Author / Bethe

by Bethe

New York in a Nutshell

I think I’m going to have my Sunday School class pray over everything… because God sure answers their prayers! It’s been so fun to watch Him answer big prayer requests (like healing from terminal diseases) and small prayer requests (like finding roommates). So when my class prayed that sister Sarah and I would have a good trip to New York, I should have known it would be blessed.

Boy was I right!

Every single detail of our trip had the divine hand of God on it. I have never experienced anything so smooth. It was amazing. And fun, and relaxing, and absolutely wonderful.

But before I get all mushy, here’s the highlights, and some deep thoughts from my trip.

1. New Yorkers pretend to be hardcore, but they’re really nice people. And they LOVE the stereotype of being thieves preying on poor, clueless, southern tourists. Not once, but TWICE (within 10 minutes) we had New Yorkers offer to take our picture and then take off running with our camera, only to turn back laughing hysterically. We get it. Don’t give your camera to strangers. We Texans are just too trusting!

This photo was taken right after someone tried to “steal” our camera.

2. Being in New York, surrounded by so many people from all walks of life is good for my spirit. It reminds me that there’s a whole world of people outside my comfort zone of Fort Worth, an endless amount of possibilities. It reminds me that my world is so much bigger than I tend to notice.

3. I’m addicted to croissants. And French bakeries. And New York hot dogs.

4. I had my best pedicure EVER in New York. It included a 20-minute foot reflexology massage. It was my best souvenir of the trip, and was just what I needed after walking around Manhattan all day in my cute flip flops.

5. I love the Subway. It’s so much more fun than taking a taxi, and makes me feel adventurous. And brave. And worldly. I also like to talk to people on the Subway. In fact, I like to make friends wherever I go in New York. I think there’s something fun about being a “foreigner.” And everybody loves to hear about Texas.

6. We went all the way to New York, and we still did most of our shopping at major chain stores–Banana Republic, New York & Company, Williams & Sonoma, Ethan Allen. And you know what? Who cares! It made us happy to shop at the super-gigantic versions of our favorite stores.

7. Speaking of shopping, we saw them film an episode of “What Not To Wear” at New York & Company.

We also saw Jamie Lee Curtis, and met Meredith Viera from the TODAY Show! It was a successful celebrity-spotting trip!

8. Speaking of Meredith, she was SOOO nice! We watched the TODAY Show (and were on for 3 seconds… which means we’re “kind of a big deal” now) and Meredith literally went to EVERY person there and took photos with them. Matt Lauer, on the other hand, waved and quickly went back in the studio. I wasn’t impressed.

9. We saw Mama Mia on Broadway. Sarah somehow scored us 7th row tickets. It was FANTASTIC! Of course, I was singing “Dancing Queen” for the next three days, but it was worth the minor annoyance.

10. We saw someone get beer spilled on their head at the Yankee game. It was just like people said. I didn’t see anyone get pelted with batteries, but I did hear plenty of expletives shouted at my beloved Rangers. Especially when we came back in the 9th inning to WIN! It was probably the most amazing baseball experience of my life, and I’ve been to a lot of games.

But now it’s back to the real world of Texas. Going to New York makes me wonder about what kinds of adventures I need to seek out in my lifetime. Do I want to live somewhere fast-paced and exciting like New York? Or maybe uproot to Europe for a year? Or stay in Texas, where things are safe and comfortable, and leave the flashy cities for my vacations?

Whatever happens, New York, thanks for taking good care of us this week! It was a great trip. I’ll see you soon!

by Bethe

New York, New York

I just got back from my whirlwind trip to New York. It was an AMAZING trip. God really blessed us during these past few days–literally every detail worked out in our favor, every single time! I’ll post more soon, but here’s some pictures to get you started.

Cheering for the Rangers at Yankee Stadium

Final Score… Rangers 3, Yankees 2

And you might recognize this lady from The TODAY Show…

More to come later!

by Bethe

New York and a small bag

I’m going to New York tomorrow to see a Yankee game! Hooray! I’m so unbelievably excited!

Of course, not excited enough to have started packing yet. And with school tonight until 9:00, and then a 2-hour special of The Bachelorette to watch on my Tivo after that, I need to get started on that packing NOW. Since we’re only going for a few days, sister Sarah and I aren’t going to check any bags so we can save our $15 surcharge for checked luggage. The only problem is, I pack more than any human being on earth EVERY time I go ANYWHERE. I’m a regular pack-mule, only cuter and sweeter. I could live for a week with what I bring in my bag every day to work, much less packing for an actual overnight trip. So this will be a nice challenge. Luckily, it’s summertime, and shorts and tank tops don’t take up much space. So we’ll see if I can do it!

by Bethe

Drowned Rat

I think the Concert in the Gardens is cursed. At least, it’s cursed for me.

The first time I tried to go (on a date), it was rained out. But that’s cool, because that guy is long gone.

The second time I tried to go (another date), it didn’t rain. But it ended up being my last date with a different guy.

So this time, I decided to go with friends. No dates. Just friends. And you know what?

It poured on us. We got soaked. And cold. We had to run back to the bus, dragging our elaborate picnic (which I had made for everybody) through the mud. We didn’t see a concert. Didn’t see any fireworks. Although we did see plenty of lightening.

So I give up. No more Concerts in the gardens for me. I’ll go see the symphony like a normal person. Indoors.

But, the night wasn’t a total loss. I ended up having a fabulous “Bethe night” on my couch, curled up with a book, listening to classical music with the rain providing a soothing backdrop.

I need to do that again.

by Bethe

There’s a dilemma inside my head

I have an internal battle raging about my blog. Part of me wants to purposely keep it light-hearted and surface level. And silly. Because who really wants to read deep thoughts from some silly blonde girl who’s constantly trying to reinvent herself? I know you have much better things to do. So do I.

Besides, I don’t want to air out my business for all of the strangers of the blogworld to see. It’s weird to think that some lady name Sally in Seattle might know my latest drama. Or that one of my friends might recognize themselves and (gasp) be weirded out. So I purposely don’t write about other people, except for silly stuff.

I especially don’t write about boys, although if I did, I think my blog would be a lot more interesting. Because let’s face it, dating is quite entertaining. And awkward. And dramatic. And funny. But I can’t document it for the world to see, because then the next boy would get to see my postings about past boys, and that would be weird. So I leave guy stuff out. (But trust me, there’s some great stories in there.)

So what’s left is random postings about life that don’t involve boys, or particular friends, or anything important. And if you strip all of that away, my life is pretty darn boring. And who wants to read about that?

So I’ll just say this. Life is interesting. I find it so entertaining to watch my life twist and turn like a mountain road, bringing unexpected adventures at every turn. Sometimes I feel like I’m about to drive off a cliff, sometimes I feel like I’m about to make it to the summit. And along the way, I’m really enjoying the view.

by Bethe

Friday Ketchup

Last night my poor softball team lost yet again. During one of our innings, they scored 8 runs (the run rule) before we ever got a SINGLE out! The final score was 15-5, but it seemed like 100-2. I consider it a victory, though, since nobody asked me if I was a boy this time. Baby steps.

I also played tennis the other night with friends. It was fantastic! Way better than going to the gym, and an excuse for me to wear a cute tennis skirt! I think we’re going to make it a standing “thing” each week… there I go again overcommitting! But this one will combine socializing and exercise–my favorite!

Life is good. I’ve got the next nine days off from work–a regular “vacation-sandwich”… with the meat being a quick trip to New York, and the buns being time at home lounging by the pool, reading books and sleeping late. Yea!

by Bethe

Dog lovers rejoice

Today I found the owner of the stray dog. Turns out the dog’s name is Levi and he lives one neighborhood away. I was able to track his owner down thanks to my neighborhood’s online message board (yea for modern technology!) and Levi was reunited with his family before lunch. So Harley the Wonder Schnoodle continues to be an only child, and I am still a long way from being the crazy dog lady.

Tonight I went out to celebrate (almost) the end of semester #5 with my classmates and my professor. As much as this class has worn me out, I have really enjoyed the other girls in the class, and my professor is fantastic. We went to a neat hole-in-the-wall for dinner, margaritas (them) and Diet Coke (me). We had so much fun that we’ve decided to do it again in July, just so we can stay in touch. Having cool people in my class makes all the late evenings and homework a lot more bearable. And, I talked to my professor about a possible PAID assistantship! If I can get my class paid for, that means I can spend that other money on stuff for my house or trips to Europe! Yipee! We’ll see if it works out… One class costs me $2700, which would buy an AWESOME two weeks abroad! Or, a new dining room set!

by Bethe

Maybe I should get a new dog

There’s this sad little stray dog living next door. He has no collar, but he was obviously well-loved and cared for, we just don’t know where he belongs. He hung around the house all day. He’s a little mutt, maybe 25 pounds. In fact, he looks kind of like Harley the Wonder Schnoodle, only with shorter hair. I’m tempted to adopt him, but I know that having two dogs is a bit excessive. One is manageable. One is easy to love. Two is a burden. Besides, if I ever marry a man with a dog, then I would have THREE dogs and suddenly I would be the dog lady with the smelly house. I just can’t have that.

But those sad eyes…

by Bethe

Yea for Swag!

I complain a lot about grad school because it takes all my time, costs a lot of money, and makes me work hard on stuff that doesn’t necessarily always (ever) interest me.

But tonight, that first $15,000 worth of school paid off! Because…

I got swag! There’s a gal in my class who works for Pier 1, and she brought us each a bag of Pier 1 goodies! Yea! I got some candles, soap, Christmas decorations, and a beach mat, all for FREE! They’re moving offices and she had to clean out some stuff from storage, and we all got to benefit!

It was definitely the highlight of my whole semester. Maybe my whole graduate career to this point. I can’t wait to use my new lemonade-flavored soap tonight! See, all this hard work is worth it…