The Rodgers

It's Christmas time in the city...

2008-12-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

Rockefeller tree
Radio City
our little Christmas tree
table decorations
Bailey as Santa Claus

Charity Water Ball 2008

2008-12-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

About a week ago, I had the opportunity serve as a vounteer to set up for the Charity Water Ball. This is an incredible organization and it was fun to see this amazing event come together! I have never seen anything like it. The purpose of this organization is to provide clean drinking water for people in developing nations. If you are interested in supporting in any way check out their website at www.charitywater.org. During the event, Whitney Port from The Hills showed up. I'm glad had my camera ready! They were filming a scene for her new show called The City. I did get in trouble with the film crew for using my flash : ) Hello people- I have a blog that I must take pictures for-it is much more important than your TV show! Oh, and Amos Lee was there to perform- another fun day in NYC!!!

red carpet is getting set up
visual representation of the water we consume vs. a developing nation
some amazing pics of people in Rwanda
Whitney Port

Amos Lee

Charity Water Mission:

It's not hard to think about water today. In the western world, we face growing concerns about our stewardship of the world's most precious resource. There's talk of shortages, evidence of reservoirs and aquifers drying up, and of course, plenty of people who simply don't care. But forget about us. Most of us have never really been thirsty. We've never had to leave our homes and walk 5 miles to fetch water and then line up at a well and wait 8 hours for a turn. We simply turn on the tap and water comes out. Cean. Yet more that 1.1 billion people on the planet don't have clean water. These people need our help. They didn't choose to be born into a village where the only source of water was a polluted swamp. And we didn't choose to be born in a country where even the homeless have access to clean water and a toilet. Find more info at www.charitywater.org

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

2008-12-22T20:58:00.000-08:00

So we had our first real snow and it was crazy! It really looked like a blizzard in the city. I think it snowed for about 5-6 hours straight. It really was beautiful! I am not used to being this cold, but it is fun for now. I am just going to have to get used to wearing rain boots, thick wool socks, and having a numb face for a while!!

Views of NYC from the sky

2008-12-22T20:17:00.000-08:00

I have flown out of New York a couple of times over the past few months and each time I am amazed by the view of the city from the sky. I snapped a few pictures on my phone and thought they were pretty fun. You can get a pretty good view of downtown, the whole island, and central park.

Family Pics at Thanksgiving

2008-12-22T19:57:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-19T15:33:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Election Night in NYC

2008-12-04T20:09:00.001-08:00

Texas Visit

2008-12-04T19:55:00.001-08:00

Halloween Night

2008-12-04T11:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-05T21:40:00.001-08:00

So, I came across these halloween costumes for dogs and could not resist putting them on Bailey for my own entertainment. I was cracking up- I don't think she enjoyed the experience as much as I did : ) The first costume is Poccahontis (tomahawk and all) and the second is a lady bug. I could not follow through with a purchase-I just borrowed the costumes for a few minutes for the sake of the blog and a few laughs.

Fall is Here

2008-11-03T18:48:00.000-08:00

Fall is officially here. The leaves are turning and it is beautiful. Most of the pictures on here are ones that I took during my break at JCrew last Friday. It was such a nice day, so I grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to Central Park to relax for a little while. Needless to say, I was dragging my feet back to J Crew because the weather and the scenery were beautiful!

Henry Graham Horton

2008-11-03T18:40:00.001-08:00

While I was in Houston for Lisa's wedding, baby Henry or "Henny" as his brother Jack calls him, decided to come a little early. It was my last day there and it was so fun to see my sweet friend Lindsay and her second baby!

Lisa's Wedding

2008-11-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

A weekend in Santa Barbara

2008-09-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

the sign for bumper cars- we were cracking up and couldn't resist taking a picture!

the boardwalk at coney island

world famous wonder wheel

1-2-3 cheese! I think I look more like the child in this pic and I was trying to get her to say cheese
view of coney island from the wonder wheel

arm wrestling!

are you tougher than el toro? squeeze his horns and find out!

ashley's crazy hair pictures
ben's crazy hair pictures

eating dessert at Serendipity 3
that is some good ice cream!
enjoying some frozen hot chocolate- it's what they are famous for and it is so good!

We spent Labor Day Weekend with some good friends, the Dancy's. We met them in college and have stayed in touch over the years. They live outside of DC, and they decided to come to NYC for the weekend. We had a great time exploring the city together! Our weekend festivities included:4 adults and 2 children sharing a one bedroom apartment, sleeping late, running into Luke Wilson at Cafe Habana, watching the Aggies lose to Arkansas State & dealing with some unhappy husbands, taking the subway down to Coney Island and enjoying a day of carnival rides & some good hot dogs from Nathan's, eating dessert at Serendipity 3, and hanging out in the city. It was a fun weekend!

Updated apartment pics

2008-09-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

Star Struck

2008-09-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

We had our first star sighting in New York and it was a good one- Luke Wilson!!! We were eating lunch at this cute restaurant in SoHo called Cafe Habana. They serve cuban food and they are famous for their grilled corn- it is to die for! We were eating with our friends, the Dancys, who came in town from D.C. to visit for the weekend. Ben got up and when he walked back to the table he was saying, "Someone famous, someone famous..." I turned and looked and it was Luke Wilson. The best part is that they sat him in the booth right in front of us. I think Ben's shoulder almost touched his elbow : ) Anyway, I could not pass up the opportunity to sneak a picture. So, I pretended to show John how my iphone worked while taking pictures. The people behind us were laughing- it was pretty fun!

Dinner at Buddakan- a must if you are in NYC!!

2008-09-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Back to School

2008-09-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

My cousin Logan was accepted to the LLM program at NYU. This is an excellent program and we are so proud of him! Now, there is a minor detail that comes going back to school and that is a time warp. Yes, he has to adjust to living in a dorm. It had been several years since he has done this and I think it was quite a shock- for all of us. Of course on the website they display the newly renovated dorms with stainless steel appliances and pristine living conditions, but we all know how that goes. I think maybe 2 dorm rooms look like that and the rest have not been touched for at least 30 years. Well, the condition of the dorm called for some immediate action and Logan was lucky to have 4 girls on his team! We hit Bed Bath & Beyond and purchased several essentials. At one point, Logan said he saw all four of us go in different directions and he knew he was in trouble. One of the fun things in New York is getting to ride the escalator with your shopping cart. These Texas girls were easily entertained : ) We got back to the dorm room and did some major cleaning. His room looks great and I think he is ready to go!

riding the escalator with the shopping cart
getting organized
the cleaning queens

the final product

Logan in front of the law school- Furman Hall

Broadway and a sweet treat!

2008-08-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

Last week my mom, sister, aunt, and cousin came to visit. Logan, my cousin, was accepted to NYU's LLM program and it was time for the big move to New York City. Mom and Lindsay came to help and to spend some time with me in NYC. We stayed very busy getting Logan settled and running around the city. We ate so many great meals and did lots of fun things. We decided to brave the line at TKTS and ended up with 6 tickets to Grease. It was great! Taylor Hicks from American Idol made a cameo appearance which was fun to see! After the show, we walked through Times Square and then headed to Magnolia Bakery for their famous cupcakes and banana pudding. Here are some pictures.

Alias

2008-08-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

Apparently moving to New York City warrants an involuntary name change. After almost 3 decades of being called Ashley, I have decided to call it quits. Moving from Texas to New York was a major decision. Nothing short of being deemed as life altering. In fact, I believe it is worthy of an alias. When choosing an alias, one would might pick a name they have always envied or something that will "stand out" and be easily remembered. Well, I decided to go for plain and simple: Amy. Amy Rodgers- compliments of our new bank. Here is a picture worthy of a few laughs. By the way, the checks have been reordered : )

A new friend

2008-08-18T16:32:00.001-07:00

Ben and I bought a chair from Pottery Barn back in December and decided to keep it in its original packaging because it would be much easier to move. Well, the fact that we kept it in its original box and looked a little bit like white trash for 6 months (it sat in the corner of our bedroom) did us no good. The crazy movers decided to take it out of the box along the way and it made it to NYC all by its lonesome. The chair also turned out to be huge and there was no way it was going to fit in our living room. So, it has been sitting here for about a month as we debated over whether we should sell it on craig's list or just return it to the store. Today I decided I had enough of that chair and it was time to go. I was not about to try and mess with selling the thing. I was just going to head down to Pottery Barn and return it. Well, like I said this is not a small chair, but I was determined to carry it and take it on the subway with me. I managed to make it down to the train with lots of comments along the way. When I finally got on the train I was sweating and just praying I would make it to 59th and Lexington. This sweet lady happened to be sitting next to me and she turned and said, "You are brave. If I was your age, I would have done the same thing." The guy across from us thought it would be a good idea for me to ride the train all day and charge people to sit in it! Well, back to the sweet little lady. Her name is Henrietta and she has lived in New York for over 60 years. It just so happened that she was on her way to Pottery Barn too. She decided to be my little guardian as we walked off the train. She showed me where to go, opened doors for me, and kept me company along the way. Here is a picture that a sales associate took for me when I arrived. I had to document my newest friend!

Hello, Stranger

2008-08-17T03:53:00.000-07:00

I know the age old saying that you should never talk to strangers can be very true, but in New York it is pretty much impossible to adhere to that rule. Apparently I am a magnet for some interesting "strangers" in New York City. I will share a couple stories from the past few weeks...

Story #1: Date at the Grocery store

Scene: cold food section-milk aisle looking at expiration dates

Characters: Strange old man, Ashley

Strange old man:"Hey pretty lady. How do you keep yourself looking so fine?"

Ashley: speechless

Strange old man:"How about a date sometime?"

Ashley:"Well, I'm married."

Story#2: Do I know you?

Scene: Bailey and Ashley walking to meet Ben for lunch at the Shake Shack. Momentarily stopped at a street corner waiting for the walk signal.

Characters:Bailey, Ashley, man with guitar on his back

Man with guitar on his back: begins waving at Ashley on the street. "Hi, how are you? I've missed you."

Ashley: extremely confused. has he mistaken me for someone else or is he delusional? "Oh, I've been in Texas."

Man with guitar on his back: "Ok, I've been out playing today. My uncle taught me everything I know."

Ashley: still confused, trying not to laugh. "Wow. That is great. It must be nice to have a mentor in the family."

Man with guitar on his back:"Yeah, he told me there are highs and lows with music."

Ashley: looking around for Ben hoping he is close by. "Yes, I hear the entertainment industry is tough."

Man with guitar on his back: "Ok, well, I will see you tomorrow."

Ashley: "Bye"

Story#3: Poncho Man

Scene: Union Square Park. Bailey and Ashley are watching the "squirrel man" evoke every squirrel within a 50 ft. radius of the park with a bag of peanuts and some corn. Think Evan Almighty. A strange man wearing a colorful poncho (not a rain poncho, but the hooded poncho that was cool back when I was in the 8th grade) approaches us.

Characters: Bailey, Ashley, and Man wearing colorful poncho

Poncho man: "How old is your dog?"

Ashley: "She is 5."

Poncho Man: "What is her name?"

Ashley: "Bailey"

Poncho Man: "Do you feed her table scraps?"

Ashley: giggle "Yes, she is pretty spoiled."

Poncho Man: "You need to feed her chicken and rice."

Ashley: "I'll think about that."

Poncho Man:"What is your favorite color?"

Ashley: "umm, green I guess"

Poncho Man: "Green is the color of the earth."

Ashley: "Very true."

Poncho Man: "I am a salsa instructor."

Ashley: "Really, that is great.

Poncho Man:"Do you salsa dance? I am looking for two girls for a performance."

Ashley: "Well, I like to eat salsa but I have never been salsa dancing. My husband is a great dancer. Are you looking for men too?"

Some of my favorite pictures taken this year that make me smile and remind me of home

2008-08-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

Manhattan Sunset

2008-08-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of weeks the weather here has been wonderful. A very mild August for New York, and much more enjoyable than August in Texas. One night there was a beautiful sunset and I got some pretty good pictures from our apartment. The Lord is an amazing artist, even in the midst of a big city.

A Man of Infamy

2008-08-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

So, this guy calls himself the "Naked Cowboy" and he claims to make over $200,000 a year standing on the street in his painted underwear while playing the guitar! I don't know how long he has been on the streets of New York, but the first time I saw him was 6 years ago when I came with a couple of girlfriends. Obviously he is still out and about making a decent living, I guess! I took the picture with my phone while stumbling upon a taping of Good Morning America in Union Square Park. He was part of the show and I just couldn't refrain from sneaking a picture. I was not the only one trying to be discreet. It was pretty funny : )

Farmer's Market

2008-08-16T12:43:00.001-07:00

Directly across from our apartment building is Union Square Park. Almost every day of the week, at least in the summer, there is a Farmer's Market that is absolutely amazing. I have walked around in awe several times looking at all of the beautiful fruits, veggies, flowers, etc . You cannot believe all of the fun things they sell here. The selection looks like Central Market on steroids- it's a little overwhelming! Before today I had not taken the plunge and actually shopped here. Well, I am sold. It was so fun walking around, tasting samples, and buying from the local farmers. I bought some really fun things and I am excited to try all of it. Hopefully it will all taste as good as it looks. Here are some pictures of the market.

Pics of the "backwards" couch

2008-08-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

*make note of the worm head that is already on the couch- Bailey was excited to finally have a couch and she doesn't care which side the chaise is on!

Speechless

2008-08-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

So, I am in shock right now because I never could have imagined that anything else could go wrong in this transition process. Well, guess what, I was wrong! So, this week was a big week for us. We were going to get TV on Tuesday and our couch today (which we ordered back in June). As you know, we still don't have TV due to a bad directv box and now we have a defective couch. Yes, I can't believe that I am writing this. So, I took Bailey outside for a quick walk and came back to the Pottery Barn delivery guys waiting at my door. Finally, after a month of living here we will actually have a couch! The guys bring the couch inside and start to unwrap it. I am so excited I can't see straight because now I can lay on the couch and stare at my TV that doesn't work : ) Well, I am watching the guys unwrap the pieces ( we ordered a chaise/love seat combination) and I start thinking, hmmm this does not look right. I think the chaise was supposed to be on the left side, not the right. Are you kidding me!!!! I can't believe what I see. I run frantically to check our original paper work to make sure I was thinking straight. Oh yes, we had ordered a chaise on the left side, but my living room now has a chaise on the right side which is next to the kitchen. Lovely. I am getting really nervous because this was a "custom" order which means you can't return it. I immediately call Ben and tell him to call me right away- luckily it was almost his lunch break. Well, he calls and talks to the people and they figure out that the order had been placed correctly, but the vendor delivered the wrong pieces. Oh, and this is the best part, "It doesn't look like we will be able to get you the correct couch until October!" Excuse me? What? Are you kidding? Seriously, at this point I am beginning to think Lord do you really want us here? Well, we are able to keep the "backwards" couch until they deliver the new one, which offered a little bit of relief. But still, October?? At this point I really don't even know what to expect anymore. At least we have a couch to sit on, even if you can jump from the kitchen onto the chaise : )

I just want to watch some TV!

2008-08-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

So we moved to New York on July 10th and it is now August the 12th. Throughout this crazy process we have not had TV or a couch. My feelings are mixed because it has been nice to have a break from the TV, but I am itching for some entertainment and just a casual update of what is going on in the world. Oh, and I really want to watch the Olympics. So, the reason we have not had TV is because Ben really wanted Directv, not cable. Supposedly there are more HD channels than cable and there is more access to college football which is a BIG deal in our house. We have to be able to watch the Aggies up in NYC- my husband will watch football previews on his computer and tear up! The love runs deep people : ) The TV is his deal and I was totally content to let him make all of the decisions with one request: I really wanted the DVR so I could record and watch my shows later. The cable guy was here about 2 weeks ago installing our internet. We could have had cable at that point, but we decided to wait it out for the prize. Oh and a little side note, Shark Week is one of my favorite things in the world to watch- don't ask me why, but I love it! When I was younger I thought I wanted to be a marine biologist, so maybe that is why I love it!! Anyway, the day the cable guy was here was 2 days before shark week aired on the Discovery Channel. So, agreeing to Directv was a kind of a big deal. Anyway, today was the day we were finally going to have TV. I had about 6 texts from Ben making sure I was awake and ready for the people to come and do the installation. Yes, babe, I'm here and not going anywhere. In fact, I am still in bed : ) So, the guy gets here and needs permission from our landlord to install. I head up to the office to get approval and they say it is ok unless they get fined because we are a landmark building. If they get fined, we have to take the dish down. Ok, whatever. At this point I really don't care and I am just ready to get this show on the road. Well, the guy gets the dish installed which is drilled into the side of our apartment and he hooks up the box. Drum roll please....wait, the TV is saying NO Signal. The guy tries a few other things and then determines that the box doesn't work!!! It really was almost funny, almost. Everything has been so complicated and nothing ever seems to go as planned. I guess this was just another bump in the road. Yes, a trivial one, but still another glitch that keeps things interesting! Below is a picture of the new satellite dish outside of our and a video of Bailey barking at the guy's cable wire- she thought it was an intruder or something. Alas, it will be another couple of days before we have TV but this made me laugh and enjoy another crazy moment in New York City!

the HUGE satellite dish outside of our window

Bailey barking at the cable wire

Jack Johnson Live

2008-08-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

All Points West Music & Arts Festival in Jersey City

2008-08-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

   Eating a jalepeno corn dog

   Ben Harper

   Jack Johnson

Bailey and Her Two Loves

2008-08-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Bailey, our only child for now, has two loves in this world: squirrels and her worm toy. When she wakes up in the morning and I get her out of the bed (spoiled huh?) she immediately runs around to find her beloved worm toy. A couple of months ago, my grandparents kept Bailey for us while we were out of town. At that point, the worm toy had been so loved that it's head was coming off. Memommie was very worried that Bailey might choke, so she decided to cut the head off. Now that is her favorite part of the worm. She chews on it and even sleeps with it like a blanket. I have tried to replace the worm with a new one. I searched forever but could not find an exact replica. It is hopeless because she is totally devoted to her first love and does not have an interest in her new worm aka spiny rattler. Her other love is squirrels and the park across from our apartment is a haven for them. The squirrels are everywhere, and they will come up and eat out of your hands. So, when it is time to go outside, Bailey is beside herself hunting for squirrels. She walks around the fence and stops and just watches for them. If she spots one she begins whining and tries to chase them. Dogs are not allowed in the grass, but occasionally I break the rules to give her a little fun. Here are some pics.

The Orginal: Bailey only has eyes for you

The Reject: New Spiny Rattler

NYC apartment

2008-08-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our apartment so far. It is still a work in progress, but this should give you a pretty good idea of what it looks like. We miss our friends and family, so please come visit!!!

the view of downtown from our apartment

a view of the edge of union square park from our apartment

bathroom

bedroom

entry hall

kitchen

pantry : ) yes, it's on the wall!

desk

bookshelf

media stand

Welcome to New York City

2008-08-06T16:11:00.000-07:00

-our box springs tied to the top of the trailer!

the motorcycle that crushed our boxes

dead lamp shades

So, after a year long hiatus, I have decided to resurrect the blog. Yes, I know it has been a while, but here is the latest update on our lives. We moved to New York City in the middle of July and needless to say it was a crazy experience. I don't know how we would have survived without my sweet mom. We hit the ground running and did not stop until she left. After several visits to The Container Store, Bed Bath and Beyond, and a day at IKEA we finally managed to begin to get things organized. Oh, and I can't leave out the story of our move. First of all, the movers showed up 2 days late. Sunday morning we got the phone call we had anxiously been waiting for- the movers were here! We were so excited and headed to the apartment. Well, after the movers brought up about 2 loads they brought in another load and nothing belonged to us. Can we say immediate panic? Then the guy proceeds to tell us that we must pay him in CASH for the rest of the move before he would bring up the rest of our things. Excuse me? You want us to do what when you just brought up a coffee table and 4 boxes that don't belong to us-are you crazy!? So, Ben headed down to check the situation out and make sure that our things had not been lost or delivered to someone else. When he got there, the guy opened the truck and there were about 3 pieces of furniture that belonged to us and not one box ( we had about 35). Behind the moving truck was this hodgepodge trailer that looked like I had made it. He proceeds to say that maybe our stuff was in there. Maybe....Well, he opens the trailer and our stuff was in there alright. It looked like they had literally thrown our boxes in and it smelled like a horse barn. So, at this point, we were furious and the guy was refusing to take our boxes off the truck until we paid him. He also threatened to drive off and put our stuff in storage. I think my mom said, " well, then you are driving off with me buddy." At this point Ben and I got on the truck and started unloading our stuff and the guy said his boss was going to call the police. We just kept on unloading and told him he was working for a criminal. Well, about 10 minutes later 3 NYPD police cars drive up behind our moving truck and we were greeted by about 5 officers asking us who was getting robbed. HA!! We explained the situation and after about ten minutes they left and told the guy that there was nothing in the contract that said we had to pay him cash. One of the cops said, " Well, welcome to New York!" Yeah, I guess so. Hopefully it will only get better from here. At the end of the day, all of our things are here with a few bumps and bruises and the death of 2 lamp shades. Here are some pictures of the adventure.

A family trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming

2007-09-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

I guess my summer really wasn't quite over yet. We had a family trip planned for all of us including my grandparents. We stayed at the Crescent H Ranch and it was beautiful. It was so good to be surrounded by God's creation and to be reminded of how powerful it is. I mean it really stirs your soul to be surrounded by such beauty. After being in New York, it was definitely a nice change of pace. It was also fun to get some quality family time. We did so many fun things together: horseback riding, a scenic float trip, canoeing, Yellowstone National Park, hiking, and some fun at the local rodeo. Memomie, my grandmother who is 80, went on 2 big hikes with us- she is amazing. Here is a slide show with lots of pics from our trip.

Time to say goodbye

2007-09-04T07:19:00.001-07:00

I can't believe the summer is over- where did the time go? I have had so much fun being in New York- what a fun experience. I came in with little to no expectations and when it was time to go a part of me was sad. Probably because I have not had to work and I have been able to sleep late, go to Broadway shows every week, hang out with friends, shop, & eat at great restaurants- I mean can it get much better than that? Well, I guess all good things must come to an end and I am excited to get back to Texas to see my family and friends. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to come with Ben and experience NYC. He has a job offer, so we may be moving here for a few years. We will see what the Lord has in store. Here are some pics of our apartment, the laundry level, and the East River where we loved to take Bailey and relax. Oh yeah, when I flew home one of my bags weighed 70 lbs (maybe I have a little problem with overpacking). They had to put a tag on it that said, "Heavy, bend your knees." I can't imagine what a real move to NYC would be like :o)

Bailey meets a new friend

2007-09-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well, on this day I was in need of some cash. I never carry much cash in Texas, but in New York you always need it and it is gone before you know it. I was taking Bailey out and I decided to stop in this little convenient store to pulse. I managed to get distracted in the card section and Bailey discovered a cat. This cat was the queen of the store- she belonged to the owner and she got to go anywhere she pleased. Bailey LOVES cats and she is so curious when she gets around them. Her little heart starts beating so fast and she does not know what to do with herself. The owner was very nice and he would pick up the cat and let Bailey sniff her. After this discovery, we had to stop at this little store every time we went outside and she knew exactly which door to go to. It made me laugh and I couldn't resist her little eyes looking back at me and then looking at the door like she was asking me if she could go in. Can you tell how spoiled our dog is? :o)

My Birthday

2007-08-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

So this year was my golden birthday- that's right, I was 28 on the 28th. My sister-in-law and I share this birthday but hers is in April and she is 2 years older than me. Anyway, that morning Ben and my mom went down to the studio and got tickets to Jersey Boys. After that we headed to Madison Square Park and got a burger at the Shake Shack. This place is so fun, especially on a pretty day and they have great burgers. After lunch, we headed down to Union Square to check out the Framer's Market that comes each weekend. It was huge and the food looked great- didn't buy anything though. That night we went to dinner at Pastis. It is a sister restaurant of Balthazar which is another great restaurant in NYC. The food was so good and I had the strawberry shortcake for dessert. We ordered it to share, but I liked it so much I ended up eating most of it myself. We also ran into Megan and Randy at the restaurant- they had plans to go there that night too because it is one of their favorite restaurants. It was fun to get to see them! Next, we headed to the studio to see Jersey Boys. This show was so great- the music was amazing and it was definitely one of the best shows I saw all summer. It was such a great day and I was thankful to have mom there to share the day with us.

A visit from my mom...

2007-08-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

Mom came in town for my birthday weekend and spoiled us as usual. I had been wanting to go to Gramercy Tavern all summer because it has been voted the #1 restaurant in NYC over the past couple of years. It definitely lived up to its reputation- the food was great (I had the stuffed meatball :o) ) and the atmosphere was so fun. We had to wait for about 45 minutes so we decided to kill some time at Flute. It is a champagne bar- another fun place with a cool atmosphere. Mom had the biggest drink out of the 3 of us, but I helped drink hers because I did not like mine. She ordered the champagne mojito- it is really good if you ever go there. It was so good to have her here and it was the first weekend Ben and I weren't spending money- thanks mom.

A Broadway show, Times Square, and way too much fun in a tourist shop!

2007-08-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

That afternoon we stopped by TKTS to find some discounted tickets. We decided on 110 In The Shade- it was cool to see a show in Studio 54. After the show, we decided to head down to Times Square-we got the usual pic in the middle and we asked a random Asian guy to take our picture. Then we asked him if he wanted us to take a picture of him (this is usual camera etiquette) and he said yes. But, he wanted us to get in the picture with him- ha! I think Shelly and I took one for the team. We also managed to get distracted at a random tourist shop and had way too much fun. We were laughing so hard at ourselves trying on Statue of Liberty hats, sunglasses, mini license plates with our names- I mean the fun was never ending :o) Leslie liked her Statue of Liberty hat so much she decided to buy it and walk around in it until we got out of Times Square.

Some "street meat" and a walk through Soho

2007-08-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

After the ferry we stopped in Soho to check out the cheap jewels you can find on the street. We were hungry, so we all stopped and had a "dirty dog" as they call it here. The hot dog was great and were on the prowl for some cute jewelry to wear to the show. We all found a necklace and we also ended up with new dresses for the show. I have had way too much fun shopping in this city!

The Staten Island Ferry

2007-08-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite pictures and then a slide show...

What season is it??

2007-08-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

So, Monday morning we get up and decide to go stand in line to try and get on Regis & Kelly and the View. It was POURING down rain and cold! Definitely a random day in the city for the month of July. Well, we did not get on either of the shows, but Leslie and Shelly did make it on David Letterman. I could not go because I had already been on the show with Melissa. I enjoyed a little down time and then met up with the girls after the show. The rain decided to slow down and we headed to the World Trade Center and the Brooklyn Bridge for some pizza. It felt like October, but we still had a great time exploring.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle

2007-08-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

Since Ben and I have been in NYC, we have been going to church at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. I love this church- the pastor is great and the praise and worship is amazing. It is the closest picture of heaven I have even seen and so different than any church experience in my life. There are all kinds of people there and the worship is powerful. The first time we walked in, the balcony was shaking from the bass and the music. It has been such a blessing for us and a great retreat from the city each weekend. If we move to New York, we will definitely go to church there. I would love to get involved in the children's ministry. This weekend I brought Leslie and Shelly and I think we were all moved to tears. There was a visiting pastor from Chicago who was great- his message was about how God is in control- Amen! Oh yeah- this is for Leslie "Rhoda, answer the door :o)" Anthony Evans, the son of Tony Evans, (my mom loves listening to him on the radio) was also there providing some guest music. Ben and I were so amazed we went back to the 3:30 service just to hear him in concert- it was worth it. Ben managed to snag a picture with him after the first service. If you ever go to NYC, I definitely recommend going to a service here- you will love it. Here are some pics.

Street fair in Soho & dinner with the girls

2007-07-30T19:25:00.001-07:00

Hairspray & Dessert at Ruby Foo's

2007-07-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Cafe Lalo and Central Park with the girls

2007-07-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Serendipity 3

2007-07-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

The Late Show with David Letterman

2007-07-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

On Thursday Melissa and I went back to the Late Show hoping to get tickets this time. We pled our case about how they needed us in the audience because we were teachers and we were from Texas. We got the phone call confirming our entrance to the show. When we got to the studio, we had these orange dots on our tickets and that meant we had been chosen for audience upgrades! We were so excited and convinced we were going to have a moment of glory on TV. We clapped and smiled and laughed at all the jokes, but only our hands made it on TV because the basketball stunt guy stole our moment of glory :o) Oh well, it was so fun being there and seeing in person what we see on TV. We were on the second row so we had a great view of the set!

The Lion King

2007-07-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

This was another amazing show and it was great to see it on broadway. The costumes and production were so neat. When we looked on-line and called ticketmaster they we were unable to find seats together and the choice of seats was not very good. We went to the box office and the guy gave us "the tip of the century" and told us to come back the next morning at 9:45 and we would get great seats. We followed his instructions and definitely had a great view. A good secret to know if you are going to NYC and want to see a show. You will pay face value and they usually have great seats if you are willing to go to the box office the morning of the show.

A scary moment...

2007-07-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

Melissa and I were riding on the subway and we heard an announcement saying that we were bypassing Grand Central Station because NYPD had ordered an evacuation. Our nerves began to rush and your mind immediately begins to think: terrorists. We immediately got off at the next stop and as we came out of the subway all we could see was a huge pillar of smoke and people running. This only escalated our fear and we did not know what was going on. I got on the phone to call my mom and let her know that I was OK. She had been watching the news and told us that they were saying it was a steam pipe explosion. We are so thankful that is all it was and we are also thankful for God's hand of protection over us that day even if our nerves were rattled a little. Just a little reminder to be thankful for each day that we have to spend with family and friends.

Hanging out with the paparazzi...

2007-07-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Melissa and I tried to get on the Letterman show. However, they had 2 very high-profile guests that night and we did not get in on the stand-by list. We were disappointed, but we decided to stay and watch the guests arrive. We managed to work our way over to the side of the street where the paparazzi were hanging out waiting for their million dollar picture. It was fun to hear all of their stories about different people. After a few minutes of waiting, we found a little crate and both of us stood on it for about 30-45 minutes waiting for our million dollar picture :o) We snapped a couple of good pictures of Paula Abdul and John Travolta. We got so excited that some of them are blurry. Needless to say, I don't think the magazines will be calling us, but we had a great time.

The Rainbow Room

2007-07-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night, my friend Melissa came to visit. It was so fun to have her here with me for a week. We had a great time- lots of star sightings :o) and fun memories. On Monday night we went to the Rainbow Room which is on the 65th floor of the GE building in Rockefeller Center. The view was amazing, but we were quite shocked to see a $41.00 bill after we each had 1 chocolate martini. I guess you have to pay for the view too!

Central Park

2007-07-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning, before church, we ate breakfast at Sarabeth's and then walked through Central Park. This particular area of the park is called the Mall and it is beautiful. They sell pictures of this view in the four different seasons. I love walking through the park- it is a nice break from the streets of the city.

STOMP!!

2007-07-19T17:23:00.001-07:00

A shout out to my brother :o)

2007-07-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

This is a special post just for my brother-in-law, Rob Barry. We visited the Starbucks on Wall Street and thought of you! I know you would have great plans for that store!

Break Dancing Entertainment

2007-07-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we walked around 5th avenue and along the way we passed by these guys break dancing. It was fun to watch and I managed to grab a few pics.

Fun with the Cholicks

2007-07-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Ben and Betsy came to visit for the weekend and we had a great time hanging out with our newly married friends! On Friday night we walked the Brooklyn Bridge and ate pizza at Gramaldi's- the wait was about an hour, but it was great!

My role as tour guide begins...

2007-07-19T16:52:00.001-07:00

My friend Sarah came to visit. We had lots of fun walking around and way too much fun shopping :o) I took her to Sarabeth's and introduced her to the famous french toast. I am glad she was able to come and hang out in NYC for a few days!

It may not be Hawaii, but...

2007-07-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

the view is still pretty cool. In New York, there are not neighborhood pools you can just go to and get some sun. Instead, people lay out on roof tops. We do not have one at our apartment complex, but my friend Megan has one at hers. It has been fun to get some sun on the top of a huge building- definitely a first for me! Here are some pics...

Rodgers family weekend in NYC...

2007-07-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

Ben's mom, dad, and younger sister Karla came to visit this past weekend. We had a great time and seemed to fill every minute with something to do. Here are some pics of the things we did.

Friday Night:
We went to Carnegie Deli and they had the biggest sandwiches I had ever seen in my life. I think there might be 2 lbs of meat on them! After dinner we walked around Times Square for a while. The lights never get old to me- it is fun to see every time we go. We found the Hershey's store and bought some chocolate. Rodney is holding the world's biggest chocolate bar! It was huge! After walking around for a while, we found Fox News Channel- Rodney's favorite news channel.

Saturday:
We woke up and went to eat breakfast at Sarabeth's. I had the fat and fluffy french toast again- it is SO good! Next, we headed over to the Met. That place is huge and pretty overwhelming. We had fun wandering around and had to ask for directions to different galleries several times. We saw the Egyptian gallery (Ben and the mummies), the American gallery, and the African gallery. All of the African art seemed to have statues with these funny lips, so of course, Ben and I could not resist imitating the pose. That night we went to see Wicked. It was amazing- one of the best shows or maybe the best show I have seen. The set and the singing were great. I would definitely recommend it to anyone! After Wicked, we headed over to Carmine's for dinner. This is a family style Italian restaurant with huge servings. We ordered some fried zucchini and it probably could have fed 10 people. Overall, the meal was great and it was a fun place to eat.

WICKED

Sunday:
Ben and I have been going to the Brooklyn Tabernacle while we have been here and it is so great- definitely an experience. However, the service usually lasts about 2 hours and it takes about 30 minutes to get there. We decided to sleep in and squeeze some more touring in today. Ben and Karla headed off to the MoMA- Museum of Modern Art- and they saw some some pretty cool things like Van Gough's Starry Night. I took Sammie and Rodney to the Meatpacking District, Greenwich Village, and West Village. We stopped at Chelsea Street Market, where they film the food network. This is such a fun building with lots of cute shops. We stopped at the Fat Witch- this is Oprah's favorite brownie! Then we headed off down Bleecker street and made another stop at Magnolia Bakery for some banana pudding. This little bakery is famous for their cupcakes and the line is always out the door and around the corner. Next, we got in a cab and headed down to Chinatown. This was an experience! People come up to you left and right, "You like Coach, Gucci, Prada- come with me." We ended up following one lady to this back room and they lock you inside. Sammie came out with lots of Christmas presents for the girls in the family! Rodney looked like Santa Claus carrying all of the loot in a trash bag! That night we went to see Rent- it was another entertaining broadway show! The picture of Rodney has a funny story behind it. He met us for dinner and when he walked in he was sparkling- covered in glitter! He said he borrowed Sammie's hairspray, but it was not hairspray. It was body glitter! We cracked up!!

Monday:
The last day we headed down to the financial district. We saw Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, and Ground Zero. It is still hard to grasp what happened on 9-11 in our country. I can't imagine being there and it is hard not to think about all the precious lives that were lost that day. The entire site is surrounded by police officers- hundreds of them. After touring that area, we headed up to Chinatown to show Karla. We walked around to all of the vendors- no secret rooms with purses this time. However, I managed to buy some DVDs that were new releases- I would not do this again- the quality was terrible! Oh well, live and learn! We headed up to Soho and walked around for a while and then it was time for them to head back home. We are so glad they were able to come and visit- so many fun memories and Ben did not have to work the whole weekend!

More of July 4th and fireworks...

2007-07-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

After the game we came back home and took Bailey out and just hung out at the apartment trying to decide what to do for the evening. We met up with Megan and Randy for pizza at Patsy's Pizzeria- it is a great little place that is within walking distance from our apartment. Our apartment is on the East side and they do great fireworks off of barges on the East River. After dinner we headed back down our street, E. 58th, which dead ends into the East River. It was really crowded and rainy so we didn't really have a great view of all the action. But, we still had fun trying to squeeze in -we actually climbed up on some railing and watched the fireworks! We love hanging out with the Evans- they are so much fun and we always have a great time together. The story behind our friendship is that I met Megan when I was in graduate school. I had an internship at an elementary school in Highland Park and she was my supervisor. She is my age, but those Baylor girls are ahead of the game :o) Anyway, she and Randy have been here over the past year and they just bought a house in Dallas and are heading back to Texas in August. Megan is such a sweet friend and it has been a blessing to have a familiar face to see and voice to talk to in this sea of strangers. We will definitely hang out when we all get back to Texas!

July 4th and the Yankees...

2007-07-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

So for July 4th Ben bought Yankees tickets! We got on the subway and headed over to Yankee Stadium. We had never been there and it was fun to be in a place with so much history. We got hot dogs, a salty pretzel, popcorn, and dippin dots- another one of my favorites. I know we were really healthy- oh well. The game was fun and we had great seats. The Yankees were winning until the seventh inning. There were the cutest kids sitting right by us who loved to dance every time they played music. The Cotton Eyed Joey was pretty funny! After the game we bought some Yankee paraphernalia- t-shirts and hats- we have to be official! It was a great way to spend July 4th although we did miss being at the lake with family and friends. But, with all the rain in Texas, my family didn't make it to the lake this year. We are definitely missing our time out on the lake wake boarding and listening to John Cougar. We are looking forward to Labor Day weekend back in Austin. Oh yeah, if you look closely at one of the pictures of Ben and I you will see that I managed to get out the door with only one earring. I was trying to decide which ones I wanted to wear and I only ended up with one and realized this I think about 2-3 hours later. I wonder who I inherited that from (Mom) :o) I asked my husband why he didn't tell me. Boys and details- he didn't even notice and they weren't little studs!

Our 5 year anniversary...

2007-07-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

Our actual anniversary was Friday night and we spent that with our friends from Texas, the Evans. We went down to Little Italy and had a nice Italian dinner. We weren't sure what Ben's work schedule would be like, so we had dinner reservations on Saturday night. One of the guys Ben works with recommended Del Frisco's and it was wonderful! We had great steak, salads, and my favorite: macaroni & cheese :o) We were SO full, but had a great time together- I can't believe it has been 5 years and it was fun to celebrate in NYC!

Our first weekend in NYC...

2007-07-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

Ben and I were able to sleep in on my first Saturday morning in the city. We decided to go have brunch at our favorite spot so far- Sarabeth's. They have great lattes, french toast, and tomato soup. After stuffing ourselves, we decided to walk around for a while. We walked around 5th avenue and then decided to go back and get Bailey and take her to the park. The first stop we made was at the ice cream stand- we got an ice cream sandwich, one of Bailey's favorites thanks to her grandfather. Then we found a good spot and just enjoyed the view for about an hour and a half. Bailey was so excited to be able to walk in the grass and she was kicking it all over the place- her usual routine after going to the bathroom. There were two cats running around like they were hunting and Bailey was going crazy wanting to chase them. I had no idea they belonged to anyone until the man scooped them up and put them in his bag. After relaxing for a while we headed back to the apartment and got ready for our 5 year anniversary dinner.