This year for Thanksgiving I stayed in New York. Sure, I wanted to go home and have some of the good ole' southern cooking that I know and love but due to the extreme costs of the plane tickets and all the traveling that I have been doing I decided to stay in the city. Thankfully a few of my friends did too.
Last year I cooked for 20 of Jon's closest friends in London for Thanksgiving. So this year I told myself that I would not take charge and do all the organizing and cooking. BIG mistake.
We originally planned to wake up early and line up to watch the Parade. I have never done that in the years that I have been in the city and told myself that I would this year. The night before I get a phone call that no one wants to wake up that early and stand in the cold. Boo! I was a little upset but come Thanksgiving morning I was ok with it. We all decided the night before that we would meet on the upper west side at a friends apt for breakfast and to watch it on TV. So Meredith and I hopped on the subway and headed up.
I thought that we could get off at Columbus Circle to at least see some of the balloons with our own eyes. She was up for it. 
I am as happy as a little girl waiting to witness my first balloon sighting. We were on the other side of the parade so we couldn't see the floats and bands but could hear a little. They don't do near as much walking down the streets as they show on TV. 
First balloon sighting is Shrek. He was huge as you can see. He looked like he was going to take out some of the street lights. How do they control these things when the wind picks up?
Waiting on my second one. I can see it coming. It's Horton Hears a Who. 
Not knowing that story very well I was a little unimpressed by it. Where were all the others, like Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Garfield???
This is when it was time to leave. Giant candy canes. This kind doesn't even make it on TV. It takes forever for one balloon to pass that I didn't want to stand outside and wait for the others. 
So NOTE TO ALL OF YOU: If you are ever in NYC for Thanksgiving just watch the parade on TV. It's better. Unless you are at Macy's and can watch it with all the excitement.
While we were standing out in the cold we got a call from Ayla saying that no one was meeting for breakfast early and we were just going to go to Brooklyn to start getting the feast ready.
Yes, I was upset once again. Not only did I wake up early and trek all the way to the Upper West Side i missed most of parade and could have had a better time watching it on TV. I was not a happy camper when I arrived to Brooklyn.
But seeing how it was Thanksgiving I tried to ignore my anger and make the most of the holiday. We opened a bottle of wine early.
We had 6 people and everyone brought what was "Thanksgiving to Them" for the meal. As most of you know I am very particular about what I eat. Some would call it picky. I like to say that I have a unique pallet. I cooked Green bean Casserole, Pink Stuff (a fruit salad that my mom always has) mashed potatoes and homemade cranberry sauce (that I don't even eat). 
After few hours of preparing all the food and cooking the turkey we were finally ready to eat.
Once the food started passing I noticed that there was only a few things that I could put on my plate and those few things happened to be what I cooked. No turkey, because it was on the bone. No stuffing because it had sausage in it. A broccoli dish that I had to pass on because I don't like broccoli. Brussels Sprouts, no thanks. And a few others that just didn't match my pallet. Where was all the food I was use to? Oh ya, back in the South. It's my own fault for having such a unique pallet. I have been trying to overcome this fault of mine but it will take a few more years I'm afraid.
So even though I had to wake up early, miss the parade, miss breakfast, stand in the cold, go to Brooklyn and not eat anything I still am very Thankful.
I am thankful for my mom and dad and their unconditional love and support. Jon for loving me for me being me (unique pallet and all). My friends for being my support system. The rest of my family for making me who I am.
The moment this flashed up on the screen the city below rang out. There was celebrating in the streets and screams like when we won the Superbowl. It was insane.
I feel that both candidates gave beautiful speeches. Kudos to the speech writers for doing a great job. 
Our new friends Tim and Rachel that just moved here from CA. Tim looks a bit like Jimmy Fallon, dontcha think?
Maybe a little too much...
Here he is, the one and only Champagne Charlie. He is the host of the night and a fab tap dancer.
Antanella and Warren, aka The Woz. Great Friends of Jon and now me.
How many more photos can we take like this. I think we need to spice it up.
I often wondered if Robin, Batman's sidekick, was gay. My question was answered. Not that there's anything wrong with it....
With the season changing we tend to eat indoors more often. It starts getting to cold to eat at sidewalk cafes' at night. But on the bright side we get to try places that we have been wanting to try all summer. Ayla, Rachel and I trying out a new Mexican Place in the West Village. I am always on the hunt for good Mexican food up here. 
Trying to take full advantage of every opportunity to be outside Meredith and I went on a walk down the West Side Walkway. It's our usual place to run. I loved the way the sun was setting over the Hudson River. It even made New Jersey look pretty.
One of my views while I run is the Statue of Liberty. It always makes me smile and thankful that I followed my dream.
I know this didn't really turn out exactly the way I was hoping but something about it makes it even better than I was shooting for. It's my small camera zooming as far as it could on the Statue of Liberty. 
With every new of season come a new adventure. My roommate Angie got married. All three of these girls have been my roommates. Meredith (on the far right) was my first here in the city, Ayla (far left) was the second and Angie was the third. So many great memories!! 
One of my favorite things to do in this city is bike riding. It's the best way to see the city. On Columbus Day we road around Central Park and had a picnic. I always wish I would do it more often.
One of my best high school friends came to NY for work. Tyler Turner. It was so great to see her. I haven't seen her in years. She was a cheerleader with me since 7th grade and one of my best friends.
