When I went to BYU, I switched off the four Thanksgivings that I was in school between my brother's house in California and my sister's house in Arizona. For the past 8 years, California has been my go-to favorite Thanksgiving place. Jessica's birthday is the day after mine, so we always celebrate together, we bake a bunch of pies, run the Turkey Trot together, and shop on Black Friday. It is always so much fun, and I really wanted to go this year, but alas, I didn't have $600 to spend on a plane ticket, especially since I had just bought a plane ticket to Hawaii in February (!!!!!!).
While I was deciding what I should do for Thanksgiving, my roommates and assorted friends all said they would be in NYC for the holiday, and right away I decided that was what I should do. I drove up with Whitney Wednesday afternoon and stayed at Marissa's mom's apt in Queens, went to the Macy's Parade, went to the Manhattan temple, saw my friend C, and saw "Aladdin" with my mom, who had come up for a day/night. It ended up being a great weekend-and I could still feel connected to my Grandma Morgan and South Carolina; one of our traditions was watching the Macy's Parade while my Grandpa was in the kitchen working on our Thanksgiving dinner.
before Whitney and I left, I worked in the morning. Nat and I went to a playdate with some friends from her school at the paint your own pottery place. i made these cute huggie salt and pepper shakers, haha. while we were inside, it started snowing! so we had to take our first snow selfie of the year.
i was really, really terrified that the combination of snow + leaving at 4pm + driving up 95 to NYC would mean it would take 10 hours to get there. but, miracles of miracles, the traffic Gods were with us, and we made it there in the usual 4.5 hours. it was shocking. we literally hit no traffic whatsoever. even nearing the city and once we had crossed into Brooklyn. i think it was the peppermint chocolate chip shakes we stopped to get from Chick fil a.
Whit and i got up suppppppper early the next day to go to the Macy's Parade. we didn't have great standing spots, but we could still see a little, and i was just enjoying being there.
after dinner at Paula's, we went into Manhattan to go to the 9-11 memorial, because i had never been there. neither had Nick or Brock or Kenzie, who were with us also. it was so peaceful and moving. a great way to end Thanksgiving-expressing my gratitude for the heroes of that day and the families who have courageously tried to move forward from that tragedy.
#subwayselfie
the next morning, Mars and i met Nick and Brock at the temple to do a session. it really is amazing that it is smack in the middle of a busy city and you can't hear a thing when you're inside.
the rest of the day was spent eating and walking, seeing C, which was so fun! my mom arrived in the afternoon and hung out with us, which was nice. after we ate lunch at Jacob's Pickles, we walked through Central Park at dusk, which was gorgeous and where Mars and i walked RIGHT BY TIM GUNN. it was so cool. even though i was terrified that he was judging my outfit, haha. i love him!!! it was a cold day, but i had my head scarf creation which kept me pretty warm, considering
Saturday morning Mars and i slept a little, then went to Dominque Ansel Bakery in SoHo to get pastries. we knew we were too late for cronuts but we got this delicious creation, then went on to a cheese store which was SO COOL. we got three different kinds of cheese and a baguette and ate that for lunch. so so so good.
then mom and i met up to see Aladdin!!! OH. MY. GOSH. guys. soooo amazing. seriously. the genie alone is worth going for. that and the performance of "Friend Like Me", were enough to make me want to see it again. it was fun, high energy, and had good performances. definitely recommend it.
Marissa Whitney and my mom were driving back with me, so we met them near the theatre and got a pizza, then took a cab to Queens to pack up the car and be on our way.
I had such a good time in NYC. It was the first time I wasn't with any family on Thanksgiving day, but I was with good friends, and that was nice.
I think this was the first year, where I fully felt the strong sense of gratitude that is in my heart and mind. I have learned and grown tremendously this year-for that alone I am grateful, even if it was the result of very hard and difficult trials. I am grateful for my family and my heritage-for the close relationships I have. I am grateful for the good and true friends I have. I am grateful for my faith and my membership in Christ's church. I am grateful for the temple-for the peace and clarity and revelation I feel and receive there. I am grateful for a free country. Mostly I am grateful for my Savior, and the relationship I have with him.
Its amazed me recently how much happier I am simply by being grateful for all the Lord has given me. It really is possible to feel that-once you start realizing all the things, material and not, that you have, you start slowly forgetting, or at least you aren't spending as much time thinking of the things that you don't have. I am going to try the next year to continue being grateful every day for my blessings. It helps bring a peace and happiness that I've been searching for all year.
"Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life
that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m
suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances—whatever they may be." -President Uchtdorf
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