Bring on the new year!

With Christmas officially over (boo hoo!) I'm ready to get into the New Year mode. I've already been picking out some goals and resolutions for a healthier, happier 2012. I've never really been a resolution kind of person, being pretty pessimistic about change and self-disciple but this year will be different. I have decided to look at them as more of goals and plans rather than a cliche resolution. Plus, I'm following some good strategies to keep on task.  I'm taking some advice from blogger Emma from A Beautiful Mess.  She posted 5 Tips for Making and Keeping Your New Year's Resolution and it's quite helpful.  My first strategy is to write them down/post them so I can be reminded of what I promised myself and how I'm gonna accomplish by this time next year.

Goal Number 1:
Run 300 miles.  It averages out to about 5-6 miles a week.  This can include races and regular exercise.  It allows for some time off if weeks get busy but I can make up time during warmer and less hectic times of the year.  I will aim for 6 miles a week to keep on track but I don't need to get discouraged if I fall short one weak.

Goal Number 2:
Make a new DIY/craft each month. I want to continue with the interest I have recently found in crafts and DIY projects.  I have been reading great blogs and Pinterest always has fun ideas of things to make for decorating, organizing, gifts and just for fun.  I'd like to make at least one craft each month to keep the energy and excitement as well as maintain a fun way of relaxing and escaping from any school/job search stress. It will also provide new decorations and things to blog about!

Goal Number 3:
Blog every week. I think with school I would be unrealistic to blog every day, but every week is manageable. I know I need to keep writing and I want to keep writing for me.  I started doing pretty well with this last semester and I want to keep up with my writing and continue to grow.

This weekend I'm heading to Maryland to celebrate the New Year with my friends. I'm so excited to have some fun with the girls and get all dressed up for the night. When I get home on Sunday, it's time to tackle these goals!

Here's to a great 2012!

A Wonderful Christmas Time

Day Three of Christmas has just come to an end for me.  After being home for a grand total of 1.5 days, I headed north with my brother to visit my grandparents.  We helped with the baking, decorating and preparing for the weekend. We were joined by more family for a grand Christmas Eve dinner (of which I was the sous chef).  We played a fun and dangerous game 'Fact or Crap' during which we had way to much fun making my grandmother and mother say 'crap!' and we opened a few gifts. Santa visited Elsa, so we woke up early to experience her excitement. After a nap, we had French toast, packed up and head back south, but not home.  Boxing Day was spent at my sister Rebecca's.  We had a day-long feast and opened more gifts with the rest of the family.  With two more kids added to the fun, there was so much excitement and happiness.

Besides the gifts and family time, my favorite part of the weekend was trying new recipes.  I successfully made and served five new dishes.  Friday night I made a sun-dried tomato garlic break on Italian bread.  Chopping oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes is no picnic.  But adding the butter, minced garlic and Parmesan cheese was easy and it took only a few minutes in the oven before it was crispy and delicious.

Christmas Eve dinner is always a big ta-do at the Sorensen house.  Grandma made the pork loin and I helped with all the sides.  I made green bean casserole, nothing new or difficult but a great favorite of mine.  It's the only way I enjoy green beans.  I made my sister's recipe for sweet potato casserole which includes canned yams, brown sugar, and butter.  Top it off with some oats and a few marshmallows before it comes out so they make a crispy-melty, yummy mess.

Caramel rolls were really new to me. I made the caramel with just brown sugar and butter melted on the stove.  I poured it into a 9-inch pie dish and set aside.  I took crescent roll dough and rolled it out, keeping it in four squares.  You have to pinch the perforated lines back together to keep it whole (or my sister said you can buy uncut roles and cut your own rectangles).  Sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon on and roll them up from the long side.  Cut into 7 or 8 pieces and place them cut-side down into the caramel-filled pan.  Bake for 15 minutes or so at 350.  So yummy!

The last recipe I made was rosemary carrots.  I cut up some carrots and green peppers and sauteed them.  The carrots take longer than the peppers so I put them in first.  I just added some rosemary, pepper and salt before serving.

Most of these recipes I found from Simple & Delicious, a magazine I receive as a gift every two months. I always am so excited to come home and find the newest edition and lots of ingredients in my mother's kitchen.   It always has way more than I could ever make, but it provides clear instructions, shopping lists and how little each recipe costs.  Plus the pictures make my mouth water :)

Happy baking!

Christmas in the kitchen

It's exam week at Roanoke College and for most that means long nights, high stress and lots of Sheetz. But not for me. I had my two horrible seminar exams (10 hours total) last week and this week I only have Business Comm (finished this afternoon) and Spanish on Thursday. I took advantage of this light schedule by picking up extra hours working at the library. Between that and running, I still have some extra time on my hands, so I decided to delve into some pre-Christmas baking.

I had some extra pie crust in the fridge from my pumpkin pie-making and our kitchen is overflowing with apples so I combined a few recipes online and made three mini pies. (Lucky I only have 2 roommates!) I chopped and peeled a large apple and mixed in some cinnamon and about 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  I used a small bowl to cut out three smaller round crusts 3-4 inches in diameter.  I made tiny pies in a cupcake pan, added my apples (there were some left over to nibble on), and used a few extra pieces of the crust to lay over the pies. Then I just baked them at 375 for about 20 minutes.  

While that was baking, I made some hot cocoa in the microwave.  I threw in some toffee bits to make yummy toffee hot cocoa! I will definitely be doing that again. I might even try it in my coffee!

Do you have any fun recipes you like this time of year? Or something new you've tried recently? I'm always looking for neat new things to try during this holiday.

Power of Positivity

Tonight I was reminded of something I discovered about myself not too long ago. I despise negativity. It actually makes me miserable, sad and unappreciative.  Being around people who only hate life, other people, their circumstances (it goes on) makes me feel that way, too.  I'm sure you already know that none of this leads to a happy or successful life.  Well, of course we all know that, but we don't all remember it on a day-to-day basis nor do we make an effort to change the negativity.

Here's what I know:
1. Being around rude/angry/judgmental people makes you: act that way, feel that way, feel judged, feel angry and/or feel sad. The worst part is when you feel all of those things at one time.
2. Removing yourself from the situation helps alleviate this terrible feeling.
3. Surrounding yourself with happy, confident, caring and optimistic people makes you a more happy, confident....okay, you get the point.

I learned this lesson when I was in Spain back in May, studying abroad for 3 weeks.  For part of that trip I was sad, homesick and basically hating Madrid.  But when I found the right people and the right circumstances, I never wanted the trip to end.  I took in every minute.  I let other people's problems be their problems, and not mine.  I made new friends.

Now, sometimes you don't have to change the people.  Sometimes, you have to change their view, too.  Stick up for yourself.  Speak your mind.  Be nice, understanding and kind.  Spend time with people who are like this and influence those who aren't to do the same.  There are times where I am just plain mean.  I think mean thoughts; I say them out loud.  I want to quit work/school/studying.  I want to crawl into my bed and sleep for days; I want to lash out at my best friends.  But when I stop and realize that the only thing I need to change is my attitude and my atmosphere, things get a whole lot brighter.

I remember that being mean does not make things better.  Wishing ill of others, pointing out their flaws does not make yours disappear.  And complaining about all the work you have to do does not help, by any amount, to accomplish it.

Put on some happy music (Christmas if you're one of those) and wear your favorite color.  Dance around a bit; draw a pretty picture.  Smile!  And know the only thing that will change your unhappiness is you.

DIY organizing

I finally came up with my own DIY project.  A few weeks ago, I found a perfect-sized box in my apartment.  It was open on the top, sturdy and look about right for storing toiletries, desk supplies, anything of the like.  However, it was ugly.  So today I took a purple shirt that I never wear and cut it up, creating a cover for the box.  Pictured is the box, shirt, scissors and glue to build this simple storage box.  I did have to switch and use my two-sided tape because the glue was a great disappointment.  However, if you have the right kind of glue for cloth and cardboard, that would be best.

The shirt was just the right size to cut the front from back and wrap it around the long side and around the bottom.  Then I cut the rest of up into two small rectangles for the ends and taped it all together. Super simple and it looks great on my the bathroom shelf, home to my brush, makeup and hair creme.

Paper would work as well, but I really like the look of the cloth.  Plus I was able to work in the college logo from the shirt right on the front.  A perfect Sunday afternoon organizing project. :)

Creating leftovers

Our Thursday dinner was a success! We had so much fun cooking, chatting, drinking wine and watching the kids play.  After squeezing 15 people into Rebecca's dining room and enjoying way too much stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and a delicious turkey, the girls (and Patrick) went for a walk, leaving the men to their football.  Then we started the clean-up mixed with some dessert: pumpkin jelly roll, caramel dip, and TWO kinds of brownies. The kids finally gave in and went to bed and the house was quiet by 9:15.  Rebecca had mentioned braving Target for their 10pm sales but she gave up that idea and headed for bed shortly after.  John, Steven and I pretended to watch more TV, still suffering from our food coma before following her not long after.

The next morning, John and I headed home but snuck Declan along for the trip.  We arrived home to find Aunt Sue at Mom's but no one else.  The party finally got started about 3pm when Bob and Kim showed up with food (and wine!).  We started snacked, they started cooking and we delighted in another "Thanksgiving" meal.  I made cookies and we had another pumpkin jelly roll to bring ourselves to a very uncomfortable level of full.

What a happy Thanksgiving, indeed.

Thanksgiving...so far!

My break started early Tuesday morning, I drove through the cold and rain back to New Market. I spent the afternoon with my best friend Paige and introduced her to my newest art obsession, the paint chip project that I did two weeks ago and posted here.

That evening I went to visit my friend Noah who I haven't seen in a year and half.  He's in the Air Force and has been stationed in Montana.  He was home for the month as he leaves in December for overseas.  It was so great seeing him after so long.  He, unfortunately, had to fly back this morning before being able to enjoy the holiday with his family.  I'm so thankful for our friendship and so grateful for what he and his fellow soldiers do every day.  I love having so many soldiers in my life.  I feel blessed to be able to know them and learn from them and spend time with them this holiday.

Wednesday morning, my brother John and I took the trip to Fort Meade to visit the Alwines! We had a fun day of cooking, cleaning and spoiling the kids! We played bananagrams, watched a terrible movie and I was in bed before 11. (which was lucky since my wake-up call came at 7am).  Abi crawled in and started singing "Gee gee" bright and early.  She was a good cuddle bug for about half an hour before she needed to get out of her room and wake up Declan.  Becca, John, Jennifer and I ran a makeshift 5k Turkey Trot to start the day.  Now we're enjoying the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade per tradition before we get back to the baking, cooking and eating! More pictures and details will come over the next few days as the celebrating and eating will not end today!

Happy "Ganksgiving", as Declan would say.

Weekend art project

We did it! We went back to Walmart and added to the art project.  I even got them nailed up on the wall. (John would be proud.)  We did one of cool colors with the word 'Breezy' and the other with a warm scheme as a backdrop to 'Foxy'.  Positioned on the wall shared with the kitchen, it's a love sight as you walk into the house.

The picture is crooked, not the frames.

I got the idea here: A Beautiful Mess and Sarah and I filled just a few hours cutting, arranging and letting our artistic side show.  Molly was pleasantly surprised with the addition when she returned home.  Another friend suggested using this idea along with an erasable marker to make a reusable calendar, so that will probably be our next project.

Stay tuned for more fun!

Cheers!

I got this itch to do something creative and fun since I keep reading all these cute DIY and vintage-obsessed blogs.  I wanted to spruce up our apartment at the same time.  My crafty To-do list is growing, and because I have yet to learn to sew, I need to start with the non-sewing-related ones.  This idea is simple and cheap.  I took many color paint chips from Walmart and bought a $5 plain frame there as well (along with a bottle of Riesling, but that's not required for the project).

The instructions can be found at A Beautiful Mess.  You should start following this blog, because a lot of my idea come from there and they are genius!

Sarah and I had so much fun (maybe that was the wine?) and we want to make more! We've decided to go back to Walmart tomorrow to complete a set of three, using different words and more specific color schemes.  More pictures of tonight's fun are on my Facebook page and I'll be adding some of the completed work tomorrow!

'Tis the season!

No I'm not talking about Christmas. I do not believe in getting ahead of ourselves and I think the pilgrims would agree... I mean fall! The most beautiful season (next to spring of course).

What is not to love about pumpkins, hot cocoa, Thanksgiving and sweaters? I'm not a huge fan of cold weather but when I get to cuddle up in a fuzzy sweater with hot cocoa and pumpkin pie, I am one happy girl. Then it can just skip winter and head straight to spring, but that's for another blog.

This is my Daily Gems - Fall Edition. All my favorite things about fall!

These adorable fun things
are from my favorite store,
www.charlotterusse.com

1. This sweater! Ah! It is just so adorable and would be incredibly comfy for going out or staying in. And it has fun colors for pairing with earrings or scarves.  I found it on amazon.com for only $24...but alas, I will have to just keep dreaming about it.

2. Boots! I really don't have to say anymore, do I? Brown, black, fuzzy, leather. I love them all. They work with jeans, dresses, skirts...However, note to girls at Roanoke College: boots do NOT work with booty shorts. Have some respect; wear real pants.

3. Scarves are the most useful and easiest accessory for fall.  I have a million (most of which were made by my wonderful Aunt Sue). Almost any outfit can be made new with a scarf and they really can help you stay warm! I keep my on in class so I don't have to wear a heavy coat or sweater if the classroom stays cold. RC can never get the temperature right.

4. I do love clothes, but my all-time favorite thing about fall is pumpkins!  Today I had pumpkin ravioli by Healthy Choice and am driving myself crazy looking for a recipe to make it at Thanksgiving dinner.  (Suggestions?)  I made a pie a few weeks ago and enjoyed it both plain and in a pumpkin pie milkshake. Recipe found at one of my favorite blogs: A Beautiful Mess. 

5. Another great thing about fall? Cool runs in the evening. I've gotten to run about an hour before sunset a few times and every time I kick myself for not having a camera. (I'd stop to take the picture, not Yes Man style photography.)  There's a row of red bushes next to the golf course in Salem that I run past and they just glow in the sun set low in the sky.  The leaves covering the grass and sidewalks crunch under my feet and everything feels perfect.  I just pretend it won't be getting any colder...

Happy Fall!

A Black and White Affair

Last night was Roanoke College's 5th Annual President's Ball.  This means students, faculty and staff get all dressed up, drink some alcohol (cash bar for those old enough, pregaming for those that aren't) and enjoy three floors of food, dancing and way too many people.

Alex came to visit for the event, as he did last year, to be my date. My roommates and friends went along with us. I borrowed a gorgeous LBD from a friend before I even knew the theme "Black and White Affair" and finally found the perfect pair of purple heels Friday afternoon at Plato's Closet (Charlotte Russe brand, $8!).  Sarah helped do my hair up in a 'beehive' for a classy look and I loved it! 

My shoes did last most of the night. I had them off for a song or two when I could no longer stand, but I put them back on for walking. Just don't tell Jenna Marbles...

On the first floor we enjoyed strawberries and pound cake in a chocolate fondue fountain. Upstairs there was a buffet line containing pastas, breads and much more that I was too full and too ready to dance to try.  The basement was more of a club scene with dancing music, but we stuck to the top floor which had a live band who knew all the best dancing songs to play. I even got a slow dance with Alex! Though I couldn't tell you what the song was. I had never heard it before, and the words were hard to understand. 

We headed to the bar afterwards for some dollar pizza and another drink. I gave in and changed to flats. After a whole pizza and a round of Cranberry and Vodkas we were ready for bed....we until Sarah and Molly wanted mac'n'cheese...This has become our favorite late-night snack.  I converted Sarah to Velveeta but Molly still makes her own box of the original Kraft (gross!) so two pots of cheesey goodness later, we did finally call it a night. Wonderful Prez Ball, but sadly the last :( I'm glad I had such wonderful people to share it with me!

1. Make a Bucket List

This may be a little cliche but as I'm planning out my schedule for my last semester of undergrad (and thus, preparing for graduation), I think it's time to put down on paper (or on blog, as it may be), my 'bucket list'. I've always have a few things I've wanted to do and as I realize how much I can do and all the time I have ahead of me, I think I'm going to expand that even more. And they say, if you write down (or type up) your goals, dreams, aspirations, you are more likely to achieve them as you have something to hold you accountable. I decided, instead of writing it down in one of my many notebooks to hide away, I'll post it here to share with family and friends. This way, I can be encouraged and maybe even assisted in my goals for the future.

Now this is subject to change, but only in the sense that I will probably be adding to it. They are numbered, but do not fall in any order of significance.

1. Ride an elephant (now who saw that coming?)

2. Visit and explore Africa 

3. Be published in a nationally recognized newspaper

4. Travel to Asia

5. Speak a language fluently (I'm getting there)

6. Learn to gracefully drive a manual car (stop laughing)

7. Write and publish a book

8. Attend an Olympic event

9. Learn to sew a fitted dress (and other fun clothing/accessories)

10. Attend fashion week in Paris

11. Scuba dive in the Caribbean

12. Get my masters in Communication

13. Read an original writing at a conference (sending good vibes to Sigma Tau Delta Conference judges...)
14. Go to Times Square for New Years Eve
15. Have an adventure

Now that is not all, but I have to go to class. I'll be adding to and crossing off items. Some will be soon, I hope, others I will have lots of fun saving for, planning and achieving as I continue through life. 

El dia de los muertos!

I am so excited for this weekend. First of all, it's Halloween, duh! But secondly,  my bestest friend Paige is finally coming to see me at Roanoke. She's never been here (crazy, I know) so it's finally time for me to show her how much fun it is here.

Halloween also means yummy treats! I finally made pumpkin pie milkshakes last night and I getting more puff pastry for pop-tarts tomorrow. I just love baking and having people who appreciate it!

Ok, I guess I should tell you about my costume(s), too. My favorite one is saved for tomorrow night. I'm going to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Anyone surprised? But tonig ht's going to be fun too. I have the brightest, most obnoxious neon yellow pants that I purchased at Goodwill this summer and they inspired me. I'm borrowing a friend's neon shirt and buying so black tape to spell HI-LIGHTER down my side. Yes, I'm going as a writing utensil, another shocker...

Pictures be posted but most likely not until Sunday. That reminds me, I should charge my camera.

Happy Halloween!

Gems and Jewels

Well it's time I kept up with something I promised to do. It's time for another Daily Gems.

I truly have a purple scarf
of this exact design. Aunt Sue,
you are a genius!

My first one is my favorite by far. I discovered while online window shopping (I didn't buy anything Mom) that I already have some of this fall's best styles. Not only am I ahead of the game, but I got them for real, hand-made with love. It sure made me giggle when I spotted not just a hat and a scarf that my Aunt Sue had made for me, but the sweaters sure look familiar too! How lucky am I? I'm spoiled rotten with wonderful gifts and if the weather ever decides to act like fall, I'll be ready in style! 

2. I got yet another free and delicious Subway sandwich thanks to my mother who mailed me her loaded points card with some other gifts and a nice note. Mail and freebies are so great!

3. I love quiet cafes. While I couldn't find the Mill Mountain that seems to have disappeared in Southwest Roanoke I found Pino Gelato and enjoyed a pumpkin spice and caramel coffee and got more work done (and some fun) in an hour than I had the rest of the day. 

4. Warm cinnamon applesauce. It's not quite Mom's homemade but it's a nice treat after a long day.

5. Beautiful jewelry by Stella & Dot that is gorgeous and can be mixed and matched and changed to fit exactly what you love. I know what's on my Christmas list...

Cheers!

223 outta 420 ain't bad

Last night I ran the Into the Darkness Night Trail Run at Explore Park, Roanoke. It's located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. I've run there before, but not 4 miles and not at night.  It was, of course, Halloween themed with glow sticks, carved pumpkins and other flashing and noisy surprises marking the 4.04 mile course.  It was a rough race with the rocks and tree roots littering the narrow, tree-lined trail but I managed to cross the finish line with no scratches, slightly cold hands and a runny nose in 46 minutes and 40 seconds.  Alex was waiting for me at the finish and led the way to pumpkin bread and other complimentary snacks.  My ankles and calves hurt a bit from rolling off rocks and catching myself on roots but I never fell down! Now that I've crossed the 5k hump, my next goal is a 10k. There's a few coming up in the first few months of the year that I can start training for.  There's also a 5k run in December for arthritis if anyone is interested in running with me.

They did take pictures of the race, but those aren't posted it. Who takes a picture during mile 4? No one wants to see what they look like after 3.5 miles in the woods...

You can check out my ranking at Into the Darkness 2011. I'm 223rd overall and 14th in my 20-21 age group!

"As autumn arrives, apples appear."

The best of apple pies and pop-tarts? Small, delicious and easy to make. Not quite as easy as just sticking it in the toaster but so much tastier and healthier. I don't have facts to back up the healhty but it's made from scratch so it must be.

I stole this amazing recipe from a fun blog I just discovered called A Beautiful Mess. (that link leads right to the recipe). It's 5 ingredients, 10 minutes to prep (especially if you have a great apple-chopper like Alex) and 15 minutes in the oven. Elsie also has recipes for pumpkin pie and pecan pie and you can bet I'll be trying those too!

Puff pastry

1 peeled and chopped apple

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon (and little to sprinkle on top)

I used pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters but cutting the puff pastry can be any shape that's large enough to put some apples in the middle. The one apple provided a little more than was needed for the seven tarts that the puff pastry provided but eating the leftover cinnamon-covered apples was enough to stave my hunger until the tarts were ready.

Oh my goodness was it worth it! Some of the apple-mix was oozing out and sizzling on the pan when I pulled them out. The whole apartment smells amazing. As I am writing this, there is only one left between the three of us, so that might say something.

Midnight Snack

Well it's 11:30pm and my roommates are on their second cup of coffee while finishing a terrible take home test due tomorrow around noon.  I have a roll of crescent rolls and Sarah's Nutella.  What do I do? Yup, I make one of the best snacks ever (roommate of the month award?) It could not be simpler. I just just laid out the rolls, spread a little bit of Nutella on each and rolled them up as usual.  I baked them the suggested 11 minutes at 350 and they were delicious.  They were devoured too quickly to snap a picture but I'm sure I'll be making them again.  I might put a little more Nutella in the middle as they didn't ooze and melt as much as I had expected. I guess I'll do some experimenting on that part of it. :D

Goodnight!

Daily Gems

This summer I started a writing habit (well not quite a habit yet) to remind myself to be grateful and to appreciate my favorite things in life.  Each day (that I remember) I write down five, or more, things for which I am grateful. I stole this from a women who called it her "Ode to Joy". I named mine, Daily Gems. After stumbling across a few inspiring blogs, I see others have done this too, but posted them to share their thoughts with the world.  I think I'll give it a shot. It may be more weekly since posting is a little more involved than just jotting down a few things, but I will include pictures, links and hopefully a little encouragement for you to be more grateful/appreciate everyday. Warning: some of these will be deep and emotional, but often it will be fun and borderline shallow. It's good be grateful for silly things too, even if they don't really impact my life beyond making me smile. But I think a smile has a huge impact. :)


Daily Gems:
1. New recipes that are easy, somewhat healthy and totally yummy.  Just 1 cup of plain yogurt and 1/2 cup of Nutella. Simply stir and dip anything you can find...pretzels, strawberries, fingers...

2. Successful Do-it-yourselfers.
You are an inspiration and someday I really will learn how to sew, paint, decorate...but for now, I'll pick up tips and spend all my time exploring abeautifulmess.typepad.com and i-do-it-yourself.com

3. Pinterest.I blame Rachel.

4. Thursday gym time. I get to spend over an hour in the nearly-empty gym every Thursday. The weights I want are free and I have nowhere else I need to be.

5. Wonderful, understanding people that I can just vent to, talk with and who will always give me encouraging and loving advice.  Today was a wonderful day!

Inspiration

So after getting hooked on Pintrest (thanks Rachel) I've started doing more surfing and found a completely awesome blog full of fun clothes, recipes and hairstyles. A blog dedicated to Do-it-Yourself (abbreviated DIY) which took me longer than I'd like to say to figure out. Now I'm in the mood for some Do-it-myself fun! I'm going to start with a great pumpkin pie milkshake recipe and a sweet hairstyle for Prez ball.

Also, Elsie (my new favorite blogger) has gotten me in the mood for photography. Now I don't have quite as fancy a camera as she does but I'll see what I can do. I'll be sure to post pictures and reviews, as well as successful recipes as I go.

My Big, Gray (albeit silly) Passion

I really should have studied biology. Too bad I’m terrible at all sciences and can’t think of anything more boring to spend 4+ years pouring over.

The only reason I wish I had suffered through it is my complete and unexplainable passion for elephants. I want to be a zookeeper. Or an elephant vet. (Do they have those?) A circus trainer. I can’t think of anything more exciting than spending the rest of my life cleaning, petting, riding and just being with elephants.

Now this might be hard to understand since they do not live in North America (where I do) and I have never actually been closer than a couple hundred yards from an elephant at any time in my life, but I find everything about elephants fascinating.

I don’t remember when I started loving elephants. Maybe it was a book I read when I was younger or the first time I visited the National Zoo with my family. But it happened, probably suddenly and overwhelmingly.

I have several stuffed animal elephants, countless trinkets, statuettes of elephants in all sizes and colors. I even have an elephant candle-holder. Now, thanks to my boyfriend and his wonderful gift-giving talents, I have purple elephant earrings and the most beautiful silver elephant necklace that gets me more compliments than any other thing I have worn.

It’s starting to seem silly, how many elephants I own. My boyfriend teases me that if I traded in every elephant that I own, it would probably equal a real elephant. But I can never get enough of this unique animal.

They’re intelligent; that has been scientifically proven. They remember everything (as the saying goes) and they live very utopian lives. All the females live and travel together. They split the child-raising, hunting and protecting between them all. Their communities are built upon respect, responsibility and love. The men are nomadic and solitary, strong and independent.

They are not normally vicious creatures, but remember wrong-doings and can seek revenge if they feel a constant threat or pain. (Anyone read Water for Elephants?) They also become attached and protective of others even outside of their species. Not to mention, they're cute. Just a little hairy, a curious and sensitive trunk, big floppy ears. So much to love.

Every time I see someone riding an elephant (I’ll admit, I watch The Bachelor) or Animal Planet featuring elephants, I sigh, swoon and complain that I would give anything to be doing that. What is it about these animals that I am so attracted to? I couldn’t care less about kittens, monkeys or panda bears, but I would literally move to Africa if I could own my very own elephant.

Maybe someday I will.

May 23rd

I wear red Soffe shorts, a Relay for Life t-shirt and my running shoes. Not your typical ‘first-date attire’. I do my best to make a pony-tale flirty. 10:50 a.m. on a Sunday. My phone buzzes twice. A text reads, “I’m going to be a little late but I’m more than prepared for our date today, so I think that makes up for it.” I can’t help but smile.

We’re going hiking at some mysterious place near Natural Bridge, forty minutes from where I live in Salem. After many hints at a date, two reschedules and a lot of flirting, I cannot wait to go on this hike.

If only I had known. It starts raining on the way, but not enough to convince us to turn around. The ride is quiet but comfortable. All I can think is “Goodness this boy is cute; why on earth did he ask ME out?” And a few times, “I really hope I don’t trip and fall down this mountain.”

It seems like a pretty easy hike. Not too steep, and the path is clearly marked. But after an hour, I realize we’ve barely started. We come to a giant mound of fallen and broken marble which is the hike. I then see we are not just hiking after all; Devil’s Marbleyard requires rock climbing.

Here, I need to explain: I am 5’3”; my date, 6’2”. He is also a hurdler. I picture him bounding up the rocks, while I struggle, slip and eventually fall to my death.

None of that really happens, but he does seem to have a much easier time than I do. I try to follow his steps but cannot possibly reach my legs as far as he does and get stuck several times. He’s patient, helpful and laughs at my clumsiness along with me (points for him).

It starts to drizzle, so we stop to eat lunch. He made PB&J sandwiches (more points!) and has water. We attempt to keep climbing in the rain but it gets slippery and we decide to head back down. Big mistake. Climbing down wet rocks is even harder than climbing up them. I slip a few times, my heart stopping with each stagger and I really become scared I might really be injured on this date. What a great start to a relationship. But I don’t fall and we do survive without a scratch. We get only slightly lost the way back but soon we’re in the car. A quick hug good-bye confirms my suspicion that I was not exciting enough and probably complained a too much about the difficult hike. Thankfully, I am wrong again, because two days later he takes me to the zoo and we get lost (it becomes a regular thing) looking for a place to eat.

Fourteen months later, we haven’t had a dull date yet. Sometimes we settle for a movie instead of dangerous hikes and animals but it’s always exciting. And I continue to tease him about our near-fatal first date.

My new plan

Since making plans to be more active, read more, write more, etc. doesn't really last much longer than a week or two, I've decided on a new strategy.  I'm going to 'sit less'. That includes sitting in front of the TV or on Facebook. I know I have to sit to read or write (usually) but I figured if I plan to be less in-active, I'll have to find ways to fill my time.  I'm hoping this will lead me to stick with the push-up plan, read more each day, and even start my summer reading for English Seminar (ha).  I might even sit and stare at my phone less!

My plan (formulated at about 3:15 today) has gotten off to a good start. But don't they always?  I've done a push up workout and my squats exhaustion test.  And I've posted my blogs from my trip as well as found a new project for the week.  I found a short writing contest to enter (thanks Mom) that has monetary and publication prizes.  I only have a week to write it so that may be my lunchtime task.

Well, I've officially spent too much time on the computer so it's time for homework.  Wish me luck!

St. Joe's Island Part 3 - More Bridges!

The trip through Michigan was uneventful (again).  It’s a dull, long trip down 75.  We started listening to The Hunger Games on CD and were hooked in very little time.  When we stopped for the night, with two disks left, Alex wanted to bring them inside and keep listening.  Instead, we cooked spaghetti and then he treated me to Graeter’s, a great ice cream shop that originated in the area.  Soon after that, we were asleep with plans to have an early start.

We didn’t start as early as we had liked, but our trip through West VA would be shorter than the day before.  We finally finished the great book and I took a nap.  This is when Alex started to enjoy the ride.  Apparently we were taking a very windy road that ran (theoretically) parallel to 64 and we traveled a much more exciting and mountainous road.  When I woke up, he went on about the great views, rivers and even a “Mystery Hole” he had seen.  Then we were just about to pass the New River Gorge Bridge in West VA and he just HAD to stop, despite the present downpour.

Somehow he forced me out of the car with only a long sleeve shirt of his for cover from the rain (take note, I was also in flip flops while he changed into his hiking shoes and a raincoat).  It did stop raining long enough for us to walk out to see the third largest steel arch bridge in the world.  And Alex was happy.

Now I took over the driving, which was not a good idea.  Alex kept pestering me to take all kinds of side roads on the mountain.  Then when I refused, he decided to exaggerate every turn by flailing around in his seat, smacking the window and the dashboard.  We started to see signs for Salem and it couldn’t come soon enough.

We ended our wonderful vacation with pizza and ice cream with some friends in Roanoke and a drink at Macado’s.  I finally got rid of him, I mean, had to take him home so he could prepare for camp and I could return home for work.  But what an amazing Canadian (and American) Adventure we had.  

Is it next summer yet?

St. Joe's Island Part 2 - Whiskey Rock

Tuesday and Wednesday were very rainy days. We stayed inside most of Tuesday, napping and reading while it rained on and off. It was hard to even see across the lake for all the rain and fog.  After dinner, Alex taught me how to play Monopoly (as I have never really played the correct way) and then I beat him pretty badly. Not really, we both got pretty tired after a few hours and decided to call it a night. 

The next day started out much nicer.  Larry got his boat out of the garage and we started cleaning it off. (It was COVERED it bat poop.)  Alex was almost attacked by a bat as we were pulling the boat out of the garage. That statement isn’t entirely true but he told me I had to include it.  Larry bumped the bat house coming out of the garage and two flew out, one very close to Alex.

But once we started scrubbing down the boat, it started to rain.  Larry had gone next door to help paint but as that is not much of a rainy-day activity, he quickly joined us back inside.  Then we started up another game of Monopoly.  Larry went bankrupt, followed by Spencer but both tried to keep me strong against Alex before folding; it didn’t work.  Alex accredits his wise business dealings to his vast marketing and business education. 

After our game, Alex and I finished scrubbing down the boat and got ready to head across the island to Richard’s Landing, where we had found a good place to go out for dinner.  We only got a little lost and Karen the GPS helped us out.  We made it to The Lighthouse Grill and enjoyed a great meal outside right on the water.  Alex had the special: grilled whitefish in a blueberry sauce with corn.  I had a roasted garlic burger with fries.  Covered with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and melted mozzarella cheese, it was definitely the best burger I have had in a while. 

Stuffed beyond comfort, we walked around a little to look at the lighthouse, the boats and the rest of Richard’s Landing.  It’s a bit bigger than Hilton but not much.  It has a small hospital and school, and we got dessert at the Village Ice Cream before finding our way back.

Again, we got only a bit lost on the way home (I think Karen has some trouble with Canadian roads) and found ourselves too tired for much more that evening.

Thursday was the day for boating! We had gorgeous weather all the way through.  First we had to find a way to build a mooring for when we brought the boat back.  Alex and Larry lifted heavy chains and concrete to drag to the perfect spot offshore. I supervised.  Once that was settled we drove the boat to the marina and had a flawless launch. We topped off the gas tank and took her out to sea…or lake!

First we met up with some friends at Whiskey Rock, which is just a giant rock that’s great for jumping.  I didn’t have enough courage to jump off the highest point, but Alex did. I jumped off a lower rock after a lot of peer pressure from everyone there.

After a few hours at Whiskey, Larry took us farther along to a friend of his that has his very own island! It was a large house on a rocky island just big enough for the house, a dock and a back porch overlooking the gorgeous water and the rest of St. Joe’s.  We sat there visiting for a while during which time my pink shoulders turned red. 

The trip back was when things really got interesting.  The boat was giving us a little trouble, but we chalked it up to old gas.  But as we got closer and closer to the dock, the boat was slowing down.  Then we noticed the back of the boat had some water in it.  We made it to shore safely but then we had to figure out just what to do next.  We tried to drag it ashore until we could figure out how to fix it.  However, that was much more difficult than we thought.  We stabilized it enough to go get Larry’s truck and trailer from the marina.

I stayed at the cabin when Alex and Larry went back to fix it.  I wish I had gone with them to witness how easily the boat was fixed.  It was a simply a problem with the plug being loose and the guys easily had the boat back up and running instead of slowly sinking.

We cleaned up and headed next door for dinner with the Frieses (Alex’s great uncle, cousins and their friends).  Jono, his cousin, is a professional chef and made us a delectable meal which we enjoyed with some red wine.  Spencer made a sweet raspberry crisp for dessert.

St. Joe's Island Part 1 - 980 miles

My Dove chocolate wrapper (thanks Mrs. Fisher) couldn’t be more accurate: You are exactly where you are supposed to be.

A view to never tire of, sore arms from rowing against the waves and pink shoulders from the warm Canadian sun. This is vacation.

After two days in the car from Salem, VA to St. Joseph’s Island, Ontario (St. Joe’s, here), it’s nice to sit a few minutes in the cool evening breeze watching the waves roll in.  Not that we haven’t spent any time sitting watching the same view.  Something about the calm lake and blue skies makes silence quite comfortable.

First, we left Salem at about 9am Saturday morning. We made great time to Middletown, only stopping once for gas and to refill our snacks.  We were in pretty early so we visited with Alex’s Uncle Tom before dinner at Olive Garden with his grandparents and father. It was nice to have a full meal after a day on the road.  Then, when it finally hit us what a long day we had ahead of us, we set the alarm for 5 am and see how far we’d make it.  I drove the first 5 hours while Alex slept on and off, switching CDs in between.  Where West Virginia is fast-paced rolling hills, Michigan is as flat as can be.  Good news is, I only saw one cop, and it seemed he was in a good mood. Again, we only made short stops for gas and made it to the border by 1:30 pm.  We hit the duty-free store and crossed the bridge. Customs was a piece of cake.  (Canadians aren’t as suspicious as Americans, I guess.)  We hit a grocery story before taking on the last hour to the island. 

So Canada isn’t much different than flat and foresty Michigan.  More trees and more flat roads.  But the speed limits are much slower. And, yes, I know it is kilometers and not miles, but it’s still much slower.  Only one wrong turn before the cabins came into view.  I love it here!  Slow-paced and very friendly.  All the families on this part of the beach go back centuries, as they’re grandparents, et cetera, bought the land together.  They were all from Ohio, looking to escape the humitidy of the summer, and they and their descendants have been returning yearly ever since.

Alex’s Uncle Spencer introduced us to all of those people, and his Uncle Larry gave us a tour of the land and the beach.  There’s a few boats, a small beach behind the next cabin where his cousins are staying and plenty of vegetation.  There’s a hotel, General Store and a few bars a decent walk up the road. 

We spent Sunday evening going from house-to-house as Spencer introduced us to anyone around.  Then we made it down the road and were watching all the kids play (yes, there were more than could be counted) play until the mosquitos drove us into a cabin to listen to Larry and a few others play the mandolin, guitar and flute for us to enjoy as the sun disappeared and I got very sleepy.  We walked back along the road taking note of all the stars.  Spencer has a great telescope set up, but we decided to wait until tonight to really star-gaze.  We had officially been up for 19 hours and it was time for bed.

Today, we both canoed and kayaked around a bit, walked into ‘town’ and even took a nap. Now, after a dinner of great spaghetti and pesto, I’m enjoying a glass of Bear Hug wildberry rum and Coke feeling the cool breeze come in off the water right up through the window.  Dierks Bentley is strumming some blue grass; Alex and Larry are reading. I think we’ll soon take our drinks down the boardwalk to water and take some pictures.

Tomorrow might be the day to head over to Richard’s Landing (an hour or so drive across the island) where there is a great restaurant on the water and some more places to explore.

Night on the Town

Friday, after I was home from Spain and mostly settled, Alex took me out for dinner in Roanoke. I had warned him while I was gone that I wanted to do something special the weekend I got back into the country. I put it in his hands to decide where to eat and what to do, so once he started making decisions, I wasn't allowed to know to the plans.

I bought a new dress and a pair heels in Spain and was very excited to wear them on our date. Lucky for me, he likes getting dressed up too. Therefore, he picked a nicer restaurant in downtown Roanoke. We got ready at his house (I had no hot water at the new apartment) and left. On the way out the door both his mom and brother asked where we were going and Alex blew it, saying "Blue 5". I had never heard of it anyway, so it wasn't the worst thing.

He parked (with his cool parking pass he gets from work) and we walked up the street. Blue 5, it turns out, is a southern cuisine restaurant, with food from the Louisiana/Mississippi area. This means fish, shrimp and chicken. The restaurant was known for live music as well and was decorated with guitars and instruments (I even saw a light made out of a snare drum). The restaurant had two floors, the second modeled after the deck of a riverboat, and that's where we sat.

Blue 5 in Roanoke, VA. The view from our table on the top.

It was too early for the live music but thoroughly enjoyed our meal. I had herb crusted chicken in a hollandaise sauce and Alex got the catfish. I tried it but it was too spicy for my taste.

Alex still had another surprise for me. We walked a little ways around downtown to a new dessert place called Frogurt in Roanoke. This place is WAY cool! You get a large bowl and have your choice of about 8 frozen yogurt flavors. You can have as many flavors and as much of each as you'd like (you pay by the weight at the end).  I got a relatively modest amount of the chocolate and I couldn't pass up the banana but I moved onto the many unique toppings. I probably ate more toppings than frozen yogurt. They have the normal toppings like m'n'm's, chocolate chips, Hershey's syrup...but then they have gummy bears, cookie bits, brownies...right on to fruit and fruit-flavored things. They even had frosted animal crackers! 

Another plus is the pricing. The two of us got decent sized ice creams (Alex's was much bigger than mine, of course) for about $5! If you're in the Roanoke area, you MUST visit this place. Apparently they opened about a month ago and business is booming.

Completely stuffed and happy, we headed back to Salem. I don't think I could have asked for a better date night. Or date for that matter.

Day 5 - From Chinatown to Sevilla

Thursday was a rainy day and we were tired. We decided, as it hadn't started to rain hard yet, to see Chinatown and Little Italy. We grabbed breakfast at 'J Bakery' called just 'J' because there is no way I could ever attempt to pronounce or spell the Polish name. I got an amazing chocolate-filled croissant (surprised?) and Alex got a donut.  Again we took the subway into the City and using my handy map, navigated our way to Chinatown. That's when it started to rain for real. So we walked quickly, ducking into those notorious shops of faux designer sunglasses, purses, scarves and jewelry. It didn't take long until we thought we were going in circles as all the shops sold the same things over and over. Then we got onto the streets with interesting restaurants and meat stores. We stopped in a gummy store so Alex could get his fill of everything gummy: fish, snowmen, flowers, alphabets, sharks, fried eggs...

We passed a McDonald's but hardly recognized anything on the menu. When it really started to pour we found a grocery store with more coconut products than you can imagine. Coconut jam? Yeah, me neither. While inside we hear a cover of John Denver's "Country Roads". And once outside again we saw a huge billboard of The Beatles, advertising their music now available on iTunes. This town was ridiculous.

We headed north trying to find Little Italy for lunch. I think we missed it just by a few blocks but instead found some cute clothing stores that I could never afford. Then by luck we found an awesome little Brazillian cafe/bar and stopped to eat; by now it was nearly 3. The food was just what we needed: a bowl a fruit, sausage sandwiches, salad. And I had the best cup of coffee I'd had all week.

Since the rain wasn't letting up, I thought it would be a good chance to see the Public Library.  We found a subway close by. We had to run through some puddles but the library was warm and dry. We snooped around for a bit. I was in awe over the books; Alex a little less so. I probably spent more time in the gift shop too than he would have liked, but he was great and let me have my fun.

Alex had arranged to meet his cousin who lived in the city for dinner. We still had some time so we walked through some stores before taking the subway back to the West Village. Sevilla was a Spanish restaurant in a more residential part of town. We got there a bit early and as we were in our jeans and sweatshirts, the manager kept an eye on us while we waited to for John.

He arrived and as he knew far more about Spanish food than we did, we let him take care of ordering. We got two dishes but I couldn't give you the names. Each had rice and a variety of seafood including lobster, muscles, clams, scallops and shrimp, in different sauces.  I haven't had a lot of experience with seafood, but I was willing to try.  I'm glad I did, though I probably won't go out of my way to eat it anytime soon. Alex so kindly offered me some of his "lobster face" but I had had my fill. I wish we had been old enough to try the Sangria too....

After a filling and adventurous meal we headed back out into the rain to Brooklyn. On the way home Alex decided he NEEDED ice cream. Of course, when it's pouring down rain, after 9pm and we have about a mile to walk after the subway before the apartment he just HAS to stop for some ice cream. So we found a small convenience store and bought a pint of raspberry sorbet and were back out in the cold rain. I was wearing the wrong shoes for this. We were just about running and jumping over puddles by this point. I wasn't so good at the jumping as the puddles were much wider than my leg span and I landed in a few, getting an uncomfortable amount of water in the shoes.

Not soon enough, we were back at the apartment and were able to change completely out of our wet clothes and enjoy our sorbet.  The rest of the night, our last night in NYC, we took it easy. Bob made us a night cap called a Gin Fizz. At first he promised to keep the ingredients a secret, but after we tried it, he gave in. I don't remember it all but there were egg whites, cream, soda water, lemon juice and of course gin....

Day 4 - Regis and Kelly!

In spite of the Tylenol PM I took before going to bed, I hardly slept. And when the alarm went of at 5:30am, I didn't want to move. I woke up Alex and asked why were we doing this, it was nuts. He mumbles "be on TV." So we did it. We got up and dressed and left by 5:50 and made our way into the cold morning. I had mapped out our subway route the night before (by this time, I was a pro) and we were at our designated spot in front of Lincoln Square 7 just minutes before 7am. (The Starbucks across the street did not go unnoticed by me). There was a very small line out front so our odds looked good. Just in case, we planned out three other shows we could try to get into later that day.

It seemed to get colder as we stood there. The wind was whooshing past and we hadn't eaten breakfast. A couple in front of us, probably about our age, asked a security guard who had just walked outside, what time we could expect to get our standby tickets. He said "after 7." I had just looked at my watch and it was 7:15. He could have said "mushrooms" as helpful as he was.

The line next to us, the ones who had tickets beforehand, started to grow and then shrink as they let people inside.  Then when it looked like we might gain access, more people would show up in that line. We got colder and less hopeful but shortly before 8, literally 7:56, a woman came out and handed us each a piece of paper with a number on it. We were numbers 23 and 24. The woman told us to come back at 8:30 and they'd see how many seats they had available. They kept assuring us that nothing was guaranteed.  So we headed across the street to the packed Starbucks along with everyone else. My legs were so cold and so used to standing still they forgot how to walk. Once inside, we ordered hot chocolate and breakfast and snagged the last table, almost shoving a woman out of her seat as she put on her coat

Alex called his mom to let her know our progress and at 8:30 we went back outside. (Had it gotten still colder?) They wouldn't let us in the building still but slowly allowed a few people at a time. Eight people were ushered in at a time, and they still reminded us that we were not guaranteed to be on the show.  Fifteen minutes before nine and we were in the door going through a metal-detector. Twelve minutes to go and we were lining up in order of our tickets. We kept moving from line to line, back and forth in the foyer and then just minutes before we were ushered down the hall getting closer and closer to the studio.  We were inside, but it seemed almost full. Just a few seats here and there left vacant. We were handed little pink pieces of paper, numbers 151 and 152...of 163! We made it! We ran to the top to the only seats we saw open and sat down. I couldn't stop looking around at all the signs and lights and people. I was really there!! 

Gilman came out and told us to be excited and clap a lot and laugh when things were funny. He gave us the whole schpeal on how we are the life the show and we bring excitement to it. Um, I was excited enough for everyone!

Then it started! Regis and Kelly came out and did their usually entertaining opening. But it was hard to remember to stay smiling and pretty when I was staring in awe! But after the first commercial, the disappointment came. IT'S NOT ALL LIVE! They prerecorded the interview with Amanda Seyfriend (the person I'd actually heard of as opposed to Donny Wahlberg). And after the end of this show, they had us stay to record some bits for a show in two weeks! Ugh, what a lie!

Anyways, by the end of that, our exhaustion was coming through. A few people we had waited in line with grabbed tickets for The View and headed off towards that but we wanted a nap! We decided to head back to Brooklyn and nap before our evening plans. We got pizza right off the subway and ate it back at Bob and Kim's. (Alex made a mess.) Then it was naptime! Alex wanted to explore Brooklyn before we headed back into Manhattan to meet Kim for her friend's art show but I slept longer than anticipated and we only had times for showers before we left.

We took the subway to near Central Park. The show was at the Arsenal Building just on the perimeter of the park. It was so much fun! It was small but very chic. They served lots of cheese and wine. We perused the unique art and then got up the nerve to ask for a glass of wine. Kim said it wouldn't matter that we're a few months too young. Alex very casually asked for two glasses of red wine. After we finished those, Alex had more cheese and we met the artist, we went to meet Bob at his office before dinner.

He worked on the 18th floor of a building way across town. His office was at the top and their lease included the roof access! So we had to peak. It was even colder and windier! We didn't stay long but I got some great pictures. We could ALMOST see the Statue of Liberty, but not really. We walked around a bit trying to get onto the Highline but it was closed already as they have winter hours. So then it was time to head into Brookly for dinner at The Diner, a favorite of Bob and Kim. 

And I can see why. It was a small, run-down roadside dinner on the outside, but inside there was a bar and a very fancy restaurant. They didn't even have menus! The waitress just came and told us what was available that night. The portions were perfect, as I went on about all night, and Kim ordered wine for the table. (Illegal drinking in public #2). The food was AMAZING! I had pasta as did Alex. We got hors d'oeuvres to share which included raw crab. I tried some of Kim's squid too...not as bad as it sounds. Then we had some amazing desserts, chocolate cake (made from Mast Brothers Chocolate made in Brooklyn) and some lemon too. Between this and our first NYC art opening, it was a very 'sophisticated' day for us. 

Day 3 - Central Park

We took Tuesday morning pretty slowly. Bob and Kim left a few notes and maps for getting around Brooklyn, pointing out fun hipster shops and places to get breakfast. We had some trouble navigating past finding a bakery and couldn't seem to find the streets they had mentioned.  So we headed into Manhattan via the L-train and made our way to Central Park.

It was gorgeous and I could even recognize parts of it from movies like Definitely, Maybe; Enchanted and 27 Dresses. We walked around looking at the various statues and bridges.  We saw several groups of musicians, a couple taking wedding shots and a man blowing giant bubbles with his homemade bubble wands.  He took two sticks and tied rope connecting both in a loop and after dipping them into a bucket of soap, he'd hold them out, letting the wind create huge bubbles as it passed through. Alex took a turn making bubbles, so I took pictures.  We saw horse-drawn carriages and bicycle taxis.

We made our way in the direction of the Museum of Natural History and spent the afternoon in there. We saw elephants (my favorite) and sloths (Alex's favorite) and saw a short show about stars in the Planetarium, narrated by Whoopi Goldberg. We spent about 3 hours in the museum and covered most of it.  Some parts we saw more thuroughly than others but we did manage to see the big Easter Island-looking statue from the movie Night at the Museum and the giant whale that Barney knocks down in How I Met Your Mother.  I didn't really appreciate the ocean animals room, it was a dark and there was a giant squid. But I loved seeing the extinct animals and their huge skeletons. Once it closed, we headed back to the park.

After looking at a map, we found Strawberry Fields! I took a picture in the middle of the Imagine mosaic. We walked around a bit more and once we got hungry, we did a search for the Jekyll and Hyde Club that Alex had seen online.  It was just south of the park on 6th, so we walked the rest of the way for a very interesting dinner.

Standing outside was man in costume who greeted us warmly and then knocked on the door requesting entrance.  A few minutes later, another man came to take us inside.  He brought us into a small hallway where we saw a short video in which we were greeted and intimidated as the ceiling started to fall in on us. I think I may have left some marks in Alex's hand from squeezing it too hard.  This only lasted a minute and the man asked us to shout "Stop!" though we were too timid to do so and he laughed us but showed us into the restaurant and to our table. The food was quite pricey, as we expected being so close to Times Square but we shared a delicious roasted chicken and vegetables (yes I ate lots of vegetables) and walked around the four-story restaurant. Each level had a theme: the library, the laboratory, the attic and the grand saloon. There was a short "Frankenstein" themed entertainment and the actors continued to walk around harassing customers and waiters alike.

It was quite cold out by this point, and was past 7. With all the walking we had done the last two days, we were dragging so we decided to walk through some of the ritzy streets to find the nearest subway. We saw some very expensive clothing stores as we were near 5th Ave and stopped in Lindt to get some Lindor Truffles to share.

Finally we were back in Brooklyn and enjoyed a second dinner of salad and burgers and wine.  Then we made a strategy for Wednesday morning when we'd attempt to get into a TV show audience.  We made of list of the those taping on Wednesday that had good odds of getting standby tickets. Live! With Regis and Kelly, The View, The Daily Show and Conan O'Brien were all in the same area and spaced well enough apart that if we missed one, we could try for tickets at the next.  However, Live! started passing out tickets at 7am.  We set the alarm for 5:30am and called it a night. 

Day 2 - Greenwich Village

Alex and I took the next morning slowly. No need to wake up early and rush. After a breakfast of English muffins and coffee cakes (thanks Grandma!) Pop Pop and Grandma drove us the few blocks to downtown Closter to wait for a 11:10 bus. We were early and it was cold standing there in the wind, but I guessed NYC wouldn't be much better. Alex complained the whole time, however.

Finally, right on schedule, a bus pulled up along the curb. We played our $6.30 each and walked all the way to the back, each of us carrying a large and heavy black duffel bag. Yes, Alex picked a seat all the way in the back, so everyone watched me struggle (and sometimes hit them) as I pushed my way to the back.

Alex made nice conversation with a man that noticed his purple High Point hat and recognized the area. He warned us that New York City would be very different than hospitable, conservative North Carolina (thanks, dude).  Just under an hour later, we were slowly making our way through the Lincoln Tunnel.  Too slowly, if you ask me because I do NOT like tunnels. But Alex held my hand and soon we saw the city!

Our first impression of the City. Classy huh?
I guess we'll just have to come back when we're legal...

Once off the bus, we navigated our way through Port Authority seaching for the subway. We bought one-trip tickets, as suggested by Kim and mapped a route to Union Square. Her office was a mere 3 blocks from there. The subway was tricky, again with our large bags. Halfway down Broadway, we realized Alex's bag was much lighter than mine, so we switched. (He's so chivalrous!)  Though it would be humorous, it would be pointless for him to offer to carry both, and I am not quite that helpless. With my awesome ability to follow directions and read the small map of the City I had in a guidebook, we were soon outside of Kim's office panting only slightly. Once upstairs, she greeted us excitedly.

She suggested we spend the afternoon touring the Village. When I asked (ignorantly) how to get there, she said "You're in it!" So she pointed out on my map fun places to eat, what roads were the most colorful and then gave us a time to meet back at the office.

Let me pause here to back-track. Before we started really exploring, we already knew NYC would be a lot of fun, if only for the interesting people. While waiting in one subway station, a very tall -person- walked pasted us.  I only barely noticed this person because of his or her ridiculous height and skinny legs. Once, what I thought was a she, passed us, Alex whispered "that was a man!" I looked back quickly to see my first New York transvestite.

Anyway, this was only the beginning of the crazy, funny and unusual people and things we saw in NYC. 

Before we made it to the Japanese places Kim suggested, we got hungry and tried gyro's from a sidewalk cart. Mine was chicken, Alex's lamb, but they were both equally difficult to eat and equally delicious. Successful first taste of streetfood.


Then we went into the West Village to look at shops, restaurants and find Magnolia Bakery that a friend of Alex's had suggested.  We had to walk around a bit before we were hungry enough to try their coffee and a very large toffee peanut butter bar that we enjoyed between a playground and two very sketchy men who decided to sit on the ground instead of one of the 15 benches in pedestrian-only area. The peanut butter bar was wonderful, the company....entertaining. We finished quickly and continued on our way.

We shopped around a few clothing stores. Alex bought a striped sweater that came in handy when he wanted to look nice for Regis and Kelly (more on that on Day 4). We spent quite a bit of time in Urban Outfitters (ironic cause there are plenty of those in VA) mostly to keep warm and sit down for a few minutes as we were getting tired by this point. About 6:15 we headed back to 11th and University to meet Kim and L-train it to Brooklyn where we'd meet Bob for Thai take-out. Another first for both of us. We split several yummy dishes between the four of us.

 Standing in the subway station, Alex notices something on the tracks. "Subway mice!" he whispers to me, and Kim hears it too. "Those aren't mice..." she says.  If nothing else made it as clear, his excitement over rats definitely did; we made the right choice for Spring Break!

Day 1 - Journey to NJ

It's time to start sharing my Spring Break story. I'm going to attempt to do one day per blog and get through the week soon before I start forgetting.

As most know by now, my boyfriend Alex and I ventured up to New York City to explore the city. He has never been before, and I haven't been in many years and those trips were short. Also, I have wonderfully generous and fun cousins who live in Brooklyn and have just enough space for visitors. To cut down on driving and stress, we left the car at my grandma's in NJ just an hour out of the City. Plus she provided us with a place to stay the first and last night along with wonderfully delicious meals.  Pop Pop provided the entertainment, of course.

We left from New Market on Sunday March 7th about 9:30am. Mom and John didn't even wake up to say good-bye. We had plenty of water, Girl Scout cookies and Karen, the GPS.

It rained the whooooole way. Now the 6 hour-drive is not unfamiliar to me and it is not a terrible trek to make, however, the rain just made it wearisome.

We stopped in Pennsylvania for lunch at Arby's. Then we made a stop in Easton, Pennsylvania. My navigator, Alex, liked to check the GPS every so often to find fun things en route.  The Crayola Factory came up in his findings.  After literally driving in a circle in the middle of town (a round-about as the Aussie Karen called it), we ran through the rain to the Crayola Store. We were disappointed to find the actual factory was not in Easton, just costly video of how a crayon is made and a play center for children. So we skipped that and looked around the store.  The largest box we found was I think 152 crayons. You could also make your own box from a giant dispenser in the middle of the story. And the most noticeable rarity was the World's Largest Crayon in a glass box. It was made from parts of old crayon and left-overs, melted down and shaped into a very large, very heavy blue crayon.

After that we continued the few hours left into New Jersey.  Karen was able to take us a 'toll-free' route which only extended the trip by about 6 minutes.  Those 6 minutes turned into 15 when I took a few wrong turns but we soon made it to Grandma's.  She and Pop Pop grilled (yes in the rain) steaks and she made her famous potato salad.  I noticed an empty bowl and spoon with cream left on it when we arrived, and sure enough, dessert was her delicious (and probably my favorite of her desserts) Boston Creme cake.

We planned our first day in the city after dinner. We would take the bus into Port Authority. Hop a subway and meet Kim at her office near Union Square to drop off our bags and explore Greenwich Village. That story will come in the next blog :)

Back in USSR

After a rough night of sleep stressing over Spanish, I have a long day ahead. But my presentation and surprise quiz went well. And to help my mood, I wore my bright blue "Hound of the Baskervilles" t-shirt (as it is t-shirt weather!) and my bright yellow sneakers. Hard not to smile in these colors.

Now I'm sitting at Mill Mountain sipping on fresh Colombian coffee with The Beatles playing over the speakers. I just started my article on the baseball team and I think, "This day couldn't be better." The chocolate chip scone doesn't hurt things either.

This week sure is a hectic one with several papers, a presentation (done!) and many other responsibilities but I really like it when I can sit down and think about not only what I have already accomplished and plan still to do but that *most* of these things are really things I actually enjoy.  That's how I know I'm at the right school in the right major. Of course, when I do my writing after graduation, I can't imagine I'll be lucky enough to enjoy real coffee and my favorite band while I do it. But that'll come....

Well back to work, if I can even call it that :)