Horton Hears a Who

At church, we had the Christmas party. It was amazing. We have such talented people in my ward--especially Richard. He sang a beautiful song that made every girl's heart melt. Then the ward choir (of which I am a member of) sang and that was super fun.

Then, I came home and visited the Met online for Art History class. I was meant to go in person but during finals weeks and with only 8 days before "I'll Be Home for Christmas" day, I couldn't bring myself to spend 4 hours with the Baroque Realism, Classicism and Rococo masterpieces.

Then, I went to a Relief Society dessert party. The best part of that was in the elevator. Bree and I entered an elevator with the intentions of going up to the 6th floor. Who knew that we got in the elevator with 2 strangers that only went to the 1st floor, then skipped to the 15th to the 32nd floor. All we needed to do was go to the sixth floor. So after an awkward, stifled laugh, I pushed floor number 15 and exited the express elevator. Best elevator ride ever.

Then I met Mr. Horton over a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and double stacked Oreos. That was a good idea. Thank you, Mr. Horton, for introducing me to double stacked Oreos. I owe you one.

After all this, all I can say is: Sundays Rock. Amen.

I'll Be Home For Christmas...

Good news! In less than 2 weeks, I will be home with most of the greatest people on this planet! I am so excited. I remember counting down the days until I was home the very day I stepped foot on this island. It's not that I wasn't excited and ready to start a new life but, honestly, there is absolutely no place like home.

While I am missing out on the decorating at home, I have definitely had my share of creating a festive atmosphere here. First, I decorated the Christmas tree at work. It was quite an experience: Friday evening, almost everyone had gone home. There was only the few unfortunate who work on the weekend eve left in the office. Everyone was drowsy and desperately lacking holiday cheer. As soon as I started decorating, the office came to life--It felt like Whoville! Now here is the truth: some of the workers got so excited they burst into Christmas song (and one into an improptu ballet). It made the Friday evening a little more fun.

This is the cute tree in the office. Standing at 3 feet tall, it is quite the little masterpiece.

That was Friday night. Saturday morning, the family ward had a Christmas party. I was asked if I wanted to go to help set up the Christmas tree there. How in heaven's name could I refuse? I never say no to a good dose of Christmas festivities. This tree was slightly bigger than 3 feet tall. It was a good 7 feet. Thank goodness Elder Miller was there to help put the decorations up. He goes home on December 21st, and was super excited to put up a Christmas tree as he had missed his decorating at home, also. Here is the Ward Christmas Tree!

On the right, coming in at 7 feet tall, Ward Christmas tree! On the Left, coming in at 6 feet 7 inches, Elder Miller!

The Christmas Season has been very different, so far. I am not a fan of finals but I have such a good thing to look forward to. In exactly one week, 5 days and 3 hours, I will be back home, in Utah, with my sweet family. This is my only Christmas wish.

--Katie xx

Heaven Bless Chicken Noodle Soup

Sickness. It's a recurrance in my life ever since life started on The Island (that's what I call my dear Manhattan). There has been so many occasions, I have started giving each episode a name.

It all started with an intense cold/fever I like to call Piglet. I call this one Piglet because I believe it may have been swine flu--excuse me--I mean H1N1. Although the doctor told me that it was probably a cold and couldn't hear what I was feeling in my lungs, it felt much worse than your typical cold. Or flu. It took me a while to get over that one. But thank goodness I had it and had to go to the doctor to get medicine for it. Piglet was a blessing in disguise. Because I had Piglet, I found the Health Center on campus and got much needed medicine.

After getting over Piglet, the second sickness decsended upon me. This one has been far, the WORST pain I have ever felt in my life and ever will feel in my life. Yes, ladies and gentelmen, worse than giving birth (or so said my doctor...but how does he know? Oh yes, he is a doctor and has to tell me these things). I named this occurance after the thing itself. I call it: The Stone.
The Stone, located in my kidney, hit at about 9 am one frightful Friday morning. One moment, I was on the phone with my dear mother, the next I was agonizingly limping out of Building C to Building B, on the phone with my brave father. In a matter of less than 2 minutes, I had gone from feeling fine to not being able to walk, let alone stand. This is where my gratitude for Piglet comes in. Because I had been to Health Services once and filled out all of the paper work the first time, I was able to find it-no problems-and they had all my paper work on file. After indescribable pain, it was confirmed (guessed, more like it) that I had 1, if not more, Kidney Stones. Amy, the sweet doctor who held my hand, called an ambulance and in 20 minutes, I was headed for a New York City Emergency Room. I would like to emphasize something at this point--NEVER go to a New York City ER unless you do not have another choice. Close your eyes, and imagine what it could be like...are you imagining something like TV show ER?...Well, what you are imagining is amazing compared to real life the Emergency Room. There was no George Clooney in my ER...
The ambulence ride was an experience and a half. I have never heard someone swear so much over a ticker-tape parade. It was after the Yankee's winning of the World Series and the streets of New York were jam packed full of true Yankee fans. One of the EMTs woke up on the wrong side of the bed...maybe he was a Philly fan.
When I got to the ER, I was given a few doses of Morphine. Because of those injections, this fateful Friday was the best day of my life.
Long story short (sorry, it hasn't been short so far), I was discharged that evening and went home with an angel named Emily. The rest of that week was spent in bed and on the bathroom floor. It felt like I was having a baby the size of half a grain of rice. How is that meant to be worse than having a baby the size of a real baby?! All I have to say about that is, bring on the real babies.
The millimeter Stone and I finally parted ways 5 days later and I hope to never meet any of it's friends. EVER.

The picture above is The Stone (located to the right of the arrow). This smile was all that I could muster after the week I had...

If you want to, click to enlarge. But only if you have not eaten yet.

The next episodes are called Tummy. Ever since The Stone, I have been plagued with on again/off again nausea. Besides the nausea, I have been relativley well. Until a few weeks ago, I hadn't had a dairy incident this whole time on The Island. My luck evaporated with a spoonful of condensed milk. REALLY?! Did I really think I could get away with a spoonful of condensed milk? Really. And more than that, did I really think I would be ok without taking any meds for it? Really? Furthermore, was I really supposed to get off scotch free after eating the treat that I made using the condensed milk? Really?! REALLY.

All of these episodes bring me to my most recent one called Cold. It gets quite chilly in New York. The Island has two temperatures: Sauna, and Ice Box. With these 2 come different elements (sun, rain, clouds and rain & clouds). Most recently, it has been Ice Box with rain & clouds.
While The Island has 2 temperatures, the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT--the University I attend) has only one: Colder Than Ice Box. I literally bundle up in my jacket, tuck down in my chair and still feeze in all my classrooms. This problem has caused Cold. I have Cold right now. I think since this morning, it has already gotten better, but tomorrow, I have to go out in Ice Box with rain and Colder Than Ice Box. Thank goodness for the leftover medicine I have from Piglet.

It is my Christmas wish, that with exactly 3 weeks until the day I come home for the Holidays, that I don't have to come up with any other names for episodes that occur in my life on The Island. It is also my wish, that you have a healthy, sick-free Holiday Season as well. If not, I believe Chicken Noodle Soup is always in season at your local grocer.

Next time, Mittens.

Tonight's sky was amazing. After accidently walking through the World Financial Centers (yes, they are still standing...however, they are crumbling, if you know what I mean) I am freezing cold in my inadequate sweaters. In only a few minutes, my hands turn numb which is such a blessing since I am able to stop focusing on keeping them warm and start focusing on where I am. I look up and immediately must get my camera out and start clicking because the sky made me gasp. It has been raining and storming all day, and finally, at the end of it, the sun decides it needs a few moments to shine. It was difficult due to the state of my frozen fingers but I was able to get a couple of beautiful snaps. Here is one of them. The little pointy thing on the left side is the Statue Of Liberty.

The esplandes along the Hudson, behind my building have so many breathtaking views--I need to start taking more walks with my camera, along with my mittens.

Thanksgiving Eve

So I have started a blog...I don't know why. I am not very good at keeping up with things like this. I can't even keep up on twitter! Nobody knows I have started a blog yet...I didn't even know if I would get around to writing a post for a few days. But here I am!
Being alone in this apartment in the Big Apple for the holiday weekend without any distractions, I realize I am thinking. Just thinking about things! It's tres fun. Here is what I am thinking about....

First of all, I found this awesome musician. He is amazing! Well, I actually only know one song that he does and it is genius. I want to share it with you. Ladies and Gents, may I present:

Allred "With Or Without You"

It is Thanksgiving Eve! I have mixed feelings about this wonderful occassion this year. I thought I would be ok not being home during one of the greatest holidays, but it is much harder than I thought it would be. I miss my family! But, I am grateful for my sweet friend Bree. She has invited me to go with her to her cousin's home in Connecticut for the afternoon. (That is one thing I love about the East Coast--you can hop on a train and go anywhere). Even though I won't be with my family, I get to be with a family having a delicious dinner, all the while, thinking about the thing I am most grateful for in the entire world: My Family.