What's in my bag?

A few weeks ago when Ricci posted about what was in her bag, I was definitely intrigued!  So glad she decided to do a link up!

Without further ado...here is what's in my bag....

I definitely manage to pack a lot in there!  I am traveling home for the holidays as well so it is extra full today.  I'll try to sort out the items for you now.

I try to stay organized with my checkbook, an extra memory card for my camera (for the record, I don't usually carry around one of those, but I think I might need it with that cute little niece of mine this Christmas!), and one last Christmas card on the far left.  Next comes my phone and camera followed by my swipe card for work and my wallet along with a little Notes notepad.  This is where it starts to get a bit crazy (I'm sure you are thinking, what does she mean starts...haha).  Anyway, there is a little pouch for change and my keys, my sunglasses in a handy little pouch, and an apple.  On the side closest to the camera, I have some eye drops and hand sanitizer (NFL Draft edition from work).  Of course, there are some random pens, a sharpie (never know when you'll be getting an autograph in the Big Apple), a tide pen, and a root beer candy stick.  Then on the far right side in the pockets, I have gum, business cards, chapstick, and powder.  I also have a hidden (and apparently dangerous...at least according to TSA...who had to run my purse through the scanner three...yes, THREE...times) flash drive and bobbie pins.  Who knew, right?  I think there are also some napkins in the bottom somewhere.  I usually keep a little stash of those in there as well.

So...now that you know what is in my bag, I would love to hear about what is in yours!  Link up with Ricci and let us know!

Andrea :)

Prayers for Sandy Hook Victims!

 

 Andrea :)

Presents + Lincoln

This weekend was a whirlwind...and I'm not sure it will stop until I leave for Kentucky on Thursday!  Lots of last minute things to get done before I head south for a week or so.

On Friday, I made the trek to Albany via Greyhound for what we hope is the very last time!  Chris has a second interview with a job he'd really like in the city on Wednesday.  Please pray that this is the opportunity that God has been holding onto for him.  It would be such a blessing if he gets this job!

Now, back to the weekend!  When I arrived, Chris had a fun surprise waiting for me in the car and took me to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Albany.  It was nice to be able to spend some time together without being in a rush to get somewhere else afterward.  Especially after such tragic events occurred in CT earlier in the day.  What an absolute horror!  Still trying to truly grasp it all.

Such sweet and thoughtful gifts from Christopher :)

On Saturday, I was able to get all our Christmas cards done while Chris watched soccer.  Then we took a trip over to Wit's End Boutique for some final shopping.  I got lots of great stuff!  We even had time for some Italian cookies and a cupcake (of course) at the bakery across the street!

You can't tell, but the carolers were moving and singing, of course!

Too many amazing choices!! 

Pure deliciousness!

On Saturday night, Chris and I met up with my Aunt Mildred and Pete along with my cousin Randy and his wife Sheila for dinner.  We had a delicious meal at Carraba's.  It was great to catch up with all of them!

On Sunday, we met up with a couple friends for brunch at New World Bistro Bar where I had some delicious crepes before we headed to a local movie theater - the Spectrum.  We saw Lincoln.  It was fantastic...very well written and fabulous acting.  It will be winning some Oscars in February for sure!!  Go check it out!!

Crepes for Brunch!

Independent theater in Albany...

Old school concession stand...and affordable prices, too!

I headed back to the city earlier than normal to prepare my cookies for my friend's annual cookie swap tonight.  I'll try to do a separate post about the swap later this week.

My Peanut Butter No Bake Cookie

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!  Anyone else do any last minute shopping or other festive activities?

Andrea :)

Sunday Stadium Review - Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers 

Name of Stadium: Heinz Field

Capacity: 65,050

Game Attended: regular season game versus Bengals in December 2010 with Christopher and then about couple months later for AFC Championship versus the Jets and then a couple years later for PPK

Worked a game at this stadium? Yes, for 2010 AFC Championship and PPK in December 2012.



Entrance to the stadium...do you see anything but black and yellow?? 

Anyone that knows me very well, knows that my Steelers experiences have come at great pain to my Bengals fan self.  Nothing against the Steelers fans, but please just need realize that there are in fact 31 additional teams in the NFL...and a good number of them are actually pretty good...maybe even better than the Steelers.  Shocking, I know!  Now that I have gotten that off my chest, let me tell you a little about my experiences at Heinz Field for Steeler games.

I have been to Heinz Field a good number of times now.  Three for Steelers games and three for Pitt games.  The stadium is very similar for Pitt games, but of course the stands are not quite as full or the crowd quite as intense.  For this review, I'll focus on my attendance during Steeler functions.

I really like the design of the stadium.  It actually reminds me a lot of the Bengals stadium.  It basically sits on a river.  One end is pretty open and the other end hosts the huge video board with moving ketchup bottles.  When the team gets into the red zone (inside their opponents 20 yard line) the ketchup bottles tilt upward which in effect turns the video board red.  It is actually pretty cool.  I didn't get a shot of the screen filling up, but I did take one of the bottles in both positions.

The more open endzone.

Love the layout here.  This is one corner of the endzone with the video board.

Level...

And now they are tilted...

The first time I attended Heinz Field was purely as a spectator.  They kindly repaid me by crushing my Bengals in a sleet storm, but pre-game Chris and I had some fun.  I was actually about thisclose to having Chris meet my buddy, Chad Johnson, but unfortunatley, TO proved to be too much of a distraction for Chad's attention.  Unlike many other stadiums, during pre-game those on the field are forced to stay on the half where the Steelers warm up.  This hurt our chances a little as well.  We did get some fun pictures though.

Me and Chris sporting orange and black (and Jets green)!!  Who Dey!

Thumbs down for the black and yellow!

Just a few short weeks later, lucky me was able to return to Heinz Field for AFC Championship.  The weather cooperated a little more for that game.  My brother also came up from Kentucky for it.  I was able to sneak away for a pre-game picture with him.  Definitely a high intensity game.

My last experience in Pittsburgh was my favorite.  For two reasons - 1) the weather (especially for December) was remarkable nice and 2) they lost.  I was there again for work this time.  I was able to get a pretty good picture of the intense crowd waving their terrible towels as I left the stadium. 

Terrible towel craziness

The one thing I can say with absolute certainty is that Steeler Nation is LOUD and PROUD!!  They make no bones about waving their towels and letting you know who they think is boss.  The stadium is a great venue that is set up in a very inticing manner.  And of course, the scoreboard is one of the most unique in the league!
 
Andrea :)

Pittsburgh without Christopher :(

This Weekend, I was busy, busy, busy.  I guess it is just that time of year!!

On Friday night, I worked out after I left the office and then had good night talking with Christopher.  The weekends without him aren't as much fun, but sometimes there's not much you can do about it.  I headed out to Pittsburgh for a work trip the next morning.

On Saturday, I started the day with an almost missed flight.  Not good.  I'm still not really sure what I was thinking, but I set my alarm and woke up without too much trouble.  I took my time getting ready and even thought once or twice about how good I was doing on time this particular morning.  I even stopped to get breakfast and then ate that breakfast in the cab on the way to the airport before I realized I had made a terrible mistake on timing and was leaving my apartment at the time that I was supposed to be checking in at the airport.  Needless to say, as soon as I realized it (oh, a mere 30 minutes before my flight was to depart) I jumped into panic mode.  I checked in on my phone.  I ran through security and even dismissed tying my shoes to make it to the gate before that dreaded door closed.  I was in terminal D.  My gate was in terminal C.  Of course.  I nearly ran over some people trying to make the bus that takes passengers to terminal C, but I missed it anyway.  The next bus comes and the airport worker assures me I have "plenty" of time (Really?  Plenty of time? Then why in the world do they tell us to be there 75 minutes in advance of our flights?) as she tells the driver he is all set to go with us.  Then, a man rushes onto the bus at the last second claiming he has lost his wallet.  Bad timing, dude....we gotta go!  While he searches, I start to panic a little more.  Finally, he is convinced it must be on the other bus and we leave.  When I see how far we have to go to get to terminal C, I realized I could have walked there in the time it took Mr. Lost Wallet to complete his search.  Add frustration to the panic.  I'm in a full out sprint as I exit the bus.  I run up to the gate out of breath and exhausted.  The attendant at the gate just looks at me like I arrived three hours early for my flight and he can't understand why I'm so rushed.  Mind-boggling.  Airports are just altogether mind-boggling.  The good news is I made it...and we even landed ahead of schedule.

Getting to the hotel in my rental was a whole new adventure.  I'll save you the insanity of the details there.  Let's just say the GPS lost signal at a very inopportune time and I basically turned a 20 minute trip into a 45 minute one.  But...there was Christmas music on the radio so it was all good.  When I finally arrived, I had a few minutes to catch my breath before I shopped til I almost dropped with one of my high school buddies, Michelle.  We had a blast shopping, catching up, shopping, eating at Chick-fil-A, shopping...ok, so we did a little shopping :)  Good news is that I am about thisclose to be D.O.N.E with my Christmas shopping!!  YAY!

As soon as she dropped me off back at the hotel, another friend picked me up for dinner.  I met up with some of Christopher's college buddies at BD's Mongolian Grill.  Very fun and very good.  Only thing missing was Christopher...well, and the wife and child of one of his friends...but I'll get to that.



Before....



Waiting to have mine cooked!!



After...

I don't know if you've ever been to BD's Mongolian Grill, but it was quite a treat.  You stuff a bowl full of raw veggies and meats...and create your own sauce!  Wait in line for them to cook it right in front of you (sort of like hibachi).  And then chow down on your awesome creation!

Then we went next door for some gelato (in December!!) for dessert.  Crazy, but tasty!!

Then I headed over to Rich and Melissa's to catch up with the missing wife and child - Melissa and Trey, Christopher's godson.  He's into everything now that he is crawling.  Even though he wasn't feeling too great, I was able to get some precious little smiles from him.  Such a cutie!!

On Sunday, it was time for work.  I was in Pittsburgh as the NFL representative for their Regional Punt, Pass, & Kick (PPK) event.  It was a blast to see all the kids (age 6-15) participate.  They were super excited!!  The competition was Sunday morning, but they performed a passing exhibition at halftime of the Steelers game.  They had a blast!!

Due to the rainy weather my flight was a bit delayed so it turned out to be a super long day!  And I have plans to meet up with a friend between work and working in the command center tonight so here's to a super long Monday as well.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend and your Monday isn't as jam packed as mine!

Andrea :)

Sunday Stadium Review - Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

Name of Stadium: Georgia Dome

Capacity: 71,228

Game Attended: versus Saints in November 2012 with Jordan

Worked a game at this stadium? No. 

After a week of meetings in Atlanta, my brother, Jordan, drove down to join me at the Thursday night game two weeks ago.  Our friend, Alisha, showed us around downtown Atlanta and went to dinner with us at Atlantic Station prior to the game.  This is a great little area not too far from the stadium.  It was decorated for Christmas!

Pretty Tree!

We ate at the Cheesecake Bistro just behind the sleigh.  It was very good.  I had some chicken wings and a delicious piece of cheesecake.

Huge wings...and good, too!

I love dessert :)

Then we headed into the traffic near the stadium.  What a mess!  We finally found parking and headed over to the stadium where we stood in line amusement park style prior to being security wanded and entering the stadium.  It was quite the set up.  And like nothing I had ever seen before.

A little dark, but this is the outside of the dome.

NEVER seen this before at an NFL game...very different!

getting wanded...too funny!

We barely made it to our seats in time for kickoff!  We were sitting in the upper level, but the seats weren't bad at all.  It was pretty warm inside the dome and the fans were intense!  It was a division rivalry game with the Saints and the Falcons have only lost one game at this point in the year so I'm not sure if that was what had them so riled up or not, but they were loud and proud!

One of the most exciting features of this game was a halftime mini-concert by Ludacris!  He is ATL proud, too!  It was probably the most exciting halftime I have ever seen at a regular season game.

He's on the left side of the stage.  Not sure why the blinding red light was necessary, but definitely didn't help my picture cause!

After the mini-concert, Jordan and I headed out to the concourse in search of our game souvenirs.  He always gets a shot glass and I get a pin.  Luckily, they had both in stock!  However, we circled nearly the entire concourse before we found a little shop.  One thing I disliked about the stadium was that it was not a team owned facility.  This results in a lack of branding and control over the concourse.  I definitely prefer team-owned stadiums.  The concourse also had the feel of a county fair.  They were selling cotton candy and funnel cakes and people were hanging out.  It was interesting.  Wish I had taken some pictures of that area, but I didn't.

Overall, the game and crowd were quite exciting, but the venue was lacking in a lot of ways. We had a great time!  Always fun to spend some quality time with my little brother!!


Andrea :)

New Stadium + Wedding Fun

This Weekend, I...had a blast even if I did spend four nights in four different cities (thanks to Christopher for pointing that out in the cab back from the airport around midnight last night)!!

On Thursday night, my brother and I went to the Falcons-Saints game in Atlanta.  I had been there all weekend for a work conference so it was fantastic to be able to finally relax, have a little fun, and see some of the city.

Georgia Dome with Jordan

On Friday, he drove us to Kentucky.  I got to see my awesome and adorable little niece along with a couple of friends before Christopher finally arrived in Lexington around midnight.

Me and Hayley (my Phi Mu Big Sis)!  She's having a baby boy in mid-January.  Doesn't she look amazing?

Words can't describe how much I love this little girl...SO much!!

Had to make a stop here with my BFF, Ashley Gail!!  Love it when they are HOT!

Brinley stayed up past midnight to see Chris :)  We gave her this stuffed soccer ball!

My precious little 7 month old niece!!

On Saturday, Christopher and I packed up the car and headed to my hometown of Livermore, Kentucky.  We made a brief pit stop at home for some yummy Moonlite BBQ sandwiches before heading over to Owensboro with my parents for a wedding.

Aunt Mary Ruth and Chris are best buddies :)

Posing with mom and dad!

Leslie and Jarrod cutting the cake!

Posing with the beautiful bride!!

On Sunday, we went to my home church for the morning service and met up with some family at Cracker Barrel for lunch before mom and dad drove us down to Nashville to catch our flight back to NYC.  It was great to see everyone!!

Buck Creek Baptist Church

Needless to say, we were exhausted when we went to bed last night!  It was a great weekend with lots of great conversations (car rides will do that for you every time) and fun!!

What did you do this weekend??

Andrea :)