Survivor Tree

Today's main event was the 9/11 memorial. It's not completely finished, but most of it is open to the public as long as you reserve a ticket time slot. It's free, but they won't let you inside without a reservation.

The process to get inside the memorial is quite tasking. It's exactly like going through TSA security at the airport. Though they were a lot nicer when the alarm went off as I walked through. There's no pat down. No invasive body searches. The security guy just asked me to lift up the bottoms of my pants. I have a feeling it was just my jewelry that set it off. I didn't have a concealed weapon so he let me pass.

There are two pools that they constructed in place of the original twin towers. They looked bottomless. It was quite eerie. Each pool is surrounded with names of all the victims from the attacks, including the ones from the Pentagon crash and the plane that crashed in PA. The North pool also had names from the first attack back in 1993.

There's a museum still under construction which will include remnants of the towers and objects and victims' belongings. It should be open later this year.

On our way out we saw a crowd of people around a fenced tree. Some people were tossing coins at the bottom of it. Curiosity led me to a volunteer who told us the story of this "miracle" tree.
This is a Callery pear tree that was planted back in the 70s when the world trade center was first built. It is the only living vegetation that survived the 9/11 attacks. It was discovered in Oct 2001 with burnt branches, snapped roots and a blackened trunk, by the gardener who used to work at the center. It was transported to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx for recovery and then brought back in 2010.
They call it their survivor tree. People throw coins at the bottom of the tree for luck and as a donation to the memorial site. You can touch the tree. If you are lucky enough to see it, the trunk has 2 different textures. The bottom half is rough while the top half has smooth new branches from the last 10 years of regrowth. It really is quite a miracle.

Once the memorial is finished there will be over 400 oak trees planted to provide a peaceful canopy of new life. Granted it will take years for those trees to envelope the whole site, but for our children or children's children that are lucky enough to see it, I'm sure it will be quite beautiful.

When I get back home, I'll post the pictures I took at the memorial. In the meantime, here is the Survivor Tree.

Callery pear "survivor" tree

Dog Walking

The title says it all. My bestie, who lives here in NYC, is a dog walker. I got the pleasure of following her around while she worked. It was a lot of fun. Though my feet are killing me right now! I even wore comfortable boots but it didn't matter. This is not the type of walking we do in So Cal.
In NYC, everything is pretty much in walking distance or you hop on the subway. We Californians do a lot of driving. Short of training for a half marathon, I haven't walked this much in over a year. It's really sad. And I've trekked up her apartments 4 flights of stairs twice. I'm beat. Hail to the New York dog walkers.

Jesi, the NYC dog walker

Trying my hand at dog walking :)

Today I've been uptown and downtown. Did some shopping in SOHO - probably more than I should have. But I'm a giver and I love buying gifts for my friends.
We saw some interesting things/people. Ate some amazing peanut butter sandwiches too. All in all, it was a great day. Tomorrow we have a fairly free day. Only thing on the list is our tickets to the ground zero memorial site. Definitely looking forward to that. Pictures will be taken.

Have a great weekend!

Jesi, dog walking in action

Dog walker in training

Washington Square Park right before rush hour

Hello New York!

That's right. I'm in NYC. It's definitely been a long day. The plane ride was actually nice. I was expecting a full flight and to be sandwiched in my row (got stuck with an middle seat), but as luck had it, the row of seats in front of me end up completely empty. So the guy that was supposed to sit in the window seat took a seat in the empty ones and I scooted over to enjoy my first choice of plane seats.
They showed Footloose for our in flight entertainment as well as the sneak peak of the new NBC show, Smash. Which is amazing, by the way! I love musicals having gone to a performing arts school. I can't sing but that doesn't stop me from belting out my favorite songs in the car.

I got adventurous and took the AirTrain/subway into the city. Normally I would just take a shuttle but my friend said this would be faster. Not so bad. Just annoying with luggage.

Anyways, now that I'm here, I expect to get in a lot of walking during my week stay. My bestie is a dog walker so I'll be joining her for that. Plus she lives on the 4th floor in her building and there is no elevator so my legs will definitely be getting a workout on the stairs. I've already done it at least 3 times so far. I'm definitely out of shape. My first trek up with my suitcase was the worst. I could barely breathe. It's a good wake up call. I should be able to walk stairs easily. Granted a suitcase makes things more challenging. Maybe if I lived in the city permanently I would be like J and walk them effortlessly.

First meal in the city was ...
Shake Shack! They have amazing food for a burger joint. Just saying...

So let the New York adventures begin!

And then the clouds parted...

I really do love the day after it rains. The sky is perfectly blue, clouds like fluffs of cotton candy and the air is so crisp. A perfect day for a walk outside with my overly excited dog. Zoe has psychic powers. She knows when I plan on taking her for a walk. She and my tennis shoes have an unspoken language. I put those on and Zoe runs around the house like a toddler on a sugar high. Her enthusiasm reaches its pinnacle as soon as I get to the front door and grab her leash. Needless to say, Zoe was a happy camper.

Hanging out at the library

I love when I can multi-task. Take the dog for a walk, return a library book, grab a coffee and head home. And then the monotonous task of doing laundry. I leave for NY on Thursday and clean clothes are a must. At least I got out of the house for a little while.

Rainy Day

The rain was insane today. Southern Californians don't know how to drive in the rain. I know I'm generalizing here, but I truly find that people here in San Diego freak out as soon as something wet hits the ground. Within 5 minutes of rain, there is at least one accident. I got stuck in one on the freeway. I was stopped on the freeway for at least a good 5 minutes before I found out from a friend where the accident was. The cops had pretty much cleared the freeway, but all the "looky-loos" were slowing the rest of us down. The road was completely clear after you got past that one area. Ugh.

Didn't get a lot of exercise in today because of the rain, but I did get to visit with a friend from out of town. She's a new mom, so I was able to see the newest member of her family for the 3rd time since her arrival in October. Little S is so adorable.

Unfortunately she was sleeping most of the time I was there, but I did get to witness her rolling over for the 1st time. That was pretty exciting and a great way to end my visit with L.

The rain finally took a breather by the time I got home, so I was able to take Zoe out for a walk. I'm pretty sure she appreciated it, as she was cooped up inside all day. So we both got a little exercise on this rainy day.

Do you exercise on rainy days? What do you do?

The Wonders of Dogs

On my walking adventure with Zoe today, I had this thought cross my head. What makes a dog want to pee in a specific place? Seriously. I don't get it. There are some dogs that will just go outside and pee, but then there are others that seem like they strategically pee in certain areas or on certain things. My dog being one of them. She's strange enough as it is; Zoe pees like a boy. She has no aim, so she will position herself as close to the tree/fence/bush as possible. On top of that, she doesn't just relieve herself in one spot. Zoe has to save whatever pee she has in her to last the entire walk. And when there is nothing left in her, she still tries to squeeze out a drop or two. It is so weird. Am I the only one who has a dog like this?

I love my dog to death, but she is so weird sometimes. 

Quest For Shoes

So I went on a shoe quest today. I'm going to New York next week and the one pair of walking shoes I have to take with me are not so comfortable anymore. It's probably because I've worn them out from all the past running I did. And the only other pair of sneakers I have are not the best for NYC walking, since you walk pretty much everywhere. My best friend, Jesi, is a dog walker in NY and I usually join her during the walks. So my feet definitely need some comfort.

I started my journey at my local DSW and found some really cute heels by Dr Scholl's. Totally not what I needed but it was so hard to resist them. They were 70% off, so I had to get them.

Comfort to the max!

I found some other casual shoes, but decided against them. I'm going to go back this weekend with my mom to get a second opinion. She recommends that I go for casual shoes rather than sneakers, but that's only because she has a hard time wearing shoes like sneakers that hug her feet.

I ended up at Kohl's and got a new pair of running shoes! My Asics have pretty much seen their day, so I'm very happy that I found a replacement. I know I can't run right now, but I can speed-walk and work my way up to jogging to test out my ankle.

They make me want to run again

I'm loving the magenta in my new shoes! My last pair were blue which has always been my favorite color, but I'm diggin' the pink.

So I have 5 days to prepare my outfits for NY. I hear it's still in the 40s so this Southern California girl has got to find some warm outfits. Layers. That's the key. My wardrobe consists mainly of t-shirts and tank tops; not something I can really wear on the East Coast. So the clothing scavenger hunt in my closet begins...

Plugged Up

I wish I could breathe. My nose is still all plugged up. Boyfriend got me a humidifier which he is in the process of setting up. He's so awesome. I'm hoping it helps. I'm doped up on sudafed, vitamins, and water. Though we did drink a few glasses of wine tonight. Totally relaxed me. And now I'm ready to pass out.

Needless to say, this cold is kicking my butt! Didn't get out and exercise, but I plan to make up for it tomorrow, health permitting.

Come on, energy!

Cuteness Overload

So I came home from today's walk with my boyfriend and Zoe, and this is what happened after I sat down on the couch to check my email.

Gertie (L) and Elliot (R)

Elliot was determined to sit in my lap, but I forced him off and instead he curled up on Gertie. When I find them sleeping together, it is so cute I almost want to vomit.

Do you have those "too cute" photos of your furry friends? Please share.

I Got The Sicks

Ugh. I caught a cold. Again. Second time this year. And we're only in the 3rd week of January! Bleh. I can't breathe out of my nose. I sound super congested and I have very little energy. But you'll all be proud of me. I have been walking. At least with Zoe, my dog. Since catching the sicks, I've been trying to get out and walk my dog before my energy is completely gone. So far it's worked. She's happy and I get a little sun, which is actually really good when you're sick. Your body needs that vitamin-Sun. :)

Zoe, sporting her scarf, ready for a walk

I'm thinking that for exercise and to keep me motivated, maybe what I need to do is sign up for a bunch of 5Ks. I can't run a half marathon (I'm saving my return to those next year), but I can train to walk a 5K. I'd rather run it, but I have to listen to the doctors this time. It's probably how I ended up with the severed ligaments - not letting my ankle injuries heal completely. So I'll be good and not run. But I can learn to walk super fast, right?

There's a really cool 5K coming up in March called the Hot Chocolate 10K/5K. I'm thinking I'll sign up for that. I love chocolate, and I'll get some exercise and make it worth eating the chocolate at the finish line. Who's with me?!

Starting Over

2012 has been off to a rough start. I caught a cold which left me feeling crappy for the first few days of the year. Luckily I recovered fairly fast, just in time to spend a couple days up in Anaheim at Disneyland with my good friend, S. She's a teacher and rarely gets a chance to get up there, so we took full advantage of her time off.

S and me in our Stitch beanies

In the two days that we were up there, we walked a ton! Good exercise. My feet were screaming at me by the end of the 2nd day. I actually came home and soaked them in hot water. 

Not much exercise has been done since I injured my ankle last year, so even just walking for 2 days, I feel out of shape. I applaud all the women who walk in the 3-day, granted they train for it, but still, my feet hurt after 2 days, imagine 3... I had an MRI done of both ankles and it turned out that I severed a ligament completely in my right ankle. Doc said no running or soccer for at least a year. It's been quite boring these past 9 months. I tried going to the gym and using the bike and treadmill, but it's just not the same as being out doors. I've been working on strengthening the ankle so I can walk my dog for a few miles during the week. I feel like it's getting much stronger, but I won't know for sure unless I try out running. 3 months to go! The countdown begins. Until then, I'll continue to work on strengthening the rest of my body. My muscles atrophied and I need to build them up again.

Relay for Life has started up again. I've registered our team and we just had the first Team Captain's meeting tonight. Our theme this year is Hollywood. So many different ideas come to mind, but I need to bounce them off my teammates and get their input. My goal is to raise $3500 this year. Last year we raised just over $33K so I know that this is a goal we can achieve. We have an earlier start at fundraising and team member recruitment. Ideally, I'd like 12 teammate so no one has to walk more than 2 hours (of course they can walk more if they want!). So if you want to join in on the fight against cancer, please let me know. I'd be happy to have you join our Purple Cancer Eaters team. :)