my music week..

This week I enjoyed some of my favorite music experiences! Monday night was the NYC philharmonic in Central Park on the great lawn. I wish I had a picture to show you how packed it was on the HUGE lawn(if you've seen the movie August Rush it's exactly like that, except that I didn't find my long lost love)! They played Shostakovich:Festive Overture, Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, Italian, Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture and Sousa: Selected Marches. It was beautiful!! Then Wednesday night I watched the movie musical Bride and Prejudice with my friend Karen. It's an Indian "bollywood" movie that I have to admit I LOVE! The music is hilarious and so fun! On Thursday night Krishna gave me a henna tatoo to go along with my love of the Indian culture (bollywood, yoga, Indian food, etc.) She will be doing henna on all the guests at her sister's wedding coming up in August, so she needed some practice. I think it looks awesome! :) Then on Friday morning I got in early to work to watch Coldplay perform on the Today show. They were AMAZING!

the latest..

Lisa and me at her roof top birthday party

Ali, Brigham and Emily sitting on the edge of roof- scary!

Nick telling a really cool story.. i think..haha

my feet enjoying the sand at Long Beach on Long Island

Health Coach reunion.. Amanda, Krishna, me, Jaclyn and Katie.. love these girls!

Krishna in her new studio in the city..wahoo!

Cafe Habana w/ Chris and Liz.. best corn ever!!

Chris and Liz at Rice to Riches

Chris was in town for work and let Liz and I stay in his Waldorf suite.. what a luxury having our own room with no mice and a stocked fridge! :) Thanks Chris!

Chris had to fly to Atlanta at the last minute.. seeing him off..

oh yeah, this is my new apartment- love it!

Karen, Anne Marie, Mike and me on the boat cruise around Manhattan

Leslie and me a little wind blown on the cruise

Friday morning summer concerts.. I have to say I get a pretty good view!

Ashley and Natasha going to town on strawberry short cakes..yummy!.. we were in charge of feeding over 250 people for "linger longer".

Ali and I at the ballet- American Ballet Theatre performing Sleeping Beauty- Beautiful!!

"you should blog about that"

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial day weekend! This post is titled "you should blog about that" because that was Greg's comment after every picture taken and discussion had.. so here ya go Greg- I'm blogging about it! :) Bianca and Greg came to the city on Saturday and it was so fun to see them and hang out. We met up for lunch before the muscial they were going to. We were starved and in a time crunch so we went to the first deli we saw- Roxy's in Times square. I probably won't recommend this place in the future unless you like paying $25 for a sandwich and like salads that are piled 4 inches high with meat and cheese and maybe a piece of lettuce at the bottom. I know what you're thinking- "but Maria you only eat the toppings on your salad anyway".. yes that is true, but this was just a little much! Anyway, after the show B & G came to my place, we then enjoyed famous New York pizza at Patsy's, a walk through the park and then the train ride back to CT. I spent the night at Bianca's fam's place and was so grateful for their wonderful hospitality. Sunday was filled with great food, church, croquet (yes Greg ran a victory lap when he won), boat ride around the beautiful pond/river thing searching for turtles, more croquet (B and I gave up winning to go after Greg to make sure someone else could win), more great food- pies, bonfire, smores and amazing company! Thank you so much to the Booth family!! Monday I was back in the city enjoying a day to myself- running in the park, movie with milk duds, wandering to the pier and loving the warm weather, reading, running errands, etc. It was a great weekend!!

The weekend highlights..

The movie Iron Man w/ Leslie- loved it!
Seeing the NYC dancer Robbie (remember my crush?!) on the Subway
Running in the park and kayaking in the hudson w/Andrew (visiting from CO)
Brunch at Sarabeth's w/ Ali, Kim, and McCall(visiting from UT)
McCall breakdancing and doing pull ups on random street corners
Ward activity in Central Park
Walking lots
Italian dinner at Maria Pia's
Going the the musical Hairspray for $20 (standing room only tickets, but luckily we found seats at intermission)
Thinking about Iron Man
Hauling 4 giant boxes of rice crispie treats to church for the linger longer
Making sandwiches in the kitchen at church with the missionaries
Catching up with Bart from Vega
Enjoying Ali and Kim's Serendipity creation
Meeting up w/ Andrew and Adam at 11:30pm in Times Square on Sunday night
Laughing at anything and everything Monday at work after having no sleep the whole weekend.. so worth it! :)

Miss this girl..bad

This isn't Jess.. but she had to take a pic of all the dogs. :)


Already missing my baby sister Jess, she left today. Good thing I had sunglasses on my walk back to work to cover up the tears. We had the best time!

Health coach advice of the day..

With my job I find myself explaining "moderation" to my clients all day long. There are so many fad diets and unrealistic expectations out there, and everyone just wants the quick fix! Can't we all just eat our fruit and vegetables and whole grains everyday and enjoy the ice cream and fries every once in awhile?! I believe this helps us stay healthy physically AND mentally! Here's a picture of me with Robyn and Sara Beth at the famous Shake shack in Manhattan. Best fries ever! :)

more pics

Bec's awesome dance studio

beautiful day in Arizona

Jess and I after enjoying breakfast at Josie's (my fav)

At the United Nations

At the ballet

The update

I've had lots of adventures these past two weeks. It started out with a little road trip out of the country with Ally and Becca to attend Angie and Alan's wedding. I was then able to spend two days in IF with my parents, babysitting my precious neices. I loved every moment of it and miss my amazing family and the beautiful wide open spaces and night sky! :) Next stop, Provo to visit some of my favorite people(Jackie, Annette, Bianca and Brea), and eat some of my favorite food (Guru's, Happy Sumo, and 7-11 hot chocolate). On Friday I made my 7 am flight from SLC to Arizona thanks to my wonderful Aunt for the ride to the airport (thank you Louise!!). My first hour in Tuscan, Arizona was memorable as I had a taxi driver that drove the speed limit and told me anything and everything about the city the entire way (the taxi drivers don't do either of those things in NYC). I loved seeing Becca perform in her final dance performances, she was amazing! It was so fun hanging with her, seeing her condo, meeting her school buddies, and reminiscing about our summer together last year. Overnight flight back to NYC for work the next day and just when I was missing home, Jess flew in on Wednesday! We've had a blast with bride's maid dress shopping, movie watching, Brooklyn Bridge walking, NYC ballet performance and lots more fun planned for the next two days. Phew, that was a lot to catch up on.. it's been a crazy fun two weeks!

Tour de Manhattan

Liz, Ali and I rented bikes yesterday and rode around Manhattan. It was a perfect spring day and a great way to tour the island! The bike lane along the Hudson on the west side was beautiful and relaxing.. only a little scary when we got off the path in china town and the upper east side. :) I have a greater appreciation for those delivery bike guys in NYC! The ride was 14 miles and took us about 4 hrs, ending with a nice ride through Central Park. We were all a little sore sitting through Stake Conference today, but it was well worth it!!

Congrats!!

My little sis Jess and Nick are getting married!! Jess called me Tuesday and completely suprised me with the news..I couldn't be happier for them!