Weekend.

Watching the game from the car.

All weekend I've been thinking, I've really got to blog about this. But now I just can't remember what those things are. I think I'm suffering from a blogging slump. Hmm.

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I do know that yesterday was sort of a I hate New York day. I made the 30-minute trip downtown to go to Trader Joe's only to find the store packed. If you are not living in Manhattan, you likely have no idea what I'm even talking about, how bad it can really get. It was crazy. I had to ditch my cart & grab a basket to allow my arms to have greater freedom of movement {i.e. so I could push my way through the crowds}. It was by far the most crowded day I have ever seen at TJ's, but I just had to get my food. After managing to push {literally} my way through the crowded aisles, I was lucky enough to wait in line for another 45 minutes. Seriously. I could have screamed, especially after getting yelled at by an old woman who repeatedly asked me to move. I obviously couldn't. I was blocked in by four other people, & finally told her so {perhaps not as nicely as I should have}. Anyway- after the wait in line {holding a basket full of food/milk/etc.}, I was lucky enough to make the trek back up to the UES on the subway, & then on the bus. Mike- notice that I kept the budget in mind & managed to refrain from hopping in a cab for a mere $25 home. Please be proud. Point being: for those of you who do not live in a true urban area, please take a brief moment & be grateful that you have a car, & that you can grocery shop like a normal person, without suffering severe back & neck pain for the rest of the day as a result. Most days though, I love New York.

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The weekend was fun. We went out to New Cannan on Friday night to watch Bryan's football game {go Rams!}. It was 37 degrees & pouring rain {I mean torrential downpour}, but you never heard me complain- until halftime anyway, when Mike said that maybe we should go, & I pretty much jumped out of my seat & said, "Sure!!". Okay, I may have said I was cold a few times before then, & I might have said that it was crazy that we were actually outside in such horrific weather... but just a few times. Anyway- sorry Bryan. We tried really hard to stick it out. We came back into the city mid-day on Saturday. We met Kellie & Jason for dinner here & it was delicious. I love Indian food, even if it is all the way over on the West Side {thank you, cab home}. On Sunday- our friends Dan & Caitlin came over for a gluten-free dinner {since Caitlin must abstain}. I spent a few days thinking what my life would be like without bread & pasta, & have decided that I would definitely be more thin. In any case- it was fun to spend some time with them. Next time I'll get a little more creative in my cooking, promise. Soup & salad was certainly not original.

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We had Stake Conference this weekend, too. Oh my gosh, it was just so fantastic. I don't get terribly excited about church very often {although I really do love it, promise}, but I just feel so lucky to be part of the church in Manhattan. Our Stake Presidency was reorganized this weekend, & despite us only being here for the last 2 1/2 years, it was a little emotional to say goodbye to our 1st Stake President as a married couple {he's in our ward though, so I guess it's more of a See you next week, or in Mike's case, a see you at work on Monday as they both work at Citi}. Anyway- President Belnap has been an incredible leader. The membership of the church in Manhattan is twice what it was 10 years ago. We now have 12 wards & 2 branches. We have 5 buildings, & the temple has already been expanded by one floor since it was dedicated just a few years ago. The growth in the area has been unbelievable. One of the most amazing things about President Belnap is that he makes such a huge effort to communicate with all of the members of the Stake. That means that at each Stake Conference, he has given his testimony in all of the primary languages of the Stake- English, Spanish, Chinese & American Sign Language. Seriously. It's such an amazing thing to hear. President Belnap said that next week, for the first time in 15 years, he will sit with his family in church {thanks to years as a Bishop & a Stake President}. That kind of service is really just mind blowing.

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So- here comes another week. Mike took off tonight for a week's worth of traveling {with unfortunately no layovers in NYC}. He'll be in DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Seattle. I'm thinking he'll be tired when he finally gets back here, but I'm also thinking that it is going to be a lonely week for me. Looks like our closests will be getting a re-org this week...