Snow what? It's preparation day again!

And *insert sing-song voice* December is just around the corner! Don't miss the Mormon Christmas Campaign to #LightTheWorld!

Us in huge coats with the Sister Training Leaders.

This week was a day shorter from last preparation day, so I have a few less stories to tell, but the first thing that set off our week was exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders in Little Neck. To be completely honest, it wasn't terribly interesting. We took a picture in our abrigos but since their area is our area (and we have another area besides theirs), I saw a lot of the same things as normal. They took us to some appointments, we ate taco soup, had a sleepover, daily contacted, and did Mission Standards jeopardy in their District Meeting. Sister Tarnasky and Sister Young are great missionaries, and it was interesting seeing what their pool was like. Also, I tried to speak some Chinese (Sister Young is in the Chino program). It was fun getting to see some Chinese speakers! I really miss my mixed Chino-Spanish district from my first transfer. I actually got to see Elder Brenkman, my first Chinese-speaking District Leader, at Sister McDowell's temple trip, which was awesome!

[Side note: That poor elder! He was sent away from Dyker in Brooklyn to whitewash (start a new teaching pool with no companion to stay behind to show him the area) in Flushing, where he had never once gone. Besides that, he is training a new missionary from Hong Kong who speaks very little English and he is District Leader of his new area, of which area he knows little to nothing. I can't imagine how stressful that would be! I didn't hear him complain, though, so evidently all is well.]

After exchanges, we ate hot chocolate that burned all the taste buds off of my tongue (it was made with Mexican chocolate though, so...), and met a lady with around 30 cats. Oh dear. Then a pit bull barked at me for twenty minutes while I sat, only kind of paralyzed in fear. She was 'harmless' apparently. Just a 'little sweet darling'. Her eyes said otherwise...

What the huge moon looked like two weeks ago here in New York, even though this picture probably isn't in New York.

Christmas Tree and Ana Perez at church! She is a stud.

Thanksgiving:

On Thanksgiving we had a zone activity in Jamaica! It was fun... I think. I'm not very sporty, so the first two hours of playing volleyball were kinda okay. I couldn't really hit it, or serve it, and it was kinda humiliating since like 30 missionaries were there... including the assistants who are in our zone (and live just a couple streets over from us). They came in right as I was serving, and since I don't have an awful lot of arm strength I held the ball in both hands and threw it overhead, then Elder Parrish who is like 6' 8" grabbed it with his fingertips and tossed it back, not knowing that it was my serve and not an accidental toss to the other side... awkward. Elders Sirrine, Palmer, Benitez, and other assorted players covered my spot at all times. I stood there and moved when the ball came my way... But I was doing great in knockout! Basketball has always been a top choice of mine. It was fun to hang out with other missionaries and chat and have a nice bit of downtime. Especially on Thanksgiving!

I spent some time in the candy cane forest. 

We wrote chalk graffiti on a potentials doorstep so she could #LightTheWorld!

Darling Relief Society President who fed us dinner.

On Sunday Allan Poe came to church again! Yes! He is doing so well! Progressing every day. In addition, many of our investigators are choosing to read the scriptures and keep commitments which makes me thrilled.

The blind will see:

One last story. I had the unique opportunity to see what was a very special experience for me.

First a few verses in KJV of the New Testament in Mark 10:

"49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."

We showed the video Light The World on Friday to an investigator and her family who were visiting for Thanksgiving. The daughter, who is blind and feels around mostly, but has just a small bit of blurry vision left of her eyes, stood around the iPad screen as I cradled it in my hands, showing the video. Her father, surprised she was standing there I believe, asked, "¿Puede verlo?" Her face showed surprise and she said, "Sipapa, claro! It's so clear, it's like a miracle! I can see." Her surprised face leaned in as she took in the fact that for once she could see. Tears filled my companion and I's eyes. Not seconds later in the video was a clip of Christ healing a blind man.

I can't imagine it being a coincidence that she was able to see for just a few moments while the video played. As she said, I imagine that miracles aren't a thing of the past but happen in our lives today. Miracles happen through faith in our Lord.

And I found #BeYourBestSelf from Distinguished Young Women here in New York! I love DYW!

My choicest blessings on each of you. May miracles fill your lives and happiness and angels encircle you as you go about the beginning of this season of the year.

My dearest love,

Hermana Ally Voss

Four Shrimp in Spaghetti

¡Hola hola hola!

Life is splendid, Christmas songs have hit New York in a tsunami, the leaves are all but down, it has snowed twice in the past week, we have had Thanksgiving dinner, and I hit my four month mark on my mission two days ago!

Zone Conference with all the missionaries I love!

First off, four months! Time flies when one is having fun serving God in Brooklyn and Mineola. A fun fact about my new area Mineola is that I have the area in which Gatsby lives in The Great Gatsby (not my favourite book, but literature preferences can be laid aside - I really did enjoy the movie). We have East Egg and West Egg in the picturesque Port Washington and Glen Cove areas. I hear there is a castle at the end of one of the two that I've yet to visit, but I'm sure I will get to it quite soon because it sounds exciting. Camp Half-blood is also on Long Island, but I'm thinking perhaps out of my area. (Side note: I haven't found Narnia yet, either). Long Beach was crazy awesome to visit last week. I don't enjoy beaches too much, but I do like looking and admiring them. In that way being a missionary is a relief because I know no one will force me to go swimming. Long Beach was a bit chilly, but walking around and seeing the sand and playing frisbee was a bit of a nice break from the normal routine.

Today I am actually in Rego Park, Queens. My companion has a six-month anniversary temple trip, so she is enjoying the temple in Manhattan right now! We ate Strawberry Shortcake at the Cheesecake Factory and pizza at a little New York pizza place, and are back in Sister Petersen's house with candy and cookies to spare. Recently, everyone has been telling me I'm slim (side note: I never heard this in Brooklyn) but I am very concerned how hard my metabolism must be working given all the food I am eating. In a car area I can see how one could gain weight (without all the walking and running and public transportation), but I'm convinced I will be able to stay roughly the same.

Earlier this week we had Zone Training Meeting and Hermana McDowell and I sang 'Nearer my God, to Thee' with one of our assistants, Elder Ko, while another assistant (Elder Sirrine) played the piano. I was a bit apprehensive (voice isn't my instrument) but I enjoyed performing. Performing is a thrill no matter the medium which is used to perform!

Calmarones y caridad:

What is charity? In what ways was Christ so supremely charitable? How can I come to have this Christ-like charity?

Well, I have a story which I believe demonstrates more charity than I ever could have imagined. We went over to the home of a Hispanic member of our branch (well they're all Hispanic, but you know...) and she was feeding us for dinner. We sat down after talking a bit and she brought out our plates. If the audience has read any of my posts, they would probably note that I seem to be a fairly picky eater. Well, there was breaded chicken, salad, and spaghetti. Excellent! Then my companion declared, "calmarones!" My heart stopped as I really looked at my food. There were probably like 15 baby shrimp in my spaghetti. A thousand thoughts flew through my mind: 'Oh no. I've never eaten seafood. I'm going to offend her by my reaction if I eat it and don't like it! She is going to stop going to church and not associate herself with Mormons if I don't like her food! What do I do? Can I hide it? Oh dear, this is concerning.' So as she said the prayer on the food I prayed and prayed and prayed that my Heavenly Father would help me eat this food. I opened my eyes and decided I needed to work my strength up to eating the spaghetti with shrimp. So I started with the chicken, then the salad, and my host asked, "¿no le gusta las calmarones?" I was found out! I denied fervently and said I was saving the best for last. As I ate, I noticed that I only had four baby shrimp in my spaghetti. I was confused, the spaghetti was simply infused with them before! They were on everything. How did this happen? Did God literally take the shrimp off? Nevermind that, I needed to eat so I ate a shrimp every time we laughed so I could choke on it and pretend it was just because I was laughing (I've done this more than once).

As we left the appointment Hermana McDowell smiled and looked over at me and said, "how was the shrimp?" I shuddered. Then she laughed and replied, "did you know during the prayer I discreetly went through your spaghetti and took every shrimp I saw off your spaghetti, only leaving one so she could see you had some and wouldn't give you more? She kept almost opening her eyes. My excuse was going to be that I really like shrimp." I was speechless. In the very prayer in which I prayed to be able to eat this food, my Heavenly Father sent me an angel (my companion) to eat it for me. This act of charity by my companion will, I'm sure, affect me my entire life. I started thinking and realized the savior is the exact same way. We all have figurative shrimp in our spaghetti of life. When we look at it, it seems overwhelming and we reach out to Him through His atonement. When we make that effort he takes the shrimp off our plate and onto his, he makes our burdens light and gives us only those trials which we can handle. What a blessing to have a companion that knew about charity and Christ's love for me and showed me such through her actions!

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for a wonderful companion, Hermana McDowell. I am thankful for a darling family (Dad, Mom, McKinney, Nicholas, Audrey, and Will). I am thankful for a mission president (President Reynolds) who does more than I ever could. I am thankful for ice cream. I am thankful for Hispanics and their food - no matter the type! I am thankful for my mission in the New York New York South mission. I am thankful for thick coats and tights. I am thankful for pumpkins and strawberries and Christmas music. I am thankful for my cello sitting at home in my closet (shoutout to my cello, which I miss more dearly each day). I am thankful for an investigator who read 2 Nefi 31 and said, "so I see baptism is a commandment of God. We need to talk more about that." (Roughly translated from Spanish to English). I'm grateful for the snow last night and thick coats and elders who stick four-day old carrots in our windshield wipers.

Life is beautiful, as per usual. (Also, that's a lovely movie. Do watch it.)

Blessings, and a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Hermana Ally Voss

Our lovely abode.

Good Morning America!

Children at the Primary Program!

Well, with the passing week several very historic events have occurred:

1. We have elected he-who-must-not-be-named to the presidential seat of power.
2. I suffered a near-death experience with jabeñero, jalapeño, and red hot chili peppers.
3. I visited Jamaica.
4. I tried funnel cake in the form of fries.
5. I took part in the first ever meeting in a grandiose church in Flushing, New York.
6. We set up our Christmas tree.

Personally, I enjoy a good story. So I'll start with an event that took place on Saturday the 12th of November, 2016. It was a cold, blustery day. Leaves blew all around us as we walked up to a brilliant red door surrounded by pumpkins and scarecrows. As the door opened, a seemingly harmless member of the Mormon church greeted us with a kiss and a hug. She babbled in Spanish as we walked around a daycare in her home. The visit continued in a relatively benign manner, as we fixed drapery and shared a thought filled with spiritual ingenuity and gospel of every kind. Then I saw a paper bag out of the corner of my eye. It appeared to be filled with edibles... We hadn't eaten lunch yet so we agreed to partake of her food after a short blessing. She pulled out very innocent and pure sandwiches. Or so they appeared. She placed five of the specimen on a large, white porcelain plate, and gave us each a small, round matching plate on which to eat. I grabbed a sandwich made of the heel and noticed it appeared to have cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Italian meat of some sort.

A crazy amount of peppers in a plate made from our  insane sandwiches!

I succumbed to my natural man, vigorously digging in to my first bite. I promptly stopped short. My eyes widened and teared up a bit. I swallowed and waited for a glass of water. "Tan rica, hermana!" I muffledly exclaimed as my nose began to run. What she perhaps didn't know was that I had just swallowed the contents of a bonfire. I continued to bite and chew and I looked over at my compañera whose eyes were as round as glass plates. She, too, was eating the sandwich and smiling through the water pooling in her eyes. The burning in my throat only escalated as I proceeded to eat. Our host, who had just begun her own, began to cough. I gulped down a full glass of water, and my Hermana McDowell began to laugh as she looked over at my expression. She picked up a glass of soda to drink, but in her laughing she inhaled several jabeñero pepper seeds, and spewed soda all over the floor. We all began laughing (including our host) as we commiserated over how insanely hot the seemingly innocent sandwiches were. She blamed her husband but it turned out each sandwich had about five or six assorted jabeñero, jalapeño, and red hot chili peppers. I'm fairly sure I will never find anything spicy in the rest of my life. My lips were burning about three hours after the fact, and my sinus system had cleared in its entirety. Many of you probably think we were just being gringo, but it is a fact that a woman who lived in Mexico for years found the victuals to be just as offensively fiery. I am proud to say that though we were a bit shocked, we survived the encounter with only a few burns.

Breaking news: two investigators came to church! One of them is the darling Fanny, who feeds us ice cream and galletitas when we come over. She is the frail wife of a new convert, and this was the perfect week for her to come, given it was the presentación de la primaria! She loved it, and kept saying, "¡Ay! ¡Que linda!" (This is also what she says whenever we sing during lessons with her). Also, Allen Poe (name changed) came to church! Allen Poe is doing super well with breaking his smoking addiction, and is learning so much every week about the gospel.

Us in our car at zone conference

Weather Report: rather too sunny and warm for my liking. In blatant disregard to the weather, though, we have begun to sing Christmas songs and even set up a Christmas tree. Granted, at night it's in low 40°s and high 30°s. This makes knocking doors quite fun. Our teeth kind of chatter as we introduce ourselves and hear remarks like, "I have to go... my oven is burning," and "WHAT? WHAT? YOU TALK I CAN'T HEAR HER! COME BACK TOMORROW IT'S TOO LATE."

Traveling information: Well, Long Beach is still fairly gorgeous. And Port Washington's majesty hasn't decreased either. I visited Jamaica (in New York - the city, not the island sadly) for interviews and Flushing for Zone Conference which has a new church that looks basically like a cathedral. Also, the Catholic Church owns the land on either side... We'll be lovely neighbours I'm sure.

Zone Conference: Besides us being the first meeting in a four-level gorgeous church, I learned quite a bit from our mission leaders. 1) Plan for one's investigators thoroughly, the devil is planning for them each and every day. 2) #LightTheWorld (CHRISTMAS!) 3) Faith to find! More faith! The faith one has is never sufficient until it becomes knowledge.

Us in P.S. Burgers

Food recommendations: P.S. Burgers in Mineola. They sell funnel cake fries. Which are very excellent, if a bit pricey. Also, chocolate and caramel covered brownies. And I hear they sell Dulce De Leche Churros, but I'll have to wait till next time to try those. Pupusas, it should be noted, are always a good idea with native El Salvadoreños. Also, we had interviews with our mission changed to do them every month which is crazy busy for President Reynolds, but we love it! How this relates to food is that Sister Reynolds asked what we were doing for Thanksgiving and we admitted that no one had invited us over. This look of intense concentration came over her face as she apparently was trying to think of any possible person that could have us over for Thanksgiving. This lasted maybe three minutes until President began to talk to us and interrupted her thinking. We plan on having our own dinner still, but the look that came over her face was so sweet.

Fun at Long Beach!

Long Beach at night - the moon was huge!

And...we got strawberry ice cream!

Random experiences: In a five minute interval we saw 29 police, SWAT, and undercover police cars go past us on the other side of the freeway.

Autumn colors are brilliant and leaves are falling at the speed of light. Especially in Little Neck and Glen Cove. Both are darling areas. Visiting is highly recommended.

I bought stamps for the first time... (email me if you want a letter. Sending letters is my favorite.)

That is all from this week! (Honestly, tell me if you want a letter. We can be pen pals.)

My amor,

Hermanita Ally Voss

From the Quaint Town of Mineola

Well, I transferred!

In other words, Brooklyn is a dream. And now I am here in lovely Mineola in Nassau County, NY with Hermana McDowell. Mineola is the central point of our hugoginormous area. Our area includes the darling Port Washington, beautiful Long Beach, ravishing Great Neck, colorful Little Neck, glorious Glen Cove, happening Hempstead (also a little bit ghetto, but you didn't hear that from me), fashionable Freeport, comely Garden City, and of course the splendiferous Mineola. (Oh, and that's a real word. My new favorite, naturally.)

My Awesome New Companions

We only cover some of those areas if there is a need for us, since we are the only Spanish sisters for both the Mineola and Freeport Spanish branches. However, since I have come here, there has been a need for us in each of those areas which is most excellent. We went to Port Washington (which is my favorite place now) to visit an investigator. The bay is jaw-dropping and the little downtown is a picture out of something from the early 1900s. Also Long Beach is exactly what I would picture a beach in New York to be and I love crossing the little strip of water to get to it. Going island jumping makes my heart happy.

Hermana McDowell is from Gilbert, Arizona and is a total sweetheart. She plays soccer, sings with me, is smiley, and I love her. She is so nice and sneaky. If I go to the bathroom in the morning after my prayer, my bed is made. When I do my makeup I come out and my breakfast is sitting on a plate. Things like that every day. I love her. She is possibly the most charitable person anywhere. I anticipate fully enjoying this transfer.

There's so much to say! To start last Monday Hermana Gourley and I made caramel apples for super preparation day. Basically we were locked in from 6 o clock and on. And on Tuesday I made my final trek from Brooklyn to Queens for transfers. I just adore the D train and going above ground over the Manhattan bridge. It is my favorite thing! As we cross over we can see the skyline of Manhattan and the water and the Statue of Liberty. It's basically a wonderland. I adore it. Speaking of wonderlands, it's November now which means: it's almost Christmas! Hermana McDowell and I are super excited!

Our last subway ride together

Caramel apples with Hermana Gourley on super p-day

I really do love it here in Mineola. We live in a nice part near a school. The church is super tiny and there's not even a chapel. It's just a decently long room with chairs set up and a pulpit and table for the sacrament. We have two electric pianos for the capilla. Humble, but perfectly darling I think.

Pretty much the gist of our area.

Our apartment is nice, probably as big as my last apartment in the city, with less high of ceilings. Hermana McDowell loves to cook, so we just went to Costco to buy all the desires of our heart, and we have been very house wifey this week! Basically in the last six days I have cooked more than in the last three months. Hermana Gourley and I just ate quesadillas. All the time. Here we have made actual meals. That is, when the members don't feed us.

So since being on my mission, I just don't like food quite as much, especially in the Hispanic culture where we eat as much for one meal as I would want to eat in a day. I mean I like the food itself. Just not the quantities in which we eat it. I ate four and a half huge pupusas the other day. And I've eaten probably a thousand calories in candy in the last week... it's a problem.

Food we got from service at a Bishop's storehouse arrangement here in Little Neck.

House wifey dinners

Make do college style hot dogs with hamburger buns.

Being in a driving area is very different from what I'm used to with busses and subways. We have this little speed monitor thing that they put in every church missionary car called Tiwi. It says things like, "check your speed" every five minutes. Tiwi makes sure we are safe and sheltered and never ever get a speeding ticket. So we can be good Mormon missionaries who are very law-abiding.

Days one and three in the car

We have several excellent investigators here. One has quit smoking after thirteen years. He is on his eighth day of not smoking! Also a cute couple whose baptism date is in two weeks! I am so excited for them! We are meeting with several other amazing recent converts and investigators as well. This area is booming!

And we GOT LLAMA SWEATERS FROM PERU (Chompas) from a recent convert who said her daughter won't wear them. We are in love with them.

Scenic East Coast highways with pretty autumn colors.

Final spiritual thought/tribute:

Thank you to my parents for being such wonderful member missionaries. As I work with members here and see how a missionary like me can work with the members to find people to teach, I remember the example of my family. I remember helping Miss Mary to be baptized and helping her find the light and truth of the gospel. I remember Andy when my dad was Young Men's President. I remember my sister's friend, and I remember inviting every possible member of my social circle to church, dances, mutual, and events put on by the church. I remember how hard I worked to be an example, and sharing the gospel at every opportunity. I would talk about religious themes at lunch, I had to stand up and walk out of class several times when non-professional or vulgar material was shown, and I tried to stand as a firm example of my faith and my beliefs. One of the greatest blessings I have felt is the fact that in going from member missionary to full-time missionary, I honestly haven't noticed too great of a change. There is a lot that is different, yes, but there is also a whole lot that is exactly the same. And I attribute my attitude toward member missionary work to my parents and the spirit of my home Ward (Frederick 1st). And I want people here to reach out and talk about this gospel, and it is so difficult sometimes, but I encourage every single one of you to try to do something to share the glorious message of Christ and the gospel this week. No matter how small! Even if it is simply praying to have an opportunity to share the gospel. When members and missionaries unite, the work of the Lord progresses far more rapidly than it possibly could otherwise. Our Mission Vision in the New York New York South mission states: "members are the key." I testify that you are.

Have a blessed week,

Hermana Ally Voss

"Hermana Voss: OUT."

Hola mis guapos y bonitos amigos,

Big news! I am leaving Brooklyn! Evidently the Lord needs me elsewhere, because this morning we connected to the conference call that determined our destinies and, to the surprise of all in our district and zone, Zone Leader Elder Morris declared, "Hermana Voss: OUT." I'm glad Hermana Gourley will be staying to continue the work here, and I'm sad to be thrust out of the Promised Land like this, but I know the Lord has more work for me in Lamanite territory (or wherever I'll be serving next!) I'll stroll into transfers tomorrow and walk out with a new compañera and a new area. It's exciting! And scary. (How appropriate, given it's Halloween today!)

When the N Train runs the D Train line and we have no idea what is going on

It's that time of year folks - sunny and 70° one day and rainy, windy and 35° the next. Also, apparently not the ideal time to get one's flu shot. I got it last Monday and it really does appear that I'm quite under the weather. :/ alas.

"Four seconds left. WE CAN DO IT, LET'S GO!" *runs across intersection that's about a block long, leaving my Compañera no choice but to follow*

In case the casual reader is wondering, this is our go-to approach when we see Hispanics. If they're on the other side of the street, we will normally sprint to the end of the block and walk normally on the other side to maintain a cool and casual appearance so that we can talk to them. The huffing and puffing normally just blends in with the mediocre Spanish so they don't notice it's odd.

My Spanish is still doing rather well, though. :) Most people we talk to say, "hablan bien el Español." (they speak Spanish well) It's one of our most effective marketing tools; the fact that two white, blue-eyed girls with crazy hair and overly-large smiles walk up to Hispanics and start speaking with them in their language. They are typically a bit confused and taken aback (which is most excellent, if they stop and don't speak then we can stop with them and start talking about our message).

Me in front of our rad apartment!

Singingggg in the rain, just singing in the rain!

Me enjoying the splendors of the D Train one last time!

Speaking of our wonderful Hispanics, we visited one of my favorite families in the Ward this week, the Arvisus! So basically their food is always top-notch. This week they fed us Abuelitas hot cocoa with cinnamon and pastries while it was pouring rain and 30° outside. In weeks past they have fed us their Arv Mexican brownies and banana bread of some sort and pretty much I go into a food coma (a delicious one) every time I go over.

Also, one of my favorite experiences this week was getting a call in the middle of studies by a less active asking if we could go over in 45 minutes. Despite the fact that we weren't fully dressed, and it took 40 minutes to get there, and we hadn't finished studies, we miraculously made it over and administered to her needs. By the time she asked us to be there, even!

Breadberry = Jewish Costco

And Lenny's pizza is our favorite! Especially since the Hispanic staff call us their amigas!

"Life is Pain", but it's a lot less painful with the gospel.

As good citizens, we make it a point to not be litterbugs. We prefer being litterbugs, thank you very much.

We have long thought this sign awkward and felt it was at last time to reenact it.

Funny Stories:

We went with Elder Creager and Elder Weisler to a sick less active lady at NYU-Lutheran hospital and here is a short transcript of of seeing a nun:

*Sees nun when walking up to NYU-Lutheran Hospital on Saturday to give blessings and lessons*

Hermana Gourley: "The hills are alive with the sound of mu-----"

Me: "AHHHHHHHHHHH--------"

Elder Weisler: *gets reference* *beams*

Elder Creager: *what on earth are you doing* *why are you singing* *why did we get the weird sisters* *stop*

Elder Creager is out of Brooklyn too, though, so he won't have to worry about Hna. Gourley and I's weirdness much longer!

-Hermana Gourley went up to a lady and said, "Hola, me llamo Hermana Voss" yesterday. I was so confused I just stuttered and furrowed my brow until she realized her mistake and corrected herself! Haha

-Light was coming in from one window in our apartment on Friday. So I naturally declared, "but soft! What light through yonder winder breaks!" And then my compañera and I died on the floor. Mistakes made when quoting Shakespeare *seam* to be the best. *ba dum tsh* (reference to second pun can be found in Hamlet)

Ward Missionary Activity

When we found out we would be splitting...

-The stars aligned so that I was walking up to the D train platform while a Jew wearing his pinecone hat walked below me. I got an aerial view of a pinecone hat and it's hollow center - I feel blessed beyond measure. I also wish I knew the proper name so I didn't sound so uneducated. :/  (Editors note: Shtreimel)

Happiest of Halloweens to all you folks. Don't forget about the best ghost - the Holy Ghost - and it's empowering influence in your life! ;)

A soon-to-be non-Brooklynite,

Hermana Ally Voss