December 2010 Archives

              There are certain things that the South lays claim to...we love big hair, fried catfish, Paula Deen and NASCAR just to name a few.  Southerners take great pride in their heritage, history and high cholesterol.  It's not good, it's not bad...it's just the way it is and who we are.

               New York and NASCAR sound like they go together about as well as oil and water do, but you might be surprised that Yankees think rubbin' is racin' too.  Nielson Media reports that in 2010, New York City came in behind Atlanta as the second biggest market for network broadcasts of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.  That's a stat I would have never guessed.  With the push to get a track built in NYC, there's a chance New Yorkers won't have to settle for watching cars make laps on television, they can see it in person.  

            My & Brett's television careers have put us in the path of several NASCAR drivers.  Brett interviewed Tony Stewart and Mark Martin and I've talked with Mark Martin, Jack Roush and Matt Kenseth before.  (Mark is a good ol' Arkansas boy...he's from Batesville and is a real sweet guy!) 

Me & Mark bck in the day...2003 I think.  

           The only NASCAR race I have ever been to turned out to be a memorable one...I was in Pit Row at the Daytona 500 in 2001 when Dale Earnhardt crashed on the last lap.  I wasn't real familiar with NASCAR or the environment then, but it didn't take much to understand the loss that the sport suffered.

             When Brett and I were in Charlotte visiting his parents for the holidays, we knew we had to check out the new NASCAR Hall of Fame.  The marketing department generously allowed us to come tour the new facilities...thanks y'all!  Since apparently there are so many New Yorkers that are into NASCAR, we knew we had to share our experiences. 

             The Hall of Fame opened in May and is housed in a new 390,000 square foot building in downtown Charlotte.  From the street, it sort of looks like the side of a giant tire!  No one needed to tell me to start my engines...Brett and I hit the ground running as soon as we were in the door!   

              Our first pit stop was to check out Glory Road.  Located near the front of the entrance, Glory Road is a collection of 18 historic cars and shows how automobiles have developed and advanced over time.  The cool thing is that they're all set on a strip of track that mimics the various degrees of banking found in NASCAR.  Glory Road actually starts out flat (like the beaches the cars raced on) and ends at an impressive 33 degree incline (just like Talladega).  The exhibit also featured information on 46 current and historic tracks, so Brett had a lot to read!

                The second floor of the Hall of Fame is where things start to get fun!  Almost all of it is completely interactive so it's a great place for kids (and grown men!)  We got take a look at how NASCAR operates behind the scenes during a race week...everything from touring a car hauler (pic on left) to how cars get ready to race.  There were some pretty cool exhibits featuring some of the original timing devices used in the early racing days in Daytona.

                We even got to practice our broadcasting skills by calling a race!  All I could think to say was "Hit the Pace Car, Cole!  Hit the Pace Car!" Kisses to Jerry Bruckheimer for that golden nugget!  My husband would have been mortified of my commentary, except that he was bustin' out a few lines of his own with outburst of "Shake 'n Bake!" every 5 seconds.  Yes, we were those adults.  

               There were some cool qualifying simulators and lots of Hall of Fame volunteers around to help us figure out what to do and which direction to go next.   

               Brett even had his chance to polish his pit crew skills!  He managed to jack up the car, "change" the tire and refuel in about 29 seconds.  Funny how he's never that fast in real life?  The staff at the HoF told us they have a guy who comes nearly every day on  his lunch break and practices the routine...he's down to 19 seconds!  Not too shabby, considering a NASCAR pit stop crew does it in about 12-13 seconds. 

            The third floor of the Hall of Fame features tons of artifacts from NASCAR's 60+ year history.  The museum had a great collection of items from the early NASCAR drivers, but I really enjoyed looking at the stuff from drivers I recognized from today.  We saw everything from a piece of the start/finish line from the Bristol Motor Speedway, as presented to Terry Labonte, to Ryan Newman's 2008 Daytona 500 trophy.

            My husband and I fly what I am guessing is the only Panther flag in all of Upstate New York.  We have matching Panthers Bank of America cards.  We even have Panthers reusable shopping bags.  I guess all of that would be pretty cool if they were any good this year!

           Brett's family has season tickets to the team and while we were visiting them in Charlotte, they generously offered up their tickets so we could catch a game.  The team had only won one game this season up until now, so it's been a rough year.  The perk to being bad is that it looks like they'll get the first pick in the NFL draft next year, so things could be looking up.  Then you're gonna be super jealous of all my sweet Panthers gear!

            We didn't get to see our favorite player, DeAngelo Williams, play at this game, but he was on the ticket!  He's out for the season with an injury.  Williams is actually from our neck of the woods in Arkansas, playing for Wynne High School.  The television station Brett & I worked for covered WHS and Williams during his football career, so we've been keeping an eye on him for a while and were thrilled when he became a Panther!

             Twelve months ago, I cooked up a big idea to get into better shape for my New Year's Resolution.  Rather than join a gym or pledge to lose 10 pounds, I decided to be a little more realistic about it.  My bright idea was to try running...and to stay running.  In order to do that (and be successful) I knew I had to set little achievable goals for myself.

              My 2010 New Year's Resolution was to do a 5K every month for the entire year.  It sounds like a lot, but really it was just committing to finding and running one race basically every 30 days.  My totally reluctant husband got drug along for the ride and ended up (I think) enjoying himself.  I couldn't be happier to write that I actually accomplished my goal!

              We did race #12 in Charlotte, NC and ran in the Jingle Bell 5K at the Olympic High School.  Here's the cool thing...the school is actually in the district that Brett graduated from!  The race benefited the school's Jr. ROTC program so we found ourselves again competing against a bunch of super-freak-metabolism-maniac-17-year-old-boys that actually jogged without shirts on.  Where were their mothers?? 

              I've decided the only thing worse that getting lapped by a teenager is getting lapped by someone twice your age.  I didn't finish last, but I wasn't exactly leading the pack.  Of course, part of my problem might have been following directions too.  Olympic High School had just hosted a cross country meet the week before and the grounds were still marked with their trails.  A couple of times, event organizers had to guide me back to our 5K path because I ended up off in the wrong direction.  Whoopsie!

               This was our first only race to have an official cheering squad.  We managed to rope Brett's parents into coming with us on our last run.  They were great sports about us getting in at 2:00 a.m. and then running at 9:30 a.m. so we thought it was only right that we snuck them a couple of granola bars and a Capri Sun after we finished. 

               We scored our 12^th t-shirt and my next big plan is to put together a quilt of our 5K collection.  That's a project that might take another 12 months though...

              My New Year's Resolution put us running 37.2 miles this year!  We ended up doing 12 races in 7 states and ran every type of course imaginable.   From flatlands to ski mountains it seemed like we trucked it through every terrain in the US.  Neither Brett nor I actually won a race, but I'd say we never really lost either.

              Our first race was in Killen, Alabama and started at 11:50 p.m. on December 31, 2009 so we actually ran in our New Year.  The irony is that I actually won an award for finishing third in my age division in that race!  

12 months ago at Race #1: Killen, Alabama

              We are still trying to come up with ideas for our New Year's Resolution for 2011.  I'm leaning towards 'appear on a game show' but Brett thinks we should do something a little more worthy like volunteer work.  We know we're ready for another challenge and are totally open for suggestions if y'all got any?!?

             Christmas time for us means hitting the road...about 800 miles of it!  We're headed down to Charlotte, NC to spend the holiday with Brett's family, so you might notice that I Heart NY Y'all may become I Heart NC Y'all for a little bit. 

             Since we're practically blood relatives of Clark Griswold, it's no surprise that our Christmas Vacation has only had one bump in the road...so far.  

             About an hour outside of Charlotte, the weather conditions turned foggy and visibility dropped.  We were just driving along our merry little way when-BAM-we hit a huge alligator in the road!  Oh, I forget...y'all don't call them alligators up here.  Ok, it wasn't a real alligator (but that does happen sometimes...usually in Florida) it was a huge tractor trailer tire!  

              Brett was able to swerve the Prius at the last minute and managed to avoid hitting it head on, but clipped it with the passenger side bumper and it went under our little tire.  It did not sound good.

            When we pulled over, it looked even worse.

              There were tons of wires hanging off the wheel well and the bumper had seen better days.  Fortunately, the airbags didn't deploy and no one was injured.  The NCHP was great to take a report and went out to look for the piece of tire blocking the road.

            Our new New York insurance Geico hooked us up with an appointment for repair with a Charlotte body shop, so it looks like we'll be all fixed up by the time we have to head home.  Flow, the Caveman and the Gecko can duke it out over the $500 deductible were gonna have to fork over for this little boo-boo.

          The last time we drove to Charlotte, we had a little car v. deer incident so this is probably our last cross-country trip for a while.  The new Southwest merger with AirTran couldn't come soon enough for us!  We'll take two tickets from ALB to CLT direct please!  

Snapped these finger lickin' photos at the Bella Napoli bakery in Latham...just another reason I heart the holidays!

             If the hustle and bustle of the holidays has got you down, I think I've figured out how to handle the seasonal stress (plus help out a great cause!)

             I was getting chemically enhanced beautified at the Orlo School of Hair Design and Cosmetology and noticed a couple of great things going on.  First of all, the school was running a special on manicures!  For only $3, I got a new paint job on my nails, plus a hand massage.  Talk about feeling like a rock star getting your nails done while someone else is working on your hair!  I was lucky enough to get Emily and Jessica to fix me up!  Those girls completely worked me over...

             I also got the scoop that the salon is planning on offering pedicure services soon too...don't worry, I'll make it my personal mission to keep you updated on all the good deals and specials going on! 

           The school is also hosting a toy drive for kids 8-18.  Just bring in any unwrapped toy and you'll get 25% off any salon service! 

             I took off and forgot to bring a toy with me, so my fabulous husband actually went and bought one and dropped it by for me.  He was a little overwhelmed by all the mirrors and the women in the salon.  Brett told me later that he wasn't paying attention and accidently bumped into someone while walking back to my chair.  Turning to say "excuse me," his face turned red when he realized it was a mirror and he was talking to himself.  That's my husband, folks!

           With the days a little shorter and this crazy snow stuff on the ground, it seems like it's easy to get bummed out during winter.  Whether you're helping yourself or helping others, a stop at the beauty shop always seems to make you feel good!    

             Nationwide, the South has a reputation for hospitality...and if you grow up in the South, you're raised under the notion that Yankees are generally the opposite.  Movies and television shows often depict Southerners as sweet little ladies (with accents that sound like the turnip truck crashed in front of the Wal-Mart) sippin' their ice tea on the front porch just waitin' for that nasty Sherman to come storming through again.   Northerners get the imagery of being rude, brisk and the type of people that keep car horn replacement shops in business. 

             I cannot express how incorrect these stereotypes could possibly be.  First of all...I was born, raised and have spent my entire life in the South and you could not hold me at gunpoint to drink tea.  I don't do sweet, unsweet, sun or even high tea.  It's all just dirty water to me.  Second:  some of the nicest people I have met have been in the North.  Those Yankees have happily held the door for me, let me merge into traffic, struck up conversation or just gone out of their way to be nice. 

           Case in point:  two of my greatest friends in the world recently traveled 1,000+ miles from Arkansas to visit for the holidays.  Neither had been to New York and I was really interested what their perspective would be of the people we encountered.  I think they got to see the real deal. 

            With my husband Brett off at work, I loaded up Andy & Brandi (no, they're not a couple-but wouldn't that be cute names on a wedding announcement??) and decided to show them downtown Albany.   After all, how can a giant concrete egg not be entertaining?  We took tons of pictures and had a chance to drive by the capital building.  Most capital buildings I've seen before have the whole stately government dome/statue thing going on...leave it to New York to have an over-the-top mansion styled estate to be running the joint from. 

            We parked and wandered into a pizzeria place advertising two slices and a drink for only $5.54.  Little did we know what kind of impression we would walk away with. 

            At Pizzeria 54 we met Mr. Albany Mr. Ahmad Teimoori and his incredibly accommodating staff!  They went above and beyond to make an impression and our visit amazing.

           Our friend Brandi alleges to be lactose intolerant (I try to secretly feed her cheese any time I can, just to see if she's faking it) and will still be picking off the cheese on the pizza while the rest of us are working on dessert.  When she tried to order salad, Mr. Teimoori insisted on creating a cheese-less pizza just for her. 

In fact the conversation went like this:

Teimoori: "I make you pizza."

Brandi: "Oh, that's ok.  You don't have to do that.  I'll just order salad."

Teimoori: "I MAKE YOU PIZZA!"

Needless to say, Brandi was floored!  I don't think, ever in her whole life, had the option of cheese-less pizza ever been presented to her.

             Mr. Teimoori was the sweetest, funniest, nicest man who was more than entertaining...in the South, we'd say "that man was just a peach!"  He cracked us up, fed us well and served us a round on the house.  And invited us to come back anytime.  How could we not adore him??  Plus, Brandi's cheese-less pizza was excellent! 

             I'm not sure if Brandi went back to Arkansas more impressed with not having to mutilate her pizza or with her first dose of Northern hospitality.   Either way, I think she wins.

           If you're in downtown Albany, stop by Pizzeria 54.  It's at 48 North Pearl Street or you can ring them at (518) 432-5454.  You'll find excellent food, a fun environment and a delightful owner just tickled pink to meet you...at least we did! 

             Brown Bear has been having some big adventures since arriving in New York!  With a trip to the city planned, he's getting to see some pretty cool sites...and it seems like there's no telling where Brown Bear will end up if you're not keeping an eye on him. 

             Brown Bear lives year round in Bay, Arkansas and is a part of Mrs. Margaret Gunter's kindergarten class.  He's single and a Gemini.  He likes bubble baths, long walks on the beach and reading.  But he really likes to travel! 

            When he found out we were going to New York City for a couple of days, he wedged him self in the middle of the front seat of the Prius so he wouldn't miss a moment.  We made sure he wore his seat belt and didn't talk or text on his cell phone while he was in the car though.  In New York, you can't use your cell phone while driving in a car!

            One big difference about New York City and Arkansas is transportation.  In Arkansas, nearly everyone has cars and drives to where they have to go.  New Yorkers ride subway trains, ferry boats and use busses and cabs to travel around the city.  There's less area to cover, but it seems like it takes longer to get places because everyone wants to go where you're going!  While Brown Bear was in NYC, he got to ride the subway, take a bus and even go on the Staten Island Ferry!

 Brown Bear likes riding the 7 train.

Brown Bear on a New York bus!

            Brown Bear insisted we do a walking tour of Midtown Manhattan (he says that his favorite part of NYC) while we were visiting.  He brought his fur coat to keep him warm, but temperatures were unseasonaly high and right around 55 degrees!  Here are some of the things Brown Bear got to see on his two hour, one mile walking tour:

Brown Bear was in an Empire State of Mind...

  Brown Bear trying to buy a ticket a Grand Central Station

Reading at the New York Public Library  

Brown Bear made us clean our rooms so they shined like the top of

the Chrysler Building.

Brown Bear stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria. (not really)

Brown Bear likes street vendor shopping!

Brown Bear hearts the holiday decorations in front of the Plaza Hotel!

Brown Bear in Rockefeller Center!

Thanks NYC By Foot Tours! 

Book your free tour at nycbyfoot(dot)com

             Brown Bear also tagged along when we got to go to Good Morning America.  He wasn't really awake at 6:45 a.m. when we had to be there, but perked up when he got to check out the cool GMA studios and meet some of the people who work there.  He was pretty impressed!  He got away from us at one point and when we found him, he was running the camera during the interview of Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney!

 Good Morning Brown Bear!

 Brown Bear could be a Wimpy Kid

Brown Bear ran the camera during GMA!

Brown Bear was totally infatuated with JuJu Chang!

             Brown Bear said his favorite thing to do in New York was ice skate at Rockefeller Center.  He was surprisingly good for someone that walks on all fours.  All the people watching the skaters kept applauding when Brown Bear did his triple toe jumps! 

 Brown Bear loves gold statues!

 Toe Pick!

Brown Bear took the ice and the gold this season at Rockefeller!

            Brown Bear really enjoyed his trip to New York but says it went by way too fast!  He says the Natural State and the Empire State maybe apples and oranges, but he's sure glad he's had the chance to see them both!

To preface this blog...I think I have mentioned before that I was a sorority girl.  It's a badge of honor that never dies.  Never.  Sometimes, the urge to use a glue gun and glitter just hits you and you just have to go with it!

When our good friend Brandi Hodges arrived to visit us for the holidays in New York, she brought along more than just suitcases.  She's a reporter for our old television station in Jonesboro, Arkansas and managed to score the hook up for VIP tickets to Good Morning America!  Being from the South, we were raised to never drop in on someone empty handed.  So we knew we needed to prepare...

Before we hauled Brandi to NYC, we thought there were some things she needed to see in Albany.  We spent her first evening in New York hitting the highlights.  

• A trip to Cohoes Falls.  Sorry the temperatures were in the single digits, we think Brandi really enjoyed the view even though her eyes were frozen.  

• Our favorite Italian Bakery, Bella Napoli in Latham. Welcome to Cannoli country!  

• and of course a journey to mecca...the two story Wal-Mart in Albany!  (What self respecting Arkansasan wouldn't make the trip there?)

  
  

  
  

  
  

  At the most amazing Wal-mart in America, we found poster board to create these beauties for our national television debut.  

  

  

  Brett actually made the Weather Channel once when reporting on flooding in Arkansas, so he didn't get to join the first timer's club.

  I'm sure our signs are the most fabulous things America has ever seen, just as long as no one blinks!  See, I told you sorority skills never die!

             Even if you have big name stars, a great location and access to a beautiful wardrobe department, it doesn't mean it's a formula for movie success. 

             The Tourist comes out in theaters this weekend staring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp.  Jolie plays mysterious (and super fashionable) Elise Ward who meets American tourist Frank Tupelo on a train to Venice.  She's being watched by government officials and he becomes part of a game of international intrigue when he falls for her.  I could try to explain the storyline, but honestly, it's kind of a wreck after that. 

             It took about five minutes into the film when Brett whispered, "I've figured it out."  Wouldn't you know he was right?

             The Tourist is a remake of the 2005 French thriller Anthony Zimmer and was directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.  There's little character development, the storyline is lacking and if it wasn't for the beautiful scenery and Jolie's straight from the pages of Vogue wardrobe, I would have probably left early to work on my Christmas card list. 

           I hate to suggest this, but adding some sex and ramping up some violence might have saved this movie.  The Tourist is rated PG-13 and reeked of the A-Team style of warfare where everybody shoots but no one gets hurt.  The action scenes were painfully slow paced.  As Brett put it, "the boat scene looked like it was filmed in a no wake zone."

             Sadly, Jolie & Depp have no chemistry what so ever.  Left to deliver choppy, boring and flat dialogue, their 'character relationship' develops at warp speed.  They go from not knowing each other to professing love in just a matter of 20 minutes.  I'm afraid loyal Depp and Jolie fans will feel the let down from this 'tourist trap.'

             The trailer makes the movie look a lot better than it is....

            We got a special visitor today!  Brown Bear came all the way from Arkansas and fortunately, he packed his own fur coat for these chilly New York temperatures! 

            Brown Bear is a very special part of Mrs. Margaret Gunter's kindergarten class in Bay, Arkansas.  He travels all over the United States and teaches kids about the people and places he meets.  He goes on all sorts of adventures.  One time, he and Brett reported the news together in Jonesboro, Arkansas.  We are so excited to have him come to New York!

             Mrs. Gunter's daughter, Laura, happens to be a very good friend of ours and asked if Brown Bear could visit with us for a while.  We were happy to accommodate and are having a kick taking tons of pictures of Brown Bear and his crazy antics.  We're planning on showing him the sights of the Capital Region, plus we're heading to the city next week so who knows where Brown Bear might end up? 

            By the time Brown Bear goes back home to Arkansas, we'll have him saying "I Heart NY Y'all" for sure!

             For someone who loves to read, I'm embarrassed to write that I never read any of the Narnia books as a child.  Don't know how I missed those, but somehow it happened?  After watching the third movie in C.S. Lewis' installment, I think I'm going to have to hunt those down at the library after all.

            Brett had read the books nearly 20 years ago, but neither of us had seen any of the films leading up to this one.  Thankfully, we didn't have any problems catching on!  (We did spend our time waiting in the theatre reading the other film's synopsis on Wikipedia though)

            The Voyage of the Dawn Treader follows King Caspian (Ben Barnes), along with the youngest of the Pevensie kids Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley) and their bratty cousin Eustace (Will Poulter).  Directed by Michael Apted, this Narnia journey adds the 3D element to the action packed adventure.  

             The kids end up in Narnia and on the high seas when a life-life painting floods their room.  Picked up by the Dawn Treader, they find three years have passed in Narnia time and Caspian in search of the seven lords.  The kids join the crew and battle good over evil while testing their values and learning lessons. 

              The 3D element added some excitement to a few of the battle scenes, but fell short throughout most of the movie.  It was nice to see that even the Smoke Monster from Lost found work after the series ended. 

             Look for Poulter to steal the show in this film.  His portrayal of obnoxious Eustace sets up the Narnia film franchise for The Silver Chair.  Without knowing any of the background of the Narnia books, it wasn't hard to read the Christian parables when Azlan showed up.  The symbolism of the pearly gates, Heaven being blocked from view, the Red Sea, a 'higher being' always around to protect and watch over...it was all easy to read. 

             Our favorite part was probably the fight sequence at the end...you'll notice a similarity to Ghostbusters and the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.

             Kids who have read the book or watched the previous movies will likely love another trip to Narnia.  We didn't mind our first visit.