I'm the King of New York.

Recap of the constant adventure that is NYC...

A plane and bus ride, and a metro pass and a bit of walking later...

we came upon the Plaza !!

Which inspired plenty of "Home Alone 2" quotes,

and made me feel like I was inside one of my favorite children's books;

"Eloise at the Plaza"

Then, when Aubrey, Christina and Mandy headed off to see "Evita" on Broadway...

     

...I headed off to an art museum.

Of course.

And also happened to catch the season premier of Project Runway on Times Square.

Nooo big deal.

"Che" in Evita was played by none other than Ricky Martin.

Seriously y'all, no big deal.

And of course we stopped for some Max Brenner dessert afterwards.

Good thing I'd sampled the chocolate at Max Brenner in Australia;

before I couldn't eat chocolate any more!

(But a s'mores sundae is delicious with just vanilla, in case you were wondering)

Next morning; Central park (where some awesome people went running... I am not included... I walked around all art-nerdy and took tons of pictures...)

and then Statue of Liberty.

In some rather perfect weather.

Then, obviously, China town.

Anyone need a purse??

Adventures around every corner.

And Aubrey found some fruit!!

Great deals--she was so excited!

And,

Are you ready for this??

NEWSIES.

Seeing as we were SUCH fans,

we took the tip to stay and wait for the cast after the show.

Best. Idea. Ever.

Sooo many handsome boys.

Seriously; life changing.

And then we just wrapped it up with a little Brooklyn Bridge/pizza magic.

Can I just live there please??

Grateful for: Artwork on the subway.

And friends that don't get too embarrassed when I pull out my gargantuan camera to snap a photo of it.

Big. Fat. Donuts.

Today, to wrap up my week with Jesse, Max, Dylan and Emma,

before Mom and Dad got back from their big adventure in London,

I took the kids to Gourdough's.

For those unfamiliar with Austin cuisine,

Gourdough's is a part of the ever-growing, super hip,

"trailer food" industry in down-town Austin.

For some reason, we Austinites love the individuality and Austin "weirdness"

that comes from eating cool food from a cart or trailer.

Well Gourdough's is no exception when it comes to weird;

it's all about "Big. Fat. Donuts."

Huge donuts.

Slathered with lots of chocolate, ice cream, cookie bits, cake batter, icing, etc...

There's even one that has bacon on it.

When I told my brothers and sister about it, they wanted in.

They didn't quite think they could handle the donut with bacon on it,

but they had to go.

I think D-bob was especially excited.

(waiting impatiently.)

Dying in 99 degree weather...

but we still love Austin!

Here's the options.

And after much deliberation,

here's what we chose...

Clockwise from top left:

funky monkey

baby rattler

dirty berry

blackout

Watching them eat the chocolate ones reminded me of the book/movie "Matilda"

where Ms. Trunchbull makes a kid eat a whole chocolate cake.

It was against his will though.

These dudes were enjoying themselves.

(and I didn't make them finish them... we have lots of left-overs!!)

This was the most I could get Dylan to eat all week while my parents were gone.

Best sister ever?

No, probably more like worst! :)

...but maybe favorite

(at least for today...)

Grateful for:

such cool siblings to hang out with all week,

and a little sister who makes her brothers breakfast every morning.

They're just the bestest.

Why I went to NYC.

Okay, okay, there were actually a few reasons I went...

Like;

It's NEW YORK CITY,

I'd never been,

it was on the very tip-top of my travel-bucket-list

I got to go with some totally wonderful friends,

the statue of liberty,

times square,

central park,

seeing where scenes of Elf were filmed,

ETC...

and also it's simply an experience I should (and therefore, could) NOT miss out on,

But...

Here's what sealed the deal;

LIFE CHANGING.

I showed this to Emma, and then this is what happened...

(Do you like my shirt??)

More NYC pics to come a bit later...

But I had to share this video with you ASAP.

I love it so.

Grateful for: Really cool friends who take weekend trips to NY.

Also,

Spending the week with my brothers and sister

while my parentals are away...

and when my brother Max tells me my glasses are like Spongebob's

when he goes jelly-fishing.

Why yes, yes I do.

I love my life.  It's FULL, ALL THE TIME, with astounding people and opportunities.

Sometimes though,

I just wish I had a husband and babies.

Let's be honest for a minute.

Well here's a wee story about that.  The other day I was having a little chat with one of my bosses.  It was a serious chat about business.  He was filling me in on buisnessy-type issues and giving me updates.  He asked for my feedback.  He was very polite and professional.  At one point, he, in a very buisness-y way, asked about my plans for the future in regards to my schedule.

But then, he caught me off guard.

Still with a manner of professionalism, but now with a bit of a twinkle in his eye, he said, "I mean, I know you really want to fall in love and have babies..." and finished with something to the effect of "but for now you're going forward with other things...." (or some statement like that).

Then he flashed me a big grin.

And not even a facetious one, but a genuine one.

A bit of a smile that made light of a potentially uncomfortable subject, but also said,

"It's okay, I get it."

Now, I work really rather hard,

to fill my head with different thoughts

other than thoughts that dwell on things I don't currently have.

Thoughts such as:

Would I ever have chosen to do this  if I was married and had kids right now?

Look at what I've accomplished that I didn't even realize I ever wanted to!

I could go do that ?! I never even thought about that!!

(Being single and 24 is actually kind of rad.)

I'm also working very hard to take action on these thoughts too.

So my day-to-day existence is very much founded on that thought process.

But,

what my boss said that day kind of pulled the rug out from under me,

because,

well,

my boss is right.

I really  just want to fall in love and have babies.

In fact, sometimes I want it so bad, it hurts.

So here's a random thank you to you Mr Boss-man,

really.

It's an unexpectedly wonderful feeling,

that someone out there gets,

that despite all the things I'm involved with,

and trying hard to accomplish,

and the genuine smile on my face,

and honest gratitude and love for my current life,

the greatest desire of my heart is still to be

a wife and mother.

And without prodding me to get married ASAP,

you're simply cool with it.

thank you.

so much.

What a random blessing huh?

This could have been awkward,

and could have been 20 seconds of my day that meant nothing,

but I'm pretty sure what it actually did,

was remind me that I'm always being looked out for,

and this random 20 seconds

was precisely what my heart was in need of.

Tender mercies are rather tailored to our individual needs and personalities...

wouldn't you agree?

Grateful for:

My fabulous life as a single 24 year old;

a ticket to NYC in  days,

and also to see Newsies on Broadway.

I should never EVER complain right?!!!