In The Heights and the Oscars

The highlights of my weekend were a new Broadway musical and the Oscars!

Friday, I went to see In the Heights, a musical that just hit Broadway a week ago. It was an off-Broadway show for several years and I got to see the cast perform a few scenes last summer at Broadway in Bryant Park. I loved it and even joined the fan club so I would know exactly when it would hit Broadway so I could buy my tickets! My expectations were very high. Unfortunately, I guess I set them too high. While I did like it and thought the music and dancing was fun and much more upbeat than most of Broadway right now, the plot was a little slow for me. It had a plot, they just could have beefed-it-up a bit more. Anyway, it was fun and I was glad I got to see it. It is about people living in Washington Heights, a Manhattan neighborhood way far north, above Harlem. I enjoyed all the NYC references. Joy went with me and we ate a French restaurant on “Restaurant Row” (aka 46th street). This “Row” is right in my neighborhood and is lined with restaurants, but I had never been to any of them. They all have prix-fixe pre-theatre dinner menus. This restaurant was really cute and quaint, the food was okay but definitely not the best I’ve had in New York.

And the Oscars….I love the Oscars. In Dallas, I would see movies like crazy leading up to the Oscars. Most years I would manage to see all but a few of the nominated movies - I’d rent movies and go to the theatre, whatever it took to see them all. And I’m not just talking the Best Picture nominees…everything from Sound Editing to Costumes to Foreign Language, I would try to see it before the awards show. Here, I just don’t go to movies very often (why go to movies when the best live theatre in the world is at your doorstep)! . I still can't really tell you the difference between “No Country for Old Men” and that Blood movie, whatever it’s called. Really, I’m that out of it this year (but, at least I can walk past the theatres on Broadway and say that I’ve seen almost every show playing). I have to say, not seeing the movies makes watching the Oscars a little more dull. I did love seeing all the celebs, pretty dresses, and hearing some of the speeches. Being an election year, I assumed a lot of the winners would go on political rants, so I was glad that didn’t happen – I just don’t think that’s what the Oscars are for! My favorite part was when John Stewart gave the "Oscar" for “Best Baby”. The nominees were 3 pregnant leading actresses – Nicole Kidman, Jessica Alba, and Cate Blanchett. They all lost, but Angelina Jolie won their baby! I laughed out loud at that. I love that song that won “Best Song” and now I want to see the movie it came from, “Once”.

I watched the show at Joy’s new apartment. It was my first time to make the trek out to her new place in Queens. The commute isn’t horrible, but it’s not nearly as sweet as living where I do, where I can walk to work and a lot of my favorite places (i.e. Central Park, Lincoln Center, Upper West Side, theatre district, Rockefeller Center, Macy’s) and have convenience to 3 different subway lines. Her apartment, on the other hand is great. The building itself is well-kept, clean, secure, and has an elevator. Her apartment is a nice size studio. The kitchen is separate from the living area and she has a dressing area as well, making it one of the bigger studios I’ve seen. She has a huge clothes closet, plus a coat closet and even a linen closet!!! What? No one has that many closets in New York. I found myself quite jealous. I’d love to move this summer (away from my DiRtY roommates), but I’ll never find anything like that in Manhattan – especially for the price she’s paying. Maybe I’ll suck it up and move to Queens.

President's Day Weekend

President’s Weekend was a great 3-day weekend. I did some relaxing, had some fun, and even was quite productive. Here are some things my weekend included:

• A basketball watch party with fellow Baylor alums. We were playing #11 Texas and really put up a good fight, but just couldn’t pull it off. I’m proud of the Bears, regardless. They are having a much better season and could possibly still make the tournament this year! It was a great game to watch and I enjoyed meeting some new people. Also found out that the leader of the NYC alumni group works IN my building! I hadn’t seen her since we moved to our new building in October so it was fun to discover that and know that we will go to lunch in the near future.

• Long day of church on Sunday – taught the preschoolers Sunday School in the AM, went to a baptism in the afternoon, then back to church in the evening to greet and attend myself.

• Lunch at Amy Ruth’s with some girls from church. This place was new to me and lots of fun. It’s a home-cookin’ joint up in Harlem. They have really good waffles, but they serve them with fried meats – chicken, shrimp, or catfish. I thought this was very strange, but everyone at the table convinced me that it’s what you have to get there. So, I got waffles with fried shrimp. I didn’t eat it together, though! It was actually quite delicious and I’m sure very, very bad for me. Probably not a place to hit up every week, but I would go back some day!

• Went to Macy’s and got consulted at the Perscriptives counter. I’m into their cleansing products right now, but let the lady advise me on foundations and other make-up. I may look further into the make-up later on, but right now just got what I needed!

• Did a major trip to the grocery store and some cooking. I want to get back into cooking more and try new recipes. So far, I made a delicious lentil soup and a strange sweet potato recipe. Next up: fish w/ miso, healthy fried rice, and a Chipotle-esque salad.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO....

Yes, it's a real Oscar Statue! There's an exhibit
at the ABC studios this week and I walked over
at lunch so I could hold one myself. I love the
Oscars!!!

Spice Up Your Life!!

If you ask my sister why she came to visit last weekend, she will tell you it was to celebrate her birthday (35-- can you believe it??). But since she doesn't read this blog, I will share with you the truth! Beth came all the way to NYC to see the Spice Girls concert! Seriously - she asked me months ago - right when the Girls announced they were doing a reunion tour- if I could get tickets through work. At the time, NYC wasn't on their calendar. But, as soon as they added NYC plus our arena in New Jersey to their tour, I called Beth to tell her I might be able to get the tickets. It was just a bonus that they happened to be playing in New Jersey on her birthday and the night after. I found out just 2 days before her trip up that I had indeed been granted tickets to the concert- I didn't get ones on her birthday, but we were happy to go the next night instead. It meant we had to commute to New Jersey, but it was an easy train ride and our new arena over there is SO nice and our suite is very nice as well. We had a fun night...the Spice Girls were okay. Their upbeat songs and some of the songs they covered were fun, but I got restless on the slow songs! I was shocked at how Beth knew a lot of their songs. I only could remember one! Beth thinks it is because she was living in Paris when they were popular and claims they must have played Spice Girls a lot more over there than here. Who knows! Brian brought binoculars and we had lots of fun with those. We could see two babies sitting basically right on the front of the stage with little earphones protecting their ears. You wouldn't have noticed them without the binoculars...we assumed they were probably the babies of Baby Spice and Scary Spice. Super cute!

Beth & I waiting for the concert to begin

Brian trying to confuse people into thinking

he might be someone famous

We also went to see Spring Awakening on Broadway while they were here. This is the musical that won a ton of Tony's last year, so I'd been wanting to see it. Many of my more conservative friends had claimed they didn't like it...it is basically about a bunch of teenagers in the late 1800's coming into their own...sexually, that is. It was ALL about sex and it was very, very different. But, I actually liked it a little bit. The songs have a more alternative sound to them compared to most of Broadway and I liked that.

After the musical, we met some Dallas girls, including Beth's good friend, Chandra, who happened to be in town the same weekend. We ate dinner at Tao and gave Beth the WILD night out she was looking for to celebrate her birthday. That place is quite a scene. The food was great - especially the Sea Bass with Miso that Beth got....I'm now determined to learn to cook fish with miso at home! Brian ordered Tao's special birthday dessert for the table and it was the hugest dessert I've ever seen in my life...one big long plate with probably 10-15 scoops of different flavors of ice cream, plus all kinds of little cakes and pastries and chocolates. We all had fun trying everything! They even brought her a fancy box of white and milk chocolate Budda shaped chocolates for a gift for Beth. It was a fun night out!

The Big Budda at Tao

The Girls at Tao

Beth's box of chocolates from Tao

Sunday, we had brunch at Cafe 202 and walked around Chelsea a bit. The food at Cafe 202 is good and it's a fun place to go, but I especially enjoyed their hot tea and the cute little individual presses it comes in. They even gave us all complimentary Mimosas for Beth's birthday!

B&B with their tea presses at Cafe 202

My mom went in with me to get Beth an Ipod for her birthday...I knew it had been on her wish list for a long time. So, I bought one and then put songs from the weekend on it (Spring Awakening, Spice Girls, and Jersey Boys which B&B saw without me). Beth loved it way more than I thought she would - I guess she just wasn't expecting it, but I thought she was going to cry for a second! Over an Ipod, who knew!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Hope you have a great Valentine's Day! I wish you were all here to share these delicious cookies! I made them to take to the girls at Community Group last night.

Ash Wednesday

You can’t really miss Ash Wednesday here in NYC. It surprises me to see so many people walking around all day with black ashes smudged on their foreheads. I honestly had never personally seen this done until I moved here. Thankfully, before I moved here, Kelli had told me about her embarrassing experience with her co-worker who practiced that tradition...otherwise, I probably wouldn't have even known that people actually still practice this ritual. If I hadn’t heard Kelli’s story, I might have put my own foot in my mouth last year when I first saw someone with ashes on their forehead. You can’t help but think about the ashes here when you see them on about every-other person and I kept wondering on Wednesday why they did it and if they really meant what it symbolizes.

I started participating in lent about 7(?) years ago…giving something up each year. I was working with a girl at the time, Ellen, who had grown up in a Catholic family, but had made the decision to go to non-denom Christian churches after moving to Dallas. She chose to keep some of the traditions Catholics generally participate in and lent was one of them. When she explained her reasoning behind keeping that particular tradition, I thought it sounded like a good idea and jumped on board. I can’t remember if it was that first year or the next year that I gave up shopping for Lent. I didn’t buy a single piece of clothing or a pair of shoes for the entire season….and through that I realized how I really didn’t need most of the things I bought anyway. My sacrifice ended up lasting for almost 6 months and I have never been nearly as big of a shopper since then. It was a good thing for me. The problem back then is that most of my “sacrifices” for lent tended to be selfish in reason…I gave up clothes to save money, gave up dessert to lose weight, gave up TV because I was spending too much of my time on it. All of these things were good things to give up and had good intentions behind them, but I didn’t truly have the spirit of lent behind my sacrifices. I’ve been trying to learn the last couple of years how to make this season more meaningful. I now go to a church that really encourages participation in Lent and yesterday I went to my very first Ash Wednesday service…we didn’t do the ashes as we, in general, don’t believe that the outward marking is necessary, but it’s the inward personal repentance and mourning that matters, but it was a nice time of reflective scripture reading, prayer, and communion. I also was reminded of why Lent is a good practice….it also helps that our sermon series this month is on Idolatry, which I think fits in well with the practices of Lent. Anyway, here’s some things I’m learning and trying to keep in mind this year:

* First and foremost, it’s not about me, it’s about Him. It’s hard to remember that and to keep my focus in the right place and to truly understand what that means.

* My sacrifices should be a reminder of what Christ gave up for me on the cross. When I really want what I’ve given up, I should be reminded that He gave up everything for me.

* What I gave up or how well I stick with it isn’t going to save me or redeem me in God’s eyes….He took care of that on the Cross. But, it could lead me into a closer relationship with Him, a deeper trust in Him, a deeper understanding of Him, a greater spirit of rejoicing in Him, etc….

* Lent isn’t just about sacrifice, it’s also supposed to be a period of prayer, scripture reading, and giving. The giving part is totally new to me and I’m still trying to figure out how to incorporate that this year.

* I should replace my sacrifices with things that are good. If my sacrifice opens up some time, I should use that time to help others or dig into the Bible. If it frees up money, I should give that to a good cause. If I’m doing a food fast, when I feel hunger pains, I should be reminded that I have all I need in Him. I should turn to Him during all these times in prayer.

* I learned about 3 years ago that during Lent, one day each week (typically Sunday) is supposed to be a "feast" day. Prior to that, I gave up my "thing" for the entire 6.5 weeks. After that, I got excited and viewed that extra day as a relief day or a cheat day or a day to look forward to each week. One of our pastors said something last night that struck me and I'm still processing, but he said you should really celebrate on those days. He said that they are meant to be a complete contrast to the other 6 days of the week. Six days a week you are mourning the death of Christ and your sinful nature and on the 7th day you are rejoicing in His resurrection and His merciful salvation and restoration!

I may not be spot- on in all those bullets above….I’m clearly learning as I go, but that’s sort of my understanding of lent today.

Any of you who are still reading at this point are probably just curious about what I've given up this year! Well, first, I'm giving up my home computer. Not entirely...I can still email as needed and I can use it for practical purposes like getting directions or checking my bank account. I'll still update my blog, but it may not be as timely. I tend to spend a lot of unnecessary time on my computer....I use it for everything....I watch TV on it, listen to music on it, and mostly, I read and read and read on it (newspapers, tabloid blogs, tons of people's blogs...anything I can find that I'm interested in). I feel like I can't live with out it at times and spend way too much time on it some days....that in itself makes it a good sacrifice to make (and also relates back to the idolatry thing I mentioned earlier). It may sound silly, but yes, I think my computer may be an idol in my life. So, instead of spending hours each week reading meaningless crap on my computer, I'll try to spend more time in prayer, read some Christian books I've been wanting to get around to, and figure out a way to use the time to help someone else. Of course, I'll still read YOUR blogs, but it'll just have to be on my Days of Feasting (or possibly at work during lunch...I'm not ruling out using my computer at work as I don't generally abuse it there).

The other thing I'm trying to do this lenten season is a food fast one day a week. I think this is a good spiritual discipline any time of the year and although I'm not sure that the reasoning behind it has fully gone from my head to my heart, hopefully it will get there over time….as my friend, Michelle, always used to say, “you can’t always feel your way into acting, sometimes you have act your way into feeling”! Thursday was my first day of fasting and, as odd as it may sound, I actually enjoyed it...it just felt right and reminded me to pray through out the day. Bring on the Diet Red Bull!

RyRy's Hugs

You may remember how thrilled I was when Ryder learned how to give hugs…they are the best. Well, over Christmas break, I wanted to make sure I got a hug every time I saw him. The first few days, I’d see him and say, “Ryder, can I have a hug” and he’d come running over to give me a big hug and Eskimo kisses (his new favorite). Unfortunately, this lasted all of two days before he decided he didn’t want to give anymore hugs. I’d see him and say, “Ryder, can I have a hug” and he’d simply say “no”. Then, Beth taught me how reverse-psychology works on the kid. For the remaining 2 weeks of my stay, I’d say to him “Hey, Ryder! I really don’t feel like a hug today” and he’d say “I need a hug”! and come running over and I’d get my fill of hugs and Eskimo kisses for the day. During these 2 weeks, I guess he began to associate me with hugs. About a week after I returned to NYC, Beth put him on the phone so I could talk to him (usually this consists of me talking to him and him yelling loudly in his own language). This time however, he just said “I need a hug” and when I explained to him that I was too far away to give a hug, Beth said he hugged the phone!! Then, in Whistler he was quite the hugger. I never even had to ask! I always got up an hour or two after him and when I’d hit the living area, he was sure to run over to me with a good morning hug. A great way to start the day! My favorite, however, was one afternoon when he was playing on the floor with his new train and I just happened to be standing nearby watching him. He looked up, saw me standing there, got up from his train, walked over, hugged me, then went straight back to lying on the floor with his train. I’m not sure what provoked him to do it, but it was so sweet. Last night, I called the house and Brian answered and put Ryder on the phone for me. All Ryder said was “Hug, hug, hug” and then Brian said he hugged the phone, kissed it (I could hear the big smack), and then set it down and went back to what he was doing. Hilarious! I love that he knows who I am now and associates me with hugs and kisses!