NYC Myth Busters

I had A LOT of preconceived notions about New York City.

And because of them, I will admit I was a bit anxious, even felt a little uneasy leading up to our Anniversary trip to NYC. I don't know if my preconceived notions came about from watching too many movies, listening to too much "here say," or what. Maybe things have changed, but what I was scared of really wasn't there!

Preconceived notion #1: There are RATS "as big as dogs" crawling around the streets & sidewalks.

Actual: The ONLY rat I saw was this "pet" sitting on his owner's head & shoulders.

Preconceived Notion #2: I would be an absolute "Fashion Outcast" there in my "Utah duds" compared to all those stylish New Yorkers.

Actual: I realized I had nothing to worry about when I saw these folks...

Since this is a "G" (OK, maybe "PG") rated blog, I'll cut this photo off here, so you won't be able to see how far up before the clothes start, but the rest was as interesting as the shoes! :) {Oh, no! I think she caught me snapping this photo!}

Can't exclude the men!

Preconceived notion #3: The Subways are dangerous, scary, (think The Fugitive, Die Hard 3, Ghost, The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3) dirty, & full of people with B.O. (with their armpit right at your nose level.)

Actual: We experienced none of that. And I'm pleased to say that we only got on the wrong Subway twice! Note to self: just because you took a certain Subway getting to your destination, does NOT mean the same one will get you back! Also, Don't let "Downtown" confuse you. It is not the center of the city as I naturally will refer to it in these parts - but, in NYC, it's down, as in more south from where you currently are ~heading towards Lower Manhattan! Also a big help: HopStop.com

Preconceived Notion #4: You will get mugged/jumped/attacked - or even witness a murder.

Actual: Although, I did frequently keep one hand on my purse at all times, no one touched me...except I did get pushed by a stiletto donning woman as she walked by (and commanded, "Excuse Me.") since I was stopped on the sidewalk she wanted to walk by on - and avoid the alternative, the grates covering the Subway below which would surely have been a disaster with her shoes!

Preconceived Notion #5: The hotels that are in the price range below $300/night are "hole in the walls" - a regular dive.

Actual: We were so happy with our hotel. New, no noise, so comfortable, free wireless, complimentary bottled water ($5/bottle at other hotels), a candy jar at the front desk!...And the price was right!

{In our Lobby}

I've fallen in love with their signature "Sheraton Sweet Sleeper" beds. (They tell me you can order them online....)

It really did the trick - we slept until 11:00a.m. one morning, 9:45a.m. another!

Preconceived Notion #6: The weather isn't nice. Too humid, too cold, too muggy. Unpredictable summer storms.

Actual: Just look at these skies...

I ended up wearing my jacket around my waist every day "just in case" I needed it. Didn't!

Finally, on the 5th & last day, I left my jacket behind (since I'd never needed it yet!)

THAT DAY, we went to the top of The Empire State Building....

it was just a tad bit windy clear up there!

Yep, Murphy's Law applies to me again, THAT would be the ONE day, I didn't have a jacket! :)

Preconceived Notion #7: It's practically impossible to get tickets to Letterman.

Actual: WE DID! (They actually called me ahead of time, before we left, asked me a "trivia" question - What kind of store does Rupert have? Answer: Deli. Done - we're on the guest list.)

Our show will be airing tonight, Friday, Sept. 11th. We're in the audience on David's desk side , about 7 rows up! The main guest was Michael Douglas. I don't know if it was just because we were there, but "our show" seemed to be better than all the others I see on T.V. Tune in tonight to see for yourselves!

Preconceived Notion #8: Movie Stars are walking around all over the place.

Actual: Negative. Unless you consider him...

We also DID see all this hub bub happening on the street one day with a big film crew. I see no stars, do you?

We found out they were filming Sex and the City 2.

OK. OK - there WERE a few of my Preconceived Notions that were right on...

Taxis, Taxis, & more Taxis
{we never took one}

Pigeons, Pigeons, & more Pigeons
{a flock even made a landing on the field in the middle of the Yankees game}

Garbage, Garbage & more Garbage
{put out at night, and it miraculously disappears by morning}

People sleepin' around
{I only saw this kind, not the other kind!}
Fancy Cars
{A Rolls Royce}

What a wonderful surprise to have most of my preconceived notions proven wrong! :) Now maybe another time, another place, those things are happening....? We'll just consider ourselves LUCKY!

Now in closing, Imagine the New York, New York song by Frank Sinatra playing in the background!

15 YEARS, BABY!!!

Matt & I were married 9~9~94.

I suggested to him we wait five more years, so we could have 9~9~99 for our Wedding date, but he wouldn't go for that! ;)

We still laugh when we think of the memories of this "Photo Op" we had taken on our honeymoon.

First, we ARE both wearing shorts, but they had Matt take off his shirt for the picture and then they gave me this strapless corset thing-y (that attached up the back) to put on. I was having trouble reaching back to get it done up, so I asked Matt to help. Well, Matt...bless his heart...only having ONE sister (who is 12 1/2 yrs. younger than he) didn't hardly know anything about "girl" things, let alone how to fasten a corset! (OH, what he's learned since then!!) He fumbled & fumbled over that dang thing and then when he thought he'd done it, I start to walk out of the dressing room to the studio -- and it "malfunctions" (falls down.) He tries some more (in vain) and then we're laughing so hard, all attempts to get it on are futile. He ends up asking the photographer (luckily, a woman) to come "dress his wife."

Second, the USUAL pose for this picture is for the wife to lean back against the chest of her husband....BUT, since I was NOT blessed with height genes, when I leaned back, I was hidden down in the bathtub! So, then they said I'd have to pose sitting upright. But, then my corset was showing, so they told me to pull the corset down a bit....and then to sit up a little taller...needless to say, I was getting a little nervous as to how this picture was going to turn out...and what was going to be exposed!!

But, we must like it a lot, because it's been on display in our bathroom for the last 15 years (in 4 different residences!)

Happy Anniversary, Matt!

{Don't ya think we still look exactly the same?!?} hahaha. :)

Random Question of the Week

What does one wear to/in New York City?

Especially if:

• One doesn't want to [appear to] be a fashion "outcast"
• A lot of walking may be involved
• One wants to be the *right* temperature (for September)

I'm a little bit clueless. :0

Kids Say the Darndest Things - August '09 Edition

Taken from the sidebar...

A "crime" was committed at our home. Haylee said that Katelyn did it, Katelyn said that Haylee did it. In an attempt to prove the true guilty party, Katelyn testified in the "case."
Katelyn: "Haylee is always lying and I...I'm SO smart!" 8/09

Haylee was holding a towel around her at the beach while trying to eat a little bag of Doritos at the same time...
Haylee: "Sometimes I wish I had more than two arms."
Me: "Me too. Me too!" 8/09

The girls were crying/whining/screaming (which seems to be the case more than not)....
Kyle: "I REALLY want some ear plugs!"
Me: "Me too. Me too!" 8/09

I was folding laundry while Matt was sitting on the couch just watching me! So, of course, I made a comment about his "helpfulness." :)
Matt: "Hey, I think you look HOT folding the laundry!"
Haylee: (smiling) "Do you mean, 'HOT' like from the sun? Or 'HOT' like you want to marry her?" 8/09

After all, I KNOW this guy...Or do I?

The other day, we were on our way out for a long drive so we needed to stop to get gas at Costco. Matt hadn't eaten in a while and was hungry, so I offered to go into Costco and get him the hot dog meal while he was filling up our wallet drain...er, uh, I mean, Suburban.
He said that sounded good, but then he hesitated....

"Umm, I like it with two lines of ketchup, one down each side of the hot dog and then one line of mustard down the middle."

HUH?!? Come again? That's news to me.

All these years, When preparing him a hot dog, I've been putting "uh" smattering of ketchup any ol' place on the dog and then squirting mustard on top of that - OR wherever the mustard landed. Come to find out my ketchup/mustard ratio and positioning has always been ALL wrong for him!

We're coming up on our 15 Year Anniversary in 10 days...and it got me thinking...

How many other things DON'T I know about him?

Has he just been enduring me getting him the wrong kind of Peanut Butter & Pizza, too?

(It's very unsettling!)

***How about y'all? What's something NEW you've learned about your spouse after years of marriage?***

Look What I Found!

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about when I mention my FAVORITE Staples COMMERCIAL...



LOVE IT!!

It's the MOST Wonderful Time of the Year! Part 2

I referenced this last year at back to school time, but I STILL couldn't agree more with the Staples (and I did confirm, it IS Staples) commercial with my post title for it's "theme song!" And last year, thanks to your comments & emails I got in response to my post, I no longer need to think, "Is something wrong with me?" for feeling like this! I found out that many of you are WITH ME, y'all just hadn't been openly HONEST about it - YET! For me, there's NOTHING hard about the kids going back to school (except finding everyone the right shoes in the right size the week before AND having to get up early, but that's just a small price to pay for the end reward!) And I NEVER shed a tear - and those who do are FAKERS & are just campaigning for "Mother-of-the-Year!" Well, maybe that's a bit harsh, so let's just say that I don't understand them at all!

I ask again, "What's not to like?" When I got back home yesterday after taking the kids to school, I:

• Cleared off the "Hot Spot" on my dryer
• Went through a big box of Miss B's [little] baby clothes
• Cleaned out the microwave
• Answered E-mails
• Started a load of wash
• Caught up on reading some Blogs that I hadn't looked at for a while
• Returned some library books
• Dropped off the baby clothes for donation
• Made a return to the store then bought diapers, bottle liners & pasta
• Made dinner

And I haven't done all THAT in a single day for a LONG time...well...as a matter of fact...before school got out for Summer vacation! (Sorry, for the visual the unattended [food-splattered] microwave may cause!) In fact, most days NONE or just ONE of those things got done this summer!

I once saw a magnet on someone's fridge that said,

"Being a Mother is like being pecked to death by a flock of chickens."

And during the summer, those chickens came after me with a vengeance!

But, now...Okay, Breathe. Think. Relax. Enjoy the "sounds of silence."

Here's how the Blessed Day all went down... (YEA!)

It was a Rainy Day AND a Monday, but that couldn't get me down on this day!!

RYAN

This boy should have NO COMPLAINTS about being able to go back to school since he was grounded THE WHOLE ENTIRE SUMMER! As in, the whole summer. (with the exception of the very 1st week and the last few days.) But, that's a blog post for another day - or not - I might need to just purge that punishment (more mine than his) from my memory!

I had to laugh when Ryan came to me on Sunday night - with no prompting or instruction from me - to show/model for me what he was considering for his "1st Day of School" outfit. This is Ryan, my-never-prepares-until-the-very-last-millisecond-for-anything-risk-taker son! Hey, If he's decided to turn over a new leaf - I'm all for it! :)

Let me see if I can get you a closer look at his shoes...

One day while I was out shopping ALONE, I came across some fantastic prices on shoes. I gathered up a few pairs in Ryan's size and called him. I tried to describe what each looked like over the phone, so he could tell me which ones to get, but he didn't "get the picture" of what I was saying. I was scared to buy the wrong ones for this 8th Grader and as to not risk them being gone the next time I made it back to the store, I BOUGHT ALL THREE! And then let him choose when I got home. These are what he picked. These were actually MY #3 choice out of the 3. He balked at one of the pairs of Sketchers I had brought home since they didn't have TIE laces, but were of the "no tie" elastic strip variety. What?!? I thought those were a great choice...since he doesn't know how to tie his shoes anyway! Yep, that's right, in fact NONE of my kids can tie their own shoes - I have a 13, 9 1/2, and a 7 yr. old who can't (won't?) tie their shoes. Just sign me up for "worst mother of all time" now! I guess I could FORCE them to do it, but I've chosen to NOT ruin our relationship - which shoe tying lessons for sure do! But, that's also another blog post. Anyway, Ryan turned his nose up on the "no tie" shoes because Jr. High kids need laces. But, much to my amazement, I noticed his shoes on the 1st day! He doesn't use the ties! He says that's how it's suppose to be. I told him we should've got MY [less expensive] pick if he's not even going to tie them - to which he just rolled his eyes! So let me get this straight, I guess in order to be cool, ya gotta have laces, but not use them - just create them into a "no tie" shoe - just for looks?

Like I said, he was eager to get going (anywhere, even school), so he took off on his bike. I attempted to get a picture of him riding off on his first day, but he was in much too big of a hurry for his mom-with-a-delayed-camera. And this is how the photo turned out.

KYLE

Kyle merely tolerates my requirement of taking pictures on the 1st Day of School. He's kind of to the age where he thinks (or at least acts like) it's dumb for Moms to do this. But, NO, that still doesn't make me sad that his Back to School attitude is a marker that he is growing up on me. Well maybe one part - his brother has brain washed him a bit which resulted in Kyle declaring to me that he is so done with "tighty whities" and is ready to graduate to boxers - which IS sad since they cost so much more! Kyle was giddy the night before as he repeated/chanted, "No more tighty whities! Hello, boxers!"

*No photos of new boxers included...You're Welcome!

Kyle actually has the same teacher (and incidentally the same classroom) as last year since she is teaching 5th Grade also this year. So, when we walked into the classroom, and he sat in his desk that was arranged in alphabetical order, we noticed it looked very familiar to last year. Take a look...

2009

2008

He even chose the same color of shirt to wear both years!

HAYLEE

Haylee is completely OVER wearing dresses. In fact, I think the last time she wore one was on the 1st Day of School last year. And, NO, I am not depressed about that either - because keeping tights without holes in stock is a PAIN!

Haylee was more than happy to pose for as many pictures as her Mom wanted to take... Haylee's teacher this year has a very long name. It has 12 letters and 4 syllables. 12 letters! Haylee has a hard enough time remembering our own 9-letter last name, so, naturally, her main concern was learning that BIG name. Thankfully, when we arrived in class, we found out that the students can just call her, "Mrs. V." Whew!
This new backpack of hers has a "media pouch" conveniently located on the straps. Really? At this age? Why are the backpack designers doing that to us parents?

Uh Oh, is that a tear in HER eye?

{click to enlarge}

And poor Katelyn, my-practically-as-big-as-her-sister-in-2nd-Grade-and-frequently-mistaken-for-older-daughter...with her November birthday is denied entrance into Kindergarten! (That dang Sept. 1st cutoff.) But, she didn't want to be given the shaft in the photo department - so I obliged...

In her favorite spot by the school's fish tank!

Cheers!...clink, clink, take a sip of your sparkling cider...Here's to the coming [quiet] 9 1/2 months.

Flying by the Seat of our Pants

That's what some [super organized, goal-accomplishing, Type A, by-the-book] people may call it....

I prefer to call it, "flexible" and "spontaneous," however!

Like many others, at the beginning of summer, we made a list of things we wanted to do.

There were some things that were already planned, set in stone, so to speak like:

1. San Diego in June (Matt & Suzanne only)
2. Baseball through June
3. Farmington Festival Days in July
4. Brenchley Family Outing at Timberlakes in July
5. Ward Campout in July/August
6. Fowers Family Outing at Skyline Mountain Resort in August
7. Triathlon (Aug.)

BUT, the rest of our days were open to whatever our little heart's desired. And here's what made "Our List."

• Ride bikes on Grandma's road
• Layton Surf & Swim
• Eat [steak] at Mo' Bettah Steaks
• The Peppermint Place in Alpine (for chocolate dipped potato chips)
• BYU Museum of Art presents Walter Wick: Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic
• Cache Valley Getaway
• Raging Waters (w/ JetBlue Summer Party)
• Farmington Pool (3-4X)
• Bees Baseball game (w/ JetBlue Summer Activity)
• Raptors Baseball game
• Ride Frontrunner
• Tuacahn
• Double Tree Hotel Family Package
• Bingham Copper Mine
• Bonneville Salt Flats
• Bryce Canyon
• Bike Ride on Legacy Parkway Trail
• Parks
• Lagoon
• Cherry Hill - Batting Cages
• Cherry Hill - Mini golf
• Cherry Hill - Splash Pass
• Clearfield Aquatic Center
• SPEED Street Raceway
• Antelope Island
• Classic Fun Center
• South Davis Rec Center
• Swan Lakes golf
• Kangaroo Zoo
• Sparetime Family Fun
• Hill Aerospace Museum
• Stay-in-your-PJ's-all-day-and-watch-movies
• Harry Potter screening on opening day in the theatre JetBlue has reserved
• Fly to a city w/ a MLB team and watch a game
• ReAL Soccer Game

Out of those 35 things...we did exactly 8 of them! (1. Ride bikes on Grandma's road 2. JetBlue night @ the Bees game 3. Raptors baseball game 4. rode Frontrunner 5. Tuacahn - Footloose & Annie 6. Bike Ride on Legacy Parkway Trail 7. Parks & 8. Stay-in-your-PJs-all-day-and-watch-movies.) And half of two others (we did go to Farmington Pool, but only twice and we did go to The Peppermint Place, but they were all OUT of the chocolate-covered potato chips...All-Day suckers had to be our substitute!)

BUT, before you think we are so lame, or that we repeated last summer sans the newborn baby, let me explain. This summer wasn't spent doing NOTHING...just spent doing other [non-list] things. (THIS IS WHERE THE "FLEXIBLE" AND "SPONTANEOUS" COMES IN!)

Here's what we actually did instead:

• Grilled & had a picnic in our own backyard
• Set up camp chairs in a semi-circle around our "imaginary campfire" and hung out at night
• Dog sitting
• Cousin swaps (my kids went & stayed at cousins and other cousins came to stay w/ us)
• Gateway fountains
• Food Co-op
• Tea Party (for the girls)
• Pace's Bars @ Castle Park
• Called 9-1-1 (Kyle) and had the cops show up
• Jumpin' Jacks
• St. George RoadRunners baseball game
• Wave Runnin'
• Swimming at Nana & Papa's pool
• Lagoon Trail walks
• Fireworks from David & Kristen's "Observation Deck"
• Iceberg Drive Inn
• Boating/Tubing
• Picnic in a pavilion while it was pouring rain (3 weeks of rain in Utah's June)
• Fishing
• Row Boat
• Tried out the new Tonyburgers
• [attempted] Drive-In Movie - but there was a power outage
• Drive-In Movie the next night = success!
• Picnic in the Park w/ friends
• Went out to Kyoto Restaurant with an old mission companion & spouse (who spoke Japanese most of the time and we felt like "greenies" again, just smiling & nodding!)
• Thanksgiving Point - Museum of Ancient Life
• Desert Star Theater
• Danced the night away at a party w/ a LIVE 80's music Rock Band
• Swimming Lessons
• Summer Movies @ Gateway 8 (did you know it is now "temporarily closed?")
• Matt's 20-Year High School Reunion (Family BBQ not the $1,000 one)
• Cub Country (Kyle)
• Kaysville Parade (Ryan played snare drums in the marching band)
• Movie in the Park on a big blow up screen
• Monkey show @ Lagoon
• Free Entertainment (stage shows) @ Lagoon
• MLS All-Star Game @ Rio Tinto Stadium (one of Matt's Father's Day gifts)
• Roasted marshmallows/made S'mores in outdoor fireplace
• Scout Camp near Tetons (Ryan)
• Foot Zoning
• Redeem all the "Book It" Pizza Hut certificates that had piled up over the school year
• Birthday Parties
• Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication
• Football (Kyle)
• "Camp" out in the Motor Home

(And some of my kids still have the GALL to say, "We haven't done anything this summer!" - obviously they are a slave to "Our List" and still need to work on their "flexibility" qualities, of course!)

Your Opinion, Please...

Hypothetically speaking...

What kind of wedding gift do you buy the Boss' child?

Do you go with one on the more expensive side, so it will show good taste, appreciation and respect (READ "brown nosing")? But then that may give the message that you are "well off" and are managing FINE at the current paycheck.

OR

Do you just buy a "normal" gift and risk appearing "average?" Or unimportant, ungrateful, tacky?

OR

Do you [strategically] go with something on the lower end, so it may [hopefully] cause the Boss to consider your financial situation...which, in turn, should produce thoughts of the necessity of a raise?

All just hypothetically speaking, of course.

You Know You're in Utah When...

You're driving down the freeway and see this sign:



And this sign:



And you're going 63 mph....AND still getting passed by every other car on the road!*

There is a reason behind my 63 mph driving. Years ago, when I was a teenage driver, my mom let me in on a little secret. She said that you can go 8 mph over the speed limit on the freeway and still be OK! So, that means 63 mph in a 55 zone, 73 mph in a 65, and currently on an "experimental" stretch of I-15, you can go 83 in that 75 zone. It works. If you think you can go even just 9 or 10 mph over, you're sorely mistaken. That's no good - you'll get caught! The "8" is the "magic number" - it's where the "imaginary line" has been drawn. Believe me, I know.

* Actual life experience during the last few weeks.