Last set of NYC pics

Times Square on a gorgeous sunny day

Bryant Park

The three of us did so well navigating through town, until .... 

Mollie and I got on the wrong train and this fellow conductor took us under his wing when no other New Yorker would help us!  Too funny.

I was shocked how large Central Park was and we didn't even put a dent on it.

After non stop being on the go, Mollie needed me to rub her calves because they were so sore and cramping up.  She is such a high maintenance friend .... Still love ya ;)

THE END

Shows on Broadway

Jane Fonda ....

 And then .... we saw Mary Poppins.  It was abosolutely phenomenal and would highly recommend it.  We got our tickets half off after standing in line in Times Square for a little over an hour, and it was definitely worth it.  Our seats were surprisingly very good and on the 10th row!  It was the highlight of the trip considering Mary Poppins was my favorite Disney movie growing up, and I have seen it a gazillion times.                                                                                                                                

Note: Lots of pictures from NYC

First steps in Times Square and loving it!

Holly and me in the lobby of the Crown Plaza - We will be staying here next visit :)

Lobby at the W Hotel

We had the most fabulous dinner at Buddakan in the meat packing district.  It came highly recommended from a friend of mine who lives in Manhattan, and we loved every bit of it.  We walked from Times Square here to get some exercise, save a taxi ride, and thought it would be lovely to see the city.  The next day, our feet were absolutely killing us, and we really regretted the 36 block walk!!

This was Holly at the end of Mollie and my photo shoot wanting to go home!  haha

This was all the first day in NYC, and the second day is coming up next ....

Shelby's Birthday

Jenny, me, Jamie, Shelby, Mollie, and Carly at Tsillan Winery

Isn't this wine label neat with her picture on it -- a creative gift from her parents!

These are photos that I meant to post before I went to New York, but better late than never, right?  We had such a wonderful time on our quick 24 hour trip to Chelan, which is in Eastern Washington.  It was an adventurous time with more memories that I can count on my ten fingers!  Thanks for an amazing weekend to celebrate Shell's bithday, and thank goodness that drive home is over, ha.  

Guilty Pleasure

So, my guilty pleasure is reality TV, and I feel so incredibly bad watching our favorite shows while Gabe is out of town.  We have an agreement to always wait and watch them together, but I just couldn't wait considering he left this morning.  Our favorite shows are on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, so what did I do on my St. Patty's Day evening ..... cry watching The Biggest Loser as well as vote for my favorite American Idol contestants.  I admit it, I am a huge dork, but I have no problem sharing in my excitement hoping that everyone will devote their time to watching them as well ;)

Anyways, I am so thrilled that Gabe was able to leave town, get away for a bit, and most of all be able to support his best friend in the NAIA Basketball Tournament.  Gabe's brother drove up from Dallas to meet Gabe this evening, and he will come home depending on the success of the tournament.  Freed-Hardeman plays their first round game tomorrow at 10:45am in Kansas City, and Gabe and Ryan will be cheering them on in their Lion's gear.  Best of luck Jason - We are so proud of you!  

I always

Have my camera in my purse for immediate use to document anything and everything. Add Marie as a middle name to my good friends name and call them by it (you know who you are)! Wear my Mac powder NC42 (thanks to the twins) and is often the only makeup I have on sometimes. Run listening to an ipod, and if I happened to forget it I won't get on the treadmill. Wear my seat belt. Check the mail everyday when walking the dogs, even though it only consists of bills and most often letters from Granny Gayle :) Take things personal. Find reading incredibly relaxing and love falling asleep while doing it before bed. Order kids meals at restaurants when able. Wear my emotions on my sleeve. Pray before bed with the hubby. Check my bank accounts online religiously (meaning once a day, Gabe claims more) even though crazy things aren't taking place. Fill up the car with approximately only 25 miles left to empty. Switch topics quickly. Talk to Harley in a baby voice, which all my friends love me for. Wake up to a good morning wake up call from Gabe. Eat grilled chicken for most meals - it's my staple. Upload my pictures chronologically, and put them in photo albums in order with dates on the back. Check my email in the middle of the night on my blackberry. Do the laundry without separating colors and just throw it all in. Thank my parents for teaching my finances early on, and I still think I am the norm even after Gabe tells me I am an exception. Love pedicures even though I don't get them as often as I'd like. Come home from work and change into workout clothes, in hopes of having no excuse to not go to the gym. Cannot stand when people are mad at me and have to make amends or else I can't get it off my mind. Take pictures of things/items and email them to Abby, Arrie, or Mollie for confirmation before purchasing. Know how to cheer someone up. Tivo shows that I am not 100% interested in, which adds to my gazillion list of shows to follow. Am paranoid of getting pulled over for speeding since I drive for a living, but luckily have only gotten one ticket. Get at least 8 hours of sleep. Spend too much time on my laptop and can find anything to consume my spare time with. Last, but not least .... like consistency and doing things the way I always do them.

What would your Dad think?

What would your Dad think if you were modeling on the side of a plane?  

This Southwest plane got a new paint job with a Sports Illustrated model on both sides, and I have to say I was shocked!  I called my Mom to ask if it was true, and she said, "I think your Dad would have a heart attack if you were wearing a bikini on a plane in the sky."  I would never do that, nor ever asked to be, but I find it funny to think about people that would!

I have to admit ....

Who would have thought that there would come a day where I would admit that I was actually craving Red Robin. As most of you know, my husband makes me eat Red Robin EVERY single Saturday, unless we have a prior engagement. During the summer, I have an excuse that I don't have time for Red Robin since we have to meet Shelby and the crew on the boat, or else they will leave us .... but in the winter, there is no reasonable excuse except I am so sick of it. haha The bad news was when Red Robin added an additional location to our neighborhood, which is WALKING distance. That is when I knew it was inevitable that I would never win at getting to eat lunch at a place closer to home so we didn't have to drive 15-10 minutes to the other Red Robin locations.


We are creatures of habit and our Saturdays could not be more of a routine. Gabe wakes up around 8:30 and goes to the gym and plays basketball for at least three hours. I sleep in a little longer and meet him a little later at the gym since I can't fill a workout up with three hours of things to do. I use to make the mistake to drive together, and I would be begging him to stop saying "one more game" at least three times. Then, we head home for the dreaded lunch at Red Robin. For those of you that don't know what Red Robin is, it is like Chili's in the south and on every other corner! It was actually the very first meal I ever ate in Seattle once Gabe picked me up from the airport, and we have never turned back.


So, we come home and get ready for lunch at Red Robin (fake smile on my face) .... Really, what else can I try on the menu so I am not overly burnt out after almost three years of this. I rotate through the kids meals in hopes that I can at least fill my belly with something that isn't over a gazillion calories. We know all the waiters and waitresses by heart, we know who we want to serve us, as well as who we don't want to serve us. Gabe loves Red Robin because of their bottomless steak fries, which he eats about two servings of before his burger and another helping of fries come with his meal! Oh dear, I wonder what his arteries look like.


The last two weeks in NY were filled with horrible food (except for the weekends when we were able to leave the hotel). The hotel was connected to the Pfizer training facility, so we never left the closed corridors except for my evening run outside. I am a picky eater, but have gotten better after venturing out in my "olden" days. The leftover chicken from dinner one night would then be turned into a different chicken concoction the following day for lunch. Let me tell you, I ate a LOT of chocolate "fro-yo," and I just learned that new term for frozen yogurt (apparently I was the only one that didn't call it that)! Sidenote: Gabe ate Red Robin by himself while I was in NY twice since I wasn't there with him. Kinda sad.


ANYWAYS, yesterday morning I was absolutely pumped for Red Robin. My kids cheeseburger and side salad was soo yummy! I even splurged by indulging with a good handful of steak fries.


Hope everyone is doing well. I came home to chilly Seattle weather, and snow this morning!!

So Many Visitors

I am getting so excited for all of my upcoming visitors!  The next couple months will be quite hectic, but a very eventful month filled with good memories.

My Aunt and Uncle from Dallas, along with my two cousins, will be visiting the Seattle area and traveling south to the Olympic National Forest.  I am so excited to spend the tail end of their vacation with them and show them all of the sites in Seattle next Friday.  It is Daniel's 16th birthday, and I think I have thought of the perfect place to get seafood and eat on the pier overlooking the Puget Sound.  Mollie thinks they have the best clam chowder, and Harley (my yorkie) thinks so too since she ate an ENTIRE bowl of it out of the car :)

The following day, my mother and father-in-law will be arriving to Seattle for a fun-filled week of vacation during their Spring Break.  We don't have much on the schedule so far, but I am sure it will fill up quickly.

Then, I travel to Dallas for Griffin's (my favorite nephew) 1st birthday.  It will be so nice to be in Dallas and be with all of my precious family.  I really cannot believe he is about to be a year old.  I sure am getting old.

Yes the traveling isn't over for me, and I will fly straight from Dallas to Vegas for a week to launch a new product.  I have never had the chance to launch a product before, so this should be an exciting week for me.

Drumroll please ...... I just was surprised by Abby that she is coming to visit!!!  YAY.  It has taken three years for this day to come, and I seriously could not be more thrilled.  Abby will get along perfectly with my best friends, and I cannot wait for her to see my life in the northwest.   You know who you are .... so save the weekend of May 2nd.  Abby wants to go to a winery since she has never been to one.  She is leaving her sweet six week old baby at home, so we will have a fabulous time in peace and quiet :)

By the way, training has almost come to an end.  I am just ready to sleep in my own bed with my hubby and puppy dogs!!  The countdown has begun, and I will be home Friday evening.  Gabe and I have a fun date night planned for Saturday night since I have been gone for what seems like forever ....

NYC

This week of training finally concluded today. One down, one more week to go, but thankfully I have the weekend to re-coop even though I won't be laying too low!!

A friend of ours informed us of a shuttle that would be available so we wouldn't have to take a train into the city. So, Holly and I caught a shuttle from the Pfizer office (it is about 45 minutes outside to the city) directly into Times Square. Pfizer offers a free shuttle, three times a day, into the headquarters office, which is in Manhattan. It worked out perfectly, and there was no stress involved. 

We're staying at The Time in Times Square and got settled in by dropping off our bags. We then went and walked up and down Times Square while we had the chance. Our hotel has a great location that is so ideal. Of course, we stopped in at the W hotel and the Crown Plaza to look all around and see how it compared to ours. They were really nice, but a little out of our price range.

We also got in line to get broadway tickets half price to see a show, but Wicked was already sold out. That was the one Mollie, Holly, and I for sure wanted to see, and we didn't feel right just buying another show without Mollie having a say. Now that she has landed and almost into town, we are going to chat and try again tomorrow. They had Shrek, Mary Poppins, Little Mermaid, Chicago, the Phantom of the Opera ..... Etc! I think I want to see Mary Poppins over any of them if Wicked isn't available :)

Now, we are back in our room resting our little feet until Mollie gets here. I have been taking lots of pictures, of course, and will update you more soon.

Update from NYC

The east coast time zone is absolutely killing me!  Hopefully I will adjust within a couple of days. 

I got in yesterday evening and luckily made it to the hotel before snow hit.  Multiple flights were delayed and canceled due to this wild storm.  So, I made it in the knick of time, and it was so pleasant to see my fellow colleagues from other parts of the country.  Holly (from Walla Walla), Kristin (from South Seattle area), and I will be here for two weeks together .... and I wouldn't have it any other way.  It is so nice to have little training buddies to look forward to seeing after class!

The day started early, as I got up at 3:30am (Pacific time).  The day terminated successfully 

after six cups of coffee, two diet mountain dews, a diet coke, and a glass of tea !!! Now, here

I am ready to jump into bed and go to sleep.  Good thing caffine doesn't affect me like others! I believe my Dad passed that on to me since he drinks at least 30 cups a day.

I just finished watching the Bachelor, and I will have to say it was quite shocking.  It was too bad because Melissa and him looked extremely happy after he proposed.  But, that's what you get living in a fairy world on national television.

By the way, I got assigned to a secret shop today to get my carpets cleaned.  Woohoo, how fun is that!  Gabe will actually get to take this one by the horns and even enter it.  Isn't he wonderful?!