Bridges Through Life

NYC Christmas Trip 2018

December 17, 2018 by Alicia 2 Comments

For three years now, I have gone to NYC in December to see a show. I would like to continue this tradition as I find it’s better than any wrapped gift. A day with Brian or friends in the city and seeing a show and not knowing which show you will see, is the best. I was happy Brian and I could make the trip this year. Last year we brought along a friend which made it really fun, but this year was just us and it was still wonderful.

We left around 7:30am from the house and drove to Secaucus, NJ to take the train into the city. We arrived and parked at the train station around 10:30am and just missed the train before a 45 minute wait which was unfortunate, but we made it work. Brian looked up what shows were available from the TKTS booth when they opened. We decided to see The Play That Goes Wrong. I was actually very interested in seeing this play because I heard it was so funny and it did not disappoint. It also closes on Jan 6^th, so I was happy we chose it. We got to cut the line to go to the “play only” line for the TKTS booth which left us enough time to grab some lunch at a Thai place nearby and then swing around to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza.

Crossing the street as you get closer to the tree is always crazy!! It was also 50 degrees and so nice that my fingers were not freezing so we could take photos. We were even sweating with all the walking we were doing.

Then it was time to stand in line for the play. I couldn’t believe how the line went down the block to get in.

I was laughing so hard I was crying at times. The play was really good and different from seeing a musical.

After the play, I was tired and knew we had a long trip home. We decided to head back to the train station. We passed a bakery and picked up a piece of chocolate peanut butter cake and a cookie. Then we picked up some tacos to go at the Madison Square Food court area.

When we got on the train, we dug into the dessert. The cake was good, but I did not taste peanut butter so I was a bit disappointed. Then I had asked for a ginger cookie and they gave me a peanut butter one. I guess that was my peanut butter…I mean both were good, but slightly disappointing as I was looking forward to a ginger cookie. Oh well.

A short train ride and then we found my car. We ate our tacos in the parking lot and then headed home. We made it back just before 9pm which was perfect to shower and head to bed. A good 14,000 steps walked through the city. It was a bit rushed with the timing of getting there, but it was still a perfect day to walk around the city since the rain passed and it was 50 degrees. I am just waiting for the temps to drop again and snow to dump on us like it did in November, but for now I guess it will be a green Christmas after a very white Thanksgiving…

What’s your favorite Christmas tradition?

First Semester Grad School Reflection

December 12, 2018 by Alicia Leave a Comment

I can’t tell you how excited I am right now, because I have just completed my first semester of grad school. While final grades will not be out until next week sometime, I already know I am on track for an A in both classes. I finished up my last accounting exam on Saturday morning and I was super nervous about it because it was on stocks and bonds that were actually really hard for me to fully understand. Thank goodness it was open notes and everything but I just took my time and took the longest I did for any of the other exams to fully think through the questions. I was happy when I hit submit and only missed a couple that I had guessed on. There were even some that I guessed on that I did get correct so I was happy about that too. And now the pressure is lifted for a month as I enjoy the holidays.

I did want to reflect on my first semester though. I am only taking 2 classes at a time and I honestly can’t imagine taking more than that along with working full time and keeping my gym schedule (which is important to my sanity). October and the first couple weeks of November were definitely the hardest. I spent a good 8 hours at times of my weekends working on assignments and preparing for the week. However, even with all that, it gave me something to be excited about. Honestly, I love my program so much!! I was worried initially with doing online classes because I do like the actual sitting in a classroom and interacting with others. I worried about feeling alone with online classes, but part of the main reason I applied to Penn State’s program was the fact that you have interaction with the teachers and other students as you are put in teams. I didn’t realize when I applied that I would have group assignments throughout the program, but the first class you are required to take is a Teaming Class. I have to say it was really interesting and I was grateful to have such a great first team.

Looking back at this year (and I plan to write another post to reflect on 2018), one of my goals was to get into grad school. Also I would say the best week of the year was my one week at Penn State. Despite the fact that there was a lot of reading homework and it was a full 8 hours or more of class and interaction, it was amazing!! I was riding the high from the week for the rest of August and into September. Every time the stress of assignments got tough, I would remind myself, I chose this. I chose this program and I know it is a way I am investing now for my future.

I think back to my undergrad years and I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I just knew, I had to go to college. I graduated with my bachelor’s in 2012 and soon after, I wasn’t happy with my first job and I wanted more, but I still didn’t know what. I thought about grad school, but how would I pay for that and why was I going? At that point, I was thinking about grad school as a way out of working and as I went through the process, I just wasn’t feeling motivated or that it was right. If I went to grad school, I wanted to feel like it was right, because while my undergrad degree felt like it was something I HAD to get, a graduate degree felt more like an option.

So it took 5 years from graduating and working in 3 states before I decided to look into graduate degrees again. With a specific purpose in mind, it came down to 2 schools, Syracuse and Penn State because of the concentrations they offered and the flexibility of online. Penn State was my top choice and I couldn’t have been more excited to start. I was nervous, but that quickly went away when I met up with people in person at our week residency. Everyone of all range of ages from 20-50 years old. So many backgrounds and so much networking. I felt like I belonged. I was happy to share my travels and listen to other people’s travels. To top it off, I knew I was not in this alone. I had my team. I have Penn State as a team and the other 79 students who started the same week as me. We may all take the program at our own pace, but it was an amazing uplifting week.

As the semester went on, things didn’t change. We had live sessions with our teachers each week or every other week, which are great for interacting not only with other students, but with your teacher directly. The teachers were very responsive with questions too. Also, school gave me something to work on outside of work and the gym. It kept me busy as Brian has been away a lot of the past 5 months. Now that he is home…we will see how Spring goes lol. But it was still exciting to be learning something new. In addition, I loved the team class as we learned about why a team fails and how to make a team succeed. There is so much I took away from this semester, but one thing is that I also can believe in myself more and look back to see how much I accomplished and I look forward to the next semester after a little break.

Have you ever taken online classes? If so, do you prefer online or in person?

Stitch Fix, Yoga play and Gingerbread Men

December 10, 2018 by Alicia 1 Comment

After a very long week at work, I came home to an exciting package Friday night. I got another Stitch Fix. It was fun to come home and try my new shirts on. Unfortunately the shirts either didn’t fit well or were ¾ sleeve style, which is not my style. I decided to keep the sweater though (pictured lower right). One thing I didn’t expect and I tried it on first and didn’t expect to keep it, but it was so soft and fuzzy and the only thing I really loved from the box. I think it’s perfect to wear with jeans for a casual look, around the house or even to work. I try to find pieces that have multiple purposes so they are worth the money.

I was so tired Friday night. I ate some leftovers and watched some tv for a while. Finally around 8pm, I decided to get my butt off the couch and do some studying for my final accounting test. I took the practice test and it did not go well, but I decided to sleep and study more in the morning.

Saturday morning I made a good filling breakfast and got to work. I did some more review and then I finally opened the test. It was open notes and book, which was very good. I added to my notes after doing the practice test. I also marked some pages in my book which was helpful. About an hour and a half later, I was done and I did well even with a few guesses. Finally a weight was lifted as I was worried about that test all week. Brian was away for the week to give me time to study and help his mom some around her house. It worked out well.

After my test I headed to Wegmans to load up on tons of groceries for the week and then it was time for my favorite snack plate lunch.

I started to watch a Christmas movie, but then I got distracted and started cleaning and doing laundry. I then made some gingerbread cookie dough and put it in the fridge overnight.

Brian got home around 5, which was perfect for dinner. He picked up some spedie chicken salads and we enjoyed those while watching Nailed It Holiday Edition. Nailed it seriously makes you laugh out loud so much.

At 7 though I was so exhausted. Tiredness just hit me, but thanks to Nailed it for keeping me awake until almost 9.

A good 10ish hours of sleep and Sunday morning I made some pancakes for breakfast and then we headed to the gym. Lately, I haven’t been as motivated and excited at the gym, so I have kind of strayed from my planned workouts and decided that I would just have some yoga fun at the gym Sunday. Brian did his workout. I rowed 500m and then did some stretching and yoga flows for almost 30 minutes. I worked on my arm balances again which I used to practice everyday. I miss having a yoga studio to go to as my favorite one has been closed since the end of September. They are searching for a new location and I have done some yin yoga at another studio here and there, but not enough yoga lately. My goal for this week is to slow down and do some yoga.

After the gym, I had a return to make and also had some Kohls cash to use. I spent it on some more bath towels…yay adulting!!

Then it was time for some lunch, another mix of leftovers to clean out food from the fridge last week. Then it was time to make my annual gingerbread cookies.

gingerbread1 — gingerbread station set up

I forgot powered sugar at the store and I thought well that’s fine because we have made powdered sugar in the blender before. So I put Brian on powdered sugar duty and he makes the frosting, except it turned out a little too thick and it was so hot from being blended so long. It was a bit of a fail and I didn’t frost as many gingerbread men this year as I normally do, but the cookies turned out delicious and I lost count how many I ate.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty laid back. More cleaning because making cookies makes a mess. Then I continued that cleaning spree and going through my suitcases of clothes to try to organize my clothes and get rid of ones I don’t wear anymore. I have a nice big bag of clothes to donate now. Somehow when you put away your clothes and don’t see them for a while, it’s just easier to part with them. Plus, less is more right now.

Christmas Spirit and Decorating

December 3, 2018 by Alicia 1 Comment

It was a jam packed weekend and I think I need a weekend to recover from my weekend, especially since I didn’t really do any studying for my accounting exam I need to take this week. I did have a lot of fun though. I may fall asleep at 8 tonight as I write this Sunday night and it’s somehow only 5pm and I am tired and so is Brian. I blame the rainy gloomy weather we had today and also the busyness of shopping and running around.

Friday night was a chill night. I worked late for month end so I wasn’t home until about 7pm. I had a small snack and watched a movie on the couch.

With the sun rising later and the days growing shorter, I sleep in later too. I slept easily until 7am on Saturday morning. I felt I needed the sleep, because I felt so off on Thursday and Friday and my stomach had been bothering me. Sleep on Friday night was finally better and a solid 10 hours!!

Brian and I still started the morning slow. We each made some breakfast and relaxed for a bit. Around 8:30 we finally got moving and I had to drop off my car because my tires hate me as always. It was nice to have Brian home so we could still run errands. I volunteered to do some shopping for a family we adopted at work for Christmas. Since the kids wanted some winter clothes, I headed to Kohls and found some cute sweaters and leggings. The items I picked up were on sale and I had an additional coupon so I was surprised when I only spent half the money I had to spend. We then headed to Target for a few items for me and some more for the kids. By the time we were done at Target, my car was ready. They found one tire sensor that had gone bad and I gave them permission to replace it. I want to replace all 4 due to age and to keep them all new at the same time, but with all my recent car repairs and school, I need some time to save. I was happy and relieved when they did discover one was bad to verify I am not going completely crazy and calm my nerves.

After Target we still had to hit up Wegmans. That was a quick stop since my list is pretty similar each week and I know that store so well. Checking out probably takes longer than my shopping most times.

Then it was back to get my car and head home to unload all the bags. I was shopping for 3 kids so I sorted out the piles for each kid and added up how much I spent per child as well, to try to keep it even.

After eating some lunch, we headed out to get our Christmas tree!! In our 9 years together, we did get 1 tree back in Philadelphia in 2015, but this was our first year picking and cutting down a tree and putting it up in OUR house.

Since the snow was melting away this weekend by our house, I was not expecting the tree farm to have so much snow. Definitely glad I wore my snow boot even if I picked short socks and my boots got filled with snow. Luckily it didn’t take us long to decide on a tree.

We stopped at a friend’s house on the way back home and then it was time to make dinner already. I forgot to take a photo of my beautiful turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash. It was a great meal. I then watched a Christmas movie while Brian went down to his “man cave.”

Sunday was another busy day. We enjoyed sleeping in and got a “late” start to the gym around 9am. It was still a good workout though. We then headed to the store to get avocados and eggs. Brian called us typical millennials going to the store in our gym clothes and buying avocados and eggs.

After a quick snack and a change of clothes, I headed out for some shopping, on a mission for a tree skirt, a tree star and some more items for the kids I was shopping for. Hitting up Home Goods, Michaels and TJ Maxx, I made out with some good finds. Unfortunately the stocking holders I got didn’t work on our mantle and Brian decided to stick an ornament hook into the mantle and that actually held up better so I will be returning the ones I bought. Round mantles make it difficult, but I still enjoy my cute decorations all 40-60% off at Michaels already.

I decorated the tree and facetimed with my sister for a bit. I was trying to explain to Brian how to decorate by putting the lights around the WHOLE tree, yes even the back. We even usually decorated the whole back of the tree growing up because my parent’s just have so many ornaments, probably enough for at least 3 trees!!

I did the bulk of the decorating and then Brian helped build the chairs for our new table finally. Man those chairs were a lot of work and the instructions were confused to me. I kept putting pieces together backwards apparently…so I let Brian do the bulk of the work while I sorted screws and cleaned up the cardboard and wrapping. I swear with all our recent package deliveries we have filled the recycling bin in a couple days. I have to wait until Thursday for pick up now.

Oh speaking of packages, I got my new capris I ordered from Alo last minute Black Friday browsing online. They fit like a glove and are so cute. I haven’t bought much workout attire recently except for a couple sports bras over the summer so I am excited to have a new pair of capris. I wear capris a lot for doing squats because it’s easier to put on knee sleeves with capris vs long leggings.

Alright so back to my much needed studying…I can’t believe this is the last week of classes for my first Fall semester of Grad school. While there were stressful times with a lot to do, I still love my program. Looking forward to some weekend mini trips for December and then spring semester will start.

Do you decorate the back of your Christmas tree?

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