Photo Journal: Mice

These little mice were living in the window display of an upper east side florist.  

It kind of inspires me to write a children's story about mice living in the window display of an upper east side florist.

February Trip to NY: Part 2

The the second leg of my New York trip was meeting up with my friends May and Josephine at areally awesome Japanese restaurant called Inayaka http://www.inakayany.com/ .  I posted a photo of my desert here because even though May and Josephine are both beautiful, I unfortunately look horrible in all of the pictures we took.

It happened to be restaurant week during my visit and we were able to get quite a good three course meal at a very reasonable price. I loved how the waiter would call out our orders in Japanese to the chefs and the chefs would shout back to the waiter. I had no idea what they saying but it was very cool because it was in Japanese. Craig later made fun of me (in a lovingly joking sort of way of course) saying that it was akin to ordering at a Waffle House or something that the waiter would shout out,  "2 egg special! Side of hash browns!" and the short order cook would repeat it back.  This was A LOT better than the Waffle House though!

Another thing I thought was super neat was that since we were eating at the sushi bar our drinks and food were served to us on a paddle that the chef used to reach across from the kitchen to where we were sitting. Then, toward the middle of our meal there was a slight commotion in the dining room when two chefs were taking turns pounding sticky rice with large mallets into sheets of mochi.

One thing that really stands out to me about the friends I have made in NY is that even though nearly two years had gone by with very little action in the keeping in touch process, I feel like the three of us got together as if no time had really passed at all. Everything fell into place as if it was just one of our many get togethers when I was still living in NYC.  I wish the three of us had more time to spend together during my visit but I am really glad that we were able to get together even for a short time.

Photo Journal: Adventures at the Black Bear Lodge

This is a photo of one of my sister's best friends licking the gun of the Big Buck Hunters video game at the Big Bear Lodge during her bachelorette party weekend.  It is one of my favorite photos in the world!

Also, we have no idea who the girl actually playing the game or her friends were.  I sometimes wonder if they ever talk about the time when some random girl came up and licked the Big Buck Hunters gun!

February Trip to NY: Part 1

This past February I took a trip up to NY for a week to work and to visit with friends.  It was probably one of the coldest times of the year. The week started out with a very cold rain and later developed into one of the largest snowfalls NYC had ever had. People asked me if I missed NY, and I did, but the weather made it a little easier to say no I didn't really miss it that much.

What I do miss are the friends I have in NY. When I first arrived I stayed for two days with my friend Samantha. Samantha and I know each other because we were cubicle-mates at a magazine publishing company in lower Manhattan. (more about that later though).

During my first night we relaxed at her apartment, ordered Thai food and just caught up with each other. After work on the second night we met up at the Gramercy Park Hotel for a drink and a snack with our friend Sue. From there we walked around the park and went to an art show at the National Arts Club because two of Sam and Sue's friends were showing pieces.

It is kind of funny how when you live some place, sometimes you don't really take advantage of the things around you since you are busy living your life from day to day. I literally lived around the corner from the National Arts Club, on 23rd street, and have walked passed it countless times without ever giving it a side glance except to maybe admire the architecture. Oh well, ces't la vie!

Aside from the actual art show, which was very cool, there was a side hallway that I really enjoyed walking down. This hallway was lined with large photographs all depicting love--probably due to it being February and Valentines day.  Most, if not all of the photographs were black and white shots of couples embracing and such. One of my favorites was of a couple, mostly nude standing face to face to kiss, but there was a lampshade over their heads. Not sure why, but the photo sort of stuck me. Another photo that struck me was one of a love note that had been left on a dresser. The memory of this photo is a bit hazier though.

The photo above was taken at the National Arts Club by one of Sam and Sue's artist friends. It is of Sue, me, Sam and their other artist friend.

Photo Journal: Boating

This photo is actually from February 2006 when Craig's brother took us out on his boat. This is a picture I really love of Craig and one of his nephews.

Cycle

Back in 1997 or 1998 I bought this bicyle so that I could go riding with my friends Susan and Clay. It is a red and black Bianchi Premio racing bike--though the one I have is more for training on rather than racing.

Susan and Clay rode with a larger group of cyclists who rode together around Raleigh in areas that were less populated by cars. Or at least it seemed so to me at the time. Let me tell you, I was the worst cyclist in the group. I was always last, lagging a good way behind everyone-huffing and puffing as I rode. Someone from the group would always have to lag behind to make sure I hadn't keeled over. Then, after what seemed to be a handful of rides with the group, Susan and Clay moved to Chicago and my Bianchi Premio slowly made it's way to the crawl space underneath my parent's house where it has stayed, collecting dust, for more than a decade.

Last weekend, however, we rescued it from banishment! We hosed it down and brought it back to our apartment and today we will bring it to the bicycle shop for a major overhaul. I hope that the people in the bicycle store don't give me dirty looks because of the sad shape my bike is in. It definitely needs new tires. It basically needs to have everything about it checked out to make sure it is safe to ride.

What's more, is that I am really excited to ride it again. In the years past, I really never thought about my bicycle very much, but now I can't wait for it to be fixed!

Photo Journal: Opa Dad Attacks!

Little did I know as I was attending to the needs of my Godson that Opa Dad was about to descend upon us!

Pollen Allert

Sometime this weekend the South had its annual pollen explosion. I think today was the worst. It was as if God had been cleaning his chalkboard erasers up in heaven and the entire South was covered in a yellow-green chalky dust. Now, it is in the air and on the ground. Nothing outside has been untouched by the pollen. It is just everywhere. You can even see it swirling through the air when there is a breeze. If you have allergies you are suffering. I want to wash my car but I think I will just wait for it to rain first. It is almost a futile battle to wash the car at this point because as soon as it is clean it will start to accumulate the pollen again. Plus, everyone is in the same boat. All of the cars pretty much have at least a half inch of pollen on them anyway! . . . except that black car next to mine in the parking lot! d'oh!

Buona Pasqua!

This Easter, was a really nice one. To start off, Craig and I actually went to Church (more about my recent return to Church later). We sat with our friends Jennifer and Kevin and their families.

After Church we went home and accomplished a few chores around the house before driving to my parents house for a wonderful Easter dinner.

When we arrived my mom had a nice appetizer spread ready on the kitchen table with some anti-pasta and a 7-layer dip with some tortilla chips to snack on. Craig and I brought over some left over cheese bread puffs that Craig had made for Saturday's fancy tailgate at the Hurricane's game. We spent some time just chit chatting and also taking turns walking around with my almost 4 month old nephew who was a little fussy but fun none the less.

Dinner started with a salad and then some pasta with Italian sausage. Then we had a little break to digest. When dinner resumed we had lamb, honey glazed baby carrots, asparagus, and garlic roasted potatoes. It was delicious!

One dilemma I ended up having was that in the weeks prior to Easter I made a really big deal about having mint jelly to go with the lamb. Well, imagine my surprise when I found out that my mom, in addition to having mint jelly on hand, also made an awesome home made Tzatziki sauce to go on the lamb. I couldn't not have the mint jelly that I had so strongly requested, but I really wanted to try the Tzatziki! In the end I compromised and had a little bit of both.

After dinner, along with some coffee we feasted on the special Easter cupcakes my mom made. They looked so cute and good enough to sell in a cupcake shop! They were chocolate cupcakes with some white icing. She took some shredded coconut and mixed it with a little green food coloring to make edible eastro-turf and sprinkled it on top of the cupcakes. Then she nestled a few jelly beans on top of them and then sprinkled a few on the platter they were sitting on. They were really neat, and they tasted great too!

All in all it was a pretty nice day. The weather was great and after my sister and her family left, Craig and I stayed a little longer and sat on the back porch talking with my parents for awhile. I was a little sad to have to go home when it was time to leave.

Big Daddy Love

This past Thursday, Craig and I went to the Six String Café in Cary to see Big Daddy Love play. I have to tell you, I think that maybe I was destined to live in the south because I really like country/bluegrass music. I especially like banjo playing!

The reason I even know about this band is because one of the band members (ironically, the electric banjo player) is a relative of one of my friends here at the AKC. We had a great time and it was nice to go to a venue with a group of people we actually knew as opposed to some of the bands we saw in NY where the audience around us were strangers. I only wished that my cousin Chris could have been there with us because I think he would have really liked the band.

Although every one of the bands original songs was awesome, one of the highlights of the evening for me was when the band did a cover of Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall. The song started out as it normally would but when the chorus came around the band broke out into bluegrass giving the song it's own Big Daddy Love twist to it.

Before we left, we purchased one of the CD's they were selling and I've been listening to it in my car ever since. My friend also told me of two more dates this summer when the band would be playing close by. I hope to catch both shows when they roll around.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Even though we rarely go to the casinos for some reason Craig and I discovered that we really like to gamble. It is probably a good thing we don't live in Las Vegas or Biloxi. Even when we lived in NY we only went to Atlantic City a handful of times. When we go on vacation, however, if there is a casino around, we will try to check it out. We don't play slots when we go either--we play blackjack, craps and sometimes roulette.

On March 14th Craig and I attended the Kids in the Community Casino Night hosted by the Carolina Hurricanes. It had been some time since we've been in any casino setting so we spent a little time before we had to get ready that day practicing our blackjack strategy. It was pretty funny, at one point I said we had better pack it in before we lose track of time and miss the actual casino night!

When we first arrived at the RBC center we went down the elevator near the locker room. After getting our "Stormy Bucks" we walked out onto the Casino floor which was set up on top of the ice. The place was so well transformed that it was easy to forget that you were on top of the ice in the middle of the RBC center. There was food, an open bar, a silent auction before and during the gambling time and then a live auction towards the end of the night. We did not bid on anything since we had already paid a bit for the tickets just to be there.

We started out with a drink and we got some food, but we were still eating when the Casino opened. The result was that we did not get to play black jack at a table where a Hurricane's player was dealing. It wasn't a tragedy though because the dealer that we had was a hoot! She really made the evening fun. We got to practice our blackjack strategy in a casino setting without using, or should I say losing, real money.

We didn't hit it big but we did have a lot of fun and we were able to get a few photos taken with a couple of the Hurricane's players. The photo above, is of Rod Brind'Amour with Craig and me.

Two Years Back Below the Mason-Dixon Line!

Today was such a nice day. Clear skies for miles and the temperature was in the upper 8o's with a slight breeze. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to get out of the office for a little bit so I decided to take a walk during my lunch break. It was so peaceful and quiet I couldn't believe it. I could hear the traffic on Lumley Road and Glenwood Avenue but it was more like white static noise in the distance than anything else. As I was taking my walk I realized that today is Craig and my two year anniversary moving back to North Carolina! Crazy! Two Year's ago today we were pulling up to my parents house in a rented minivan that was packed with odds and ends that did not fit into the moving truck. Our two cats were sleeping in their cat carriers in the back seat, probably wondering what had happened to them and why they had to be locked up for such a long car ride!

I don't remember what the weather was like two years ago when we arrived in NC but I do remember when we left NY it was a torrential rain pour. I was scared to death that we were going to hydroplane and skid off the road. We made it though, and although it was sad to leave our Northern friends behind, it has been the best move we have made. Since then, everything seems to be like sunny skies.

Since we have moved we have fallen back into old friendships that have picked up where we left off and we have made new amazing friendships as well. We have moved into a very cute apartment that is convenient to both of our jobs. Craig has opened a catering business which is slowly picking up more and more business. We have purchased two cars. Craig bought a bicycle, I started taking Pilates. We are both eating a lot healthier and getting back in shape. With Craig's more regular hours we see each other a lot more than we used to. We go on walks together. Once my bicycle has had a tune up we can bike ride together. All in all I would have to say that life has really been treating us well.