I have to be honest.

Remember this post way back from JULY. Yeah, July. Which was, ohhh, roughly 4 months ago.

I confessed, rather bashfully, that at that point I had gained 8 pounds since my wedding 2 months prior.

And now I must confess, extremely bashfully, that the 8 pounds has officially morphed into 17.

SEVENTEEN.

17 freakin’ pounds that took me from November 2008-March 2009 to lose.

Here I go again.

Ugh.

I love watching shows like The Biggest Loser and thinking that the contestants totally rock the weight loss thing. I admire their determination, their perseverance, and their hot new looks come finale time. Yet, I never see those qualities in myself.

So, I’ll just end this post here (without any fluff, pun intended) to just be accountable to all of my wonderful readers. I need accountability in some form or fashion. I use Weight Watchers Online, so it’s kind of easy to blow off the “you’ve gained!” message each Saturday since it’s just an online thing.

In the next few weeks, expect to see some cool recipes (WW friendly!), weekly weigh-in updates on Saturdays, and of course, my random musings and DIY stuff.

Tomorrow I am super stoked to show you all an awesome wreath I made! Be back tomorrow. Smooches!

No one mourns the Wicked.

But I do mourn the wicked. I mourn that Wicked is over, for me, for now anyway.

Without giving away any major spoilers, I will say that I have heard about Wicked for awhile. Kandis is obsessed with the play, Faith has seen it and I think read the book, and millions of people have become obsessed with Wicked. People have the songs memorized and it has an almost cult like status.

I didn’t see why.

Now I see why.

I have never heard anything bad about the play, nor the book, though like anything in life, there’s always a critic. Or forty. You know what I mean right? My expectations for the play weren’t sky high nor super low, all I wanted was to feel like my first ever Broadway play (yes, on BROADWAY in NYC!) was worth the $134 it cost me. Easy peasy. We arrive at the Gershwin, and the theater kinda underwhelmed me. But again, you don’t go to these things for the theater, you go for the show. Got it.

I will go off on a slight tangent about how beautiful the Majestic Theater in San Antonio is. Gorg.

Anyway.

We went to our seats, and I was also really surprised at how close, yet far we were. For Wicked, I don’t think I’d want to be super close up because I think I’d miss something, so I was happy we were far, yet cozy. I just completely contradicted myself, I think, so just go with it. Nod your head. We’re cool? Point being- good seats.

Not so good- the temperature. It was hot. I am from Texas, and I know hot. I live in hot everyday. It was HOT. The NJ & Delaware peeps were just peachy, and I was like a sweaty, hot mess. Hot as in temp, not hot looking because I was shiny, and by golly I really hate being shiny. Hate. Eventually I stopped sweating. Note to all of you- do not drink copious amounts of alcohol the night before seeing a Broadway play. Yeah. Not classy.

I am looking around feeling like a total kid and then it starts. I see Galinda (Glinda…? She changes her name so I can’t keep it all straight) and then I hear…

Singing. Lots and lots of singing. They were singing their sentences. I felt slight panic because I will say it- I do not like musicals. Somewhere along the way, I failed to read/acknowledge/realize that Wicked is a um, musical. Where they sing.

A lot. Loudly.

Luckily, Wicked has joined Grease in being a musical I actually enjoy, if not love. The set was amazing, the costumes were detailed and perfect, the singing was so spot on that I was convinced it must be a CD. Yes, a CD. As in, they were lip-syncing. Look, I’ve been to too many Britney Spears shows to think that people actually sing live- I wasn’t born yesterday.

But alas, they sing. And BOY can they sing. The song Defying Gravity gave me chills and Popular was stuck in my head for days. Days. Worse than the damn Party in the USA song by Miley Cyrus.

Here are some pictures I took (yes, illegally…don’t judge me) before and after the show.

Amazing! It was worth the $134 for the 3 hour show. There was an intermission, and I basically managed to get drunk during the intermission. Yes, drunk at a Broadway show. I put the ass in classy, folks.

Brittany and I were on a vacation, and during vacation (or any day ending in “y”) we like to be total lushes. We went to the bar and they had no foo-foo drinks. None. Crap. We waited in line, we need wanted alcohol, so I ordered Jack & Coke. My love affair with Jack is pretty new, and we’re still in that hot and heavy stage that you go through when you start dating someone new- all lusty and needy. Then the bartender tells me the price.

Bartender: “Nine.”

Me: “Five…?”

Bartender: “Nine.”

Me: <crap> *forks over $10 bill*

Bartender: Awkward silent moment.

Me: “Can I have my $1?”

Bartender: *throws me my $1 bill*

That was an expensive drink. You wanna know what else? It was served in a dixie cup (size wise). DIXIE CUP. Brittany got the same thing, and she hated her drink, so me being the good friend drank it for her. What are friends for?

And boy were they strong drinks. I basically had a giggle fest during the 2nd half of the play when something happens with Dorothy. Everyone in the theater laughed, but I laughed longer than everyone else. By a lot. Really.

Overall, Wicked was wickedly entertaining, and I think everyone should see it if they have the chance to do so. I don’t want to give away much, but it is basically the story of the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz before the Wizard of Oz. Right? I think. I could be wrong.

I always babble on way too much, so the next NYC post will be about Times Square and THE Empire State Building.

Have you ever seen Wicked? What are your thoughts on the musical?

Mill, Mill. No cheese for you.

Onto a happy post. We got to Canal Street. Lemme say that in my head I had a whole vision of what I thought Canal Street was like. I pictured secret tunnels to fake Chanel bags, secret handshakes to get the best purses, and a nice, quiet street lined with shops and everything is orderly.

Not at all what it was really like. Not even close.

When walking up the stairs to the street level from the subway, it started almost instantly. I felt like I was in a third world country. I think I had tourist stamped on my forehead (right above my terror-filled brown eyes), because they swarmed me!

Coach? Gucci? Prada? Chanel? Louis? Alvin? Simon? Theodore?

Okay, so those last 3 are Chipmunks.

But seriously, like they were right up in my face with their little laminated sheets of purses they had. Some required us to go to a van, and I have seen way too many episodes of CSI, SVU, and other crime shows to be stupid and do that. So, we walked into a shop. I kind of looked around, not too impressed with the ugly purses that were displayed on their walls. And then, it happened…

The chick OPENED THE WALL. Like she went all Chronicles of Narnia on us and opened up the magic wardrobe to reveal knock off jewelry, purses, and sunglasses. <insert angels singing>

It required no secret handshakes, no secret password…nada. She saw a group of girls and opened the wall. We went down some stairs, through a shady looking room with a cardboard floor, and up another flight of stairs, to a closet with all the goods.

Narnia. Word.

The closet, as I shall call it, had lots of stuff. I was on the prowl for a gorgeous fake bag. Not Coach, but like Chanel or something. I didn’t find anything nearly like what I pictured, so I settled for a Tiffany & Co. key necklace knock off and a Coach necklace knock-off. $20 for 2 necklaces that retail would have cost a heck of a lot ($2K for a real Tiffany necklace and $168+ for a Coach). I was happy. We then went back through the secret tunnel and left. I just want to point out that probably all sorts of OSHA laws (in addition to copyright laws) were being broken. But I had my necklaces, so who cares?

Then it continues…people in my face again! Why me? WHY ME??? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

Prada? Louis? Coach? You want Coach? Mill Mill?

Wait, what?

Mill, Mill.

So, now I turn to you, my lovely peeps, and ask who the hell is Mill Mill? Because I don’t know who that is. And if it’s some up and coming it designer, and I missed out on my chance for a faux Mill Mill bag, I will need a stiff drink. I hate to let opportunities pass me by. Enlighten me. BSUMA.

There were guys selling faux bags from their luggage on the sidewalk. From vans. From stores. FROM EVERYWHERE.

Not at all like I pictured. I really thought it reminded me a lot of when I went to Mexico in my childhood, and children were begging by the bridge for nickels or for you to buy gum from them. I don’t mean to insult anyone who works on Canal Street, but seriously, talk about high pressure sales. A used car salesman is friendlier than those folks.

So, then we headed to the Times Square area to grab a bite to eat before seeing Wicked at the Gershwin theater. We didn’t have much time, so we opted for some pizza from a local shop.

Ever watch the Soup Nazi episode of Seinfeld? If you haven’t, you must go watch it, like now. Do not read the rest of this post. Or, if you don’t want to watch the entire 22 minute episode, at least watch this. Please? Thanks.

This is exactly what it was like. We walk into a pizza shop in Times Square (Ray’s Pizza), and they are instantly rude. Jackie asks for cheese, they say they have none, and move onto the next person. Instead of “No soup for you! NEXT!” it was “No cheese for you! NEXT!”

What. The. Hell. She’s PREGNANT you buffoon!! If you don’t have plain cheese, surely she would like something else to eat. YOU BUFFOON! Even I ordered my slice (hawaiian, my absolute fave pizza EVER!) and even then he rolls his eyes at me. Which I think sucks since I am paying $5+ for my slice of cold, mediocre pizza.

Someone else in the group also wanted cheese, (Either Brittany H. or Lauren) and he did the same thing to them, too. Then when we were at the register, the cashier was on the phone and talking- totally blowing us off. DUDE, I need to be on time to see Wicked, get off the freakin’ phone. While you’re at it, make some more cheese pizza.

So, there’s my little quip about NYC pizza. Apparently, Ray’s Pizza is supposed to be the KING of NYC pizza, but I have to say it is a big, fat FAIL. I’ve had better pizza and customer service from Sbarro’s and they’re everywhere.

Ray’s Pizza=FAIL.

No cheese for you! NEXT!

Just kidding. But what is up next is a post on Wicked/ESB/Times Square.

Again…anyone know who Mill Mill is?

These streets will make you feel brand new…

I am not a Jay-Z fan. Nor am I now a Jay-Z fan, but I gotta hand it to Mr. Beyonce & Alicia Keys…

That Empire State of Mind song is pretty darn catchy. It was also amazing hearing it IN Times Square.

IN TIMES SQUARE.

Got it? Good.

I’ve been back in Texas for almost 2 weeks now, and I haven’t blogged about my vacation partially because I was sad it was over and because I was insanely angry about what happened in NYC. So, in order to avoid rubbing salt on any wounds, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Let me give you a bit of background on me and NYC. It’s been a LIFELONG dream of mine to visit NYC. I remember wanting to go when I was in elementary school. I even found an old Christmas list I wrote in 4th grade- at the top of my list was me asking to be taken to the Empire State Building. Yes, 4th grade, Empire State Building. In parenthesis, I wrote (even for just 10 minutes). TEN minutes.

Then as I grew older, NYC became shopping, Tiffany & Co., Bloomingdale’s, and of course Sex & The City (SATC). They made it seem so glamorous, vibrant, fun, and surreal. NYC=my dream.  NYC inspired me to dream and to dream BIG. And I was still obsessed with the Empire State Building.

There was an opportunity for me to go in college, and I couldn’t go because I just couldn’t afford it. I had put down a deposit, and when it came time to pay off the balance, I was short like $400 and I had to forfeit my deposit and not go. Then, we considered going for our honeymoon, but again, cost was a factor since a night in an NYC hotel can cost as much a 1-month of rent in Texas. So, we opted for DC.

Finally, my chance to visit NYC was upon me. I was going to Delaware to visit Jackie, and she suggested we go to NYC for the day to see a Broadway play and explore the area around Times Square a bit.

I was SO excited that I immediately made a countdown calendar and had it on my desk at work. My moment to be IN NYC was finally approaching. My stomach had butterflies whenever I thought about it. Then, Brittany decided to make the drive from Virginia to Delaware to come along, too. I was even more stoked because she had never been to NYC either.

Perfect! Simply perfect.

I flew in on Friday, and Jackie & Brittany went to the Philly airport to pick me up. While I was certainly excited to hang with them and to be away from Texas, I couldn’t get NYC out of my mind. Friday night, Brittany and I stayed up talking about NYC into the wee hours of the night. We both were psyched about seeing the Empire State Building. Brittany was SUPER pumped about this because one of her fave movies features a scene in that building. It’s like *the* major scene in that movie, and Brittany LOVES this movie. Like really. Loves. I can’t stress that enough. We both decide our major NYC priorities are Empire State Building, Times Square, Canal Street, and maybe Ground Zero. Statue of Liberty was out of the question, though we did see her from afar. We force ourselves to go to sleep, and we wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed on Saturday to head out to NYC at 7 am sharp, so that hopefully we’ll be there by 10 am-ish.

And this is where it goes wrong. Now, I may sound like a huge baby in this post or the latter half of it, but it is what it is. I’ve already prefaced this moment by emphasizing how long I’ve wanted to go to NYC. I’m emphasized the fact that Brittany is just as excited as I am. Also, at this point, I’ve spent 4 vacation days, $200 on plane tickets, 2 hour drive to the airport and other misc. amounts just to get myself to this moment. Brittany saved every nickel and dime to be able to drive the 3 hours and ride along with us.

And here we go.

We’re supposed to leave Jackie’s house in Delaware at 7 am. Sharp. Not 7:30, not 8:00. SEVEN ON THE DOT. Jackie’s 2 friends, Brittany & Lauren, (yes, another Brittany, from here on out referred to as B&L) are supposed to meet up with us around 6:45 to get on the road.

It’s 7 am and Brittany and I are impatiently waiting for B&L to get there. 7:01, 7:05. At 7:06 I am about to cry. Well, B&L call that they just woke up, so for us to please leave without them and they’ll catch up with us later.

Alrighty, progress. We then drive towards New Jersey to pick up Stacy. That all goes fine until B&L call that they forgot a wallet or something, so now they need to go to Wachovia. At this point my blood pressure is like, oh I don’t know, through the roof. You’re messing with my NYC time, not too happy. We keep driving onwards to NYC.

We get to Becca’s apartment in Brooklyn, and we’re already like about an hour behind schedule. Brittany and I are like 2 curse words away from landing ourselves in the hospital due to a heart attack because we are BURSTING at the seams to get on with the day. But, we can’t. We gotta wait for B&L to get to Becca’s apartment so they can get a parking pass. Lovely.

So, we’re waiting.

And waiting.

And we wait some more.

Finally, they get there. FINALLY.

We head onto the subway towards Canal Street, and I swear it takes FOREVER to get there from Brooklyn. There must have been like 20+ stops before we got off.

Brittany and I wanted to cry.

Finally we get to Canal street (which will be it’s own post, and oh my Lord, wait until you here why…) we browse a bit, and it’s so late and we’re so behind schedule that we have to cut it short and go to Times Square to see Wicked at 2 pm on Broadway.

Sigh. If B&L would have been on time, I am confident Canal Street wouldn’t have been as um, crazy rushed. But it was, so alright.

We see Wicked (it’ll be it’s own post as well), and then comes the awkward part. Now it comes down to the battle of the tourists vs. non-tourists. So far, the NT peeps are winning since they totally cut into our time.

Now, I get that if you’ve been to NYC “a thousand times” like someone that day said, that Times Square is nothing new. No big deal. And that the Empire State Building is just an office building. But, to Brittany and I, it’s all new. Have some consideration. Really. I didn’t fly 4+ hours to go to Sephora or LUSH. Neither did Brittany. We spent time, money, energy to see NYC. So, please, do NOT tell me the Empire State Building is just an office building when to me it is the epitome of NYC.

And I feel really sorry for poor Jackie, because she’s caught in the middle of all this. She has us (the newbs) and she has her pals, and we’re obviously wanting completely opposite things. I am the non-confrontational type, but I really had to speak up (as did Brittany) because we wanted to see the ESB and we wanted to just walk around Times Square and soak it all in. All of it.

But unfortunately, it did turn into an us vs. them kind of day, and we won some battles, but lost most. Mainly the time battle.

I knew there was only so much I could see in a day, so I had set my expectations pretty low. I don’t think I was difficult, but I wore my heart on my sleeve because I had a permanent sad face all day long. :-(

I wanted to see Ground Zero, which is a “hole in the ground” I think was the phrase used. I now realize it wasn’t anywhere near where we were, so I would have understood if we couldn’t make it because of distance.

Overall, I certainly didn’t appreciate being made to feel like an idiot because I wanted to do touristy things. I was/am/will always be a tourist in NYC. It’ll never become old to me. Ever. I can’t go often enough for it to.

What’s the point of this post? Well, it’s meant to give you all a background of my NYC day, and to serve as a PSA. Inevitably you’re going to have people visit you, and they may want to see something you have seen a million times. Instead of making them feel bad about it, put yourselves in their shoes. They may have dreamt their whole lives about seeing that one attraction (Empire State Building, The Alamo, Epcot, Mickey Mouse, etc.) so is it worth it to make them feel like complete crap because it’s boring to you?

I hope not.

Overall, NYC in a day was good, but it would have been better if I didn’t feel stupid, angry and sad for the majority of it. I remember a moment while on the ESB Observation Deck (yes, I did indeed get to fulfill my dream!!) where I reflected on exactly what I was doing at that very moment, and I got teary eyed- I almost completely lost it because I was so overwhelmed. I was finally up there, 96th floor, NYC, evening…finally my dream and wish had come true. Finally. Looking back on that day, I am not angry anymore, but I guess I am hurt a bit. I know I shouldn’t let strangers or anyone ruin my NYC day, but it just didn’t go quite like I hoped.

So, there’s the background. My next 2 posts will be about Canal Street/Pizza Nazi and Wicked/ESB.

I heart NY. I really do, and I can’t wait to tell you some of the reasons why.

 

PS- I want to thank Jackie for driving us to NYC and letting us stay in her beautiful home (she did a FAB job driving…I could never, and I mean NEVER drive in NYC) and Becca was a wonderful tour guide for the few hours she got to spend with us. :-)

Allow me to wine. No whine. Ah, screw it…wine & whine.

I know friends are there to be honest with you. I appreciate that.

Yes, your butt does indeed look huge in that dress. Like, really.

No, it’s totally that he’s cheating on you, not that he went to help orphans in Africa during Valentine’s Day weekend.

Yes, you are being lazy.

No, it’s not a good color on you.

Etc.

I get it. I do.

I think my friends are too honest sometimes. Like Jannypie once said, I sometimes need someone to BSUMA- Blow Sunshine Up My Ass. If my ass looks huge, but my boobs look nice, I’ll just avoid turning around all evening. Seriously, sometimes I want to hear what I want to hear, so LIE TO ME. LIE TO ME.

There, I said it.

Sometimes I don’t want honesty because it can be hurtful. I know honesty is the best policy, but sometimes I want a little sunshine. Even if it’s artificial.

I need a vacation.

Yes, I just got back from one.

And I will be blogging about that later on today, but for now, here are 2 teaser pics. :-)

Peace, hugs, and smooches!

-Mon

Dela-where? (thanks Jackie! Smooches!)

I love catchy titles to blog postings, and I can’t take credit for this one, though I wish I could. I guess I could, but the lovely lady who gave me the title reads my blog. Love ya Jackie!

I am going to Delaware, folks! <insert awkward silence here>

Why the silence? You think Dela-where is boring? Small? Not even a state? (It is a state, FYI.)

I’m going to visit a pal of mine (Jackie, whom I mentioned above) for a few days. Thank God. For real, dude. (No, not calling God a dude.) I need this vacation like a fry needs ketchup. I probably would go nuts if I didn’t have this Friday through next Wednesday off. Like insane.

This will, however, be my first time flying completely solo or sans husband. Luckily, the Paxil should help things go smoothly, otherwise I may make my national TV debut on CNN as that lady who went nuts on a Southwest flight. Or I’ll be that  person ordering a cocktail (and using a drink coupon…score!) on my 8:25 am flight to Houston. And again on my 9:40 am flight to Philly. Don’t judge me- I’ll likely order a screwdriver, which has orange juice, which is typically drank in the morning. So there.

Maybe I should take 2 Paxils. Good thing my doctor doesn’t read my blog.

So, back to my vacation. I am easily distracted, as you can see.

Friday after I land in Philadelphia at 2:45ish pm, since Delaware has no airport but is legally a state Jackie and Brittany will pick me up and we will drive to Delaware where we plan to engage in sheer gluttony and debauchery at Olive Garden. Can you believe Brittany has never been to Olive Garden?! NEVER! I am going to make sure she eats entire basket of breadsticks all by herself. She just better keep her hands off my Olive Garden salad. That stuff is freakin’ delicious and it’s so unhealthy it should be illegal to be called a salad. Def. Don’t believe me? Check out the calories of the dressing. And you KNOW they like put 30 billion tablespoons in that bowl. The croutons aren’t even crunchy because of how much dressing is in there.

Delish.

Combine that with Italian margaritas, constipation cheese, pasta, alfredo sauce, another margarita, a few breadsticks, dessert, maybe some wine, and yeah, about enough calories for a week. Good thing Mrs. Jackie has a full agenda for me on my vacation- tax free shopping (hey, any savings=good), donuts (more on this later), lots of walking, baby clothes shopping (for her, not me- promise!), and other fun, girly stuff. However, Saturday is set to be a dream come true for me. Yes, a dream come true.

No, I’m not meeting Britney Spears. Though that’d be cool. Love her!

Can ya guess where I am going to be on Saturday?

I’ll leave you with this as your hint…can you complete it?

Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it…

My poor blog.

I have neglected my blog. Much like I have neglected exercise, eating in moderation, water, and other generally healthy things. Awful. For sure.

I have no excuse, but I do have a reason…work. Work is draining me. I have the kind of job that has like nothing going on for a few days and then all of a sudden I have more work than I can keep up with for months on end. It’s enough work for 3 people, and I am trying really hard to do it all myself. And do it well. And still sleep, eat, and watch TV. Mostly the first 2 of those 3, though.

Exhausting. I work hard for the money. Not in that way, I have morals people. Seriously.

My DVR is like, “Watch these shows or I will self-destruct.” My husband is wondering when the hell the girl he married will be back, and my dog is generally clueless and that’s peachy.

Exhausting. Did I say that already? Exhausting.

I’m home sick today, and it’s the first day I thought about blogging. Mostly because Jackie told me to, but also because I really want to chat with you all. What have you been up to? Anything new?

For the record, Google Reader and I had a showdown. I logged into it, saw I had like 1.2 million (ok, maybe like 1,000+) unread blog postings, and I thought about it for a bit. Then I looked for my white flag and I surrendered. Google Reader- you win. I clicked “mark all as read”, closed the window and sulked.

But, I am back. And guess what? I am back with a vengeance and that means caffeine-aided vengeance.

I re-re-decorated my living room. I forgot to post the first makeover, so the 2nd will have to do. I can’t wait to show you all after I find a few more key pieces to complete the look.

And guess what? I am going on a mini-vacation, which I shall blog about later today.

Yes, today. I promise.

Exhausting.

Sneak peek of the living room look/colors we have chosen for the holidays…