How did I do?

Well yesterday's list was a long one......let's see how good I did (red means it got done)!

Laundry
Design and print boxtoppers
Quarterly Federal Payroll reports
Start working on e-mail for May 1
Write letter to Security company cancelling their crappy service
Start working on agenda for Weds meeting
Start tackling the little piles of small tasks sitting on my desk
Find the payroll reports from last year so that I can mail this audit that was due last month
Start on the May Pizza of the Month things (website, signs, instructions, pictures)
Report all new employees to the state of Texas
Catch up all data entry in Quickbooks
Do last weeks paperwork
Get ready for taxes (this is a week long project by itself)
Try to fit in some housecleaning
Finish decorating the front porch and get porch swing hung

Doesn't look like much off the list got done, but it also doesn't include all the other things I did that didn't make the list.

Oh well......I'm chugging along and working on it again today!

Alone + Swamped = Production

The Bad News: Paul has to close again tonight :-(

The Good News: Since he won't be home to distract me......I should get LOTS of work done tonight.

Lucky for me, the list is long so I won't have to worry about running out of things to do.

This next part is mostly for me......so if you're not interested, then just consider the blogging done right here. But, if you're really want to see my personal "to-do" list for today......then by all means, read on.

Actually, listing it here for the world to see might be a positive thing.

1. I can have a written list of all the tasks I need to accomplish (just in case I forget)


2. I can check back here tomorrow and see how many of these things I actually got done!

• Laundry


• Design and print boxtoppers


• Quarterly Federal Payroll reports


• Start working on e-mail for May 1


• Write letter to Security company cancelling their crappy service


• Start working on agenda for Weds meeting


• Start tackling the little piles of small tasks sitting on my desk


• Find the payroll reports from last year so that I can mail this audit that was due last month


• Start on the May Pizza of the Month things (website, signs, instructions, pictures)


• Report all new employees to the state of Texas


• Catch up all data entry in Quickbooks


• Do last weeks paperwork


• Get ready for taxes (this is a week long project by itself)


• Try to fit in some housecleaning


• Finish decorating the front porch and get porch swing hung

Ha ha.........I'll be lucky if three things on this list get done.

Text Wars

This is what happens when two sisters start texting each other on a Friday night. The following is a verbatim interaction between two sisters. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent.

Debbie: Miss you.....let's go eat tacos

Penny: At Chuys as we text!!!! I will have a shot with ur name on it!!!! You too there.....have a penny shot




Debbie: Toasting my beer to you



Penny: (photo sent with following caption: Drink a real beer on ur toast silly!!!!)



Debbie: We miss you guys!

Penny: (photo sent with the following caption: Kara has chosen vodka water for her toast!!!!)



It gets really deadly when we are together in person!

Yes, we do miss hanging out with Penny and her wild family!

Wordless Wednesday: You are never too old to have fun!

Date night with the hubby!

We've been busy, busy, busy.

Tuesday nights are normally the only night of the week that we really plan for and make sure there is enough people scheduled.

Tuesday nights used to be reserved for trivia night, but since it's really the only guaranteed night that we have -- we only attend trivia sporadically and try and do other things on this night. (plus I'm kinda burned out on trivia for awhile)

So tonight's date night will consist of dinner out together.....and we really want a steak (or maybe prime rib). So this is probably where we'll end up since they have really good steaks at a really good price.



Then it's off to the movies. There's a movie theater right next door to the restaurant and it has nothing by Imax screens. So it's a movie for us and the movie of choice (Paul's choice).......is The Hunger Games!!!



How blissful those 4 hours will be with cell phones off, no paperwork, and nothing to do but enjoy ourselves!

Boo Hoo.....it's the last day :-(

The last day in NYC. I know you've been waiting for the final piece to the story.....so here it is.

The day began with the usual trip to Starbucks, but this morning we would also be saying goodbye to the Belnord Hotel. We left our luggage at the hotel for the day and off we went.



We really didn't have much of a plan for the day. We just kind of wandered around the city. We started off for Grand Central Station, but ended up near the United Nations......so we figured we'd check it out.



After going through security, we got inside only to find out that all tours were guided and that there was at least a 2 hour wait. We really didn't want to waste our last day there waiting for that -- so we viewed some of the pictures in the lobby they had on exhibit and it was off to......who knows where.

Our original plan had been to go to Brooklyn since we were close by (we thought we should visit at least one other borough while we were there).....but Paul really wanted to see the original Cotton Club owned by his Uncle Ownie. Remember all the Ownie Madden stories I blogged about when we went to Hot Springs, Arkansas? So it was off to Harlem instead (which was totally opposite of Brooklyn).

After some heavy duty navigating to find the right subways and transfers to get there (and a little help from a very nice lady), we were on our way to Harlem. Lucky for us the Cotton Club was 2 blocks from the subway....so we found it easily and had Paul pose for a picture outside of it.



We walked back to the subway and down the main street in Harlem to get a feel of what this city was like. The view from the subway platform gives a birds eye view.



After our Harlem visit, we continued on the subway to the Bronx. It was time for lunch (3pm) so we found a kosher Jewish deli to feast upon some pastrami, dill pickles, Knishes, and Hot Red Peppers. Yummy!



The view of the rails from the platform at the Bronx subway station.



Since the day was winding down and we needed to figure out what transportation we were going to take to get back to the Newark airport for our flight home, we jumped back on the subway and stopped off at our hotel and picked up our luggage.

Our next destination was to head back down to Times Square and hit the souvenir shops. We had to bring back the necessary display plate and shot glasses that we always pick up when we're traveling.

Instead of taking the train back to Newark, we opted for a direct bus to the airport. We found the New York Port Authority station closeby Times Square and hopped a relaxing bus back to the airport.

Since we arrived at the airport 2 1/2 hours before our flight, it gave us plenty of time to get through security and find a relaxing place to sip on some margaritas while we waited for our flight. I would like to note that in security at both the Houston airport and the Newark airport, they found it necessary to give me additional screenings by giving me a patdown. Guess old ladies are now terroristic targets.

It's always fun to have some time to kill and explore all the different airports we go to. There is usually some fun shops or good treats to eat while you're waiting for your plane. The Newark airport proved no differently.

We had a great time, had a great adventure, and saw and did many amazing things on this trip. Of course, 4 days didn't begin to cover all the things there was to do.....but that can be saved for another trip!

Buzzzzz............busy little bees

I can't believe how fast the weeks are just flying by.

I've been going to post the last day of the trip to NYC and just haven't had a chance.

Some of the highlights of this week have been:
* Meeting with detectives about robberies
* Attending an out-of-town auction
* Dealing with the logistics of the stuff we bought at the auction
* Faxes, phone calls, etc. - there's always someone that needs contacted
* Dealing with insurance companies
* Trying to get a grip on the paperwork
* Trying to get a grip on this PIGSTY house
* Laundry
* Counseling older son
* Listening to younger son
* Enjoying quiet moments with the hubby (wish we had more of these)
* Many, many more tiny things that aren't worth mentioning, but take up a day!

I've been snapping pictures of things to post, but just haven't had the time to download and edit them. Once I can get a spare chance.....I'll get caught back up again. Life is good.....life is busy, but then again we'd be bored if there was nothing to do!

Wordless Wednesday: My tomatoes are safe

Too busy to post....but wanted to share something that brings a smile to my face:



My little glowing-eyed gnome guarding my tomato plants tonight!

Day 3 in NYC.....really...I finally posted it.

Sorry for the long delay between Day 2 and Day 3. Unfortunately, lots of things have happened in between. Some of which include a BURGLARY, a SICKNESS, 5 BUSY days, a SCHOOL CARNIVAL, and 5 MILLION other things.

But.....here it is...what you've been waiting for. Our 3rd day in marvelous NYC!

Day 3 started a little late. It was a Monday morning and we needed to use the subway into downtown. We didn't want to compete with all the commuters on the subway.....so we opted in for sleeping later and then hitting the subways once everyone was at work.

So after a late night.....getting up at 9am was heaven. After showers we headed off to Starbucks to fill Paul up with his daily gas.

First destination was.....The Museum of Modern Art, or lovingly referred to as MOMA. I don't care if you are an artsy person or not.....being in a building that contained masterpieces by people such as Van Gogh, Warhol, Picasso.....etc. is humbling. It's also very amazing to see what people are paid for claiming their "masterpiece" is art. Seriously, I should go into the art world....I could make a killing gluing cotton balls on a piece of burlap!

I apologize in advance. We couldn't use our flash in the museum and we're not very good photographers without our flash (or with our flash), so it makes our photos blurry. So don't adjust your computers.....it's just our pictures!



Starry, Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. Probably the most famous painting in the building.



An art critic at work.



I personally prefer the weird things.....such as this one, where they use real things to make it seem like a masterpiece!



I found this view outside one of the windows in the museum. NYC had some warm weather for awhile and the city was beautiful with all the budding trees and flowers. It truly was a beautiful place to visit.

The next stop after MOMA was to Rockefeller Center! We chose our "aerial" view of NYC to be from the Top of the Rock rather than the Empire State Building. So after a walk down 5th Avenue (you know the street with all the designer stores), we made it to our destination.

Right across the street from Rockefeller Center was St. Patrick's Cathedral. I could have taken pictures for an hour and never really captured the beauty of this church. The whole entire building is sculptured and breathtakingly beautiful. What a majestic church it is.



BUT......before we were to venture to the Top of the Rock.....it was necessary for us to eat some lunch.....or breakfast???? The meal of choice was a New York Deli where we feasted on some kind of NYC sub with pastrami and corned beef and a yummy tortollini and pesto salad. Always have to enjoy the local flavors!

The view from the Top of the Rock was spectacular!





While at Rockefeller Center we got to see that famous Ice Skating Rink and the Today Show studio where all the people stand outside and wave like idiots. If we had been up early enough.....I would have been there too :-)





Here's the empty studio. We got there a little late ;-)

Right down the street from Rockefeller Center was the Radio City Music Hall. Had no desire to visit it other than snap a picture......because after all, it IS the place where the Rockettes perform. So while Paul is snapping that picture, he sees the sign above me.....ha ha.....hilarious!



Ok....by now we are tired and we've done lots of walking, but we heard the New York City Public Library is a spectacle to behold. So marching back down 5th Avenue to the Library.

It really was a place of beauty and unfortunately because we had to have the flash off....most of the pictures were blurry. It is not like ANY library I have ever seen before in my life and the woodwork, architecture, and paintings are unlike any I'll probably ever see again. Simply a beautiful place.



After our quiet visit to the library, it was off to Times Square to see what Broadway show tickets we could get for that night. We had finally graduated to the BIG time and were ready to see our first Broadway show. As we waited in line, they had expert people to answer your questions.....so we asked....we wanted to make sure that we were going to see the absolutely best show that we could in our one-time shot at it. While Paul doesn't care much for all musicals.....and I do.....the decision was difficult. But the grand prize winner was Ghost!

We loved the show. Our seats were excellent. We think we made an awesome choice!



After we left the show, we were walking around 42nd street area looking for somewhere to eat when I had my FIRST CELEBRITY sighting. She was standing outside a theater that had just let out and it was.......Christine Baranski! Ok....I know she might or might not be familiar to you.....but it was a real life celebrity. In fact, we even walked back and looked at her again to make sure. It was.



I would have taken a "real life" picture of her to prove it was her, but I didn't want to act like paparazzi or a fan stalker....so you're just gonna have to take my word for it.

So after scouting out some places in the area.....we made the decision to hop on the subway and hit up the local pizza joint near our hotel (there was really about 3 local pizza joints near our hotel). Paul has been bugging me for years about eating a Sicilian pizza and I finally relented. I'm really not big on a lot of crust on my pizza......but OMG (Oh my God).......eating that delicious pizza at midnight in the middle of our tiny hotel room was one of the highlights of our trip. That pizza was AMAZING.



We finally had to call it a night......because the next day was going to be our last day and we really wanted to make sure we did everything we could. Day 3 was fantastic and I loved spending every minute of it with my wonderful traveling buddy!

Looking for Day 3 in NYC?

Well, I know you are.

And you probably logged in looking for it, expecting it.

Sorry to report that you are not going to find it here today.

Oh I have a variety of excuses why it's not here.

Such as:
* I am STILL sick
* I went in to cover a driver shift for a little bit this morning and ended up working 1/2 day
* Because I forgot to take out chicken this morning for dinner tonight, I went ahead and whipped up some tunafish and a pasta salad so that when Paul gets home tonight I don't have to do a SINGLE thing to have dinner ready (that was really smart)
* I need to clean up the house a little, since I've been sick for over a week -- nothing is done.

I could give you a few more reasons, but I think you understand where I'm coming from.

Trust me, I have lots more pictures to share of our NYC adventure -- just won't be sharing them today.

I'll try to have them ready for you tomorrow!

A trek around NYC - Day 2

Well this 2nd day in the big city was a lot of walking.....A LOT of walking!

We began the day with a subway ride to Greenwich Village, where we walked and saw the neighborhoods of Soho, Greenwich Village, and a couple of other neighborhoods that I lost track of. I was never sure exactly what neighborhood we were in -- it was just exciting seeing all the buildings and the people and the sights!



We stopped at this park near New York University, but I don't remember the name of it. Guess I should look it up so I'll know it for the future.



You don't see these on the street corners in Houston:



Loved the neighborhood fire stations:



This map was our best friend as we roamed the streets and rode the subways. It came back a little dog-eared, but worth every penny we paid for it.



Another neighborhood:



After spending most of our day walking -- we decided we needed to do something more leisurely -- so we hopped on the Staten Island Ferry. This turned out to be a great decision, as we got magnificent views of the city from the water. We also got a close up view of the Statue of Liberty. We rode the ferry over to Staten Island and then hopped back on it and rode back over to Manhattan.



Riding inside the Ferry -- it was kind of a colder, chilly day to be out on the water.



A view of the city from the Ferry:



There she is, the symbol of America!



Our next adventure took us to the 9/11 Memorial where the World Trade Center once stood. It is an incredibly somber place and once we got there we found out we needed a ticket to get in. However, once again we were lucky and they brought out a stack of tickets to distribute to the crowd that was standing there. So we got in. What an amazing and sad feeling to be standing where we had seen so many unbelievable images. The memorial is beautiful and the names inscribed on both of the waterfalls was a sad reminder of all the lives that were lost that day.



There was only one tree near the Towers that survived that day, it was blooming the day we were there.



After a quick nap and a little rest at the hotel, we were back off and running again. We decided that no trip to New York City would be complete without seeing a show. So we hopped on the subway and we were off to Times Square. They had a 1/2 price ticket booth for last minute tickets available for shows that night -- so our decision was made to see an Off-Broadway Show at the Snapple Theater.

Times Square at dusk still looks as busy as it does at night!



We saw "A Perfect Crime" which was one of the longest running shows -- for 25 years and starring the same original actress as when the play opened. It was a small "who done it" in an intimate theater. We enjoyed the show and after a very late dinner, we headed back to the room for some much needed sleep!

A visit to the East Coast - Day 1

The only way to tell you about our fantastic trip to New York City is to start at the very beginning......so here we go. What a great place to celebrate our 15th Wedding anniversary!

An early morning flight and a beautiful view of the city as we landed in Newark, New Jersey.



A short airport tram ride to the Train station and then a 30 minute train ride into Penn Station New York.



Our stay in Manhattan was on the Upper West Side.....a beautiful area and fun to stay in a neighborhood and watch the daily lives of New Yorkers.



After eating pizza for lunch, we ventured out to explore the city.

Our first stop was the Museum of Natural History. After getting the lucky break of a free admission, we took time to explore the cavernous building filled with all kinds of artifacts reflecting our history.



Paul enjoyed spending the majority of the time in the dinosaur rooms.



You never know who you'll see while walking the streets of New York.....I stumbled across Abraham Lincoln! We then found our way to Central Park where we thoroughly enjoyed a Pedi-Cab ride through the park.



Our guide (and driver) was outstanding and took many pictures of us during the ride. He told us lots of interesting facts about the park and the city. It was a romantic and cozy way to see Central Park!



This one is my all time favorite, favorite!



After the relaxing ride through the Park, we were driven in the Pedi-Cab down to Times Square. What a crazy place! There is so many lights and signs and people -- you just have to stop and look around. It was almost surreal to be there after seeing these sights and sounds on television all these years.



Our entertainment for the evening was to attend a comedy show at HA Comedy Club. The comedians were either very funny or we were very tired, but we did laugh out loud quite a bit! Our dinner to finish the day was a couple slices of pizza in Times Square.



After a long day, it was back down in the tunnels of NYC and take the subway back to the hotel. We knew we would have another fun filled, action packed day tomorrow.



What a great way to spend my anniversary......I love you Paul Gainor!