NYC

If you don't already I know I have been very fortunate to travel to NYC. This was two years ago in May and I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the BEST trip ever!! Now I don't want people to think that any of my other vacations didn't mean anything, but NYC has always been a dream for me, and it managed to meet and beat all of my expectations.
I went with Sharon (she is going to be annoyed by my blog). Her parents live in New Jersey, and they were kind enough to let us stay there with them.
When we arrived in NYC, it was later in the evening, I can't remember for sure, but it was around ten o'clock at night or so. Her parents drove from New Jersey to Kennedy airport to pick us up. As we drove through the city, I was amazed at NY, and how fast paced the drivers were, in such a small cramped area. It was quite fun, her dad drove like a pro. Now, I LOVE to drive, and I don't get intimidated on roads easily. One year Liz and I went to California, and I was driving the freeway heading towards San Diego and the locals enter the freeway as fast as humanly possible and ALL of them merge to their far left. It was rathering shocking, but I held my own. I still have no idea why they insist upon driving like that on their freeways. But in NYC, I thought to myself, 'could I handle myself driving these roads?' Its a challenge I hope to meet some day.
Sharon had been telling me about this little shop that sells the worlds best hotdogs. So her dad stopped there and we jumped out of the car and got a hotdog to eat on the way to NJ. My first step on the sidewalks of NY, and I was completely enthralled by the sights, the smells, and the energy. By the way the hotdogs were GREAT!!
On the way to NJ her dad had said "this is the weekend where the navy men and women get a break, so they will be all over the city."
I thought YES!! Navy MEN around every corner!!
He continued to say "so be careful out there."
Yeah, two single women and a town full of navy men. I can see how he would be worried, but Sharon and I weren't haha!!
The next morning we traveled via train from NJ to NYC. It was very exciting. Yah, its a train, but as you may know, I love TRAINS and I was going into NYC!!
The train stopped at the WTC. We took an escalator up to street level. I didn't know the WTC was still a working train station. But here we were right in the middle of it.
We saw the Trinity Church, built in 1697; we took a ferry that took us past Lady Liberty; Brooklynn, Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridge; China Town; Little Italy; Central Park; Tiffany & Co; Empire State Building; Sy. Patricks Cathedral; Rockefeller Center; Time Square at night; Madison Square Garden; Grand Central Station; The Met; The Trump Towers; her parents were SO kind, they took Sharon and I out to dinner to a Belgium Cafe and then to the New York City Ballet. It was so amazing. Eveerything we saw and did, was just surreal.
One of the nights there, Sharon and I stayed in the city. We stayed in The New Yorker, Ramada. We were in the 29th floor. Oh and all the while seeing the sites, Sharon and I each carried backpacks that weighed about 130lbs (that might be a slight exageration).
We walked from one end of the city to the next. We took the subway quite a bit as well. Sharon knew the city very well. She had a great sense of direction. I didn't know which way was east, or west.
We went to a bunch of stores such as Sephora; The Virgin Mega store; the booths in China town; and Urban Outfitters.
Well it wouldn't be right of me, if I didn't have some sort of mishap. I am clumsy, always have been. Growing up my dad called me 'Grace'. He had hoped that by calling me Grace I would somehow gain some gracefullness. It never worked, haha!!
Sharon's parents, Sharon and I went to a restaurant in NJ. It was a nice place, fancier than Chili's but not as prestigious as La Caille. Lunch goes well, her mom excuses herself to go and wash her hands before we leave, her dad goes out to the car and Sharon and I wait for her mom. When we see her mom start to come back, we get up from the booth. Let me set this up, you had to take a step up to get into the booth, and the flooring is hardwood through out the restaurant. Now as I 'gracefully' step out of the booth, my foot 'gracefully' slides along the floor. I have fallen many many MANY times in my life, and its like an art for me at this point. Things slow down, and I will have an actual conversation with myself as I am in the midst of falling. The conversation usually goes like this:
I'm falling
Crap!
How can I catch myself?
Its not going to happen. Just go down.
Fall GRACEFULLY!
So as I am falling and having this conversation with myself, I can see Sharon's mom coming towards me with her arms out stretched to help. But it was too late, I was down, oh, and by down, I mean completely Flat on my back! I sat up quickly, and got to my feet as fast as possible. I immediatly busted up laughing, especially when I looked around the restaurant, and noticed I was the center of attention. I always wanted to be the girl that could walk into a room and turn heads, THIS ISN'T WHAT I MEANT! However the fall was graceful, it was one fluid motion, of me sliding right down onto the floor. Sharon had been sitting next to me in the booth, next to the wall. She said later that she looked over as I was getting out, turned away, and the next thing she knew I was there on the floor. She couldn't help but laugh. I would have too, if the roles were reversed.
Sharon is a super fun person to travel with. We both enjoyed the same sites, walking along the NYC streets, shopping, resting, and then more sight seeing. We saw it all, and we loved every second of the trip.
I love how the city amongst all of the changes, still manages to stay the same. It was really neat to be in a city that was SO old, and held so much history. The people that have walked those streets, the diversity that exists there. My ancestors passed through those streets. It is the greatest place on earth. I LOVE NYC!
I certainly can't end this blog without mention of NJ. Its a great place. Very pretty and very green. It has quaint little shops. The town Sharon and her parents live in, is very beautiful. Tons of open space, walking paths near babbling brooks within five minutes of their home. There are even invisible deer there. Only the locals see them. Sharon had told me about the deer, and how they laze about on her front lawn. I couldn't wait to see them. But I didn't have the ability to see them. I kept asking her if she could "see them now?"*
It was quite the contrast to leave the quiet suburbs of NJ and enter the bustling streets of NYC.
It was a dream come true. I am SO grateful to be able to mark that off my 'life to do list'.
Thanks Sharon for taking the trip with me!!
*Per sharon, her mom said the "deer" showed up on their lawn after we left. Sure. :)

I stole this idea from my cousin Heather

My cousin Heather has a blog page, and she wrote a list of 50 Things She Knows. It was really kind of a fun list to read through, and I liked it so much that I decided to write a list of 50 Things that I know. I encourage all of you to do the same.

1. I know God exists, and I pray every night to Him.
2. I know I am a control freak
3. Fear of failure holds me back
4. My mom is the BEST mom
5. Pets make good company
6. I am an eternal optimist. (yes as cynical as I am, I truely believe things will turn out ok).
7. I know I can't sing, can't carry a tune, not one single note, haha!
8. I know you can't lick your elbow
9. I know I want to be a wife
10. I know how to change a tire
11. I hold onto my friends, some long after they aren't my friends anymore
12. I know diversity is beautiful
13. I am not a conformist, I only pretend to be one.
14. I LOVE to laugh
15. Scary movies are fun to watch with friends
16. I have a fairly good sense of direction in the mountains
17. I know I will always live in Utah
18. I know how to change a doorknob
19. I know how to grout a shower
20. I know I am not always right
21. I know humility is a lesson that usually hurts, but everyone should be humbled by someone or something.
22. I remember useless information
23. I love post it notes (my list was originally written on several haha!)
24. I know the only time I have patience is when I have a camera in my hand.
25. I know I am not ugly, I just have a misunderstood beauty.
26. I want to grow old
27. I love to hear babies giggle
28. I use humor to help myself deal with awkward moments in life.
29. I love my neices and nephews to the moon and back and always will
30. I know the tabloids aren't true, but I love to read them at the checkstands.
31. I hate being invisible
32. I don't believe in regrets
33. I love trains
34. I know happiness is a state of mind you need to place yourself in rather than search out
35. I hate nail biting, its awful.
36. I love the mountains
37. I hate to shop if I can't buy something
38. I hate spiders
39. I know I have an addictive/obsessive personality and I have to keep it in check.
40. I know I will write a novel and/or a screenplay
41. I love falling asleep with the tv on, only on the weekends
42. I know if you get stranded in the mountains, the first thing you should do is build a shelter before night falls.
43. I know that dating in my 30's is miserable, haha!!
44. I know moss grows on the north side
45. I love to learn new things
46. I know I need to find more confidence in myself
47. I know that I have a love for the movies that will never die
48. I know that my family is awesome
49. Traveling once a year or more keeps me sane
50. I know that things aren't always as they appear and its best to try to understand rather than judge.

Stephen Colbert for President!!

I LOVE STEPHEN COLBERT!! I can't say it enough. He is handsome, smart and wickedly funny. I read his book 'I am America, and so can you.' Its the best book. It could be considered insulting, but if your insulted, then you just don't get truthiness. :) He is a comedic genius and everyone should love him as much as I do.
He has segments on some of his shows, called Threat Down. He lists things that are of threat. Kind of self-explanatory. One of his major threat downs, are bears. He is terrified of them. I can see how he would be scared.
A while ago I had the pleasure of visiting Bear World with Sharon and Marie (two awesome friends, that will be annoyed by my blog page). We were a little hesitant to drive into the bear enclosure but we read the rules to ensure our safety. No honking, was one of the rules, UNLESS you are being attacked. Hmmm.... and how often does that happen?? It didn't say on the rules. Well we ventured into the bear enclosure, and sure enough, saw some bears. Big massive bears, but they weren't interested in us, in the little blue honda, no they were inthralled by the curator truck full of tourists. Bears love tourists, especially when they are served by the meals on wheels program. We made our way through the winding path, watching the bears lumber around, in their man made habitat. If your wondering it was nice place to live. Guarunteed meals, water to play in, and tourists around every corner.
They have a petting zoo, which consisted of a pig, a fawn, some billy goats, and some chickens. They have cubs also, not in the petting zoo, but nearby. They are cute. Very animated. They also have kiddie rides where you can ride a creepy clown coaster, or a ride similar to the magic carpet ride at lagoon, but smaller and it was painted like a tree with alien grapes. I don't get it, but I don't think kids care so much, as long as the ride is fun. After we were filled with glee of having survived the bear enclosure in the honda, and having eaten bear fries, while watching baby cubs frolick in the pen, we decided to ride the curator truck and feed the bears. This of course once we realized they aren't serving tourists to the bears.
So we climbed into the back of the curator truck and headed on down to the bear enclosure. Oh, first, the food they serve the bears was mini powdered donuts, bagels of different kinds, bread and the coveted twinkie. What a diet! haha!! So the driver took us to a particular spot in the bear enclosure, and we got to throw the food to the bears, who clapped for more. It was cute. But the reality is, these are man eating creatures, and they are massive. Their paws are HUGE!! But even still, seeing a bear clap for a donut gave me a slight sense of false security. They really are precious. The food was gone, the tour was done. So my friends and I decided to take the little honda through the bear enclosure ONE more time before we headed home. Here we go girls, their bellies are full of sugary goodness, and there is another curator truck serving another batch of sugary goodness in a few minutes. As we are driving through, one of the smaller bears (a teen) started to walk across the street, so we stopped to let him pass. But he was attracted to the beautiful blue honda, or perhaps the meal on wheels. The bear licked the car bumper, nope that wasn't the delicious smell, so he jumped onto the hood of the car, and took a peak inside, I think. I sort of panicked and closed my eyes. I had my camera, and I wish VERY much so that I took a picture, but there was a bear on the car, with a windshield protecting me. It suddenly hit me, HE HAS FOUND HIS NEXT MEAL! He turned around and sat down on the window, contemplating no doubt who to eat first, Sharon, Marie, or I. Toying with us, he turned around and climbed onto the roof of the car. I kept praying that the roof was strong enough to hold a bear. We finally remembered the rules, honk your horn if you need a ranger. However, when in this moment, the thought of honking the horn and angering the bear, makes for a tough dilemma. I believe Sharon honked the horn. Up the road a ranger comes along in his little suburu jeep mobile. Wait, he stopped about 20 yards away. WHY?? Oh goodness something bad is happening outside the car. More bears approaching? I don't know. I am too afraid to take my eyses from the jeep. The jeep finally came by, and the kid behind the wheel says, 'get off the car, c'mon.' The bear slowly climbs off the back of the car, game over I suppose. We drive on. As we exit the bear enclosure, a girl hands us a ticket to go to the photo booth. They took a picture of us with a bear on our car. That silly bear was just looking for a photo opt. Well it worked.

I have nothing to write about, but thought I would start my blog page back up. Great fun. First, I want to thank all that stop by and read my thoughts, and think "She is a nice lady." Thats really nice of you to think that of me. :) All joking aside, I am a nice lady. WHAT?? Sheesh I can't just get on here and talk about how wonderful I am? What is the point of a blog then?? :)
I am looking for the next great book. There have been several books that I have bought, and just couldn't get into. If you have a favorite book, please let me know. If the author is Donna Tart, I am not interested. Right Sharon? :) Just kidding, for the record Donna Tart is an excellent author. She can bring her characters to life. She is an amazing story teller. One of her books is The Little Friend. Everyone should read this book. If you do, please let me know your thoughts on this book.