Post Blizzard...Way Behind...

I just realized I still haven't finished recounting my trip to Italy...yikes. I definitely will need to finish that up, just need all of my photos uploaded. In the meantime, a lot has happened since my last blog entry. Christmas just passed, which was fun. We went to my parents' house, and as usual, there was tons of food. On Christmas Day (we celebrate on Christmas Eve), Marcus and I had a movie marathon at home. First I cooked us some breakfast: scrambled eggs, pancakes (from scratch, of course), and ricotta with fruits and honey. It was pretty good. Then we started the movies. We watched all three "Lord of the Rings" movies...it was an all day, all night event, but well worth it! And Marcus is a Lord of the Rings guru, so any questions were promptly addressed. The next morning we headed to the University Club for brunch. Marcus was recently accepted for membership there. At first it was so nice because we were literally the only ones there. Unfortunately some other diners crept in during our meal...oh, well. I had a very good omelet. Then the blizzard hit, and I didn't make it to work (darn). I got to watch "The Unforgiven" with Clint Eastwood. What a great movie! I never had interest in Westerns, but this didn't seem to be your typical Western. Today Marcus took the day off and we checked out MoMA. We finally got to see the "Counter Space" exhibit, and of course the permanent collection (gotta get my dose of Matisse). We then ate lunch at Pret a Manger, then we ended up back home in our neck of the woods. We decided to try supposedly "Manhattan's Best Coffee" at Kaffe 1668. I always hesitated because of the attitude I got from the staff, but I was intrigued. We ordered (overpriced) drinks, and were met with hipster-ish attitude. When I commented on this to Marcus, he said "you can't have hipster attitude in Tribeca...you're in the wrong place for that." And it's true. Go back to LES or Williamsburg for that sh#t! You in Tribeca now, b#tch!

Intermezzo

Yesterday and today I've been slightly under the weather, so I wanted to take a brief break from recounting my trip, since I don't think I can appropriately give it the attention it needs to fully describe it just yet...so I'm going to digress and talk about a really good movie I finally watched: "Inception". Marcus and I ordered it On Demand yesterday. And we really liked it! I actually just watched it again this afternoon. Good stuff. Highly recommended. (Although I do think that Ellen Page was miscast in this movie...but loved her in "Hard Candy".) Yesterday Marcus and I hung out with Terry-a, Steve, and the crew. It was good seeing them. But what a yucky, rainy day!

Day Three

After our long second day, we slept in and decided to take it easy. We grabbed some breakfast at our hotel (breakfast isn't big in Italy...bummer)and wandered over to the Colosseum. Now, as I said, I detest tours. But the line was long, so in order to cut the line we agreed to a 45 minute tour. It was again, led by an archeologist, and it was pretty interesting. It was unfortunately raining a little. But the real bummer was that none of the cats of the Colosseum were out and about! There's a colony of about 200 cats that live in the Colosseum...the last time I was there, I vividly remember all the cats around me. I was really looking forward to seeing them and feeding them! I had even brought some cat food in my luggage. I was also looking forward to seeing the "basement" where the slaves and animals were kept, but it had been closed off a week before we arrived. Oh well. We also checked out the Pantheon that day. It was under renovation of some sort from the outside. In spite of the fact some horrific things took place at the Colosseum, like the killing of animals and slaves, it's an amazing structure. And the tour guide reminded us that in reality, we are just seeing the skeleton of the Colosseum, and way back when it looked a lot different, and had marble and statues all over. So weird.

More On Rome

Christina and I were on vacation for 6 days...so it's hard for me to stay true to the daily events, but I'm gonna try my best. There was so much walking, food, and coffee it tends to blur at times. But day two started with a pretty huge undertaking: The Vatican. Now if you go to Rome, you gotta go to the Vatican. But needless to say, it's huge, overwhelming, and a tourist trap extraordinaire. Prior to deciding to take the trip together, we talked about our opinions on sight-seeing...I am very much against the whole bus tour and running around all day trying to see as many sights as possible. I would rather see a couple of important sights and spend the majority of my time discovering the place I'm visiting. Christina was more evenly minded about it...she wasn't against organized tours, just in moderation. So I agreed to doing one guided tour that was a few hours in length (not on a bus!)...at the Vatican, which of all the guided tours, is the wisest, in my opinion since the Vatican is so vast. We went with Viator. And it was worth it. Our tour guide was an archeologist, and knew so much about the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. Plus we skipped the lines. There's no way you can see everything in the Vatican in a couple of hours or even days, but I was absolutely done by the end. It was fascinating and beautiful, but it was too much and it needed to just end! Having said that, I'm glad Christina convinced me to do that tour, because with so much to see, it's good to have someone showing you selected parts of the museum and giving you interesting factoids. Speaking of factoids, as you probably know, Vatican City is literally its own country, with its own citizens, currency, and ATM machines that function only in Latin! So after we headed over to Via Ottaviano, which is nearby. Back in the day (aka when I last went to Rome in college) it was a hot spot for me to go shopping for affordable clothing. We ended up checking out some shoe stores. At some point we made our way back home to the hotel and were zonked out. I think by the end of that day Christina may have secretly wanted to lose me somewhere...I can get a lil' cranky when I do four hour tours in the Vatican with annoying know-it-all tourists who keep interrupting the tour guide and when there are seemingly thousands of tourists in every room you go to! God bless Christina for her patience...and thank God for her map reading abilities! We made a great team...I served as the Italian translator and communicator, and she was our navigator.

Back Stateside...Roma: The Recap

I just returned from Rome yesterday. What a fun trip! As I mentioned previously, I went with my good friend, Christina. So from the beginning: We arrived in the early A.M. and settled into our temporary home away from home, Hotel Columbia. The hotel is located just blocks away from Stazione Termini, the largest station in Rome. I'd highly recommend staying there if you're looking for a clean, simple, inexpensive, conveniently located hotel. Breakfast is included, which was a plus. Having said that, breakfast isn't a big meal for Italians (what a shame!), so it is a simple meal they serve. But again, it's included, so it's all good. Since I'm highly paranoid of vermin of many kind...I can verify that I did do extensive research on bed bug sightings in hotels around Rome, and did a thorough investigation of my own (you can ask Christina...I did actually rip off all the sheets and checked under our mattresses) and felt confident we were going to be safe. After acclimating, we cleaned up and headed out. We ate at a restaurant right by Termini first. Pretty good food (I had gnocchi)...and I was reminded about one of the Italy-isms over there. You pay for bottles of water in restaurants...not like here, where your glasses are perpetually overflowing. And you are offered plain water or carbonated. After we hopped on the metro and headed to the Fountain of Trevi. How beautiful. One of, if not my favorite monument in Rome. But it's so hard to pick because the architecture is stunning everywhere. Not to mention all the twisting, narrow cobblestone streets. Anyway, we ate some great pizza, had some caffe latte and cappuccino, and hung out at the fountain. Christina had some Nutella gelato (as you can see in one of the photos), which would turn out to be her dessert of choice during the trip. After we walked all over, we stumbled upon the Coccinelle store, a utopia of leather handbags. Steve, Terry-a's husband, reminded me of this gem before we left, so I was definitely planning on getting myself something! I got a gorgeous grey leather and suede bag, and a blue clutch. Christina got herself a bag, too. At some point during the day we stumbled upon a church that was undergoing some renovations. The contrast between the construction and the old, intricate church decor was pretty dramatic. We then headed home after a long first day out. Phew.

Mamma Mia!

Woah I haven't blogged in a while. Well, Thanksgiving just passed us by, and my parents went out of town. So those of us who remained went out to lunch at Half Moon, a restaurant on the water in Westchester. It was a pretty good meal and a great way to celebrate: no clean up and no feeling the need to host guests! I'd definitely go this route again for the holidays. Well, in a day, I'm heading to Rome with my good friend Christina! It's a trip we've been planning for a while, and I'm so excited. Our plan is to bum around town, check out the different neighborhoods, eat great food and drink great coffee...shop...go out...all that good stuff. Marcus and Gustaf will be holding down the fort during this girls' only trip. Don't feel bad for Marcus, he'll be skiing in the Swiss Alps with his guy friends in a few months...

A Good Ol' Saturday Night

Last night was Saturday night. After work, Marcus and I met up at Union Square and we ate at Vapiano. It's very reasonably priced Italian food, and it's pretty decent...all the pasta and pizza are freshly made on the premises. We then headed home for the event of the night: HBO Pay Per View! We were going to watch the greatly anticipated Manny Pacquiao Antonio Margarito boxing match. It was great! We don't follow boxing, but we heard about the match so we wanted to check it out. My father watched a lot of boxing when I was growing up, but I forgot how ridiculous the sport really is, and that's why it's so great. I love the trash talking, the controversies, the show, and the serious death stares and psych outs the boxers play off...but you truly have to be a little crazy and you have to buy into all the trash talk and self promotion to box, because there aren't many sports where you can REALLY get f$cked up, like in boxing...I mean, not many people would willingly sign up to get their faces jacked up with a chance of serious brain trauma. Anyway, Pacquiao won, but the other guy was a serious trooper...his face was butchered mid way through the fight, and he could barely see out of one eye...but he kept going. Damn. The match was not complete, of course, without a pre-match performance from the cheeser Nelly. Anyway, I'd like to follow more boxing. Today I went to the gym to work out. My trainer kicked the crap out of me...we were sparring...I need to work on my speed. Then I met up with Christina for brunch at Le Plein Sud down in Tribeca. We were catching up and planning our upcoming trip to Roma together!

Halloween and Good Days!

This past weekend was Halloween, a personal favorite of mine. Specially because of the Greenwich Village Parade. Marcus and I dressed up and made our way to the parade. He reprised his role as Krusty the Clown, and I was finally Lara Croft Tomb Raider. Gustaf made it in the shot, as you can see. We were thinking of making him Pepe Le Pew...it would have been an easy costume, considering he's a black cat! Anyway, some favorites at the parade were timely costumes like the bed bug and Metrocard Man, who was going to save NYC from fare hikes. My dream is get a bunch of friends on a float for the parade...because anyone can march in it! Today I had a really good day at work. I did a really good job on surgery, if I can say so myself...I also saw a few patients of mine who were getting better, which always makes me happy, specially when I'm worrying about them. Phew.

My Abs Hurt!

This weekend has been been a weekend of recovery. First, Marcus was gone for the weekend visiting with friends. This past Friday night, I went out with my co workers to a bar in Greenwich Village, and then had to be at work the next morning at 8AM. So needless to say, after work I just vegged out in front of the TV, ordered some dinner off Seamless Web, and hung out with Gustaf. I ended up watching two flicks that night: "City Island", a film produced by Andy Garcia, who also starred in it. Wasn't the greatest movie, but a lot of it took place on City Island (like the title indicates), which was pretty cool, because I have always had a little fascination with that place. My father originally wanted us to move there when we were young, so we could have a boat and live by the water. Then I watched "The Hurt Locker" for a second time. I love this movie. It's so intense and unnerving. I HIGHLY recommend this movie. Today I went to the gym and worked out with my trainer. She kicked the crap out of my abs today! I spent the rest of the day catching up on housework and I watched the film "The Pool". I liked it...it's a slow paced film about a teenage boy in India who spies on a wealthy family and is fascinated with the pool in their backyard. He ends up infiltrating their lives in the process. The funny thing about both these movies is the actual filmmaking processes for them were just as interesting as the final product! Apparently they were very challenging to make in terms of locations, departmental issues, and casting problems, if you read about them.

Falling From the Sky!

I had a really bad day at work on Saturday...I mean REALLY bad day. Good thing the next day (yesterday) was the day I was supposed to go sky diving, because I needed it!


My sisters Jennifer and Caroline joined me on the jump, too! I've been sky diving before, but this was their first time. Marcus and my parents came to watch. My sisters had a good time, and maybe they'll consider doing it again...I don't think they're sure yet. But Jennifer has a fear of heights, so she really was brave to do this, I was surprised. As for me, I will DEFINITELY do it again. I love it, it's so much fun. And contrary to popular belief, jumping out of a plane isn't really scary, it's fun and relaxing. And by the time you're at the door of the plane about to jump, you just gotta do it. Of course, with a parachute and highly trained instructor on your back (we jumped tandem). This time was so much better (if that's possible) than the first time I jumped, back in college. Going tandem, you free fall out of the plane at about 13,000 feet at 125 miles per hour. You free fall for about a minute. In that minute we spun around, fell both belly down and belly up, so we go to look up to the sky and watch the plane fly away above us, which was pretty amusing. Then at 6,000 feet you pull the cord and navigate your parachute down to the ground. We got beautiful views of the fall foliage and landscape on the way up in the plane and on the way down. I've always wanted to get certified in sky diving (so I can jump by myself), but never had the time or funds to pursue it. I'm considering it...the only thing really making me hesitate is that the sky diving school is far from where we live, and I'd have to go there fairly regularly. But either way, I'm jumping out of a plane again---one way or the other! And who else plans to join me next time? My MOM...yes, my mother! She wanted to jump yesterday, but she recently had cataract surgery so we weren't sure if that would be ok just yet. And Marcus is considering going tandem with one of his best friends who's a professional sky diver in Sweden...he said he'd only go if he goes with him, so that's fair. And Mom: next season it's on!

Mid Week Report

Grr...my day off is almost over and I have to go back to work tomorrow...bummer. I spent my day takin' care of business. I have to study for my New Jersey board exam so I can practice in New Jersey (that's where I work now!). Then I did some house work, and now I'm watching not so hot television. But on a positive note, I've been chillin' with Gustaf all day and he's so cute. This weekend Marcus and I may join some friends and eat at Fette Sau. Then Sunday, I'm skydiving with my sisters! So that'll be exciting. Oh and after work last night Marcus and I checked out a short film festival down here in Tribeca. My co worker's boyfriend produced one of the flicks, so we were showing support. There were some good films in there! And the photo is a still from one of the films...yes, that's two wooden figurines having tantric sex on sandpaper...what a metaphor.

A Week In Review

I'm sick right now...which sucks. I'm congested, can't breathe, and I feel so crappy. Augh. But earlier this weekend I had a really good time. On Friday I met up with Stephen who recently got back from Italy. He also brought me a big jar of Nutella...and that's almost gone! I'm convinced it makes me feel instantly better when I feel sick. Then Friday night Marcus, Steve, Terry-a, and me went to this Greek restaurant on Park Avenue South. It was pretty good, and the deserts were killer. I was hoping we'd play ping pong after, but that was a no go. Then the next day Marcus and I brunched at Barmarche in SoHo, on a recommendation from Terry-a. It was pretty good. We then spent too much time at Century 21 picking out a suitcase. We were really into this Jeep luggage, but then we both admitted we really liked it because, well, it said Jeep on it! We ended up buying this Samsonite hard case with all-direction spinning wheels, in a dark red...which I'm not really into at all, but Marcus made the great point that the luggage, because of its size, would have to be checked in, so why not make it something that will stand out on the luggage belt at the airport, right? Last night I crashed because I felt yucky, and today I had to cancel on my trainer because I'm sick. Too bad I have to go to work tomorrow...

Ping Pong, Brunch, N' Stuff

It's Sunday late afternoon and I just finished watching "Spider-Man" on TV. What a great movie. I love watching heroes become heroes! And Toby Maguire is the perfect guy to fit the bill. Today Marcus and I brunched down by the marina near World Trade Center. This morning I saw my trainer and now my shoulders and arms are burning. Yesterday after work I met up with Marcus and some friends and we played some ping pong at SPiN New York. It was so much fun! Then we ate dinner at L'Express. It was good! One of my friends is a pilot for Jet Blue so I was grilling him about the everyday ins and outs of his job. Seems like a cool career. Earlier this week I met up with Terry-a at Cafeteria and got some mid week brunch. Right now I'm in the midst of planning a trip to Italy with Christina, my internmate and good friend...but in the meantime I have to get through this next week to finally get to my long weekend....

Just Wrong!

As I lament over the void left in my life left by the absence of chocolate, I reflect upon a heavenly piece of chocolate heaven. I went to visit Gina, my very good friend and veterinary oncology resident, in Norwalk, Connecticut. we ate lunch at this place called Chocopologie! The service was lacking, but not the dessert! This weekend was a good one. Marcus and I went to the movies and watched Ben Affleck's directorial (and starring) effort, "The Town". I was very happy with this movie. It was solid storytelling and everyone gave good performances. Ben Affleck, I've decided, just needs the right role...he's been plagued by horrible performances and parts in the past, but this was pretty good! Maybe he's found his forte---directing? I really liked this movie. Yesterday Terry-a, Saifra, and I went to Locanda Verde in Tribeca to brunch. It was good---I had oatmeal. I'd like to check it out for dinner. Last week Marcus and I ate dinner at Tribeca Grill, just a block or two away from Locanda Verde. It was pretty good, but Marcus was more impressed by it than me. So onto the title of this blog entry...last night we watched that Latifah and Common romantic movie called "Just Wright" On Demand...and let's just say we knew what we were getting ourselves into. Well, it was my fault. Marcus told me it was my choice, so I picked this movie. I knew it was going to be bad, but I'm a sucker for a romantic plot. Well, it was what it was! But I admit if it was on TV, I would watch it again....!

Kunjip

Yesterday evening Marcus and I ate dinner at this great Korean restaurant with Terry-a's family. It was food overload, but in a good way. The plates kept on arriving at the table, and we kept eating! Hubba hubba! This past weekend was a good one. Friday Marcus, Caroline, and I ate lunch at the University Club, then I hung out with Jennifer and Caroline for a bit at my apartment. That night Marcus and I met up with Terry-a and Steve for a delicious dinner at Commerce Restaurant in the West Village. Then Saturday Marcus and I rented a Mini Cooper and drove up to the Woodbury Commons to check out the shopping situation. We got some stuff including a Le Creuset pan I might test out for some brownie baking. We then visited my family in Westchester. It was September 11, and we were able to see the commemorative blue beams shining from Ground Zero. It still bugs me out that September 11 really happened. On a happier note, recently, I've been getting some positive feedback from my clients, who've told me and my boss how happy they are with how I've treated their pets, which makes me really happy! And I'm not too upset my boss has heard it, too...

Rainbows and Unicorns

My boss showed us this really amusing video clip of a guy at Yosemite Park. Check it out---it's hallucinogenic. Today I went to the gym and worked out with my trainer. It was rough, but good. Then I did some housework and paid some bills. This evening I'm meeting up with Hillary for dinner. We may go to Vapiano. At least we're meeting up there to start. I have three more days of work this week, then it's Labor Day weekend! Don't know what our plans are of yet, but it's nice that Marcus and I will have a full weekend together. I heard that Mario Batali just opened up this Italian food megastore on Fifth Ave and 23rd St. Apparently it also has a bunch of restaurants in it...it's called Eataly. Oh, I also read how man-boob reduction surgery is on the rise due to the obesity epidemic in the US.

The Ulitmate Drop Zone

Wow I've been MIA for a lil' bit. Work, working out, all that stuff. Marcus recently went to Montreal to visit a friend and he had a good time. This past Sunday, my sisters and I headed to Times Square to check out the King Tut exhibit. Apparently, once the run is over, the exhibit is heading back to Egypt forever. It's pretty interesting...a CT scan and bone biopsy were performed on the mummy to determine the cause of his death and to determine who King Tut's father was. I especially loved these gorgeous jars that contained mummified internal organs...I kinda like that idea of mummifying individual organs...but I do want to be cremated...Before the exhibit, we met up at Pershing Square Restaurant. Jennifer had an eclair, Caroline had a crab cake and a margarita, and I had lapsang souchong tea...I love that stuff...it's this really smokey black tea. Anyway, Marcus recently found this skydiving opportunity that he thought I'd love...and I do! One day, I'd love to do it...you skydive off of Mt. Everest! That's incredible...now only if I could afford it...

Why I'm Sayin' No

So I'm on this campaign against high fructose corn syrup...and the reason for myself, at least, is because I recently found out from my doctor that I am technically considered a "pre-diabetic" based on bloodwork results. This scared the hell outta me, because diabetes runs in my family, and because as many of you know, I'm a chocoholic and inhaling a jar on Nutella on a daily basis isn't something I put past myself. So in the past few weeks I've drastically reduced my chocolate intake (very sadly so, by the way) and I've cut down on carb intake. I'm also working on reducing my orange juice consumption. I will say---recently I've noticed a difference in myself and I've lost some weight. My trainer even commented on it, and I've been training with her for 8 months and this is the first time she's said this to me. She has always told me that I have to watch what I eat to really see results, and I believe it. Speaking of eating, Marcus and I went to dinner at Maze, the restaurant in the London Hotel. It's a Gordon Ramsey joint. I thought the food was good, and we agreed we'd go back again. P.S.: Marcus and friends' new product line has launched! Check it out and spread the word!

Again, Say NO to Fructose and Sucrose (which is partially made of fructose)

Marcus sent me a link to a lecture given by an MD out of UC San Francisco. If you have any interest in why Americans are facing an obesity epidemic, why high fructose corn syrup is really bad, and why little kids---even infants are having problems with obesity...then check out this lecture. It was pretty interesting. It broke down the reason why the US is having this problem now---it all started with Nixon, the Japanese scientist who invented high fructose corn syrup, and the early 80's movement to cut down on fat to prevent cardiovascular disease. Then the guy breaks down exactly why fructose is bad. I highly recommend this lecture. It's over an hour, but very interesting and very important. Check it out, it was a lecture presented to the public, as part of the UC school system's Lifelong Learning Program. Just FYI, here's a list of foods highest in fructose content...I need to cut down on my fruit juice intake. On a happier note, this weekend was fun. Marcus and I brunched in SoHo yesterday, and then last night I went to Film Forum with Stephen and we watched the original "House of Wax" starring Vincent Price in 3-D. It was GREAT FUN! I'm really happy we watched it. Today is a rainy, lazy day...I worked out, did some housework, and chilled with Gustaf. P.S...quick fructose factoids: it doesn’t suppress ghrelin (the hunger hormone), fructose ingestion doesn’t trigger insulin, therefore doesn’t trigger leptin (the satiety hormone), therefore your brain doesn’t know you ate anything and tells you you're still hungry! Fructose contributes to Metabolic Syndrome (obesity, type II diabetes, lipid problems, hypertension, cardiovascular disease)...therefore fructose, high fructose corn syrup, and sucrose are the roots of all dietary evil! AAAHHHH!

A Long Weekend

This week I have a long weekend (my schedule changes week by week), so I was thrilled! Yesterday Marcus took the day off and we went to Long Beach. It was a good, quick getaway. The waves were fairly strong, and the water wasn't the warmest (but still refreshing), so we were in and out of the water. Then we went to Lord and Taylor because there was a crazy sale, and I needed more work clothes. So that got taken care of. At home we watched an excellent movie: "The Ghost Writer". At first the dialogue reminded me of David Mamet, but I was surprised to find out Roman Polanski actually directed it. Today I worked out and was happily reminded of what's on my iPod...well the iPod is on my iPhone. I listened to some Findley Quaye, James Brown, Glasvegas (a new love of mine), hip hop, and other good stuff. But I want to upload some more music. Tonight we're heading to Alphabet City to eat dinner with Terry-a and Steve at Back Forty.

Catching Up...Back in the Workforce

So the past week has been a little busy. I've been on hiatus since May...and that was a beautiful time in my life. So beautiful...alas, I eventually had to get back to work, and so I am. Now I work in Jersey City. I've been there a week, and so far, so good. I like all my co-workers, and my boss is a really good, patient, reasonable one. He's so far carried out on everything we talked about during my negotiations with him, and he's a really good teacher. Maybe this time I'll be lucky. I'm still trying to juggle meeting with my trainer and working out, too. So I'm in the midst of figuring that all out. I recently went to my friend Liz' art show. Marcus and I really like one particular painting she did, so hopefully we can find a spot for it in our apartment. Not sure if we have the space, but I think it could work. I also have been making a big effort to be healthy. For real, say no to corn syrup! And I'm cutting down on white rice, pasta, potatoes, and...sadly, chocolate. Marcus is back from Sweden. He had a great time there, so that's good. My little brother in law just graduated from high school and we got a photo from his yearbook (see photo). Yes, the captain's hat is part of the "official" photo for the school. Not really into the whole earring thing, but you know how these young kids are. And who knows what the trends are in Europe! He's grown up...I remember when he was just a little guy!

Jack and the Usual Suspects...Oh Ya!

Yesterday Terry-a, Seren (her daughter), and I headed off to see Lauren and her newborn Jack. We first stopped at Terry'a's parents' house so Seren could frolic and take a nap. We were in the back yard and this beautiful butterfly was all over the flowers and seemed pretty comfortable with us around. We drove up to Lauren's place and got to meet Jack. Beautiful blue eyes and a pretty chill personality. Which makes sense, since Lauren and her hubbie Nick are pretty chill themselves! He's a pretty happy guy. And we got to hang with Frank the Tank, their cute cat (and cousin to Gustaf...? Cuz he's a black cat). He was purring up a storm when I pet him. So yesterday was fun. And I haven't seen Lauren in forever. So today my sisters and I headed up to Brimfield, Massachusetts to check out the big antiques show. We went last year, too. It's a bit of a haul for one day, and it gets painful, but it's fun, and there is usually a fair share of mid century stuff, which is what I like the most. This year there seemed to be less people and less vendors...don't know if the economy took its toll? But we'll be back next year. Although at some point I don't know if my waking up at five in the morning to meet my sisters in Westchester did it, or the extreme heat did (I didn't have a hat on), but I became slightly delirious and thought I was going to pass out. I don't think I was making sense when I spoke (well, let's be honest...I rarely do), and my sisters kept asking me if I wanted to leave. But then Jennifer spotted this great late 1800's framed study of this middle aged man with a mustache posing in his skivvies. It sounds really bad, but it's honestly a really beautiful sketch. So she snatched that, and it woke me up from my stooper. But then I passed out in the car on the way back to Westchester. I caught the train back to NYC, but stopped by the house to see my parents first; in classic style we were greeted by my father who had just finished gardening. He was rocking an all white outfit with a green bandana to keep the sweat out of his eyes. He then drank a beer from the veranda to marvel in his works. Good for him. I've been meaning to share this glorious quote I read in one of those free AM papers they hand out by the subway stations. I love this, in all its ignorance...and Marcus loves it because someone took the time to remember it and print it: "The smartest people I know love on Staten Island. (Pointing to Brooklyn) That's Jersey. The dumbest people I know live there" -Guy on State Island Ferry taking to visitors. Oh, I forgot to mention the preview of the Matisse exhibit at MoMa was great. A lot of stuff I didn't expect to see from Matisse. Highly recommended!

Glee!

So today Marcus headed off to Sweden to visit his family and friends. Since I'm starting a new job soon (augh), I couldn't go this time. And every time he goes away, my food situation becomes a frantic point of stressing. Because he's the cook in our house...it's so interesting how dependent you can become...I mean, shoot, I'm a grown woman who lived on my own and was capable of feeding myself! But I am not a cook, have never feigned to be one. So whenever he leaves, I end up pseudo starving, or running to the store and figuring out some ghetto solution. So my latest thing to do is to go to Whole Foods and to buy one of those whole roasted chickens...and then I eat that for the next 3 days and then figure something else out. Marcus has been making himself these health smoothies lately; they have non fat yogurt, fruits, and skim milk in them. I hopped on board, and they're great! I sometimes add honey to make them sweeter. So my new thing is to have one of those and cereal (without corn syrup, of course) in the mornings. Although it's nice to have time to myself (Gustaf and I are holding down the fort), I do miss him a lot when he's gone, and I'm going to be starting a new job and it would be great to have him physically here when that happens. Anyway, I am watching that Fox show "Glee". Gotta love it. As crazy and over the top as it is, it's great, I must admit. I mean, damn, if there was a glee club at my high school and it was like that when I was a senior (...I had gained some confidence by then...I was a late bloomer), I would have loved to wear semi too-risque-for-teens costumes, all while belting out cheesy tunes! P.S.: I secretly wished I would have been a cheerleader because of the uniforms and the pom poms...haha. This afternoon I watched Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July". I really like that movie; it's beautifully shot (Robert Richardson), and it's such a painful journey to watch. Tom Cruise was pretty good...and I really don't like him because I feel like I can't separate his performance from his real life persona usually.

No To Corn Syrup

I went to the doctor today for an annual checkup. It went fine, although there was a mini fiasco when I tried to get blood work done to check my rabies titers. Since I'm a veterinarian, I had to be vaccinated against rabies. Well, no one, including the doctor, was familiar with the test that had to be run, and it became a problem. I ended up talking to the lab myself to try to sort it out. Anyway, the doctor and I were discussing diet and he reminded me that I should be avoiding corn syrup---an evil that is an ingredient in almost all foods in the US! Why is it evil? It's a simple carbohydrate, it has been linked to multiple conditions, and when you read food labels, if there's an ingredient that you have never heard of, it's probably made from corn syrup. So that's my new kick---to really try to avoid corn syrup. And to try to eat more quinoa, which contains the highest amount of protein of all grains, when cooked. Martha Stewart has a recipe for breakfast that seems pretty good. I have also been meaning to mention the Plastiki. It's a boat that has been constructed entirely of recycled plastic bottles and sustainable materials (glue made of cashews!). David de Rothschild, the heir to the de Rothschild banking fortune, is in charge of this project and apparently he's a big time environmentalist (I didn't know that). I was also enlightened that there's this disgusting, enormous island of used plastic bottles and chemical waste floating in the Pacific Ocean. It's estimated to be twice the size of Texas...disgusting. There's a pretty interesting video about the mission of Plastiki and exactly how the boat was built (when you click on the link, scroll down to see the video).

Lemons, South Beach, and Yummy Beach Time

As I sit here in front of our TV watching Judge Mathis, I am sipping on my delectable lemonade, homemade, of course (nothing less!). And I recall that I recently discovered that lemons are not created equal. I bought lemons from Food Emporium and made my lemonade, and it was sub par. So I am back to my Whole Foods lemons. Anyway, Marcus and I just returned from a weekend excursion to South Beach. My sisters held down the fort and watched our beloved cat Gustaf. we stayed at the Grand Beach Hotel, on the "doorstep" of South Beach. This place was nice; it has its own beach. The room was pretty pimped out: two flatscreen TV's, white and cream colored furniture, balcony, two bathrooms with showers...the food in the hotel's restaurant was decent. I did love their crab salad. It was REAL crab meat over a bed of mixed greens, grapefruit, watermelon, and orange, with a citrus dressing. We did spot a silverfish (aka carpet shark, apparently) in our bathroom, which was really NOT cool considering our history with vermin in our former apartment. I had never dealt with silverfish before, so we googled it and found out more. So just in case, we kept our stuff on lockdown. Speaking of the bathroom, I was so intrigued by the petite sink we had in one of the bathrooms (see photo). I loved it, although there wasn't much room in the sink. We spent most of our time there on the beach. Marcus was doing laps in the ocean, while I floated around aimlessly in a blow up inner tube (the best!). We also bummed around in the water, and the water was clear and warm. While we were at the beach we watched a bunch of pelicans patrolling the area and dive-bombing into the water for a meal. All so, so wonderful. I wouldn't mind having a vacation apartment down there, but beachfront of course! Next time I need to invest in the proper floating raft. I saw an old guy with a really nice one. Marcus saw a grandmother aged woman in a cut-out monokini---and said it wasn't pretty. I can imagine. We also strolled down Ocean Drive, that strip on South Beach with all the Art Deco buildings. I did miss out on real Cuban food, since we weren't in the right part of town. AND we watched the last game of the World Cup. Before it went into overtime we were watching it in the hotel restaurant, but since we had to get to the airport, once it unfortunately went into overtime, we hopped in a cab and watched the rest on a dinky screen in an airport hallway, along with thirty other people. We were really routing for the Netherlands. It's too bad, but Spain was a hard one to beat throughout the entire tournament. I did disagree with the decision to give Casillas, the Spaniard goalie, the goalie of the tournament award...I didn't think he was the overall best. PS: the next time you travel and you are staying at a hotel, check out the Bed Bug Registry...although not every single hotel and not every single bed bug sighting would be listed, it's still a good resource. And it checks on apartments, too.

It's All About Sustainable Energy!

Well I'm returning to work...augh, ya, work...sooner than later. And I was reflecting on how I can be healthier, and not eat bad things at work. I also want to avoid major sugar highs, then horrible energy crashes. Conveniently I saw a segment on the Today Show about certain snacks for maintaining energy without crashing, and snacks to curb your appetite without the horrible sugar crashes. One is called Flavor & Fiber, by Gnu. It's one of those energy type bars. I'm really not into these things, but I did try it and it seemed to curb my appetite without making me have a sugar rush. But I am skeptical. Let's see if I can pull this off at work. The other thing I was interested in was E Boost. It's one of those powders you add to water. It provides energy via vitamins, minerals, and green tea extract, aka caffeine. Even though there's caffeine, the energy you get from E Boost will supposedly not cause a bad crash after. So we'll see. Because with my coffee at work, I find that I don't get that much of a boost and I'm exhausted later. Speaking of all these energy drinks, Stephen enlightened me when we were walking around the other day and we were talking about how we get heat/dehydration headaches...he said that the one thing that works for him is drinking Vitamin Water, in "Energy" flavor...so that's my go-to now!

Pies N' Thighs, Baby, Pies N' Thighs

The other day Koh-chan and I ventured into Williamsburg to eat lunch at Pies N' Thighs. Good old Southern food! Jennifer decided to make a funny when I told here where we were eating...she said "I hope that's a chicken wings place"...ha ha. Well the food was pretty good. Then we chilled at this park on the water just a few blocks away. Later that day I went out with Stephen. We ate at a Japanese joint on St. Mark's Place, then bummed around the East Village. We ended up walking all the way to Chambers Street, where we parted ways. Well, this week has been the week of World Cup upsets! First Italy last week, then Brazil, now Argentina! Well, first of all, the Netherlands played really, really well against Brazil...and when things fell apart, oh did it get ugly. The own goal by a Brazilian, then later in frustration he picked up a red card for kicking a Dutch player with the spikes on his cleats. Not a way to go out---like a sore loser. And today---Argentina...with all the crap Maradona, their coach talks, there was nothing to show for because Germany shut them down. Oh and yesterday's painful game: Ghana vs. Uruguay. It ended in painful penalty kicks, and Ghana was out. It was crazy when in the very last minute (before the game went to penalty kicks) Ghana had a kick that could have given them the game, and the ball hit the cross bar on the goal! Augh. So crazy. Now we're waiting for the next game on in a couple of hours. This past week I've really jacked up my knees somehow. I went on a spinning class rampage and as a result, my knees haven't had time to recover. So I decided not to work out today, which sucks. Oh and the other day I went to work with my good friend, and fellow veterinarian, Christina. I like it because I kinda get to hang out with her and see how things are done at her hospital. I got to do some surgery, which was cool, too. Well, let's see how the game goes this afternoon...and I recently found Redline Princess in CVS. As my fellow intern-mates know, my last weeks as an intern were spent on overnights. That year was so exhausting, I ended up drinking this nasty energy drink, Redline, to get me (hyper) through those last few horrible weeks. Apparently, now they have the girly version: Redline "Princess".

Oh My God

Today I went to another spinning class, and the instructor was someone that was recommended to me. I know I've previously said I'd met the mother of all instructors, in terms of who kicks my @ss the most, but hot damn, today's was an absolute killer. I went to the NYHRC's Astor Place location for Rosa's spinning class. I've never seen anyone pedal as fast as she was (with resistance on the bike) and move so fast. I couldn't keep up. And honestly, when I take spin classes I usually don't keep up 100% of the time. But I really did not keep up! And not to mention this instructor's antics...she was a cross between super in shape instructor, hip hop DJ, dancer, and militant motivator. When she wasn't on the bike, she was literally rapping, dancing, and forcefully screaming at us to go faster. She pumped so much energy into this class, it wasn't funny. It was pain and party time all rolled into one. I left drenched and exhausted. But there was no time to take it slow because I had to make it back home to watch the Brazil-Chile game. On my way home I stopped at Baba Ghanouge, which is this Middle Eastern take out joint in Tribeca that's great. I'm obsessed with it now. Marcus and I get delivery from them all the time, and I'm personally really into their Hi-C lemonade drink: freshly juiced orange, lemon, and honey. And that's exactly what I ordered on my way home today. We've been ordering chicken manoushi a lot...it's spicy chicken with bread that's drenched in oregano. It's overload, but it's good. But when I googled manoushi, it seems as though the bread is usually seasoned with thyme...hmm...weird. But it tastes good anyway! PS: Brazil won 3-0, but Chile was giving 100% till the end, and not for nothing, so was Brazil...and that was cool to see both teams not giving up or taking it easy, even though towards the end it was apparent who was the winner. Also, speaking of Chile, I read about this former Chilean goalie who back in the '90's feigned injury in a game (in hopes of keeping Chile in the World Cup qualifiers) by cutting his head with a razor blade he hid in his glove! Crazy and so not cool.

Out: The U.S., England, and the Parade

Yesterday I was rooting for the U.S. soccer team, but they got the boot, which sucked. But they didn't play as well as they did in prior games. Last night we went to the movies and watched "Get Him to the Greek"...which was lukewarm, at best. Oh well. Then this morning the Germans creamed England, so England's out. Right after the game, Marcus and I headed over to the West Village to watch some of the Pride Parade. It was a good turn out. But one question remains: why is it that whenever a woman at this parade is topless, it's a severely overweight, middle-aged woman with a gut and horrible, drooping boobs? Seriously--why can't it be a young, attractive, toned woman? Well, that question may never be answered. In the vendor area, there were tons of things to buy, including 3-D gay porn, which come on, is awesome...ha ha. We then rushed home to watch the Argentina-Mexico game, which is currently in progress...

The Bionic Cat, Euthanasia, and The Obscenities Online

Marcus just sent me a link to an article about a young cat that lost both his hind limbs in an accident, and the British veterinary surgeon who implanted prosthetic limbs. It's pretty fascinating, and very exciting. The prosthetics have been so far successful. (What could go wrong? Sores, pain, INFECTION, the implants move, bone fractures, the list continues...) I'm always excited with these types of strides not only for veterinary medicine, but for human medicine, since a lot of veterinary based research and techniques are then used to enhance human medicine. My concern with these types of things is quality of life. Since in my opinion animals live in the "here and now" it's hard for me to justify doing extensive procedures IF animals will be in pain or stressed for long periods of time. And of course vets NEVER want that, and I'm sure that the cat was made to be comfortable and pain free. I'm just saying that since animals can't talk, I'm always scared that people will go above and beyond not for the well being of their pet, but for them. And that's not what it's about. But this whole prosthetic procedure is really exciting...the reason why is because this surgeon has successfully gotten the cat's skin to bind to the metal prosthetic, and of course because now this cat has bought more time to live (comfortably). F#ckin' cool. Apparently he's done this before with a canine patient. Speaking of medicine, in Germany it's been decided that unassisted euthanasia is legal, meaning if a patient wants it, life support can be removed. Now although this is a step forward for humane euthanasia, I argue that this example is not truly one of euthanasia. Because euthanasia literally translates to "good death"...meaning pain free. And if someone requires life support to live, taking it away, sure will lead to death, but it may not be pain free. If someone needs a ventilator to breathe---and you take it away, they technically can suffocate to death. And that's horrible. Anyway. Onto something much more light hearted: have you heard of chatroulette.com? Well, it was supposed to be this free chatting website where you log on and you and some random person somewhere in the world can start chatting. And if you're not feelin' them, you can move onto the next. Great, fun idea, right? Well, the complaint is that most of the people on the site are masturbating men! And Christina and I checked it out, and yup...it's true. We did chat with a normal person, but ya encountered, well, you know...ha ha. But it was super easy to get on the site, you don't need to register or make complicated adjustments to your computer settings to get the video cam on and running.

Virgos Unite, The Go -To's, and the tale of the Spinning Monster

Last night I met up with my NYU friends Tina, Matt, and Chantima. We ended up at a Thai restaurant called Rin. It was good, but even better was seeing my friends. Firstly, I hadn't seen Matt in years! And he's my fellow Virgo, and it's so comforting to have another Virgo around...someone who understands and shares my anal-retentiveness and all that good stuff. Tina had just come back from Roma, and had a great time. On her way back she stopped in London and hooked me up with chocolate, biscuits, and tea from Harrods. Yummy. And Chantima had been most recently working with the princess of Thailand (she works at the Thai Mission). We all had a good time. Recently something has urked me...or maybe "urked" isn't the right word. Just an observation. U2 has apparently contributed their songs or a new song for the World Cup because every game seems to start off with a a montage including them. Why is U2 the "go-to" band for everything? Need a fund-raiser? Need a theme song? Go to U2! Not that I'm knocking them, I love (old) U2. But still. I mean, they really couldn't tap into some maybe newer talent? And you know, I really liked Ricky Martin's song for the World Cup back in the day...I'm not afraid to say it! You know you heard it and wanted to shake...just a little... (the Spanish version is better)...the official song is by Shakira, which really isn't the greatest, no offense to her, she's cool. And speaking of my thoughts on music, if you want to ever hear my theory on the evolution of the R&B group Jodeci, lemme know...well, I just got back from spinning class. And there was a substitute instructor. Now whenever I walk into my class and find out there's a sub, I internally cringe, because you never know what you're gonna get. But what a wonderful surprise! This instructor was a spinning monster! It was a great class, and he was doing the entire workout with us. Love it. Well, I'm going to check out the next soccer game, and head out to Queens to meet up with my sister Jennifer. We're going to wander through Little Manila in search of good Filipino food.

Another All Nighter

Once again, it's been World Cup mania. This past Friday, Marcus and I went to watch a local soccer team- we watched the New York Red Bulls play a Brazilian team, Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. It was a fun match, and a really nice soccer stadium. We had incredible seats---the first row. It was pretty easy to get to...we just hopped on the Path train near us. Then Saturday night my former intern-mates and friends Christina, Vivian, and Gina came over for a sleepover. Marcus was going out with a friend of his, so it worked out. We ate some dinner, then bar hopped. My friends seemed to like the drinks the most at Ward III. By 2AM we ended up at Duet 48, a box karaoke bar. Although Christina kept saying she was scared to sing, she seemed to have on problem when we got there! We ended up coming home later on, and finally got a little shut eye at 6AM. The next morning we ate some brunch at Plein Sud, a local restaurant, and the food was really good! I gave in and had some pancakes with a mascarpone butter, which was scrumptious...the rest of the day Marcus and I hung out and took a short walk along the Hudson River. On a "yucky" side note, last week I developed some kind of weird allergic reaction that has manifested itself as some disease looking patched on my neck...so needless to say, I'm not thrilled. I went to the dermatologist who gave me some medication, but this s#it better go away! Because I don't want to walk around with pink patches on my neck! And I don't even know what I had a reaction to!

Summer!

So now that Marcus finished with studying for the CFA exam, which had consumed most of his free time, we have been able to start to spend more time together, which I love. We started watching the HBO series "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency", produced by the late Anthony Minghella (think "The English Patient" director) and starring Jill Scott. The story line is good, but more impressive is Jill Scott's wardrobe! It takes place in Botswana, and I have a major soft spot for African cotton prints. She's rockin' these beautiful traditional African dresses all the time. Yesterday Marcus and I busted out the field hockey sticks and the soccer ball and played for a while. We were on one of the lawns in back of our apartment. It was great, but there are people all around, so everything has to be pretty tame. The past few years he's been teaching me how to play soccer (apparently I'm a lefty kicker) and I have been teaching him field hockey and lacrosse. And I just saw that the baseball field two blocks from us is open to the public, so that's another place we could play, and I could bring along the lacrosse sticks, too. Oh! I failed to mention that in the past couple of weeks I got Japanese hair straightening. My longtime hair stylist Yasuko did it, and I am so happy with the results. In the past 6 months I've noticed slightly more wave in my hair, and I was not happy about it. So even though the results in my hair (since my hair was more on the straight side) aren't dramatic, the maintenance is! Now I can wash my hair and when it air dries there's no frizz, and no fear of waviness happening. Before I was straight ironing it when it got bad. Life is good!

Recap

Wow. I've been absent on this blog for a while. So what's been going on lately? Well, most recently Caroline (my sister), my father, and myself headed down to Miami to visit our relatives. It was good to see them, since I hadn't seen them for a REALLY long time. All my father's siblings live there. Interestingly my aunt and uncle told me they used to go out and see members of the Buena Vista Social Club play and sing back in the day, which is pretty damn cool. We also got to overdose on Cuban food and Cuban coffee, and that was great. I mean, damn, they even had excellent Cuban food in the airport! We stayed at the Sofitel, which I was pretty happy with. It was a great deal, and a nice place to stay. It wasn't beachfront, but since our stay was so short, we had to prioritize to be near the airport. There was a pool, so we took advantage of that. Although we did share an elevator with people we seriously thought were two under age prostitutes and a john. It brought repeated entertainment for us three when we brought it up. Anyway, I got home last night, and finally got to watch some of the World Cup. I couldn't watch it (it started when I was going to Miami) for the past few days, so I was so excited to finally watch. Today I watched Japan unexpectedly beat Camaroon, and I just finished watching Italy and Paraguay draw. Hmm...so I'm trying to plan my life for the next few weeks around the World Cup...

Animals Dying Everywhere.

I've been a little MIA from this blog lately. What has been happening lately? Well, I've been watching movies, of course, like "The Motorcycle Diaries", which I enjoyed to my surprise. In the past few days I've become sick and really not feeling well. The BP oil spill is out of control. I can't believe they didn't have emergency equipment ready, on site, in case something like say, an oil spill happens. How is that allowed?! And seeing all those photos of the oiled animals really, really kills me. It's so f$ckin' depressing. It's amazing how messed up things are. And then I just finished watching the classic "Apocalype Now", which I thought was a great film until towards the end, when a cow is killed on camera...and it's for real. I mean, a huge sword type tool is flung down onto its back, the animal falls, and you can recognize anatomy---muscles, ligaments, and all. There's no way I can ever watch this movie again. It really horrifies me that someone can actually justify staging something like this for the sake of cinema. Slaughter is horrible as is it, but unless it was seriously happening anyway, and it was in no way happening because of the film, then fine. In which case, most likely, I'd be watching the slaughter in a documentary type film, which this one wasn't. And apparently the filmmakers and lawmakers deemed this slaughter okay because the Filipino tribe performing the slaughter (the movie was shot in the Philippines) usually did this kind of thing as a religious sacrifice. Which really doesn't matter, because the whole thing was staged on a set built there for the sake of the film. This really made me sick. It's so depressing what we humans do to animals, isn't it? Makes me wonder about us humans.

Do You...Mukti?

It has been a few day since my last entry into my little blog. Since then, I went to Jersey to visit a clinic I'm considering working at. I liked what I saw, so let's see. Otherwise, I've been trying to work out as much as possible, since I have the time. I've been back to my spinning class, which is great because it kicks my ass. A couple of days ago I met up with an old friend of mine, Karen. It was so wonderful to see her! She was actually around (she was a co worker back in the day) when me and Marcus got together! We reminisced and grabbed some food. Yesterday I met up with my friend Christina, a fellow veterinarian. She's about to start acting classes in her free time, and I'm happy for her that she can take that on. We went back to a restaurant around the neighborhood and had some good old brunch. Recently I took on the task of wardrobe for a photo shoot. Let me explain...Marcus and his friends Steven (Terry-a's husband), Magnus, and Rasmus started a company. They are going to be launching the sales of the Mukti Mat. What the @#$% is that, you ask? Well think bed of nails, pressure points, stress relief, and relaxation. It's a mat you can just lie on at the end your day, or even do yoga on if you wanna get hardcore. It's for everyone! There is a Mukti Mat website, still under construction. Today they had a photo shoot for the product. Stephen, a great friend and incredibly talented photographer was in charge, and the Mukti crew was there, as well (Rasmus was there in spirit, as he is in Sweden). It was good to finally see all their hard work coming together, and that launching the product was in the soon future! Click on the video below to see a few moments from the shoot...

All Nighter!

Yesterday I took a spinning class with my favorite instructor and I figured out why I like spinning so much. It's because it's a mind f$ck! I don't like riding bikes, but what I love is that you're on this stationary bike and this instructor is helping you to envision mountains, climbs, and jumps. And based on that, you have to push yourself. And it's so hard! And you want to stop ,but then you don't want to stop, even though it hurts. And it's almost like a dance club in there...tons of people in very close quarters, sweating, with some bumping music (and I'm no longer ashamed to admit that I'm rockin' with myself when Britney or some cheesy pop club-esque music is blasting during class). In the afternoon I went to the cooking wonderland we call William Sonoma. I was in search of the perfect lemon press! I have lusted after a free standing one for a year, but we just don't have counter space. And I'm a lemonade snob and I love to make homemade lemonade, the real way. So I read some reviews online and there were many people raving about the stainless steel lemon press from William Sonoma. So that's how I ended up there. I also got a beautiful stainless steel cupcake pan (I prefer to bake with glass-but I don't know if there's such a thing as glass cupcake baking pans) and cake racks for cooking baked goods! I've wanted those forever! I am so excited. Anyway later in the day Gina, my fellow internmate and vet school friend, came over and we had a sleepover! It was a lot of fun. We ate dinner, then went out in the East Village for a little while. We came back to the apartment and watched what other than..."Forgetting Sarah Marshall". At that point when that was done, it was 4AM. We then proceeded to watched crappy middle of the night shows like "Cheaters". Finally at 6AM I called it quits (even though Gina wanted me to stay up). Later that morning when we woke up I made us pancakes and we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a pretty busy day on the bridge! Marcus also came home from Bermuda so we got to hear about his trip. Then Gina headed back home...and I hit the grocery store to buy some baking supplies. I love baking, and I'm pretty good at it, but because I'm always afraid I'm going to eat what I bake, I never bake. Well, I thought to myself: baking makes me happy. So I will have to somehow deal with the baking and not shoving my face too much. Tomorrow I'm making vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, from scratch of course! Oh and I just tried the lemon press I bought and it's amazing! It juiced the hell outta those lemons!

The Vampiric Germ?

If you watch "The Office" then you may remember that episode when Dwight refers to the "vampiric germ" after a bat flies into the office. So the other day I woke up and when I finally looked in the mirror, I discovered two small wounds on my neck! It's pretty freaky because sh$t like this always happens to me. I wake up and find scratches on my face or what not. So the question is what happened...well, Gustaf sleeps cheek-to-cheek with me sometimes, and he tends to touch my face with his little claws...so I don't know if he gripped a little too hard, or if he bit me at night?? Well, maybe in some freaky-deaky type scenario Marcus decided to bite me vampire style...or a spider (but it would have had to be have been a BIG one) bit me, or maybe a friendly vampire flew in through the window and bit me! Hoo-hoo-hoo-ha-ha!!!