Close Encounters of the Tebow Kind

As promised, I'd like to tell you about a very exciting moment in our Gator lives...we have officially been in the presence of Superman!

Last weekend was the Heisman Award Ceremony at the Nokia Theater in Times Square. Eric and I decided that this would be a perfect time to try to catch a glimpse of Tim Tebow, live and in the flesh. Eric researched and researched online to try to find information about Heisman weekend - when were the candidates arriving? Where would they be staying? Were they going to be signing autographs anywhere? Where would they be sightseeing? What time would the arrive at the theater for the ceremony? Etc., etc. However, this is one event in NYC that seem to be trying to avoid a crowd. There was virtually NO information to be found. ANYWHERE. Nothing was advertised. We were only able to find out that there was a pre-reception at the Nokia Theater before the award ceremony began at 8:00p.m. on Saturday.

So, we left the house around 2:00 on Saturday afternoon. We have been guilty of severely underestimating the early arrival of crowds at other NYC events, and we did not want to be scooped this time. Of course, that early in the day, there was NOTHING going on at the Nokia theater. No barricades set up, nothing on the marquis, no sign of any big event. So, we spent the next few hours basically wandering Times Square and surrounding areas, stopping back by every so often to make sure we hadn't missed anything.

Holy cow, was Times Square crowded. It was pretty unpleasant. It was also very cold, which didn't help. We tried to go into Toys 'R Us for some shopping, but it was about as crowded in there as it was at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, so we left immediately. We tried to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for drinks to kill some time, but the wait time was an hour and a half. We did wander out to 6th Avenue and took a couple more Christmas decorations pictures, and we saw a group of carolers on the street. So that was nice. But after a while, we just needed to get in out of the cold, so we stopped into a McDonalds to get something to eat and just sit in a warm building to kill some time.

Christmas lights on 6th Avenue

VIDEO: Carolers on 6th Avenue

Around 5:00 we went back over to the theater and things were starting to look promising. There were a couple other people in Gators apparel hanging around, along with a very friendly Texas fan named David, who we talked to for a while. Barricades were being brought out, and official-looking guys in suits were roaming around. Over the course of the next half hour, more fans started to show up, but by the end of things there were probably about 20 people total, so you can tell how un-advertised the whole thing was. And the Gator Nation was certainly represented - I would say that of the 20 or so fans, 16 of them were Gators.

Hopefully waiting in front of the Nokia Theater

All of a sudden I heard a commotion and some of the Gators saying, "It's Urban Meyer! Urban Meyer!" at the front of the building. So, I dashed around there, camera all ready to go. Sure enough, there was the Florida Gators head coach headed in to the building, so I snapped his picture! He went right inside, so there wasn't much time. But now we were really excited!

It's Urban Meyer!

In anticipation of Tebow arriving, I decided to brave the cold and unbutton my coat to show off my Tebow jersey underneath. To do so I needed to remove my gloves, but as I pulled them off, I forgot that I had the camera strap around my wrist. And so, the camera hit the ground. Hard. And would not turn on. THE CAMERA WOULD NOT TURN ON! Mere moments before Tebow was supposed to arrive!

And arrive he did, along with Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, the other finalists. They posed at the end of a walkway for pictures, then walked down the walkway and into the theater. We had brought our Gators helmet in the hopes that Tebow would sign it, but no luck. And the camera STILL WOULD NOT TURN ON. I tried my best to get a picture of him with my cell phone camera, but without much success. This is the best I could do:

There he is! With Colt McCoy on the left and Sam Bradford on the right

Tebow! Look this way!

In just a few seconds, it was over. But still a very cool experience! We did talk some of the other Gator fans after the event, and a couple of them got some really good pictures that they promised to email to us, so we're hoping that really comes through. That's actually the reason I didn't post about this immediately after it happened...I've been hoping to have better pictures to share with you. But, we still haven't heard from the girl who got the pictures, and I couldn't wait any longer. If the pictures ever show up, I'll be sure to share them!

And that was our close encounter with Tim Tebow! Go Gators!

In other news, please send good thoughts and healing vibes my sister's way today. She had an appointment at 8:00 this morning to have her wisdom teeth removed, and she was pretty nervous about it. I know she'll be fine, but think good thoughts for her for an easy procedure and speedy recovery! Get well soon, Heather!

UPDATE: (12/23/08)

We got the pictures from our fellow Gator fan! There were a couple pretty good ones in the batch she sent, but apparently the lighting was just bad so they're still a little fuzzy. But, here they are! These might at least give you a better idea of how close we were to him.

A much closer view of my very far away cell phone pic: Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford

Tebow, look up!

So there ya have it! Go Gators!

Dancing Snowflakes

Monday night Eric and I decided to go back out to Bryant Park when he got off work for a little more Christmas shopping. On our way, we stopped by Rockefeller Center to see if the crowds were light enough to enable us to get some pictures of the tree. And they were! (Well, by "light enough" I mean we were at least able to walk into the Plaza. It was still pretty jam-packed with people).

Our camera broke this weekend, which was quite the catastrophe. I'll tell you all about that in an upcoming blog post. Since I carry the camera with me at all times these days and thus feel naked without it, we went right out on Sunday and replaced it with a more up-to-date version of our old camera. So, last night we decided to test out our new camera and see what she can do. We were not disappointed! Although, the pretty subject matter may have something to do with it.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Holiday flags and lights around the Plaza

Soldiers on either side of the Plaza

Angels line the walkway from the tree and Ice Rink to Saks Fifth Avenue

Eric and the Tree

Me with an angel

Beautiful!

Looking back towards Saks

By the time we finished taking our pictures, it was starting to rain so we decided to postpone our Bryant Park shopping trip. But, we had heard that the snowflakes on the side of the Saks Fifth Avenue building (pictured above) dance to music every half hour. We had about 5-10 minutes to wait until the hour, so we found a spot and waited for the show. It was so cool! See for yourself:

VIDEO: Saks Snowflakes dancing to "Carol of the Bells"

(It's kind of hard to hear the music over the NY noise until about 10 seconds in, so bear with it!)

On our way home, we decided to stop at this little Mexican restaurant near our house that is ALWAYS packed with people. We figured if it's always so busy, it MUST be good. We peeked in and saw that there was one little table for two available in the corner, so we went in. We shared a sangria-rita (combining two of my great loves), shrimp quesadillas and chicken quesadillas. It was really delicious!

So, it was another night that was not what we had planned but was still really fun. I love this city!

Stay tuned for details of a very exciting moment over the weekend....

More Holiday Fun

Eric and I had a sort of impromptu fun holiday evening last night. I had a 6:00pm appointment to get my hair cut (finally!) at a place near his office, so when I was finished he met me there and we decided to walk over to Grand Central to try to see the full light show. We did, and it was very nice! Then we did a little more shopping in their holiday market and got some good Christmas gift ideas.

Lights on the walls of Grand Central during the show

Lights on the ceiling

VIDEO: A snippet of the light show

The Holiday Fair at Grand Central

Christmas tree of TVs at the entrance to the Holiday Fair

After Grand Central, we walked over to Bryant Park to check out the festivities that we had meant to see last week. The ice rink was packed, of course, and they had a very pretty Christmas tree. There were also TONS of shops, and we got more gift ideas! I also found a Claddagh ring in just the style I have been looking for for months, so I was pretty excited about that.

On the way to Bryant Park, Eric stopped for a picture with the Soup Nazi of Seinfeld fame

Me by the fountain in Bryant Park (like my new hair?)

Ice skaters at the Pond in Bryant Park

The Christmas Tree, up close and personal

I love how in this city, just roaming around can make for a lovely evening. Especially now during the holidays! Although things seem to be pretty crowded, with lots of people coming into town to enjoy New York at Christmas, but I suppose that's the price you have to pay!

Hope all of you have a nice weekend!

I Think I'm in Love with a Robot

Seriously.

Have any of you seen "Wall-E?" We Netflix-ed it last weekend (we have recently discovered the joy that is Netflix), and it is the first move we've Netflix-ed that I haven't felt I could part with right away to hurry up and get the next movie in our queue. We've had it for about a week and I think I've watched it four times. And I'm not sure I'm done yet!

If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it (obviously!). The premise of the story is that at some point in the future, trash has overtaken the earth. Humans have fled to a luxury spaceship, planning to be gone for five years while Wall-E is left with the task of cleaning up the trash back on Earth. This task takes longer than expected, and 700 years pass. Through his 700 years alone, Wall-E develops a real personality. He has a little home, a little cockroach friend, and he collects various trash items that he finds interesting. But what he really wants is companionship - especially to hold "hands" with someone. When the humans send back a probe robot named Eve to determine if life is once again sustainable on Earth, Wall-E is smitten. Adventures ensue, and it is just adorable.

So, if you're looking to kill time this weekend (before or after cheering for Tim Tebow in the Heisman Ceremony on Saturday, of course), check out Wall-E! And let me know if you love it as much as I do.

Sidetracked

Yesterday Eric and I set out on the town with a plan: we were going to go check out the New York Public Library, and then go to Bryant Park for shopping at another of those adorable holiday markets and possibly some ice skating. But...on our way there, we got so sidetracked by other things that we never even made it!

We started out towards Radio City Music Hall, and stopped to take pictures of some of the Christmas decorations along the way. I have to say, New York is just magical at Christmas. I am sincerely enjoying the holiday season here this year. Everything is decorated, and it's so beautiful. It makes walking around in the cold totally worth it!

Christmas trees for sale on the side of the street. These little stands are all over the place. Generally, the trees seem to be pretty small - NY apartment-sized, I suppose!

Giant Christmas ornaments in a fountain, with Radio City in the background

Daytime shot of Radio City Music Hall (look at the crowds lined up to see the Christmas Spectacular matinee show!)

I loved this snowman window display at J Crew. Look at their cute little faces!

From there we went over to Rockefeller Center to see if we could get some good pics of the tree. HOLY CROWDS. It was jam-packed. We snapped a couple of pics, but we're going to try again another day to see if we can get some better ones. Maybe it will be less crowded during the week (fingers crossed!). I'd like some night shots, as well.

The Tree!

We then made our way down Fifth Avenue, and then cut over to Grand Central Station. They do a light show set to music in the main terminal every half hour, but we walked in at the tail end of it. We'll have to go back and catch the whole thing one of these days. They also had a little area set up with shops for the holidays, once again with a lot of handmade things. We saw a few glass ornaments we liked, but didn't make any purchases.

Looking down 47th Street from 5th Avenue at the Diamond District. I love their diamond-themed Christmas decor!

Inside Grand Central Station

After we left Grand Central, we finally made our way to the Library...only to find that we had spent too much time being sidetracked, and the Library was closed! So, we missed our chance. And by this point, we were both feeling too tired from meandering all about town for holiday shopping and ice skating at Bryant Park. So, we decided to just call it a night! We'll have to try again for the Library and Bryant Park next weekend.

In other news...the Gators are OFFICIALLY going to the National Championship game! Go Gators!

A Pretty Nice Little Saturday

THE GATORS WON!!!

It's great to be a Florida Gator! The Gators beat Alabama 31-20 last night to win the SEC title and all but secure a spot in the BCS National Championship game in Miami in January. And guess who else will be in Miami in January for the BCS National Championship game? Hopefully Eric and I will! We are actively seeking tickets for the game and are so excited about it!

That game was so tense. I don't handle close games well. I get very nervous. It wasn't until late in the game when the Gators went up by 11 that I started to breathe a little easier. Here's hoping they can pull it off in January as well! Here are a few photos I shamelessly stole from Yahoo to remember the evening:

Urban getting the Gatorade. I love when they Gatorade the coaches!

My beloved Tim Tebow. Sigh and swoon, and such.
In case you're curious, the tape under his eyes says "Phil. 4:13," which is "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Not only is he a great player, he's a man with a message.

Tebow with his MVP trophy, and the rest of the team with the SEC trophy. Go Gators!

In addition to the Gators victory, we really had a very nice and moderately eventful day. Before the game, we walked up to Columbus Circle to check out the holiday market they had set up. Apparently there are several holiday markets set up all over the city, so we wanted to scope out the one closest to us. On our walk there, we walked past Tony Bennett! He was just out for a stroll, sporting his sweats and tennis shoes. Ha!

We started out inside the regular shops at Columbus Circle to look at the gorgeous stars they have hanging from the ceiling for the holidays. Then we made our way through the market, which was very cool. They had all sorts of handmade goods, from soaps, to jewelry, to knit hats, to dog treats, to puppets. They also were selling hot apple cider and holiday treats like gingerbread men. Very cute!

The stars inside the Shops at Columbus Circle. They change colors!

Another shot of the stars. Also a good shot of Columbus Circle out the window.

The Columbus Circle holiday market

Looking down one of the aisles

After the market we stopped for lunch and came home to watch the game. We decided to just stay in to watch it this week, and wore nearly every piece of Gator apparel we own, which is a LOT.

When we took Achilles out after the game, we witnessed our first snowfall of the season! It was flurry-ing away and very pretty. Definitely good for the Christmas spirit. I'd love a white Christmas this year. It would be Eric's first!

So, it was a busy little Saturday: saw Tony Bennett, went to a holiday market, GATORS WON!, and first snow! Hope you all are also having a great weekend!

Work 'em Silly

Let's Go Gators!

Big game today! UF v. Alabama for the SEC Championship. If FL wins, they will most likely go to the National Championship. And if they go, Eric and I just might go too! So....come on, Gators, get up and go!

In case you missed this whole season....here's a recap, including Tebow's inspiring speech that turned the team around after the 31-30 loss to Ole Miss:

Go Gators!

Cold and Crowded

Last night was the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting, and frankly, it was a little disappointing. Not because the show wasn't entertaining, but because we once again grossly underestimated how early we would need to arrive to get a good spot. We got there between 5:30 and 6:00, and I knew that arriving at that time would push us pretty far back, but I had no idea HOW far back. By the time we arrived, they were announcing that "all pedestrian viewing pens are full," and the closest we could get to the action was about a half block down the street. They were also announcing, "the Jonas Brothers will not be performing live tonight," which I took to mean "all you kids who are just here to scream in a high-pitched voice at these teen boys can go on home and make room for everybody else." That did not apply to me, so we carried on. I am too old to scream at the Jonas Brothers (or the Jonai, if you will), or even to know any of their songs. Ah, adulthood.

Anyway, they had a monitor set up so that you could see what was going on, but basically all we were doing was standing outside in the cold, in a big crowd, watching on a giant screen what we could have been watching (and many of you may have been) on TV in the comfort of our living room. Regardless, we decided to stick around a bit and see what happened. And we did gradually move forward as the night went on, but not very far, and certainly not even close to being able to see the Tree, the Plaza or any celebrities of any kind.

Crowds lining the street up towards the Plaza. That blinding light is the screen we watched the show on.

The crowds in front of us

In case the pictures don't give you a good enough idea of the crowds, I took this video of our surroundings. That's Tony Bennett on the screen, if you're wondering.

I don't want to sound all pessimistic. It definitely was entertaining, and as with all of these types of things we've done so far, it was just cool to be there and be a part of it. And now we know for next year to get there super early to try to get a decent spot. Or, just stay home and drink hot chocolate. But we'll decide on that when the time comes.

We ended up leaving around 8:00pm, which is when it actually started being shown on TV. They had begun with a show at 7:00 just for the crowd, I guess, and were broadcasting live on TV from 8-9pm. We did see (via monitor) performances by the Jonai, Miley Cyrus, David Cook, Faith Hill, Harry Connick Jr., Tony Bennett, Rascall Flats, and Kristin Chenoweth. And the Rockettes, of course! We ended up leaving early though because we just didn't see it as very likely that we would end up close enough to see anything, it was very cold, and Eric hasn't been feeling well. He rarely gets sick and he was definitely a trooper (that's that "mental toughness" I mentioned in his birthday post), but we decided that a warm living room was the best location to view the last hour of the show. So we left after hearing Rascall Flats sing "My Wish," which was the last dance song at our wedding. We thought that was a fitting end to our Christmas Tree Lighting attempt.

Hosts Al Roker and Jane Krakowski on our monitor

David Cook

Kristin Chenoweth

Another crowd shot, and Rascall Flats

When we left we realized what a good spot we actually had. It turns out they had blocked off the block we were on and weren't even letting people down there. In fact, they weren't even letting people cross to that side of the STREET anymore. Basically, there were mobs of people for blocks, just waiting to get to where we were - to not be able to see anything. I assume they just weren't going to let anyone else in to the area until after the show. I heard one guy begging a cop to let him through to where we had been, saying that he and his family had driven through the night from Indiana to be here for the Tree Lighting. The cop's response was a simple, "well, you should've gotten here about 4 hours earlier." Craziness. So, I guess we didn't have it as bad as we thought!

Anyway, here are a few more pictures we snapped while we were there!

Handsome husband. You can't even tell he doesn't feel well and his toes are freezing off.

Amongst the crowds

All together now!

It's a little disappointing that we didn't get a picture of the tree, but Eric snapped this one with his phone on his way to work this morning, and we have plenty of time to get back and get a good night shot of it. One of these nights we're just going to roam the city and take pictures of lights and decorations, so we'll be sure to get a picture of it then!

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Abandon News, All Ye Who Enter Here

Sign above the entryway to "The Daily Show"

Last night Eric and I went to a taping of "The Daily Show" and had a great time! We had reserved tickets online, but that doesn't necessarily mean you actually get to go to the show. They overbook every show to make sure all seats are filled, so you still have to get there early and wait in line to try to get an official ticket into the studio. They start letting people in around 5:00p.m. I got there at 3:40, and already there was a huge line and I was nervous we might not make it in. We did (obviously), but not many people behind us did. Eric met me there around 4:00, so I didn't have to wait the whole time by myself. They do have a rule that after 4:30, your friends can't join you in line anymore. If they show up after 4:30, to the back of the line they shall go.

It was probably around 5:30 that we actually got into the building and went through security. Then they led us into the studio and directed us to our seats. We sat and waited for a bit longer, then they had a guy who referred to himself as the "warm-up chimp" come out to get the crowd excited. He did a little funny banter with some audience members and then got everyone on their feet, cheering and ready to go before Jon Stewart came out.

Jon Stewart is short. We looked it up online, and apparently he's 5' 6.5" or 5'7"-ish. That's about my height, for frame of reference! He did a quick Q&A with the crowd, during which we learned that (in Jon's opinion): now that Barack Obama is going to be president, black people will start being afraid of white people in elevators instead of the current vice versa; Republicans are people too; and people let journalists get away with not caring because we have jobs and don't have the time to make them care. Very educational.

Watching the actual show was fun too. Although it did take a little bit of the magic out of it, to see the jokes all written on the teleprompters, but Jon's delivery is great so it's very funny regardless. It really was a very fun experience. I wish they would've let us take pictures of the set or something before the show began at least, but they made everyone turn off all cell phones and pack away cameras as soon as you entered the building. So, you'll have to make do with this shot of (a very cold) me outside the studio after the show:

If you want to watch the episode that we saw, click here to watch it on The Daily Show website. Listen closely...maybe you can hear us laughing!

In other news, we had a very nice, albeit quiet, celebration for Eric's birthday. When he got home from work I made him dinner, although it wasn't the dinner I had planned. I wanted to make him a chicken teriyaki thing that he likes, but our tiny grocery store didn't carry the supplies. So, it was chicken and broccoli alfredo instead. I also had a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and a Mountain Dew toast waiting for him. He opened his cards and his gift from me (a mini Gators football helmet for his office, and a Rays mini helmet on the way) and blew out his candles. Very mellow, but very nice. I hope he enjoyed his birthday!

The makings of Eric's birthday celebration: gift, card, Mountain Dew toast, and cake decorated with orange and blue!
(please excuse the crazy bent Advent candle on the left. Not sure what happened there.)

Next up in our New York lives: the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting tonight! 

The Birth of My Husband

Happy Birthday, Eric!

One of my favorite pictures of us, taken in the Caymans right after we won the Newlywed Game (3 years before we were actually married!)

Today I am celebrating the birth of my husband. Eric turns twenty-six years old today! I thought that such an occasion clearly warrants a big, embarrassing, sappy, cheesy blog post, so I plan to deliver just that. And what could possibly be more embarrassing and cheesy than a list of 26 Things I Love About My Husband??? And I don't mean obvious stuff like "he has nice eyes" or "he has a nice smile," because everybody knows by now that I think my husband is super handsome, and if you don't know it, you haven't been reading this blog closely! No, I mean real stuff that maybe not everyone knows. So here we go...let's do it!

Twenty-Six Things I Love About My Husband
(in no particular order)

1. After 10 years, hearing him say my name still gives me butterflies.
2. He takes the dog out every morning so I don't have to worry about it when I get up.
3. He gets really irritated at movies that don't end well (like "Castaway"), or when things aren't working out for the characters.
4. He always recommends "mental toughness" to take care of an illness, but ends up taking really good care of me when my "mental toughness" falls short.
5. He wishes me "sweet dreams" before bed every night.
6. Ice is his cure for anything that hurts.
   
7. He understands me better than anyone.
8. He goes to girlie movies with me (we were even first in line to see "Sex and the City" on opening night! Now that's love.)
9. He ALWAYS - without fail - does what he can to make me happy.
10. On our first date, he made me laugh until my face hurt.
11. He doesn't mind doing the dishes.
12. He always kills the bugs.
13. On our two-month dating anniversary, he walked four miles with blue hair to bring me two red roses and see me march at the football game that night.
14. He calls me "woman" sometimes, in jest. I find it funny every time.
15. He's always willing to run down to the grocery store to get what I need.
16. He abbreviates things he usually says in emails and texts. Example: KUTGW=Keep Up The Good Work
17. He has been very supportive as I go through this grad school application circus.
18. He began to follow Cleveland sports teams because of me. I sure can't say I started following the Yankees for him, so I think that's nice.
    
19. He says I am a "fireball." I'm not sure that's true, but if it is, I love him for putting up with it.
20. He loves to experiment with cooking, and he's really pretty good at it.
21. He likes to read really boring (to me) books.
22. He plays with my hair all the time.
23. He's great at small talk and is very polite.
    
24. When he gets a little tipsy, he gets very smiley.
    
25. When he says "thank you, " it has a little southern twang to it. I like it every time I hear it.
26. He loves to think about things and challenges me to do the same.

Wow. I expected that to be a little tough - to think of 26 unique and random things that I love about my husband - but really, I felt limited by my cutoff of 26. I could make posts and posts listing what I love about that man.

Eric, you're the best husband ever. Thanks for letting me spend the last 10 years of your life with you. I'm looking forward to all the rest even more! Happy Birthday!

LY