Go Big Blue

Super Bowl XLII

The NY / Boston rivalry is brewing once again this weekend. The mayors of both cities placed their bets and we'll see who comes out on top Sunday. I'm rooting for the underdog Giants (I know, a NY team! It's blasphemous!) Now, if you ever catch me cheering for the Yankees, you can give me a talking to. I have to admit - it's mighty fun to live in a city whose football team is going to the big game. We all experienced it two years ago with the Seahawks and now Ethan and I get to do it again with the Giants. I know lots of people are hoping that Tom Brady and the Patriots secure their undefeated season (Ethan included) , but an underdog win is always fun to watch. Go Giants!

Happy Days

In my last post, I mentioned we bought tickets for a play at BAM. Well, we went on Saturday and it was......interesting. The newly renovated theater itself is very cool - a combination of exposed brick/plaster, peeling paint and freshly painted walls. We sat in the "gallery" - the balcony - in these old fashioned high seats with metal foot rests. They weren't the softest seats in the world but the play was only 90 minutes long. Let me tell you a little about the play - Happy Days is a Samuel Beckett play. I don't know much about him but it seems like he writes some strange stuff. The play consisted of a woman buried up to her waist in rocks and rubble, a handbag laying beside her, items inside the bag which she pulled out to talk about, and a husband who lived in the nearby rubble and who said maybe three words throughout the whole play. It was a little boring but Fiona Shaw is a good actress and kept us entertained for part of the time. So, the bottom line is we finally went to BAM and will go back again - but hopefully to a more exciting show.

BAM!

I haven't posted in over a week, frankly because there hasn't been anything exciting to write about. It's been freezing cold here lately and that makes us want to stay indoors and hibernate. We have plans this weekend to see a play at BAM (The Brooklyn Academy of Music). It's supposed to be a very cool place to see plays, concerts, etc. It's in Fort Greene, which is a neighborhood to the north of us. We may be able to walk there....depending on how cold it is on Saturday. We have tickets for a play called "Happy Days". The main character is played by Fiona Shaw, who plays Aunt Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter movies. Our friends saw it and enjoyed themselves, so I figure we'll try it out. Time Out NY gave it six stars, the highest rating they've ever given to a play, so it must be good! I'll let you know....

Out and About

Here are some photos from Danica and Meghan's visit:

Waiting for the F - Meghan's first ride on the subway.

View from the F - right after Smith/9th St stop. You can see the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

We went to MoMA and saw pretty much everything on all 6 floors. The paintings were my favorite - Klimt's The Park tops the list (shown above).

American artist Martin Puryear was one of the Special Collections artists. He builds these amazing wood structures, including the ladder above. You can't really tell from the picture, but this thing was huge! I'd say 2 or 3 floors high.

Jackson Pollack's Shimmering Substance

This hanging art was part of the Architecture and Design floor.

The last floor was full of the very abstract and modern pieces. Most were puzzling and some made us laugh. Examples: A video of a man moving his body in robotic motions, at each pause saying the phrase, "I am making art". A video of a woman with a green milk jug with a hole in the side. She would unplug the hole and fill her mouth with milk, then spit the milk into the top of the jug. She repeated this process over and over.

I did however like the picture shown above. It made me think, "what a perfect city for this poster".

On Saturday, we went to Battery Park City/Ground Zero and Soho (a little H & M shopping fix). We made it back for the Seahawks blizzard...oh i mean...game (so sad). Sushi was on the agenda for dinner (there's a great place just around the corner called Kiku). Afterwards we walked down to this bar we had seen the night before- when we passed by,it looked like a small, cute place with floor to ceiling bookshelves. We didn't know what it was called, so we nicknamed it "The Library". When we went back on Saturday, it turns out it was Union Hall, a place I had read about in Time Out NY and wanted to check out someday. It isn't a small place at all - it's actually 5000 square feet - with 2 indoor bocce courts, fireplaces, old books, couches, light fixtures, concert venue, outdoor patio, etc. It's a pretty cool place and I have a feeling we'll go back. We'll get there earlier next time so we can reserve a spot on the bocce courts. :)

Birthday Surprise Part III

Tuesday night was another night for surprises. I returned home from work and Ethan got a mysterious phone call. He was using one word answers and then pressed the buzzer to open the front door. It was Danica and her friend Meghan! It's great to see Danica since she wasn't in Seattle over Christmas break and we haven't seen Meghan since she moved back to Seattle from CA. They are in town until Sunday - keep posted for pics. I took my birthday off so I was able to hang out with them for the day. We went to MoMA and went to H & M. The day ended with me going to bed at 7:30pm! When we returned from Manhattan, I started getting a headache and within an hour it turned into the worst headache I've ever had. I guess turning 30 was more stressful than I anticipated! :) Luckily, this morning I felt way better.

The surprises keep coming...

On Friday, I worked a half day and Ethan and my family met me at Columbia after work. (Ethan took them on a nice tour of Harlem on the way to campus). We went to a Cuban place for lunch and then headed towards Central Park. Ethan said he had to go home to do one last thing for my birthday. So my family and I walked around Central Park for a while (it's not quite as pretty in the winter but we saw a part of the park we'd never seen before, the north end). The pond near Harlem was frozen and there were some swans hanging out on the side of the path.

After a couple hours, we headed back to Brooklyn and another surprise awaited me at our apartment. I opened the door and the first thing I saw was my father-in-laws red down coat hanging on the back of a chair. Ethan's parents were here too! They took the train up from Virginia for the weekend. It was great to have both sets of parents together, since it doesn't happen very often being they live on opposite sides of the country.

We went to a nice Italian dinner on Friday night, to a place in Park Slope called Sette. The lasagna was excellent.

The Wii got some use this weekend as well. Bowling was a big hit, as was baseball. Ethan said he needs a break from the Wii to allow his sore shoulder time to heal. He was throwing 90 mph fastballs to his dad and his 30 yr old arms couldn't handle it. :)

On Saturday, we hopped on the F train and stopped at Rockefeller Plaza to see the famous tree. We walked from there to Grand Central Station and had lunch at the Dining Concourse. This was by far the nicest food court I have ever seen. All the food seemed great, there was even a gelato bar. We decided to try Junior's, which is a famous deli in Flatbush,Brooklyn and also has a location in Grand Central. They are famous for their cheesecake but the sandwiches are yummy as well.

We headed back to Park Slope and watched the Seahawks beat the Redskins. It was a fun game to watch and I wore my Alexander jersey for good luck. It worked! We ordered Mexican for dinner and had some birthday cake from the bakery around the corner (Ladybird Bakery). The Brooklyn Cream cake is the best!

It was a nice and fun surprise weekend with family. I told Ethan it was the best present he's ever given me (besides a marriage proposal).

:) Good job, E.

Surprise Visit!

I have a birthday coming up next week - the big 3-0. Ethan has been planning a surprise for months, but wouldn't tell me a thing about it. I figured he had picked a nice place to go for dinner, etc. I was so wrong. Last night, Ethan left to go the "grocery store to buy some clementines". He came home and knocked on the door bc he forgot his keys (on purpose I assume). I opened the door and standing in front of me was my sister and my parents!!! I was so shocked! They flew in from Seattle that day. The trip was planned 6 months ago and somehow they all managed to keep the secret from me. I am getting off work early today and looking forward to spending the weekend with them.

New Years Eve and the Wii

Happy New Year! Ethan started his New Year's Eve celebrations bright and early with a trip to the Nintendo World store at Rockefeller Plaza. We had so much fun playing on Christmas that we decided to buy one for ourselves. There is a major shortage of Wii's for sale (all over the country) so in order to get one, Ethan arrived at the store at 6:30 AM and stood in line until the store opened at 10 AM. That's dedication! He arrived home with a Wii and a few games, which we played for hours! We had a quiet New Year's Eve with our friends Chad and Sarah - sushi dinner and some Wii fun. The fireworks at Grand Army Plaza (about a mile away) were visible from our living room windows and we watched Dick Clark on the TV count down in Times Square. After a night of boxing, pitching fastballs and swinging a driver, I woke up this morning with a sore right shoulder and arm. Maybe this Wii will help with my goal of getting in shape!

Happy 2008 everyone!

Christmas in Seattle

We were home in Seattle last week for the holidays. Time went by way too fast, but we had a fun visit and can't wait to go back (hopefully this summer). Here are some photos of family, friends and a really cool park.

Ballard and the Olympics

With my parents at the new Fremont Peak Park (which my parents helped landscape)

Christmas Eve with the Thomas clan

Christmas Day at my parent's house

My cousins brought their Nintendo Wii with them and let us try it out. (Note: Ethan and I were hooked. Stay tuned!)

Party at Cara and Ben's with some SPU friends

Happy Hour at good old Bernard's with Ethan's former co-workers.

Dinner at Madame K's with the boys- always a good time, always excellent food.

The following photos were taken at the Seattle Art Museums's Olympic Sculpture Park. It's a brand new park on the Seattle Waterfront that includes outdoor sculptures, a man-made beach, a nurse log living indoors, and a great view of the Sound.