Biology Gal

Running!

2009-11-06T12:54:00.003-06:00

Saturday, November 7, 8 AM:
Vulcan 10 K Run
Birmingham, AL
Goal time: 1 hr.

Saturday, November 14, 9 AM:
World's Highest Hill 5 Mile Race
Elevation change: 1,999 ft. (It's one foot shorter than a mountain y'all).
Poteau, OK
Goal time: no goal time for this one, the plan is to finish the race without needing emergency medical assistance.
If my geometry skills are working, I'm calculating this to average a 4.7% incline for 5 miles. Holy crap. Fun stuff!

Monday

2009-11-02T21:20:00.003-06:00

Thanks so much to everyone who left such sweet comments a few days ago when I posted about my friend. She was diagnosed with liver cancer and she is only in her early 30's. It's just so unbelievable to me still. She has started chemotherapy and I am praying all the time for her. She is such a strong person and she is fighting hard. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers for her.

The weekend review:

I rotated my tires instead of buying two new ones. The tires for my car cost about 5 times as much as I budgeted. Dear Santa, the Frye boots will have to wait until next year, please bring me tires. Sigh.... At least the dogs are good for another year after a trip to the vet.

My Halloween was spent with the most precious baby girl in the world. I was thrilled when my sis-in-law asked me to join her and my little niece for a Halloween parade. My niece was a bee princess and she was adorable in her little orange tutu and bee wings. She was very cuddly because she is teething and I must admit that baby cuddles are the best thing in the entire world.

I got 6 trick or treaters this year. When I got home from my sis-in-law's house, it was already kind of late so I got some sketchy teenagers and some of them weren't even dressed up. I wouldn't have even opened the door if Scott wasn't home! I bought 4 bags of Halloween candy so I'm glad I don't have to eat ALL of it myself. (ok, ok, so I ate an entire bag of Butterfingers last week before Halloween weekend even started).

For my ~~butterfinger induced state of guilt~~ half marathon training, I ran 10 miles on Sunday. It was the first double digit run of my life and I was thrilled! It's so nice to get on the treadmill, zone out, and forget about everything for a while. Some people are able to think when they run, they sort out all of their problems... not me, not this weekend. I just went blank. I watched the ridiculousness (yes, that should be a word) of VH-1 mega-yachts, listened to good music on the iPod, and felt nothing except for the sweat running down my face. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T14:14:00.005-05:00

Cricket wishes you a happy halloween!

(Bat girl)

(Masquerade girl)

(The Nightmare of Elm Street girl)

(Davey Crockett)

(Indian girl)

It's pay day!

2009-10-30T11:23:00.004-05:00

I want these...

But alas.... instead of the beautiful Frye boots I've been lusting over, I will be buying shots for these little girls at the vet tomorrow...

and 2 of these for the Mazda-rati.

Being responsible is SO overrated. :-)

8 K Run Away race and Sloss Fright Furnace

2009-10-28T10:48:00.007-05:00

I ran the Hannah Homes "Run Away from Domestic Violence" 8 K last weekend and enjoyed it so much! I was part of a great group of family and friends who participated in the run. My husband, sis in law, and some friends all got up early on a chilly Saturday morning to support a great cause and complete a very challenging course. There were TONS of hills! The course went through the beautiful Greystone neighborhood and it had water stops every mile! Score!

The run started with a huge hill that not even Britney on my iPod could help. (I'm loving the new "3" single of hers- it's my new running song). So I started out tired but managed to get into a rhythm around the 2nd mile. My lungs were hurting from the cold air but I kept going. My goal was to finish in less than 50 minutes and I actually hit the finish line before 48 minutes! I was thrilled! After the run, the crew and I went to Cracker Barrel to celebrate and enjoyed some well deserved calories.

Saturday night, some of us went to the haunted Sloss Fright Furnace. It's an old steel blast furnace that is over 100 years old and it's supposed to be haunted. The place itself was really creepy and several steel workers died there. Think of crumbling bricks, really old giant machinery, cobwebs, and the dark. Here's the website if you're curious:

Sloss Fright Furnace

It would have been so much more scary if the cheese factor was decreased. Of course I made my husband go first but the ghosts, goblins, and zombies waited to jump out at me. I will admit that I'm a spazzy sort of person, so yeah, I jumped and screamed a few dozen times. It was a fun time and I'm glad we went. It would have been much more scary if they would've just let us walk around in that place without all the "monsters" jumping out at us every couple of seconds. It's amazing how haunted houses just aren't that scary as an adult. As a child, I would have been completely traumatized by the Sloss Fright Furnace.

Do you do the Halloween haunted house thing?

Prayers needed

2009-10-27T13:24:00.008-05:00

I got some really horrible news last week about one of my best friends. I've been asking myself why bad things happen to great people and I've been so furious with God for letting this happen. I alternate between fury at God and begging Him for comfort and healing for my friend. Probably not the greatest combination of feelings and requests, but at least it's honest.

If you pray, or even if you don't, start now and please pray for my friend. She needs a miracle. My heart hurts for what she is going through and also for her family. And also for me. I am selfish. Nothing bad should ever happen to my friends. I want all of my friends to have the very best lives that the world can offer. They have all worked hard, done all of the right things, and they deserve to be happy. Every time I think about her I just want to cry because she is having to go through this, but I am also filled with so much hope for my friend.

She is a fighter and I pray that she can fight this.

Post Secret Blog

2009-10-21T10:59:00.002-05:00

Has anyone ever been to a Post Secret event? There is one coming soon to my city and I'm planning to go.

I am a habitual Post Secret reader. I have to check out the new secrets every Sunday. This blog fascinates me for some reason. Some of the secrets are heart breaking. Others are motivational. Many of them are just hilarious. The cards are so artistic and creative and I admire the people who share their secrets.

Post Secret Blog

What do you think about Post Secret?

Recipe: Cranberry Brisket

2009-10-19T10:23:00.002-05:00

Brown a ~4 lb brisket on all sides in 2-3 T olive oil for 5-7 min in a large skillet.

Add brisket to crock pot with the following:

1 can (16 oz) whole berry cranberries
1 can cranberry sauce
1 large chopped onion
3 stalks chopped celery
3 chopped carrots
1 T minced garlic
Add a little seasoning salt and pepper.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Enjoy!

Flashback for Fall fashion!

2009-10-16T10:33:00.003-05:00

Today is the first day I have been cold enough to wear a jacket this fall!

So, I found my jean jacket...

(this is from eBay because I don't know where my camera cord is)

I love it. It's my dad's Levi's jean jacket from the 60's. He wore it in middle school and somehow he managed to keep it around all these years. I swiped it from him when I was in college and I've had it ever since.

These things are pricey on eBay but I would never sell mine. It will always remind me of my dad. Even though he's hundreds of miles away from me and he can be difficult at times, he's always been a great dad and I am so thankful for him.

Is anyone else breaking out a jacket yet?

Wednesday ramblings

2009-10-14T09:26:00.003-05:00

* I am SO over the rain. It's freaking depressing outside.

* I really want someone to clean my house for me. It's gross.

* Big choices have to be made very, very, very soon and there is no perfect choice.

* Any time spent running is the best part of my day lately.

* I can't believe Coach Mo went home on The Biggest Loser!!! I can't stand that Tracy chick!

* I have rediscovered The White Stripes and their music makes me happy.

Weekend recap

2009-10-12T13:13:00.002-05:00

I had a lovely weekend even though my husband was out of town for part of it. I hate it when he's gone, but I try to make the most of things even though I miss him.

Friday night:
I went to dinner with a friend to celebrate her birthday. She's holding steady from this point on at 29 years old. ;-) We ate a very gluttonous dinner (see previous post for food addiction highlights) at the Macaroni Grill! It was heavenly.

Saturday:
The morning was spent at the Race For The Cure 5K run. I woke up early, looked out the windows to find a grey rainy sky and seriously thought about going back to bed. I'm so glad I got up and participated in the race instead! I went by myself and ran in the rain. The entire event was such a celebration. The fountains downtown were died pink, there were pink and white balloons decorating the park where the race began, and there were TONS of people!

The morning started off with a Survivor Parade. The survivors were grouped by years of survival, 0-1 years, 1-2 years, and so on. There were many ladies in the 30+ years category and they were all such an inspiration! At the end of the parade, they released several white doves and it was really a beautiful thing to see. All of those braves faces in pink were really moving to me and I had to wipe a tear away. I guess I was thinking about my aunt and wishing she could participate in such a parade. Even with a heavy heart, it was definitely not a sad event because there were so many people who had so much hope. After the survivor parade, they had some jazzercize warm-up aerobics at the starting line. It was hilarious. Let's just say that I felt better about my lack of rhythm when I watched the people around me!

There were signs to wear on your back to run "In Honor Of" or "In Memory Of" someone who had experienced a battle with breast cancer. I ran in honor of my aunt. She passed away in 1996. There were so many people with signs on their backs. Being part of this race to raise money for cancer research was an awesome experience. There were so many people cheering along the race course! It was amazing to have total strangers clapping and yelling encouragement for all of the runners! There were some characters running in that event- a guy in a hot pink tutu and pink tights, a group of teenagers who had spray painted their hair pink, and people with the Komen pink ribbons painted on their faces. The course was fairly flat too so I was excited about my race time (29:10 for any runners out there). There was even an accordion player doing the theme song to Rocky! I really need to put that on my iPod!

The hubs came home to drop off some laundry, spent his Saturday watching football, and then he was gone again Sunday morning.

Sunday:
I took hubs to the airport EARLY (shudder) and went back to sleep. Lazy Sundays are the best! After two cups of coffee and a morning with the DVR, I spent the rest of the day finishing the next book club selection:

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. (No spoilers here)
I enjoyed it. The story is told from a dog's perspective and it is an interesting way to look at the events that happen to his family. Dogs always manage to keep things in perspective. If only humans could be so lucky.

Then I went for a long run, played with the dogs, and watched Desperate Housewives and Mad Men.

Happy Columbus Day to all!

Fighting the Friday Fat

2009-10-09T13:09:00.003-05:00

I sooooo miss my 16 year old metabolism. I used to eat like a college frat boy when I was in high school and still maintain the same weight. Every single day of lunch in high school was spent at a fast food restaurant. Those were the days!

I'm lucky enough to have maintained a decent weight in spite of turning 30 (although I could lose ~~5 lbs~~ 10 lbs and my clothes would look a lot better).

But staying healthy is a CONSTANT battle for me! I LOVE unhealthy food. I mean, I could tear UP a Pizza Hut buffet if I let myself go wild! Or I would love to get something chicken fried, cover it in gravy, and maybe even put some butter on top of it... and then I could follow it up with a trip to Dairy Queen! Calories don't count on vacations and I let myself splurge on occasion, but most of the time... I resist the temptation.

I'm eating a 250 calorie lean cuisine for lunch. I will have an apple for my afternoon snack. But it sucks and I would rather have a cheeseburger!

So ladies...

How do you stay healthy?
Do you crave bad food like me?
What are your motivations for eating right & exercising?

To answer my own questions:

I eat healthy 90% of the time. (Special K for breakfast, Lean Cuisines for lunch, sandwiches or grilled chicken for dinner, as well as snacking on fresh fruits, granola bars, and low fat string cheese).
I enjoy exercise! (most of the time anyway)... I love the way I feel after I finish a run. I want to live a long, happy life so I need to be healthy to do this. Plus, if I am trying to be healthy, it encourages my husband to eat right and exercise as well. For the first few years we were together, he lived on fast food and anything he could grab from the hospital cafeteria. Recently, he's eating Subway sandwiches and outrunning me on the treadmill. I'm so proud of him!

Cheers to good health!

Race for the Cure

2009-10-07T20:23:00.004-05:00

This is what I will be doing on Saturday morning!

From the Race for the Cure website:

Susan G. Komen fought breast cancer with her heart, body and soul. Throughout her diagnosis, treatments, and endless days in the hospital, she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation. That concern for others continued even as Susan neared the end of her fight. Moved by Susan’s compassion for others and committed to making a difference, Nancy G. Brinker promised her sister that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.

That promise is now Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested more than $1 billion since inception in 1982. As the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, we’re working together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®, and generous contributions from our partners, sponsors and fellow supporters, we have become the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

(http://ww5.komen.org/)

What a fantastic organization! I want to be a part of this and it will be fun to do another race!

I lost an aunt to metastatic breast cancer. The cancer began in her breast, then it went to her lung, and finally to her brain. She was a great lady who could light up a room with her laugh. She was one of the kindest and sweetest people you can imagine. She taught Sunday School at her church for decades. She made chocolate gravy for breakfast for her grand kids, nieces, and nephews. She helped me talk my mom into letting me stay out all night for my high school prom. Her time on earth was a gift to every life she touched.

So... if I can be part of something that supports research to END BREAST CANCER, you can bet I will do it!

Anyone else running this race?

Weekend in Nashville

2009-10-06T17:00:00.006-05:00

We saw Snow Patrol at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville this weekend. They were awesome! Plain White T's opened and they put on a good show. The performances were all phenomenal and we couldn't have asked for a cooler venue! The Ryman was the original home of the Grand Ole' Opry and every seat in this place is a good one.

We also took a tour of the Belle Meade plantation while we were in Nashville. It was beautiful and the tour guide was very informative. Many Kentucky Derby winning horses are descendants from a horse named Bonnie Scotland that was owned by this plantation.

We had to check out the famous Loveless cafe near Belle Meade and eat a ridiculous amount of food. Mass quantities of fried catfish, okra, sweet potatoes, chicken fried steak, mac & cheese, biscuits, and coconut pie were consumed here. It was pure gluttony and it was WONDERFUL!

We walked around the Honky Tonks downtown to try to recover from our lunch at the Loveless Cafe. Downtown Nashville is a blast! There is live music everywhere and it has a very "Vegas" sort of feel to it.

We are die hard OU fans so we had to find a sports bar where we could watch our Sooners lose. That game was a huge bummer. In spite of the loss, we enjoyed the Big River Brewery and got the beer sampler.

Seriously.... the beers were in little shot glasses so the evening wasn't as bad as it looked. The picture is too funny though! It looks like we had a REALLY good time in Nashville!

What a blast!

Running

2009-09-30T10:55:00.002-05:00

Maybe it's the scientist part of me speaking, but aren't graphs the coolest thing?! And it's even more cool to see that I have been accomplishing something over time! (let's just ignore April... I turned 30 and opted to spend my evenings with Ben & Jerry instead of the treadmill).

I'm so proud when I see the progress I have made! The half marathon training is going well and I am being consistent with my training guide (and even doing a little extra). Plus, I have a tiny pink bar on my September running record. That was the little tempo run that nearly made me cry... but it's pink! What girl doesn't love pink?

Last night I ran a 10 k in less than an hour. Yay!

Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors.
Try to be better than yourself.--William Faulkner

Music

2009-09-28T22:27:00.003-05:00

I'm lacking bloggy inspiration so here are my 3 favorite songs on the iPod this week:

1. "I and Love and You" by The Avett Brothers
2. "Wash Away" by Matt Costa
3. "New Slang" by The Shins

I like the mellow stuff. This is not running music, but it's definitely good for a day at work in the lab. Yes, I listen to my iPod at work. It's awesome. ;-)

Yoga

2009-09-24T12:26:00.003-05:00

My sweet husband was conned into going to yoga with me last night.

Let's just say that yoga was not designed for a 200+ lb man with a 6'4" wingspan.

I nearly peed myself laughing.

As our little 100 lb instructor tried to twist my husband's giant body into a pretzel, I could not even breathe because I was trying not to laugh one of those really loud snorting laughs. I felt so bad for Scott but I tell you... it was H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S.

The giggling could not be stopped (even though we were in the back of the room and I kept the giggling as quiet as possible) so I'm a little surprised we weren't asked to leave the class.

I love that man. He's such a good sport!

Half Marathon Training

2009-09-23T15:13:00.002-05:00

The St. Jude's Half Marathon is in December!

I'm on week 2 of Hal Higdon's training guide. I've been sticking to the Novice Schedule but last night I got this crazy idea that I would attempt the Intermediate Guide for Week 2.

Bad idea.

The tempo run and I are not friends.

I'm a newbie runner (within the last year) and wasn't sure how to do a tempo run, but things I read on the web gave me a guide. One site suggested starting for 15 min at a comfortable pace, 25 min at an uncomfortable pace, then finishing with 15 min at the comfortable pace.

I wanted to do a shorter run so I planned to do 7 min slow/ 15 min fast/ 7 min slow.
I can comfortably run at 6.5 mph for 30 min so I thought this was good for my start/finish slow pace. For my uncomfortable pace, I tried 7.5... I nearly died after 2 minutes.

So, I slowed to 7.3 and ran for 8 more minutes.

Running at 7.3 mph is more than just uncomfortable. It was like medieval torture.

By the end of the ~~evil~~ "fast" part of the tempo run, I thought my shins might come apart. So I limped along at a 3.8 mph pace (yes, my mama walks faster than that when she's grocery shopping at Wal-Mart) for a couple of minutes to cool down and bailed from the gym like a pouty little girl.

Ok Hal Higdon... I get it.... I am a novice. Fine.

New running shoes!

2009-09-21T16:06:00.002-05:00

Apparently I committed a HUGE faux pas with my old running shoes. I stepped in a puddle as it was pouring, the shoes smelled like something had died in them..... so I WASHED them! And then I DRIED them too!!!
(If any runners are reading this, they are probably gasping "Nooooooo!!!!")

I had no idea this would destroy a perfectly good sole. I've always washed my shoes before this year... but I haven't been using them to run 6 miles either. A few rounds of shin splints later let me know that I had committed an unforgivable shoe sin.

So, I had to get these babies. I went to a running store, got fitted for the perfect shoe (I'm in the overpronators with ridiculously high arches club), and now my life is complete.

Wearing these is like running on a puffy cloud of happiness. I am in love...

Let me introduce my new best friends, the Mizuno Wave Rider 12. They will do everything except cook me dinner.

What kind of shoes do you use for running?

10 Monday Musings.

2009-09-21T09:35:00.005-05:00

1. I am sooo over the rain. Seriously.

2. I suck at parallel parking. I have scratched the crap out of my hubcaps one too many times to even attempt to argue that I am capable of operating something with a motor.

3. I watched From Here to Eternity for the first time yesterday and loved it.

4. Yay for Mad Men winning at the Emmy's!

5. Hal Higdon's Half Marathon training guide is trying to kill me. I am not a fan of cross training.

6. I am dragging my husband to yoga tonight. This should be entertaining.

7. Both of my parents now have facebook pages. My mom was convinced she had a virus on her computer because the ActiveX pop up kept appearing when she tried to upload pictures. She yanked the cords out of the wall so the computer wouldn't get a virus and ran away. After a couple of hours, she plugged everything back in again and concluded that things were fine. Hilarious.

8. I ate for 4 hours straight on Saturday during football. Yeah... F-O-U-R hours. Hello gluttony, you are my BFF.

9. My dogs are going stir crazy because of the rain. No walk for them = chaos in the house.

10. It never fails to excite me that Aldi milk is $1.49!

How was your weekend????

Edited to add:
My husband whined excessively about going to yoga and wanted to run on the treadmill instead... so I let him off the yoga hook.... for now...

NYC Day 4

2009-09-17T11:12:00.019-05:00

The 4th day of the trip was beautiful! The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing.

We headed south to see the Brooklyn Bridge and walked on it for a great view of the Manhattan skyline.

After the bridge, we went back to the financial district to saw City Hall and the parks around it. It's a lovely and peaceful area with squirrels running around and birds chirping. It may have been the only quiet place in Manhattan! This arch is really close to City Hall and it looks like something you would see in Rome! I like that it says "Manhattan" on top just in case you forget where you are!

We wandered through the streets of China Town and saw so much fresh food, cute little shops, and TONS of Chinese people pointing to papers in their hands with pictures of designer purses. We heard "Handbag???" about a million times. If you want a knock-off designer purse in NYC, this is the place to get it!

The food choices in China Town were incredible! There were exotic looking fruits I could not identify, many varieties of fresh fish on ice, and assorted spices, nuts, and veggies. We heard so many people speaking in Chinese! It was very cool! It was really a unique experience to visit a few blocks of Manhattan where we felt like we could be in another country.

Then we visited Little Italy. This is the most famous area called Mulberry Street. This area had almost an outdoor festival feel to it. Mulberry Street was closed to traffic so people were wandering everywhere. There were outdoor cafes and street vendors selling everything from scarves to handmade jewelry and MOST important... GELATO stands!!! In my humble opinion, gelato is so much better than any American ice cream! It's the only word I know in Italian if this tells you how good it is!

We had lunch in Little Italy at Da Nico and it was delicious!!! They had a Zagat award on the door so we knew it would be good. I would completely recommend it! I had pizza (yes, again) and mom had lasagna which she said was the best lasagna she has ever tasted!

We continued walking north until we reached the NYU campus. I love college campuses. I don't know what it is about them, but they always feel so alive and exciting to me. If I have a chance to walk around a campus in any city I visit, you can bet I will do it. Here's the arch from Where Harry Met Sally.

Mom was trying to blend in with the students at the fountain at NYU. I think she mixes in with the college crowd pretty well! ;-)

We walked past the Flatiron building next. This was such an odd looking building but I just loved it! The architecture is so unusual!

Next up was Macy's! It is 7 stories tall! You could ride those escalators for an afternoon! We shopped, and shopped, and shopped. We did much more looking than buying but this store has everything you could imagine!

We went inside the Empire State building but didn't want to wait in line for hours.

So we went to the Top of the Rock instead. We had a great view of the Empire State Building. There was no line at all. We walked to the elevator and up we went!

The view of Central Park was awesome! It's so green and beautiful in the middle of this giant crazy city. You could see the East River and the Hudson River too! For a bird's eye view of the city, it's tough to beat this!

For our last night in New York, we went back to Times Square again.

Mom and I loved all the lights! We went to Junior's for dinner and split a giant cheeseburger. We had to try some famous Junior's cheesecake and it was pretty good (but personally I prefer the Cheesecake Factory desserts more). We explored the Theater District a little more and even saw Elmo!

Mom and Elmo waved goodbye to New York. This was our last night in the city and we had a great trip! I love New York and I could visit over and over again. This was a really special vacation since it was a mom & daughter trip.

Thanks to my mom for going with me, for letting me drag her all over the city, and for getting on those nasty subways.

My mom is my hero in so many ways! She's never too concerned for herself to show kindness to another person. She has always made sacrifices in her own life to give me more than I deserved. She trusts God to always take care of her. She never gives up. She's always ready to laugh and have fun. I love her to the moon and back.

NYC Day 3

2009-09-14T14:26:00.016-05:00

We started out another rainy day by heading to the Guggenheim Museum which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Parts of the museum were closed for an exhibit installation but we were still able to see several of the galleries. We saw many Kandinsky paintings as well as some by Picasso. There was also an exhibit about Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture design. There were some original blueprints for several of the prairie style houses that were built in Oak Park in Chicago and designs of Wright's famous house "Fallingwater" which is near Pittsburgh.

This is what you see if you look up while you are on the spiral staircase at the Guggenheim.

Mom and I walked around a very rainy Central Park for a few minutes until we decided that we did not want to be soggy for another day. This is overlooking the big reservoir in the park across the street from the Guggenheim.

Then we caught the subway back to Grand Central Terminal and saw the great hall. There are tons of restaurants and shops within the terminal but Mom was pretty tired of being underground by this point (the subways are pretty gross too). So we bailed from the underground.

For lunch, it had to be pizza again! Those New Yorkers know how to make a pizza! We ate lunch at John's Pizzaria near the Theater District. John's restaurant is in an old church and it still has a stained glass dome ceiling inside. It was so pretty! I kept looking up at it!

After the pizza-filled lunch of gluttony, we went back to Rockefeller Center and saw Chris Matthews! Celebrity sighting alert!

I walked right past him and didn't even notice him. My mom was about to have a fit because she loves him! She has a thing for news anchors. (Hello Anderson Cooper, could you please take

my mom out for coffee? It would complete her life!) Some guy was telling Chris Matthews that he's a big fan... so I was a creeper and took his picture.

I kept waiting on Tina Fey to come out of here but she never showed up. Bummer. ;-)

In honor of the craziness from the VMA's last night, I had to post about Radio City where the awards were held. (Kayne just needs to go away. His music sucks and he just fails as a person. Seriously, Kayne... go away).

But I digress... so we wasted $20 each to take a tour of the Radio City Music Hall. It was ok, but definitely not worth $20. We had this crazy tour guide lady who kept counting everyone in our group and scolding us for various reasons... wandering off from the rest of the tour group, sitting on the furniture in the theater owner's office, taking pictures of the Rockettes, etc.) Mom and I got the giggles because the tour guide was SO serious. We were in trouble for the rest of the tour!

This is the lobby. It opened in the 1930's and was restored a few years ago. Originally RCMH was a movie theater but now it's a site for live concerts and awards shows ~~where Kayne can make a fool of himself~~ for thousands of people to enjoy.

They were setting up for the VMAs when we were there.

After the crazy tour, we headed to the Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes. Dear Lord, I hope there is a Magnolia Bakery in heaven.

We did some more exploring around Midtown and found the New York Public Library. Any SATC fans out there? Yeah, me too. I had to see it.

We went to dinner at Maison and had tapas-style appetizers for dinner since we were stuffed from pizza and cupcakes. This restaurant was very cute inside and had a really nice atmosphere.

The food was delicious too!

We spent our evening at the Broadway Comedy Club. The comedians were hilarious. There were 4 different guys who made us laugh a lot. The two drink minimum with the worst drinks ever = NOT COOL! Good drinks would have been fine. But come on, how hard is it to make a margarita?

Overall, the show was funny and I would go back again, but I would probably get a diet coke to drink.

NYC trip Day 2

2009-09-10T12:02:00.014-05:00

We took the subway (which was quite an experience) down to Battery Park... And it was pouring. We saw "The Sphere" statue which used to be near the Twin Towers. The statue was damaged in the World Trade Center attacks and was then moved to Battery Park.

Then we took a rockin' fun boat ride (hello sea sickness) in the rain to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

This was the original torch from the Statue of Liberty. It's been replaced several times over the years.

And no visit to the statue of liberty would be complete without remembering what she stands for. The poem says it best.

The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

We went to Ellis Island too. 12 million immigrants passed through here. Wow.

The processing hall has been restored and it's something every American should see. I can't trace my family's history back to Ellis Island, but I'm sure we all came from somewhere else... with some native American thrown in along the way. It's really incredible to see the place where so many people started their journey to American citizenship.

We made it back to Manhattan and walked around the financial district. We went to Ground Zero and saw tons of construction work. It's very odd to think that this was the site in the middle of the frantic New York downtown where so many people died. It seems so wrong that there is no memorial here yet. There is no quiet place to sit and remember how we felt when we saw those planes hit the buildings. People just walk right by this site without even a glance. Everyone is so busy in New York. Ground Zero gave me a heavy heart and a deep appreciation for life in America.

There was a lot more to see in the financial district. This is the New York Stock Exchange.

We also saw Trinity Church, Federal Hall where George Washington was inaugurated as the first U.S. president, St. Paul's chapel where the 9/11 rescue workers rested between shifts and where Washington worshipped after his inauguration, and the Charging Bull statue on Wall Street. We opted for a pic with the front end of the bull, although the back end of him seemed to be even more popular for a photo!

After eating some fairly decent pizza at a little diner recommended by a policeman (he said "good pizza? in Manhattan?!"), we made our way back to Times Square. All the lights, street vendors, and tons of tourists make it a very crowded place!

We had to check out the Hershey's store. You have two of the biggest fans of chocolate in front of the Hershey's store??? Of course we went inside! It was all I could've ever wanted and more!

We went back to the hotel and dried out from the day of rain.

Dinner on this day was at Becco. Thanks to KK at Will Work For Shoes for this recommendation! It was delicious! Homemade fresh pasta and incredible bread within a block from the theater! Perfect!

We went to see Hair after dinner and had a blast! It was funny that my mom knew all the songs from the play. She could relate to the play (not so much to the nudity and excessive drug use, but to the decade when the play was set- ha)! She remembers the boys getting their draft cards for Vietnam, everyone wearing bell bottoms, and the anti-war protests. I kept singing random snips of the songs for the rest of the trip. "H#ll no, we won't go... yip, yip, yip, yip".

The play was great. The actors were all extremely talented and the songs were lots of fun! The cast even brought some of the audience onto the stage at the end of the show to dance! Hilarious!

NYC trip with mom

2009-09-10T11:15:00.012-05:00

Day 1:

Mom and I both got up at 3:30 AM. Yes. A.M. Yes, the early morning flight sucked but both of our flights were on time so we were able to meet up in Memphis and be on the same flight to Newark. We took a shuttle to the hotel and both of us have a new respect for anyone who is able to drive in NYC. They are crazy drivers!

We stayed at the Hilton New York and it was NICE! Great location! They upgraded us to a better room on the 18th floor for free! Score! There was also a Starbucks in the hotel. Double Score!

Lunch was at Lindy's near the hotel. We split a giant sized sandwich and caught our second wind for sightseeing.

Next we hit the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) where we saw these:

Miro:

Dali:

Van Gogh:

Warhol:

Pollock:

After the MoMA, we wandered around 5th Avenue and saw St. Patrick's Cathedral.

This is the statue of Atlas by Lee Lawrie near Rockefeller Center.

We were in front of the hotel about to go to dinner. I wanted to get a cab, but she wanted to walk 30 blocks (~30 minutes) to dinner! So we walked.... and walked... and walked. We got to see Central Park, the Trump hotel, the Natural History Museum building, and the super cute apartments around the Upper West Side on the way to dinner so it turned out to be a really nice walk! Isn't my mom cute? I'm so thankful that we were able to do this trip together! It was full of fun memories that I will never forget. She is a trooper too! I'm training for a half marathon and she out-walked me!

We met two of my best friends for dinner at Kefi. The three of us have not been together in 3 years!!! It was just like no time had passed when we got together. It seems like yesterday that we were meeting at IHOP to study and celebrating the completion of another horrible round of tests. My friends are super scientists with style! I miss them!

Kefi was delicious! The food was eclectic Greek style. My mom refused to try the octopus but she missed out! Yum! I had lamb and mom had fish. The place was really cute and it had an amazing menu!

I was able to talk my mom into a cab ride back to the hotel after dinner. We were both exhausted!

Back from NYC!

2009-09-03T14:20:00.004-05:00

The trip to New York with my mom was fabulous (they say fabulous in New York, right?)!

We covered Manhattan! We did Times Square, Central Park, Upper East and West Sides, Little Italy, China Town, Battery Park and more! We had a blast!

Here's a quick pic that is a funny representation of the trip...

We were always running from one place to the next!
Rain, Rain, Go Away!

More details to come!