Little Peach, Big Apple

#OccupyWallStreet is going to ruin my Christmas

2011-11-03T00:50:00.000-04:00

I know it's a bit early to be thinking about Christmas. But it's been on my mind lately as downtown NYC starts to sparkle with Christmas lights.

And you better believe NYC does it up right. Carefully wrapped branches result in beautiful twinkling trees. None of that throw-it-in-the-branches-and-call-it-a-day stuff.

But one of my very favorite places at Christmastime is currently "Occupied."

Zuccotti Park, where the Occupy Wall Street movement is camped out, is a block-sized, understated park you really wouldn't think twice about walking through. In the daytime, it's full of people sitting on its stone benches, eating lunch from the nearby food carts. Tourists take pictures from here of the WTC site.

But the real magic of this park is at night. We often walk through Zuccotti Park on our way home from work. (Well, we did, before the Occupiers arrived.) This particular park has light bars built into the ground every few steps, making it a really beautiful, peaceful, ambient place to be at night. I love it. I've even told my husband that if things had been different, I would love to have been proposed to in that park.

And the beauty of the lights is only magnified at Christmas, when each bare tree is painstakingly wrapped with strands of white Christmas lights. And the planters in the park are taken over by huge, perfect Christmas trees.

A little natural snow never hurts

So I'm a bit sad that it's looking like I won't be enjoying my favorite Christmas spot this year. I wish I had a picture of it at night to show you. But if I took it now, it'd be full of plastic tarps and unshowered protesters.

{This is not meant to be a political statement. Let's keep it that way.}

Seattle

2011-10-14T03:45:00.000-04:00

Neither my husband nor I had ever been to Seattle, but we remedied that last week.

See the photos on my Flickr page!

Stuck in an elevator

2011-08-04T01:49:00.000-04:00

I knew it. I just knew those rickety elevators in our office building were going to let me down someday. Amazingly it took more three years for it to happen. But on our way home from work tonight, we didn't make it past the elevator. At least not for a while.

I'm glad Scott leaves at the same time as me and I'm glad we were the only ones in the elevator. As we descended, the elevator gave a little jerk when it reached the first floor. We looked at each other. We looked at the doors. They didn't open. We looked at each other. I tried pressing the door open button. Nothing happened. I pressed it again, harder. And again. Nothing. Should I press another floor and see if it will go up? I ask. Sure, he says. So I do. Nothing. So I press the alarm button and the front desk security guard asks if we are stuck and we say yes. Are we fine? Yes, fine. Okay, he says, I'm calling the elevator guy. A few minutes later he is on the intercom again. The elevator guy will be here in a few minutes, just stay put. Where else are we going? We sat on the floor and played games on our phones. No signal to post our misfortune on Facebook. Drat.

Thankfully we were stuck less than 20 minutes. And we really were fine. The elevator didn't plunge to any depths and neither of us is quite that claustrophobic. So we survived.

But I might take the stairs tomorrow.

Arizona observations

2011-07-15T18:05:00.001-04:00

The first week in July, Scott and I spent some time in Tucson and Phoenix. Here are a few observations I/we made while we were out there.

1. Once you turn the cold water into hot water, you're not getting it cold again.

2. Hair dries really fast.

Do not touch

3. Entering Millie's Pancake Haus lowers the median age significantly.

Sedona at sunset

4. If you're waiting for a left turn arrow, it won't happen till after the people who are going straight.

In the foothills

5. Flash flooding is no joke.

6. Palm trees are not just for the beach.

7. Every time I see the word desert, I think dessert.

8. The Metro is something you ride, not something you publish.

It was storming on our way to Sedona, but never on us. If you click on this photo to enlarge, you can see the rain coming down.

9. Arizona is greener than you'd think.

10. Dust storms are no joke. Of course, we were in the middle of the biggest one Phoenix has seen in decades.

Truck in the parking lot after the storm

11. Sunscreen is a way of life.

12. A Camaro is the car to have, apparently.

Sunset in Sedona

13. You can walk down the sidewalk without bumping into people.

Sunset from the hotel

14. You can walk down the sidewalk without breathing in cigarette smoke.

15. There is a mountain view anywhere you turn.

16. The food can, in fact, give New York a run for its money. (Seriously. So good. So cheap.)

Grilled ham and cheese covered in Gruyere

Sailing on the Hudson

2011-06-04T15:41:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, we went sailing on the Hudson River. Like, on a little tiny boat. Okay, they do get smaller, but there were five of us and it was, uh, intimate.

Scott's been talking about wanting to learn to sail for as long as I can remember. And with the river just steps away from any part of NYC, this is a good place to get the opportunity. Thanks to Groupon (if you decide to join, please use that link, cause it tells them I referred you) we got a half-price "Taste of Sailing" outing from Hudson River Community Sailing, which they call a "two-hour recreational, hands-on sail."

And it was a blast! (Except for the whole getting smacked in the head by the sail part. But I survived.)

The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Warm but not hot, and fairly windy. The water was a little choppy because of the wind, but nobody got seasick and we didn't fall in.

Scott got to hoist the sail, and I actually steered the boat for a while. And I didn't even 1) run us into anything or 2) capsize us.

The life vest adds 10 pounds.

What goes up, must come down.

It was fun to actually be on one of the sailboats we so often watch from our window. Not sure if we'll do it again, but it's something I'm glad we did.

Judgment Day

2011-05-19T01:01:00.000-04:00

I know I know, months without posting and now two in a row. And no, this is not an attempt to hide my sex post. You can still read it. I just have other stuff to say.

Surely you've heard — or seen — lately the people who are warning us about Judgment Day on May 21. People all over this city and many others have been handing out fliers and wearing signs on their backs that the Rapture is going to happen in two days. It's been big in the news, even people on the subway are chatting about it.

Working in a newsroom, this Judgment Day thing has come up a lot. Stories. Quotes. People are asking a lot of questions to the open air. "So good people disappear and sinners stay?" Not quite.

I've been thinking the last few days that all this talk about Judgment Day is such a huge opportunity to share Christ. To explain what the Rapture really is (not that I'm an expert). Because people are ASKING. I'm not someone who is just going to open up and start talking about God. But if you're asking a question, yes, I will answer.

Today I stepped into a conversation in the office involving about seven other people to explain that it's those who are saved who are taken. And how you can become one of those who gets taken. And how being a believer doesn't mean we're not sinners. And that it's heaven afterward and not some big dark void.

Yeah, I'll admit it. I'm proud of myself for saying something. I know I sound just about as crazy as those people saying it's all over in two days. (For the record, I don't believe they're right. "But about that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." [Matthew 24:36])

But even though I think we'll all be here well past Saturday, I do know one thing:

If it happens, I'm ready. Bring it on. Take me.

Museum of Sex. Yep.

2011-05-18T02:03:00.001-04:00

Me to Scott: "I want to blog about this but I'm not sure what to say except that we went."

There are a lot of museums in New York City. This past weekend we went to the Museum of Sex. And yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. And if that makes you want to giggle, go right ahead.

Like I said, I really don't know what to say about it except that we went. It was fun.

This is the only picture I took. It was the only thing I was comfortable posting here on the blog.

Please do not...

One thing I can say for sure, the Museum of Sex will change your perspective on things. (This was right after we left the museum.)

The famous Flatiron Building

Hipsters and a house show

2011-04-06T00:41:00.000-04:00

Are you familiar with the term "hipster"?

"Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. The greatest concentrations of hipsters can be found living in the Williamsburg, Wicker Park, and Mission District neighborhoods of major cosmopolitan centers such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco respectively. Although "hipsterism" is really a state of mind,it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses." UrbanDictionary.com

Yes, well, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (aka hipster haven) is where Scott and I spent some time this weekend. And I could not stop giggling. Because every. single. person. who walked past us was wearing a vintage-inspired look and thick-rimmed glasses.

We went to Williamsburg to see Dave Bazan play a house show. We've been to one of these before, and enjoyed it so much, we did it again.

You know that saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Well, when in Williamsburg, you gotta pull out the Hipstamatic camera.

Dave Bazan's new mahogany Martin guitar

Wooden swing in the "living room" of this space

Bazan doing his thing

Holy page views, Batman

2011-03-22T23:18:00.000-04:00

Blogger does this neat thing where you can see stats on your blog. How many page views you've gotten today, this week, all month, etc. Which links sent them here. What countries your readers are in. Pretty cool stuff.

So tonight I go check it out, and for whatever reason, March 18 was a good day. 147 page views, 91 hits on the Georgia Peach entry. Which was 17 days after I posted it. To put that in context, in the last 30 days, the next highest day was 31 page hits.

It is a bright spot in what admittedly has been a decline in the blog in the last six months. Most of my free time outside my day job is spent keeping up with RLPCo. I love it, but sometimes I miss the simple life of LPBA. I need to get back to writing more often.

Not so peachy

2011-03-01T01:41:00.000-05:00

There was an article in the paper today (well, tomorrow's paper) about a writer from North Carolina who moved to New York and wrote a book. As I was scanning through the pages when I got in, the headline caught my eye: "A Southern peach in the Big Apple." Can't imagine why that would've piqued my interest.

But more importantly, can you be a peach if you're not from Georgia? I mulled it momentarily and ulitmately voted no. As the resident Southerner, I made them change the headline. (It wound up being, "A Southern girl in the Big Apple.")

But what do you think? Can you be a peach if you're not a Georgia peach?

The littlest Darth Vader

2011-02-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

By now, you've probably seen the Super Bowl commercial featuring a diminutive Darth Vader. If you haven't, you must.

The reason I think this commercial is so great is 1) It's totally adorable. The kid is just so believable. But 2) It's wholesome. It gets laughs without anybody getting hurt or insulted. Nobody's yelling. It's a family. A dad who is helping his son to dream big.

Of course they're trying to sell 2012 Passats. But I think the beauty of this commercial is that it sells a whole lot more than just a car.

Outside in

2011-01-29T00:52:00.001-05:00

Our mission this weekend is to clean our apartment as though we were going to have company. There's no company in sight, of course, but this place looks like, oh, two blizzards and four snow storms blew through it. (January's equivalent of a tornado, I suppose.) Anyway, it's a wreck. We were traveling for Christmas and then traveling again last week (more on that later), so there were bags still unpacked, laundry to be done, floors to be swept, mail to be sorted, etc etc etc.

The bathroom is the room that got most tackled today. Toiletries put away, gels and creams consolidated, tub, toilet and floor scrubbed. But for the last few months, we've had nothing on our shower except a clear shower curtain. We'd bought one a few weeks back, but hadn't put it up yet. Today, we remedied that. Today, we brought the outside in.

Nice, huh? But I haven't really shared here on the blog WHY we had to get a new shower curtain. It's a bit of a traumatic event involving an early morning and a snake...

So, a few — I guess months — ago now, Scott had a morning appointment and so he had left the apartment. I don't remember exactly what time it was, something like 9ish. Which is early when you don't go to bed till 3 a.m. I was awakened by a weird sound coming from the bathroom. It sounded like metal in the pipes. I begrudgingly got up, closed the bathroom door, and went back to bed.

No dice. I could still hear it. So I got up again and went into the bathroom. There was no evidence of anything except a metal clanging in the sink pipes. I went out to the living room to try to find a number for our apartment building management to call and see if they knew what was going on. Then I heard POP! CLANK! from the bathroom. So I went back in, and the stopper in the sink — not like the cheapy metal ones you buy to collect hair, no, it's the kind that actually goes up and down when you press the lever on the back of the sink — has been popped out and is now laying in the sink. Weird. So I go back out to the living room to make a more earnest effort at finding that phone number. (All the while, weird noises still coming from the pipes.)

I'm sitting at my computer, and all of a sudden, I hear a CRASH in the bathroom. I run in there to find my SHOWER CURTAIN BEING PULLED DOWN THE DRAIN OF THE SINK. It's been pulled so hard the whole tension rod fell into the bathtub. I immediately begin a tug of war with whatever is pulling the shower curtain down the sink (you can see how far away it is!) and realize that a MECHANICAL METAL PIPE SNAKE has come UP OUT of the sink, GRABBED the shower curtain, WOUND around it, and PULLED IT BACK DOWN THE DRAIN. I am tugging in vain on my shower curtain and the snake is fighting me hard. I'm screaming "STOP IT, STOP IT!" at the top of my lungs, but no one hears me. After what felt like an eternity but was probably more like a minute, I manage to get what was left of my gauzy shower curtain unwrapped from around the snake and the metal tube retreats back down the drain. (You really have to picture it like a tug of war. Back and forth, back and forth, the whole time.)

By this time, I and my bathroom are covered in dirty water. My shower curtain is in shreds. I march straight down to the management office and demand to know what the heck is going on. I'm sure I'm a sight to see. They get a maintenance guy on the phone who is, lo and behold, snaking out the drain between our neighbors and us. Well DUH. The apartment manager nicely apologizes and offers to reimburse us for a new shower curtain. He also sends up the cleaning lady who does an amazing job scrubbing down the entire bathroom.

So, yeah. I am slightly traumatized by my horror movie-like morning, but in the end, we got an expensive shower curtain we likely would never splurge for ourselves (hey, they're paying for it) and a sparkling bathroom. And a heck of a good story. If you didn't have to live through it.

(Disclosure: Curtain seen here is not the expensive one. I'm not putting that one up with snakes in drains on the loose. We found the current one for $15 at Target, on a whim after we had already bought the other one. Photo of expensiver CB2 curtain is below.)

Go on, read it!

2011-01-02T23:04:00.000-05:00

I know many of you — whether you got to my blog from hers or vice versa — enjoy reading my friend Kari's blog. Well, she just celebrated her 1000th post on C'est la vie, and I really think you should go check it out. Make sure you click on her link for more details :)

http://jkmassonfrance.blogspot.com/

Congratulations, Kari, on your 1000th post, and its contents!

23 inches of snow...

2010-12-31T01:48:00.000-05:00

... leaves a real mess. Sure it looks beautiful here ...

but I wouldn't want to be this person.

This year's ornament

2010-12-21T03:39:00.000-05:00

I think I've written about it before, but every year, the one Christmas tradition Scott and I have is to pick out an ornament for that year. It can be cheap, expensive, have some meaning, or just be something we happened to like.

This year, we wanted to find something that commemorates my new greeting card business. We came across this one at Macy's, and it's now on our tree.

Granted, it's not a Christmas CARD per se, but it's a scroll. Close enough, right?

Here's a look at the other ornaments we've gotten each year since we've been married:

2004 - The first ornament

2005

2006

2007 - Christmas in Atlanta

2008 - The year we moved to NYC

2009

Why this year's tree is special

2010-12-17T04:08:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess it's not so much the tree itself that's special. It is, after all, the same tree we've used for the last three Christmases. What makes it special is the tree's location.

2009

2010

You might not recognize it because we've moved around some furniture, but that tree is in the exact same spot it was last Christmas. Which is the first time that's happened since we got married six and a half years ago. It's the first time we've been in the same apartment for two Christmases.

So even though every year's tree is special, this one's just a little bit more so. It's funny to say we've put down some roots here, because we feel far from that, but I guess it's a little bit true. There are some options in the cards for being in a different place next year, but all things the same, we'd love to still be in this apartment come next Christmas. But we'll see what the winds of change have in store.

For now, I'm going to enjoy my little tree in my little apartment for the second year in a row.

How we know Santa is from the South

2010-12-10T18:59:00.000-05:00

Everybody knows Santa lives at the North Pole. But what they didn't tell you is that he originally lived in the South. Not the South Pole. The South South. The y'all South. I bet you're wondering how I know this, aren't you? It's because I've seen him twice in the last week.

Reason #1 we know Santa's from the South: He flies Airtran (which is based in Atlanta). And he said he had spent the past week in New Orleans. On one of our flights this week, a jolly-looking man with a big white beard sat behind us on the plane. Someone else asked if he was Santa, and he said actually, he was. He travels for a photo company letting kids sit on his knee and make Christmas wishes to the Jolly Old Elf himself. (Super-nice guy. He even let us out of our seats on the plane without trying to push past us first.)

Reason #2 we know Santa's from the South: He eats at Chick-fil-a. While he and Mrs. Claus were visiting a shopping mall in Delaware this week, we spotted the couple dining at my favorite joint. And what self-respecting Southern boy don't like him some fried chicken?

So there you have it. Santa's a Southerner. I was going to suggest replacing his cookies with some waffle fries, but on second thought, we Southerners like both, and you DO want to be on Santa's good side, don't you?

Leaf-peeping in Central Park

2010-11-21T02:13:00.000-05:00

Self-portrait

All treat, no trick

2010-10-22T17:20:00.000-04:00

I am a firm believer that when you find something that makes you feel beautiful and sexy, you should act on it. Because we don't feel that way about ourselves often enough. Or at least I don't. So whether it's an $80 bra (and that was the cheaper one!) or a $130 haircut, sometimes you just have to go for it. (If you're lucky, sometimes it's a $10 shirt). It's easy to let cost get in the way of feeling amazing. Granted, none of us can just run out and buy whatever we want that makes us feel good whenever we want it. But, you know, occasionally, I think it's absolutely necessary.

If you don't mind, I'll not share the bra. But here's the haircut!

It's pretty windy today, so I had the girl at the desk at the salon snap one with my iPhone before I walked out the door.

Where I've been

2010-10-21T00:27:00.000-04:00

I read a blog post yesterday that contained tips on being a good blogger. One of them was to blog often/consistently, or you lose your readership.

Yeah, I can attest to that.

I've been busy lately. If you didn't see the post a few months ago (if you didn't see the post a few months ago, you're probably not reading this now, but anyway) I've started my own business. And I don't know if you've ever started your own business, but if you have, kudos to you, because it's a tough, exciting, grueling, rewarding, and SLOW process.

But I'm not posting this to beg for business. Really. I just wanted to tell you about what's been going on in my life. What starting a business is like. At the beginning it was a lot of running around getting paperwork in order. Most of that part is done now. I mostly just wait. I've been working on new Christmas cards that I hope to have up soon, since we'll be in full holiday swing after Halloween.

I think a big part of starting a business is patience. Which is hard, because if you jump through all the hoops to start a business, you're obviously passionate about sharing something with other people. I just wish other people were as excited about the cards as I am.

So between the business and my regular job, for which I've been staying late a lot because of baseball playoffs, not much time to blog. And not much interesting happening besides the daily grind.

But lucky for you, I've got at least two other posts in the works, so hopefully it won't be another month before I post again, and I promise they won't be about my business :)

Who's next?

2010-10-07T01:35:00.000-04:00

So, apparently, I have come face to face with a 2012 presidential candidate. Pretty cool, huh. And would you believe he was naked?

That's right. The Naked Cowboy, aka Robert Burck, has tossed his cowboy hat into the ring for the White House. Actually, make that the Tighty Whitey House. For the briefing, he wore real clothes, and even a tie. He says he's serious, although he began a run for mayor in 2009, but changed his mind.

First change after being elected? Casual Friday every day.

And you know he'll be running against Donald Trump, right? Yep, the mogul himself is considering another real estate acquisition, one of the most coveted addresses in the country. And in keeping with his theme — Trump Building, Trump Tower, Trump Plaza — the White House will heretofore be know as the Trump House. Got a hankering to be vice president? I'm sure he'll be casting soon for "The VP Apprentice."

Personally, my vote is for the Naked Cowboy. Nobody can do more with less.

Note: This post is intended to be fun and light-hearted. Let's not get into real politics in the comments, k?

Naked in Times Square

2010-09-25T02:25:00.000-04:00

Not me, of course. That would be the stuff of a terrifyingly horrible nightmare. But this guy ... it's his living.

I've heard about the Naked Cowboy, and I've seen pictures of him, but this was the first time I've seen him with my own eyes.

Flexing his ... muscles

But this guy is more than just a mostly naked, good-looking man wandering Times Square. He's a business man. He's a musician. He's a legend. He's a ... what? What song was he playing when I passed him today?

Uh, couldn't tell you ... but who really cares?

I put myself to shame

2010-09-11T04:54:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here at 4:30 a.m. on a Friday ni ... uh, Saturday morning ... reading old blog posts from nearly two years ago. Like this one about how to get free Starbucks. Or this one that unknowingly predicted the future. Or my theory on snow globes. I forgot I said some of that stuff. But you know what I noticed? I put myself to shame! In 2008, I posted 77 blog posts. In 2009, 75 blog posts. So far this year? Thirty-two. Not even half and we're nearly three-quarters of the way through the year.

I've got some catching up to do...

I don't drink.

2010-09-08T02:09:00.001-04:00

My husband today sent me this article written by a woman who doesn't drink. And yes, by drink, we're talking alcohol. The title of the article is "My not drinking bothers friends," and I was immediately interested. See, I don't drink either. At least, not much. But I find that often in social situations, I feel weird about drinking a Coke, or just water. Although to be honest, it's probably more my issue than my friends' issue. I'm the one who's self-conscious. I can't even have dinner at a nice Italian restaurant without feeling weird that we're the only ones without wine. Why is it SO taboo to NOT be a drinker?

There's a great line in the article where someone asks the writer's husband (who also doesn't drink) why he's not having an adult beverage. His reply: "Listen, I'm a 30-year-old man. Whatever I'm drinking is an adult beverage." I love that.

The writer, who used to drink, quit because she didn't like where it was taking her. My excuses are a little different:

1) I don't like it. Plain and simple. I don't have a problem if you want to drink, go right ahead. But I just don't like the taste of it. I'd much rather spend my hard-earned cash on a Coke than a Cosmo, Corona, or Cognac. (And why ruin a perfectly good Coca Cola with Jack?) Sure, there are times where I feel like indulging, and I do, but it most likely involves a mojito or something peach. And just one.

2) Ignorance. I wouldn't know the difference between a Fuzzy Navel and a Sex on the Beach. All those bottles on the back of the bar look nice, but I have no idea what's in them, and my will to learn is nearly nonexistent.

So there you have it. I don't drink. At least, not much. So next time you're taking me out to dinner (see what I did there?), be glad I'm a cheap date!

The lost months

2010-09-01T00:34:00.000-04:00

I have issues remember things on, in, or about August and September. (Apparently, I also forgot to blog for most of August.)

Seriously. I can't remember what number corresponds with those months (5, easy, May, 10, easy, October) and I literally have to count them out to remember that August and September are 8 and 9. I also have a terrible time remembering dates in those months, particularly birthdays. I'm really good at remembering birthdays in any other month, but if you were born in August or September, I'm just going to apologize now, because I'm going to forget. I might remember that you were born in August or September, but I'll have no idea on the day. Or maybe I could guess within three days on either side...

I don't know what it is about those months, but they just don't stick for me. Anybody else feel this way about August and September? Or any other months? Or am I completely off my rocker? (Don't answer that.)

I refuse to be a statistic

2010-08-19T02:26:00.000-04:00

I saw this headline today and was slightly alarmed:

One-fourth of renters will never buy a home: survey

Uh, that's not cool. I want to eventually own a home. Pick my own paint. Stop buying furniture purely on the basis of how easy it is to move. But thankfully, the key word here is SURVEY. It doesn't say STUDY. Which means, this was a survey of 2,000 renters, and 27 percent of them never plan to buy a home, as opposed to a study saying those of us who are renting should just put away our dreams of ever owning.

I have to wonder, though, how many of these renters that were surveyed live in New York, because real estate prices here can crush your dreams real fast. With a median home price of $403,600 — and that's a home of maybe one bedroom and 700 square feet — it's just a leetle bit 'spensive to buy here.

The big secret revealed!

2010-08-07T09:19:00.002-04:00

Over the last few months, you may have seen me refer to a big project I've been working on, specifically in my post about finding a mouse pad. Well, the time has come to let you in on the secret.

I've started my own business. It's called Red Letter Paper Company, and we exist to make cool Christian cards.

We started with a mission — cool cards, warm wishes — and a goal: doing all things for the glory of God. We've launched with two lines of cards: 1000 Words, blank cards that feature photos on the front that remind us that God is in the little things and a verse on the back, and No Vacancy, which are cool Christian Christmas cards.

To the few of you who knew about RLPCo., thank you for you support and encouragement along the way. Thanks to my husband, who has listened to all my ideas and given his honest opinion, even when I didn't want to hear it. And thanks to Kari, who without, RLPCo would never have existed. Most of those photos on the 1000 Words cards? Yeah, they're hers. But above that, and above her publishing and business knowledge that have come in exceedingly handy through this project, her support and friendship have meant the world. Kari, I can't say it enough, but thank you, thank you, thank you.

So now you know why I have blogged so infrequently in the last few months. Opening a business is a lot of work. And it'd be great if it makes money, but mostly, RLPCo is a way for me to express worship by using my talents for God, and if some other people benefit from them along the way, even better.

If you're interested in buying some cards, you can use the code ILOVERLPCO at checkout for 10% off through the month of August. And sign up for our newsletter to receive updates on new cards and special offers. Oh, and we're on Facebook and Twitter, too. :)

Fruit FAIL

2010-07-24T14:38:00.001-04:00

I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen when you cut into a watermelon.

It reminds me of those pumpkins you see at Halloween. You know the ones.

End of a hot dog era

2010-07-21T00:28:00.000-04:00

Let's face it, hot dogs are a quick and easy (and tasty) meal. Even tastier when you use a pretzel as a bun.

I don't know if you're familiar with Philadelphia-style soft pretzels, but they're not your typical shape. They're more like two links of a chain. (You'll have to Google it. I'm not sure what the rules are for stealing photos.) I'll wait...

Ok, done?

So you can see that its long thin shape would make a perfect bun for a hot dog. All you have to do is split it and add some mustard. So tasty.

But sadly, the Philly Pretzel Factory near our apartment has closed for good. We actually had to go buy hot dog buns in a bag so we can eat the ones we have in the fridge.

I'm bummed we won't be able to have hot dogs on pretzels anymore. It was really, really good.

Oh, hmm, there's one a few blocks from the train stop in Newark...

Take a look, it's in a book...

2010-07-12T02:17:00.000-04:00

Three posts in just a little over a week. It's almost like I'm back in this! (And don't tell me you didn't just hum the Reading Rainbow theme to yourself. We all know you did.)

Anyway, what I wanted to talk about is books. Reading books. I've always been a reader; I read the whole Laura Ingalls Wilder series by the time I was ... oh I don't know ... really young. I'm sure my parents can tell you better.

Lately, I've been having the urge to read, but I've been really busy with other stuff and just haven't taken the time to sit down and amend that. Well, this weekend, I fixed it. I read three books between afternoon Friday and now, which is 2 a.m. Monday morning.

(I suppose you want to know what I read. Nothing earth-shattering. Books from the free bin at work, but here you go: 1) Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel [eh, kinda depressing], 2) All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost [better than the first] by Lan Samantha Chang, and 3) April & Oliver by Tess Callahan [just finished 5 minutes ago, so I'm still processing but it was my favorite of the weekend].)

When I sit down to read, I do nothing else until I've finished the book. I know not to start a book in the evening, unless it's short or I plan to be up till the wee hours of the morning. (I mean past my normal wee hours of the morning.) I absolutely cannot STAND to put a book down in the middle. It drives me nuts to have to draw one out over more than a day. I HAVE to finish. Maybe I just get so drawn into the characters that I must know what happens as soon as possible. Maybe I just enjoy losing myself in another world. I'm not really sure why I feel such a draw to read a book in only one sitting, but I do. It just drives me insane to have it drawn out over a period of time. I can't claw my way back fast enough to finish it if I didn't the first time around. Although technically I should be saying "novels," because books I feel I should be learning something from I like to read a little and give it a few days to digest before reading more.

What about you? Do you feel compelled to read an entire book in one sitting? Or are you ok with putting it down every few chapters and picking it up again hours or even days later?

Sweet surprise

2010-07-09T01:56:00.000-04:00

On July 4, Scott and I spent the day on an extended date. We're not big into crowds, at least I'm not, and we wanted to be home during the fireworks to make sure our big scaredy-dog was ok during the show.

So we decided that since we weren't attending any cookouts, we'd go get some barbecue of our own (and later we went to go see a movie). There's a place here in the city called Daisy May's BBQ USA. It's been on the Food Network a few times, and recently was featured on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate (Barbecue)."

I'm just gonna cut to the chase. Good barbecue. Even better sides. Really. Fantastic. Amazing. Sweet Tea. I mean like, maybe possibly the best sweet tea I've ever had. And that's saying a lot coming from a Southern girl.

It came in a Ball Mason jar, which is very southern, but it was fresh, had just the right amount of sugar, and something I haven't really experienced much in sweet tea — fresh mint. Which I think was the kicker for me. Man, it was just SO GOOD. I would go there just to get the tea.

Who'd'a thunk I'd find such amazing sweet tea north of the Mason Dixon line?

Red, white and blue

2010-07-04T01:53:00.000-04:00

Happy Fourth of July, from me and my new camera!

New glasses

2010-06-09T03:00:00.003-04:00

Remember a while back when I was looking at getting new glasses? Yeah, well, it didn't happen. Until now. So here's the debut of my new specs, cause I know you guys wanna know.

Eeek! A mouse!

2010-06-05T03:27:00.000-04:00

I can't tell you how long I've had a laptop. It's been a long time that it's been my computer model of choice. I think maybe before or around the time I went to college? Which was 10 years ago. (Cripes.)

But like all computers over time, my much-loved Powerbook just wasn't cutting it for my increasing need for it to do more, and faster. So I did the inevitable: bought a new computer. But not just any computer. Not a laptop. A desktop. An iMac.

As I've grown into my career as a designer, I've developed the need for a little more so-called floor space on my monitor, and the added flexibility of a mouse over a trackpad.

And then I was hit with a realization. I would be using a mouse again. Which is fine. (And it's not just any mouse, but an Apple Magic Mouse, which is totally cool.) But you know what a mouse means right? A mouse PAD.

Ugh. I feel some kind of weird pressure that your mouse pad has to be cool but not geeky and somehow represent who you are. I was already fretting over having to pick one out before my computer even arrived. But then we went to Scott's parents' house last weekend for Memorial Day and he got into some old boxes of his stored in their garage. And he found one of his old mouse pads. And I kinda love it.

Firstly, Dr. Seuss is way cool. But the particular text on this mouse pad really has a deeper meaning for me. I've been struggling for a while with my confidence as a designer. And I have a new project on the horizon (more on that at a later date) that is forcing me to trust myself with my mouse. And to trust God with my mouse.

So would I, can I, with a mouse? Why, yes. Yes. I would. I can. I will. I will!

Not just roses are red

2010-05-27T02:07:00.000-04:00

Did you know that only 4 percent of people on earth are redheads? And in the U.S., only 2 percent of the population are redheads? That makes me special. (Well, special-er. We already knew I was special. In a good way.)

Other redhead facts and lore I found interesting:

The color green tempers red. Look at a color chart. This is why redheads are taught as children to wear lots of green. As if red hair is a shameful state of being.
I don't know about shameful. But I do wear a lot of green...

A 2002 study found that redheads are harder to sedate than any other people requiring 20 percent more anesthesia. Inadequate doses cause people to wake up during surgery and have increased recall of procedures.
This has, in fact, seemed to be the case for me.

The perception of the color red, scientifically speaking, enhances the viewer's metabolism and increases heart rate and respiration.
*evil grin*

In the late 16th century, the fat of a redheaded man was an essential ingredient for poison.
Um, eww.

Bees are thought to sting redheads more than others.
So my fears are justified!

In Greek mythology, redheads turn into vampires when they die.
Muahahaha...

Frugal fonts

2010-05-11T01:48:00.000-04:00

My husband drew my attention to an article recently about how the font you use can save you money when printing. It makes sense — sans serif, less dense font, less ink, ink lasts longer, printer lasts longer, BINGO! Save money. But anyway, they determined the font that would save you the most dough is Century Gothic, estimating a $20 savings a year (compared to Arial) for the average person.

Find the article here.

Man, I hope Comic Sans costs a million bajillion dollars...

Getting intimate

2010-05-08T13:51:00.002-04:00

I know I've abandoned the blog. Sorry. Not gonna promise I won't do it again, cause I'm just not feeling particularly inspired these days.

But I wanted to write about something cool we did last night. One of Scott's favorite musicians, David Bazan, has this neat thing where instead of playing in venues to a couple hundred people (well, he does that too), he asks for people to open up their homes to about 40 people and he will come play. Just him and a guitar. (And the world's smallest amp.)

So that's what we did last night. We made our way out to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where the space seemed to be an old warehouse loft. I don't really think anybody is living there at this point, I think it's just a gathering space owned by someone with a big open expanse of flooring. But anyway, Scott and I wound up sitting on the floor (we didn't want to invest in pillows to sit on, so we took some doubled-up towels and that worked out fine) about 20 feet from David Bazan.

Now, Bazan is one of the few of Scott's favorite musicians that I don't hate and maybe even like a little. So I agreed to go, because I thought the format of this show would be really cool. And I was right. It was really intimate, very laid-back. He took questions and played requests. It was almost more like a bunch of friends getting together. And the guitar and his voice really blended well in that space.

It was a really cool experience, and I have to say I'm a bigger fan now than a I was before the show. I think all musicians should do this format once in a while. Out of the concert halls and back in touch with reality — and the fans.

Behind enemy lines

2010-04-25T23:37:00.012-04:00

If you don't follow too many sports, or baseball in particular, you might not know that the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves have one of the most spirited rivalries in Major League Baseball.

Growing up in Atlanta, I am, naturally, a Braves fan. My husband, however, is a Mets fan. You can imagine this has led to more than one moment of discontent.

On Friday, we made a spontaneous decision to go to a Mets game. We really just wanted to get out of the house (and Scott was trying to avoid the NFL draft) so we bought cheap seats in the nosebleed section and got out of the house for a while. But this wasn't just any Mets game...it was a Mets-Braves game.

I decided to take on a covert operation to cheer on my team while appearing as though I was a Mets fan.

Decked in one of Scott's Mets hats...

and my Mets duffle bag I got for free at a previous game...

we headed to the stadium.

Last time we went, I wasn't able to get this shot because of the crowds...

but this time, success! (And I already knew he was a home run...)

We arrived early to check out the stadium, since we got there late the one time we went last season, and Scott got to see the 1986 World Series trophy, won in a game which he remembers staying up late to watch when he was 12.

I took a picture of him down near the field, cause I figured that was as close as we were gonna get.

Behind the big screen in the stadium, there's a promenade with a few restaurants and things to do. Which apparently includes the torture of Braves fans in dunk tanks!

Even Scott got in on this. Hmph.

My disguise was so good, even Mr. Met shook my hand and wanted a photo with me.

As we made our way to our seats, this made me laugh:

The seats were actually not as bad as I expected them to be. We had a beautiful view of the river behind the screen.

BUT...in the fifth inning, I spotted an official-looking guy in our section looking around, and I caught his eye. He came over asked if the two of us would like to move down to field level, for free! Uh, lemmethinkaboutthatYES!! Our new seats were about 10 rows from the field, behind the left-field foul pole. Here's a view from our new seats. You can see our old seats.

Here's our new seats in a view from the old seats:

The Mets ended up winning the game, so a score for Scott. Not so much for me. But it's ok, 'cause I like it when he's happy. So in the end, we were both happy.

I might have to invest in a Braves hat, though...

Somebody owes me some money

2010-04-11T23:18:00.006-04:00

Alright. Who was it? Was it you? Cause if so, why I oughtta...

You guys remember this post about my ingenious iPhone app? Go on, it'll only take a sec. Click the link, I'll wait here.

Done? Ok. Yeah. So...

I'm surfing the iTunes app store as I'm ... app-t ... to do (oh come on, that was funny!) and I came across THIS:

An app that uses the camera while you're using the phone so you can see where you're going! Sound familiar???

And I quote: "Wouldn't it be hilarious if there was an app for people's iPhones and BlackBerrys that showed them on screen what's coming up in front of them?"

This app is called Dial N Walk, and lets you dial numbers, look through your contacts list and more while displaying a backdrop of what's coming up in front of you, thanks to the camera on the phone.

I quote again: "Let the record show that this was my brilliant idea, and when somebody actually invents it, I want a cut, mmkay?"

Did I mention, at 99 cents to download, it's the the THIRD TOP-GROSSING iPhone app? That is a lot of 99 centses, people.

Somebody owes me, bigtime.

Baggin' up

2010-04-09T23:53:00.004-04:00

Let me just preface this by saying: I have never felt unsafe or been pickpocketed during my time in New York. (knock on wood) This post is simply an observation.

In less than a week, my grandmother and aunt from middle-of-nowhere Kentucky (ok, it may be somewhere, but compared to here, I'm allowed to call it that, k?) and my mom are coming to visit New York for a few days. Since it'll be all ladies in this group, I thought I'd give a few rules and regulations on carrying a handbag in this city.

1) BE AWARE. That's pretty self-explanatory. Know who's around you and how close they are.

2) SHOULDER IT. I would not recommend carrying a purse that you can't put over your shoulder or across your body. Think about it. It'd be way easier for someone to snatch it out of your fingers than off your shoulder.

3) ZIP IT. It's best to have a purse or bag that zips so that no wandering hands find themselves in your bag when you're not paying attention. I also recommend carrying it so that the actual pull for the zipper is pointed toward the front, so no one can unzip it from behind you to stick their hands in.

Back when Big Red was brand new. Sigh.

Now, have I given you an excuse to go shopping yet?

Suspicioutivity

2010-04-05T01:44:00.004-04:00

(sus-pish-uh-TIV-ity)

When you're standing around in the station, waiting for the train, you tend to hear the announcements a lot. I can probably quote the whole thing, I've heard it so many times. It's just about the rules on the train — no eating or drinking — and keeping your eyes open for anything suspicious.

Occasionally a new person will record the tape, and you'll hear that one for a few weeks. But there's this one guy that cracks me up every time I hear his version. It SHOULD say: "If you see any suspicious activity or unattended bags or packages, please call the Port Authority police at ..." But this guy gets going so fast, he stumbles over it and says: "If you see any suspicioutivity, or unattended bags or packages..."

Suspicioutivity? Right, sure, OK. I'll be sure to let you know if I see it...

No place like home

2010-03-18T21:49:00.009-04:00

I wish I was as good at updating my blog while I'm away as other people are, but I'm not. And when you're gone for two weeks, you rack up a lot of stuff you could say. But really, it'd take me forever to write it all, and you'd probably be bored to tears. So let's do this in short form, shall we?

1. Stuck at airport for six hours because of SNOW in Atlanta. So much for global warming.
2. Ate at Chick-fil-a upon arrival.
3. Shopped with Mom.
4. Ate at Chick-fil-a.
5. Started going through old stuff in the bottom of my closet. Diary in 1992 starts, "No cute boys today."
6. Shopped with Mom.
7. Shopped with Mom and bought a $100 leather jacket for $12.99.
8. Met with my middle-school Spanish teacher, who was one of the first people to help me break out of my shell, for the first time since I was 13. She looks the same. I don't, thank God.
9. Went to church with my parents. Saw World's Strongest Redneck bend steel with his hands and teach the gospel.
10. Had mini-Oscar party with Meaghan and lots of cookies.
11. Drove down to Statesboro. Met my sister's boyfriend for the first time (I approve). Put her in the car too and headed for Hilton Head.
12. Shopped at the outlets. All the effort spent trying to get my sister to dress more like me might have been too successful.

Taken with Mom's cell phone

13. Went to the beach for about 20 minutes. It was getting darker and colder.

Click here to see more Hilton Head photos!

14. Had a really great seafood dinner on Hilton Head. Would have gotten totally lost trying to get back in pitch black if not for my iPhone.
15. Stayed up late talking cameras and iPhones with Dad.
16. Shopped with Mom.
17. Shopped with Mom.
18. Tried portobello mushrooms. Didn't die.
19. Ate broccoli. Didn't die. (Actually probably the best broccoli I've ever had.)
20. Drove past our old house in Smyrna. (We moved to Marietta when I was in fourth grade.)

21. Made attempt #1 to fly back. Flight canceled because of weather in Northeast. Can't get out till Monday.
22. Sang in church choir with my parents. Been a long time since I've done that. (Hey, I went to choir practice while I was there.)
23. Went to Georgia Festival Chorus concert. Been a long time since I've done that too. Most of those people hadn't seen me in 10 years.
24. Made late-night ice cream run to Steak and Shake with Mom. She says "you know this is crazy." Everybody needs a little crazy.
25. Finally made it on plane back to New Jersey.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff, but it was a great trip. Spending more than a few days there really allowed me to not feel like I was rushing there and back.

Bag v2.0

2010-02-28T23:17:00.005-05:00

Well, Big Red's getting a little rough around the edges these days, and I've been looking for a replacement. I've also been having some back problems and I think carrying a heavy bag over one shoulder all the time may be contributing to that, so I've been looking for something with a shoulder strap so that I can carry it across my body, and hopefully distribute the weight a little better.

I found this at Target the other day, but I can't decide if I like or if it looks too much like a beach bag.

Just a color shade down the scale, if I keep this one, it'd be Big Orange.

I feel like nothing will ever compare to Big Red, so my search is sorta doomed from the start. Anyway, what do you guys think?

Two years

2010-02-25T11:07:00.003-05:00

Two years ago today, I was sitting in my apartment in Philadelphia, overwhelmed by the recent decision to move to New York and subsequent rush to find a place. I thought, if I had a blog, I'd call it Little Peach, Big Apple, cause that would be cute, no? I'll be a little Georgia peach in this rather daunting Big Apple of a city. And so I figured, why not? People will probably want to know about our lives in New York. So I sat down to write.

Two years later, this blog has been home to two sets of apartment photos, rules on what to do/not do in the city, lots of pictures, birthdays and anniversaries, some (what I would consider to be) inspired posts, and others not so much. It's brought me new friends and reconnected me with old ones, one of whom, though thousands of miles away, I'd consider among my closest. And it's forced me to look outside the blinders and see things a little differently. The "blog lens," as she called it, where you don't just take in the world, but look at it as something to share with others.

So happy 2-year anniversary to my blog, and stay tuned, there'll be lots more!

Hmm, I should have made cake...

It's a small world after all

2010-02-22T23:36:00.003-05:00

Population of New York City: 8.3 million
Distance from Shorter College: 881 miles
Approximate number of students there: 1000

Chances I'd run into someone I know in a city of 8.3 million people 881 miles away from a school we went to that only had 1000 people: I have no idea, I'd say not much, but it happened anyway.

And if you spend the rest of the day with "It's a small world after all" stuck in your head, then my job here is done.

A Wicked awesome week

2010-02-16T00:39:00.005-05:00

On Tuesday, my best friend Meaghan arrived in town to hang out for a day, eat some amazing food, and go see Wicked with me on Broadway. This is going to be the abbreviated version, but we had a good day together doing mostly nothing, and then for dinner we went to Bobby Flay's Bar Americain. The food was excellent, but we were just a teeny tiny bit distracted by Jennifer Garner sitting not far away from us. So close we could hear her voice. Apparently she was doing the Late Show with David Letterman that night, and his studio is only a few steps from the restaurant. She's the first celebrity I've seen in New York!

After dinner, we walked the two blocks to the Gershwin Theater for Wicked. This is us before the show. (I did a rough brightening of some of these pics cause they were so dark.)

Inside, the set was amazing. Too bad you can't take photos during the show. Go see it yourself!

This sign made me giggle on the way out.

Here we are after the show.

(We were totally stoked, can you tell?) All we could keep saying was it was "SO GOOD!" There just aren't really words. Really, if you get the chance to go see it, GO. It's amazing.

By the end of the evening, we'd had dinner with Jennifer Garner, seen the most amazing show on Broadway, eaten a decadent chocolate dessert, and to top it all off it was snowing on us in Times Square. Picture perfect New York evening.

Let's skip to Saturday, so I can brag about my husband. Scott had made Valentine's plans for then, since we didn't know we'd have the day off Sunday too, so we went to our favorite restaurant here, Lupa, which he reserved a month in advance. That place is so so so good. Never disappoints. Much like my husband, who not only bought me The Time Traveler's Wife on DVD since I loved the book but didn't get to see it in the theater, he also reserved the media room downstairs that has a large projection screen so I could sorta see it on the big screen. Very thoughtful of him and much appreciated by me. And it's a really good movie, if you're interested. I wish I'd been as thoughtful for him, but I used up all my good ideas for Christmas.

So between Meaghan and Wicked and Valentine's with my husband, it was a really great week. So good I apparently was having too much fun to blog.

Not it

2010-02-06T23:32:00.005-05:00

This post probably makes me a terrible person, but here it is anyway.

You know Scott and I have struggled to find a church here. There's one we like, but we have a really hard time getting there on Sunday mornings. So we found this Friday night church and figured we'd give it a try. We went last night. Now, I'm not going to tell you the name, because I don't want anyone Googling that church to come across this blog post. To each his own. But I'll just say this:

It's never good when, after more than an hour into it, this is your only sermon note.

Equipment failure

2010-02-04T00:05:00.004-05:00

For all of you who drive to work, you probably think I never have to worry about my transportation breaking down. I never have a flat tire. I never blow a gasket. I never have problems with unintended acceleration... But you'd be wrong that I never have transportation breakdowns. Even in my seven-minute, two-stop train commute, there can be problems. I can now tell you from experience that the engine on the front car can die between Exchange Place and World Trade Center, and you'll have to wait, sitting underneath the Hudson River, for the the driver and conductor to make their way to the back car which now becomes the front car and head back to Exchange Place, where you'll have to wait for the next train coming through on the other track now because the first one is blocked. (Whew.)

Lots of people around me were huffing and puffing about it, but I just laughed. What can you do? Well, besides pull out your iPhone and entertain yourself...

And thankfully, that part about sitting under the Hudson River never even occurred to me until I relayed this story to my mom later in the evening. Too bad the train didn't take a hint from the river and just keep rollin' along.

You what?

2010-01-27T02:54:00.002-05:00

We periodically get this takeout menu under our door, and it makes me giggle every time.

Cuckoo for Coco

2010-01-22T02:59:00.003-05:00

My homage to Conan O'Brien. My design. My headlines.

On the bright side, if he winds up back in New York, I might actually get to go see him.

The late-night debacle

2010-01-14T23:59:00.003-05:00

I haven't really ever used this blog to editorialize because, well, I just don't feel that strongly about a lot of stuff. But there's something going on right now that I do feel strongly about, and it affects my everyday routine. My assignments at work this week have included handling the letters we get from readers, and a lot were about this topic. I'm not going to write in to my own paper, so I guess this is my outlet. I realize there are more pressing world matters at the moment that make this petty, but it's still something on my mind.

You've probably heard about the whole NBC late-night debacle. Due to poor ratings and NBC affiliates being angry that their viewer numbers were down going into the evening news, NBC has decided to discontinue The Jay Leno Show at 10 p.m. NBC wants to move Jay Leno back to 11:35, and push Conan O'Brien and his Tonight Show back to 12:05. (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon would get pushed back an hour too, but I'm focusing on Leno and Conan here.) Saturday Night Live said on its show last week, that it's odd to push "The Tonight Show" back to a time when it is no longer tonight. And they have a point.

Conan has put out a statement that if NBC pushes The Tonight Show back to 12:05, he will not be part of it. He believes that moving the Tonight Show back (to a time when it is no longer tonight...) would destroy the show, and he won't be part of it. So basically at this point, we're looking at what looks like Jay Leno taking back over the Tonight Show at 11:35 and Conan being SOL.

I watched Jay a lot when he was the Tonight Show host. He's pretty good. Once he moved to 10, I stopped watching, because I'm at work, and I'm not interested in DVRing and watching it every night. I know myself, and it would sit on the DVR for months and never get watched, so I don't bother. But I do like Conan a lot, always have, and prefer him to Jay. I like him as host of the Tonight Show. Sure it's different than when Jay hosted. They're two different people with two different styles. I want Conan to stay.

NBC should cut its losses and say so long to Leno. Let him host a car show or something. You signed a contract with Conan, and the late-night-watching public have gotten used to him at the helm. (Although I do know there are lots of people out there too who would rather have Jay back.) But they made a deal. They need to stick with it. At least give Conan more than 7 months before you just usher him out the door. My feeling is that even if Conan leaves and Jay comes back, they're still going to suffer a lot of backlash. Jay will never get the ratings he had before. A lot of people will boycott and not watch. I'll be one of them. (I'd love to shut off NBC completely for this, but I love Jimmy Fallon and The Office.)

NBC has royally screwed up. They need to make it right. But I'm also sorta annoyed that Leno hasn't just been the bigger man and said thanks but no thanks. He had television's most prestigious late-night show for 17 years. It's Conan's time. If NBC is going to be idiotic, then Jay should stand aside.

In a nutshell, NBC has made a mess, Jay has sat back and let it happen, and Conan has done nothing but be upstanding about it. Let the man have his show. Although I'm not sure NBC deserves him now.

And if you made it through all that, you probably deserve a reward too. Sorry to dump it all here, but the whole thing makes me really angry. My blog is my therapy.

If I had a tattoo

2010-01-12T01:03:00.005-05:00

I don't have any tattoos, but if I did, I know what it would look like.

There are three reasons I like this:
1) S is my favorite letter, for obvious reasons.
2) I'm a Mac geek.
3) That is the key command for "save." And I like that it would be a reminder that no matter how bad I screw up, I'm already Saved.

Steph(anie)

2010-01-08T03:18:00.003-05:00

There were years in my life when I would nearly claw your eyeballs out if you didn't say my whole name when addressing me. I went back and forth in phases. I've been in a pretty consistent phase lately. But there are a few rules. At this stage, most of you reading this would probably qualify to call me Steph. Because you know me and I know you. And this isn't exactly stringent. It qualifies if we've spoken — in person — two or three times. If I haven't corrected you yet, you're probably safe. But it irks me somewhat when people I barely know call me Steph. I wouldn't just shorten your name if I barely know you! Who gave you permission to call me that? They're lucky I'm past the clawing your eyeballs out phase.

While we're on the topic of my name, did you know that Stephanie means crowned? I think my parents hit that nail on the head (get it? head?), don't you?

In 2010

2010-01-03T20:15:00.007-05:00

I tend not to make New Year's resolutions, because I'm not good at keeping them. And then I feel guilty. But I will tell you a few things I'm looking forward to in 2010...

• Seeing Wicked on Broadway with my best friend Meaghan (February)

• Going HOME and then going on vacation with my mom, we're thinking Hilton Head (March)

• My mom, granny and aunt visiting New York for a few days (Spring)

• Celebrating six years of marriage (June)

• Visiting with Kari and getting to meet Jonathan (TBD)

• Having Christmas in the same apartment twice — this has yet to happen since we've been married

As you can see, there's a bunch of time in there that's not accounted for. But I might be convinced to add something with YOUR name on it...

Then how do you spell it?

2010-01-01T19:52:00.004-05:00

You know I'm a big grammar and spelling nerd, right? I found this interesting...

(Might have to click for larger image)

Technology.

Obligatory 'What I got for Christmas' post

2009-12-31T15:59:00.008-05:00

Hope you had a very merry Christmas and are settling in somewhere warm to celebrate New Year's tonight. No, we are not venturing out to Times Square to watch the ball drop. I'm not sure how much you'd have to pay me to be there, but it'd be a lot. We've settled in to a nice, quiet New Year's Eve tradition of eating a sampling of expensive cheeses on top of cracked pepper Triscuits and having some sparkling cider to wash it down while we watch the festivities on television. Sounds better to me than standing for hours in the cold, possibly with rain/ice/snow, with thousands of other people shoulder to shoulder waiting for the ball to drop. I'll watch it here at home where it's cozy, thankyouverymuch.

But back to Christmas... Scott and I exchanged gifts on the 23rd before we headed out of town. We weren't sure we'd be able to have Christmas until we got back into town because I had ordered some things on Amazon that were taking forever to arrive, but call it a little Christmas miracle if you will, they arrived late on the 23rd and we were able to open presents before heading out. But enough talking, on to the gifts...

Scott went first...

A mini measure cup, like a shot glass for measuring teaspoons and tablespoons (we had one before but it met its fate on the tile floor a few months ago).

Me next.

A three-pack of hot chocolate flavors from Starbucks. Yum.

Fingerless gloves for Scott, so he can keep his hands warm and use his Droid phone at the same time.

He gave me the Julie and Julia book, which I'm looking forward to reading.

I gave him a more-than-usual-expense bar of soap he'd liked

Smells so good...

He went twice in a row, since we came out uneven on gift numbers

A book he'd wanted to encourage his writing

I don't know what it is, but I like it already!

It was wrapped in a really nice box

It's a gift certificate to Bare Escentuals, a cosmetics store that sells all-natural products

Scott got God of War II, since he enjoyed playing the first one so much.

Me wondering where the Boscovs box came from. But it was something we'd had from Christmases past, and it held a Food Network magazine ...

Which held a receipt for a year subscription!

I gave Scott a David Bazan CD...

and a ticket to go see him play in Brooklyn in March.

That wrapped up our Christmas here, but I have to give props to my parents, who are getting us a Wii! A very Me-Wii Christmas indeed!

No business like snow business

2009-12-22T02:02:00.005-05:00

I should be getting ready for bed, since I have an in-early/stay-late day at work tomorrow, but you might have heard that we got a little bit of snow here, and I know you're just dying for photos. So I'll indulge you.

I was out shopping when the snow started in early afternoon. I didn't get any photos of it then because, well, it's hard to take photos of moving snow. But later in the evening, it was snowing super hard. Like, can't see the buildings out the windows hard.

We got around a foot of snow. Easily the deepest snow I've been in, being a Southerner and all. Our friends to the south (literal or figurative) got nearly two feet in Philadelphia and in DC, they got more than two feet. Deep stuff.

Thankfully, the walk to work was pretty cleared out for my by the time I went in in the afternoon. But here's a few photos of the aftermath in the city.

This tree is in the plaza I walk through

You might recognize that sculpture from my walk to work post. (Sorry, I'm not going back for a link right now.) And that slushy dark mess between the snow piles is Broadway.

Side street

Trees buried in snow, same twinkly ones from the last post

Subway station in front of the office building

So, as the best Facebook status post of the snow day said, snOMG!

It's Christmastime in the city

2009-12-16T00:13:00.009-05:00

New York kinda sucks in the fall. There aren't too many trees here, so it's easy to completely miss the beauty of the changing colors. But for all it lacks in the fall, New York makes up for it at Christmas.

Firstly, unlike many other places that throw a string of lights on a tree and call it decorated, in New York, every light is carefully placed and wrapped around selected trunks and branches. The effect is a really beautiful, twinkly display.

Down on Wall Street, they're in the red (ba dum ching!)

And the stores are all decked out

Especially the Herald Square Macy's and its famed windows

But it's not just the big guys, the little guys like street vendors get in the spirit too

But there is one major epicenter in New York at Christmas. This year-round sculpture hints you're getting close...

And the Rockettes are performing their annual Christmas Spectacular show just down the street...

But what you're really here to see ...

Is the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, the center of all things Christmas in New York.

Merry Christmas!

Music and me

2009-12-11T01:33:00.002-05:00

There are two times a year I really miss playing my instrument(s). This is one of them.

For those of you who don't know, I was a huge band nerd. (Oh come on, you're not really that surprised are you?) I played flute from the time I was in fourth grade until, well, I graduated college. I guess you could say I'm still a flute player, but the fact is I haven't picked up my flute or piccolo for any extended period of time since 2004. Once I got into high school, I still enjoyed flute, but I really excelled at piccolo, apparently having a knack for playing in tune (very, very important for a piccolo) and not blowing people's ears out. In fact, my band teacher once told me I was the only piccolo player he'd ever had to tell to play louder. And this man had been directing bands for years and years, so that's really saying something. But at any rate, I LOVED the piccolo and preferred it to flute. (Especially in marching band, where I'd rather hold a piccolo than any other instrument. Whether that's because it was small and light or I could command a football field with my presence, I'll let you decide.)

I often wish I would get back to playing, but the truth is, living in apartments and having a wacky work schedule just hasn't really lent itself to it. But Christmas is one of those times when I really wish I still played. And there's one song that always does it. Any guesses?

I wanted to find the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in a nod to the late Erich Kunzel, but Boston Pops will have to do.

There isn't a particular part I love in this song, aside from the jazz section, but the whole thing is fun to play, and was a tradition at Christmas concerts in high school. I've loved it ever since.

So I guess you want to know the other time of the year when I miss playing, don't you? Geez, so demanding, aren't you? Well, here you go. Probably the best. piccolo. part. EVER.

(You can listen to the whole thing, but the part in question is just after the 2-minute mark, and again at 2:56, which, in my opinion, is even better than the first time around.)

There, now don't you feel like putting some red white and blue on your Christmas tree?

Monday morning

2009-12-08T00:49:00.003-05:00

Imagine: You wake up and head for the computer, just like every morning. You've got a routine to keep, after all. But today, there is no Internet. No email. No Facebook. What do you do?

Hit the shower, get dressed, eat lunch, and get to work on time for once, that's what.

Glad to report it's back up and running. Obviously.

My golden ticket

2009-11-21T00:41:00.008-05:00

Actually, it's a little plastic card with a photo of the statue of David on it, but just go with it, k?

This story actually starts about a year ago, but I'll be quick. Last January, MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art) was having an exhibit Scott and I really wanted to go see. For whatever reason, we didn't make it to the museum until the last day of the exhibit, and when we got there, it was sold out. We were about to leave when we found out we could still see it if we bought a year-long membership, and since museums are something we like to do together, we did it. (Hence the little plastic card.) And the exhibit was great. It was a Van Gogh exhibit with Starry Night as the centerpiece. Although for us, Starry Night over the Rhone is even more amazing in person than Starry Night. And it always amazes me to think these are the originals. Like, he actually put the brush to that actual canvas. But I digress...

Right now, MoMA is having a members only preview for a Tim Burton exhibit (you know, Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas, etc.) This time, we decided to go while only members are allowed, before it's opened to everyone. Figured it would cut back on the crowd. And it was probably good we did, because it was crowded enough as it was. The exhibit is probably the most fun thing we've seen at a museum. Lots of interesting and neat drawings from Tim Burton, and even props and costumes used in some of his movies. But for me, the highlight of the exhibit was a few of the puppets from the welcome scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (yes, the one with Johnny Depp). I LOVE this movie. I can't really explain it. It just tickles me every time. Scott gave it to me for Christmas last year. But I digress again... So they have a couple of these "puppets" on display and it was just really neat to see them in person. They're bigger than I thought they'd be. Unfortunately you're not allowed to take photos in the exhibit, but I highly recommend you watch this clip of what I'm talking about.

In the lobby of the museum

Overall, it's a really neat experience, and if you're in New York, definitely recommended. We'll be going back sometime soon to see the Monet Water Lillies exhibit.

Other shots from just wandering around for a while...

Oh hello there.

Look, New York has one too!

Wicked, oh so Wicked

2009-11-20T00:09:00.003-05:00

Oh wait, wrong musical.

Anyway, I'm going to see Wicked on Broadway! And my best friend Meaghan is going to come up from Atlanta and see it with me! She'll only be here for a day, but I'll take what I can get. I bought tickets today, and the seats really couldn't get much better. They're in the front balcony, second row, dead center.

Now all I have to do is wait till February.

LOLdogs: Home edition

2009-11-12T02:30:00.002-05:00

The box

2009-11-09T02:03:00.003-05:00

I'm not usually one who walks through stores and makes impulse buys, especially if it's trinket-type stuff. But for a while now I've been looking for a small decorative box and hadn't found anything that fit the bill. Till now.

On Friday night, I took Scott out to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill for his birthday. We were a little bit early for our dinner reservations, and decided to walk through Pier 1 Imports across the street to kill a little time. We weren't actually looking for anything, not even this box. But it jumped out at me from a back shelf, and I had to have it. Thankfully it wasn't cost prohibitive.

Between our backgrounds as readers, editors, grammarians, journalists — it has words, you name it, we got it — you'll see why this box was definitely coming home with us.

The rules

2009-11-05T23:20:00.002-05:00

At the train station I walk to work from, there's a long escalator from where the trains are up to the top where the exit is. If you're really ambitious, there are even regular steps. (I'm not that ambitious.)

As I was riding up the escalator the other day, I heard a woman on the escalator next to me: "UGH! These people don't know the rules!" I looked over and it made me smile because I knew exactly what she was talking about.

What are the rules? Well, it's really just one rule. Which is to stand to the right if you're going to stand. Some people climb the escalator stairs, and it's an unwritten "rule" that you don't block their way.

Now you know. Next time you're on an escalator in New York, follow the rules.

Eat, sleep, baseball

2009-11-03T02:10:00.004-05:00

The last few weeks have been just chock full o' playoffs and World Series funness that have pretty much meant I was either at work or sleeping. As a result, I haven't had much exciting to blog about. I still don't. But I thought you might like to know I haven't given up LPBA. Once the World Series has worn off, I'm sure I'll be back with much more exciting things to share.

Although I have to say, I'm kinda pulling for the Phillies. I don't really have a baseball allegiance outside a half-hearted attempt for the Braves or the Mets (by marriage). But I kinda had to root for them last year, since I was in Philly and all, and I really just don't like the Yankees' arrogant attitude. So, even if that means two more games, I hope the Phillies can pull it out.

And speaking of work or sleeping, I've done a lot more of one today than the other. I think it's about time.

Music weekend

2009-10-24T23:46:00.005-04:00

When I started hearing about this music-filled week/weekend deal in the city, I wasn't too keen on it. Scott was bummed he didn't find out about it sooner so he could have gone to more shows. But I figured it was all music I wouldn't like. It's called CMJ — which apparently stands for College Music Journal. It's basically 40-minute shows by unsigned and indie bands. LOTS of them. All across the city. A lot of industry people check it out to see if they can find new talent. But anyway, I wasn't too interested. And I couldn't even remember the name of it. I kept wanting to call it CMYK. (*snicker*) Finally I was nearly able to remember it by thinking, TMJ, only with a C. CMJ. So yeah, every time I actually said it, there was a slight pause while I thought "Like TMJ, only with a C. CMJ!"

Anyway, Scott really wanted to see some bands this weekend. I wasn't really into it, but I figured what the heck. I've spent plenty of weekends sitting here staring at the computer, so why not go try something essentially New York. Last night, Scott found a band he wanted to go see, so we went. We stayed for them and two more bands after them. IT. WAS. LOUD. And if I ever go to another one of his shows (and I'm sure I will), I am totally investing in earplugs. I honestly didn't hate the music, it was just SO loud that I felt like my ears were going to start bleeding. The first band, the band we went for, they were ok. Four out of about six songs all sounded the same to me. I guess the other two were slightly different. The next band was decent, they weren't quite as painful, and were probably my personal favorite act of the night. The last band was from Sweden. They weren't quite as loud as the other two, but I found myself zoning out while they were playing, so I guess their music wasn't that captivating. At least not for me.

Here's who we saw, in order of appearance:
http://www.myspace.com/cruelblackdove
http://www.myspace.com/bridgesandpowerlines
http://www.myspace.com/moonbabies

The venue, Crash Mountain, was pretty cool. It was kinda like, I dunno, a swanky castle bar. Stone on the walls and stuff. There were long leather sofas lining the walls and and one in the middle of the space. There are some pictures of it here.

There were more bands on till like 3 a.m., but we had only planned to stay for three sets, so we left. But after we got home, Scott said maybe we could find some bands that *I* might like to see today. I didn't think anything like that existed at this event, but I guess I was wrong. We found three acts I was interested in. Unfortunately, they all pretty much played on top of each other but at different venus across Manhattan. So I had to pick one. Tonight we saw Katie Costello, and I really enjoyed it. She plays piano and sings, and she had two guys with her, one playing the cello and one doing percussion.

Here's the link to hear some of Katie's stuff:
http://www.myspace.com/katiecostellosongs

We liked the venue for this show. It was only a few blocks from last night's sets. It's actually two venues in one. The Living Room is downstairs, and seats about 150 people. There were other bands down there tonight. But upstairs is Googie's Lounge, where we were tonight, which is a small space with seating for about 50 people, so it was really nice and intimate. Here's their website, but all their pics seem to be of the downstairs space. Oh well.

The other two people I didn't get to see tonight can be found here:
http://www.myspace.com/paulavalstein
www.junumusic.com (Go to videos and watch Build Me Up Buttercup, it'll make you laugh.)

Next year, when...(CMYK, no that's not it, like TMJ, with a C) CMJ rolls around, Scott will be ready with a game plan for who he wants to see and when. And so will I.

A fetching image

2009-10-20T01:20:00.003-04:00

Two sure-fire ways to know I was the one who did the cover:

1. There's a dog on it.

2. It's a German Shepherd.

Morning routine

2009-10-16T01:34:00.009-04:00

*Yawn.* Morning. Not good. Just morning. That's all you're getting, so don't ask for more. Hot chocolate or chai? Hmm. I'll go with the chai today. But right now I'm going to sit down on the couch and open up the computer.

First stop, gmail to check my email. Usually mostly junk. I can't stand to let unread emails sit. I have to open them or delete them. Better hope you fall in the former.

Thanks for the chai. Stop #2, work email. Usually mostly section plans for the day and galleys of where the ads are going on the pages, with a little other of this and that thrown in. I don't know why, but the "Must not have unread emails in inbox" does not apply here.

Next, Facebook. Nuff said.

After that, it's on to LPBA. If I have posted something recently, it might get moved up in the rankings so I can see if anybody commented. It it weren't for Kari, I would be sadly disappointed most of the time.

Speaking of Kari, I wind up at her blog next a lot, since my blogroll points out anything new.

I've gotta check the news to see if anything major is happening so I know what I'm in for at work. My preferred news website and home page is msnbc.com. Not because I love how they present the news, I just find their homepage the easiest to look at and maneuver.

Then Cake Wrecks. You won't find me laughing heartily first thing in the "morning" (it might be noon, but it's still morning to me), but it's good for a giggle, and I love the fact that my mom checks this out every day too, so it gives us something to compare notes on. Also, it's just plain hilarious. Highly recommended.

After that, it's off to design world. First stop in design world is the blog of Charles Apple. He's a seasoned visual journalist, and is always teaching, critiquing or praising something. I like to see what he has to say.

Once I'm caught up there, I'll hit Newseum's Top 10 for the day. Some days I agree. Some days I don't.

After I'm done with all of the above, I generally refresh Facebook, check my work email again and finish my tea. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go put my contacts in, shower, get dressed and eat lunch. Have a good day.

SH meets AB

2009-10-10T00:18:00.010-04:00

Oh, you knew a blog post was coming on this one!

This might be one of the few actual things I've done that seems very New York. But last night, I found out that Good Eats and Iron Chef America host Alton Brown was going to be doing a book signing at Barnes and Noble in Union Square. And since most weekends we sit around wishing we had something cool to do, we decided to go.

It started at 7, but we got there around 6:30. Should've gotten there at like 4. But we had pretty decent standing spots. Alton spent a few minutes talking about the show and his new book, "Good Eats: The Early Years."

Then he took questions for a while. I didn't ask any. This girl in the photo below, she was the second or third question-asker.

She opened with "I'm a vegan." And that was all it took. He went OFF on vegans and absolutely SKEWERED her. He said he was surprised she had the strength to stand up to ask her question. She said she runs. He said he runs too (he's lost 50 pounds!) but that it's PAST all the vegans who are usually falling over. She said she would make him some vegan cookies and he said fine, but I want real vegans in them. I think her real question was if he'd ever consider doing a vegan-themed show. He final answer was short and sweet. "Uh, NO." It was pretty hilarious. Other people asked things like "What's your favorite food?" To which he said just about anything right now since he's been trying to lose weight. But he finally chose eggs. Someone also asked why they've never done a Chefography on him, and he said because his life is his own personal business.

He really is very witty. He's exactly in person like he is on Good Eats. It was really enjoyable to listen to him speak. After about 35 minutes of questions, we dispersed into lines to wait for an autograph. And I do mean wait. We didn't even move for about an hour. We were kinda toward the end of the line because we got trampled to get there. The talking part ended around 7:45. We got to him at about 10 p.m. So cool to meet him! He introduced himself, and so did we. Made a joke about how heavy his book was. Then I told him I'm from Marietta too, and I think he was pleased to sorta see a bit of home. He asked if I went to school there, and I told him I went to Sprayberry. He knew exactly what I was talking about. He told me which area he lives in and where his daughter is going to school (but since he made a point earlier in the evening to say his life is private, I won't repeat that here), which I know of and have driven past many times. I wanted to tell him I always like seeing a little bit of home on the show (like when he goes to Harry's Farmers Market near the Big Chicken), but I forgot. Honestly, it all went by so quickly, it's hard to remember at all. But I got to shake hands with, talk with and get an autograph from Alton Brown!

We accidentally got TWO photos because the guy taking them misfired the first time, but it still came out. Oh, and, uh, this is the debut of my haircut! (Remember the gift certificate Scott got me for my birthday?)

Mental note to only do this for people I really want to see, cause that line was brutal. But I'm really glad we went!

For my husband

2009-10-07T23:28:00.008-04:00

I just want you to know
that I am so grateful
that the bills miraculously get paid
and I had nothing to do with it
and that the countertop magically reappears
after all the paperwork
has somehow migrated into the filing cabinet
and that the dishes
find their way
from the sink to the dishwasher
and back to the shelves
and that the bathtub
gets scrubbed
(my knees really appreciate that)
and that the dog gets walked
even though it's raining
or I am being lazy
which is all the time
and that my dinner shows up
at work
because you carried the heavy dishes
again
and I just want you to know
that I love you, too.

An app for the rest of us

2009-10-01T01:24:00.002-04:00

I had a brilliant idea tonight.

Wouldn't it be hilarious if there was an app for people's iPhones and BlackBerrys that showed them on screen what's coming up in front of them? Cause I mean, apparently it's really hard to look away from your phone as you're walking down the sidewalk. I'm getting really tired of people too busy with their phones to watch where they're going nearly running over me. The app could use the camera that's already there, and go full screen, or maybe even screen-in-screen, so you could play solitaire or whatever is that is SO demanding AND watch where you're going at the same time! Call it iMWatching, or iKnowWhereiGo, or something...

Let the record show that this was my brilliant idea, and when somebody actually invents it, I want a cut, mmkay?

So close, and yet...

2009-09-28T23:08:00.003-04:00

Well, this'll learn me not to leave the house without a camera.

On my way to work Sunday, as I approached the office building, I noticed lots of people standing around in business suits. On Sunday. Then I saw the cameras. Lots of cameras. And then there was the "bullet-riddled" red car sitting in front of the office building on Wall Street. They must be filming something! Cool. But oh, then there are MORE cameras INSIDE the lobby of the building. Weird. Are they filming in here too? The answer was yes. But they who? Oh, just Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. Nobody major...

After I'd been at work a couple hours, they nearly virtually locked us down while they were actually filming in the building. Then after a while, it was all done, and by the time I left, there was no sign of anything.

Thanks to the powers of IMDB, I figure they were working on this movie. So close to finally seeing a celebrity in New York, and yet so eight floors away.

There's no place like home

2009-09-24T23:49:00.007-04:00

When I got home tonight, I wondered why the Empire State Building was red.

Stupid camera. It looks more orange than red.

And then, as if on cue, the talking heads on the news told me. Got any guesses?

If you said that it's the 70th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz, you'd be correct. (Although actually, my "research" shows me it was released in August 1939). But apparently the movie was re-released in some theaters to commemorate the anniversary, and there's a new high-def DVD of the movie coming out on the 29th. So I'm not exactly sure why they chose the 24th to light up the Empire State Building, but hey, happy anniversary Wizard of Oz!

Night lights

2009-09-18T15:02:00.005-04:00

Over Labor Day weekend, my parents came up to visit. It was a good time, as always. Took them to some good restaurants, Mom and I slipped away from the guys for a while to go shoe shopping, drove allllll the way out Long Island for Macaroni Grill, only to find it ceased to exist... But one of the highlights of the trip was a Harbor Lights cruise. It left around 7, cruised down the Hudson River, past the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Staten Island, Governor's Island, and then turned up the East River past Brooklyn, going underneath the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, and just up to Queens and then turned around and did it all backwards. It was really, really neat. I wish I could've gotten better photos, but it can be a tad difficult to get photos of lights that aren't blurry when you're on a moving boat.

This one was taken by my dad on the boat

Once again, I've given up loading photos to blogger 5 at a time and backwards. Here they are on Flickr. Enjoy!

I'm a designtographer!

2009-09-11T01:06:00.006-04:00

It is not so intimidating for all five of your blog readers to see your photos. A couple thousand, on the other hand, just a little bit.

Just try to ignore the garish ads. It's the photo I'm getting at. Look familiar? Now if that makes the Top 10 tomorrow, that would totally make my day.

ETA: You've gotta be kidding me!
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/topten.asp

So says the stars

2009-09-09T01:01:00.005-04:00

I'm not into the whole horoscope thing, but occasionally when I have to do the page they're on, I'll read mine. Today's made me laugh.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Don't hesitate to respond to demands being made on your leadership qualities; you function best when things are placed on your shoulders. You're a doer who knows how to get things done.

With our art director out, I'm holding down (or at least attempting to hold down) the fort at work. I worked 11 hours today, and about to go to bed "early" to do it again tomorrow. I've been doing my normal page load, in addition to putting together a marketing magazine, overseeing a 12-page fashion supplement, continuing the "photo editor" gig, preparing for ... something you'll see soon ... and today had a few other random things thrown at me last-second.

But don't think I'm complaining, because I'm not. I love being needed. And it's been a long time since I've been "in charge," and it feels good. I'm sure I'll be ready for the break when things go back to normal, but for now, it's ...

GAME. ON.

Just a thought

2009-09-02T00:55:00.005-04:00

I think it's saying something when your dog — who will eat Lord knows what off the ground outside, from cupcake wrappers to chicken bones — absolutely will not eat a piece of raw carrot.

Vegging out

2009-08-29T01:22:00.003-04:00

Last week, I saw a nutritionist. She didn't tell me anything earth-shattering that I hadn't already heard before. Eat better. Eat less. Exercise more. I've been attempting this week to do all of the above. Some days went better than others, but I know I can't just expect to be perfect at this off the bat, and she can't expect that of me either.

Anyway, here's the deal. I don't eat veggies. I hardly know anything about them. I could probably only even name a handful of them. And now I'm supposed to eat double the veggies to whatever else is on the plate. I tried this week to have more salad, but that got real old real fast. So I'm turning to you. Tell me your favorite (easy) veggie recipe(s). And don't assume I know anything, like how to "steam until soft." Cause I don't, k?

Ready? Set. Recipe.

Look fast!

2009-08-27T11:20:00.003-04:00

My Ted Kennedy cover made Newseum's Top 10 today. Here's the link, only visible today!

While I would love to claim total responsibility for this page, the truth is, it was a team effort between me and Benn, the art director. Here's the rundown:

Idea to blow out teases and run photo behind banner: Me
Processing/placement of photo: Benn
Idea to pop heads out over banner: Benn
Headlines/placement: Me
Black bar tease: Benn
Name plates to solve any possible confusion: Me

In all, a successful team effort.

Best. Weekend. Inareallylongtime.

2009-08-17T11:09:00.004-04:00

So, I said on Facebook that this past weekend was one of the best I've had in a really long time. And it was. Since we've moved to New York, Scott and I have less than a handful of friends here, and spend a lot of weekends wishing we knew where to go to have fun, but mostly sitting around at home or frequenting the mall. It gets old. But this past weekend, we rented a car and headed down to Media, Pa., for the wedding of friends from our church in Philadelphia.

After a rough start (we left later than we wanted to and missed half the wedding), we saw the last half of the ceremony, which is all the good parts: exchanging vows, rings, and kissing the bride. It was fun, but for me, the best part was that ALL our friends from Philly were there. Unfortunately, I was so busy socializing, I only got a handful of photos, and none of the bride and groom. BUT, thankfully, their photographer posted some on her blog, which are amazing.

At the reception, I got to talk to everybody. It was fantastic. Also got great news that church friends who were married last year and now live in D.C. are expecting! And Seth and Sarah, the first couple to take us in in Philly, are expecting a baby girl in early November. Also in attendance: a just-married friend who moved to St. Louis, my two favorite Ra(e)chels, and lots of friends from the two small groups I attended. It was really, REALLY good to see everyone, and to be surrounded by friends.

Not to be outdone by the people who drove 30 minutes from Philly to Media (or three hours from NY...ahem), my friend Patti, who spent some missions time in India with the groom, came all the way from Kansas for the wedding. That, I did get a picture of, because I don't think any photos of us existed before. Just ignore the fact that we are shiny and sweaty...the reception was outside on a hot and humid night. But fun nonetheless.

The only photo I got of me and Scott that night...

We wished we could've stayed in Philly for the weekend, but we came back home after the wedding Friday night. The good part about that was the we still had the car until about 3 p.m. the next day. So what do you do when you have a car? Go someplace you can't get around here, that's what.

(That's a Chick-fil-a cup to anyone who doesn't know. And if you don't, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??) It was totally worth the 40-minute drive there and back and the extra gas we had to put in the car. Mmm-mmm. After that, we had a quiet evening at home, watching the Mets game and relaxing. I went through a desk drawer full (and I mean so full the drawer above it wouldn't open anymore) of cards from holidays, birthdays and just because. I found lots of love and $50. And when I was done with that, I dumped our overflowing change tin and sorted and counted coins for a while. (Blog post coming on this.) Guess I was in the mood for a little monotonous work.

On Sunday (I'm counting this as a three-day weekend, even though we had to work as usual on Sunday), we met up again with Patti and her other half, Ira, who came up to New York for a few days after the wedding Friday night. We went to Shake Shack for lunch, which is an NYC burger hotspot in Madison Square Park and usually has an at-least-30-minute line snaking around the park walkways. If you don't believe me on the line, you can check out their Shack Cam, which shows how long the line is. Thankfully we didn't have to wait more than 15 minutes or so, cause it was really hot out. But it was nice to sit and talk with Patti and Ira for a while, since they were across the room for most of the wedding reception. After lunch, we poked around a flea market nearby, and then Scott and I had to go to work.

So yeah. It was great. Anyone got plans next weekend?

I don't usually blog about work...

2009-08-12T23:49:00.007-04:00

*Blows dust off blog* Cough, cough, cough...ah-choo!...ahem...

So, I don't usually blog about work, but this is going to be a positive post, and I'm gonna toot my own horn a bit, cause I think it's about time, don't you?

This week, I got a "promotion" of sorts. It's not really a promotion as much as it is taking on some new responsibilities in addition to what I currently do at work. If you don't know, I design pages for a newspaper with three editions (New York, Boston and Philadelphia), including, but not limited to, the main news page inside, local news, and covers. But now I'm the photo editor too. This isn't so much editing photos as it is bringing ideas for art for the covers. It can be news art, entertainment art, something graphical. But it's now my responsibility to make sure we have great art on every cover every day.

So today was my first day in this new role. We had a great package on the news page inside about how many people are calling Obama a socialist, but really don't know what true socialism is. (No political commentary here please, that's just what it was. Let's stay objective like good newsies.) So I came up with an idea for a cover photo, and as it turns out, my editors loved it, and it wound up on all three covers for tomorrow.

Here's what the Boston cover looked like (sorry about the gray at the top, the Metro logo isn't showing up):

Click image to enlarge

Here's to Day 2 and beyond.

What did you expect?

2009-08-01T22:24:00.003-04:00

The other night I was talking to a friend online, and it struck me that her life has pretty much turned out like the thought it would, and/or wanted it to. Husband, two kids, house, etc etc. Maybe coming to those things didn't happen as easily as one would have hoped, because life is always full of twists and turns. But for the most part, and I'm taking a liberty here, I think her life is what she expected and wanted.

Now, God-willing, each of us still has a lot more living to do. But I asked myself: Has my life turned out like I thought it would? The answer? Absolutely not.

I married a man I met online. I moved hundreds of miles away (ok, maybe that part I wanted, but didn't necessarily expect). I've moved six times in five years. I live, for all intensive purposes, in New York City. I work on Wall Street. I don't own a car. My apartment is 721 square feet. Probably the only things that have turned out like I thought they would are that I am married and work for a newspaper. I'm not by any means saying I don't like my life, or that it would've been better the other way, 'cause it's going pretty well. But no, it has not turned out like I expected. And I'm sure there are still more surprises ahead.

So what about you? Has your life, so far, turned out like you thought it would? Like you wanted it to?

Only slightly alarmed

2009-07-25T02:44:00.004-04:00

The thing about living in an apartment building is that you are at the mercy of other people's stupidity. And when the fire alarm starts going off — "WoooOOOOoooo woooOOOOooooo, your attention please, your attention please. There has been a fire reported on your floor. Please exit the building using the stairs. Do NOT use the elevators. WoooOOOOoooo woooOOOOoooo..." — at 9 p.m. on a Friday night, you know it's not a test. The alarms scare Thunder, but after some brief coaxing from his corner, Scott was able to put a leash on him, I grabbed Big Red (cause if my place was gonna burn down, a driver's license and the $11 in my wallet might be helpful) and the three of us descended 17 flights of stairs. I was immediately glad we were going down and not up. And I was actually surprised how quickly we got down. I hope it didn't bother Thunder's hips too much, but we didn't have much of a say in the matter. Once outside, the sirens started blaring from all different directions and at least three fire trucks pulled up in front of the building. One of the men in a yellow suit even uncapped the fire hydrant and water rushed out into the street. But they never even attached a hose to it and thankfully, the whole commotion was over within a few minutes and we were allowed to go back upstairs. Via elevator. Turns out someone on this floor knows how to cook even less than I do and apparently put something in the oven that shouldn't have been there. It smelled like burnt plastic upon our return.

Let's hope we don't have to take the stairs again anytime soon.

My Shadow

2009-07-18T17:12:00.011-04:00

This was not the inspiration I was looking for. This weekend, I lost a very special part of me: My Shadow.

After nearly 16 years, she went to sleep on Friday morning and didn't wake up.

I guess you could say God brought me My Shadow. She was just a cute little fluffball of black fur in the church parking lot when we found her on a cold day in February 1994. She was there after the morning service, running around, eliciting attention from the just-released churchgoers. We weren't allowed to take her home then. But that night after church, it was getting cold, and dark, and surely she was hungry, and so my dad finally relented and let us take her home.

We put up posters around the neighborhood. But nobody claimed her. We took her to the vet and the little lab/sheltie pup was happy and healthy, and she became ours. We decided to call her Shadow.

She had to spend her nights downstairs where she couldn't get into much trouble. But we soon learned the little black puppy could make her own trouble, and she destroyed the carpet, baseboards, doors. It wasn't funny then, but it's endearing now. Snowball, the cat, didn't like her much. But he learned to tolerate her.

Once she got old enough to behave, she slept at the foot of my bed for years. She made a good foot-warmer. The back of my bedroom door at home still shows the scars caused by her nails when she needed to go out to go potty. At least she let me know.

She never once judged me because I was fat or wore a headband and a ponytail at the same time. She was always glad to see me. She loved cheese. LOVED cheese. But she would eat just about anything. She used to pull on the leash. She ran up and down, up and down the fence with the neighbors' dog. Her favorite toy was her baby, which I think started out as a monkey, and just became "baby." She destroyed countless towels playing tug of war. She'd whip her head back and forth and nearly pull your arm off if you told her to "kill it." She knew how to sit, lay and speak, and my sister told her so many times to do them so quickly in succession, that after a while, if you told her to sit, she would quickly do all three at once — more of a sitlayspeak than a sit. And she lived up to her name, going wherever we went and being generally underfoot. She learned to stay out of the kitchen and would lay just outside the door, only putting the tips of her paws over the line. When she wanted to be petted, she'd come up to you sitting on the couch, rest her chin on your leg, look up with those big brown eyes. And you couldn't help but pet her.

Losing a pet is one of the hardest things I've ever been through. You know they can't live forever, but it doesn't make it easier. I loved her. I still do. And I always will. She was part of the family. She was my friend. And she always was and forever will be, My Shadow.

After the storm

2009-07-17T00:35:00.001-04:00

I haven't been very inspired to blog lately. Guess I've hit a dry spell. Anyway, here's a photo from a few weeks ago after all the storms. Thought you might like to see it.

Save a journo

2009-07-15T01:07:00.002-04:00

Fireworks over the Hudson

2009-07-05T00:56:00.003-04:00

Well, our view of the fireworks wasn't as great as hoped, but I still got some halfway decent pictures. If only that building wasn't in the way.

Click here to see July 4 photos!

Happy Fourth of July!

2009-07-03T23:31:00.003-04:00

From our house to yours

Tut tut, looks like rain

2009-06-26T22:18:00.006-04:00

A storm rolls in over Manhattan

Do's and don'ts of NYC

2009-06-24T01:58:00.004-04:00

I came across this article the other day on MSNBC about things you should and shouldn't do in New York. Wish I had thought of it.

Here's how I'm doing on a few things the list:
(Done it/Haven't done it)

Tourist trap things you should definitely do (according to the article):
Metropolitan Museum of Art - pretty cool, lots of walking. Wear comfy shoes
Statue of Liberty - Went there but didn't get to go up. Plan to go back. Go when it's warm.
Ellis Island - not my cup of tea, but neat if you're into that.

Article says, don't: Eat at Tavern on the Green.

Article says, do: Eat at River Cafe or some other places I haven't been.

Don't: Take a pedicab.

Do: Take the subway.

Don't: Eat a hot dog from a cart.

Do: Eat at some other places I haven't been to.

Don't: Go to the top of the Empire State Building. (I still plan to do this anyway at some point.)

Do: Go to the Rainbow Room or Top of the Rock at 30 Rockefeller Center. Top of the Rock is first on my list.

Don't: Get cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery.

Do: Get cupcakes and or a cannoli from other places I haven't been to. I also highly recommend Crumbs.

Don't: Take a Central Park carriage ride.

Do: Go early and walk. I have walked in Central Park. But not early. I don't do early.

Don't: Eat in Times Square. We knew it would be a zoo, but we did it anyway.

Do: Eat in Hell's Kitchen. (This sounds counterintuitive to me.)

Don't: Shop at Herald Square Macy's.

Do: Shop at Lord & Taylor.

Hmm...I've still got a ways to go, huh?

Photoshop play

2009-06-20T03:32:00.004-04:00

The photos of our trip that I posted online I didn't Photoshop, although some of them would probably benefit from a little cropping and whatnot. But I chose a few and practiced some of the techniques I've learned at work, and others that I've taught myself. Just thought I'd share.

California Dreamin'

2009-06-16T23:42:00.005-04:00

We're back! We had a wonderful trip to the West Coast, and I've posted a bunch of pictures. I'm just posting a link because I'm estimating it'd take me 239487 hours to upload them to Blogger. We spent three days in San Francisco, then rented a car and headed down the Pacific Coast Highway, which is absolutely amazing. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it. We also got upgraded at our hotel in Carmel, so we had a 1 bed/2 bath "town house" with a full ocean view. I really could've lived there quite happily. Unfortunately, I checked house prices on Craigslist in that area, and I'd say you'd better be prepared to spend at least a couple million to live there. (Did you know that Clint Eastwood was a former resident and MAYOR of Carmel?) We did a whale-watching tour in Monterey on Wednesday, and on Thursday we headed down the PCH in our convertible, and the views are absolutely fantastic. Anyway, enough talking. Time for photos! Enjoy.

Click here to see photos!

Away message

2009-06-05T02:28:00.002-04:00

*Beep* Hi, Stephanie's answering machine again. She and her husband have gone off for a week in California to celebrate their five-year anniversary. She wanted me to let you know she may or may not post while they're exploring San Francisco, Big Sur, Monterey and Carmel. Please feel free to leave a message after the beep, and have a great week! *Beep*

New glasses: Part II

2009-05-29T17:48:00.006-04:00

Ok, I went back today and narrowed it down to two. One of them was the front-runner in the poll from my other post, the other pair are a new addition. Wish I'd thought to take a new picture of the original ones, since I had my hair down today. Oh well, here we go again...which do you like? Poll to the right --->

Frame #1

Look closely, you can sorta see the subtle stripes, kinda like a tigereye

Frame #2

Happy

2009-05-28T23:39:00.003-04:00

A friend and co-worker got married last weekend. Today he was back in the office briefly, and I asked him how the married man was. His response: happy.

Happy. It struck me that could be the best adjective you could give to marriage. Everything else kinda boils down to that, doesn't it? Being taken care of makes me happy. Waking up next to him makes me happy. Having him to talk to makes me happy. Knowing he loves me makes me happy. His smile makes me happy. See?

So next time your husband gets out of the shower and tracks water all over the floor for the bazillionth time even though you've asked him not to because you don't like getting your feet wet just to go use the sink...it's good to remember how happy you were as a newlywed, and that this person still makes you happy, and then the wet feet don't matter so much anymore.

(Maybe I should've saved this post for our five-year anniversary coming up in two weeks...I can't wax poetic all the time.)

Sit, stand

2009-05-20T23:40:00.003-04:00

I stand when I would have to sit next to someone. I don't like to rub hips with other people. Or arms. Or anything else. When I stand I don't like to hold the pole. I try to find a place against the wall where I can lean. If I have to hold on, I use one hand only. But mostly, I like to sit. But not next to other people. I stand when I would have to sit next to someone.

New glasses: Which do you like?

2009-05-15T17:56:00.014-04:00

Ok, you fashionistas. Help me out here. I'm getting new glasses, and I need to know which frames you like best. Unfortunately the lighting in the doctor's office is awful, so, uh, they kinda all look the same, but try to be discerning, will ya?

Frame #1

Look closely, you can sorta see the subtle stripes, kinda like a tigereye

Frame #2
These are, in fact, all red, even though they look black in the other photos.

Frame #3

Frame #4

Frame #5

Frame #6

So many choices... There's a poll on the top right of the page where you can vote, so those of you who don't like to leave comments (*ahem*) can voice your opinion without having to type anything. Go vote! (And leave comments too!)

Where the wild things are

2009-05-11T01:11:00.005-04:00

Lest you think the only wild animals we have in New York are the ROUS's and the teenagers with purple hair, I caught this cute little guy on camera in the bushes near Target over the weekend.

Can't see him? How bout now?

He was tiny, about the size of your hand. All together now — awwwww.

And then last weekend, when we were out for my birthday, we saw a dog tied up outside Starbucks with a huge duck in his mouth! Ready?
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Ahahahahaha. I got your goose! (Get it? Your goose? Ah, I crack myself up.)

Warning: You'll be jealous

2009-05-06T00:05:00.004-04:00

My mom is awesome. But she took it to a whole new level a few years ago when she finished my quilt. See, all through high school, like a lot of you, I collected T-shirts. From band, from being a senior, whatever. But instead of wearing them, I packed them away in hopes that one day my mom would make my quilt. So on one of my recent trips home, when I totally wasn't expecting it, I walked into my bedroom, and there it was.

Most of them are from band — show shirts, flute shirts, Southern Invitational shirts (a competition we held at our school and our band just did an exhibition show) — but at least one of them is a senior shirt from high school, and the blue one on the bottom row that says Class of 2000 is actually from elementary school. The surrounding fabric she smartly chose to look like denim — like a T-shirt and jeans. Also easy to clean.

I love that she took the time and made the effort to put this together. And every time I have it out I can't help but smile. Besides the quilt being so full of memories, the fact that it even exists just reminds me how completely amazing my mom is. Love it, and can't thank her enough. Thanks again, Mom.

Okay, you guys can be jealous now.