A little NYC Christmas magic

Last year, my five-year-old nephew's school (in Ottawa, Canada) was tracking the movements of the gingerbread man and he asked if I could share my NYC sightings with him as part of his class project.

Instead of telling him where I spotted the gingerbread man, I did a little recon and decided to show him. I thought you all might like to see a little New York magic (involving a gingerbread).

[Please note, all the photos below were taken last December with my old Canon camera]

Here is a peek at what I sent him...

***

Dear Owen,

The gingerbread man was first spotted running down Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of New York.

The gingerbread man jaywalked across Park Avenue and was stopped by a New York City police officer who told him if he was in a rush, he should take a taxi. So gingerbread man hopped in a cab and asked the driver to take him to midtown because he had important Christmas shopping to do!

The bright yellow cab zoomed the gingerbread man to FAO Schwarz, the most amazing toy store in the world with plush toys as high as the ceiling!

Cookie monster saw gingerbread man and tried to eat him - but the FAO Schwarz doorman saved him, thank goodness!

Just then the doorman smelled the gingerbread smell and couldn't resist... so he tried to eat the gingerbread man, too!!! Oh, no!!!

But gingerbread man escaped in time. He ran as fast as he could all the way down Fifth Avenue. Cookie monster and the FAO Schwarz doorman chased him. Gingerbread man ran on saying:

Run, run as fast as you can!

You can't catch me!

I'm the gingerbread man!

The gingerbread man kept running and running.

He ran by Tiffany's...

Past Trump Tower...

He ran by the Atlas Statue...

And Radio City Music Hall, too...

Gingerbread man finally slowed down when he saw the twinkling lights of the Rockefeller Christmas tree . It was the biggest and brightest Christmas tree he had ever seen!

Gingerbread man was overhead saying he wished Owen could be there to see the tree with him. And maybe all of First Avenue School could come, too.

But he couldn't stop for long because cookie monster and the FAO Schwarz doorman ran around the corner looking mighty hungry. So gingerbread man laced up his skates and was last seen skating into the crowd at the Ice Skating Rink at Rockefeller Center saying:

Run, run as fast as you can!

You can't catch me.

I'm the gingerbread man!

Merry gingerbread Christmas, Owen.

Love,

Auntie Bubba

Do not disconnect

Have you ever had a dream you put your entire heart and soul into?

A dream you worked so hard for, believed in, and had absolute, unwavering faith would happen... a dream like...

Building a vital business? Wanting a healthy, happy child? Having a fairy tale ending to that romance? Succeeding in school? Creating something beautiful?

And how did you feel when that dream failed?

Crashed. Burned. All before your very eyes.

In the words of Langston Hughes:

"Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly."

When we have a dream, there is a purpose in every step. In every moment.

Inch by inch we are connected. Invested. Alive to possibility.

And when that dream dies. We risk dying a little, too.

Which is why we must untie ourselves from the expectation of how a dream will manifest. Grieve the loss of the picture we painted for ourselves.

But do not disconnect from the dream itself.

Do not disconnect.

By remaining connected to the dream, whatever that dream is (finding love, building a family, using gifts in service) but not tying it to any one particular actor (only that man or only that woman) or a specific event (only that job or only that school), we remain in flight. We remain connected to our inner sense of courage and light.

Meet Donald Miller. Writer. Plain cool dude.

He wrote a little book some of you may have read called Blue Like Jazz.

For anyone who has set out on a personal spiritual journey, the story may resonate. The book was an unexpected bestseller.

Don's dream was to turn the book into a screenplay. Over time, and with much love, Don and a few close friends wrote it. They secured the lead character. Their dream was about to come true.

And then funding fell through. The official announcement was made. The dream of making Blue Like Jazz, the movie, was over.

Fans Zach Prichard and Jonathan Frazier (I love these guys, truly) had an idea. They introduced another way to manifest Don's dream that no one considered (or dared to believe possible).

Instead of waiting on studio money (which wasn't gonna happen), these two guys went on Kickstarter (a website dedicated to raising funds for artistic ventures) and asked anyone who loved Don... anyone who loved his book(s)... anyone who loved movies... anyone who had a pulse, quite frankly... to donate funds to help make the movie.

Production is set to begin October 25, 2010. People from all around the world have responded.

Four days remain to make a dream happen. To make history.

And you can be a part of it.

To learn more or to donate, check out: Save Blue Like Jazz.

In donating, I think it reveals something unbelievably beautiful.

What is possible for one is possible for all.

So dream on.

And above all...

With much love and faith,

Erica

A fond farewell to Summer (and the long overdue "I heart Jersey" post)...

Autumn is calling. But funny enough, I'm not quite ready to take the call. And for anyone who knows me - this is highly unusual. I typically adore the crisp, cool weather. I can't wait to wear my chunky sweaters and knee-high boots. But for the very first time in a long, long while, I actually miss Summer. A whole lot.

This was the first Summer I wasn't sitting behind a desk. In an office. With horrible lighting and air conditioning that made me feel like I was sitting in a meat locker. For the first time, my Irish whitey-white skin was exposed to enough sunlight that I didn't burn a scalding red after spending 2.5 minutes outdoors. Instead, this Summer I managed to get the kind of colour I only had as a child. I got to play outdoors. Walk in Central Park. Take ferry rides.

And the funnest ferry ride in the world was to my beloved New Jersey!!

I have to say that I had preconceived notions of New Jersey. I thought it would be industrial. And dirty. But I have never been more surprised (or happier) to be proven sooo completely wrong. This place is now my adopted second home.

Let me take you with me so maybe you can understand why I love this place so freaking much...

First off, you take the ferry (Seastreak) from East 35th Street in Manhattan. For $40.00 (roundtrip), you board a catamaran where you get all windswept and sunkissed from the glinting sunlight on the water. And when you pass by the statue of liberty along the way... well, y'know that's just an added bonus.

As the concrete jungle starts to shift into the distance, the high voltage frequency that is Manhattan starts to mellow out and you start to see this...

And you arrive on Jersey shore to see this...

My NYC soul sista' Lory lives in New Jersey. And I'm so grateful for her spirit during my New York experience. She's the kind of friend that's game for anything - like posing with me when I wanted to play tourist - even going along with my cheesy request to play "Statue of Liberty"!!

As you can see, Lory's impersonation is perfect (check out her hand).

Now look at my hand. It appears as though I am preparing Lady Liberty for a fistfight.

Apparently I may be even more New York than I thought...

For me, New Jersey is to New York what the Muskoka is to Canadians.

It's all water. And country. Green trees. Blue skies. Slower pace.

And the last weekend I visited, we had fun at a local bar prior to checking out a music festival on the water.

The bar also just happens to be a local hotspot for many of the elderly folk living nearby who come for the free dinner buffet. Meet Don. The dapper elderly gentleman with the smooth moves.

While the ladies of all ages loved him, he had a special place in his heart for our Lory (check out his vice grip on her)!

I know I'm a sap. But this nite was one of those great summertime memories where you head out on a balmy nite with your girls and feel carefree and open to whatever the nite brings.

Where one girl shared her number with the handsome bartender that requested it...

Where hair is flying in the wind and the music is loud enough that when we sing along to "Allejandro", our voices are drowned out just enough that we actually start to think we sound pretty darn good.

The place rocks.

New Jersey is one of my favourite places to be. Here's a sample of why...

Before we start to bundle up for the crisp Fall weather, I wanted to share my beautiful memories of Summer, Summer, Summertime in Jersey.

Farewell New Jersey. Farewell Summer.

Until we meet again.

Much love from the wannabe Jersey Girl,

aka Erica

My "little" cousin Brier got married (Calgary-style)...

I love this picture because this is what their entire wedding and reception was like.

Pure love. Swoony love. Glowing love.

And all of us who were lucky enough to celebrate with them swooned a little bit, too.

How gorgeous are these two as they make it "official"?!

And this dress...it was pure beaded, ethereal, silver screen-esque beauty.

Brier grew up far away from us so we only got to see each other occasionally at Christmases and other family gatherings. So it wasn't until we grew up that I really got to know her. And quite frankly, I adore her. Brier combines the qualities of her parents in a way that is entirely uniquely her: part confident intelligence, part grace and warmth. She is the kind of woman I would trust to handle pretty much anything.

But a few years ago when her mother, Marg, passed away suddenly (too suddenly for anyone to even process) I can only imagine the grief she endured. And oh how everyone wished that Marg could have been there.

With her long, straight hair and big round eyes, I imagine she would wear blue (it's what I always remember Auntie Marg wearing). I think she would hug Jeremy and tell him how lucky he was. She would ask him to love Brier well. It's what all her family asks of you, Jeremy.

May you both love each other the best way you can. Imperfectly. But with as much honesty and integrity as you can muster.

While last weekend was the first time I met Jeremy, there is a strength in him that I trust. And the words of his best man, whom he has known since early childhood, are a beautiful testament to his character:

"If there is a better man walking the earth, I have yet to meet him."

This is the highest compliment I have ever heard one man pay another.

The overriding sense I had from this entire day is one of family. Intertwined between and beneath this marriage is the great love and painful losses, the beauty and richness of the families that helped create these people and therefore this union.

From this foundation, I sense they are setting out with strong conviction to create a new family bond between them.

So Jeremy and Brier, as you head out on the journey ahead, may you remember that love is a choice. And may you choose it in every moment. Always.

Congratulations and much love to both of you,

Erica