6 days in New York

Day One:

We arrived early Friday morning at Newark airport. We had to take a train/subway to get to Michael's apartment. That was an adventure. Lets just say we got stuck in the turnstile a few times and then went the wrong way on the subway, haha. We finally got to his apartment with all our luggage in one piece. After that it was a day of exploring and LOTS of coffee since we left Dallas at 6:00 a.m.

The Empire State Building

We were able to get some great pictures of all of New York from here. Now it was freezing most of the time we were in New York BUT this was a particularly COLD spot to be. The wind was blowing so hard. Regardless we got some great pictures. After the Empire State Building we went to the New York Public library. It was absolutely gorgeous. We had no intention of going there and just stumbled upon it. The architecture was absolutely amazing and it was all marble. The night was spent drinking wine and getting warm!

Day Two:

We went to Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty is not that pretty up close :-)

Russell & I with the Statue of Liberty

Russell and I on Ellis Island with New York in the background

My Grandfather came through Ellis Island. I found his name on the wall!

Russell and I went to dinner on Saturday night but the camera wasn't charged so we don't have any pictures. We found this great little Italian restaurant, Pasta Prego Grill, and little coffee shop/bar. It was so adorable with a little fire place. We ended up staying out until 3 a.m. just us two chatting!

Day 3:

We went and ate lunch at ESPN zone. It was the only place Russell "had to go." Reluctantly (just kidding) I went and we had lunch. Queso = Nachos in the North, ha! We then met up with Michael to take a walk through Central Park and visit the John Lennon Memorial. It was like something out of a movie! Everything was covered in snow and it was so beautiful. We spent a good hour or so in the park just walking around. This was one of the "warmer" days while we were there. Here are some of the pictures through central park:

Russell, Michael, and I in Central Park

John Lennon Memorial in Strawberry Fields

That night Russell and I went to the Lion King. My parent's gave us tickets for Russell's graduation gift. It was such a great show. I had seen it in Austin before but seeing it on broadway was awesome. I actually ended up getting sick about midway through the first half of the show. That was a nightmare. We were dead center in the mezzanine which meant I got to make 30 people extremely happy by walking in front of them and tripping on their things to get to the bathroom. I think they should feel lucky I didn't erp on them! I got to feeling better after getting water. Believe me, I have NO idea what that was about but just glad I didn't get some stomach virus.

Day 4:

This was one of our busiest days! We went to the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). We got to see tons of Picasso, Andy Warhol and Van Gogh paintings. There were a ton of really amazing pieces and a ton of not so awesome pieces. If I could paint it/make it then I don't think it should be hanging in a prestigious art museum! After the MOMA we went and took a tour of NBC studios. We were able to see the SNL studio (which probably be the closet we get to seeing a show) and Brian William's studio. After that we went on an impromptu adventure to try and get tickets to Avenue Q. We ventured to the TKTS booth where the was NO line. Crazy I know! It was snowing SO hard that day which was an adventure in itself. By this point and time we were thinking snow wasn't as "cool" anymore. It was in our eyes and covering our jackets eventually soaking them. However, we managed to get 3 tickets to Avenue Q for a great price!

Waiting at TKT for Avenue Q tickets in the snow!

After Avenue Q

Avenue Q was so so so SO funny. It was nothing like what we were expecting and a very nice surprise. I know it is coming to Austin so for all of you there GET TICKETS! After the show, the three of us went to dinner at Serendipity. That was my "had to go" spot. We had dinner and then for dessert, frrrozen hot chocolate (mine had peanut butter). I got to sit in the spot that Marilyn Monroe used to sit. Russell thought it was photo worthy so mid-dinner he took a picture!

Me at Serendipity sitting where Marilyn Monroe sat!

Day 5: INAUGURATION!!!!!

We woke up and went to Time Square where the three of us watched Obama become the 44th president. There were hundreds of people watching the big screens. It was such a great place to be! Lots of cheering! Here is some pictures from that morning:

Obama-man on Columbia Campus

The rest of the day was spent at the Met. That was probably the most overwhelming museum I have ever seen. There were so many exhibits and it was easy to get lost in it. We ended up feeling so exhausted from the week and didn't stay too long .We did get to see a few more of Van Gogh and Andy Warhol paintings and also some Renoir. That evening we figured out that it was "New York Restaurant Week." Basically all these great restaurant's had a fixed price 3 course dinner for only $35. The place we choose to go was Ono. It was SO delicious and worth every penny. It was great last dinner in New York.

Day 6:

I went shopping at H&M. Sadly, it is the only shopping I did the entire time. Not that I have money to be shopping! Then packed our bags and left!

It was such a great trip. We were so grateful for Michael and his roommate letting us invade their apartment for the week.

Vacation and Spring Update

Since it has been forever since I last blogged I'll try and do a brief update.....

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!

December

I finished last semester at the beginning of January! It has been a whirlwind ever since. Russell graduated on December 20th and began his job search. Unfortunately the economy is not friendly to new graduates but he is working hard to make as many contacts as possible. I helped him move from Waco to Houston then spent Christmas in Austin with my family.

Betsy finally came home for her vacation from France/Hong Kong. I got to spend a good amount of time catching up with her (it totally wasn't enough time either)! Regardless it was so nice and comforting to see all the Austin crew!

The day after Christmas I went to Houston for a Texans game and spent some time with Russell's family. The Texans game was such a great time and we ended up with really great seats. Since the roof is still damaged from hurricane Ike it stays open all the time. Of course it was raining and freezing that day! Russell then made the trip to Austin where we rang in the new year.

My sister, Mom, and I decorating a tree on 360

New Years Eve

I spent this night with the best people in the world! I couldn't have asked for a better night. It seems like forever since I had a night like this spent with friends. We all congregated at my best friend Chris's new downtown condo. We had a beautiful view of the Austin fireworks, danced, and toasted to the new year. I was so lucky to have a bunch of the Baylor crew join us as well. All in all it was such a wonderful night spent with my closest friends and family!

Betsy, Christopher, and I on New Years

Baylor Crew on New Years

(Russell, Me, Courtney, Josh, Thomas)

January- Cruise

My family took our annual cruise our of Miami this year. Our ports were San Juan, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. It was definitely the most "interesting" cruise we have ever been on. Dinner was always an adventure. You never knew what you were going to actually get and heaven forbid you want some soup from room service! The ports were beautiful. We were in San Juan at night and since my family didn't want to go on a swamp adventure we ate at a delicious Italian food restaurant. I know, italian in San Juan. . .but it was recommended for good reason!

My sister and I just spent a day on the beach in St. Thomas snorkeling. I got to see a SHARK! It was tiny and non-threatening. I'm pretty sure you could raise one in an aquarium but still it was pretty awesome. In St. Maarten we spent another day at the beach. It rained every twenty minutes but we all got some good sun. The next few days of the cruise were spent on the ship. My poor sister got so sick. I felt terrible for her and of course what worse place to be than stuck on a ship. I know she was glad to get home. It was great to spend so much time with my family, regardless of the "interesting" happenings of the boat.

My sister and I watching the National Championship game on the ship.

Did I mention I hate OU!

New Semester
I have officially started my internship at Parkland Hospital. I was assigned to the trauma rounds. This means I have patients that have brain injuries normally resulting from some kind of fall, car wreck, etc. Right now I'm just shadowing my supervisor. I have done a little work with patients. It has been really great so far. I can't say I'm not totally overwhelmed by the amount of information I've been taking in. It is going to be such a great learning experience and I know I will be challenged. I'm there five days a week from 8-12 and then have class in the afternoon. Classes have started pretty slowly. We had Monday off and my first round of exams is not for a few more weeks. Oh yea and everyone think good thoughts because I'm going to need a strong stomach during this semester!

I'll post another blog about New York once Russell gets some pictures up! It was definitely a great trip and the inauguration in Time Square was unforgettable!!