Rondo Booty

One of my very first blog posts ever was about Rajon Rondo. You can click here to go back and read it if you haven't already. Basically it explains how Rondo, Chuck and I are BFFs.

I kind of hate the NBA, but I watch the Celtics occasionally to support Boston and Rondo. This week, Rondo tore his ACL and is out for the season. You guys. This is heart breaking. The Celtics pretty much need him to win and I pretty much need him to play so I actually care about the Celtics.

Here is one of Rondo's teammates finding out about his injury.

I think all of Boston and the sports world probably made that same face when they heard the news.

I really hate to see any athlete get injured, especially Rondo.  However, one good thing has come from this injury. My blog has gotten a lot of hits this week from people searching information about Rondo!

Blogger shows you stats about how many people have visited your blog in a day, week, etc. and how they found your blog. Most of my hits come from the link I post on Facebook, but this week a lot of my hits came from google keyword searches. Here are some of the searches that led people to my blog these past few days.




That's right people. "Rondo booty."

WHAT!!!???? I'm so so so confused about how searching that phrase led someone to my blog but I love it.

Also, here is a really sad, sweet and short article about grown men loving each other. http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/1/27/3923148/rajon-rondo-torn-acl-doc-rivers

A Seattle update and a New Friend

A lot has happened in regards to our upcoming move to Seattle. Here's a quick rundown.

- I left my job at MIT and am now looking for a job in Seattle.
- We found an apartment. It's a studio apartment, but it's fully furnished, it's clean, it has a parking spot, and we only have to give 2 weeks notice to move out, so if we find a better place when we get there, we'll just move!
- Once we had an apartment locked down, we bought one way plane tickets to Seattle! We move there on February 8th. Next Friday!
- Before next Friday we have to pack up our apartment, pack up our clothes and anything else we want to take with us, ship our clothes, ship Chuckie's car from Louisville to Seattle, and about a million other things you have to do before moving across the country.

So that's where we are with that.

Now I have to tell you about our new friend!

Please meet Grayson, the newest member of our game night group (Everyone Here Hates Twilight) at home!

Grayson was born on Thursday, January 24th, just like Chuck and I knew he would be. You see, our friends can make a game out of anything, including the birth of our friends' baby. One night while Chuck and I were in Louisville over Christmas break, a big group of our friends and family went out to eat. After dinner, the subject of Jennifer's due date came up, and 5 minutes later, we had a napkin with everyone's guesses for when the baby would be born, what time, and what the sex of the baby would be. Chuck and I were at opposite ends of the table and somehow managed to choose the exact same date and almost the exact same time. (I chose 3:20 pm, he chose 3:40.) The only difference was he said boy and I said girl.

And wouldn't you know, Grayson came on January 24th! At 6:15 a.m. though, so we were a little off on the time. I think he's already chosen me and Chuck as his favorites. Because of course, you had to assume that we put money on this bet! Grayson made Chuck $20 richer!

The proud dad, with the napkin and winnings!

 

I don't really know if we're Grayson's favorite's or not since we haven't actually met him yet, but it makes me feel better to say that since we couldn't be there to welcome him in person! I hope he knows we can't wait to actually meet him and until then, we will have to settle for occasional skype dates.

 

Congratulations, Matt and Jennifer! You did good!

New York City - Round Two

For Christmas this year, Chuck gave me tickets to see one of my favorite Broadway shows, Jersey Boys, in New York City. We've been trying to find time to go to NYC since moving to Boston, seeing as it's only about a 4 hour drive away. Chuck figured January was the perfect time- right after I left my job at MIT and right before we move (temporarily) to Seattle.  (More on that soon.)

We took the Megabus down on Thursday morning. The Megabus is awesome. You can get super cheap tickets, the bus has free WiFi, outlets to plug phones and laptops into, and it's kinda fun to ride on top of a double decker bus. Plus, someone else does all the driving so you can just relax and take in the scenery!

When we got to New York, we walked through the city, got a coffee at Starbucks, and slowly made our way to check into our hotel. I found a hotel online for VERY cheap because they were having a "winter sale." The hotel was right in Times Square and only a few blocks from the theater where we were seeing the show!

Before the show we ate at a restaurant called "Victor's Cafe." It was basically the NYC, slightly fancier version, of our favorite restaurant back in Louisville, Havana Rumba. It was SO. GOOD. Then it was off to Jersey Boys. That was also SO. SO. SO. GOOD. If you ever get a chance to see this show, please go see it. You will not regret it!

Friday morning we woke up, checked out of our hotel, grabbed some coffee and a danish and walked to Rockefeller Center.

A few people were ice skating so we thought about doing it too, but decided it was way too cold to be enjoyable. So we just had our picture taken in front of it instead.

We hung around there for a little while- spent way longer than a couple of 25 year olds should in the Lego store, stopped in the NBC studios store and thought about taking the tour but decided against it since we've both done it before, and then decided to tackle the NYC subway and make our way to the World Trade Center Memorial.

Thank God the Boston subway system is not this crazy.

Getting to the memorial was pretty interesting. For some reason I assummed it was just open to the public to come and go as you wish. Of course that's not how it was. The memorial requires (free) passes, a maze-like walk to the entrance, a security checkpoint similar to airport security (minus taking off your shoes) and about 5-6 points where you have to present your pass to be checked. When we finally made it  to the memorial it was very much worth it. I can't say the memorial is enjoyable, simply because of why it's there, but I can say it's a very  nice tribute to the victims of 9/11. And it was awesome to see the Freedom Tower and the other buildings currently under construction to replace the Twin Towers.

After the memorial, we had lunch at a hole in the wall Irish Pub across the street and then walked over to Wall Street. We wanted to go in and do some trading at the New York Stock Exchange but that place is on lock down!

After Wall Street, we decided to go see the 34th Street Macy's. I knew that store was big but I had no idea how big. I can't even understand how a store can be this big. My favorite floor was the 9th floor, furniture and whatnot. I really just wanted to stay there the rest of the day. Actually, I wanted to stay forever. They have a bed and couches! And look how nicely it's decorated!

By 6 o'clock Friday we were back on the Megabus making our way home. It was a pretty eventful ride home: snow, rush hour, 6 hours when it was only supposed to take 4, and a Charlie from LOST situation in the bus bathroom- some guy locked himself in and wouldn't come out.

We had so much fun in two short days but definitely agreed that when we go back, we should go when it's warmer than 20 degrees!

New York City!

While our husbands were enjoying the warm, sunny weather in LA this weekend at the end of the Plant Trek, my friends, Ana and Rachel, and I decided to take a road trip to New York City. The city is only about 4 hours from Boston, Ana has a car, and we had a free place to stay, thanks to Ana's new and very sweet mother-in-law who lives there! We only spent a day and a half in the city but we squeezed in as much fun as we could.

We started our Saturday early. We took the train from the Bronx into Manhattan and went straight to the theater where the musical "Once" is performed to wait in line for rush tickets. We weren't sure if we'd be able to get tickets or not, so it was a very emotional and stressful 45 minutes of waiting.

But we held strong and stayed positive, and what do you know? We were able to score some $27 standing room only tickets for the Saturday night showing of "Once" - the winner of the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical. We could hardly contain our excitement!

After that, we stopped by a Starbucks to thaw out our frozen toes and drink some hot chocolate. Then we were on our way to a park called The High Line. The High Line is a park built on an old abandoned train rail. It stretches several blocks and there are great views and unique art to look at along the way. We walked the entire thing.

Then we took a little rest on a nice bench.

We did a lot of walking, so at the end of the High Line, we decided to find a place to sit and have a nice lunch. We ate at a place called The Standard and it was DELICIOUS. As an appetizer, we ordered oysters and I had my very first oyster. It was so good. Here's the damage we did to them.

Up next we took the train down to catch the Staten Island Ferry which is great because it's free. The ferry goes to and from Staten Island and has amazing views of the city and the Statue of Liberty. If you visit,  I strongly suggest taking this ferry rather than paying lots of dollars for a touristy ferry ride that basically gives you the same views but for a silly amount of money.

My favorite picture from the trip:

When we got back from our ferry ride, we were back on the train and off to Central Park. By the time we got there, it was dark outside, so we only walked in Central Park for a quick minute. We then stopped at a nice lounge-y bar called Whiskey Park which had a view of Central Park and had a couple drinks before we had to head to our show.

Around 7:15 we headed back to Times Square for our show.

The show was AMAZING. I didn't know much about the musical before the show, but it was so much better than I ever even expected. It's hard to explain in words how good it was... Really. You just need to see it.

When our show let out, we headed back into Times Square but before we got there, got distracted by a celebrity sighting! We saw a big crowd of people, all with their cameras up in the air trying to snap a picture of someone, so we headed over to check it out. We pushed our way up to discover.... RICKY MARTIN! Oh yeah!!! He's apparently starring in Evita on Broadway right now and that show had let out before ours. He signed a few autographs on the way to his get-away car, gave one last wave and was gone. Ricky Martin, still Livin' la vida loca!

We ended our night with a drink in an Irish pub a couple blocks from Times Square and then started the long trek back to the Bronx to get some sleep. It was a loooooong but very successful, fun-filled day.

Sunday morning we woke up and took our time getting ready. Then we headed, with the car this time, back into the city to the Upper West Side to meet some of Rachel's and Ana's college friends for brunch. We ate at a place called "Good Enough To Eat" and it was amazing. There was a line out the door down the street that we waited in, but it was totally worth it. After brunch, we took a little stroll down the street with Rachel's friend Ben. Our initial goal was to find a bakery to get some goodies to bring home, but instead we ended up coming across The Dakota, the apartment building where John Lennon lived and was murdered in front of (lovely, I know) and then Central Park. Since we didn't see the park in the daylight the day before, we decided to walk through the park to get back to the car and then head home. It was a gorgeous day and we felt very New York-y.

 

 

We were very sad to leave the city but had to head home to be there in time for the husbands arrival back in Boston. I think we had an extremely successful trip though. There's not much I would say we missed out on!

 

 

And anything we did miss out on, well, Chuck and I can make up for on Thursday when he and I head back to New York for 2 days in the city and Jersey Boys on Broadway!!!!



LGO Plant Trek

This week and next I am husbandless in Boston.

Right now, the LGOs are halfway through the Class of 2014 Domestic Plant Trek.

What is this, you ask? It's a two week, mandatory trip the LGO 1st Years take every January to visit a lot of the plants of LGO partner companies. They basically live like Rock Stars for two weeks- 10 cities in roughly 14 days, spending most of their time on buses, airplanes and in airports and hotels. It's a rough travel schedule, but don't feel sorry for them.  The traveling is not the only thing that makes them like Rock Stars. Apparently the plants and companies they visit treat them like they would treat the President. They roll out the red carpet for them, wine and dine them... And to top it off- the Plant Trek ends in L.A. on Santa Monica beach where they will then spend the weekend with nothing to do but explore and enjoy the warm weather. It's hard being an MIT grad student, huh?

The order of places goes like this: Raleigh, Detroit, Indy, Peoria, Chicago, Portland (where they are today and tomorrow), Seattle, Austin, LA, then back to Boston.

I decided to come back to Boston after our Christmas break so I could work for a couple more weeks before we move. I've been staying busy and meeting up with friends, but I have to say Boston just isn't as fun without Chuckie. Also, Chuck and I aren't used to being away from each other for very long stretches of time. We've been spoiled. So 2 weeks to some people is probably no big deal, but to us it seems long! See... this is why we need a dog! So I would have someone to hang out with when Chuckie's gone. Don't you think?

(Disclaimer: I don't really want a dog right now or any time in the near future, but I figure if I start my campaign for a dog NOW, then by the time we actually settle down with a house and regular life and can actually afford one, Chuck will be open to the idea.)

Maybe when Chuck comes back he'll share some of his pictures with me that I can then share with you!

Christmas 2012

As I said in my Highlights post, this Christmas was the first Christmas Chuck and I have spent the entire day together. Usually we wake up with our own families and meet up later in the day for a few hours. This year, we were together for all of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Really we were pretty much together for the whole two weeks as I don't have a car in Louisville anymore so wherever Chuckie went, I went too. He couldn't get rid of me. Mwuahahahahaha.

We spent Christmas Eve wrapping presents, watching a TERRIBLE Christmas movie starring Ferris Bueller and Danny deVito, watching the nieces sprinkle reindeer food, and then- lots of church. We went to the 5 o'clock service at Middletown Christian with Chuck's mom, sister and her family. Chuck played bass with the praise band. It was a family service and at one point, EVERY child in the audience got to go up front for a Christmas story. Some kids got to act out roles and our little Sloane was the lucky one chosen to play Mary! You can't see her Joseph in this picture but he had a mohawk. It was awesome.

 

After church, we went to my parent's house for pizza and wine before we went with them and my sisters to Springdale Presbyterian for the 9 p.m. service. It was beautiful, we heard some great singing and then took like 20 pictures in front of this Christmas tree with every combination of family members.

At 11 p.m. we were back at Middletown where Chuck played bass again and I sat through the service with his dad. It was also a beautiful service with more beautiful singing, including a rendition of O Holy Night by their pianist that was so good, people clapped for about 5 minutes when it was over. Three church services at two different churches made for a long night, but church is what Christmas is all about right? So it was fine.

We spent the night in the basement at Chuckie's sister's house, which meant we were woken up before 8 am by sounds of little feet upstairs.

Donuts first thing in the morning? That's my kind of girl!

The girls read their letter from Santa, opened stockings, and opened their gifts. They were most excited about their iPod touches with sparkly covers! (Actually just people's old iPhone 3s they don't use anymore that the girls can play games on so they don't have to steal their parents' phones anymore, but they don't know the difference.)

Such a sweet face. :)

Sloane should have asked for her two front teeth for Christmas! (lame joke I know,  but couldn't resist.)

Chuckie and I opened some gifts too. Audrey wanted to be the first to try out Chuckie's new headphones.

After our eventful morning, we went over to my parent's house and had brunch which is something my family does every year. It's the best. After brunch, we opened gifts and then just hung out and relaxed a little.

Dad, showing off the huge London picture he and my mom got for my sister to hang in her house!

Trying to contain his excitement...

Also, we discovered that after you've been together for a long time, you start to think the same. Evidence? My parents both bought each other iHomes for Christmas without knowing. The best part? My little sis was with both of them when they bought them, but didn't say anything.

After my parent's house, we stopped back at Chuckie's sister's and did a quick gift exchange with his family. Then it was on to his Aunt's house to see his dad and his side of the family. We spent the evening eating, playing games and catching up.

His Aunt and Uncle playing Cranium. They got one of the "use someone as a puppet" cards.

 It was a long and busy two days but we got to spend time with everyone and make some great memories on our first Married Christmas.

Oh- and Chuckie gave me tickets to see the Broadway show Jersey Boys... IN NEW YORK CITY!!! Before we leave for Seattle! WHAT!? I got him some cologne... 

Holiday Highlights

Chuckie and I spent December 20-January 5 in Louisville for Christmas and New Years. It was so good to be home, especially since we didn't get to go home for Thanksgiving. Our days were super packed from the time we got home until we left. We tried to fit in as much quality time as we could and I think we accomplished that. One day we met someone for coffee at 10, I had a lunch date with someone else at 12:30, we went to someone's house in the afternoon, met family for dinner and then went to a bar with some friends. That's pretty much how every day went. Most nights we didn't get in bed until about 2 a.m. We both came back to Boston extremely exhausted but also extremely happy with how we spent our time at home.

I plan to do a separate Christmas post because I have too many good pictures from the day that I want to share and don't want to cram into this "highlights" post.

So for now, a glimpse into our busy visit home. (Please note, I didn't take any pictures but we did get to eat at Havana Rumba, Wild Eggs AND Chick-fil-A (twice) while home which are all places we miss a lot when we're in Boston. It was glorious.)

My cousin, Caitlin, turned 21 on 12/21/12- the day the world was supposed to end. We made sure we partied hard and I think Caitlin had a pretty good birthday.

Tequila shots all around!

The traditional "5 Hagan girls and Chuckie" picture we've taken at important events for 10 years now!

Us and the birthday girl!

My friends Elizabeth, Emily and I have had a "Girl's Christmas" on December 23 every year since our senior year of high school. Appropriately, we call it "Eve Eve." While no Eve Eve will ever be as good as the first one, we pretty much do the same thing every year- a gift exchange, cookie decorating with Emily's mom, followed by playing the Titanic song on the piano and singing along, and then there's ALWAYS a picture by the Kubitskey Christmas tree.

The same night as Eve Eve, our friends Justin and Jenny hosted a Tacky Christmas Sweater party at their house. It was so much fun and we got to see our Best Man, Branden, who we miss so much!

Of course Christmas was a huge highlight of our trip. This was the first year Chuckie and I have spent all of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together, so it was very special. Like I said, I will make a separate post just for Christmas.

For Christmas, my parents gave us tickets to the UofL vs UK basketball game which is pretty much the biggest day of the year in Kentucky besides Derby Day. Chuck and I have been to the game before but we've never had seats as good as the ones my parents gave us. It was incredible, and the Cards won!

Also, at halftime we went to walk around and Chuck spotted Larry O'Bannon, who you may remember from THIS previous post about basketball. I immediately went into attack mode, similar to the way I attacked another favorite, T-Will, at a football game, and practically ran up to Larry and in a squeaky voice, asked him to take a picture with me. He told me "One sec lemme finish this nacho" and then happily posed with me for this picture.

Wearing his hood indoors probably so no one would notice him and bug him to take pictures. Whoops.

IT WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!!

New Year's Eve did not disappoint this year either. Our friends, Matt and Jennifer, hosted our game night group at their house for a party. We turned it into our annual Christmas party/New Year's party/kind of a baby shower party for Jennifer, who is due in January! We did a white elephant gift exchange, gave baby gifts to Jen and Matt, ate a ton of good food, and played several games. It was an amazing ending to 2012.

Trying to have the same haircut so we feel connected even when we're apart?

 

When we weren't at Christmas parties, lunches, dinners, coffee meetings, basketball games, etc. we were trying to soak up as much family time as we could. Sometimes I think there's really nothing better than just sitting around a living room with your family, doing absolutely nothing. Actually, while we were doing just that at Chuckie's sister's house, I think I snapped my favorite picture of the whole trip:

LOVE