Playing Tourist in NYC

This past week, my good friend Mikey and her grandma came to NY. We had SO much fun!! For 5 days it was go Go GO! It was a good break from work after a long and hard busy season.

My vacation started a little early. I took the whole day off on Friday (even though Mikey and Grandma Page weren't coming until 6 pm). I sat up on my roof and read, took a walk in Central Park, stopped in the Met for some great art, and then walked down Fifth Ave. Then, as I was walking home, I saw a lot of people gathered along Park Ave and I had to check it out. As I stood around waiting with the crowd I found out that the Pope was going to drive by on his way to some cathedral on the UES. That's right...I saw the Pope. So...he was in a limo with tinted windows, but if you look closely at this picture then you can see his outline. Haha!




But enough of my adventures by myself...the real fun began when Mikey and Grandma Page arrived. It would take way to long to detail all that we did, so I'll just hit the highlights. We did all the typical things you do in NY: eating, walking, shopping, pampering, touring, and going to Broadway shows.

We wanted to get tastes of different cultures so we had a wide rand of cuisine each night. We ate a wonderful Vegan dinner at Gobo, amazing Thai food from Pongsri, delicious Cuban food from Cafe Havana, and a great deli-style lunch at Cafe Dukes. We also picked up 2 bags of the most amazing popcorn you will ever have from Dale & Thomas.



I am seriously impressed at the stamina that Grandma Page has. I think I was more tired then she was at the end of the day. We would leave my apartment around 11 am each morning and not come back until after 11 pm each night. And we saw a lot. We hung out in Times Square, we walked around the Financial District (Wall Street), walked through Central Park, saw Rockefeller Center, took a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty...and much more. Grandma even took a tour of Radio City Music Hall (while Mikey and I hit up H&M). Here are some pictures of the things we did while walking around NY.




On Tuesday we got pampered. Mikey and I got facials, Grandma Page got a mani-pedi, and my roommates Kimmy and Jamie got massages. It was terrific!!! Too bad we didn't get any pictures of us in our matching robes...

Of course we saw many Broadway shows...one every night (except Friday). We saw Lion King, Curtains, The Phantom of the Opera, Gypsy, and Wicked (well...Mikey and her grandma saw it since they won the lottery and only got 2 tickets). All very different shows and all wonderful!! I felt very cultured after they left. Haha!



Sadly on Wednesday afternoon Mikey had to go back to California, and Grandma Page had to go back to Utah, and I had to go back to work. But don't feel too bad for me. I had so much fun the past week...and my parents come out on Wednesday for another fun filled week of playing tourist!! I can't wait!

Going Green!

I don't know if everyone else has noticed this, but the world is going green. I'm not talking about "let's all recycle and save the earth" (though I'm all for that), I'm talking about the color green - EVERYWHERE!! As I walk down the street of NY all I see is green and I'm LOVING it!! Clothes, shoes, bags, trees, traffic lights...all green. All wonderful. And I've decided that green goes with every basic color - black, brown, white, blue, tan...the list goes on and on. If you can't tell - I have totally got the green bug. This bug first bit me about a month ago as I walked by the Coach store near my office and saw this FABULOUS green bag! It was love at first sight. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) Coach is all sold out of my green bag - even on line. Tear! They do have these amazing green ballet flats, however; but spending $168 on them is a little too much for me. Sorry - sidetracked. Anyway - I think we should all "go green!" It's such a fun springy color!!

Random Picture Time!

Today is April 15 (well since it's now after midnight it's actually April 16...but that's just a technicality), so I should be out celebrating right? You're wrong! I actually have to prolong my celebration until tomorrow. But in rebellion of the fact that I have to work tomorrow, I am staying up late to post random pictures on my blog (I know...LOOK OUT! I'm a rebel!). So here you are:














Twice a month my roommates and I have the missionaries over for dinner. A few Sundays ago it was my turn to cook and I made Hawaiian haystacks. We had quite a bit left over, so Katie and I decided to do the best we could to finish it. We got the pan of rice, the two pots of sauce (one chicken and one broccoli), and all the toppings (tomatoes, almonds, pineapple, chow mien noodles, raisins, onions, etc) and that became our movie snack. We ate our leftovers while watching whatever Jane Austen movie was on Masterpiece Theater that night. (which if you didn't see those you really missed out...AMAZING!!!) Most random movie snack award goes to us :)

Pictures of NY in the Spring. The flowers are so beautiful on all the trees. Yes...we really do have trees in Manhattan other than in Central Park. The pink three against the white building is a picture taken from my bedroom window. The street lined with trees is Lexington Avenue between 92-93 streets (right by where I live). The white tree with the gate in front is my all-time favorite tree. There is a close up of it as well...but it still doesn't do it justice. This tree looks like it is covered in daisies!! It's so beautiful! Everyday I walk by this tree and wish that it could stay like that forver. It's so beautiful! I love NY in the spring. I wish that everyone could experience NY in the spring. It really is amazing!!












This is another picture taken from my bedroom window. Lately, this has been my alarm clock. I know all of you are say "sweetie...those are not alarm clocks." But every morning for the past week at exactly 7:30 am, I get woken up by a loud whirring noise outside my window. It is honestly so loud that it drowns out my actual alarm clock (which is set to go off at 8:30). I have become quite good at going back to sleep after being woken up by this construction, though, so that's good. But it sounds like they are doing construction in my room, and not outside - 5 floors below me. I hope that they are just clearing this area out and that they are not going to be building anything as well...but I think that's just wishful thinking.


This is my favorite picture. Only in NY can you find a store that sells clothing for puppies and babies! That's right...puppies and babies. Gotta love the Upper East Side!

Things I have Come To Realize...

After thinking long and hard about this after Kacee tagged me, this is what I have come up with:

Things I have come to realize...
1. I have come to realize that my family....is too far away from me. I miss them immensely. But I know that no matter how far apart we live, one day we will live together for eternity.
2. I have come to realize that when I talk...I don't look at the people I'm talking to. I look past them. Eye contact scares me.
3. I have come to realize that I need...sleep. The less sleep I get the grumpier I am. And trust me...you don't want me to be grumpy.
4. I have come to realize that I have lost...my ability to make a home-cooked meal. Eating out everyday for lunch and dinner will do that to you. Thank you tax season.
5. I have come to realize that I hate it when...I can hear people eating/drinking. It drives me CRAZY!!! I even annoy myself when I eat things like carrots and potato chips...it's gross.
6. I have come to realize that when I'm hungry...I eat junk food.
7. I have come to realize that money...is unequally spread out. In NY I see this magnified every day. Some of the wealthiest people live/work in NYC, while some of the poorest people are found sleeping in subway stations or on the street. There is so much money in the world, yet the majority of people don't have any of it.
8. I have come to realize that people...drive me crazy.
9. I have come to realize that I'll always be...a hopeless romantic.
10. I have come to realize that I'm in love with...reading. In the past 2 years I have rediscovered the joy a good book can bring me.
11. I have come to realize that my cell phone...doesn't ring as often as I would like it to.
12. I have come to realize that when I woke up this morning...I didn't want to get out of bed.
13. I have come to realize that before I go to sleep at night...I dream of the day I meet my future husband (see...hopeless romantic).
14. I have come to realize that right now I'm thinking about...how pathetic I sound (e.g.: #13)
15. I have come to realize that babies...bring me so much joy. Even though I don't have any of my own, I love being around them.
16. I have come to realize that when I blog...I try to let people see a different side of me from what they already know.
17. I have come to realize that today I will...try to not get frustrated with my senior at work.
18. I have come to realize that tonight I will...be one week closer to the return of Gossip Girl.
19. I have come to realize that tomorrow I will...party like it's 1999 because it is the end of tax season 2008!!! (most likely I will sleep...the party comes later when Mikey and Grandma Page come to visit!!!)
20. I have come to realize that I really want to...travel the world.
21. I have come to realize that everyone I tag will do this...because this is the best tag EVER!! Thanks Kac!
I'm going to tag Rachel Clegg, Shannon Lacey, Liz Hansen, Jenny Wilkes, and Courtnie Cotterell (and anyone else who reads this and needs something to blog about).

6:25

So I just wanted to share with the world that it is 6:25 pm on a Friday and I am HOME!!! I'm sure everyone right now is saying "Kristy - what's the big deal. Most people get home from work on Fridays around 6." But for me this is a big deal. I've been working 14 hour days on average. But today I got out early! And even better news: I DON'T HAVE TO WORK TOMORROW!!! Party time for me. That's all I wanted to say.

April Showers?

I'm at work staring out the window and I realize that it has started to rain. I'm sad because that means that I will be eating lunch from the cafeteria instead of from The Food Exchange. But as I keep staring, I realize that it isn't rain that is coming down...it's snow! And if there is one thing that I do not like, that's snow (unless I'm snowboarding). We haven't had too much snow in NY this year - maybe a couple of inches once or twice, so I guess I shouldn't really complain. And granted, I do sit on the 29th floor and down on the streets below it is probably only raining. But still...snow?!?! I'm pretty sure that whoever came up with the saying "April showers bring May flowers" was not thinking "snow" showers. And although technically it's not April yet...one more day...it's supposed to be Spring! Apparently New York did not get the memo.

Explanation of Why I Moved to NY

In 1955, Frank Sinatra starred in a movie called The Tender Trap. I had never heard about this movie until yesterday as I was looking through the free movies on demand. If you like old movies then you should watch it. It's pretty good. But the reason for this post is not to let people know about this movie, but it's to share with you all a quote from it about why women move to NY. So for any of you who have asked yourself (or asked me) why I would move to NY - so far away from family and friends...here is my reply:

We come to this town from Springfield, and Des Moines, and Fort Worth, and Salt Lake City. We're young, we're pretty and we're talented. All we have to do to get married is stay home. But the boys back home don't have what we want. We've got our eyes on something else: a career, glamor, excitement..and this is the place to find it. So we come to New York and we do pretty well...

So there you have it...the reason why we women (including myself) come to NY.