Thanksgiving 2007

Ahhh...a day off to enjoy with family! A day to reflect and be thankful. A day for...4 AM sales??

Yep, that's right. I even hate to admit it, but I did it. My sister wanted certain hot items, so we rose before even a crack of dawn and headed out. We switched off standing in line to keep warm, meeting all kinds of people, and all clamoring for the same items.

Our trip was somewhat successful, but then required me to have a much needed nap before doing some heavy cooking!

My camera battery died once again (argh!) but my sister cooked a beautiful bird. I am just not a turkey person. I ate my obligatory pieces and enjoyed the surroundings. Susan and her husband, her 2 girls, and friends of theirs all indulged in a great dinner. I made the mashed potatoes and a stuffing recipe with apples and sausage. I didn't overdo, I felt great!
We finished off the night by watching "The Ultimate Gift", with James Garner. What a great movie to watch with the family!

Then, I started to remember Thanksgivings past. You see, I am not much of a traditionalist. To me, the more different, the better! A couple of years ago, I put this into practice with an impromptu trip to NYC for the Macy's Thanksgiving parade!

The rest is told in pictures below...but I have to tell you one part of it in words. After getting into NYC very late on Wednesday, hungry and tired, and not sleeping much that night due to parade noise - the only ones to get up early were myself and begrudingly, Ian. We had to stake out our spot! We tried to hold room for our friends and Megan (NOT a morning girl) but the crowds were thick and our cell phones didn't work to find each other!

Well, Ian and I waited a long time in the cold to watch the parade. I didn't know where my daughter was or if she even was there watching. We couldn't move from our place due to the crowds. When the parade finally started, we were really excited!

Unfortunately...it wasn't long after the parade started that we realized that our spot at the corner of 32nd and Broadway couldn't be a WORSE spot. None of the acts were allowed to perform past 31st street to avoid conflict with the televised portion! I couldn't believe it. All that way and time and waiting...only to watch the parade go by.
A bit disappointing, to say the least...but at least we experienced it in person, right?

Well...after the parade and the mayhem and millions of people...we found our way back to the apartment and finally connected with Molly. The story she told was incredible:

They had all slept in and left the apartment close to 9AM (the parade started at 9). She wandered around and went into a coffee shop to get coffee. Somehow, on the other side of the coffee shop was a door that was open. It was guarded but he wasn't paying any attention...

So Molly and her gang and Megan wandered in...to the GRANDSTAND...and sat down! What an amazing way to experience the Macy's Day parade! Megan reported later about "those girls and their dancing" (the Rockettes!) and the bands and the red carpet...And afterward, how they had all met...Katie Couric...she had asked Molly if she was the store manager she was supposed to meet there!

I am glad they had an incredible experience, but I can't help being a LITTLE bit jealous...I hope my daughter remembers it when she is older!

Enjoy the pictures and stories below.

Friends and NYC

I met my friend Molly right after I found out I was pregnant with Ian.

She already had Zach. After Ian, she became pregnant with twin girls, and then I had Megan. We have stayed close through all these years. We also both love spontaneous travel! Her husband is a firefighter, and not able to be quite as spontaneous, so we jumped in her Honda Pilot and took off for NYC.
That's a lot of kids to try to keep happy on a 10 hour trip.
But we had so much fun and made so many memories!!

We were able to stay in my friend Kyle's tiny apartment for a great price. She had gone away for the weekend so it worked out well. We were worried about where to park, so one of Kyle's friends took the car for the weekend and took it to Boston! That probably saved us about $300 in parking alone.

It was their first trip to NYC. What a way to start! Macy's Day parade, Christmas lights, department store windows. Snow in NYC. I hope it is a trip they'll never forget!

Anticipating the Macy's Day Parade...

We all crammed into the tiny apartment at Herald Square. This was the front of the Macy's store, seen from our window.
All acts performing in the parade were practicing all night and you could hear them all. If we'd been smart, we would have gone to watch THAT show!!

We didn't get much sleep - but headed out and claimed our spot. Note the pile of cardboard to the left - people used it to sit on. This was probably about 6:30 AM, before people were really crammed in behind us.

Here you can see the crowds crammed all the way down Broadway.

The parade arrives after a long cold wait!

Wow, look what 2 years can do. !!
Ian hung in there with me, not crazy about having to wait. We shared bagels and hot chocolate to try to keep warm!
If this were today, I don't think my 13 year old would have gotten up that early!!

FINALLY, the parade arrives!
We had just heard that the wind had blown a balloon and it fell on someone in Times Square!

A pretty cool, long awaited scene!

This was a band from Hawaii. I thought, they must be FREEZING!
As it turned out, later the next day I took the kids down to Battery Park. When we got on the train to return to Penn Station, there was a group trying to figure out which stop to get off at, and looking at maps and such. I offered to help, and unbelievably, it was the band! So the kids and I got to ask them about their adventure, while helping them find their way around. They had traveled a long way and had a few extra days to tour the city. As they got off at their stop, they put shell leighs on Megan, Ian, and me!!! We still have them to this day.

Ohio University Band!!!

I was so excited that a band from our very own state was participating in the Macy's Day Parade!

Too bad they couldn't perform for us. It was Ian's first year playing trombone, so I wanted him to see it in action.
Maybe some other year.

Natasha Bedingfield and...Sponge Bob?

Have you ever seen Sponge Bob at this angle? We thought he was going to hit us!!!

Okay...I know you won't believe me...but since it was so quiet, I saw Natasha Bedingfield coming by and I couldn't help it, I started to sing her songs! "Unwritten" (one of my favorites). Well, the person accompanying her heard me and yelled over to Natasha that she had a fan!! I am not kidding, she waved to me (top picture) and in this picture above, she started "faux" singing the song so I could take a picture and act like she was singing!! It helped ease the pain of missing the grandstand by 2 blocks...

Just a cool float depicting my fav city.

More sites of the Macy's Day Parade

Dora the Explorer made her splash

Mr. Peanut! How cool!

Gives you a sense of the people crammed on the sidewalk in front of the safety gates.

Since the best way to get to know a situation is to talk with a local, Cliff himself was willing to give us some insight on the parade, his time in NYC as a policeman, and living near the city. He was also kind enough to take our picture (previous post).

A few sites before the end...

The Pokemon float...

Mr Potato-Head - in person!!!

Yep. The Beach Boys. Too bad we didn't get to hear them...

Here is the end! At Macy's itself, right outside the apartment where we were staying!

All in all, it was a dream come true to watch this parade in person. Something I had always wanted to do with my kids, but didn't find attainable. It gave me hope that my dreams can come true! On to the next chapter...

Another adventure-filled weekend...

Though the plans took a few twists and turns, Megan and I took a day off on Friday to attend an event that my friend Melanie had invited us to, her son Lane's bar mitzvah. Since I am not an expert on the subject, I thought I would pull an official definition to share!

The added treat that it was held in White Plains, New York, one of my favorite areas close to NYC. Just a train ride away, in fact. So much to tell!

But first, I need to download my pictures so you can get the whole story...


bar mitz·vah /bɑr ˈmɪtsvə or, Ashk. Heb. bɑr; Seph. Heb. ˌbɑr mitsˈvɑ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[bahr mits-vuh or, Ashk. Heb. bahr; Seph. Heb. bahr meets-vah] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation Judaism.
–noun (often initial capital letters)
1.
a solemn ceremony held in the synagogue, usually on Saturday morning, to admit as an adult member of the Jewish community a Jewish boy 13 years old who has successfully completed a prescribed course of study in Judaism.
2.
the boy participating in this ceremony. –verb (used with object)
3.
to administer the ceremony of bar mitzvah to: Our son was bar mitzvahed at the family synagogue.
Also, bar mizvah.
Compare bat mitzvah.
[Origin: 1860–65; < Biblical Aram bar son + Heb miṣwāh divine law, commandment]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Strange animal sighting...

I went for a run the other night with Jenny, and was driving home late, on the lookout for deer at every point. My eye has been trained around here to always be alert for things along the side of the road that glean, look out of place, or seem a different color than their surroundings (after having hit 2 deer).

I was almost home when I saw a shadow begin to dart across the road, just about the same time I was crossing its path.

I got the car to come to a halt in time, and in my stunned silence saw a ...?

It looked back at me. I am not sure who was more surprised. After a few seconds of exchange, it bounded off the road into the underbrush, but never letting me leave its sight.

What was this creature? All I could think of was a bobcat! Weird...
After searching them on the internet though, whatever this was looked quite different than what I found. It had a large body like a dog, but moved like a cat. The face was, well...like what I thought a bobcat looked like!

Are there even bobcats in central Ohio??

It was an interesting encounter indeed.

Megan is now a whole decade!!!

Well, my baby will never again be a single digit!
Nope...Megan is now 10 years old!
Wow...what will the next 10 years bring?
I hope just as much joy as she has given me over the last 10.

Thanks to all who came to help celebrate. One of Megan's favorite things is to be surrounded by friends and family.
So, thanks to Bill, Pat, Melissa, Rod, Susan, Dave, Maria...
the gymnastics team...
the neighbors...
Megan's classmates...

She had a ball!



Steph, Pat, and Susan help celebrate the grand day.

Two whole ice cream cakes! Life is rough.

10 candles! Make a wish!

I could be wrong, but I think all of Megan's wishes came true that day!

And the party goes on...

With deep conversation between Cassie and Emily...over spaghetti!

A new princess to take the scene! Millie, herself!

You could say she was flipping over the opportunity!

All the better as she clapped and received her just applause from the birthday girl!

Ahhh - the festivities!!!

Lots of friends to help celebrate...

Special decorations, aunts and uncles too!

Nothing better than partying with your friends!

And I got a thumbs up on my spaghetti!!

Megan's gymnastics meet

On Saturday, November 2nd, Megan had her 2nd gymnastics meet.
The meet was at the Pickaway YMCA in Circleville. It was an early day! She had to be there at 8AM, and it's an hour drive.
So bright and early, we were on our way!

There were 3 teams competing. There are 7-9 levels on each team. Megan is a level 4 competitor, in the 10 yr old group.



Megan is ready to go in her snazzy leo.

The team lines up to march into the gym after warmups.

I know - it's not Megan. But it's one of her teammates trying out the balance beam!

I am utterly amazed at what these girls can do!

Let the games begin!!

And so, Saturday morning was spent in the YMCA gym.
Each participant had their glory on each of 4 areas - Floor routine, vault, uneven bars, and balance beam.
I was so excited to see the girls in action after all of the hours and hours of practicing!

However, no flash cameras allowed. :(

Megan begins her floor routine.

All the moms have the same shirt to show support for our team.
We don't know each other by first name - just our daughter's name!

Anticipation for all the final scores to be tallied and reported.

Doesn't it feel good sometimes to win!!!!
The Licking County YMCA won first for the allover meet!