Now, that's what I call a weekend!

My weekend was full of fun and exhaustion. My sister Jen, from Iowa, came in to the city for a visit. This was her first time in the Big Apple and I think she enjoyed herself immensely. Here's a quick list of all we did:

Friday
1. We ate at breakfast Good Enough to Eat in the UWS. Let me tell you people, it was EXTREMELY good enough to eat. Boy did we eat it!
2. We went to the Museum of Natural History and took her picture with the Dum Dum statue. Awesome.
3. We walked through Central Park and saw a cooking show being filmed at Bethesda Fountain.
4. We saw Columbus Circle and stopped in for some Jamba Juice (her first ever).
5. We ate at Junior's in Times Square and yes, we all had cheesecake.
6. We went to How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and laughed our butts off (especially when the girl in front of us turned around in intermission and asked to "laugh more quietly during the second act because she couldn't hear"). I just want to say for the record, that I was the one doing the laughing and I could still hear, so what was her problem?

Saturday
1. We went down to the Greenwich Village where we walked through a street fair along Washington Square Park.
2. We ate at the Cozy Soup N' Burger, my favorite diner in Manhattan and maybe the world.
3. We walked along Christopher Street to the river where we proceed to walk uptown to 48th Street to see the USS Iwo Jima.
4. We walked over and down to Bryant Park and had more Jamba Juice.
5. We met Loo and ate New York style pizza at John's Pizzeria.
6. We went on The Ride. You all need to do this because it's the best and funniest bus tours in NY.

Sunday
1. We got up early and went down to Battery Park and got our CROWN ACCESS tickets, which I purchase like four months ago.
2. We got on the ferry and headed to Liberty Island to see Lady Liberty. We walked up 354 steps, most of which were in a tiny spiral staircase, up to the Statue's crown. It was intense, wonderful, fun and terrifying all at once.
3. We got back the ferry where we ate hot dogs and headed over to Ellis Island.

4. We got on the ferry one last time back to Battery Park. Upon disembarking we sat and watched 2 cops we had seen when we left like 5 hours before that.
5. We walked over to Ground Zero to see construction of the new Freedom Tower.
6. We headed up to Chinatown and ate the most amazing Chinese food ever at Shanghai Cuisine. Jen also bought 2 pounds of cherries for only $2.50.
7. We took the train over and up to Crumbs Cupcakes and got some to go.

Monday
Loo and I took her to the airport and said our goodbyes.

I had such a great time. We had so much fun and totally took it easy. We just kind of did things one at a time and didn't plan ahead for most of it. It's called relaxation, my friends.

I leave you humming "Jolly Holiday."

Sleeping....

I think sleep is funny. I know that doesn't make sense. It's not like thinking about sleep makes me laugh out loud, or anything. It just strikes me as funny. Think of the things we do in our sleep.

Some people snore. I do when I'm sick. It's not my fault I have to sleep with my mouth open because my nose is plugged. Just picture me sleeping with my mouth open, it's ok. I'm going to be honest, sometimes there's some drool. It happens, you know? I bet you've woken up in your sleep, lying in a small pool of drool. A drool pool, if you will. (Sorry I had to.)

My sister Kate used to sleepwalk. Once, she was convinced we were moving. She ended up in my parents' room trying to take their clock-radio to "pack" it up. They gently told her we were not moving and that she should go back to her bed. She told me that sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night, standing in front of her bedroom door as if she's about to go out. Talk about creepy. But she's never killed anyone in her sleep.....that I know of.

My other sister Loo talks in her sleep. Mostly it's just gibberish. But once, I swear she yelled "But BB, it's my turn to throw the ball!" I don't know if she believes me, but that's what I heard. I don't know why I didn't give her the ball in her dream; maybe it was the evil version of me. Did I mention this was when we were in high school? I don't know what ball she was talking about. Maybe she had a repressed childhood issue she was letting go of in a dream. If so, I cannot be held accountable for my actions as a stupid kid. Sorry Loo, if sometime in our childhood years I didn't give you the ball.

My biggest problem concerning sleep is my mood. I'm like a grizzly bear deep in hibernation. If I'm woken up before my alarm goes off, run for your life. There's something in me that snaps when my sleep had been disturbed. I don't know when this happened. I think it started in high school. Kate would wake me up for school and I would pretend to be asleep. She would continue to wake me up and I would get so annoyed. Then it got to the point where I would wake up earlier than she was supposed to wake me up. Just so I didn't have to hear someone wake me up.

Now here I am....killing anyone who comes into my lair. Mumbling in your sleep doesn't seem so bad now, does it?

I leave you humming "Talking in Your Sleep."

I Smell Flu

I'm lying; I don't ever smell the flu. I don't even understand what that even means. My sister Loo does. She always used to say that when we were growing up. "I smell flu; I'm going to get sick soon." I always thought it was a ridiculous statement. What does flu smell like, and why does she smell it and not me? But, unbelievably, she would get sick within the week. I still don't get it. I don't think I've ever smelled the flu. I should ask her if she thinks the Swine flu smells differently than the average flu.

So, Loo.....do you think Swine flu smells different than the average flu?

All I know is that I was sick yesterday and smelled nothing. Maybe my flu-dar is off. Or maybe Loo has had a magical ability all these years. I hope the government isn't reading this, I don't want them do scientific testing on her. I'd miss her.

Yeah, all this talk about my sister smelling the flu......I was just kidding.....really I was....ha.....ha......government officials...ha.

Anywho, I leave you humming "What's That Smell?"

Never Were There...

I talked to my oldest sister Jen yesterday. She had a medical procedure done yesterday and last night she was on drugs. We had a wonderful and overly funny conversation. We went from jokes about her being old, to Glee, to my niece and I fighting over the character, Dean Winchester, in Supernatural, (which obviously I would win, because I'm older) finally ending with the image of our sister Loo trying to be in Mom's womb at her current weight and height......disturbing. Thanks Jen.

I rely on my sisters more than I think. When we were growing up we lived close to the highway and didn't have kids as neighbors. We had Bob and Betty. Bob who mowed the lawn every day and Betty who yelled at us for playing near her garden. No children. My sisters were my best friends and still are. Jen being a lot older than us forced her into the idol role. We wanted to do everything like her and with her. Poor thing. Kate was the ever responsible one.  I worried about disappointing her more than disappointing our parents. My other half and twin Loo is the reason I never felt anxiety moving up through school. Imagine having a sibling who goes through every life change with you. Starting school, moving into high school and then leaving home and going to college, she was there with me. My little support system. Well....not so little, she's a full inch and a half taller than me.

This picture makes me think of her.

                                                      Tracy Raver and Kelley Ryden Photography

I leave you humming "Sisters."