June 24th - Fancy pants...

We were lazy today, slept till... well I'm embarassed to even say. We cooked some stir fry and started packing and organizing. Bought a topper for the car and threw stuff out. I was the dictator mostly on this front. "That shirt is from 1985, if you want to wear it I'll still love you, but definately out of style!"

Paul treated Yuan and I to dinner at Stamford's Capitol Grill. It was amazing. The steak was to die for and what great company.

We went home and enjoyed a glass of wine on the balcony, he'll miss sitting out there, relaxing and enjoying the view....

June 23rd - Lion King/prince charming/indian food

I got up early and started getting Paul's stuff organized. Yuan went to pick him up at the airport and they got back around noon. We got a few things done around Stamford and headed into the city.

Paul told me we were going to walk around New York and have supper with Shabad (his old roommate) you would remember Shabad if you went on the "Small Town Bar Tour!" We walked around Battery Park, 5th Avenue, I played on the life sized piano at FAO Toy Store and then he told me he had a surprise for me...

The Lion King!

It was a fantastic show! The costumes, actors, actresses, music... I loved it. I don't think Paul enjoyed it quite as much as I did, he prefers the opera and La' Boheme!

The show got over around 10pm and we headed over to Shabad's place to hangout and have supper with him, his roommate and parents. His parents are visiting from Mumbai, India. They are taking advantage of the recession and getting some great travel deals. We had a fantastic time with them. Shabads mom is a great cook - I love Indian food. A little spicy, but some plain yogurt really tames it down. His dad is hilarious! He reminds me A LOT of Shabad. Hopefully someday we can go to India to visit:-)

We walked around New York a little before we headed to Grand Central, took one last drink of NYC and headed home... I think I'll miss the city and I never even lived here.

June 22nd - Leaving on a jet plane...

Monday was a mess... note to self: need to be much better organized. Really? It takes me forever to pack up my stuff. Paul was gracious and patient though, at least a little bit:-)

We headed to Falls City and mom and dad fixed us lunch and took us to the airport. Everything was on time and we flew to LGA. I got there and got a message from Paul, "call me when you get in, I have a surprise for you." He told me he was still in Kansas City, before they got off the runway the air conditioner started smoking and firefighters came... so he wasn't able to leave until Tuesday morning.

He was going to surprise me and take me to the Brooklyn bridge to take some night pictures. But, my personal driver (Yuan) took me instead and we had a great time. There is a little park that is open until 1:00am where you can walk around, relax and have a great view of the city and the bridge. We got back to Stamford at 2:00am.

NY NY

Just got back from visiting Paul. We went into the city with our friend Yuan and he took a few pics of us in Times Square... had a great time... it always goes by way too fast.

This One's for YOU Alissa!!

So... apparently since my cousin Alissa was very young she has wanted to go to New York City to see Balto, a character in some Disney movie. Well, here he is! I went searching all over Central Park for this cute little guy. Now you don't have to come visit him Alissa! Miss you!

Dust...

Last night I went to Sheridan Lutheran's Ash Wednesday service. After the sermon they had communion and we went up and received ashes on our foreheads. The man that was painting them on our foreheads said to us, "you are dust and to dust you will return." For some reason this short sentence hit me like a ton of bricks.

Lately I have come to the realization that my walk with God has been distant and needs some improvement. I haven't felt God the way I used to or had the desire to be close to Him. But, I have realized this and am trying to make amends.

Dust...

Someday I will return to dust... we all will... What truly matters the most in this life is our relationship with God. If we don't have that, we have nothing. So often I try to replace the longing for God with material things, people, accomplishments and it ends up being ever so empty.

So before the day comes that we will go back into the earth I pray that I/we will live vibrant, adventurous, abundant lives.

A tap on the shoulder...

A friend from back home got married a few weeks ago. It's always nice to go to a wedding of an old high school friend or someone you've known for a long time. Chances are you will have the opportunity to connect with people you haven't seen in a long time, reminisce, dance and share a few laughs and drinks together. It was a fantastic wedding and the bride and groom (Brian and Jessie) make a wonderful couple.

In this particular post I have to comment on something that happened at the wedding that has been on my heart since. I went with my parents to the wedding because I didn't have a date - which, more often than not, if it's a wedding from back home that I'm invited to, so are my parents. Since I was very young they have shared many friendships with me. My friends fell in love with my parents. They invited all my friends into their home and into their hearts. I can't count how many times people have told me what "cool" parents I have, or how nice, generous, fun and funny they are. The list could go on and on and on.

The night dwindled down and a group of us were sitting at a table chatting when my friend Julie told me my dad did the cutest thing... she said my dad was across the table from my mom and he had someone tap her on the shoulder to see if she wanted to dance. It was so simple and if anyone reads this post they could think this is silly or empty, but it means so much to me. My dad always makes a point to ask my mom to dance, slow, fast, you name it. (And during certain events he could gather a crowd around him to show off is dance moves - this is for another post though!) They both work hard to keep their love alive. Actually I don't know if you would really call it work because they have so much fun at it... they make each other laugh and look at life as a dance. They are truly best friends and I know they enjoy eachother's company.

My parents celebrated their 30 year wedding anniversary last November... I hope if I am married to someone for that long they will still tap me on the shoulder (or have someone else do it) to see if I want to dance... even if by then I'm in a wheelchair!! haha!