10K

Victor convinced me to sign up for a 10K in Central Park. I then convinced Amy and Chris to sign up. I'm a tad embarrassed to admit that 6.2 miles is actually the furthest I've ever run (embarrassed because of my 2 superstar-marathon-running-speed-demon siblings).

The shirts were UGLY (the one I'm sporting). Amy wisely opted for her Panther Football shirt instead ("Clear eyes. Full Hearts. Can't Lose!"). If you don't know the reference, do yourself the favor of watching the show Friday Night Lights. Her shirt got a shout-out during the race, to which we both yelled back unabashedly for the Panthers. Pretty sure the people around us assumed we were in high school.

Photographer moving AND subject moving = bad photo

The course was HILLY. There was a stretch of about 3/4 of a mile that was flat. Total.

But, after many a climb, we finished! All that, and on a normal Saturday I'd still be snoozing.

The Chop

BEFORE

AFTER

All in a Week's Work

Monday
1. Dinner with cousin Laura at cute West Village Italian restaurant to celebrate her pregnancy.

Tuesday
2. Lunchtime mission to see President Obama on his way to Ground Zero. No one knew which route he was taking, and I followed the wrong press group...we were one block off. But still fun to take part with all the supportive Americans. Positive vibe - not inappropriately vindictive (as, in my opinion, characterized many of the most publicized celebrations), but patriotic and supportive.

3. Evening run in Central Park with my friend Victor, trying to get in shape for the hills of our 10K a week and a half later (yesterday, actually...documentation coming). Ended at the Reservoir with a gorgeous view of Midtown. I didn't have a camera, but this was basically our view.


Wednesday

4. Rem Koolhaas (superstar architect from The Netherlands) speech at NYU with my coworkers and bosses. The lecture room was in a building on the south side of Washington Square Park looking up 5th Avenue.

Thursday

5. Broadway show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) and John Larroquette. Both were phenomenal and hilarious, but I think Larroquette may have stolen the show. The theater was beautiful! I've been to a number of shows, and still attending theater loses its charm.

Friday

6. Birthday dinner for my friend Liz, whom I've known since kindergarten and now lives in NY. In the photo below, Liz is in the middle, and my UT friend Elizabeth is on the right. Elizabeth and I work near each other and often have lunch dates. Great story involving her and crazy Texas pride here: http://singleforareason.tumblr.com/post/3549270627/dont-mess-with-texas (it's worth the quick read). Liz and I witnessed this occurrence from across the room, and can confirm that it happened exactly as described. She is now dating the guy and reports that he also owns the shirt in polo version.

Saturday

7. Run in Central Park with Amy. Stopped midway to hear a talented violinist and smell the roses (tulips and azaleas to be perfectly honest...really not so scented).

8. Perusal of the "Festival of Ideas for the New City" street fair, on the Lower East Side, with Amy and her boyfriend Chris. We wandered from booth to booth, listening to hippies' visions of a city full of roof gardens. Stumbled into an art gallery and listened to the artist explain her pieces, all made from trash. They included a huge "painting" composed entirely of melted plastic item from around the house (including green army men, highlighters, and bottle tops). From afar it really looked like paint.

Sunday

9. The most glorious park day of the spring so far: flowers in full-bloom, new discoveries (including waterfall pictured below), and sunshine galore (enough to do a little laying out). It started with a stroll through a street fair on my way to the park, where I ordered a Nutella crepe for breakfast, evolved into a lunchtime picnic with a group of friends, and finally ended by 3 of us giving solicited advice to a self-proclaimed "brooding, love-sick" (and quite attractive) young man who had emerged from over the hillside where we were sunbathing. No matter where I found myself throughout the day, my reoccurring thought was an awe-filled "I walked here from my doorstep."

Easter

As Spring brightens and clears the skies above New York City, it also brightens and clears my vision for the city I love. It had been blurred by five long months of winter. The sharp contrast between seasons makes Springtime Rejuvenation especially acute.

As it did last year, Easter marked the true transition from winter to Spring. The sun shone gloriously on Easter morning, stubbornly defying meteorologists' promises of a rainy day.

Although I didn't make the trip home for the holiday, I undertook the next best endeavor - hosting a brunch for my New York family, my Trinity Grace family. After church we headed straight back to my apartment, and the cooking commenced. I know I am a destined hostess because nothing brought me more joy than to see my little kitchen crowded with busy bees - Elam baking his lintel casserole, Ashley brewing coffee, Elisabeth chopping fruit, Luke cooking cheese grits on the stove, Jillian manning the waffle iron, and I scrambling a ridiculous number of eggs that didn't even feed us all. Yes, all of these things were happening in my little New York kitchen, and more! I'm really not sure how, now that I think about it (there were about 15-20 people there total). Needless to say, amid this joyful chaos, photo documentation was the last thing on my mind, so my words will have to suffice in painting the image in your head.

Once all was prepared, we feasted.

Only after our bellies had swelled and the numbers had dwindled did I think to call on my Kodachrome. The photos you see below are the mere aftermath of the feast. Baby Elion was the first to slip into his food coma, but after most had left, Beth and I squeezed in a nap of our own before heading to the Chelsea service to sing in the choir once again.

Elion & Niki (his mama)

Dipo (Elion's papa), Suzie, & Jillian

Luke & Ashley

Jordan & Mimi

Asheley & Some Pasty Chick