#gratitude14

In November I participated in #gratitude14, an Instagram challenge, and posted a picture every day of something I was grateful for, with the hashtag #gratitude14.  Here is my month with the original captions: 

Starting a day late but here we go with #gratitude14. So grateful to have sisters who know that this Aunt in the east coast needs to see her kids on Halloween! I die.@cyndicannon70 @schternli @hardwaresarah

So grateful for this one. Best roommate ever, and I'm going to miss her as she heads out to LA to take Hollywood by storm. @abbyblackhurst #gratitude14 #day2

#day3 of #gratitude14. Grateful for nights like last night, when a spontaneous game of Truth or Dare happens amidst the demolishing of a pile of candy with some of your favorite people. And you laugh so hard your sides hurt. #mypeople #nycloveaffair

#day4 of #gratitude14. Thankful that my brother Gary's job brings him to my town on occasion. It's the best when I see him. And we always eat great food. :)@melissariding1 #familyandfood

#day5 of #gratitude14. This is the view from my office. I'm grateful for a steady yet flexible survival job. And that it has such great natural light and a fantastic view.

#day6 of #gratitude14. I love fall leaves in a puddle in the rain. And my rain boots. #feelingfall #mahboots #nycloveaffair

#day7 of #gratitude14. Thankful for a moment to take a quiet walk through Central Park today. #feelingfall #nycloveaffair

#day8 of #gratitude14. Thankful for the 3 train. Not kidding. I usually get a seat. And I like having a seat on the train. #2trainisforthebirds

#day9 of #gratitude14. Catching up. Grateful for technology that gives me uplifting things to read on my way to work. Feeling peace on the A train is a beautiful thing.

#day10 of #gratitude14. I'm thankful for a beautiful day and a great view from my office on the 26th floor.

#day11 of #gratitude14. My uncle, Keith Meservy, served in Japan during WWII. I'm grateful for his service, and the service of my uncle Revo Rowley, another WWII Vet. May we always remember those brave souls who have fought so many battles for freedom. #veteransday

#day12 of #gratitude14. I'm sooooo thankful my apartment has hot water. A couple of weeks ago it didn't. And it was the worst.

#day13 of #gratitude14. Dinner with this guy.@jeffreyscott34. We have laughed, cried, and been there for each other. He is the best #soulmate.

#day14 of #gratitude14. I love hot chocolate, especially after a long day when it is cold and raining outside. Last night it was absolute heaven.

#day15 of #gratitude14. I'm grateful for the mountains. I'm happy in the mountains. #happyplace #nofilter

#day16 of #gratitude14. I love Sundays so much, for so many reasons. It is my Sabbath, and I have come to really appreciate and love it. When I get to be home in the morning with some herbal tea with a Fall candle lit it is even better. #peacefulsundays

#day17 of #gratitude14. I lost my first pair just as I was discovering the wonder of hands free calling. I just replaced them a few weeks ago and let me tell you, they have changed my life. It's the little things.

#day18 of #gratitude14. I love living in a city that has such a great music scene. So great that people I love travel to it to perform and I get to see the show and be a #proudfriend. Plus, sometimes my friends have their own tour bus. With their face on it.   @thecompanymen@shawnperucca @johnpreator #wheresmine #byu#nycloveaffair

Catching up with #day19 of #gratitude14. Reposting this great pic of these vintage classics. I'm grateful for them.

#day20 of #gratitude14. I love this building. It's like one stop shopping. I go here to worship in the temple. I go here to also go to church, which is NOT the temple, but in the same building. Today, I go here for some free practice space for an audition. I love this building for all three reasons. #donttellonme #lds #nycloveaffair

#day21 of #gratitude14. I just....love it here.  #nycloveaffair #esb

#day22 of #gratitude14. Donuts with these kids.@meldhoo and @jonpinney. And a photo bomb. Grateful for friends who like to eat. This is for you,@abovethewell. #twinpics #nycloveaffair #feelingfall

#day23 of #gratitude14. This is my bed. It is not fancy in any way, but it does the job. At the end of every day I am happy to see it. And tonight is no exception.

#day24 of #gratitude14. Girl Date with @malagrewal. In which she introduced me not only to the Burger Joint, but to these gems at Trader Joes. They didn't even make it home before being opened. Combined with the great chat, I'd call the night a success. #girlcrush

#day25 of #gratitude14. Got my Thanksgiving card from these monkeys last night. I sure adore them. And their parents. #mynephewsmyheart #niecewithdrawal@schternli

#day26 of #gratitude14. Thanksgiving prep. I love this holiday! #needingmahstretchypants

#day27 of #gratitude14. We really have a hard time taking a good picture. You should see some of the other attempts. But I loved hosting Thanksgiving with these ladies. My life is so good, and I'm so blessed.#thanksgiving #bigsweaterandstretchypants

#day28 of #gratitude14. Grateful for afternoon walks with friends, and the sun that finally came out today.#nycloveaffair #highline #thoseclouds

Catching up with #day29 of #gratitude14. I'm thankful for great nights with friends where I can work out my Whitney Houston. @brookmecham @malagrewal#greatestloveofall #nailingitclearly #nycloveaffair

#day30 of #gratitude14. Gut laughing during a rousing, completely immature round of Truth or Dare. The most thankful for a good gut laugh. #shenaigans

I just realized I bookended my month with two nights of Truth or Dare.  those are the only times I have played that game since I was a teenager.  But I am pretty sure it won't be the last time.

Happy November!

Fall In Central Park, and Instagram Filters Are Cool.

You didn't think I was done showing off New York in the fall, did you?  Because I'm not.  I took these all on two different days in Central Park.  Just a few days apart from each other, actually.  A couple of the pics are repeats with the filtered collages I made, but both versions are too good to not share.  

#nycloveaffair  #feelingfall

So, My Roommate Left Me. We Broke Up.

This girl, Abby, used to be my roommate.  In fact, I have lived with her longer than any other roomate.  Two years.  That's a long time for me with roommates.  I'm not hard to live with, just...noncommital in my housing situations.  At least I was in college.  I never lived anywhere for more than a school year.  Then I got married.  THAT roommate situation didn't turn out that well. ;-)

Anyway, Abby and I met when I moved to NYC.  I totally scored with Karen, our other roommate, and her.  They are both amazing women, and I am lucky to call them friends.  But this post is about Abby so....sorry Karen.  Focus is on her. :-)

I won't say much, but Abby turned out to be a really, really good friend.  We did girls nights together and talked all the time at home.  She tolerated my needing to be up and about in the morning with the good grace of a really deep sleeper.  She was a great listener for all my drama, when I had any.  And I loved to hear about hers.  

Our girls night group was 5, then Carolyn moved.  Then it was 4 for a hot minute, and now Abby is gone.  Now we are 3.  Deb, Mel, and me.  We may adopt someone, who knows?  But I am sad our little group of happiness has split up.  And I really miss Abby.  She was kind of a dream roommate, and a great friend.  But her horizons as a writer are much bigger in California.  (Sigh).  

Love ya, girl.  See you at Christmas.

PS- Now that Abby is gone and Karen is in Qatar for a year, I am the senior roommate.  It's weird.  And I hate being in charge of utilities and rent.  It's the worst.  I miss my girls.  

Halloween Festivities- I'm The Laziest Costumer Ever.

So.  Halloween.  I love Halloween!  I love it for many reasons; it is kind of the kick-off to the Holiday Season, most importantly.  It comes in the fall, my favorite season, so naturally I am going to like it because of that too!  I also love candy, of course, and I LOVE seeing kids dressed up.  When I was married and living in an actual house, my favorite thing was to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters, giving generously to myself, of course.  In short, I especially love Halloween when it comes to children.  

For me, dressing up in costume is overrated as an adult.  I'm just not really into it.  Mostly because I can never think of anything great, nor do I have the mental prowess and resourcefulness to actually make an idea into reality.  People are surprised by this, considering my profession.  But I am telling you- in shows, people put costumes on ME.  I don't have to think them up, design them, make them. I just get to show up and put on great clothes.  That, yes, I do love.  But to have to do all the work myself?  Eh.  Not really my thing.

So, on occasional years when I do actually feel peer pressured/slightly open to being in costume, it's all about the easiest, lowest maintenance, lowest costing solution.  This year was one of those years.  I present to you, Liz Lemon from the TV show 30 Rock.  Ladies and Gentleman, Liz Lemon.  Liz Lemon, everybody.   A button down shirt, blazer, boot cut jeans, my glasses, and a bag of Cheetos.  That's it.  Thank you, Pinterest.com, for the idea.  You are a gem of a website.  

In NYC every Halloween there is a huge costume parade that people get really into.  Anyone can walk in it, so I have a bunch of friends who love to do that every year.  And they really do come up with some great costumes!  As evidenced above in the picture of me, my Brook and Dallin. They both look great, especially Dallin's geisha.  I mean, come on.  That's a great costume.  Anyway,  we had a big group, and tons of creativity, and I loved seeing all of it.

Fat ballerinas?  Brilliant.  Possibly my favorite, in part because it was just a fat suit Lisa and Stephanie put on over their clothes.  My kind of costume. :-)

Well, some went off to walk in the parade, and some of us actually just went to dinner.  I was definitely in the dinner group, and felt great about it.  I didn't feel the need for the parade marching.  A lot more peer pressure will have to be applied before I do that.  (When did I get to be such an old woman??)

So we ate dinner and then went to St. John the Divine, the largest cathedral on the east coast, and of course it is right here in NYC.  

The celebration was called the Procession of the Ghouls.  We watched the 1926 silent version of Phantom of the Opera with a huge organ playing throughout, and then a parade started, with really creepy music playing, of ghouls.  It was so cool!  

I can't really describe it, and I couldn't really even tell you the definition of a ghoul, but I hope the pics do some justice.  It was a fascinating night.  

We ended up at a diner where I made a new friend....I don't know that there is any need for an explanation, except to say, Sexy Bunny.   Just that.

Laughing so hard we can barely take the picture, you know.  Par for the course.

The BEST part of Halloween was getting pictures like this sent to me from sisters who knew I would want to see my kiddies!  Love them!  

Happy Halloween!