About a month ago Patrick and I were out in the city walking and I made the comment that before we moved I wanted to go in and look at Tiffany’s. He said ok and continued to lead the way to Central Park where we were headed. Not paying a lot of attention to where we were going, I missed him turn off until I saw the Tiffany’s sign!

We went in and looked through all the floors. First floor is diamonds and other fine jewels that sparkle so brilliantly that you might go blind. We saved the sterling silver/watch floor for last and took our time looking there. Patrick and I have both been working on side projects here and there and have an agreement that whatever we make off those is ours to keep. So I was looking at rings seeing if there were any I liked enough to ask the price. I found one and Patrick asked for me. I was doing the math to see if I had enough in my account when Patrick said he’d buy it for me if I wanted it. He said he’d gone in with the idea that if there was anything he could afford to get me that I liked, he was going to. So I got my beautiful sterling silver Tiffany’s ring in the little blue bag and was perfectly excited about that.

And then completely unexpectedly, I got the matching necklace as my birthday suprise! I wasn’t even expecting a present since I thought the show tickets were it. What a great Husband. And no, not ’cause he spends money on me, but because he’s so thoughtful. Though the Tiffany’s helps!

I was very spoiled by everyone this birthday and I really enjoyed and appreciated it!

If you are a Barenaked Ladies fan you should check out the Vanity Project. It’s a side project band that Steve Page is in and I really have enjoyed what I’ve heard so far. Though I can’t find the cd anywhere but itunes.

This weekend was a Stephen King filled one. He’s Patrick’s favorite author and he was in town for the New Yorker Festival where many artists of all varieties come for panels, talks, readings and the like.

Friday night we went to see Stephan King and Michael Chabon both read excepts from their writing and then afterwards sat down to take questions. I really enjoyed both of their stories and it was interesting to hear their thoughts on the writing process.

Saturday morning we went to the main branch of the NY Public Library to hear a discussion by a panel of writers moderated by the New Yorker fiction editor. Four other diverse authors were there to discuss the topic of “When Reality Fails”. All five of the writers wrote about worlds that didn’t exsist or events that seemingly couldn’t really happen. It was a very interesting discussion.

Patrick was excited because he got to ask a question at both events and he got a picture of the discussion panel. He was a little upset that poor planning on the festivals part kept him from being able to attend the book signing. Only 150 armbands were given out for the Stephen King book signing and they were handed out while we were at the discussion panel. So we weren’t able to go.

Saturday night we had a nice evening at a friend’s house were we were treated to yummy fajitas and good company. I was incredibly lazy on Sunday. I barely even cleaned the house and we didn’t grocery shop until today. It felt good!

One of the publications we are working on at work right now has a little “factoid” at the bottom of each page. When I was proofing some of them today I found an interesting fact. Apparently, the average person takes 7 minutes to fall alseep. So if I take longer than that, I must be above average right?

We spent Saturday sitting on the dirty NYC side walk waiting in line for ticket to see Shakespere in the Park in Central Park. We had been advised to get there no later than 11, but when we got there a† 10 til, it was already a pretty full line. We found ou† right away that we were safe to get tickets though, so we really didn’t mind waiting until they started handing the tickets out at 1:00.

We had a good time talking to people and reading while we waited and the time seemed to go pretty fast. We got the tickets and then headed off in search of lunch. We decided to try this place we’d heard of that only serves pb & j sandwiches called The Peanut Butter Company. They had all sorts of crazy varieties of sandwhiches, shakes and desserts made with their own special (read extremely thick) peanut butter, including a blt with peanut but†er. There is something wierd about lettuce, tomato and bacon, with pb. We were boring and had plain sandwhiches.

We took them to eat in Washington Square Park. I have to say that park was interesting!

It was a nice New Yorkie day.

We just watched a really great movie in the city. We went in to see “The March of the Penguins,” which I guess you could have figured out from my title!

I really loved it. It’s one of those things that sounds boring until you actually watch it. I seriously want to own it to fall asleep to because it was like one big relaxation tape with pictures.

Morgan Freeman narrarates and his voice is relaxing. Then there is relaxing music playing while they show the story of the penguins’ life. They do close up shots of the colors of the penguins, who I would have sworn were just black and white, but they actually also have gray and yellow. Then they focus in on the different textures of the snow, their fur and their feet.

So basically it’s a really arty movie about penguins which seems weird, but it’s actually beautiful. And a bit heartbreaking as they remind you every five minutes that most of them will die do to the weather and their food situation.

I know only like two people I know even know who she is, but I’m excited —so I’m sharing. Since the cds only available in Europe right now, at least as far as I know, you can listen to full-length versions of all the songs by clicking here.

Patrick and I have been sort of slacking on our netflix since moving here. We have our queue set up where we get one movie that he picked, one that I picked and one that we both picked. We have about 70 movies in each queue but haven’t been going through them very fast until about two weeks ago.

In the past few days we finally saw Million Dollar Baby and Sideways. I liked both of them, but because of all the things I’d heard about both, I was a smidge dissappointed. I’d heard so much about the suprise twist at the end of Million Dollar Baby and how it was like two different movies, but when I watched it, I really wasn’t that suprised. Now I can see where when it was in the theater and most people hadn’t seen it yet, it would have been shocking, but I had just built it up into something so huge that I just kept thinking, “that’s it?”

So then we watched sideways where I was hoping for a happier ending (because before Million Dollar Baby we had watched Cold Mountain). I hate when movies don’t end happy. I know that’s real life, but I don’t watch movies or read books for real, I do it to escape real. So after two major downers, I was hoping for something happier.

No such luck on Sideways. The end does hint at a happy ending, but it leaves it up to your imagination. I have to say there was a lot about the movie I just didn’t get, but there were also some really funny parts.

My favorite line, ” Who am I kidding? I’m not a writer, I’m an 8th grade english teacher. I’m so insignificant I can’t even kill myself yet.” Paul Giamatti.

Next up for my queue is Girl with a Pearl Earring. Oh man, I hope that has a happy ending, but I have no idea. Well, at least I can enjoy Colin Firth. And in our joint queue is American Splendor.

Well, we got another thing crossed off our master to-do list this weekend. It was Patrick’s turn to pick and he wanted to go to the NY Aquarium on Coney Island so after sleeping in late we headed out to Brooklyn. It’s a bit of a long trip, but we finally got there. It’s a rather small place and some parts of it weren’t kept up very well, but we still enjoyed it. We saw walrus, penguins, sea lions/otters, and sharks. We also watched a little show on the sea lions where they performed with their trainers.

Afterwards we went and ate at our favorite restaraunt in Chinatown followed by desert at the best little bakery in little Italy. Yum! We may have cheated a little diet-wise, but hey, it was only half an eclair. I did take the other half home and ate it the next day!

Yes, Tae Bo is the cheesiest workout ever, but when you are tired and stressed kicking and punching the air feels really good. I know I should do yoga and be all zen like, but yoga just makes me laugh. I can’t do it.

We just watched a video of people camped out in front of the new IKEA that opens in Frisco tomorrow. I have to say, I’m a little scared by that!

NYC recently started a screening process in light of the events in London. They will post police people at random subway stops and have them check random bags. Anyone with a bag is subject to search. You do have the right to refuse, but then you can’t ride the train. And NJ has followed their lead.

So far neither of us have even been at a stop where they are checking, but we are both a little annoyed with the idea. I understand wanting to ensure people’s safety and I don’t claim to have a better answer, but I really feel this is a huge loss of freedom. And I also don’t understand how it can solve any problems. Unless they check every person at every stop, how do they know the will find whatever there may be to find? While I think it would be impossible to do this, that would be the only way to actually accomplish anything. And even if they do want to check someone, all that person has to do is refuse and then go to the next stop and get on. It just seems like another band aid to make people feel safe while actually accomplishing nothing.

And then when I came home today I read another article that annoyed me. I always skim the headlines on the Yahoo news section and in the health area anything on diabetes always catches my eye. I think I’m hoping they publish an article that says it actually is ok to eat as much chocolate as you want! So anyway, this article I read was saying that NYC wants to start tracking and monitoring diabetics, a practice so far reserved for diseases such as HIV. They say that because the number of diabetes related deaths has increased so much in the last 20 years which is costing the city money, they should monitor who has their illness under control and who doesn’t and gently intervene with those that don’t. They could then do things like send you reminder notes to make a doctors appointment if you have gone recently enough.

This really bothers me. I’m responsible enough to take care of my own health without getting notes from the government. I realize some people won’t take care of themselves, but isn’t that one of the freedom’s we as American’s have? And unless I’m missing something the only way that this is costing the city money is if people die with absolutely no one in their life to handle their deaths. In which case that person probably has a few bigger issues.

Ok, there is my controversial 2 cents. Discuss amongst yourselves.

I heard on XM that David Gray has a new album coming out in September! I’m very excited about that. I just missed him in concert too 🙁

Also, I read on her website that Heather Nova will release a CD in the UK in August. Wonder when it will be out here.

I can’t wait because I need some new music. The last thing I bought was Ryan Adams and the Cardinals which I’m enjoying, but I’m still ready for something new.

Update:

I may have missed David Gray in concert the first time he was here, but I just got an announcement that he will be back October 5th and 6th at Radio City! Woohoo!

Andy and Sara came and spent their 1 year anniversary in NYC over the 4th. We had a good visit, though I had to work and didn’t get to spend the whole time with them.

While they were here we went to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. It was actually the first time we’d been, and I loved it. We went on the 4th and it was a nice way to celebrate the day. Most people know that I’m not one for great patriotic displays normally, not because I don’t love our country or anything, but that’s just me. I was the same way with school spirit. But I actually felt really American being at Ellis Island. The Statue was neat,but there were lines to get in. And it was a slow day, so they were much better lines than they could have been!

What I enjoyed so much about the day was putting myself in someone else’s shoes. Imagining spending all that time on a boat to get here. You’ve left everything behind, you’ve had very little food. And then you get here, and you see that great symbol of America. Of freedom. But when you get here there is still so much hardship to over come. Health inspections, mental inspections, intelligence tests. They wanted to make sure they didn’t admitt anyone who would wind up being a burden to society. Families got separated. People got sent home. Others died in the hospital wing waiting to get healthy enough to leave. I had a vague sense of all this before going, but looking at the pictures and reading the stories was really an eye opener.

Finally got the pictures done. I had a little too much fun with my mac and made them into a movie!: Click Here

We had a rental truck, which I had to laugh at Patrick because he really couldn’t park it, for the past week while our car got fixed. We had two sets of dents in it that needed to come out. So we took it in to the somewhat local Honda dealership for repairs. And now, after lots of calling and checking and being told it’d be done, we have our car back—dent free! It’s a thing of beauty.

For the past few months, ever since I got the letter announcing my 10-year high school reunion, I’ve been debating whether or not I wanted to go. I finally decided late last Tuesday night that I did want to. I’d been back and forth a million times, even gone so far as to price tickets, but I couldn’t figure out why I would want to go.

After reading the website the committee put up for people to post comments on and laughing every day, and then pricing tickets for the millionth time, I decided I’d go. And it was this past weekend.

I took the trains to the airport by myself. One of my shoulder bags broke as soon as I got off the airtrain so I had to wander around the airport until I found a replacement. The Newark airport doesn’t have that many shops to choose from, but I found a nice rolly bag which saved my shoulders! The flight to Dallas was on time and uneventful. My flight came with a rental car which was nice since my flight was an evening one and that meant I didn’t have to bother anyone late at night.

I loved driving…once I figured out how the heck to get out of the airport and onto the right high way from way back in the rental part. There were actual open roads! I could go 70. There were spaces that were not occupied by tall buildings. It was great. I stopped at Whataburger on my way home, because we can’t get that up here.

Anyway, I got to spend a little time with my parents and Grandpa between the reunion stuff which was really nice. I think I was probably more homesick than anything.

The reunion consisted of drinks Friday night, which I didn’t go to, a picnic on Saturday afternoon (in Texas, In July…thanks for that) and a luau Saturday night. I went to the picnic and caught up with a few people and found out that three of my group of best friends were going to be at the Luau that night, so I was very excited.

Turns out only two of them actually showed up, but it was fun to catch up with them. One of them was my best friend from 8th grade to Senior year, Julie, and I hadn’t seen her since I graduated. I got to meet her husband who seemed really nice and exactly what I would have pictured her with. My other friend Michelle and I had kept in touch into college but had lost touch in the past few years. She hadn’t changed at all. She’s got all kinds of crazy stories and reminds me a lot of Kelli.

Some people had changed a lot, others not at all. It was fun and I’m glad I went. Sorry I didn’t get to see all my other friends, but I really was in town for all of two minutes. I’ll see you all soon.

Jim and Mary (Patrick’s Dad and Stepmom) came for a visit over Father’s Day weekend. We had a good visit and I know Patrick was really excited to get to see them and have them see NYC.

We went to a Yankee’s game on Saturday. They played the Cubs. I enjoyed that though it was very warm and sunny and I could feel my skin frying. It was the first time I’ve been to a game where no one I was with was really cheering for anyone. Patrick and his family actually really dislike the Yankee’s.

We also took the 3-hour Circle Line tour that Patrick and I took late last year. I really enjoy that tour. It’s long and informative and relaxing. I love being on the water and I think it’s a great way to get a good over-view of the city. I think it really helps make sense of where things are in relations to other things.

On our first anniversary Patrick and I decided that since our anniversary is in the summer and around a 3 day weekend, we wanted to make that the time of year that we always tried to take a trip. For our 1st anniversary we went to Vegas. For our 2nd we went camping. So for our 3rd we went to the Jersey shore.

We made our minds up kind of late on what we wanted to do and with it being Memorial day weekend, we got lucky to find a place. We found a website that lets you pick a price range and a date and see what properties are available to rent on any of the Jersey beaches. We eventually found what I thought was a little cottage from the pictures, but was a actually a condo when we got there.

We left Friday evening for Brigintine Beach, about 8 miles from Atlantic City. We loaded up the car and the dogs, who we decided to take and hit the road. Two hours later we found our rental. It was so cute! The inside was all painted a pale sunny yellow, the living room had a blue and white striped sofa, and the bedroom had white shabby chic furniture with ivy hanging on a little mirror above the dresser. It was very cozy. Which turned out to be good for Saturday.

Saturday was cold and there weren’t many people on the beach. We took the dogs for a long walk on the beach anyway. As we were walking we heard a mother cry out to her children that there were dolphins in the water and sure enough, there were about 3 groups playing. They jumped a little out of the water every once in awhile while playing fairly close to the shore so we stood fascinated and watched them for a while.

Then we headed indoors to read. On a side note I read the whole “Angels and Demons” book (the precurser to the “The DaVinci Code”) this weekend. Patrick read it first and has been waiting for me to catch up forever. I’ve been reading the first 90 pages for about a month and just haven’t been able to make any progress, but boy when it picked up, it picked up. So now I’m on to “The DaVinci Code” which hopefully will be just as good!

Ok, back to Saturday—In the evening we went to Atlantic City and gambeled a little. I turned my $50 into a $140 on My Rich Uncle where I have never had any luck before. It was great! Patrick and I never have good luck at the same time, but for a brief moment we both actually left a machine having tripled our money….but then his luck ran out.

Sunday was a much warmer day and the beach was packed. We almost couldn’t find a space to put our towels down. But we did finally find one and had a picnic lunch before settling down to read for a bit. Patrick went to play in the ocean and I went in to get the dogs. They loved playing in the water and on the sand but in general did not like the idea of vacation. I think they were afraid we were going to leave them. Like we’d endure a 2 hour car ride with Sam and his stubborn head pushing on my arm trying to get into the front seat just to leave them!

I’ll spare you the pictures of us in our swimsuits on the beach with the dogs. Just know that they will be a nice memory for us:)

It’s amazing to look back on the last year and think about how at this time last year I had just found out about my diabetes and we had just had the first call from Jones about them wanting to interview Patrick. Crazy how much things have changed!

Tuesday night we went to see Sarah at Madison Square Garden. It was the first time I’d been there. We had a really nice time. It was very mellow, even for a Sarah concert. Nobody ever stood, they clapped, but no yelling or whistling or anything. Towards the last half of the show she sang “Angel” and everybody went crazy. I guess it was a crowd that knows her mostly from the radio.

She did all her favorite songs from the last decade (her songs that is). She sang everything I would have wanted her to sing including covers of Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill” and the Beatles “Blackbird”.

I like how down to earth she is. She was talking about how she loves New York and was sad that she wouldn’t get to spend as much time here as she usually does and how lucky we are to live here. At one point she said out of the blue “Holy Crap, I’m playing Madison Square Garden!” I just thought that was really cute because I’m sure she’s done a ton of things that were more exciting, but she was happy to be there!

It was a crazy hectic week for me despite being my second four day work week in a row. I put in some overtime and basically tried to keep sane. Work was frustrating and a challenge—A challenge in holding my tongue mostly, but one I survived.

This weekend was spent recouping from the past two weekends of visitors and the long week. Saturday I cleaned and relaxed during the day before going to a BBQ in the evening. I met a lot of really interesting people and spent most of the night talking to a girl who’s father works for the embassy so she’s traveled and lived all over and been in the Peace Corp. She was really interesting and it got me to thinking about how many more people around this area seem to have travelled so much more than the average person. It seems like everyone has been all around the world, which sometimes makes Patrick and I feel a little behind and unsophisticated, but it sure makes for some interesting stories to listen to. And someday we’ll have our own to tell. Like of when we lived in NY!

Today we went to watch an early showing of “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”. I LOVE the Star Wars movies and was happy that this one was promising to be better than the two previous Episodes, which basically sucked. And I did actually enjoy this one much more, though it was a bit depressing and very dark. Not that I didn’t know it would be.

Next weekend we are headed to the Jersey shore for the Memorial Day holiday and to celebrate our 3 year anniversary on June 1. We were able to book something last minute on Friday when we finally made up our minds where we wanted to go. Our little rent house is right on the ocean and we are taking the dogs with us. I’m looking forward to it. I’m sure it will be too cold to swim in the ocean still, but it will be nice to sit in the sun, (with SPF 500 of course—since I burn in the 30 minutes I sit outside and eat lunch at work)read and relax and take walks with the dogs. We are going to a beach called Brigatine near Atlantic City. We don’t know much about this beach, but it looked really nice and clean in the pictures, and hey, if it’s no good, Atlantic City is just around the corner!