live from new york

(this episode has been pre-recorded)

wow, a whole three days without a post. you didn't think it was possible, did you? apparently it is. and cutting myself off from most everything and everyone did wonders for me.

oral surgery on wednesday was pretty painful. when the doctor prescribed pain killers, he said 'just in case'. just in case! the second the novacaine started wearing off, i was on my way to the pharmacy. and once there i had to wait an hour. apparently crying does not get your prescription filled any faster.

the rest of wednesday and thursday were pretty miserable, but i had planned to leave for ny to see deb on friday afternoon, and i wasn't going to be stopped. fortunately, by friday the pain had lessened enough so that i could drive without the painkillers.

after running a couple of errands i left at about 1pm, knowing i was playing with fire by arriving in the city around rush hour. but i thought it couldn't be that bad. famous last thoughts. the three miles from the nj turnpike exit to the far side of the lincoln tunnel took me an hour and a half. no lie. they had seven or eight lanes merging into one. and worse than that, in my lane were a bunch of pa drivers (who are by far the worst). they forgot they were now in ny, and were actually giving people the arm out the window 'please let me merge' signs. lol. the one thing i've learned from driving in new york is that you have to think 'i am getting in that lane. if you are going to try and stop me, you are going to have to hit me,' or you'll never get anywhere. apparently pennsylvania drivers still have yet to learn that.

eventually i made it to deb's and was simply exhausted. i beat her home, but not by much, and we chilled out for while. originally we had intended to go to a birthday dinner of her friend renee (who i have been looking forward to meeting). but the location and timing just didn't work for me. i needed to recuperate before venturing out again.

as an alternative, we ended up going for sushi (though i had teriyaki) with andrea, hillary, lisa, chris, chris' brother, and matt. i wish i hadn't felt so out of it, but it was fun to finally put some faces to names, and of course, spending time with matt is always a pleasure;) if tamara had been there, it would have been the icing on the cake!

after dinner, matt, deb, and i headed to blockbuster, while the rest of the group went back to deb's. it's a scary thing being dubbed 'movie picker' for a group, it's so much pressure! finally we came to a consensus and grabbed 'elizabethtown'. a quick ice cream stop and we were headed home.

with the exception of lisa, who went to bed a few minutes in, the group enjoyed the movie. it was a fairly perfect evening for me. curling up in the recliner with the most amazing pineapple coconut ice cream i've ever had, and watching one of my favorite movies. now that is a vacation.

the perfection continued on saturday. we slept in, had a quick bite, and headed out to enjoy the beautiful weather by shopping, what else. it was one of those magical shopping days. you know, the days when you take stuff into a dressing room without the faintest hope it will fit. then it does. and it looks amazing. it was one of those days. multiple stores, multiple items. i got to the point i just stopped trying on things because i knew they would fit, and that i would love them, and that i would spend more money. we hit all the usual haunts, enjoyed paninis at a side street cafe, and covered a lot of territory.

we hurried home to throw our flip flops on and get to the nail place before they closed. it was divine to be completely pampered after spending the day working so hard, and it's probably the best manicure i've ever had.

then it was time for dinner (which we grabbed at whole foods) and getting ready for the regional stake singles dance, which, this time around was latin.

i've been in a real anti-boy mode the last couple of months. not that i'm 'down with boys' or anything, just no one has really struck my fancy, and i've been focusing more on improving me. it was a wonderful thing to get ready for a dance knowing that while i wanted to look good for me, i didn't care what anyone else thought. truly. i probably care too much what people think on a normal regular basis, so it was completely refreshing.

the dance was a little bit of a disappointment. the turnout was lower than expected, and they had been doing dance classes every week prior in preparation, so most of the dancers were people that had attended the classes, and they were pretty exclusive in their pairings.

however, the only hope/expectation i had of the evening was to see mihaela, which i did. after the dance, she, deb, and i headed to a nearby diner so that we could get caught up, which all in all made for another perfect evening, topped off by tea and cookies at deb's with detailed analysis of the evening. like i said. perfect.

sunday involved sleeping in again, and then getting ready for church. i realized that every time i go to new york, i expect to be intimidated by 'beautiful fabulous people'..you know, the ones living 'the life'. and every time i go, i come away thinking, that could have been langley, or colonial, or any other singles ward. just a bunch of single mormons, some of whom are more beautiful and more fabulous than others. speaking of which, i will say this... sometimes, when you go to church in new york, you take the sacrament with this guy:

aaron eckhart

to be fair, i wasn't watching whether or not he took the sacrament, but i was watching. hubba. hubba.

aside from that entertainment, the highlight at church was finally getting to meet deb's friend renee, who i instantly liked. i was regretting the choice to bail on friday's dinner a little bit, but i'm sure there will be an opportunity to get to know her better in the future. i was also happy to meet renee's brother who had flown in from ut that morning to visit, and who, despite his youth, still had me at a loss for words.

hey, just cause i'm not in a boy phase doesn't mean i can't appreciate a beautiful one when he is sitting next to me in church. geesh. i'm not dead!

after church, i grabbed a bite, finished packing, and headed out. it was a long drive. i was tired, and relieved to finally make it home to find my dog not only alive, but with all four legs (i had had a nightmare about this).

all in all it was an awesome weekend. low-key and relaxed. i got to hang out with deb on her turf again, which is always fun, and to meet some new people, buy some new things, and just generally enjoy a no-obligation weekend.

for the rest of the pics, click here