New York, New York

Wow, is there a lot to cover today! I write this blog from what looks and feels like a new apartment – it’s so clean!!! I’ve spent the entire day up to this point cleaning our guest bedroom, kitchen, and living room. I am excited for Bryan to get home and see the place, but am apprehensive about the 30 minutes after he gets home in which he will destroy it Tazmanian devil-style. Tomorrow’s adventure will be our bedroom and closet – both of which are A MESS. But I’ve done well so far, so hopefully I can keep it up!

Anyways, it was an eventful weekend! The Peachtree Road Race was a fun event and I was a little bit of a mess. Here’s how it went down:

I was slated to start in group R and Bryan in group T. Neither of those are good! Of 55,000 or so runners, I’m guessing I was somewhere around 53,678^th to start moving. And of course, that’s just the nature of the Peachtree. Unfortunately, no one was moving fast enough for me. And after two fast, easy miles, I was overcome with being hot, crowded, and surprisingly not feeling so great (like I was going to enter dizzyville and then just fall down). I couldn’t get moving. There were people cutting me off, running in front of me, and then flat-out screeching to a halt. It was mass chaos in the back, and I was not happy about it at all. Especially since I had expected to go out and get a decent time. I told Bryan if I couldn’t beat ‘em, I was gonna join them. And I slowed my pace down to a power-walk-type thing. I told Bryan to take off. He insisted on staying with me for awhile, robbing himself of the great time he was so capable of getting. But eventually, he gave in. He, of course, also found it fun to be dodging around people (I think I enjoyed it once upon a time, too, but I’m losing patience in my old age).

Once I got in between the buildings of Midtown and hit somewhat of a nice breeze, I got a second wind. The people who were walking had moved (at least somewhat) to the right and I was able to start passing people. I am actually shocked with the time I ended up with due to the amount of walking that I did and to Bryan and I losing a minute or two for him to tie his shoes at one point (truth be told, I finished 6.2 miles in 1 hour, 11 minutes).

When I reached the finish line, I immediately started to beat myself up. What had happened out there? I was physically prepared. Did I not eat enough this morning? (I had deviated from my normal bagel-and-P.B. pre-race breakfast for two slices of bread from the Fresh Market. It’s so yummy, but probably not calorie dense. And stupid me put margarine on it – not even p.b.!) Regardless, I was so mad…Until I started listening to the people around me who were crossing the finish line. They were celebrating finishing 6.2 miles, nevermind their time!

I felt terrible. I remember running my first race – the Race for the Cure 5K in downtown Atlanta in 2004 – how I crossed the finish line and was so excited and so thrilled just to be there. I remember my first Peachtree the following year. And feeling the same elation that my fellow runners were expressing; so accomplished to have finished the distance in the elements (hot and humid, always) around all of those people. I remember finishing the full marathon I ran in San Diego a year after that and my first half-marathon in Atlanta the following year and thinking in both instances that I absolutely rocked (no matter how long it had taken me)! Where was my sense of appreciation?

My perspective immediately shifted back to the fact that it’s the 4^th of July! What is more American than the Peachtree Road Race?! My answer: NOTHING! The Peachtree + barbecue + Budweiser + fireworks = Happy Birthday, America!!! There are people fighting wars for our freedom, and here I am bellyaching about being hot and what bread I ate this morning. There are people who are paralyzed and can’t even walk, and I’m whining about my time. So I made a conscious decision to stop being a jerk and enjoy my day and the fact that I’m lucky to have gotten to run the race at all!

Oh, and P.S. the real story was my future B.I.L. who ran the Peachtree in a blazing 48:47. It was his first 10K! Incredible!

Ok, so onto the wedding announcement and then I’ll share some pictures from New York City. I think most of you knew I was trying to arrange this, so it won’t be a shock. But our transportation is officially booked!

‘Who’s transportation? ‘ you may be thinking. Well, if you’re staying at the hotel (or not staying at the hotel, but want a ride over to the venue), it’s YOUR transportation!

Here’s the story: We have booked a Coach bus with Cooper-Atlanta Transportation to take guests to and from the hotel the day of the wedding. The hotel does have a shuttle, but the shuttle a.) only holds about 14 people at a time, and b.) stops running somewhere around 11pm. Our reception goes until midnight! The shuttle would probably be great if you want to take it the night of the rehearsal dinner (Thursday). But on Friday, time is of the utmost importance. Our ceremony start time is 7pm. There is a prelude to the ceremony though beginning at 6:30pm. Ideally, I’d like all guests at the venue at 6:30pm. If you plan on driving yourself, there’s a real treat in store if you get there early. If you want to take the Coach bus, the first bus (as of right now) will be leaving the hotel at 6:20pm! This Friday evening, I will be driving over to the Homewood Suites to time how long it takes in Friday traffic to get over to the Payne-Corley House. Assuming it only takes about 10 minutes, the first bus will leave at 6:20 and drop our guests off at 6:30. Don’t forget, the bus is going to have to drive the 10 minutes back to pick up the next round of guests (6:40pm) and the 2^nd bus-load of guests will be dropped off at about 6:50pm.

So Friday’s dry run for me is a big deal. I am going to pretend I AM the Coach bus! If these times need to be adjusted, I will be updating everyone. (Plus, you will get a finalized itinerary when you arrive at the hotel). We are encouraging our guests to make use of the bus, not only because it just makes your life easier, but we 100% do not want anyone to risk drinking and driving. So please, even if you live in-town and are not staying at the hotel, if you want a ride to the venue, head over to the Homewood Suites (then sleep it off in the lobby!). I also may be adjusting timing based on how many people I hear are planning on taking the bus as well. If the bus needs to do three trips, we will plan for it so that our ceremony can start on time without any guest missing a thing.

Onto the NYC pictures! Happy 60th Birthday to my future-M.I.L.!

Bryan and I in Central Park enjoying the view. I really want to go in one of those paddleboats on the river that day. It was so pretty and looked very romantic.

Bryan is about to get mauled by a bear statue in the park. It was a ferocious fight, but Bryan managed to come home in one piece. The bear was unharmed in the taking of this picture.

A pretty picture on the ferry of my future M.I.L., future B.I.L., and future husband!

Bryan and I in the museum on Liberty Island. Behind us is the original torch from the Statue of Liberty! How cool is that!

Climbing up the 334 steps to get to the Crown! I wasn't intimidated at all starting the trek up to the crown, but once we got to this insanely spiral-y portion, I was officially creeped out. My heart rate was also through the roof. What a great workout!

We all made it! It is as small as it looks up there and it is NOT air conditioned (A digital thermometer inside the Crown read 99.3 degrees. Thanks to NYC for being extremely hot on this particular day!). But it was really cool to be in there!

Bryan and I on Liberty Island with Manhattan behind us.

Below, who else can you send to Ellis Island - a place where so many brave immigrants came to the shores of the U.S. looking for a better life - and have come back with a picture of the word 'poker'?

I carried this sign around all day and was bound and determined to get photo-ops with it! The sign at Ellis Island (to the left). And here is the sign at Tiffany's on 5th Avenue (below) after my future M.I.L. received her surprise Tiffany bracelet!

Little Italy is by far one of my favorite places in every city that has one (which hopefully is every city). Here is everyone at this delicious restaurant called Giovanna's. The staff here did it up. They had all of us to deal with, but still brought out slices of cake large enough to accommodate the big 6-0 candles we had brought AND even comped the champagne we had ordered! (Oh, and if you go here, get the Stuffed Artichoke - it's like Grandma's recipe - plus capers!)

Well, it was a busy 48 hours, but we managed to also get to Times Square for a few pictures as well. It was a marathon blog, but I'll post another update later this week prior to my Bachelorette festivities. Until then!