couldn't have said it better

"Stay happy. Don't cry."

Precious words from a cabbie as I was getting out after a 20 minute ride home of listening to me cry on the phone about the most recent happenings in my life.

congrats, Elisabeth!

and... she's going for the trifecta. The announcement is out - Elsabeth Hasselbeck is preggers with her third child and due in August!!!

Should I send her a congratulations card or just wait outside her daugther's Sunday school class so I can tell her in person?

surprising words from a wise woman

“I mean, I begged God to let me marry two different guys before I met Tim, and I was sure my life was in ruins when I didn’t get either one of them.” - Kathy Keller [yes, TK’s wife]

No matter how wise or godly, I guess every girl is just the same, huh?

little known fact:

schools in the city DO actually close for snow. Today as I was watching the news, I saw tons and tons of school closings scrolling across the bottom of the screen. And then I saw "St Francis Preparatory: Closed", which is the project I'm working on right now. One, I felt very accomplished that I live in New York City and actually knew who one of the schools scrolling across the bottom was... And two, if they're closing for inclement weather, shouldn't I NOT be working on their project during inclement weather?

oh, NY, how i love thee

So I've been a copycat recently on some of my blog postings, but since a lot of you don't read the other blogs I do, I feel that these posts are too good to go unposted. I hope you don't have any copyrights, Pamela, on your blog... however, this could be the best email I've ever received. And the greatest depiction of how crazy this city REALLY is:

"Oh my gosh - so on my way home tonight there was this guy on the NRW platform who had brought down a freaking piano and was playing it. Then there were two people on the L platform dressed up like cookie monster and playing the xylophone!..... THEN there was a guy in a dolphin costume sitting on the train. Like a full-on suit with one of those big character heads and everything - straight from an ocean-like theme park!...Craziest ride home EVER...." - courtesy of LA

I laughed (out loud) for 5 straight minutes after I read this. THIS is why living in New York City never gets boring.

Jen and Barb

I'll probably catch a lot of flack for posting this (ah hmm, LA...) but I love this!

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mystery rose

This morning when I got to work, I found this sketchily lying under my desk... who knows where or who it came from, and why it was put there. And the creepiest part - it was dead. Two other girls in my bay had one at their desk too, and they hadn't the slightest clue why either. I'm hoping someone left it there on Friday afternoon, so it had the weekend to waste away...otherwise I hope it's not some foreshadowing omen of my future at Perkins Eastman. However, LA did have a good point. Maybe the HR department has become tired and stale of the conventional way of doing layoffs, and they've adopted a "Bachelor" style of informing employees...which is good news for me and the others who got the rose - we're safe!

i love you more than ___

Following in the footsteps of LeeAnne and then Katherine, I decided that these were TOO cute not to post... the "i love you more than ___" blog has wayyy too many great ones to choose from!

be encouraged

Galatians 6:9

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

With all the bad going on around us... be encouraged.

Tate's kindergarten class

LA probably won't like this, but I think it's hilarious!

don't sass me

Yesterday, my boss from the summer (when I was an intern) called me to the library and said she had a present for me. When I got down there, she cheerfully presented me with a wallcovering sample in which the name of the sample was "Don't Sass Me". (She said it reminded her of me...don't know if that's good or bad?!) ohhh, but how perfect for the day! I immediately took the sample with me to my desk (with glee), cut out the name of it, and taped it to my computer at my desk to ward off any potential sass-ees... we'll see how well it works today.

face of an angel

if this isn't the face of a true angel, I don't know what is!

This pictures is of Abbey at Christmas (oops, I still haven't posted any Christmas pictures...) and I was talking to Paige earlier about funny Abbey stories and couldn't resist posting this!

thank you, pilgrims

for being able to find this...

I spent the weekend in New England and had the privilege of visiting Plymouth, Massachusetts where Plymouth Rock is located! I don't remember exactly, but it was probably first grade when I first learned the story about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock. Needless to say, I was quite excited about getting to see such a historic landmark with my very own eyes. But, sadly (very sadly), I must say it was somewhat disappointing...

If you look closely (extremely close) behind the rail where Brendan and I are standing, there is a tiny rock with "1620" engraved on it (you can't see the "1620" from the picture). Yes, believe me. THIS is Plymouth Rock. I don't know how the Pilgrims saw this or what attracted them to it, but I am thankful that our country was founded due to the grandeur of this tiny rock-let.

design services for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave

I remember one time one of my professors at Auburn told our class that we shouldn't settle for "fluffing pillows and arranging furniture"...but I'd kill for this job, and I'm pretty sure any other designer would too! Anthropologie? Urban Outfitters? Restoration Hardware? How did I miss this opportunity?!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

However, after watching this newsclip, this project would be a HUGE challenge. A budget of $100,000??? That's it? If there's one thing I've learned in the short time I've worked in this industry, it's that good design services don't come cheap. And I'd guess that Obama's designer would be considered "good" based on his past client record...

tears and miracles

I normally wouldn't describe myself as being the most emotional person out there, but this morning took me to a new level. I was watching the Today Show and they did a segment with some of the passengers on the plane that crashed in the Hudson River yesterday in New York City...and the second they started talking, I burst into tears, uncontrollably. And couldn't stop crying for about 5 minutes. Listening to them talk and trying to imagine the situation they were in and the feelings they had when the plane went down was suddenly too much to bear. Take a look at the clip from the Today Show, and especially watch around the 2:00 minute mark. What a miracle this story is!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

3 things I've learned about living in New York in the winter

1. You need a hat.

2. If you feel warm-ish (relatively speaking, of course) when it is 18 degrees outside, this is not a good thing (probably because you aren't wearing a hat).

3. No matter how rediculous I once thought it was, it is ok to use an umbrella when it is snowing outside.

word a day

I've recently become REALLY interested in learning new words and increasing my vocabulary, so last week I signed up for a daily email called A.Word.A.Day . So far, here are the words I've gotten:

span-new

etesian

ecumenical

pneuma

I'm testing my blog readers' knowledge and vocab... does anyone know what any of these mean???

(if you want to find out the meanings, just click on the word!)

Betty Crocker wannabe

so I spent a lot of my time at home over the holidays cooking (mostly baking) and trying to make my family ooh-and-ahh over my culinary skills that I somehow think I've developed since I moved to New York. However, the truth of the matter is that I simply swiped two recipes from two great friends and just made what I already knew was good from them. Nevertheless, thanks CayK and Anna Curl for sharing such amazing recipes with me to grace my fam with exquisite sweet treats over the holidays!

Puppy Chow, who doesn't love this stuff?!

and Red Velvet Cake Balls

email me if you want either one of these recipes! believe me - they're worth it!!

the awesomest

I found out this weekend that my roommate and her sisters, in their spare time, have made some music videos to songs from a Christian ska band called Five Iron Frenzy. She let the cat out of the bag while we were talking on Saturday (not that it was a secret) and showed me this video, and I am amazed. The editing, the dancing, the scene changes... I can't quit watching it! I have the coolest roomie ever.

Lara and her sisters and all their awesome-ness:

most beautiful window decorations

as I may have mentioned in an earlier post, I LOVE Christmas. So, despite the freeeezing temperatures in New York City during the winter time, the city is a very magical and dazzling place to be...if you're into that kind of thing, of course. Although I'm not a strong advocate for how commercialized and materialistic Christmas has become, I do enjoy (thoroughly) the lights and decorations and sparkles that come with the season. I appreciate them more for their aesthetics and beauty than the fact that they represent Christmas time, but I still love them all the same. In fact, I'd just as soon them stay up all year long...

here is my favorite window display of the season:

(can you guess what store's window this is?!)

blog binge

I haven't blogged in a while, so I'm going to try to make up for lost time, hopefully... enjoy!

Happy New Year!

LeeAnne brought this point up, and I hadn't even thought about it... but am in the exact same predicament she is. This is the first New Year's day, probably in 23 years, that I haven't eaten black eyed peas today... I hope my luck turns out ok for 2009.