New York City in 48 Hours or Less

Hey everybody!! I know it has been a long time, and I will get to that in another post. But, I don't ever want to forget this weekend, and maybe you, too, want to see New York in 48 hours or less.

Thursday 7am: Wake up and do your chores.
Take a shower. Drop your dog off at the vet.
Swing by the bookstore and buy a guide to NYC.
Park at the airport. Sail through security because your liquids are in a bag.
Eat lunch at airport. Board plane to Houston.
Make your connecting flight to Newark, NJ.
Watch 2 movies on the plane (Parental Guidance and Guilt Trip)
Arrive in Newark, NJ at 7:25pm. Take a shuttle to a train. A real train with a conductor and a clicker just like in Polar Express.
Take the train to the subway. Haul suitcase up and down stairs of the subway while trying to keep up with your husband who thinks he is walking slow, but you are having to jog to keep up.
Exit subway a few blocks from your apartment. Walk 10 feet behind your husband because you just can't jog with luggage anymore.
Get lovely flowers from your sister-in-law. Go in apartment. Put luggage up. Walk a few more blocks to an Italian restaurant. EAT!! Finally!!!
Walk back to apartment. Sleep!

Friday 7am: Wake up and get ready! It is going to be a BIG day in the BIG Apple.
Walk a few blocks to the subway. Ride to Carroll St. Get off. Walk a few blocks to Dawn's apartment.
Relax and listen to some of her new recordings. Walk around her neighborhood and around her neighborhood looking for a restaurant that is closed. Walk to another restaurant. EAT!
Walk to the subway. Ride to the Brooklyn Bridge exit.
Walk to entire length of the Brooklyn Bridge.

At the other side walk a few blocks to Ground Zero. The memorial isn't open, but it is surreal feeling to think I was possibly standing in the same spot where a young lady hid behind a car covered in ashes. 

Freedom Tower is beautiful even in an unfinished state.

Walk several more blocks to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty from a distance. Don't take to ferry, today. There's no time for that. 

Watch a street show in Battery Park. While walking to the subway admire the beehives at the edge of the park. 

Ride the subway to Time Square. Step out of the subway and into an amazing view. Tall buildings, billboards, lights, people, FUN! 

Walk down Broadway. Stop at the Hershey store because the Reese's are as big as my face, and they have giant bottles of chocolate syrup. What more do you want?

Cross the street to M&M World where you personalize your own M&Ms and dance with Blue. So much fun! 

Keep walking up Broadway to Wes's old Theatre right next door to David Letterman's theatre. 

Look for a pizza place that was there 12 years ago, but spot the Soup Nazi and decide to eat lunch there. Order the lobster roll, shrimp and corn bisque, a plum, a chocolate, and a coke. Walk to Central Park and enjoy your food there sitting in the grass. 

Walk through the park and enjoy a Popsicle. Use the bathroom in the Plaza Hotel. 

Go into FAO Schwartz. Play with toys! Marvel at the newborn nursery. Wish you could have visited when you were a kid. Get your fortune told by Zoltar. 

Use the bathroom at Trump Tower. Walk down 5th Ave. You are starting to get tired, but there is so much to do. Stop at Tiffany's, Uni Glo, and H&M to browse.

Walk through Rockefeller Center. Stop and eat that pizza you've been searching for. 

Walk back through Rockefeller and see where the Today Show is filmed. Walk down to Radio City Music Hall for a photo op. 

Catch a glimpse of the Naked Cowboy. 

Catch the subway back to the apartment. Chill for 45 minutes. Change into something fancy. Your feet are hating you for putting on high heels. Catch a cab to Lincoln Center. Drink an $8 glass of wine to help ease the pain in your feet and legs. 

Watch the New York City Ballet Company. AWESOME!

Check out Dawn's dressing room backstage. 

Forego the margaritas and catch a cab to the Empire State Building. Hold back those tears. Your feet aren't hurting that bad. Okay, they are but don't cry this is your Sleepless in Seattle moment. Ok, the moment is ruined. The pain is too bad. Go up to the 102nd floor, get the picture, get out.

Catch cab to apartment. Crawl up stairs and into bed at midnight. Sleep! What a day.  

Saturday 8am: Wake up and pray you can walk. You can with a limp so get ready. There is more to do. Walk to a breakfast place. Take it all in. This is your last day. 

Walk to China town. Purse? Watch? Use the bathroom in McDonalds. Read the sign that says you have 30 minutes to consume food. You are being monitored. Ok, I must be in the school cafeteria. Visit the Phoenix Mall and let Wes haggle for a purse you want. So fun! 

Continue walking to SoHo. Browse Top Shop and  the Scholastic store. Make mental note to shop in SoHo next trip. 

Walk to the campus of NYU. 

Start walking back to apartment to pick up luggage. Stop and eat at Papaya King. Best hotdogs, EVER! Drink the coconut champagne. 

Get luggage from apartment and seriously consider going to the New York Public library, but don't go because you might miss your flight. 

Walk to subway. Be smart this time and get Wes to carry your suitcase up and down the stairs. Ride the wrong subway train. Catch another one. Get off subway at Penn Station. Get confused. Get lost. Get directions. Run to train with legs that are struggling to move. Catch airport shuttle. Get searched at airport because your jeans have too much bling. 

Watch Zero Dark Thirty on the plane. You have thirty minutes to make your connection in Houston. You shuttle to terminal A. Shuttle breaks down as it arrives at terminal A. The doors won't open. You are stuck inside. All those signs about emergencies. Follow them. Press the button. Talk to a person. Lift the lever, pull the cord, force open the door. Notice security guard freaking out. Run past him. Make it to gate in time to order McDonalds. 

9:45 pm Home Sweet Home

Let's Eat

As you know, cooking is one of my favorite of things. I love eating great food and making great food. I realized this summer that I do of a lot of cooking in the summer. During the school year, not so much.

I am tired after school and chores, so we eat out a lot! Randomly, I saw a link on Pinterest of a picture of something that looked good to eat. I clicked on the link a discovered Once a Month Mom (OAMM). She has recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinners for a whole month. She makes everything so easy. The grocery list are posted, along with the recipes, and step by step instructions for making all of these meals at once. Supposedly, it takes about 12 hours one day a month.

I wasn't ready to jump in with both feet. Luckily, OAMM offers "mini menus".  A 10-day and a 5-day menu. OAMM posts the menus at the beginning of the month. The idea is that you make note of the items you are going to need, buy them throughout the month when they go on sale, and cook at the end of the month for the next month.

I chose the 5-day mini menu for July. I already had all (yes, all) of the ingredients. I broke mine up into two meals a day for 3 days. I added a vegetable soup because I had extra hamburger. It was challenging just cooking two meals at once the first day. (Of course, I didn't do any prepping the night before, like OAMM recommends). The next two days were pretty easy. We actually ended up with 8 meals. The creamy chicken casserole was enough for 2 8x8 pans. I also had 2 containers of soup.I also baked two loaves of banana bread and froze them, as well.

Hopefully, this will be a "win-win" for us. We can still eat great homemade food without much work at night. I am hoping I can do it on Sunday afternoons once a month. I didn't take any pictures of the freezer meals but check them out on any of the links above. They all taste great. (Yep, I tasted them).

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the yummy and new foods we tried this summer.

Squash Pie: really sweet pie that is topped with cool whip: CSA recipe

Avacodo chocolate cake: Pinterest

Meat Pie "All You Magazine"

London Broil with rosemary and spinach and feta

"Flat Out" pizza with fresh veggies My FAVE!

Grilled Eggplant stacks: Pinterest

Stuffed Scallop Squash "allrecipes.com"

Pork Tenderlion with stuffed scallop squash

Zuppa Toscana with Kale "allrecipes.com"

Until next time..

XOXOXOXO

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Habits 1, 2, and 3 are considered to be our private victories. We are no longer dependent upon others to make our choices, we can accept our responsibility and execute our lives. Essentially, we are independent.  Yet, we are not highly effective. We must still develop relationships with others so that we can work interdependently.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win really makes me think a lot about my marriage. In the workshop, it was mentioned that win-win is not compromise. Compromise is reaching an agreement by mutual concessions which means each person gives up something. Win-Win is finding a solution that works for both of us. Whoever the "us" may be. Your spouse, business partner, child, friend, etc. I think the line between win-win and compromise is extremely thin and in a shade of grey I do not like.

However, Covey proposes that our interactions fall into one of these six paradigms: win-win, win-lose (I am going to beat you, NO MATTER WHAT), lose-win (I concede, but I will get you back later), lose-lose (if I go down, so are you), win (I don't care if you win or lose, as long as I win), and win-win or no deal (find something that works or don't play; the highest form of win-win).

Win-Win is a term I have been throwing around long before I took this course. What I have learned is that just because in my brilliant mind thinks a situation is a win-win doesn't mean it actually is. In order to have a win-win situation, you usually need 2 parties.  I have also learned that when I say "win-win", it more than likely means just a "win".

Honestly, I do want everyone to have a happy, successful, people filled life, and all that hippie stuff. I DO!! But when push comes to shove, deep down I know, I don't really care (at all) if you win or lose or get an award as long as I am happy and proud and recognized. I know, I am a sad, self-centered person. But hey, the first step is admittance, right?

In all seriousness, this is something ELSE that I need to work on especially in my marriage. This whole being a good, effective human being stuff is way too complicated awesome! Thank goodness there are only seven habits. It is no secret that I take over bull doze my way into situations until I get what I want, the way I want it  whether Wes is happy with it or not. I truly do (I DO) have good intentions, but we all know where that leads.

The great thing about Win-Win is that it is not Losing. Win-Win is cooperative, listening, communicating, allowing the other person to say no without arguing or trying to win them to your side. It is a what do you want, what do I want, and how do we get there agreement. Who doesn't want that?

Until next time...

XOXOXOXO

INFJ=Weirdo Now you are going to know how CRAZY I really am

*Warning: This post is about a crazy girl who just happens to be me!

I saw a link on someones FB page to an article in The Huffington Post that matched book characters to peoples personality traits based on the Myers Briggs somethinganother. If you didn't know your personality type there was a link in the above article to a FREE test! They had me at Hello!

The test results are in, and my personality type is INFJ. A box outlines me as 12% more introvert than extrovert. 12% more intuitive than sensing. 12% more feeling than thinking. 89% more judging than perceiving. Not the kind of judging you in like appearance, but another kind of judging that I still have no idea about but I am lot of it!!

This Myers guy really knows how to win a girls heart because it doesn't take long until I read this sentence. "INFJ's are a rare personality type. Only 1% of people have this personality type."  By this time I have forgotten all about my matching book character, and I am trying to figure out just how big of a weirdo I really am. I mean, Wes already thinks I am a big bag of crazy cat lady a little silly and now this Myers guy is saying it without even meeting me!

And now you are going to think it, too. The test results go on to describe in detail the characteristics of INFJ's. All of which I agree with and totally think describe me in detail. Like how I really am concerned about hurting other peoples feelings, but at the same time I don't always play well with others. And the fact that INFJ's lives are very orderly and organized but one thing is usually a mess like a desk. For me, that is my car; it is a disaster. Don't go in there. It smells and dirt is all over the place. Wes comments all the time about how I just let my car go, and it boggles his mind. Now we know why! Just blame it on the INFJ!

It also goes on to explain that INFJ's are very intuitive. Like the most intuitive of anybody. People who believe they have psychic powers are usually, you guessed it, INFJ's. Here comes the crazy... Wes and I pass by this house on the outskirts of Hattiesburg every time we go to visit my parents. Big sign in the front yard of their house reads: Palm Readings. Wes asked me last time we passed if I wanted to do it. I said absolutely NOT!! I believed that some people could tell the future, and I did not want to know mine especially if it was BAD! He just laughed that whatever laugh. I was like no seriously!!

Me: Babe, I think some people have feelings about stuff and can tell when something bad is about to happen.

Wes: Okay, yeah. People have feelings about stuff that doesn't mean they happen.

Me: I have had a lot dreams about stuff, and then they HAVE HAPPENED!!

Wes: (plays his favorite game)Name one time.

I will spare you all the times the few times this has happened and the details, but I promise you I have had dreams about stuff and then the next day or week or month it happens or something very similar to it happens.

I am sure Wes was rolling his eyes all kind of crazy in his head by the time I got through my list, and then he looked at me. I knew he no longer thought I was a big bag but a giant bag of crazy cat lady!

Me: I mean, I'm not saying I'm psychic or anything.

Wes: No, you are just PSYCHO!!

And all of this before I ever learned that I was the weirdo INFJ personality type with possible psychic abilities.

Well, it is still to be determined if I am a psychic or psycho or just a crazy cat lady, but in the mean time, I will blame it all on the INFJ (whatever that is).



Peace out!!

It isn't written in the stars

Well, there goes Habit 1. At least now, I have an excuse. What's yours? Baaaahahahaha

Click on the picture!!

Peace out!

Photos, Photos

One thing I have really, really wanted to do for about 3 years is have some photographs of me and Wes made. I love our wedding photos, but honestly, they are old and outdated.

I learned about Betty Donne Photography from a wonderful blogger, Jan. Read her blog here. Tricia was such fun to work with. Here is just a sample.

Until next time...

XOXOXOX

Habit 3: Put First Things First

When thinking if the 7 Habits, Covey suggests that we should build one upon the other and shares this analogy. In Habit 1: Be Proactive, we learn that we are the programmer or our lives. In Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind, we write the program. So in Habit 3: Put First Things First, we run the program that we wrote.

Therefore, if our mission statement is our program, and we are running the program that we wrote then by principle we will put first things first. For most of us, if we were to make a list of the 5 most important things to us, those things would be (or at most involve) people. Our relationships come first.

This habit at a glance, looks like one I have already conquered. Hi! My name is Brooke, and I am a PLANNER. I plan, re-plan, plan, and plan some more. I know what I want to get done each day at home and at work. I have lists for both places by the day and the week and sometimes the hour. I conquer time management. Efficiency is my middle name.

Unfortunately, while I am busy checking things off my list and laughing at the clock, I might not be running the program I wrote in my mission statement.

Covey states that our paradigm shift should look like this

• Leadership then management
• Relationships then schedules
• Compass then Clock

He also teaches that people live their lives in one of 4 Time Matrix's. 

Quadrant 2 is the ideal quadrant to be in. We have planned and prepared and built relationships. We have many important things to do, but we are not operating in crisis mode.

I usually break my life into two main sections the summer and the school year. During the school year, I spend most of my time between quadrants 1-3. At school, I feel like I spend more time in Q1 and Q3, no matter how much time I spend attempting to be in Q2. At home, (I know this is because I don't have children) I feel that I am mostly in Q2. During the summer, except for a few brief moments, I am Q2 and Q4. I have time to get things done, and I have time to waste on the Internetz, so I happily do!

With all that said, I still think that I am failing at this habit. I feel stable and confident in management, schedules, and the clock. While my mission statement reads that I will display respect, kindness, forgiveness, and love (to people), I focus on checking things off a list in a timely manner. I will gladly turn down drinks with friends after work if I have already planned to go grocery shopping. I will let a call go to voice mail, if I have planned to do the vacuuming at that time. If someone (especially someone close to me) is not doing something my way, in my most kind southern voice, I will tell them they are doing it wrong. That is not respectful.

Right now, for me putting first things first means to put PEOPLE before THINGS. Sadly, I am finding not the concept but the practice difficult.

Hmmm.. maybe in true fashion to myself, I will just add relationship building to my do to list. Call so and so. Write so and so a letter. Hug someone. Now, that sounds like a "win-win" solution. *Wink*

Until next time..

XOXOXOX