Thankful for Thanksgiving!

As usual....wayyyy too long since I've written. Therefore the blog will be wayyy too long. In the couple weeks before Thanksgiving, there really wasn't all that much to write about....although I feel like I've been really busy. I guess a couple things of note. My sorority sister from my Delta Zeta days back at Southwest Texas (rather, the newly named Texas State), Renee, asked me a couple Sunday's ago to go to the Cowboys vs Giants game. She ended up with a spare ticket....and we've been trying to get together since we both moved here this fall....so she asked me. I of course jumped at the chance. I also met her nice friend  Macy, and my pledge sister Monica came as well. It was so nice to see and be around familiar faces, even thought it has been 10 years since we've hung out! The Cowboys wallopped (is that a word?) the Giants...so it was double the fun. Sure shut those Giants fans up.

Also, I've continued to go to the hog bar, Madhatters, for the Razorback games. I'm slowly but surely learning some names and meeting some folks. I even volunteered to be on their leadership committee thingy that plans events with other SEC schools and in general organizes the hog watching parties and tries to raise money for the university. Some might think it's a little odd for a non-graduate to do this, but you really don't understand until you're from a state with one major school that you live and die by. You're a razorback if you were raised in Arkansas, whether you went there or not. Woo Pig Sooie! Next week, Frank Broyles and the current athletic director will be here for the induction of Ronnie Caveness into the Collegiate Football Hall of Fame. Ronnie as well as Coach Broyles and the whole Arkansas contingent are coming to the Madhatter after the ceremony. Should be a great experience.

Last Tuesday I got a MUCH needed haircut. Yuck. It was so long and stringy and unhealthy. I used my voucher for a haircut that I got at the auction I went to recently. It was this hip place in Soho...and I feel so hip with my Soho haircut. Love it! Then, Mom and Dad and Sugar, Mike, and Caroline came into town. We had pizza and hung out a bit at my apartment. Wednesday I took S, M, and C to Ground Zero and Wall Street. Then the whole family met up for lunch at one of my favorite places....Mickey Mantles. I really don't know why it's so special to us except that Mom and Dad and I started going there years ago, and Dad was Mickey Mantles bat boy in the farm leagues in Kansas. It has good food and fun memorobilia and is on Central Park South. Well heck, sounds special enough to me! Then we walked through the park....at which point a group of asian tourists thought my precious niece was just so adorable that they snapped pics of her! (and they are right, she's just that adorable). Then we went to The Plaza for a drink....just to say we did it. We're cool like that. That night Mom and Dad and I got to babysit Caroline while Sugar and Mike went out to dinner. Everything went great except for bath time....but if a small meltdown is the worst thing that happened....then I think we did pretty good. Caroline is walking and is in to everything....she's so interested in what everyone's doing and just goes and goes. She also likes waving and saying "hi" to everyone. And I mean EVERYONE. Such a social butterfly. Thursday we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from Sugar's hotel room. Their room was high above the parade, but a great view of the city and the parade from above. I went outside and watched the parade for about 45 minutes. No matter how old you are, the parade doesn't lose it's coolness. Then we went to The Palm for Thanksgiving dinner. My apartment is just too small to both cook that much and for 5 of us to eat and be comfortable. It was a great meal. Then we watched the idiot Cowboys lose a very winnable game against the Saints. Grr. Friday Sugar and Mom and I went to Chinatown after Sugar took Caroline to see Santa at Macys. Santa of course scared Caroline, so the pictures are epic. Anyway,....not many back rooms were available in Chinatown. Not sure if there was a recent raid or they were on vacation or what....but we got a few things. Then I took them to Handpulled Tasty Noodle for AUTHENTIC chinese noodles. Once again, it did not disappoint. SOOOO good. Friday night we all had dinner and had to say goodbye to Sugar, Mike, and Caroline. It was so nice of them to come up here for my first Thanksgiving. We missed them immediately. I could kiss Carolines little cheeks all day! Friday night I met my friend Meredith from Dallas...she was out with her brother and his girlfriend. It was so great seeing a familiar face. We had a blast catching up and it was a great little addition to my holiday week. Saturday I took the rents to the Madhatter for the Ark vs LSU game. What a great win by the hogs. The bar was packed and Mom and Dad really enjoyed seeing my home away from home and how many hog fans were there. The official count was 120. Sunday was a lazy day, then we went to Union Square Cafe for dinner. Fabulous as usual. Then yesterday we went to the Top of the Rock (top of Rockefeller Center). Great great view....I think better than top of the Empire State Building....because you can SEE the Empire St Bldg. We had lunch, saw the Rockefeller Center tree (unlit as the lighting was tonight), and then I made green bean casserole and turkey tetrazzini for dinner....because it's just not a holiday without those two staples. And boy was it good. Mom and Dad left today and now my apartment is lonely. Went to work for the first time today since last Tuesday afternoon. What a much needed brain break.

No time to be sad though....going to a concert tomorrow night with coworkers (Broken Bells). Thursday we are going to the world famous Sylvia's restaurant in Harlem which is always featured on the Food Network. Very excited about both those events. Sunday I start my bowling league. Next week we have our work holiday party and an SEC holiday party. Then my friend Leslie comes on Friday. There's much much more going on and more to look forward to in the coming months than I remember in a long time (home for Christmas, Dallas, Prince concert, Hawaii, Mardi Gras, Sugar Bowl?). And not to mention....I CLOSED ON MY HOUSE SO NO MORE MORTGAGE PAYMENT. That alone allows me to have such a more positive outlook and to be excited about things. Now if I could just get rid of my car. : )

I continue to get comments about my accent...and the more comments I get the more southern I get. Oh well, it remains a very fun novelty. It's supposed to rain cats and dogs tomorrow, so I better go figure out what I can wear with my rain boots that makes sense. Need to look nice for someone in town from London from our work. Then of course need to change for the concert. Yay!

Me and Shoog outside the Noodle place...in REAL chinatown

Hand pulling the Tasty Noodles

Dad and I at the hog bar

Caroline loved a picture of Maggie and I. Here she's kissing the picture of Maggie. Melts my heart.

Her new thing is to signal for a touchdown. I loved that she felt the need as we took pics with the Empire State Building. And more strangers commenting on her cuteness!

Yep, I'm the dork that had to have "that" picture made

Burrrr!

Not too much to report from last week. Friday after work I decided to stop into Nine West and Ann Taylor Loft on my way to the subway (how conveeeeeeenient). I found some brown riding boots at Nine West that I had to have, but alas, they didn't have my size. As I've mentioned, if you aren't wearing skinny jeans or tights with riding boots in this city, you might as well have "doofus" written across your forehead. Then of course I found a couple things in ATL to buy. Went and had dinner at Christina's, my favorite neighborhood italian restaurant, and went home. The dinner was ok...caesar salad was good as usual, but the pasta dish lacked great flavor. I steered away from my  normal chicken parmesian, because it's time to lose 5 pounds.

Saturday I woke up on a mission....find  those dang brown riding boots at a Nine West! Soho NW, nope....Madison Ave NW, nope, Rockefeller Center NW, nope....finally 5th Ave NW...cha-ching. Well, I had planned to have a nice brunch with myself at Benjamin's, my other neighborhood spot. But in hearing they had my boots, I got dressed and hopped in a cab....no time for slow weekend subway service. Got to the store and WHEW, they had the boots. Of course, I bought them (and on sale!). Then went to the NBA store and milled around....and then to Gap where I bought some slacks for work and some skinny jeans.

Saturday night I was to meet this couple at the hog bar that lives in Connecticut who I had met before at the hog bar. The game was at 7....we met around 5:15. I also had my coworker meet us as he lives, and I'm not kidding, less than a minute walk from the hog bar. A great time was had by all. I finally won a raffle....it's a sweet insulated razorback bag, and some coozies and things. And the hogs killing the gamecocks wasn't so bad either. Woo Pig Sooie!

Sunday I woke up early to get moving and go to the NYC Marathon. I also wanted to kill 2 birds and take some foliage pictures in Central Park.....and get there in time to see the mens and womens leaders go by as well. Well, I wanted to enter the park on the west side because I didn't think you could cross 5th Avenue while they were racing. I was wrong. Oh well. Weekend subways were slow and I finally make my way allll the way across town up to W 96th. I take some pics in the park and start hearing a helicopter getting closer and closer. I knew they were filming the marathon leaders. I started  jogging and made it to the front row on 5th Avenue not 1 minute before the womens leaders passed. The crowd was only 1 deep along 5th where I was. I made my way into the park and the crowds were very dense and loud. I saw so many neat things. Not neat was the lady who boo boo'ed on herself. I had seen internet photos of this phenomenon in the past and thought it was fake. Nope. Not so much. Can you imagine running 26.2 miles with stuff down the back of your legs? Enough about that. It was just so inspiring....the racers, young and old, handicapped and fit...and the great fans yelling and clapping. I'm fairly sure I'll make a tradition out of watching it. ANNOUNCEMENT: I THINK I WANT TO RUN IT. I know there's someone laughing right now. Ok, all of you. But there's just something to be said about training for something like that and accomplishing it. I normally do whatever I put my mind to. I don't know when I'll put my mind to it, but I think that's something I want to do one day.

Today it was very very cold and sleeted a little bit. Temps were in the low 40's, wind chills in mid 30's, and wind gusts at 40. YEEEEE-BAHHHHH as Dad would say. GOSH it was cold. Time for the hat, scarf, and gloves. I've had some combo of the 3 at different times in the last couple of weeks.....but the trifecta was needed today. Again, so much more brutal down where I work compared to midtown.

Talked to my friend Leslie tonight....she's going to come visit on her birthday in December! It's ALWAYS been her dream, as long as I've known her, to go to NYC on her birthday and see the tree lit up at Rockefeller Center. She's never been to NYC. I'm so excited to see her and show her around, and so excited FOR her! Yay!!

More things I've learned:
1. Some people here don't know the difference in hail and sleet. Huh?
2. Approximately 30% less people fit in the seats on the subway in the winter because everyone is so wide all bundled up. Additionally, less people fit standing due to the same  reason.
3. Everything is harder when you are older. I'm so old, I didn't even reap any benefits from gaining an hour. I still slept until the same time today. :(
4. The McRib is NOTHING to write home about....save yourself a few bucks.
5. Chips and Salsa aren't free at mexican restaurants  up here. LAME-O.
6. There's no such thing as an overweight marathon runner. Shocker.
7. Ask the restaurant if they are going to charge you for a second tea here. Free refills are hard to come by. Again, LAME-O.
8. I still haven't turned on my heater. It's now a challenge to see how long I can go before turning it on. Good thing I'm on the winter leg shaving schedule.
9. For the first time in my life, I may understand the need for those hideous, long, puffy coats. You know, the one your grandma owns/owned?


xoxo

p.s. I'm going to see Prince at Madison Square Garden in December. Woo-hooo!!!!
p.s.s. If my blog title is "Burrrr!" now....I wonder what it will be in a month or two??

I need a vacation from my vacation

So, my trip to the Notre Dame game in the Garden State was fun. I showed up at Penn Station to catch the train to the new Meadowlands Stadium around 9:00 last Saturday morning. The place was a zoo. Got on the train without a ticket, resigning myself to having to pay twice the fee for not having a ticket. In the end it worked out and I didn't have to. The stadium is slightly impressive on the outside. The inside isn't even that, and it's a logistical nightmare to get inside. Notre Dame layed an egg that day. It was fun attending with a bunch of ND grads, and fun to see both ND and Navy....but those people got robbed on that stadium.

The rest of last week I kept saying I would clean house, but something always got in the way. Like...TV, eating, or....TV. I needed to clean because my dear friend Andrea from Dallas was coming to visit beginning Thursday, and then her friend from Boston was joining us on Friday. My apartment is small enough, that I need help making it impressive....and it's definitely not impressive when it's dirty. Thursday night 2 hours before Andrea showed up, I started cleaning (LOL). I got done. All I needed was a deadline. I hate that about myself.

Andrea got here safe and sound and we grabbed a late bite to eat. The Friday we had alot on the agenda (yes, there was an agenda. I'm a "planner" like that). We got up and miraculously got out of the house just 30 minutes after the agenda said we should. : )  We went to ground zero, South Street Seaport (where an impromtu hotdog held us over for lunch), and then we arrived at Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodle. Andrea had seen it on the Food Network show that talks about the greatest ____ I've ever eaten. Guy Fieri said THPN was the best noodle shop ever. I CANNOT SAY I DISAGREE. It's a tiny tiny spot, with room for about 20 people to dine....right in the middle of Chinatown. You can see the man in the kitchen pulling the noodles and smacking them (loudly) on the marble countertop. We had pork dumplings and a noodle main dish that was alot like lo mein....with chicken, shrimp, and beef. Heavens to mergatroid.....that was some good food. Those dumplings are unforgettable. Mmmm, mmm, MMM!!

Then we went to buy fake things in Chinatown. I ended up with one purse and one scarf, and Andrea ended up with a few items. The cops are all over the place, so the normally covert operation was extra covert. Walkie talkies....doors behind doors....the whole 9 yards. The agenda then called for us to go to Soho, but we were spent and went home to rest up for our evening on Broadway.

We went to eat at a good spot called The Eatery. I had short rib with horseradish mashed potatoes. Very good...I'd go back....not out of this world though. THEN we went to the big event (or, it was supposed to be) of the weekend....La Cage Aux Folles with Kelsey Grammer on Broadway. I'd had this bad feeling the whole time about this show....both that Kelsey would have a night off, and that a bunch of cross dressing men dancing around the stage wouldn't be all that great. Well, I was right. No Kelsey, and we left at intermission. I've only done that one other time in allllll the times I've seen shows on Broadway. TERRIBLE. And sadly, Kelsey Grammer wouldn't have made it much better. AND there was hardly anyone there. There were 3 tiers....we were on middle tier, and it wasn't half full. You hardly ever see that. Just....terrible. Sad for Andrea and her obsession with Kelsey.

By Saturday, Andrea's friend Korynn was in town. We woke up and went to Shake Shack for lunch...which included a shared cheeseburger and chicago style hotdog...fries...and of course, a shake. I think the earth is moving with every step I take at this point. Then, to Central Park. The autumn colors were beautiful. I'm going to go back next weekend with my fancy camera....hopefully it won't be too late....as it's getting cold quick here. Then shopping on 5th Ave. We also hung out with Korynn's friend Emily who lives here. Then the 4 of us went to Union Square Cafe for dinner. I had polenta with wild mushrooms and a poached egg for an appetizer, and pork bolognese for my main dish. Soooo soo good...can't wait to take mom and dad there. 2 meals there this year, 4 huge thumbs up. Then....the goal of the night. Stay out until at LEAST 2 a.m. to suprise the girls with a really fun event. My friend John told me I should take my guests to PDT (Please Don't Tell). It's a speakeasy in the East Village....with a secret entry in a hog dog shop. They only take reservations, and only beginning at 3pm on the day of. On average I think it takes people around 75 calls to get through at 3:00pm....it took me 68 tries. They sell specialty hot dogs, which is Andrea's favorite food. Aside from the hot dogs, I really thought they would get a kick out of a speakeasy with a secret entrance. To get in, you go to the hot dog shop, and step inside a phone booth. You pick up the phone, and a secret door opens on the other side, and you enter PDT. Soooooo cool!!!! The look on their faces were priceless. Everyone had a great time, and the hot dogs were great. I had one with kimchi on it...Andrea's had fried mayo. Yes, fried mayo. So much fun.

Sunday we were lazy and finally went out to Soho....then dinner at Locanda Verde in Tribeca. Mom had heard Kelly Ripa talk about it on the show last week, so I got resies. Crab and jalapeno crostini, with beef, veal, and pork ravioli as my main. Very good....neat spot. Props to mom for the idea!

Today, Andrea left after we dined at my favorite neighborhood spot, Benjamins. It's nothing special, just good food. She enjoyed her salad, so it was another successful food experience.

All in all it was a great girls weekend. We walked alot (which, we needed to do after what we ate). We also didn't go bonkers with the shopping. I'm proud of us. Fun!

Hooray that now it's a 4 day week! House news: the sale is still moving along and I'm getting my repairwork done. Fingers still crossed but no celebrating yet.

Can't wait for my fam to visit for Thanksgiving. I'm just gonna go bonkers if I don't get my hands on my niece sometime soon.

Things I've learned:
1. High's in the 40's today. It's cold. This is gonna be an interesting winter for me. Good thing I'm growing another layer.
2. Abe Lincoln in daisy dukes is a funny Halloween costume.
3. Bed Bugs were the most seen Halloween costume. Good thing I didn't go that route.
4. There's so much to do and see (and eat) in this city, I feel like I'll never get to it all!
5. I'm officially good at navigating this city. "Oh, it's just a grid of numbers" you might say. Well, not in Chinatown, Tribeca, Soho, and Financial District. Plus, I'm counting my expertise of navigating the subway system and knowing which way to turn when I come up out of a subway. I didn't get us lost ONE time this weekend!
6. New record for earliest to see someone peeing on the street. This time, Andrea and I almost stepped in the river o urine. COME ON PEOPLE, you're in NYC....there's alot of bathrooms!!!
7. OK, actually, I couldn't find a bathroom on 5th Ave on Saturday and almost had an accident. Whatever....that guy we saw is still gross.
8. Central Park is the prettiest in the fall.
9. If you aren't wearing tights or skinny jeans with riding boots, and mostly all black, you might as well stay inside, as you'll look like you're from Mars otherwise.



Pretty yellow tree in Central Park





Plaza Hotel and pretty tree




ducks and colors