FRIDAY "NYC" SKY - HAPPY NEW YEAR - GOODBYE 2010, HELLO 2011

Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year. May 2011 and the coming years be filled with peace, love and happiness.

Since I am not there with millions of (crazy and drunken-mostly tourists) people standing around for hours at Times Square waiting for the New Year’s Eve tradition of “dropping” the ball, I am posting these photos taken from our trip to NYC last month at Thanksgiving.These photos were taken at Times Square Visitors Center, the city’s first comprehensive one-stop shop for general information, box offices for sightseeing and theater tickets, MetroCards, a small gift shop selling memorabilia and souvenirs. There were restrooms open to the public which is a rare thing to find in NYC, especially in this area. I don’t know whether because it was the holidays so no one took care of the restrooms but it sure could use a good cleaning.

Here is Times Square and its famous huge billboards, bright digital displays of world news and stock quotes and of course, the network studios in sky-high buildings. The area is hardly less crowded any time of the year, but of course, at this moment, there would not be any tiny spots without a body standing on it. Times Square on New Year's Eve looks like a big can of sardine tightly packed with human bodies (drunken fools).

The words according to Qaptain Qwerty, since I won't be able to lose weight or change job (I never smoke so quit smoking does not count) by the stroke of midnight, writing the last blog spot of 2010 seems to be logical and easy. Thanks Qap for a great suggestion. You are always the smart one in the family - haa haa.

TUESDAY TWO - BLACKHAWKS v. REDWINGS

Here are a few more photos from the Wings v. Blackhawks game in Chicago.

The Chicago Blackhawks are visiting St. Louis today. Guess who is in the line up, #81 Marian Hossa, of course. I thought of getting tickets for this game but if I did, Hossa probably would still be out.

I save the best photo for last, #2 Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman from Winnipeg, Manitoba, for this week Tuesday Two theme.

AFTER CHRISTMAS

On Sunday, December 26th, the day after Christmas, instead of being at the mall trying to find all the bargains, we were at the Rams v. the 49ers game. We went to 8:30 a.m. Mass but had to stay until 10:15 a.m. Mass to help with selling scripts. It was my husband's turn as part of his service with the Council (Knights of Columbus).

We got to the game just in time for the National Anthem. Parking spaces were at premium because everyone was willing to pay extra to park at the lots closest to the stadium since it was freezing and the wind chill was unbearable.

It was a good game. The Rams won 25-17. It was also Fans Appreciation Day but we did not win any prizes. Nice items such as autographed jerseys, $200 gift cards, 32" and 46" TV with sound bar were given away by random drawings of seats. The iPad was a hot item and there were at least three iPads were given away like it was cotton candy!

That is #8 Sam Bradford, the rookie quarterback who has been the talk of the town. Rams' fans started to attend the games with their heads held high and once again began to have hopes for a playoffs spot.

A WHITE CHRISTMAS IN ST. LOUIS

On Saturday, the snow continued to fall throughout Christmas Day. The snowflakes were so fine that at first it looked like the snow has stopped. We had nowhere to go, so we did not mind that it was snowing! Compared to previous posted photos, you could tell that the snow has really piled up on the bench and started weighing down the tree branches.

I got up around 8:30 a.m. and was wide awake even though we did not get home until 2:30 a.m. from attending Midnight Mass and did not get to bed until after 3:00 a.m.

It was a nice relaxing Christmas Day. After breakfast, we shared a piece of birthday cake since it was my husband’s birthday (a Christmas baby). I continued to catch up on reading the library books I took out last week while my husband watched his favorite silly movie, A Christmas Story! We took a nap in the afternoon, got up and ate some more. The same routine was repeated with dinner, pies and then it was time for bed.

The midnight Mass at the New St. Louis Cathedral was wonderful. We left the house around 10:30 p.m. and thanks to the road crews, the highway was all cleared. A new parking lot was added this summer and it was right at the corner which made it so much easier to walk to the cathedral. We found good seats in the center. It did not take long for all the seats to fill up from the time I took the photo below. We did not get home until 2:30 a.m. but we were not really tired since we already took a long nap in the afternoon.

I don’t remember what time we got to the cathedral last year but it was packed by the time we got there. We were lucky to find two seats far away to the right of the altar. We noticed that as soon as the music was over, a lot of people got up and left. So it was good that people who really were there for the Mass did not have to stand the entire length of service

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Wishing you and your family a Blessed Christmas.

And a Beary Merry Christmas!

These photos were taken during my leisure walk along Main Street in St. Charles a few weeks ago.

THEY BOWED DOWN AND WORSHIPED HIM

The star that they had seen in the east went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. They came to the place where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. (Matthew 2:9-11)

May we always be reminded of the Savior who came to bring us joy, love and peace.

FRIDAY SKY - SNOW AND MY FALLING RED WINGS

I got up around 9:30 this morning and saw that the snow has been gently falling after we went to bed around midnight. Why staying up so late, TOTA, you probably are asking? We came home after the Blues v. Wings game and I was up all night worrying about my falling beloved Red Wings. They lost 2 of the last 5 games. And it was just my luck that the two games the Wings lost were the Blackhawks game on December 17th (we were there) and last night against the Blues (and we were there)!

It is always so nice to be in my toasty warm robes and slippers, looking at the blanket of fluffy white snow covering my backyard. I planned to stay inside all day, sitting in my recliner (with the view – top photo), reading and relaxing. My husband has been up since 8:00 a.m. to make the pies (apple and pumpkin). He already cooked the fillings on Wednesday. This afternoon CP will be making the perogies. We are planning to attend midnight Mass at St. Louis Cathedral on Lindell Boulevard.

The Darling #13 Datsyuk was not in the line up due to a broken hand during the game against the Vancouver Canucks. The hockey god has played a pretty good joke on me. I was looking forward to seeing Mike Modano in the Red Wings jersey and he also suffered a hand injury last month. I took photos of Marian Hossa when he was with the Pittsburgh Penguins and also with the Red Wings. Hossa was injured 2 weeks ago and was not in the line up when we were at the game in Chicago last week. Two years ago, we got tickets to see the New Jersey Devils but Martin Brodeur was out due to an elbow surgery. No wonder, Chris Osgood (during his 2 years with the Blues) ran away so fast to the locker room when he saw me coming towards the ice rink at a practice at St. Louis Mills. Words around the NHL that when players see an old chubby short Asian woman, they should avoid any eye contact or not be in the area because she is a jinx!

Chris Osgood would have been among the 10th active goalies with a 400th win if the Red Wings did not squander the 1st period. The Wings came back strong the 2nd and 3rd period but still lost 3-4 to the Blues.

However you are celebrating the Holidays, wishing you and your family blessings and may peace and love filled your hearts and your homes!

HOW MANY SANTAS DOES IT TAKE TO CHECK THE LIST TWICE?

I saw many Santas from around the world while walking along the Main Street (St. Charles historic district) a few weeks ago. The Santas dressed in handcrafted clothing that was supposed to represent different heritage. Of course, my favorite Santa would have to be the American Santa (photo above).

There was only one Mrs. Santa and I did not ask which Santa was her husband! The one below must be a "Lewis and Clark" frontier Santa.

The Santas carry trading cards with information about their heritage. Next year I will remember to ask for the cards so I would be able to write about countries/heritage of each Santa.If you have some knowledge about these Santas and their heritage, what country they represent, please do share the information by sending your comments.

CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

We always stopped and admired this house every time we visited Main Street in St. Charles. It is one of the best looking home, tastefully decorated and has a warm look of a home should be.

BENJAMIN BACK IN THE HOOD

You probably wonder what’s up with Benjamin. Of course, we would not be visiting NYC without bringing Benjamin. On Thursday, we brought Benjamin along to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and that was a bad idea! After about five minutes, he said that he was hungry. We tried to find a street vendor among the millions of people at the parade. After finishing eating a hotdog and a pretzel, Benjamin complained that it was too crowded and that he could not move freely. Another five minutes and he was already bored to tears! We finally were able to find a coffee shop with WiFi connection and Benjamin was happy staying there playing games on the iPad.

The next few days, Benjamin decided that while we visited my godparents and went around City, that he would just hang out with his buddies from the hood in Bath Beach/Bensonhurst.

On Monday, November 29th, Benjamin came along when we went to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree. Seeing the ice skating rink reminded Benjamin of the time when he and his girlfriend, Ophelia, used to spend many hours there. Sadly, the relationship came to an end when Benjamin moved to St. Louis. Ophelia did not wish to leave her employment with the New York Rangers. We heard she was seen going to dinner with Henrik Lundqvist even though she thought Martin Biron as a goalie with the most beautiful eyes!

Benjamin wanted to go to the Museum of Natural History but we did not have enough time. There was so much to see in NYC. It is a place to be if you have money, free time and a youthful body to enjoy everything the City has to offer!