NYC 2013 - Anderson Cooper

What is it about NYC? Every time I leave that city I swear I won’t be back for years…. But now, one year later, we are back and loving it again! Here is the rundown of our trip!

Thursday March 21: We were up at 4am and in the air by 7am. We dropped our suitcases off at the Doubletree by Hilton Metropolitan and as soon as I stepped back outside I had a huge smile on my face. It was now 10am and I was close to being late so the doorman hailed a cab for me (first time in a yellow cab) and I went straight to the Anderson Live studio for my first taping and DH went to work. It was freezing cold, and we waited in line for a good 45 minutes, but it was worth it. Even though I was in the back row with a boom camera in front of my view most of the time it was so much fun! MariluHenner was co-hosting the first show and then they filmed some segments for another show with Wendy Williams. These shows are only airing on April 29 and May 9. Someone was there talking about a book she wrote and we all got a copy as well. Afterwards, I was exhausted so I went back to the hotel and waited for DH. From there, we did a little bit of shopping and ate at Red Lobster, of course. 

Friday March 22: I had to be at the studio for 7am this time because I was seeing 2 tapings. Despite my lack of sleep I made it there on time and surprisingly awake. Unlike yesterday’s tapings this morning’s show would be live so this was exciting. I met some fellow Canadians in line and since it was their first show and I was now the expert we stuck together – and got seats in the first row!!! I couldn’t believe it! And, even better, JudgeMarilyn Milian from People’s Court was hosting – I love her! They even had Grumpy Cat as a guest! We were given Powerball tickets this time ( no, I didn't win anything) and some SkinnyCow chocolate too. After this live show they taped a couple of segments with…. JulianneMoore! These were a lot of fun to watch and she brought Anderson a surprise – a sloth! A living sloth, 20 feet in front of me! That was cool. After this taping we went back outside into the VIP line where I met DH and we went in for the last taping of the day. We were off to this side in this taping and while I can’t recall the co-host’s name for this show I remember that his special guest was Tim Gunn! Again, love him! At this taping we got another freebie, a book on dog training from another guest on the show. And… this is also when it happened…. This was when I was finally able to…. MEET ANDERSON COOPER! After this taping I still hadn’t gotten the chance to have him sign my copy of his book, so when he went to take pictures for the show I stood in line patiently waiting for him to come out. The staff all knew what I had been waiting for and security kept telling me he was in too much of a rush but then it happened…. One of the staff let me to him! I said hi, he said hi, he asked me what my name was and where I was from and then he shook my hand, took the book and signed it! He made it out to me and everything. I am sure I babbled like an idiot but it’s all a blur. Unfortunately, because of where he was no one I was with could snap a photo but they all know that I was with him and they all watched me come out with my knees shaking. After being on cloud 9 for a while, DH and I went over to Tiffany’s to buy a necklace I have been admiring forever now and then to an Anderson inspired restaurant choice, Shake Shack, for a late lunch/dinner. After this, one more surprise… DH took me to see Chicago on Broadway!!! I have seen this show before and LOVE it. Great seats too! Honestly, best day ever! 

Saturday March 23: Lazy, sleepy, day of nothing! We woke up late, went out for a good diner breakfast, wandered around the city for a while (NYC Library, Bryant Park, Grand Central) and then came home late at night. Turned on Friday's taped show and found myself numerous times on camera! That was cool too!

So that's it. That was our trip to NYC this year. I really liked being in a live studio audience and I might try to do it again someday. Stagehands are telling you when to stand, sit, clap, scream etc... but in reality we were going to do it anyhow when we liked things so it didn't feel forced. There were only a couple of times that I felt like I was lying! Oh, and amazingly enough I got really lucky! I knew this show was being cancelled but I found out that their last day of taping is March 27th! Had DH's work trip been delayed I wouldn't have been able to do any of this! For once, his work schedule works out!

Trust Your Struggle

“Pain breeds strength, trust your struggle” 

Unknown 

I was browsing through Pinterest over the weekend and the words “trust your struggle” stood out from all the rest. It made me stop and think for a good minute; three little words with so much meaning behind them! I tried to find the origin of this quote but cannot find a thing aside from the full version above!

We all face struggles, big and small, and while it isn’t always easy to accept them it is important to recognize that all of the effort and obstacles before you have their purpose. Your struggle means something, because no matter how painful (or sometimes pointless) it may seem you are right where you need to be in that moment. Trusting your struggle means trusting yourself; having the strength to believe that when you come through the other end of the rabbit hole it will all be worth it.

Sometimes we stumble and sometimes we are pushed so hard that we fall to the ground. These situations are often out of our control, but you have to think positively. What can you learn from these experiences? Personally, I find that these are often the times that I learn what matters to me the most, because what matters most becomes the clearest goal and everything else fades into the background.

And, on a similar note, I also think it is important that we all learn how to pick and choose our struggles on a day-to-day basis. We are all guilty of spending too much time focusing on getting things perfect, making things better, improving what is already working to begin with and worrying that everyone ELSE is happy but we tend to overlook our own needs. It is too easy to forget how much effort it takes for us to just let things be and sometimes that is all that needs to be done.

So, in closing, don’t ignore your pain; suppressing it will only lead to more anguish on a much deeper level. Remember that overcoming pain DOES breed strength. Trust your struggle everyone!

Why I No Longer Want To Marry Mr. Cooper Pt. 2

Update: Pope chosen... about 10 minutes ago... now, Mr. Cooper, get back home!

Seriously though, I'm an idiot. He is receiving the GLAAD award this Saturday (presented by Madonna) so he has to be back anyhow. Now my only fear is that he will decide to have Madonna on the show for one of the tapings I am NOT going to next week...so complicated!

Why I No Longer Want To Marry Mr. Cooper

We are now less than 10 days away from our trip to NYC, so I went online to see if the taping schedule and guests were posted for the Anderson Live taping next week and what do I see? I find out that THIS WEEK Anderson Cooper is in Italy reporting live from Vatican City on the selection of a new Pope… uh… that’s fine, right? I’m not there THIS week… but there is no mention of NEXT week! Gah! Religion and I do not see eye to eye at the best of times, and Catholic practices would have to be one area that I take issue with most so I don’t really care about a Pope selection at all but what about my Mr. Cooper? He is the main reason I am even going back to NYC again this year! How long is he away for? Will he be back in time for the tapings I have tickets for? Is he staying until they finalize their decision? Does he really have to be physically there for the decision? Ugh! Decide already and send Mr. Cooper home please!

So, how does this lead to me not wanting to marry him anymore? For starters, I already know what living life as a work-widow is like and with him it would just be way more complicated with him running off to wars and tragedies around the globe all the time. And, this trip was very last minute, unexpected and unclear as to how long it will be for and that’s a big no-no in my books! And lastly, no husband of mine will ever be allowed to run off to Italy without me! Are you kidding me? I am not sitting HERE while my other half is over THERE. No way!

So, to conclude, I no longer want to marry the man but I DO want to see him - desperately – so please, please, PLEASE be there next week!!!

March Madness 2013

I have come to realize that March always seems to be a very busy month for me. There never seems to be enough time for anything yet SO MUCH gets done! I guess that explains why we seem to go away every February… to re-fuel!

Our trip back to DR was awesome! We have been trying to get back to that particular resort for six years now and it was definitely worth it. They have had so many issues with fraud and bad management over the years but they have recovered and it was as beautiful as ever. We didn’t really make it off the resort this time though because they were having a major heat wave! It was about 40 degrees every day when the rest of the island was at about 27-30 degrees. I admit it was nice to just sit back and relax though! I had a nice long nap on a bed by the beach one afternoon and it was refreshing! They have a timeshare package and if I had the money I would definitely be buying in and spending as much time there as possible every year! This is my new retirement plan!

We have been back for just over a week and, in the midst of work being crazy, I am now counting down to our trip to NYC! DH has his annual business trip and this year I am going with him again but for different reasons. Normally, I play tourist and shop… this time I am hanging out with Mr. Cooper! That’s right, Anderson Cooper! We will be there for three days and I scored tickets to three tapings of his talk show! The show has been cancelled at the end of this season so I am so happy I am getting the chance to go! And, yes, I know…. I am not allowed to jump up on stage, touch him, follow him around or do any other action that would be considered illegal and/or stalker-like. My only hope is that I am able to get him to sign my copy of his biography for me at some point during my time there and MAYBE get a picture with him, but being there is good enough if I can’t!

Hrm… what else? Oh! Sugar shacks opened two days ago and we were there for opening day! With things being so busy right now I wasn’t sure when or if we would make it later on so we took advantage of a quiet weekend and got our syrup fix for the year. If we make it back, we make it back… if not, there is always next year!

Anyhow, I will be a “work widow” again shortly for about a week or so and then we are off to NYC. After that we have reservations at my favorite restaurant for a belated anniversary dinner since he will be out of town on the actual date and then it’s the long Easter weekend. Still debating taking off somewhere for that weekend but we will see… I may be fed up of planes by then!