IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

I always LOVE the day after Thanksgiving because that means it is Christmas!! Most people can't wait for Black Friday to shop, I have most of my shopping done so I can't wait for the day after because that means it is officially the holiday season. The Christmas music is turned on, the cinnamon candles burns and the Christmas decorations come out. Decorating for Christmas at our house is a major event- the main floor of our house is transformed. Did I mention that I LOVE Christmas. We have been collection Christmas decorations for as long as I can remember. When I was younger I would get Nutcrackers when I would travel to Germany to see my Aunt Linda and have kept up that tradition when we travel there & Joey has added to the tradition by giving the family a new Nutcracker every year on December 1st. We also have collected nativity scenes and add a different one every year to the collection. We also have several snow globes, Santas and little Christmas trees made out of different things like metal and cloth that we like to put out. All of our coffee table books are put away and the Christmas books are pulled out and read by all of us. All of the pictures on the walls come down and Christmas pictures go up. It is a two day even the decorations take a day and then decorating the tree is the second day. In the middle of the decorating we always have time to stop for a nice warm cup of Hot Chocolate with marshmallows that Addie is a pro at making. I can't wait every year for the holiday season and am always sad when they are over. Like I said "It's the most wonderful time of the year."

OUR 1st THANKSGIVING

We had our first Thanksgiving at home this year. We do every other year with my parents and siblings & up until a few years ago had dinner with the Linebaughs, my mom's side of the family on the opposite year. This year since it was the odd year we decided to have our own Thanksgiving dinner. I prepared as much as I could before Thursday so it would be easier. I premade 3 pies, sweet potatoe casserole, gravy & salad dressing as well as toasted the nuts for the salad. This was supposed to make Thanksgiving easier. There is still so much you can't do in advance like rolls, corn, mashed potatoes and the turkey. Everyone was in charge of different parts of dinner- divide and conquer. Addie preset the table and made name plates for everyone. I premade a menu that sat at each persons place setting. On Thanksgiving day everyone had jobs as well. Joey was in charge of the turkey. Luckily Martha Stewart was on the Today Show showing how to make a moist turkey so we followed her step by step. I made the stuffing & mashed potatoes. Addie made Orange Rolls that melted in your mouth- ask Nicholas how much he liked them or how many he ate. Nicholas was in charge of corn and the drink, which was a cranberry spritzer. Maia made the cranberry salad & had also premade a 4th pie - Tollhouse- delicious. The turkey turned out perfect & moist- I think the four (yes four) cubes of butter that Joey basted on the turkey every 30 minutes helped with that. The dinner ended up being delicious and nice to be home where we could enjoy laying around on the couch watching movies and the traditional Thanksgiving Cowboys Game. I was just "Thankful" that our turkey worked & Macy - the puppy- was happy to eat all the scraps of the floor.

NEW YORK CITY

We had more fun in New York City. We saw a few more shows The Adams Family, Billy Elliott and the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show that stars the Rockettes. I secretly have always wanted to see the Rockettes so that was great. We wandered around Central Park and walked up and down 5th Avenue. We ate at lots of restaurants including our favorite Mexican restaurant, Dos Caminos, where we get the best Guacamole. We also meet our friend Cate who moved back to NYC from SLC. We meet Cate at a fun restaurant in the Chelsea area called 202 for brunch and then did a walk along The Highline Trail, a fun walking trail along an old railroad track.

ADAMS FAMILY

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BILLY ELLIOTT

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I LOVE MUSEUMS & BROADWAY

I came in to NYC to meet Joey on the redeye flight- yes that means I am a little tired. Joey had meetings so I went out by myself for the day after I tried & failed at sleeping. I love the Museum of Modern Art so I walked down there from our hotel. Like usual I get so excited to see what the next painting is going to be I have to try & control myself & not run from room to room. They have so many great paintings from Van Gogh to Monet to Warhall. I love it!! I also got a delicious lunch, blue cheese tart with salad, in the restaurant looking over the sculpture garden. After several hours with a huge smile on my face Joey called and was done without his meetings so I headed back to the hotel.

For the evening we had dinner reservations & tickets to a show with Nat- one of Joey's employees. The restaurant we went to was Cuban and was good but the show was awesome. Getting to the show we couldn't get a cab- rush hour- so we had a guy pull us in his rickshaw. If you think taxi drivers are crazy try this at rush hour- I don't know how we lived!! The driver was pulling in-between cars- getting honked at- then he caught the mirror of a parked van. Yes, it did jerk us to a stop - we had to backup and get uncaught- of course it was on my side & the owner of the van was sitting in it. We did make it to the show and loved it. Sean Hayes played the main part with Kristin Chenoweth and then Molly Shannon was In a couple unforgettable scenes. The play was great but with the few parts with Molly Shannon it was very funny .

FUNNY

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