New York, New York!!!

The "I HEART New York" t-shirt REALLY says it all! I COULDN'T agree more!!!!

Duane and I flew to NYC Friday night for a quick weekend getaway (before Delta COMPLETELY takes over, and things get TOTALLY messed up!). It was AWESOME!!!

We got to our hotel (the Belvedere) at 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning. It wasn't as BRUTAL as the Paris arrival a few weeks ago, but MAN was I ready for bed!

We got up Saturday morning, and headed to the TKTS office at the South Street Seaport. We were able to get tickets to "9 to 5" and "Blythe Spirit"...more on that later!

After lunch at the Heartland Brewery (I had the bbq chili, and an apricot ale...YUM!), and a brief stop at a police car/fire engine car show we discovered, we headed to the ferry for the statue of liberty and Ellis Island.

the car from "Starsky & Hutch", and the police cruiser from "The Dukes of Hazzard"

Manhattan from the ferry

Coming to NYC in June is WAY different than coming in February. WAY more tourists! After standing in line for about an hour and a half (from the line to get tickets, to the line for security, to the line to board), we FINALLY took off. I've never been to the statue of liberty. I have to say that it's REALLY cool!!!! We walked around the island for awhile (tickets to go into the museum at the base were LONG gone by the time we got there), took about 200 pictures, then headed to the ferry station.

After we got back on the ferry, we headed to Ellis Island. Ellis Island was AWESOME!!! My favorite part was the "restoration of the facility" exhibit! I LOVE that "renovation-y" stuff...very cool. They had AMAZING photos of what things looked like when it was abandoned, as well as artifacts, and miscellaneous items found in the building in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Wow!

After Ellis Island, we had dinner at a lovely trattoria near the hotel, then changed to go to "9 to 5" at the Marquis Theater. It was a HOOT of a show! Very much in keeping with the movie, but with lots of cool new tunes. I LOVED it!!!

Alison Janney was AWESOME as Violet Newstead, and Megan Hilty as Doralee, and Stephanie Block as Judy were FABULOUS as well. I have to say, however, that one of my FAVORITE characters was Kathy Fitzgerald as Roz Keith. She STOLE the show...dowdy , with an inner passion that was HILAROUS to see unfold...TOTALLY awesome!

After the show, we walked around Times Square for awhile. I LOVE Times Square. It's VERY touristy, but SO fun, and SO bright, and SO shiny! After trying to move through the huge crowds for about 20 minutes, though, we headed back to the hotel, and went to bed...EXHAUSTED!!!!

Sunday, we did a TON of walking! We started with a ride up the elevator to the "Top of the Rock" (the Rockefeller Center). It had GORGEOUS views of the city, and the sun started to come out while we were up there, making the views of Manhattan even MORE gorgeous as our time there progressed.

After the "Top of the Rock", we went down 5th Avenue, watching the Puerto Rico Day Parade as we went, and ended up at the flatiron building (I LOVE the flatiron building!). The Snapple Big Apple Barbecue Block Party was taking place in a park nearby, so we had some AWESOME bbq from one of the participants (from Texas, I believe).

We took a TON of pictures at the flatiron, then, after walking around the base of the building, headed back to Manhattan for "Blythe Spirit" at the Shubert Theater.

What can I say about "Blythe Spirit", except that I LOVED IT!!! Rupert Everett, Angela Lansbury, Christine Ebersole...it was FABULOUS! I would TOTALLY go and see it again (even better, I'd LOVE to be in it!).

My FAVORITE part was when Angela Lansbury threw a sandwich that she was holding during an "epiphany", and it landed behind her, in the bookcase. Not particulary fun in and of itself, but, APPARENTLY, she "ad libbed" the move, and Rupert, and ESPECIALLY Jayne Atkinson, who played Ruth, broke character and started to laugh!

Jayne had to turn away from the audience to get back into character...I LOVE it when actors do that...it reminds me of all the times Harvey Korman "lost it" during the Carol Burnett Show...PRICELESS!

I also REALLY liked Susan O'Connor's interpretation of Edith, the maid...she STOLE the show! Mousey, and hyper, and strange, and FABULOUS!!!! What a fun show!!!

After the performance, we had dinner at Junior's. Our table faced the "stage door" for "Blythe Spirit" and "Next to Normal", and we were able to see Susan O'Connor and Rupert Everett as they left the theater...TOTALLY cool!

After dinner, we went back to the hotel to "regroup", then spent the evening walking through Central Park.

If I had to live in New York City (which, at one point, I TOTALLY wanted to do), it would have to be somewhere near Central Park...it's SO green, and SO calming, and SO..."park-y"! What a wonderful space, and what an AWESOME place to just "hang out"!

lanterns outside "Tavern on the Green"

We made an early night of it (mostly because our feet, knees, legs, and backs were KILLING US from all of the walking we'd done!!!). New York may be the "city that never sleeps", but we were in bed by 9:45!!!!

Monday, we got up, had bagels and coffee at a gourmet grocer near the hotel, and then headed to La Guardia to come back to Minnesota. The flight was TOTALLY full, but we managed to BOTH get on the flight, so it was all good!

What an AWESOME trip! I can't wait to go back again...SOON! We invited Tena to come with us, but she had too many comittments keeping her in Fairfield. The only thing that would have made this trip better would have been having her there too!!!!

Hope YOU had an awesome weekend as well, and that you got to enjoy something that YOU'VE long admired and wanted to do!!!

My Friend Linda!

I have been blessed by having many AMAZING, and WONDERFUL women in my life...women who have had a HUGE impact on my life, and who I would be SO MUCH poorer for not knowing!!!!!!

This post, however, is for my friend Linda (who tunes in every Monday to see what's new, and so now I'm feeling pressure to get something on here!)...a delightful, lovely, wonderful friend who I met during my time at Harry & David. Our manager was a total BITCH, but I have to give her credit (with Linda's encouragement, I'm sure!) for hiring me, because if she hadn't, my delightful friend and I would not have met.

What can I say about this truly amazing woman? She's intelligent...she's sincere...she's delightful...she's witty...and she has one of the kindest spirits I've ever known. We can go WEEKS AND MONTHS without talking, but can pick things up where we left off with NO effort at all. We have the same taste in movies, and politics, and food (mostly!), and can talk for HOURS on practically ANY subject. She takes a sincere interest in Duane's and my life, and genuinely cares!

Linda will be bringing a new life into the world in October, and the other night we were talking about "honorable men", and how she wants these types of men in Lorenzo's world. She said that Duane and I were two of the four men that she wanted as role models for him, and I almost burst into tears (we'd just been to a funeral for a co-worker at the store...so it wouldn't have taken much...I was already weepy anyway...!). What a wonderful thing to say, and we're SO excited to be a part of it all!

Lorenzo is going to have an AMAZING life! Linda will be an UNBELIEVABLY fabulous mom, and her family and friends will SMOTHER that little boy with an INCREDIBLY large amount of love and support and joy!

You are TRULY a delighful person, dear girl, and I'm so glad that you are a part of my life!!!!!

Ack! I KNEW This Would Happen "Someday"...!!!

Ugh! In the back of my mind, I KNEW this was coming...it's been coming for the last couple of years. I THOUGHT last year was going to be Judy, my media secretary's, last year, but LUCKILY, it didn't happen.. Now, UNFORTUNATELY, she's decided to take "early retirement".

I KNOW that I SHOULD be happy for her, and, eventually, I will be, but right now, all I can see is how IMPOSSIBLE my job is going to be next year. I'm already stressed out because of MY new job responsibilities...in addition to being the media specialist (now TECHNICALLY at .5), I will also be picking up .5 Primary Years Program coordinator, and .5 technology integration specialist (yes, I KNOW, this adds up to 1.5...essentially a full-time AND A HALF, job...and it's actually worse than that...THREE people's current full-time jobs are being crammed into my ONE job next year).

Now, I also have to add "training a new media assistant" to the mix. I don't think I'm strong enough for this...I was already stressed out about MY job...breaking in someone new is going to KILL ME...I'm SURE of it!

Plus...Judy and I have an AWESOME work relationship/friendship. She knows when I'm crabby, and when to leave me alone. She knows how to get her way, and how to let me have my way. I can hand something off to her, and she does it...eventually :-).

She knows how much pizza to order for the "end of the reading program party", and how to get a blank check from the PTA to pay for it. She knows how to schedule, and carry out, the book fair.

She knows how to make the deposit on the pencil machine fund, and where to take the deposit slip when it's finished. She knows how to do the scrolling announcement web application, so that the announcements run on the school's computer screensaver.

She knows how to print out all of the student barcodes at the beginning of the school year, and how to print the list of "overdue books to be returned" at the end of the school year. She's also REALLY good at handling all of the "beginning of the year crybabies"...I SO can't deal with them...

Now, I'm spending my last FRANTIC week of school trying to help organize and carry out a retirement tea for staff and retirees (with a week to pull it off). I'm TRYING to get all of the stuff she does throughout the year added to the "procedures manual" (which I've been trying to get her to do for the last THREE years), and I'm trying to actually get stuff done with any NUMBER of past and present staff wandering through the media center to "reminisce" with her one last time...

I am TRULY happy for Judy...she got a REALLY great "early retirement" package, and it was ABSOLUTELY the right thing for her to do. I think, once she has a chance to process everything, she'll be HAPPY with her decision. Right now...not so much...

She's always been a hard worker, and was ABSOLUTELY a GOD-SEND to me when I started here nine years ago. I wouldn't have survived without her to "break me in"!

During the last nine years, Judy as been co-worker, "other mother", confidante, supporter, cheerleader...friend. I'll miss her more than she'll ever know...




...I'm SO screwed...!!!!!