went out on our way again for the evening. First, we remembered that we probably needed to eat dinner - the diner food couldn't last in our tummy forever (I was surprised it lasted as long as it did in me...). So on a recommendation, we went to a Cuban restaurant called Guantanamera (or something like that). The service was quite a bit better, but we were too early for the live band and dancing, sadly. But the food was really good, and my water cup was always full, which attention I certainly appreciate.

(I just can't figure out how to make my camera stop taking non-orange pictures in dark restaurants...sigh)

After dinner, we headed out in the direction of Central Park. In a happy twist, we ran into the Holiday Market on Columbus Circle, which was so fun to wander through. I almost got some Belgium hot chocolate, but decided to wait until later, when I was really cold, to get some cocoa (another spoiler alert: I never did get my hot chocolate...I'm so deprived). But I did buy a little something there that was festive and happy.

(All my Christmas decorations are in Utah, and I needed something. I don't think I'll ever not love penguins...)

After we made our way through the whole market, we finally got ourselves into Central Park - for ice skating! It just seemed right. It was so fun! A little overpriced, maybe (what isn't in NY?!), but it felt so festive and it was so fun skating with the city as my backdrop. While we were skating, the rink guards started blowing their whistles, and Kathryn and I looked to the middle of the rink where they were standing - and a guy was proposing to his girlfriend. So sweet. Skating in Central Park = Success! So much fun!

(My eyes look totally creepy, but the picture is mainly so you can note the skates on the feet - evidence! I tried to raise my foot up for the picture, but it seems my balance isn't all the great on one razor-thin piece of metal. Weird.)

After about an hour of skating (with an additional 30 minutes in the middle of it, for the rink to get cleaned and re-iced), my ankles and arches were getting tired and achy - I'm such a wuss! - so we left, to make our way to our next adventure.

Which adventure turned out to be...Rockefeller Plaza! At this point it was about 11pm, and it was good we left when we did, because I guess they turn off the lights on the giant tree around 11:30? That's what the photographers selling their services were saying, at least. We had wanted to go up to the top of Rockefeller Center - the Top of the Rock - for a view of the city, but we just missed the last chance to go up for the night. Bummer! But the plaza looked great. It was also ridiculously crowded, and we also witnessed another proposal (not as exciting to me, it seemed too crowded to get a proper question out to a girl). But I liked the plaza a lot, it was great to see the tree, as well as the other decorations all around.

(Made entirely out of phone or modem wires! I thought these angels were really pretty and unique)

After spending some time at Rockefeller Plaza, we decided it was probably a good time to start heading home. Of course, we weren't quite sure where the closest subway entrance for the subway we wanted to take was, so we just started walking, hoping we'd end up somewhere useful. In our wandering we saw the Bergdorf/Goodman window displays, which were quite impressive, and some other fun holiday art pieces on the sidewalks.

We ended up walking all the way through Times Square again, when we decided just to head for the subway entrance we had arrived from. Along the way, we bought three bags of honey-roasted walnuts and cashews (sooooo goooooood...) and attempted to find somewhere interesting for hot chocolate for me - but I could never make up my mind on whether to go in somewhere across the street or down the road, so we threw in the towel and just went home.

We came home Sunday morning, which trip was significantly faster than the way there. We got home around 1pm, and I walked up to my room and collapsed on my bed for awhile. It was a pretty busy weekend, and it totally wasted me. My energy has yet to re-charge, but we're getting there. And it was totally worth it.

Christmas in New York City was so fun. I'm really feeling Christmas now! Thanks, Kathryn, for being such a fun travel buddy, and for making the decision to go. I'm really glad I got to join you! Now I just need to experience New Year's Eve in New York City and I'll have truly experienced NYC during the holidays. Of course, that idea totally freaks me out (the agoraphobia in me has started my heart racing just thinking about it), but my friend Dave said he'd go with me next year, since he's done it before, and I will only trust my life with someone who knows what they're doing there...so we'll see if that actually happens. Yikes.

But now, all the pre-Christmas activities are over for the year. The parties and festivities I've had the last two weeks rounded out with this trip to NYC. Up next: Christmas with the Frandsens, Arkansas branch. SO EXCITED!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Sometimes Good Things Make Me Want to Cry

I watched this today. It may be the lack of sleep I've gotten this weekend, or that my eyes have been surprisingly leaky these last few months (it happens when I haven't cried in a long while), or that this is just a very sweet 2-minute video that really touched my heart today, but I about cried watching this.

So I wanted to share it with you, and perchance help you to cry as well.

Merry Christmas, dear friends - I hope the spirit of selflessness and charity is alive and well within you, whatever you may believe during this holiday season.



*To learn more about what I believe, check out mormon.org.

Look What Came in the Mail Today!

This happy little present came in the mail today...

...among other goodies from that virtual temptress, Amazon.com.

I'm so excited, I've fallen hard for this book after just 30 minutes of owning it. 

Can I drool just a bit and carry on like a proud parent of elementary school honor roll student about this love of mine?

Brian Andreas has one of the most creative minds I've come across. Thoughts and feelings he expresses through his unique artwork and run-on sentences are so impresses to me. I wish I could capture emotions in just one or two imaginative, run-on sentences like he does. He's kind of become my idol as of late. One day, when I'm all grown up, I'll be brilliant like him.

This is one of my favorite pages - the left-side page was the reason I chose this book specifically, out of his many. So sweet and love-y (the romantic in me breaks through the realist every once in a while):

Of course, the passage on the right side is kind of really awesome, too. I love that one as well. Warning: it becomes slightly difficult to pick favorites after reading for a while. 

Have I mentioned that I love him? Or, more specifically, that I love what he creates? You should really check it out - I think you'll be hooked. I hope you will, at least. Because I have been for the last 8 months...

Yay for the postman bringing early Christmas presents!

Family Time!

3rd big brother Zach was in town last week for his last week of training for work - Congrats to him for finishing succession school! And condolences to me for losing a guaranteed visit from Z every other month...

This is Zach and his family - aren't they cute?! Yes, yes they are. Zo-bot's fancy dress is particularly fetching.

Since it was my last shot to prove what a big deal I am to Zach, I pulled out the big guns and got him into the White House!

I personally think the White House tour is most exciting at Christmas. The rest of the year, it's just a large handful of rooms with pictures of former White House tenants and important people in history. But at Christmas, it's taken over by Christmas decor - the perfect template for the indecisive decorator. They've got everything.

(Me, Z, and the head of Mr. Lincoln. Oh yeah, and some trees. There are just a few of those around here)

You first walk into a tree dedicated to the soldiers serving our Country, where you can write a little heartfelt note of Season's Greetings.A giant replica of Bo the dog comes up on your side in the next room, and festive trees abound - everywhere you turn, another one pops up.

(Note: this is not the real Bo - just a stand-in. Bo's currently on holiday, getting his tummy rubbed)

The Red Room has a tree filled with red and gold ornaments and ribbons; the Green Room has green and gold decor; the Blue Room has blue and silver. The two giant rooms capping the ends of the hallway have multiple trees and nativity scenes, and stars are hung in windows, reflecting the lights all around.

(George Washington Presents: a Christmas tree)

And as you walk through, your basking in the glow of lights and warmth is heightened by the sound of music wafting through the hall and open doorways. The main entrance (which is actually the last room in the tour, where you walk out through) plays host to a choir, a quartet - an assortment of varying numbers of angelic voices, sincerely wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas. Their voices echo and bounce all around you, hugging you with peace and contentment as you stroll through the rooms. And when you make your way to the exit, you stop in front of them, waiting just a little longer to leave, grasping for their joyful refrains a little more, before you walk out, their heavenly sounds settling into the crevices of peaceful memories of happy Christmases.

When you finally step back out into the cold, you turn once more to bid farewell to the bright and cheery home, well lit and comfortable. You take one last picture with it, for good measure, but the light is hard to capture so permanently, and you say, "good enough," as you end up just making sure you at least look good enough and then try not to interrupt anyone else's picture attempts.

(the White House - if you weren't sure. Yup, I'm still talking about that place)

(Honestly, I-Phones are so hard to know where to look when you're taking a picture of yourself...)

Was that winsome and ethereal enough for you?

But it was a lot of fun to go and see the White House during Christmas again (I went this time last year), and to show Zach. It was particularly enjoyable because I wasn't sure we'd get in - our tour was scheduled for 2:30, but we couldn't go until 5:30. I also had to be home by 7:30, so if they let us come in late, it was going to be a tight squeeze if there was any sort of line to wait through. But the stars were aligned right, because not only were the Secret Service very obliging to our extremely late arrival, but there was also no line whatsoever to wait in - we just walked up, cleared all the checkpoints, and moseyed on into the White House. It was fabulous. I like to think my congressional badge hanging from my pocket made some sort of difference in their attitudes toward us, but it's actually quite likely they didn't even notice it...but we'll still pretend like my importance is greater than it really is.

Anyway, it was so great to see Zach, and to take him somewhere he hasn't been yet in DC! Thanks for always making some time for me when you've come out, Z!

(Last picture. promise. On our way out of the Ritz Carlton to go to brunch. That sentence sounds so snooty...)

Oh Hey There, Stranger

I've neglected you, my little blog.

I sincerely apologize.

But it turns out, the Christmas season is not only the most wonderful time of the year, but also the most stressful and chaotic. The holiday activities have been racking up, and I've found my schedule to be quite busy in the last week.

And it ain't slowing down, friends. I've got two work parties, a church party, and a potential trip to NYC on the docket this week. The parties have all required some planning efforts on my part, too, so I'm looking forward to their occurrences (particularly for the church party - my jazzy red dress will be making its debut there!), and to their finales. It will be good to get out of town and take a break for a little while, I think.

Luckily, these events and activities taking up my life have been doing their darndest to fill me with holiday cheer - and by golly, they've succeeded! Last night, I went to a swanky, chic, formal Christmas party at my friend's house - I felt so posh and grown-up, it was weird. A number of tuxedos made appearances at this party, to give you an idea of how we do formal on the east coast (once a year, for the last 2 years...). And Friday, my friend Jillian and I became Christmas Light Hunters, searching the neighborhoods around us for the residences touting the strongest holiday spirit. Sadly, there just aren't a ton of houses that deck themselves out, but we still found some great ones spattered inside otherwise dark neighborhoods. I'd show you pictures, but it would seem that christmas lights don't like paparazzi - they don't cooperate kindly with girls who have very little photography experience and are just trying to get a quick picture...but I've got some great blurry pictures if you'd like to see those.

And tonight, I went to a Christmas concert put on by our church - filled with songs of joy and cheer from all over the globe. We've got a lot of diversity out here, so we had people representing 3 dozen or so countries, singing songs and playing tunes. It was great. Highlight of the night: the Bells at Mt. Vernon - our very own bell choir. I don't know what it is, but bells at Christmas just infuse my soul with peace and joy. We had a slow start, but my Christmas Spirit is burning strong now!

Happy Christmas, All! May the next few weeks be especially merry and bright for you!

P.S. Hopefully soon I can show you some pictures from the Christmas Lights at Temple Square, when I went with my family after Thanksgiving. That was a beautiful kickstart to my celebrating the Season. But I don't have the pictures yet, so...you'll just have to wait.