Global Night commute and dreams of a half-marathon

Hello, all! Today is a beautiful Sunday, I actually skipped church (I know, I know) to sit out on the patio and read my bible and journal for a couple hours. Just what this girl needed. Sometimes you get so into going through all the motions that you forget what it's really even all about. You think if you join enough bible studies and serve faithfully at church you're sure to be on the right path for sure, right? No, actually. Not at all. It's supposed to be a vibrant, growing relationship between God and Me, and sometimes I get that mixed up and end up really lonely because in all the stuff I forget what's really important.
(Don't get me wrong, I'm all about church, actually I just finished a book by Joshua Harris called "Stop dating the church, falling in love with the Family of God." Really fantastic! It totally taught me about the relationship God wants us to have with the church and just for the record, I'm definately falling in love with mine! It's great!)
Anyway, spent the morning talking to God and it was fantastic. I'm such a dork, but I've actually renamed the patio "the cafe" and I've been having breakfast out there on the weekends. Talk about starting out your weekend right! A good book, my bible and journal, beautiful sunlight, and a great breakfast and coffee, what could be better? :)
Last night I spent the day in the city (hung out at an amazing Garden Market in Union Square, where I bought some amazing blackberry preserves from a farm in Jersey), then went to the Global Night Commute (remember the email some of you got from Caroline about the invisible children? It was to bring awareness to that.) It was great, even though I required a pep talk from Care to get me to go back after initially going and finding out I felt pretty awkward going alone. So I got myself back over there and stood up for something really important
(check it out at www.invisiblechildren.com ok? !!!)
and it felt great. Then met up with Allie and we traded woes of missing home for an hour or two in the Gemini diner (old Italian waiters, open 24 hours, def. a place to go again.) Then when I got home I was really inspired. I need to do something different, because what I'm doing now ISN'T WORKING! I'm bored! I am! So I spent awhile looking up stuff on running a half marathon (seems like a logical choice, right? bored with your life so you decide to run a marathon?) Well, turns out even to START the half-marathon plan you have to already be able to run 6 miles. STRAIGHT! So I decided to start slow and start a running plan and become a hard-core runner in 11 weeks. After that, we'll see about the half-marathon thing :). I'm also thinking about joining some sort of painting club or book club, but we'll take one thing at a time, ok? :) So today I'll be starting the running plan, and hopefully having a fablulous day. I apparantly can't pace myself when it comes to reading good books, (I've gone through 3 this week!) so I'll need to stop by borders and get myself a new book to read. Maybe I should bypass the book store and just go to the library? But those darn libraries make you pay money if you bring it back late, they get you every time. Well, they get ME every time, I guess. Haha. Ok, I'm rambling, but I just wanted to say, things have been tough, missing home and being bored and all but TODAY IT CHANGES. I'm excited about getting excited about life here, and not just my next move. So I love you all, but I've got to get going!
christina

hello loyal fans! :)

Ok, I know it's been forever since I've written. Sorry about that! I guess it's been a rough couple of weeks, and who really wants to write about all that for the world to read? Megan was here, which was amazing and great... just a great week full of laughs and fun-ness :) with my best friend from forever. The funny thing about her being here was that it RAINED freezing cold rain all day on Saturday, but did that stop us exploring the city all day long? Oh, NO! We had a beautiful Central Park all to ourselves, which was actually quite fantastic if you could forget that the rain was slowly turning into little tiny balls of hail all around us on the beds of grass. Oh well, we quickly (really depends on your version of the word quickly, it being over 20 blocks away) found a warm movie theater and watched the new Jennifer Aniston movie while trying to get our legs to warm up. The next day, on Sunday, it was gorgeous and we took that opportunity to tour little Italy and look out over the city and have a fantastic time in the warm sunshine. here are some pics from that... little Italy (I'm eating some lemon gelato, and those sunglasses are genuine st. quality, just purchased!)
And here's us at "Top of the Rock," kind of like the Empire State Building but I really prefer it because it seems to be friendlier, quicker, (and the waiting you DO have to do is accompanied with a great informational movie-thing) and generally a bit cleaner since they've been doing a bit of construction on the Empire lately. Anyway, it's the top of Rockefeller center.
So anyway, we had a great time. Since then, let's see. Well, the weekend after she came was Easter, which truthfully I was sort of dreading, since I wouldn't be able to see my family. Also I found out a COUPLE DAYS BEFORE that I would be getting good Friday off, which kind of gave me false hope to be able to see my family, and truthfully kind of ticked me off that I was finding out at such late notice! AHHH! So anyway, God is good and the weekend was actually quite nice, I spent some time at the beach in nearby Rye and at the dock here in Port Chester, and Sunday after singing at church I went to Easter Dinner with Regine's family which was a complete hoot. Her Italian family is great, and I actually heard her Grandpa say "fuggedaboutit" in a sentence. Haha.
Ok, more later, the kids have grown weary of playing with their toys downstairs, and I think a certain baby could use some baby food :) haha
love you all!
christina

went to the beach today w/ the kids..

here's some pics of our day at the beach!!

it was exhausting! woah!

DIGITAL CAMERA ARRIVED TODAY!

So, I've joined the land of technology. My digital camera I'd been saving for has arrived, and so I will now be able to take digital pictures and put them on my blog. Sweet, huh?

megan's here!

ok, can't write much, but megan's here and it is wonderful. So wonderful. Yesterday we talked and laughed and hung out all day- wouldn't my days be so much sweeter if I had a friend to laugh with all day long? But it has been so great. will update on our trip after she leaves. But we're having so much fun, having great conversation, and generally having an amazing best friend time :)
yeah!
christina

A magical carriage ride...

Us girls on our carriage ride!

Pics of the opera!!

First pic is hard to see, but I'm in my opera outfit outside the Met after it was over. Second pic is Me and Allie with our tickets in front of the fountain at the Met, then me at home in my fancy new coat and dress before leaving, 4rd is me in my dress and fancy hair and purse Dad bought me in the downstairs of the Met. what a fun night!
christina

Pics of the kids!

Here's me and the 2 year old...
And the sweet baby :)

Here are both of the boys!

<----- and me and the baby below

sidenote

I just thought of something-
I think there are prlly a lot of words/ references I make that both sets of my loving grandparents would not know about. So Grandpa, Colleen, Grandma and Grandpa, just write down these words, email me, and I'll make a special blog someday with a dictionary of Christina's life ok? I realize stilleto is not in the everyday person's vocabulary. Probably not Gucci or Chanel either :)
love you!
chrisitna

So many things I have to tell you!

Ok, so I'll start with Friday.
Friday was a fantastic, funny day.
It was soooooooooo gorgeous outside, sunny and beautiful and I decided I would try to look cute and wear a skirt and some flip-flop sandals. We dropped the mom off at work, the 2 year old off at school, and headed to Rye, a cute town down the road from Port Chester. I had breakfast and some coffee while the baby slept, than when he woke up I held him and we sang and danced in the cafe and generally made fools of ourselves while having a great time :). So fun. Then we just walked around town, where there were TONS OF NANNIES WITH KIDS! I mean, it was like I hit the nanny goldmine! I wanted to ask all of them to be my nanny friends, but that's kind of awkward, but I did some investigation and I think there's some sort of story time at the Library there that nannies go to with the kids so I'm going to check that out and see if I can leach onto some nannies and their kids for playgroups, etc. How's that for a plan? :) haha.
Grabbed a muffin for lunch, and a coffee which I successfully spilled all over while trying to navigate the stroller back to the car, and headed home. When we got home, it was still soo gorgeous outside so I peeled back the shut-all-winter-long door out to the patio and decided baby and I would have lunch out there! Turns out feeding a baby mashed up carrots isn't that much more glamourous in the beautiful sunlight than it is inside, but it was a nice change nonetheless. THEN, as I'm running to get MY lunch to eat outside with the little fella, I grab my muffin and hop up the remaining stairs, only to look into my empty Starbucks sack. So I turn around and step back down the stairs to find that wandering pastry... and step right into something gooey. Yep, stepped right into my muffin. Through the toes and the whole bit. Yummy. So as to not mess up all the carpet on the steps, I have to hop up the stairs on one foot and wash my foot off, including that stray blueberry stuck between the two biggest toes. So funny :) Anyway, so got the kids from school, hit the park which we had to leave after 1/2 hour because nanny had to use the restroom- pronto! Headed home and anxiously awaited Mom's return home so I could get ready for the OPERA!
She got home around 5 (total kudos to her, didn't think it would happen!), and I rushed in and out of the shower and into my dress, makeup, and a quick up-do for the hair. Into the heels and grabbed my clutch purse that my dad bought for me at a thrift store in Omaha. Such good taste, Dad! Never thought it'd see the opera, huh? :) Ran-walked the 2-3 blocks to the train station in my stilleto heels, and hopped on a train. During this whole time I'm thinking,
"Man, I look good. I wonder if all these people are thinking about how good I look. Are they wondering why I'm looking so good?" Basically I'm so excited about actually being dressed up for once that I'm thinking all sorts of irrationallities. (spelling?)
So I meet Allie there and she looks beautiful. I look beautiful, she looks beautiful. There are people all around much less dressed-up as us, but once we get inside the BREATHTAKING building, we realize that the people with the expensive seats like ours are dressed up as well. It's such the suckers in the cheap seats gallavanting around in jeans. Haha.
The opera was amazing. It was so unreal to be there in such an amazing space with people yelling "Brava! Brava!" while wearing Gucci and Chanel and sitting 12 rows from an award-winning orchestra and singers. The singing was amazing, and half the time I didn't even CARE what they were saying because I just wanted to listen to the gorgeous sounds of the singing and just lose myself in the moments and drink in every second. The leading lady was so fantastic, her arias were magestic and the physical comedy of her every movement made you fall in love with her! And the leading man had some sort of an allergic reaction 3/4 through so the understudy was called out and gave one heck of an ending to the whole deal. It was fantastic. I took pictures, I'm going to take them to CVS and get a digital CD w/ them as to try and get them on the blog... we'll see. :)
Anyway, so got home at 2-3 am Sat. morning from the city, so after choir I slept all day yesterday and basically did nothing. Not too proud of myself for that, but all is forgiven because today was full of greatness!
Went to church, albeit an hour late because I'm still, after 23 years, confused by daylight savings time, so I went to Sunday School and part of church then headed home to head into the city and hit Little Italy with Allie. It was another beautiful day, and after turning a couple well-meaning waiters who thought we were so "beeeeeeautiful" trying to get us to eat at their eateries, we found a great Italian place WITH great outdoor seating. It was picturesque, I think I will have a mental picture of that for years. Sun beating down, eating Italian in Little Italy with a great friend, making fun of tourists walking by, just a great afternoon. The coffee I ordered came with sugar rock candy to stir into the coffee. How cool is that? :) Then I headed home and had coffee with Regine at Panera (right off the train station) before heading home. What a weekend, huh? Megan comes on Tuesday, so I'm going to have to get serious about cleaning and not just talk about it sometime tomorow. NO LATER! I HAVE TO DO IT TOMOROW! Anyway, I love you all, thanks for caring about my life and I just love you all :)
love christina
Special love to my sister and sister-in-law and brothers tonight, you all will prlly never know how much and how often I lift you all up in prayer. I pray William and James will grow to be amazing men of integrity and purity. I pray that Sam and Bethany will continue to encourage others with their marriage as much as they have encouraged me, for truly, you both are better as a team than you were alone. And Caroline, I pray that you will find peace in who God says you are and that alone and that you will see what he sees in you. I love you all so much, and thank God for you every day. :)