Friday, January 29, 2010

Mom and I

A nice picture of my mom and I enjoying Bryant Park (note the ice skaters behind us). We had so much fun watching the skaters and eating delicious snacks from the pop-up holiday shops. I just can't seem to remember if this picture was taken before or after we ate an entire tin of Max Brenner chocolates. Thankfully, our hips aren't visible in this picture.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Aging Beauty

I turned 28 on Saturday. I may not feel old, but could be starting to look old. At least, I feel that way.

Yesterday, I went shopping with a few girlfriends. While paying at the cash register, the girls mentioned that my birthday had just passed. The man asked my age.

When, I told him... he didn't believe me! Actually, he said that I look more like 19 than 28. Oh, how I liked the sound of that! 19 years old. Ahhh.

I didn't believe him when he said that he didn't believe me about my age. But, who's going to argue with someone about looking younger? Not me.

He checked my license to verify my age, and once again commented on my young looks. Perhaps my girlfriends set him up. Who knows? But, that was possibly the best birthday present ever.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Overdone

We watched a TV show last night. Absentmindedly, I said…

“I really like her hair. That’s what I want.”

To which Ben quickly replied, “Oh, well, she definitely has more lowlights. Yep, more lowlights.”

My poor husband… have I gone too far?

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Getaway

We just returned from a little weekend vaca-getaway in upstate New York with four good friends. On Friday, we rented a minivan and drove two hours north to a little town in the Catskill Mountains. We felt such freedom once we left the city.

We had a CAR. Work and responsibilities were over for the weekend. We left the city behind in a cloud of smog – it was euphoric. We felt 16 again, like our parents had finally left us out of the house with the family car.

Sarah, who spearheaded the trip, rented our weekend house off of VRBO. It was the perfect house for us – it had a kitchen with regular sized appliances and TWO bathrooms. The living room was big enough for two couches and a coffee table. Ah, the luxury of living beyond the city limits.

On Saturday, we drove 30 minutes to Hunter Mountain to go skiing, a nice little adventure where I dusted off a 12 year hiatus from skiing and subjected myself to the mercy of steep and icy mountain slopes. Not to brag, but I did pretty well (no broken bones) considering my inexperience.

On Sunday, we all went to a four star spa to get some well-deserved massages. Nothing says vacation like a professional rub down and 45 minutes in a hot tub overlooking the mountains. Thank you, Emerson for easing the pain caused from actual, real exercise that my body hadn’t seen in quite some time.

Thank you Kia minivan. Thank you VRBO. Thank you Hunter Mountain. And, thank you to great friends for a great time.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Game Night

Nothing says vacation like a family night with board games and a little friendly competition. Another round of Wise and Otherwise, anyone?


Thursday, January 7, 2010

Work Out

We did it. Call us lazy. Call us wussy. Call us whatever you want. We quit the gym! Sorry, New York Sports Club, but we are no longer customers.

We came to this decision after realizing that we haven’t been to the gym since July! There are three reasons to support our absence on the treadmill and weight bench.

1) Our New Apartment
We quit working out as soon as we moved into our new apartment. Our old place was a pretty miserable, sunless, bug infested hole (okay, it wasn’t that bad, but you get the point). We wanted to leave as soon as we got home! Our new place is so nice that we are happy just hanging out.

2) No Change
We worked out hard-core before we went to Miami last April. Really hard-core, like 5 days a week. After two months of doing that, my body still looked the same. Same size. Same shape. Same ugh.

A personal trainer at the gym really sealed the deal when he said that I would only look like Jennifer Anniston if I changed my diet, and he wasn’t talking about easy changes. “You need to choose – do you want the bun with the burger or a few fries? Which one? ‘Cause you can’t have both!” Yikes.

3) A Master
I have no gumption or drive without someone yelling at me to sweat. I need that. I just couldn’t afford Tony the Trainer on a weekly basis.

So, yes, we quit the gym… for the right reasons. Hmm, maybe the real purpose of this post was to again justify why we quit rather than to entertain. That's probably it.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Holiday Surprise

The trip from New York to home went well... once I met Ben at Penn Station and he switched suitcases with me. Again, I over-packed. Just a little.

The subway ride to Penn was a workout. My suitcase was monstrous. Absolutely, ridiculously huge. A 50 pound solid block of clothes and presents. I don’t know why I thought I could maneuver something that large around the city.

I first tried to carry my suitcase down the subway stairs, but gave up when my arm lost all feeling. I then took the only other option. I grabbed the handle and, with a great heave-ho, pulled the suitcase down each step very, very slowly. Each clunk reverberated loudly in the concrete stairwell. I listened for exasperated sighs and slews of cuss words from the backlog of commuters behind me, but never heard anything. Holiday spirit was definitely in the air!

The problem, I realized, was that once I got down two flights of stairs I had to go back up another flight of stairs! I grabbed the handle of the suitcase and started to drag it up each step. I had to get to Penn in one piece and on time.

Suddenly, my load became lighter! I gasped and imagined the worst - had my suitcase split in two?!? I made a quick decision before turning around... if my stuff was scattered on the stairs I was going to leave it. Good riddance.

I turned. My suitcase was still intact. But, a man, my guardian angel, had picked up the backend of my suitcase! He helped me carry it up the entire flight of stairs. When I turned to thank him, he was already walking away and into the crowds of people. I watched the lit end of his cigarette get smaller and smaller. And, then he was gone.

Thank you, New York, for that very appreciated Christmas present.