day trippin' in NYC

I've always liked cities. The vibrancy, the efficiency of mass transportation, the endless eatery options, all the interesting people.

But.

While New York has all of these things, it is also an adventure unto itself for people who don't live there day to day.

Especially the day before New Year's Eve.

In Times Square.

A few weeks ago, Drew and I decided that we would take a day trip into NYC on December 30th. We are visiting his family in New Jersey all week and decided that a day in the city would be a fun excursion. It was remarkably easy to get there -- a 45 min ride on the NJ Transit for $7 and we're in.

Drew and I swung up to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas Tree. I'm always amazed at how many lights they get on it!

We looked for Tina Fey, but no such luck.

Please welcome Liz Leeemmon...

Then we hit the Met for a few hours.

I have been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art several times in my life and loved each trip. I have to say, though, that it has never been as crowded as it was today. It felt like some kind of evacuation procedure. We still got to see the great works, but had to look past all of the Asian tourists taking their photos with the art. It may have been some kind of game show -- we're not sure.

Going into New York was also a great reason to see some of our friends who live in the city. I hadn't seen Lara in over 4 years (too long!) so it was wonderful to catch up with her. We had drinks and dinner with her and our friends from Tepper, Eric and Brad. I'm disappointed that we weren't able to get photos with them, but in all of the excitement, getting the camera out went by the wayside.

Here are some older photos instead. We basically look the same.

Insert NYC backdrop here:

(Imagine me where Erin is...)

All in all, it was a great trip and a really fun day!

We love New York! (but not the crowds, or the cost, or how it smells) :o)

wordless wednesday

Tokyo, Japan

bright-eyed of the year

Now that the Christmas rush has slowed down it's time to continue the 2008 Year End Awards.

Today's award is a very special one. It is for something that not everyone can do -- a true gift.

This award is for 2008's least blinking most bright-eyed person.

And the winner is:

Mark Cowell (with a close second in Owen Berry)

It was a close call -- he almost blew it completely.

Nice job, Dad.

If you'd like to be considered for 2009's Bright-Eyed of the Year award, please submit your photos!

Thanks to Jennifer for capturing the winning photo.

christmas in cleveland

We had a wonderful Christmas 2008 this year in Cleveland. The extended Cowell family all got together for the holiday and celebrated on Chagrin Blvd.

We spent a lot of time in the recently redesigned basement

The Wii featured heavily

A Parcheesi faceoff went down

There might have been a basement monster

Santa certainly came:

Before

After

Owen gave the most popular gift of the day

Drew got slippers.

All was well.

favorite thing friday

The MVP of Christmas 2008 earned top honors in this week's Favorite Thing Friday.

For anyone who is having a group of people of different ages stay at their house for more than 1 day (or maybe even just 1 day) I highly recommend having a:

Nintendo Wii

The Wii saved the day. Thanks Ryan.

This was my first time playing Wii and I had a great time! In fact, from 4 years old to, well, older than a bread box, we all had a really fun time bowling, boxing, and playing tennis. The Wii is easy to use and the games are fairly intuitive. 4 people can play at once and everyone found a character that was their "Mii."

The Japanese really know what they're doing.

happy birthday ryan (and darren!)

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Yum...ice cream cake.

merry christmas

Merry Christmas from the Cowell Family

wordless wednesday

First Snow

kitchen renovation of the year

I've decided to speed up the allocation of the 2008 Year End Awards. There were more catagories that I originally thought and 2008 is winding down quickly!

The award for today is "Kitchen Renovation of the Year".

As usual, there are several criteria that must be met in order to choose a winner.

The winner must have:

1) been dragged to shopped around at no less than 4 granite stores

2) wanted to give up at some point

3) endured through that trial and stuck with the renovation anyway, showing strong personal fortitude and commitment

4) personally transported 1 large piece of the renovation through 3 states

5) gone through several sinks before finding the perfect one

6) experienced the heartache of a cracked countertop, which made the final success that much more sweet

After much consideration and research, there was only 1 clear winner...

The kitchen renovation on Hampton Ridge Rd done by Michele Cowell!

Congratulations, Michele (Mom)

Surprisingly, the prize is consistent with the other prizes so far:

Enjoy your 5 day Christmas vacation in Cleveland! You need to leave by Monday, so hopefully you check this blog frequently.

Look at the beautiful results of her hard work:

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In fact, I'll probably make a face like this.

Or like this.

Or like this.

Well, probably more like this.

favorite thing friday

New addition to the blog!

I'm stealing this idea from another great blog that I read. When I saw it there I really enjoyed her recommendations and thought you might like some of mine!

So, for the first ever Emily's Favorite Thing Friday, I present...

Fiber One Bars

I don't know about you, but I never seem to get enough fiber in my diet. I like whole-grain bread as much as the next person, but I just don't eat enough bread to make a difference. As for whole-grain pasta, well, if someone can tell me about a brand that doesn't take 10 minutes to chew down, I'd love to try it.

I'm also not about to try and drink Metamucil. Besides, don't you have to show an AARP card to buy that stuff? It's the other kind of carding out there. Maybe in a few (dozen) years.

But only if Fiber One bars no longer exist.

Have you tried them? You need to! 35% of your daily fiber in a small, chocolate chip-laden bar of deliciousness. I've had the peanut butter kind as well, which I also highly recommend.

Honorable mention goes to the Fiber One yogurts. These are rather small, but if you don't like yogurt (like me) they are the perfect size. A nice dose of fiber with only 80 calories.

Happy colons to all and to all a good night.

christmas through the years

For as long as we've been around there has been Christmas. Each year brings different memories and joy. Here are some photos from Christmas Way Past and some others that are more recent. Be sure to check back for photos from 2008!