On to more exciting things!  This weekend, my newest favorite movie is coming out.  YOU MUST GO SEE IT!  BIlly: The Early Years is about the circumstances of Billy Graham’s childhood up through the beginning of his ministry.  I was lucky enough to preview a “work-in-progress” version at my church over the summer & it was remarkable.  God truly called & rose up an amazing servant & witness in Rev. Graham…..the movie really makes you think – if God could use him & mold him into the champion for Christ that he has been, what can God do with me?  My favorite part of the movie is the relationship between Billy & his wife Ruth….what a godly woman she was – and one of my role-models.  So as goofy as this sounds…here goes: Have you heard the country song “Johnny & June”?  After I saw the movie, I change the words everytime I hear it to “I want a love like Billy & Ruth”, etc, etc.  Cheesy I know, but after you see the movie (which is based on true events) you’ll see where I’m coming from.  Anyways, check out the website Billy: The Early Years.  For my Lynchburg buds, the closest theater is Valley View in Roanoke.  My Raleigh friends – head to Crossroads in Cary, Raleigh Grande, or Southpointe in Durham.  Opening night is Ocotber 10th!  Let’s show the movie industry what kinds of things we are really willing to pay to see!  Trust me – you won’t be disappointed!

A dear friend of mine from my early years at Campbell, Heather, is coming to visit this weekend & I have scheduled many of the early rites of fall.  I promise to post next week!

By this time, the shopping endorphins kicked in & I wanted more deals.  NEEDED more deals.  As if by divine coincidence, the Consolidated Shoe Store reopened Friday, after multiple months of being closed.  They are shoe distributors for some popular brand shoes (Nicole, Poetic Licence, Apepezza, Palladium, etc) & have a store around back where they sell their shoes at discount.  And when I say discount….I mean discount!  I spent $60 on 3 pairs of shoes today that retail for at least $80 each….HEAVEN!  So if you are local – keep your eye out for their next tent sale & check out the store (open Thurs – Sat).  

Since I’d had such amazing luck, I thought I’d run by my other staple bargain store – the J.Crew Factory Store.  Despite their recent renovation (read: faux hardwood floors only), I had no luck today.  I guess since its mid-season clothing-wise, there wasn’t much of interest for now….but I’ll be back soon no doubt! I’m in search of this…..

Now……if only October would get here a bit faster.  I’m already counting down the days until Pumpkin pancakes @ the Days Inn & trips to the apple house on the parkway.  Good thing I’m burning this hot apple pie candle to get me though……….

www.jasna.org

DAY 1                                                                                                                                                                      We headed out to the Amtrak station shortly after 0500, only to find out our train was running almost an hour late.  Note to self – next time, call ahead!  Once we got on our way we rode through Charlottesville, Culpeper, Manassas, Alexandria, Washington, Baltimore, Wilmington DE, Philadelphia, Trenton, Newark, and finally……NEW YORK!  Immediately outside Penn Station is none other than the world famous Madison Square Garden – what a way to start our sightseeing!  We survived our first cab ride to our hotel, the Flatotel on 52nd street between 6th & 7th.  Thursday evening we headed out to Times Square for our first look around & dinner at Carmine’s.  Family style Italian – who would have thought large quantities of pasta was a good idea it could be so good!  Afterwards we headed out to ……MARY POPPINS at the New Amsterdam Theatre.  I have been waiting for this forever….okay, its only been on Broadway a year, but still!  And it was no letdown, by any means.  We had the most perfect seats [front row Mezzanine - stage left].  And why were they so perfect you might ask? Besides the completely unobstructed view [no heads!] Mary herself [aka Ashley Brown] in the last scene flies off the stage right in front of my face – I could have reached out and touched her, but I had to restrain myself – how uncool would prison be in NYC?  I’ve watched enough Law & Order to know to avoid Rikers.   I digress.  The show was amazing – its going on a US tour next year, with the original Mary & Burt traveling with them.  I’ll be going again – you should too!!  So, not only was it everything I thought it would be [I left singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, knowing me - you're probably not surprised], but also I left the show with an umbrella.  Not any umbrella, but Mary’s parrot umbrella.  If only I’d had this all those years I dressed up as Mary Poppins for Halloween! 

DAY 2                                                                                                                                                                      Mission #1 – find the closest Starbucks stat.  After a lovely breakfast in the busiest bucks I’ve ever seen, we hail a cab to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  If your not into art, skip all this.  Thanks to mom [via the Chrysler Museum] & my AP Art History teach in high school, I LOVE art museums.  Even better – massive collections of some of my favs – van Dyke, van Gogh, Seurat, and more.  Being able to see the actual size of the canvases & the brushstrokes was icing on the cake.  Even more incredible is the fact you can take pictures of the pictures [no flash of course]!  Oh – and don’t forget the Egyptian collection & Tiffany glass!  I’ll leave you with a few of my favs from the collection.    

After a hotdog courtesy of a cart, we head off to 5th avenue by way of Central Park.  There’s nothing like shopping on a fall-like afternoon in NYC [see "You've Got Mail"].  Lots of success was had & our bags got heavier as the day went by.  But finally it was time for the big purchase I’d been waiting for…..Tiffany’s.  I can now attest to the fact that there is nothing better than that little blue box [unless someone else is paying of course].  

Now would be a good time to mention how much our feet hurt.  Not, oh I went to a theme park & walked a lot, hurt.  But hey, we’ve walked miles upon miles upon miles while holding 20-30+ pounds of purchases, hurt.  Advil couldn’t even touch the pain – but it was worth it.  Let’s just say, sitting still for even a few minutes was not a good idea – our knees & backs tried to tell us we were 80!  [repeat this song & dance every morning when we got up- ouch!]  

After unloading our bags at the hotel, we took off to the Empire State Building [by way of more stores of course].  It was a necessity that we head to the ESB, as some of the best movies of all time took place at the top…..An Affair to Remember & Sleepless in Seattle are two of my favs natch.  The sun had set by the time we made it to the top, but wow.  There are no words to describe it – form your own thoughts from these pics of the city that never sleeps. [ps - Ashley was not loving it - the whole bars keeping you from plunging 87 stories wasn't working for her]  

We grabbed a slice of pizza afterwards [NY staple right?] and headed back towards the hotel & hit up Angelos restaurant for tiramisu & cheesecake [which was next to Letterman's studio!].  It was an awesome day packed from beginning to end – but oh so worth the pain!

DAY 3                                                                                                                                                                      That whole pain thing? Yeah it hit us this morning – it was beyond painful to get out of the bed.  Not from “tiredness”, but muscle “frozenness”.  But we pushed through & hit up Au Bon Pain for breakfast.  Basically the coolest little food place ever.  I’d been to the one at the train station in Washington before, and this one at Rockefeller Center was no disappointment.  We headed off to tour NBC Studios next.  Our first stop was at Nightly News with Brian Williams (with MSNBC in the background).  It’s amazing how small the studio was – and he writes all his own script, cool right?  Next up……Conan’s studio [8H I think?].  It was so incredibly small, only like 100 seats for the audience, but the band area was like the size of a small bathroom – they basically sit on top of each other.  We saw the star where he stands to give his “Conalogue” at the start of the show & then his tiny, tiny, tiny desk – seriously.  So apparently he’s 6’4″ and you’d never guess it from the size of the furniture (which is made to fit the size of the studio, not the size of the host).  Anyways, thats why he always seems to sit from the side facing the guest – he can’t fit! And fyi – the lovely view from behind his desk – a picture from the top of the building that they hung there with lights behind it.  Gotta love the wonders of TV.  And last but not least – Saturday Night Live!  So its pre-season now (which is probably why we got to see it), but it was crazy how small it was!  The audience sits up high – the people you see in the show are VIPs that sit down front on the floor.  The “Grand Central” terminal where the musical guests perform is so small – I don’t know how all those bands and their peeps fit up there [apparently they don't always].  So they setup the sets all around the floor facing every direction.  So the best place to watch the show is at home on TV, you can’t see hardly anything from the angles in the studio.  So start gearing up for the season premiere of SNL with Michael Phelps hosting!

Next up was the TKTS booth in Times Square.  Yes, it is worth sitting in line for about 2 hours to save yourself 50% off a Broaway ticket.  So with tickets for Hairspray in hand, we headed to Macy’s.  Incredible.  I wish we’d had more time to shop around, but back to school shoppers made the place cRaZy…all 6 floors of it.  So back to Times Square we go in pursuit of colored M&M’s.  Who knew how happy colored chocolate can make you?  And yes, we did act like kids picking out & pointing at all the funky colors.  Back to the hotel for a mad preparation for dinner at McCormick & Smicks.  Stellar seafood – a must try.  Hairspray was incredible.  I hate to say that it was better than Mary Poppins; one is more audience driven & the dancing & songs are just so dang catchy.  Regardless, it was so worth it!  To make it even more interesting, the mom was played by …….George Wendt [Norm from Cheers].  Hilarious.  Even more hilarious than John Travolta in the movie version.  Such a great experience.  Afterwards we enjoyed our last night on the town with cheesecake at Lindy’s, a NY tradition.  

DAY 4                                                                                                                                                                      Our last morning consisted of attempting to pack our many purchases into our suitcases [which was no small feat mind you!] & breakfast #2 at Au Bon Pain.  There was a street fair that morning all up and down ?6th Ave? which felt straight out of a movie.  I love celebrating Brazilian day [I think this was the reason for the fair]!  We grabbed our bags & headed back to Penn Station for the train ride home.  While waiting, I read the Times & [attempted] the crossword puzzle.  The ride was fine, but I was ready to get home & get off the confines of the train [its comfortable, don't get me wrong - but the ride home is always the worst].  

The trip was so great – the pictures can’t even do it justice.  I’ll leave you with a few random photos- for more see facebook.  Until next year….I foresee a yearly trip coming on!

Jess & I took an early celebration trip to Water Country USA in Williamsburg for my 25th birthday.  I hadn’t been in probably 8 years or more and behold – the newest “ride” blew my mind.  Literally.  Hubba Hubba Highway (original right?) is by far the most enjoyable lazy river every created.  No floats permitted, just you, a life jacket, and jet force propelled water pushing you around.  Picture the EAC current in Finding Nemo.  Next time I go, thats all I’m doing.  Hours of nonstop, no-energy-required floating.  I’ll post a pic once my disposable water camera gets developed.  Start planning your trip for next year.

On a serious note, my Pop Pop turns 90 next week, and its caused me to do a lot of thinking.  I’ve done a lot of complaining recently (and I mean a lot) about turning 25.  Who am I to be unthankful for the years, days, even minutes God has provided me?  What an honor it is to think that God feels like another day or second, or year is needed for me to accomplish his purpose.  Pop Pop has lived such an amazing life & seen so many things, and I am so thankful for each day I get to spend with him.  I can only pray that the time I have here on this earth will be used to promote the Father & his will for my life.

Despite my promise to blog more frequently – I lied.  Life has been crazy.  Everything got moved, but minimal unpacking has occurred.  The big family 90th birthday party is the weekend at the Beach.  I’m headed off to NYC with Ashley in a little over a week.  All of this equals tons to do, hardly any time after work to do it!  So hopefully there will be a post or 2 pre-NYC, but if not expect a picture filled day by day saga of our journey! 

Countdown:

14 days >>>>> B-day #25 (feel free to send gifts to lighten the depression – I’m kidding, about the gifts part anyways!)

27 days >>>>> NYC with Ashley dearest!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article4392846.ece

“The Liberty Mountain Snowflex Center will consist of a main ski slope and a 

beginner slope for ski and snowboard instruction, totaling about 40,537 square 

feet of skiable area. Jumps and additional features on the main slope include a 

tabletop, a big kicker, an 11-foot high quarter pipe, two grind rails and an extreme 

tube chute. Those who prefer tubing may do so at designated times. ” per the Press Release

So I have no idea what any of that means, except that it equals hours of fun!  But you might be asking yourself how can they do this when we average a foot of snow a year?  In comes European technology.  The “snow surface” looks like a ton of bristles with “mist”ers built in (see picture for a close up).  So make your plans now to visit in early 2009.  Check out this link for more info. http://www.liberty.edu/snowflex/  You can be one of the first to test out the ONLY such slope in the US (the rest are in Europe) & witness me make a fool of myself at the same time!

Want to follow along in the progress & construction?  So does the Discovery Channel.  They are filming segments of the construction process & will air them on a future episode of Daily Planet.  

Have I ever told you how much I love this city?!?