mission: weekend fun

well the holidays are over and the deep freeze of winter has set in, meaning it is time to hibernate in our cozy homes and stay away from the frigid temperatures. i think that this is especially true for us city dwellers who have to walk to get anywhere, and so being inside a safe, warm place is very appealing.

but staying indoors can become very mundane, leading to lazy behavior and slothlike attributes (not moving too far from the couch unless it is time to grab a snack or take a bathroom break from the constant lineup on cable tv). so...here are some fun things patrick and i have been doing to keep ourselves entertained during the cold winter months.

bowling- we had been wanting to get together with some of our fave people, sarah and michael, and they suggested going bowling. they had a babysitter and coupons for a free hour of bowling at the times square bowlmor, and thus it was a double date! any time there is something free, count me in! we ended up playing for two hours, which ended in a lot of pain as we realized none of us are spring chickens any more.

i may look awesome, but i had the worst scores of the night. oh well...

having fun at the bowlmor!!!!

as you can see, my form is...well not so great.

michael showing off his thunder and lightning fists of fury! he wowed us with some ambidextrous bowling skills.

this is the only photo i could get of michael with his eyes open! love these two...

loser...winner...sneak attack!!!!

karaoke-some other weekend fun we have been having includes a karaoke birthday party, but unfortunately i forgot to bring the cam with me. let me just say this about singing in front of strangers: you don't need talent, you just need to sing a song that is a crowd pleaser. that way everyone joins in and you are having fun holding the microphone.

local culture-so if karaoke is not your thing, museums might be. patrick and i have been wanting to visit the cloisters in fort tryon park in manhattan. it is a replica of the living quarters and place of worship for monks. it contains art work and architecture from the middle ages. it is a stunning museum and full of interesting artifacts! before we went to the museum, we hit up new leaf cafe within the park for some brunch, and it was a great choice recommended to us by one of patrick's co-workers, tanya!

coffee and fresh squeezed oj included in the brunch, but we wanted to check out some of the specialty drinks. i had a coconut nog, which was like drinking a heavenly milkshake! patrick had the smoked hickory bacon old fahsion. he loved it.

i had a difficult time deciding what to order, so i kept it simple with the goat cheese and scallion scrambled eggs with a side of garlicky fried potatoes and fresh greens. it was all so fresh and so yummy. i ate just about everything on the plate!

patrick had the challah french toast with caramelized bananas served with hot maple syrup and italian sausage.

the cloisters museum

salvaged stained glass windows from an old cathedral.

cloister- the hallway from the church to the monks dwelling space. only monks could use the cloisters back then. if you want an interesting read on the lives of monks and the cathedrals of the dark ages, check out ken follett's pillars of the earth. it's a good one!

the chapel.

another cloister...time for a self portrait!

outside the museum. patrick looks a little chilly.

the icy trail we had to slide down whether we wanted to or not!

even though it is super cold out of doors, layer up and get out there. find some fun things to do and live your life! spring is not coming all too soon...

this is beth signing off.

mission: accomplished and still finding fun things to do...oooh! sledding!

Pin It

mission: in training again

i am on the path to yet another half marathon, and it takes place in 6 weeks. i started training today. this is not good.

usually, people dedicate somewhere between 3 or 4 months getting ready for such a race as this. but not this lady! i am giving myself about 40 days to whip my body into shape. can i achieve my goal...without a doubt but it is going to be a very intense month and a half running outside for the most part in severe weather conditions and extreme cold. ok maybe i am exaggerating a teeny bit, but it is below the freezing mark!

today's run (after a month and a half hiatus) was 4.41 miles, and while i did stop to walk (quickly) several times, i am proud that i made my first goal of running a little over a third of my race!

the plan is to increase my run by half a mile each time i run. so at 3-4 runs per week i will reach 13-16 miles by the half marathon. whoa. i think i can do it....i mean i know i can!!!!! did i mention that i am running in the disney princess half marathon? and did i mention i get to run through cinderella's castle and receive a princess medal at the end of my race? no? well this is what i am running for!

so here is to some intense training until the end of february. and to all the women (and men) training for this race...good luck and i will see you at the happiest place on earth!

this is beth signing off.

mission: in training...

Pin It

mission: new year, new adventures

happy 2011! i am ringing in the new year (2 weeks later) with a much needed make-over for my little blog. hope you like it as much as i do!!! i think it is a good way to being all my blogs about the forthcoming adventures for big apple beth in 2011.

so this year has been quite an eventful one so far! patrick and i have already ventured off to colorado to get in a little bit of skiing while staying at the beautiful westin riverfront resort and spa in beaver creek. it was a wonderful trip, to say the least. here are some pics (we are now able to download our pics and therefore i can share visuals with you again...yay).

the amazing scenery during our drive from denver to beaver creek.

our yummy dinner at grouse mountain grill. i had the pretzel encrusted pork chops swimming in a balsamic honey mustard sauce and paired with creamy mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. the dessert we has was a homey apple bread pudding topped with vanilla ice cream and an apple chip. so good! and the service was awesome and the atmosphere was comforting.

our first day of skiing proved more difficult than we had anticipated. i thought i was going to die! this is me half way down a 3 mile trail...only half way! and to top it off i had to walk the final 25 feet down because i hurt myself by skiing into a pole (about the diameter of a dowel rod) and ended up with a huge bruise on my back side. after shedding some tears in the snow, i made it off the mountain in one piece.

post accident- we walked around beaver creek checking out the shops, watching people ice skate in the middle of the town, and ate a campfire crepe filled with chocolate chips and marshmallows! yummy!

the next day we went to vail and ate at this charming pub. the fare was typical bar food but delicious all the same. it's namesake, bart and yeti, originates from two labradors.

later that night we tried snow tubing in vail. ask for the pukinator before heading down- the workers will spin you as fast as they can! it is so fun!

skiing day two- had a lesson this time around. basically it was the wisest decision we made.

watch out lindsey vaughn...here comes your new competition!

patrick skiing- the view was so amazing. we might have to live here someday.

so this is just a taste of our colorado vacation. hope you enjoyed it, and stay tuned for some more fun times ahead!

this is beth signing off.

mission accomplished.

Pin It

Mission: star bucks

Pin It

mission: thanksgiving 2010

it's the most gluttonous time of the year...

this is one of my favorite holidays because it is a time to reflect over your year to see what you have done, where you have been, and give thanks for the blessings in your life. but, holidays like this need to become more than a mere feast followed by crashing on the couch to watch some football. it should be about taking care of those in need and helping them through a time that can be quite depressing or sorrowful.

this year, i would like to challenge my readers to go beyond and give...not just say thanks for what you have. give your time, your food, your money to your community. seek out volunteer opportunities and see how your life is changed for the better, because when you set out to change the world, you find out that it actually changes you. and what can be more fulfilling and humbling than that?

i also challenge you to pause during this season of rushing around, trying to find the best holiday deals, and recognize what God is doing around you and in you. He is the One who gives us life, and to Him we should offer our thanks and love. this allows us to actually experience our God, who created us and loved us first, even when everything else around us is whizzing by, too busy to acknowledge Him.

so, now i am off to pack up and head on a plane to tucson, az to spend time with patrick's family. happy thanksgiving to you all.

this is beth signing off.

mission: let the holidays begin!

Pin It

mission: dawn patrol

warning: the dawn patrol show is not for the faint at heart. why, you may ask? for starters, if you want to catch a bus from the park and ride, which comes highly recommended, one must wake up around 4:30 a.m. (and that was so we could make it to the park and ride at 5 a.m. which was 5 minutes down the road). mind you, it is still very dark outside at this time of day, and the sleep still very much overtaking your body.

so we hitch a ride to the balloon fiesta site, and we wait in the freezing cold until dawn was upon us. as we waited, we did eat some super spicy but ever delicioso breakfast burritos, complete with green chile sauce. this kept our mouths blazing hot and in return kept the rest of our bodies toasty. i was sad when i was completely stuffed with burrito that i could not finish the last two bites for some extra warmth. aunt sue did have some specially delivered kona coffee to last us a little while longer, however.

finally, the moment arrived, and the dozen of hot air balloons began to inflate. they even glowed (still dark) and all of the pilots were announced. one by one, they set off, and thus began the next event, the morning ascension. this is when all 600+ balloons are sent off into the atmosphere one by one and usually takes a couple of hours to complete. it was yet another amazing sight as we gazed into the sky watching the large balloons turn into tiny droplets as they drifted away from the field.

a great experience about this fiesta, as i mentioned in the prior post, is that you get to walk amongst the balloons and capture the entire process of an ascension. you get to see the pilots with their chase teams (the people who pick up a balloon after it has landed somewhere) unload the basket from a truck bed, spread the yards and yards of balloon fabric into its designated area, observe the flame being tested (bring your marshmallows), and finally the inflation. if you have never watched this process being done, let me tell you, it is extensive and takes a great team to pull it off without a hitch.

after the several hours of watching the balloons take off, the adrenaline wore off and sleep took us over once again. we had to nap so that we could take on one more balloon glow in the evening. that one is not worth blogging about because the wind conditions were too high to really have a proper glow. a good dozen or so were inflated, but the rest remained on the ground. i do want to say that the very last fireworks show of the festival was fantastic, even better than the night before, not to mention the amazing sunset we had. all in all, it was a good way to end the 2010 balloon fiesta.

patrick, aunt sue, and i did other things in albuquerque during our stay, and so in my next post i will give you the top 5 things you should do on your next visit to this quirky yet fascinating city.

this is beth signing off.

mission: accomplished

Pin It

mission: albuquerque balloon fiesta

every year in the city of albuquerque the largest congregation of hot air balloons during the first week of october. it is the highlight for new mexicans and fellow lovers of balloons from around the world! this year, big apple beth got the chance to go, and boy did i have a wonderful time.

i kind of have it easy making arrangements because my aunt susan lives and works out there, and with her as our guide, we didn't have difficulty maneuvering what events to attend, when to leave, and having the knowledge to take the bus rather than driving ourselves to the fiesta site. and might i add, the bus drivers and volunteers at this massive event were all kind and helpful!

after walking around the grounds for a bit, checking out the food options (lots and lots of fried delights and of course turkey legs) and take home souvenirs, our first fiesta activity was the friday night glow. the glow is when the balloonists inflate their balloon and firing them up so that it actually glows. this is all done while the balloons are tethered to the ground, and the guests can freely walk around the grounds taking pictures and walking beneath them. it is quite incredible, and i felt so small as i walked beneath the massive shapes. the glow that i went to consisted of all the special shaped balloons such as: spongebob, a cow named airabelle, a haunted house, two large boxing kangaroos, and family of bees! each new balloon that was inflated we exclaimed with glee, "is that a lady bug?" or "wow, it's darth vader's helmet!!!" it was so awesome, and there is no other word for it really. simply awesome.

as soon as it became dark, and the night air cooled off the desert, we settled into our folding camping chairs and watched a fireworks display. for those of you who don't know me, i LOVE fireworks! it was a fantastic show, but i was ready to head to bed, knowing that i had to wake up the following morning for the dawn patrol.

keep reading tomorrow as i explain how amazing the dawn patrol was! until then, this is beth signing off.

mission: accomplished.

Pin It