Broadway Baby!

I just got back from an AMAZING trip to New York City with my dear friend Nicole. We have been planning this trip for four years and it was everything we dreamed it would be and more.

Here we are at the airport, after finally drying our tears of joy as we met at the baggage claim:

The first thing we did after checking into our hotel was walk the Brooklyn Bridge:

Then we hit our first Broadway show. The main purpose of our trip was to see Broadway shows, and we saw five shows in three days: Shrek, Rock of Ages, Billy Elliot, Hair and Next to Normal.

All of the shows were amazing! We could not pick a favorite.

We also saw a comedy show at the famous Comic Strip Live, where stars like Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld got their start. Remember at the end of Seinfeld when Jerry would do his act in front of a brick wall background? That was the place. Here we are with comedian Sherrod Small, who was absolutely HILARIOUS!

We also went to Ground Zero and Wall Street, where we found these hilarious street signs:

Our frequent "after show" spot became Don't Tell Mama's, a piano bar where we could actually get up and sing! We never got the guts to do it, though.

We had an absolutely amazing time, and neither of us were ready to leave:

We were both flying the same airline and were conveniently leaving from neighboring gates. Our flights were both delayed so we were able to sit together and chat while we waited, and then we boarded at the same time! It couldn't have worked out better. We spent the time flipping through pictures and reliving hilarious moments before we had to part ways.

I MISS YOU, NICOLE!!!!

If you want to see the rest of our pics, they're in our Photo Album!

Totally Awkward Tuesday: "Skiing"

(I put "skiing" in quotes because I'm not sure what I do can really be called "skiing.")

It's Tuesday, folks, so it's time once again for Tova's Totally Awkward Tuesdays!

This week I'm going back to middle school again. This story does not co-star Holly, unlike my previously told junior high adventures, though she was there and had a really good time laughing at me.

I grew up in Michigan and every winter they offered downhill skiing lessons after school. We all took a bus after school to Snow Snake Mountain for our lessons. This story takes place in my second or third year of lessons, so I had graduated from the bunny hill (the "No Child Left Behind" Act was not yet in effect, thankfully, or I would still be there). There was this boy in my group I had never seen before, which was a big deal because I grew up in a small town where everyone knew everyone. This new kid was pretty cute, so I had my eye on him and was eager to impress him with my hot snowbunny moves!

It was our first day of lessons and we were at the top of the big ski hill. Our task was to maneuver in and out of some flags and then stop half-way down the hill. Cute New Boy went first and mastered them (what a hottie)!

I was up next. Cute New Boy was standing half-way down the hill looking up at us, so this was my chance! I was going to swish, swish, swish through those flags and slide right up next to him. He would say, "Nice moves," and I'd say something suave like, "Uhhhh...yeah, ummmm... *SNORT*" (Even in my fantasies I couldn't come up with anything cool for me to say).

So I started swishing. I swished right around flag #1, then flag #2.... Oh, yeah. I was on fire! I then realized I was going a little faster than I probably should have been and I flew right past flag #3... and flag #4... and flag #5....

You would think after several years of lessons I would know how to ski, right? Well, I do kind of know how to ski.... I just don't know how to stop.

I instantly hit my trusty snowplow position (which does NOT work for me, by the way.... I have never had success with that move). I just kept flying straight down the hill, arms and poles flailing, gaining more and more speed. I look up and there he is. (You know what's coming, right?) The last thing I saw was a slow-motion "Oh, *explicit*!" look on his face and then...

BAM!

Yes, I hit him. And we rolled... and rolled... all the way down the hill together.

It was the closest I would ever get to him.

Thank goodness he was a nice guy and mumbled something like, "Don't worry about it" when we got to the bottom, while I apologized over and over, completely red-faced, stumbling over myself while I searched for my other ski.

We waited together for the rest of the class at the bottom of the hill. Had I been that suave girl I always wished I could be, I could have used that time to be witty and get to know the guy so we could have one of those great "how we met" stories to tell our grandkids. But instead I just sat in the snow amongst awkward silence and prayed for a quick and painless death.

When my ski instructor got to the bottom of the hill she took my ski poles away and I was not allowed to use them again that year. She considered them to be a safety hazard when attached to my flailing arms, I guess. The rest of the class looked relieved.

I have more "ski" stories, but they all end up with me crashing into someone or something in some fashion. I think this one is my favorite so I'll spare you the others... at least for today!

Happy Tuesday!

How to Kill a Killer Spider

What do you do when you find this in your house while your husband is at work?

Step 1: Call him and beg him to come home and save you.

Step 2: When he refuses, ask the cat for help:

Step 3: After the cat tries to "help," but really just plays with the thing, causing the beast of a spider to run all over the room and bolt into places you know you'll never be able to find it, push the cat out of the way, grab a book and throw it on top of the spider.

Step 4: Do a victory dance.

Step 5: Scream in horror as you watch it crawl out from under the book and dart across the floor.

Step 6: Grab a box. Surely that is heavy enough!

Step 7: Throw the box.

Step 8: Miss.

Step 9: Scream.

Step 10: Repeat steps 7-9.

Step 11: Repeat steps 7-9 again.

Step 12: Throw the box again and hit the darn thing this time.

Step 13: Do a little victory dance.

Step 14: Scream in horror as you watch it crawl out from under the box and dart across the floor.

Step 15: As it heads under your bed, where you know you will never catch it and therefore will never sleep again, certain it is crawling all over you, suck it up (because now you're a little peeved at the sucker) and dismantle your bed for a mattress support board.

Step 16: Whack at it with the board several times while chasing it around the room (screaming continuously, of course).

Step 17: Finally injure it enough so it can't run as fast.

Step 18: Say "Ah HA!" in your very best evil mastermind voice.

Step 19: Beat it with the board continuously, whacking way beyond the necessary amount of whacks needed to declare a time of death.

Step 20: Lay the board on top of it and walk across its dead body... for good measure, of course... not because you enjoy it at all (because that would be evil).

Step 21: Jump up and down a couple times (just for added good measure). Try not to smile in the process.

Step 22: Stand proudly over the body and declare victory:

Step 23: Scold your cat for trying to take credit for the kill:

Totally Awkward Tuesday: Llama Love

You know what they say: "A picture is worth a thousand words." So today I give you a photo instead of a story for Tova's Totally Awkward Tuesday post.

The following photo was taken on a trip to a petting zoo about a week ago, while we were on our family "mini vacation getaway." This photo's caption reads:

"Mommy, what are they doing?"

Uhhhhhh.... AWKWARD!

NKOTB!!!!

Well, it's official. I have finally fulfilled my childhood dream of seeing the New Kids on the Block. At 12 years old my NKOTB obsession was in full swing, and 20 years later I finally got to see them in concert.

My good friend Katie (and I mean GOOD friend Katie, as she was not a die-hard fan like I was and therefore would never have done this on her own) went with me to the last NKOTB concert on their "Full Service" tour. We even went to the after party!

Here is a photo of us at Katie's house, right before we left for the concert.

Notice my NKOTB t-shirt? Yes, it is 20 years old. I wore that shirt in middle school! It's from their "No More Games" tour (a gift from friends Holly and Carrie, who actually got to go)! I was so proud to be a true "vintage" NKOTB fan (ha ha)!

Here we are at the venue, waiting for the concert to start:

And this was me pretty much the rest of the night:

Brian had to teach this weekend so only Chase and I made the trip to Houston. Special thanks to Katie's husband, Ryan, for entertaining Chase while we were at the concert! His job couldn't have been that hard, though. Chase absolutely loves him. I was lucky enough to capture on film the moment Ryan became his hero this weekend:

If you are at all interested in our concert and after-party pictures, click here!

Conversations With a 2-Year-Old: Open Eyes

The following conversation took place in the car yesterday, completely out of the blue:

Chase: My eyes are open. I'm not sleeping!
Mom: Oh, so you must be awake.
Chase: No, I'm not awake.
Mom: Oh, so are you sleeping?
Chase: No, I'm not sleeping.
Mom: Well if you're not sleeping that means you're awake.
Chase: No! I'm not awake!
Mom: But if you're not awake, that means you're sleeping!
Chase: No! I'm not sleeping!
Mom: So if you aren't awake and you aren't sleeping, what are you?
Chase: (beat) I'm a dog.

Next Project!

I am currently working on my next project: Re-covering the chairs in our breakfast area.

Before:

After:

And the reason this is getting done? Meet Chase's chair (before, obviously!):

I know.... Ew!!

P.S. This is my 2nd post of the day. If you are interested in our "mini vacation getaway" pics, see my previous post!