Sheep, Beach, and Boats!

It's a beautiful Saturday here in NYC.  The weather is perfect!  I spent all day today out in Central Park.  I started with a long run around the park.  After that I joined a few of my friends and a ton of other New Yorkers at Sheeps Meadow (pictured below).  We do not have our own private backyards, so when we want to spend our weekends outside we all go the park!  Today we laid on blankets and read and talked.  It was so amazing to be out in the sun!  On beautiful days like today, it is much more crowed than this picture.  It is literally a solid green area FULL of people with blankets, lawn chairs, frisbees, footballs, etc.   It really is great fun!  

Last weekend was another beautiful one so a few of my friends had a picnic in the park. Pictured below is my friend Maggie and I.  Oh how I do love this great weather we are having! 

Most of you probably have heard on the national news about the streets that have been closed in mid-town through Times Square here in the city.  Well, on Memorial Day I was out with some friends and we decided to walk down to Times Square.  This is what we encountered... Streets full of different colored lawn chairs, blow up palm trees, beach toys, a lifeguard stand, and tons of people!  That's right, NYC turned Time Square into a beach!  It was hilarious!  The streets are actually being closed permanently in the attempt to make this area more pedestrian friendly, but I guess they thought we needed a little beach scene to celebrate the holiday. Where we were sitting we were actually looking straight at the center of Time Square where they keep the ball(that drops on New Years Eve) hanging.  It was so funny and a little weird!

 I don't have a picture of this, but before walking to Time Square we actually spent the day at a rooftop pool. You talk about weird! We were laying out on lawn chairs looking straight out at the Empire State building.  It's moments like that where I am like "Is this really where I live?"  Oh the cool parts of living in the city!  Pictured below is Amy, me, and Misty in Time Square! 

Coming back to this weekend.....after a long day sitting in the sun in the park there is no better place to go than the Boat Basin (pictured below).  It is riverside dining with great food and live music. You can look out and see the the beautiful yachts and the shore of New Jersey.  I discovered this place not long after I moved here and it has remained one of my favorites.  You can meet us there tonight at 7:30 if you would like.  If you get a flight now you might can make it!:-)  

Mom's Visit

My mom came and visited me in the city last weekend.  We stayed busy enjoying the city and doing many fun things.  I Posted some of the highlights in pictures.  It was fun to have her here and show her more of my world. 

We went to see "South Pacific" on broadway.  We were on 

the 5th row and it was amazing!

Had brunch at the Boat House in Central Park with two

of my friends Amy and Kristin

The view of the lake from the Boat House

Walked through some of my favorite parts of Central Park

Enjoyed Mid-town 

Shopped down 5th Ave 

Had Desert at Cafe Lalo (where they filmed a part of "You've Got Mail")

It is located on my block. 

Had dinner at "Alice's Tea Cup."  You feel like you 

are in the middle of Alice and Wonderland when you are

inside

Thanks Mom for coming to see me!  

The Girls

These are 2 of the 3 precious girls I spend time with every week.  I know I look a little rough...It was one of those roll out of bed days.  Even though it is a big "no no" for Manhattan sometimes I gotta have those jeans and t shirt days:-)  

We LOVE to go on walks in Central Park each day

   

on our walk to school.

I did not take a picture of the H Mister, but will try to post one of her later.  These 3 little girls are such a fun part of my week! 

Mom is here now.  I will post picture of our fun weekend later!

P.S. and GO OSCAR!!!

I just wanted to add a little something to my last post. I DO NOT want you guys to think that by posting "50 reasons I love living in NYC" that I was just trying to brag about how cool of a city I live in. I mean yeah, it is really cool to live in New York, but there are a lot of cool places to live. Honestly that post was more for me. This has been an amazing year of my life, but also a tough one. I do love my life here, but I would be lying if I were to say it has not been challenging. I think it is easy to get caught up in the "grind" of life and to miss out on some of the really neat things around us. For me, I want to consistently stop and be able to appreciate the amazing city that I live in. As I was writing that post it reminded me again that I really do love this city. For those of you who think my life is super glamorous (I only say that because people tell me that alot) It really is not. There are definitely some "glamorous" aspects of living in Manhattan, but there are also some super big challenges that come with living life here. It really is a world of its own. Sometimes I still can't believe that I call this tiny, yet mega populated island my home!

So on another note! I don't know if any of you watched the show Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist tonight on ABC, BUT if you did then you got to see someone who is a part of my daily life!! Oh yeah baby, my Subway Man made national TV tonight!! Go Oscar!!!! Okay let me explain. Every week when I take the subway at Central Park West and 81st Street I get a AM New York paper from this man named Oscar. He is the most joyful person I have met in this city. Every morning rain or shine he has a smile on his face and greets everyone with a warm hello. I have talked about him for months to my friends. I mean I get a smile on my face when I start getting close to the station and I know I am going to see him. Really, I am not that weird, but it is just so nice to be greeted so incredibly warmly as I enter the rat race in the Subway station. I just always look forward to talking to him. WELL I am obviously not the only one he has impacted:-) because tonight he was on the Michael J Fox Special. MJF actually came to the subway station and gave out papers with Oscar one morning. Out of all the people that MJF could have interviewed the little subway man on 81st Street made national tv for his incredible optimistic attitude on life! I can almost guarantee you this man has had a hard life, but like he said tonight on TV, you have to choose to be positive. I know his job is not glamorous, but Oscar chooses to bring smilies to hundreds of uptight New Yorkers every morning! I have alot to learn from my subway man! I joke to my friends that I don't know if I can ever move, because I don't want to have to change subway men. Sounds crazy, but its the little things people that make this massive place feel like home!
If you did not watch the special, click HERE and you can watch the preview for the show. Oscar made it on the preview!

50 Reasons I love living in New York City

1.   It is a new adventure

2.  People, People, and more People

3.  I am surrounded by the nations

4.  the coolest museums are at my fingertips

5. Broadway shows are a short subway ride away

6. The Time Warner Center

7. Central Park is my backyard

8. Public Transportation

9. Rooftop terraces

10. I have learned to be content with small space

11. My amazing friends here

12. I am exposed to all different cultures

13. My church

14. I see the Empire State Building almost everyday 

15. Lincoln Center Area

16. Being Outside all the time

17. Street musicians

18. The Lake

19. no space = forced minimalist

20. Walking everywhere

21. My Rock

22. Cosi

23. Outdoor vendors/street fairs

24. I am surrounded by multiple languages

26. Outdoor cafes

27. Poets Walk

28.I have learned that I don't need as much personal space as I thought I needed

29. Riverside Park

30. Amazing Restaurants

31. I have learned to be more open to differences, yet stand up for what I believe in

32. The Reservoir

33. Really cool stores everywhere

34. The world is at my fingertips

35. My Subway Man

36. Diversity of people 

37. My Fellowship Group

38. The really great families at Redeemer

39. Celebrities live all around me

40. TK is my pastor....He rocks my socks off

41. Learning creativity with space

42. The statue of Liberty

43. The city skyline at sunset is AMAZING

44. Greenwich Village

45.  Walking by movie/tv sets is part of life

46. Childrens Ministry at Redeemer

47.  There is ALWAYS something to do.

48. You can get ANYTHING delivered to your door 

49. There is no norm here. 

50.  This is where God has called me and is using my life here to refine me in so many ways