Western New York Life

I feel as if I'm starting to catch onto what it means to be a Western New Yorker. First of all the Buffalo Sabres are in the NHL Play-offs. Hockey is crazy popular here. It is probably due to the fact that Canada is only about 20 miles from here. I wonder why "Curling" hasn't caught on as much as hockey? Besides hockey, lacross is also a popular sport. The Buffalo Bandits are also in the NLL (I think that is what it is called) play-offs. The locals say that Lacross came from the native american tribes who lived here way back when. I guess the Western Native Americans didn't catch on to the trend of Lacross back in the 1500's when it was really popular; thus the lack of interest in the sport out West.
Here comes the tricky part of trying to fit into Western New York (Buffalo). When you are watching one of the above sports you MUST have Buffalo wings to serve if you have guests over. Pizza is a preferred side dish. Actually in Buffalo they are almost never served separate. So I watched one of the last Sabre's hockey games at my "native" friends apartment and BOOOMMM. There were Buffalo wings and Pizza!! Some days I feel like an anthropologist in a foreign land trying to figure out the mores and traditions. I have included a picture of me in New Hampshire at the longest single lane covered bridge in the USA. Nothing to do w/ the Western New York topic but I like the picture and I loved visiting New England last fall(which I was able to do because I lived here in New York). See I knew I could fit it in somehow.
I feel it is my duty to spread the word that there are such things as mountains, spacious back-yards, jamba-jucies, houses newer than 20 years old, fry-sauce and non-catholics. Alas; When in Rome.........
So I am loving the New York life along with the people I am meeting and the traditions that I am learning.

The Wedding

My best friend is officially married now. I got back late Sunday night from Utah. I was the maid of honor and had the opportunity to be dressed in Pink. I have never really been a fan of pink, but my dress was pink. It is good to bring out the more feminine side of me. I have included a picture of me in the Pink dress for those friends who don't believe it possible. Did I mention that I had to wear a pink dress? As the maid of Honor I had special duties, such as cleaning up after the wedding. While cleaning up, I decided to try and entertain the brides brothers. I just love an audience. So I was showing off my amazing gymnastic skills by jumping up onto the stage in the gym. The first time went well; a perfect mount and dismount. From the reaction that I received from the audience I decided to try it again. I didn’t make it. This caused an even larger out pouring of laughter than when I was successful. Needless to say, I have a huge bruise on my left thigh. The show must go on and the brides' brothers were entertained.

On a more serious side, it was amazing to see my best friend getting married. I am so happy for her. It was a great week!

Working Out!

Yesterday I went with a 22 year old friend and worked out at her gym. I have not been in a gym for about 8 months. I have been running but not lifting weights. So yesterday I tried to lift what I was lifting before moving to New York. Overall I did well, but when I was doing leg extensions, something went wrong there. When I got home and sat on my bed (which is pretty low to the ground) my left butt muscle went into a spasm. So there I was writhing from a pain in my "#*#". It was quite the sight to see. But all is well today. Other than that my life has been rather normal. I will be heading out to Utah for a week. My best friend is getting married. I am really excited for her.

Getting Out

This past Sunday was very difficult for me. In the morning I got up to go to church. My sister told me that she wasn't feeling well and needed me to teach her Sunday School class. So during the first meeting of church I had to prepare my lesson. The lesson turned out alright and no harm done. I always enjoy teaching anyways.
Then when I got home I was feeling traped in my house. I made a very pathetic phone call to a friend of mine asking her if she was willing to save me from bordom. She was very gracious and allowed me to come over. It was a beautiful day so we went for a long walk. It was exactly what I needed. What would life be with out friends? I don't even want to imagine.
On Monday my sister and I went shopping because we had no food in our house. It was quite the spectical to see. As we walked through the grocery store we each would slip a little something into the basket that we didn't want the other one to see. We had been out of food for so long our inner child stepped up and made several impulse buys. We bought things like, popsicles, a flat iron, a piture, expensive orange juice and rice pudding to top it all off. Sometimes I just love being an adult because I can buy whatever I want at the grocery store. What amazing freedom that is!!

Getting in Shape

So last night I decided to mix up my workouts. I usually just go for a 30 minute jog a few days a week. Nothing special. But I read this article in "Runners" magazine that said by doing sprint workouts a person could increase their overall race times and shrink their waist line. So I was very excited to put this sprint workout to the test. So I jogged over to the closest high school track (about a half mile away). On the straight part of the track I would sprint as hard as I could and then walk the curves. I have come to realize that very few adults run as hard as a they can on a regular basis if ever. I was trying to justify why I couldn't even finish 100 yards at full speed. Anyways, as the high school kids started to mill around the parking lot, I became painfully aware that I looked like a pathetic old person trying desperatley to get into shape. After each sprint I was huffing and puffing like I smoked my entire life. I am proud to state that I finished my workout despite the young students watching.

Nice Cops

In the past I have had mixed feelings about cops. But on my drive back from Washington D.C. the Cops have added a point to the positive side of the score board. While driving back I was in a southern NY town and I was pulled over for speeding. I will not disclose how fast I was going but lets just say my Father would be ashamed. Anyways the cop explained to me the ramifications of my pending speeding ticket. I started getting nervous by the words that were coming out of his mouth..."court, 4 points on license, fines". He then went on to explain the legal consequences of not wearing your seatbelt. After all the explaining he proceeded to ask me a yes or no questions, which he told me to think about before I answered. He then asked me if I was wearing my seatbelt when I passed him. I didn't think and immediately answered, "Yes"! He said "Maam, you didn't think about the question". He said a seatbelt violation was only $50 and no points on my license. Despite my very honest answer he gave me a seatbelt violation ticket. Did I mention that the cop was kinda cute. So I lucked out on that one.

Trip to Washington D.C.

My sister Cathy and I are here in Washington D.C. visiting friends and family. We drove down late last night (a 7 hour trip). I am hanging out with my Dad while Cathy goes to a birthday party for a friend of hers from Darden.
We both like to travel and these random weekend trips are always an adventure for us. We will be back in Buffalo by Sunday afternoon.