Tuesday, November 27, 2012

While You Were Working...

I came clean about a month ago about not having a job for a few months.  A lot happened during that time and I just didn't want to deal with it publicly. (Although LeOra doesn't know...) The company that I moved to New York to work for was a major let down and it never was a good fit for me.  I still love New York though.  Here are some pictures of things I did while I was you were working (either at a desk job or wrangling children).

I visited the Bartow Pell Mansion with Jaylynn one day way up in the Bronx.  It was an adventure getting there.  We took the subway to the end of the line, took a bus for a few miles then walked the rest of the way.  

For my birthday Juliann, Rachael, and Amy were in town.  I could just cry.  I miss my SF friends a lot.

On my way to a job interview one day I stepped into this church  and said a little prayer.

At the National Museum of the American Indian.  Such a pretty building.  I wasn't crazy about the exhibits they had, but overall I'm glad I went.


Statue of Liberty made of seal byproducts.  Thank you, Alaska!

Went to Long Beach with friends.
{this was the only time I went to the beach in NY all summer}

Said goodbye to Karli as she moved back to Utah to go to school.  Boo.

I spent a lot of time babysitting.  When little Oliver fell asleep in the swing, I let him sleep.  45 minutes later he woke up in a panic.  Pretty cute.


Took a tour of St. John the Divine, which is a few blocks away from my house.  Amazing cathedral.

Had some singing/dancing parties in my room when I was in bed. "Let's hear it for the boyyyyy"

Went to the New York Public Library for the first time.  Stop judging me. I've only worked within 2 blocks of this building the entire time I've lived here.  Great building and I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibits they had.

Kirsten got married and her reception was a harbor cruise.  Here we are under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Theodore Roosevelt's Birthplace is a national museum/park in New York and as such, is free.   Check it out.  

Ate at S'Mac with Steph Bishopp.  (and Adam Findley, who I mysteriously have no photos of even though he was at my house for a week)

Took a bus with Robert while he held Kirsten's bridal bouquet.  Yep.

Kirsten & Wil.  Gorgeous.

Again! Steph and Steph.

My roommate, Mala, moved at the end of October and for her going away party we had a 90's dance party.  I got pretty dolled up for the event and took some hilarious photos on my way out the door.

Missy and Paul came to town and I felt like I was in college all over again and I hope and hope and hope that  one day we can live close.  Missy and Paul are just the most bueno.  They came to NY for the 10 year anniversary and shared a room with me for a week. Ha!  Now THOSE are good friends.  :)

Brock came to town.  We played.  It was fun.  He is so excited to be standing outside of Tom's Restaurant!

Grant's Tomb.  Finally went.  Loved it.

I am such a product of The South.  I saw this bust and immediately thought about how mad I am at this man.  He destroyed the South.  Boo.

The Upper West Side is amazing at Halloween.  I captioned this photo "What I looked like that time I rode my bike down 5th Avenue"  Funny and accurate.

Beverly (and Mindy) came to town and we went to the Scandinavia House to get dessert.  There is a tree in the middle of the restaurant.  Cool place - I want to go back.

Bev took some pics of me in Bryant Park.  Yeah, I'm craning my neck, too.  Self, stop posing weird.

Brody had a birthday.  He is just the best; isn't he?!  Also, we are twins.

Thank you, Cafe Lalo, for having Guarana.  Thank you, Guarana, for keeping me awake all night.

I babysat Sam a handful of times over the few months that I didn't have a full-time gig.  I really grew to love that child.  He loves animals and every time we'd read this book with pictures of animals, he would hug each picture.  Here he is, hugging the cat.  Amazing.  I miss him.

Maren.  We met and a few minutes later I knew we would be good friends.  We spent a week together and it was delightful.  Then I find out that she is related through marriage to one of my besties.  I love the small world that we live in.

I got offered a temp job and went to celebrate with Brody and Micah at Num Pang.  Holy yum sandwich.  The corn was good, but not as good as at Cafe Habana.
And then the next day I started working again.  I can't lie - sleeping in every day was not a bad gig.  Also, I was really lucky to be able to spend the majority of my time off with a lot of amazing people.  My roommate was also unemployed at the same time so we were able to spend some quality time before she moved to Texas.  I'm currently working for a private equity firm as a temp...and we'll see if it ever becomes permanent.  For now, the jury is out.  I will keep you updated if that changes.

New York is such an amazing city.  Here is a half-remembered overall list of things that I did in my 2 months off:

  • Forbes Magazine Galleries
  • Guided tour of Grand Central Station
  • The museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
  • Winter Garden at the World Financial Center
  • Rode the tram to Roosevelt Island
  • Morgan Library
  • Grant's Tomb
  • Bronx Zoo
  • Museum of American Folk Art
  • Museum of the American Indian
  • Trinity Church
  • 911 memorial x 5
  • Scandinavia House
  • NY Transit Museum
  • Chick-Fil-A at NYU
  • Riverside Church
  • St. John the Divine
  • Shakespeare in the Park

Friday, November 16, 2012

Halloween in Utah

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  I love any excuse to dress up.

This year I found myself in Utah on Halloween.  Hurricane Sandy messed up my plans to spend Halloween at a Jack O'Lantern festival of sorts in New York with friends.  Instead, I took my sister's 4 oldest kids trick-or-treating and then went on a date.  In Orem.  Go figure.

BBQ sauce, a firefighter, a chef, and a frog. 

These kids threw on costumes in about 2 minutes and ran out the door.  I remember spending so much time getting ready to go trick-or-treating.  I guess I still spend time on my costumes.  The goal for these kids was not to have the most creative costume; the goal was CANDY. (even though my sister spent time on them and they looked great!) 

Daniel was home sick so he didn't come with us.  He is just the funniest.  I love all my sister's kids, but it always amazes me how differently I love them.  



How can you resist that little smiling face?  I spent a lot of time with her when I was home and so grateful for the time I had to snuggle with such a cute little pumpkin.