Green-Eyed Lady

I love the Statue of Liberty.

Like… LOVE her…

..since I was a little girl.

During my summers in New York, this was the one “touristy” spot my grandparents would bring me & my sister upon request. (and lots of begging)

Maybe because our family is made up of a melting pot of nationalities – many who probably saw this amazing sight when they arrived to this country. (or maybe because it kept us quiet for a while… who knows?)

I just adore her. I took SO MANY pictures of her during our trip. I can’t find a favorite! (she knows exactly how to smile with her eyes like Tyra says) She looks fantastic in every one of them.

However… I draw the line at this:

I don’t think the spirit of the statue is about:

The huddled masses yearning to breathe free and take photos for a donation with people standing on stools dressed up as Lady Liberty wearing sunglasses.

Vacation: By the Numbers

near herald square

• 28 hours driven up & back
• three hotels (and only one decent one)
• five boroughs visited (or driven through)
• four bridges crossed
• 441 photos taken by me (not counting the photos the kids took)
• two New York pizzas (okay, one was technically in New Jersey, but we’re counting it anyway)
• 150+ blocks walked & walked & walked
• 45 degrees – the average temperature for the week!
• 2 ferry rides
• three uncles, one aunt, one grandfather, three cousins and their lovely other halves, plus two little ones
• two sisters missed
• 4 teary-eyed moments
• five seven Starbucks visits
• 1,000 times explaining to the boy that the Hudson is a river and not the ocean
• 1 whale in the NY Harbor (which didn’t help the argument above)
• 1 amazing Broadway Show

And countless other memories.

top of the rock

Here and There

It’s been pretty eventful around here lately…

We had some of this:

… which was awesome, by the way. From what I hear from those people who live above the Mason Dixon, snow that lasts longer than a day can be sorta bad and quite uncomfortable. Our snow was melted (mostly) before we went to bed that night.

I went here:

And discovered my new favorite building (The Library of Congress):

I never knew how incomplete my life was without having a favorite building… but, now I feel much better knowing that it’s there. Man, it’s beautiful.

I also did some scrappy stuff:

These are for the kids to journal in when we go to NY in a few weeks. Or ignore them and toss them under the seats in the car. Whatever.

I know, crappy photo… I’ve been having this problem lately. This was for a J(3) challenge… I did one, Jen did one, and Julie did 753. Guess who won?

Between those things I’ve been reading a lot of books (yeah, still vampires) or networking and reconnecting (taking care of my virtual pet) on Facebook.

Exciting, I know.

It’s like crack in a can.

There was a small tin of this stuff in my room when I got to Chicago. I had heard about it before I arrived. This stuff is famous for good reason. 

No need to worry about getting that tin home in my luggage. Oh no. It was empty by the time I left town.

Once back in Atlanta, I decided that the family shouldn’t be deprived of such an amazing culinary masterpiece. I ordered two bigger sized cans and they arrived at my house in two days. One can for us & one to give as a gift to my Dad for Christmas. A mix of caramel and cheese together. O-M-G. So, so, so, yummy.

Let’s just say… after the family got a hold of the one can, my Dad’s gift is in serious jeopardy.

What is there to do in Chicago, anyway?

We had free time on Sunday until 3pm. We could do whatever we wanted to do. Many folks went to Michigan Avenue, some went to the Navy Pier… a few even went to the Sears Tower.

Been there. Done that. I had my own plans:

Windy City Scrapbooking. After hearing about it from Jen-Jen  I decided it was a must-see for my trip to Chicago.

I took a cab from the hotel & ended up getting there a bit early. I didn’t want to seem like too eager of a customer (stalker) so I took a little stroll around the neighborhood to wait for them to open.

Cute little neighborhood – lots of quirky shops and cool buildings. It was a cloudy and overcast day. I think the sun finally came out yesterday, on our way to the airport. (of course)

They were having a crop that day & I expected to recognize some faces. Sounds reasonable, right? I mean – I know NO ONE in this city & yet my brain thought that I’d walk into a Scrapbook Store and know people. How, you ask? I HAVE NO IDEA. I dunno – maybe those small avatars & clandestine nicknames from scrapbooking websites and blogs would come in handy for recognizing complete strangers? 

I know, I know. I have no explanation for the way my brain works.

At least I enjoyed myself. Awesome store, btw.

My sister Jillian said, “So, she got her fix, huh?”

Yes, yes I did.

Chicago is…

Pretty darn awesome!

(this is the view from my room)

Arrived today for an HR conference – excited to see old friends & to get to stay in such a great city!

A Pinch of Creativity

This album was made a few weeks ago… it was almost a YEAR ago that we visited Chattanooga! Good grief! It took a while for me to find the inspiration to get it done – but I’m happy with the results.

I needed to add some pages to this album- I had a lot of photos! There are a few envelope pages, a file folder and a postcard. The envelope pages have the brochures from the parks in them. (thanks for those  Jen-Jen !)

This is the way to do it.

If your job forces you to travel, you might as well end up in a hotel room with a view like this:

(yes, I neglected to bring my camera on another trip… hence the crappy camera-phone quality photos)

It’s also a good idea to remain friends with folks you used to work with, so they’ll make sure you have a room with a kick-ass view… and other friends/former co-workers who will send you stuff like this:

I’d type more… but I’m extremely busy drinking wine and staring at the ocean. Oh – and getting ready for tomorrow’s class. While I enjoy my wine. And the ocean.

The Early Bird Catches What?

Photo at the airport – waiting to board the plane. Doesn’t this look like fun?

I made it to Florida – when I got here, the hotel lost power. I tried updating before my battery died – but that didn’t go so well. The power finally came back on and I was able to enjoy dinner with the HR Director – and use the elevator to my room when they finally started working again. (walking up 12 flights of stairs did not sound like FUN)

The classes seemed to go well. I got good feedback from the managers who attended. They said that they couldn’t believe it was the first time I had facilitated the class. (whew – I guess I fooled them)

Luckily – it all went better than the day I left:

That morning, I heard my alarm go off at 6:00am and I stumble out of bed. I walk into the bathroom and get in the shower. I opened the window in the shower and noticed how dark it was outside. And it stayed dark. Hmmm… that’s weird. Shouldn’t the sun be coming up by now?

I get out of the shower and start getting into that “getting-ready-for-work” mode in addition to the “don’t-forget-to-pack-your-hair-products” mode when I decide to open the door and look at the alarm clock.

It read 1:30am, not 6:30am.

I had woken up 5 hours early wihtout making sure that it was the correct time. And I showered. And I started getting ready.

Shit.

Okay then… I guess that explains why I was so tired. Back to bed for a five-hour nap.

Anyway – I’ve been able to get more sleep since I arrived - especially now that the classes are over. And tomorrow I get to see my girls! I can’t wait!!

Pardon me boy…

is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?

Why yes, yes it is.

We took a little road trip this past weekend up to Chattanooga Tennessee. It is a mere ninety minutes from our house! Who knew Tennessee was so close? (not me!)

We had such an excellent time! We visited Ruby Falls, the Incline Railway, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, and Rock City.

Here are my kids atop a swing bridge in Rock City - one of my new favorite places in the whole world.

(we all made it safely across the swing bridge – even the husband who had childhood memories of this bridge being rickety, at least a million feet above the rest of the park and hanging so precariously to the side of the mountain that his entire family would fall to their deaths at any moment  – - btw, his memory exaggerates a teensy-tiny bit)

How could you not love a place that includes areas named “Needles Eye” “Deer Park” “Lovers Leap” “Fairy Caverns” “Gnome’s Bridge” … and our personal favorite “Fat Man’s Squeeze” (which we all made it through, thankyouverymuch).

Oh – and I did I forget to mention that there’s a Starbucks located at their entrance? That was an added bonus… walking through this most beautiful place carrying a Peppermint Mocha. What could be better?

After Rock City we drove a few minutes over to the Incline Railway. Very cool. Then we found Point Park - three blocks away – and also discovered a Civil War reenactment going on while we were there. The boys watched the little production put on by the participants of the reenactment.

The girls decided to explore the park and marvel at the views of Chattanooga and the Tennessee River from the top of the mountain. (besides, the reenactment was for the wrong side of the war)

Instead we looked at this:

and this

Not a bad way to spend a weekend. We were able to do all of those things in one day with no crowds and beautiful weather. And if you haven’t been to Chattanooga – please go… especially to see Rock City. It is truly enchanting.

Just remember to watch out for people dressed up in Civil War uniforms carrying muskets and/or standing next to a cannon. They tend to want to shoot them off and scare the bejeesus out of you. Seriously.