horses and heartache

For convenience sake, I am combining the last two days...
4.20.10

My dear friend April invited us over to her house for a lovely patio lunch.  Ariana loves horses so April let us come before the other guests and took us to the stables to see all the horses and feed them carrots and peppermints. After lunch she let Ariana collect eggs from the chicken coop. Both activities I would never voluntarily do, it's a good thing Ariana has April {& Mom to help her with the chicken eggs, yuck.}! The lunch was delicious and it was fun to visit with my friends and have Mom with me.

4.21.10
On our very last day together Mom taught me how to make homemade bread. A few months ago I tried to teach myself and it was nothing short of disaster, so this time around I was happy to have her expertise! It came out beautifully! We shared hot bread together before it was time to drive to the airport. A great way to end a wonderful visit.

I drove her to the airport that afternoon and to say that we were both a tad melancholy is acutely accurate. When it was time to say goodbye we hugged extra long and cried a little bit. Ariana had fallen asleep in the car and as I drove home I cried a little more.

It's funny to think of the progression of our relationship. Over the past few years it's morphed into a stronger friendship, I am so grateful for that. As a kid she was the Mommy who snuggled me and wrote notes on the napkins she put in my brown bag lunches. As a teenager she was the Mom who had to know "when, what, where & who?" and told me, "You could argue with a fence post!" {sorry about that one, Mom}. And now, as whatever I am, she's become my best friend, my shoulder to cry on, my outlet, my confidant, my go-to, my foundation and my example. I love it.

There's nothing like a week of having your Mama all to yourself... can't wait until next time!

Mary Poppins

Day 5, 4.19.10

Lessons learned:

Double check addresses in the city.

Allow for extra time to make dinner reservations if you don't have the right address.

When you can't find the restaurant and miss the reservation, stay calm. {that one was for me, mostly}

Don't decide to drive to the theatre, leave your car where it is and take a taxi.

But if you do decide to drive into Times Square {don't} have your boyfriend {or any calm, rational, and patient person who is removed from the situation} on the phone with you.

When you find a metered parking spot on the street, take it, because 50 cents per 12 minutes, even though it sounds outrageous, is really only $2.50 an hour {your calm significant other will tell you that.}

Stay in that spot.

Don't leave it.

Don't try to drive closer.

Don't get so frazzled that your Mom says, "park anywhere!"

Because you'll park in the parking garage called "Times Square Parking" {$$$}

By this point you might be near tears, and stressed, and bugged... just get to the Amsterdam Theatre quickly & the Mary Poppins music will make all those feelings dissipate.

Then sit and enjoy the best Broadway show you've ever seen. THE BEST.

After that get yummy salads and cheesecake together in the middle of Times Square at Europa Cafe.

Now is when you'll pay $50.00 for parking {instead of the $10.00 you would have paid had you stayed in spot #1}, but just laugh and quote Dad and say, "Lesson learned!"
Thank Mom for paying the bill!

Then drive home the way you know, call Dad and tell him the story and make him guess how much you paid for parking. When he guesses $100.00 you'll tell him that you actually saved him $50.00, he'll just laugh because he's the best and he loves his wife and daughter.

Then call boyfriend and tell him how calm and collected you are on the drive home, so he knows that you're not crazy all of the time.

Then despite the mishap{s} of the night, be in such a great mood, because it turned out so well in the end.

And you love your Mom a lot, she's great company.

And now you just have a really funny memory.

Bon Voyage {ethan}!

A fairly uneventful Sunday. Mom was a good sport and did my normal Sunday thing with me. Church, munch and mingle, play with friends until the weekend has to end... ya know. Our dear friend Ethan is leaving us, he's off to Alaska to work so we {Alli} made him brownies and then she let me ugly it up with my sentimental frosting job. We played games and ate yummy food and were sad that it was our last night with him. Mckay and I are having a hard time letting him go (hence the clinging in picture #2). Funny and slightly long story, but Ethan is the one who introduced the two of us, so we like him extra for that.

Day 3, the cit-ay.

The Brooklyn Bridge 4.17.10

1.14 miles long, we walked across it and back on Saturday. It was still kind of cold, but not raining.  Made for a lovely sky filled with clouds of blues and greys. This was our last activity after an entire day in the city. {My favorite picture we took}.

At the train station, excited to head in to New York City. We went to FAO Schwarz, Mom lucked out and found her most favorite yucky licorice candy ever. Look at her cute grin, simple pleasures! 

Then we took a walk in the lovely Central Park. Had to take her to Times Square, and then listen to some fake Scottish man harass us about a comedy show and being Mormons. Alli {randomly ran into her that afternoon} lost patience real quick and told him to beat it, it made me laugh.

Other memorable things we did on Saturday:

Mom's first ride in a NYC taxi cab.

Had brunch at Alice's Teacup. Two Scones Benedict please!!! {&thank you}.

Walked a ton, and didn't get blisters and didn't get lost.

Rode the train, rode the subway, took a taxi. Felt very NYC.

Went to Rockefeller Center.

Shopped at the massive Anthro in Rockefeller Center {found a lovely silk shirt stained with rainwater and demanded, nicely, that they give me 50% off- came home with my newest favorite article of clothing}.

Perused Tiffany's on 5th Ave like we could actually afford to buy their diamonds and other delicious treats.

M&M factory, so crowded and short lived, we were looking for the coconut M&M's but they were fresh out, dang.

That evening, so ready to drop, we got back on the train and headed home.

Shared some of our Godiva goodies and called it a night.  

Lefteris Gyro

Friday 4.16.10, Day 2.

Woke up Friday morning and took another super long walk outside.

Got home and the weather turned on us, the clouds rolled in and the wind started up and it was apparent that it was not going to be the 65 degree day we'd planned on.

Made ourselves decent looking.

Drove to Lyndhurst Castle for a spring flower show. The flower show was Victorian Era styled arrangements and plants and flowers. It was held in the old Carriage House of the Castle, which was huge, and really neat.

Tours were available but we were toting a 2 year old and decided that paying money to restrain her during a tour of the 160 year old castle filled with breakable things was not on the agenda. We peeked inside though, and it was gorgeous.

Came home, had lunch, ditched baby, went shopping at Woodbury Commons outlets. They have everything from Gap to Gucci. It was a blast. Of all the stores we visited, Godiva was where we dropped the biggest coin.  And I'm now a member of the Godiva club so I get a free chocolate every month! Score.

Oh, funny story. When my Mom is on vacation she looses track of time. I guess most people do, but she must get really confused. On the way to the outlets she asked "Is it April?" pause. "Is it April?". Yes Mom, it is April. {laughing}.

Our plans to go to Brooklyn were thrashed by the rain and cold so we ended up at our favorite restaurant, Lefteris Gyro. They have the most scrumptious Greek salad, baklava, and lamb gyros you will ever find. Ever. We ate till we were sick.

{Just looking at that picture makes me hungry. MMMmmmmm.}

Then we watched Saints and Soldiers. How had I never seen that movie before?! It was so heart-wrenching.

Got home way too late and went to sleep.

The next day when we woke up, we were still full.

We seriously ate that much.

Now You're In New York...

This afternoon was sad for me, I dropped my Mom off at La Guardia airport and after six super wonderful days here in New York, she's back to Utah. She cried. I cried. I drove off and cried some more. I'm such a baby. I'm such my Mother's daughter. We decided that it was better to leave wanting more than to be on the last nerve and ready for vacation to end...

Having said that, I wanted to post about the fun things we did while she was here.

Thursday 4.15.10, Day 1:

She flew in to NYC late Wednesday night; Mckay and I picked her up, ate some greasy Chinese food {it was good} and called it a night. We were "so exhausted" but once we got into bed I think we ended up talking for about an hour before we actually fell asleep. The next morning we got up and she met everyone, Ariana went to school, and then her and I went out for a walk around my neighborhood. We walked forever and couldn't stop gawking at all the pretty homes around here. "Oh! Look at that one. That one is my favorite!", "No that one, that one is my favorite", "I think I actually like that one more". That was her, and me a little bit too, for over an hour. We talked about other secret things too. Girl talk is the best-especially in the sunshine.

After we went home and cleaned up we picked Ariana up from school and went to a cute retro cafe called "The Cupcake Kitchen". We had yummy arugula salads and grilled chicken sandwiches. Ariana was delighted to pick out a cupcake for us all to share. After lunch we went to an Antique store that I love in Tarrytown, doesn't that just sound like a place you want to live? Tarrytown. No buys, just a bunch of cute nic-nacs to peruse. 

We had a low-key day Thursday, but it was really nice. We spent the rest of the evening at home and had dinner with Kelly and Munir. Mom got to try authentic Pakistani food and loved it. Kashmiri Chicken and Shami Kababs might be her new favorites... I wish I had pictures of that. She couldn't get over how "pretty" the food was & now has a new found desire to cook lentils and lamb and other random Middle Eastern dishes.

Day 1 was perfect, stay tuned for Day 2...

April, as of yet.

4.2.10
Mckay and I grilled steaks and had a BBQ just the two of us. He grilled the steaks, and I made rosemary potatoes, corn on the cob, yummy bread with goat cheese and currant jelly, and a delectable german chocolate cake. We had dinner together and then sat outside [it's been so lovely and warm here] in lawn chairs under a big, comfy blanket [not that warm] and pillow talked. It was perfect. Happy 6 months of dating to us!

{this picture is not from that night, it's just a picture i love that was taken a few weeks ago at a friend's house.}



















4.3.10/4.4.10

180th Annual General Conference. Saturday we watched the first session at our good friend Jesse's house. Then on Sunday Bishop Doying invited the ward to his house for food and both sessions. It was so wonderful, as always, and an extra treat to have Easter fall on Sunday. President Monson's talk was probably my favorite this year [if you're allowed to have a favorite], it was so powerful and my heart felt like it would burst as I listened to his sweet words.  During the Priesthood session I had girls from the Relief Society over for a Pot Luck dinner. We had a blast, always nice to relax with girlfriends!

4.6.10

Took Ariana to the beach! It was suppose to be record high temps but instead it rained and we stayed bundled for most of the morning. By 11am the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds and by noon it was blazing and a picturesque beach day. The water was freezing but Ariana loved it. I was content to stand nearby and watch her. She came up to me, so confused at why I was not splashing in the [arctic] water and reached for my hand and said, "Here Nick, hol' my hand!" Precious.

4.9.10

Today I am sick and miserable. UHG. My tonsils are so swollen and painful and my ears hurt. I feel like someone hit me in the head with a baseball bat, not a nice feeling. Luckily, I have one little Nyquil capsule tonight that will help me get mega sleep. Hopefully tomorrow is better.

4.14.10

So excited to have her here with me... four days!