good-bye Stephanie!

Shake Shack burgers and fries, concretes with chocolate truffle cookie dough, 12 '08 grads, 2 leaders, and a (brisk) spring night in NYC. Can't think of a much better way to wish our sweet Stephanie off to pursue her singing career on a cruise ship than that!

Celebrity-ish Sighting #8

I'm not really sure if this is a "celebrity" or not, but definitely a well-known figure. And only in New York would you wake up at a friend's apartment and look out the window to see Sponge Bob making his way down the street.

it's Friday... but is it 6:00 yet???

child prodigy

and I thought my nieces and nephews were smart!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

survivor contestant?

No one else may find this story funny at alllll, but I almost lost it today at work as the following email chain played out between Brendan and me:

[a little background: last night at dinner, I was telling Brendan that I thought I should apply to be on the next season of Survivor. Free trip to somewhere tropical and exotic...and afterall, that is where my obsession with Elsbeth Hasselbeck started anyway! He said he'd support me if I decided to go on the show - he was kidding, I, of course, was dead serious.]

PP: it looks like i missed the deadline for the next season of survivor...but i just saved this application to my computer and will definitely check back on the website to apply for the next one! [Survivor contestant application attached]

BS: haha, i'm glad you checked on that. and you have to send a video in? they have an extensive application.

PP: yes, it was very extensive... but for the question that says "which survivor contestant do you most relate to", guess who my answer would be?! :)
yeah, maybe i should video myself doing very adventurous things...in new york city?

BS: yes, like eating a cookie from a shelf or hopping on the 2/3 train late at night.

This could be my big break:

[sign posted in McDonald's]

Sunday noontime, downtown 1 train [approaching the Rector St stop]:

I spent three very long subway stops listening to an obviously visiting family "breathe in, breathe out" in anticipation of not being able to get out of the subway doors in time when they opened and before they shut again...

THIS is why I love New York.

most perfect day ever...or pretty close

If there has ever been a perfect day, this one has come pretty close to it. This morning I had to get up and be at Redeemer to teach Sunday school at 8:45 (ah! there we go - that makes it less than perfect...I had to get up too early.) I love teaching Sunday school but sometimes it is a daunting thought to have to get up so early on my last day of the weekend to sleep in. Boy am I glad I didn't miss today! Not only were my two favorite Asian twins in attendance (as well as on very good behavior!) but we also had a new little girl move up to the 4-yr old class this morning. And while I am bursting from within right now as I type this, I decided for respect of the family, I would indirectly blog about the new student in our class...rather than using her full name and/or her parents full name. I don't know why, I just feel like church is probably the one place celebrities (for those who actually go to church) want to be able to go without being swarmed with crazy, obsessive fans (yes, like myself.) However, as inexplicit as I hope to be, if you know me well AT ALL, you are bursting from within right now too, because you know exactly who the new student in my class is...and the new mom that actually introduced herself to ME this morning as she left her daughter under my care!

freshman year in the real world: SPRING BREAK

This week was my alma mater's spring break, so in a quasi-attempt at savouring every last bit of college life that I no longer have (namely: a spring break) I emphatically hosted two great friends from Auburn and helped them celebrate their one week of scholastic freedom. It was A. BLAST.

Court and Rose Lynn on their first night in the Big Apple!
Me and Brendan at Burger Joint with RL and Court
Trying to convert Rose to a true "New Yorker"...it looks like she's well on her way with the Starbucks in hand.
Watch out for the biker lane, Court!!! 
I have NEVER seen a hot dog this big. And I have consumed a lot of hot dogs in my lifetime.
Me and little Rose petals at Serendipity
Court and Rose wishing Mary Lindsey was with us
Classic Serendipity pic with our chocolate peanut butter fro-ho-cho
Before... (can you tell the whip cream is GREEN for St. Patty's Day?!)
AFTER!
Times Square (thanks photog, Pamela!)
Reenacting RL's visit/our photo shoot from Summer 2007
One short friend, one tall
Court got tired of smiling...
beautiful Central Park!
Rose's one-bite cupcake
Introducing Rose Lynn and Courtney to Magnolia cupcakes.
cupcakes, NYC, and Auburn friends...doesn't get much better than this...
until I get a stomach ache from too much sugar.
Our last hoo-rah at Benihana. (Not quite up to Mikata standards, but definitely good...and considering it's the ONLY Japanese steakhouse I have been able to find in NYC, I'll take whatever I can get!)

W likes Benihana too!

Just another reason for me to love him...

Celebrity Sighting #7, no. 158

(or maybe not 158, but I see her frequently at church now, so I lost an accurate count.)

Elsabeth Hasselbeck running in Central Park!

out of the mouth of babes

Text message from my oldest brother, Brent, this week:

"McKay said that is how you go to Gammaw's, then turned to her friend and said her real name is Sandy, but we call her Gammaw because she is an old girl."

spring has sprung!

or, supposedly...as it is currently snowing outside right now.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(ps - notice the Chappy's Deli sign in the right background! I would kill for some of their ranch right now...)

i'm sleepy...

It's been an exhausting (but FUN) week...hence the reason I haven't had much time/motivation to blog. However, many blog updates are coming. Rose Lynn and Courtney and I had a fabulous time playing in the big city, and many fun(ny) pictures are to come this weekend!

My game plan for the weekend is looking like this (thanks to the suggestion from Caylen) :
"rent movies and sleep in and eat big macs! :) eating a big mac with no shame! haha"

I can't think of much more that sounds more perfect than that!

today's the day!

Rose Lynn and Courtney are coming today!!!

happy Pi/wedding day

Today I went out to south Jersey to a wedding of a friend of Brendan's. Yes, the wedding was on March 14th (3.14, also known as Pi Day) at 1:59 pm. Most people don't get married at such exact times like this, but if you have a calculator lying around and type in "pi" to find the exact value, you will see it is precisely 3.14159...

Brendan's friend Nate is a software programmer (or something very smart...he started college at 14) at Google and his new wife Karen just graduated from RPI with a masters in Robotics Engineering. It was a very sweet wedding and completely perfect and fitting for the bride and groom! :)

chick fil a LOVERS

So I'm a big blogger copy cat and stole this off Cay's blog, but it is just too good not to share with everyone!

a little perryn?

To anyone who knew me as a little kid, does this pic look vaguely (or spitting-image) familiar??? The messed up hair (except mine was blond), millions of necklaces in every color of the rainbow...yep, that was me!

Look at this little cutie in a hospital gown!

 

Sooo glad the shots are OVER!

for all the New York skeptics

New York really isn't as heartless a place as a lot of people (primarily in the south...) tend to believe. This morning as I was coming out of the Union Square subway station, I could hear a very old woman talking and a younger man standing near her. I noticed that she was struggling with something when I immediately saw what was going on. The woman (likely homeless) had some sort of cart with her that was too heavy to carry up the stairs by herself. The young man noticing this, stopped to help her and carried the cart all the way up the stairs for her, then turned around to ask if she needed any help getting up the stairs. He made sure the cart was secure and offered her as much help as she needed before he continued on his morning commute, in which the woman had a very grateful and polite response to his generosity.

 

So if you're one of those cynical New York skeptics, seeing this firsthand would probably change your mind, huh? I hope so!

a McKay story

Tonight I was talking to my mom and she said she had a funny story to tell me about McKay that she wanted me to tell Brendan. She and McKay were talking the other day and discussing all the different "br-" names they knew of: Brent, Brendan, etc. My mom then asked McKay if she knew who Brendan was, and McKay said of course she did... he was Aunt Perryn's friend who had November 6th too! (this is exactly the way she words it; and if you didn't pick up on this, she and Brendan have the same birthday, November 6) Then after a few more minutes of contemplating this, she said:

"Gammaw, Brendan sure is big to be 5."

Happy birthday GGMaw!

(a pic from GG's birthday a few years ago, back in Decatur!)

Today is GGMaw's 83rd birthday!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I'm sad I missed out on dinner with the fam at Cypress Inn tonight, but I trust that the party and celebration went on just the same without me there! (I hope so anyway) I hope you had a great day GG!

"$14 an hour can hardly get me a metro card. So you can either pay me lots of money to design or I'll get coffee and stay an intern...but I can't do both."
- a disgruntled fellow coworker/intern about his new enhanced responsibilites upon the increased amount of layoffs at work

painting schools (my kind of volunteer event!)

A few weekends ago, a group from work volunteered with an organization called Publicolor to help paint a nearby school, Gramercy Arts High School, on a Saturday morning/afternoon. It was a blast - not only because I enjoy painting (a lot) but the organization seems to be a really great thing to help kids get involved in beneficial after-school programs and do something worthwhile with their time. AND, we painted the school some really awesome colors - Marigold, Italian Rose (HOT pink), and Plum Royale (a great, dark purple color). Here are a few pictures a coworker put together and emailed out.

so august of you

Some real estate brokers at the Corcoran Group in New York have lately picked up a phrase that Pam Liebman, their chief executive, has borrowed from a friend, a line she uses whenever people admit they've splurged on something a little luxurious: "That's so August of you."

Interesting article on how spending large amounts of money in today's economy is actually starting to be seen as "unfashionable." I don't know about that, but my new favorite phrase is "That's so August of you." What a good one!

charm and chain, thanks daily candy!

To see the most beautiful jewelry ever (where this fab bracelet came from), click here! You won't be disappointed.

missed connection at 10 Hanover

I'm not going to lie, I think these things are pretty ridiculous. But on the flip side, they do provide enormous amounts of amusement for me and a lot of my friends. This morning, taped beside the elevators in my apartment, this sign was unabashedly displayed. I'm thinking of emailing prty_eyes_10han just for kicks...

religion in the US

Check out this article to get the latest updates on religion in our country.

What a sad and depressing news article.

the finished product

Well, mostly finished anyways. There are always more ideas popping into my head 24/7 about things I could do to improve and upgrade the design appeal of my room. But for now, here it is!

(as a disclaimer, sorry I am not the best photog in the world. Maybe at some point I'll take better photos and post them again...but for now, this'll have to do!)

email from Paige

on the most current status of Abbey's potty training adventures:

And so, the saga continues!! Abbey's potty training was going really well. She liked using the potty like a big girl, liked telling everyone she met about it, and definitely liked the treats she was getting after using the potty. However, she always wanted to run off (making a beeline to the pantry, in search of a treat, of course) as soon as she was done, leaving a little trail behind her. So, I tried to remind her every time to clean herself. At first, she used her hands, then her shirt. I told her no, no, that wouldn't work. So then, she decided that the hand towel in the bathroom would be good to use (I hope we caught this habit early....who knows how many times she did this without our knowing!). Finally, I think I got it through to her that girls use toilet paper to clean themselves. It appears that she learned her lesson, don't you think?

Oh, the joys of motherhood...but for now, I'll just settle with nieces and nephews! :)

the verdict:

my room painting is complete and I LOVE the color! Pictures to come soon, but not until everything is perfectly in place again (the OCD is coming out in me...). It's very close, but not there yet... and the process was very easy and quick. I had great help (thank you, Brendan!) and was able to knock the whole project out in only a few hours.

Dad, my love for "projects" is steadily increasing. Aren't you proud?!

we can do it!

I'm not sure why, because I've never been any kind of women's lib activist, but I have always loved this picture. And with the remake by Alexis Bledel, I like it almost as much as the original.

it's painting day!!

I finally decided on a color and am painting my room today! This probably doesn't excite most people all that much, but this is like Christmas morning to a designer. I set my alarm for 8 AM so I'd have the whole day to get it done...and I woke up about an hour and a half before my alarm went off, which is indeed earlier than I woke up for Christmas this year.

And the color is:

the darker gray, Metropolitan (which I found the name also to be very fitting for my room in New York City!)

overheard in new york

as I was standing in the lobby of my office this morning and waiting to get on the elevator, the doorman was listening to a radio program blasting these facts.

"...we've hit the highest unemployment rate since 1983... there's no light at the end of the tunnel..... more jobs will be lost in the coming months..."

What a great way to start off the day.

this is touching...

I don't know what it is about the Bushs, but they get me every time.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Micky D's gets a makeover!

apparently some of these are somewhere in NYC. not so sure, because I've been to a lot of McD's in Manhattan, and never seen any that look like this. I guess I'll have to keep looking...

hard to believe this is really McDonald's, huh?

rainbow sightings

This is the website I've always been looking for!

Rainbow sightings from all over the world.

is this really "news"?

Once again, from the Today Show... they actually did a news segment on THIS???

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I am dreaming of somewhere tropical...and warm. And a place where you can hear waves crashing into the sand. Yes.

faith and deficits

I ran across this article yesterday and then I saw it posted on Kat's blog, as well. It's pretty amazing that this was actually published in the NY Times... Without a doubt, a recommended read on the current devastation of the economy from a Christian perspective.

what happens in Alabama when it snows

Since my Auburn email account is still active, I still get all mass emails sent out by the university (yay...). I got this one yesterday and think it is so hilarious. Maybe it's because I now live in a city where schools close once every five years for snow, and taxis never stop driving and no grocery stores ever run out of milk and bread. Nevertheless, here is what Dean Johnny Green had to say in response to the "blizzard" in Alabama yesterday:

Subject: Classes Tomorrow

I am sorry to report but classes will not be canceled tomorrow. TigerTransit and all university services will open at normal universityhours. If you are out of town and in an area where the weather may bepreventing you from returning to Auburn by tonight or for classestomorrow, please email your professors AND be sure to send me some typeof note to let me know where you are so that I can help with an excuse,if necesary, in any way that I can. For example, if you end up at ahotel out of town, keep a copy of the bill, etc.

Please be sure to monitor the University Home Page for updates, just incase the weather or something else changes (Transit can't operatebecause of icy roads, for example) before morning!
I apologize that we won't get a de-stressor day. We only get SNOW ONCEevery TEN YEARS or so!!

Peace,

JG

why do girls do the things they do?

This morning as I was getting dressed and ready to leave for work, I was looking through my drawer for things I could "accessorize" with. I decided since I didn't have a brown necklace like I really wanted, that I should add a headband. However, the headband I was thinking of gives me a MASSIVE headache. I thought for a second and decided I really shouldn't wear it because I knew (without a doubt) my head would be hurting about 5 minutes after I put it in. I thought for a few more seconds...and my conclusion?

I am currently suffering from a MASSIVE headache.

hence, my initial question: why do girls do the things they do?

for the first time in what seems like ten years...

it snowed in Alabama!

Tate and his (and Mayce and McKay's) snowman: