Beekeeping on the Horizon

My family and I are gearing up for our first experience with beekeeping. Marcus and my sisters built the hive, and today we finished up preparing for the bees' arrival next week. Let's hope all goes well. We also stopped by Terry-a's new house! Her and her husband just bought it, and they are about to start a 4 month renovation. It's a nice place, so that should be exciting. In the not so distant future, Marcus and I are vacationing in London, a place I've never been to before. So that is something to look forward to!

Spring!

The weather has been so nice! I started doing some cardio for the first time along the FDR Drive. I like how I get to see all the NYC bridges, and that it's less crowded than the West Side Highway. Last night Marcus and I watched "The Hunter" with Willem Dafoe. We really liked it! Melancholy, but really good. It was about someone who's hired to hunt down the supposed last remaining Tasmanian Tiger, an animal that was thought to be extinct. I had never heard of this creature before, so I did some light research, and it turns out it was the largest carnivorous marsupial, and its closest relative would be the Tasmanian Devil...who knew?!?! Tonight we are taking my sisters out for a belated birthday celebration, then coming back to our apartment for a short game of Monopoly. We just cleaned up around our apartment, and whoa did it need it! I don't like letting things go, but lately it's gotten hectic between work, life, being tired! Haha it never ends. I've been really getting into that smart phone game "Draw Some". It's so addictive! So we ordered our beekeeping gear...and I started reading more on my own in preparation for our own beehive! Let's see how it goes, but Marcus, my father, and my sisters are all into learning how, too. Marcus and I are almost done with the introductory beekeeping class. Honey bees are really organized and everyone has their own very defined roles...I love them. They must be Virgos with that level of anal retentiveness. The photo is from our last class, where we got to check out some hives on the roof of building where class is held.

Buzzing...

Recently I got the steroid injections in my neck to try to alleviate some of the pain. So now I'm waiting to see if they will be effective...I feel marginally better so far, but it's maybe too soon to see. Last week Lauren came into the city and we grabbed some brunch. It had been a long time, so it was great catching up. Marcus just returned from a ski trip to St. Anton in Austria. He thinks this is probably one of the best skiing experiences he's had, even better than his ski trip to the Matterhorn last year. Today I started taking an introductory course to beekeeping. So far, so good. The hope to start up a hive in my parents' backyard. After class, I met Saifra and Terry-a at Sanctuary T for brunch. Very underwhelming I have to say! Overpriced, and not exceptional at all. It was too bad. But good to catch up with friends. As for the latest in TV...my new favorite show is MTV's "I Just Want My Pants Back"!

Pains In My Neck

I have been battling neck pain for a few months now...I just got an MRI and I have some bulging discs. So I am going to go in to get injections of steroid into my joints in hopes of relieving this. Augh. Well, recently Marcus and I got a Murphy bed for our square foot challenged second bedroom. We are very happy with it! We got to choose the colors and finishes. Now we gotta work on replacing the radiators in our place, changing the window treatments, and getting some new closet doors. The other day I watched the original "Cat People", and today I watched the updated version, and I liked both. We also watched "50/50" about a young man dealing with the recent diagnosis of cancer...also really liked that. At work there have been some changes...namely we are working more regularly at our sister hospital, which is in a nice part of Jersey City. So I do like the change of scenery. In a few weeks I'm going to Vegas to attend a veterinary conference and hopefully catch up with some friends! I'm going with my mom and we're staying with my Godmother (and one of her best friends), so it should be fun. Oh, and I tried to watch "Midnight in Paris", the latest Woody Allen film, and I couldn't bear it. I have issues with seeing historical figures being personified on screen sometimes...and this was one of those cases. I've been hating on Rachel Ray, but I just saw this recipe of hers called Eggs in Clouds, and I admit I wanna check it out...

Happy New Year

This New Year's Eve Marcus and I spent with friends who recently bought a place up in Harlem. I was tired from my day at work, so although I kinda wanted to be "out and about", it was much better this way. We had some dinner, talked, watched the ball drop on TV, and then headed home around 2AM. Then the next morning we had brunch at Wall and Water. THEN we did our all day "Alien" movie marathon. Good times. Today we bummed around, and we got my new obsession: an egg holder tray for the fridge. Random, but I've been scheming for a few weeks now. We just finished watching "Fright Night"...that teeny bopper vampire-comedy starring McLovin' from "Superbad" and Colin Farrell. Can I say that Colin Farrell was perfect in it. So funny, it was guilty pleasure perfection.

Winter Heat

Oh MY GOSH. It's really hot in our apartment...the heat is cranking...we live in an older building, so we're on steam radiators. And someone tweaked them for the worse. It's like Philippines hot in here! Well Christmas just passed, and the holiday was a fun one. We went to my parents' place and celebrated there. Among the highlights of my gifts were the NYC restaurant grading system magnet, and the Sephora train case I got for my makeup! Christmas day Marcus and I checked out the remake of the Swedish flick "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"...and we really liked it! Then we headed home, saw Jennifer and her man Neil, and watched some movies on TV. The day after Christmas we headed to Lord and Taylor for some crazy sales on cashmere sweaters! Did you know that cashmere comes from goats and not sheep??? Today...back to work...grr...

October-November

In recent weeks a lot has been going on. Marcus' university friend, Jonas, and his fiance Mirian, stayed with us for a week. They were visiting from Brazil, and taking in the sights here. We had a great time---ate a lot of good food, went shopping, and they got to see the good old Zuccotti Park protesters for themselves. (Augh). For Halloween, we also had a good time...we ended up at a loft party in SoHo...a very good time! Last night I met up with my vet school friends. We all live in the Tri-state area, yet it's close to impossible to meet up! We had dinner at Fatty Crab, then headed over to the Meatpacking District. I had come straight from work, meaning I was wearing my scrubs and carrying around a frumpy backpack. Here's where it gets good and shameful all at the same time: We ended up in the Boom Boom Room...yes, I hung out in the Boom Boom Room in my scrubs and a backpack. I demand a do-over when I'm prepared and looking fashionably hot!