NYC Trip

Steven and I headed to NYC this week to visit his family. His grandmother's birthday was Wednesday and we had a nice get together at his mother's apartment. Steven's mom and I managed to get to two museums during the visit, the Frick and the Jewish Museum. We also managed to see a few friends too. 

We arrived on Tuesday and were greeted by some of our favorite food at Seraphina. We forgot how great the food is in the city.

You're looking at crepes filled with spinach and ricotta. The tomato sauce is to die for. 

I spent some time reminiscing at Grand Central. I can't believe I worked in an office there for a couple months. I was a serious walker during my hour long lunch and loved revisiting my old haunts.

Ah, those lovely yellow and orange seats. This was taken on a trek downtown to see my friend, Erica. On Tuesday we were lucky to catch up with our friend, Will, from Les Mis. He was in the city for a few days and headed back to Boston to rejoin the crew on Wednesday.

This was on a nighttime walk with our friend, Nate. Those are not lights on the tops of those trees. I think they were magnolia or cherry trees. Everything was blooming and the weather was perfect. I managed to get in two runs at the reservoir in Central Park.

And, of course, this guy. We missed him terribly. He is so excited to be home!

Purim

Purim is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from their enemies in the biblical book of Esther. We received some Purim surprises last week from Steven's mom. A Purim tradition is exchanging gifts of food during this holiday.

These were some beautiful and very tasty Hamantaschen from a kosher bakery in Omaha. A courier delivered them to our door. I LOVED the cherry ones. The lemon were second on my list. I still have several more flavors to go. 

Another box full of goodies

This box also included all the information about Purim, which the beginner in me really appreciated. The box also included 2 gragers. These are little noise makers that are traditionally used during the service on Purim. Whenever Haman's name is said, noise is made to obliterate it just as the Jews did in the story.

and the puppy pictures. He went to daycare last week to prepare for our trip to NYC in 2 weeks. He had so much fun and was a very tired dog when he got home.

adorable.

Mopac Trail

Tana and I have been hitting the Mopac Trail in Lincoln 2 times a week. It runs from downtown all the way to Omaha. This is the bridge crossing "O" Street around 70th street. This is on our "in town" route.

Here's a peek at what our "out of town" route looks like. (yes, this is just a stock photo I grabbed from the internet).  The houses along the trail are unbelievable. 

We made it up to 5 miles on Sunday, which is almost to our race goal of 6.2 miles. It's going to hurt on Saturday, that's for sure. We turned around right at this grain elevator in Walton, Nebraska.

After running and working, I've been spending all my time examining things like this. That's spice or cinnamon. I think this is going to be a long process.

And, of course, the Copley picture. He gets so cold (or so we think, really Shih tzus just shake a bit). I love the faux fur collar. I have one on my jacket too. We're quite the pair at 5:45 am, just ask the newspaper boy, he's the only other one around. (and I guess I lived in NYC too long because I thought he was some hoodlum prowling the neighborhood the other day in his hoodie)