Happy New Year everyone. I spent my evening in Hartford at the Wadsworth Atheneum and The Bond Ballroom, second shooting with my friend Kim Bova. It was a snowy, bitterly cold day as it always seems to be on New Years Eve. I’m always amazed at the crowds that gather in Times Square in New York City to watch the ball drop. When I lived in the city, I could hear the crowd go wild at midnight even though my loft was many blocks away. I would always smile and be thankful for welcoming another year from the warmth of my home. I actually think that I had more fun shooting this New Years Eve than I would have just being a guest. This was the very elegant wedding of Ben and Rebecca. A black tie affair that guests traveled long distances for. I know that they were not disappointed. Ben and Rebecca decided to see each other before the ceremony so that they could take advantage of the museums’ beautiful spaces for portraits.

Then on to the service.

I had to run to get to The Bond Ballroom before the guests in order to get some room and detail shots. The view is gorgeous at night.

I loved this band,“Moonglow”! I would highly recommend them!

At midnight there was a beautiful fireworks display over Bushnell Park and the capital. The windows were steamed up from all the dancing, but it was a great way to end the night. Check out Kim’s blog for a slideshow of the day. Thanks Kim for including me. It was a nice way to end the 2008 season.

I still have presents to wrap, cards to send, laundry to do, cookies to bake and deliver to school. I’m shopping online for last minute deals, writing lists of everything I still want to do. So much is not finished, it’s not what I pictured. I’m harried and hurried and wonder what happened. I tell myself this same thing every year that next Christmas I’ll relax and be kind to myself. But the life that I lead is hardly so tranquil, I remind myself that at least I am vertical. So I try to be grateful when chaos surrounds me, keep moving and breathing and soon it’s astounding. That I no longer care about the lists I have made, because it’s here today, time to celebrate.

This post is in honor of Robert Neal Johnson who passed away this afternoon surrounded by love.

It seems like it’s been Winter for months already, but today is officially the shortest day of the year. That means that it will start to stay light longer from here on. Now that’s something to look forward to. As much as I really prefer the warm weather, the snow that we are getting (It’s still falling) has been lovely. We went into the city yesterday to the employee childrens party at the Penninsula Hotel where my hubby works. Seeing Rockefeller Center and a decked out Grand Central Terminal was refreshing. After living in the city for years, you stop paying attention to the beautiful sights. Now I go in whenever I want with a new perspective.

I’ve never seen Metro North go so all out on holiday decorations. They were projecting light shows periodically and we just caught one on our way through.

And I can’t believe that I got a posed shot of my son at the hotel. He is completely over having his picture taken. I’m hoping that he grows out of it cuz I’m not going to stop!

They go all out for the employee kids. Santa comes with gifts, they have an indoor moonbounce in a banquet room and clowns who paint faces. The buffet is everything a kid would possibly want to eat and then some. I loved the face painting table.

We made it through the crowds to see a bit of Rockefeller Center.

Then it was straight to Nintendo World. What a gas! I could stay in that store for hours. You can be sure that Santa will have some Nintendo goodies for under our tree.

Then back home today it finally stopped snowing late in the day, so I went out to catch some snowy sights and get out of the house. The neighborhood was looking gorgeous under a fresh blanket of snow.

I’m so lucky to live on this beautiful property. I love my river.

The house at dusk in the snow. More snow! At least shoveling is good exercise.

For the past few years we have been going to the holiday boat parade in Stamford, Ct. This year the weather was a balmy 40 something degrees, but somehow the turn out was less than last year when we all froze our butts off. My Mom lives on a Marina, so we have turned this evening into a post Thanksgiving tradition. It usually ends up being a huge party and officially begins the kids countdown for Christmas. I have been using these “Magic Blog It Boards” for a while now with “MCP Actions” to create photo collages, so it was ironic to get an email this morning that they are running a contest to give away a gorgeous Into the Darkroom Blog. This Blog of mine could use a little love. Wish me luck!

Here’s a bit more from New Orleans. These were taken in Cemetery No. 1. Not meant to offend or freak anyone one out. I find them quite mysterious and beautiful. Fun to post close to Halloween.