My week in Dallas has been great! I relly enjoyed spending so much time with family. Here are some of the highlights! You can also see pictures here!!
--Went to the train show at NorthPark. It was really cute and fun! Brian had bought a train car with Beth and Ryder's names on it (money for the cars goes to the Ronald McDonald House). It was fun trying to find his car. Ryder liked the trains, too!
--Managed to go to three church services in less than 24 hours. My family all went to Prestonwood's Christmas Eve EVE service on Saturday night. My mom wanted to go to that one and it's right down the street from their house. It was really good. I especially liked the candlelit part at the end...you know, where we light each other's candles and sing "Silent Night". I've done that a gazillion times, but this time, we were sitting in the part that's elevated a bit on the first floor and we could see all the lights in front of us and it was sooo pretty! I feel like we miss out on seeing that in most churches. Sunday morning, I went to good old PCBC. I tried out their new Sunday morning contemporary service and it was really good and the new building is beautiful! They have a new minister who does the contemporary service and he was good, but I really did miss hearing Dr. Denison preach-- I will have to go to the traditional service next time I'm in town. Amazingly, the preacher quoted Tim Keller twice. Tim Keller is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC...one of the two churches I'm trying to decide between. My third and final church service was to the Christmas Eve service at Watermark, Beth and Brian's church. It was great as always- terrific singing!
--My mom, dad, and I went to see the most amazing Christmas lights ever!!! There are two houses-- one in Plano and one in Frisco that have their houses and yards completely covered in lights. Then, you turn your radio on to the correct station and the lights on the house dance on and off to the tune of the carol over the radio. So fun and cool!
--Spent Christmas Eve at my parent's cousin's house, Suzie. She's actually my mom's second-cousin and my dad's first-cousin. Weird, but true. Don't worry though, my parent's weren't related before they got married, just shared a cousin, not blood. It's actually kind of neat because they know ALL my family and are at ALL family events whether it's my mom's side or my dad's. And when their daughter, Amanda, got married, ALL 4 of my grandparent's and ALL my aunts, uncles and cousins were there. When I was growing up, we would spend every Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family including all his cousins, so it was nice to be with some of them again after several years of not doing it. Amanda's kids, Jake and Bella, are really sweet and had a lot of fun playing with Ryder!
--I went early Christmas morning to Beth and Brian's and got to get Ryder up. He's so sweet and loving in the morning. Beth made us a great breakfast and then Ryder opened up his gifts from his parents.
--We spent the rest of Christmas Day at mom and dad's with the 6 of us, plus Brian's parents. It was nice...Beth and I did most the cooking and it was a great meal. Then, we opened gifts. Brian's mom made delicious peppermint ice cream for dessert and we also had a ton of cookies and a pumpkin pie! I didn't feel so great the next day!! Gift giving and opening was fun, too. I got Uggs, but mom said I could exchange them for an ipod so I did...I thought about keeping the Uggs as well, but wanted a different size and they were out, so I don't know if I'll end up with Uggs or not!
--The day after Christmas is actually one of my very favorite days of the year! I love to shop the sales. My mom and I were at Crate & Barrel before it opened-- got to see my friend, Andi, who took a seasonal job there. I bought several of their Christmas things-- I love Christmas decorations! We went to many stores that day and I bought at least a little something pretty much everywhere we went. I'm normally not a huge shopper like that, but December 26th is an exception! Beth, mom, Ryder, and I did more shopping on the 27th and 28th, but didn't find much else. The time spent together was great, though!
--I had dinner with Julie and Amber at an excellent restuarant called Hibiscus. My mahi mahi was amazing. Getting to catch-up with Amber was good too! Those girls are doing great!
--Had a "mini-reunion" with 4 girls I worked with at Ernst & Young. I got to pick up my good friend Kelli and see her baby, Gil, beforehand. He had changed so much! It was a lot of fun catching up with these EY girls...some funny girls and funny memories!
--Visited my Grammy. I had hesitations about this. It's kind of a pain to get to her in McKinney and she wouldn't know if I didn't come and wouldn't remember it 5 minutes after I left. Plus, sometimes I feel like she's not really my grandma anymore. But, I went and I'm glad I did. She looked terrific. She was always really sweet and was just as sweet as ever and happy to see me. We didn't stay long, but I'm glad I saw her.
--Went to dinner on Thursday with some PCBC girls. Again, great conversation with old friends. I miss all these people dearly!!
--My final outing of the week was to see Jennifer, Vickie, Lisa, and her baby girl, Kylie for breakfast on Friday morning. Great to catch-up with these girls and see how much Kylie had changed!
And the final highlight of the week....
--Ryder knows how to give hugs now and they are the BEST!!
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Julie's visit (continued)
Julie stayed until Thursday last week. We had a great time while she was here. You can see more pictures here. She struck out on her own during the days last week while I was at work and I met her afterwards to play. Tuesday night, we went to dinner at the Mediterranean restaurant down the street, Kashkaval. It was excellent as always! Although, I tried their fondue for the first time and it wasn't the best I've had. Afterwards, we did a walking tour of all the Department Store Holiday Display windows. Most of them were on 5th Avenue or near there....Bloomingdale's, Bergdorf Goodman, Barney's, Saks, Lord & Taylor, and finally, Macy's. Some of the stores have a theme or story for their windows. It was a lot of fun and the windows are really cute!
Wednesday night, we went and did some shopping in SoHo and ate in Chinatown. This was my first experience eating in Chinatown and it was great!! We went to a place a friend recommended, Joe's Shanghai. Chinatown is known for its dumplings, so we had to try some. They were soooo good. The rest of our food was delicious as well! Great chinese food! And it was deeper into Chinatown than I have been before. The streets were so quiet and windy...didn't feel like we were in Manhattan anymore...or even the US really. On a side-note, you may remember that I bought a purse in Chinatown back in October that I loved for only $18. I didn't realize at the time, but just found out it's a fake Balenciaga bag (all the celebs carry them) and it retails for $1,200. Crazy!! I thought $18 was good anyway, but now I really think it's good!
After Julie left Thursday, I had some time to mark off a couple more things from my Christmas in New York list. I went that night to the Dyker Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn. This is a really nice neighborhood with REAL houses. Single-family homes...really big, pretty homes. Not something I'd seen in New York! They go all out with Christmas decorations and I wanted to see it. I really enjoyed seeing the neighborhood itself- very pretty. The lights were just a bonus!
On Friday, we got out of work early, so I went up to St. John the Divine Cathedral. I'd been there for the Halloween show, but didn't really get to tour the cathedral and I had heard it was decorated well for Christmas. It is so pretty. The main sanctuary is beautiful, but it is surrounded by several smaller chapels, each with different architecture and each very pretty. I had fun seeing it.
I left Friday night for home and am now in Dallas enjoying family time!
Wednesday night, we went and did some shopping in SoHo and ate in Chinatown. This was my first experience eating in Chinatown and it was great!! We went to a place a friend recommended, Joe's Shanghai. Chinatown is known for its dumplings, so we had to try some. They were soooo good. The rest of our food was delicious as well! Great chinese food! And it was deeper into Chinatown than I have been before. The streets were so quiet and windy...didn't feel like we were in Manhattan anymore...or even the US really. On a side-note, you may remember that I bought a purse in Chinatown back in October that I loved for only $18. I didn't realize at the time, but just found out it's a fake Balenciaga bag (all the celebs carry them) and it retails for $1,200. Crazy!! I thought $18 was good anyway, but now I really think it's good!
After Julie left Thursday, I had some time to mark off a couple more things from my Christmas in New York list. I went that night to the Dyker Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn. This is a really nice neighborhood with REAL houses. Single-family homes...really big, pretty homes. Not something I'd seen in New York! They go all out with Christmas decorations and I wanted to see it. I really enjoyed seeing the neighborhood itself- very pretty. The lights were just a bonus!
On Friday, we got out of work early, so I went up to St. John the Divine Cathedral. I'd been there for the Halloween show, but didn't really get to tour the cathedral and I had heard it was decorated well for Christmas. It is so pretty. The main sanctuary is beautiful, but it is surrounded by several smaller chapels, each with different architecture and each very pretty. I had fun seeing it.
I left Friday night for home and am now in Dallas enjoying family time!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The NHL
I got my official job offer from the NHL last week! Yea! Just a relief to know I'm officially employed again. The job started off very, very slow, but it's gotten better and I'm enjoying it more. Here's some tidbits about my new job:
--I still have a view of the Hudson River. Granted, it's a very small piece of river I can actually see, but I can still see it! I'm on the 46th floor at Rockefeller Center...great views of the city!! My side of the building faces the Times Square area. The other side faces Central Park and you can see the whole span of the park...love it!
--Joy quit her job at The Journey and on Tuesday, went back to the exact same job she had before going to work for the church. She's working at NBC in the Rockefeller complex and there are tunnels between her building and mine that are full of shops and restaurants. Yea-- a lunch buddy!!!
--We had the NHL Holiday party last week. It was at BB King's, a club known for Blue's concerts. We had a very nice room there. I had never had an office party quite like this...EY was too cheap and WSM was even cheaper. We walked into this one and there were waiters walking around with appetizers and red & green martinis. They had a full buffet and a live band that was good, but way too loud. The NHL commissioner was there and spoke to us briefly...I guess some people would say he is famous, but I'm having trouble remembering his name right now (don't tell). Most people came in their work clothes...it was on Tuesday night at 6:00. Two girls showed up in very short, very, very low-cut dresses. No one I spoke to knew who they were, but EVERYone was aware they were there.
--I was allowed to determine my own start date. My time as a contractor at the NHL will last through this Friday. Then, I'm taking a week and a half off for the Holidays and will start full-time on January 4th. Timing couldn't have been better. This way, I get to spend a whole week in Dallas with my family, which I was planning for all along, but I also will be off while my friend's are here who are coming up for New Years.
--I don't yet have all the details on benefits, company policies, etc... I expect they'll clue me in on all that once I'm on permanently. I do know that several people have mentioned that I will have some access to not only NY Rangers hockey game tickets, but also Giants tickets. Sounds fun! Oh, and for those of you in Dallas, the All-Star game is being played there on January 24th and someone mentioned that they may have tickets for my friends/family!! I'll let you know if they follow through on that. A lot of people in my department are actually going down to work at the game. I don't think I'm on the list to go, but I'm hoping they need me for some reason!
--Everyone at the office has a trash can that has the logo from one of the hockey teams. They were considerate enough to think ahead and had the Dallas Stars trash can at my desk on my first day. I thought that was very thoughtful of them! I've spied a St. Louis Blues trash can that no one appears to be using and I'm tempted to snag that one too. That way I'll have both my home-states represented!
--How many of you have a job where you hear someone say "Zamboni" almost daily? That is now my job.
--I still have a view of the Hudson River. Granted, it's a very small piece of river I can actually see, but I can still see it! I'm on the 46th floor at Rockefeller Center...great views of the city!! My side of the building faces the Times Square area. The other side faces Central Park and you can see the whole span of the park...love it!
--Joy quit her job at The Journey and on Tuesday, went back to the exact same job she had before going to work for the church. She's working at NBC in the Rockefeller complex and there are tunnels between her building and mine that are full of shops and restaurants. Yea-- a lunch buddy!!!
--We had the NHL Holiday party last week. It was at BB King's, a club known for Blue's concerts. We had a very nice room there. I had never had an office party quite like this...EY was too cheap and WSM was even cheaper. We walked into this one and there were waiters walking around with appetizers and red & green martinis. They had a full buffet and a live band that was good, but way too loud. The NHL commissioner was there and spoke to us briefly...I guess some people would say he is famous, but I'm having trouble remembering his name right now (don't tell). Most people came in their work clothes...it was on Tuesday night at 6:00. Two girls showed up in very short, very, very low-cut dresses. No one I spoke to knew who they were, but EVERYone was aware they were there.
--I was allowed to determine my own start date. My time as a contractor at the NHL will last through this Friday. Then, I'm taking a week and a half off for the Holidays and will start full-time on January 4th. Timing couldn't have been better. This way, I get to spend a whole week in Dallas with my family, which I was planning for all along, but I also will be off while my friend's are here who are coming up for New Years.
--I don't yet have all the details on benefits, company policies, etc... I expect they'll clue me in on all that once I'm on permanently. I do know that several people have mentioned that I will have some access to not only NY Rangers hockey game tickets, but also Giants tickets. Sounds fun! Oh, and for those of you in Dallas, the All-Star game is being played there on January 24th and someone mentioned that they may have tickets for my friends/family!! I'll let you know if they follow through on that. A lot of people in my department are actually going down to work at the game. I don't think I'm on the list to go, but I'm hoping they need me for some reason!
--Everyone at the office has a trash can that has the logo from one of the hockey teams. They were considerate enough to think ahead and had the Dallas Stars trash can at my desk on my first day. I thought that was very thoughtful of them! I've spied a St. Louis Blues trash can that no one appears to be using and I'm tempted to snag that one too. That way I'll have both my home-states represented!
--How many of you have a job where you hear someone say "Zamboni" almost daily? That is now my job.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Weekend Update
I've had a great few days with friends in town, a Christmas party, and more Christmas sights and events in the city! See pictures here.
I had no plans on Friday night, so I went to Macy’s to do some shopping. I also wanted to see it all decorated for Christmas. It looks so pretty!! And they had some great sales going on.
My friend Julie came in late on Friday night and is here until Thursday! We got up early on Saturday and headed to Brooklyn to spend the day. We first went to the Greenwood Cemetery—there was recently an article in the Dallas Morning News about it and it’s supposedly the prettiest cemetery in the US. It really was very pretty. There was a very pretty welcome building and a chapel and the grounds were gorgeous. It is huge, so I don’t think we saw very much of it, but we walked for quite a while
We headed to Grimaldi’s for lunch so Julie could try their famous pizza. We got there about 10 minutes before it opened and got seated as soon as they opened the doors—first time I haven’t had to wait in a long line on the street! It was delicious as always.
We walked through the pretty Brooklyn Heights brownstones and saw the views of Manhattan from the promenade. This is one of my favorite areas, but this was my first time to see it during the day! I like it better at night, I think, but it was nice to see in the daylight for a change.
We went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle where they were having a Christmas show. This was my first time there so it was exciting to see the pretty sanctuary and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. They were excellent. There were some skits that I could have done without, but otherwise, it was a good show. I’d like to go back there sometime to see a normal service.
Saturday night, Joy had a Crazy Christmas Sweater & Moustache party. Everyone was supposed to wear a tacky Christmas sweater and the guys were supposed to grow out ‘staches. People did pretty good with the sweaters, among other Holiday-wear. But, the guys didn’t grow their moustaches. However, George, my old co-worker, did bring a bunch of fake ones. I found sweaters for Julie and I and she brought some Christmas jewelry. My sweater had snowmen on it—Julie didn’t know that, but she brought a snowman necklace and snowmen earrings for me to wear with it. It worked out perfectly!! One of the best costumes was my friend Kelli (Kristin’s roommate). She wore a Christmas tree skirt as an actual skirt! It had characters knitted all over it and balls hanging off the end. It was a funny night!
After Joy’s, I took Julie to see the Rock Tree and skating rink. We saw a proposal on the rink!!! I have been wanting to see that—supposedly it happens quite a bit. It was really cute—just the two of them on the ice, then he got down on one knee and she had her hands to her mouth in surprise. Then, they hugged a lot and skated around a little and then suddenly he lost his balance and fell and then she did! It was so cute and funny!
On Sunday, Julie and I went to breakfast at Alice’s Teacup. I have been wanting to go to this cute Tea Room on the Upper West Side. It was really cute and we really enjoyed our breakfast and tea!
We shopped a lot on Sunday. We went to the Columbus Avenue flea market, then down to the West Village/Greenwich Village area…went to my store, Purdy Girl, and I again found a couple of skirts on sale for great prices! We got cupcakes at Magnolia. Then, we went to Chinatown to see if there was anything we couldn’t live without. Julie did a good job finding lots of scarves….I had to go to the bathroom and spent most of my time there in line for the restroom at Starbucks while Julie shopped. Starbucks really come in handy around here.
My old roommate, Deanna, and her husband, Derek, came in on Sunday and we met them for dinner at the Hudson Cafeteria. It was a lot of fun and really great to see them! It is so strange how different I feel being around people who know me so well after spending most of my time the last 8 months around people who don’t know me at all. It is a very nice feeling!!
Julie and I went to see the Rockette’s Christmas Spectacular at Radio City. It was an excellent, amazing show. I’ve seen it once in college in Branson, MO and once in Dallas a few years ago, but I don’t remember it being quite this good. The dancing was so entertaining. At the end, they do a live nativity scene and read scriptures from Isaiah and the Gospels. It was really touching and so crazy that such a commercialized, secular show became so religious and really spoke the Truth! Great for people to see at this time of year when they are more open to hearing about Jesus than any other time during the year. You could take pictures at this show and a lot of people were during the whole thing, but the camera flashes really started going crazy during this last part and that also surprised me—people were not only accepting of it, they liked it enough to take lots of pictures!
Tonight (Monday), I met up with Julie after work and we went down to Little Italy to meet Derek and Deanna for dinner again. We went to my favorite, Angelo's, and it was great. Afterwards, Julie and I did a little bit of shopping in SoHo.
It's been a great few days!!
I had no plans on Friday night, so I went to Macy’s to do some shopping. I also wanted to see it all decorated for Christmas. It looks so pretty!! And they had some great sales going on.
My friend Julie came in late on Friday night and is here until Thursday! We got up early on Saturday and headed to Brooklyn to spend the day. We first went to the Greenwood Cemetery—there was recently an article in the Dallas Morning News about it and it’s supposedly the prettiest cemetery in the US. It really was very pretty. There was a very pretty welcome building and a chapel and the grounds were gorgeous. It is huge, so I don’t think we saw very much of it, but we walked for quite a while
We headed to Grimaldi’s for lunch so Julie could try their famous pizza. We got there about 10 minutes before it opened and got seated as soon as they opened the doors—first time I haven’t had to wait in a long line on the street! It was delicious as always.
We walked through the pretty Brooklyn Heights brownstones and saw the views of Manhattan from the promenade. This is one of my favorite areas, but this was my first time to see it during the day! I like it better at night, I think, but it was nice to see in the daylight for a change.
We went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle where they were having a Christmas show. This was my first time there so it was exciting to see the pretty sanctuary and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. They were excellent. There were some skits that I could have done without, but otherwise, it was a good show. I’d like to go back there sometime to see a normal service.
Saturday night, Joy had a Crazy Christmas Sweater & Moustache party. Everyone was supposed to wear a tacky Christmas sweater and the guys were supposed to grow out ‘staches. People did pretty good with the sweaters, among other Holiday-wear. But, the guys didn’t grow their moustaches. However, George, my old co-worker, did bring a bunch of fake ones. I found sweaters for Julie and I and she brought some Christmas jewelry. My sweater had snowmen on it—Julie didn’t know that, but she brought a snowman necklace and snowmen earrings for me to wear with it. It worked out perfectly!! One of the best costumes was my friend Kelli (Kristin’s roommate). She wore a Christmas tree skirt as an actual skirt! It had characters knitted all over it and balls hanging off the end. It was a funny night!
After Joy’s, I took Julie to see the Rock Tree and skating rink. We saw a proposal on the rink!!! I have been wanting to see that—supposedly it happens quite a bit. It was really cute—just the two of them on the ice, then he got down on one knee and she had her hands to her mouth in surprise. Then, they hugged a lot and skated around a little and then suddenly he lost his balance and fell and then she did! It was so cute and funny!
On Sunday, Julie and I went to breakfast at Alice’s Teacup. I have been wanting to go to this cute Tea Room on the Upper West Side. It was really cute and we really enjoyed our breakfast and tea!
We shopped a lot on Sunday. We went to the Columbus Avenue flea market, then down to the West Village/Greenwich Village area…went to my store, Purdy Girl, and I again found a couple of skirts on sale for great prices! We got cupcakes at Magnolia. Then, we went to Chinatown to see if there was anything we couldn’t live without. Julie did a good job finding lots of scarves….I had to go to the bathroom and spent most of my time there in line for the restroom at Starbucks while Julie shopped. Starbucks really come in handy around here.
My old roommate, Deanna, and her husband, Derek, came in on Sunday and we met them for dinner at the Hudson Cafeteria. It was a lot of fun and really great to see them! It is so strange how different I feel being around people who know me so well after spending most of my time the last 8 months around people who don’t know me at all. It is a very nice feeling!!
Julie and I went to see the Rockette’s Christmas Spectacular at Radio City. It was an excellent, amazing show. I’ve seen it once in college in Branson, MO and once in Dallas a few years ago, but I don’t remember it being quite this good. The dancing was so entertaining. At the end, they do a live nativity scene and read scriptures from Isaiah and the Gospels. It was really touching and so crazy that such a commercialized, secular show became so religious and really spoke the Truth! Great for people to see at this time of year when they are more open to hearing about Jesus than any other time during the year. You could take pictures at this show and a lot of people were during the whole thing, but the camera flashes really started going crazy during this last part and that also surprised me—people were not only accepting of it, they liked it enough to take lots of pictures!
Tonight (Monday), I met up with Julie after work and we went down to Little Italy to meet Derek and Deanna for dinner again. We went to my favorite, Angelo's, and it was great. Afterwards, Julie and I did a little bit of shopping in SoHo.
It's been a great few days!!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
It's Christmas Time in the City
The city really has turned into a different place this month! Lots of lights, lots of trees, music, cold weather, tons of extra people hustling through the streets, and holiday markets have popped up in every park. It's so great! I've been trying to make an effort to see all the big Christmas attractions that I can and it's been a lot of fun. Here's what I saw this week:
--I have a list of the "must-see" Christmas trees in the city. I went to The Met to see their Angel tree. This was probably my favorite tree so far (although, the Rock tree is really fantastic)! The Met tree has very ornate angels and candle-looking lights in it. But, the best part is at the foot of the tree-- there is a very ornate and huge nativity scene. I love nativity scenes, but this one is extra special. It's more than just the typical stable-scene we usually see. It's the whole village of Bethlehem! It's gorgeous and very fun to look at. Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures. I was there for a lighting ceremony-- they do it a few times each day. They turn the lights off and then slowly bring them back on to the tune of "Silent Night". Then, they play "Joy to the World". It was very cool. Also, The Met is currently having an exhibit of pieces from Louis Comfort Tiffany's New York mansion. I had time to go through it very quickly. Most of it is stuff he designed himself. Very beautiful paintings, chandeliers, a very cool piano, and even neat invitations for parties he had there. I enjoyed it so much, I want to go back and go through it more slowly and get the headphones to listen to the narrative.
--Saw the South Street Seaport Christmas tree. They have a tree of carolers sing there on weekend nights...men dressed in green and formed on bleachers to look like a tree. They were really good and entertaining. Afterwards, the cutest Santa came out and gave us all candy canes. I also enjoyed walking around the shops there...hadn't been there since my first visit to NYC in 1999. I was impressed with the area where the tree is-- very nice. Further back is the pier and it's more touristy. Some of the boats parked at the pier were decorated for Christmas, too!
--Saw the tree at Lincoln Center. Also a very pretty tree. It has blue lights and ornaments with things like ballet slippers and violins on them.
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--Also at the Lincoln Center, I saw the New York City ballet perform "The Nutcracker". It was so cute. The ballerinas were excellent and I really enjoyed seeing the pretty backdrops and costumes. The theatre itself was also beautiful. Brought back good memories of when my very brave Mammaw used to take my sister, cousins and I to downtown Dallas for lunch at Neiman's Zodiac Room and to see the Nutcracker at the Majestic.
--Went to Rockefeller to see Tuba Christmas on the ice skating rink. A bunch of people come with their tubas and they perform Christmas Carols. Apparently this is a tradition that's done all around the US.
--Went to the American Museum of Natural History to see their "Safari Origami" Tree. The tree is filled with origami animals- it was really cute! They also have 2 dinosaurs outside made from Christmas trees and decorated with lights. I also spent some time in the museum since I hadn't been there before. If you remember from my DC blog, I'm not exactly a huge history fan, so this wasn't really my type of museum. But, I did enjoy seeing their animal exhibits-- animals from all over the world. It was done very well and the animals looked real, but I couldn't help but think that it would have been better to be at the zoo where they really are real! The dinosaurs were pretty cool and I went to the show in the planetarium and it was very neat.
--Went to the Holiday Market at Grand Central Station. There are rows of vendors set up there all month. Lots of really cute and interesting things. There is also a Holiday light show in the terminal every 30 minutes. It's supposed to look like a kaleidoscope which was neat, but I wasn't terribly impressed and went back to shopping! I also found the Grand Central Market while I was there-- great little market with prepared foods!
Kaleidoscope Lights
--I met Kristin, Joy, and some others for breakfast and shopping in the Union Square area. We ate at a place called Chat-n-Chew and it was delicious!! I had an omelet with goat cheese, tomato, mushrooms, and onions and it came with the best home-fries I've ever had! We went shopping at the Holiday Market in Union Square park-- also had a lot of really great vendors like the Grand Central market. Joy and I did more shopping in the area and ended up finding a great gift for our sisters, both Beth's!!
--Went shopping at the Holiday market in Bryant Park. This was my favorite market-- just had really good vendors in a very festive atmosphere. There's an ice skating rink in the middle of the park now and cafes with hot chocolate and cider. It was fun!
--Went to the Holiday Market at Columbus Circle. More good shopping! I haven't really bought too much at all these markets, but they're fun to look at and I've picked up a few Christmas gifts.
--Went walking through the park and to see the pretty trees at Tavern on the Green.
--I have a list of the "must-see" Christmas trees in the city. I went to The Met to see their Angel tree. This was probably my favorite tree so far (although, the Rock tree is really fantastic)! The Met tree has very ornate angels and candle-looking lights in it. But, the best part is at the foot of the tree-- there is a very ornate and huge nativity scene. I love nativity scenes, but this one is extra special. It's more than just the typical stable-scene we usually see. It's the whole village of Bethlehem! It's gorgeous and very fun to look at. Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures. I was there for a lighting ceremony-- they do it a few times each day. They turn the lights off and then slowly bring them back on to the tune of "Silent Night". Then, they play "Joy to the World". It was very cool. Also, The Met is currently having an exhibit of pieces from Louis Comfort Tiffany's New York mansion. I had time to go through it very quickly. Most of it is stuff he designed himself. Very beautiful paintings, chandeliers, a very cool piano, and even neat invitations for parties he had there. I enjoyed it so much, I want to go back and go through it more slowly and get the headphones to listen to the narrative.
--Saw the South Street Seaport Christmas tree. They have a tree of carolers sing there on weekend nights...men dressed in green and formed on bleachers to look like a tree. They were really good and entertaining. Afterwards, the cutest Santa came out and gave us all candy canes. I also enjoyed walking around the shops there...hadn't been there since my first visit to NYC in 1999. I was impressed with the area where the tree is-- very nice. Further back is the pier and it's more touristy. Some of the boats parked at the pier were decorated for Christmas, too!
--Saw the tree at Lincoln Center. Also a very pretty tree. It has blue lights and ornaments with things like ballet slippers and violins on them.
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--Also at the Lincoln Center, I saw the New York City ballet perform "The Nutcracker". It was so cute. The ballerinas were excellent and I really enjoyed seeing the pretty backdrops and costumes. The theatre itself was also beautiful. Brought back good memories of when my very brave Mammaw used to take my sister, cousins and I to downtown Dallas for lunch at Neiman's Zodiac Room and to see the Nutcracker at the Majestic.
--Went to Rockefeller to see Tuba Christmas on the ice skating rink. A bunch of people come with their tubas and they perform Christmas Carols. Apparently this is a tradition that's done all around the US.
--Went to the American Museum of Natural History to see their "Safari Origami" Tree. The tree is filled with origami animals- it was really cute! They also have 2 dinosaurs outside made from Christmas trees and decorated with lights. I also spent some time in the museum since I hadn't been there before. If you remember from my DC blog, I'm not exactly a huge history fan, so this wasn't really my type of museum. But, I did enjoy seeing their animal exhibits-- animals from all over the world. It was done very well and the animals looked real, but I couldn't help but think that it would have been better to be at the zoo where they really are real! The dinosaurs were pretty cool and I went to the show in the planetarium and it was very neat.
--Went to the Holiday Market at Grand Central Station. There are rows of vendors set up there all month. Lots of really cute and interesting things. There is also a Holiday light show in the terminal every 30 minutes. It's supposed to look like a kaleidoscope which was neat, but I wasn't terribly impressed and went back to shopping! I also found the Grand Central Market while I was there-- great little market with prepared foods!
Kaleidoscope Lights
--I met Kristin, Joy, and some others for breakfast and shopping in the Union Square area. We ate at a place called Chat-n-Chew and it was delicious!! I had an omelet with goat cheese, tomato, mushrooms, and onions and it came with the best home-fries I've ever had! We went shopping at the Holiday Market in Union Square park-- also had a lot of really great vendors like the Grand Central market. Joy and I did more shopping in the area and ended up finding a great gift for our sisters, both Beth's!!
--Went shopping at the Holiday market in Bryant Park. This was my favorite market-- just had really good vendors in a very festive atmosphere. There's an ice skating rink in the middle of the park now and cafes with hot chocolate and cider. It was fun!
--Went to the Holiday Market at Columbus Circle. More good shopping! I haven't really bought too much at all these markets, but they're fun to look at and I've picked up a few Christmas gifts.
--Went walking through the park and to see the pretty trees at Tavern on the Green.
--Saw the star-light show at Columbus Circle shops. The stars change colors to the tunes of Christmas Carol. Very pretty!
Monday, December 11, 2006
BRANGELINA
Tonight I saw THE biggest celeb couple (well, maybe tied with TomKat)!! Yes, I saw Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I just happened upon the World Premiere for her new movie, "The Good Shepard." All the other people, including Matt Damon, Robert DeNiro, and Liam Neeson came in the SUV's and got out and went straight for the red carpet and cameramen and we could hardly see them. But, not Brad and Angie! They came strolling up the street like ordinary people (although they hardly looked ordinary)! They came right over to the fans and walked along us smiling and waving so we could take pictures. It was still tough to get a picture, so mine's kind of blurry. They were absolutely gorgeous...both of them. Matt Damon, cute, but ordinary. Brad Pitt, HOT! Angelina..wow! I already saw pics online and they do not do them justice. They are truly beautiful people.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Niagara Falls
This past weekend I got to travel to Niagara Falls with my friend, Kristen, and her mom. This was one of the places on my list to visit while I'm living in the New York and I was excited when I discovered Kristen also had an interest in going there! We rented a car and left mid-afternoon on Friday and it took us well over an hour to go less than a mile from my apartment to the Lincoln Tunnel that would take us out of the city! I'm glad I don't drive here all the time! Unfortunately, most of our drive that night was in the dark, so we didn't see too much. There were a lot of storms in the area, but we only saw hard rain for a few minutes. However, I drove in the most windy conditions I've ever witnessed-- I kept feeling the car being jerked all over and got pretty scared at one point!! We didn't make it to Niagara until really late and pretty much went straight to bed!
We stayed at a hotel on the American side of the falls, in walking distance of the Rainbow Bridge that you can walk across to get into Canada. That's where we headed first thing on Saturday morning. We spent the entire day in Canada seeing the views from way up high to down low and up close!! You can see my pictures and a narrative of everything we saw and did here.
It was an amazing day! I loved the falls-- they were so beautiful and peaceful, but also very strong and powerful.
Sunday, we got up early to begin the drive back to NYC so Kristen and her mom could catch their flight back home. The drive back was very pretty through up-state New York and Pennsylvania.
It was a quick weekend trip, but so worth it. We had a great time!
We stayed at a hotel on the American side of the falls, in walking distance of the Rainbow Bridge that you can walk across to get into Canada. That's where we headed first thing on Saturday morning. We spent the entire day in Canada seeing the views from way up high to down low and up close!! You can see my pictures and a narrative of everything we saw and did here.
It was an amazing day! I loved the falls-- they were so beautiful and peaceful, but also very strong and powerful.
Sunday, we got up early to begin the drive back to NYC so Kristen and her mom could catch their flight back home. The drive back was very pretty through up-state New York and Pennsylvania.
It was a quick weekend trip, but so worth it. We had a great time!
Monday, December 04, 2006
I hear there's been quite a snowstorm back in the mid-west. I wish it had hit a week earlier so my family could have been snowed-in there for a few days. They had over 15 inches of snow and shut down all the highways in my hometown of Columbia, MO. Crazy! Even in Dallas they had a slight wintry-mix. My family said it wasn't very much though. As I heard the weather stories from Missouri and Texas, I kept thinking about the Artic Blast of 2005. That was last December when there was a little ice storm in Dallas. Before the weather even hit the metro-plex, people began to panic and leave work early and all the major channels went to "Artic Blast 2005" coverage and canceled Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc.... Dallas never gets any kind of harsh weather, so the weathermen have to make the most of these situations. So funny!
Up here in NYC, it still has not even flurried. In fact, on Thursday, it was almost 70 degrees out! Not what I expected living up here! However, I did go to Niagara Falls this weekend and managed to see about 5 snowflakes there. I'm working on getting my pics together so I can tell you about that trip, but it was amazing!
My friend Kristen & her mom were in town and went with me to Niagara. Prior to going to Niagara, I got to join them on a Holiday Decorations tour around Rockefeller Center and we also went to see A Chorus Line on Broadway! The decorations tour wasn't quite what we expected, but it was neat to get out and begin seeing some of the lights and store deocations around town. I had been wanting to see A Chorus Line and really had high expectations for it, but was a little disappointed. It was a little slow for me. The dancing was really, really good, though.
Up here in NYC, it still has not even flurried. In fact, on Thursday, it was almost 70 degrees out! Not what I expected living up here! However, I did go to Niagara Falls this weekend and managed to see about 5 snowflakes there. I'm working on getting my pics together so I can tell you about that trip, but it was amazing!
My friend Kristen & her mom were in town and went with me to Niagara. Prior to going to Niagara, I got to join them on a Holiday Decorations tour around Rockefeller Center and we also went to see A Chorus Line on Broadway! The decorations tour wasn't quite what we expected, but it was neat to get out and begin seeing some of the lights and store deocations around town. I had been wanting to see A Chorus Line and really had high expectations for it, but was a little disappointed. It was a little slow for me. The dancing was really, really good, though.
The rink @ Rockefeller Center
The famous Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree!
Cute Nutcrackers outside an office building
Cute little brownstone that is now a restaurant.
Cartier tied up like a gift!
Christmas Tree at the NYC Palace Hotel
These big red balls are outside my NHL
office building, which I just learned is
actually part of the whole Rockefeller
Center complex.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
My Never-Ending Thanksgiving Weekend
Thanksgiving was a great weekend. It seemed to go on forever and that’s always nice! You can see pictures from the weekend here!
Brooke and her mom arrived on Wednesday evening and we headed directly to the Upper West Side where the balloons for the parade were being inflated. It was cold, crowded, and starting to drizzle, but it was still fun to see some of the balloons! They were on 2 streets, but we just walked down one of the two streets. The most exciting part was when we walked by The Beresford—my mom had told me before that a lot of celebrities live there. Sure enough, Jerry Seinfeld was standing right outside the door! We all got a good glimpse of him. I’m not sure what he was doing, but my guess is that he was waiting for his car to pull up to the curb to take him somewhere. Brooke’s mom suggested Italian for dinner so I took them to a place in my neighborhood called Pietrasanta. I knew they had Pumpkin Ravioli and I thought that was a good fit for Thanksgiving! Brooke got that and it was really good! Her mom and I tried other things, but we were all very happy with the food! Afterwards, we walked around Rockefeller Center some. I had not seen it since they’d put all the Christmas decorations up and it looks so pretty! We also saw Sak’s and it has blue snowflake lights all over the building and every so often, they play Christmas music and the snowflake lights do a dance to it. It was really cool! I was originally going to stay at the hotel w/ them, but their room got messed up and they had only 1 bed and my place is less than 10 minutes away, so I ended up just going home for the night and that worked out well.
Thursday was the parade, of course! Unfortunately, it was a miserable day for the parade. It was raining and only got up to about 37 degrees. Brooke was a trooper and went downstairs at 5:45am to save us a curb spot! I got there around 6:45 and she was already soaked and so was the quilt she was hoping we could sit on. I went on a search for crates to sit on, but ended up walking home and getting 3 little stools we have. So, Brooke, her mom, and I sat lined up on the curb on our stools under our umbrellas until the parade finally started coming by around 9:30. We did have a good view, though! We lasted for probably 3/4ths of the parade and were too cold and decided to call it quits. We went upstairs to their hotel room and watched the rest on TV just like the rest of America! It was much more enjoyable there. It took me a LONG time to warm up! I’m glad I got to see the parade in person, but it would have been so much better if the weather had been nice.
For lunch, we went to a family-style Italian restaurant called Tony’s Di Napoli. Brooke’s aunt was in town because she’s a dance coach and a group of her girls were in the parade. So, we had lunch with Brooke’s aunt, cousin, and all these high school girls and their mothers. It was really enjoyable and our food was good. They had a Thanksgiving meal that day, but we opted for the Italian menu. Pretty much everyone there was from Waco and the lady sitting next to me (one of the dancer’s mom’s) was so nice to talk to!
After lunch, I had to head home and to the airport. The airports were so empty that night and I had 3 seats to myself on the plane! I was exhausted by that point and slept all the way to St. Louis. Then, I had a 2 hour drive to Columbia, so I didn’t get in until after midnight. It was GREAT to see my family and Bob & Miriam Perry (who we stayed with and are long-time family friends)!
I also got to see some of my friends from high school while I was there. On Friday morning, my mom, Miriam and I went to my friend Courtney’s parent’s house to visit her family. Courtney is two years younger than me, but we grew up taking piano lessons from Miriam and going to church together. She also went to Baylor and still lives in Waco. She had a baby boy in the spring so I got to see him for the first time. Very, very cute baby! It was good to see her family after so long, too! Her mom was my junior high school business teacher—one of my favorite classes and teachers!
For lunch that day, I met 4 longtime girlfriends, Kelly, Maggie, Jessica, and Jill, for lunch at Shakespeare’s. In my opinion, Shakespeare’s is the best pizza in the entire world. I can’t make a trip to Columbia without having some! The company was nice too! We all went to Jr. high and High School together and everyone but Kelly went to elementary school together, too. And Jill and I started going to church together when we were 2 or 3 and preschool when we were 4. Actually, I think my first two memories are of Jill—she broke her leg when we were 4 and I guess I was traumatized or intrigued by it because both my first 2 memories revolve around her leg. Basically, I’ve known these girls for a long time! Jill and Kelly live in Columbia now and it was nice that Maggie and Jessica were home from Chicago and Austin so we could all catch-up!
Beth & Brian went out Friday night so I got to give Ryder his bath and put him to bed. I was trying to find his jammies and turned around and he had found his dad’s hat and put it on—so cute! This weekend was also the first time I got to see him walking!
On Saturday, I got to go to the MU football game and sit in a box. My sister’s friend works for coke so she got us all tickets in their box. It was a lot of fun. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for football. Ryder loved it the game! And Mizzou dominated KU. Jill’s family has a box a few doors down from the coke box, so we got to visit with her and her mom and see Jill’s baby girl, Sydney, who I hadn’t seen in a year—too many cute babies this weekend!
My mom and I did some shopping later on Saturday—Columbia has several newer boutique type stores that were very cute! I was impressed with the new additions!
Beth, Brian, my dad, and I went to the good ol’ Columbia mall on Saturday as well. Beth wanted an Orange Julius—she worked there in high school and The Perry’s own it, so they’re a favorite drink of hers. We also let Ryder try out the carousel and he loved it! He rode it twice and cried when we left.
That evening, my family went to some friend’s house to visit. It was fun! They had been to New York recently (I was out of town) and they had a couple of places I hadn’t heard of that I have now added to my list of places to go!
My family left early on Sunday—I would have as well, but the flights were SO much cheaper on Monday, so I waited. Sunday morning, I tried out a newer church in Columbia called The Crossing. I’d heard about it several times and wanted to check it out. I enjoyed the teaching and the music. There were a lot of people there—mostly young people. I wish they’d had something like that when I lived there—seemed like a good place to be involved!
Sunday afternoon was slow and lazy. I felt like I’d already done everything there is to do in Columbia! It is such a nice town and so pretty, but I’m not sure I could go back to living somewhere so slow-paced. I find myself a little bit antsy and bored. But, Miriam had taped Grey’s and we hadn’t watched it yet so we did that. Then, we started getting out her Christmas decorations! That night, I went and had dinner with my friend Kelly and her husband Greg. He did all the cooking and it was really good! I also got to tour her house, which they had just barely moved into last time I’d seen it. I also got to see her wedding pictures from the last time I was in Columbia a year ago.
Monday morning, I was off to St. Louis. I left early enough so that I could hit a mall—specifically a mall with a Chick-fil-a! Got lunch, did some shopping and driving around St. Louis and then caught my flight back home!
It was a great long weekend!
Brooke and her mom arrived on Wednesday evening and we headed directly to the Upper West Side where the balloons for the parade were being inflated. It was cold, crowded, and starting to drizzle, but it was still fun to see some of the balloons! They were on 2 streets, but we just walked down one of the two streets. The most exciting part was when we walked by The Beresford—my mom had told me before that a lot of celebrities live there. Sure enough, Jerry Seinfeld was standing right outside the door! We all got a good glimpse of him. I’m not sure what he was doing, but my guess is that he was waiting for his car to pull up to the curb to take him somewhere. Brooke’s mom suggested Italian for dinner so I took them to a place in my neighborhood called Pietrasanta. I knew they had Pumpkin Ravioli and I thought that was a good fit for Thanksgiving! Brooke got that and it was really good! Her mom and I tried other things, but we were all very happy with the food! Afterwards, we walked around Rockefeller Center some. I had not seen it since they’d put all the Christmas decorations up and it looks so pretty! We also saw Sak’s and it has blue snowflake lights all over the building and every so often, they play Christmas music and the snowflake lights do a dance to it. It was really cool! I was originally going to stay at the hotel w/ them, but their room got messed up and they had only 1 bed and my place is less than 10 minutes away, so I ended up just going home for the night and that worked out well.
Thursday was the parade, of course! Unfortunately, it was a miserable day for the parade. It was raining and only got up to about 37 degrees. Brooke was a trooper and went downstairs at 5:45am to save us a curb spot! I got there around 6:45 and she was already soaked and so was the quilt she was hoping we could sit on. I went on a search for crates to sit on, but ended up walking home and getting 3 little stools we have. So, Brooke, her mom, and I sat lined up on the curb on our stools under our umbrellas until the parade finally started coming by around 9:30. We did have a good view, though! We lasted for probably 3/4ths of the parade and were too cold and decided to call it quits. We went upstairs to their hotel room and watched the rest on TV just like the rest of America! It was much more enjoyable there. It took me a LONG time to warm up! I’m glad I got to see the parade in person, but it would have been so much better if the weather had been nice.
For lunch, we went to a family-style Italian restaurant called Tony’s Di Napoli. Brooke’s aunt was in town because she’s a dance coach and a group of her girls were in the parade. So, we had lunch with Brooke’s aunt, cousin, and all these high school girls and their mothers. It was really enjoyable and our food was good. They had a Thanksgiving meal that day, but we opted for the Italian menu. Pretty much everyone there was from Waco and the lady sitting next to me (one of the dancer’s mom’s) was so nice to talk to!
After lunch, I had to head home and to the airport. The airports were so empty that night and I had 3 seats to myself on the plane! I was exhausted by that point and slept all the way to St. Louis. Then, I had a 2 hour drive to Columbia, so I didn’t get in until after midnight. It was GREAT to see my family and Bob & Miriam Perry (who we stayed with and are long-time family friends)!
I also got to see some of my friends from high school while I was there. On Friday morning, my mom, Miriam and I went to my friend Courtney’s parent’s house to visit her family. Courtney is two years younger than me, but we grew up taking piano lessons from Miriam and going to church together. She also went to Baylor and still lives in Waco. She had a baby boy in the spring so I got to see him for the first time. Very, very cute baby! It was good to see her family after so long, too! Her mom was my junior high school business teacher—one of my favorite classes and teachers!
For lunch that day, I met 4 longtime girlfriends, Kelly, Maggie, Jessica, and Jill, for lunch at Shakespeare’s. In my opinion, Shakespeare’s is the best pizza in the entire world. I can’t make a trip to Columbia without having some! The company was nice too! We all went to Jr. high and High School together and everyone but Kelly went to elementary school together, too. And Jill and I started going to church together when we were 2 or 3 and preschool when we were 4. Actually, I think my first two memories are of Jill—she broke her leg when we were 4 and I guess I was traumatized or intrigued by it because both my first 2 memories revolve around her leg. Basically, I’ve known these girls for a long time! Jill and Kelly live in Columbia now and it was nice that Maggie and Jessica were home from Chicago and Austin so we could all catch-up!
Beth & Brian went out Friday night so I got to give Ryder his bath and put him to bed. I was trying to find his jammies and turned around and he had found his dad’s hat and put it on—so cute! This weekend was also the first time I got to see him walking!
On Saturday, I got to go to the MU football game and sit in a box. My sister’s friend works for coke so she got us all tickets in their box. It was a lot of fun. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for football. Ryder loved it the game! And Mizzou dominated KU. Jill’s family has a box a few doors down from the coke box, so we got to visit with her and her mom and see Jill’s baby girl, Sydney, who I hadn’t seen in a year—too many cute babies this weekend!
My mom and I did some shopping later on Saturday—Columbia has several newer boutique type stores that were very cute! I was impressed with the new additions!
Beth, Brian, my dad, and I went to the good ol’ Columbia mall on Saturday as well. Beth wanted an Orange Julius—she worked there in high school and The Perry’s own it, so they’re a favorite drink of hers. We also let Ryder try out the carousel and he loved it! He rode it twice and cried when we left.
That evening, my family went to some friend’s house to visit. It was fun! They had been to New York recently (I was out of town) and they had a couple of places I hadn’t heard of that I have now added to my list of places to go!
My family left early on Sunday—I would have as well, but the flights were SO much cheaper on Monday, so I waited. Sunday morning, I tried out a newer church in Columbia called The Crossing. I’d heard about it several times and wanted to check it out. I enjoyed the teaching and the music. There were a lot of people there—mostly young people. I wish they’d had something like that when I lived there—seemed like a good place to be involved!
Sunday afternoon was slow and lazy. I felt like I’d already done everything there is to do in Columbia! It is such a nice town and so pretty, but I’m not sure I could go back to living somewhere so slow-paced. I find myself a little bit antsy and bored. But, Miriam had taped Grey’s and we hadn’t watched it yet so we did that. Then, we started getting out her Christmas decorations! That night, I went and had dinner with my friend Kelly and her husband Greg. He did all the cooking and it was really good! I also got to tour her house, which they had just barely moved into last time I’d seen it. I also got to see her wedding pictures from the last time I was in Columbia a year ago.
Monday morning, I was off to St. Louis. I left early enough so that I could hit a mall—specifically a mall with a Chick-fil-a! Got lunch, did some shopping and driving around St. Louis and then caught my flight back home!
It was a great long weekend!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Thanksgiving's here!
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and here in New York it’s the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! I can’t wait! My friend Brooke and her mom are coming in today for the weekend. They have a hotel on the parade route and I am going to stay with them there tonight, so that should be awesome for tomorrow morning!
Late tomorrow, I’m off to Missouri. My family is spending Thanksgiving there with close family friends. I’ll miss the big Thanksgiving feast, but will get to spend the rest of the weekend with everyone and I’m looking forward to it (and mom said she’d try to save me some of my favorite potato casserole)! I’ll also get to see a few friends from high school which is always fun.
I’ve been working as a contractor at the NHL for 8 days now. It has gone pretty well. It’s been pretty slow, but okay and really has gotten better every day. I think I will like the people I’m working for/with, but the office is generally VERY quiet and I’m afraid that could make me crazy some days. They’ve been really nice and pretty much have told me it will turn into a full-time permanent job in a couple of weeks (unless something unexpected comes up). They’ve been willing to work with me on my vacations I already had planned for Thanksgiving and Christmas and a short trip to Niagara Falls next week, so that is really nice.
Otherwise, you may remember me mentioning a position at a company that owns private schools. Well, I was supposed to have an interview there over 2 weeks ago, but it was cancelled at the very last minute. I followed-up on it several times, with little response, so I finally decided to just give up on it. But, they called finally. They wanted me to meet them at noon today, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to take off from the NHL—I need to be on my best behavior here so I don’t miss out on the full-time opportunity. So, it looks like the school company is willing to meet me next Tuesday evening. I’m a little turned-off by them at this point, but I am going to go and check it out—maybe there is a reason for their flakiness over the past few weeks. We'll see and I'll keep ya updated until I'm locked-in somewhere.
Late tomorrow, I’m off to Missouri. My family is spending Thanksgiving there with close family friends. I’ll miss the big Thanksgiving feast, but will get to spend the rest of the weekend with everyone and I’m looking forward to it (and mom said she’d try to save me some of my favorite potato casserole)! I’ll also get to see a few friends from high school which is always fun.
I’ve been working as a contractor at the NHL for 8 days now. It has gone pretty well. It’s been pretty slow, but okay and really has gotten better every day. I think I will like the people I’m working for/with, but the office is generally VERY quiet and I’m afraid that could make me crazy some days. They’ve been really nice and pretty much have told me it will turn into a full-time permanent job in a couple of weeks (unless something unexpected comes up). They’ve been willing to work with me on my vacations I already had planned for Thanksgiving and Christmas and a short trip to Niagara Falls next week, so that is really nice.
Otherwise, you may remember me mentioning a position at a company that owns private schools. Well, I was supposed to have an interview there over 2 weeks ago, but it was cancelled at the very last minute. I followed-up on it several times, with little response, so I finally decided to just give up on it. But, they called finally. They wanted me to meet them at noon today, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to take off from the NHL—I need to be on my best behavior here so I don’t miss out on the full-time opportunity. So, it looks like the school company is willing to meet me next Tuesday evening. I’m a little turned-off by them at this point, but I am going to go and check it out—maybe there is a reason for their flakiness over the past few weeks. We'll see and I'll keep ya updated until I'm locked-in somewhere.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Lion's and Tigers and....Reindeer???
Tonight I went to the Bronx Zoo for their Holiday Lights special. I've been working on putting together an extensive list of all the things I need to see/do in the City during the Holiday season. When I saw that the Holiday Lights festival at the zoo was starting this weekend, I decided to get a head-start! It actually didn't turn out to be very impressive, but it was okay and seems like a nice zoo. It did start getting me in the Christmas mood as has walking around the city lately. Places are already getting all decked out for the Holidays! Anyway, here are some pics from the zoo!
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Choclate Lover and Diana DeGarmo fan!
On Friday, I went to The Chocolate Show. Wow! So much delicious chocolate. Basically, it's just a place for chocolate vendors to come and display and sell their stuff. But, every vendor has samples!! I don't think I've ever eaten so much chocolate! Granted, most of the samples were tiny, but with the number of vendors there, they added up quickly! I tried some different things like Green Tea infused chocolate. One of my favorite things was this piece of chocolate filled with a cinnamon/carmel mixture- it was great! I also tried some delicious dessert wines. One place even had bananas with chocolate fondue- yum! There were also two theatres with cooking demonstrations. I went to one with Alexandra Guarnaschelli, the chef at Butter. She was awesome!! A great speaker and really funny-- definitely kept me entertained. They had asked her to cook something savory since everyone else was doing sweet things (it was the chocolate show)! So, she did Duck with Cocoa. We all got to try some and it was amazing. Her pastry chef made little chocolate cakes filled with a carmel sauce-- also very good. I went to Butter in Sept. with my high school friends and we weren't too impressed, but after this show with Alexandra, I became so endeared to her, I may have to try it again! I also saw a show with Martin Howard- the pastry chef from Brasserie 8 1/2. He was not nearly as entertaining. He does a show called "The Chocolatinas" and he is dressed in drag and it was all very horrible. I thought it might be entertaining, but I decided that he has no personality so he dresses in drag to make up for that, but then just comes off looking both boring and stupid. He made this chocolate briocche stuff..didn't compare to the food made by Butter! Check out pictures from the chocolate feast here!
Saturday, I spent the day with my old co-workers Joy & Kristin, as well as two other girls, Carlie and Kelli. All really fun gals! We did some shopping and then went over to Broadway hoping to score lottery tickets for Wicked. We didn't get any there, so then we tried for Spelling Bee and thought for sure we'd get those because there weren't many people there, but again we got none. So, we ended up getting standing-room-only tickets to Hairspray. It was really, really good and we only had to pay $20! I'd seen it in Dallas and liked it, but Broadway is Broadway! Diana DeGarmo (runner-up on a previous American Idol) was in it. I'm a huge fan of hers now! She was a great actress and has an amazingly powerful voice. Standing wasn't bad, but at intermission, Kristin, Kelli and I got some seats of someone who had never shown up and that was much better!
Saturday, I spent the day with my old co-workers Joy & Kristin, as well as two other girls, Carlie and Kelli. All really fun gals! We did some shopping and then went over to Broadway hoping to score lottery tickets for Wicked. We didn't get any there, so then we tried for Spelling Bee and thought for sure we'd get those because there weren't many people there, but again we got none. So, we ended up getting standing-room-only tickets to Hairspray. It was really, really good and we only had to pay $20! I'd seen it in Dallas and liked it, but Broadway is Broadway! Diana DeGarmo (runner-up on a previous American Idol) was in it. I'm a huge fan of hers now! She was a great actress and has an amazingly powerful voice. Standing wasn't bad, but at intermission, Kristin, Kelli and I got some seats of someone who had never shown up and that was much better!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
1 in 20
As a Christian living in Manhattan, I am by far in the minority. At The Journey, they often reminded us of the statsitic...1 in 20 people are believers. Whenever I'm riding the subway, chances are, I'm the only Christian in my car. But, since leaving my job at the church, I've been amazed at the number of Christians I have come across during my job search. I already told you about the woman at the media-ad firm. I was never 100% certain she was a Christian, but I think she was and I think that's why she went out of the way and put so much effort into trying to find something that would work for me. We had that in common, we clicked. My head-hunter told me yesterday that she had asked about me- wondered if I regretted my decision to turn her offer down. I don't regret it, although, I think working with a woman like that could have been a great experience.
Also, I mentioned my "exploratory interview" at Warner Music in a previous post. But, I did not mention that the HR girl I met with there was also a Christian. She was very familiar with The Journey and was very open about her involvement in the church. She also took an interest in me, but, unfortunately, they don't have any finance/acct'g positions to fill right now.
You may remember that I had an interview with the NHL over 2 weeks ago. It has turned into quite a process. First, the Director of Acct'g over there got very sick-- so sick, he was placed in the hospital for over a week. During that week, everything got put on hold. Except that everyone else over at the NHL had time to do some thinking. They all liked me and wanted me except for this one lady, Mary, who I did not even meet. Mary noticed on my resume that I worked for The Journey and she must have googled it or something because she became worried that I would be "too" Christian. She seriously asked my head-hunter if I would say "God Bless You" every time I saw her. As my head-hunter was explaining this to me, he told me that he, himself is a Christian and was just baptized a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to hear this! I talk to him almost daily and now he brings up Christ in almost every conversation we have.
Sunday night, I had my 4th encounter with a random Christian in the city. I was on the bus going to church and was talking on the phone to a friend, telling her about my NHL experience and this Mary lady. I thought I was talking quietly, but I think I probably always talk too loud on the phone and apparently the woman in front of me could hear everything I was saying. She was an older lady-- probably near 80 and very cute. We came to her stop and she got up and situated her cane, then turned around towards me before heading to the door and said "I hope you find the right job. It's in God's hands!" How sweet! And completely unexpected. According to the odds, there should not have been another Christian on that bus!
So, why all the Christians? I don't know why. Maybe God is using these people as an encouragement to me during this time of uncertainty-- they have most definitely helped keep my hopes up! But, it keeps me asking the question...does God want me to working for a Christian right now, or not? When I had the opportunity to at the ad-firm, that definitely sounded appealing....easy. But, life as a Christian isn't meant to be easy. At The Journey, I learned a lot about how important it is to purposefully put yourself into non-Christian environments so you can befriend these people and, hopefully, be a tool God uses to glorify Himself to them. So, maybe a non-Christian environment is one where I can best be used for HIS purposes. The NHL is definitely a non-Christian environment. Anyway, I'm not sure what God has planned for me ultimately as far as my work environment goes, but I know He does have a plan and that it is perfect and for that I am excited!
Soooo, back to the NHL--- I went back there on Monday to meet this Mary character, basically so she could see if I am a crazy Christian...I was going to see if SHE was the crazy one! The conversation was pleasant though...I told her "God Bless You" several times, of course! (Just kidding)! So, now, they've decided to hire me. Except that they have this crazy background process that takes TWO weeks! So, I'm planning to start Monday working on a contract basis and then will become a normal full-time employee in about a month.
This contract deal is good, because I'm not feeling a strong sense one way or the other about taking this job. This will give me more time to feel out the job and also figure out if it's where I'm supposed to be at this time. I've always had very strong feelings one way or another about past job opportunities. When I left EY and went to the law firm, there were jobs I turned down first because they didn't feel right. However, when the law firm job came up, I had a complete sense of peace almost from the very beginning. And with The Journey, I also had a complete sense of peace-- I knew it was where I was supposed to be. It didn't turn out like I anticipated, but I don't regret it and I know that God used my time there for a reason. And with the ad-firm job, I had a sense of uneasiness that couldn't be explained and I just knew it was not the right place for me. With the NHL, I feel none of that, so it's nice to have the time to see before I am committed to the full-time job. Plus, the inflow of some cash would be kind of nice!
Additionally, another opportunity has come up. It would be doing the accounting for a company that owns 10 private schools in the city. Nine of the ten schools are for autistic children. It is a for-profit company, which is good- I don't think I'm ready to get back in the non-profit world just yet. It sounds very, very interesting. I was supposed to interview yesterday, but the CFO had an emergency come up at the very last minute. We haven't rescheduled, but I am hoping something works out this week before I start the contract work at the NHL.
So, that's the update on me and my crazy job situation!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!
Also, I mentioned my "exploratory interview" at Warner Music in a previous post. But, I did not mention that the HR girl I met with there was also a Christian. She was very familiar with The Journey and was very open about her involvement in the church. She also took an interest in me, but, unfortunately, they don't have any finance/acct'g positions to fill right now.
You may remember that I had an interview with the NHL over 2 weeks ago. It has turned into quite a process. First, the Director of Acct'g over there got very sick-- so sick, he was placed in the hospital for over a week. During that week, everything got put on hold. Except that everyone else over at the NHL had time to do some thinking. They all liked me and wanted me except for this one lady, Mary, who I did not even meet. Mary noticed on my resume that I worked for The Journey and she must have googled it or something because she became worried that I would be "too" Christian. She seriously asked my head-hunter if I would say "God Bless You" every time I saw her. As my head-hunter was explaining this to me, he told me that he, himself is a Christian and was just baptized a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to hear this! I talk to him almost daily and now he brings up Christ in almost every conversation we have.
Sunday night, I had my 4th encounter with a random Christian in the city. I was on the bus going to church and was talking on the phone to a friend, telling her about my NHL experience and this Mary lady. I thought I was talking quietly, but I think I probably always talk too loud on the phone and apparently the woman in front of me could hear everything I was saying. She was an older lady-- probably near 80 and very cute. We came to her stop and she got up and situated her cane, then turned around towards me before heading to the door and said "I hope you find the right job. It's in God's hands!" How sweet! And completely unexpected. According to the odds, there should not have been another Christian on that bus!
So, why all the Christians? I don't know why. Maybe God is using these people as an encouragement to me during this time of uncertainty-- they have most definitely helped keep my hopes up! But, it keeps me asking the question...does God want me to working for a Christian right now, or not? When I had the opportunity to at the ad-firm, that definitely sounded appealing....easy. But, life as a Christian isn't meant to be easy. At The Journey, I learned a lot about how important it is to purposefully put yourself into non-Christian environments so you can befriend these people and, hopefully, be a tool God uses to glorify Himself to them. So, maybe a non-Christian environment is one where I can best be used for HIS purposes. The NHL is definitely a non-Christian environment. Anyway, I'm not sure what God has planned for me ultimately as far as my work environment goes, but I know He does have a plan and that it is perfect and for that I am excited!
Soooo, back to the NHL--- I went back there on Monday to meet this Mary character, basically so she could see if I am a crazy Christian...I was going to see if SHE was the crazy one! The conversation was pleasant though...I told her "God Bless You" several times, of course! (Just kidding)! So, now, they've decided to hire me. Except that they have this crazy background process that takes TWO weeks! So, I'm planning to start Monday working on a contract basis and then will become a normal full-time employee in about a month.
This contract deal is good, because I'm not feeling a strong sense one way or the other about taking this job. This will give me more time to feel out the job and also figure out if it's where I'm supposed to be at this time. I've always had very strong feelings one way or another about past job opportunities. When I left EY and went to the law firm, there were jobs I turned down first because they didn't feel right. However, when the law firm job came up, I had a complete sense of peace almost from the very beginning. And with The Journey, I also had a complete sense of peace-- I knew it was where I was supposed to be. It didn't turn out like I anticipated, but I don't regret it and I know that God used my time there for a reason. And with the ad-firm job, I had a sense of uneasiness that couldn't be explained and I just knew it was not the right place for me. With the NHL, I feel none of that, so it's nice to have the time to see before I am committed to the full-time job. Plus, the inflow of some cash would be kind of nice!
Additionally, another opportunity has come up. It would be doing the accounting for a company that owns 10 private schools in the city. Nine of the ten schools are for autistic children. It is a for-profit company, which is good- I don't think I'm ready to get back in the non-profit world just yet. It sounds very, very interesting. I was supposed to interview yesterday, but the CFO had an emergency come up at the very last minute. We haven't rescheduled, but I am hoping something works out this week before I start the contract work at the NHL.
So, that's the update on me and my crazy job situation!! GOD BLESS YOU!!!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Monday Night
Last night I went with Joy, George, and Rachel to see Mike Birbiglia again. He's a funny guy! He was at a little venue in the East Village called "Mo Pitkins House of Satisfaction". It was a very cool place with a bar/restaurant downstairs and a tiny little theatre upstairs. A bonus last night was their $3 Margaritas! After the show, Joy and I got Starbucks and walked through the Village some. It is such a cool area and we saw some shops and restaurants we really need to go back to! We ended up walking all the way to my neighborhood-- must have been about 3 miles and I was wearing my tall black boots-- crazy! It was so nice though to just enjoy the city and great weather we've been having!
As we walked, we passed a movie set on the street. We could see Richard Kind and Alan Alda and an unidentified woman. They were taping a scene where Richard and the woman were talking on the street and would then walk into a brownstone and Alan Alda was inside. It was fun to watch!
As we walked, we passed a movie set on the street. We could see Richard Kind and Alan Alda and an unidentified woman. They were taping a scene where Richard and the woman were talking on the street and would then walk into a brownstone and Alan Alda was inside. It was fun to watch!
Sunday, November 05, 2006
NYC Marathon Weekend
I had a fantastic weekend! Friday night I went to dinner and a movie with Joy. We ate at a place called Serafina's. It was good Italian food....we got 2 pizzas and shared and they were really good--more like authentic Italian pizza. They were really rich, though! We saw "Borat" after dinner. It was pretty funny, but definitely went overboard a couple of times!
On Saturday, I met Joy and another guy I used to work with, Stan, for brunch in the East Village. We ate at a place called the Sidewalk Cafe. It was good food and a great price for their brunch which included mimosas-- yum!! The weather was really nice so we even sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine for a couple of hours! There is another restaurant on the street called 7A and I'd also like to try it out-- it's really popular for brunch as well.
I spent most of the rest of the weekend volunteering for the New York marathon! It was an experience and I had a lot of fun! Saturday night was the Barilla Pasta Party for all runners. It was crazy...trying to feed 37,000 runners! I was put on dessert duty which was definitely the worst job. The runners would eat in this huge tent that was added on to Tavern on the Green for the event. Then they would be sent out the exit where they got a goody bag and lots of free pasta and food and other items and then they would just get dessert to go. We were outside serving Italian Ice! It was already cold enough, but having to handle the little tubs of Italian Ice made my fingers turn purple! It was kind of miserable. But, I enjoyed some of the people I worked with and I got a free t-shirt, some cookies, and a pasta timer out of it! I do love free stuff! Actually, it brought back a lot of memories from when my old roommate, Deanna, and I used to do races...we ran the Honolulu marathon together, but also did many 5k's. I think we were both pretty driven by the free stuff, though. We would leave with bags stuffed full of bananas, bottles of water, yogurt, etc.... Some weeks, it was our main source of grocery shopping, I think! So, when I saw people coming out of the Pasta dinner with huge black garbage sacks full, I could relate! It was fun.
Then, Sunday morning, I volunteered at the drink station at mile-24 in Central Park. It was a great location to be! I was a Gatorade girl and it was quite a process. We had to set up tables, hang banners, then mix and pour the Gatorade- lots & lots & lots of Gatorade! All the Gatorade mixers got these huge ponchos to wear because it can become a sticky mess-- I thought they were hysterical! We also wore plastic medical gloves and one girl I talked to some said it was "just like Grey's Anatomy!" She was really funny to talk to. The most exciting part of the day was seeing Lance Armstrong run by-- he looked great! We also had fun figuring out the best technique for the Gatorade "hand off". See, the runners would go by so fast that they would often knock the cups right out of our hands. I quickly figured out a way to hold the cup to help ensure a good catch...I still lost some, but it did work pretty well and other people began following my lead!
Sunday night I had my first opportunity to try out a new chruch, Redeemer Presbyterian. There are 2 churches in the city I've been most interested to try and Redeemer was the only one that has evening services, so that worked with my marathon schedule. It was really good-- the pastor seems like an excellent preacher and very wise so that was refreshing for me! But, it is a HUGE church and I wondered how difficult it would be to get involved and meet people there. I think there could have been 1,000 people there tonight and it was one of 4 services today. I am going to try out the other church next Sunday...it's a church plant and they're still averaging only about 100/week. The pastor there came from Lake Pointe in the Dallas area and I've been told that it's where "all the Texans" go to church. I know a guy I went to both high school and college goes there and he seems to like it and I've heard excellent things about the pastor through some Lake Pointe people. So, we'll see how that goes!
Here's some pictures from the marathon!! It was hard to get the runners though so I missed getting one of Lance...sorry!
On Saturday, I met Joy and another guy I used to work with, Stan, for brunch in the East Village. We ate at a place called the Sidewalk Cafe. It was good food and a great price for their brunch which included mimosas-- yum!! The weather was really nice so we even sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine for a couple of hours! There is another restaurant on the street called 7A and I'd also like to try it out-- it's really popular for brunch as well.
I spent most of the rest of the weekend volunteering for the New York marathon! It was an experience and I had a lot of fun! Saturday night was the Barilla Pasta Party for all runners. It was crazy...trying to feed 37,000 runners! I was put on dessert duty which was definitely the worst job. The runners would eat in this huge tent that was added on to Tavern on the Green for the event. Then they would be sent out the exit where they got a goody bag and lots of free pasta and food and other items and then they would just get dessert to go. We were outside serving Italian Ice! It was already cold enough, but having to handle the little tubs of Italian Ice made my fingers turn purple! It was kind of miserable. But, I enjoyed some of the people I worked with and I got a free t-shirt, some cookies, and a pasta timer out of it! I do love free stuff! Actually, it brought back a lot of memories from when my old roommate, Deanna, and I used to do races...we ran the Honolulu marathon together, but also did many 5k's. I think we were both pretty driven by the free stuff, though. We would leave with bags stuffed full of bananas, bottles of water, yogurt, etc.... Some weeks, it was our main source of grocery shopping, I think! So, when I saw people coming out of the Pasta dinner with huge black garbage sacks full, I could relate! It was fun.
Then, Sunday morning, I volunteered at the drink station at mile-24 in Central Park. It was a great location to be! I was a Gatorade girl and it was quite a process. We had to set up tables, hang banners, then mix and pour the Gatorade- lots & lots & lots of Gatorade! All the Gatorade mixers got these huge ponchos to wear because it can become a sticky mess-- I thought they were hysterical! We also wore plastic medical gloves and one girl I talked to some said it was "just like Grey's Anatomy!" She was really funny to talk to. The most exciting part of the day was seeing Lance Armstrong run by-- he looked great! We also had fun figuring out the best technique for the Gatorade "hand off". See, the runners would go by so fast that they would often knock the cups right out of our hands. I quickly figured out a way to hold the cup to help ensure a good catch...I still lost some, but it did work pretty well and other people began following my lead!
Sunday night I had my first opportunity to try out a new chruch, Redeemer Presbyterian. There are 2 churches in the city I've been most interested to try and Redeemer was the only one that has evening services, so that worked with my marathon schedule. It was really good-- the pastor seems like an excellent preacher and very wise so that was refreshing for me! But, it is a HUGE church and I wondered how difficult it would be to get involved and meet people there. I think there could have been 1,000 people there tonight and it was one of 4 services today. I am going to try out the other church next Sunday...it's a church plant and they're still averaging only about 100/week. The pastor there came from Lake Pointe in the Dallas area and I've been told that it's where "all the Texans" go to church. I know a guy I went to both high school and college goes there and he seems to like it and I've heard excellent things about the pastor through some Lake Pointe people. So, we'll see how that goes!
Here's some pictures from the marathon!! It was hard to get the runners though so I missed getting one of Lance...sorry!
Friday, November 03, 2006
Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing
When I was in the 4th grade, my parents took us on a trip to Washington DC. I hated it. My sister hated it. My parent's love DC, but that trip....they hated it. Beth and I were brats the entire time and my parent's vowed to never take us back! And they didn't! I just wasn't very interested in all the history and all the museums. I remember having to get up really, really early to get tickets for the White House and back then, I had this weird thing where if I stayed up too late or got up too early, I threw up. So, that morning I threw up right in the middle of a street near the White House. It was a great trip!
Since I'm now living in the Northeast and haven't really seen much of it at all before, I have a lot of places I want to conquer while I'm here. DC was on my list because I thought that now that I'm grown up, I'll enjoy it. Also, a friend of mine was there on work for a short-term assignment, so I had a free place to stay! Unfortunately, I discovered that my feelings towards DC in the 4th grade might have had less to do with my age than I thought. I'm just not a history buff. I was never really a C student, but I started making C's in my History classes in 8th grade and continued to make C's until I took my last History class my Freshman year of college. I'm just not interested. However, this time I did discover that DC is a very pretty place and walking around it was very nice especially with the great weather I had. DC also has some really nice neighborhoods-- DuPont Circle and Georgetown. I really liked walking around them. Unfortunately, I only had 48 hours in DC, so by the time I realized my lack of interest in the museums, I didn't have much time to spend exploring these communities! The other downfall was that I was having slight stomach issues and am now 2-for-2 for throwing up in DC....lovely! Anyway, here's what I did with a link at the bottom to my pictures!
Since I'm now living in the Northeast and haven't really seen much of it at all before, I have a lot of places I want to conquer while I'm here. DC was on my list because I thought that now that I'm grown up, I'll enjoy it. Also, a friend of mine was there on work for a short-term assignment, so I had a free place to stay! Unfortunately, I discovered that my feelings towards DC in the 4th grade might have had less to do with my age than I thought. I'm just not a history buff. I was never really a C student, but I started making C's in my History classes in 8th grade and continued to make C's until I took my last History class my Freshman year of college. I'm just not interested. However, this time I did discover that DC is a very pretty place and walking around it was very nice especially with the great weather I had. DC also has some really nice neighborhoods-- DuPont Circle and Georgetown. I really liked walking around them. Unfortunately, I only had 48 hours in DC, so by the time I realized my lack of interest in the museums, I didn't have much time to spend exploring these communities! The other downfall was that I was having slight stomach issues and am now 2-for-2 for throwing up in DC....lovely! Anyway, here's what I did with a link at the bottom to my pictures!
- Went to the Supreme Court and got to watch about 5 minutes of the case they were trying. I actually did find this interesting to watch and enjoyed seeing the Supreme Court Judges.
- Went into the Senate Office Building to grab a muffin in their cafe-- my mom told me to go here to try to spot Senators! The most vivid memory I have of being in DC when I was 9 was being in this building and my mom seeing some famous Senator. She got SO excited and had us following him all over the place until he got on an elevator we weren't allowed on. So, she made us get on the elevator for the public and try to GUESS which floor this Senator was going to so we could see him again. I had know idea who he was, but I sure did think this was exciting!! That's my mom for ya! Anyway, this time it was VERY quiet...Senators were out campaigning, so my dad says.
- Went to the National Cathedral-- attempted to go to an organ concert there, but got confused getting there and was too late. It was a pretty place though.
- Saw the monuments/memorials-- Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, WWII, Vietnam Vets, and the Korean War Veterans. I went late afternoon so that I was able to see most of them in daylight and after sunset...very pretty!! The FDR Memorial was my favorite-- it's much bigger than the others and is basically just a ton of different waterfalls and quotes from FDR.
- Went to the Holocaust Museum. This museum I did like. It was very interesting. Luckily, the day I went, it was very quiet. My only issue was that there was SO much information, to me it was overwhelming and I began to feel a little ADD. It took me about 2 hours to get through-- I had been told it takes 3, but I started skipping over stuff after a while. Also, I can see how it could get very crowded and you get stuck behind people waiting to see the next thing which would not be fun.
- I was disappointed that the Smithsonian Museum of American History was closed for renovations....until summer of 2008!!! Two years-- wow! Anyway, I had read that they had moved their best exhibits temporarily to the Air & Space Museum, so I went by there to check it out. Unfortunately, the temporary exhibit wasn't open yet. So, I did walk around the Air & Space stuff and some of it looked cool, but for the most part, I just wasn't interested.
- I went into the White House Information Center-- it had some pictures of the inside of the house and some history, but really not very much stuff of interest in there.
- Walked up as close as you can get to the White House...very pretty. It looked as expected from the front, however, on the side, I was surprised by the size...much bigger than I thought.
- I walked around Georgetown...both the neighborhood and the shops. Like I said, I could have spent much more time here! The houses are really cute and I had a list of houses JFK lived in, so I looked for those, mostly just because I enjoyed walking through the neighborhood so much! If I had had an extra day, I really could have done some damage shopping around there! The restaurants looked interesting, too!
- I also did a bit of walking around DuPont Circle. Again, if I had had more time, I would have enjoyed the shopping and restaurants!
So, that was my whirlwind trip to DC! If you want to see pictures, they're located here!
Time Off
Some of you have been asking "What has Susan been doing with her unemployed self"? I've managed to keep myself somewhat busy these past couple of weeks--- a very enjoyable, slow-paced busy! I've taken my mornings slow, which I love to do. Finished reading "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" and am working on "Desiring God", which I've been trying to read for a while now. Both good books I recommend!
I've also done some shopping!! I bought my winter coat to gear up for the bitter Northeast winds and cold air! I ended up getting a long down-filled one. They're sort of "in" right now, but I think mainly just because they're so warm, not so much because they're super-cute. I got a choclate brown one and I love it! And it was pretty cheap because I went to Century 21 to get it. Century 21 is a famous department store here full of Designer clothes, shoes and accessories, but all at discounted prices! I also went shopping in both the big Bloomingdale's and Macy's. Didn't buy anything at either place, but they're both fun to look around in. When I was in Jersey w/ Beth's in-laws, her mother-in-law was telling me that she used to buy Caviar at the Macy's market when she lived here while she was in the NYC Ballet. I told her I didn't think the market existed anymore. But, I was wrong because I found it this time! It's in the basement. I grabbed lunch there, so taht was fun. That store is HUGE! I wonder what else I'm missing there! I also bummed around an area called Astor Place that has some good shopping. I was on a mission for gloves and a scarf, but didn't find anything I wanted.
I also made myself get out and do some NYC things. I went up to the Cloisters Museum one day. It's located in very far-north Manhattan in a park called Ft. Tryon Park. The park was gorgeous! Full of trees and located on a cliff above the Hudson. They had a beautiful garden and it sounded more like spring with all the birds chirping away! I couldn't help but explore the park some before heading to the museum! I really liked The Cloisters as well. The building itself was just so neat. They've brought in parts of 5 different monasteries to create the rooms and doorways and it really was pretty and unique. Amazingly, it is a museum where they allow pictures to be taken (with no flash). You can view pictures from my day-trip here.
On Friday night, I went to a show at St. John's Cathedral. It is the only gothic cathedral in Manhattan and it's quite pretty. They were having a Halloween show! It was really fun and interesting. First, we watched an old silent film about a vampire. Someone was playing the organ in the cathedral along to the movie. That lasted about an hour and then they had a parade of ghouls! It was actually pretty fun and interesting! Pictures are here!!
I've also done some shopping!! I bought my winter coat to gear up for the bitter Northeast winds and cold air! I ended up getting a long down-filled one. They're sort of "in" right now, but I think mainly just because they're so warm, not so much because they're super-cute. I got a choclate brown one and I love it! And it was pretty cheap because I went to Century 21 to get it. Century 21 is a famous department store here full of Designer clothes, shoes and accessories, but all at discounted prices! I also went shopping in both the big Bloomingdale's and Macy's. Didn't buy anything at either place, but they're both fun to look around in. When I was in Jersey w/ Beth's in-laws, her mother-in-law was telling me that she used to buy Caviar at the Macy's market when she lived here while she was in the NYC Ballet. I told her I didn't think the market existed anymore. But, I was wrong because I found it this time! It's in the basement. I grabbed lunch there, so taht was fun. That store is HUGE! I wonder what else I'm missing there! I also bummed around an area called Astor Place that has some good shopping. I was on a mission for gloves and a scarf, but didn't find anything I wanted.
I also made myself get out and do some NYC things. I went up to the Cloisters Museum one day. It's located in very far-north Manhattan in a park called Ft. Tryon Park. The park was gorgeous! Full of trees and located on a cliff above the Hudson. They had a beautiful garden and it sounded more like spring with all the birds chirping away! I couldn't help but explore the park some before heading to the museum! I really liked The Cloisters as well. The building itself was just so neat. They've brought in parts of 5 different monasteries to create the rooms and doorways and it really was pretty and unique. Amazingly, it is a museum where they allow pictures to be taken (with no flash). You can view pictures from my day-trip here.
On Friday night, I went to a show at St. John's Cathedral. It is the only gothic cathedral in Manhattan and it's quite pretty. They were having a Halloween show! It was really fun and interesting. First, we watched an old silent film about a vampire. Someone was playing the organ in the cathedral along to the movie. That lasted about an hour and then they had a parade of ghouls! It was actually pretty fun and interesting! Pictures are here!!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Curly Girl
Last week, I got my hair cut at Devachan-- which I lovingly refer to as the "Curly Girl" salon. Most of you know I went there when I was up here on vacation in May of 2005. That time I got my hair cut by THE curly girl herself, Lorraine Massey, author of the book "Curly Girls". A lot of you have borrowed my book, but if you're a girl with curly or even barely wavy hair and have not read the book you should get it! Anyway, Lorraine's hair cut was the best I've ever gotten, but also by far the most expensive. It was kind of a once in a lifetime sort of thing. But, I needed a haircut last week (I haven't had one since I moved up 6.5 months ago)! So, I called to see how much the other stylists at the salon are and they actually have some that are fairly reasonable! Yippee! So, I got to go back to Devachan. I love that place! My stylist was an Asian guy named Jeffrey. I loved him! He asked me where I was from originally and I said Dallas. I added that I just moved up here 6 months ago. And he looked totally shocked and said "What?!?! I thought you looked like a true New Yorker! I thought you'd been here for years!" How amazing is that? A true New Yorker already! Anyway, the hair cutting at Devachan is an experience...they give you this delicious fruit tea and they pamper you and the head massage while they wash your hair is the best!! It was a fun day!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Martha Stewart
I saw Martha Stewart tonight! I went over to the Columbus Circle shops to pick up a Jamba Juice for dinner. As I was leaving, I noticed a huge line outside William Sonoma, so I walked over to figure out what the hype was all about. Turned out Martha was there signing her new book. So, I went inside and pretended to be shopping so I could catch some glimpses of the homemaker. She looked like she was being very friendly to everyone-- I've always heard she's mean! And she looked small. Of course, she was beind a table, so I couldn't see her too well, but I could see her legs and they looked tiny.
I'm WAYYY behind on my blogging. I have updates from last week and I also went to DC for a couple of days, so I've got some catching-up to do!
I'm WAYYY behind on my blogging. I have updates from last week and I also went to DC for a couple of days, so I've got some catching-up to do!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
TCU vs. Army
A guy I went to church with in Dallas is a huge TCU fan and he came up with the TCU alumni group to go to the football game at Westpoint-- I got to go too! We took buses with the other TCU alums and it took about 1.5 hours to get there-- west over the Hudson river, then north.
I really like seeing neat college campuses, so I really enjoyed the opportunity to see Westpoint. It was a beautiful campus, set right on the Hudson river and the leaves on the trees were starting to change.
When we arrived, we got to see the cadets doing their marching parade.
We had lunch with the TCU alums at the Westpoint club-- beautiful rooms with large windows overlooking the Hudson.
We took a long walk to get from lunch to the game. I enjoyed walking through the old Army fort, and through the neighborhoods on campus. It really feels more like a nice community, rather than a college campus. Lots of neat houses where Lieutenants and their families live.
The game was fun-- TCU won. It was fun watching the cadets and their traditions. Each time Army makes a touchdown, the freshman all have to jump out of the bleachers and onto the field and do push-ups. Also, a canon is shot off each time they score. A few cadets did a gun drill at half-time. I enjoyed talking with the older man sitting next to me-- we were in the TCU section, so he was a sweet old Texan. He spilled his hot chocolate ALL over himself-- I felt bad for him, but then we really got a good laugh about it together-- he was funny. 
For some reason, I love how they shaved and
colored the "A" on all their horses behinds
You may have to click on this one and enlarge
it to see the freshman doing their push-ups
There were a couple of other "new" things I did while Rob was in the City.
We spent some time in the park and for the first time, I went to the top of Shakespeare's castle. It did have a great view of the park.
The Central Park Resevoir
The pond in CP with the row boats-- I love
this!
We also went to a great steak restaurant--Uncle Jack's -- and saw Spamalot. Now Spamalot isn't exactly the kind of humor I enjoy, but it was a Broadway show, so the singing and dancing were excellent as always. And the show was actually a pretty fun one-- they even had me singing along at the end!
I really like seeing neat college campuses, so I really enjoyed the opportunity to see Westpoint. It was a beautiful campus, set right on the Hudson river and the leaves on the trees were starting to change.
When we arrived, we got to see the cadets doing their marching parade.
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.jpg)
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We had lunch with the TCU alums at the Westpoint club-- beautiful rooms with large windows overlooking the Hudson.
We took a long walk to get from lunch to the game. I enjoyed walking through the old Army fort, and through the neighborhoods on campus. It really feels more like a nice community, rather than a college campus. Lots of neat houses where Lieutenants and their families live.
.0.jpg)
The game was fun-- TCU won. It was fun watching the cadets and their traditions. Each time Army makes a touchdown, the freshman all have to jump out of the bleachers and onto the field and do push-ups. Also, a canon is shot off each time they score. A few cadets did a gun drill at half-time. I enjoyed talking with the older man sitting next to me-- we were in the TCU section, so he was a sweet old Texan. He spilled his hot chocolate ALL over himself-- I felt bad for him, but then we really got a good laugh about it together-- he was funny. .0.jpg)
For some reason, I love how they shaved and
colored the "A" on all their horses behinds
You may have to click on this one and enlarge
it to see the freshman doing their push-ups
There were a couple of other "new" things I did while Rob was in the City.
We spent some time in the park and for the first time, I went to the top of Shakespeare's castle. It did have a great view of the park.
The Central Park Resevoir
The pond in CP with the row boats-- I love
this!
We also went to a great steak restaurant--Uncle Jack's -- and saw Spamalot. Now Spamalot isn't exactly the kind of humor I enjoy, but it was a Broadway show, so the singing and dancing were excellent as always. And the show was actually a pretty fun one-- they even had me singing along at the end!
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