First class

Man do I love flying first class. I am headed to NYC for work and usually we fly American Airlines but we had some credits to use up on Continental and they offered an upgrade for a reasonable price--which I was happy to personally pay. I am glad we did because with this bad weather we would have been stuck in Dallas.

I was worried about what they would serve for breakfast but no need to worry -- it was all Weight Watchers friendly. They served us cornflakes with low fat milk, fruit and yogurt. And it was all delicious.



I loved the little salt and pepper shakers. And check out the monogrammed glass.



This isn't my first time in first class -- just acting like it is.

As we were getting ready to land, we flew right over the US Open.

have snacks, will travel

I don't want to fall off the wagon while I am traveling next week (off the Weight Watchers wagon) so I packed my normal snacks and mini-meals (tuna and WW oatmeal).



I'm traveling with a co-worker/friend so I took enough for her too since we are WW buddies. I find it so much easier to check in with a friend and we help each other stay on track.


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Hockey

Not only am I trying to go to as many baseball stadiums as I can, I am also making my way through hockey teams (well, not literally but you know what I mean). I cut my teeth at the Austin Bats hockey games. Then, I happened to be in Chicago in October 2008 and the Blackhawks were playing. I went to a game and (angels singing) I was hooked! Maybe it helped that Patrick Sharp is just so darn good looking! Everybody's crazy 'bout a Sharp dressed man.....ok let me stop drooling now.



Next, I went to a NY Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. Hockey fans are outrageous and these were extremely so.... and loud!!




And then, Caleb and I went to a Dallas Stars vs. Blackhawks game (bummer that Patrick Sharp wasn't there due to an injury that a horrible Stars player gave him a couple weeks prior in Chicago. I seriously considered suing that Stars player for the cost of the tickets and my mental anguish of not seeing him.)



We were sitting on the third row and you could literally feel the plexiglass shaking when they would throw each other up against the wall.

New York in December (2008)

It's no secret that I am a big NASCAR fan - I happened to be in NYC in December '08 when I noticed a race car on a side street in NY. I did some research and found that it was NASCAR Week. WooHoo. I stood outside Cipriani while the top 12 drivers had lunch. Saw so many NASCAR related folks. Met some great folks while waiting in line. One of those gals, Terrie, emailed me to let me know I had made it on to a NASCAR blog (see photo below).

I am a huge Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan and when I found out that you could meet him by purchasing some of his new glassware at Macy's I jumped on it. I was sure my family wouldn't mind getting Dale Jr. beer mugs for Christmas. It was a mob scene there but by golly I did it. Met him and he was very nice.

I also got lucky that the Rockefeller tree was being lit while I was there! Bonus! I headed out there and it was FREEZING!!! I couldn't hang. I ended up leaving shortly before it was to be on TV so I could catch it at the hotel. I have never been so cold in my life. I think I still have a chill from it -- come to think of it I was awfully sick last Dec/Jan and missed so much work.....connection?

I also went to a show of the Radio City Rockette's. It was quite a show. I am so glad I was able to share the show with Sydni in Austin on New Year's Eve.

I also went on a little tour of NYC so I could see all the holiday lights. NYC is beautiful at Christmas!!

You can see all my Christmas in NY photos here. And all my Nascar week photos here.

Family Circle Tip

Here's a tip from a food editor at Family Circle:

"As the slow cooker queen of the FC test kitchen, I know that hours of heat can leach the flavor out of food. For major taste, double the amount of herbs and spices called for in any recipe. Add half when you start, the rest during the last 30 minutes of cook time."

Happy Labor Day

Having a very mellow day at home with the kids. I cleaned my bedroom while they are all watching a Ben10 marathon. Sydni and I are making turkey burgers and turkey sloppy joes later.

** Update **

Well the turkey burgers did not turn out well so those were scrapped. The turkey sloppy joes were great! I don't care for bell peppers so I left those out. Was also going to skip the corn but at the last minute threw some in and it was good together. Instead of the hamburger buns, I used the Oroweat Sandwich Thins which have become my favorite for using for sandwiches.

Sloppy Joe

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion(s), chopped
2 medium celery stalks, chopped
1 medium bell pepper(s), chopped
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
20 oz canned crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
8 light hamburger roll(s)

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and bell pepper and sauté until tender, 3 minutes. Add turkey and sauté until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, 5 minutes.

Add chili powder, basil, salt, black pepper and cayenne; stir to coat. Add crushed tomatoes, ketchup and mustard; mix well.

Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Stir in corn and simmer 2 minutes to heat through.

Spoon mixture onto rolls and serve hot.

Yields 8 servings.
WW info:flex: 4 points per serving


-- Post From My iPhone

Kids 9th Birthday

We had a mini-party for the kids yesterday at Main Event. I wasn't going to have one then Jacob said that everyone would have a better birthday than he would and I caved. They were only going to take one friend each then that turned to two....and we ended up with three friends each which was 12 kids total. They loved it though. They played laser tag, Glo golf and arcade games for three hours!

I got Sydni and Caleb phones -- Caleb has been begging for one. He texted me over 20x today. Twice to tell me to hurry up and text him. Jacob wanted video games. Then when he sees Caleb and Sydni's phones he asks where his is. So we have to look into whether he can upgrade the one they previously shared.


-- Post From My iPhone

Updating on old travels....

I went to Chicago last year in June for a conference and October for an event. Both times I stayed over (June for a few extra days and October one extra day). The June trip went until July 5 so I was able to experience the Fourth of July on the water in Chicago. The fireworks were amazing and they had like three or four nights of them. Chicago is a beautiful city with lots to see. I went on a double-decker tour so I could see as much as possible. I also went to see the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox play. At the Cubs game, Kevin Costner was there and walked up the aisle in our area. Mmmm mmmm mmmm. The White Sox game was on the fourth so they had a patriotic theme to the game. There were quite a few murders during my trip -- it was the Taste of Chicago and there were lots of hoodlums out and about. But all in all I absolutely loved it. What a way to spend my birthday. On the way home I forgot about the water restrictions and almost had to throw away Sydni's two waterglobes. A very nice American Airlines ticket agents took mercy on me and actually took them to mail them home for me!!! How nice was that?


Chicago skyline

Sue the Dinosaur

The sign says it all...

Wrigley Field

White Sox game

For October, I stayed an extra day to see the Chicago Blackhawks play. Thus started my obsession with hockey. Oh Patrick Sharp what a cutie!!!

Lenny...the Today Show

Happy Birthday (belated) to Today Show uber audience member Lenny. He is well-known to regular viewers of the Today Show. When I went to NYC with my mom and Aunt many many years ago, we went to the Today Show and started chatting up Lenny. He gave us lots of tips and told us that he was standing in the best spot and to stay with him. We did and sure enough Ann Curry interviewed us for one of the audience segments. It was a wonderful experience.

Here's more on Lenny from the Today Show blog.

almost birthday time....

My sister did not want me to have a party for the kids this year -- and since they are her kids I agreed with her. We decided we would only have them take one friend each to Main Event on the big day but then when I priced it, it was cheaper to have a party for ten kids than six separate individuals. So we are having a tiny party. Then of course we have to add in the cakes, party bags, decorations....oy vey it is going to start adding up!

But they are worth it -- spoiled but worth it.

Sydni quote

My niece Sydni likes to have her back rubbed as she goes to sleep. When I got home from my trip last night we stayed up and talked because she had a lot on her mind. After an hour I finally told her she needed to get some sleep so she rolled over. After a little while she said:

"Do you think I rolled over for nothin'? Get to work woman!"


-- Post From My iPhone

Cleveland the finale

After the Indians game they had a spectacular fireworks show that I could see from my hotel room. Caleb asked if they were longer than the Express show and when I said yes he decided he wants to go to Cleveland to see a game.




The trip home was awful. I was on a AA regional jet and the turbulence was awful! Never again.

I'm home resting with my niece and nephews today.


Post From My iPhone

Cleveland part 3

I went on the "Lolly Trolley" and I gotta tell you, I wasn't too impressed. The best things were the baseball and football fields, Rock & Roll museum and the stuff around that area.

We stopped at this garden and there were these "may flies" all over the place. They looked like baby dragonfly's to me.

After the tour I switched hotels because a) it was free and b) it is across the street from Progressive Field and I'm going to the Indians baseball game (well I just got back from the game). The Indians are playing the Brewers. There were a few home runs from both teams. It was Major League Monday and we got Rick Vaughn bobble heads with the black glasses and all. Got the kids lots of souvenirs (man they have a good Auntie!) and took some pics. The stadium has problems with sea gulls landing on the field so they are now shooting off fireworks after each half inning to scare them away. They still fly around though and everyone oohs and ahs.

(Bob Eucker)

Of course I had to pick my guys to watch and I picked Mark DeRosa (CLE) and Ryan Braun (MIL). Cuties!! I left when Cleveland was winning 12-8. As soon as I got in my room, Prince Fielder made a grand slam home run for the Brewers... and the Indians just lost the game 14-12.


(Mark DeRosa)

-- Post From My iPhone

Cleveland part 2

The convention ended today. Bought some cute stuff and went to the Cadillac Ranch for lunch. They have a mechanical bull!

Also saw another leg lamp at the visitors center. That cracks me up!!

Off to tour the city on the "Lolly Trolly".
-- Post From My iPhone

great line from a book...

"Now I know why you want to stay out of the line of fire. You're only packing a pellet gun."

Said by Rebecca to her sister Greta when Greta tried to lob an insult back at her.

From "A Husband of Her Own" by Brenda Novak.

Travel update - Cleveland

I am traveling for work this weekend. I was supposed to leave on Thursday morning but bad weather in Dallas delayed pretty much all of AA's flights. The line was so long to talk to a ticket agent that I called instead. They couldn't get me out until Saturday so I flew NWA instead and came in on Friday. That was my first time flying NWA and also my first time going through Detroit. Both the planes and the airport were tiny and a total of about six hours of delays from them too.

Cleveland is not what I expected. My driver from the airport was a trip. First he couldn't open the trunk, then he left his portfolio on the top of the car and it went flying down the road, then he guns the gas and we jerk around. I hope I don't have him on the way back on Tuesday.

During my lunch break I hopped a cab to the house where "A Christmas Story" was filmed. That is my dad's favorite movie so I had to get some pics for him. It was so funny seeing all this stuff from the movie. I bought Dad, Mom and my sis some souvenirs - not the kids because they haven't become used to the movie like we have. Every year we watched the marathon of that movie on TBS and every year we asked each other "how many times is dad going to watch that movie?".

-- Post From My iPhone

New Yankees stadium

I got some great shots on my regular camera -- not that great with the iPhone.


** updated to add more pics..,.
(stadium, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Petitte and Derek Jeter)

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Hotel etiquette

You would think people would know how to act in a hotel - now I am talking middle-aged people not teenagers. I am staying at a hotel tonight to catch an early morning flight and there have been people outside in the patio area talking so loud and just being extremly obnoxious. And I am on the third floor and it is keeping me up. Just now several older men came down the hall screaming at people in other rooms and just being idiots. It is almost midnight -- I just can't believe the rudeness of people.


-- Post From My iPhone

travel update....

seriously going to try and keep up with this blog (snickers).

Went to NYC for work at the end of May for five days. Busy few days with meetings. Also went to a Yankees game at the new stadium. OMG!!! That stadium is awesome!!! It is beautiful, has a HUGE jumbotron that is so clear and the seats are comfy. It is absolutely beautiful. There are giant posters about the history of the team AND there are servers who would come with our food (at least in the section we were sitting in). They didn't start out well but by the bottom of the 1st, the Yankees scored six runs in that inning. WooHoo. One cool thing is the grounds crew clean and dance to YMCA at the top of the 7th. We left early but they did win the game.

Saw the actress who was in one episode of Sex and the City on the subway on the way home from the game. She played the girl who met Carrie in the bathroom-- told her that she went out with Aiden after Carrie did and then made a face. That bugged Carrie and she had to know what that face meant.

After NY, went to Nashville also on business on a new campaign we're working on with one of our celebs. She is so cool and down to earth. It was a great meeting and so many good things are going to come out of this partnership.

Went shopping for souvenirs for the kids before the meeting since we got there so early. There was so much "stuff" -- bought a finger nail clipper in the shape of a guitar. Almost got a fly swatter in the shape of a guitar too but held out.

(May 26, 2009)

Next trip is next week to Cleveland. Also going to an Indians game to continue my tour of the ballparks.

round rock express...

Well, baseball season has started again and we have bought two season tickets to the games. Diane will not let the kids go with me to any school night games (Jacob went to one and slept most of the time and then had a hard time getting up the next morning). We're on the 9th row behind home plate and sit close to scouts and pitchers from the teams who are taking notes. The kids are enjoying it -- but they may end up costing me more in food than they did in tickets.

Jacob and I went to a party with the players the night before the opening game and we met Brooks Conrad, Mike Rodriguez and Hunter Pence. Jacob enjoyed the tour of the stadium as well but his favorite part was the 300 club with the Pac-Man machine.

All the kids enjoy that -- it's on the 2nd floor and only open to season ticket holders. They get free popcorn and get to play Pac-Man or watch the game on TV. Between that and the play area, it's a wonder we get to see any of the games.