Jealous?

Jon & I are leaving tomorrow morning for beautiful, sunny, warm Tucson, Arizona. Lucky us, we get to spend two glorious weeks there with my family. Jealous? You should be.

Oh, and I did I mention we're going to Disneyland/California Adventure/San Diego? Heck yes.

Due to the fact that internet connection is weak and/or lame at the Mikesell house, I probably won't be updating or checking my blog/email until January 5th. So, until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Excuses, excuses

Why I haven't updated:
Excuse #1--Jon was on a business trip last week and took my laptop with him.

Excuse #2--I'm working like crazy to finish all the Christmas projects I stupidly took upon myself.

Excuse #3--Jon came home sick, and got me sick.

Excuse #4--I'm just plain lazy.

Really, these are all lame excuses, considering the fact that I get mad if no one on my daily blog check has updated theirs. So, to appease you, here's the update:

Friday Dec. 7th--Jonny & I made the hour-long trip to the DC temple for the first time. I have to admit, it was a lot smaller than it looks in the pictures. But still very pretty. It was also a little lame to go back to plain old metal lockers after the gorgeous cherry wood ones in Nauvoo. That temple was just beautiful all the way around.

Saturday Dec. 8th--We got up at 5-something a.m. to make the 2.75 hour drive to NYC, where we met up with Jon's brother Daniel and his wife, Wendy. Daniel served his mission there so was able to successfully navigate the subway system without the usual stress and confusion, which was definitely a plus.

This was my third trip to the city and the previous two experiences were not so good. I have lots of pictures of me sulking in front of various tourist attractions to prove this. Granted, I was 16 at the time, which explains some of the moodiness. However, I still hate being in large crowds, being pestered by street vendors, and the lovely sewer smell that you get big whiffs of as you walk. Unfortunately, this is usually most of my experience in NYC. I love Central Park and going to Broadway shows. Basically anything that doesn't involve me being shoved around by the 5,000 other people on the sidewalk with me. Jonny, however, went to NYC and loved it. He was hoping that this visit would change my mind.

For lunch we hit a tiny British restaurant called "A Salt & Battery." I've never eaten a greasier meal in my life. The chips were oily and plain, but the shrimp was excellent. We did a lot of shopping. I'm not a shopper, but I did enjoy the visit to the Chelsea Market. They were giving us free samples like crazy (truffles, chips, shortbread, gelatto...). Plus, we got this huge thing of curry for $2.80. You gotta love it. Central Park was great, as always. We watched the ice skaters for a bit, then trekked to the Bethesda Fountain. There was a fabulous man singing a duet with himself in the tunnel by the fountain. Falsetto and everything. Gotta love New York.

On the way to Times Square we hit the Rockefeller Center (and the crowds that come with it). So, I have to admit that at this point I was hungry and needed to find a bathroom in a city with no bathrooms. Thus, I was grumpy (sorry, Daniel & Wendy). We headed to Chinatown for dinner, but couldn't find the restaurant and ended up eating pizza in Little Italy. At that point it was getting late and we had a long drive home, so we took off. Needless to say, I still like Chicago better, but I'm willing to give New York another shot (not at Christmas time).

On Monday Jon left me for a business trip in Arkansas for 4 days. I don't like being left alone, although I did enjoy getting to sleep in as late as I wanted to. I also let the apartment got to shambles and then took pictures so Jon would appreciate how hard I'd worked to clean it before he got home.

Oh, and I got a calling. Guesses, anyone? Yeah, I thought it would be ward organist, too. But no--I'm Activity Days Leader/Primary Teacher. Again. Apparently I still have something to learn about 8-11 year old girls...

Exciting news: My sister, Marah, got into BYU! Yay! I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that my little sister is old enough to go to college. And Dad celebrated the big 5-0 yesterday with his new gaming chair and red velvet cake. The best news of all is that on Friday we're heading to Tucson for Christmas! So now, in celebration of Christmas, Jon and I are going to watch the Muppet's Christmas Carol (his favorite movie).

So there. It's not terribly exciting, but it's my life! Oh, and Jon's trying to get me to take up Starcraft. It's all well and good until my base gets attacked. Then I get upset and quit. Why girls don't play war games.

And that's why...

See that grayish blue tub? The one on the very bottom of the pile? Yep. That's the other half of my Christmas decorations. Needless to say, it's not coming out this year. This is really tragic, considering that our stockings and my Christmas piano music are in that tub.

Luckily the tree and ornaments were in a different tub, so our apartment looks at least half-way festive. And I found my Amy Grant "Home for Christmas" CD, so all is well.