the real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes

Love Me Some J.K.

2012-02-07T16:37:00.000-05:00

Seriously this clip changed my entire day. If you have 20 minutes to spare at some point I highly encourage you to watch it. She is full of wisdom!! And if the video is too obnoxious in this form you can find the clip here.

2012-02-06T09:09:00.002-05:00

Enough said.

Book Review: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

2012-02-01T15:17:00.000-05:00

So I have this rule that before I see a movie based on a book that I have to read the book first. This way I can be truly disappointed by how much the movie falls short of the book (there are a few exceptions to this rule like The Time Traveler's Wife and Count of Monte Cristo where I like the movie version better...). Anyways since this movie was coming out and most people who have read this book have said it is amazing I decided I really needed to read it.

I liked it. It is incredibly sad. So it is the story of a young boy whose father was killed in the 9/11 attacks. (Now a side note here: I might be a little biased on how sad I thought this was because for a couple of hours that day I thought my dad was dead...so I might overidentify a little too much.) Anyways so the father dies and one night the boy is in the father's closet going through his things and he knocks a vase over and it breaks. Inside the vase was a key with the word Black written on it. So the boy decides to look up everyone with the last name Black in New York City (all 5 boroughs) and go meet them to see if they know what the key is for. That's all I will say about the plot.

It is well written and engaging and fun fact: when they were filming the movie in Riverside Park the actors met my roommate Jessica because she was out walking my incredibly cute puppy named Sawyer. Cherry on top. I have yet to see the movie but once I do I will let you know what I think!

Musical Review: Spiderman

2012-01-30T11:35:00.000-05:00

Well...it was different that's for sure. I think if I had been a 9 year old boy I would have loved it. It was definitely not theater for theater critics though. The music, although done by U2, was seriously lacking. There was half of one song that was really good (Rise Above). No really, just half of it. The other half was the weird "Arachne" character that was suspended in mid-air and sang and to be honest it sort of creeped me out...Everything she did creeped me out actually and was really strange.

The set though. Wow. The set was ridiculous. You can see how they spent so much money on it. It is very stylized and very comic book-y. Plus they have these moving digital panels that move around and are really amazing. Also the spiderweb effect of the stage was great and at the end there is a big showdown between Spiderman and the Green Goblin on the top of the Chrylser building and I kid you not they have the Chrysler building open up towards the audience so it looks like you are above it looking down towards the street. Also Peter has a dream that MJ is suspended on a the Brooklyn Bridge and the bridge pops out of the stage for a scene that is literally 2 minutes long. Kind of crazy.

Now for the "Cirque du Soleil" element to the show. Not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome. Literally the stunt guy goes from the stage to the front of the first mezanine balcony which is like 20 rows back. The stunts were pretty awesome. They had 8 Spiderman stunt guys so that it could look like he was moving quickly from one place to the other.

So I guess my final review is this: The acting, meh. The singing, meh. The music, boo. But the set and the stunts - Awesome. So if you are going to try and see it PLEASE don't pay full price. It is only worth half for sure!

Ah...Broadway, Nice to See You Again!

2012-01-26T16:43:00.000-05:00

So over the past couple months I have not been to as much broadway as I would have liked, so with NYC's annual Broadway and Off-Broadway weeks upon us, I figured it was time to take advantage of the 50% off tickets!

Saturday January 28th: Spiderman-Turn Off the Dark...So to be honest I am not really sure how I feel about this, but I am excited to see the hot tranny mess I have heard it to be. Hopefully nobody dies while they are flying around over the orchestra! I will be sure to do a review on this sucker.

Saturday February 4th: RENT!! Always a favorite. RENT left broadway when Spring Awakening started (that launched Glee star Lea Michele) but fortunately it is back on off-broadway! I am very excited to go see it! This is a show that I love soo much that I would see at least once every time I came home from college. It's that good.

March 15th: NEWSIES!!!!!!! So I about peed my pants when it was officially announced that my new rising broadway crush (since Aaron Tveit) Jeremy Jordan is slated to revive his Jack Kelly performance in the Broadway version of Newsies. One - I am excited because this means I have more opportunities to see this kid live. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Two - I am excited because it means that Jeremy's beautiful voice will be the one recorded on the original cast recording. Perfection. Watch him, love him, come see him on broadway with me since I will probably be seeing this show a lot! (Also stay tuned for my Bonnie & Clyde review even though it has left broadway so that Jeremy here can star in Newsies!!)

Puerto Rico Preview

2012-01-25T09:30:00.000-05:00

So as always when I get back from a vacation (no matter how quick) my work life and life life are a little bit in chaos as I try to get back in to my regular routine. Needless to say it was glorious being with Lis and Ryan and their new baby Dax. Here's a preview of me and Dax at the beach, feel free to be jealous of that gorgeous backdrop (also please forgive the awful hair...Lisa and I misjudged a wave and totally got knocked out and so the hair got wet and crazy)

Book Review - White Tiger

2012-01-10T09:22:00.000-05:00

So my old roommate Jessica gave me this book because it was one of her favorites and she wanted me to read it. So I finally got around to reading it! It was really good. It is about a guy in modern day India and how he travels from a really poor village to Delhi and becomes a driver to a rich man and then kills the rich man, steals his money and sets up his own life (and don't worry he tells you in the first chapter that he killed his master so I didn't just ruin the book). The book is a series of "letters" to a Chinese government official who is coming to visit India and this man is trying to educate him on what India is really like and also how to become an entrepeneur (aka kill your boss, steal his money and set up your own business). It was very well written and had a lot of really interesting human dynamics in it. Definitely 2 thumbs up!

Book Review - Slaughterhouse Five

2012-01-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

So in trying to finish up some of my 2011 goals (aka read more classics) I decided to read Slaughterhouse Five. I had never really known what the book was about or why it was such a classic but I know lots of people are require to read it in highschool (except apparently Chatham High...). Anyways, I read it. It was strange. It is an anti-war book and the main character also time travels, oh and he gets abducted by aliens. The one thing I did like is that time and experiences mean something different to the aliens because it all happens at the same time, so there's no point at worrying about sad things because you also have happy things happening at the same time. It was an intriguing thought. All in all it was a little bit of a strange read and call me crazy but it is not my favorite book of all time. Go figure.

Random Acts of Kindness

2012-01-06T09:00:00.001-05:00

So, yesterday morning I fainted. On the 6 train headed to work. Not awesome. I think the worse thing about fainting (for those of you who have experienced it...) is that you feel it coming a mile away - or for me three subway stops away. I could feel my head getting foggy and the overwhelming desire to sit down and put my head down, which on a crowded subway is pretty impossible.

I guess my face started to give something away because the woman next to me noticed that I was acting weird and got people to stand up so I could sit down (which to be honest, I don't remember the act of sitting down or moving the subway car...). Then she was asking me questions. Fortunately I was getting off in another stop so she got off too and walked me to my building to make sure I got there ok.

It reminded me of this article that New York Magazine did at the end of 2009 about acts of kindness in NYC. It is funny that New Yorkers have the reputation for being rude and brusque and yet people are always asking people if they need help - carrying groceries home, giving up seats on the subway, and I have been helped twice on the subway (both times from fainting...not sure what my problem is!). I seriously love this place.

2011 - Year in Review

2012-01-05T15:55:00.000-05:00

2011 - what can I say. Lots happened. Here are just a couple of the highlights from the year:

Jimmer mania

This cute little guy arrived

Coney Island awesomeness for my birthday

Hunt left for his mission - first stop Dominican Republic, next stop Everett, WA

Michelle got married/Trip to LA

Monday Night Football

Amazing trip to Israel, Turkey and Greece w/Megs

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas. I love NYC at Christmas time with all the boutique shops set up in the parks and the Christmas lights on the buildings and the window displays and the Carol of the Bells with lit up snowflakes on Saks 5th Ave and the tree at Rock Center, etc. I love that people are a little nicer even with all the craziness of traveling during the holidays. I love that it is one time of year where family is really important and focused on and that everyone travels to get home. Most importantly I am really grateful for the reason for the season - the Savior.

Yay! Yay! The Hobbit!!!

2011-12-21T09:34:00.000-05:00

I'm a nerd.

Broadway Review - Billy Elliot

2011-12-20T12:56:00.000-05:00

So I finally broke down and went to see Billy Elliot since it is about to close. I figured my Broadway experience wouldn't be complete if I didn't see it at least once. I liked it. It was not the life changing experience that everyone claimed it would be...The whole cast spoke in the harsh northern British accent which was fine, except that some of the characters went in and out of the accent. My favorite character was probably the dance instructor. She was phenomenal and her accent was perfect. Little Billy was a great dancer for being 12 or however old he was and was fun to watch. I think the biggest dissapointment was the music. I wasn't the biggest fan. There was one really great number before the intermission but that was about it. It was funny though and definitely entertaining but I don't know that it would be worth spending more than $50 or so on a ticket. I would say 3 out of 5 stars.

Wait for the Last Line...

2011-12-19T11:50:00.000-05:00

A Wee Bit Thought Provoking

2011-12-13T10:04:00.000-05:00

So recently, a kid in my ward announced on Facebook that he is gay but is planning on living as a worthy member of the Church regardless of his struggles. Anyways, he has been posting a lot of articles on Facebook ever since and the title of the one he posted this morning caught my attention: "I'm Christian unless you're gay". The author did a really great job of saying some really good things that made me really stop and think about how I treat other people. I am going to throw in some great quotes, and you can read the entire article here.

You see, I live in this community too. And I’ve heard the hate. I’ve heard the disgust. I’ve heard the disdain. I’ve heard the gossip. I’ve heard the distrust. I’ve heard the anger. I’ve heard it all, and I’ve heard it tucked and disguised neatly beneath a wrapper of self-righteousness and a blanket of “caring” or “religious” words. I’ve heard it more times than I care to number.

About gay people.
About people who dress differently.
About people who act differently.
About fat people.
About people with drug addictions.
About people who smoke.
About people with addictions to alcohol.
About people with eating disorders.
About people who fall away from their faiths.
About people who aren’t members of the dominant local religion.
About people who have non-traditional piercings.
About people who just look at you or me the wrong way.

I’ve heard it, and I’ve heard it over, and over, and over again. Hell, in the past (and to some degree in the present) I participated in it. I propagated it. I smugly took part in it. I’ll admit that. And I did so under the blanketing term “Christian.” I did so believing that my actions were somehow justified because of my beliefs at the time. I did so, actually believing that such appointments were done out of… love.
----
I promise you it doesn’t matter what you believe, how strongly you live your beliefs, or how true your beliefs are. Somebody else, somewhere, thinks you are in the wrong. Somebody else, somewhere, thinks your beliefs are senseless or illogical. Somebody else, somewhere, thinks you have it all wrong. In fact, there are a lot of people in this world who do.

We each understand that. We already know that. It’s the world we live in and we’re not naïve. We’re not stupid. We get it.

Yet, we expect and want love anyway. We expect and want understanding. We expect and want tolerance. We expect and want humanity. We expect and want respect for our beliefs, even from those who don’t believe the same things we do. Even from those who think we’re wrong, unwise, or incorrect.

We expect all of that from the people who disagree with us and who disagree with our lifestyles and beliefs because, let’s be honest, nothing we do is actually bad enough to be worthy of disgust, anger, hatred, or cold-shouldering. Right? None of the ways in which we live our lives would warrant such behavior. Right? None of our beliefs are worthy of ugly disdain from others.
---
My request today is simple. Today. Tomorrow. Next week. Find somebody, anybody, that’s different than you. Somebody that has made you feel ill-will or even [gulp...] hateful. Somebody whose life decisions have made you uncomfortable. Somebody who practices a different religion than you do. Somebody who has been lost to addiction. Somebody with a criminal past. Somebody who dresses “below” you. Somebody with disabilities. Somebody who lives an alternative lifestyle. Somebody without a home.

Somebody that you, until now, would always avoid, always look down on, and always be disgusted by.

Because what you’ll find, and I promise you this, is that the more you put your arm around those that you might naturally look down on, the more you will love yourself. And the more you love yourself, the less need you’ll ever have to find fault or be better than others. And the less we all find fault or have a need to be better than others, the quicker this world becomes a far better place to live.

Love

2011-12-12T09:28:00.001-05:00

I love this band, and more specifically I love Jared. I love his voice! It seriously is amazing and his lyrics and melodies are phenomenal. I can seriously appreciate when people write and perform their own music. More authentic that way. Here is my pic of me and the band from last week.

Santa's Got a Brand New Bag

2011-12-09T10:51:00.000-05:00

So apparently this year my home ward elected my dad to play the part of Santa at the ward Christmas party. So of course my dad was a completely irreverent Santa - that's just who he is. Here are a couple pics of "Santa" doing some model poses.

my personal favorite

Apparently after my dad took off the costume and hid it under coats in a room with a sign saying "do not enter" he was wandering around and ran into some sassy 8 year olds. They proceeded to tell him that they had gone into a room marked "do not enter" and that they found Santa's clothes and said "we know you were Santa, right?" Fortunately dad played it off right.

This is after Parker tells our family friend Tom a "secret" that he can't tell anyone. Are you all ready for the secret? The secret was that the presents under the tree were all empty of any presents, except for the Spirit. Bet you didn't know that! I love 6 year olds.

Thank You Tony

2011-12-07T11:05:00.000-05:00

So once upon a time, I was home from the mish and working at WhyTry and listening to the new sensation Pandora on my work computer all day and this band "30 Seconds to Mars" kept popping up on my playlist. So I liked all their songs so that they would keep getting played during my day and downloaded all their music and loved them for a long time.

Fast forward a couple years and my celebrity obsessed roomie Melissa has a People commemoration book-thing and inside there is a page on one Jared Leto (known affectionately in my heart as Jordan Catalano from My So Called Life) - and it claims that these days he is the front man for none other than 30 Seconds to Mars. Who knew that the face behind that beautiful voice was just as pretty? I was ecstatic.

So keep fast-forwarding and throw in a couple concerts and road trips and telling other people about this magical band. Then, I am at work and we are having a lunch and I hear my 50 year old boss say that 30 Seconds is his favorite band as well! What are the odds.

So here we are to last Friday. I told Tony that 30 Seconds was playing their last leg of their 2 year tour and sent him a link if he wanted to go. Of course I had already bought my ticket in the presale weeks ago. The only tickets left were these outrageous "VIP" tickets that cost like $300 for an early entry, free teeshirt and a meet and greet with the band after the show. I told Tony that if he went he better bring back a signed tee shirt for me.

Then, last Friday, Tony walks in to my office and hands me an envelope and says "Thanks for working so hard this past year" and what is inside? TWO of those crazy expensive VIP tickets to see one of my favorite bands and meet my only celebrity crush. Priceless. The concert was amazing (as always) and meeting Jared was a definite highlight of the year. We got our photo taken with the band as well in this little package but that is getting emailed out to us later. So here are some pics I just took from the side of the stage with my phone.

Eh..That About Sums it Up!

2011-12-06T13:41:00.000-05:00

Hunter x4

2011-12-06T09:26:00.000-05:00

There was some drama in the relief society (classic...) but fortunately it didnt affect anyone we were teaching, and overall it was a solid week. I think it all started with costco. Costco brings blessings.

The little guys need more exercise, throw in a little P90x action and tell them to keep up. The kids cant even rake the yard? thats weak sauce, me and mitch were mowing and raking from inside the womb (well maybe not mitch).

Tell mitch hes a bum. And I'm outty.

Brand New Concert

2011-12-02T09:00:00.001-05:00

I love music. PLUS I love the bands I grew up listening to. This particular band I have loved since my freshman year of college and they are phenomenal. They are from Long Island and I saw them perform in the beginning at a tiny record store in North Jersey, to Warped Tour, to filling Nassau Colliseum two years ago. They every once in awhile decide to throw some shows in for the "home crowd" so Michelle, Chad and I decided to head out to Long Island on Monday night to see them play.

It was epic - as every show of theirs has been.

They played all of my favourites which was great. I seriously loved every minute. There is nothing like screaming along to "Seventy Times Seven" with hundreds of people and then ending on a mellow note with "Soco Amaretto Lime" with just Jesse Lacey and a guitar. Unfortunately the only downside is that it will probably be awhile before they play again. Sad face.

Book Review - Absolutely True DIary of a Part Time Indian

2011-12-01T09:00:00.002-05:00

So this was a book that a bunch of people on a website were talking about as far as teen books/literature goes (in relation to the new Twilight movie that just came out). So I decided that I needed to read it. I really liked it - my only stipulation is that the language is a bit much for an actual teen audience, especially if they are reading it in school. Essentially this boy (from the Spokane, WA tribes) who feels like he doesn't fit in on his reservation ends up leaving to go to a white school 22 miles away. It is his narration of how he felt he didn't fit in anywhere and was so awkward and had no friends and how he deals with all of that. It deals with a lot of serious things like domestic violence, alcoholism, death, bullying. All of those are good things to help kids deal with, like I said I was just a bit taken back by the language in some parts although it is unfortunately fairly realistic of how kids today talk (wow....how ancient did I sound after that sentence?? I just aged 40 years...). Other than that though I really liked it. It is definitely a quick read - I read it on the train in and out of the city on Friday when I had to work over Thanksgiving break. Here's a link on Amazon if you are interested.

Book Review: Cutting for Stone

2011-11-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

This was a book I just finished recently. It was beautifully written. It is one of those books that isn't really about anything but is just about people and their lives. The author just did an amazing job of describing people and reactions. For a bit of background it is a story about twin boys that were born to a nun who worked at a hospital in Ethiopia. The first part of the book is about the parents of the twins, middle about their birth and childhood and then the end is the beginnings of their adult life. It is a story of doctors (and the author himself is a doctor) so the descriptions of the awful medical things that happen in 3rd world countries are a bit graphic at times. It was very well done. Here's a link on Amazon if you're interested.

Hunter #3

2011-11-29T09:20:00.000-05:00

This first clip is from Hunt's personal email to me this week in response to Sawyer going to daycare:

Also I heard you finally let Sawyer out of his nazi boot camp and put him into a real camp. That's so good Hayley, you're really progressing.

This is from his family letter:

As for my companions theyre cool, I mean I wouldnt hangout with them normally if i wasnt being forced to but I am sure there are worse cases.

Decorating Fun

2011-11-28T11:35:00.000-05:00

I love the weekend after Thanksgiving when you can decorate for Christmas!! Our apartment smells divine right now!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T11:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Yesterday was a great day of food, friends and family. Wendy came up from D.C. to do Thanksiving Behrmann style which was nice and then we went and hung out with Adam & Alexis Boss since they were home as well. Warner made killer sweet potatoes that unfortunately there are not enough leftovers of. I am grateful for my family and for Thanksgiving feast leftovers for the rest of the weekend! Hope you all have a fantastic day/weekend!

Hunter-isms Week 2

2011-11-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

One guy named Maurice who is 22 and he was staring at us at a stop light and he told us to come visit him. So we did and apparently he just got off heroine like 11 days agao and also hasn't been sleeping haha but he said he has had visions of god before and how some lady prophesied that he would be a prophet. We told him the first vision and he was freaking out every single sentence and was like, "Dude that happened to me I swear!" I dont believe it but if it helps him accept our message I'm game.

Tell Bench the baby looks healthy but odds are he will probably grow up to be scrawny like his dad. Genetics...you cant beat them.

That's it for week 2 everyone - check back next Tuesday for some more.

Living Room Makeover

2011-11-21T13:25:00.000-05:00

I seriously love how much a can of paint and a couple hours can completely change a room. About a week ago I repainted our living room grey so the new rug from Vermont wouldn't clash with the purple walls. I feel like I live in a very legit "grown up" space now.

Before:

After:

LOVE the new rug (Thanks Grandma!!)

Don't mind Sawyer's green laser beam eyes - it happens with the flash. I love the new color and the rug. It feels so homey having a gorgeous oriental rug in the apartment. Also - here is a self-indulgent pic of Sawyer at 9 months (he is getting soooo big!):

THANK YOU BROADWAY

2011-11-17T10:08:00.000-05:00

http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/11/15/newsies-broadway/

It is official. Who is coming to see Newsies with me on Broadway?

Favorite Hunter-isms

2011-11-16T09:00:00.004-05:00

So you might not all know that my brother Hunter requested to go stateside after being in the DR for about 6 weeks. The old Hunt is starting to show through now in his emails which is really comforting. He is up in WA state and talking about how it is cold and rainy all the time and maybe I am just a big dork but I think of Twilight every time he mentions is. I know. I am a loser. OK - so I thought I would start sharing funny things that he says in his letters each week. If you know Hunter I'm sure you can picture exactly the tone of voice each thing is being said in:

i know hayley probably hasnt seen the sunlight between her job and sawyer, same with worm but substitue the puppy with battlefield 3. Mitch is probably in utah survivng on pickles olives and seasoning salt, maybe for halloween he celebrated with a lime.
The missionaries here also are a little too lovey-duvey for me. Everyone always finishes every conversation with "I love you elder" and I've told them multiple times that I am never going to say that on my mission. Also a lot of hugs, which is also pretty gay, I dunno what it is.

So there you go. Hope it brought a smile to your face too!

I'm A Big Kid Now...

2011-11-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

...sort of. But I do have an office that is mine all mine. So I am starting to feel like I am a grown up. I have officially left the world of cubicle office space behind forever (well at least at this particular job). So here are some pics of the new workspace:

Oh and in case you are wondering what all the stickers on my moniter are for...those are my gold stars for each time I was awesome. Yes, you read that right. I was officially awesome for each one of those stickers. It was a hokey office thing we did, but I loved my stickers. So they moved with me.

I Have to Wait til MARCH?

2011-11-14T11:46:00.001-05:00

A Little Behind...

2011-11-08T09:34:00.000-05:00

So I am a little behind in the updates...I still need to blog about the last day of our trip in Istanbul and post pics, Hanson concert, Halloween, my new office (yes that's right!), and coming up I have a Brand New concert, a Thirty Seconds to Mars concert and I have some before and afters coming of my living room which is going from fuscia to grey. All somewhat important things. I'm sure I will get all of that finished right in time for Thanksgiving. So stay tuned! More stuff about me and my life coming! (wow...that sounds kinda selfish right? Oh well, get over it!)

I Love New York

2011-11-07T14:39:00.002-05:00

I love everything about this video. Everything. Welcome to my city - don't you wish you lived here?

A Year in New York from Andrew Clancy on Vimeo.

Day 9: At Sea & Day 10: Mykenos

2011-11-03T09:00:00.001-04:00

So the next cool place we got to go to was back to Greece! I was excited for this because last year when I went to Greece I spoke with my artsy grandpa about it and he said that as an artist he loved Mykenos because of all the colors. I could see what he meant right away. On Santorini they painted everything only two colors: blue and white. It was beautiful. But on Mykenos they have all the buildings whitewashed and then the doors and windows are all different colors. It was really pretty. Plus the old school windmills were pretty fabulous.

Day 8: Jerusalem

2011-11-02T08:57:00.001-04:00

Warning - this was probably one of the coolest days of my entire life. So expect a lot of exaggerations! Just kidding...about the exaggerating part. But seriously, this second day in Jerusalem seriously was the best day of the trip and one of the better days I have had. Here's a sneak preview: camel ride, Garden of Gethsemane, Hezekiah's tunnels and the Garden Tomb. Oh and don't forget to throw in some shopping and falafel just for fun.

We started our day on a camel ride on the Mount of Olives:

And took some great panoramics of the Old City

Then our guide had some major connections for the Garden of Gethsemane so rather than going to the overcrowded tourist section we were able to go to a private section. It was beautiful. It was just our group and one of the men traveling with us sings in the Tabernacle Choir and he sang "I walked where Jesus walked today". The Spirit was amazing.

Afterwards, Meghan and I and some other people really wanted to go down to do Hezekiah's Tunnels so we broke off from the group. Seriously one of the coolest things I have ever done. You can tell from Meghan's shorts how high the water was at the beginning.

Afterwards it was our last day of good falafel (oh it was sooo good), last minute shopping and a quick run by the Wailing Wall while passing a couple of bah mitzvahs.

Then to top off our perfect day and our last day in Israel, we went to the Garden Tomb. It was great to end with a focus on the Resurrection of Christ and the meaning that holds for us. Our guide bore one of the most beautiful and moving testimonies I have ever heard about Christ's meaning in his life. It was a really appropriate end to this leg of our journey.

Day 7: Jerusalem

2011-11-01T09:00:00.006-04:00

Our two days in Jerusalem were amazing. The first day was a bit too much of going to random places that 'may or may not be the actual place where _______ took place' but I really loved Jerusalem and the old city. I really wish that the Jerusalem center had been open when I went to BYU. It was a seriously amazing experience.

Stephen's gate - the spot where Stephen was stoned to death

The Pools of Bethesda - our guide said that the steps on the left side there have been dated to the time of Christ.

Better shot of the steps where it is very likely on that spot that Christ healed the man at the pools

A lot of doors in Jerusalem had this type of artwork around the door. It was really cool.

This is under the judgement hall of Pilate.

This is the original pavement from the time of Christ that Christ would have been judged on and began his ascent to Golgotha.

Damascas Gate

These pics are from when we split off from the group and climbed up on top of some rooftops. Unfortunately my camera didn't really decide to capture what we were looking at...

All in all it was a great first day in Jerusalem.

Day 5 @ Sea / Day 6 - Northern Israel

2011-10-31T09:00:00.001-04:00

Well Day 5 we spent at sea traveling from Greece over to Israel. Meghan and I spent the day...relaxing (aka we watched a movie and took a 3 hour nap...). It was fabulous. Day 6 I was very excited. We were doing the northern part of Israel where Christ grew up and lived. We visited Mount of Beatitudes, Sea of Galilee, the city of Capernaum, and Nazareth. I seriously loved every second of it.

The Sea of Galilee - I can see why Christ would want to spend a lot of time here. Breathtaking.

Ruins of the city of Capernaum where Christ and Peter lived.

Oil press

The bottom wall here is the original wall of the synagogue in Caperneum where Christ declared that Isaiah's prophecies were fulfilled in Him.

The hideously ugly boat shaped church built over the ruins of what is believed to be Peter's home.

The walls of what is believed to be Peter's home (under the ugly church)

More of the Sea of Galilee...Really it was that beautiful.

The boat we took out on to the sea. The ship captain was a singer and he sang "Amazing Grace" in English and Hebrew. The spirit of that boat ride was incredible. We as an LDS group sang "Master the Tempest is Raging" which was really special considering the history of this sea in Christ's life.

At the entrance to the River Jordan they have the scripture from Matthew of Christ's baptism in different languages. My group was quick to point out the Vietnamese version.

The River Jordan. It was an interesting experience...people would buy these white smock things and then go baptize themselves in the river as a spiritual experience. It was a little strange - especially since the water was dirty and really smelly and there were really big river rats swimming around. No thanks.

More of what I though the River Jordan would look like. The water is a really pretty shade of green.

I really loved the first day in Israel. It was sad to see all the pomp and circumstance that have been built up around these special sites. It sort of detracted from the Spirit. I think that is why I liked the Sea of Galilee so much and our boat ride. It was just us on the boat singing hymns and thinking of Peter walking on the water. Our guide made an interesting comment about the two phrases Peter says while walking on the water - "If it be thee, bid me come unto thee" and "Lord, save me." He made the point that these should be our two statements to the Lord. I thought that was really powerful.

Di Choi o Viet Nam Lan Nua!!

2011-10-26T13:55:00.001-04:00

February 16-27th

Cambodia

then

Vietnam

Round Three

Days 4: Rhodes, Greece

2011-10-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Day 4 Meghan and I headed back to Greece. I was excited for feta and gelato. Oh so excited. We waited all day for free time just so we could go get us a Greek salad. De-lish. The cool thing about Rhodes is the old town. Seriously amazing! It is a medieval town with a medieval castle that has towers that look like chess pieces and a moat and everything!

Hey look ma! A castle!

We also saw some ruins that morning of an ancient city. It was really cool, but similar to other city ruins I have seen. Is that snotty to say? That some ruins are better than others? Perhaps it was because we saw them the day after Ephesus. Oh well, guess I am a ruins snob.

Day 3: Ephesus, Turkey

2011-10-24T09:48:00.001-04:00

So day 3 we ended up in Ephesus. It was absolutely amazing. I am not even going to tell any random stories so here are a bunch of pictures from Ephesus.

So this last picture is of our friends from Holland. We ended up sharing a taxi to and from the port to Ephesus. They were absolutely hilarious. So snarky! We ended up seeing them later in Mykenos and around the ship. We had so much fun with them and in Ephesus. It was ridiculous - everything we saw was so amazing. Especially the library! It is crazy to look at a building front that is thousands of years old and see only the front facade of the building left standing. Really amazing.

Dayton's Legs

2011-10-24T09:05:00.000-04:00

One of my friends had this posted on her Facebook page. I cried through the whole thing and then felt severely inadequate in life. A great reminder of selfless service!

Days 1&2: Istanbul, Turkey

2011-10-21T09:00:00.001-04:00

Me in front of Hagia Sophia

Well we started off our journey in Istanbul. Mostly day 1 was traveling, arriving, attempting to find the ship. We got this figured out by around 1:30. I would love to say that we then made our way out and about and took advantage of an afternoon in Istanbul...but neither Meghan nor I had slept on the 9.5 hour flight...so we crashed. We ended up sleeping from 2:00 until 5:00. It was awesome. Fast forward to day 2. We took the tram over to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia (pictured above).

Meghan and I in front of Blue Mosque

Both of these were so beautiful inside and just very different. We had a blast just enjoying our time in both of the mosques. Hagia Sophia used to be both a mosque and a Christian church, and then they turned it into a museum. It was a really cool mix of Islam and Christianity.

Just love this. So beautiful.

This is the view from the balcony - the lights are my favorite

Some of the Christian mosaics in Hagia Sophia

As beautiful as Hagia Sophia was, I just loved the Blue Mosque. I am obsessed with the lighting in Turkey. It is gorgeous. I wish we chandeliers that mimic the light fixtures in these mosques. Just take a gander:

Covered heads for the mosque

Seriously! The lighting is sooo amazing and just check out the carpet!

When I grow up I want the lighting in my house to be all spirally and amazing like this

The largest chandelier in Europe in the throne room.

After the mosque and museum we ended up trying to hit a couple of the palaces. We tried the medieval palace first but it was randomly closed, so we ended up going over to the palace that was modeled after Versailles, Dolmabahce Palace. This palace was really beautiful, unfortunately we weren't able to take pictures inside and we also ran out of time so we couldn't get inside the Harem (huge frowny face). This palace is known for the chandeliers. It has the biggest chandelier in Europe. A little crazy!

Musical Review: Newsies

2011-10-20T14:12:00.001-04:00

Alright - so the first night back from my trip what did I do?? My mom and I headed over to Papermill Playhouse which is a really high end community theater in NJ. They usually have really great productions because they get a lot of actors from Broadway in NYC who take a break and do a show for a couple months out there.

Anyways, they were starting to get a lot of hype for their rendition of Newsies. Now to be clear, when Alan Menken speaks of a cult following, he is talking about me. I know all the words, my friends and I learned the dance to Seize the Day and it sparked a love for Christian Bale that has never died. So I was a little excited to see it. Here is a clip from the show that they performed on The View (Warning: do not try and sing along to Seize the Day or Santa Fe because they changed some of the lyrics/ also this is the clearest version of the video I could find but it takes a minute to load)

So here is my review. I liked it. If I saw it enough I would probably get over the lyric changes and learn how to sing along to the new lyrics. That being said - I have been dying for this to be made a stage production and it didn't disappoint. Now if we could get Disney money to back this on Broadway I think it would be fantastic. The dancing as you can tell in the clip is ridiculous and they definitely got the harmonizing genius that is Newsies. Also, Jack had a pretty great swagger which he definitely needs. My only disappointment was Davey...he just wasn't a great casting choice. He needed to be more appealing and less nerdy.

As for story line changes - they changed Denton (Bill Pullman's character) into a girl who is trying to be a reporter in a man's vocation which is why she is willing to write something on the strike. Of course she is the one who turns out to be Jack's love interest. The actress they got to play her was great. She reminded me of Sutton Foster which is high praise since Sutton has won three Tony awards.

Hopefully it is popular enough in its two month run that Broadway will decided to give it a stage and I can go see it a couple more times and when you all come to visit you can see it too!

Quick Update

2011-10-13T16:30:00.000-04:00

Ok - so I know you must be dying for some stories/pics of the trip. For unlabeled pics you can visit my Facebook page and I promise early next week I will get some blog posts done! I got home Saturday, that night my mom and I went to see the musical Newsies and then I came back to the city on Sunday and then only had a day to catch my breath before my friend Ali came to visit, then Sunday I am seeing Laura and her babies and then next Tuesday Amanda and I are going to a Hanson concert. Yes you read that right, Hanson. I love them. Go ahead and mock, but take a listen to their new music because it is amazing.

Anyways, as you can tell I have a lot going on right now and I am drowning in work right now after being gone so I can't even blog at work (just kidding...because I would never do that...). So check back around Thursday next week and I will start a plethora of posts!!

Officially

2011-09-23T14:54:00.000-04:00

I have officially mentally and emotionally checked out. I am ready for my vacation already! Now all I have to do is my laundry (tonight); clean the apt and pack (tomorrow)! Meghan will fly in tomorrow afternoon and Sawyer is all better so I feel no qualms about sending him off to his grandparents in NJ for a couple weeks. See you all in a couple weeks when I will have LOTS of pictures and stories to share from my trip. YAY!!

The Perfect De-Stresser

2011-09-21T14:07:00.000-04:00

So with all the craziness of work and a sick puppy and preparing for the big trip and just life I have been feeling a little overwhelmed and stressed out. Ok a lot stressed out. Then I remembered where I am headed...

Perhaps sitting in Gethsemane I might be able to find a little perspective...what do you think?

Go Big Blue!

2011-09-20T09:29:00.001-04:00

Last night I attended a little something we like to call Monday Night Football! Friends, football and a big Giants win? Sounds like a perfect evening. What was the cherry on top? It just so happened that night the Giants were honoring the 1986 superbowl team and oh how exciting - my second father, Bart Oates just happened to play for the Giants that year. I was so excited. It was really cool to have them show clips from that year and to see the old team members and coaches come out and get named. I have actually worn the superbowl ring that Bart received that year. Pretty dang cool.

The half time show honoring the 1986 team! I was texting with his son the whole time so that I could go down and say hi, but halfway through our conversation Derek's phone died. Not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed...

My friend Sarah and me. Sarah got us cool face stickers but then I decided to have a blonde moment and we took the picture from my wrong side so you can't see the sticker.

Sarah, Me and Dustin enjoying the game. You can even see my face paint.

Giants slaughtered the Rams.

Sick Puppy...

2011-09-19T10:29:00.000-04:00

Everyone has been joking with me that having a puppy is a great prep for motherhood. Never has that statement been more true than this past weekend. Saturday I dropped Sawyer off at daycare so that he could play all day and I could run some errands and clean the apartment. I picked him up and he, Julia and I walked home across town so he would be good and tired during the BYU game (meaning I could watch undistracted).

Well he did get tired and "asked" to go to bed (by gettting up and going into my room and then sitting by my bed which is his cue that he wants to get up there. It was all very cute). After about 20 minutes or so I heard this weird noise coming from the room and I went it and he was making this awful wheezing sound and I could see where he had coughed up phlegm (well I know it was phlegm now, didn't know then). I got a little nervous so I did what I always do when Sawyer makes me nervous...I called my friend Becca who is a 3rd year vet student. She was a little nervous and thought it would be best if I called a 24 hour vet service and took him in. I thought he might have something stuck in his windpipe because of the wheezing sound he kept making.

After some tears (ok a lot...) and a prayer I decided that yes I needed to trek down to midtown at 12:30am on a Saturday night. So we went. We saw the doctor and she told me my puppy had "kennel cough" which is a sort of dog version of bronchitis and that since it was a virus there was nothing to do for him but just let him ride it out. The only thing I have to be careful of is that his temperature stays down and energy stays up otherwise it might progress to pneumonia.

Needless to say it has been a restless couple of nights because the poor little guy has coughing fits that wake him (and me) up all night long. I can tell he feels miserable because he gets extra cuddly right after coughing like he needs assurance that he will feel better. It is so awful. So I can now tick off the midnight ER run and staying up with a sick "child" all night while they are sick and you can do nothing for them.

The only silver lining? I was so distracted by the sick dog that I stopped watching the BYU v Utah game a couple minutes before halftime so when I left BYU was still winning and I didn't see the sucking that happened soon after. Yay.

In Two Weeks...

2011-09-13T16:32:00.000-04:00

...I will be here:

With:

Touring this:

My Thoughts Heading into 9/11/2011

2011-09-09T09:15:00.000-04:00

Needless to say, this weekend is an emotional one for America. I would especially say for those in the targeted areas such as NYC and Washington, DC. I'm not going to re-write what my experiences were that day, you can read a shortened version here, but needless to say it was not an awesome day and I thought my dad could be dead for a couple hours...

Anyways, I have been thinking about 9/11 all week and have seen the memorials that are popping up all over the city and needless to say it has put me in a somber mood. So here it is - Let us always remember and never forget that 9/11 taught us that we are not invincible. That we need to remember the things that matter most. I'm pretty sure people were only interested in personal and family safety that day. Not in petty interests. So let us always remember. After the attacks there was one song that every radio station here in NYC was playing and it had snippets of newscasts and people talking during it and it always made me cry. Then and now. I went searching for it this morning and I'm not going to lie, I got a little teary here at work while watching/listening.

It's Back!! It's Back!!

2011-09-08T14:08:00.000-04:00

Tonight is the official start to the 2011 NFL season! One of my favorite days of the year. I'm still confused as to why this isn't a bank holiday...What could be more American?

Movie Review: The Help

2011-09-06T13:32:00.000-04:00

Alrighty, I went to go see The Help this weekend with my friend Michelle. I liked it. It wasn't near as good as the book. The book surprisingly enough is suspenseful and a little scary at times because you hope that everything will work out and that Aibileen and Minny won't get in trouble. The movie never quite got there for me. Also I felt like when Stuart dumps Skeeter you don't feel the loss as much. My last complaint is the ending. They changed a lot of things to make the ending a lot more happy than the book did. They tried to justify certain characters (like Skeeter's mother) and then left out that Elizabeth made sure Aibileen only got fired and didn't go to jail.

If you haven't read the book, you will probably love the movie. If you have read the book you might be a little disappointed in the changes they made. That being said, the casting was superb! They seriously nailed each character on the head. My only disappointment was Alison Janney as the mother. I pictured the mother much smaller and frailer. Janney didn't look like she was dying from cancer for me. Other than that 2 thumbs up!

Book Review: The Help

2011-08-29T12:54:00.001-04:00

Well let me officially declare that I have joined the bandwagon of people who have read The Help and officially loved it. It was a fantastic story that was engaging and suspenseful in a way that I couldn't imagine. I seriously felt like cheering when I got to the last couple of chapters. I am not going to talk about the plot, since most people know it is about a white girl interviewing and writing about what it is like to be a maid in Mississippi in the 1960's.

The thing that I thought about most while reading this book though was how social lines still exist today no matter how much we wish they didn't. One of my favorite characters in the book was Minny and she worked for a girl who had been "white trash" and then married a rich guy. None of the other ladies want anything to do with her because of her background, but of course they would never give that reason. I just think about the judgements and assumptions we still make because of social class and/or race. Not that we are trying to build each class separate bathrooms, but we assume a lot about a person because of how they look or where they come from or how they dress. Sometimes those things impress us and sometimes we use that as a reason to not associate with them. The movie Crash that came out a couple years ago had this same effect on me. If you haven't seen it, you should. They even have edited versions of it. Anyways, I guess food for thought.

I now want to go see the movie. Perhaps I will do that this weekend. I am a little scared that the movie won't quite be able to capture the magic of the book, but here's hoping.

Evil Sawyer

2011-08-25T13:11:00.000-04:00

Look at that sad little face!

So last week on Thursday, Sawyer got neutered. Ever since we have been sporting the "cone of shame" which has been a little hilarious and kind of sad. Of course he is acting completely normal and wants to run around and play, only we can't because then he will open up his stitches and we will have to undergo the whole process again. Needless to say he has been a little crazier than normal because he is used to getting a lot of excercise but now he is getting very little. Enter DEMON DOG:

Now maybe it is all the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes I have watched, but I feel like the green eyes are pretty telling. He has been taken over by a demon. Why else would he completely destroy his bed? His nice orthopedic foam bed that he loved laying in? It just doesn't make any sense. I felt so bad for Chad and Michelle that they had to witness and clean up this mess! I know understand when puppy owners say their dogs are so destructive. Sawyer has had 3 long walks a day since I got him and I had never had this problem before. Now I understand why. Oh my, the countdown is on for when the cone comes off in another week and I can hopefully start running with him in the mornings. Who knew it was so necessary? Hopefully nothing else gets completely destroyed in the meantime!

Earthquake hits....Manhattan??

2011-08-23T16:35:00.000-04:00

Ok, well not technically. It hit in VA, but it was a little crazy to be on the 18th floor of a 50 story building and feel it moving. And it's not like it moved a little bit, but if felt like walking on a boat deck where it moves the inside of your stomach and makes you feel slightly nauseous. My coworkers and I were all asking if other people felt it when the announcement came over the loudspeaker to evacuate the building, there is an unofficial rumor of an earthquake....um excuse me, but when did I move to California?

So everyone evacuated by walking down the emergency stairwells. Totally packed. We went across the street to Central Park. Now, we were not in any danger and it wasn't like it hit NYC very bad, but I still was a little shaky afterwards. I think just the mental stress of thinking I was just in my very first earthquake! Literally my legs were shaking for like 15-20 minutes after we left the building. So were my one coworker's as well, so don't think I'm the only strange one. We were hoping for a "get out of ~~jail~~ work free" card, but even though my dad left his work early (lucky duck) the rest of us headed back upstairs. But I will be leaving at 5:30 on the dot. It was an emotionally draining day. I think I have PTSD...just kidding.

Needless to say, it was a much more eventful day than anticipated! Now I can't wait to get home and check on the puppy and make sure nothing fell in my room!

I Love Movies

2011-08-23T13:13:00.000-04:00

This is from a couple of NYU film students. I peed my pants laughing. It was phenomenal. It makes me love movies even more. Watch. Share.

Countdown

2011-08-23T10:14:00.000-04:00

Well, sadly summer is almost over. It has been a fun filled couple of months with lots of beach time, going to all the action movies that came out with my friend Jim, some baseball games (the last one of the summer on Friday), playing with Sawyer in the park, a smidge of travel and all in all great weather for NYC. We only had 2 maybe 3 weeks worth of awful weather. The rest of the time it has been 80's and not too humid. Win-win. But, as much as I love summer, I am obsessed with Fall! Here are some of the things I am excited about that are coming up:

1. FOOTBALL! Yes, it is first and in all caps. Last night Dustin and I watched the real first preseason game for the Giants (let's all agree that last week against Carolina was just awful and therefore doesn't count) Also, I am pretty excited to be able to watch all the BYU games not on my computer (illegally cough cough) but on ESPN! Suh-weet. My goal is to watch a couple of the BYU games in a sports bar in NYC. Sounds surreal.

2. Traveling! Me and Megs are counting down the days and unofficially one month from today I will be packing my bags and getting ready to head to Istanbul, Ephesus, Rhodes, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Galilee, and Mykenos for two weeks. It is going to be awesome.

3. The weather/clothes. We are already getting the gorgeous fall weather here - it is in the 70's and crisp with a light wind. I love jeans and boots with a scarf and a leather jacket. It is one of my favorite outfits and is perfect for walking around checking out the foliage in Central Park with my pup.

4. The leaves changing. Call me sentimental but there is nothing that compares to New England in the fall! I love the colors here they are just breathtaking. I am also excited because we are planning a trip up to Farview (the family house in VT) to help the Grandparent's pack it up before they sell it and perhaps do a little looting. I am excited for the loot, but very excited for the beautiful drive up there with all the leaves.

Well there you have it. My countdown list of things in Fall that I am very excited about. Hope you all have fun things planned as well!

Book Review: The Thirteenth Tale

2011-08-19T09:40:00.000-04:00

Ok, I just finished reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It was awesome. I won't give any of the plot here, but you should buy it and read it for sure. The main synopsis is that there is an author - a sort of modern day Jane Austen who is old, sick and after giving many false life stories is ready to sit down and actually tell her tale to a young biographer. The storytelling is absolutely beautifully done, and as an avid reader it is a book about loving books and stories so I especially was drawn in. The language used and analogies made were just so eloquent. Of course there are some surprises and a little twist there at the end, but it was a great read. It is a couple hundred pages but it is a fast read. I got it at the beginning of the week and have only read on the subway to and from work and I would get lost and almost miss my stop almost every time I started reading. And I finished it in 4 days. It was really that good. So get it and read it and tell me what you think!

Book Review: The Princess of Mars (John Carter Series Book 1)

2011-08-19T09:31:00.000-04:00

So if you recall I was reading the first book in the John Carter of Mars series. First of all, I did not realize that the author was the sam guy who wrote Tarzan. Color me surprised. So here is my review - it was better than I thought it would be. Burroughs is definitely adept at creating a believable world that takes you in. I can also see the draw of making this a movie. It has lots of fighting/action and of course a love story built in. A Romeo and Juliet from different worlds type. It is a series and the way the first book ended definitely leaves room for sequels. Not sure if I will go for the sequels or not, but the book was good and very short. It is only 140 pages-ish. Very doable.

The writing was beautiful and eloquent and it was enjoyable to read and root for John Carter as he encounters all the different troubles on Mars. If you are interested in trying it out for yourself, you can buy it here.

The Day After

2011-08-10T09:08:00.000-04:00

The day after the wedding, Ali and I decided to take Izzy to the beach and get some Cafe Rio. We had a blast, jumping in the water and burying each other in the sand. Here are some pics from the beach. She is seriously the cutest little girl ever.

The Wedding

2011-08-09T11:00:00.000-04:00

As a disclaimer - I would like to point out that Ali (my host) was also the designer and maker of Michelle's wedding dress. So especially in this post with all of her pictures, please note how amazing the dress is! This post is going to be very picture heavy, as it should be.

Outside the temple

The reception location. The best part of the story is that Michelle and Chad met at this house at the owner's daughter's wedding reception. It was only fitting that they had their reception at the house as well. It was absolutely beautiful.

The ring ceremony

Michelle and her two maids of honor, her sister and her best friend Michele from NJ

Some favorite pics of the night. This little beauty above is Isabelle, she is Ali's (my host) niece. We were "best friends" all weekend. She seriously was so darling. I still want to steal her.

It was a great night. There was great food, laughing and dancing. I also heard the groomsmen jumped in the pool later in the night. Congrats again Michelle love!

The Bachelorette Party

2011-08-08T20:50:00.000-04:00

So this past weekend I flew out to LA to go to my good friend Michelle's wedding! I was very excited. Michelle has been one of my best friends since we went to YW Girls' Camp together back in the day. I was so happy for her and glad I could take part in the celebration! Before I flew out though, her maid of honor Michele (another good friend from NJ), Ali (my wonderful LA host) and I were thinking up good ideas for the bachelorette party and decided that making fascinators would be a fun way to make things festive and would also make for fun pictures. So, I bought all the supplies and brought them out to LA with me and these are the pictures from that night:

The making off the fascinators. And below are some of the finished products:

The beautiful bride to be

The snazzy Amanda Parrish who sat and twisted rose buds out of tissue paper.

Me and my girl Ditz

My lovely host Ali who let me stay with her for the weekend and chauffeured me around Los Angeles, which with the traffic is no easy feat.

The happy girl and her loot. There was the classic lingerie pieces, a silk robe and some naughty things from Lynn, but I think the hit of the night was the sexy Hermione Granger costume (from Miss Erica Lee Miles of course) for when she and Chad were feeling "creative" as the card put it. What a night!

Re-Read

2011-08-03T14:08:00.002-04:00

Have you ever been this excited to re-read a favorite book??

Damask

2011-08-02T13:52:00.000-04:00

So as of late I have been kind of obsessed with damask prints. Some of the design blogs I follow have used damask wall paper or fabrics lately and I have wanted some for my very own. So I was especially surprised that when I went home to NJ this past weekend there was a damask quilt just chilling in the laundry room! I have been wanting to change my bedding for awhile because now that Sawyer comes on my bed the fabric gets so wrinkly and because it has no texture you can feel every grain of dirt on it. Gross. So I was already planning on switching to a quilt (the one I had used during high school). Fortunately for me my mom had brought down from Vermont one of my grandma's quilts and I loved the pattern. Pale green damask on a cream background. The underside of the quilt is green striped which I love. Apparently there are throw pillows and a striped bedskirt as well. I am excited to get those next time I head out to the dirty jerz. For now, here is a picture of how my new bedding looks:

Isn't it so pretty? And of course what picture from my life would be complete without the cute matching puppy!?

Musical Review: Catch Me if You Can

2011-08-01T15:03:00.000-04:00

So, to be honest, I have been putting seeing this musical off because I wasn't really sure how I felt about it. I got 5 songs sent to me on a CD from ticketmaster or somebody like that as a promo back before the show opened and although I love me some Aaron Tveit (see here) I wasn't too impressed...

And then, the co-star won a Tony and then randomly different people I knew all went to go see it. So I decided it was my turn.

So here's my review. The main 2 characaters of Abagnale and Hanratty are fantastic. Everyone else is...meh. Tveit stole my heart with his voice. It really is quite amazing! Norbort Leo Butz as Hanratty was phenomenal. I can see why he won a Tony. The music however was nothing memorable. The songs weren't bad, but just nothing to rush out and buy. Except for this particular number that is right at the end of the show. The background is that Abagnale was just caught in the airport and he's giving up on his life of crime because he wants to stop running and settle down. Of course I went out and found a video for you of Tveit singing this (not on stage but in Macy's as a promo). You can tell he is holding back a little bit because of the venue, but let's just say that he blows it out of the park on the broadway stage. So enjoy.

Mixed Feelings / Curiosity...

2011-07-29T16:22:00.001-04:00

So I think it is very well documented my love of one Mr. Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights (see here, here and here). So I was a little excited and then very confused by this new trailer I saw starring no other than my Tim Riggins. Take a look:

I must say I am quite confused by this. First of all, it is Disney which sometimes can mean something awesome and sometimes...not. Secondly, it is a story of a civil war guy who goes to Mars? Are they serious?

Well, it just so happens that I was looking at books today (because we all know I can't get enough of those!) and I saw that this is a book series. What?! And the first book came out in 1911! So bizarre. Here is the description from wikipedia (love it) of John Carter:

Burroughs portrays him as an immortal being. In the opening pages of A Princess of Mars, the author reveals to the reader that Carter can remember no childhood, having always been a man of about thirty years old. Many generations of families referred to him as "Uncle Jack," but he always lived to see all the members of the families grow old and die, while he remained young.

His character and courtesy exemplify the ideals of the antebellum South. A Virginian, he served as a captain in the American Civil War on the side of the Confederacy. He strikes it rich by finding gold in Arizona after the end of hostilities. While hiding from Apaches in a cave, he appears to die, and leaving his inanimate body behind is mysteriously transported by a form of astral projection to the planet Mars, where he finds himself re-embodied in a form identical to his earthly one. Accustomed to the greater gravity of Earth, he is much stronger than the natives of Mars.

Needless to say I had to buy the book! I am waiting for it to arrive. I will read it and see what we should be expecting from this extremely random film that is coming out.

Movie Review - Harry Potter 7.2

2011-07-28T10:22:00.000-04:00

Well, I have been putting off this post 1. because I've just been too busy and 2. because I don't want to admit that an era has come to a close. I was very excited to see the final installment of the Harry Potter movies but not so excited to say goodbye to HP forever. So before I get to my actual review of the movie I wanted to share some favorite HP moments in my life.

I remember in high school people talking about these Harry Potter books about a wizard boy and to be honest my interest was not peaked in the slightest. However, I was traveling with one of the families I babysat for to Chicago over Thanksgiving (while they contemplated moving there). We were in the car driving and the kids were restless and there was no form of entertainment, so Lisa (the mom) hands me the Harry Potter book they were reading and says, "Start reading". Needless to say, I sat in the back of that car and read Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban aloud for hours. The hardest part was forcing myself to not read ahead. Then when we got to the hotel, I may have taken the book and started reading over from the beginning and then past where the kids were and finishing the book before the night was over. From there a love was born. When I got home I went back and read books 1 and 2 and have gotten midnight release books ever since.

Also, Harry Potter taught me Vietnamese. I mean not really, but kind of. On my mission I had all American companions and so although I could teach I didn't really know that much every day outside of the gospel vocabulary. How excited I was when one of the members brought me back Sorceror's Stone from Vietnam and I was able to start reading it in Vietnamese. I studied grammar principles and pulled out daily vocabulary to learn. Needless to say I still will read Harry Potter in Vietnamese every once in awhile. I have all 7 books in both languages.

Ok, now for my movie review. I think all in all, they have done a wonderful job with the Harry Potter movies. 7.2 was no exception. We laughed and got a little teary eyed and cheered. I saw it in IMAX 3D and once again, I could have done without the 3D but that's just me. I think the casting for these movies has been off the charts. Everyone really understands their character to a T (except the new Dumbledore... I am convinced he didn't understand that Dumbledore was supposed to be smiles and joking, not angry or loud). The only real complaint I had was that it was so short! I think it was the shortest Harry Potter movie - less than 2 hours! But it was great. Harry triumphed. Now it will be exciting to see who tries to take over the Harry Potter franchise crowd with a new exciting series.

Movie Review - Captain America

2011-07-27T13:24:00.000-04:00

So, I am a little behind on my movie reviews (look for Harry Potter and Transformers to come) but I thought I would start with the movie I saw most recently, because it was awesome. Captain America was everything it should have been - funny, slightly cheesy, some great actor performances (I especially loved Stanley Tucci's character, although I am a bit biased and pretty much love anything that he does). All in all I think it was a feel good time. We watched it in 3D but I think you can do normal 2D if you don't want to fork over the extra money. There was nothing absolutely amazing that happened effects-wise in 3D that really made it worth it. However, I am not really a huge fan of the 3D either...And although Chris Evans is no Chris Hemsworth, he was pretty good looking nontheless (is that one word?). I am the most excited that this movie has now come out so we can excited about the Avengers movie coming next summer! My only disappointment was that the scene at the end of the movie that previews all the characters in the Avengers movie was more of a trailer than a real clip and it was too short for my taste. Four stars. Go see it.

Things I Will Miss...

2011-07-26T15:30:00.000-04:00

I know, GASP! I am admitting I will miss Hunter. Even though we used to play the "ignore Hunter game" all the time when he was little because yes, he was that obnoxious. So things I will miss:
1. Talking about/showing off his muscles at the most awkard moments possible

2. The constant "Jersey Shore" episode that he makes every Sunday dinner

3. Making fun of the little kids and making Parker "excercise"

4. I guess overall it boils down to his entertainment factor - he says the funniest things

I am hoping the funny stuff will still translate into his letters. It is really weird to be sending off a brother on a mission since I have never done it before, so I may be getting a little more sentimental than usual. I am sure I will post any hilarious letter tidbits over the next two years. And not that Hunter reads my blog, but I sure am proud of you Hunt!

Dentist Fear...

2011-07-21T11:43:00.000-04:00

So this one time...I hadn't been to the dentist in over 3 years...Oh yeah. That's right now. Basically I was graduating/turning too old to be on my parent's insurance and then I didn't have any other dental insurance and then I didn't have a job and then I didn't have that great of dental insurance and then I wasn't sure who/how to pick my own dentist here in the city (big breath) so I have been putting it off. However, doomsday has arrived. I have an appointment in T-5 hours.

I am positive I have cavities. I unfortunately inherited our family's "your teeth will suck" gene and so regardless of how rigorous I am with my dental care, I will inevitably have cavities. I hope it isn't too bad. I'm a little scared I will have to set up more appts to deal with them. But then hopefully my teeth will be all squeaky clean and healthy and that's a good thing...right? And worth the fear of going to the dentist? Right??

Sawyer is 5 Months!

2011-07-15T09:18:00.000-04:00

My little pup is growing so fast! He is exactly 5 months as of yesterday the 14th, so I thought I would document his growth:

What he looked like when I picked him @ 1 month

His first night home with me in Jersey @ 2 months

Chilling in the apt @ 3 months

Sleeping on my bed @ 4 months

His accomplishments over the past 3 months with me:

- Graduated from Puppy Class (I need to sign up for the next one...)

- Sits, lies down, comes, does "paw" for a treat, and plays fetch...depending on his mood

- He is housebroken! He hasn't used the potty training pads for almost a whole month now!

- He has many regular dog friends that he plays with in the neighborhood: Cuzco his beagle buddy who is 1 week older than him, Barney the beagle, Charlie the boxer, Queenie the lab, Billy Jean the mini-pitbull and more

- He is sleeping on my bed now which means I can sleep in until whatever time I want again!

- He has discovered sticking his head out the window and climbs up on my lap to do it anytime we are in a car/cab

- He loves his rawhide bone and will chew on it for hours, but he likes peanut butter in his kong toy even more

- He lost his 4 front/bottom teeth at 4 months but he is starting to lose his big canine teeth now. I have found 3 really big teeth in the past 2 days.

Sawyer at five months. Unfortunately the camera doesn't quite capture how cute he is! Also, because he won't hold still long enough...

A good measure of how big he has gotten. Look above at how big Humphrey his hippo used to be in comparison. Now he is so tiny!

Chilling in the living room with his rawhide bone. And yes, that is his leash on inside the apt. I'm not sure if it is really necessary but it makes me feel like he can get into less while he is still super curious and has selective hearing.

The Jersey Shore

2011-07-11T15:43:00.000-04:00

sunburn. aloe. transformers 3. boogie boarding. star wars figurine sand castles. high tide waves knocking over everything. crab. spades. fireworks. bbq. family.

Just a few of the words that describe our trip down to Ocean Beach for Hunt's last hoo-rah before he takes off for the Dominican Republic for 2 years. Unfortunately none of us brought cameras so I don't have pics of the trip, but I do have this little link to a great headline that we saw the next day. Apparently 2 miles down from us at Seaside Heights (the shooting location for the show The Jersey Shore) there was some big brawl that happened where 62 people were arrested. We were so close we could watch the Seaside fireworks show. Too bad we missed the brawl!

Coney Island Birthday

2011-06-28T15:58:00.000-04:00

So I thought I would give a rundown of how the night went. So we met up at the original Nathans and got our hotdogs and fries for the boardwalk. Now there are a couple landmark things to do at Coney Island - The Wonder Wheel, which was built in 1920; the freak show which unfortunately is back to being part of the circus so you have to pay for the circus to see it (lame!); and the Cyclone built in 1927. So we aimed to do two of the three, eat some funnel cake and ride the Soaring Eagle - which is like a superman ride where you lay horizontal the whole ride.

Entrance to the Wonder Wheel - there are two types of cars. Those that slide and those that don't. Of course we went for the cars that slide! Way more fun that way.

The group in front of the Cyclone. It was a GREAT roller coaster. It definitely jarrs you because it is so old, but it is probably one of the better roller coasters I have ever been on. It was great having an even number because we saved money by buying tickets in bulk. All in all it was a great night. So below is just some random photos that are fun from the night and then I will share the story of how I got serenaded on the subway home...

Funnel cake! Don't worry - that was eaten by 6 of us...really. I promise!

So Coney Island was especially trashy (hardy-har-har) because that day was the Mermaid Parade. So the trash scene was outrageous. This was one of the more tame trashcans that we saw. People basically just gave up on getting trash in the overflowing trash cans and settled on near the trash cans!

I'm flying!! Well, almost. This was right before we took off. It is a little unnerving to go on a ride where when you flip upside down you no longer can see where you are going...but it was fun. Kind of short though.

No explanation needed.

Those who didn't want to "fly" with us

Waiting in line for Soaring Eagle. Only we 5 were brave enough. Also, I am Asian.

Ok, patient reader, it is time for the story of how I was sung to on the subway and danced with a thug. Let me set the scene: It is almost midnight coming back from Coney Island. Obviously we are going to have some fun characters on the subway (my favorite was the middle aged lady who was getting so annoyed that people were being loud. Um, it's Coney Island, it is Saturday and it is midnight. What did she expect?). So in our car we were seated in the middle, and at the one end was a group of young black teens. They started having a dance off with each other and this little 10/12 year old was battling this older kid. It was phenomenal. I think Jeff should put the videos he took of them up on youtube for kicks. Then this drunk hipster kid was making friends with them and then teaching them to do flip type things on the poles. So naturally, the white guys from our group had to join in to see if they could flip just as well! Instant friendships made.

Which brings me to the stroke of midnight. My friend Elise points out that is now after midnight and therefore officially my birthday and everyone should sing. Well - for those that know me I hate, HATE being sung happy birthday to. So of course Jeff calls down the kids from the end of the subway saying it is my birthday and they need to sing to me. So one of them comes and sings on bended knee and then pulls me up to slow dance to Happy Birthday. It was a little hilarious and completely mortifying. Of course Jeff also this on video, which I am glad is not on youtube.

So that was it - that was my birthday. We all came back happy and completely exhausted. Thanks everyone for making it awesome!

Harry Potter Can Dance!!

2011-06-27T10:30:00.000-04:00

Ok, so this past weekend I went and saw one Mr. Daniel Radcliffe in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. It and he were both phenomenal. Phenomenal! I was laughing so hard. John Larroquette was also a riot. Seriously I was laughing so hard. Of course this musical holds a special place in my heart since I was in it my junior year of highschool. Good times. Of course our production didn't hold a candle to the Broadway version but oh well. Anyways - my critique is two thumbs up and go see it! Here is a clip from the show of the cast performing the big end of the show number "Brotherhood of Man" from the Tony Awards. Enjoy!

The Saga of the Left Ankle

2011-06-23T13:17:00.000-04:00

So perhaps if you have seen my Facebook page this week you will have noticed a couple posts and pictures about something with my left ankle. Well here is the story.

Place: Curbside in New York City (across the street from Riverside Park)
Culprit:

This fellow above. Oh sure he looks all innocent, but if it weren't for him I wouldn't have been up at 6:30 with running clothes on! Just kidding. He is so cute and so worth it. The real culprit is Mayor Bloomberg who doesn't have a standard for a completely smooth manhole covering to asphalt ratio. The ground was slightly uneven ergo rolled ankle as I stepped off the curb.

So I went home and put on some ice and elevated it. Any person who has ever had a sports injury knows RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). And I worked from home from my bed. While the cute little guy slept on the bed next to me. To my surprise when I unwrapped my ace bandage I found this:

Crazy! My ankle bone doesn't even exist - and it has only gotten worse! That doesn't show all the purply bruising that has since happened. I went to the doctor this morning. Not broken, but possible torn ligaments. That is his guess from all the bruising/internal bleeding. So....I got a cute ol' walking boot and will be sporting it for the next 2 weeks. Lame. Oh well. Hopefully it gets better soon and until then I can at least walk like a normal person. Kind of.

Birthday Post to Come

2011-06-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

We had a Coney Island extravaganza. It is such an awesome place. More pics and stories to come!

Sawyer Graduated!

2011-06-20T16:37:00.000-04:00

Well this past Saturday, Sawyer officially graduated. His final exam...? I had to go hide in the store and then call him and see if he would run to me or not! What?!!? Well I did. And he did. So we graduated from Puppy Class! Now to sign him up for his next class - the title? Distraction training. Yes please! I can't wait.

Anyway

2011-06-20T12:39:00.000-04:00

So yesterday I turned 27, crazy as that seems. I have been trying to figure out what I'm doing with my life and how I want this next year to go. Now, normally I don't have a constant hankering to listen to country music but every once in awhile I throw some on. These days I am listening to one particular song (perhaps over and over) - and it is Martina's "Anyway". I feel like especially at this juncture in my life when things are not exactly what I thought they would be like, this song struck a chord. Anyways - here are the lyrics and I posted the video as well because I like the concept.

You can spend your whole life buildin'
Something from nothin'
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain't good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This world's gone crazy
It's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
In a moment they can choose to walk away
Love 'em anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain't good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
Yeah - I do it anyway

You can pour your soul out singing
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yea, sing it anyway

I sing
I dream
I love
anyway

Game of Thrones

2011-06-16T12:55:00.000-04:00

So there is this new HBO show called Game of Thrones that has Boromir from Lord of the Rings in it. That peaked my interest, since I love the LOTR franchise and the actors who were a part of it. Interestingly enough, the author of the books that became this tv show has been called the American Tolkien. Again, my interest was peaked since I am a big enough nerd to have actually read and loved all of the LOTR. I have been watching the show and have liked it so far, so I decided I needed to buy the Game of Thrones series (the series is actually called A Song of Ice and Fire) and read it. They arrived today. I am a little excited to read four 800 page books with appendixes. I am a nerd and apparently also completely the legit sister of my brothers (who may or may not have been playing Magic last Sunday dinner). I will let you know how I like them!

Just Call Him Toothless on His 4 Month Birthday!

2011-06-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Happy 4 month birthday to Sawyer!! Exactly. He was born February 14, 2011. So precious. Although the dragon Toothless is not quite as cute as Sawyer, they do share something in common right now- no teeth! Sawyer's baby teeth are starting to fall out. I tried to take a picture but he won't hold still long enough. It's pretty cute, his holey little smile. I am also excited because we are starting crate training this week! Slowly...I am going to start crating him at night this week and then we will move to day crating him next week. My friend Alycia is going to help me out. I've been reading lots of how-to's and things geared especially for Beagles. My goal is that in the next 3 weeks we will get it down. Hopefully that is not too lofty...He is doing so well in everything else - and he graduates Puppy Class on Saturday! Crazy! I will be signing him up for the next class (and the next, and the next...) so that the obedience just gets better and better. I will take pictures at his graduation and hope to post about how well his crate training is going! Happy Wednesday!

Summer

2011-06-14T09:46:00.002-04:00

That's what this view means, summer. Go Yankees!

A Little Decoupage

2011-06-14T09:44:00.000-04:00

So for the summer time in NYC you definitely need an air conditioner to get by. However, my window in my bedroom was a little tricky because it is 41" wide, and no air conditioner is that wide, even with the extenders. So I asked my parents to give me some scrap wood from the shed being built in their backyard. Then, my mom had the good idea of decorating the inside with black and white photos of whatever I wanted and decoupaging them to the wood to give it a little flair. I decided to do black and whites of places I have traveled/will travel to. After a couple bloopers and re-do's I finally got the finished product up in the window:

And here are the how-to steps in case you want to replicate this idea on whatever needs some sprucing up in your home.

1. Measure out the space very carefully (obviously) so you know how many pictures to get printed
2. I recommend getting the photos you want in a couple different sizes. I picked 4x6 and 5x7 but you could pick any sizes
3. If you are posting these on wood make sure the wood is primed
4. Test out your layout - it looks better if they ends don't all match up with each other, so try layering and offsetting the edges, kind of like bricks. Also you can trim the photos to make them odd sizes to give even more variety to the look.
5. When you're happy with the layout, get your modge podge and your sponge ready and apply liberally to the backs of the photos to glue them to the wood. Then apply a couple thick coats to the top of the photos. It should be really filmy - then it will dry clear.

I have to say, I am very proud of the finished product and it looks so much better than just a blank piece of wood, or tin foil, or cardboard, or even the extender wings.

Movie Review - Super 8

2011-06-13T10:33:00.001-04:00

Ok - for this movie I went in with some pretty high expectations because it is JJ Abrams, Steven Spielberg and Coach Taylor. All things I love. However - the movie was great! I would say it is Goonies meets E.T. meets LOST. I am not going to give away any of the plot, you will just need to go see it. Don't worry that it is some weird, cheesy alien movie because it isn't. The dialogue is witty and sarcastic and delivered by 13 year olds. We laughed a ton. Also I would recommend doing the Imax because the action sequences are crazy. And for any LOST fans - look for the LOST references (especially in the signs)...I only noticed about 1/2 way through the movie but I want to go back and watch it again to catch all of them. Make sure you stay to watch the credits because they show the movie the kids were making - too funny. Two thumbs up!!

Happy Birthday Becca!

2011-06-09T13:48:00.000-04:00

Wendy, Me & Becca circa 2008

So first, lest you mock me, let me explain the above picture and our chosen accessories. This was a graduation party for my friend Hayley and I that we threw on 8/8/2008 and so we had a poker party for the triple 8's and the 2 Hayleys. For prizes you could cash in your chips for some pretty awesome dollar store prizes. Hence the weird bling we got going on.

Now for the real post. Today is my friend Becca's birthday! We met at BYU in 2007 because were were in the same ward. We didn't become really great friends until about a year later, but since then we have been pretty close. She now goes to Vet School in WA and I am very proud of her! She just finished her 2nd year there. I am so impressed that we were late college friends but that we still keep in touch with eachother as much as we do. She actually came out for her spring break last year to visit me and my wonderful city. She is a great listener and gives really good, realistic advice (which is a good trait!). She is also very kind hearted and is always willing to serve.

So here's to you Becs! Happy birthday! Thanks for being one of the best friends that I have and also letting me call you panicked anytime Sawyer does something slightly weird! Love you for it! Hope this next year brings you all happiness!

Newsies

2011-06-09T10:12:00.000-04:00

So everyone remember my love for Newsies? I'm pretty sure that for most of us, if I start singing, "Hey that's my cigar!" you all could finish with "you'll steal another". Or basically any of the lines from any of the songs. They are all that great. Now in case you don't believe my profound love of Newsies,

Exhibit A: My cat. I was able to convince my little brothers to name our cat growing up Jack after Jack Kelly from Newsies.

Exhibit B: For EFY one year we learned the dance from "Seize the Day" and performed it. (notice Michelle's prop as Crutchy...and yes we do have this on video somewhere...)

For a long time I have been waiting for Broadway to get on the bandwagon and give me dancing boys in newscaps. Well...someone finally heard me! Although not quite on Broadway. However, at the Papermill Playhouse which is in NJ and actually has a pretty good reputation as far as community theater goes, is putting on the first ever stage production of Newsies!

Who is so excited for this? Oh wait! That's me! And I am so grateful that my mother has already bought our tickets. Done and done. Hopefully they don't butcher it, and then some Broadway critic comes and decides that would make a great Broadway show (and hopefully Waiting for Guffman doesn't get repeated...)

Summer @ The Movies

2011-06-07T09:38:00.000-04:00

It has been awhile since there have been a string of movies I really wanted to see. Most trailers kind of leave me thinking "meh...I can wait til it is on DVD." However, there are a string of movies coming out in the next few months that I am very excited for! In order of release date:

Super 8! It is JJ Abrams whom I love because of LOST and also Spielberg, the king of alien movies. Kind of exciting. Extra cherry on top? Coach Taylor is in it! Since we all know how much I love FNL that just is an extra incentive to go see it.

Transformers 3 - now let be honest, Transformers was amazing, Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen...meh not so much. It was ok, but not as spectacular as the first one. However, the third trailer looks pretty awesome.

This pretty much goes without saying, but Harry Potter #7 Part 2. Can't even wait until July for that one!

Captain America!! I am so excited as they do all the movies that will lead up to the Avengers movie and Captain America looks pretty good. Each trailer I've seen gets me more and more excited for it.

One of the many reasons...

2011-06-01T16:52:00.000-04:00

I love that in this great city - everything is at your fingertips! For instance, do you want to pre-order a book/movie off Amazon? It will come one day prior to the actual release date!! Want something delivered?? For less than the amount of a cab ride it will be delivered. Case and point? I need an air conditioner for my bedroom. They weigh 50lbs. No thanks! So rather than buy one and wrestle it into a cab and then out of the cab up to my apt and into my bedroom, I will pay $15 and have it delivered same day (as in today) from the store directly to my bedroom! How great is that?! I love this city.

New Coffee Table

2011-05-30T09:00:00.001-04:00

Well in my hurry to get everything done in only 3 days I completely forgot to take a before picture of this table! Sad day. Before it was all wood and had these heinous goldish knobs. The wood was all nicked and there were also metal things at the bottom. It used to be taller as well, but it was too high to be a coffee table so we definitely cut it to be shorter. Now it is the same height as my trunk and my pullout dinner trays. Perfect! I have to be honest, I kind of love the finished product and it gives us more table surface space and the wood won't chip paint over time which is a definite plus over the old trunk. Hope you like it!

So here is a picture of the front - I just noticed that the drawer isn't pushed in all the way...that will annoy me. Oh well. So this used to be the same color as the top, but I sanded it down, primed and painted it black and then put these new knobs on that match the knobs on that dinner tray table that I also redid.

You can faintly see the inlaid work on the top which is why my mom and I decided to leave the top wood. There are cool diagonal designs which give the table a funky edge. Also you can kind of tell in this picture just how long the table is. It is almost the entire length of my couch which gives us a lot more surface space which is really nice. Also, my brother Mitch literally hand sawed the legs so that the table is now 17" tall so it sits at the perfect height. All in all I have to say what a great $20 investment!

No More Pink!!

2011-05-27T09:00:00.001-04:00

So although I loved my roommate Melissa and wanted to give her one room that was pink, I am very glad she has moved out so that we can change the pink room (as are the other roommates)! Last night I opened my orange paint and went to town and in two hours had a brighter bathroom. Here are the before shots:

Drumroll........and the new transformation:

Isn't it pretty? I think it brightens up the bathroom so much, the pink was actually kind of dark...I have to say we all love the new look. Even the interns - actually especially the interns. What do you think? Better pink or better orange??

Table Transformation

2011-05-26T10:43:00.001-04:00

So as mentioned here I wanted to add a pop of color to my bedroom, so I decided to paint my nightstand that used to be black, red and then distress it a little so that the black shows through. Here are the before shots:

In the old bedroom

In the new bedroom as I am getting ready to sand it down and paint it red

the table new and improved and RED!

And here is a close up of the "detailing" where I sanded down the edges so the black shows through. I have to be honest I kind of love it. Also - I love the new gold shade I got for my bedside lamp. The shape/color match the lamp so much better than the square white shade my mom was letting me use. All in all I find it a success!

I Miss This Face!

2011-05-23T15:42:00.000-04:00

I mean how could you not?

This Week

2011-05-23T12:30:00.000-04:00

This morning I slept in until a glorious 8:15am...the downside? My Sawyer is gone! He is spending a week in the country with his uncle Mitch. Although I enjoyed getting the extra sleep I think I will take an early morning cuddle session and a puppy who forces me to go for a run every morning over no puppy at all... Major sad face.

However, even though I miss him and am going through some serious withdrawals right now (while also supressing the need I have to be texting Mitch every 5 minutes for an update...), I do have some good projects planned with my time off as a mom. First - I am going to paint my bedside table red! I put two coats on last night and will finish it up tonight. Don't worry, I will post before and after pics of all my projects. Also - I am going to be painting our bathroom orange! I am so excited to get rid of the pink you have no idea. I picked a fun bright orange that will go with the brown curtain and white tile. Then, my mom's friend Ellen (who gave me that table with the pull out tv dinner trays) found this amazing art deco type coffee table that just needs a little love. I am going to be sanding that down and painting it and then giving him some new hardware.

Hopefully all these projects will keep me busy and I will hardly notice the time going by until Thursday night when I get my child back!

Theater Etiquette

2011-05-20T13:53:00.001-04:00

I am an avid follower of the arts - I have season tickets to both the American Ballet Theater and also the Metropolitan Opera, which means that I am at the Met quite a bit and have picked up quite a few pet peeves about people who show up there. (Let this be a lesson for any of you who come and visit...)

1. Dress code - although there is no dress code for Broadway theaters, there most certainly is a dress code for both the opera and the ballet! You should never show up in the following...

jeans, weather boots, sweatshirts, tee-shirts, hats, sneakers, or pretty much anything else that you can see in the above photo. This is an opportunity to dress in more than your Sunday best - to pretend like you're hitting a red carpet. Think fancy and elegant. Tourists are bad enough showing up in their jeans and flip flops, but if you live in the vicinity there is no reason why as a girl you can't be in a skirt/dress and as a guy wearing a tie! Hopefully dressing fancy will influence your conduct as well...

2. Snacks - this is not a movie theater! This is not a chance to gorge yourself on snacks and candy with really obnoxiously loud wrappers. Although that behavior is annoying in a movie theater it is downright rude at the Met.

3. Behavior - this is not a place where whispering is appreciated or condoned. Also - during every intermission I don't want to hear your teenagers arguing with each other or one of them complaining over and over that she wants to go home, and "you know that I need to get a 95 in this class so I don't take it over and I have to do my homework and I don't want to be here!" Literally. This went on the entire first intermission, until finally the old woman sitting next to me turned around and said, "We really don't want to hear any more about it." Classic.

Ok everyone, got that? Dress up, don't bring snacks, and be quiet. It isn't rocket science, it is the proper theater etiquette! Now sit back, relax and enjoy some of the best entertainment that New York City has to offer! (also, speaking of which - I am so excited to see Julie Kent next month! It is her 25th season with ABT which is crazy tremendous!)

Done!!

2011-05-19T12:21:00.000-04:00

I am officially done with my classes at NYU! Thank goodness. I don't think I could handle much more, especially since I would rather just play with Sawyer than sit through a really boring accounting class. The final was crazy easy and I am positive I will get another A in the class. It feels good, granted not as amazing as the bunch of friends I had who just graduated from Columbia...but still pretty awesome, to be done.

Hunger Games

2011-05-18T17:55:00.000-04:00

I am pretty freaking excited to see how Hunger Games is made into a movie, and seeing this only makes me more excited:

Have you read the series yet? If not, get on it! The books are absolutely amazing and I am hoping the movie doesn't let me down.

Sawyer's Current Tricks

2011-05-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

The major things I am excited about right now:

Commands he knows:
1. Sit - he will sit for everything! It is so great. Anytime he wants something (food, toy, treat, to go outside, put on his leash) he will sit and look at me with a face that says, "Look how good I am! Give me what I want!" And let's be honest, it is hard not to cave!
2. Water - he knows this means I will pick up his water bowl and we will walk outside of my room and he follows me into the bathroom to fill his bowl and then back into his crate in my bedroom to drink his water.
3. Treat - probably his most favorite word. I can get him to listen to me and do anything I say if the word treat is involved!
4. In your crate - I still have to motion to his crate with this one, but he gets it and will run in, turn around and promptly sit looking up at me to get his food/treat. Too cute.

This next week at class we are learning down, drop it, and hopefully come.

He also has started playing fetch. He loves to play. Often if I am not paying attention to him he will pick up a toy and come and drop it continually on my feet until I get the idea that I am supposed to throw it so he can run after it. There is something so cute about him bringing me the toy back when he jumps in my lap at the end.

We have started small amounts of time outside my bedroom in the main apartment. I am hoping he will slowly get used to it and then in a couple months time when he is housebroken, he will be able to just roam around with everyone at night and be well behaved enough that it isn't annoying.

The only struggle I am having right now is crate training! It is hard because he will sit in his crate if I am in the room and not create too much of a fuss, but if I leave the room he starts howling really loudly and he doesn't really stop crying even when I come back into the room. However, this is how he used to react if I left him just in the bedroom, so I am hoping that he will get used to it and eventually stop howling! I really want the potty training period to be over and done with!!

What a Jerk!

2011-05-17T10:01:00.000-04:00

So this past Sunday was great and not great all at the same time. Church was great and I had a great meeting with my committee after church, however that meant that I was in a rush (as always) to take Sawyer on a long enough walk that we could catch a train and he would be tired enough to sit still for the whole hour. Well, we make our way down West End and I can't find a cab to save my life, which should have been tip #1. Then we get in a cab and we are flying until we hit major traffic and sit still. Finally, there is 15 minutes before the train takes off and I finally jump out of the cab and run to the subway. The next 1 train is 8 minutes away...This should have been tip #2. In fact, I almost just called my parents and say sorry I missed the train and it was such a pain that I'm just going back to my apt for the night. But Mitch is home and he's been dying to meet Sawyer so I felt bad and sucked it up.

Finally the train comes and we hit Penn Station with literally 3 minutes til the train leaves. Somehow I manage to buy a ticket and get on the train and find a seat right as we pull out. Sigh of relief. So Sawyer takes his first five minutes or so to orient himself and is settling in, when the conductor comes by. Apparently this conductor was having a horrible day and wanted to pass it on. Here was our conversation:

C: Do you have a dog bag?
H: No.
C: You have to get off at the next stop. You have to have a dog carrier.
H: Are you serious? I have been taking the train for over a month and he just sits on my lap and is fine. No one has ever told me I need a carrier before.
C: Well it says it on the schedule (pulls schedule out of pocket and reads me the sentence)
H: Ok, well can I just finish out my ride and then next time I'll know?
C: No. You have to get off at the next stop.

So - I got kicked off the train at the very first stop outside the city! Can you believe it?? The woman across from me was flabbergasted. I was as well. So I got off at the next stop and since there was an hour wait for the next train out to Chatham I called home and said either I'm getting on the next train into the city or you can come pick me up at Secaucus. So my dad picked me up and the rest of the night was fine. But seriously conductor? I mean, did he not even look at how cute Sawyer is? How could you kick him off the train? Craziness.

Movie Review - THOR

2011-05-12T14:54:00.000-04:00

So last weekend a group of us went to go see THOR: God of Thunder. I have been excited for this movie for a long time. First - because I love comic movies, second- because Kenneth Branagh directed it and third - because have you seen the leading man?? GORGEOUS! I could sit through anything that has him walking around for a couple hours. Especially in those scenes where he is shirtless. Feel objectified buddy. Oh, and let's pretend that the last reason isn't really the first reason why I went to see this movie.

So my review: I liked it! The romantic thread between Thor and Natalie Portman was lame, as is usually the case. There was no development to their being in love with eachother and no foundation for any kind of a relationship. I am not sure if they shot scenes that framed it better that got deleted out or if the relationship was written poorly. Anyways, she seems like a nerdy sidekick that's googley eyed over his hotness factor and then all of a sudden he is in love with her. Random.

The rest of the movie was great. There were some good actors, great action, some good one liners and pretty decent effects. It was entertaining to say the least. I would put it on par with the first Iron Man. And speaking of Iron Man, and Thor, and the Hulk (and Captain America might I add!!!!) I am very excited for The Avengers movie that Marvel comics is going to do. I think it will be pretty epic. Of course that is after the amazing Captain America movie comes out this summer. I am stoked.

Well - if you want to be entertained go see THOR and you will definitely leave the theater happy, especially if you are a girl and you like men that look like this:

SHAZAAM! He is gorgeous.

Resolution Check In

2011-05-09T15:33:00.001-04:00

So remember that one time it was New Years and I wrote this post? I do. Time to check in on how I'm doing:
1. Go back to school - check. I finish my second class next week (thank goodness) and have decideded not to bring up signing up for another class for awhile. I want my weeknights back!
2. Travel - check. Megs and I have put the deposit down on our trip to Turkey, Egypt, Israel, & Greece and will pay off the rest of the trip by June and leave at the end of September! Amazing.
3. Read classics - fail. Although I have been reading good books! Promise! I read Whiskey Rebels, and Sleepers, and City of Fallen Angels, and right now I'm reading Devil in the White City. But no classics...I guess it is a good thing I have 7 months left to read 6 classics. Totally do-able!
4. Cultural stuff - half check, half fail. I haven't been to Broadway in ages, which is sad because there are a lot of new plays that have come out - many on my to see list. However, not epic fail because I do have my season tickets to the ABA Ballet. I get to see Julie Kent live. I'm so excited. I do need to get some fun musicals in the mix though.
5. Puppy - CHECK! As my blog definitely describes it has been a crazy roller coaster of a past month with Sawyer. I can't believe I have had him that long already! He is growing like crazy and he already will sit on command and we haven't even started puppy class yet. I am still balancing out my social/home life, but I have to say that I am proud that I still have normal social nights out at least 2x a week which is a good mix right now since the pupster is still so little. We are definitely getting into a rhythm with each other which is nice. And he is still a cuddle bug, although he is slowly starting to outgrow my lap.