greetings Michelejoyrn https://goo.gl/8EDmWd michelejoyrn

Christmas is Nov

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. How can one be sad around all the beauty of the lights, sounds and all that is Christmas?!? Well, on Saturday my in-laws came to visit and wanted to do something. It was with some googling and some assistance of a friend that we came to decide to go to Koziar's Christmas Village. I haven't been there since 1997, so it was practically the first time I was there. Turns out they open the first Saturday of November EVERY single year. Maybe I will make this a tradition now?!? If anyone wants to go, let me know. I am not going to overwhelm you with all of the photos (if you go to my Facebook page you can see them all) but I am going to share some of my favorites throughout this post  and hopefully more until we go again. Trust me, we WILL go again. Here are some of my favorites...

This is the view of the village as you are arriving at it. The lights of the village light up a very dark stretch of road.

Saturday selfie in front of Makayla's favorite place, the cookie shop where they have the best Hot Apple Cider ever!

In front of one of the little houses in the village. Makayla loved looking inside them and oohing over the stuff inside.

And finally,

With the bear on the way out. Makayla wanted nothing to do with it when we first ft there, but then wanted too before we leave. I would say it was a success.

Yes, I know it isn't even thanksgiving yet, but with everything going on in my life, a lot which I cannot talk about yet, I needed something to make me truly happy. So, going to Christmas Village definitely was the therapy I needed. I promise, I won't skip Thanksgiving, I was just checking the waters to see what it was like. I.still.love Christmas! Can't wait for this year!

Kids say the darnest things

Today, my best friend asked me if I would watch her son. Duh, without question. Her son is my daughter's best friend and boyfriend. After school we went to a park and the kids had a lot of fun. They even raced acorns down all the slides. We ate dinner and then that's when the fun began.

Makayla and her friend were playing house (I think). Their conversations were along the lines of this..

Makayla, "I am going to work at the hospital."

BF, "I work there too, and McDonald's"

M, " see you!"

Later, when they are coming 'home'

M, "I gotta go back to work,

BF, "why?"

M,    "They need me"

Side note. I am an operating room nurse who takes at least 60 hours of call a month and sometimes I get called back in. Makayla doesn't like that I get called in  so when that happens I tell her they need me. 

Next scene

M: "you go to bed, I go to work"

BF: "it doesn't work that way"

My flashlight crusaders on our walk to get the mail. 

It was a great day. Now we are watching some Jake as we get ready for bed. Night ya'll.

Fountains

So, yes, I know that this blog has been neglected, and I know that I am terrible at photo journaling my time with Makayla, but it is better to be a part of the moment sometimes than to stand by and capture them. My good friend Stef (who I haven't seen in a long time) wanted to meet up, so we headed over to the Promenade shops, where they have a jet park. I haven't even been there, but I figured what the heck, it's going to be a hot one right. We arrived a little early, hoping for a good parking spot, and we couldn't have asked for a better one. Makayla didn't really know what to think at first....

But, once she saw how much fun Stef's daughter was having, she couldn't wait to join in.



Sheer joy right there!

I wish her head wasn't cut off here, but you can still see how much fun she is having with Lily.

Makayla and her friend Madeline

She really enjoyed standing on the jet

And she liked the fact that she was peeing without anyone knowing.

"Mommy, my butt is getting wet"

 

 

I think this photo here really says it all, she is smiling from the inside and out...

 

 I cannot wait until next week when we go again. Hopefully different photos and the same results, sheer joy and happiness. Who would have known that a free water jet park would be so much fun?!? And why didn't I know about this sooner?

 

NYC

So, yesterday I ran a half marathon in Brooklyn. On my other blog, you will be able to read all about the half marathon and the expo. But, since I feel like I have neglected this blog, and it is supposed to be about life outside of running, I thought it would be appropriate to post the pictures from Friday as I walked around Manhattan killing time waiting for my friend to meet me on the train platform. So, the Port Authority is on 42nd street and 9th Avenue. I think I have been to Manhattan only a handful of times, the latest time was about a year ago (possibly longer now) and my husband's cousin gave us a walking tour. This time, it was just me, and some text messages from a friend telling me what to see. So, I left Port Authority and headed down 42nd Street. I found this little restaurant called Al Fresco, and I think I had the best fresh salad ever! After I ate there, I posted something along the lines of sheer panic. A friend of mine, Mary, practically held my hand via texts offering great places to see . But, first, I stopped at Sephora! I <3 a="" although="" an="" and="" as="" became="" burn="" eventually="" got="" help.="" helped="" here="" hour="" i="" me="" nbsp="" of="" one="" outgoing="" p="" place="" t="" that="" the="" then="" they="" time.="" tourist.="" weren="">

I didn't know there was an M & M world, but I had to check it out...

 In M&M world, I saw this....

 Inside, it smelled DELICIOUS!! I couldn't inhale enough of the chocolate smell...

 Then I went back out and took one last photo of 1 Times Square...

It was a beautiful Friday, it was the beginning of a great night. Don't forget to check out my other blog to learn about the awesomeness that followed.

Speechless...

There are no words to describe the events of yesterday. It leads me to hug my daughter a little tighter, and endlessly thank those supports and strangers who are at every running event. We run for us, and they cheer for us. Sounds a little selfish. So, today, I pray for them...

I pray for Boston, I pray for the families of the deceased and those of the injured. I pray for the medical staff and for the police officers to be able to do what is best for the rest of us. These tragic events bring even more emotion into my half marathon in 11 days. I will now also be running for Boston!

Wordless Wednesday