mama, mary poppins & midnight burgs

My mom came to visit me for a NYC staycation a few weeks ago and we had SO MUCH FUN! She arrived on a Friday evening and came to "pick me up" from work. (I've had a track record of being a slightly cranky hostess with visiting family members, but I PROMISED to be nice this time...) I was SO niiiice I even let her take a pic of me in my desk at work.

Our staycation would not be complete without staying in a Midtown hotel and having a semi-itinerary planned. Most important items on the agenda were where (and how frequently) we could eat. Our hotel was close to Madison Square Park and the famous Shake Shack where I had never been. Such a shame as a New Yorker that I can't always participate in the constant burger debates without sampling what Shake Shack has to offer. In passing I pointed out the always-long, curvy line of burger customers winding through the park (at all hours of the day). We came up with our plan of attack--we would either go right before they close or for breakfast when they open. We were determined to get a burger and beat the line.

Saturday was filled with pancakes and a bit of shopping. We went to see the lovely Broadway production of Mary Poppins and loved it! 3/4 of the way through the second half I started thinking about Shake Shack and it evolved into an obsession. I. HAD. TO. HAVE. IT... TONIGHT. So... I pantomimed eating an invisible burger to my mom and our mother-daughter brain waves synchronized and it was confirmed without using any words that we would be eating burgers post-show. My mouth watered thinking about fries and cheesey burger.. ketchup and crispy lettuce.

I didn't realize that we were carelessly giving Mary Poppins and the Banks family a standing ovation while the burger clock was ticking away! Shake Shack closes at 11pm and we were still in the theater still at 10:40! we have to get out of here!!!

We hurried out the door but were in Times Square. This is no place to get a cab. A pedi-cab rang his puny bicycle bell and offered a ride--doesn't he realize he can't pedal our fat asses fast enough to get us a much needed 11pm night cap burger?!

I decided we'd be better off speedwalking out of Times Square to find a cab. We walked to 5th Ave and I jumped in a cab.

"23rd STREET MADISON SQUARE PARK AS FAST AS YOU CAN!"

10:56pm and we got to the Southwest corner of the park and ran through the blinking crosswalk hand. "We're never going to make it!" I shout to my mom as we're running. I stopped running feeling defeated and sad that we weren't getting burgers. Mom keeps running full speed ahead with no signs of slowing down!

"Stop running. This is pointless!!!!!!!!!!!"

She didn't listen to me! She kept running full speed ahead so I started running again too. We got to the window and were panicky until the employee stuck his head out and said "If you ladies want to order you need to do it now. We're closing." IT WAS A BURGER MIRACLE!

"TWO CHEESEBURGERS!" I yelled without looking at any menu. "two orders of fries and diet cokes?" I ordered in a questioning voice seeking my mom's approval all at once in disbelief we made it.

Once the order was successfully placed we started laughing hysterically out of relief that we were going to be satisfying our craving for burgers at this hour in the night. And laughing at how serious and stressful this quest for burgers had become.

Here are the victory pictures

classic post-burger-binge shame



mom and sister are coming for a visit verrrrry soon! Burgers anyone??!?!?!

may recap

May has been an interesting month. I have to be honest and say I am glad it's over in 40 minutes. Here's the scoop:

May 1-3: My life coach and BFF Colleen visitsMay 4: I get laid off
May 5: I turn 25
May 6-8: Search for jobs
May 8-11: I go to Seattle for a weekend trip; boyfriend gets his backpack stolen :-( I get to spend Mother's Day with my mom and grandma :-)May 11-18: Boyfriend goes to LA for work; I spend my lonely days searching for jobs and interviewing
May 21: I accept a job offer
May 21-25: Phoenix reunion trip with my my best friends in the entire worldMay 26-29: First week of new job
May 29-31: Spend entire weekend with boyfriend :-)Phewww I'm exhausted and ready for a new month. Happy June!

my bridesmaid nightmare

I've been helping my mom search for mother of the groom ensembles that aren't too old lady looking and its really tough. I'm also searching for the perfect combination of bridesmaid shoes that a) won't use up all my unemployment money, b) won't dig into my feet leaving me with permanent strap mark scars, and c) will keep me under 6'2"

also a tough search.

During these searches I got a little side tracked and started looking at what Nordstrom has to offer for bridesmaid dresses. I clicked to sort by bestsellers and this was the 6th runner up!

OMGGGGGGG this MIGHT be the ugliest dress I have ever seen.

It honestly looks like something I would have tried to make when I used to beg my mom to teach me how to sew.

The huge bow looks like the seamstress messed up some stitching and used the bow to cover up the flaw. It also reminds me of the Friends episode when Phoebe gets hummus on her dress and covers it with a big Christmas bow.

My deepest sympathies to any bridesmaid who has to wear this.

I've lost my magic sight

While perusing Facebook I found this in the archives. Initial reaction was laughter at my awkward 7th grade brother. Memories flashed back of the Sun-In bottle that lived in our bathroom cabinet from 1997-2000. Apparently he had put it to good use back in his junior high days.

My second reaction is "OMG that's a magic eye poster!" And this is when I begin blurring my eyes trying to see what it is behind him. No luck. I used to be really good at seeing these things when I was a kid. So I did a Google image search for Magic Eyes and I think I lost my magic vision skills! I can't see them anymore. I have been sitting here at my computer for at least 40 minutes Google searching different pictures of magic eyes to remaster my skill. Maybe I only imagined I could see them before..? I can almost get it and then everything looks like pretzels for a second then I lose my focus.

I remember when I was little and I would play with the paint program on the computer and would use the spraypaint feature to try and make my own magic eye poster but they would never become 3D either.

45 minutes being cross eyed at the computer screen can not be good for me. Am I the only one who has lost the talent??

My (most fun and I want to do it again) Vacation

I've been struggling with creativity and inspiration lately. Mostly because I am depressed to return to my normal life after a 7 day vacation of a lifetime with my dear fam. Here is a mini photo diary of the highlights.

My seeester challenge: refill ice cream cones every time we pass the ice cream machine. We quickly upgraded into getting a bowl, crunching up cookies and filling the bowl at the ice cream machine.The crew (from right to left): me, seeester, brother in law, future sisssy in law and bro.

Randy getting felt up by the shot girl.

Me getting felt up by the shot girl. "Free massage!"

Porn star Echo Valley! "I'm sooooo drunk!" After a little Wikipedia search I learned that this was my introduction to the bra size 65NN

Please someone take me back to this moment. Around this point in time I was floating in the ocean thinking about how lucky I was NOT to be working on Excel spreadsheets.
My tan is quickly fading, my shins and feet are peeling, my sandflea bites still itch, and I REALLY miss my family!

things i've learned from my parents

1. Going green is no new concept.
Ever since I can remember, my dad would absolutely insist that we turn off every light in unoccupied rooms and NEVER mess with the heat. He preached the put on a sweatshirt if you're cold speech rather than let anyone set a finger on the damn thermostat. When the thermostat was mysteriously changed to a higher setting it was never a good thing. Yikes! Now, sometimes these "good" habits have some ramifications: I turn off the lights as I exit the room, leaving some sweatshirted individual in the dark.

2. Always clean before you travel

From family camping trips to my first overseas excursion, I have learned from my mom that the mandatory precursor to a successful vacation is a clean house to come home to. Ever since I can remember, vacuuming is to suitcases, as emptying the trash is to travel-sized deodorants.

3. Uncleanliness can be FUN
Only a mother can love her daughter enough to not only tolerate, but encourage uncleanliness. Every time I go home for a visit I turn into a dirty scrub for a day or two. You may think I am talking about not applying eye makeup so I can satisfyingly rub my eyes. No. I am talking about hair that is so greasy it looks like I rubbed a tub of Crisco on my bangs. And what does my mom say? With a chuckle she simply says, "Isn't it fun to be ugly?" Yes it is.

4. I can only hope to be like them!
As I've gotten older I realize what fun they have with eachother. They're truly lifelong companions and always know how to make eachother laugh. They're great parents and a huge support system to their 3 kids. Thanks mom and dad for being so fun, great, silly, and awesome role models. I love you!