Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The holidays are going by so quickly! My favorite part of the holidays so far has been visiting with my "second family". Yes, I am blessed to have two wonderful, albeit somewhat disfunctional, families that I love with all of my heart. Every year at Christmas I can only spend time with one - something about them being in opposite parts of the world - can't imagine why that would be a problem. I had the most wonderful time catching up, watching how much the kids have grown, playing with all of them, laughing, crying, and eating the most delicious food (particularly desserts). I even had a chance to go see Santa with one of my sisters and her kids. It is so amazing to see the magic light up in their eyes when they sit with Santa. And I even got a hug too! Whoever says Santa is not real - watch out, I might have to *%&#*$ you up ;-)
One look at the kids and it is all very real and we all need a little magic in our lives...

I had a chance to talk to my family and L over the phone - that also meant a lot to me. My parents and my brother's family decorated the tree Christmas eve and then went on to the midnight mass at the cathedral. Both of my nephews sang in the choir for that mass and everyone said it was beautiful. My older nephew really loves to sing and has already been in a couple of operas with his choir - they are really good!
Speaking of additional families - I seem to be getting closer to adding another family in my life. Although it is really too soon to tell, L and I seem to be pretty serious about each other. I really hope everything continues to develop as well as it has so far because I have never been in a relationship as honest and open as this one. So anyway, who knows, maybe there will be a third family in my life afterall...

And tonight... L and I are going to DC for a New Year's Eve party! Who knows what 2007 will bring?
I wish you all a very safe evening and many fulfilled dreams in the new year!

B-day photos

Just a little recap from my B-day... I know it was almost a month ago now but I'm sure you'll enjoy some photos. It was low key but great at the same time. L, R, and S were there... We went to dinner to Mezze restaurant - tappas. The food is absolutely delicious! The best part is that you get to try lots of little dishes - quite a cornucopia of flavor ;-)
And yes, they ordered a birthday cake for me and sang to me... Can you see the happiness on my face for blowing out the candle? It's the little things in life that make us happy huh? You would think I blew out all 34 of them (I mean 29 of course)!

Thanksgiving

Clearly I'm running waaaaay behind with this post because I should be focusing on Christmas now. But I will, I promise. I just couldn't skip Thanksgiving just because I was too busy to post before... So here are some fun photos and memories from the trip to NYC to see the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade.
The morning started off very early for a holiday - we had to go to the parade route and find a good spot. So, by 7am we were around 52nd street admiring how many people are already lining up the streets. Of course, since the first row spots were all already taken, it made perfect sense to satisfy our morning hunger first with a delicious New York bagel - mmm. And it was yummie. Then we found a spot on a corner where we could see the parade pass by. It was very cold and rainy the whole time as you can see from the umbrellas. It took about 30 minutes for the first float to get to us from the start of the parade. That was soooooooo exciting. After the first float, my favorites were Scooby, Snoopy, and Garfield although there were many great ones. The wind was very strong that day so the baloons almost weren't allowed on the parade. Luckily, they were allowed to come through but they were held pretty close to the ground so that there wouldn't be any accidents. That's why some of the baloons look like they are looking at the ground.
After the parade, S and I did some shopping and later in the evening we went to a "fancy" dinner at Del Frisco's steakhouse - yum!!! We also went to see an off broadway show called The Altar Boyz. It was pretty funny... The next day we participated in a lottery for Wicked but didn't win, but then we did the lottery for The Drousy Chaperone and S won two tickets! That was so much fun. The show was OK, although I probably wouldn't recommend spending full price for the tickets. And that night, the NY magic had to end. That city is so much fun, there is so much stimulation all the time and when you leave, it feels like it just all of a sudden ends - you come to a screeching hault. Then you can just sit back and enjoy the memories...
Overall, that was a fun way to start my birthday weekend...

sretan rodjendan Asja!!!

Today is Asja's birthday - my best friend from highschool!

I hope you have a fantastic birthday surrounded by friends and lots of great presents :-) I wish you all the best and hope that all your wishes come true!

Here are a few photos from last summer again... I just can't seem to let go. Plus, this is appropriate since they are photos of my time together with old friends. We had such a great time revisiting some of our times during highschool, talking about our plans for the future, and just goofing off. Most importantly, friends like these never become distant. We talked and laughed and shared like no time had passed since the last time we saw each other. You know that you have a lot in common with someone and that they understand you when distance and time don't really exist. You pick up where you left off the last time and never skip a beat. I really value friendships like these because they are very rare.
So, thanks Asja and Katarina for being my friends for life!
I love you very much!
And once again,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASJA!!!