Day Three...

On Wednesday morning (in New York City), I had a VERY hard time getting out of bed. However, we had a big day planned, so I finally gave in to my alarm and woke up.

Once we'd gotten ready for the day, we headed out onto the streets of New York City. It was raining. However, this rain was unlike any precipitation I had ever experienced. It wasn't wet, so much as...well...damp. It was almost a fine mist, blowing in from one side. It was weird.

For breakfast, we decided to visit a little landmark called "Hello Deli". Anyone who has watched "The Late Show with Dave Letterman" will know exactly what this place is. It's right around the corner from Letterman's studio, and we were actually waited on by the guy that Dave always interviews and uses for some of his pranks and comedy bits. Even though Ty and I don’t really watch Letterman, we still know about this deli. I ordered a toasted bagel with cream cheese, and Tyler had an English muffin with egg and bacon. It was a tasty little breakfast, and a cute little deli.

Anyway, we walked a LONG distance that morning. We actually passed our destination. By the time we finally got to the temple, my feet and legs were screaming for a break. The temple was really nice, and by the time we left the sun was shining! Yay for sunshine! :) What made the situation even better? We took a taxi back to the hotel. My legs and feet were very grateful.

Back at the hotel, we just had time to change our clothes before we had to get to the theater for our matinee. What show did we see? Only the longest-running show on Broadway. That's right: We saw "Phantom of the Opera." I know there are people out there that don't like "Phantom", to those people I say: "What in the ever-loving CRAP is wrong with you?" That show rocks! It's always been one of my very favorites, and probably always will be.

A few years ago, "Phantom" actually came to Salt Lake and my parents got tickets for Ty and me for our birthdays that year. It was really good, but I realized something in New York. I will share this epiphany with all of you. Are you ready? Okay here it is:

YOU HAVE NOT SEEN "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA" UNTIL YOU'VE SEEN IT IN THE MAJESTIC THEATRE ON BROADWAY IN NEW YORK!!! The End

Oh, and just a side note: I seriously considered finding a way to kidnap the unbelievable performer that was portraying The Phantom himself and taking him home with me so I could make him sing to me every single day. He's that good.

After "Phantom", we went back to our hotel and changed into more casual attire. Then we headed back uptown for dinner and another show. However, we had to make one stop first.

Ty, knowing what a crazed Beatles fan I am, took me to The Dakota to see the hallowed ground where the great John Lennon breathed his last breath. I wasn't prepared for it to be such a beautiful building. I mean seriously, it's beautiful. We walked around, and took a few pictures of the place before heading across the way to Central Park.

We planned to cut across the park to get to the right part of town for our show. However, I got a little sidetracked when I saw a sign bearing a very familiar name: "Strawberry Fields". I went to the inlaid medallion in the cement that said: "Imagine" in honor of Mr. Lennon himself. I didn't feel right about stepping on it, so I walked around to the very top and had Ty take a picture of me there. It seemed appropriate.

Then began the ridiculous trek through the park. Don't get me wrong, Central Park is a place where I would gladly walk around for hours. It's beautiful and large and well worth spending time in. However, by this time I had walked more in two and a half days than I had done in the past two and a half years and my legs had just about had it. I'm pretty sure they were seriously contemplating a full-blown mutiny, but...they made it somehow.

Once we were through the park, we still had a couple of hours to kill before our show and we decided to get some dinner. We stopped at an adorable little authentic Italian restaurant. We walked inside, and then we began to suspect that this place was a front for the Italian mafia. The food was amazing, of course, but Ty noticed a group of nicely dressed men sitting at a table in a remote corner of the restaurant, where they could see but not be easily seen. Highly suspect...but then the appetizer came and made me forget all about the Mob.

It was a deep-fried mozzarella sandwich. Yes, you did read that right. Two slices of bread that had been breaded and fried with fresh, homemade mozzarella melted in the middle. Dip it in some homemade marinara sauce, and you've got yourself a calorie-packed slice of Heaven itself. After deeply enjoying this amazing appetizer, I ordered the lasagna. And the garlic bread with freshly diced real garlic. It was oh so fabulous.

After dinner, we went to the pharmacy for some mints so that we wouldn't kill any innocent vampires with our garlic breath. Then we headed to a little place called "The Comic Strip" for a live stand-up comedy show. Let me say this: If you're planning to go to New York, and you want to see a comedy show with a variety of talented comedians, I HIGHLY recommend this place. It was a LOT of fun.

We left the Comic Strip and caught a taxi which dropped us off a few blocks away from Times Square. We visited the huge 24-hour Apple store. I'm not really a huge gadget person, but this store was a lot of fun to visit. I messed around with iPhones and iPods to my heart's content. I'm converted. Those things are cool. If anyone wants to buy me an iPod Touch, just e-mail me and I'll give you a mailing address and send back a thank-you note. :)

Finally, we went back to the hotel. Once again, we conked out very quickly. The next day (Thursday) would be our final full day in New York...

Day Two...

Alright, I'm very sorry this post has taken so long, but I do have a few VERY good reasons:

1) I had a test for my Abnormal Psychology class. It kind of sneaked up on me, but I studied a lot and actually did quite well in the end.

2) I got sick.

3) So did my 16-month-old daughter.

Needless to say...things have been crazy, but NOW I'm back and ready to continue narrating the lovely adventures of me and Ty in New York....

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Tuesday morning, we slept in a bit. Why not? We deserved it after such a long day. Not to mention the fact that our hotel room somehow managed to stay COMPLETELY dark, even in the daytime. Therefore, it still felt like 2 AM, even though it was somewhere closer to 10. Anyway...I was the first to get up, so I got to take a shower first. Ha! Take that, Ty! (I thought silently as he rolled over and went back to sleep...Maybe it wasn't that big of a victory after all...)

Now, I simply MUST describe to you my first shower in our hotel in New York...(Don't get too excited boys, this isn't THAT kind of a blog!)

Anyway, as I said before, I trudged sleepily into the bathroom, got my shampoo and soap all ready to go, and turned on the shower. I have to say I wasn't prepared for what happened next. The water came out of that unassuming little shower head at such a velocity that I was very nearly blasted through the opposite wall.

The water pressure in that shower could have EASILY done the same job on the outside of a brick building as a high-powered sand-blaster. In addition to the hurricane-force gale that I was standing in, the poor little shower curtain that had been chosen for that bathroom was nowhere near being sufficient to endure the winds that were created by that level of water-pressure. It flapped and spun like a flag in a tornado.

When I was all clean (super-duper clean, thanks to the over-acheiving shower), I tried to warn Ty about it, and the flimsiness of the shower curtain. He laughed a little, and seemed to think I was exaggerating a bit. I shrugged, figuring he'd find out for himself soon enough.

I had nearly finished doing my hair and makeup when Ty came out of the bathroom. He stood in the doorway and said: "You know, at first I thought all the condensation in there after your shower was from the steam. But now I realize that that water actually has the velocity to go around the room four times before it actually hits you." I nodded, feeling well justified. Then I asked the next obvious question: "How about that shower curtain?" He shook his head, "Like a cape in the wind." Yep. The shower in our hotel room was OFFICIALLY awesome. Now, on to the rest of the day...

(Above picture: A children's clothing store we saw during the taxi drive. Am I the only one who thinks that maybe they should have picked a different name than "Lucky Wang?")

The plan was to take a taxi down to Battery Park and gaze across the water at the Statue of Liberty. (They don't let tourists inside the Statue at this time of year, and we didn't want to pay for the ferry if that was the case.) Anyway, Ty had a place he wanted to show me before we got to Battery Park, so we stopped in an adorable place called Greenwich Village. I'm in love with that place. It's beautiful. We walked around, and Ty (with the help of a map and my Blackberry's web access), found the site of the Triangle Factory Fire in the early 1900's. (Being a history major, he learned about the tragedy quite recently, and wanted to see the place).

Like much of the architecture in New York, the building was beautiful.

After fully enjoying the sights for a while, we took another taxi to Battery Park. Having looked at Lady Liberty and Ellis Island from a respectable distance...

We walked around and even stopped at a few of the outdoor booths of some local artists. We bought three pictures from a Russian painter. They're awesome.

From Battery Park, we decided to walk to the Police Museum. It took us a little while to find it, but we got there. From the museum, we headed toward Ground Zero. That took us a while to find as well, but we finally got to the right place. We stopped at St. Paul's Chapel, which is directly across the street from the site.

Allow me now to say just how beautiful that chapel is. Not to mention the cemetery that surrounds it.

Side Note: I've got this thing about cemeteries. I really don't think they're creepy. I find them to be very peaceful. Whenever I go to a cemetery, I will just walk around reading headstones. At St. Paul's, there are unfortunately very few headstones that are legible anymore, but the place is beautiful all the same.

Inside the chapel, it was even more striking. Apparently, that little chapel was a primary refuge for the rescuers who--just after the 9/11 attacks--were working tirelessly to find any and all survivors in the wreckage. It was an emotional afternoon. There were displays inside the chapel from that horrible day. Pictures of victims, posters made by families--desperate to find their missing loved ones. There was a display of patches from the fire fighters that came from all over the country.

The most powerful sight for me was one of the pews. It was up against the wall, with a plaque that told about how the workers (firefighters, policemen, and so many others), would come into St. Paul's and fall asleep on the pews. Being constantly on call, they would leave much of their gear on, which scuffed and scratched up the wooden pews. When the church was remodeled later on, it was decided that the scratches and scuffs would be left as they were, as a tribute to the brave workers who slept on them.

After the chapel, we headed to the 9/11 memorial preview site. That, too, was an emotional experience. The memorial opens this September. It's going to be incredible. It's hard to believe that this September will be the 10th anniversary.

Once we'd finished with the memorial preview, we continued walking around town until we'd seen all that we wanted to see. Then we caught a taxi back to our hotel to get ready for...yep. You guessed it! Dinner and a show!!!

We went to dinner at a place called The Lamb's Club. Holy crap! It is an INCREDIBLY nice place. We had 6 waiters assigned to our area of the restaurant, and they were amazing! My water NEVER got below the half-full mark, and between the courses, we actually had a guy who came over and SCRAPED THE CRUMBS OFF THE TABLE CLOTH FOR US!!! You know how with Apple they say "There's an app for that"? Well at the Lamb's Club, "There's a guy for that." Seriously, whatever you need, there's a guy for that.

After the service at The Lamb's Club RUINED every other restaurant on the planet for me, we headed back to Times Square to enjoy a few sights before our show.

Then, about 15 minutes before they started letting people in to seat them, we went over to the Ambassador Theater to see "Chicago."

The show was fantastic, but at intermission I made the VERY BAD DECISION to try and use the restroom. WOW! It was insane. If it hadn't been an emergency, I wouldn't have bothered, trust me. Anyway, I barely made it back to my seat in time for the end of the opening number of Act 2. I'll be far more careful in the future, I can definitely say THAT!

Once the show was over, we went back to the hotel to change out of our theater clothes and hit Times Square again. The movie making people were back, so we had to deal with the massive crowd that had gathered to watch the proceedings. However, we then ducked into a little place that I'm pretty sure has changed my life forever. This place is called "Roxy's Delicatessen." These people make THE BEST CHEESECAKE IN THE WHOLE FREAKING WORLD!!! Yep. Fab-u-losity.

After Roxy's ruined all other cheesecake for me, Ty and I decided it was time to call it a night. We both crashed, setting our alarms to wake up relatively early the next day...

(More to come, hopefully more quickly than last time...)

Give My Regards...

That's right. I have returned from that fabulous trip with my dear Ty. We got back last night.

"But Candice," You're probably thinking, "we've all been dying to know WHERE you went for this fabulous vacation! Oh, do tell. Please?"

To that I say: "Well...alright then."

Ty and I went to a little, barely known town back East. It's a charming place, filled with people, and beautiful architecture. It is a place of fast-paced living and overflowing with history. It is also the home of the most famous musical theater productions in the country.

That's right! We went to New York, people! It was SOOO fantastic! I loved everything about Manhattan, Broadway, and Times Square. I loved the restaurants, the people, and the endless shopping. The musicals, the lights...the sheer beauty of it all was nearly overwhelming! I loved every minute I spent in New York. I felt at home from the moment I stepped foot on those somewhat dirty, uneven sidewalks. LOVED IT!!!

Okay, now that the initial rant of love and adoration is over...I will move on.

I've decided to break down our time in New York day by day, over several posts. Mainly, I do this so that none of my fabulous readers will lose interest in the epically long post that would ensue and run far, far away. That would be so sad...

Anyhoo...

The night before we left town, Ty and I spent our weekly Sunday evening at my parents' house. We had our usual dinner and everything, but with one HUGE difference: When we left that night, our kids didn't come with us. We put them to bed at their grandparents' house, (where they would be staying for the rest of the week while we were out of town) and then went home to pack and make other such final preparations for departure the next morning.

Monday morning, I woke up at around 5:30 (Ick!) and took a shower. Once Ty and I were both dressed and ready, we went out onto the driveway to wait for my Dad, who had very generously agreed to drive us to the airport. Our flight left at 8:30 am.

We landed in New York at aroud 3:30 (NY time), and took the shuttle to our hotel. We went inside, got our things unpacked, and then ventured out into the city. Our hotel was located LITERALLY around the corner from Times Square. After some walking around, we went to the local Hard Rock restaurant. It was very full, and after we'd put our names on the waiting list, we ventured off to see what kind of legendary musical paraphernalia Times Square was in possession of. I was not disappointed.

They had PAUL FREAKING MCCARTNEY'S BASS GUITAR!!! I just about flipped my lid when I saw it!!!

They were also in possession of: Ringo Starr's drum set, the Beatles' famous grey suits (Which can sort of be seen behind me in the above picture), and...the icing on the cake: THE ORIGINAL DOORS TO THE ABBEY ROAD RECORDING STUDIO!!! (Yes, yes that IS my hand on this oh-so historic and epically fabulous doorknob!)

Oh, and dinner was good too, in case you were wondering...

After dinner, we spent the rest of the evening walking around Times Square. I was awestruck by how bright everything was. It should have been quite dark by the time we got out of Hard Rock, but it looked like it was still early evening because of all the neon lights and the jumbo-trons! Loved it!

There was a bit of a crowd gathering around the center of the Square because...there was a movie being shot, while we were there. (Apparently, the film is called "New Year's Eve" and the cast is pretty impressive. You can look it up on imdb, if you're interested. We actually SAW Ashton Kutcher while we were there. I didn't take a picture, but we did see him.)

We went back to the hotel sometime around midnight, and...well...we fell asleep. Passed out, really. With the time difference, and the fact that we'd been travelling all freaking day long, we were spent, and we slept until well into the next morning...

(A report on Tuesday's events will be included in the next post. Stay tuned!)

A Few Things...

First of all, I would like to announce that as of yesterday--March 9, 2011--I have been married to Ty for 10 years! Holy freaking crap, it SO does NOT seem like it's been that long! But here we are, 10 years and two kids later and I wouldn't change a thing.

(Thanks for bearing with me and my sappy self. Had to be said.) :)

Second, I would like to thank the awesomeness that is Nicki over at The Loaded Handbag. She gave me the Versatile Blogger Award and I am simply beside myself with excitement! Screw you, Oscars! Y'all got NOTHIN' on me! Woot!

Alright, now that I've gotten THAT out of my system, I'll move on...

Apparently, sacred blogging tradition requires the recipient of the Versatile Blogger Award to list seven things about themselves and pass the award on to another lucky recipient.

Hmmmm...Seven Things...Well....

1) So far as I'm concerned: If it's alive and has more than 4 legs, it is evil and WILL STAY AWAY FROM ME OR BE KILLED DEADER THAN DEAD!!! But seriously, I HATE bugs. I know they each have their purpose in our world, but if they come within swatting or stomping distance of me, they're going to die. Nothing personal bugs, it's just the way it is.

2) I failed my first driver's test. Yep. Ran a red light. Long story. (Charlie, remind me to do a post about that one, too!) I think I gave heart problems to a few people that day...

3) I can't stand to have my hair any longer than shoulder length. It drives me nuts, and I just don't have the facial shape for it. Seriously, I look stupid with long hair.

4) I've written a YA novel. It's been finished for almost two years now. However, I'm such a chicken I haven't even tried to contact anyone about getting it published. Maybe I'll grow some guts one of these days, but it could be a while...

5) I have an odd fetish with small jewelry boxes. I have 3 of them, but I look at them every chance I get. Especially at arts festivals and places like that. I'll probably end up buying several more before I leave this world...

6) If I could pick one building to be locked inside of for a whole week it would be The Art Institute of Chicago. That place is freaking AMAZING!!! I don't think I could EVER get tired of it. If you have never been there, that is a HUGE problem and you should FIX IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! The End.

7) I am a T-Shirts, Jeans, Hoodies, Tennis Shoes and/or Flip-Flops kind of girl. I have no intention of ever becoming much fancier than that. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy dressing up every now and then, but I infinitely prefer comfort to fashion. Besides, I make a hoodie and a pair of jeans look GOOOOD! ;)

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So, there you have it. Now, to pass on the joy to another lucky blogger. I have decided that the oh-so-Versatile Blogger of the day is Chanel, from Fabulously Neurotic. Her posts range from rants about her neighbors, to gushing about her dog, to hypothetical online dating profiles. Seriously, there's no way to predict what her next post is going to be about. It makes things oh so interesting.

And, as an added bonus prize for Chanel, I actually took this picture several weeks ago and have forgotten to post it until now.

Chanel: I saw this at Target and just about had a stroke. It made me think of you and your obsession with anything pink.

You're welcome.

Finally, I probably won't be around much for the next week or so. As I mentioned in a previous post, Ty and I will be going out of town on a fabulous trip to celebrate our 10th Anniversary.

I know you will all miss me terribly, but try to control your heartbroken weeping. I shall return with lovely stories about my trip. Or maybe just a boring post about my first driving test...Stick around! :)

New Terminology to Add to Your Vocabulary...

I thought I'd write an educational post this evening. Yep. You're welcome.

Over the years, Ty and I have collected our own terms for describing different age groups of people that are younger than we are. Some of these names have been inspired by others, some we have come up with on our own.

Now, most of you have probably been horribly annoyed by teenagers, "tweens", and pre-tweens. Yeah, me too. Especially at the mall. *Shudder*

Tonight's vocabulary lesson will include the terms that Ty and I use to describe these different stages of adolescence.
1) Teenagers: That's right. This group gets to keep their widely accepted term. There's just no other way to describe them. The people in this group include anyone from the ages of 15 to 19, for obvious reasons.

2) Teeny-Boppers: Another familiar term, I believe. This term covers anyone in the age range of 12 to 14. That's right, the Junior High years. Probably the worst years of anyone's life. I know I HATED everything about Junior High. It's a nightmare. Being an adult that has to deal with a large number of Teeny-Boppers on a regular basis has probably created more alcoholics and drug addicts than I can count. **Note: If you're unsure whether you're being confronted with a Teenager or a Teeny-Bopper, look around for any sign of what I like to call "Bieber-phernalia" (This of course refers to any article of clothing or other accessory that contains the image or name of Justin Bieber.) If yes, it's a Teeny-Bopper. If not, it's a Teenager.**

3) Itty-Bitty Boppers: This term is known mostly to Ty and myself. I made it up, in reference to all those little critters between the ages of 8 and 11. They're not quite to the annoying-ness of Teeny-Boppers, because puberty hasn't really started yet. They're just old enough to be somewhat independent, but young enough that most of them will still listen to an authority figure if sufficiently threatened.

4) Fraggle-Rockers: This is another original. My big sister HJ came up with it. It was years ago, one afternoon when Ty and I were talking about Teeny-Boppers and Itty-Bitty Boppers. Out of the blue, she just chimed in with: "And then there are those Fraggle-Rockers!" We laughed, and adopted the term. Not only does it refer to the oh-so fabulous 80's kids' show entitled "Fraggle Rock", it's also the perfect way to describe the youngest set of kids on this list. That's right. Fraggle-Rocker is the term to be used in reference to kids between the ages of 4 and 7. My own son is a Fraggle-Rocker. He rocks. Like a Fraggle. Hence the term: "Fraggle-Rocker". These kids are still cute and funny. Well...most of them, anyway.

(The age groups before "Fraggle-Rockers" include "Toddlers" and "Infants". I think most of you have heard of those, right?)

So there you have it. Hopefully I have been able to leave you all with some inspiring words of wisdom...or at least a shred of random, useless knowledge.

Either way, you're all welcome.

No need to thank me, really.

But you can if you'd like.