Mauna Kea

This morning on my drive to work there was a very beautiful sunrise and I was amazed at all of the colors in the sky. There were some of those blown out clouds that caused such a beautiful reflection of color. It reminded me of my trip to Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

In 2002, I was basically given a trip to Hawaii with my friend because of all that we had gone through. It was a also a way to visit a friend who he had spent so much time with throughout the years. We were there for two weeks and because we were staying with a local, we got to do a lot of the things the local way.

One day he drove us up Mauna Kea, one of the highest points in Hawaii. The drive was very scary and very steep, and most people had experienced drivers take them up. Just because our friend was a local, did NOT mean he knew how to drive up this monstrosity of a mountain. It felt as though we were sucking in laughing gas as well because the higher up went, the more giddy we were.

At the top, the sun was shining brightly in the sky and there was an odd layer of clouds that we were looking out over. It was a surreal feeling once we realized that the blanket of white was the cloud layer and we were actually looking down on the clouds. There were a lot of people up there that were feeling ill and even though I felt odd, it was such a beauty that kept me distracted. After a bit of being up there, the sun had started to set, and we actually watched the sun set ABOVE the clouds. It was the most magnificent sunset I have ever seen. The pictures I have are unreal.

As if it wasn't scary enough on the way up, we then had to descend down, in the dark. Let me tell you, I was scared shitless. We stopped about half way down at the visitor center. The other thing that I should mention is that in Hawaii, all of the street lights are this odd yellow color so that they do not interfere with the viewing of the stars at the observatories. At the visitor center we layed in the back of my friend's truck looking out at the stars. It's amazing how many stars you can actually see when there are not lights interfering with the sky. They are so bright and shiny, not to mention, all of the shooting stars I was able to see.

It was a beautiful experience...and that's what I was reminded of this morning when I saw the beautiful sunrise...

STUFFED

I'm sitting on my parent's couch right now listening to all of the wonderful sounds around me. In the dining room my dad, fiance, 2 brothers, and 1 sister are all playing poker (i hardly know her!) and having a grand ole time. I'm not playing because I have to be at work very early and driving my fiance and I home tonight around 11. My mom just got up to start straightening some things up and providing the poker players with some game snacks. I hear the Devils game on the TV (they're winning 1-0) and the little skiers on her winter wonderland set going down the hill. The Christmas tree lights are glowing and it's warm and homey.

Sometimes I really miss hanging out here on a regular basis, but it's so nice to just be home sometimes.

I will admit that I was a little worried for a few days about how the holidays were going to work out, since this year my fiance and I had to figure things out. As stressed as I was, it ended up being easier than I expected and I've really had a great 3 days. It was hard waking up in someone else's house on Christmas morning and doing their tradition, but my family made me feel as though Christmas morning started all over again Christmas evening.

I feel fat and stuffed, but my running regimen will begin again tomorrow (I took about a week and a half off due to my busy schedule). The vast amount of food has been wonderful but so filling and rich and I feel as though I have to de-tox my body.

I'm reminded once again though how fast everything goes, because Christmas is over!! However, next year will be our first Christmas as a married couple :)

And by the way...200 days until our wedding!!

Rocky!!

Last night we went to the movies for the first time in a LOOOONG time together. I really wanted to see the new Rocky movie and I knew that my fiance would want to see it, it would just be fitting time in to go. So, I felt like a kid again and we went to a 10:30 movie.

Anyway, I was very pleasantly surprised with the movie and I really enjoyed myself. The Rocky movies have always given me this feeling inside, they're just these classic sports movies that give me this sense of motivation. The reviews that I had heard before going was that it was a bad movie that you'll love. I've never been one to really critique a movie, I just go and either enjoy it, or I don't.

I felt that this Rocky movie was a good life lesson. There's a lot of dialog in it (mostly with his son) where you feel as though you should never give up on anything in life. It wasn't that Rocky had to prove he was the best boxer there ever was...he had to show that he could accomplish something his heart was set on, because there was still a fight in him.

I just felt as though there was really something valuable you could take away from the movie...

Merry Christmas!!

I am really getting into the Christmas spirit now that today is the last day the kids have school. I still have to work tomorrow and over the whole break, but it's a break from the normal routine. I keep getting this feeling inside listening to Christmas music, looking at the tree, making christmas cookies...I really am getting excited.

However, I do have to be honest. This is my first year making new traditions. I am more than thrilled to be sharing the holidays with my soon to be husband (204 days to go!!). However, part of me wishes I realized last year that it was going to be my last year doing traditions with my family that I've been doing my whole life. I am getting a little choked up thinking about it, however, maybe that would have been worse. This year I will be waking up somewhere new, with a new family, and doing things a little different.

Our holidays were jam packed with tradition. Christmas eve my mom, sister and I would go and get our nails done, and then my Grammy would come over around 3pm. We'd exchange presents with her and then sit down to a great meal cooked by my mom. We would leave for church around 6:30pm which was a great service by candlelight (absolutely beautiful). Then we would drive home (looking for Santa) and my siblings and I would exchange our presents. My parents always made us go to bed (even to this day) by a certain time so that Santa wouldn't have to come too late :)

Christmas morning we always awoke VERY early, even as grown children. We'd all sit in "our spots", go through our stockings, and then one by one, my dad would hand out presents. We couldn't open the present we held until all 4 of us had a present to open, as well as my parents. It was very systematic, but my dad's whole goal was to make sure that it wasn't rushed. My dad would then make a BIG breakfast and afterwards we'd start to get ready for my Grandma's house. Grandma's house would be packed with all of our family on my mom's side.

I do not want to take away from the fact that I am so excited to be spending Christmas with my fiance and his family. But I do have to admit that it's very hard for me this year to realize how different things are going to be and that I am going to miss out on a lot this year that I've known my whole life.

...I guess it's all a part of growing up...

Big Girl

After spending a long day at work on Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised by my fiance when he wanted to take advantage of the unseasonly warm weather and take a walk through the neighborhoods to look at the Christmas lights, and to work off some of the dinner we ate. It was beautiful out, good company, good conversation, and good exercise.

While we were walking and talking, I had a bit of a surreal feeling. We were looking at the different houses, talking about when we would start looking, what we would look for, what was important to us, and where we would want to look for a house. Wow, am I grown up?? We're talking about buying a house!! We are getting married in a little less than 7 months now, so we have been discussing a lot some of the bigger issues. It feels so wonderful to be grown up and know that I am starting such a different part of my life....

Tips for tipping

There's always been a slew of people in businesses that we tip because it's EXPECTED, other areas where people tip because they WANT to, and then places where people aren't sure if they should or shouldn't.

Places I DO tip: restaurants, delivery men (like the guys who carried in our new bedroom set and put it all together), newspaper carriers....

Places I've always been unsure: any service guy who comes to fix something (ie cable being the biggest), the lady who helped me when trying on wedding dresses, the guys who fix your car, the dealership guy when you BUY a car, etc.

Now, the biggest thing is going to be our wedding day....WHO exactly do you tip??
- Maitr'd (no idea how to spell this)
- DJ?
- Photographer?
- limo drivers?

If anyone has any idea please let me know...

Thanks!!

Thoughts from the Weekend

I had such a wondeful weekend the past few days and was sad to see it end. It always makes Monday mornings much harder when you had such a great time. Since I often have to work a lot on the weekends, I don't always have that feeling at the end, but this one was particularly great.

On saturday, my parents had an engagement party for us and our close friends and family at our house. All I had to do was get my house ready, my parents and future in-laws did the rest. It was so wonderful and I had such a great time. However, I was a little anxious at first because our house isn't the biggest and I was worried about fitting everyone. Also, I wanted to make sure that everyone knew each other and it wasn't awkward for anyone. These two problems sort of solved themselves because people starting introducing themselves to each other, and did it without me needing to help. By a couple of hours in, everyone had sort of found a little niche and hung out in their little sections.

Sunday, my aunt and I met in NYC for our yearly tradition of a Broadway show and dinner. This year we saw the Wedding Singer and I had a great time. I can see how it isn't lasting very long on Broadway, but it was a fun atmosphere and I really enjoyed myself while I was there. There's nothing like sitting in a theatre on Broadway. We had GREAT seats, only 8 rows up on the isle.

I've never been a big American Idol fan, so the whole Constantine craze really didn't mean that much to me. However, I do have to admit, that there's a certain air about him that I enjoyed. He's attractive in an interesting way and I enjoyed his presence on stage. At the end, some women paid $1000 to charity in a sort of auction thingy just to spend a few minutes backstage with him. Sounds a little crazy to me, but the money did go to a good cause.

After the show, we went to a little Italian restaurant very close to the theatre. I'm pretty sure it was called Cara Mia. It was EXCELLENT! I can not say that I'm someone who really judges restaurants a whole lot being that I spend a lot of time going to chains for financial reasons. However, I really enjoyed myself and the food was amazing!!

Sometimes it's Just Nice

Last night we started to put up some Christmas decorations so we could be a little festive for our party today. It's not a Christmas party, but it is just a different mood when the lights are twinkling. I was getting so excited with each new Christmas decoration I discovered that I forgot about. I really can't wait to put our Christmas tree, but that's going to be early next week that we do that...

On my way to work this morning I stopped at Wawa to get some coffee and breakfast and witnessed a scene that brought me back to some icidents I experienced working at a bagel shop every summer. One of the older workers there that is usually taking care of the coffee section, came out from behind the counter and was cleaning up a different area. One of the customers came in and they seemed to know each other just from this customer being there on a regular basis. The customer brought in a winter hat with some team's logo on it (not sure the significance, but there must be one) and said "I thought you'd like this....just wanted to say thanks". The employee put down what he was carrying to shake his hand and you could see the genuine gratitude on his face. After the customer left the store, the employee went back behind the counter and turned to another employee and said "look at what one of the customers just gave me!"

When I used to work at the bagel shop for years, I had a slew of customers that I would consider "regular". I got to know them and a lot of times, even though there was a general tip jar, they would slide me something, "just for me". I enjoyed working there because I found it to be fun just to be friendly to people and chat with the "regulars". A few of them went above and beyond to say thank you, and it always felt good just to be thanked...

I smiled when I saw this interaction this morning, knowing what it feels like when someone goes out of their way to say thank you. Don't underestimate the power of a thank you, it really does make someone feel appreciated.