The (Non)Sweet Life...

My roommate (and best friend), Rachel, is going on a no-sweet campaign until her birthday in August and for some reason I agreed to join her in her journey (she graciously told me I could have some cake and ice cream on my birthday in June!). 

So...here I go! No candy or ice cream until August. This will be quite the challenge for me since, as those who know me are well aware, Peanut M&M's and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream are separate (and essential) food groups for me. Seriously...I love Peanut M&M's. They make me happy. My dad sent me this comic and it made me smile:

We'll see how long I last. I'm always trying to turn over a new leaf (but not the last leaf!) that I sometimes forget how many leaves I've turned and if I'm turning over the same leaves over and over again.... (did that metaphor make sense?)

Speaking of Peanut M&M's and sweet things in life...Rachel and I were in New York City last weekend. We had a fabulous time walking all around Manhattan (literally - we walked everwhere, sometimes for twenty or more blocks at a time!).

The (food) highlights:

• Carnegie Deli Cheesecake - hands down, the best cheesecake in the world!
• Serendipity 3's Frrrozen Hot Chocolate and "Can't Say No" Sundae - totally worth the long wait to get a table (or, if you're really on top of things, you can call and get a reservation)

Other highlights:

• Waving to the Statue of Liberty (we didn't want to pay for a ferry ride!) 
• Wandering around Chinatown trying to find a specific type of Chinese candy/cookie, without success because we didn't know the name of it, nor do we speak Chinese (word of warning: Chinatown smells a little funny, so don't spend any more time there than absolutely necessary) 
• Scaling the Empire State Building (okay, we didn't scale the building...we waited in line and rode the elevator) 
• Going crazy in the NBC Store (I proudly own a Dunder Mifflin mug and a Heroes t-shirt!) 
• Walking in circles in Central Park (we got lost amid all the trees, footpaths and baseball fields and there were no mountains in sight to tell us which way was east!) 
• Seeing "Stomp" (made more enjoyable due to the very attractive male cast members!) 
• Ticking off the Taxi Drivers (apparently, I'm not a very good tipper and next time I want a ride to the airport, I should take the train (whatever...the guy was just trying to rip me off)) 

The best part of the whole experience was the fact that all of our knowledge of New York City comes from movies/television/books/other pop culture sources! Some sample comments as we navigated our way through the masses:

• '"Is this the East River? That's where they dump the bodies on SVU." 
• "Where's Bungalow 8? That's the club they always go to in the book Everyone Worth Knowing." 
• "Just think! The Turtles could be right underneath us!" 
• (walking around the MET) "Where's that painting from the Thomas Crown Affair?" 
• (walking in front of the McGraw-Hill Building) "I think that's the building they used for the publishing company in The Devil Wears Prada." 
• (walking through Central Park) "I think there was a chase scence through the park in an SVU episode." 
• (in FAO Shwartz) "Is that the piano used in Big?" 
• (walking around the Financial District) "We need to find that bull statue in Hitch." 
• (sitting in Trinity Church) "This is where the treasure was buried in National Treaure!" 
• (walking around Chinatown) "This is where Amanda Bynes' character lived in What A Girl Wants." 
• (walking in front of the Plaza Hotel) "This is the hotel in Home Alone 2." 
• (walking by the Queensboro Bridge) "This is where the two guys were supposed to meet on that show Traveler." 
• (in Rockefeller Plaza) "This is the sign they use in the opening credits of 30 Rock!" 

I'm sure I could continue, but I'll stop there. Basically, the trip made us want to rewatch and reread any and all movies and books that take place in NYC. All in all, it was a great trip!

Me, in front of the NBC Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza

The statue of Atlas, holding the world between his shoulders (it took us forever to find him - he's kind of hidden in front of a building...but I was determined!)

Alrighty...that's enough for now!