Sisters take Manhattan

Laura and Tim came to our city and spent the week doing as tourists do. Danny and I had to work, so we really just spent Friday night and Saturday with them. But we made sure to make up for lack of quantity of time with quality of fun- Shrek the Musical, American Natural History Museum, a Central Park stroll and LOTS of grub!

One of the highlights was eating brunch at the Central Park Boathouse. We sat at a table overlooking the lake where you rent row boats during the summer. It was a dream. After ordering our entrees, the waitress brought a bread basket. Now don't get me wrong, I’m pro pre-dinner carbs when eating Italian or even dinner rolls for any meal past 5pm. But to be honest, when I saw the bread basket before what essentially was my breakfast, it did not make my heart flutter. Oh, that was until I peeked inside and saw what was tucked in the folds! Lemon poppy seed muffins, blueberry muffins, flaky croissants, pumpkin bread, apple cinnamon bread and the list goes on and on. It was the best part of the dining experience.

One reason I love my job

The kitchens are stocked with this gem.This is breakfast every day, except Wednesdays when my company provides bagels and donuts.

Cue Opening Credits

Perhaps this should have been the first order of blog business, but I chose to dive right into the action of our life rather than premiere with the mundane. It's like in Law & Order when the first scene shows a women being murdered and the silhouette of a man wiping the blood off a knife. Then the scene breaks, you have a chance to breathe, and the familiar L&O tune begins accompanied by the opening credits. After **dunt dunt, the episode resumes and you can settle back into the crook of your couch.

So, consider this is opening credits. I am letting you take a breather (because I know the last posts were extremely intense) and filling you in on the characters of this blog.

In order to properly narrate this story, I must back up to the May 23, 2005 when Danny and I met at an internship in NYC. We were carefree and having lots of fun together gallivanting through the streets of New York. Not only did we start falling deeply in love with each other, but we also started to fall deeply in love with our city.

When the seasons started to change, we returned to our respective universities, him-University at Albany, her-New York University. We continued weekend visits and our adventures until January 2006 when I left Danny to go out to California for a year and a half.

Throughout that year and a half there was lots of growth for the both of us- emotionally, spiritually, perhaps even physically. We communicated solely through snail mail and the occasional recorded cassette tape.

Finally, I returned in July 2007 and our relationship amazingly picked up right where it left off. November 2007 he proposed on the Brooklyn Bridge and I accepted. May 25, 2008, exactly three years after we met, we were married in the Manhattan LDS Temple.

Since then, we've been creating memories and loving life. Danny loves the Jets, video games and eating. Jennifer loves reading, sleeping and finding good deals. We both love free stuff, exploring Manhattan, meeting new people and trying new things.

**dunt dunt

DINKs

My Dad would say that Danny and I are DINKs (Double Income No Kids). According to Wikipedia, DINK is "a term used to describe a high-earning couple who chooses not to have children and is therefore able to afford a more expensive consumer lifestyle than those with families". While Wikipedia's definition definitely does not accurately describe us, we are in fact both officially employed.

After a nine month hiatus from the working world, Danny finally has a job! Congratulations Babe! Welcome back to the rat race down in the financial district.

Staying above the Yellow Line

Tuesday night in our home always involves a healthy dose of...
Along with The Office, this is a show we rarely miss. Occasionally, before the episode begins, I exercise with Bob on the Biggest Loser Boot Camp DVD. This way I too can participate in the journey.
As a side note: I already have a deep passion for marketing. Therefore, the product placements in the show - while awkwardly obvious- are icing on my low calorie cake.

Have it your way at BK

The other day, Danny and I went out for a romantic dinner at Burger King in Rockefeller Center. After ordering chicken nuggets and double cheeseburgers, I went to secure a cozy booth for two. As I sat there waiting for Danny to bring our food, I was listening to the music playing over BK speakers. To my dismay, the rap song they were blasting had a smattering of four letter words. I'm not talking one, I’m saying every other word was a curse word! I was shocked and really disappointed. I realize I am a little more sensitive than the average New Yorker, but I didn’t expect a family friendly restaurant to create an environment with such filth. Anyone that presents plastic toys to their youngest patrons should really stick with G-rated music.

When Danny finally brought our food, I communicated the offense explained that I was going to march over and demand they change the music. Danny was a little embarrassed at his wife's piousness and tried to persuade me to simply eat my food. He even suggested eating our food outside. But NO! I felt a need to protect the ears of my fellow BK goers and in general, the future of our country. Looking back I really took this a lot more seriously than I would have expected. One of the main thoughts that kept running through my mind was "I don't want to live in a world where I have to worried about the music my kids hear at Burger King."

I guess my maternal instinct and the thought of our future children gave me more than enough courage to waltz up to the pickup counter and inquired, "Would it be possible to change the music?" The 17 year old BK boy stared at me with a little shock. Inside his head he was probably rolling his eyes and thinking how dare this pushy New York request to some teen pop Miley Cyrus. But in a display of exemplary customer service, he replied, "What kind of music would you like?"

With as much sternness as I could muster, because of course I wanted him to realize this was no joke, I said, “Oh I’m not too picky, just something with a little less cursing." He was actually quite embarrassed for BK and was completely unaware that there was cursing on the music. He probably chose the CD and would have gotten in big trouble had his manager noticed the infraction before I did.

As I victory danced back to my booth, classic Michael Jackson started to rock my BK world. Good prevails again.

Now I truly believe it – you can have it your way at BK.

Adult Trick-or-Treating

Dress up Chipotle themed - get a free Boorito.
My kind of treat.