A Bridge over Troubled Idahoans in New York City

My brother Matt, his wife Kim, and their four friends were here visiting New York City last weekend. They were our kind of visitors--stayed in a hotel, had their NYC to-do's all planned out, did the Empire State Building without us, and followed us around wherever we led them...a veritable model for those to follow (hint hint). Just kidding, we love having people come and actually staying with us, but it was also a lot of fun to just play tour guides.

Friday night we took the crew to dinner at our favorite Manhattan diner, then sent them off to see Wicked and picked them up after to take them to our favorite dessert place in the village. Saturday we took the train over to Brooklyn and had pizza at Grimaldi's (see below) for lunch. The pizza was yummy, but the people were just a tad bit too nice for our taste--we were hoping for some good Brooklyn attitude for the party from Idaho.

 

After pizza we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. This was a first for me and Heather, too. We had a lot of fun walking across, took some pretty cool pics, and enjoyed the great views and great weather.

Once in Manhattan, we took the group around a few of the sights in the Financial District and showed them the pure and utter chaos that is Chinatown on a Saturday afternoon in the spring. They even got a glimpse of the Chinatown underground when they were led by a native down to her secret stash of quality handbags. Fortunately, all members of the group made it out alive.

We really did have a lot of fun showing everyone this city that we've come to love. We love it here. Love the sights, the energy, the sounds, the tastes, and the people. We love it even more when we get to show it to family and friends. Hopefully Matt, Kim and the crew had fun and got to see all they wanted to see. As long as they and they're friends continue to stay in hotels and not our apartment, they're welcome back anytime!

Welcome Back to Reality

Well, some of us weren't quite sure if this day would ever arrive, but I'm finally done with the CPA exam...assuming that I passed this last test that is (so keep your fingers crossed). It's been a long, tough road and I'm glad it's over. Heather and I are looking forward to spending our week nights actually talking to each other and our weekends exploring all the secrets of our city found in our new favorite book, City Secrets - New York City.

Thanks to everyone for all your support, especially my little amateur CPA of a wife!

Tags...gotta love em!

You may be able to tell that I LOVE tags...my friend Mindy tagged me, so here you go:

Q. Where were you 10 years ago?
I just got my license, so I was cruising Main! (for you non-country folks, that means I was driving up and down main street in my small town. Why? I'm not sure...to waste my .89 cents per gallon of gas!)

Q. 5 Things to do on my "to do" list today?
Well, because it's Sunday, it was pretty limited...but, I did have things I wanted to get done
1. Church-check
2. Go for a walk-check
3. Paint my nails-check
4. Talk to my mom-check
5. Send out e-mails-check

Q. 5 foods I enjoy
This varies quite frequently...but I will give you my list as of lately
1. Grapes (Green or Red...I'm not picky!) 2. Watermelon 3. Chicken salad sandwiches 4. Oatmeal cookies 5. make-your-own salads (you can't throw a stone without hitting a make-your-own-salad cafe. And, to add to that, you can't find a stone to throw and if you did, it would probably hit a lot of people on the way to the cafe!)

Q. 5 things you would do if you were suddenly a billionaire
1. Invest
2. Buy a SWEET house in the Village
3. Travel Travel Travel
4. Buy houses all over the world so when friends or family vacation, they have a free place to stay
5. Open a cupcake shop

Q.5 Jobs I have had
1. Cashier at the local grocery market in my hometown
2. Babysat WAY too many kids
3. HR Generalist at Nicholas and Company and now at LeFrak Organization (many people wonder what that entails: I pay all the insurance bills, enroll new team members in insurance, help with recruiting, do new hire orientation with all new hires, etc.)
4. I worked at USU; calling people as asking for money...that was rewarding!
5. Worked at a scrapbook warehouse getting the orders out to avid scrappers.

Q.5 Things you don't know about me...
1. I have never had a piece of fried chicken. I've never picked up a chicken by the bone and just tore into it. And, I think that's something worth bragging about!
2. I LOVE info-mercials. I get so intrigued by the products and want to buy them all.
3. I can't drive a manual car. or truck.
4. I don't like wearing clothes that I just bought until JUST the right time. I don't like just bringing them home, tearing off the tags, and wearing them the next day. I feel like it needs to be for a special occasion.
5. I love Rachel Ray's 30-minute meals, but can't really stand Rachel Ray.

Q. 5 places I have lived
1-Grantsville, Ut
2-Logan, Ut
3-Sugarhouse, Ut
4-Orem, Ut
5-Queens, NY

Anyone who wants to do this can! I love reading them, so I tag everyone.

Everything is better with Jedders.

1. What is your husband's name? William Jedediah Eastman
2.Who eats more? Hmm, that is a great question. For some reason, I think I need to match Jed bite for bite...but, he can out-eat me at meals, but I can blow him out of the water with treats...which are sometimes substitutes of meals.
3. Who said I love you first? Jed. The night before his birthday. I was going to tell him on his birthday and he beat me to it.
4. Who is taller? Jed. Probably Jed. :)
5. Who is smarter? Jed is so smart!!! I ain't no dummie, but he's a smart one there. However, I am a fountain of useless knowledge. We make a good team.
6. Who is more sensitive? We are both sensitive to different things. Does Jed cry at Biggest Loser...perhaps???
7. Who does the laundry? I get sick when I think of this question. It is by far THE most dreaded chore for us because the laundry mat is around the corner from us. Which means, we take the laundry UP AND DOWN 4 flights of stairs. I do it. Most of the time. He is very helpful to bring it up the 4 flight though.
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.
9. Who pays the bills? He's an accountant, of course he does!
10. Who cooks more? I do, but that will soon be changing as the dreaded CPA test will be over next week.
11. What meals do you cook together? He is really good at Mexican food and stir-fry's. I say we would do that together most.
12. Who is more stubborn? I don't really think either of us are stubborn?
13. Who is the first to admit it when they are wrong? We're both pretty good at this too. BUT, I always have a "but" to follow.
14. Who is more clean? I think we all know the answer to this...I am a FANATIC. But, Jed is really clean too!
15. Who has more siblings? Jed. He is the youngest of 7
16. Who wears the pants in the relationship? We both have a leg in.
17. What do you like to do together? Everything. . . walks in parks, shopping, eating, etc. We really are best friends. People at work think it's weird that we do everything together. But, I can honestly say, I can't think of a more perfect person to do everything with!
18. Who eats more sweets? Oh goodness...we both eat too much! I am now justifying eating 3 100 calorie snacks instead of one fully loaded.
19. Guilty pleasures? Jeopardy, Coldstone, Saved by the bell reruns, clothes!
20. How did you meet? Fate.
21. Who asked who out first? Jed asked me. We went to a Death Cab for Cuties concert.
22. Who kissed who first? Jed kissed me. Ohhh.
23. Who proposed? Jed did. Picnic in Logan Canyon. A pair of shoes. Ring on buckle of shoe. It was magical!
24. Best features? I know this is weird, but I am obsessed with Jed's eyebrows. Maybe because mine are so wiry...but, his are perfect. I also love his dimples, but he only has dimples when he is singing. Weird, right?
25. What is his best quality? The list is VERY long, but I will pick my faves: He makes me feel so great about myself everyday, he is so well balanced...he fits into any situation and makes those he is talkng with feel important, he is very fun and is always looking for fun things to do, he is funny, he is charming, he is talented, he is really pretty dang perfect!

Jared and Ryann

We had a great time with my brother and future sister-in-law. They came to visit on Friday and left on Sunday.
So, what did we do in New York?
Ate. Shopped. The usual for New York. They also went to TWO concerts (same band...Widespread Panic) but still had time to hang out with us.
Things I love about Jared:
1. SO funny!
2. Very generous
3. Always ready to get up and go
Things I love about Ryann:
1. She's good to Jared
2. She is SOOOO sweet
3. She likes my shopping advice :)
Thanks for coming you two! We loved having you and can't wait to see you in June.
PS. Hankster is looking good in the background!

Updates

It seems that we haven't been keeping up with the old blog lately, so I thought I would share some things that are making us too busy to blog:
1. Jed is studying for the CPA test. Now, you may be thinking to yourself "wait a minute, I read a post 4 months ago that said the same thing." Well then, you are correct. He takes the FINAL test on April 19...keep the prayers and good energy coming.
Jed has been doing an AMAZING job at balancing work, running, CPA test, EQP, husband of the year, etc.
2. I got my haircut at this salon...and saw Mr. Arrojo in person. He was very charming to all of his customers and clients. If you don't know who Nick Arrojo is, he is the hairdresser on What Not to Wear. He is the one who is ALWAYS using a diffuser.
3. I have been working between the Queens and Manhattan office. It's about 40 minutes from office to office, so an hour and a half of my work day is on the train. Not bad. But, I finished the book, Pillars of the Earth (it's a thousand pager...) and haven't found (or looked for) a new book to start. Any suggestions? Preferably paperback and smaller as I had to tote POTE around and it was heavy!
4. Our little community, Woodside, had some exciting news last week. Not only did they open a legit Mexican taco stand (which is fantastic) but, Columbia Pictures was filming a movie on Roosevelt Avenue AKA the heart of Woodside (I just made that up, so don't quote me) Columbia Pictures asked the church (the LDS church that is) if they could use the parking lot and the gym as a Holding room. The movie stars Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Coming soon to a theater near you!
5. We have a few visitors coming this month. My brother and future sister-in-law will be here on Friday. We can't wait to take them to our favorite BBQ joint in Harlem.
Jed's brother and sister-in-law will be here at the end of the month. We can't wait to take them to our favorite Mexican restaurant in NYC.
6. You're right, all pretty poor excuses for not blogging more regularly.