Morning thoughts...

Sometimes I wish I were that girl that ate a banana on her way to work instead of drinking a 32oz Diet Coke from McDonalds.

And then I realize what an unhappy existence I would lead and I change my mind.

You know that saying....

You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl.  I am positively living proof of that.  Although having lived in Manhattan for 3+ years now, I still feel the pangs of jealousy when I hear talk from Paige about going to the demolition derby at the county fair.  My ears still perk up at the sound of a diesel engine driving by on the busy street, which is a very rare occurrence in a city where wearing my Diesel Jeans is usually the closest I can get.  So you can imagine my delight when I heard the rodeo was coming to town!  That's right...cowboys, bulls, and all the rodeo riffraff was going to be a mere 30 blocks away at Madison Square Garden.  Growing up I remember the rodeo events at the Northwest Washington Fair and mingling with the local chapters of 4-H and FFA.  My roots are in all things country.  I was excited.

Well, not to be too Negative Nancy, let's just cut to the chase and say that the rodeo in New York City is nothing like the gritty, country rodeos everywhere else in the good old USA.  I will give them an A for effort but Rodeo is not meant to be indoors, it is truly an outdoor event.  And sorry investment bankers, lawyers, and stockbrokers parading around the arena in your cowboy hats and belt buckles bought at some boutique in SoHo, you aren't foolin' this girl.  I could spot your inauthenticity from a mile away.  

No real cowboys...no gritty rodeo, but good times with friends and a few pics.

      

I think I could possibly have the cutest nephews ever....just my humble opinion....

rexford neil

i meant to post this earlier but somehow didn't.  

it was a fabulous hike and a great memory to have with my uncle rex. he is an amazing individual, so talented, creative and unique.  a bachelor mountain man, he has spent most of his days in the cascade mountains and is a master of the land.  he seriously knows about every peak and valley in the area, having written books and created maps about the surrounding areas.  live it, love it rex the hex.

      

Zantar baby...

I was lucky enough to be selected from a HUGE pool of applicants to be in my friend Collin's Lingo film.  Thank you Collin for that honor.  ;) Although I almost froze my tail off...we had a great time filming it and thanks to Collin's savvy editing skills it looks like a Zantar masterpiece!

A picture from the set.

The movie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9fz2kD92_U

Thanksgiving

This year I get to stay in NYC for the WHOLE holiday season!  That's correct...Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve.  I am pretty excited about this as it makes me feel more 'adult' than I have ever felt before.  We hosted Thanksgiving at our house and it was so delicious!  Good friends, good food, good movie.  

The carver, Brent.

The Cassie.

The friends.

The spread.

The appetite.

The holiday.

The movie.

Weekend of Indulgence

One of my favorite people in the whole world came to visit this weekend.  Kristan Brooks!  She was a former New Yorker but left to go to pursue her MBA at BYU.  Viva Provo!

In honor of her visit we had a weekend of our old usual ways...which in the end we realized was really just a bunch of food, chatting, shopping, and the occasional?? chair massage.   But seriously, I cannot think of anything more fun.

Brunch at Bubby's!  I downed my whole breakfast plate and then shared a slice of Mile High Apple Pie.  Yum.

Walking up to Soho we stumbled across this little treasure.  The firehouse from Ghostbusters!!

Dinner at Shake Shack.  No more trekking downtown for these juicy burgers.  We now have one in the neighborhood and of COURSE we had to take Kristan there.

Cruisin' down the streets.

Patsy's!  An UWS institution.

And of course....loads and loads of Diet Coke.  

COME BACK!!!