What a weekend!

What a weekend! I'm still so exhausted, but I had lots of fun and took about 300 photos! Here's a recap of the last few days!

FRIDAY:::::::::::::::::::::::::
Work was pretty sad. A lot of people who were let go were already gone and a few who decided to step down voluntarily were saying their goodbyes. It has been an emotional rollercoaster. The New York Times even wrote about what went on at work.

SATURDAY:::::::::::::::::::::::::
Went shopping and had lunch with Randi at Chili's because she was craving their white chocolate lava cake. (It's so good it's sick!) Then we saw Taking Woodstock, which would have been better if it had a better soundtrack! Cool view of the behind-the-scenes stuff though. Made me realize I would never have wanted to go there - all those lines and mud and smells. Yuck! When I got home, I cleaned the house and did a little scrapping to keep me busy while I was waiting to pick up Becky and Hannah at the airport. Their flight landed just as I got to Newark airport. I realized this weekend that google maps suck! I managed to get a little confused getting us back to their hotel in Jersey City, but we eventually got there after a little bit of a detour in Hoboken.

SUNDAY:::::::::::::::::::::::::
I picked up Becky and Hannah in the morning, took another scenic route and did some dorm shopping at IKEA and Target. They are my kind of shoppers - they bring lists and we were done pretty quickly. I thought it was funny how Hannah knew her way around an IKEA all the way across the country!

Then we headed back to Hoboken where we had brunch at Buskers with Krista! I always love hanging out with Krista and I'm so glad she got to meet Becky, too! The food was pretty good and Hannah took this shot of us...

Then we were off to move Hannah into her dorm at NYU. Well, traffic at the Holland Tunnel was horrible and the directions I had gotten from google and from my phone told me to make a turn that I couldn't make so we had to take another scenic route. Traffic all around was bad with kids moving in and the dorms spread out all over. But we finally got there, met up with Hannah's boyfriend Ryan and got her stuff up to her room, which I have to say was pretty cool. A nice corner room with a great view.

Becky and I then headed back to Jersey to get the rest of Hannah's stuff. And while the traffic was still bad, I figured a way to get us back to the dorm in a little less time. After that, we headed back to West New York (Lincoln Tunnel was a breeze!) where Becky got to meet my mom and Penny! She was feeling pretty tired though - and I don't blame her! - so she was ready to call it a night and I took her back to the hotel to get some rest.

But my night was not nearly over! My friend Steph organized a fundraiser - Operation Terri Kinney - at the Wild Rover to benefit a woman suffering from cancer. There was lots of food and really great bands. Mom even came out for a bit. A lot of people dressed up in camouflage to show there support. I took lots of photos because I was asked to make a poster for Terri, since we weren't sure if she'd be able to attend. But she did make it and she seemed in such good spirits. The place was packed with people she knew and even lots of us who came out for a good cause, and they were able to raise lots of money to help her. Here are some pics...

My friend Heather looking cute in camo.

Here is Terri, center, with her sister, right, and another friend.

Lisa and me

And Oscar on the guitar.

MONDAY:::::::::::::::::::::::::

So you can probably guess that I got started a little late on Monday! I took Becky for some yummy Cuban food at Las Palmas and then we took the ferry from Weehawken over to the city. I've never taken it before, but it was such a nice way to travel after sitting in so much traffic on Sunday! And we really couldn't have asked for nicer weather.

We took some pictures around the plaza and of the Intrepid while we waited for our Circle Line tour to get started.


I really do love doing touristy things in New York. I am always so surprised at how many people around here never go to the city or have done things like go to the Empire State Building. So I was pretty excited to take our sight-seeing tour. We had a really entertaining tour guide and I even saw lots of things I'd never seen or noticed before. I may live here and see this stuff a lot, but I'm always amazed by it!

Here's Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.



The Brooklyn Bridge...

We took so many photos of all the building from all over the boat. Becky's camera died on her at one point so I had to take lots of photos for her. Never a problem for me!

After the boat ride, we headed over to 42nd Street and Times Square.



Then we got some cupcakes at Magnolia....

I kept telling Becky she was a good luck charm. All weekend, I got great parking, we caught the ferries just in time, got cabs instantly and had awesome weather. Well, then we even had a super cool celebrity sighting. We noticed some cameras at Rockefeller Center so we hung around a bit. And then we saw Tracy Morgan! We're both fans of 30 Rock so this was just so fun! He did a little scene yelling something to a guy on a street and then posed for photos with some people in the crowd.


After that we walked up to the Disney Store and Central Park.

And then we headed back to the Village to meet up with Hannah and Ryan for dinner. Becky did pretty well with her goodbyes - I know it wasn't easy for her! And I am kicking myself for not getting a photo. But at that point we were pretty tired and ready to catch the ferry back.

We made a quick stop at my house where Becky gave Penny a super cute little gift!

And then it was back to her hotel. I stayed with her there so it would be easier to get her to the airport at 6 a.m.!

It really was such a great weekend. Becky and Hannah are so just so adorable. I knew Hannah was a smart and accomplished girl, but she really is amazing in person, too. I know she'll do great in the city. And hanging out with Becky was just like hanging out with any of my friends who I've known forever. I hope she comes back to visit!