The Ghost of Chistmas Past

So...tonight I got to talk to a few of my very best friends and it made me realize how INCREDIBLY sad I am to be not going home for Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I'm still excited for all these new experiences, but (confession) I am having a tough time adjusting to being away from everything (and everyone) familiar. Life is just SO different here and I am definitely not used to the crazy hectic lifestyle. Taylor has been a champ and tried to cheer me up, but there are days that I just wish I could be back in Washington with my girlfriends chatting about the good ole days and our futures to come.  I have the best girlfriends in the world and I miss them terribly. So this is my ode to them...the ghost (the Casper, the friendly kind) of Christmas's past (or New Years since I couldn't find Christmas photos for every year). I love you all!

Sledding outside the sorority...December 2005. Sara, Heather, Lisa and Me.

Sorry its dark, but about to go to a Murder Mystery party December 2005. Me, Lisa, Kacy and Jilly.

A better picture of us from that night, December 2005. Kacy, Lisa, Me and Jilly.

Mistletoe Madness, December 2006. Lisa, Sara, Jilly and Me.

A group shot from Mistletoe Madness, December 2006. Lisa, Me, Sara, Kacy, Jilly and Alysha.

A Christmas exchange at Jilly's parents old house. Lisa and her" husbun" Arthur. He was the best red-headed asian blow-up doll I've ever seen. December 2006.

A fun Ugly Christmas Sweater party, December 2007. Jessica, Jilly, Alysha, Me and Lisa.

Lisa and I in our apartment December 2008. :)

 

New Years party in Kellogg Idaho, December 2008. Noah and Shan, Lisa and Chris and Me.

Murder Mystery Party December 2010. Shano, Jilly, Lisa, Jess and Me.

Apparently we didn't take any pictures together in the Winter of 2009 or 2011, but I know we were together at some point. I am so grateful for each and every one of you and I am so lucky to call each of you a friend. I promise I will try to make more of an effort to reach out. I have felt so disconnected lately and that is totally on me. Oh and just for good measure....here is a gem I found. Lisa and Jill, you know what I'm talking about. :)

Come visit soon, we always have a warm place to stay for any of you!!!!!

Life Update? Sort of?

So, not much to report on the home front here. I have been delaying posting in hopes that I would have something exciting to talk about, but alas, nothing has developed this week. Thus, this is just a  boring ole' I'm still kickin post.

This weekend I had some time to myself since Tay decided to fly to Arizona with his sister Katie to enjoy some family time. I fully encouraged this expedition under the mistaken impression that with Tay gone I would get TONS done on my to do list. No brainer right? Wrong.

I pretty much spent the whole weekend vegged out on the couch doing nothing. Typical. However, the weekend was not a total loss, as I decided that tomorrow marks day 1 of my trek back to a healthy physique. Gone are the days of potatoes and bacon with grilled cheese french toast (which I made this morning for my last meal). Tomorrow marks a new day of a healthy life. Wish me luck!

Miss you all. Tell me about your lives. I may or may not be quite a bit homesick as the holidays approach. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Best,

xoxo

Kari

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

This weekend we Christmasfied our apartment. While I am a little sad we don't have an actual, real, live Christmas tree, at least the fake one looks pretty real and was incredibly fun to decorate. Plus, there are less pine needles to constantly clean up, which is good since we don't currently own a vacuum. :)  I absolutely love having Christmas decorations lighting up the apartment and we settled with some air fresheners to help spread the delicious smells of Christmas time in place of that fresh tree smell.

We also received a lovely care package from the Larson family that helped to kick start our Christmas decorating this weekend. I absolutely love getting things in the mail, especially the Larson care packages. They are filled with so much fun stuff! Thanks so much LoAnn and Chris! You guys are amazing.

Our Christmas decorations.

Part of the Larson care package.

I am getting really excited about all the fun things to do in NYC during the holidays. I will keep you posted as we experience it all. Next up, hopefully (if I can convince Tay), is skating at Rockefeller Center and checking out the giant Christmas Tree.

Hope your holiday decorating was a success! 

Miss you all!

xoxo

Kari

Our First Thanksgiving

So, our first Thanksgiving on our own was, in my opinion, not too shabby. Here is how our day unfolded:

First, we figured we might as well do the touristy thing since it is our first Thanksgiving in New York City so we hit up the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I mean, we figured why watch it on TV when you can see it LIVE. Well, note to self, if you really want to see the parade, don't wait until the parade has actually started to go looking for a spot. I guess its true what they say, the early bird does in fact get the worm.  Or in this case, a good view. Oh well, we settled for watching the balloons as they came down Sixth Avenue, which was still pretty neat. Next year we will definitely have to get up a bit earlier to track down a good spot (sadly this is probably wishful thinking since I'm not much of an early riser, but we shall see). Here are a few pics from the parade:

Our view...with Sonic the Hedgehog in the background.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Mickey Mouse on his Anchor. This reminded me of Jilly (not the mouse part, just the anchor). I miss you friend!

Papa Smurf...Aka my Dad. :)

Pillsbury Dough Boy.

Sponge Bob!

Random Dragon??  Any ideas where this one is from?

When we got back over to Jersey, we decided it would be nice to go for a walk along the waterfront. I was first overjoyed to see Christmas decorations in the park (I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME!), but then saddened to find that part of the waterfront walkway had been destroyed by the Hurricane. Luckily, it was just this small portion and we were able to get a nice leisurely walk in before returning back to our apartment to start the epic cooking marathon.

Presents in the Park!

Christmas decorations are officially out!

What used to be the start of the waterfront walk.

The damage to the waterfront.

The Hurricane broke the walkway in half.

The broken walkway.

Relaxin on the waterfront (the non-damaged part obviously)

Our view

Such a beautiful Thanksgiving day!

We finally made it back to our apartment around 12:30 and immediately we got to cookin and watchin football! We finished our marathon meal at around 9 PM and then enjoyed a delicious feast together. It was glorious! While it was tricky to time all of the dishes since we only have one stove, we ended up producing the following: green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, homemade stuffing, stuffed mushrooms (as an app), mashed potatoes, gravy, beer can chicken, roasted brussel sprouts with bacon, and beer bread. And for dessert, we had pecan tassies, sweet cream, and pumpkin cheesecake mousse parfaits. The meal was absolutely delectable. Sadly, as soon as we finished dinner, I zonked out. I can't even blame it on the tryptophan since we didn't have any turkey, I was just plain tired. Overall, it was definitely a successful day and reminded me why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!

The Feast!

The next day we had plenty of leftovers so Tay got creative and made stuffing pancakes (kind of like crab cakes, but with stuffing). They were delicious! The savory combination of the bread and sausage smothered in delicious syrup was spectacular. Definitely one of the better dishes of leftover stuffing I've ever had!

Leftover Stuffing Pancakes.

Overall, I'd say our first Thanksgiving alone was a success. I am so thankful for the wonderful life I have, my family, my friends, a job, and of course, Taylor. Miss you all and I hope you had an equally fabulous Thanksgiving as well!

I'm still here...I swear.

Ugh. So it turns out I am just as bad at blogging as I am at calling. Sorry bout that! I swear I will try to be better now that I'm getting settled in to my new routine. :)

Now that the pleasantries are over, here are some long overdue updates on whats happening in my life:

1. I PASSED THE NEW YORK BAR EXAM!

YAY! I literally cried when I found out cause I was so relieved. I had convinced myself that I wasn't going to pass so when I saw the "Congratulations" on the screen, I just let it all out. One bar down, one to go (I find out about Jersey tomorrow!). To celebrate this milestone, my office provided some delicious bubbly.

The long awaited results!

Congratulations from work...

Which brings me to number 2...

2. I AM OFFICIALLY A WORKING WOMAN.

Hurricane Sandy pushed  back my start date by a week, but I am now officially two weeks in as a full time working woman. Let me just say...having a job is hard work! Who knew? Now I remember why I went back to school. :) After having spent the last three years on a student schedule, it is definitely an adjustment getting used to the hours at the office. Plus, everything on the east coast starts so much later. It is just plain odd. Work doesn't start until 9:30 (although I am expected to get in early to put in the face time) and then you are lucky if you leave the office before 7. By the time I get home it is after 8 and I am so tuckered out that I am in bed by 10 or 11. I've become boring (if I wasn't already). I'm going to have to train myself to become a night owl and stay up until midnight or 1 every day so that I can spend at least some portion of my day relaxing with Taylor.

Speaking of Tay, he has been AMAZING the first couple weeks at my job. This is definitely an adjustment period to say the least. I am a roller coaster of emotions when I get home from the office and Tay is so sweet to put up with it (and to cook me dinner...I'm so spoiled!). One day I love my job and am excited at the prospect the future brings and the next I am a bundle of nerves and uncertainty, drowning in self-doubt and overwhelming expectations.  Law school prepares you on paper, but it is nothing like the real world practice of law. Hopefully, I will get a grip on things soon so that I don't drive Tay completely crazy. :) 

In the meantime, I take pride in the one thing I have mastered...my commute (as modified by the Hurricane). I think I could actually pass as a real New Yorker on the train. I leave the house, pop in my headphones to blare a little Taylor Swift (LOVE her new album!), and head to the office. I now understand why everyone in Manhattan wears headphones when they walk around. You can totally block out the ambient noise of the streets and feel like you are in your own world. It is AWESOME. Perks me up as I bounce down the streets of New York. Although, I have to check myself that I am not singing along out loud...I've now done that twice. Crazy singing person on the train? Check! 

Another first for me...

3. I EXPERIENCED MY FIRST NOR'EASTER.

So just after the hurricane, another storm passed through the tri-state area and knocked out power to a bunch of people who had literally just got it back. (we kept our power). Here are some pictures of the first snow storm of the year (likely the first of many I would imagine):

Walking in a winter wonderland...

Took me 25 minutes to walk home in this...I almost fell three times.

Luckily the storm passed quickly, which was great because that weekend...

4. OUR FIRST VISITORS CAME TO TOWN!

One of my favorite people (and former roomie), Matt came to visit us last week. Having him here was like we were still living in Seattle. Tay and Matt had a bromantical adventure together, doing what boys do (which involves a lot of video games) while I watched the girliest television imaginable and listened to their chastising remarks...Aw, the good ole days. It was great to have Matt here, felt more like home. Sadly, I forgot to take any pictures with him. Guess he'll just have to come back and visit again soon!

As luck would have it, we got doubly spoiled with visitors last weekend, as Danah and Josh were in New York for the weekend as well. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I. LOVE. THEM. We met up on Saturday night for a crazy fun-filled adventure. We hit up a comedy show (where we sat front row and became comedian fodder), watched the Oregon game, and downed a few beverages. Another memorable evening with two of my favorite people on the planet. Can't wait until our next reunion.  

After the comedy show.

Laughing hysterically...as always. Reminds me of another certain picture...see next photo. :)

FLASHBACK to the Rainiers days...You. Do. Not. Know. How much I have missed you Day!

Reunited.

Can't wait for our next reunion. Love you guys!

and finally....

5. I HAVE A NEW NIECE!

My sister and my brother are both officially parents now. I am so excited to welcome the newest addition to the family...Cathrine Elizabeth...Congratulations Jake and Lauren! Cathrine joins the next generation of Hocketts along with my sister's son Noah. I could not be more excited and I can't wait to meet the little one. Now is where I post a ton of pictures of my adorable family...just cause I love them.

My sister and My brother. Both officially parents, my how time flies.

The Hockett kids and their kids!

The excited grandparents.

Cathrine in Wonderland.

The new happy family.

How adorable is she?!?

Proud...and tired Papa.

I can't leave Noah out...how cute is he?!? One of my favorite pictures EVER.

 Alright. That is all the updates I have for now (I have a couple wedding updates, but I'll save that for a future post). I officially made it to 12:30 am. Time to go to bed. Enjoy the short week everyone!

Love you!

A Not So Warm Welcome to the East Coast...Courtesy of Frankenstorm 2012

Well I survived my first hurricane. As a native of the west coast, I never thought I would say that phrase. One thing I learned, nature is a force that I don't particularly want to wrestle with.

I was telling a friend of mine today that I was strategic in my move to the East Coast...by moving at the worst possible time, it can only get better right...right?!? That's the mindset I have chosen to go with. Also, I got a week paid vacation before I even started work. Not many people can say that huh? Hey, I'm looking on the bright side here. The devastation around us is incredible. We haven't been able to venture out very far, but in our little city alone it is evident that many families and businesses will be feeling the effects of this storm for years to come.

As for me and Tay...we are some of the lucky few who made it through Hurricane Sandy unscathed. A little worse for the wear because of the lack of power and water, but I'd take that any day of the week over what others are going through. 

So here is my account of Hurricane Sandy: Our area was evacuated early Monday if you lived in the basement level or first floor. Since we are in a high rise, we got to stay put. The most intense part of the storm that we felt was the wind. It literally shook the whole building. I think we felt it more because we are higher up (the 28th floor). I tried to take a video, but every video we took didn't quite demonstrate how loud and frightening the storm was.  I found this link online and I think this pretty much says it all. It was a video taken from three blocks north and one block east (toward the water).

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-867824?ref=email

On Monday night we looked out our bedroom window and where there is typically a park that extends out and separates the river into two sections, all we saw was water...all the way up to the building next to us. It was crazy. The storm surge had pushed the flooding up to our building on two sides, but never entered the building so, luckily, we have no water damage. The power to our building (and all of Jersey City for that matter) went out on Monday. It is amazing how much we take for granted. Light, water, electricity, phone service. We only spent a day and a half without power and we were going stir crazy. As for the current situation...power was restored this morning, but the water is contaminated and has to be boiled before we can use it. Also, the hot water is not working because the boilers had been off too long. This morning at around 4 AM we got a loud wakeup call from people banging on our front door. Apparently, the neighbors had left their water on so when the water came back on it flooded the apartment and the apartment below it. Luckily we don't have any water in our apartment, but showers are a no-go for now.

After the storm, Tay and I went for a walk around the city to see the damage. It was unreal. Down by the waterfront there were restaurants that you could look into and see that the water had gone in and flipped everything upside down. It appeared that the water had been up above the counter level at points because of the way things were sprawled out. It was unimaginable. There was debris everywhere. Even in downtown (away from the waterfront) there were people pumping water out of the basement levels of their homes and there were trees down near the city hall. Definitely send your prayers for those who can't return to their homes because of the damage. Overall, Jersey City fared far better than the neighboring town of Hoboken where we almost lived. I think the standing water there is still about knee high. I took a few photos of the city on our walk (except the first one which my friend Sharon sent me).

A view of Manhattan from Hoboken, NJ. Basically all buildings south of 42nd street are without power until Monday or so...

One of two docking stations in our building to charge our phones. One power cord from the generator connected to about five outlet strips. There were people holed up next to buildings that had generators outside using the external plugs just to charge their phones.

A downed stop light in Jersey City.

A broken light pole down by the waterfront.

Debri from flooding about a block from the Waterfront. The building in the background is ours...

So there it is. Please send positive thoughts to all those who didn't fare as well as we did. For me, the storm was a big ole slap in the face about how much I rely on technology in my daily life and how easy it is to overlook the basics like clean and hot water.

I will say this though...I have never looked forward to a shower more in my life...

Love you all. Hope you are safe and warm this evening. :)