Fun with String

It is one of my New Year's goals to blog more this year, but with a winter intensive class starting in a few days I don't really see that happening for a while. That being said, I didn't want to delay this post so that local moms can take advantage (or anyone who wants a silly activity).

Last weekend we took Vivian to PS1 to see an art installation featuring a room full of string. I am talking about an entire room filled a foot deep with balls of string. It is like a ball pit for grown-ups. I can't tell you what the artists purpose was, you can read about it here. I can only tell you that you leave your shoes at the door and jump into a big pit of string. It was highly recommended on the Sunnymoms email group (a listserv in my neighborhood) and it did not disappoint. Totally worth the entrance fee for me and Greg (kids under 16 are free). Vivi loved it and so did we. We jumped in the string, we fell backwards into the string, we buried ourselves in the string, we dug a hole in the string, we pulled on the string. It was a hoot. We probably hung out there for an hour and Vivi did not want to go. The rest of the museum was ho-hum for an almost 2 year old but I would highly recommend going just for the string. It runs through the end of January.

And here is another cute shot of Vivian. She is adorable as usual in her ladybug raincoat my mom gave her. We are amazed at her language skills. She is starting to drop her baby pronunciations of words as she learns the real way to say things and her sentences are becoming more and more complex. So much fun!

And for those who have not seen me in a while, a photo for you. Another resolution of mine is to spend a few more minutes each morning on my hair and make-up for a more professional put together look. I have been really lazy with an unwashed ponytail and no make-up most days. That has to stop! I got a haircut today, have been studying hairstyling blogs and bought a new ceramic flat iron. Hopefully I will find a new routine that is not too labor intensive and will share it here.

Hopefully you will see and hear more from me soon! Happy New Year to you all.

Oops, did I miss June?

Wow, I am not sure I have ever gone this long without blogging. Sorry MOM! I am sure you are probably the only one still checking this page. June was a crazy month. Early on I found out that a position was opening up in the Biology Office, a position I have had my eye on and THE position that had sent me back to school in order to be eligible for it someday. Once I expressed an interest in the job it was like jumping on an express train that was running 100 miles per hour. I was all of a sudden appointed into the interim position and had to begin training immediately since the woman leaving (one of my bosses) gave only 2 weeks notice. At the same time I had to identify and begin training my own replacement in the lab. So long story short I am the acting interim Director of Administration for the Biology Department and the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology at NYU. It is a very exciting move and while I have hit the ground running thanks to my past experience here it has been all uphill and has required long hours. In addition to my work chaos I was also taking a summer intensive marketing course at the same time. I am glad that the class is now over. The only thing that really happened in June besides work was my birthday. My 33rd birthday fell the day before my marketing final so you can probably imagine that I didn't do a lot of celebrating that day. I did wake up to this balloon curtain hanging in the living room curtesy of my sweet husband. And the ladies at work weren't going to let me get away without acknowledging the day either. They brought me up a little gift of too cute earrings and a cupcake with my name on it. So sweet and just what I needed at the end of a crazy day. The necklace I am wearing was a birthday gift from my boss who also wouldn't let me get away with skipping my birthday. So so sweet of them all. I saved the real festivites for the following Saturday. Greg and I went out for a very fattening lunch at one of our favorite neighborhood mexican restaurants. I am not used to eating a ton of food at one sitting anymore and totally over did it. I had to lie down after lunch and take a nap because I thought my belly would explode. Oops! Goes to show how much my eating had changed after all my weight watchers time. That evening we had made plans to go on a cruise around the waters of NYC with my dear friend Marcela who is moving away to Rhode Island soon. I am wearing a strapless dress in this photo. Don't worry, I wasn't naked in the back of a cab! We had a great time hanging out on the boat, catching up with old friends, enjoying lots of Michael Jackson hits (in tribute), and taking in the sights. We even caught a glimpse of this great rainbow over Brooklyn (much more vibrant in person). It was a lovely way to spend my birthday.

In-Law Visit #3

Sunday: Brunch, Apollo Theater tour, Harlem.

On Sunday we were going to head to a cute little brunch place in Sunnyside but at the last minute we switched to Pete's Grill, a diner, for brunch because it was right next to the hotel where my MIL & FIL were staying. They were really concerned that a fancier place would take too long and we would be late. To Pete's Grill's credit, it was a nice clean diner with friendly service and huge portions. We had never been there before but our neighbor Corey loves that place.

Then we were off to Harlem to tour the Apollo Theater. My MIL had requested we go to the theater if for nothing else than a photo out front. Luckily they do very limited private tours and had a large tour group (like with a tour bus!) coming through and agreed to let us tag along for $20 each. The tour guide was excellent. He works for the Apollo and has for the last 45 years, since he was 14 years old and was an errand boy for the performers that worked at the theater. He had lots of funny stories and had the crowd singing old time songs during the entire visit.

Then when we were in the main auditorium he held an "amateur night at the Apollo" contest and had tour members come up on stage and perform little jokes, poetry, songs, etc. Greg and his mom went up and sang a couple lines from a song! So brave! They even rubbed the "Tree of Hope" that real Apollo contestants rub when they go on stage. Everyone who performed was declared a winner.

After that we all got to walk across the Apollo stage and saw a wall they have famous visitors sign (just over the last 7 years) including the President who came through while campaigning. His signature is next to the white piece of tape on the upper right. Then we headed down below the stage to an area that is newly renovated. It has the green room and the dressing rooms and bathrooms and some storage rooms where we could see the old original Orchestra Pit.It was a great tour and my In-Laws enjoyed it a great deal.

After the Apollo we went next door to Jimmy Jazz where my MIL found some new sneakers and then headed home for homemade pizza and a little R&R and chatting about funny family stories Greg and I had never heard before. They left the next morning. It was a great visit, their best so far I think.

In-Laws Visit #2

Saturday: 9-5 the Musical and 5 Napkins Restaurant

On Saturday we celebrated my MIL's birthday which was in March. We had purchased her tickets to see a Broadway show while she was in town and we chose 9-5 the Musical, written and produced by Dolly Parton and staring Allison Janney from the West Wing. It was great! Smallish theater, total cute show, great songs, elaborate sets, and lots of laughs. We couldn't have asked for more! The curtain down. It was covered in spirally phone cords and receivers. The family. And a shot of Greg and I. Sorry it is a little blurry, we weren't using the flash. I bought a new dress and little cardigan to wear to the show and felt so cute in it! I will have to get a full length shot soon.

After the show we walked over to 5 Napkins for some upscale burgers and yummy fries. Greg had mac and cheese and halfway through we switched (I had the veggie burger) so I got a little of both which was perfect! The restaurant is a busy place but worth checking out if you are in the area.

When we got home we ended up watching the movie Run Fat Boy Run. It just happened to be what we had in our NetFlix and it was really cute and funny. Everyone enjoyed it.

In-Law Visit #1

My Mother and Father in law (MIL and FIL) were in town for a long weekend recently. They come roughly once a year so we are always hard pressed to think of new things for them to do but Greg and I really put our heads together and came up with an itinerary that was both fun and at their speed.

Friday: Bead shopping, Macy's Flower Show, and lunch at Otto.

I am lucky that my MIL is way into jewelry making and I have found a solid 2 blocks of bead and jewelry making supply stores. On Friday we rode the bus into the city and went to several of the stores. I of course found lots of things I needed too (mostly earring wires).

The bead stores are right near Macy's in Harold Square and by total coincidence the Flower Show was going on so we swang in to check it out. This visit to Macy's was great. It was the least crowded and crazy it has ever been while I was there. We were able to fairly easily manouver around the ground floor looking at all the different "gardens". It is pretty impressive to see. The whole time I walked around reminding myself that those are real plants....indoors! Then to make it a truly awesome day I found a Nine West, green patten leather bag in the clearance bin. I thought it was going to be $60 and trust me it was worth it, but when she rang it up the price was $26!!!! I was in heaven.

Lastly we headed down to my work 'hood for lunch at Otto. I thought they may enjoy a little upscale Italian food at one of Mario Batali's restaurants. They love the Today Show and he is always cooking on it. Well I am not sure they loved the pizza and pasta but we convinced them to stay for gelato and I think that won them over! It was wonderful long lunch.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is a day late but I hope everyone had wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We have much to be thankful for. Last year at this time we were recovering from the shock of the house explosion just 2 doors down. Today I can report that just recently they have begun to rebuild. Despite the noise of construction we are happy it won't be sitting empty much longer.

Yesterday we enjoyed a quiet day at home watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV in the morning and then enjoying some time to just relax. As you can tell from my absence on the blog, November was a really difficult month for me with multiple tests and projects due for school. I was at NYU until midnight most nights. Combined with some trouble at work, it made for a hard month. As of yesterday I am done with all midterms and all projects so the rest of the semester should go very smoothly. So a day off for quiet relaxation with Greg was much needed and appreciated.

In the afternoon we bundled up and ventured out to catch a movie in the city. We saw Four Christmases. It was fun seeing a movie in the theater ($12 bucks now! What?). The movie was decent. Pretty funny in the beginning but then kind of serious in the later half. Not quite what we were hoping for but a lot better than some of the options out there.

After the movie it was off to Candle 79 for a gourmet vegan Thanksgiving dinner. Yum. Once again we really enjoyed this meal and ate way too much! The best part, no dishes to wash, no leftovers to deal with.

After dinner Greg surprised me with his plan to take me to the Top of the Rock. So we ventured down to Rockefeller Center to check out the view from the roof. It was really nice mainly because there were very few people there so no lines and no waiting were necessary. The view was lovely and in my opinion way better than the Empire State Building. In fact the Top of the Rock has a great view of the Empire State Building and a great view of Central Park. It was a lot of fun. We also got to see the tree in Rockefeller Plaza. It hasn't been lit yet but still big and impressive.

It was a lovely holiday at just the speed we needed. Today we are enjoying Buy Nothing Day, catching up on chores, getting the house ready for Christmas decorating, and spending some time deciding what craft projects to tackle in December.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Happy Election Day!

I know you are already well aware of this, but today is election day! This is a very interesting and exciting race so I hope that if you are registered to vote that you get out there today and exercise your right. Especially if you are a woman. After seeing a movie about the suffrage movement a couple years ago and what it took to secure the right for women to vote in this country I have a much greater respect for that right.

Greg and I waited about an hour to vote at our polling station this morning. It can be discouraging for people when they see the lines but don't give up. Get to know your neighbors as you stand in line!

In NY we still use voting machines. Here are some machines waiting to be set up last Sunday at Hunter College where our church meets.
I love that they have an American flag on the side of each one.

And here is the line this morning for district 73. We have a huge co-op building with 700 apartments just a block from our house and wouldn't you know, we are all in the same district! So that was the reason for our long line. I had to get a shot in the booth for my scrapbook! They say the voting machines are the worst in terms of errors and problems but they are so "old school" it is actually kind of cool to use them. They make such cool sounds as you push the lever to the side, flip the knobs for your votes, and then push the lever back in order to COUNT your votes. Plus you get to stand inside behind the curtain all private like.

Anyway, get to the polls or make sure you mail your ballots in!

October 28

What a miserable day! It was pouring down rain this morning. I stayed home as long as I could hoping it would stop. When I finally ventured out I took my giant umbrella, so big I have no business carrying it on New York City streets, and made my way to the train. You can't really tell from the photos just how much it was raining but trust me, it was a downpour. Here are my legs soaked up to the knees! And here I am all windblown and damp wondering why I bothered doing my hair in the morning but thinking about my space heater at work and the change of shoes in my bag. Warm dry legs on the way!

October 4

I wanted to wait until late tonight to post for today so that I could document all the stuff that happened. It started out like a normal Saturday. A little sleeping in and then launched into tidying the house. Greg was gone for the first part of the day so I worked alone. Then I settled in for a little study time.
First in honor of a lovely chilly fall day I lit a candle in my tart burner which melted a hazelnut flavored soy tart from this candle place. I got a couple tarts as a free sample and I am really liking them. They are natural soy wax that doesn't release any nastiness into the air, and the smell was wonderful and not too overwhelming. I bought the tart melter at the drug store and it came with 3 tarts that I had to toss out, they were so overpowering and fake smelling. Not these. The whole house smells like warm hazelnut coffee. Yummy.

Then I settled in for some email checking, bill paying, and finally studying on the sofa. Got a couple chapters read and started reading articles for my microeconomics class. I did take a break to make some no-knead bread from this blog post which involved a run to the store a block away for a jar of wheat germ. The dough is rising in the fridge now and I will bake it up tomorrow. Not sure yet what I want to make. Then a little snooze on the couch until Greg came home. Several months ago Greg got us tickets to a show for tonight so the nap was a good idea.

We headed up to Harlem and stopped at Strictly Roots for dinner. A West Indian place that also happens to be vegan. It doesn't look like much but this dish of sweet and sour tofu and veggies was amazingly full of flavor. Greg had BBQ'd seitan, plantains, and potatoes. After dinner we headed over a couple blocks to this place...

Maybe you've heard of it, the World Famous Apollo Theater. We had tickets to the Jenny Lewis show at the Apollo. It was fun to visit such an iconic theater I've seen so many times on TV. The theater was in pretty good shape and had the nicest staff around. We were seated up in the balcony with a perfect view of this giant chandelier.

Then we were surprised with an opening set by comedian Sara Silverman. She was very funny and as vulgar as ever. No flash photography meant not so great pictures, sorry.

Then Jenny Lewis and her band performed and did a great job. We really enjoyed the show. The only time I was not having a good time was when Jenny had the entire house up on their feet to dance along for the final song. The entire balcony started bouncing and made me really nervous. I mean come on, that is an old theater and the entire floor was visibly moving up and down. That I didn't enjoy but otherwise it was a lot of fun.
The best part is this concert was that it was perfect for an old fart like me. I went to a lot of shows in my youth but I tend to avoid them now because I no longer love standing for hours in smoky bars listening to too loud music and not getting home until the wee hours of the morning. Not at the Apollo. First we had real seats and got to sit the entire time (plus the NY smoking ban meant no smoke). The music was loud but the show was over by 10:30pm and I was home in time to catch the opening of SNL for the spoof of the debate (gotta love Tina Fey!). So it was a great night and the perfect end to a good day.