Damn You Crumbs!

I recently went to Crumbs to satisfy my need for baked product and chocolate. So I got a chocolate butter cream and vanilla cake cupcake. But upon reaching the register, something alarmed me. I saw the Starbuck's logo...then I looked up at the drink menu and saw Starbuck's drinks! AAAHHH....they have switched to Starbuck's coffee! So disappointing, really. Not good stuff at all. Which leads me to my next point...I don't understand that. Because Starbuck's originated in Seattle, and I must say, the people of Seattle know how to make a great cup of coffee...we could learn a thing or two in some places here in New York. So how did Starbuck's, seemingly the one place in Seattle that doesn't know how to brew, may it big??? P.S. I may need to sacrifice myself and do a side-by-side comparison between the Magnolia and the Crumb's cupcake...hmm...

Hiatus Ended?

The past few months have been busy...and I have neglected my beloved blog. Marcus and I recently watched the movie "Argo", which was enjoyable.

The big event that happened most recently was Hurricane Sandy, apparently the worst storm to hit The Tri- State area in quite a while. We live in downtown Manhattan, and although our building was fine, we felt the long term effects of the storm even after it was gone. Power and water were off for four days, and then when we got those back, we didn't have hot water or heat. Finally now we have those...I have never wanted a hot shower! Right after the hurricane, the streets of downtown Manhattan were out, and people were walking around with flashlights. It was a little eery. And since it was difficult to get transportation anywhere, we resorted to walking a lot of the time. My family out in Westchester only got power and heat back today, and it's been over a week. Luckily though we weren't seriously affected like so many were, I cannot even imagine. Now that things are returning to normal more and more, I'm enjoying the things I took for granted before: a hot shower, running water, and that love/hate relationship I have with the NYC subway system! Since my neck issues, which has been over a year, I haven't been able to work out the way I wanted for a number of reasons. Today I decided to try spinning, since my physical therapist said it should be fine. It was great to be back, but I took it easy and left after 30 minutes, which is what the instructor wanted me to do...and I must say, I have to be seriously out of shape...because I haven't been that worn out and nauseous post workout in a very long time!

Honey, Summer, Films...

Summer is coming to an end! I can't believe it. But things are good. Marcus and I harvested our honey from our beehive this past week! And it's great. We were able to borrow my mentor's extractor to do it. Lately I've been trying to take advantage of our Apple TV. I watched "Sleeping Beauty" yesterday---good, but depressing. Then today I watched "The Skin I Live In" on Netflix. I liked it. Almodovar films are always so twisted. Today Marcus is taking a quick trip to Sweden to hang out with his friends. I am going to go to a friend's place for a BBQ, then hang out with my family. I am looking forward to more movies, too. I've been taking full advantage of our Vitamix

and I'm lovin' it!

Who or What Is Irina Palm?

It was a kinda humid, kinda sunny, then very thunderstormy kinda day in NYC. I cleaned up, met up with friends for lunch, worked out, and then found a flick on the Sundance Channel called "Irina Palm". I really liked it...but it was one of the most unexpected plots: a grandmother takes a job giving hand jobs in a sex club to pay for the really expensive treatments her dying grandson requires. Who knew??? Anyway, this weekend Marcus and I are going to learn how to extract honey from honeycomb. Because it looks like we may actually get a small batch of honey this summer!

Summer Catch Up

Woah, have I been negligent to my beloved blog. It's already July. In the past few months, my family has been busy with our hive. Marcus and I are the primary beekeepers, but my other family members are involved in one way or the other. So far the hive is thriving, which is great. But sometimes dealing with the growing number of bees can be intimidating and overwhelming. And bee stings aren't fun, especially when you are suited up, and working with the hive, and can't stop what you're doing. Oh well. I now have a beekeeping mentor who has been really helpful, and we MAY get honey this year...let's see. I've been watching a lot of movies lately...we just watched "The Help", which I enjoyed, and I watched "The Constant Gardener" a few times. A totally disturbing movie I checked out was "We Need to Talk about Kevin"...hmm what else...Stephen and I checked out the beach in Far Rockaway, and that was fun. There was also a decent spread of food and drink on the boardwalk, so I was thrilled! I got to see my good friend Jennifer who's almost done with medical school. So excited for her. Having been through vet school, I sympathize so much for the things she has been through. Augh. Recently my best friend Terry-a and her hubby bought a house! My sister Jennifer re-did her kitchen and it looks wonderful. The other day a bunch of my vet school friends got together and ate dinner at BLT Burger. Caroline, my sister, was out last Friday night and stayed at our place for the night. She slept in the murphy bed in our second bedroom and apparently it was very comfortable! Score! She was the first person to sleep in there. What's next? Marcus and I are traveling to Sweden and I'm going to watch him run the Stockholm marathon. Okay I gotta be better about blogging.

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.