Biebs

Next weekend is my birthday. Since we will be tied up with our last soccer commitment of the season (insert Hallelujah chorus here) Ryan made plans to celebrate my birthday this past weekend. I had often spoke of how much I had loved my 30th birthday and I wasn't sure if it could ever be topped.  I guess Ryan took this as a challenge because he told me to pack an overnight bag with warm clothes but he wouldn't say anymore than that.

We dropped Isaac off with his dad and started heading north.  I had tried to do some snooping and I had assumed we were heading for Washington DC, so then I was really baffled and actually kind of freaking out.  I don't like not being in control and not knowing the plan.   We drove along forever and then I finally deduced we were going to New York City.  After it seemed like we had been in the car for an eternity, I noticed a huge billboard for Justin Bieber's concer that night at the Meadowlands and then when we got off at the exit for the Meadowlands I began seriously freaking out. Yes, I may be turning 31 but I am a huge Justin Bieber fan.  I had REALLY, REALLY wanted to see him when he was in Philly, but we couldn't get tickets and I tried to be okay with that.  I was thrilled when I put it all together and was more than happy to join the throngs of purple shirted Beliebers heading into the show.

Through a long series of events, we ended up with FREE tickets in the thirteenth row, right near Govenor Christie's daughters and some Victoria Secret models.  We also spotted Perez Hilton.

 

 

The arena was deafening.  If I would have known better, I would have seriously worn earplugs or some kind of protective earcoverings. Justin started the show strapped to a pair of silver wings and flying out over the audience.  

 

 

 

 

Best iphone shot of the night.

 

 

He played a few guitar songs for the audience from a crane.

 

 

He also wore hammer pants the entire time.  I guess they are making a comeback with teen pop sensations.  Who knew?  The show was excellent, our seats were amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  The only thing that would have made it better was if Isaac was there.  He would have loved it, and I felt more than a little guilty that I was seeing the Biebs without him.

 

After the show we drove into Manhatten and crashed.   The hotel was very beautiful and swanky.  Here is the view from our window.  It has been a few years since I have been up to the city.

 

 

Since we did not have to pay for our tickets to see the Biebs, we decided to spend that money on a Broadway show.  One of the first conversations Ryan and I had was about how he wanted to see the shows Mary Poppins or Spiderman.  So we decided to hop in the TKTS line in times Square to get tickets.   There must have been a hidden camera because we noticed ourselves on a big billboard in Times Square.

 

 

We ended up at the matinee for Mary Poppins. The show was great.  We had great seats there as well.  (Thanks mom and dad for chipping into the birthday fun fund!)  We ended up getting a bit lost and wandering around the city for a while.  We did Rockefeller Center, some shopping and dinner in Times Square.  There was so much we wanted to do, but didn't get a chance to, that we are already planning our next trip back.

 

Thanks for making my 31st birthday so special Ryan!

Trying to remember...

 

 

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down.

Without the rain, there would be no rainbow....

Gilbert K. Chesterton

Quickly

How sweet is my friend Meagan for stopping by tonight with all of this?! Candy? Cookie mix? TOBLERONE?! Fresh flowers? It definitely cheered me up from my lonely mother's day. She is so thoughtful.

I die...

Look what showed up in my work e-mail: Field Study for Educators Peru: The Amazon to the Andes August 9th - 19th, 2010 Designed for teachers, students, and the adventurous, this once in a lifetime experience will immerse you in a study of Peru’s lowland tropical rainforest and its Andean sub-tropical cloud forest. The focus will be on transforming our relationship with the natural world and translating the adventure into meaningful learning experiences for K-12 students. Pre-Departure Workshop: August 7th-8th on the West Chester University Campus Cost: $2,775 + Airfare to Lima (Optional Machu Picchu Extension: Aug 18-21: $600) For credit (optional): Register for EDO420-41/EDO520-41 Summer Session III WCU Outdoor and Place-Based Education (3 credits) Additional required dates for credit: August 2nd-7th (9:00am-5:00pm) in West Chester, PA *Deadline for registration and payment of $500 deposit: May 31st, 2010 More information: Mary Ann Robinson mrobinson@wcupa.edu Dr. Paul Morgan, 610-436-6945 pmorgan@wcupa.edu Itinerary and Registration Forms: Visit http://www.wcupa.edu/aceer/workshops.asp or call 610-738-0477 Sponsors: The Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER) West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU)

I've always wanted to go to Machu Picchu. I love how they think you can afford a trip like that on a few weeks notice. We are TEACHERS after all. Maybe next year...

Oh my gosh...

Love, love, love. It's like a spreadable peanut butter cup. So delicious....

quickly

Isaac started in his new class today and did awesome!!! No tears at all at drop off! And when I picked him up he said "I didn't use to like my school but now I like my school" Prayers answered! So far so good!

Oh my goodness

Picked these little babies up on the Candy World tour today in Hershey (the sweetest place on earth) and they are AMAZING!

Amazing!

http://www.fox8.com/wjw-news-face-transplant-text,0,4263414.story CLEVELAND, Ohio -- - Shot in the face by her husband four-years-ago Connie Culp of Hopedale Ohio was left disfigured. For four years she had no nose. The bony structure that once supported her face was gone, as was most of her face. She could not breathe other than through a tracheotomy, could not smell, could not even drink or eat normally. Several dozen reconstructive surgeries left her not much better off. Connie became afraid to go out in public where doctors say children would run away from her because of her appearance. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic set out to try something that had never been done before, not to the extent they had planned for Connie, a total face transplant. Specialists say their purpose for even considering the surgery is not cosmetic. Their goal was to restore her facial functions and to give Connie the ability to eat and breath, to smell and to interact socially as normally as possible once again. Surgeons in December removed not just the skin, but the bony structures underneath, the nerves, facial muscles, lower eyelids, the palate from a local donor and in a 22 hour surgery attached the donor face to Connie. On Tuesday she was helped to a podium at the Cleveland Clinic to show the world that the operation was a success."My name is connie, and while i know you want to focus on me, i think its appropriate that you focus on the donors family that made it possible that i could have this Christmas present i guess you could say" Doctors say the facial nerves that they reattached will slowly regenerate, giving her the ability to show emotion. Connie is able to smell and taste again, she can drink coffee from a cup, and breathe from her new nose. Specialists say her pain, which was constant before is nearly gone. "Connie's progression over the last few months is proof to all of us that even though face transplant was the surgical procedure of the last resort, it does work" Said Dr. Frank Papay of the Cleveland Clinic, a plastic surgeon who was part of the team. Doctors tell FOX 8 News Connie's new face will ultimately take on more of her own features than those of her donor. Medical Ethicists and Psychiatrists are also part of the team, that now expects to have to deal more with the question of who is and who is not a candidate.Dr. Maria Siemionow, a microsurgeon who was one of the lead surgeons in the case, says after having as many as 40 or 50 cosmetic surgeries to repair severe facial trauma or burns the cost could approach one million dollars. She estimates the cost for this procedure at between 250 and 300 thousand dollars. Connie used her time in front of cameras to also urge others not to judge people who are disfigured."I just want to say that, when somebody has a disfigurement, or don't look as pretty as you do, don't judge them, because you never know what happened to them" She acknowledged that she had been shot but would not go into details about the crime for which her husband was sentenced to 7 years in prison in 2005. "You never know what might happen to you and you might get into a car wreck and think you are beautiful one day ....and don't look the same as you did, you never know, one day it might be taken away" After four years being afraid to go out in public, Connie now simply wants to go home to her two children in Hopedale Ohio near Stubenville, and blend in. She will have to take medications to prevent her body from rejecting the transplant but so far so good. Doctors say there was only one episode where they were able to see clinical signs of rejection on day 47, several months ago, but that was addressed and since then she has been fine. The more time that passes since the surgery the less concerned they will become about her body rejecting her new face. Dr. Chad Gordon, a plastic surgeon who is part of the team says before the surgery Connie wrote down as her three top goals that she wanted to once again taste a steak, smell an apple pie, and be able to go out in public again without having children run away from her. "Now she can do all three" Gordon said.