Listen Up Old Man Winter

My inner child is dying for a snow storm. My boots are ready. I want that "school is closed" phone call. I want to hear kids sledding in Central Park and snow plows scraping the streets (leaving many frustrated drivers digging out). I need an excuse to bundle up on the couch with hot chocolate and movies. I want it to feel like winter.
So far all NYC has experienced are storm warnings that pass, cold rains, and a few sprinkles. And creepier still, 60 degree days. My hope is not gone. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and snow pants ready for a late January/early February Noreastern. Bring it on winter.

(these pictures are from 2005. i 'm on the steps of the MET and jason & i are in front of the Alice in Wonderland statue)

Welcome 2008

jason and i left for utah a few days after christmas. even though we didn't get the first class ticket upgrades we were hoping for, we did attend the annual neck-n-nog, slept in, mastered (at least jason did) guitar hero, skied, played catchphrase, got christmas pajamas, tried bootcamp--once was enough, spent time with family, went to a jazz game, played wii sports and had wingers, cafe rio, and mom G's amazing cooking.

jeff (dressed to the 9s for the neck-n-nog) rocked out, while standing very still on guitar hero.

that's jason and john playing wii tennis. check out that serve!

doing errands we saw one of dad's trucks. electrical wholesale is everywhere!

jill helped jason pick out glasses. i think he seriously wanted these...

but he settled for these.

Christmas in New York

The house was full of family and friends for Christmas eve dinner. We dined on the traditional stuffed artichokes, Italian fish dishes, and delish desserts. When my mom put these cannolis on the table, a hushed "ohhhh" was heard from my dad. Yum!

Noelle made adorable personalized cards for our cousins Adam and Hope. Adam's looked like steak and Hope's looked exactly like her dog! Noelle is so darn cute!

Welcoming the Christmas Season

December was a perfect ending to a fabulous year. Jason and I attended holiday parties, seasonal sings, and enjoyed time with our families. The first two weeks of the month, Angelique was here from CA. Noelle joined us so we could all be together for "Christmas" just not on the 25th. There was also the annual Nicolai family Christmas party.

On our way to Wondee Siam 2--best Thai in NYC. Angelique spent a weekend with us...we shopped, relaxed, socialized, and ate. We don't even have to ask, whenever she's in town we dine at WDS2.

Picking out the Christmas tree. After a briefer than usual debate (because only one of the two major debaters, Noelle and Frank, were there) we found a truly perfect tree.

But it wasn't all perfect. Under Jason and Angelique's watchful eyes, Noelle and I rolled down the windows for the tree to be secured onto the car. Nothing seemed odd until we went to leave and realized we had tied all the doors shut. After we stopped laughing, Jason had to climb in and out.

Nicolais Christmas. A wonderful morning of gift giving and getting. Jason and I both got new coats (you may have noticed I got to wear mine early). And we almost have enough of our china place settings. Mom got dad the biggest flat screen i've seen...now it's the 60'focal point in our family room.

Ear Candling is one of our holiday traditions. You wouldn't believe how clear and light your head feels afterwards.

this much i know is true

a. my husband loves golfing, so he goes on trips with his buddies to practice.

b. everything tastes better covered in butter. throw caution and cholesterol to the wind because it does! especially rice cakes.

c. i love teaching but not the prep, planning, and business aspects.

d. life is better with sisters. especially sisters who snag you skinny jeans just because they're on sale for a rediculously low price and sisters who will you medical advice, even though they don't want to, because they know it will calm you.

e. 60 degree weather in new york this time of year is creepy. where are our blizzards already?

f. i do not like to edit, i do not like capitalizing when i write, but i do like "...". they compliment my thinking.

g. this weekend i am post all my wonderful holiday pictures--i know it!

it all started four years ago

four years ago i graduated from college and moved back to NYC from MD. my boyfriend, mike, came to visit and introduced me to a small sketch comedy group--The Upright Citizens Brigade. things with mike didn't work out but things with me and UCB couldn't be better. if you've visited in the past 4 years, i've probably taken you there or at least put that on the menu of options.

in this dinky underground theater, where tickets range from $5-8 dollars, The Stepfathers quickly became our (Jason's hooked too) favorite group. we get excited when we see one of the actors pop up on a commercial and come up with fun "starters" to shout out in the beginning of each performance (ours usually aren't loud enough to be picked).

in early december while shopping in j.crew, i see this guy (jason already saw him) have one of those instant recognition moments. john mayer? no. the after school piano teacher at Dalton? nope. and then jason whispers, "that guy is in Stepfathers". ah ha! we watch for a minute from behind a pile of sweatshirts and then i say, "i want a picture with him." feeling a little jittery, i begin my approach and his phone rings. i fade away as he takes the call. a few moments later, i nervously walk over and giggle some lame quasi pick up line, "people probably ask you this all the time but are you a stepfather." we made some pleasantries; he's zach, i'm erica, this is jason. i asked for a picture with him and he said next time we are there to say hello.

he was flattered. he said so himself. that probably had something to do with me saying, "we're your biggest fans." what does that mean? all i know is i left j.crew with this picture and that cute dress i was holding.

Blogger's Guilt

One of my bad teenage habits was starting journals, writing a dozen entries, and quickly tapering off. There was no legitimate reason; no writer's block, lost diaries, or broken fingers. And then each time I'd glance at the cute cover, you know--flowery fields or colorful patters, the guilt pangs would strike, worsening when I debated whether to write again or wait for a fresh start (like September when school started, or New Year's).

It was the length of time between entries left me stumped then...and now. Say it had been two months, was I to include some vague catch up or just pick up as if I'd never stopped.

I'm having this same problem with our blog. I keep wondering if I should rewind and write about our Thanksgiving trip to Mesa, AZ. Cousin LaMont did mix 50 lbs of mashed potatoes with a dry wall mixer on an electric drill while his sister, Trina, dropped in sticks of butter. Perfect post material. Or do I include some of the awesome Christmastime activities...ice skating, holiday soirees, sing-a-longs, family get togethers, etc.

When we started this blog, we evaluated the commitment and felt we were ready. Yet now that familiar guilt is back.

High hopes for 2008...