Thursday already????

Where in the world did this week go? I must admit that I am a little scattered and tired and have so much to talk about...I think that's part of why I just haven't even bothered posting.

I guess I'll start with New York. Blogger is not liking me and so I'll have to do pictures later.

Friday morning when we got to the airport there was already issues. When checking in at 6:30am we were told our flight was cancelled due to weather. (I guess that morning decided to be a blizzard in New York and all the airports were shut down!) Our flight to Kansas City was on time, but our connecting flight to La Guardia had been cancelled. There was, however, a flight later in the day that they were able to get us on (at 3:30pm) So we headed to Kansas City. When we got there, however, Midwest staff was suprised that they had sent us on and told us that at that time ALL the flights of the day had been delayed indefinately. Um...have you been to the Kansas City airport? Not a lot of life there...lol. Marlon and I both love to people watch and there weren't even enough people to truly do that! :) After waiting a few hours we found out that it looked like we might not get to New York at all. We had an amazingly kind attendant who offered to put us up in a hotel for the weekend. We had explained we were trying to have a romantic getaway for the weekend and really did not want to have to turn back home. We did have to wait until 3:30 for our flight to be officially cancelled in order to have this opportunity. I just could not bring myself to accept this. I kept praying and praying for the storm to pass. I knew that if we got on at 3:30ish we'd be in New York by 7 and still be able to have an amazing weekend. It did not look hopeful however. Then at about 1:45 they let us know that the storm had passed and the 3:30 was being sent out!!! Yahoo!! I don't think I've ever been so excited to take off :)
We landed, caught a cab and got to our hotel by 7:45. Our hotel was literally one block from Times Square! The perfect hotel for a weekend getaway. No frills and extras, but clean, comfortable and reasonable. We got settled and headed to get something to eat and wander through Times Square. We ate at Roxie's and if you are ever in Times Square you have to stop in! I can't even do the portions justice by words. I will have to be able to post pictures---I ordered an open face roast beef sandwich and seriously...it had to have been 2 lbs. of roast beef...lol. We headed over to Rockefeller Plaza and watched the ice skaters for a bit. It was just so amazing how bright and loud everything was and it was 10 at night. For me, it reminded me how much I enjoy being in a city atmosphere. We headed home about midnight and planned our day. Since we originally were supposed to get to New York at 1 in the afternoon, we really had lost a day. We talked about what was the most important stuff for us to see while we were there.
So Saturday we got up and out about 9:30am. Neither of us were hungry so we skipped breakfast and headed down to Ground Zero (the site of the World Trade Center) We caught the subway and that was really exciting. I've ridden the subway in Chicago (I did everyday the year I lived there) and my family rode the subway when we visited New York when I was in high school, but it was so much fun. The second we came up from the subway at Ground Zero...you could just feel a change in the air. It was very somber and quiet. We headed around to a main viewing area and sat for a bit. After that we headed over to the Tribute/WTC Visitor Center

Wow. That is all I can say. I could not stop crying. It was so heartbreaking and yet, you could see God's hand in the stories and families that were reunited. We wandered about in there for about an hour and then took the official tour. That was time and money well spent. Seriously. If you EVER have the opportunity to visit New York, this is a must. The Visitor Center is all run by individuals and families affected by 9/11 as well as the tours. It really puts life so totally in perspective and is such an amazing reminder that evil is lurking around us at all times and even when it rears it's ugly head, we can rely on God to get us through any circumstance and we can rise out of the rubble victorious! It made me proud to be a part of this country.

After that we ate lunch at a neat little deli before heading down to Battery Park. This was a longgg, chilly walk! We hung out for a bit to wait for the next ferry and then headed over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We did not get off because there is soooo much security and clearance that occurs now you really have to make a full day of it to see these two places. Marlon really just wanted to see them and get close enough to it to get some good pictures. As for Ellis Island, we joked that most of our relatives did not come to this country that route anyway. While my mom's relatives likely did...my dad's certainly did not and Marlon's definately did not. They weren't big on letting the slave ships hang out there, ya know?

By the time we got back to Battery Park it was already close to 5pm and we were pooped. We headed back to our room and rested for a bit. At 6:30 we headed back to Times Square for some more walking around, I got a chair massage and then we went to the Laugh Factory for a comedy show. It was so much fun and a couple of the comics were REALLY funny. I indulged in a couple of drinks and they were sooo yummy! After the show we went to Madame Toussaud's and had a blast taking pictures with all of the "stars" lol. Some of them are soooo lifelike it's really creepy!! We stopped for dinner at TGIFridays, walked the Square for a bit more and collapsed into bed at about 1:30am.

Sunday morning we had a great breakfast buffet, got some souveniors for the kiddies and headed to the airport at noon. It was such a great weekend and I'm so glad that we were able to have that time together.

As for the rest of the stuff going on....well, I guess it's just life. One of my Teen MOPS graduate ladies just let me know that she has cervical cancer, work---while totally sweet to be moving in my new role, is also nervewracking because there isn't anyone yet to take the 24 hr. AA position and I am just worried that things are going to be overlooked or missed, this week is just a busy one for us schedule wise, my uncle and his issues, my neck has been giving me hard time...just stuff ya know? I'm staying positive and as always have the joy and hope that He is in control of it all and I don't have to be. One day. One day at a time.

Have a good weekend and I'll post again soon!!