Good Tidings!

It's not often you hear the words Good Tidings, unless they are while singing Christmas music... right?  The word tidings has a simple definition: "information or news".

So let's get on with the good tidings, shall we?  If we're friends on facbook, you most likely already know this as I announced it last night... BUT... in case you haven't seen or we're not facebook friends... Steve proposed on Saturday, December 22nd, 2012.  I said yes!

I'll likely have more pictures as family Christmas photos roll in... I'll try and put some up here for you all to see

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!

New Job

People have been asking how the new job is going... it's going.  Any new job is tough at first; having to learn new inventory code, new systems, new processes, new names.  It's never 'easy'.  I tend to be pretty hard on myself and set my own standard pretty high... so I get frustrated easily.  I need to let off myself and just know that it will come to me.

Now... that being said, that's just the job portion.

My own personal schedule has changed so much, and I am really struggling to find my new schedule.  I used to get up around 5am and get dressed and head right to work.  Now I get up around 7am, but I don't have to be to work until 9am.  Also, I'm used to coming home and unwinding with my kitty for a bit before Steve got home.  Now I get home and Steve's already here.  Not that it's a bad thing coming home to him, I do love it, I just need to adjust to that is how it is.  My kitty isn't home lonely looking for me, he's already been loved.

Not to mention, I work Friday's now!

It's just hard.

I'm a creature of habit and I'm used to my schedule... now I have to adjust and re-figure that all out.  I could NEVER EVER have a work schedule that I had to wait from week to week to see what my hours were going to be - I don't know how some of you do it.

Anyhow - just wanted to update everyone... I'm getting there with the new job... overall, I'm just happy to be sleeping better and be happier that I no longer have to deal with the bullshit that was my other employer.

Moving On

I think I've made it clear in my blog that I'm unhappy at my current job.  I've been applying and handing in my resume EVERY.WHERE.
I've been on a bogus interview or two.
I never gave up.

Over the last two weeks I've been communicating with a company 12 miles from my house.  I had a first interview, then I had a second interview.  Then they asked me to come in for a couple of hours, paid, to get a feel for the company and see if we'd all be a good fit.

On Monday I received an email, asking me to come in to discuss a job offer.

Today, I gave my 2 week notice and my last day with this company will be Nov. 21st.  I begin a new journey on Monday, November 26th.

I'll still be doing office/administrative work.  It's still a small company.  I'll have to start working on Friday's - which.. will be interesting.  However parts of me feel like giving up 10 hour days will be a welcomed change.. .then the other part of me says '10 hours only seems long because it's such a miserable place to work'.

Oh well.  It's a necessary change.

Today, I told my favorite co-worker, Bob.  I cried.  He cried after he walked away from me.  We are both so miserable here, we are each others only saving grace.  I feel so awful to be leaving him alone in this - however.. I have to do what is best for me.

Bittersweet.

The timing is perfect.  Tomorrow my mom and I leave for a long weekend (Th-Sun) in La Jolla, CA (just North of San Diego).  I plan to relax and hopefully catch up on some of that sleep that I haven't been getting for a few months now - only I'll be sleeping on the beach instead of in a bed :)

Eff, Marry, Kill v.2

It's back (Thanks to The Vintage Apple - go play along and link up!!) and I'm totes doing it again!  Oh what fun :)

The point of this game is to pick 3 celebs and tell your readers (and everyone who comes through from the link up) who you'd Eff, Marry, and Kill of those 3.

My 3 picks for this week: The cast (guys) from How I Met Your Mother!  Steve and I have been watching this show (from Season 1) on Netflix... we LOVE it.. .can't believe we've been missing it for years!  I'm going to make these picks based on the character in the show.. cause duh!

Eff - Barney Stinson.
I mean come on, he may be dirty, but I'd HAVE to see what the hype is all about :)  Plus he's not husband material and no way could I kill someone that funny!

Marry - Ted Mosby.
He's cute enough... and let be real, he's super romantic.  Who wouldn't want that  every day for the rest of their lives?  I love a guy who makes me his world, Ted would do that, for sure!

Kill - Marshall Eriksen.
Is this really a surprise?  He's annoying to me.. funny, yes.. but overall, annoying.
Sorry Marshall, no more lily pad for you.

What would YOU do?

Okay, so why haven't you linked up yet (click the button at the top, yo!)?  Get on it, this is FUN stuff people - make your Tuesday a super Tuesday :-P


peace.

Thoughts For Thursday: Scent Memories

One of the best things about living in a 'small town' is most of the time you have a straight up meat market - and I'm not talking a meat counter at the grocery store - I'm talking about a stand alone building that sells pretty much nothing but meat.
I love meat.  I won't lie.

Let me take you back...
When I was a little girl, I lived N.E. Minneapolis and our local butcher/meat market was Ready Meats - every time we were to have meat for dinner I would BEG to go with whichever of my parents were making the run to Ready's.
Walking into that place is something I won't likely ever forget... every time you walk in you're greeted with, not only a friendly staff, but the wonderful meat market smell.
The other reason I always loved going to the meat market is because my parents would always let me get a string cheese - BEST DAY EVER!  String cheese is the BOMB.

You know how they say a smell can bring you back to a memory?

Back to the little town I live in.  We have Anoka Meats, and boy are we lucky; best little meat market ever.  The other day I walked in to grab some ground beef for tacos (yep, we still used ground beef, haven't quite jumped on the ground turkey bandwagon yet) and the smell instantly brought me back to when I was a kid, walking into that meat market with my parents, smelling the smell and getting my string cheese.

It's a wonderful memory, for many reason.

I've yet to pickup a string cheese from our local meat market as an adult.. I don't think I want to ruin that childhood memory, so I probably never will.

Do you have a memory that pops up based on a smell?  Tell me about it - I have many more that I'll write up on soon!

I don't get it

I have a 'friend' on facebook who claims she's done a Playboy and Maxim photo shoot.  Now... this girl used to be the sweetest thing ever, we went to Elementary School together and found each other on Facebook.  Sometimes that's a mistake you know.

Anyhow - she's a completely different person, and I'm not saying people can't change... BUT, she claims this is all natural.  Her boobs... no way.  Her dark hair when it used to be blonde, maybe.. but it doesn't look real.  I just have a hard time buying her whole bit.

So she has this album on facebook that has probably 12 photos of her supposed photo shoots with these various mags.  Only problem is they either don't show her face, look NOTHING like her (and I'm not talking air-brushed), or have smudged parts of her face which would be a clearly identifying point.

I look at these photos and think how the hell can this girl claim this is her and why would you even want to do that?  I just don't get it.

Parts of me want to just post a seemingly innocent comment on one of the pics about how it looks nothing like her... (let her take it however she wants).  One dude posted on the photo with the entire nose smudged out asking why it looks like there is a smudge on her face - she didn't say anything in reply to that comment.  So... maybe my idea wouldn't amount to much.

As a matter of fact, I'm going to post that photo here and just ... i don't know, see what you think - even though you've never seen this girl, isn't it a bit odd to post this on facebook and claim it's you?

I wish I could post a pic here and have you tell me what you think, but I feel like that's going too far.

Now, I'm not saying she didn't have photoshoots with these mags, and honestly, I don't care if she did or not.  I just don't get why she'd post pics online claiming they are of her when they are clearly not.  What's wrong with people?

That's really all I've got.  Sorry this is such a lame post and completely about someone else, someone you don't even know!

Shortened Words

Have you all noticed the craze lately?  I'm sure you have.

Obvi (obvious{ly}), Deets (Details), Preesh (Appreciate), Redic (ridiculous), whatevs (whatever), Totes (Totally), Sitch (situation), Peeps (people), Cray (crazy, Steve LOVES that one)... the list goes on, surely you can think of a few yourself.

I find myself using these shortened words when I'm trying to be obnox.  See what I did there?  Anyhow, I'm not cray about the idea of doing this, but EVERYONE is adapting to it.  It's like text lingo (which I don't even really know, I always text full words), people are using text lingo in emails and shit now.  WTF?

What are your thoughts on this crazy new trend?

Update of months!

Are you pretty sure I'm dead?  You're wrong.

I'm alive, still looking for a new job, still hating my current one (even more now), still loving my boyfriend, still waiting on that ring ;), still as beautiful as ever.


What has been my life for the last couple of months?
Well... in recent weeks, we've been gifted a brand new king size bed and a kitchen-aid stand mixer.  Amazing, right?
The bed is wonderful.. we're still breaking it in - do you know you're supposed to rotate a mattress every 2 weeks while breaking it in?  Well, it's important, after the first 2 weeks there was an obvious difference once we rotated it.  We're making our second rotation this weekend.  King size sheets are not cheap, btw.

We've yet to use the stand mixer, but I figure once fall/winter rolls around and we're using the grill less, we'll have time to make some pizza dough and yummy sticky lemon rolls!  God, I love pinterest.

I've joined 2 fantasy football leagues, this is my first year ever playing FF.  So far, I'm 0-2 on one league and 1-1 on the other.  I lost week 1 on both leagues.. BUT, I've since brushed up on WTF I'm doing, so... I have high hopes for the weeks to come.

We watched season 6 of Dexter!

We booked our trip, using the first class tickets that Steve won at his Christmas party last year.  We're headed to Cancun at the end of January!

I joined Curves.  I've gone once, been a member for 18 days.  While I really want to shed some of this weight, I'm really not digging Curves after my first workout, and I'm sure I'll get over it if I just go.  The first, and only time I went, it was old ladies talking about flax seed recipes.  It just made me feel really old, and not in-my-30's old, but like straight up 70's old.  I almost went again yesterday, but... came up with an excuse to go home.  My bag is in the car, hopefully tonight.  I'll never know if they talk about anything besides flax seed unless I go find out, right?!

My niece turned 5 in July - have I told you that?  My little brother is going to be 1 next month!

I went to the Minnesota State fair and didn't eat as much as I normally do - so good and bad I suppose.

OMG - how could I forget this?!  I was driving home one day a few weeks ago and on the side of the road stood the HITCHHIKER!  For those that are new around here, follow the link and read up on hitchhiker boy.  If my blog serves me correctly, I haven't seen him since 2010 - WOWZA!  I'm beside myself knowing he is still alive, and hitchin'.  I called Bob right away to tell him about it, but he wasn't quite as excited as I was.  Not sure if I should be happy or sad that he's still a hitchhiker... I had big dreams for him, as I'm sure he did too!

Enjoyed a relaxing Labor Day weekend.

Took a door off our storage room in the basement and we're going to use it to make a headboard... I've failed to take before pictures, but I'll be sure to post some pictures once it's finished.

I photographed a wedding this past weekend!

Steve and I started Kettlebells last Wednesday - I was super sore all day Thursday and Friday!  I can't wait to do it again - we're all signed up for once a week until Jan 9th, 2013!  Shit will kick your ass, lemme tell ya!

I'm probably forgetting a few things, but I think that covers it.

Paint

I feel the need to paint.  Sometimes I get this itch...

Oh, I don't mean paint a portrait... I'm no good at that, I just mean paint color on a wall; I'm a pro in that area.

So... here are my thoughts and if you have any feedback, I'd love your input or even thoughts.
In December we painted our kitchen a shade of Green that wasn't exactly what we wanted, but we've lived with it and while we still don't love it, we no longer hate it as much as we did.  We've also picked up a backsplash that we're hoping will help us like the kitchen more.

Seem like I'm off topic?  I'm not.

Turns out buying a gallon of paint for the little bit of wall we have in our kitchen was WAY TOO MUCH.  So we have almost a full gallon to use yet!  Oy vey.
I'm thinking it might make sense to somehow use it in our spare bedroom.  Right now that bedroom has had very little attention from me/us; the walls are pink and have been for the year and half we've lived there.  Here is a pic from when we first moved in:

So.. I'd really like to avoid painting the entire room that green (click through the link above to see the green) and leaving it all just ... green.  Being that we weren't crazy about it taking over our kitchen, I really don't want it taking over this room either - regardless of how much time we don't spend in that room.  So I'm thinking either some neat technique or maybe an accent wall in the green... the question then becomes what other colors(s) to use with it?  Keeping in mind it's a guest room, I want it to be welcoming yet colorful is okay in my book.
I'd like to avoid using gray or blue as those colors are already in rooms upstiars.

Any thoughts or input on what colors to match with that green ... or what/how to pain the room to use up some of that green and not make the room look exactly like our kitchen?

Coming Soon

So, recently I've been itching to have a VHS tape (yep, I still have some) transferred to DVD.  So the other day I finally got off my ass and went into Costco with it.  Well, they quickly turned me away telling me they need some sort of copyright release.. BS.  I was pissed.

So what is the video, you ask?  Let me tell you.
In 1999 (13 years ago) I went to Cancun Mexico.  During that trip I swam with dolphins - one of the highlights of my life!  I have a dolphin tattoo, so that means I really love them ;)
Anyways - I convinced my mother to purchase the tape for me... and for the last 13 years I've just held onto it showing people every so often.  In more recent years I've held onto it with no way to watch it; I got rid of my VCR long ago!

Well, after I left Costco all pissed off because It was 13 years ago, why on Earth would I have a copyright release?! I went online to contact the lovely people in Cancun.  I used their company 'contact' form telling them what I was looking to do and a couple of short days later, I receive an email from them with a copyright release form!!!!!

Head held high and copyright release in hand, I walk back into Costco and hand over the tape without offering my release form right away.  I wanted to see what this employee would tell me.
Costco Employee: I assume this tape is not what the cover says?
Me: No, it is what it says it is
CE: We can't copy this ma'am, it's a professional video and it's copyrighted.
Me: I have the copyright release right here
CE: Oh.


 From that point forward I'm pretty sure he hated his life - it's like I walked into an ice cream shop and asked for a malt/shake (having many friends who worked for DQ, I know how much they hated when someone ordered a malt/shake).  He finished helping me, but it was seriously like I was the devil to him and asking to have a VHS converted to DVD is THE WORST thing I could have ever asked for.

All of this being said - he told me that in about a week I should receive an email telling me that my video is available online (they give you a free 90 online preview of it).  So once that's up and running... I do plan to share it with you all!  Oh happy days!

I was 17 when that video was shot.  I haven't watched it myself in probably 7 years!  I'm kind of excited!  Stay tuned...

Eff. Marry. Kill. - 1st edition

I've been DYING to participate in this since I first read Michelle's blog with a guest post by the Undercover Blonde.





The concept is to pick 3 guys and pick which you'd eff, marry and kill.  Michelle always has a theme to her's - first week was the dudes from Full House, then it was Kim Kardashian's exes, then Jessica Simpson's exes, etc.  They all have something in common.  This week her theme is hot men from the 80's - go check it out.

Well... it's hard to come up with 3 guys that are somehow connected.  So I finally thought about who I'd want to eff the hardest (yep, hardest) and went from there.

My 'theme', if you will, is: Good Will Hunting
Bare with me.

Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck

My Eff would OBVIOUSLY be Matt Damon.  Yum Yum Yum.  I could eat him.
My Marry would be Robin Williams.  I think he'd be a great partner, they say marry someone you can talk to because the sex won't last forever.  I think he'd make me laugh until the day I die.  Robin Williams, no sex, just marriage :)
My Kill would be Ben Affleck.  I think he is the WORST actor and seems like an overall douchebag.  Not interested in him being on this planet any longer.

YAY - I'm so happy to finally be playing along!

So... if you want to play along, go link up with Michelle and Heather: http://www.thevintageapple.com/ OR here http://www.blondeundercoverblonde.com/

Now, tell me of these 3 who you'd eff, marry, and kill - GO!

Buying Generic pt. 2

Back some time ago (circa 2009), I posted a TFT about buying generic and how somethings you just HAVE to purchase the brand name - I want to dig this list up and get some current input.  Feel free to click through and view the post, but I'm going to copy the list here and add what was added in comments.

Thing that CANNOT be purchased Generic (my list):

• Sheets
• Knives
• Cheese
• Chex Mix
• Imitation Crab Meat
• Plastic Wrap (Saran Wrap)
• Dish Soap
• Mt. Dew

Added in the Comments:

• Toilet Paper
• Paper Towel
• Mac & Cheese
• Dr. Pepper
• Small Kitchen appliances
• Cereal
• Make-up
• Q-Tips
• Most Clothing
• Bread
• Cat Food
• Laundry Detergent
• Lotion
• Body Wash

Stuff I want to add to my list after living out of my mom's house:

• Paper Towel
• Dental Floss
• Cheetos 
• Ketchup
• Beer
• Tequila
• Coffee
• (Tampons)

So I'm opening this up to you - have we missed anything that you want to add?  What do you refuse to buy generic?

Random v12.4

1. I claim to be 'green', not like super green, but I do recycle and try to not waste paper unnecessarily at work, etc.... but for some reason when I'm done washing my hands (in the bathroom, breakroom, etc.) I use too much paper towel.  Not WAY too much, but I usually take more than I need.  I tried to not do this, but I really dislike drying my hands with paper towel with wet spots all over it.
   
2. If I find paper towel in a dispenser that you have to pull that handle to get more towel - I always (ALWAYS) count how many times I pull the handle while I'm doing it.  I laugh at myself every time.
   
3. Steve and I are leaving for Grand Marais on Sunday.  I can't wait.  That little city holds such a special place in my heart (both personally and in my relationship) and I can see us going up there every summer for the rest of our lives.
   
4. Tomorrow is Steve's summer work party (yes, they have one in the winter and summer - remember how we won first class flights to anywhere in the US back in December?!  While it's not in the US, Mexico is included, so I'm pretty sure that is where we are going!)  Anyhow - I don't know if I posted about last summers work party or not, but this year is pretty much the same as last in at least one aspect.  Steve's boss has told everyone to make a mini golf hole - this years theme is "Around the World" so they all drew an area of the world out of a hat, we got New York City!  So at first we were going to make the Brooklyn Bridge out of popsicle sticks, but ... well, it didn't work out.  So now we are doing Central Park.  I'm gonna try and remember to take a post photos.  Should be interesting to see what everyone comes up with - last year was pretty neat (there was not a theme last year, just 'make a hole').  The evening events are a surprise, last year we went to a Twins game then hit the bars.
   
5. I love the song "Pink Cadillac"
   
6. I think Kate Middleton is one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen.
   
7. My boyfriend is the most amazing person in my life.

No Title - Just Rant

I'm officially defeated.
I woke up today to puke and poop many places from my sick little cat, I decided to hang back for a bit and watch to see if he showed any signs of improvement... round about 7am, when I knew Steve's alarm was set to go off I went upstairs and held back my tears to tell him what was going on and why I was still at home... we decided to turn on the AC because we're pretty sure my cat gets really hot on warm days... so the first thing I do is go to close a window and as I'm trying to lock it the fucking thing cracks and breaks into maybe 5 pieces... more or less, in my hand.  Like, I pushed my fucking hand through a window... right through it. How I didn't get a single cut or scrape on me is beyond me.

On top of this, I go into work because I'm told there is a meeting that I need to be a part of pretty much first thing in the am... so I go in with the plan to just attend the meeting, setup a shipment, and go home.
At the meeting I'm informed that all the 'hauling ass' we've been doing to get shit entered over the last 2 months is now all having to be redone (essentially in a different 'company' in our software)... so that's fucking great.  NOT.
Then I have the owner up my ass about some shit that was never and should never be my job.  If he'd even attempt to do a lick of work in a given day, I'd probably die of a heart attack.
While deep down, I'm not capable of murder, I'd give anything to have this guy wiped from the planet.  If only I had the ball or the money to make that happen.  This dude, partial owner of a company that I technically don't even work for yet, is good at one thing: micromanaging.  I'm over it and I'm done listening to him.  I've applied for so many jobs I can't even keep them straight.

I'm behind on my blog reading, so much so I'm ready to just say fuck it and clear my reader and start fresh.  Sorry I haven't commented lately, on most of your blogs, I may not comment on the ones in the past weeks at all.
I suck.

Chicago was great, Chicago was hot (temps in the hundreds, heat indexes near 106!!), Chicago trip was too short.  I am happy to be home, because I very much get home sick everytime I am on vacation (i'm a homebody)... I really could have stayed gone forever when it comes to going back to work.

Going away

Steve and I are Chicago bound tomorrow for the long weekend - yay!  We're driving.  We're going to watch fireworks from Navy Pier!


My bestie, Pam, got married this past weekend:

It was fabulous and fun!  I'll post more, maybe, upon my return.


Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July (my gma will be turning 88 on the 4th!!)

Update via pictures

I figured since I really have nothing to write about I should go through my phone camera and post some of the stuff we've been up to, in NO particular order!

First and foremost, in case you don't make it all the way through this post, I'll post the most important thing first.

A couple weeks ago we took a bottle of Stoli vodka and a pineapple.  Cut up the pineapple placed it in a big drink dispenser poured the vodka in and let it sit for just over a week.  Now some just drink this on ice (called a Stoli Doli), but we had other plans for it.  There is a restaurant in Duluth that makes a drink (which name escapes me) - it's a muddled cucumber, a shot of pineapple infused vodka, sprite and a splash of soda.  Sounds odd, but it's seriously amazing, especially for summer - extremely refreshing!  My brother made a variation of it by putting soda with a splash of sprite (less sugar, great idea!).  He said it was probably the best drink he's ever had... and coming from my brother, that is saying a lot!

You should probably get off your ass and give it a shot.  You don't even know you're drinking, it's gold.

What else?  Have I told you that Steve and I celebrated 3 years together?  I think I mentioned it was coming, we'll it's come and gone.  On our anniversary (it was a Friday), I went downtown Minneapolis and we had food truck lunch, yum!  We went to Solera that night for dinner, a first for both of us, and delicious.  We also stopped by a little restaurant for a rhubarb dessert sampling - I'm a sucker for rhubarb anything.

We also tried a new burger at home - Steve is in love with Pizza Luce pizza's... so he wanted to see if we could make a burger to taste the same.  This burger has garlic mashed potatoes, tomatoes, scallions, and feta on it.  It was good, but the pizza is WAY better.  Yes, garlic mashed potato pizza.  I need a Pizza Luce fix!

This past weekend we spend a fortune on a number of things - we got the items pictured below - 2 floor lamps that look like the top pic, and 2 boxes of tiles (second pic) to make a backsplash in our kitchen.  Both items were normally very expensive - we got the lamps for $50/each (Tiffany lamps) and the tiles were normally $28/sheet, we got them for $5.00/sheet - SCORE.

We also purchased (not pictured) 7 sheets of Oak veneer - which will hopefully be enough to fix the oak table we have along with the newest item we've added to our collection of antique family pieces (the picture is when it was still at my aunts house with stuff all over it, but you get the point of what it is) - it's an Oak buffet, which may or may not go with out oak table, no one knows if they are a set - BUT these pieces were in the house my dad and aunts grew up in for their entire lives... and now I have them both.  The best part is hopefully we purchased enough veneer to restore them both to their original beauty!

The veneer is like 60 years old (both pieces are older than that), so we're hoping it will look right on theses pieces.  This stuff retails for upwards of $30/sheet... we got it for $10/sheet!

So we spent a lot this weekend, but saved a ton too!

Pam's shower and bachelorette party were a success - obviously, if I'm involved in planning, it's bound to be a success!  Here is the bride and her ladies:

Lastly, I'll leave you with a photo of my adorable kitty snoozing on the couch (yes, I'm aware he is overweight):

That's all for now people!

New York City

In no particular order, with no rhyme or reason,  I present to you: Pictures from Ang and Steve's trip to New York City.

First up: the 9-11 Memorial

The view from our hotel window

This is the new Freedom Tower they are building to replace the Twin Towers (also from our hotel room)

Other random photos from the memorial:

We also had to see the Wall St bull... right?

 and the stock exchange building - if these walls could talk!

Brooklyn:

Then we had to find the best pizza in NYC - and boy did we, in Brooklyn!

day dreaming about pizza

Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn side:

Brooklyn Bridge!!!!

In front of the Brooklyn Bridge

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge

Mango blossom 

never a good idea to eat something sticky that gets stuck in your teeth whilst walking across a bridge.

 Statue of Liberty:

Manhattan from Liberty Island

Ellis Island

Strawberry Fields

We made a quick night trip to Times Square - just because it's one of those touristy things that you HAVE to see in NYC.  I personally dislike this part of NYC - look at all the people!  yuck.

At the subway station, waiting for the train back to our hotel

 The Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge:

 Grand Central Station:

 Top of The Rock:

The NYE ball from the top of the rock

Empire State Building in the background

The Rock (the building we were just on top of) - where a lot of NBS shows are taped (the Today Show being one)

We saw a movie being filmed.  I can't tell you which stars we saw.

Steve about to eat a sandwich as big as his head 

having a drink on a rooftop patio in the middle of Manhattan (that's the Empire State bldg.)

Flatiron bldg.

9-11 Memorial at night, lit up.

 The oldest bar in Manhattan - McSorley's Old Ale House

On the plane going home... 

So there you have it.