I throw my hands up in the air sometimes…

Tomorrow is PROM!!!! Can I get a woot woot? (woot woot). I’m not really a good dancer. Not even a little bit but IT’S SO MUCH FUN!!!  It’s also state qualifiers for choir in our region. Normally, a person would be pumped for that. Not so Joe! It’s prom tomorrow! And all the girls hate it because we have to a) get our hair done before 8:30 or b) after we get back between 2-3 in the afternoon. Meanwhile, my neighbor the wonderful manicurist that she is did my nails for me last night 🙂 So here they are:

  

Aren’t they gorgeous!? More to come on prom… 🙂

I tried my hand at: Falafel

I enjoy being in the kitchen, I like being the stereotypical girl that all the woman jokes at school are about. Favorite one lately is: That was a cool story… now go make me a sandwich. I trust myself to bake most things, but to actually cook is another story. While in New York I ate at this tiny mediterranean restaurant, which by the time we chose a restaurant, I wasn’t even hungry anymore… I ordered the appetizer falafel, something I recognized but had never tried before. It was delicious and came with this cucumber sauce and I’ve been wanting to eat some again! So I did some research and found that to make falafel from scratch, the ingredient list is ominous. So I found that there are several different box mixes out there and using this guide, I purchased the Near East Falafel mix (because that was the only one Meijer had). So, with box in hand and the ingredients to make the yogurt/cucumber sauce listed on the back I prepared myself to make dinner last night. They don’t look super appetizing in photos (so no picture)  but they were really good!! They were really strong with spices and I was very glad we had the sauce to dip them in. I had my dad grill some chicken breast and we added some grapes and called it a meal! Next time, (if there is a next time) I think I’d like to try them fried like hush puppies. I broiled them because it was more healthy but if frying them would make them more crispy, I think I’d prefer that.

One lesson learned: falafel doesn’t taste very good warmed up.

In other news, I got to see my grandmother’s wedding shoes! Very snazzy! I love vintage things! But I think the saddest part about them, is that my grandmother never liked them.

New Music and Peach Rings in a Cup!

The local coffee shop frequently hosts small bands to preform and tonight I fell in love with Red Tail Ring. A folk style blue grass band. One boy and one girl, 2 violins, 2 mandolins, 1 banjo, and 1 acoustic guitar. There were a lot of middle aged men there, which I think was because of the bluegrass part of it. By “a lot” I mean maybe 6 or 7. Not that they were creepy or anything, just funny to see men like that at the Brew… without their wives. But then again, maybe I should get out more!!  Second part of the story: Peach Creamosas taste like the peach ring candy. I want to learn how to make a creamosa at home 🙂  

New York, New York, It’s a Wonderful Town!

Ah… New York City, the town that never sleeps. What did we see?

1. The Empire State Building – Ok, the view is INCREDIBLE. But you know, in movies, it really doesn’t take them long at all to get to the top but in reality… there are LINES. many lines. on multiple floors. and security… so much security in NYC. Souvenirs bought: a stretched penny (which are always my favorite) that I think I lost = bummed. So… anyone going to the Empire State Building and want to get me another one??? Anyone? … anyone?

Outside on the top floor of the Empire State Building.

2. Ellis Island / Liberty Island – Once Again… super long lines for security and for a girl who can’t swim, too much time on boats! I could have spent hours at Ellis Island but we didn’t have that much time, unfortunately. 😦 And there is something about seeing Lady Liberty in person that makes this person proud to be an American. Souvenir: This memory: an impersonator of Frédéric Bartholdi. He sat down beside me and two friends where we were eating lunch. (In the world of blog nicknames we’ll call these girls Too Tall and Peanut Butter.) This man, needing to be French, had a horrid French accent which was kindly pointed out by a couple from Montreal. Thankfully, our choir director saved us from the man who stayed too long at a table with three teenage girls…

3. Radio City Music Hall – Wonderful place! The women’s restroom had four rooms! There were awesome vintage photos of famous people related to the theatre, and movie posters in the hallways. There was this photo of Judy Garland and Vincent Minnelli sitting at a table and I got to touch that table and the chairs…. stand in the same room. It was … wonderful. Oprah was getting ready to do a show there so security was pretty tight. We got to meet a Rockette! Yeah, this place was awesome but filled with sooo much information partially because our guide had been there for… 14 years? … I think. Which goes with the slight stream of consciousness-like form of number 3.

4. NBC Studios – Lesson learned: The SNL stage is actually much, much smaller than it looks on TV. When they say that the  camera adds 10 pounds, it’s because they have to stretch the scene. Oh, and the people who are in charge of putting the shows on the air (Yeah, whatever that title is), they actually work behind bullet proof glass.

5. Wicked!!!! – ’nuff said.

6. The historic Riverside Church – we sang here, and we rocked.

The one place we didn’t go was Ground Zero. It was on our schedule but it rained and the Ground Zero place canceled it. But when people ask me what my favorite part was, I say hands down:

THE FOOD!!

Notable foods:

• this amazing Mediterranean place. I was sooo tired I wasn’t even hungry by the time we got there. I ordered the appetizer size falafel and it came with this yummy cucumber sauce.
  Smyrna
  358 West 46th Street, New York, NY
• sushi! wow, this place was caddy corner to our hotel and my first venture into sushi (california roll and a cucumber avocado)  Kodama on 8th Avenue and W 45th St. Go there. (301 W 45th ST NY, NY 10036)
• Europa Cafe – Make your own pasta – what more could you want?!

Learned on this trip: Stick a bunch of high schoolers on a charter bus overnight, the places and positions they will find to sleep, are hilarious.