Live Music

   Ever since I can remember, there has always been music in my life. Growing up my parents had tons of records, my dad loved Billy Joel. Mom always had the radio on, especially when we had cleaning projects.  I remember dancing around the house to "Phantom of the Opera" with my sisters. As amazing as it is to listen to music at home, there is something about seeing live performances, they are just better, I wonder if its because you can feel the energy of the musician in the air, and the excitement of all of the people.

  I've always loved Ireland, and about four years ago a friend of mine introduced me to an Irish group, Celtic Thunder. They aren't really a group, more of a bunch of guys who each have their own style of singing and work together. Occasionally when they are not touring as a group,  they go around to smaller venues and preform individually. I love it! Back in March, one of the members came to Yonkers, NY and I was able to go see him. I was a bit nervous, because I went on my own. I had a blast!! I was fortunate enough to meet him after and he was lovely.

This was the view we mostly saw of Keith. He looked down most of the time. But he can play well.

                                                   His acoustic version of "Lauren & I"

                                              Keith channeling Garth Brooks' "Baton Rouge"

Me and Keith Harkin

Me and Barry. Barry also is with Celtic Thunder. He is the man who plays all sorts of instruments

                                                      Keith chatting with the audience






A week later I was able to attend the taping of Paul Byrom's PBS special with my friend Jolene. The tickets were an early birthday gift from my friend Amy.

The view from our box seats

Wow, my hair was really long

The stairs going to our seats were incredibly narrow and creepy to walk to

                                        



                                              

Shoes

     If I like something, clothes, shoes, I tend to wear them until they wear out. So, I don't always see the need to buy new ones all of the time. Granted, I'm unemployed so I am careful with how I spend the money that I have. However today I realized the importance of shoes.

     My dad passed away almost three months ago. Wow, strange to say/write that, but there it is. It's kind of sad. I think about him often, and sometimes those thoughts make me happy, and other times it makes me sad. 

     I have one pair of black flats. I love to wear them for all church Sunday activities because they are incredibly comfortable and cute. The rest of my black shoes have high heels, and I don't like to wear high heals, they are not as comfortable. 

     When my dad passed, I packed my favorite pair of black flats to wear to his funeral. I didn't think twice about it. However I forgot to factor in UT in the winter. The area where his grave is was plowed for us, yet there was A LOT of mud. It was gross. So after the funeral, as I was packing up to go back to NJ, I noticed my lovely shoes were no longer lovely; they were covered in mud. So I wrapped each one in a plastic grocery bag and went on my way. 
     When I got home I unpacked and took my shoes into my bathroom. When I pulled them out of the bag I was instantly reminded of my dad and that day. I didn't have the heart to clean my lovely black shoes. So I put them back in the bags and tucked them under my sink. I left them there until today. So, for the past three months I have worn all of my different kinds of shoes to church, black, brown, and all of them have high heels. I didn't realize it, but I wasn't ready to clean my shoes that I wore that cold day in UT, burying my dad. 

     Today, I went into the city for the first time in three months and needed to wear good shoes that would allow me to walk around NYC in, so you guessed it, I washed my shoes today. Today was the perfect day to wash them, because I started working as an ordinance worker in the Manhattan Temple. I thought it was the perfect way to "break in" wearing my shoes again. It actually made me smile today while washing them, and thinking of my dad. My dad would have loved to know that I was finally working in the temple, as I have wanted to for many years. Here I am, right outside the NYC temple after my shift at the temple tonight.

  I know I look a bit tired, but it was an amazing experience and I can't wait to go back next Friday. (Wearing my lovely back shoes!)
  

The Many Sides of Allyson

A few days ago my sister Allyson had a birthday. I've been going through old photos these last few months and thought that this birthday would be good (even though its a few days late!) to show her that she is loved!

 She has a lot of friends, but I don't have any pics of them, sorry! I was going to label this post, "She Makes 'em Laugh" but there is more to Allyson than just laughs, she is amazing and I love her. Happy late Birthday!

Remembering Dad

Charles Ralph Hajek July 6, 1940 - February 4, 2013

2012

Last year I wasn't that great at blogging all of my fun adventures. So, to catch up, here is last year...in pictures.

I started making paper word beads. My sister Heather created them and I took over her etsy shop selling them. I also take care of Charlotte, she is a cutie!

                                 I went to Boston with friends...where everyone knows your name!

  For those of you who don't know...it's against the law in New Jersey to pump your own gas. So, for my birthday last year my friend and I went to Newport, RI. That was the first time I pumped gasoline in a really long time.

             This pic is the Single Adult Memorial Day Picnic...what a day. We had to stay for 8 hours. The heat was making us miserable, but when you are in charge of the activity, you get to stay the entire time. Here we go, all of us, Me, Jolene, Belinda, Luis, Sara, Geovanny, Rilee.

 Charlotte was blessed to become a big sister to little Harper Rose. As you can see, Charlotte likes to play dress up with baby Harper.

  My friends and I went into NYC for the day and went to the chocolate restaurant Max Brenner. The above pic is of onion rings sprinkled with chili powder and cocoa, with Chocolate Ranch dip on the side. It tasted alright surprisingly!

    This was a really really hot summer July day in NYC. You can't tell because of all of the bright lights, but it was actually about 9 pm when this picture was taken. I was melting, as you can see. I think the temp was in the high 90s, and 100% humidity.

   My friend Jolene and I like to go to Liberty State Park and watch the sunset, it is a great way to relax and enjoy the moment. It is also nice to see the sun go down and see all of the lights go on in NYC.

   I LOVE sushi. I took a pic of this because it was so pretty. It was just as yummy as it looked too!

                I got a temp job in midtown NYC, and passed this lovely waterfall everyday. I would sit here before work sometimes and just enjoy the quiet moment in the city.

                                 
                                                                   Me at work!

                                 My friend Jolene at our ward's Trunk or Treat...all of the kids were so excited that we made homemade Root Beer. It was fun!

  Right after the trunk or treat, we had a little storm...Sandy. The trees above are just some of the many that were down. We lost power for 12 days, and the pic below shows how we were connected to a generator outside that allowed us to have water, power, heat, and a few other basics.

       The grocery stores looked like this after the storm...scary when all of the shelves are empty.

   We cheered when we saw power trucks, because we knew how hard the employees were working. It was amazing and exciting to see power trucks from other states all around NJ. Not that you can tell, but these trucks are from Utah.

  After the storm, the commute into NYC was challenging. Usually when taking the train, the conductors are very anal about not letting anyone block the walkways and stairs. However after the storm they were just trying to fit as many people onto the few working trains as they could. They didn't even bother to check for train tickets. So many people had free rides!