Alone In My Car

I've found that on Sundays I either sneak out of church directly after the service ends to drive home and make myself something for lunch, or I don't make it out the door for over an hour. I can't just hang out for a few minutes, especially if I'm trying to go to lunch with friends, because inevitably I'll run into some I "know" and then who I'm with will run into someone they "know." I put quotes around "know" because most of the time, I don't know much about these friends. I wish I did, but sadly most of these friendships are based on 2 minute conversations had in the church lobby a few times a month. The conversations inevitably end with one person saying, "We really should hang out soon. How about lunch or dinner this week?" Then the other saying, "I'd love that. Just email me tomorrow and I'll check my calendar." (This rarely plays out.) Then we hug and the struggle for the door begins again.

Well, this past Sunday, I got in my car to head to Jersey Mike's for a sandwich with a group, relieved a bit just to be alone for 10 minutes on the car ride after all that hugging. I turned up the music and cruised down 75, taking a deep breath. It was at this very moment that I noticed a pungent odor in the car. I panicked. "Do I smell? I did run this morning... BUT I showered after. I shouldn't smell. Did I remember to put on deodorant?" Without hesitation, I checked to make sure my deodorant was in place and getting the job done. And indeed it was. So, where was this smell coming from? My nose was twitching like a hound dog on the hunt. Then I found it. The source. The top of my shoulder smelled of someone else’s B.O. Ahhhhhhhhhhh! When someone taller than me had hugged me, their sweaty armpit must have come into contact with the top of my shoulder. Nightmare. What was I to do? Naturally, I picked up the bottle of water in my cup holder, unscrewed the cap, and tried to gently tip it to rinse the smell off of my arm. Well, as you can guess this wasn't an easy task, especially since I was driving 70mph down a busy interstate (okay, closer to 80mph), so... of course I spilled all over my lap, soaking my jeans. The worst part is that the water was unable to remove the smell from the fabric, so I was wet and a bit smelly when I arrived at lunch with friends. Cool... really cool.

Anyways, the moral of this story is:

When forced to hug many "almost" strangers,
Beware of the possible body odor dangers!

Running for a Reason

Last Wednesday, I took the plunge and signed up to run the Rock N' Roll Half Marathon in San Antonio this November through Team In Training, committing to raise $2,900 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I'm feeling a bit crazy right now, but I am extremely excited about the challenge. Running that far and fundraising are both very scary things for me. I mean... thirteen point one miles! THIRTEEN POINT ONE MILES! This might not seem like much to you, but this girl hasn't run more than 4 miles in the past 7 years. Every Saturday run from here on out will be a personal farthest for me, starting with 6 miles this weekend! (Pray that I don't pass out in this Texas heat.)

For those of you who don't know much about Team In Training, it has been around for 20 years now and has raised over 850 million dollars. It's incredible how far modern medicine has come with the help of fundraising partners such as Team In Training (see below), but there is still lots of ground to be taken.

· The five year survival rate for Leukemia has gone from 14% in 1960 to 51% in 2004.
· Hodgkin Lymphoma has gone from 74% in 1975 to 86% in 2004.
· Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has gone from 48% in 1975 to 65% in 2004.
· Myeloma has gone from 12% in 1960's to 35% in 2004.

If you'd like to contribute, you can use the link in this email to donate online with ease and securely plus learn more about my progress. You will receive a confirmation of your donation by email and I will be notified as soon as you make your donation. Please know that your donation, no matter how large or small helps. And if you are unable to give monetarily (which I completely understand), I'd love your support through prayer and encouragement!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntx/rnrsa08/jpenuel

I'll be running in memory of a dear friend from high school, Matthew Terry, who in the summer of 2002 lost his 3-year battle against Hodgkin's Disease. Below is a picture of the two of us at Fullerton Union High School's Homecoming in 2000.

I'll also be running in honor of Gage Holmes (my boss's son who is 5 years old) I've included a pictured below. He is definitely one of my favorite kiddos around. Gage was diagnosed with Leukemia on June 21, 2007. To keep up with their story, check out their blog at http://gageupdates.wordpress.com/.

On behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thanks for your support. I really appreciate your generosity.

Running for a reason,
Julie Penuel

Real Life Nightmare...

You know the nightmare every American teenager supposedly has of walking into high school and then realizing that he/she is completely buck naked??? Well I had something very similar happen to me in real life my senior year.

You see, it was Spirit Week at Fullerton Union High School which was a pretty big deal to me and my ASB friends (ASB is like StuCo for those of you Texas readers). The "involved" students were really the only ones who jumped in and participated so we had to make up for the lack-luster of our classmates. There was Mismatch Day, Nerd Day, 70's Day, 80's Day, and Movie Star Day leading up to Pow Wow on Saturday night (our winter formal dance). And let me tell you, we went all out with our costumes. For example, Monday I wore an orange striped shirt with crazy plaid pants and leopard print shoes. And then Tuesday my nerd outfit included a tennis skirt (which looking back on it was WAY too short... why did Mom let me out of the house?), plaid suspenders, a white button-up, tortoise-shell glasses, tall socks, Mary Jane shoes, and to top it off... MY RETAINER!

Nerd Day 2001 (photographed with Murphy)

70's Day (wearing a Dress from my mom's college years... I got a lot of wear out of those socks!)

I loved Spirit Week. I loved my school. I oozed school spirit... RAH RAH SHISH COOM BAH! And well, it's all fun and games until somebody doesn't tell you that the whole school is boycotting 80's Day. You see, everyone wanted our Sadie Hawkins dance theme to be "Eighties Sadies" and they knew that if we had an 80's Day during Spirit Week that the idea would get boycotted as a dance them. So... word spread across the school to dress completely normal on 80's Day as a way to stick it to the man... but word unfortunately did not spread to me.

As I was getting ready that morning I was starting to feel guilty and a lot like a poser for trying to look so cutesie on Nerd Day, so I decided to really go authentic, ugly 80's and not care about how silly I looked. I mean... Everyone was going to look silly, right!? If you know my family at all, you know that we had an extensive costume trunk full of treasures. I dug through it and found the supreme outfit: a high-waisted acid washed shirt, authentic belt, shirt clip, leggings (not cool in 2001), leg warmers, and the high top, white-on-white Reboks my mom had worn back in the day. I topped the outfit off with earrings from 2nd grade and a side pony tail. I went down stairs, laughed with my mom in disbelief that I was leaving the house like this, and then went off to school to meet up with my friends and see their outfits.

Well, what a rude awakening it was to walk across our outdoor campus and see that NO ONE ELSE WAS DRESSED UP. People were pointing, staring, and of course laughing. I quickly ducked into the ASB room where I was sure to find a haven of all of my 80's friends huddled only to be greeted with loud laughter. They explained to me the strike we had "all" agreed to and my mind began to race. What! No one told this girl! I swear that the whole day I only saw ONE other unfortunate girl and she simply had a side pony and hoop earrings which she immediately removed in 1st period. It was a nightmare and I had nowhere to run. There was absolutely no way I could take off any article of clothing and look half-way normal. I didn't bring a change of shoes and there was no stepping out of that skirt. Needless to say, my day was pretty embarrassing as I clopped around in those big shoes from class to class and plastered a smile on my face.

Anyways, I thought I would share a photo since no one who has heard this story has ever seen the true extent of humiliation with their own eyes. ENJOY!

My Favorite Letter

Yes. I admit... I am one of those girls... the ones who stow their juicy junior high notes away somewhere for years. I have fun notes from my best friends, mean notes from others who had a bone to pick (as is often the case in middle school with girls), gushy sweet notes from my first boyfriend Sean, and notes from a dude that just wouldn't give up. I also had, until recently, all of the letters sent to me at summer camp (ages 8-17). And it wasn't until this past year that I finally sat down, reminisced, and ultimately trashed most of these.

As embarrassing as it is, I also feel the need to disclose that I was once known to print off copies of IM conversations and emails. For some reason I felt I had to keep a record of these monumental conversations. As sad as it sounds, AIM was a huge part of my social life 7th grade through most of college. It's a weird forum for conversation because people say things over IM they'd never say out loud. Flirtation, frustration, and farkles reach all new highs when one is instant messaging. My typing digits were quite daring. I would ask questions I'd always wanted to ask but couldn't utter in person, disclose crushes to the actual crushee, and just plain show my cards. I guess this is why I printed these dialogues. They were fascinating and a whole different side of me.

The reason I bring this up is because this past year, I stumbled upon some boxes in my garage labeled "J's Memories." I tore open the boxes and found mounds of letters from the last 25 years. Despite the heat, I sat down in the middle of my garage and began to read... and read... and read. It was fun to remember old friends, sad to see how some relationships had changed, and eye-opening to see how I had changed. This provided hours of entertainment and was quite thought-provoking. I sorted through the piles trashing the majority of them after my perusal. I couldn't trash them all though. What can I say? My love language is words of affirmation! One of the letters I kept was from 1991 (when I was only 9 years old). It was so sweet that since finding it, I have taped it up by my phone at work so that I see its words daily. It really is a treasure to me. I've included it below as an encouragement to you to write someone a note today. It could mean the world to them.

So I forgot My White Gloves for Hip Hop!

So... in an effort to be less lazy in my adult life, I decided to join a gym last month. I cringe even typing it the word "gym." I feel like such a tool. I'd so much rather be getting exercise in a more natural way, like through playing soccer, walking to class, climbing mountains in Colorado, etc... but now that I am in the working world these opportunities aren't as realistic. The idea of working out with machines in a building created for that purpose just doesn't sit well with me. I feel like energy exerted should produce some sort of result. It would make me feel better if the treadmills and ellipticals were somehow hooked up to windmills or something that could harness the energy and use it for good. Anyways, back to the point...

Last week, Brooke and I attended a hip hop class at our gym. I'm a "class rat" of sorts because it keeps me away from the machines and I love to break it down (as shown by how many times the security cameras have caught me busting my moves at the office). Well, B and I don't mess around on the dance floor so we were hoping this class could really challenge us. I had been once before and wasn't so sure about the dance style (it didn't seem to be hip hop) so I was giving it one last shot. Brooke on the other hand was a first timer with nothing to compare it to.


Upon arriving, I realized that there was a different teacher. The regular teacher had stepped on a nail, and he was unable to teach. This new teacher was probably asked to step in about an hour before with no time to prepare and no time to get a background in hip hop dance. She started off with more kicks and high knees than I have ever done consecutively. "Kick front! Kick back! To the side! High knees!" The music blared alternating between Janet and Michael Jackson songs. It was all very remenicent of the 1980's.

After about 20 minutes, she moved away from high kicks into old school dance moves. I am guessing that she was racking her brain for ideas and her rolodex landed on "dances from high school days." I wish I could insert video footage here of Brooke and I demonstrating these dance moves because I cannot describe them to their full credit. To give you an idea, we were asked to do the "Roger Rabbit" and then we definitely did the "Tootsie Roll" for an extended period of time (which to my surprise really works your calves). "Dip, baby, dip... Come on! Let's dip, baby, dip!"

After this blast from the past she had us get in a low position... kind of a bouncing squat of sorts which focused on our quads. And it was at this time that she yelled out, "Okay, you're in a box! You're in a box!" And she started to MIME like she was in a box to the music and insisted we join in. I was dying! I couldn't help but turn to Brooke as we were both pretending to be trapped inside a box without busting out in laughter. The teacher sped the miming up to double-time and yelled out in encouragement "Beautiful! You look beautiful. Keep it up!"

Of course, this was when half the class grabbed their water bottles and left the room. I just felt so bad for the sub as she hollered after them, "Thanks for coming," so of course Brooke and I decided to stick it out. She finished the class by asking us to teach her moves and having the whole class learn along with her. At one point she gave her teaching microphone to a girl in the class to teach some choreography. And then the last 4 minutes were freestyle where we were to "act like we were in the club."

All in all... we sweat and had a good laugh. I just wonder who was watching us while working out on the machines outside the glass wall.

Not So "Plane" Jane...

I feel like a lot of my crazy stories seem to take place on planes. When I travel, I never expect normalcy and most times I'm right.

Planes are like a breeding tank for awkward social interaction. They provide you with the opportunity to sit in close proximity to complete strangers for hours on end so conversations often start up.

One time when I was 14 or 15 years old, I had a lady next to me insist that I try on her engagement ring, which naturally got stuck on my finger. It took about 20 minutes to remove with the help of a flight attendant and some soap. During the panic, when my ring finger was swollen, blue, and stubbornly holding on to the ring, the lady next to me threatened to cut off my finger if she had to! It was very uncomfortable sitting next to her for the remainder of the flight knowing that she would have disfigured my hand just minutes earlier.

There are other times when you and the people around you come to a silent understanding that you won't speak to each other and you take turns stealing the armrest. It was on a flight like this that I realized I was having an adverse reaction to some meds I had taken right before I boarded the plane (Afrin and some antibiotic I was on… not a good combo).

Half of my face had gone completely numb, my whole body began to tremble, and I started having shooting pains in my neck and spine. It was at this point that I started thinking, "These symptoms seem kind of serious. If I just sit here, my whole body may go numb or even worse, I may become paralyzed. I should probably do something." But what was I to do? I was all alone and had no one to talk to about my ailings and fears, no one to try to diagnose me, no one to say it would wear off. My mind was racing with “what ifs.” My self-diagnosis was very dismal so I decided I needed to tell someone. I looked to my left since I was on the isle and only had one option. There was a man in his 50's who was reading and perfectly content with our treaty of silence. I tried to get his attention for awhile by intently looking at him for periods of time that cross social norms, by almost speaking (where you open your mouth and words almost come out... then finally, I blurted out in hush tones, "Sir, I can't feel half of my face and I don’t know what to do." Of course, he stared at me for a second as if to say "What!? I thought we had a no talking agreement and now I am responsible for your health? What am I supposed to do about it?"

When I realized he could do nothing about it other than to say “I’m sorry,” I decided to page a flight attendant whom I shyly asked "Is there a doctor on board?" And then I explained my symptoms and she bustled off (I assumed to see if there was anyone on board who could help). However, upon her return she notified me that they had called a doctor on the ground who had declared me a "medical risk." I was not going to be allowed to finish my trip. The airline had decided it was too dangerous for me to get on my last leg and make it back home. They were going to ground me in Kansas City at MCI. After delivering the news, the flight attendant ushered me to the front of the plane to sit in the fold down seats by the cockpit. She wrapped an AA navy sweater around my shoulders, served me hot tea, and then stood about 3 feet away in the "kitchen" with the other flight attendant staring at me.

I finally decided that I couldn't be stranded in Kansas City. I was in high school and flying alone. I had to make it to my final destination. So as the plane began its decent, I began to "miraculously recover.” I was pretty convincing and made it on my way with the side effects tailing off as I de-boarded in Tulsa, OK.

Anyways, my last trip this past weekend was unusually uneventful. I sat by kind people who offered me cheese-its, a man who kept kissing his wife (I guess that's kinda weird), and got to sprawl out over three seats on an empty flight. Maybe this just means that my next trip will be extra weird and exciting.

What Girls Love - According to A Girl

Someone once said making lists is a lazy form of blogging, but making lists in response to someone else's list is even lazier. This list was inspired by whyjustinwhy.com whose list was inspired by stuffwhitepeoplelike.blogspot.com.

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What Girls Love According to A Girl

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1) Eating pizza late at night and then again for breakfast

2) Being able to tell people that they are training for marathons

3) Being "edgy/chic" by flaunting how open minded they are

4) Throwing "gangster" signs in pictures in order to have an excuse to do a vogue serious face and inadvertently look hot (as indicated by throwing the sideways peace sign in pictures)

5) Being discipled by the woman in leadership every other girl wants to know

6) When guys teach other guys how to not be "creepy" so that we don't have to suffer the consequences

7) Being sought after by "confident" and "bold" men

8) Drinking Diet Coke/DP with a big slice of chocolate cake (or whatever their vice is)

9) Chicken salad sandwiches from Celebrity Bakery or Central Market

10) Complaining about how they wish they had naturally straight/curly hair (whatever is the opposite of their hair's tendency)

11) Dressing to impress other girls because the guys don't really notice that anyway. Most guys only notice the lack of fabric.

12) Pacey from Dawson's Creek (LBPBs)

13) Guys wearing baseball pants (won't argue with you there, Justin)

14) Guys who can dance (I asked guys to my sorority parties in college based on their dancing ability... chemistry is found on the dance floor)

15) Whatever artist nobody else knows about yet

16) (Secretly) The song "put your hand up on my hip... when I dip, you dip, we dip!"

17) Talking about where they've been

18) GOB from Arrested Development (at least at my house)

19) Going to Africa on "mission trips"

20) Beefy Jon

A Life Worth Blogging About

So recently I recieved a challenge (some may say a call) to re-join the blogging community. My friend Justin (whyjustinwhy.com) thinks that "the most common reason people won't blog is because they're too concerned with what others will think of it. They're worried no one will care about what they have to say. Or worse, they're worried others will make fun of it." However, it's quite different for me. I am not worried about what people will think... I'm nervous to start blogging again because I know what it does to me. You see... when I am in the habit of blogging I look at things differently. I make decisions in a whole new way. If I have the opportunity to do something crazy/risky, I'm way more likely do it because it would be lame to blog about almost doing something. Seriously... who wants to hear about how I almost got a tatoo? No one. So... I'm scared... scared of what I might do. I'll keep you posted (literally).

KAMP!

Hey friends. Just thought I would ask ya'll to be praying for me this summer as I head to Kamp. Please pray that I will find my confidence in the Lord, have energy throughout the three months, and not get in the way of the Lord's work. Pray that these kids' hearts would be prepared to receive the gospel and that the counselors would be willing vessels for delivering it. And if you would like to provide encouragement to me, all you got to do is write me a letter! Getting mail is my favorite! Below is my address...

J*Money
967 Lakeshore Drive
Branson, MO 65616

In the words of every great yearbook signing... HAGS (Have A Great Summer)!

Pirates of the Colorado Springs!

Ahoy there, Mateys! Can I just tell you that Pirates bring me great joy!?! I don't' know why, but I love em. Could it be that they have their own fashion sense, or because I, too, had to wear patches over both my eyes as a result of injury at one time in my life, or maybe it's their sense of adventure, or because secretly I would love to pirate all my music if I could without being stoned by my friends, or could it be their dark tans and manly accents and vernacular speech??? What can I say... really... Julie Penuel + Pirates makes perfect sense. I dream of one day abandoning the ship of singleness and saying ahoy to that one special buccaneer. Can you blame me for holding out all this time for my pirate? I didn't think so. Well, anyways... here are some fun Pirate pictures to amuse you this evening...

Here is what looks like maybe a Greek Pirate, teaching his son the trade.

I don't know these guys either but doesn't it look like they're having a ship-full of fun!

"Pirate attire" was all the rage on the Paris and London runways this spring.

Just a fun Pirate Comic Strip I found online when surfing the web for Pirate "Booty." Finding this felt like finding buried treasure... ARRRRRRRR!

Don't you think that this REI model would have a more rewarding career as a pirate?

Back to Reality.

As some of you know, I am now back from Colorado. And it was the most wonderful semester of all! I still cannot believe how much fun we packed into those three months. I really would like to let ya'll in on everything I learned during my journey there, but it seems a little overwelming to do in a blog. If you really do want to hear a "play by play," just call! I love talking about all the books I read, the friends I made, the things I was taught in class, the boys I dated, and the fun/crazy things we did. I actually can't stop talking about it. Anyways, I just thought I would highlight some of the events of this semester below... PS If you want information about attending the Focus On the Family Institute, let me know. I'm a "campus rep."

I Wore Crazy Outfits...

I Went Sledding...

I Learned How to Be "Domestic!"

I Danced a Whole Lot...

I Tried to Find Narnia!

I Got Proposed To...

I Joined the Worship Team... (But not playing piano... I shook the egg!)

I Climbed Indoors and Outdoors...

I Belayed a Whole Stinkin' Lot!

Focus on the Fun!

I know, I know... I've dropped the ball on blogging. Life's been crazy as usual! Lots has happened in the last month. Let's see... I packed up and moved from Texas to Colorado, made 88 new friends, started hiking as a hobby, ski/snowboard on the weekends, and have become a part of my first worship team. It was only a matter of time before my egg-shaking talent was out of the bag! Below are a few pictures to kind of catch you up on my life. ENJOY!

Above are the lovely ladies of 1021 (Patti, Amber, Me, and Becky). Can you believe that we got four sets of those teeth for 88 cents total!?!?! Unbelievable! Quite possibly the best buy of my life.

Here we are on our way to Base Camp (our "get to know you" retreat) at Horn Creek. It was a blast. We tubed down a huge snow-covered hill (David Hilde, I thought I was going to die), rockclimbed in the rec center, did "team-building" challenges, ate really good food, read "Chronicles of Narnia" aloud in a flashlight-lit tent (nice roar, Daniel), laughed a ton playing scattegories, and worshipped the Lord in the most beautiful surroundings.

Here I am in class attire with my very official name placard. We have decided that those pictures really exaggerate your most favorite features... jk... not at all.

Here is what I spend almost all of my spare time doing... READING. Every night we read about 150 pages and write about a paper a week. Goodtimes, goodtimes. I am excited that I have about 22 new books to add to my library!

Cassie and I thought it would be smart to stretch before our first hike of the spring at Glen Erie. What a beautiful hike. The waterfall and punch bowls were totally frozen over!

We tried on all of our ski clothes the night before our first ski trip just to make sure we would be warm enough on the slopes. The result: I was sweating and unrecognizable! That's me on the left!

Oh my goodness! I am so glad that I didn't sleep in and miss out on this incredible hike through the Garden of the Gods. We had so much fun climbing these huge rock formations!

Picture Re-Cap of Recent Occurrences

Crazy Reasons. What a fun group! I am gonna miss you guys while I'm in CO. Thanks for all your prayers and support!

The Fruits of the Spirit Partaaay! The Reasons throw a heck of a party. I couldn't pull myself away from the table with the chocolate fountain. That's me in the front left. I am pretty sure I didn't turn around and smile for the picture because my mouth was full and my chin was covered in heavenly chocolate.

At Christophers in good old College Station to celebrate Page's graduation.

Anne, Me, Natalie, and Tory in McDade, TX (pop 350) at the annual elementary Christmas Pageant. About 300 members of the community showed up and greeted us with stares and whispers. Goodtimes... But really they were sooo friendly and the kids were so cute!

Us in front of the huge construction paper Christmas tree. Unfortunately you can't see the star atop the tree that Tory made.

Who has the cutest grandparents ever??? Oh wait... That's me! These were my favorite gifts to give. They are 1/2 coffee mugs that I found in NYC. My g'rents always order "half a cup of coffee."

This was (NO LIE) how many vitamins my grandparents tried to get all of their house guests to swallow every morning with their 5 course breakfast spreads.

Britney, Me, and Kimberly at Matt's El Rancho. Oh what a night... Dinner, then we went out with some random guys we didn't really know (I don't recommend it... ha), and then poor LeeBoy the Lancer got towed and held for a $140 ransom.

My last day working at BR. Below is my work BFF, Catherine (on the left) and one of my managers, sweet LaSara. What a fun place to work... AND SHOP!

Jill (Jill Drop), Me (J Strike), and Meredith (M Hottie) at my "BR Going-Away Bowling Bash." Not pictured are Philip (my bowling coach), Sidro (with the inappropriate bowling alias), Jonathon (who gave up doing push-ups to come), Nic (a member of the bowling league), and Jason (long-time friend on the facebook).

Singing at the top of my lungs!

So tonight was one of those nights where everyone I was with let loose. After Community Group, a bunch of Reasons walked the streets of Austin scoping out the light displays in our best holiday apparel (even though I wore a really cool shirt from 3rd grade, I still didn't win the pumpkin log and it sounded so darn appetizing... ha). As we walked we sang Christmas carols at the top of our lungs even though we didn't exactly know all of the words. Tomorrow night is going to be interesting carolling with those folks at the hospital. Goodtimes are sure to be had! Above is a picture of me and Natalie in front of the house with the most creative light display. Sorry, my phone kinda takes blurry pictures... but no fear some strange middle-aged man took two pictures with his camera that I am sure will turn out great. I should really track that guy down. Ha! For my fellow Austinites, you really must check out the lights on 38th street off Guadalupe. These people go all out!

Jersey Girls!

So last week I got to be flown up to Newark, NJ to nanny for the cutest little girlie, named Siena (pictured above). Siena loves animals, wears a hat at all times, and is determined to conquer new skills everyday. We played all week and made the most of our time together. We got to see a Broadway play, iceskate at Rockefeller Center, shop on the streets of NYC, ride the huge ferris wheel at the 5-story Toys R Us, play lots of arcade games, and of course take full advantage of the hotel pool EVERY night! My time was full of giggling and a sense of wonderment at the snow and cold weather. It was fun to experience things next to a 10-year old. Their eyes just light up with such excitement at everything new. Below are some pics from the week. I'm sorry they aren't better. I forgot my digital camera.

Me, Siena, and her mom at Rockefeller Center all bundled up!

Every nanny has to have a cute little "nanny hat!"

Me and Sisi taking our nightly dip in the pool!