A Different Kind of Super Bowl Sunday

It feels strange to NOT be working on Super Bowl Sunday.  For the past six years, I've spent this week and day Super busy.  As it turns out, it's actually a lot of fun to not be stressed and exhausted during Super Bowl week.  I was able to get a lot done this week with most of my colleagues out on the west coast.  And I'll certainly enjoy watching the game in my pajamas rather than running around on the field level concourse in a suit! I'm hoping for an exciting game regardless of the outcome. It would be nice to see Manning win and ride off into the sunset, but I also love the heart and personality of Cam and the Panthers.  Honestly, I'm most excited about the commercials and our tasty array of goodies!  Happy Super Bowl Sunday, friends!!

Who are you rooting for tonight - Panthers or Broncos?

Andrea :)

Triple G! Triple G! Triple G!

Boxing was never a sport I really watched, but with all the hype from the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight earlier this year I sort of got sucked in.  After I moved past the blood and general barbaric nature of it all, I found the sport to be quite intriguing.  It requires incredible skill, perseverance, and determination.  And discipline.  Lots of discipline.

When Chris saw that Gennady Golovkin was set to appear in a match against David Lemieux at Madison Square Garden, his only question to me was would I like to go.  My only question to him was when.  As it turns out, the fight fell on October 17 - the day before our 1st wedding anniversary!  We decided to make a night of it with a nice dinner out at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Hell's Kitchen beforehand.

We arrived at MSG early enough to see all three of the undercard matches before the main event. First were fellow middleweights - Tureano Johnson v Eamonn O'Kane.  The fight was an easy decision for Johnson, but you have to give O'Kane credit for staying in there especially after being knocked down twice in the opening round.

Next, the heavyweights hit the ring.  It was certainly exciting to see such massive men boxing.  Luis Ortiz easily handled Matias Vidondo...eventually knocking him out.  Without a doubt, this was the most fun match to watch all night.

Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez and Brian Viloria gave everyone an exciting fight in the flyweight division.  It was incredible to see these two box.  Chocolatito was victorious with a technical knock-out coming in the ninth round.

The main event was much anticipated by the crowd when it finally came time for Golovkin and Lemieux to take the ring.  The crowd heavily favored Triple G, but surprisingly there were still many cheering the underdog on.  Lemieux managed to get in a few punches, but Golovkin handled him throughout the match with absolutely no issues.  The result - a technical knock-out in the eighth round.  Had it continued, I'm certain we would have seen a knock-out victory in the next round.

Overall, we decided we would probably stick to watching fights at home.  The crowd was simply out of control...spilling their drinks, falling down, generally obnoxious.  It was exciting to be there in person for the night, but not quite worth the hassle of being around so much nonsense from all the strangers in the crowd.

Do you enjoy attending live sporting events?  

Or would you rather just watch at home?

Andrea :)

A Perfect End to Summer: Baseball & Ice Cream

Sadly, summer is coming to an end.  Everyone is headed back to school, and fall is just around the corner now.  I couldn't think of a better way to close this fun-filled few months than a trip to the ball park!  My parents have been to the city to visit numerous times, but had never ventured up to the Bronx to check out the Yankees.

We caught a great game over Labor Day weekend.  The Tampa Bay Rays were in town.  The game went back and forth with the home team finally pulling out the victory.  We saw at least three home runs that I can recall so there wasn't much of a lull in action at this game!

We enjoyed seats in a shady part of the ballpark, but that didn't mean it wasn't hot.  The weather had been fairly mild, but really peaked over the holiday weekend!  Guess that was summer's way of saying she wasn't quite ready to turn in for the year!

And when it's hot and humid out, there's only one treat that truly satisfies - ICE CREAM!!  We really got our money's worth at a unique ice cream shop in Chinatown!

We loved being able to watch our ice cream come to life before our very eyes at 10 Below.  We all selected a different flavor...and I managed to get photos of each being made despite the tight conditions in the small shop! #bloggerwin

Complete process of making Strawberry Shawty...YUM!

I tried three of the flavors we ordered and each was delicious!!  I don't think it is possible to go wrong with the ice cream combos at 10 Below!  We enjoyed Monkey Business, Cookie Monster, Strawberry Shawty, and Key Lime Pie (pictured going clockwise below).

The shop is hidden in the depths of Chinatown and not very close to the subway, but you better believe Chris and I will be back before too long!

How did you spend Labor Day weekend?

Andrea :)