Lady Liberty’s crown reopens after 8 years
‘To perceive the world through her eyes ... I just feel it’s so important’

NEW YORK - The first visitors allowed into the Statue of Liberty's crown in nearly eight years began the arduous climb Saturday on an Independence Day journey laden with symbolism of freedom and national pride.

"I feel like I was just born today," said Andrea Balfour, 38, as she prepared to ascend the 354 steps with her daughter, Mona. Mona won an essay contest to get to go up to crown Saturday — her 13th birthday.

The visit was the Staten Island pair's "biggest dream," Balfour said.

The statue was closed to the public after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The base, pedestal and outdoor observation deck were reopened in 2004, but the crown remained off-limits.

The National Park Service says the crown remained closed since Sept. 11 because the narrow, double-helix staircases could not be safely evacuated in an emergency and didn't comply with fire and building codes. Tourists often suffered heat exhaustion, shortness of breath, panic attacks, claustrophobia and fear of heights, spokesman Darren Boch said.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., pushed for years for the crown to be reopened, once calling the decision to close it off "a partial victory for terrorists." He said it was embarrassing that it was off-limits for so long.

The reopening "represents some personal vindication," he said Saturday. "It's nice to pat Lady Liberty's toes. It's nice to stand and breathe the air on Liberty Island, but you really haven't lived the experience until you've gone up to the crown. A lot of Americans are able to see that now."

Hottest tickets in townSo far, about 14,500 tickets to the crown have been sold, most of them for visits through the end of August. Tickets currently on sale are for visits in the fall and beyond. Tickets for the July Fourth weekend sold out within hours.

Marking the historic date, seven members of the U.S. armed forces were sworn in as citizens Saturday at the statue's base.

"It's the very diversity of this country that has made us strong," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said.

Thirty people an hour will be allowed into the crown. They will be brought up in groups of 10, guided by park rangers along the way.

Some of the crown's 25 windows offer a view of the Manhattan skyline, no longer punctuated by the 110-story twin towers of the World Trade Center.

New handrails have been installed to help with the climb. Bags are not allowed; only cameras and cell phones are acceptable.

'Through her eyes'The statue, 305 feet tall to the tip of its raised torch, was designed to mark the 1876 centennial of the Declaration of Independence. It faces the entrance to New York Harbor, welcoming the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free," in the words of Emma Lazarus, engraved on a bronze plaque inside the statue.

The torch has been closed since it was damaged by a saboteur's bomb in 1916.

Visitors are now screened before boarding ferries and again before they can visit the museum in the base or climb to the top of the pedestal.

Jennifer Stewart won a Statue of Liberty lookalike contest to join the first group of visitors headed to the crown. The Brooklyn Heights resident, who has imitated the statue for 23 years, arrived in full costume and green makeup.

"Being able to perceive the world through her eyes, from Liberty's crown — I just feel it's so important to maintain the opportunity to literally be a part of liberty," she said.

Fort Worth Fun

A couple weekends ago, I made a trip to one of my favorite parts of the metroplex - the Fort Worth Stockyards! I've been there a bunch of times, but I always see something new each time. And I also wore my cowboy boots on this trip!

The first stop: H3 Steakhouse - right on Exchange (the main drag of the Stockyards). It is connected to the (haunted) Stockyards Hotel, which has a fabulous old west lobby. Below is the centerpiece candle thing - a "brand" of "H3"! Love it!

And they have "Buffalo Butt" beer on tap here (made by the Rahr Brewery - see recent post). I'm not a beer drinker, but I couldn't NOT take a picture of the actual buffalo but on the bar!

And in fabulous Fort Worth fashion, about every third barstool was a saddle!

And you can't go to the Stockyards without seeing a few longhorn......

And before long, it was time for the rodeo at Cowtown Coliseum!

Here's the announcer guy and the clock that will be trying to get to 8.0 seconds while the cowboys try to stay on those horses and bulls!

The rodeo clown!

I love me some cowgirl boots! They are actually very comfortable - much more comfortable than cute heels. And quite honestly, they are the best choice of footwear in the Stockyards because the streets are all cobblestone/brick and you can really do some ankle damage if you are trying to wear pointy heels and then they get caught in the cobblestone....especially if you have had a few adult beverages!


Here's some serious cowboy action - I just LOVE the chaps and hats......

This is the roping part of the rodeo:

Roping competitors waiting for their turn to catch a calf!

And what trip to the Stockyards would be complete without stopping by Billy Bob's?? We went there after the rodeo and Charlie Robison was playing that night - good show.

100 Truths

WHAT WAS YOUR:

1. last beverage = Water
2. last phone call = Holly
3. last text message = Scott
4. last song you listened to = snippits of Michael Jackson songs - all this insane death coverage!
5. last time you cried = last weekend during a movie

HAVE YOU EVER:

6. dated someone twice = yes (should've learned the first time, right??)
7. been cheated on = not that I know of, but anything's possible
8. kissed someone & regretted it = yes
9. lost someone special = definitely
10. been depressed = certainly
11. been drunk and threw up = yep!

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:
12. Red
13. cobalt blue
14. silver

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2009)

15. Made a new friend = yes
16. Fallen out of love = no
17. Laughed until you cried = yes, and I loved it!
18. Met someone who changed you = absolutely
19. Found out who your true friends were = absolutely
20. Found out someone was talking about you = no
21. Kissed anyone on your FB friend's list = yes

GENERAL:

22. How many people on your FB friends list do you know in real life = all but a handful
24. Do you have any pets = Maggie the wiener dog
25. Do you want to change your name = I would love to change my first name! And dump my ex's last name too.
26. What did you do for your last birthday = went shopping in Grapevine with Mayce
27. What time did you wake up today = 6:30am
28. What were you doing at midnight last night = getting ready for bed - probaby taking my contacts out
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for = having a family of my own
30. Last time you saw your Mother = April
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life = having a soulmate to do life with
32. What are you listening to right now = Glenn Beck's TV show
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom = Yes
34. What's getting on your nerves right now = the Michael Jackson memorial stuff
35. Most visited webpage = Gmail, my blog, Facebook
36. Where do you want to be right now = Europe
37. Nicknames = LJ, Lauri Loo Hoo, Whorey Lauri (not accurate!), Larry, Binks, Laur-Laur
38. Relationship Status = single/divorced
39. Zodiac sign = Leo
40. Male or female = female
42. Middle School = TLC
44. Hair color = light brown (real color), dark brown (current color)
45. Long or short = medium and growing
46. Height = 5’8"
47. Do you have a crush on someone = Sig Hansen from The Deadliest Catch!!!
48. What do you like about yourself = my perseverance and my eyes
49. Piercings = 3 in one ear, 2 in the other ear, belly button
50. Tattoos = nope
51. Righty or lefty= righty
52. First surgery = wisdom teeth
53. First piercing = ears pierced
54. First best friend = Becky - the first time I remember saying "best friend"
56. First vacation = hmmmm...probably camping when I was in diapers - my parents were hard-core campers
58. First crush = I cannot divulge that sensitive, classified information on my blog!

RIGHT NOW:

59. Eating = nothing
60. Drinking = water
61. I'm about to = eat some blueberries
62. Listening to = Maggie snoring
63. Waiting for = the summer heat to be done

YOUR FUTURE :

64. Want kids = of course
65. Get Married = of course
66. Career = Going good

WHICH IS BETTER

67. Lips or eyes = equal importance
68. Hugs or kisses = yes and yes
69. Shorter or taller= taller
70. Older or Younger = older
71. Romantic or spontaneous = romantic
72. Nice stomach or nice arms = nice arms - especially the forearms and hands
73. Sensitive or loud = a nice hybrid of both
74. Hook-up or relationship = relationship
75. Trouble maker or hesitant = knows when to be both

HAVE YOU EVER :

76. Kissed a stranger = nope
77. Drank hard liquor = yep
78. Lost glasses/contacts = yep
79. Sex on first date = no
80. Broken someone's heart = yes
81. Had your own heart broken = oh yeah
82. Been arrested = nope
83. Turned someone down = yep
84. Cried when someone died = absolutely
85. Fallen for a friend = yep

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

86. Yourself = yes!
87. Miracles = absolutely, I've seen 'em
88. Love at first sight = attraction at first sight, but not love
89. Heaven = Yep
90. Santa Claus = Nah - it was always Mom and Dad - I don't remember ever believing in Santa, even though my Mom would write "From: Santa" on presents
91. Kiss on the first date = Sure
92. Angels = yep

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:

93. Had more than one bf/gf at one time = nope
95. Did you sing today = in the car by myself!
96. Ever cheated on somebody = no
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go, and why = Freshman year at college - it was an absolute blast and I met some fabulous friends that year
98. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, what would it be = The day in Feb. 2008 that I accepted the job in Texas and realized that my dream of living in TX was going to come true!
99. Are you afraid of falling in love = absolutely, it terrifies me.
100. Posting this as 100 truths = yep

Ashes, Baptism & the Wiener

Last week, I got a registered package from my Mom (see below) and I knew what it was, but just couldn't open it for a long time. She had shipped me 1/3 of my Dad's ashes. A funeral home was nice enough to split them up into 1/3's and she sent mine down to me so that I can put them in a cool container and have "Dad" with me.

I knew that it might be disturbing to open, but I was even more shocked to see that they packaged the ashes in a clear plastic bag - so I had to see them as soon as I opened the box! I wasn't ready yet! lol Anyway, they look very dark (I always thought they were white/gray) - like mashed up charcoal briquets. And yes, there are chunks of larger pieces (bone)....that was unnerving to say the least......

Anyway, I'm on a mission this summer to find a cool, respectful way to store the ashes....let me know if any of you come across a great idea!

One thing I didn't know Mom was sending with the ashes was my original baptism announcement thingy from February 1978 (6 months after I was born)! Here it is:

I just love seeing things from the past - it's so interesting to me! I think it's fascinating to see old family documents, clothes, heirlooms of relatives that died before I was born even. And of course, I especially like to see stuff that was my Dad's.

And just to make this blog post SUPER random, here's a couple pics of Maggie!

Going to Camp

Recently, my Mom went to camp through her church (she has gone every summer for a few years now) and we joke that it took her 60 years, but she's finally 'going to camp'! Whenever she goes to camp, it brings fabulous memories back to me about my summer camp experiences at Camp Shamineau as a kid.
I went to camp for the first time in 1st grade and continued to go each year until I graduated high school. I had an absolute blast and LOVED the independence!

Here's an aerial view of the swimming beach at the camp I went to:

And the lake was gorgeous - it even had an island in the middle! Just looking at these pictures makes me miss Minnesota summers so much.

I think I took all of the lakes and water in MN for granted growing up - every camp/camping experience revolved around water activities - tubing, boating, swimming, etc. I didn't really think there were campgrounds in the midwest that didn't have some sort of body of water next to them until I moved to Ohio and realized that they exist!

And here's a shot of the amphitheater on the lake - I've sat on those bleachers SO many times and all of those memories were fabulous ones.

And here's the view of the bleachers from out on the lake.

They do have some "Family Camp" weekends and Women's Retreats at Camp Shamineau, so maybe I'll fly up there and relive those old days in the cabins - that would be a blast!

Who Done It??

Last week, April and I went to a meetup.com event at a little tiny dinner theater place in Dallas. The place is called The Pocket Sandwich Theatre (and shockingly, they serve a bunch of different 'pocket sandwishes' on their menu!).

This performance was a murder mystery and we were in the 'front row' table - right in front of the stage - it was great!

It was quite the eclectic little place! They had tons of weird stuff on the walls, so I was in a 'zone' just staring around for most of the time. Here's April at our dinner table:

Oh, and just to be extra tacky, I snapped a picture when the show was going on! At least I didn't use flash, though......but overall it was a great show and we had fun!

Introspection

"Find out who you are - do it on purpose." - Dolly Parton

I just saw this quote recently (can you tell I'm obsessed with quotes?? I always have been...) and I love it! I always heard people say that when you're in your 20's, you don't really know who you are or what you want. I thought they were full of it.....or talking about everyone else besides me. However, now that I am venturing off into the land of my 30's, I realize that 'they' might've been right! I feel that I am becoming more authentic and true to myself in my 30's than I ever have been before.

I was much more worried about what people thought of me in my 20's and now I just don't care very much anymore. To say that I don't care at all what other people think of me would be a total lie, but I can tell that I don't rely on other people's opinions or assessments as much as I used to. I always ask for advice, but then I make the decision I feel is right for me, even when it's against that person's advice. It may end up being the right choice or it may not, but I have learned to trust my gut and I rarely regret it. That is so satisfying!

"Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened." - Anonymous

I just love these quotes! I thought of my marriage when I saw them because it's easy to get caught up in the negative outcome of something, rather than enjoying the memories of when it was good. This can also be applied to death - you can agonize, preoccupy yourself or rehash the details of someone's death......or you concentrate on the memories of when they were alive and the wonderful things they did.

God: No Instant Answers Promised

"God's people have no assurances that the dark experiences of life will be held at bay, much less that God will provide some sort of running commentary on the meaning of each day's allotment of confusion, boredom, pain, or achievement. It is no great matter where we are, provided we see that the Lord has placed us there, and that He is with us." --John Newton
Being that I'm a person who wants to know the meaning of things immediately, this quote really hit home for me. I just wish that we could walk through life with a 'ticker' running at the bottom of the 'screen', explaining what to do in difficult situations, which way to go at a fork in the road, what that person really meant when they said something that hurt us, which pieces of a friend's advice we should actually listen to, etc. I think discernment is a hard thing sometimes - you may have all the desire in the world for making the 'right' decision, but at times, we just can't figure out what 'right' is!
And we also want painful situations so stop just as soon as they start. We don't want to push through the pain to the other side....we want to avoid it, fix it, medicate it, bury it and deny it. I would venture to say that most people who begin using drugs are doing it to mask some sort of pain in their lives. It obviously becomes an addiction that brings with it a whole new batch of problems, but I think it's important to look at the reason why they started using in the first place. I have never done drugs, but I think that in some moments of my life, it would've been nice to have something to numb the pain I was feeling. I would love to just medicate myself through the holidays and wake up when they are over - that would be fabulous! But it's just not how I choose to deal with emotional pain.

Since God doesn't always reveal the meaning behind our experiences for a long time (or ever), I think that's where faith comes in.

We need to have faith that there is a purpose or reason why we are going through hardships and pain. I know I have looked back on experiences in my life and had 'ah-ha moments' and realized some invaluable lessons that I learned from what happened - lessons I couldn't have learned any other way.

Kate Plus 8 Minus Jon

OK, it's what everyone has been talking about for a while now, and I'm no different. I have been a faithful watcher of Jon & Kate Plus 8 from the beginning and have loved watching those cute little kids for a long time. I even drove to Defiance, OH to see Jon & Kate do a speaking engagement. It was interesting to see how they managed emotionally, logistically, physically and financially during the crazy early years of the sextuplets' lives. However, in the last year, things have changed.

The show became more about product placement, free trips all over the place, hair plugs for Jon, Kate's crazy hairstyle, book deals, etc. After a while, you realize that you aren't watching a show about 8 kids anymore...you're watching a show about 2 parents who are becoming reality stars.

I can't say that the divorce is a shock, given all of the speculation, media coverage and just the way Jon & Kate act toward each other on the show. I don't think that the divorce is the fault of one or the other, but rather BOTH of them. Instead of standing up to his controlling wife a LONG time ago when it started, he allowed her to brow-beat, humiliate, belittle and demasculate him over time and then all of a sudden he's now "proud of himself" for finally standing up to her......by cheating and going outside the marriage. WOW, Jon, what a man you are. The time for you to get some balls was 10 years ago when you decided to marry Kate.....not now when you are telling your children that it's OK to cheat on their mother and bring your 23-year-old girlfriend to your house when your wife is out of town. That's pathetic.

And Kate, WOW - you are one controlling bitch. I don't know where you get off treating your husband and everyone else in the world like they are beneath you just because you grew 6 babies in your tummy. GET OVER YOURSELF. You say 'everything is for your kids' and 'as long as my kids are happy, safe, etc. then I've done my job'......well, when you are putting them through this, they are neither happy nor safe, you idiot! Your kids either CAN read or WILL read all of this garbage in the media about your marriage. You have chosen to do People magazine articles in which you complain about, bash and belittle Jon - and for what? Money? I can't see any other reason you would do that except for money. Your kids may not have a copy of that to read now, but rest assured, they will someday. And when they do, they will know all of the shameful behaviors of both of you, as well as knowing that they were just pawns in the game of your fame and fortune. If you really cared about your kids, you wouldn't air your marital problems and dirty laundry in People magazine. You would keep your marriage (or lack thereof) between the TWO people in the marriage. GET A LIFE, KATE!

You are a demanding prima donna who everyone is getting sick of. I hope you make a lot of money on your books and this train wreck of a show because your 15 minutes of fame are just about up and you'll need some money to support those innocent kids when no one wants to see your face again.