Football

Most of you know the schools that my husband and I went to. (if you don't, note the flags on this pic I stole from facebook). So, this weekend has always been a source of contention in our marriage. Last year he was so thoughtful and booked us trip back home to see his school, see Gameday and watch his team kill us in the rain and loose the number one ranking. So, after an evening of not speaking because I pouted with the loss, I vowed this would forever be a boys weekend for B. Little did I know, he would take me up on it the very next year :) Actually, I was glad as he was able to come back to OK with one of his new work buddies and meet up with family and a few old friends and enjoy some Sooner football! I was so envious as each time I talked to him, he was with a new person we knew back home. The entire experience was great-except I wasn't there, his team lost, and the people that sit by our tickets told my husband that my step-dad made a mistake letting him into our family. UNREAL! I have tried to defend our fans throughout our marriage, but I have nothing to say on this note-other than sorry to my husband and they are obviously wrong-I think everyone would agree!!

Sight-Seeing

One of my favorite things to do when people come to visit is go sight-seeing. I use it as an excuse to show others around, but I am so fascinated with all that is this city. I learn something new, see something new, feel something new each time I go out. Here is a pic of one of our stops this weekend. Empire State of mind

I also like to take new streets when I am going somewhere familiar. Today walked down a street that had the Fox news headquarters, a zen temple/study place, and a kids zone bday party all in one block. The two people on the street with me were a man in his 50's with a popped collar, ears pierced holding his skateboard and a shirtless, sweaty man with more tats than I could count (one a fish bitting on the back of his leg and another african flag like stripes on his biceps, unlocking his bike with his over the shoulder bag strapped on!!

The food props for the weekend goes to a local place called Jackson Hole. This place is underground, opens into a diner bar and cook top and turns into a great place to grab a burger. This food was a great reminder of the wholesome stuff we eat back home. Not much better than a burger and a shake!!

The cruise crew

This weekend I had great company. It was much needed, as B left on Thursday for 6 weeks-this place was feeling quite lonely. My mom, Bo and a couple that Bo has know all his life who are celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary this trip, started their New England cruise in NYC. They decided they will spend a day on either side of their trip to see me-words cannot say how grateful and nice it is to have bits of home here!!!


So Friday night we met the other couple at the Waldorf-Astoria for drinks, then went to a restaurant one of my buddies recommend called Beauty and Essex. (If you google it, Lindsey Lohan was there this week too with her mom-gross). So this place is awesome. You literally walk into a pawn shop and there is a door on the back wall that opens to a really cool, loungy, modern restaurant/bar.


It is great cuisine and served tapas style (more american in type of food though). Being able to sit with both these couples who represent everything I hope my marriage is in 30-40 years was so inspiring. I love just being with these guys. Plus, it is always a barrel of laughs!

My pseudo bday

Since I had Bryan here all week, I took advantage. As did he. He even secretly planned a bday dinner for me (sadly we will be apart on the real deal). He did all the leg work from Texas, planned everything and surprised me with a great meal. The food at North Square was amazing, the company was entertaining to say the least! Call me for details, too much to post...

Can't say enough good things about my husband. It was better than ever having him here this time. He even did the laundry while I worked, pretty amazing! Love that guy.

Since this is also my food blog, have to mention a little local place called Flex Mussels. Sounds pretty awful, but was amazing. They serve mussels 23 different ways-I had Thai, B had Maine-with real lobster. It comes in a large pot (found pic online!!) with a ton of mussels in their shells and a soup base. The bread and fries are great to slop up the remains of the soup! Oh, and the donuts are not too shabby either.

Had to post

I'm dying laughing as I am taking this-both boys are trying to share one couch cushion. Actually Bryan was working on his computer and Jman snuck up behind! Jackson cannot get enough of him, they really are best buddies and he misses his dad dearly when he is not around. So, J takes advantage of the time when he is, and tries to stay as close as possible!!

Maybe my favorite weekend so far??

The week after I got back from Vegas, Bryan came to meet me here. He actual got to stay for a full week, it was incredible, just enough time to fall in love with all the little things again, enjoy having him around to share life's little pleasures and someone around to make me smile!!

We met a few friends out Friday night at Schiller's. Hard to describe the type of food, but had a uber fancy diner feel?? Food was good-no surprise here. The bathroom is fun, you share a sink with the boys in what seems like an old subway stop. Then we went to a bar around the corner and drank local micro brew-it's local beer week here.

Saturday we woke up early, got coffee and headed to Chelsea Pier. Bryan has become a fan of golf since living in Houston. This place has a range that is four stories with 7-10 slots on each floor. In each personal cubbie-you have an automated tee. You start buy purchasing a card ($50 for 387 balls off peak), slide the card in the reader, and this tee pops up from the ground with your ball. You can adjust the tee height or decide not to use the tee at all. You then swing away into the water. Playing golf with Bryan and being by the water-doesn't get much better for me!!

After golf we wondered around the meatpacking district, taking in all the sights and almost got run over by justin bartha on a bike. Kind of fun because both of us at the same time recognized him! Then we headed home.

Saturdays in the fall, in our house, equal college football. We watched game day and hours of football. Then off to dinner, to a place around the corner from me called Neely's. Those of you that watch the food network-it's their southern barbeque in NYC. They have a green tomato sangria that I highly recommend. The ribs were quite good as well! However, the best part was the black berry cobbler-unreal. Cannot wait to share this little gem with Bo.

As the night games grew closer we decided to venture out to the Missouri alumni watch party here. So much fun to be with Bryan amongst his buddies. Have to admit, felt a bit old-most there graduated within the past couple years. Then we came home to watch the OU game. So fun, but stressful. Wish we would just win the national championship already:)

vegas

so i was in vegas for a few days for the annual work conference. my husband, step brother and step dad joined me. we had a blast. think the boys won a little money even. we stayed at the cosmopolitan for the first time, i really loved it. the pics definitely don't do it justice, but it is super modern, clean, not smokey yet and has lots of things to do. plus, the rooms are pretty romantic! the shower is connected to the bath tub and surrounded by glass-which you can choose to see through from the bedroom. the chandelier is three stories and made of crystals. here are a few pics from the trip.

we also ate at scarpetta (nyc restaurant that i had been dying to try). the food was really good, true italian flare, great wine and most of all great company! a pic of the foyer outside the restaurant. sorry for the underline-can't figure how to get it off.

Vegas

This is my First blog from the phone, in route. But it was too good not to share! I landed in Vegas and hopped in cab to head to the hotel. As we (cabbie and me) are talking I see a sign that says cash only. First I'm thinking this isn't for real-it's 2011. So I ask. It is. Wow-so now I'm down the road, not enough cash and feeling silly. I ask him to stop at the ATM. He agrees. Next thing I know we are at a bar-it's 12.30 pm as I am writing, and he mentions that it's inside the door to the left around the wall. "if I remember right" Surprise, surprise-it was exactly where he described. Backing up, the driver looks normal, he's 50s, white, buttoned down shirt and clean hair etc. So, I grab the money and get back in the cab to find him what I think is painting his nails, only to find it's his cuticle oil. He proceeds, for the rest of our ride, to gentle massage each digit. Unreal. Luckily my hotel is amazing. I'll upload some pics in a bit.  Had to share...

pennsylvania

i am leaving for the national hand conference tomorrow. that means i had to find a place for j-man. i have been researching for over a month to find the perfect (and reasonable) place to board him. one of my bosses suggests a place in pennsylvania (craigs k9 estates) that has acres of land, personal rooms that have heat and air to sleep and eat, great pics online and of course-my bosses blessing. i think this couldn't be better. as this day approaches, i am emailing with the owner to iron out details-as they pic j up in the city and drive him out there. they say they will take good care of him etc. i couldn't be more excited!! however, this morning he is supposed to be picked up and the driver is late. i have to throw jackson back in the apt with his leash still on, leave his food at the front desk, call the driver tell him i'm leaving and pray j is ok with a random picking him up and wisking him away...i of course start bawling as i walk to work and call bryan. he was so understanding and positive it was amazing. probably the only way i was able to actually work this am!! around 10 the driver finally called and said j was with him, was great and didn't cause any problems. a little peace of mind. i never heard anymore all day, so i emailed the owner and she said he'd already eaten and played in the rain and was adjusting well. finally, my heart could be still. the best part of the day was this...

i am so lucky!!

major disasters

forgot to mention-i had a heck of a week a few weeks back. one day i was sitting on my couch doing some research on the computer and thought my couch was shaking a little, i looked up out my windows and it seemed as if the building was swaying. i thought i had vertigo. i shook my head and it all went away. what in the world is happening to me. i cannot be sick here in nyc! a few minutes later i got a text from my mom saying she was in an earthquake. she was working in d.c. at the time and it all made sense-so was i! think it registered around 2.2 here, so no big deal-but my first!

a few days later i am preparing for the next major disaster, hurricane irene. no thanks to the urging of my husband, i go to the store and buy and have planed everything that the internet says to prepare for a hurricane (except the flashlight, apparently the entire island of manhattan needed them too and all stores were sold out. they put you down on the waiting list! hah) as jackson and i hunker down for the big storm, the reports keep getting worse. i slowly accept the fact that this could be big! what will i do without power?? sleep and read is what i decide, not too bad i guess! well here's what irene looked like at my house. think the reports said we got winds up to 60mph and rained almost 24hrs-but that was it. i saw one tree down total. i feel so blessed that this is all i experienced, but others were not so fortunate. some people weeks later-still don't have power!

Labor Day

Despite being on call, I have not labored much today. I actually went to a really neat part of town, that has been recently renovated called the High Line. Guess there was originally a train that took a path through the lower west part of Manhattan, which has now been updated to a gorgeous walking path, above ground with every kind of plant you could imagine. View of the city that are priceless-including the Statue of Liberty in the distance! This is also quite the social place, as you can see from the loads of people on the path. Probably my favorite part (I was so mesmerized that I forgot to take the pic) was a section which had running water like an infinity pool for 50ft x 4ft. People were standing in it without shoes and enjoying the scenery. On the opposite of the line were lounge chair, that were similar to chairs one would lay out in-maybe the NYC equivalent to a public pool:)

After all the walking, we had to find food. One of my colleagues is Korean and it has been so fun learning about his family and culture. So, we decided to try out K-Town or Korea Town. We went to a restaurant recommended by one of his friends how actually lives here and it was fabulous. The delivery of the food, the extras they offer, the display of food and the shear amount of food were overwhelming! Here is a shot of our table...

I'm grateful for my lack of laboring today!

Work

Work is a blast. I am blessed to be learning under an amazing man, who truly is a hero in our field. He has been doing this for almost 40 yrs and everyday it gets better (at least he makes me think so!) We have amazing opportunities and doors opening daily because of the work we do! (Wish I could share more, but have to protect the innocent:) Reminds me daily why I am blessed to be here in this environment and separated from B

Sharapova-The Grunter 

One thing I did score was a VIP trip to the US Open. My friend Emily and I marched our way to the will call, where I was told to pick up the tickets, the guy looked at us puzzled and said-"your tickets are at the VIP will call". So we walked away, acting as if we knew we were special. Once we found this place, it was amazing! Kind of felt like a star, lights and cameras everywhere as this is the entrance where the players come in too. Great way to see your first Open.

My lil man

Most days it's just the two of us-think we are getting along pretty well! With only a little adjustment-the concrete bathrooms and tons of dogs everywhere, a new dog walker, not having a dad to play ball with. Ok, so maybe a few adjustments! Here are some kid pics...

Hoping to start doggie daycare in a week. This will be amazing for Jackson, as most of you know, he is a crazy man around other dogs. His dog walker says he does just fine in a pack of 5 or 6, and he seems to think the barking thing will go away in a couple months. If he can spend all day at day care with up to 40 other dogs in what looks like a racquetball court, we will have made big strides!!

This is his favorite place to hang out, my desk. This is where we spend most of our home work time!! It has been interesting to me how much I thought I knew about a very small subject (the hand), and how truly little I did know. And, more than anything, how many hours I spend adding to my base. The learning up here is unreal. Neat to be surrounded with people who are constant learners and want to share all their knowledge!

The Mets

So our whirlwind weekend was a blast. We ate way too much, drank a bit, enjoyed each other and got back to who we are as a couple and much more. A few pics to highlight our weekend

The sightseeing was kept at bay, we went downtown and found a really neat open market (http://www.newamsterdammarket.org/); saw the memorial for the twin towers, saw the statue of liberty, the vietnam memorial, wall street, a tribute to my step dad-people painting in the open air (pleining) and probably one of my favorite sculptures-it was originally made to represent peace and noted to be indestructible. It looks like this now as it was involved in 9/11. Pretty profound