New York City!

I had such a fun trip to New York this past week. It was so nice to catch up with Lauren and to hang out with her adorable kids. Lauren seriously may have convinced me to move to the city. I had always pegged NYC as a dirty, smelly, and congested city. It may be all of this, but perhaps it is so much more. I am ready for an adventure in my life and want to be living in an exciting place. NY is so dynamic and draws in such diversity. And there really are beautiful areas in the city. Some pictures from my trip...

Beautiful Boat Lake at Central Park

With Abby and Elizabeth

With Lauren, Elizabeth and James trying to get Wicked tickets

Cute Abby outside of Central Park

With Nicole at Legally Blonde

So You Think You Can Dance forum begins and ends at the same time.

So, for awhile there (at the beginning) I was completely obsessed with SYTYCD, because, well, I'm a dancer and I just loved analyzing and critiquing their performances. I even was taking notes on it with what they danced, how they danced it, predictions, etc. (I know...embarrassing). I also had DVR so I could watch them over and over again. I moved, and no longer had DVR, so I could not do this, but I actually think it prooved to be a good thing. There's no reason to be obsessed with this show. So I never began my forum, and obviously, it's ending now.

I actually, have yet to know really how it ended. I watched the finals Wednesday night Aug. 6th, but then I was flying to D.C. on the night of Aug. 7th, so I missed the results show. I am very excited to watch it when I return (I'll find someone who DVRed or recorded it). However, someone did let it slip and so I think I know who won, and it surprised me.

I really just can't believe that Courtney stayed in and Chelsie got kicked off. Seriously, America? Courtney was okay, and every once in awhile I felt like she did a really good job on her solos, but what happened? Chelsie is a MUCH better dancer technically, and a much better performer. I realize that Courtney is cute and everything, but Chelsie is just as cute if not cuter. I felt bad for her. Josh and Twitch are both just pretty much awesome and I LOVE Katie. I think I really wanted Katie to win...she was just the best technically and the best overall performer. But, from what I hear this is not what the final result was.

And, can I just say that Twitch and Katie's kiss that they did in that routine with the music that (I thought) sounded like Amy Winehouse was incredibly hot. I think I had no words after seeing that. I'd just definitely kiss Twitch.

I haven't figure out yet how to post video. If anybody could let me in on the secret, that'd be great. Here's the link to the kiss though...(You'll hear all the intro stuff, and then it'll come on after, but the video with all the intro. gives the best video quality)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoiSSl7qGig&feature=related

I also love, love, love the Bleeding Love performance with Chelsie and Mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGY5lhFZFpc&feature=related

I think Mark turned out to be kind of a weird/quirky dancer and not really all that technically good, but initially I thought he seemed to be able to pull off ballroom standard style even though he's never been trained in it.

And to give you an idea of how good of a latin ballroom dancer Chelsie is here's this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvrQ9j9SPMM&feature=related

Just one more...Katee and Josh - Samba:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDho5N62Adc&feature=related

I'm sorry, I have to keep going...This one with Kherrington and Twitch (I didn't love Kherrington, but she actually may have been better than Courtney and she should've been in Courtney's place, but whatever). This viennese waltz is REALLY beautiful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2su8w3zL1xU

Okay, so put Katee and Will together and you will have impeccable technique. This one is amazing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBcMQolR2Tw

Kim and I are throwing around the idea of going to see the tour show. It would be really great, but maybe we aren't fully committed and the die-hard fans that we need to be in order to go.

Ice cream...OH the JOY!

So, recently, embarrassingly enough, all I want to do after work is curl up in my bed with a pint of ice cream. My new favorite is Ben & Jerry's Phish Food. This flavor consists of the following: Chocolate Ice Cream with Gooey Marshmallow, a Caramel Swirl & Fudge Fish. Oh, yum...my mouth is watering.

I NEVER allow myself to buy full fat ice cream, but I just haven't been caring recently, and my weight has been staying the same (this is coming from someone who pretty much has some sort of ice cream on a daily basis, so I've studied and compared fat/calorie content of many brands and flavors). Even allowing myself the Haagen Daz 1/2 the fat is an indulgence, because the calorie content is still really high on those. They are delicious though. Anything Haagen Daz is delicious.

This posting started out with the title "What I Want For My Birthday" but I really think it's actually going to just turn into a posting about ice cream. The items for discussion that I want for my birthday will be forthcoming.

Now here's an idea of the flavors Haagen-Daz has:

Chocolate peanut butter, Baileys® Irish cream, Banana split, Black walnut, Butter pecan, Caramel cone, Caramelized pear & toasted pecan, Cherry vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate chip cookie dough, Cinnamon dulce de leche, Coffee, Cookies & cream, Crème brulée, Dulce de leche, Green tea, Mango, Mint chip, Mocha chip, Pineapple coconut, Pistachio, Rocky road, Rum raisin, Sticky toffee pudding, Strawberry, Vanilla Vanilla bean, Chocolate chip, Vanilla honey bee, Vanilla swiss almond, White chocolate raspberry truffle.

Now, is it just me, or do some of those flavors sound just to die for? I am especially anticipating trying caramel cone and the sticky toffee pudding.

Let me share with you some of the experiences I have already had with these fabulous flavors.

If you are going for full fat...One of my very favorites, if not the favorite is White Chocolate Raspberry...Dulce de leche is also SO incredibly good. And the good news is that while you can get it in the full fat type, you can also get it in the 1/2 the fat, and you almost can't tell any difference...The pineapple coconut is absolutely amazing. You really almost can't stop. My roommate, Kim, can attest to this. The good news? It also comes in the 1/2 the fat variety... Does that not look SO delicious?Now this one I have not tried. But, how mouth-watering does this look and sound? Behold, chocolate peanut butter. The description from the website is below..

Start with our legendary chocolate ice cream, made with premium Dutch cocoa. swirl in ribbons of creamy, smooth peanut butter. then experience an almost irresistible blend of flavors as the robust peanut butter complements the classic chocolate in every delicious mouthful

I'm also a huge coffee ice cream fan, and Haagen Daaz just recently came out with coffee and almond ice cream bars. They just may be to die for.

Recently, my roommate and I did some cleaning out of our freezer. We found a roll of cookie dough that probably had been in there forever, so we decided to make the Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies that night. We also had on hand the Costco Kirkland brand of vanilla ice cream. This brand is VERY good. It is so rich and creamy. It tastes just like Haagen Daz and is cheaper. So, Kim and I made sundaes/sandwiches. I made an ice cream sandwich, Kim decided to throw on hot fudge, whipped cream, and almonds (yes, all of this we had on hand, somehow). Here is a picture:

So, there you have it. Ice cream is my obsession. But, remember, I can't have sex...

My next task is to find the Ben & Jerry's Phish food in 1/2 the fat. I just discovered it's existence, and I'm thrilled.