New York City, Part 2

When I originally started talking to my aunt about going to New York City, I was excited. Then when it came time to buy the tickets, I started getting nervous. Or, more correctly, I started getting separation anxiety. The thought of leaving Connor for a week seemed almost too much to handle. I could barely handle leaving him for two hours, how was I going to get thru a week?!? But, Ian reassured me. And very quickly I started to realize that this trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity. How often do I get to hang out with my aunt and cousin for a week? Umm...NEVER. And Connor was in the safe hands of his daddy. A daddy who was kind enough to send me multiple pictures a day and video call with me at night. Thanks Ian!

Sightseeing in New York was great. The shopping, even better. The smallest cupcakes I have ever seen, made my mouth the happiest it has ever been. And the company...it was great. The talking, the meals, the running around New York, it was all so great. And really, a once in a lifetime thing.


My cousin lives on the fifth floor, in a building that doesn't have an elevator. So I am pretty sure even though we ate our way through the city, we didn't gain an ounce. How could you with a climb like that?!? And imagine hauling a Christmas tree up it!



I love Christmasy stuff so was all ready to see all things Christmas in New York. We got to see the tree in Rockefeller Center, complete with someone proposing in the middle of the ice rink! We went to the Christmas shops in Grand Central Station and also wondered around two different outdoor Christmas villages/flea markets. I was able to score Ian a beer making kit, that I hauled all the way home for him for Christmas (and which he has put to good use...although the beer has to "cook" for a month).




New York City is such a magical place. There is constantly stuff going on. Just people watching is amazing. And, my favorite cousin lives there...really what more is there? I am already planning my trip back, but this time bringing my little family with me.

A Challenge in the City

So in New York City everyone wears fur. No joke. I would say about one out of every five people were wearing fur. The real stuff. Even men were wearing it. I made a comment about how I wanted to pet someone's coat. My aunt felt the same way. So, she extended a challenge. The challenge was to see who could pet someone's fur coat first.

It went down in an elevator. The lady standing right next to my aunt had a fur coat on. A lady standing two people away from me had one on too. My aunt was able to pet the lady's coat standing next to her. I burst out in uncontrollable laughter. The whole elevator was staring at me like I was crazy. I was unable to pet the lady's coat in the elevator, but did get someone a few minutes later.

But, the challenge didn't stop there. We became obsessed with touching fur coats. And I became overcome with laughter every time and got the weirdest looks for it. Sometimes I would cry, I was laughing so hard.

In the subway on Thursday, I reached out to pet someone's coat, my cousin grabbed my arm and said this had to stop. About that time, my other cousin decided she wanted to join in on the fun. She went and pet this lady's coat from top to bottom. The lady turned around. I went in to my uncontrollable laughter. My cousin was raging at all three of us. It was freaking funny.

Don't worry though, my cousin's annoyance didn't stop us. We continued petting fur coats until we left. And I would recommend if you make it to NYC in the winter that you do the same. It is so stinking funny and entertaining.

New York City, Part 1

I have been having a blast in New York City. I keep checking the weather and comparing it with Aberdeen and it has been slightly warmer here. Only difference is, we have been spending so much time outside! Here are some pics from my phone of what we have been up to...I forgot my camera cord, so you will have to wait until I am home to see those!

The other night we went and picked up a Christmas tree for my cousin. It was fun to just buy it on the side of the road and then have them wrap it in netting for you (which I saw for the first time in Scotland). After 2 days, we finally got the tree decorated.

My cousin Stephen with his tree

We have been taking the subway everywhere. My aunt and cousin were trying to take a picture of the subway coming into the station. They were hanging their heads out too far. My other cousin Stephen warned them, but they didn't listen. The subway honked its super loud horn at them as it screamed into the station. It scared them. I tried to take a picture of myself as the subway was coming in. It blew my hair everywhere and my smile ended up looking a little paranoid, making the picture all the better!


We went down to the World Trade Center site yesterday. There isn't much to see there anymore. They started work on the buildings at the site (Freedom Towers, I think they are called) and one of the buildings has the structure built for about 20+ stories. They also removed the memorial/information site that was there when I was here 2.5 years ago. My cousin said you can still go see it, but they moved it underground because they want people to focus on the redevelopment, rather than what happened. I am thinking none of us will ever forget what happened.

We went and looked at the firehouse right across the street from the World Trade Center. This firehouse lost its captain and 4 others in 9-11. They have built a beautiful memorial to all the firefighters that died. The saddest/hardest part are the handwritten notes people have left for their loved ones. I read some of them and they are gut wrenching. As we were walking away from the firehouse, we noticed at the small memorial inside the station (where we couldn't go) they have a door from a firetruck that was ruined on 9-11. It really is an emotional and somber place to visit. Eerily quiet when you are down there.



Then last night we headed to the Empire State Building. As soon as we walked in, the lobby reminded me of Elf! I love that movie. I was so glad it was decorated so I could literally see in front of me Buddy the Elf going to visit his dad at work!


We then went up top. It was beautiful up there (and it was perfect weather given that it wasn't windy at all). I had forgotten how much you can see from up there. It is such a beautiful view.


That's all I got. We are getting ready to head out again for more great adventures.

Missing My Baby

So I am currently in New York City. My aunt and I flew out here to visit my cousin who lives here and his sister flew up from Georgia as well. Connor has been left in the safe hands of Ian.

My aunt and I on the plane to NYC

When I originally talked about going on this trip, I was very excited. Then, when it came time to buy the tickets, I got really apprehensive and nervous. Could I really handle being away from my baby for 7 days? Ian convinced me it would be ok. He is off work, so could take care of Connor. Plus, there was the reality that this is probably the only time in my life (well, for a while anyway) that I could leave my family behind and take a trip. And I am glad I stepped out and did so.

I am having a great time. Sure, every baby I see makes me think of my little tyke. Same for when I catch a glimpse of the baby isle at the grocery store and baby clothes when we are out shopping.

And on Monday night, I woke up freaking out because I couldn't find Connor. I actually woke up my aunt while I was looking for him. SO embarrassing. Once I figured out where I was and what was going on, I was embarrassed that I did that. Oh well.

Ian has been great at sending me pictures of Connor multiple times a day. That has helped. But I have quickly discovered that the bond a mama has with her baby is not easily forgotten. I miss that little guy and will be so excited to see his smiling face on Sunday...and I am only slightly worried he will have forgotten me by then. Slightly.

And here is a little video Ian's friend sent me of Connor eating a napkin yesterday. There are some things I think only a mother could find entertaining!

New York City

I went to New York City for work, but got so much more out of the trip. My parents flew in my brother, Jeremy, for the weekend and we hung out with my cousin Stephen, who lives in the city. It was seriously a weekend filled with good times. Stephen has a passion for shopping that rivals mine and that made me all too happy! Just to feel normal again, hanging out with people, browsing stores, going out to eat. It was so great! For this being Jeremy's first trip to NYC, he didn't get too experience many tourist things, but he did get to go on the ferris wheel in Toysrus in Times Square and see a guy with the craziest mullet ever! I think that may have been the highlight of his trip. That and making rats run at me from the trash on the street. After Jeremy left, I worked and managed to squeeze in a couple more hours with my favorite cousin. We hit up this amazing organic restaurant, Josie's and he took me to see Carrie Bradshaw's house. Not only was the house beautiful, but the street and the whole surrounding area was perfect too...that may have been because there was a Juicy store only a block away! Gotta love Juicy! For those of you that are wondering, it is a brand...possibly my favorite brand. Work even went well. We got a lot accomplished and I got to hang out and experience New York with some pretty cool people. Well folks, that in a nut shell was my trip to NYC.

If you want to see all the pictures from my trip, check out mine and Ian's picture website.