Good bye Beetle

I'm officially a New Yorker. I sold my car to my parents and they left with it on Thursday. It is interesting being without wheels. I have had a car since I was 19. I never thought I would be without a car, but it makes more sense for me to get rid of it now.

My little car was good to me and I will miss it. I will now be joining the groups of mass commuters of public transportation.

Thank you for the wonderful memories!

"Valentino: The Last Emperor"

Last night I had the opportunity to watch this film with my good friend Nicky who was in town for business. After a long walk in a torrential down poor and navigating the subway system of New York we made it to CC Cinema for the 8:05 showing of "Valentino: The Last Emperor". I love documentaries, but this one for me was a lot of fun. Even though you may not be able to tell from my style choices, I love the clothing industry. I love especially the design part. I love it when a piece of clothing lays just right because it has been cut properly and sewn to fit. I love the rich fabric the makes the design look just right.

My favorite part of the film was watching the process of constructing the garment. From sketching to finished product. I enjoyed watching Valentino speak about seeing the dress in a dream then woke to sketch it. He had a group of ladies who were amazing. They sewed everything by hand. I love that. Nothing is more amazing than constructing something with your own hands. Placing the stitch in just the right place so the it looks perfect. The detail they did was amazing. In the film his partner and friend Giancarlo Giammetti talked about how they bought a sewing machine early in the business and it has never been used.

If you enjoy fashsion and get the opportunity, I say take a moment to watch this.

Thanks Nicky for braving the weather to see this with me.

Christmas Day

It is Christmas Day and I am enjoying the holiday even though there is no tree. I am living in New York with my sister in a Jewish house hold. They have gone the extra mile to give me a wonderful Christmas. They cooked me a Christmas Eve meal, and this morning had a stocking hung on the fire place mantle. They gave me wonderful gifts, and had Christmas music playing. They were so very kind to give me a wonderful Christmas.

I am so blessed to have wonderful friends and family who have given me so much joy over the past year. Thank you everyone for a wonderful season!

Messiah sing a long

December 9th, I had the opportunity to drag along a small group of young women from my ward to go to a Messiah sing-a-long. It was at a beautiful catholic church in New Jersey. None of the Young Women had ever heard of Handel or heard of the music. I was so excited, because I have attended for the past four years in Salt Lake with friends. I was worried that I would not be able to attend this year.

My favorite part other than the music is the fact that I can pretend to sing and sing well. I love the fact that there are all of these beautiful voices surrounding me and I can sing as loud as I want without feeling too self conscious. I love following the music and trying to find my place and when I should come in. It is always a challenge, but one I enjoy.

The cathedral was beautiful, the music was beautiful and I started

too early more than once. It was a wonderful evening and a fabulous way to start off the Christmas season.

To the Zoo Quilt

On November 9th I had the opportunity to go to the Palisades Mall and look at a quilt exhibit. The difference about this quilt exhibit was I had a quilt the was entered into the exhibit.

I don't love the quilt, but I learned a lot making it. I want to do another one, but change the pattern up some and work on the color scheme.

My favorite square to do was the birds. I liked all the colors of the birds.

I patterned this quilt after the Central Park Zoo. I was really excited about the penguin exhibit, but it didn't quite turn out like I wanted. One of the penguins looks crazy.

After I entered the quilt I was really nervous that I wouldn't win, but I was even more worried that no one would bid on the quilt at the auction. I didn't place, but I was pleasantly surprised when someone bid $125.oo on my quilt. I had a higher bid than the 2nd place winner.

I was glad I did the project even though it was a lot of work. I found out about the contest at the end of September and began working on it the first of October and the due date was October 31st. I wasn't even close to finishing 3 days before the contest ended so I stayed up for 3 days to finish it. I had an idea of how I wanted the quilting done, but in the end it wasn't very detailed. I was just happy I was able to finish it enough to enter it into the contest. The nice thing was the money raised by the auction went to a local charity.

Maddie and the UltraSaucer

Maddie loves her exerciser, but not only does she love jumping in her exerciser and using it to help her do her daily constitution she loves being out of it. When Maddie is not in the exerciser she loves to climb in it. She will climb throuh it and then try to stand up in it and then she gets stuck. Most of the time she will sit down and climb out, but sometimes she gets frustrated and we have to take out the seat so she can stand up in it.

Election Day

Wow! I am so excited that I was able to witnesses such a momentous event. It was so exciting to see such a historical event take place. I know I have heard so much about Obama not having experience and crap about Obama being associated with radicals. What I saw last night was a man who elegantly spoke about his love for his country and his desire to bring much needed change. I saw a man who really loves his wife and his children. I saw a man who is educated and ready to serve, but humbled by the huge task that lays before him. I was also impressed with McCain's concession speak. He was graceful, and I only hope that those who voted for him will follow suit.

I loved seeing the celebrations of all the people who had voted for him. I loved seeing the faces filled with tears. This was something that the majority of us thought we would never see in our life time. It is possible for a man to be judged by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin.

I did wonder at the contrast of the two different venues that were chosen for the speeches. Obama thanked everyone at Grant Park in Chicago, filled with supporters that flowed into the streets. McCain's had chosen an upscale hotel in Phoenix that look extremely isolated. I felt that McCain's choice was a representation of the Republican party and where it is today. Elitists that are out of touch with the people. I used to be a Republican, but I have been so disappointed with the party that I left. I am proud to say that I voted for Obama.