Little Bubsa...

Where do I even begin?  Our relationship is so much different from mine and Jordan's.  Mostly because we grew up in different eras, but also because I've been far more protective of you.  You are the baby after all :) And I know you know that big sis always had your back...and she still does!  In all seriousness though, I am so very thankful to have you as a brother.  You always seem to know just the right thing to say - mostly funny, but sometimes serious.  I know I can talk to you honestly and you seem to understand me...definitely wise beyond your years!  I can always count on you for an adventure or just a regular good ol' fun time.  In the more recent years, we have been paired up on family trips and for all the rides at amusement parks.  And although we sometimes hated got annoyed by it, I truly treasure many of those times because they were spent with one of my favorite people - YOU!  I know you aren't doing too much for your birthday this year, but I wanted you to know that I've turned it into a celebration here in NYC.  Hope you have a happy one!  I love you little Bubsa!

*Picture Disclaimer(s):
1) I may or may not have re-purposed the leftover Halloween cupcakes for this birthday celebration.
2) Those may or may not be my calcium vitamins for the numbers...I try to be resourceful.
3) This may or may not have been my breakfast.

Linking up with Sar and Meghan for Thankful Thursdays:

Andrea :)

Treats for Everyone!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

I had fun decorating these Halloween funfetti cupcakes last night!  Hope you get lots of treats today!

I'm looking forward to seeing (only via facetime unfortunately) my little niece in her first Halloween costume tonight!  Chris and I were Salt and Pepper Shakers this weekend - check us out here.

I can't believe we are at the end of October already!  How has time passed so quickly this year?

Andrea :)

Hurricane Sandy

I survived!  Well, actually, I never could even really tell it happened from my little area in midtown Manhattan.  But I was off work for two days and pretty much stayed inside the whole time. I go back to work tomorrow.  I'll be interested to see what it looks like outside then.  The last time I was out, there was the calm before the storm.  Take a look...

You'll never see Times Square this empty again!

Street nearby my apartment...usually filled with people and street vendors

No broadway tickets on sale today!

Subway closed until further notice...

Totally empty street in midtown Manhattan...extremely rare!

Fortunately, I was safe and sound from the storm.  And even kept power.  Lots of others were not in the same boat.  Please pray for all those affected as well as the response teams working to get this city back up and running!

Andrea :)

Book #1 - The Water Giver

As a part of my 30 before 30, I am reading 12 books that I own but haven't read yet.  The first one on my list was The Water Giver by Joan Ryan.  I think I picked it up at one of the Borders going out of business final sales sometime last year.  I remember being intrigued by it then.

 
The story is fascinating.  Initially, I thought it was going to be a story about the relationship between an mother and her adopted son with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but it was much more than that.  It is the story of her son's battle and recovery from a traumatic brain injury and her journey through a second chance at motherhood along the way.  The book is written in three parts with short chapters in each section.

The first part gives you some background on the family.  The adoption.  The career minded parents.  The good and the bad, the highs and the lows of Ryan's youth.  It really details a struggle all of its own, but one that seems far less difficult to handle once part two begins.

Part two focuses on the accident and subsequent touch and go times for the family.  It is extremely well-written making it difficult to put the book down at this point.

Without giving too much away, part three details the struggles of recovery.  The setbacks.  The advances.  The setbacks.  It is a very touching story.  It is a quick read and if you like true stories then it is definitely the book for you. 

As you'll see, I prefer true stories.  My next book is an autobiography.  I will probably read two or three of those as a part of my 12.  Hopefully, I can get some reading done while I am homebound for Hurricane Sandy.

What good autobiography or true life tales have you read lately?

Andrea :)

Argo + Halloween Costumes

 

On Friday, I finally got to see Argo!  It was fantastic!  I love movies that are based on a true story.  This one was particularly moving since it also pulled at your Proud to be an American heart strings!  Go check it out!

 

Saturday started out with a run through a gorgeous park in Albany with my friend, Janet.  Toward the end of our run, I paused to snap this stunning shot.

I love fall.  So pretty!

After the run, Chris and I went to one of my favorite restaurants for lunch - Cracker Barrel!  I think we have found the ONLY one in the whole Northeast.  And I couldn't be happier - that place has the BEST food at such affordable prices...plus it has a fun little store attached :)

yummy pumpkin custard for dessert

Later that night we headed to the main event for the weekend - a Halloween party!  We decided we would try a couple's costumes this year.  The past two years, we had fun dressing up, but never quite matched.

2010 - Old school rapper and a referee

2011 - Native American Indian and Rastafarian

So, this year, with a little help from my dad's creative mind, we matched!  We got a lot of laughs and had a blast at the party.

2012 - Salt and Pepper Shakers

Sunday, we were all set to watch some football and just relax until we saw that the MTA was pretty much shutting down NYC at 7pm - an hour and a half before my scheduled departure from Albany.  We sadly decided that it would be best for me to take an earlier bus to ensure I safely arrived back to the city in time.  After a quick lunch, Chris drove me to the bus station and I was off.  Upon arrival to the city, I wasn't sure what to expect - visions of disaster movies danced in my head on the three hour ride back.  However, things seemed pretty calm and the weather was perfect outside, but the lines inside the stores definitely made up for it.  They were INSANE!  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them, but here is my In Case Hurricane Sandy Is As Bad As They Predict She Will Be loot.

Not too healthy, but tried to cover all the bases :)

Late Breaking News - my weekend has been extended via Hurricane Sandy cancelling work today and tomorrow!  I won't say I'm not excited about getting the free days off work, but I'll also say I really do hope this is a flop of a storm.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!  And hope you steer clear of Hurricane Sandy if you are in the Northeast!!

Andrea :)

Sunday Stadium Review - Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars 

Name of Stadium: EverBank Field

Capacity: 67,246

Game Attended: December 2011 - MNF match-up with the Chargers the week following Coach Jack Del Rio being fired

Worked a game at this stadium? No.

Outside of the front of the stadium - love the statue!

One of my mentors had been working as Special Teams coach at Jacksonville for a couple of seasons.  I kept telling him I wanted to get down there to visit him and check out the Jaguars at home.  (He had graciously offered me tickets to Jags-Giants and Jags-Jets games when they came to New York in previous years.)  When the fire started getting hotter for Jack Del Rio, I knew Chris and I had picked the right season to make the trek to Jacksonville.

We had some fun around town before and after the game, but the game itself was quite an experience.  First of all, it isn’t often that MNF comes to Jacksonville so the crowd was amped.  We had great seats on the corner of the endzone.  The one thing we both noticed almost immediately were the tarps covering much of the upper level of the stadium.  I had never seen anything like that in my stadium quests and was honestly surprised by how much of the stadium they needed to cover with the tarps. The game was only competitive briefly so by the end of the third quarter there was hardly anyone left at the stadium.  That was also a strange feeling.  We were actually able to find my mentor’s wife and family based on him only giving us the section number prior to the game.  That is how empty the place got….and quick!  Regardless, after the game, we did some post-game tailgating with my mentor and crew.  It was great to see him even though I wish the circumstances had been much different.

One of the tarps is directly above my head in this picture.  They covered the entire section.  This picture was taken in the fourth quarter, but check out the non-existent crowd :(

Loved the big board.  There was one at each endzone.

Here are some of our pics from the other Jacksonville area adventures.  Definitely check out the Jacksonville Landing if you are ever in the area.  Neat spot.  We were there at the wrong time of the day, but I bet it is hopping at night!

Jacksonville Landing

Loved the palm trees outside the factory!

99 bottles of beer on the wall conveyer belt :)

Tons of shops (and tourist traps) in St. Augustine...

We had a fun little excursion down the road about an hour to St. Augustine!

Andrea :)

30 before 30 - Month Three Recap

 write letter to family or friend

This month I didn't send the traditional letter, but I did write a note to my mom.  She has worked as a librarian for 33 years.  Her retirement party was yesterday.  My brothers and I weren't able to be there so we sent an arrangement of 36 pink roses (one for each year she worked at the library and one to represent each of us) along with a note from each of us.  She loved it!  I'm glad we were able to be a part of her special day even if we weren't there in person!

My beautiful mom and her pretty flowers :)

Nice display with our pictures and the notes!

 3 monthly goals 

1) Layout pages in Year 2 scrapbook.

I was able to complete this task over the weekend.  Chris was away on a guys' weekend to Buffalo so I had plenty of time to work on this project then.  All the pages are laid out.  Now, the fun of cutting and pasting begins :)

2) Carve (or decorate) a pumpkin.

Chris and I managed to pick and carve our first pumpkin midway through October.  It was an interesting project for us, but I had fun.

We found one that was just the right size!

Ready to begin the fun!!

Scooping out the "guts"....Chris wasn't too fond of this part!

Carving out the face....

Happy (early) Halloween!!

3) Work out at the gym twice a week.

I didn't do quite as well on this as I had hoped.  I was shooting for Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The first week, I didn't go either day.  Not a good start.  The next week, I went on Tuesday and then ended up having to work the Thursday Night Game so I made a little progress.  The next week, I was determined to make it both days...and then the gym was closed for repairs on Thursday.  However, the last week, I was successful!  YAY!  I'm going to try to keep on going (and potentially adding another day) throughout the winter since it's far less likely that I'll be running outside then. 

facetimes with Brinley

Mom and Dad went to visit Brinley the second week of October.  I was able to dual purpose facetime with her and see them, too.  She played her little piano toy for me.  She got a little fussy and needed to have a bottle toward the end, but it was fun watching her.  Mom said she kept reaching out to the phone for me.  Facetime will definitely get more interesting as she keeps growing :)

This past Saturday, I was able to facetime with Brinley while she ate some baby food!  Yes, she is big enough for baby food now!  I can't hardly believe it!  She was making lots of noises and seemed to be eating at least a little bit of the food.  I am so grateful for technology so that I am able to see these little milestones!

Date Night 

Chris and I enjoyed a sushi date night toward the beginning of October.  We had a groupon for Mika in Chinatown that expired soon so we gave it a try.  It was such an easy trip on the subway which was a huge plus.  The food was great, too!  I had the California Roll and the AAC (Avacado, Asparagus, Cucumber) Roll.  Chris had the West Roll and the House Roll.  He is braver than me :)

Chris had the specialty rolls on the left while I stuck to the less adventurous ones on the right.

Girls' Night

There was a girls' night at the very end of September, but I didn't take any pictures.  I promise to do better next time!  We undoubtedly had fun.  It is always good to catch up with the ladies!

Andrea :)