The City of Brotherly Love

I had a pharmaceutical conference for work in Philadelphia last Monday and Tuesday. I decided to take an early train to Philly on Sunday morning so I could take advantage of a day in Philadelphia since I had never been there before.

This was the cute little Starbucks I stopped at in the morning.

The Liberty Bell.

In the 1790s, when Philadelphia was the temporary capital of the United States, this was the site of the executive offices and the residence of the first two presidents, George Washington and John Adams.

Independence Hall. This is where both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were signed.

This is the old courthouse in Philadelphia. The judges sat in the front of the room, the prosecution and defense lawyers sat together at the round table, and the accused stood in the cage.

The room where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were signed. The furniture is all original. Ben Franklin sat in the chair by the end of the table.

They are unsure if this is exactly how the room was set up. They have set it up to the best of their knowledge based on historical documents.

This is the courtyard where John Nixon read the Declaration to the public for the first time on July 8, 1776.

Carpenter's Hall. In 1774, the First Continental Congress met here, and this building also served as home for the Library Company of Philadelphia and as a meeting place for groups including the American Philosophical Society.

Franklin Court. This is the outline of Ben Franklin's house as his home was torn down in the early 1800s.

Standing in Ben Franklin's house.

Mr. Franklin.

The first bank of the United States. Secretary Alexander Hamilton was the force behind the creation of the First Bank of the U.S. The bank paid off the Revolutionary War debt and guided the new United States through unstable financial times. This building was built in 1795.

Betsy Ross house.

This was Betsy's bedroom. She did most of her sewing of the flags in her bedroom so she would not be seen by the British troops.

Elfreth's Alley. This is the oldest residential street in America.

Christ Church. Founded in 1695, this is where many of America's leaders worshiped.

I am sitting in George and Martha Washington's pew.

At the end of the day I did a 90-minute double decker bus tour. It was so cold, but I really wanted to sit on top.

Downtown Philly.

Philadelphia skyline.

I did not get off the bus here, but I really wanted to run up these stairs like Rocky!

It was a good day, but I feel like I need another couple of days in Philadelphia to see everything I missed.

Lent - A Bright Sadness

Tonight was my second Ash Wednesday service - and no, I am not Catholic. Since most people do associate Ash Wednesday with Catholicism, I thought I would clarify. The following is from a postcard that was handed out tonight at Trinity Grace Church's Ash Wednesday service.

What is Lent?

Lent is the forty days preceding Easter, traditionally a period of mourning, fasting and self-examiniation. Lent is inspired, in part, by the forty days that Jesus spent alone in the desert, fasting and being tested by Satan. This season in the church calendar begins every year on Ash Wednesday and ends as Holy Saturday turns into Easter morning.

Why Lent?

We observe Lent as a community to help us identify with Jesus in His sufferings, and to prepare us for the great celebration of Easter. Any event is made more significant by preparation. We look forward more to Easter when we spend seven weeks changing our lifestyles, deliberately seeking God, and waiting for Easter to come.

Ways to Observe Lent:

Traditionally, Lent is a time to give something up, or to take something on. For example, someone might fast from sweets, meat, coffee, or something else that is important to them. Fasting is a way of identifying with Jesus in His life, since he gave up being God to live with us. Another way to observe Lent is to deliberately add a spiritual practice to increase our awareness of God: an extra hour of prayer, a Lenten devotional, reading through the Gospels more regularly. Be creative. Ask God how He wants to meet you this season.

Dad's December Trip to NYC

Dad was in NYC from December 9 - 17. In order for me to be home the week and a half I was in AZ for Christmas, I had to transport my cats back and forth with me. Since they are a carry-on on the plane, I need another person to fly with me. So...Dad came to NYC before Christmas, and Mom came to NYC after Christmas. And Otis and Sam made it back and forth just fine, although I don't think they are big fans of traveling.

On the Saturday that Dad was here, we walked from my apartment down Madison Avenue to midtown to look at the windows. This is "The Mansion," aka Ralph Lauren. I had heard that it was decorated inside, so Dad and I walked through the store. We saw a sports coat for $5,000 so we knew we wouldn't be buying anything :)

The windows at Barney's.

More Barney's windows.

The Tiffany windows - these were my favorite.

Inside Tiffany.

Tiffany's.

The Trump Tower.

Columbus Circle.

One night after work, we went to Rockefeller Center to see the tree.

We watched a proposal take place on the ice rink.

The Saks 5th Ave windows.

We saw Rain on Broadway.

And Memphis as well.

Thanksgivng Day 2010

This year for Thanksgiving, I hung out with the Cool Family, otherwise known as the Corpus'. I slept in a bit before going to the gym and then watching the Macy's Parade on TV while baking a pumpkin pie and butternut squash and apple casserole.

This is how Sam spent her Thanksgiving morning.

And Otis too.

Eric and Laura getting dinner ready. They had recently moved to the Bronx and had brought their car up from Florida. So, Eric picked me up at my apartment and gave me a ride (along with Dina and Veena) to their apartment. It was so luxurious to be picked up in a car!

This was my Thanksgiving Dinner - chicken, green beans, butternut squash and apple casserole and cauliflower faux-tatoes. Laura is on a healthy, low-carb diet as well so she made the cauliflower faux-tatoes. So good!

Me, Veena, Eric, Noah, Laura, Micah and Dina. Happy Thanksgiving!

Micah is so cute :)

It was a great, relaxing, laid-back day spending time with good friends.

Macy's Balloon Inflation

I decided to start blogging again after my little hiatus the last month. I have started scrapbooking again, and this blog has been a great tool in helping me remember details of certain events. So...later this year (hopefully) when I am scrapbooking 2010 I am going to be happy that I did this.

On the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, we were supposed to have Lifegroup. It was just going to be me and Jessica Joy, and she called me that afternoon to see if I wanted to go to the balloon inflation. After last year, I said I would never go again. But, she had never been and it was not terribly cold out, so I said I would go. When I met up with her, Joe was with her (he was headed to the subway) but I told him that he should come to so he did.

Jessica Joy and Joe waiting in line. This year we went at about 8pm - last year we went at 5pm. I thought by going later it would be less busy but I was wrong. We waited in line for about an hour just to cross the street to get to the balloons.

The three of us in line.

There were so many people. We only walked through half of it, and then when we got to Central Park West we crossed the street and walked home through the park.

I am going to say again that I will never do this again :)

2010 By City

2009. 2008. 2007. 2006. Each of the below cities include a one-night stay in 2010. Cities denoted by an asterisk include multiple visits.

• Atlanta, GA*
• Scottsdale, AZ*
• Copan, Honduras
• Ocotopeque, Honduras
• Roatan, Honduras
• San Pedro Sula, Honduras

These friends stayed at least one night at my apartment in 2010.

• Dad - April/May
• Paul and Kelly - May
• Lauren - May
• Mom and Dad - June
• Dad - December
• Mom - December

What did I eat for Thanksgiving???

The first question I was usually asked when the subject of Thanksgiving came up - "What are you going to eat since you can't eat anything?" I actually had a delicious and very healthy Thanksgiving dinner - a picture of my plate of food will come in the next post. However, I did want to share the recipes for the two dishes I brought to share.

The first was an apple-butternut squash casserole, from this website. For 4 servings, the ingredients are 1/2 of a large butternut squash, 2 apples (I use organic since they are on the dirty dozen list), about 1/3 of a cup coconut oil, honey and cinnamon (I did not measure the honey or cinnamon). Cut the butternut squash into about 1/4 inch slices, and peel and core the apples. In a baking dish, put a layer of squash, a layer of apples, sprinkle a little cinnamon and drizzle a little honey. Continue repeating this process until the squash and apples are gone. The recipe said to use butter and put cubes of butter on the top layer, however, that is a lot of butter so I used coconut oil instead. I love the taste of coconut oil, and it contains numerous health benefits.

The finished product - I have made this dish twice since Thanksgiving - it is that good!

The second dish I made was a pumpkin pie. The recipe is as follows:

FILLING

1 15 oz can Pumpkin

1 tsp. coconut flour (I forgot to include this, but it turned out fine without it)

1/3 c. honey

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. mace (I could not find this anywhere so I did not use it)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. coconut milk

3 eggs

SHELL

1 1/2 cups of almond flour

1/4 teaspoon of sea salt

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces

1 egg

At our Thanksgiving dinner, there was "my" pumpkin pie, and a "regular" pumpkin pie. There were two of us who for sure were only having my pumpkin pie, and everyone else wanted the regular pumpkin pie, but wanted a small slice of my pumpkin pie just to taste it. Well, when people wanted seconds, guess which pie they went for - mine! They like the healthy sugar-free, dairy-free and wheat-free pie better than the one loaded with sugar. I was happy to know my pie was such a hit!

Also, I found out a week ago that all my efforts have been worthwhile. Before I started this diet back in September, I had some blood tests done. One that they did was called the CRP, which is a measure of inflammation in your body. Normal results are less than 5, and mine came back initially at 34.9 = not good. I have been fanatically adhering to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and taking loads of fish oils for the last two and a half months. There have also been numerous people praying for that number to get to less than 5. Well, I had my blood tested again a couple of weeks ago, and by the grace of God, my CRP is now less than 5. It is pretty much a miracle and gives me motivation to continue on this diet. 3 months down, 21 to go :)