Going back to just one blog. Probably.

I think I'm pretty much moving back over to my main blog, My Green-Eyed Perspective, fulltime. It's too hard to keep multiple blogs, at least for right now. I may post to this one a few more times, but we'll see. Knowing me I will, because I'm wishy washy a lot. But for most of my updates, check out my main blog. Thanks!

Love from NY,
Sara

Friends in the City: Day 2

This post is from my main blog, www.saragreeneyes.blogpost.com. Since this post about my time in New York, I figured I should make sure it made it on to this blog as well. For the first blog post from my weekend with the roomies, check out the other blog! Love, Sara

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Catherine, Kristin, and I had a full day in the city! We met up for breakfast/coffee at where else, Starbucks!, and then we headed over to Rockefeller Center to ice skate. On the way, we stopped at Papyrus, the cutest stationary store in the world, and Cat bought a small sketch pad. She's an interior design major on vacation, what can I say? :) We also stopped by Radio City Music Hall for a couple of quick pictures! When we got to Rockefeller Center and checked out the prices, we realized it would cost us $9 less to ice skate tomorrow around lunchtime. Done:) So, we moved on.

{Radio City Music Hall}

After leaving Rockefeller Center, we decided to walk over to Grand Central Station. On our way, we stopped by the American Girl store. Wow, this brought back so many childhood memories! We looked for the old dolls and books that we loved so much because they "looked like us." Of course, I was Kirsten, Kris was Felicity, and Cat was Molly. There were so many little girls, their moms, and their dads walking around this 3-story little girl heaven. The poor dads were carrying multiple bags and looked like they had the word "sucker" written on their foreheads, ha! After a tour of all three floors, we got back on track and headed over the Grand Central. 

{Cat and I with pictures of the AG dolls that "looked like us" as kids!}

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Grand Central. The salads we ate were SO yummy! Mine was mixed romaine lettuce, onions, kidney beans, cheddar cheese, cajun chicken, and low-fat creamy italian dressing. We also walked around, took pictures, and checked out the many cool stores at Grand Central.

 

{My delicious salad from lunch}

After lunch, we visited Bloomingdales on the Upper East Side for a little bit, just to say we had. Then we stopped by Dylan's Candy Bar. DANGEROUS STORE, let me tell you! They have every kind of candy under the sun. On the bottom level of the store, yes it has 3 levels, there is a huge fudge counter that held my attention for a while. We saw a bath tub full of gum balls, an entire wall of M&M paraphernalia, and Kristin bought James some candy with his name on it. What a sweet (no pun intended, hehe) girlfriend. But shhh! Don't tell James:)

{Oh my! Watch out Luke, we found gummy panties at Dylan's Candy Bar! Looks like I know what Cat and Kristin will be buying us for a wedding present!}

After Dylan's, we went to Serendipity. We ordered two frozen hot chocolates, one original and one with peanut butter (my personal favorite). If you don't know, this is what Serendipity is known for. You can't go to New York and not get one! Here is a great picture of my precious roomies and their first frozen hot chocolate:)

{Frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity!}

{Thanks for the paparazzi pics outside of Serendipity, Catherine!} 

After our long day out and about in the city, the girls and I went and put our names in a broadway lottery the see the show Rock of Ages and we were drawn! So, we each got to see the show for $26.50, which is AMAZING. The show itself was good, but it was even better for the price we paid! The lead role of this show is Constantine Maroulis from American Idol. His voice, and the many other lead voices were seriously so good! This musical showcases a ton of 80s music, so of course, we loved it all and sang along throughout the entire show. Any night full of rock and roll 80s music and a lot of laughter is a good night!

Tomorrow we're headed to Rockefeller Center to ice skate, possibly to the Central Park Zoo, and to the Top of the Rock for an evening view of the beautiful lit up city at night. I'm excited because this is supposed to be super romantic (yes, going with the roomies) and I want to see if it's somewhere fun I can take Luke when he comes to visit for my birthday weekend. More tomorrow!

Tommy

Every day, once in the morning and once in the early afternoon, Tommy stops by the office. His short visits light up the room and bring so much joy to the interns' day. Tommy is the mail delievery guy in my building. Seriously, he's so cool.

There is something different about Tommy, but I can't quite put my finger on it. He talks a little fast and says a lot of short sentences back to back. It sounds something like this:

"Hey there, hey there.How ya doing?Hi Sara.Hi Stevie.How are you girls today?Yeah, Yeah.Did you all have a good weekend?Is it Friday yet?Ha, ha!"

He speaks at a normal tone, but I wonder if he used to have a little bit of a stuttering problem. Either way, he has the most sweet-tempered spirit about him. You just can't help but smile when he's talking to you!

I don't know much about Tommy, but if I had to guess, I think he knows the Lord. There is a joy in his face when he talks to the other interns and I that most people I've met in New York do not have. In fact, when I compare Tommy's attitude on a regular basis to mine, the amount of joy he has definitely surpasses me. Before I leave New York, I plan on asking Tommy why he's so happy all the time. Not in a condemning way, but in a curious way. I want to know what God is doing in his life. Tommy is definitely one of God's daily reminders for me of the joy we all could and should possess. Why not treat each other with that outgoing kindess? If Tommy brightens up my day with his good attitude, why don't I try to possess this same kind of joy and share it with others I come in contact with?

Today's challenge: Choose joy. Remember that the joy of the Lord is your strength. And everytime you come in contact with someone today, share the joy of the Lord with that person through kind words, a sweet temperment, and a big smile.

Just like Tommy:)

photo shoots, parties, and more snow!

I can't believe I just wrapped up week 7 in New York! Only nine more weeks to go; it really is flying by. The last couple of weeks at work have been really crazy. Last Thursday, I was able to help out with a photo shoot on the set of the CBS Early Show. The best part about assisting with something like a photo shoot is that I do not have much experience on this side of publicity, so it grows me as a journalist and PR person. I got to assist the photographer and his crew, be an extra pair of hands for the publicist of The Early Show, and learned what it takes to have a successful photo shoot. Here is a picture of me in the studio after everything was said and done:

Last night, I got to attend and help work a book party for CBS' medical correspondent, Dr. Jennifer Ashton. Dr. Ashton just published her new book, The Body Scoop for Girls: A Straight-Talk Guide to a Healthy, Beautiful You, and this party recognized and celebrated her achievements. The party was held at the Bar Americain, which is Bobby Flay's restaurant. The cheese bar was PHENOMENAL and I ate some pretty amazing cookies. It's fun to be able to say that I've eaten at Bobby Flay's restaurant! Stevie, Faith, and I (the other two interns I work with) were all able to attend. Here is a picture of us before the party began:

Faith and I

Stevie and I

(Sorry the pictures aren't the best quality, iPhone + dim lighting = not the best pics!)

Today it started snowing again and it looks like it may snow until Saturday morning. When Baylor got a good amount of snow the other day, I laughed because I thought about how much everyone in Texas was loving the snow and I'm begging for it to stop. I want spring to be here already!! I want to play in Central Park, rent bikes and go for a ride through the city, and do all of the other fun things on my bucket list for New York once the sun comes out again. Oh, well, at least my mom sent me rain boots and I will not drown in the brown, mushy snow slush that accumulates on the streets after a good snow in the city. I'll just keep dreaming of the spring until it arrives:) And for now, I'll leave you with this picture. Sorry, it's another iPhone pic. This is what I saw when I walked out of my office building this evening. Yup, more snow. Gotta love the winter in New York City!

Oh, the snow...:)

So much to look forward to!

Ok, so lately I've been a little bummed. I think it's because I'm starting to really miss family, friends, and Luke. BUT, I've been looking at the calendar and things are looking up! This weekend, I had to write a paper. Next weekend, I have to write a paper (boo!). But look at how amazing the next three weeks after THAT are:

March 6-12: Cat, Kristin, and Christine come to visit for SPRING BREAK!!

March 17-21 (tentatively): Mom, Becca, Emily, and hopefully Claire come visit!!

March 26-28: Luke comes to visit and I have the best birthday weekend EVER!!

In April, Millie, my childhood best friend and one of my bridesmaids, is coming to visit and hopefully Justin, Michelle, and Gabi, my flower girl, will be able to visit as well. I'm so blessed:)

February has been a little tougher in that it feels as if it's dragged and the weather has been super cold. But the sun is out today on this pretty little Sunday afternoon, people are coming to visit me soon, and I'm headed to church in about 40 minutes. God is still, and always will be, so good.

The lost iPhone pictures

I was going through my iPhone pictures today when I realized that I've taken quite a few pictures since I've been in New York and I've never uploaded or TwitPic-ed any of them. Sooo, here are the lost iPhone pictures. I'll do my best to try and explain them all.

{This is me with one of the consultants from Say Yes to the Dress when I was trying on dresses at Kleinfeld Bridal.}

{This is Bartlett. He is Louise's dog and came to work one day. He's a chicken and never fully came out of her office, ha!}

{Amazing cupcakes from a place on Montague St.}

{This is what it looks like in my dorm when I get the flu in NY. No fun.}

{Leftover snow from what felt like a blizzard, but the sunshine brought me hope.}

{The stage before Ashley and I saw In The Heights.}

{My first ever black & white cookie!}

{In the studio of CBS' The Early Show.}

In The Heights

Tonight I saw my first broadway show since I've been in New York this semester! No worries, I've seen a few others on broadway in New York prior to now: Phantom of the Opera, Annie Get Your Gun, and Les Miserables. But this evening, Ashley and I saw In The Heights. It was PHENOMENAL! The dancing, the music...I would definitely recommend this musical to anyone that loves to do either. The best part about this show is that it revamps the whole "musical" genre of theatre. The actors danced hip hop, salsa, and ballet. I laughed, I teared up, and I watched in awe. In my opinion, this is exactly how a great musical should treat you. I love the theatre!!

Another cool part about tonight was that Ashley and I learned how to do the whole "broadway ticket lottery" thing. At 5:30 p.m. we showed up at the theatre and put our names into a lottery. At 6 p.m., a woman announced that the theatre would be drawing names for 22 tickets that could be bought for $26.50 each on the FRONT ROW. Umm, normally these tickets cost over $100 each. Unfortunately, neither one of our names were drawn, but we still got in! Here's how: right before the lottery drawing, the same woman that was announcing explained that more tickets would be on sale for standing room only or partial viewing. For those of you that have never heard of partial viewing, it's when you still get an orchestra seat, but a little higher up to where you may not be able to see the entire stage. We took a leap of faith and bought tickets in partial viewing. These tickets were $41.50 each, but still not nearly as bad as over $100. Our seats were still AWESOME and the show was, again, fantastic!

I will post some pictures soon, but we took them on Ashley's camera. Corbin Bleu, from all the High School Musical movies, played the lead and we have a picture with him. AHHH!!! :D Seriously, we felt like 16-year-old girls lusting after him, ha! We stood outside in the cold to get our playbills signed by all the actors and we got most of them. After going to a museum (for class) this morning, shopping this afternoon, dinner at the Hard Rock Café, and a great evening of theatre, I've decided this is another one for the books! Great day:)