New Year's Eve with Carson

a bunch of crazy people who were in the cold for HOURS!!!!


That's a big Tree!


the Sgt and his wife being interviewed...

To begin let me say that this blog is for you Grandma. Because not every Grandma has an entourage that reads suggested blogs. Because not every Grandma reads blogs. Because not every Grandma will tell you off in an Applebee's for not name dropping enough in your blogs.

Apparently she DOES NOT like green tea as nearly as much as I do...

So New Year's Eve I went to Times Square. I know what you're thinking. Ahhh! You are a crazy person. How could you stand out there for HOURS and freeze to death? O no, people, I was VIP. Please! I had a media pass, and was outside for a total of maybe an hour and a half. The rest of the time I was hob-nobbing with celebrities and crew, and "working". NBC studios rented a part of the Marriot Marquee in Times Square, and had their show taped from there. The Army had a soldier who had just returned from Afghanistan and his wife on the show, so I went as PA support. He had two purple hearts and a bunch of other medals (I'm still learning). It was really interesting. They were great people. We sat in the green room all day, and waiting for our 1 minute segment to aire. I'm not going to lie parts of it were very boring. When it was time for our segment, we went outside,and through security, and surrounded by thousands, stood in a blocked off area right by the ball drop. It was amazing! I have never experienced that crowd. Especially from the outside. These people were crazy. Standing there for HOURS just to see the new Waterford crystal ball drop. It was beautiful. Every time we looked, it had changed colors. It is so interesting that something like that can captivate an audience of millions. Amazing.

And namedropping starts... now. Well We did get to meet Carson Daley at the after party at this little pub down the street. And his girlfriend (who is pregnant, and so nice.. and gorgeous!) And I met Luke Russert, who was also very nice. He was actually really funny. We had to sit in a trailer right in Times Square before our segment, and he was in there. Nice guy. When we were upstairs in the green room we met Melora Hardin, who plays Jan Levinson on "The Office" and Roxy in "Chicago" on Broadway. She was with her husband Gildart Jackson, who is also an actor. He was in the TV show "Charmed". They were both very nice people, and chatted with the Soldier we were accompanying. Well I think that's all the famous people I met.

What I was surprised about were the people I didn't meet. The musical performances were Elton John, Katy Perry (one of my faves) and Ludacris. When we got our media passes, the backs of them said "Ludacris guest". I was very excited. ( Grandma, Ludacris is a rapper...) However, I was disillusioned by live television. Not one of the acts were live! :( So I did not get to meet anyone! I kind of knew Elton was out, as he was in London, but the other two did perform, just not while I was there. It was hilarious all night though because our passes would get flipped around, and everyone would be like, "you're with Ludacris?" I always just said ya. haha.

At midnight we went out into the middle of Times Square and watched the ball drop. As the air was filled with confetti, and everyone started singing "New York, New York", I was filled with emotion. How lucky am I? How many people get to experience this like I am now? I am truly blessed, and I am loving every minute of it.

So it was a success. But I can tell you one thing. I am NEVER going back as "Joe Public". those people ARE crazy!

New year..

It seems like everyone's resolution is to "lose 10 lbs" or "go to the gym everyday". Well I think I'll generalize mine and say it is to be healthier. Here in the office we have taken a few mini steps to being healthier together. We have replaced the usual walk to the basement for coffee every morning with a HUGE box of green tea in the kitchen(Thanks Col Miller). Now I know what you're thinking. Green Tea eww. Well you can not tell me that the first time you drank coffee you said, "Man , this is great, I'm gonna drink this everyday for the rest of my life." It probably took some getting used to. So today is my third day without my beloved coffee, and I feel fine. It is even starting to taste good if not better than coffee. The Chinese have sworn on its health benefits using it for everything from depression to headaches. It has now been linking to help with and prevent certain cancers and obesity. Green tea by far has more benefits than coffee. It is a diuretic, contains vital antioxidants, helps with weight loss and it contains 1/2 to 2/3 the amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. Although it doesn't have that caffeine "boost", it still gets you going without all the unnatural side effects. You know, the caffeine down, the discoloring of teeth etc.

We also have challenged everyone to drink more water. Drinking water also helps with weight loss and fuels your muscles and body. They say, if you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated. So now we all have a huge water bottle, and challenge ourselves to drink the whole thing at work. Some are better at this than others. They say that you should drink 64 ounces a day or eight 8 ounce glasses in order to get the benefits of increased metabolism and energy. If your hungry, sometime its because you're actually thirsty. The body sometimes mistakes hunger for thirst. I know for a fact I don't drink enough water. I wake up at night thirsty all the time. I know that's bad.

Another thing we are trying to do is bring Wii fit in on Fridays and do it at lunch or the end of the day. One, it would be hilarious to see some people I work with do the hula hoop, and you can burn some serious calories doing that. In the warmer months I hope we can take it outside. I printed off a Central Park runners map that has all kinds of different paths for you to walk/run/bike.

This also includes going to the doctor when you know you're supposed to and taking care of yourself. Certain MALES in my life (you know who you are) are ridiculous about going to the doctor and getting the proper care they need. If you know somethings wrong, get it checked. If you are of a certain age, get your tests done!!!!! No one knows your body like you do, and you have to listen.

The truth is being healthy is important to everyone, or it should be. Make it a point to be healthier this year. Do some kind of exercise. Stop drinking pop. That one little thing you change could benefit you tremendously. And bring your friends along with you. Being healthy doesn't mean cutting out all your carbs, or starving yourself, or even dieting. Eat because your hungry, not because its fun. Be active because its fun, not because you bought a dress 2 sizes too small and now you have to fit into it. If you make the little things habits in your life, it can be easy.
If you make get togethers active instead of eating or drinking, that can make a difference. For example, why don't you ask your friends to go for a run/walk/bike/skate instead of going to the bar and eating "bar food" ie fried crap and drinking empty calories. If I did that, I would probably lose a ton. Drinking kills me.



I love you all and wish you a blessed and happy, healthy new year! xoxox