Fall is here

... even though I'm not ready for it yet.

So I have been a delinquent blogger (yet again), so I will just give you a few highlights from the past month.

Amber and I went down to the Jersey Shore one weekend for a wedding of a co-worker. The wedding events spanned the course of the weekend, with something going on each day. It was so much fun. (Driving in this crazy place...not so fun)

View of the beach from our hotel room
Butterfly
Breakfast!
Brunch on the porch of this beautiful, old victorian house

In other exciting events my BFF from Vegas- Kelli, has arrived!!! Yippee :)

She already has found a job too. We have been having a lot of fun. Last friday we went to the Museum of Modern Art (because its free and really cool). I was wearing high heels and my feet were KILLING, so I didn't have as much fun as Kelli did...

Warhol's Soup Can's

Jasper John's American Flag

Picasso

???

Okay, well I will try to be better with my updates. I will also try to stay warm and enjoy the fall. I am off to watch the presidential debate.

Remembering 9/11

The last couple years I have gone downtown to the World Trade Center Site on September 11th to pay my respects and remember the tragedy that occured there.

There is a lot of new construction taking place...



I can't believe that it has been seven years since the terrorist attacks in our country. I feel like we live in a very different world. My roommate, who teaches first grade, was saying how her students were born after 2001. They live in this post 9/11 world and that's all they know. It's strange for me to think that they have always known airport security the way it is. That they are familiar with homeland security's "threat levels" (we are currently at level orange in case you were keeping track) http://www.dhs.gov/xinfoshare/programs/Copy_of_press_release_0046.shtm

The other thing I wanted to say was how grateful I am for democracy. Last week we were at the Brooklyn Library and I was reading the inscription they had on wall outside (beware: another tangent)

"Here are enshrined the longing of great hearts and noble things that tower above the tides. The magic word that winged wonder starts. The garnered wisdom that has never died. The Brooklyn Public Library through the joining of municipal enterprise and private generosity offers to all the people perpetual and free access to the knowledge and the thought of all the ages."

I think that we often take for granted the access we have to this knowledge. America was based on these ideas that knowledge and power could be given to all of its citizens. I am sad that it takes someone challenging or threatening that ideal that makes us realize its importance. I hope we don't take our freedom for granted!
(end of tangent)

Now, I am off to the airport to pick up Kelli...

The end of summer and camping as I know it.

“I will never go camping again! I am not suited to this lifestyle,” were the famous last words I muttered while departing the campsite on Monday afternoon…

Funny enough, “I love camping; I am such a good camper!” were the ironic words I shouted two days prior, when I decided on this Labor Day Camping Excursion.

Growing up we always went camping on our family vacations. I have such wonderful memories of loading up the car and going to the beach to camp all week, so I didn’t hesitate when I was invited to go camping at Fire Island this weekend. I did not, however take into consideration the fact that I would have to borrow camping gear (as I have none, whatsoever) nor do I have a car to haul said camping gear! I wouldn’t let it get me down though. I was only staying the night, I planned on living in my swimsuit, the world was my oyster! I packed light and carried my stuff to the train. Amber and I took the 9am train about 1.5 hours out to Patchogue (don’t worry, the lady laughed at me as I tried pronouncing the name too). Then we walked to the ferry station- still carrying our equipment mind you- where we waited for the ferry.

It was a pleasant boat ride, about half an hour to Fire Island. When we got there we saw lots of boats and families. There was a beautiful wooden walkway and everything was green. It was a crystal clear day and we made our way to the campsite where we could meet our friends and set up.

That’s when it happened…

The defining moment of the trip…

The bugs…

Not just evil mosquitoes that hate me. Oh no! Something much more sinister. Evil, blood sucking, biting FLY’S! Swarms of them! Everywhere!
I coated myself with bug spray first thing, but it didn’t seem to matter. It was like icing on the cake.
The beginning of the end for me. The rest of my stay was a blur. I do remember that it was gorgeous and the water was nice. The people were friendly and the facilities were good. But the thing that stayed with me (haunts me to this day in fact) were the disgusting creatures that ruined my trip.
They were there with me at the beach. They were waiting patiently outside my tent. A few brave ones managed to get inside our tent. Trying to sleep that night was next to impossible, knowing that at any moment I would hear a buzz by my ear, or feel my flesh getting ripped into…

Another thing, is that bites affect me different than most people. They get really swollen and hard. Plus they itch like crazy!!
To top it off, I got bit at my eye. When I woke up, I could feel that it was swollen. I said to my fellow campers, “I think my eye is swollen from the bite?” The telling response was, “Oh! Wow!” :(
Today at work, I got a lot of “What happened to you?” because I could not wear contacts or make-up today and as Amber so eloquently put it, "you look like you were ran over by a truck" (it's good to have honest friends)

Anyways, there were parts of it that were definitely fun. However, I am emotionally (and physically for that matter) scarred from this experience. It will be a long time before I go camping again.

(unless I go in a car, with my parent and there are no killer bugs on the loose)

Below are some highlights from the trip:

Me on the Ferry... so happy, so clueless

The Beach

The last summer sunset

The path we took on our twilight walk into "town"

This photo captures the essence of the trip.

This bug spray was everything they ever wanted.

Amber and I on the beach

The pretty campgrounds

The beach

Getting ready to get the H- outta there!

(Thank goodness my hair still looks good, at least there's that)

The US Open

A couple of my friends had an extra ticket to the US Open, so I got to go with them.
I've never been before, and it was very exciting!

There are all these different matches going on, booths and exhibits, etc...

We caught the end of a women's doubles match, then we went to another stadium and watched an amazing game between this guy from Spain (ranked 4th) and this Japanese kid (ranked 126th). Nishikori, from Japan was the major underdog and ended up beating the highly ranked Spanish guy! It was a really great game!

Then we went to Arthur Ashe stadium where we had tickets to the Men's singles, where we watched Mardy Fish and James Blake.

Ferrer and Nishikori

Ferrer

Nishikori

Our seats in Arthur Ashe Stadium

James Blake, taken on the big screen (my camera is not that good!)

That's John McEnroe!

James Blake

A little bit of everything...

Well I have been a very busy girl... With traveling, vampire novels and the Olympics, when does one have time to blog about it all?

Traveling:
So at the end of July, five of my friends and I took a road trip to Montreal!
Nothing says true friendship like being stuck in a van with them for 7 hours...
We ended up having a great time though and getting along well (for the most part).

The six of us visited our friends Rachel Dave (center) before they move to Scotland.

Us gals went to the salon to get our hair cut. It was a fabulous experience and we came out looking like supermodels (obviously)

Shilo, Rachel, and Rachel (oversize sunglasses also pictured)

All of us gathered around the kitchen [and dining room] table for our Sunday, Family Dinner

Eating Poutine. (French Fries with Gravy and Cheese -sounds gross, but its very tasty!)

Now on to bigger and better things...

The Vampire Saga:

So these books have taken over my life for a bit. There were several weeks where I was entirely consumed by the characters Stephenie Meyer created. Luckily I am not alone in this obsession. Many good friends have stood by on my vampire journey. Even friends back home like Brittany, Bob, Marilyn, and Mom (thanks for the support guys).

My New York kindred vampire spirit comes from Amber, and I somehow managed to talk her into going to the "Prom Party" release of Breaking Dawn at midnight (the fourth and final book). We had a great celebration among the fourteen year old girls, goths and wannabe vampires.

Amber and I all dressed up for th Prom Party!

They served red velvet cupcakes. Yum!

Then finally, after weeks of waiting... the torture was over! Just after midnight I laid my hands on a copy of Breaking Dawn.

Sorry about the lipstick Mom- I usually don't wear something so severe, but in light of the vampire party I found it forgivable.


Since then, I have finished the book... It took me 5 1/2 days which is a long time in comparison to some people I know!

Now, I have the OLYMPIC GAMES:

I am obsessed with watching the games every day. It's getting out of hand. I stay up way too late and it's causing me to suffer the next day. But it's totally worth it to see Michael Phelps and the other US Olympians.

So for Family Home Evening this week, I organized our own Olympic events!

I took home the "gold" in The Hymnal Relay- which consisted of balancing a hymn book on my head and running the length of the room. I should have went to finishing school after all!

Amber and I took home the silver for the Three-Legged Race challenge. And yes, our Senior Missionary couple won the bronze!

Well I am off to go watch the Olympics!

I realize this blog was quite lengthy. Thanks for sticking through it. YOU deserve a medal.

Summertime!

Although the weather is pretty miserable in the summer, there are always SO many things to do in the city during this time of year... and don't get me wrong, there are many pleasant days...

Outdoor, Saturday Brunch is one of my favorite things. This is Jenny and I at a French Restaurant in Brooklyn.

I had the FRENCH toast at the FRENCH restaurant... how fitting!OJ (not a Mimosa!)

Okay, so my other obsession this summer has been "The Twilight Saga". You may have heard of it. Basicaly its a teenage vampire series written by this LDS woman. I am 25 yrs old.. I should not be enjoying this so much! Luckily I got my friend Amber hooked as well...

We met up in Central Park after work one day to... read! (what else?)

FYI: Breaking Dawn (the 4th and final book) comes out August 2nd. I can't wait! (Mom, I hope you're reading...)

We were also in Manhattan for the phenomenon that is "Manhattanhenge"

Manhattanhenge (sometimes referred to as Manhattan Solstice) is a semi-annual occurrence in which the setting sun aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan's main street grid. The term is derived from Stonehenge, at which the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattanhenge

Okay, so my picture is not that great, but you get the idea... It's KIND OF exciting.

Right now, the "Waterfall Exhibit" is also going on...

You can see one waterfall on the other side of the bridge. (This is the Manhattan Bridge over the East River)

Closer View

The Brooklyn Bridge (obviously)

This is the waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge (not the best view, but you get the idea).

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish my dear Ashley a Happy Birthday!!! Her special day was yesterday and I was so sorry to miss all of the celebrations that come with turning the big 2-4! Love you Ash!

Happy Independence Day!!

Yay! It's 4th of July!! Which means I get a 3 1/2 day weekend :)

So my friends and I took a train out to long beach...

The train ride was really fun...
...obviously
It was only about an hour ride to the beach.

Compared to the public beaches we usually go to, this one was SO NICE!!! It was raining in the morning when we left, but when we got the beach we had great weather all day. It was a little overcast most of the day, but it was still very enjoyable.Jennifer, Sara and AmberSara and I

Sexy Beach Hair!

After we left the beach, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for Dinner (BAD IDEA!!) Then we crashed a party at Jenny's co-workers house. They had a nice roof deck and we could see the firework show. These were taken with my camera phone, so they are not that great, but you get the idea.

It was drizzling the entire time. We were pretty much soaked by the time we went back inside!

We had a great time though! I got a little too much sun, and now I am suffering the burning consequences :(

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July as well!