Newly Weds visit NYC

One of Pat's best friends, Ben, recently visited us in NYC with his new wife Patty. We were so excited for them to come and be able to spend time with them as a married. couple. They were here for 5 days but it felt super short and we wish we could have spent more time with them. I had to call it quits a couple of days because I was struggling walking all around the city being 8 months pregnant. But I was able to snap a few shots of our outings, and they were such courteous models. 

I am glad I wasn't the only one exhausted from walking the city.
Patty and Ben had to load up on Red Bull a few times to
ensure they could see everything they wanted. 

Favorite picture-hahha

Patty and Ben are a really cute couple and so much fun to be around. We are sad we live so far away from them, but hope someday our children can grow up together just like Ben and Pat. 

I also was able to get some pictures from their professional photographer at their AMAZING, OUT OF THIS WORLD wedding that was in June. 

August Breakdown

I have been a stranger to my blog as of late because we/I have been just so busy. Also, since being pregnant I have lost all motivation for all things I used to enjoy, reading, cleaning, blogging, picture taking, among others. Dr. Laura (my BFF) says it's hormones, and I hope she is right because I miss the old Lindsay. 

During the month of August we had three sets of visitors: Pat's brother, David, Pat's friend, Ben, and his wife Patty, and Pat's mission bud "Fernusky". We love having visitors because it forces us to enjoy the city that we live in. Something that we often forget to do when we get caught up in our daily routines. 

When Pat's brother was here he did a lot of exploring of the city no his own when Pat and I were working. However, we were able to spend some good quality time with him on the weekend and during the evenings. One day we headed over to my favorite restaurant in the city- Katz's Deli.  

And of course while we were on our way there we had to take a picture with the Dietch Wall (1, 2, 3)

Here is a little story about Pat:
One Saturday we were going grocery shopping, because we were going to feed the missionaries that night. While I was picking out the needed ingredients for the dinner I lost track of Pat. When I called him up to see where he was at, I suddenly saw him at the sea food section being handed a lobster. While still on the phone with him, as we were out of hearing distance otherwise, I said "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" He laughed looking around, not knowing where I was, and proceeded to tell me was going to save a lobster.

Apparently, Pat got a little side tracked when he walked by the lobsters in the sea food section. He started watching them, sitting on ice, waiting for their deaths. As he was watching and feeling sorry for them, the deli worker asked him if he needed anything. Without thinking he said "I will take one lobster."

Pat's plan was to take the lobster home and then go throw him in the East River (and yes, although the East River is called a river, it actually is not and is salt water), freeing him and giving him a second chance at life. At this point all I could do was smile and go along with his plan because who can't love Pat for his tender heart. (1, 2)

However, sadly, Pinchy (as Pat called him) didn't survive the trek home. We tried to revive him by putting him in a bucket of water but it seemed that we were a little too late (By the way, I was totally grossed out this whole time by the lobster and refused to even look at it). Yet,  we decided that Pinchy could not go to waste and that he death would not be in vain as we feed him to the missionaries that evening. RIP Pinchy.

It seemed that much of this month Pat had many adventures, while I was either resting at home, learning calligraphy, or at doctors appointments. However, thanks to i-phones, he was able to record some of his activities so I felt like I was almost there. 

I guess first and foremost, Pat got a new grill this month. This has been a two month process that has been very painful for him--poor guy--but hopefully it was all worth it in the end. When Pat was a teenager he knocked out two of his two front teeth while riding a jet ski. Because the work he had done so long ago was so out dated, our insurance would cover most of the cost for him to get the work done, so I thought this would be the best time to do it. 

Even though Pat is not convinced it was worth all the work and money, I told him he was super lucky to have such a nice smile and didn't have to go through the process of braces. He doesn't agree, but anyone who had braces would side with me. 

"The transformation is complete"

Two cool pictures Pat took with Instagram of the Chrysler building. 

We will miss living in a city that offers such good photo ops. 

One of the reasons I haven't seen much of Pat this month was due to the fact that Pat was shooting his first commercial. I think it was a really great learning experience for him and one that, in the end, I think he enjoyed. 

Pat has been in to raptors, or birds of prey, ever since shooting his Dorito's commercial, back in the day. So when his friend, Chad, told him about the raptor show, coming to NYC, he knew he had to go and that it would be awesome. Well, his high expectations were met head on and he enjoyed a day full of large and majestic birds. This is one picture he took, that I couldn't believe was real:  

Pat's missionary bud, Fernusky, came into town just for a few days and was nice enough to let Pat in on some of his hook ups, one of which were tickets to the U.S. Open. I wasn't able to go because I had a doctors appointment that I couldn't cancel, but it looked like so much fun even though I know NOTHING about tennis, except for that one time I was rich for a day and was able to be trained by a tennis pro--no biggy.

All in all it was a great month; however, after writing this post it looks like it was a better month for Pat as he had most of the adventures!

Wise Friends

A few months back I was having a really bad day. It was most likely pregnancy hormones, nonetheless, I was quite upset. I texted my best friend, Meghan, to complain and get some advice. After consoling me she ended the conversation with just the right words to get me through my silly rough patch.

Perhaps, it meant so much to me because I knew Meghan was speaking from personal experience and that it was not just a hopeful statement but a true statement. I loved it so much I saved it on my phone so it can never be erased, and refer back to it often.

I was thinking about it a lot today, while at work, so I decided to get out the best design program I have on my computer at work (PPT baby!) and made a little design that I plan to frame when I get it right.

If you are having a bad day, read this and know that it comes from a very wise woman.

Love you Meghan.

Boston

This past weekend Pat and I decided it was about time that we visited our friends, the Galbraiths, in Boston. The moved there last year so that Johnny could work on the Romney Campaign. I am so glad we planned the trip when we did because just a few days before we came, they decided to make the move to North Carolina in just a few weeks! Johnny and Joanna always have exciting lives and make major life choices within days. They are perfect examples of following your heart and living your dreams. 

I had been trying to figure out where Pat and I could go to "get away." I wanted to go to a beach but decided against it because as much as I love just relaxing and getting a tan ALL DAY, that is some what torturous for Pat. Pat needs action, activities, and more activities.  Boston was the perfect quick little get away. 

I had only been to Boston once when I was about 7 years old; however, as a little kid I didn't realize what a unique and wonderful city it was. All I remember is going to the Cheers Bar and a statue of a guy riding a horse on the Freedom Trail. The whole weekend Pat and I tried to characterize and compare the city with other places. 

Here are some of the comparisons and descriptions we made:

-It's like a movie set

-It's quite and clean like San Francisco

-It's so charming and quaint

-It's like taking all the best places in New York and putting them within a 3 mile radius

-It's very European

-It's a city with a small town feel

Here are some of the highlights from our trip, in no particular order:

-I LOVED LOVED LOVED how you could get everywhere you wanted to go by foot, and there was absolutely no need to use the subway. 

-The whole weekend we had amazing weather (low 70's) which was a GODSEND for me since being pregnant. We even had a few things planned that I ruled out because I just wanted to be outside all the time. 

-We walked pretty much all of the Freedom Trail, which was perfect for Pat, the history buff. 

Pat ran to the top of this monument at Bunker Hill which did his calves in for the rest of the trip

Site of the Boston Massacre 

-I loved all the architecture and quaint homes. 

-We saw tons of graveyards, which super old grave stones, including Paul's Reveres gravestone (the picture with the penny's). I think graveyards are so cool, especially when they are as old as the ones we saw in Boston. 

-On Sunday we attended the Old North Church, the same church the famous "One if by land, Two if by sea" signal was sent out" by Paul Reveres order to warn the patriots of Boston of the British Army's movements. The church had a unique design with these cool boxed in booths that different families purchased back in the day. On Sunday, we got a box all to ourselves. 

-When visiting a city, the good and bad thing is all the amazing food there is to eat. Boston is no exception this this rule as itt seemed there was not enough meals in the day to eat all the food we wanted. However, the food we did eat was spectacular. The best probably being the Butternut Squash Ravioloi at Giacomo's in the North End, where the Galbraith's live. But then again the Tuna Burger at Legal Seafood was to die for as well. I don't know! IT WAS ALL SO GOOD!

Joanna's all too true Fortune Cookie fortune:
"You will move to a wonderful new home within the year"

-I loved spending time just sitting in the parks with the amazing weather. I particularly loved "Frog Pond" where it was designed to be a shallow pond for kids to play in. Genius!

-We went to the Haymarket where they sell SUPER CHEAP produce. Joanna had mentioned this before, but I didn't realize exactly how cheap was cheap. Even though we didn't have enough time to eat all the fruit we bought, we just couldn't pass up the amazing deals!

-We took a fun little boat ride in the Public Garden. It was powered by a person pedaling a swan. It doesn't get much better than that!!!

-I loved the Harbor. It is always nice to be near water. BOSTON HAS IT ALL!

-But by far the best part of the whole trip was being with our buds, Johnny and Joanna. Staying at their place felt like home because they feel so much like family. 

I loved Boston so much. I wish I could go back every weekend. 

Weekend Wrap Up (aka Me Venting about NYC)

This weekend was a good and not so good weekend. Nothing great happened and nothing horrible happened except for the norm.

The Good:
- On Friday we had a surprise birthday party for our friend Amanda. She turned the ripe old age of 22 and was not too surprised by the surprise (I guess her husband needs to work on his surprising skills).
-We got a bunch of errands done of Saturday: grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, and picking up a crib for the babes.
-Pat didn't have early morning church meetings.

The Not-So-Good:
By the end of Saturday I determined that it was a "I hate NYC day." I have these days every so often, sprinkled among the "I love NYC days". It was just one of those days where you are faced with the everyday challenges that NYC poses. Some of these challenges include:

Grocery Shopping: This task has never been fun for me, but grocery shopping in the city, is just pure torcher. Finding the items you need (Fairway, although large for NYC, ain't no Walmart), navigating the crowds and isles, swallowing the ridiculous city prices, and getting your bags home without a car are just some of the reasons why we never have food in our apartment.

Shipments: I bet if you never lived in the city you never thought about how difficult it is when you receive a large shipment to your home. I recently ordered a few ottomans online and my dear friend, Maribeth, was so nice to let me ship them to her doorman apartment. Even though her apartment is only 5 blocks away it's not exactly fun to lug two 20lbs awkward sized ottomans that far in 90 degree humid weather.

Laundry: I loathe laundromats. Even though we live above a laundromat, meaning I just have to walk downstairs to do my laundry, it's still the bane of my existence. First, out of the 30+ washing machines in "our" laundromat, only 4 work, while the others either are taped up with duct tape or have a sign that says "Not working." This means if there are two people doing their laundry all the washing machines are taken! Second, when you have to pay for you laundry every time you do it, you want to make sure your getting the most bang for your buck. That means I don't do small loads here and there throughout the week, but rather, doing laundry is an EVENT where I end up lugging 2 1/2 Ikea bags full of clothes up and down two flights of stars while pregnant.

Furniture Shopping: I found a great crib on Craigslist that I was able to get my hands on. The crib was located in Dumbo, Brooklyn, only about 8 miles away. However, 8 miles in the city is actually pretty far so in order to pick the crib up we had to schedule a ZipCar (A program that we have a yearly membership to for the several times it is needed) for an hour and half, which we sill knew would be cutting it close. Luckily, everything went smoothly and by the time we dropped the car back off we had 10 minutes to spare.

Space: With the soon to be arrival of Baby Koelling I have started my baby supplies shopping, hoping to get everything squared away and set up before the fatigue of the 3rd trimester sets in. The thought of this has been stressing me out as there is absolutely no room for anything new in our 450 sq/ft one bedroom apartment. Yet, I decided to embrace the organizational challenge and tried to not let it cause me anxiety. However, once I got our new crib the suppressed anxiety resurfaced as I realized that our apartment is going to feel a lot more cramp for the next year.

Of course living in NYC has its perks, but those perks usually don't come with the everyday tasks that need to be done. By the end of the weekend, I told Pat that next year we are moving back West.