Livin' The Dream

Just a few updates on how I said goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011. Wow! 2011!!! Crazy! Julie took me for a surprise adventure for my Christmas gift. We rode the train out to Milburn, New Jersey....I had no idea why. Turns out she was taking me to see Les Miserables. It was incredible!!! I have the best roommate! I had the chance to go home for Christmas and although my California really let me down by raining the whole time, I still had fun with family. One on my friends from Mongolia just happened to be in town when I was there.....I got to meet her wonderful son Christopher and her husband Keith. Chimge and I haven't seen each other for nearly 10 years when we were missionaries together. It was wonderful to visit! Then for New Years Eve, David came up from DC. It's tradition now to ring in the New Year in Times Square. It's such a blessing that the crowds line up right by my apartment. We only have to run out in the cold 15 minutes before the ball drops and ...

This is the Kardashians' Christmas card this year. I just saw this and instantly thought, "Oh my! This is when you know your family is just too fabulous." Go, Kardashians!

I love my nyc but Winter is definitely not my favorite part. Sure the snow is pretty to look at, but walking around in it day in and day out is just not cute. So I bid farewell to one of my favorite seasons, beautiful Fall, and say hello to Winter. I have to say my life has been saved by my new puffy coat with the puffy fur trim hood. My life was almost taken by said coat as well though. The hood is so awesome but you really can't see what's next to you. I stepped right in front of a car. Gotta be more careful, but glad for puffy coat. My friends were right, it has changed my whole outlook! Should have got a longer one though, cause my buns are freezing. But live and learn! Happy Winter to everyone. Christmas is just around the corner!

My df finally got the chance to come and visit me in nyc. We had the best time. It was wonderful showing her around, spending time, and letting her discover what has kept this df almost 3,ooo miles away from her for so long. Boy, I miss my df. I am so glad I will be seeing her in just a few weeks back in CA. I am so grateful to be blessed with a friend that I love so much that I cried when she left. href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2cpTykiyPnW8da62SSoklPIfTK9T3maBpZimzmrQOxnfE7LAclahgiOrkTsABKNby0FIqz5hTG41xPVWKqmtMdLJPCTNKIkCoX3nMCVhiv_6QLOqK7Sh-yyxgbe4CUCaO65-ezScmXMC/s1600/DSCN1408.JPG">

So I am so excited that Fall is here. The leaves are turning, the humidity is subsiding, and well, nyc is beautiful! I am not so excited that Winter is just around the corner. Oh well. You know me....I will find some good in it :)

Lesson learned this week - When the sky looks like this, don't go running for the train. Scary times were had by this California girl. The storm came on in a matter of seconds. Like most New Yorkers, I don't own a car. I go where my feet, the train, and a bus can get me. Leaving work and headed for the train, I was pelted by hail and sheets of rain as the sky turned black and lightening struck. Dare I say, but I miss me some earthquakes. This severe weather is just no bueno.

So yesterday, September 10, 2010 marked my one year anniversary as a foster care worker with The New York Foundling. What a crazy year it has been. Coming into the job, I had prior experience with the foster care system back in California. I had a feeling it would be a little a different here in nyc, because let's face it, everything is a little different here in nyc. I don't feel I was really prepared for many of the challenges I was going to face.....but I hung in there and have survived the first year - the year of hard knocks! I'm not sure what the future holds for me......but I will be forever grateful for this real life experience. I now know why I was told time and time again, "If you can make it in foster care in New York City, you can do anything!" Truer words were never spoken.