Gearing Up

Since deciding to run the NYC Marathon this year, I've been getting my brain wrapped around the fact that I will be running TWENTY SIX POINT TWO MILES! EEEEEK! I am so thrilled that My Hero has decided to run with me. He's been so supportive already. My birthday was just a week ago and he got me a shiny, new pair of running shoes.

I think they were part of a reward for attending a Brooks running clinic with him a couple months ago. I dragged myself out of bed early one Saturday morning to listen to a Brooks rep tell about the fabulous technology within these shoes. I have been wanting to try this brand of shoes for years now, but they are ultra expensive. My Hero worked his magic and got a fabulous discount on the shoes you see above! Oh yeah! I am so thankful he's thrifty!

We also got each other the most romantic Christmas gift for one another this year. It's almost right up there with a vacuum. Kidding. See below.

Gym memberships are really pricey in NYC so we decided to invest in a home gym for ourselves. We really enjoy running through the city, but it's just too cold to do that now so having a treadmill in our apartment has been a great decision. Thank goodness we live on the bottom floor so we don't disturb anyone below us...ummmm...I hope we don't disturb anyone beside us or above us. Well, there haven't been any complaints yet so I guess it's not too loud.

I also got a new workout video series to help me train: TURBO FIRE!!!!! I absolutely L-O-V-E Chalene Johnson. I've tried a couple other of her workout series, such as Turbo Jam and ChaLean, and they are AWESOME. I am already in the third week of this series. Let's just say it's not for the beginners. YOWZA!

Cross your fingers that the training goes smoothly. I have until November 2011 to get into tip-top-running-shape. Bring it on!

Celebrate

I spent the last week celebrating the life of my grandmother. Check her out in the picture above. This was my grandmother, Meme, celebrating her 80th birthday! My uncle had a hard time keeping up with her on the dance floor that day. You can see my grandfather in the background of this image smiling at her and just letting her do her thing. She tried to make every day a celebration.

As my family reflected on her life this past week, my grandfather summed her up the best: "She was just a marvelous woman. She was...well...something else." Needless to say, tears welled in my eyes when I heard this.

Other family members offered very thoughtful, honest, candid and often humorous input on Meme's life as the days passed.

• She always made sure her family was well fed - My brother said Meme always wanted him to eat grapefruit because "it was healthy for him" (despite the mounds of sugar my grandmother had to put on it to get him to eat it). I recall her delicious bean with bacon soup (thank you, Campbell's), the never-ending supply of goldfish crackers and the tomato sandwiches. Of course, there were never enough HOMEMADE rolls to go around. I tried to make these with her once, but realized that I would never get her recipe since it literally consisted of a "pinch" of this and a "dash" of that and it took ALL DAY to make only a few precious pieces of baked dough.
• Exposure to the Arts - Meme did her best to expose my brother and I to the arts. She and my grandfather took my brother and I to the Nutcracker when we were very young. I remember this, but my brother has conveniently put it out of his memory. He was definitely more into sports. She and my grandfather also expanded my horizons when I was twelve years old by taking me on a bus tour to NYC. We saw the Rockettes that trip and I remember my grandmother complimenting the dancers spectacular legs. HA!
• The beach -There's no doubt that my grandmother loved the beach. The woman just loved the sun in general. I think she was in her element anytime we went to the beach or to the pool to soak up some rays.
• Ear muffs - My grandmother tried to protect me from foul language as a child, but she didn't hesitate to say a few naughty words for a joke or to get her point across. She would tell me to cover my ears, but I would never cover them all the way. I didn't want to miss her story about the "sh!t that hit the fan!" Meme's theory on using cuss words was that there were more creative words one could use. It was too common to cuss and it definitely wasn't lady-like at all.
• Always important to look presentable - My grandmother was always impeccably dressed. I never saw the woman in jeans or sweatpants. I try never to go anywhere in something that my grandmother wouldn't approve of. This is not being prudish either. The woman owned a fringed, little black dress. She was H-O-T!
• "Fresh" - Meme enjoyed "fresh" food...especially her tomato sandwiches. She knew when something was made with fresh ingredients and she would let everyone know how much she enjoyed it.
• Thanksgiving "Turkey Song" - I will never, ever, ever have a Thanksgiving without Meme's Turkey Song. She sang it to us every year and I am so thrilled that my nieces have started to learn it as well.
• Bunny Rabbits - Meme loved bunny rabbits. Her home was filled with several, beautiful rabbit figurines, wall decorations and various other decorative items for the home. It sounds tacky, but, trust me, it was nothing of the sort. My grandmother had a taste for the finer things in life and her collection of rabbits reflected this.
• Appreciation for the finer things in life - China, Crystal, Silver - I simply don't remember a holiday when we didn't eat in the dining room on the fine china. It was very special.
• Dancing the Charleston - The day I realized that my grandmother was so cool was when she taught me how to dance the Charleston. She was so lite on her feet and just got down with her bad self.
• Fitness - My grandmother was the first to teach me about fitness. She was a master of teaching by example. We would always go for a walk after dinner when I spent the night with her during the summer. Meme knew it was important to live a healthy lifestyle. A piece of chocolate (or two) was part of this theory too.
• "Maaaawtha" - VERY few people in my life are allowed to call me by my first name, Martha, and have me respond. Meme never called me just by my middle name as all my friends do. She never wrote only my middle name in correspondence. It was ALWAYS "Maaawtha." She put the most elegant, southern stretch on my name. Of all the wonderful things I recall and fondly remember about my grandmother, I will certainly miss this the most.

Thank you, Meme, for all of your wonderful traits, lessons taught and love shared. XOXO.

Goals (Not Resolutions)

2010 was such a great year with a list of goals set before me last year, that I thought I would try it again for 2011. It's so great to see your plans in black and white. Keep in mind that this is a working list and none of the items listed are in order of priority.

• Spend time reading & studying the Bible everyday
• Tithe. SAVE. Spend wisely...on a new Louise Vuitton!!!
• Run the NYC Marathon
• Begin learning Spanish
• Be inspiring - I am still working out the specifics of this one
• Erase negativity including negative thoughts
• Nurture friendships

Also, I select a verse or two of the Bible each year to guide me through each day and give me strength. Here is this year's selection. May it give you guidance and strength as well.

"⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

- Philippians 4: 6-7 NIV

Well, Hello 2011

Happy New Year and Welcome 2011!

2010 was such a wonderful year that I could hardly wait to usher in 2011 with My Hero and Sunshine. We got dolled up and headed to Michael Jordan's Steakhouse located inside the main concourse of Grand Central. As I have mentioned before, this is one of my most favorite places in the world due to the gorgeous architecture and grandeur of the building in itself.

After an impromptu photo shoot located on one of the far stairways in the main concourse (thank you, hubby, for being so patient and humoring us), we were lead to our dinner table. Our stomachs were welcomed to the evening with appetizers consisting of warm garlic bread with gorganzola fondue and chopped caesar salad with herb croutons and parmesan.

While waiting for the main course we speculated about the other people in the restaurant. It was quite a diverse crowd, but then again, this is New York City and that's what you will find in nearly any environment. Before long, our table was filled with three gorgeous plates of food to accompany the conversation.

(From left to right: New York Strip with Creamed Potatoes, Roasted Salmon with Fingerlings Potatoes, Brown Butter Mustard and Tomato Jam, Grilled Chicken with Asparagus and Creamed Potatoes)

At one point during our dinner, Sunshine joked that we were quite the "modern family" since we were all on our phones texting about the evening. I supposed it was so good that we had to share with everyone else.

The strike of midnight was upon us shortly after we ended the meal with a warm, dark chocolate brownie topped with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream. We toasted in the new year with a sip of complementary bubbly and a palm reading...yep, a palm reading! A woman at the table next to us stopped me on my way to the ladies' room claiming that she just had to tell me that she felt wonderful vibes from me and that this is going to be a great year for me! WHAHOOO!!!! I wanted so badly to tell her that I don't look to the stars for my answers in life, but I look instead to the one who made them. Who was I to stop her from wishing me such great fortune for the year ahead? She did ask me to make a silent wish over the year and I wished for her salvation and that of many others. You can never go wrong with that wish! This is going to be a great year. May yours be wonderful as well.

Almost a White Christmas

We experienced our first official Christmas as New Yorkers. We were one day shy of having a white Christmas. Now we have enough snow to last us for the remainder of the long winter ahead. My Hero and I joked that we moved to the north to finally have a white Christmas and that's precisely what ended up happening in the south.

Before the snow hit and Santa pulled up in his sleigh, both of us had an unconventional Christmas Eve Day...we worked. Bah Humbug! Well, not actually. My Hero had a long day of work, but he was able to help both Sarah Jessica Parker and Holly Hunter find the perfect gift for their stockings hung by their chimney with care. How amazing! He managed to make it threw each meet-up and keep his jaw off the floor. Hee! Hee!

I, on the other hand, worked by choice and volunteered my day to work as an "Ambassador" (a.k.a Greeter) at the store...at Tiffany & Co. on 5th Avenue. The store always needs extra help this time of the year and I thought it would give me a greater appreciation for the products I promote in the catalogues I help produce. I showed up bright eyed and bushy tailed that morning and had a wonderful day of assisting some customers find the perfect piece or just gave others my best Vanna White smile as they ooh'd and ahh'd over the gorgeous settings. All in all, it was a great day.

We both made it home and decided to start our own tradition of building a gingerbread house.

It all started off fine and dandy until Rocky stole the roof and devoured it like a ravenous beast.

(He eyed the piece...look at the intensity and focus...)

(In one swoop, the roof was gone)

We finally made it to the end result...Rocky was a great Supervisor.

We took Rocky to Central Park Christmas Day.

The little guy had such a great day that he literally passed out when we got home.

We ended the evening with a fabulous Christmas dinner that we enjoyed cooking together. Here's the menu:

• Appetizer - Shrimp Cocktail
• Main Dish - Roast Beef with Carrots and Stewed Tomatoes
• Sides - Crescent Rolls and Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Dessert - Apple Cobbler and Coffee

The next day, we ventured out into the first blizzard of the winter. We are still digging out, but the good news is that we got our new snow boots just in time and were able to break them in. We got nearly two feet of snow.

(This is our courtyard just as the snow was beginning to fall...you can't even see the plastic chairs now.)

(The Atlas statue on 5th Ave. stood tall as the snow came down)

(We finally made it to Rockefeller Center to take a picture in front of the tree...instead it looks like we are sprouting a lit bush from our heads. HAHAHA! Oh well, we'll try again next year.)

The Tree, Toys and a Sweet Tot

We've been trying to soak in every moment of living in NYC during the Christmas Season this year. We've been spending as much time with each other as possible, being super-happy and learning to fall in love with our new city.

This week, we thought it would be a good idea to see the window displays on Madison Avenue at Bergdorf Goodman, Tiffany and Saks 5th Ave. Well, that didn't really work out too well. The crowds on the sidewalks resembled that of a mass of cattle being herded to another pasture.

We managed to sift through the crowds and make our way to Rockefeller Center to see the greatly misplaced, but stunning tree.

It took nearly 35 minutes to walk roughly 80 yards because the crowd was so thick, but the close-up view was well worth the wait.

My Hero took an amazing shot of Rockefeller Center as we got closer.

We then made our way to Madison Avenue to check out F.A.O Schwartz. My office building is literally across the street from this magical land, yet I had never been in the store until this past week. I was blown away by the eye-candy that knocked me over with every turn. The floor-to-ceiling displays were stunning.

This candy covered soldier stood nearly 15 feet high!

The life-size snowflakes dangled from the ceiling was covered with blue lights.

The plush display of Noah's Ark would make any child want to

cuddle-up and learn their Bible stories.

My Hero even displayed his "love"...

...and "hate" for the New York baseball teams on these cute stuffed bears.

I managed to find the complete section of Princess Belle dolls and dresses. Too precious.

I didn't lay a finger on the $25,000 Barbie Foosball Table. Apparently, there were only 10 made in the world which caused the price to be out of reach for the everyday man...or woman...ummmm...right.

We finally made our way to The Big Piano & I caught this sweet picture of a dad with his daughter tapping out of tune.

After the grand finally displayed above and the skyrocketing temperatures inside the store, we managed to escape with just ourselves into the "fresh" New York City air and made our way home.

Kick-It

Our big night finally came this week! We saw The Rockettes!!! It was even more spectacular than I remembered. I think that My Hero really enjoyed it as well. We had perfect seats where we could see the line formations and fabulously famous high-kicks.

There was so much packed into the show. We reflected on it afterwards as we plopped into a cozy pizza joint and scarfed down a delicious, plain cheese pie. Here's our list of highlights from the show:

• Ice Skaters
• Handbells
• Little People
• An Abbreviated Version of The Nutcracker
• The Story of Jesus' Birth
• Live Animals
• 3D - Yes, 3D glasses were provided
• Sightseeing NYC Bus
• Men Dancers
• 100s of Santas

(Inside of Radio City - decorated by Martha Stewart this year)

(Here we are!)

(Here's the stage before the curtains rise)

(The finale - we weren't supposed to take picts, but everyone else was doing it)

(The End)