I Heart NY

Its hard to believe that 10 years ago tomorrow I moved to New York City.  Before March of 2003, moving to New York was never on my list. Chicago, London, South America, yes, but never New York.  But fortunately God had another plan for me and New York was apparently in that plan.  

When I moved here I legitimately thought I'd be here 2 years and then I'd move to one of the places listed above.  But a 2 year contract became 3 years and then I was permanently hired by the church I worked for.  After that, moving wasn't an option, I was hooked. OK lets be honest. I was hooked on Day 1.

So here I am 10 years later and I have absolutely no desire to leave.  My plans for life are definitely not what I thought they would be 10 years ago but for now, I am content with where they are.

Ironically enough, the last week... month, I've had more people ask me about fun things to do in the city than I've had in a long time.  My only issue is, as a resident, what I consider fun and what non-New Yorkers consider fun are totally different.  So its taken some brain power to think through what I would recommend to other people.  I thought, in honor of 10 years in the city, I would share with my New York friends and my non-New York friends some of my favorite sites in the city. (these are in no particular order and yes I took all of the photos below) 

Don't worry tomorrow I'll share some more personal memories of my 10 years in the city.  

Central Park

Central Park is a great, laid back place to visit.  It is Manhattan's biggest park. The park begins at 59th Street (midtown) and goes all the way up to 110th Street (Harlem).  There are lots of places to visit within the park such as Bethesda fountain, The Lake (canoes available and prices are not bad), Strawberry fields (John Lennon memorial), Belvedere Castle, Conservatory Gardens, Central Park Zoo etc.

Natural History Museum

The museum is one of hundreds of museums in the city.  Most people don't know that they have a suggested donation, which means, pay what you want.  If you aren't seeing an exhibit and just enjoying the museum you can pay what you want. It is located at 79th Street and Central Park West (across from Central Park)

Staten Island Ferry

The Staten Island Ferry is a great FREE option for the city.  It takes you from the southern tip of Manhattan to Staten Island and then you can get a ferry back.  Its totally free.  You see the statue of liberty and the city from decent views.  

Brooklyn Bridge

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge is a must. Its a nice walk and you get great views of the city.  AND ITS FREE.  The Brooklyn Bridge is at the south eastern tip of the island and leads to Brooklyn.  

Grand Central Station

They are celebrating 100 years this year but it is a great stop on any walking tour.   Its beautiful and has rich history. There are some must sees in the station, such as the main concourse and the whispering arches.  Grand Central is located at Park Ave and 42nd Street (Midtown). 

George Washington Bridge
I have lived blocks from the bridge for years now and until this summer had never walked across. Its a shame because its one of the best views of the city!  I am totally hooked and even more in love with the bridge and the neighborhood.

These are just a few of the great things to do in the city.  I could list several more but I think that is enough. Come back tomorrow for a walk through my life in the BIG CITY!

What are your New York Favorites?

Another day in the Park: Fort Tryon

 One of the things I LOVE about New York City is that its really just one big museum.  It also has some of the prettiest parks.  Fort Tryon is one of those parks.  It is one of the largest parks in Manhattan and hosts The Cloisters.  Fort Tryon is in my neighborhood but sadly I don't get to go nearly as much as I should. So yesterday, after a meeting, my camera and I went for a nice spring stroll up to the park.  Because Spring is so late, the blooms were a little sporatic. Some were late and some were already on their way out.  But I got some pretty great tight shots of the ones that were there.  Some of these prints will be in my shop later this week for digital download.  If you see something you like let me know and I will make sure it goes up soon.  Enjoy and if you are ever in the city, make sure you take a stroll through the Fort Tryon Park.

I {Love} New York

I moved to New York almost 10 years ago. When I moved to the city it hadn't been my first choice nor did I think I'd be here more than the 2 year job I was taking.  Flash forward 10 years and I am as close as a lifer as i think i can get. 

New York to me is a person, family even.  I talk about her like she's a person.  I feel about her like I would a close close friend.  So it shouldn't have surprised me when I got offended when someone put her down.

I was walking to the subway last night when I overheard someone say "I really don't like the city."  You could tell the comment was made by someone who lives here or around here and not a tourist.  When she said it I had a physical reaction.  I almost turned around and glared at her.... but then the rational side of me realized. "Kim, she's entitled to her opinion."  

I don't get upset when people visiting the city or those who don't live here say they don't like the city.  I mean I feel sad for them :) But I don't have a reaction to their dislike but coming from someone who lives here I was deeply offended. It equated emotionally to her saying "I hate your mom."  I wanted to argue with her and tell her all the reasons she should love the city.  I felt bad for the city that this person said a mean thing about her.  

Ok I know I sound a touch crazy right now... and I kinda am... but it surprised me as much as its confusing you I am sure.  I've always known I had a deep love and affection for the city but I didn't realize just how deep it went until that moment. I get that people don't like the city but I just love it so much that I apparently have instant reactions to it :)

Now, I do like the suburbs. I secretly want a house with a yard and the ability to get in my car and drive 5 minutes to the store.  It took me an hour and a half to go 1 mile uptown to pick up dinner for a friend and then back down a mile to deliver said meal.... if i didn't live in the city it would have taken 20 minutes TOPS. I miss the convenience of living outside of the city.  I also need a vacation once or twice a year to re balance... but I do love the city... The funny thing though is what i love about the city is not really NYC related but the community of people here.  Yet I still get offended when people put it down.  

The city is a pretty great place and in many respects I kinda grew up here. I might have been in my late 20s and 30s while I've been here but I learned more about who I am here than I did before.  When people ask what i love about the city I can't tell them this museum or this show or this attraction. Although lovely, what I love more about the city is the feel, the people, the heart.  Something you can't really taste until you've spent time here.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Oh Sandy!

The last 48 hours have been eventful ones and the next weeks or months will be ones we will never forget.

I live in New York City which was hit pretty hard but luckily I live in one of the highest parts of Manhattan and it seems that the worst of the damage was down trees.  We still have power and heat.

I have lots of friends who live in some of the most affected areas of the city.  Please keep them in your prayers as they begin to recover from this devastating storm.  Keep our local, state, and national authorities in your prayers as they decide how to move forward.  Especially keep our rescue workers in your prayers as they help rescue those still in harms way.

I've really appreciated all the tweets, texts and emails in the last 24 hours. I am happy to report that I am doing really well and had no damage to speak of.  For me, its been a nice relaxing few days inside with my roommate catching up on Alias and other projects.  The next few days, weeks and months will be the challenge as we see the needs emerge. 

 

 

  

 

 

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!

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Home Brewed Iced Coffee

So Summer is here, whether we like it or not.  I love Spring and Summer but I don't love the sometimes extreme heat that comes with it.  Now I know our 80s and 90s are nothing to my southern friends except for they are.  In NYC, most normal apartments don't have central air.  We have one window unit in the living room but thats it.  This week we have had consistent upper 80/lower 90 days.  Which has meant hot hot apartment.  I think I even developed a heat rash due to it.

One way that we hide from the heat is making Iced Coffee instead of brewing our standard hot coffee in the morning.  I found the recipe from Pioneer Woman.  I had to adapt it to smaller quantities.  We also have storage and space issues in NYC. Not all of us can live on a ranch ;)

I thought I'd spread the love of this amazing iced coffee recipe.  We brew it in a 2 quart plastic canister.

What you need is about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of ground coffee for 8 cups of water.  You want to make it stronger than normal hot brewed coffee in order to accomodate for the ice you will likely add to it later.  So for us we put 2 1/2 cups of ground coffee in the canister with 20 cups of water.  Stir the coffee water and then let sit covered for 6-8 hours.  I usually put mine next to the window.  If you prepare it in the morning, you'll be ready to strain it in the evening.

Next you want to strain the coffee.  You'll need a fine mesh strainer and paper towels.  You can use coffee filters but they tend to be a little too thick and make the process 2-3 times longer.  Place the strainer onto your next container. We use a spouted drink dispenser.  $5 at target.  Stir the coffee first before straining. This way it won't clog up your first paper towel.  Place a paper towel in the strainer and then pour the coffee very slowly into the strainer.  You'll pour the coffee about 1-2 cups at a time, depending on the container it is going into and your strainer size.  This can be a somewhat long process. If you tend to be on the impatient side, you'll want to find something to occupy your time with... like (SINGLEDOU[B]T Blog).  You'll have to change out the paper towel every few strains.  Once the paper towel starts to take too much time, thats a good time to change it out.  When you get to the bottom of the mixture, you'll have mostly grounds.  You can strain the mud like mixture but its probably not worth the time and mess.  Its totally up to you.

Once fully strained, you are ready to go.  Place the container in the fridge to let it chill and then you are ready for an insanely good cup of iced coffee.  You can freeze some of the coffee in your ice tray so that you don't water down your coffee. It all depends on how you like your coffee.  A batch this size lasts us 2-3 days.  But that's because we are somewhat obsessed.  If you are a 1-2 cup of coffee person then this might last you a little bit longer.

Also, we like ours flavored so I usually will mix in about .5 cups of flavored grounds into a batch of normal Folgers coffee.  You can play around with what you like.

ENJOY!

GWB

One of my favorite places in NYC is UP UP Uptown Manhattan along the Hudson.  Most of my runs are there and many of my walks.  The GWB (George Washington Bridge) is one of the many landmarks in NYC.  It bridges Uptown with New Jersey.  My roommate/bestest and I decided to take a walk down there a few weeks ago.  I brought my camera with me.

Fall Adventure Day 2011

For the last three years, my best friend and I have had a "Fall Adventure Day".  It started out as a day where we rented a car and just drove north through the pretty rainbow of colors that Fall provides.   We had no real destination, just to drive and find some things to take some pictures of along the way.    We took a GPS so that we could find our way home but we really didn't have any solid destination.  That's where we found little treasures like these.

The first trip was just a few hours, starting right after church and ending when the sun went down.  The next year, we decided to make it a longer event.  We borrowed my sister-in-law's car on a Saturday and then drove for the day, found a place to stay that evening and then drove some more the next day.  Driving and pretty pictures was our main goal but other then that no real destination.

This year, we borrowed a friends car again on Friday.  This year we added a 10K race in Sleepy Hollow, NY.  We decided to drive north as far as we could get and then we'd come back down to stay near where the race would be.

This is my best friend, roommate, sister (in our hearts, not by blood).  She's pretty awesome and I am glad she's my best friend!

We drove north along the Hudson river on the Jersey side.  We watched out amazing city disappear.

And then looked forward to the sights we were about to see.

We met this guy along the way.  

We stopped for the night in Terrytown, grabbing dinner in town.   We had a 10K the next morning that we had not trained well for at all.  

Somewhere in the night, Ashley began to feel bad.  It turned out to be a really bad case of food poisoning which meant she couldn't race.  I went through with the race, feeling awful about leaving her behind. The entire ride to the race and the preparation before, i was contemplating when in the race I could stop and go back to take care of her.  I ended up running the entire race.  The course didn't allow for getting off track.  I have to say it was one of the hardest courses I have ever run.  I swear some of the hills were 45 degree angles.  I had to walk down some of the hills because my knees couldn't take the incline.

The race was the week before Halloween in Sleepy Hallow.  The Headless Horseman was parked throughout the course as were other creatures, figures, etc.

This was on the roadside about 5 miles in.

This was the view during part of the race.  Made the killer hills somewhat bearable... somewhat, I said... 

This was at the beginning of the race. Notice the cow at the front of the line.  There were all sorts of costumes.  I was truly impressed that anyone could run a 10K in a costume.  

I finished the race with a really good time (for me) especially given the hills. I ended up having to walk own about 2 or 3 hills which I was sure would slow down my overall time.  

This was the end of Fall Adventure Day (Take 1). It was definitely an adventure.  Sadly, it was cut short so we could get Ashley home.  No worries,  we finished the trip, just a few weeks later.  Stay tuned.