Update...September

(Molly Post)

We were pretty lame in September. The first week was the end of the US Open. We did go to a Yankees Game - the 7th-to-last home game at Yankees Stadium. It was really cool to see Yankees Stadium for the first time, especially since it won't be there next year! We got tickets from YES Network and were in a sweet suite.

Otherwise, all Sundays consisted of Football. The Broncos had a great start to their season (can't speak to recent performance...ah hem), but the Rams did not. It wasn't until October that they picked up for a (very brief) few games.

Update...August (Part Two)

August, Part Two (I had to split it up, there were too many pictures!):

Other than China, we spent a bunch of time in Central Park or at sidewalk cafes. Below is Cody and Tim at Heidelberg.

Lazy Sunday napping in the park with friends...oh wait, that was just Bailey sleeping!

Bailey was growing up very quickly...she had doubled in size between June and August. Below are some random pictures.

Even though she grew...she's still about an 1/8 the size of a Smart Car!

Sometime during the middle of August, I planned a work happy hour. We held it in New Jersey. It was on a clear night and the views of the city were fabulous.

Finally, at the end of August, it was the US Open. It was the last year NBCU had the rights, so it was very bittersweet. I'm happy I won't be crazed for all of August, but I will miss the great tennis. This year, Mother Nature decided to bring a hurricane through New York during Finals Weekend, so the tournament was extended an extra day - major headache for me communicating with clients, but all turned out well. It was a little emptier than normal in the suite for the Men's Finals, and I was able to snag a seat in the front row for the last few games to see Federer win his 5th (or was it 6th?) straight US Open. So exciting! :)

Below is a picture of Roddick practicing on Center Court on the Thursday before the tournament started - we were setting up the suite. Pretty cool how much "back stage" stuff we got to see as suite holders.

Below is a picture of Arielle and myself - she and I used to work at NBCU together on events (like the US Open). One of her friends had front row courtside seats, so I joined her for a few games...and I thought the suite had great seats!

October to follow...

Update...August (Part One)

(Molly Post)

Okay, so we have again fallen (WAY) behind on the blog. We apologize. Over the next few posts this week and next, we will update you on August, September, October, and November.

One of the biggest events of August was my trip to China. I went for the Olympics as my mom's guest. We left on a Monday morning and arrived in China after a 13 1/2 hour flight on Tuesday afternoon. The first day we arrived was a wash for sight-seeing...though I did get to explore the local Chinese bar scene. I am friends with most of the girls at NBC Corporate Events from work - they handled the hospitality for all of NBC's guests in China. They took me out. I was a bit tired the next day, but it was worth it!

Basically, we had 3 full days to explore China. The first day, we decided seeing Michael Phelps was more important that wandering around Beijing. We saw him win 2 gold medals. Then, we rested that afternoon - all I can say is jet lag is tough!

The next day, we explored Coal Hill, the Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square. Unfortunately, it started raining about the time we hit the Square, but at least we got 3 hours of sight-seeing in. It was miserably hot and humid, but we saw some really cool things.





The third day, we went to the Great Wall. Amazingly, the day was gorgeous...all the rain from the day before cleared the air of all smog. The views from the Wall were spectacular. That night, we went to the Birds Nest for some Track & Field events...the venue was very cool in person.

The next day, we did some shopping at a crazy local market before getting on a 12 hour plane home. We left at 1 PM on Saturday and arrived at 1:30 PM on Saturday...very weird experience!

Update...July

(Molly Post)

July: The new apartment, Mets Games, Trip to St. Louis (& meeting Aunt Lily!)

In July, the biggest activity was moving. We decided July 4th would be a good day to move, since it was a Friday, we both had off work, and the city would be dead. It would also give us 2 days to unpack and get settled in before we had to start a new week. The move was a little painful...down 2 flights of stairs out of the old apartment, and up 3 flights of stairs to get into the new one. I mostly directed traffic (i.e. take this box down next, or put this box here). Luckily, Cody had asked two guys from the stock room at his store to help. They were absolutely wonderful...we could not have done it without them. By the time Cody, Tim, and Charles were ready to fall over (and did), these two guys were just getting warmed up and finished taking EVERYTHING into our new apartment. Below are a few pictures of our new place...please pardon the mess.

Layout (can double click on photo to zoom in...NOT TO SCALE):

View toward the front door, down the long hallway

View from the hallway into the kitchen

View from the hallway into the living room

View from the living room into the bedroom

View from the tub of the bathroom/out to the living room

We still are not completely settled in (the drapes are still not up in the bedroom), but it's beginning to feel like home.

This month, we also managed to make it to 2 Mets games. The first was on a Friday night vs Colorado and the second was last weekend on a Sunday vs the Cardinals....can you tell that Cody and I still love our home teams? For the Rockies game, it was just Cody and I - we had a great time, though we left a little early since Cody was coming down with a cold. Last weekend, we went with our friends Jen and Andrew (my old HR rep and her finace) - even though it started raining in the 7th inning, we had a fun time.

Finally, I had to go to St. Louis for work in the middle of the month. Bravo's show, Top Chef, is currently on a tour around the US. Basically, this big semi-truck drives from city to city and fans come to see it. The semi truck has a demo kitchen that seats 34 people, that consumers can visit and watch 2 chefs cook and answer questions. Each city has differnt chefs from each of the 4 seasons. Our group at NBCU is running the tour and the guy who is managing it needs help in each city. Since everyone from the marketing group is volunteering for different cities, I decided it was my "duty" to volunteer for St. Louis.

Since I was already going home, I decided to bring Bailey. My dad had not met her...and either had her Aunt Lily (i.e. my parents dog). She flew so well and had a GREAT time in St. Louis. She and Lily got along so well. Bailey jumped all over Lily and stole all of Lily's toys....and Lily just let her do it. The most she did was gently paw at Bailey. Lily did manage to teach Bailey how to go up and down stairs, and how to walk outside. Seeing the two of them together was a funny sight, since Lily is 15lbs and Bailey was barely 5lbs. Below are two pictures of them getting to know each other. Bailey definitely looked up to her Aunt Lily.

We also might have made it to Kinsale once or twice....what can we say, it's home to us. Besides, we have to leave Bailey alone on Saturdays and Sundays for a few hours, otherwise her schedule will be loopsided with us gone all week and home all weekends! ;)

All caught up! Now let's see if we stay up to date....

Update...June

(Molly Post)

June: Bailey, Jesse visits, Picnics in the Park, Claire's Wedding

June was a busy month for us. We found our new apartment on 82nd and 3rd, though we weren't moving in until July. With the knowledge that we had a new place, we decided it was finally time to get a puppy. As everyone knows, I had been wanting a dog for years, and Cody and I thought now was a good time. Who knows if we were right, but now we have a little shih tzu, Bailey, and are having a great time with her (even though she is a TON of work). Below are some pictures from the first weekend with her.

She's growing up very quickly - I can't believe we've had her for nearly a month and a half. Below are a few more pictures...her first haircut (we removed the bow right after the picture was taken!), her first time in Central Park, and some other cute photos of her around the apartment...yes that is her sitting up like a person on the couch!

While Bailey took up a lot of our time in June, we were lucky enough to enjoy two visits from Jesse...well, one visit was the last weekend in May, but close enough. We spent most of her first visit in Central Park - we were there every day for 3 days. Below are a few pictures. (Yes, that is Jess stabbing a tree...but in her defense, it was looking at her funny).

During one of Jesse's visits, we also went to the East Village to see a play with one of our friends, Sarah. After the play, we met Amber out for a drink at an Irish pub across the street. One drink led to a second at a pub next door...which led to us stumbling across the "3 Irish pubs in the East Village" - they are all within a 2 block radius. After we found the first two, I grabbed a business card that talked about all three, so we had to find the 3rd!

Finally, at the end of June was my friend, Claire's, wedding (one of the girls I lived with my first summer in New York). Cody was supposed to go to the wedding with me, but we couldn't leave Bailey alone and couldn't board her because she didn't have all of her shots. Unfortunately, I had already RSVP'ed with him, so Claire asked me to fill his seat. I took Brian and we had a great time. It was his first wedding, so he was observing how everything works (he's best man in his brother's wedding this September). It was the best wedding I had ever been to - so much fun!

Below is a picture of the 6 of us that lived together that first summer in the city - yes, two of them are wearing the same dress...they were bridesmaids.

The happy couple, getting their groove on!

Nearly caught up...just July to go!

Update...May

(Molly Post)

May: NCTA, Cody visits Colorado, walks around NYC

In May, I had one of my biggest work events of the year, NCTA: The Cable Show. It was in New Orleans. It was in the middle of the month, but most of the beginning of the month involved me at work leading up to it. It was a great event and I had a pretty good time in New Orleans as well - I saw my mom a few times, ate at some great restaurants, and hung out with some fun NBCU people (we might have thrown beads off a balcony on Bourbon Street...). While I was there, Cody decided to take a trip to visit the fam in Colorado. I wasn't on the trip, but below are some pictures I found entertaining. (Maybe Cody will write about it one day, but I doubt it...I know he had a GREAT time though).

Jess is funny....looking! (I love you Jesse!)

The mountains are so beautiful in Colorado...I miss them! Can you believe there is still so much snow on the mountain on May 20th!

Bobbe...talking to Buddy...he actually looks like he is listening to Bobbe, unlike Jesse, who he never listens to. At least when she tells him to leave me alone!

Aw, a family dinner. What a family...Bobbe laughing, John grabbing for food, and Jesse...being Jesse...

By the end of May, the weather was really becoming beautiful in New York. On Sundays, Cody and I took a few walks around the city. One walk was across the park and down Broadway. This summer Cody wants to walk the entire length of Broadway - he thinks it will be a great way to see a lot of neighborhoods in New York. On our walk, we found a beautiful little private garden in between two buildings on the Upper West Side. Residents in the buildings could purchase little plots of land and garden on them. It was beautiful on this May afternoon, completely in bloom.

After walking about 30 blocks, we got bored and decided to have a picnic in the park. We stopped at a gourmet grocery store, bought some cheese, fruit, bread...then went to a wine shop and bought a bottle of wine. We found a quiet spot in Central Park and had a wonderful time enjoying the lack of noise for a few hours.

June to follow...