a bit behind...

hmmm... how does the time fly?

a couple of weekends ago i went to new york city with two girlfriends from college. yes, some of my friends from college visit me (no digs intended!). it was my first time there, and suprisingly enough, i actually enjoyed myself. i always thought i wouldn't like nyc. i'm not sure why, i just didn't think it would live up to the hype. anyhow, we drove to new jersey, then took the commuter train in on friday night. it was past midnight when we arrived, so we just crashed. saturday we slept in, and then ventured out into times square. after wandering around, we stumbled upon a new york deli. ohhhh my, i got my first new york bagel. i looooove bagels, and these were the best i had ever tasted. even the cream cheese was better, i kid you not. they made it fresh, so the scallions, strawberries, whatever was freshly ground in. okay, i'll stop with the food story.

throughout the weekend we: found a broadway show (rent) and went to see it. fantastic. strolled around 5th avenue---- lots of pretty diamonds at Tiffany's!, and took a bike taxi around central park. our biker was funny, and knew a lot about the history (okay, he knew a lot about the celebrities that had been there, but that was some sort of history!) of central park/nyc. ended up in little italy several times. i ate lobster with those skinny spaghetti noodles the first night, and veal rigatoni the second night. and of course, we got gelatto and italian ice. i didn't buy anything special the whole weekend, but still spent around $300! it was worth it though, good times.

last weekend i ventured to the DC francescan monastery all by my lonesome (nate was studying). i headed out the metro, only to be mis-guided twice. once by a pizza delivery guy, another time by a student. i'm not sure how many miles i strolled around NE dc before i found the monastery, but i had blisters, a sun burn, and felt quite dehydrated. once inside, it was cool, and beautiful. i took a guided tour, then sat in the pews alone, reading through the Mass book. then i went outside, and walked around the walls. there were plaques printed with the Ave Maria hung all around the walls... each plaque was in a different language... egyptian hieroglyphics, german, english, spanish, catalan, iroquois indian... it was really neat. then sat by a little waterfall and read for a while. it ended up being a great day, and i found this cool shrine that i plan to go back to.

speaking of "behinds"... i started an adventure women's boot camp on monday. we meet at 6am, M,W,F. i am so incredibly sore, i can hardly move. but maybe i'll have that 6 pack i used to have in high school back... right...