For the holidays, an outdoor mall near our house erected a small ice skating rink, however, the rink consisted of large sheets of plastic instead of ice. Despite the lack of ice, my girls still thought it was pretty cool.
Skating on Thin Ice
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Monthly Archives: December 2009
Our Anniversary Getaway in NYC
To celebrate our 10th Anniversary, Allan and I planned a romantic weekend getaway in New York City.
Although we wanted to ice skate at Rockefeller Center, it was far too crowded and way too expensive. So, we settled for ice skating at Central Park after a horse-drawn carriage ride.
On Friday, we scored stand-by tickets to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and after waiting just under an hour in line, we were soon slapping high-fives with Jimmy after the taping. As you can imagine, we immensely enjoyed a live taping of his show. Maybe it’s just me, but Jimmy is even cuter everything seems funnier live and in person.
His guests that night included Jude Law, Abby Elliot and Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes, which is available to view on-line. You’ll want to watch the show, because I make an appearance in the audience during the “Twelve Sweaters of Christmas” sketch. Look for the chick in the hot pink sweater waving at the camera.
For the majority of the weekend, Allan and I walked through mid-town stopping to snack and nosh at some of the most amazing and surprisingly affordable restaurants. Our favorite food had to be the $6 Ruebens we found on W. 56 St. Across the street, we stumbled upon an Indian restaurant called Bay Leaf and had dinner later that same day.
Saturday evening, we visited the Manhattan Theatre Source in Washington Square to catch a showing of the Off-Broadway play entitled Meg’s New Friend. This small converted brownstone holds approximately 50 seats, however, once in this tiny theater, the energy from the actors fills the audience better than any concession ever could.
In short, this play offered all the quick wit of Will and Grace and the racial taboos of Jungle Fever. As Meg pursues a friendship with her best friend’s boyfriend, she learns more about herself and her relationships in the process. To say that we loved the play, would be an understatement and in all fairness, such a wonderful production should receive a proper review rather than a brief mention in this post.
Upon leaving the theater, we faced the arrival of the “Blizzard of 2009”. As we trudged through nearly a foot of snow, we stumbled upon another NYC staple, Gray’s Papaya and of course, we had to stop for yet another quick bite before heading back to Rockefeller Plaza to queue for Saturday Night Live stand-by.
At this point in the evening, I was disappointed two-folds. Firstly, I honestly prefer any random hot dog vendor over Gray’s Papaya. Secondly, although we were very close to getting into the 11:30 taping, we didn’t score any seats in the studio. So, we battled the Blizzard of 2009 and headed back to my parents vacation home in Queens.
As the Blizzard of 2009 blanketed the Northeast, it contributed to nearly a foot of snow falling over Queens. Between the three major airports that serve NYC, close to 500 flights were canceled Sunday morning. Thankfully our Jet Blue flight from JFK to Tampa was only delayed an hour.
Witnessing a White Christmas in the Big Apple was truly an amazing sight for this Florida gal, but I was happy to leave the blizzard behind and return home with a couple of snow globes for our girls and memories of a truly wonderful anniversary getaway in NYC.
Musical Monday: Winter Wonderland
Trudging through the streets of NYC at Christmas time during what is now being affectionately referred to as the “Blizzard of 2009” felt like walking through a snow globe. Drifts of swirling snow cascading from the skies made the moment truly magical. But when the winds picked up late Saturday night and the snow and freezing winds hit my face, the magical moment fled as quickly as my mascara running down my cheeks. Neither was a pretty sight!
I meant to post Jason Mraz’s version of Winter Wonderland for last week’s Musical Monday, however, when we returned home from our trip I laid down for a long winter’s nap. I just love Jason Mraz and his fun, upbeat version of this holiday classic captures the exact essence of our anniversary getaway to NYC.
I’ll be posting about our NYC trip shortly, so watch for it. And there’s more snow (hopefully) in our future as we’re heading to a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina this Saturday. We’re excited to spend a week in another Winter Wonderland!
And I Ran
It had been two weeks since I last ran at the Holiday Halfathon. I’ve read on-line that exercise helps combat the tiredness and morning sickness associated with pregnancy. But for me, taking that first step towards anything aerobic has been quite a challenge. It’s a vicious cycle.
I don’t feel well, but if I run I’ll feel better.
But I can’t get motivated to run because I don’t feel well.
But If I run, I’ll feel better.
Then yesterday, Tiffany dragged my butt out of bed for some long overdue running. As much as we would have loved to run with the Striders, I couldn’t face getting up before the crack of dawn to join them for our Saturday run. So, we comprised for a later morning run around 8:00 a.m.
With my lack of running, I wanted to take it easy at a slower pace and a shorter distance. I set out to run 3 miles and did pretty well. I had to stop to walk occasionally, but I was still pretty impressed with myself.
3.1 miles
Time 34:21
Ave Pace 11:04
And remarkably, I felt better for the rest of the day. My energy levels improved, but most importantly, I felt well. There were no signs of icky morning sickness (or all day sickness in my case).
For the past few weeks, I’ve been wearing motion sickness Sea-Bands every day to ward off the nausea, however, yesterday I removed them before my run and forgot to put them back on my wrists. That’s how great I felt.
So, if I run, I will feel better. Amazing! Who would’ve thunk it?!
It feels good to be back and I’m looking forward to another run today! :-)
Warm Wishes from Run DMT
Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas. May your day be merry and bright.
Winter Wonderland
Rego Park, NY
Sunday, December 20, 2009
12:30 a.m.
Rego Park, NY
Saturday, December 20, 2009
10:00 a.m.
Total snowfall = 12 inches
Plus One
Baby #3 expected to arrive July 24, 2010. 
During the ultrasound, we heard a loud and strong heartbeat and watched our little one swim and kick all over the screen. This one may pop out running!
Not-So-Jolly Holiday Halfathon
Since Tiffany and I haven’t been training as much as we would like to be these days (with her new job and me feeling like a slug), we decided to “take it easy” at Sunday’s Holiday Halfathon and boy, was that ever an understatement!
After about two miles, I needed to walk. Seriously, it was that bad. Thankfully, Tiffany felt the same and my former running partner was now a running/walking partner. We joked about how at least we looked like serious runners with our cute little running skirts, sports bras and nifty Garmin gadgets.
The course stretched 13 miles north along Gulf Blvd from Madeira Beach to Indian shores. Then, it turned east for a few miles until we reached the Pinellas trail and ended at Taylor Park, which was a gorgeous finish line!
Despite the thick fog, we still really enjoyed the view and the relatively flat course. Occasionally, we conquered some Florida “hills” or steep bridges as the trail bridged over busy roads. A sign at the bottom of the steep ramp advised us to “proceed slowly” and we took its warning about the incline a little too literal.
Tiffany and I knew several runners in the race from the ‘hood and of course, several Striders were there. It felt obligated to show moral support to all our running friends rather than actually running.
Several police officers and deputies patrolled the intersections and directed the traffic around the race. One deputy even commented on how we were supposed to be running and Tiffany made me pose for a picture with him as punishment.
Around mile 10, a race official seemed to be tallying straggling athletes. I believe I heard him say there were a few behind us. “Well, at least we’re not last,” I giggled to Tiffany. “Maybe we should try running again?”
For the last few miles, we finally kept a good pace and finished just under 3 hours. Not our best performance at all, but at least we can only improve from here! LOL
Time 2:57:42
Ave Pace 13:34
Overall Place 824/882
Division 99/100
***Above picture borrowed from David Griner of the Striders. Tiffany took lots of pics. I will add them to this post as soon as she sends them to me.***
Crocs Winner!
With the help of random.org, a winner has been selected!
Congratulations to Marathon Mom! I apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience. As always, thanks to all the ladies who participated in the giveaway!
New York Christmas
My husband and I are leaving for the Big Apple this Thursday to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. Top on our “To Do” list in the city is to tour Top of the Rock and ice skate at Rockefeller Plaza. I’ve also requested a horse-drawn buggy ride around Central Park and then more ice skating in the park.
However, we’re pretty much going to hang out at 30 Rock this weekend. I’ve been dying to see a taping of Saturday Night Live for years. We don’t have tickets, but we’re prepared to wait in the stand-by line in freezing temperatures very early Saturday morning. I’ve already warned promised Allan lots of coffee and other favors for being a good sport.
We’re also hoping to catch a taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Then, we’re bound for Broadway of course, but we haven’t picked a show yet.
Lots of fun in store for a chilly, Christmas Anniversary in NYC! I can’t wait!
And because I’m so excited about our New York Christmas, I’ve selected New York Christmas by Rob Thomas for this week’s Christmas Musical Monday.
