So much has happened in the last two weeks that I can hardly wrap my brain around it! In addition to the excitement of getting engaged, Steve and I had a New York trip to look forward to! Neither of us had ever been, so we were looking forward to exploring the city together and celebrating our new Fiancé and Fiancée statuses! I’m in SUCH a hurry to write down everything that we did for fear that I won’t remember…even though I took about 300 pictures while we where there. Find the shorter version of the album on Facebook or here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2310120&id=11501957&l=ac5dc96bda
Day 1 – Thursday, March 25th:
I took a half day off work and we flew out on 2:00 from Midway to La Guardia. We were worried that traffic was going to be terrible, because we arrived at 5:00 pm, but we had an uneventful cab ride to the Beekman Tower Hotel, which was perfectly situated on 49th and 1st, right in Midtown East. The area reminded us a lot of the Gold Coast here in Chicago, because it was about ten blocks to the heart of the city, but the area where the actual hotel was located was quiet and residential. The Hotel itself was nothing to write home about, it was older, but the room was a pretty good size and it had a full kitchen. Everything worked and was clean, so I was satisfied with our choice. Or…I guess it was Priceline’s choice….we did the Name Your Own Price option so we could get it for less.
It was such a beautiful day, that we couldn’t wait to get outside and explore. We needed to go downtown to pick up our tickets for the bus tour the next day, so we decided to walk. We saw Fifth Ave, the Waldorf Hotel, Grand Central (which was phenomenally huge), stopped to take pictures in Bryant Park (where Steve randomly saw someone that he had met at U of O) and finally wound up in front of Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in Times Square to pick up our bus tickets for http://www.citysightsny.com/. We then grabbed a burger at Burger Heaven, which was pretty good, and headed in a cab back to our Hotel to get ready for the next day.
Day 2 – Friday, March 26th:
I was up bright and early at 7:30 because our bus tour started at 8:00. I knew that there was no way that we would be getting there that early. Steve finally dragged himself out of bed and we headed down to the tour stop by the Waldorf Hotel around 10:00. We stopped for breakfast at The Local Store, a little bakery that looked cute. We weren't very impressed with the portions for the price though, and knew we would be hungry soon. After breakfast, we waited about a half hour for the bus to come…not a great first impression. They claimed there was a fire on one of the buses…but I don’t know. The tour was fun – three of the four guides were really funny and told us tons of interesting facts about the city. They were very much your typical New York locals. We hopped off at Greenwich Village because Steve wanted to grab a Pastrami sandwich from the famous Katz’s deli, where a scene from When Harry Met Sally was filmed. The place was packed and it cost up 15 bucks EACH for a pastrami sandwich, but it was some of the most tender and flavorful meat that I have ever eaten.
We then wandered town to a place that our tour guide recommended – Rocco’s. It was a bakery and I about drooled all over myself when I walked it. A long line of counters revealed rows and rows of cakes, pastries, cookies, candies and any other insulin-shock inducing food you could think of. We settled on a few treats and headed over to NYU Law School because Steve wanted to have a look. The campus was okay, but I don’t think I’d like it being smack in the middle of the city like that.
We hopped back on the bus in SoHo (South of Houston street) and then rode down to Ground Zero – the World Trade Center site. For me, seeing the new buildings being put up to replace them really made the horrific events of that day a little more real. After, we walked past Trinity Church and down Wall Street. We got lost for a little bit, until we finally found the road that would lead us to Battery Park on the South end of the Island. You can see the Statue of Liberty from there. I have to say that I was disappointed though. I didn’t realize how far away the statue was from the park. She just looked like a shadow in the background and I really longed to get a closer look. That look would eventually come on Sunday.
After resting a bit, we got back on the bus and finished the tour, which dropped us at the United Nations building, about five blocks from our hotel. We rested a bit and then got dressed and ready to see the Lion King on Broadway. After arriving near the theater, we grabbed a very quick dinner at McDonald's and made our way to our seats. The theater was pretty modern…not like the ones we’ve been in when we go to plays in Chicago. There was lots of legroom and a lack of old fashioned decorations that I love about old theaters. We had pretty good seats – third row on the balcony – and we ABSOLUTELY enjoyed every minute of the play. The dialogue was almost exactly like the movie, although there were more songs. I loved how they made the people look like the animals and the singing was amazing. We were very happy to have had such a pleasant Broadway experience. We were exhausted from our very long day, so we went back to the hotel and crashed.
The last two days of our amazing trip shall be continued in another post…
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Miss Lindsay of... Green !?!
About 9,000 things have happened since I last blogged. But most notably – I’m now to become Lindsay Kelly Green in the near future!
Steven and I are now engaged! And that crafty Fiancé of mine gave me a great story to tell about how it happened…
As I wrote about before, I took a trip back to the hometown of Sisters, Oregon on March 18th. The weather was gorgeous for most of the time and I had a blast with my parents and brother when we went to see the Irish Rovers in concert at the Bend Theater. I was settling down in my parent’s house on Sunday night, getting ready for dinner and thinking about my trip home the next day, when Steve called. I first noticed that he sounded like he was in the car…but quickly shook it off as he asked me about the day, and what I was having for dinner. After about 10 mins, he quickly said, “I have to go…call you back in a few.” Thinking nothing of it, I hung up and went back to whatever I was doing on the computer.
Not three seconds later, the doorbell rang. I was in my sweatpants…and since I wasn’t expecting anyone, I didn’t get up to answer it. Then my dad told me to get the door. Imagine my surprise when my boyfriend – who was supposed to be in Chicago – was standing there on my parent’s doorstep in Sisters, Oregon. My little brother had brought him from the Redmond Airport.
My brain literally “did not compute” for about 3 seconds. I had no idea who he was or why he was standing there. I didn’t even let him in the house until he asked, “can I come in?” about one minute later. I finally hugged him and everything started to rush through my head at once—like when the hero in a movie finally puts all the missing pieces together and figures out the problem (and the audience sees it in flashbacks).
Flash 1: Dad took me dress shopping, playing it off as if I would wear the dress to the concert the night before. Then, suddenly, changed his mine the day off and told me to save the dress we got for a different time.
Flash 2: Although mom thought it would be better to have our Mock Easter Dinner (cause I wouldn’t be home for the holiday) on Sunday night, Dad insisted we had it on Saturday instead.
Flash 3: Mom had asked about dinner Sunday night about an hour earlier, and was going to start making it. But dad insisted we wait a bit longer because he wasn’t hungry. When my mom asked again a half hour later, dad said to start it in 20 more minutes.
Flash 4: Dad decided that we wouldn’t go into Bend to watch Jared play hockey on Sunday night.
Flash 5: Steve totally sounded like he was in the car while on the phone.
I’m sure there were many more, but this is what I remember. And, as you can tell from the above, my Dad and brother were the only ones that knew what was going on (Steve had called to ask Dad for permission a few weeks before to set it all up). I didn’t know for sure…but I was 90 percent sure when I found Steve on the step, that he was there to propose.
But, instead of kneeling down right on the stoop, Steve told me that we had reservations for the Blacksmith. According to Yelp, this is the best place to get a steak in Bend. We arrived early, had a few drinks, and then were brought to our booth and ordered our dinner. We had amazing crab fondue and our steaks were so tender and delicious. I was still half in shock and TOTALLY nervous when we finished eating. It seems so odd how I reacted now…because we’ve been a couple for five and a half years, and have lived together for all five and a half of them.
After dinner, he put his arm around me, said something like, "Well, I lied, I actually planned this out long in advance. We've had some good times together, huh?" He then slid off the booth and onto one knee as he presented the ring and asked the question I knew was coming. I teared up a bit, said yes immediately and we spent the rest of the evening there cuddling and admiring the beautiful ring. When we got home to Sisters, my parents congratulated us and we had some Champagne. It was truly an engagement to remember and we’re so thrilled and giddy about it even still!!! We don’t have any plans on a date yet or anything, but I will be sure to update often.
So, although not much has changed other than the lovely addition to my left hand, we made our trip to New York this past weekend and had great celebration of our new status. And since this blog is a book already, I will save the wonders of the Big Apple for tomorrow’s post!
Steven and I are now engaged! And that crafty Fiancé of mine gave me a great story to tell about how it happened…
As I wrote about before, I took a trip back to the hometown of Sisters, Oregon on March 18th. The weather was gorgeous for most of the time and I had a blast with my parents and brother when we went to see the Irish Rovers in concert at the Bend Theater. I was settling down in my parent’s house on Sunday night, getting ready for dinner and thinking about my trip home the next day, when Steve called. I first noticed that he sounded like he was in the car…but quickly shook it off as he asked me about the day, and what I was having for dinner. After about 10 mins, he quickly said, “I have to go…call you back in a few.” Thinking nothing of it, I hung up and went back to whatever I was doing on the computer.
Not three seconds later, the doorbell rang. I was in my sweatpants…and since I wasn’t expecting anyone, I didn’t get up to answer it. Then my dad told me to get the door. Imagine my surprise when my boyfriend – who was supposed to be in Chicago – was standing there on my parent’s doorstep in Sisters, Oregon. My little brother had brought him from the Redmond Airport.
My brain literally “did not compute” for about 3 seconds. I had no idea who he was or why he was standing there. I didn’t even let him in the house until he asked, “can I come in?” about one minute later. I finally hugged him and everything started to rush through my head at once—like when the hero in a movie finally puts all the missing pieces together and figures out the problem (and the audience sees it in flashbacks).
Flash 1: Dad took me dress shopping, playing it off as if I would wear the dress to the concert the night before. Then, suddenly, changed his mine the day off and told me to save the dress we got for a different time.
Flash 2: Although mom thought it would be better to have our Mock Easter Dinner (cause I wouldn’t be home for the holiday) on Sunday night, Dad insisted we had it on Saturday instead.
Flash 3: Mom had asked about dinner Sunday night about an hour earlier, and was going to start making it. But dad insisted we wait a bit longer because he wasn’t hungry. When my mom asked again a half hour later, dad said to start it in 20 more minutes.
Flash 4: Dad decided that we wouldn’t go into Bend to watch Jared play hockey on Sunday night.
Flash 5: Steve totally sounded like he was in the car while on the phone.
I’m sure there were many more, but this is what I remember. And, as you can tell from the above, my Dad and brother were the only ones that knew what was going on (Steve had called to ask Dad for permission a few weeks before to set it all up). I didn’t know for sure…but I was 90 percent sure when I found Steve on the step, that he was there to propose.
But, instead of kneeling down right on the stoop, Steve told me that we had reservations for the Blacksmith. According to Yelp, this is the best place to get a steak in Bend. We arrived early, had a few drinks, and then were brought to our booth and ordered our dinner. We had amazing crab fondue and our steaks were so tender and delicious. I was still half in shock and TOTALLY nervous when we finished eating. It seems so odd how I reacted now…because we’ve been a couple for five and a half years, and have lived together for all five and a half of them.
After dinner, he put his arm around me, said something like, "Well, I lied, I actually planned this out long in advance. We've had some good times together, huh?" He then slid off the booth and onto one knee as he presented the ring and asked the question I knew was coming. I teared up a bit, said yes immediately and we spent the rest of the evening there cuddling and admiring the beautiful ring. When we got home to Sisters, my parents congratulated us and we had some Champagne. It was truly an engagement to remember and we’re so thrilled and giddy about it even still!!! We don’t have any plans on a date yet or anything, but I will be sure to update often.
So, although not much has changed other than the lovely addition to my left hand, we made our trip to New York this past weekend and had great celebration of our new status. And since this blog is a book already, I will save the wonders of the Big Apple for tomorrow’s post!
Monday, March 8, 2010
A Short Lapse in Laps
So, I kinda fell off the wagon a bit with blogging. Certain ailments and antibiotic regimens have not allowed me to work out for a week and 1/3. And as my motivation for working out had dwindled, so did my motivation for blogging. Odd. I'll also chalk it up to two of the busiest weeks ever here at Cision. Hectic was an understatement last week.
Anyway, I got back in the mix last Wednesday with Hi Low Aerobics class. I'm so glad I don't take that class every week, because I've done that class only one other time about a month ago and I can swear to you that it was the SAME music and the SAME routine. Not that the workout is not effective...it could just get old. I highly prefer Monday's Kwando class. So I guess I'll just stick to swimming on Wednesdays and Fridays. It's odd how fat I feel after only taking a week off of the routine. I had forgotten how good working out makes you feel. I'm all ready to go for Kwando tonight though-- I even purchased a new gym bag at Target. It's a pink duffel bag, and it's only pink because it was the only color besides "Is that your bag or mine?" black. I would have bought a kickboard too, if Target would have had something besides Spiderman and Dora the Explorer plastered on the fronts.
Other than the short break from the gym, everything has been normal on the home front. Steve and I went to the Field Museum two Sundays ago to look at bones and diamonds and other cool things. We've also had a few more Poker Nights with law students, Happy Hours with Cision folks and lazy errand days.
Next weekend(!!!), I'm going home to Sisters, Oregon to visit the family. It'll be a much needed break from work and big city life. The weekend after that, Steve and I head to New York, NY for our very first visit to the Big Apple. I'm SUPER stoked about it. We're going to see the Lion King on Broadway and pack as many touristy things in as we can for the three days we'll be there.
AND, on April 8th, my cousin Melissa and her fiance, Daniel, will be visiting us here in Chicago! I can hardly contain myself from planning out every minute of their stay here. It's going to be so fun to show them the city!
Perhaps something I am looking forward to equally as much is the end of winter! Spring should hit Chicago soon (I hope)!
Anyway, I got back in the mix last Wednesday with Hi Low Aerobics class. I'm so glad I don't take that class every week, because I've done that class only one other time about a month ago and I can swear to you that it was the SAME music and the SAME routine. Not that the workout is not effective...it could just get old. I highly prefer Monday's Kwando class. So I guess I'll just stick to swimming on Wednesdays and Fridays. It's odd how fat I feel after only taking a week off of the routine. I had forgotten how good working out makes you feel. I'm all ready to go for Kwando tonight though-- I even purchased a new gym bag at Target. It's a pink duffel bag, and it's only pink because it was the only color besides "Is that your bag or mine?" black. I would have bought a kickboard too, if Target would have had something besides Spiderman and Dora the Explorer plastered on the fronts.
Other than the short break from the gym, everything has been normal on the home front. Steve and I went to the Field Museum two Sundays ago to look at bones and diamonds and other cool things. We've also had a few more Poker Nights with law students, Happy Hours with Cision folks and lazy errand days.
Next weekend(!!!), I'm going home to Sisters, Oregon to visit the family. It'll be a much needed break from work and big city life. The weekend after that, Steve and I head to New York, NY for our very first visit to the Big Apple. I'm SUPER stoked about it. We're going to see the Lion King on Broadway and pack as many touristy things in as we can for the three days we'll be there.
AND, on April 8th, my cousin Melissa and her fiance, Daniel, will be visiting us here in Chicago! I can hardly contain myself from planning out every minute of their stay here. It's going to be so fun to show them the city!
Perhaps something I am looking forward to equally as much is the end of winter! Spring should hit Chicago soon (I hope)!
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