Busy, Busy, Busy

I feel a little bad that I haven't been as present with my blog this week or last. Stuff got real busy, real quick with work and personal stuff. But, hey, that's life right?  So I'll just be brief on catching up.

Last week at work was straight up chaos in preparation for the big 2014 Open House and Air Show that our installation hosted. Our office was especially preoccupied on Friday for the big Pre-Flight Party for all DoD ID holders that our squadron hosted. It was a tough 14 hour day, but fun nonetheless.

Saturday

My mother-in-law has also been staying with us since Saturday. So there has been no time to waste. I spent Saturday morning cleaning the house sweeping, vacuuming, wiping down, scrubbing, doing laundry, dishes, and spraying lots of smell goods in honor for her arrival. Thankfully, she and my husband both napped in the afternoon because it gave me time to get my workout in and finish up folding and putting away laundry before the three of us went to the extra tasty pizzeria down the street. With fully belly and tired eyes we all turned in pretty early that night. 

Sunday

We planned on taking Mama Suz out to brunch on Mother's Day at a fabulous diner with to-die-for food and hefty portions, but there was a several hour wait. In suffice we took her to Red Robin for lunch. I wasn't upset about it either. I hadn't had Red Robin in years so I was ready to dive into one of their burgers and steak fries.

It was such a beautiful day that after lunch we decided to venture to the nearby Columbus Market. Man. I am really kicking myself for not checking this place out sooner! The produce they had was not only bountiful, but unbelievably cheap. They also had the largest flea market I have ever seen. I scored a sweet pair of sunglasses for $5 and an amazing organic face and body soap that has worked miracles. So my husband and I have already planned on making regular visits there for the remainder of my time here.

On our way home from the market we stopped at the grocery store to get remaining ingredients for dinner and at the liquor store for some adult beverages. Mama Suz doesn't drink much so we decided on a bottle of Rosé and Riesling since they're on the sweeter end of the spectrum. I decided it would be more special if I made Mama Suz dinner rather than take her to a restaurant. I made lean pork chops accompanied by asparagus and my favorite dill potatoes. It was yummy and she seemed to have enjoyed the gesture of having someone else cook a meal for her for a change. It was evident that Mama Suz was feeling pretty good after dinner and 2 and a half glasses of  Rosé. It was also pretty comical and a good way to end the night.

Monday
We got ourselves up and ready at a decent time so we could head off to the city for the day. Mama Suz hasn't been to NYC since 1954 and has always dreamed of going back so I'm glad we could oblige. If you've never been, it's an overwhelming experience. People rushing to and from, and everyone seems to be on a mission. A person can get lost and turned around in the blink of an eye, but it's definitely a sight to see.

We had drinks and an early dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe because that was where Mama Suz had picked. The downfall of this particular restaurant is the fact that they have the calorie count listed next to EVERYTHING. I felt guilty as soon as I opened the menu. I settled on a pulled chicken sandwich because it was surprisingly one of the lighter menu options and I love a good BBQ sandwich. After we finished our meal we saddled back up to explore the rest of Times Square. We made stops at both Hershey's Chocolate World and M&M's World which are conveniently located right across the street from one another. Talk about chocolate wasted. I scored a 1 lb. bag of Pretzel filled M&M's that are my absolute favorite, but I hardly ever see them available for purchase in stores. I was happy :).

Unfortunately for us, by the time we finished exploring, it seemed like everyone and their mom's took to the streets to head home from work. This made getting back Penn Station a little tricky. It was hard for the three of us to keep a good eye on one another because there were so many people amongst the already existing commotion of the city. There was even an entire intersection blocked off because a pedestrian had been hit by a car! Sheesh. I don't know. I just don't see the appeal of living in New York City. It's dirty, smelly, vast, and people aren't the nicest. To each his own I guess.

Tuesday
By the time Tuesday morning rolled around I feel pretty confident in saying that the three of us were pretty beat. Especially Mama Suz and my husband who seemed to have been coming down with something. We had plans to go to a ball game that evening in Philly so we kept the first part of the day pretty low key. I thought it would be a good idea to make some brawts, wrap 'em up in foil, and bring them to the game with us so we could tailgate for a little bit before heading in the stadium so after breakfast and vegging out for a little bit I ran to the store to pick up some chips and the remaining ingredients I needed for the brawts. After I got the meat going in the slow cooker I enjoyed a 3 mile run with the always pleasurable company of my husband while Mama Suz took a little nap. 

When the clock struck 5 we piled in the car, picnic and all, and headed to Philly. This was Mama Suz's first Major League baseball game in over 20 years! Even though the Phillies haven't had that great of a season so far, we came on the night with the crowd so far this year, almost 47,000! The Phillies were playing the Angels and apparently one of their players, Mike Trout is from Millville, NJ, which is only miles from the stadium hence, the large attendance number. Even though the Phillies lost, we still had a great time. We caught the beautiful sunset from our seats and Mama Suz soaked in her first baseball game in over two decades while we all clapped and whooped and hollered. Also, the brawts we brought with us turned out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself, and probably saved us over $50 for food and drinks. 

We left the game at the top of the 9th because my husband had to be in to work by midnight and we wanted to get a jump start on the traffic. Fail. It took us almost 2 hours to get home. By the way, East Coast drivers are insane. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I'm so tired by the time we get home, which was after 11:30 pm mind you, that getting up to go to work in the morning was the last thing I wanted to worry about. Ugh.


It's Thursday now and I'm STILL tired. I must be getting old. The awful humidity that has settled in Jersey probably isn't helping either.