SNOW DAY!!!

We had a snow-day on Friday and it was wonderful! I just have to say that it's great to be an adult and still have the giddy pleasure of checking school's website to realize that classes have been cancelled due to the wonderful blanket of fluffy ice that has made driving conditions miserable. Last year in Seattle there was actually a lot of snow, and SPU had 3 or 4 snow days....but I was a year too late! I was graduated and in the real world and sloshing through dirty and slushy snow to get to the bus stop so that I could get to my job on time - because who cares if it takes three hours to get to work? Somebody still has to be there to answer the phones...ARGGHHGG!!! So this snow day I did it right - James and I stayed in bed until 11:00AM listening to new bands on iTunes and reading for fun and watching the snow flakes gently cascading outside our window. And I still had plenty of homework that I could have done at home without driving anywhere, but for some reason the "snow day" merited total laziness in my mind. So after getting up and making pancakes and eggs and coffee, I crawled back into bed and worked on this blog and read my Bible and journaled....it was pure bliss!

So it's a few days after the wonderful "adult" snow day, and the snow has started to melt, but it's still there and James and I decided to enjoy it before it's totally gone. We took a little study break this afternoon and went for a walk around the golf course behind our apartment, and strolled along the canal as we crunched along in the snow. I realized how much I LOVE crunching in the snow...it actually might be more satisfying than crunching leaves in the fall. I even got James to join me in the crunching!

New York with Jay and Trish

After we finished finals and papers and crashed for a few days from the hurricane of studying, Jay and Trisha came out to visit us for our inter-semester break. They stayed in NYC a few days, then we went up to visit them and spent a night with them at their hotel. (It was a little cramped, so thanks for letting us stay with you guys - and thanks to the boys for taking the floor!) It was also FREEZING while they were visiting so Trisha and I tackled the skill of wrapping our heads in scarves so that we looked like Russian peasant women - I thought it was a very classy look. But when your snot is freezing you just don't really care if you look like a Russian peasant or a class act. We had a great time anyways, however...visited Wall Street, NYU's campus, Greenwich Village, all over mid-town, and the Broadway Comedy Club - which we all thought was well worth the $5 tickets that Jay bought off a guy from the street. Then Trisha and Jay came to hang out in Princeton for a few days with us...a much slower pace than NYC but I think they were ready to relax a bit so it all worked out well. Raising a glass to next time, friends!

Home for the Holidays...

After our first 5 months of being married and living on the cutting edge that is the East Coast, James and I were very excited to come home and visit our families and friends for Christmas. Despite the fact that we had to work on papers and study for finals over the break, we still had plenty of time to enjoy with friends and family. Thank the good Lord, however, that next year when we come home for Christmas we will be DONE with finals and can totally relax (not that we didn't watch hours of LOST over break anyways...what can you do?) But thanks to all our family and friends for all of their fabulous love they showed us when we were home! We had a great time at Semiahmoo, hitting up the Karaoke bar, enjoying the excellent gourmet chef that is Lois and the up-and-coming star that is Jennifer, playing apples-to-apples, rook (although I'm still really bad at that game), seeing Jessica's hot new pad, going for coffee, formal dinner with all of our "old school" friends, sleepover with Kristin, Emily, and Laura...all good times.

Christmas Time In NYC!

During out Thanksgiving break James and I made the trip up to New York City for some big apple holiday spirit. (Lucky for James I didn't make him go up to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with me....but next year!) We had a great time, just the two of us...we went to St. Thomas' Episcopal Church on 5th Ave, and it was beautiful! They have an all boys choir that sings throughout the service, and I left knowing that my life's calling was to open an all boys boarding school so that I could be the director of such beautiful and angelic voices.

James and I also visited Rockefeller Center, and checked out the ice skating rink. We went shopping all over the place, looking for Christmas sales but proudly we held ourselves back and didn't partake in too much of the wonderful shopaholic materialism that this city has to offer. But it is a wonderful city to stroll during the building festivities to Christmas...my favorite part of the holiday magic was definitely the display windows outside of Lord and Taylor on 5th Ave - they had all sorts of "old world" Christmas scenes that were mesmerizing children and adults alike (or at least this adult!). I would say that the post-Thanksgiving visit this year has led me to believe that the Macy's Parade next year is a must!

Fall in Princeton

One beautiful crisp and sunny Sunday this last fall James and I decided to take some pictures on the University and Seminary Campus grounds. Princeton is truly gorgeous in the fall! The ivy on all the buildings starts changing color along with the trees, and the air is crisp with the smell of apples and fresh pencils and books and new classes. And James and I could finally run comfortably in the fall...the humid heat that was still lingering in September made running a less than enjoyable chore most days. Yes, James and I quickly fell in love with the quaint town of Princeton (although not the state of NJ itself) and soon found all of our favorite study spots (and pubs and coffee shops and pizza shops and clothing shops)!