The Garden

Hi all!  It's the start of the weekend so that's good...even though I have a lot of work to do for the finals and papers I have coming up.  Yuck.  While all of my Oregon friends are starting their winter breaks right now, I have to wait almost two more weeks until the 23rd.  But it will last a whole month! Woohoo!  Can't come fast enough.

So this week has been fairly average.  I wanted to post my Hannukah pictures for you all however, my roommate still hasn't uploaded them...so for now I will share my other adventures with you.

Last weekend I decided to go to Midtown and wander around on Saturday afternoon.  Before I left I didn't really think about how crowded it would be...which was stupid of me because a) it's Midtown (aka Tourist Central) and b) it's X-mas time, which apparently a lot of people come to NYC for.  So I dealt with shoulder to shoulder sidewalks and stores for a little while.  Some of the crosswalks even had to be manned by police officers holding caution tape to keep the crowds of people from crossing when it wasn't their turn and blocking traffic.  Even though it was crowded it was still fun to experience the hustle and bustle of NYC at this time of the year.  There were also some gorgeous decorations in the department stores.

This is an awful picture because I was scared at getting yelled at for
taking a picture but the inside of Bergdorf's was drop dead gorgeous.

Saks was beautiful as well.

You can't really tell from the picture but the lights on this
store looked like they were dripping icicles.  So cool.

The rest of the weekend was uneventful...well except for the fact that the Ducks won and are headed to the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!! I watched most of the game while running on the treadmill at the gym...the people around me probably thought it was strange that I was cheering to myself while running...but that doesn't matter because I'll be cheering on the Ducks in GLENDALE next month!  I'm so excited.  Thanks for the tickets parents!!!

Watching the Ducks in action was pretty amazing, but it's still pretty fun to go to a live game as well, especially at Madison Square Garden.  I had never been before and my Dad told me that I just had to go to "the Garden," so when NYU was selling tickets for the Knicks v Minnesota Timberwolves game I jumped at the chance.  My roommate and I went together this past Monday night.

THE GARDEN!

Once I realized that Luke Ridnour (a former Oregon Duck) was on the Timberwolves, I wasn't exactly sure who to root for.  I decided I didn't exactly care who won...even though I did get a super cute Knicks t-shirt (I had to...I'm a New Yorker now!) but in the end the Knicks won.  It was a fun outing for a Monday night and we are already planning on going again after winter break.

The rest of this week has been spent doing homework, going to class, working out, hanging out and nothing super exciting.  Except that I did decide to sign up for the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon!  Aghhhh!  I'm so scared and not sure if I can do it but for now, I want to try.  I'll already be trained for the Shamrock 1/2 marathon in March so the current plan is to keep running and building up my endurance until the Seattle race in June.  It's a ways away but I'm already nervous/excited.  

This weekend will be spent writing my final papers, starting to study for my finals, and doing boring chores.  The fun part will be ice skating which I've been waiting for the holiday time to do!  Don't worry, I'll have pictures of the outing next week!  

I will leave you with this countdown I made while I was really bored (in class) the other day.

I now have approximately:

12 days until winter break.

99 days to my 1/2 marathon.

157 days until summer.

196 days until the marathon.

257 days until I go to Las Vegas with my best friend (hopefully).

269 days until my senior year of college starts.

523 days until I graduate college.

I know people say you shouldn't countdown to things and instead you should live in the moment.  While I try to do that, I also like to have things to look forward to.  Even if some of these things seem sooo far away.  Well, have a lovely weekend!  Comment or call me if you feel like it...it'll probably be a boring study weekend.  

<3 from NYC

Winter's Here

Hello again!  I am back in the city after a lovely Thanksgiving break.  I got to do a lot over the break but it felt so short!  While in Portland I...

Took embarassing pictures of my Dad.

 Had a delicious Thanksgiving meal with my family.  It was a great night.

Saw the Ducks beat Arizona at Autzen Stadium.  Go Ducks!

Got to see my dog, Lucy, who I miss so much at school!

  I also did some running, some Barre3 classes, shopping, and more.  It was so nice to be home.  Can't wait for winter break in less than 3 weeks!

  But then it was back to NYC.  I took a redeye on Sunday night so I could optimize my time at home.  But the flights back and the connection in Chicago at about 4 AM was rough.  At the airport though I got to use the cute Hannukah present Jenna made me.  Thanks Jenna!

Can you guys make out Dennis Dixon on there?

 Once back I was starving and wanted to grab lunch before class.  The local market had sweet potatoes with marshmellows.  I tried them but they were pretty disgusting compared to my mom's!

 I also walked by Lululemon!  I wish I could be running with the Bridgeport lulu group today!

Since Thanksgiving is over, the Christmas decorations are up in full force.  I think it's hilarious that they sell Christmas trees on the sidewalks from stands here.  It's like walking through a mini forest every few blocks. But you can tell they definitely sell a lot more tiny trees here because of the ridiculously small size of most people's apartments here in this expensive city.

My RA's had this sign up outside their door.  A good reminder, right?

  But then it was back to class.  Hard to smile about that.  I sat through another politics class that felt like a math course.  Look at these notes!

And now it is the first few days of Hannukah!  I put up my little menorah, and laid out some gelt and dreidels.  My roommate also put up a cute little tiny Christmas tree.  I decided to have a Hannukah party last night and it was quite fun.  Pictures of the party to come in the next post.

Shhh...don't report me for lighting candles in the dorm.

Since I have been here I've also gone on some runs and tried out my mom's super cool garmin.  It uses satellites to track your location, distance, pace, etc.  I did a 5k on Thursday and 5 miles on the treadmill watching the Ducks beat the Beavers today!  Woohoo!  We're going to Arizona baby!

I also had a little incident involving my phone...let's just say dropping your iPhone is not a good thing to do.  

So now it's Saturday night.  I just got done cooking giant batches of veggie soup and chili to eat throughout the week.  Not very exciting.  Sorry for the super random post.  Hope everyone is having a good weekend! See you all soon!

<3 from NYC

Almost Home

Hi!  So I've been a bad blogger...It's been far too long since I posted so I thought I'd put up a little something now.  It's very late right now and I am trying to get a few million things done before I fly home tomorrow evening!  I am attempting to get my homework done that is due next week so I don't have to do it while home, but I need a little break before I get back to my paper, packing, and cleaning.

So in the past few weeks here's what I've been up to...

I've been trying to cook and bake more.  Some of the things I've made include:

Pumpkin Muffins.

Fig Bars from Clean Eating magazine.  They taste like Fig Newtons and are super delicious.

And veggie soup.

I also made really good turkey chili that I've been slowly eating throughout the week.  All of these baking/cooking attempts have taught me that I need to have healthy options around the house to eat when I don't have time to cook.  The soup and chili has been great for that so I've been trying to make extra and freeze it.  But I've also discovered that as much as I like to bake, it's not really a good idea for me right now.  Because one I make something delicious...I want to eat it...all.  So baking will have to wait until I have a kitchen full of people to feed everything to and it's not all sitting there for me!  I would love anyone's advice on healthy eating/sticking to a plan when you're living in a college/communal environment.  It's definitely been an ongoing struggle for me but I'll continue to work at it.

On another note, I have been sticking with my training plan for the most part.  I substitute some days when school/life gets in the way but for the most part I have been doing my 3x a week strength training, about 2 or 3 runs a week, and about 1 or 2 days of cross training.  The workouts have been going well and have included some fabulous runs through Central Park.  I can't wait to start getting into my half marathon training starting in December!

I really love running there and am trying to do it at least once a week.  It is so beautiful, especially right now with all the colorful leaves.  There is also a great energy there because there are always so many runners and walkers, I even saw Al Roker running this past weekend!

On that note, my other celebrity sightings of late have included Brooke Shields, Tyson Beckford, Gabe from The Office, and Jimmy McMillan, the NYC mayoral candidate from The Rent is Too Damn High Party (Seriously, google him).

Other exciting occurences include a visit from Whitney!  She wasn't here very long but it was still fantastic!  We went to lunch at Le Pain Quotidien and I showed her the amazingness of 16 handles!  Can't wait til her next visit!

Also, the Christmas decorations have been popping up all over the city!  While, I do not myself celebrate the holiday, I still love the decorations, the lights, and the general holiday feeling in NYC!  I saw the Rockefeller tree the day it was being set up.  I definitely want to go back after it is all lit up.

   When I was walking in midtown I also noticed many of the department store windows were totally blacked out because they were putting up the infamous holiday windows!  Can't wait to go back and see these Saks windows.

 Here's Macy's decorations!

Once Thanksgiving is over I'm sure there will be holiday decorations everywhere!  I can't wait.  Ice skating in the park is another must do activity to get in the holiday spirit!  My roommates and I are planning on having a Hannukah party once we get back as well.  Hannukah is super early this year so since I  won't be home :( we are going to make latkes, light the candles, play dreidel, and maybe even decorate some Hannukah themed sugar cookies!

Another activity of note was seeing the Broadway show, Next to Normal, this past weekend.

I went with my friend Caroline and we won the student lottery so we got $25 box tickets!  The show was intense but I really loved it!  I am very happy I got to see it, since it is closing in January.

A few weeks ago I also tried to see the Daily Show.  I had tickets but they purposely oversell so they don't have empty seats which left me out in the cold.  I was dissapointed since they very rarely have tickets available but hopefulyl sometime in the  next two years I will be able to see it!

I also got to see Harry Potter at midnight!  It was amazing!  So much better than the last movie.  It makes me so sad that the next one is that last!  I really want to reread all the books before it comes out this summer.  The ads have been plastered all over almost every subway stop.

Ok, well I should probably get back to my criminology paper and laundry.  Maybe even sleep, since it is almost 2 AM.  Yikes.  At least I can sleep on the plane.  I will be home in less than 24 hours!  I can't wait to be in Portland, see my family and friends, see Lucy!, eat lots of yummy Thanksgiving food, go on runs with my mom and the Hurley's, go to Barre3, watch the Ducks play, and go to brunch at the Benson!  I will be very busy but it's going to be so worth it!  After this break, I hope to get back to more regular blogging.  I hope you all will continue to follow along!  See you soon!

Hello November!

Hi hi everyone!  Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  Mine was pretty nice.  I'll be back later with a recap of the weekend.   But what I'm really getting excited about is the fact that I will be flying home for Thanksgiving break in approximately 14 days!  Not that I'm counting or anything...

So here is the news since I last posted:

1.  Spanish and I have parted ways.

 After much discussion and a few tears, I made the decision to withdraw from my Spanish course.  Admittedly, I was not doing very well but on top of that my professor seemed unwilling to consider why so many of her students were not doing well and instead advised us to simply drop the class.  After being yelled at to "pay attention" when I did not know the answer to a question only because I did not understand, I felt comfortable with my decision to leave.  If it turns out that I do in fact need to take Spanish in order to graduate, I will start over, but hopefully I'll find a professor more willing to teach.

2.  I got into Gallatin!
      Gallatin is the School of Individualized Study at NYU.  It basically means that I will be able to pick my classes, develop my own major, and have a lot more freedom because there won't be any requirements.  I will eventually have to present my major at the end of next year to some faculty members.

3.  In other happy news, the red Starbucks cups are back!

To me, the red cups mean comfy sweaters, wintry days, the prospect of snow, holidays and winter break.     I love it.

4.  Speaking of winter....it's getting cold!  This week the mornings have been in the low 40's...brrr.  Don't get me wrong, I knew winter in NYC was going to be cold but that doesn't mean I like it  or that I was ready for it!  It seems like just a few weeks ago that I was sweating to death in the 95 degree heat.  NYC is all about the extremes.  Extreme heat.  Extreme cold.  Extreme crowds.  At times, extreme loneliness.  And NYC always has the extreme craziness which is on view everyday, whether it's the man who screamed at me in Washington Square Park that he is the President of the United States or even my crazy roommates who insist on playing Justin Bieber at least once a day.
     And since it has been getting cold, my dearest mother sent me the cutest Lulu running clothes!  I needed some warmer stuff to run in for the next few months when I begin training for the Shamrock Half Marathon in March and the stuff she sent is the cutest!  Thanks Mom!

     So cute, right?  I just love lululemon!  Hint, hint....to anyone who feels the need to send me something since they miss me so much :)

The changing of the season and the realization that this year is almost over prompted me to feel kind of ambitious and I decided to make some goals for the rest of the year.  Some of them I want to complete by the end of the month, and some of them are just habits I want to stick with through the next two months and hopefully continue with them.  I thought sharing my goals would help me to follow through and make me more accountable.  So, ready for another list?

End of 2010 Goals:

1.  Map out my courses/requirements/plan for next 1.5 years until graduation (scary!).
          Since I just got into Gallatin, I need to figure out an academic plan.  I want to meet with an advisor and determine what courses I need to take to fulfill requirements, what courses I need to take/want to take for my major, and how I need to do this in order to graduate on time.  Figuring all of this out will give me some peace of mind and planning ahead is essential since I need to fit a lot of credits into a rather short period of time.

2.  Improve my grades.
         I am not doing badly in any of my current classes, but there is always room for improvement.

3.  Work on the procrastination.
        I've always been a bit of a procrastinator and probably always will be, but I want to at least work on starting my assignments further in advance then I have been.  This means I need to do my HW due on Wednesday over the weekend, and not Tuesday night and start my papers at least a week ahead of time. This is not going to be the easiest for me to do, but I'm going to work on it.

4.  Make contact with prospective offices for Summer Internships.
      Summer internships can be so competitive, especially in this economic climate so I want to get started early.  By the end of the month I want to have reached out to a few offices and either send in an application or know when they want it by.  If anyone has any ideas or contacts, let me know!

5.  Stick to my training schedule.
     I've started a workout regime that includes 3 days of strength training, one long run a week, 2 short runs a week and some cross training.  I want to be disciplined and stick to my schedule by doing the planned workout each day.  By doing this I think I can build a good base level of fitness to start my official half marathon training schedule.

6.  Drink 3L of water a day.
     Pretty self explanatory.  I need more aqua in my life.

7.  Journal my eats each day.
     I tend to eat healthier when I write down what I eat.  It helps me refrain from mindless and overeating.  Sometimes it is annoying but I'll be happy with the results if I keep this up.

8.  Do at least one thing each weekend that I've been wanting to do in the city.
     This could be seeing a show, visiting a park, going to a restaurant, exploring a new neighborhood, a museum, etc.  There is a lot I want to see and do in the city and I really want to take advantage of my time here.

Ok, there are all my goals.  Sorry this hasn't been the most exciting post, I just wanted to share.  Let me know what you all think!  I'll be posting sometime soon with pictures and a recap of my visit to the NYC marathon expo and everything else I did this weekend.  Farewell for now!

<3 from NYC

Whirlwind

Hello hello!  Another week has gone by and I can't believe it.  Here's the update on everything that went down.  Last Sunday after a day of relaxing and running a few errands, I convinced two of my roommates to come along with me to the famous Katz's Deli!  I had been dreaming of some delicious matzah ball soup and big sandwiches they serve up at Jewish delis so I was very excited.  Katz's is only about a 15 minute walk from our dorm, so it was perfect.

   The deli was busy and we had the option of sitting down and being waited on or ordering at the counter.  We chose to sit down and it only took me about 2 minutes to decide what I wanted.

   

But first, they sent out a plate of cucumbers, pickles, and tomatoes.  

  Then came the matzah ball soup!  It was so good, but definitely not as good as my Baubie's, which I can not wait to have when I go home in a few weeks!

    After that came my 1/2 of a pastrami sandwich.  This was also incredibly delicious.  I love deli's.  Can't wait to go back.  It was a very New Yorky food experience.
   The next day after class, I decided to go for a run.  I've been wanting to visit the High Line for a few weeks now and I thought it was the perfect opportunity.  The High Line is a park that is made on old train tracks, so it runs above part of the city.  I ran from my dorm to the entrance, then up the stairs and on to the High Line.

  
    It was very beautiful with the flowers and leaves changing colors.

    I left just as the sun was starting to go down, which made for a beautiful sunset.  Then on the way back, running through Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, I found some fabulous shops.  I stopped to take photos of these ones, including the Louboutin store!  I always like to remember the good stores I pass by for when Mom comes to visit!

Shoes! 

This was the cutest little street I ran by.  Mom and Dad: Apartment for next year?

 Wednesday was started by the discovery that I did not do so well on my Spanish test...it wasn't a big surprise, but still it was not a good feeling.  I have come to the conclusion that I do not have a language brain. So after some stress with that whole situation, and a few more classes, I headed to the gym.   I was supposed to start my new workout/weight lifting plan, so I headed out of my gym comfort zone of the cardio room...to this place:

  The weight room is kind of a scary place with all the huge guys grunting and throwing weights around.  I tried to follow my new plan and it was HARD.  I have been very sore the past few days but it feels good to work hard hopefully I will start seeing results in a few weeks.

  On Thursday, I went to class and went to PS 140 for some volunteering.

Isn't this a cool mural?

   To be honest, it's not my favorite thing to do.  The program is very unorganized and the teachers are not very professional and allow the kids to go crazy most of the time.  But just when I really wanted to leave, one of the first graders came up to me and said, "Hey, you helped me with my homework last week.  Thank you!" and then he hugged me.  It was so cute and really made me feel good about what I have been doing.  

   Once the kids left, I went to meet up with my friend who is visiting from out of town.  I had been wanting to go to the Chelsea Market for awhile so I thought it would be the perfect place to grab dinner. Chelsea Market is a big building with tons of bakeries, restaurants, fruit markets, shops, and more.  I walked around for a while, drooling over most of the food, until I finally settled on some bruschetta and stuffed zucchini from a little Italian market.

Aren't these cookies adorable?

The Market had great Halloween decorations all throughout.

The bruschetta was scrumptious.

   Friday I had no class so I spent the day running around.  I went to the bookstore, the camera repair shop, Whole Foods for some hot bar, and then I went to the gym and spin class.  On the way back from spin, I saw the Empire State Building lit up green.  No idea why it was green, but I thought it looked pretty neat.

    After class I ate dinner at a restaurant called Soho Park, in (you guessed it) Soho with my friend.  I had a yummy veggie burger, so it get's added to the list of good restaurants to go back to.

 After dinner I met another friend at one of my favorite spots in the city for some pumpkin goodness.
Delightful.  I can't get enough.

   Once Friday night hit, I realized that I would be leaving the next day for DC to attend the Rally to Restore Sanity/Keep Fear Alive with Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert.  We had arranged to take free buses from Citi Field, where the Mets play, in Queens to Washington.  The buses were supposed to leave at 6 AM so we were planning on meeting up at 4 AM (!!) to take the subway to Queens.

   It was one LONG day.  We already started to see crowds forming while waiting for the subway that goes out to Queens.  I have never been on a more crowded subway train.  We endured 13 stops all the way out to Flushing, packed in so tight that I did not need to hold on to anything because there was no room to fall.  Let's just say, I got to know those around me pretty well.  We arrived and starting lining up outside Citi Field to get onto the buses.

  It was cold.  And waiting in a line with over 10,000 people to get onto the over 200 buses that were waiting was an extremely long process.  Basically due to lack of organization, the 6 AM departure time, turned into an 8 AM departure time.  With the rally beginning at noon, it was not looking very good.  The bus ride was long, with traffic and a slow driver, and it was made worse by my anxiety over not getting there in time.  I had been hoping to arrive in DC early enough to get a good spot to see the festivities, but I soon realized that was not going to happen.  The most painful part was listening to the rally on the radio while stuck in traffic.  I was so sad when Cat Stevens, Ozzy Osbourne, Colbert, and Stewart all came on and I realized I could have been there seeing it.  But I tried to stay positive and we eventually arrived at 2:00, only an hour before the rally was slated to end.

   We hightailed it to the metro, which is really cool.  I like the stations a lot better than the ones in NYC (sorry, New York).  After a quick metro ride we got to the rally.  There were a lot of people.  About 250,000 according to CBS (take that Glenn Beck!).  So needless to say, we didn't get to see very well.  But we eventually found a spot where we could tell what was going on.  Although we only saw about 45 minutes of the rally, we did get to hear Colbert and Stewart speak, hear Tony Bennett sing, and at the end we saw Ozzy Osbourne, Cat Stevens, John Legend, and Sheryl Crow all perform together.  We didn't get to see much but it was still well worth it.

I loved this sign.  There were some great ones at the rally.

All of the group, happy we had finally made it.

Caroline and I at the Washington Monument

    As you can see, after the rally we walked around the national mall for awhile.  I really love the feeling of DC, especially the mall area.  It was also a perfect fall day.  I really wished I could have been there longer and explored more.  A weekend trip back to DC is already in the works for next term.  So after we walked around we had to make it back to RFK Memorial Stadium to get back on the buses.  I was not excited for another 5 hour bus ride.  The bus ride was the bumpiest ride I'd ever experienced but at least we arrived in one piece.  I was exhausted and the subway ride back to Manhattan was the longest 15 stops of my life.  Eventually we made it back, scarfed down some dinner, and I slept for a solid 10 hours.  It was a crazy day (slightly ironic for a day that was supposed to be about restoring sanity) but overall it was a great experience to get to see the rally in person.
   Today was not nearly as exciting.  I slept, cleaned, did laundry, and cooked (or at least attempted to).  Since it is Halloween we wanted to venture to the the famous NYC West Village Halloween Parade.  It is basically a big parade full of anyone who wants to dress up and walk in it.  I threw together a hippie costume and braved the cold, so I could see it for myself.

   I didn't get very good pictures of the parade.  But it was basically a lot of crazy costumes, some crazy floats, and just a lot of crazy people.  By this point in the weekend, I was a little sick of crowds and didn't feel up to staying for too long.  So after watching for awhile, I headed off with Caroline for some food and froyo (I'll eat froyo no matter how cold it is apparently), then back to the dorm for some much needed warmth and rest.  Can't believe the weekend is over already.  It was quite a whirlwind.  I'm hoping for a good week and I'm counting down the days (22!) until I am home for Thanksgiving.  Thanks for reading everyone!

Lots of <3 from NYC