NYC TRIP!!

 I have been looking forward to visiting my best friend in NYC even before I booked my flight sometime last year. I love NYC and I love my best friend so I was just looking forward to getting away to the city that never sleeps with one of my favorite people ever. I wanted to have 3 full days in the city so I left late on Thursday evening and planned to fly back early Monday morning.

Glad I had had a glass of wine BEFORE i got on the plane since it was so crazy getting to NYC! 

Was supposed to land at LaGuardia around 11:20pm and then had a car ready to pick me up at the airport. Well after being delayed almost 45 minutes and the having to attempt to land twice. (Scariest thing ever! It was foggy we were getting ready to land could see the ground pretty closely and then went right back in the air! Ekk. Was throwing up a few Hail Marys at this point!) I finally landed and got the car for my 45 minutes-hour drive (turned into a little bit longer because the driver didn't REALLY know where he was going. At one point asked if the building was on the left or right. Umm no clue dude. So after a few turn arounds and one way streets I finally made it to her apartment around 1:30am. I had been up since 5:15am that morning. So needless to say I was exhausted. Poor Danielle she had to work for a few hours Friday morning but was grateful that she stayed awake for me to get in! :)

Friday

SLEPT IN. It was glorious. Don't get that time very often. Got ready and then Danielle took the afternoon off. So we walked to brunch and had a pitcher of mimosas because that is what you do on a Friday afternoon with your best friend in the city.

Mimosas and Turkey, Bacon, and BBQ Sauce sandwich with delicious Mac & Cheese from Kitchenette. http://www.kitchenetterestaurant.com/home.html

Check them out if you ever go there! :)

 

Then we walked around the city and it starting pouring. Ugh. Thank goodness for moms that tell you, you should pack an umbrella. It saved the day. :) so we decided to go home to hang out and watch movies! So it was a nice and relaxing night in on the couch with wine, Chinese Food, movies, the Kardashians and sweats. Perfection.

I kept saying all weekend that it was so nice to not have set plans all weekend. I didn't have an agenda which made for a relaxing weekend. I have been to NYC many times before and have done all the touristy things. The only thing I did want to so was see a Broadway Show. Was really hoping to see Spider-Man but it stopped showing on January 4th of this year. Boo. Took me a while to get over that. :)

Saturday

So we woke up and cooked breakfast. Aka Danielle cooked breakfast and we started to plan our day. Starting looking at shows and ticket prices online and dang! They are expensive! But Danielle knew that her roomie went somewhere near where they lived to get discount tickets. So it was GORGEOUS OUTSIDE. Like jeans and a sweatshirt weather without a cloud in the sky!! So we stopped to get iced coffee and walked to get tickets. Walked down Wall Street which was really cool and got to the ticket place and we had settled on going to see Newsies so we got in line and were about to get 2 tickets in the front row of the Mezziene level for HALF PRICE. So we got them for that evening at 8pm. :) we were both so exited.

So then we walked back to her place and grabbed a book and walked down to the Hudson River and walked around there for a bit. Did I mention the weather was GLORIOUS? It was so great to sit and people watch with the Statue of Liberty in the background. So we sat there for a while read and took in Gods glorious creation.

Then we walked back to her place, grabbed a Panini at a corner restaurant and went home to take showers and get ready for our night out on the town!! So we got all dolled up and took the subway to Times Square for the show. To say Newsies was incredible is an understatement. It was fantastic! Once the show was over we went out in the Upper West side to a bar Danielle goes to. Got a couple drinks and are dinner at 11:30pm because that's what you do in the city and then went back on the subway to her apartment in the financial district and met up with a few of her friends at a beer garden underneath her apartment. Very convenient! We didn't end the night until like 4:30am because again that's what you do in the city.

Sunday

We slept in again! Haha because needless to say it was a late night! :) Woke up realizing that I am a little old for going out! :) so got up took a hot shower and then walked down a block for breakfast at a place called George's and it reminding me of a Waffle House which was exactly what we needed. So after a shower, food, a fountain diet coke we decided to take the subway to Central Park since it was my last day and it was beautiful again. It was still nice out. A little cooler but still sweatshirt and jeans weather! So we got out there and there was still a ton of snow. So we walked around and found a bench. Talked, read and people watched. A few times I was waiting for Benson and Stabler to jump out while taping Law and Order SVU. That didn't happen but I did hear and see a lot of NYPD Sirens! :)

After that adventure we headed home to watch more Kardashians and hang out in sweats for a bit. :) then her cousin Kelly called and was coming over to see me and we decided we would go out for dinner and drinks for my last night. So we walked down to this Mexican restaurant called Mad Dog & Beans. And it was delicious. :) then we walked home and got back in sweats and I packed and then watched Safe Haven.  :)

www.maddogandbeans.com/

It was a perfect end to a perfect weekend. I am so blessed that I was able to come visit my BFF in this amazing city. I am so proud of her and it was great to see where she lived and worked. She was such a great hostess!!! So thankful for her hospitality and just the intentional time we got to spend together. It was perfect. Can't wait to come back and visit soon! NYC you have my heart!

What a journey...

I knew this was going to be a journey. I knew that starting a weight loss journey would be challenging, hard, emotional, freeing, loving, encouraging and the list could go on and on. The one word that sticks out the most in this list is EMOTIONAL. Now most of you that know me that are reading this will probably laugh because if you could describe me in one word most people who chose EMOTIONAL. I used to get discouraged and frustrated that I was so emotional because I thought it was a sign of weakness. Well my friends being emotional is NOT a sign of weakness it is a sign of STRENGTH. This realization has taken me a long time to understand and figure out what that means for me.

So i have been one this particular journey for a few months- some months were good and i was dedicated to losing the weights and some months I was having bad months and would gain back the weight I have lost. I have done that PLENTY of times before but this time is different I AM DONE YO-YO DIETING FOR GOOD! I knew I needed to get to this point on my own and when my own heart was ready to change. I have been ready for a while but there was still something holding me back. I now want this weight loss for ME. I don't want to lose weight so others will like me, think I am attractive, help me find a spouse,etc. I want this FOR ME! I am not sure what exactly was holding me back, still working through that- I think I have an idea but my heart is still fragile to talk about that.

I had heard a quote before that says something like, "It's not about the destination, it is about the journey" and I used to think that quote was dumb because the only reason to go on a journey is because of the final destination-but in all actuality there is a lot of truth to this quote. This will be a journey and will continue to be a journey even when I meet my final goal (destination) of losing 100 pounds. Life is just not going to go back to normal it will be a new normal for me and I am so excited to be there. But I am excited about the journey and where it has brought me so far. It has brought me to a place of SELF LOVE and it has only taken me 26 years to get to this place. But I am learning that I am worthy of self love and need to love myself before someone else can really love me. I am working through this and know this till be a long journey but I am here in the midst of it and the Lord is guiding me and leading me through it and I know with his strength and grace I can work through this and come out on the other side.

Thank you for the continued love and support from all my friends and family! I could not do this without you all!