soccer support

in case you forgot why it is imperative to support men's soccer.  here's is a refresher on re-obtaining your motivation.

This is Carlos

This is Benny

This is Benny playing soccer

This is Carlos playing soccer

This is Benny (all black suit) and Carlos (brown shoes center) with US Men's Soccer teammates

click on the picture for a larger view...trust me, you want a larger view

And, you're welcome.

it's beginning to look a lot like...

elements that make up the Christmas season in New York are slowly making themselves evident. 

1.  the rockefeller center ice rink is fully functioning and allowing tourists a chance to skate on the tiniest ice skating rink in the city
2.  the rockefeller center Christmas tree arrives in the plaza in exactly THREE weeks.  the giant spruce from somewhere in the tri-state area will be wheeled in and then brought upright by a giant crane
3.  it's getting colder
4.  macy's herald square already has all of their christmas shopping village up and ready for business
5.  saks fifth avenue scaffolding is removed making it ready for the snowflake show

many, many more elements still remain but it is slightly shocking that the tree will be here in three short weeks...

this week's simple moments

1. early morning bus driver told me to be safe and have a "blessed" day
2. winning a catered lunch for 20 people in my office from Qdoba
3. swapping the spring/summer wardrobe for the fall/winter
4. touring international cities on my Rock Band tour
5. my sis-in-law telling me that sometimes it is about putting something into church rather than expecting something out of it

**changed my simple moments to once a week rather than daily four times a week**

the hills are alive

i love and adore the Sound of Music!  i still remember seeing the movie for the first time at my grandpappy and grandma's basement in portland, oregon at the age of 8.  i fell in love with the story, the music, the scenery, the overall happiness that exuded when good triumphed over evil. 

it was a dream come true when netter and i traveled to salzburg in the spring of 2006.  we were like two giddy americans entranced with seeing all of the filming locations in the flesh.  salzburg is truly a magnificent and golden city.

you can imagine my excitement when i learned that certain movie theaters were playing the film in its sing-along format on the evenings of tuesday, october 19th and october 26th.  i knew that i would be buying a ticket to see this majestic movie on the big screen for the first and probably only time.  netter and i attended last night and enjoyed the cinematic splendor of the movie whilst singing along with our movie watching comrades.  i must say that i got a bit teary when peggy wood was singing climb every mountain.  it just brought back all of the wonderful moments i shared with my grandmother who has been gone these almost 10 years.  i still miss and think of her everyday.

i was also happy to learn that the queen bee, oprah winfrey (herself a huge sound of music fan) had the entire von trapp family actors back on her program.  it is scheduled to air on Friday, October 29th.  my DVR will be ready and willing to record it.  below is a quick preview to whet your whistle.

another hairapy session

this weekend is hairapy weekend number 18.  ok, so i'm not sure what number it actually is...but i am going up to connecticut to chill with clare and get a much needed new 'do.  i'm going back to the bangs my friends.  time to switch it up and since i'm desperate to get my long hair back i figured that the hairdo switchup would have to include adding bangs rather than chopping length. 

i actually think that i look pretty good with bangs.  they generally lay really well and draw people to my eyes rather than forehead.

so i shall be going back to this...

oh long hair...how i miss you...

my addiction continues...

...my three concerts in five days were completely fantastic!  pretty sure i'm going to stay addicted to live music for as long as possible because it makes me ecstatic with joy.  thankfully the concert ticket cork board has a new set of tickets posted for the traditional New York Pops Holiday concert.  can't wait!

below are a couple of videos from my time spent with Jimmy Eat World last week.  they are so great live.  only wish my camera battery didn't die when i saw Lifehouse at Roseland Ballroom.  believe me, it was also a great show!

My Best Theory


Movielike

weekend in the leaves

every october, netter and i take a weekend to commune with the fall foliage.  again this year october's second weekend was chosen to travel northward to find colorful leaves.  apparently autumn decided to take her sweet time because the trees that were alive with the majestic colors last year were still pretty green and shady. 

this lack of colorful leaf peeping didn't stop us.  we jumped into our rented Kia and traveled to vermont to try and find the foliage.  we were successful and had additional hours to rock out in our car to many fantastic tunes.  it's what i like to call an added bonus...

the next day we went to lyman orchards to go apple picking and possibily find a pumpkin to add to our apartment halloween decor.  the day was stunningly beautiful with not a cloud in the sky and lots of people wandering the orchards looking for their favorite apple variety. 

netter and i got a little silly in the pumpkin patch with my camera.  we often have the best times being total and complete goofballs while snapping photos.  it was such a great time! 

we ventured to a new locale in connecticut after our target shopping was complete.  in hubble park they have a stone structure called Castle Craig.  it was pretty cool to go up there and see the valley below...if only the trees were more colorful and less green. 

today's simple moments

1.  newly installed timers for subway train arrivals - left platform when saw next train was 10 minutes away
2.  texting with my mom
3.  realizing a hometown connection between a friend with my first name - she grew up in my home town, knows my aunt & uncle in north carolina and did i mention we share the same first name... :)

concert addict

hi, my name is pinky mcg and i'm a concert addict. 

i joke about how i spend my money on three things:  vacations (including souvenir jewelry), electronics and tickets to concerts.  i can't seem to stop my ticketmaster/live nation/broadway box office addiction. 

exhibit A:  i have tickets for three concerts that will all take place within five days

exhibit B:  my concert ticket cork board will soon be empty (see exhibit A), so during lunch today i'm off to carnegie hall to purchase New York Pops Holiday Concert tickets...can't have an empty concert cork board!

i didn't realize how much i love live music and dance events until i moved to new york.  i love living in this city that provides numerous opportunities to enjoy some of the most musically talented people in the world...now if only yanni would go back on tour...(hee hee)

today's simple moments

1.  CVS pharmacy across the street
2.  no line at shake shack 86th street
3.  unlimited metro cards

nephew time

i went to utah last weekend to spend time with the family.  it was a very quick weekend but well worth it.  i got to see my grandpappy, joani, the siblings and of course my nephews blake and jaxon.  love seeing how they've grown and their personalities have developed.  love those little muchkins.  even taught blake my signature photo pose. 

happy birthday big lug

today is the birthday of my brother, big lug.  a great thing about getting older is that the childhood memories of fighting, teasing, competing, etc. fade away.  they are instead replaced by memories of playing games, chatting on the phone whilst he travels, eating pizza at Grimaldi's, watching him sitting on the stand in church and discussing the merits of byu football.  i like these new memories much more than the one where we ended up in a rock fight after disagreeing on our ping pong score.  happy birthday brother!

today's simple moments

1.  cabby taking frontage roads to avoid traffic on the van wyck expressway
2.  man on bus singing out loud to michael jackson's man in the mirror
3.  rain soaked tree trunks

simple moments

1.  mass transit allowing me to stay dry in a massive rain storm
2.  high rise buildings
3.  breakfast delivery

simple moments in a relationship

i talk about how this blog's purpose is to share why i remain in a long term relationship with new york city.  on occassion i will write about why i love living in this city but it is sporatic at best.  that is all about to change (hopefully).

at least four times a week i will post at least three reasons why i love new york city.  trust me there are plenty of reasons why i stay in this city that never sleeps...and everyone knows how much i love to sleep. 

i've been inspired reading my friend leslie's good report, christa's crusade and others that talk about the simple reasons why they love their life.  more than ever i'm realizing how precious those simple moments mean to our daily life.  and in my narcissicistic way i want to share why my moments with new york city mean so much to me. 

the month of september

there has always been something special about september.  i love september because it means i get to enjoy the majesty of the us open, feel the start of a slight chill in the air, watch leaves changing, and celebrate the anniversary of my relationship with new york.  the month of september is very memorable especially living in new york. 

thank you september 2010.  i enjoyed our time spent together.  and hello october...welcome.

i'm a big girl now...

there are certain events that equal adulthood to me. some include: college graduation, buying your own toilet paper, housing purchase, no longer able to claim "exempt" on taxes, marriage, childbirth, not able to come up with ideas for gifts on your birthday/christmas, monitoring your 401(k) plan on a weekly basis, etc.

i recently made a decision that again cements the fact that i am a true, bona fide adult. i bought my first couch! it was a very exciting moment that clare and MC shared with me. (poor netter had seen that couch about 5 times in the last year but wasn't there for the moment of purchase - sorry friend!)

now to clarify, i do currently own a couch. i bought my friend academic's couch when she moved from the great metropolis that is new york. it's been a good couch. gooch spent many an hour upon it. but i've never actually purchased a brand new couch for myself. it was quite exhilarating!

below are links to the sectional couch i purchased as well as a preview of the fabric chosen:

sectional is a chaise and apartment sofa combo: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=252704&CategoryID=35392

color chosen is called Devin Topaz: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/furniture/sofas/hennessy-sofa/s448527

super excited for it to arrive before the end of the year!

a little something to do on the bus ride home

got a fun new app for my iPhone. i can take photos and turn them into polaroid versions. it's super entertaining when stuck in traffic on Madison Avenue because of a cavalcade of black SUVs and Town Cars taking the President to the UN. Below are a couple of my favorites.

it's my birthday...let's get on a boat

recently celebrated my birthday. it was awesome.

started with brunch at dos caminos. headed to the south street seaport for a little water ride on the east and hudson rivers. opted to do the 90 minute tour all the way to west 44th street, around the statue of liberty, back to brooklyn for a little trek across the bridges, gooch made me a cake and i blew out some candles.

it was so much fun to be hanging with friends and enjoy a gorgeous summer NYC day.

ode to a dishwasher

most of the inconveniences about living in new york are easily negated because of the awesome aspects of living in new york. today there is nothing about living in NYC that makes up for not having a dishwasher. i'm kinda done with doing all my dishes by hand. ok, i'm only one person so how many dishes can i possibly dirty...you'd be surprised.

maybe one day if i'm really good, my relationship with new york will produce a dishwasher. a girl can dream...

all about jimmy eat world

my favorite band Jimmy Eat World is releasing a new album called "invented" on september 28th! i am so excited. i pretty much devour any music they release because it never disappoints. just bought their new single My Best Theory today. fantastic!

my happiness about this news expands because a new album = a tour! i have no problem admitting to the fact that i have seen Jimmy play seven times. they are amazing performers and sounds exactly the same as their recordings...some bands aren't able to pull that off...believe me i've suffered through a few of those shows. october 14th is the day that jimmy comes to terminal 5 in new york city! tickets already purchased.

if you like good, quality, lively rock music i strongly suggest grabbing some current Jimmy Eat World for your iPod and circle september 28th on your calendar for the release of even more fantastic tunes.

Top Jimmy Eat World Tunes (per moi):

10. Cautioners - Jimmy Eat World
9. 23 - Futures
8. Hear You Me - Jimmy Eat World
7. Lucky Denver Mint - Clarity
6. A Praise Chorus - Jimmy Eat World
5. Here It Goes - Chase This Light
4. Kill - Futures
3. If You Don't, Don't - Jimmy Eat World
2. Your House (2007) - Bleed American (Deluxe)
1. Always Be - Chase This Light

Watch below for my live video of The Middle from their New Year's Eve show in Atlantic City

because i love my cousin Gooch

as described previously my cousin gooch brought the joys of us men's soccer into my life, especially the beauty of carlos and benny. of course that wasn't the only piece of joy that gooch brought with her when we lived together. she also shined the light on wearing belts with outfits to accentuate a smaller waist, amazing flavors mixed with rice & beans, having a partner to play Rock Band and see $6 movies, how brazil is an amazing country, and how her dad and my mom have conflicting stories about things that happened when they were growing up together.

a particular joy that gooch brought back to my life is something that i first had an elitist attitude about because i thought it was kinda lame. she sent me back to yesteryear and the simple joys of being a kid where all i had to worry about was how to beat big lug's grades and which scrunchie to match with my outfit. she brought me back to when New Kids on the Block ruled the world.

wasn't a huge NKOTB fan as a 11-14 year old girl. my boy band years happened much later in life with a little group called 'n sync. when NKOTB announced they were reuniting and performing on the today show...i laughed and made fun of the women lining up outside my office in rock center for a glimpse of jordan, joey, donnie, jonathan and danny. it was a total joke around the office.

so i was a bit surprised when gooch was grinning while watching the "kids" perform a little medly on jimmy fallon. she knew the words to the songs and most of the dance steps. i was quite impressed. relatively soon i was learning the dance steps along with her. i mean i didn't want her to feel alone in her love of NKOTB while in the apartment.

NKOTB was scheduled to perform at Radio City on Friday 6/18 and Saturday 6/19. the shows were sold out. then ticketmaster sent me an email saying that a third show was added on Thursday 6/17. i thought..."i miss gooch now that she has moved out and need to look for ways we can spend time together" so i sent her an email about the concert and volunteered to be her plus one. basically i would sacrifice my time and money and "reputation" by attending an NKOTB concert with her because i knew of her love for the band. she agreed and the tickets were purchased. now we waited until thursday night for the goodness of boy bandness.

the show started and i was more than ready to start rolling my eyes. the lights went down, the screaming crescendoed, and new kids on the block came out ready to throw it down. before i knew it i was dancing to tunes i hadn't heard before and the oldies that i remembered. it was so fun to bust a move with gooch and witness the dawning of thousands of women my age let loose and have a great time screaming for their teenage crush. we both left the concert singing the tunes with grins on our faces.

while singing karaoke with netter the next night (Friday 6/18) i checked on my trusty StubHub app to see if any tickets were available for saturday's show. i found one for $19. most of my friends had other plans on saturday so my night was free and clear and i figured why not have "plans" of my own. randomly i checked for 2 tickets also. two tickets halfway up on the floor were available for $30 each. gooch must be made aware of this information...so i texted her. surprisingly she was willing to say adios to her out of town visiting friends to join me for night number two spent with boys from boston. we had a fantastic time.

now i am no longer a shy NKOTB fan. i'm happy to tell those that love me how much i enjoy grooving to "full service" and "click click click". the music just makes me smile. i owe gooch an apology for being a snob about her devotion. hopefully i have made up for it. my new found joy brings us closer and allows me to embrace my youth once again.



oh, one more thing...jonathan is totally my favorite. he's just so dreamy. ;)

summer in the city

today was the first day that it really felt like Summer 2010 in the City. it's been hot prior but today all of the factors that equal New York City summer day happened on July 17th.

The factors being:
1. running both A/C units at the same time for more than an hour
2. a sweat droplet running down my back after taking a shower
3. bought two bottles of water within 3 hours of each other
4. saw five different tour groups wearing fanny packs on fifth avenue
5. street fair vendors selling meat on a stick and fruit slabs in a cup
6. women wearing gladiator sandals with bright neon pink toe nail polish
7. happily spent over $80 on a manicure/pedicure (plan to do it again and again)
8. parasols out in force
9. summer sale signs in store windows up and down madison and fifth avenue
10. movie blockbuster saturday afternoon showtime of 3:40pm sold out

i love summer. love the extra daylight hours, celebrating my birthday, hop aboard the bandwagon of trying to become "tan", us open & wimbledon action, summer movie blockbusters, the beach, eating strawberry shortcake & watermelon (not necessarily together), capri pants, flip flops & t-shirts, weekend road/train trips, concert in outdoor ampitheaters, and so you think you can dance. i am always so glad to see summer arrive and generally am okay to say farewell when that time comes around.

a little something to add to summer viewing

love me some white collar on usa network! matt bomer and tim dekay are fantastic, witty banter, great costuming and i love the way they incorporate and shoot new york. if you want a good time with pretty people solving "white collar" crimes then i highly recommend White Collar on Tuesday nights at 9pm Eastern.

a little something i enjoyed on vacation

went on vacation at the end of June to see my fabulous family. it was the longest amount of time i took to be in Utah. it was great to be with family and enjoy utah without the hassle of snow.

one thing that i definitely wanted to do was play at a water park. hadn't been to a water park since my high school graduation party...won't mention the number of years that would be. for the moocher's birthday the girls and nephews went to seven peaks in provo. i had never been.

blake and jaxon had a great time splashing in the wave pool and especially the lazy river. moocher, sunshine and i raced on the flash flood water slides. i lost both times. the only problem is that i neglected to saturate my legs and feet with sunscreen. it was painful and is now in the all too annoying peeling stage. thank goodness for banana boat after sun cooling aloe gel. despite the sunburn i've decided that we must go to the water park every summer...also helps that costco sells discount tickets. :)

spending time with the family in utah was a great week away. it's also great that i get to see joani in about a month and a half for us open weekend.

a little something with my whole family

my entire immediate family was together last weekend for the first time in 3 years. with me in new york and the big lug and liver's family in indiana, it isn't often that we all migrate to joani and grandpappy's house in utah. it is always great to be together. we play games, talk about silly things we did as kids, confess teenage transgressions to joani, eat great food and always take a family portrait.

this year's picture turned out great. i absolutely adore the one of all of my nephews and nieces.

the whole motley crew

my absolutely adorable nephews and nieces

the siblings being our happy selves
click on a picture for a larger view

a little something i love about soccer

living with gooch opened up a whole new world for me. she is an avid us men's soccer fan and imparted her love to me...(sometimes by osmosis). we watched lots of matches together. generally i would begrudingly hand over the remote. then something magical happened... carlos bocanegra and benny feilharber appeared on the television. i fell a little more in love with us men's soccer at that moment. wonder why? just look below and you'll understand. :) Go USA!!

This is Carlos

This is Benny

a little something to watch in the summer

so you think you can dance is back! must admit i wasn't enthralled with the season six fall show. there were some stand out but overall was kinda like "whatever." season seven has brought back the joy for SYTYCD and it hasn't even started in the competition phase. it has however reminded me of some of my favorite routines that i can watch over and over again. below are a few of my (and america's) faves:

Kayla & Kupono's Addiction


Chelsie & Mark's Bleeding Love


Katee & Joshua's Samba


Kherington & Twitch's Viennese Waltz:


Heidi & Travis's Contemporary (one that started it all):

a little something to add to my apartment

i bought a new bed. so excited. it is queen size and going to be fantastic! it arrives next saturday. have only one activity planned next weekend...read books and watch television episodes in my new bed.

can't wait for the new addition to apartment 2G!

a little something about my Macy

i try to keep my blog posts lighthearted and full of witty commentary. rarely do i get super personal. not this time...this post is going to be hyper personal...

when i was a graduating senior from high school my parents split up. anyone who has seen the demise of their parent's marriage knows the emotional impact that has, whether you are 4 years old or 45 years old. its the death of a relationship that was made by a conscious choice by one or both parties involved. my four siblings and i were suitably devastated by this news. my grandparents came down to mesa from orem, ut to try and apply a bandage to the vulnerable wounds we all had. one of the ways they chose to bring smiles back to our faces was to get us a dog.

we had a dog previous to the divorce named Cami. she was part of our family from when i was ages 11 - 16. she was a sheltie and super sweet. she died from heat exhaustion while my family was on vacation. my grandparents recognized the ache we felt about my father leaving and decided that they could try to plug that hole by purchasing a new beautiful sheltie puppy. that is how Macy came into my life when i was 17.

macy is funny, spunky, sweet, gentle and completely loving. she loves to stick her head out of the window when driving in the car and would consistently bark at any and all types of white vehicles. all of the other colors she would let pass her by without a peep, but the white ones felt her frustration with not being able to chase after them. she hated going to the groomer, but loved the extra petting she would receive after she was cleaned and smelling fresh with bows in her fur.

i used to joke that i would miss my mom, grandpa and macy more than my siblings and siblings-in-law once i moved away from the family nest. i was joking of course but a part of me knew that where i chose to live my life wouldn't be ideal for having a dog of my own to come home to. i would miss macy excitedly wagging her tail or pawing at my leg because i wasn't paying attention to her. for the last 8 1/2 years since i left home i would consistently make my family members go find macy and put the phone by her ear so that i could talk to her and let her know that i loved and missed her. (not sure if my family lied to me because they told me she would listen intensely and look around for me. i really hope they were telling me the truth.)

i have her picture at my desk at work along with photos of my family members. in every way she was a member of our family. she is now 14 years old and has been living with daily pills, long naps and very bad hips. she is still spunky but in a less enthusiastic way. my mom continues to call macy "her most obedient child."

tomorrow we are losing macy. tomorrow i am losing that loving individual that is ALWAYS happy to see me when i come home. i am losing a very special friend who would always eat the food i didn't want to choke down from dinner. i am losing my one time sleeping companion who would always hog the bed and pillows. tomorrow i am losing my dog.

it hurts and i'm crying with sadness but i have a greater need to know that she doesn't hurt anymore. i have to be unselfish and not ask more of her than she has consistently given to me and the rest of my family. i sometimes say that we got the better end of the deal with my father leaving so that we could welcome macy to our family...i still believe that is true.

i have a picture in my mind of macy and cami making friends in the next life. they will both be waiting for me with wagging tails and happy smiles. i love you very much macy and always will!

a little something seen in France

feast your eyes on the photographic evidence of the sheep who decided they just had to jump in front of my vehicle on the way to Mont Saint Michel as detailed in this post. thanks netter for your quick and nimble iPhone camera photography.

a little something i learned in iTunes

the shuffle option is fantastic when listening to playlists you have memorized. the shuffle feature keeps old playlists "fresh."

i always lamented the fact that i couldn't shuffle the same playlists when playing them through iTunes on my computer. being me, i never researched if that was an option but opted to live my life in a non-shuffle mode when listening to my computer.

today was Spring Wardrobe Swap 2010, so the music is blaring from my iTunes speakers in my room. about 2 minutes ago i made a new playlist to keep things "peppy." while reviewing the components of this list i noticed a bunch of icons next to the icon to add a new playlist. one was for a SHUFFLE feature. woo hoo! iTunes didn't leave me hanging all this time. they had the shuffle feature there the whole time, i just needed to pay closer attention.

pathways #7

locations represent pathways traveled or seen while in Paris

a little something experienced in Paris

i am officially a spoiled international traveler. netter and i flew business class across the atlantic to enjoy our annual trek to europe where paris was the chosen destination of 2010. saving frequent flyer miles was rewarded!

this year's trek was somewhat different than previous years because netter and i did VERY little planning for our parisian adventures. this is very much not like us...okay, not like me. we knew generally what we wanted to see and do but for the most part we let our feet take us and allowed for spontaneity which resulted in my favorite memories of paris 2010.

sainte chapelle was one of my favorite things about paris 2004 but this year my love was heightened because while waiting in the security line for entrance netter noticed an ad for a concert the next night in sainte chapelle. we immediately asked our hotel conceirge to procure tickets. we got them and enjoyed an amazing performance of a classical ensemble performing Pachelbel Canon and Vivaldi's Four Seasons. it didn't suck that we were front row center completely surrounded by illuminated stain glass. it was a truly wonderful moment to be surrounded by light, color and glorious music. very inspiring.

my second highlight was also the most stressful part of the trip for me. the night before our last full day in france we elected to trek out to the coast to see Mont Saint Michel and the beaches of Normandy. so early on the last full day we took a train to Caen and there the friendly people of Hertz took our money in exchange for a vehicle of a make and model i'd never heard of. since i had more recently driven a manual vehicle i elected to be our designated driver. took a little bit to get used to this new vehicle but once on the highway everything was gravy. it wasn't until we reached the country rode that took us to Mont Saint Michel that all went wrong.

a gaggle, herd, pride of sheep decided to do their road crossing right in front of our vehicle. for whatever reason this freaked me out that i wasn't able to get the car in gear so soon smoke started to billow from the hood. by the time the car was in gear and we pulled up to pay our parking fee smoke was billowing from the hood, under the car, through the air vents inside the car and out our vehicle windows. the parking lady wasn't amused by the deluge of smoke we brought to the parking lot.

after lifting the hood and being deluged with smoke we opted to hang with the car until only few puffs of smoke remained and treked up to the fortress. it was an amazing site! i started to get paranoid about lasting damage to the car so we cut our time short and headed back to the vehicle. thankfully all was well and we started on our way to Normandy with me freaking out about going into 1st gear the entire rest of the voyage.

normandy beaches were truly beautiful. the thing that surprised me the most was that families were playing and frolicking on the beach and in the water. i was very aware of what had taken place there almost 70 years ago and had a hard time remembering that it was still a beach. tragically we left the beach to late that the american cemetary memorial was closed. next time.

i loved our trip to paris. we had amazing food, great company, beautiful photographs were taken, new adventures were embarked upon and we took cabs almost everywhere. :) it is sometimes humbling to know that i have these amazing opportunities to see other places in the world. i hope i never take it for granted.

view from Eiffel Tower

Trocadero Plaza overlooking Eiffel Tower

Sainte Chapelle stain glass

Classical Ensemble concert in Sainte Chapelle

Seine River boat cruise

Foyer of Garnier Opera House

Golden light of Paris

Chartres Cathedral (another day trip outside of Paris)

Place de Concorde fountain

Mont Saint Michel

Omaha Beach of Normandy