NAGAP Conference and NYC

Last week Lee and I took a trip to NYC. It was fabulous! We did a lot of things and were exhausted, but the trip was one for the books.

We arrived in New York last Wednesday on April 22. I had a NAGAP (National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals) conference. The conference was at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, which is also where we stayed. We were right in the heart of Times Square and could even see part of the ball outside our window.

The conference was wonderful. I saw several people from IU there, and it was nice to meet admissions professionals from all over the United States. Sessions were Wednesday night, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. It was quite exhausting, but I feel that I learned a lot as well.

After my conference sessions were over for the day, Lee and I took to the streets. While I was in sessions, he explored NYC on his own. Since we arrived in the evening on Wednesday, we didn't do too much that night. We ate out and turned in early.

On Thursday, Lee walked down to Washington Square Park to see the Arch and take pictures. He loved Greenwich Village! When I got done with sessions, we decided to explore lower Manhatten. We first went to Ground Zero where there is a covered fence surrounding the area due to construction of the new building. We then walked down to Battery Park and took the State Island Ferry. This way we could get close to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty for free. We then walked up to the Brooklyn Bridge, took the Subway back to Greenwich Village, and toured Grand Central Terminal. What a busy afternoon/evening.

On Friday, Lee ventured down to the Today Show and got to see Meredith Viera up close. While we don't think he got on TV, he had a great time. After my sessions were done, Lee took me back to Rockefeller Plaza, and we stopped in St. Patrick's Cathedral. We also had to stand in line FOREVER to go up in the Empire State Building. It was line after line after line, and we were there for hours. We also got to go to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) for free later that evening.

By Saturday we were exhausted, but we knew it would be our last day in the city for quite some time. After the conference session was complete, we took the subway up to Grant's Tomb, which is the largest tomb in the U.S. It was amazing! We also spent some time in Central Park after passing by The Dakota, where John Lennon was killed. On Sunday, we flew home.

All in all, it was a great trip!!! I'm glad that we went, but it certainly passed by way too quickly!

Home Remodel

It has been quite some time since I posted a blog. As always, we have been pretty busy. Not only do we both work full-time, but Lee has class two nights a week; I sit on a local non-profit board of directors; and I am pregnant. But, because of impending arrivals, we are also remodeling our basement.

Now it isn't what you think as a typical remodel, but it is a huge undertaking nonetheless that Lee has pretty much taken on. We have stripped all the walls of paneling to find out exactly what is underneath those walls. It turns out that things are in much better shape than I anticipated. The insulation looks good. The foundation walls look good. The first major concern we encountered was a wall full of ants. However, they were immediately killed, sprayed for internally, and sprayed for externally.

Lee has replaced both light fixtures downstairs with our old standbys we love. We started buying them when we first bought the house and replaced the upstairs light fixtures. They are beautiful! He has also wired the basement for phone, cable, LAN, and redid the outlets. He also installed new sound-proofing insulation for the wall between the utility room and the soon-to-be office to deaden the sound of the heat pump and washer/dryer. He is currently finishing some concrete work.

The one half of the basement is done except for new paneling, painting, and floor staining. This half will be Lee's new office.

The other half is currently being worked on and should be easier to deal with considering there is much less wall space. This area will be the new guest area/sitting room. But once it is complete, it will also need new paneling, painting, and floor staining.

So far, we are on budget, and I hope we stay that way! I am the budget police :-). Of course, once the basement gets done, the office will move downstairs, and the work on the baby's room will begin. My overall goal is to get everything done by/in August. I don't want us rushing at the end with baby only days away. I'll keep you updated!