One Year Later...NYC in Full Effect

Wow. What has happened that I haven't returned to my beloved blog. Well, so many movies, so many bees, so many trips...but I will start with today's amusement- my phonecall with a local NYC pharmacy that was trying to deliver a prescription. So I called to find out how much a medication would be, as it would depend on how much my insurance would cover. I was told $10. It was notoriously an expensive medication. But I said "no, I'll hold off for now". Then I thought about it, and wondered why I said no to ten bucks which is pretty reasonable...and 15 minutes later I called and explained to the person on the phone that I was in shock that my insurance covered so much of the cost and that I was suspicious I would get screwed somehow and that the cost really wouldn't be so affordable! The man on the phone starts laughing and then I'm laughing, and then he tells me to wait as he pulls up the account, and not to tell him how much I was quoted because he wants to see for himself. He then sees it's $10 and says "oh Michelle, $10...this is classic New York Syndrome"....he was so right. Why have I become suspicious when things are the way I would like them to be?!?! Ahahaha.

Just Like Back in the Day...Well Maybe...

This last weekend, Terry-a and I had a sleepover! And what good fun it was. I made a great quiche, Marcus and us had some good dinner conversation, and then Terry-a and I headed off into the night. First we headed to the Bowery Hotel Bar...and then decided to leave when we were told we couldn't be seated because we weren't guests at the hotel. So we shuffled over to the standing room only, but eh...it wasn't worth it, and there wasn't any music...what's up with that? But still it was a cute place. After we walked over to Beauty & Essex, and found that there was a line to get in. I think we're way past waiting in a line to get in somewhere....remember those days??? Ha. THEN we headed over to The Living Room, which was totally low key, almost dive bar-ish, but not really, and that was the spot. I liked that place. We sat, and talked for a while. And oh how some things change, and some stay the same! For one thing, can everyone and their mother now call themselves a "DJ" which a little computer? I miss the days of turntables. Not to say that mixing with a computer is wrong, it's the mainstay now, and I appreciate that. I honestly had no idea about this (I felt like a dinosaur) until about a year ago I got some experience, which was pretty cool. Then a "kid" (I'll call him that because a lot of these people out look so young!!! And to think we were like that way back when!) was drunk or stoned and proceeded to ask us about how to keep a marriage going. It was great. Then some loud mouthed attention seeking guy walked it, and it was annoying, so we left. Then we pondered where to go next. I suggested Sutra Lounge, which we both think maybe used to be Bar 16 where we went a lot in college to dance to a friend of friend spinning hip hop...Sutra has the music, but without club attitude. But then we ended up in La Linea, there was dancing, which was great, with no attitude. But woah has hip hop changed. Some of it's awesome, a lot...not so much. Bring me back to the 90's and early 2000's! But good to know this place is there. Maybe with another DJ, the music would be better. I mean, hey---I was just happy to be out!!! I find between friends' schedules, less interest in going out dancing late (not by me...by my friends), and just getting more tired more easily, I don't get to do this much, unfortunately! Plus Terry-a was out with me, which was awesome. After that, we took the subway, and while waiting in the station for a long time, we were privy to the excessively dramatic conversation between two young guys speaking French, complete with one of the guys chain smoking, creating clouds of smoke in our faces, and him throwing cigarette butts into the tracks---hello littering?!?! It was entertaining in its own way. We finally got on the train, got off in TriBeCa, and headed to Bubby's!!! Which is open 24-7 most days, and has a midnight brunch menu. So we ate yummy breakfast at 2A.M. Yummy. And the vibe was great. It wasn't busy, the music was bumping (I wished we could have had some dancing going on there), and we were eating comfort food! So good, so right. Then finally after that we headed home. Then the next morning we met up with Grace and ate brunch at Lafayette. A nice place. I still contemplate whether I should have ordered the special that day---a coconut, banana, and chocolate filled croissant. I don't really like banana, but I love me some coconut and chocolate...maybe I could have made it work...hmm...and random, but I really liked the movie "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada", directed by Tommy Lee Jones. And a weird, creepy, but good movie--"Tony Manero"...about a guy in Chile during the Pinochet era who was obsessed with Saturday Night Fever...And then a guilty pleasure--"Chernobyl Diaries".

Miracles and A Festival of Food....Just the Way I Like It

Labor Day weekend has just passed. And it was a good one. Marcus and I had a bunch of stuff we were doing. Saturday we ate breakfast at Bubby's in TriBeCa---hubba hubba. I had biscuits, chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. It was so crazy; I was so full, but I kept going. Did you know that Bubby's is now open in Japan??? Who knew. Then we walked from our place downtown, over the Brooklyn Bridge, along the waterfront to Red Hook. Now I'm gonna take a tiny detour---it's 4 miles to walk there. And although that may not seem like a lot, I have to marvel at the human body. I had surgery this past Spring on my knee. And it's just so awesome that now I'm almost as good as new in that department. I mean, I still have a ways to go, but still! The day of my surgery I walked out of the hospital! No crutches or anything. If I just think about that--the fact that I had a doctor messing around in my knee joint cutting, prodding, and shaving things in there, and then I walked out, and now I'm walking 4 miles, that's awesome! That's the longest I've walked since surgery. And I remember post op, when I couldn't even walk a block without having to concentrate on every single step. Okay, so I digressed. So Saturday we walked to Red Hook, and ate crab sandwiches at Brooklyn Crab with friends and our God son. Great food. Then one of our friends had to go into IKEA, so we walked there, Marcus got some Swedish stuff from the food mart, and then we took a car home. THEN I napped, and we met up again with one of our friends and ate at Lafayette in Noho. Sunday, Marcus and I went to my parents' house and my sister Jennifer made graham crackers from scratch, and I brought Cadbury milk chocolate, and we made s'mores. This was a new experience for Marcus, so I'm glad he got to try what I consider classic Americana fare ahahaha. We also checked on our bee hive, and this season has not been kind to us. We saw our new queen thank GOD---now we only hope we can save them and they can make it through the Fall and Winter. We won't have honey most likely, but we don't care, we just want them to survive. We have thousands of little bees dependent on us, so I really hope this works. Then Monday (Labor Day), I asked, I mean begged Marcus to please go to Locanda Verde for breakfast. I don't know what it is, but I love eating at restaurants, and I LOVE breakfast and brunch, and I love Locanda Verde! So we ate there, then we watched "Closed Circuit", this political thriller that takes place in London. It was decent, nothing crazy. When we got home Marcus started patching up the holes in the walls of the second bedroom, because we recently got a new ceiling fan and some electrical outlets installed. Then we watched some episodes of "Orange is the New Black"--a great series. Tonight I am so excited, the third season of "Luther" is starting on BBC America, and next week Arsenio Hall comes back to TV! I used to love that show, I think he's really funny. Today I'm what I lovingly call "playing housewife". I get to clean our place. I love cleaning so much and I love being domestic. I wonder if this is a personality thing, or a female thing that's hardwired, or that I'm mostly a Virgo. Probably a combination. But I love vacuuming, sanitizing, doing laundry, and mopping...and I LOVE baking, bu that's dangerous because then I eat everything I bake, and that's not good...

Cool As Fall?

The weather can't make its mind up. It's now cool enough to wear a thin long sleeve. As I walked back from the gym this morning, I was listening to Madonna's "Lucky Star", arguably, the best song she's ever made. And what a great video! I'm a Madonna connoisseur. Well let me re phrase that---I'm an Old School Madonna connoisseur. Growing up I worshiped her---watches her videos, danced to them, and dressed up like her in the 80's. It was great. Well, this is a positive, because lately I've been feeling just disgusted in the human race...to those I've been talking to, you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, Marcus and I have been trying to eat a modified version of the Paleo diet--eating non processed foods similar to those eaten by our ancestors. So no grains, beans, processed sugars, dairy...it can be tough. Sometimes I'm super motivated, sometimes less so. We have also been having some problems with our beehive. We lost our queen bee, and once that happens, things go to crap. So we ordered another one which arrived today and Marcus is going to install her...we really hope the hive accepts her and that we still can save this hive. Harvesting honey would be great, but at this point we don't expect it or care...we just want them to survive so we can continue with them next season, which would be such a victory! I recently went to New Orleans with a good friend, Gina, and we had a blast. I love it there! I have never seen such debauchery as I did there...and the food, music, people...so awesome. We even ate at Popeye's!

Hot As Fire and Patriotism

This is July the Fourth weekend. Marcus is in Calgary for a 50 mile race he's running. He texted me last night to tell me he finished, so I'm waiting for the full details. But very proud of him. He was training a lot for this. In addition to running as usual, he's been going to Cross Fit regularly, and it's awesome. He's an avid believer now---who knew?!?! So it's sweltering outside. Like crazy. Hot is nice, don't get me wrong. I just wish I had a beautiful ocean to jump into with temperatures like this. The past few days I watched a couple of good movies: "Mommie Dearest"--about the madness that was Joan Crawford, and "Teddy Bear", this Danish movie about a socially awkward bodybuilder who goes to Thailand to find love. Random, but really good! Then some classics: "Coming to America" and "Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle". I'm not the most patriotic person, but I definitely appreciate being an American. Don't get me wrong, I think there's a lot this country can learn from the rest of the world, and I think that the U.S. can improve on tons of things and try to be more open minded in some regards. We have a long way to go, and there are a lot of shameful things in our past (and present). But when I see what's going on in Egypt right now, it really makes me feel lucky to be an American. That's a scary situation, and I wonder how it will get resolved. I feel lucky I happened to be born here in the U.S., lucky to have opportunity. And sometimes I do feel like the "American" attitude can be so disrespectful and almost bully-like, but then again, it's pretty awesome to be so ballsy and in you face about freedom and your beliefs, and I guess without that, this country wouldn't be where it is today. Okay, I'm done with my patriotic speech. But I'm just sayin'...Anyway for Fourth of July, I went to my parents' house and we had some BBQ. Jennifer made homemade graham crackers which were crazy and we made s'mores with them, except with Cadbury chocolate instead of Hershey's. Incredible. I've been sick for what feels like forever, so I've been home bound and somewhat stir crazy. I got some sewing alterations done, cleaning, started studying Swedish again, and trying to eat healthy since I haven't been working out the past two weeks. Marcus and I are considering trying to make some healthier changes to how we eat at home, but we figured we'd start once he's done running the 50 mile race, so he didn't have to focus on the diet thing, too. Fair enough.

Summer, No I Mean Spring Is Here

It's practically 80F outside---is it....summer in New York City? This brings to mind people sunbathing in Central Park, taking long walks outside, street fairs, taking the subway out to the beaches....but wait! We are in April---in New York City. Weird. But the weather is unpredictable these days. Tomorrow it will probably be cold again. Oh well. But speaking of summer which makes me think of vacations, my in-laws just bought a vacation home in Costa del Sol in Spain....so hoping to check that out one day! Anway, Marcus just left for Atlanta for a business meeting, but will also be watching the Masters Golf Tournament, which he's excited about. Marcus' friend came in to town for work and stayed with us, which was a lot of fun. I got to get to know him a little bit, which was great. I also just found out a friend, Eric, is leaving my job, which I'm happy about for him, but I'm still going to miss him. I actually met him when he came to me as a client at the hospital I was working at. He had told me that he was interested in veterinary medicine and asked for advice. I got a really good vibe from him so I asked him to come back another day on my lunch break and I would talk to him about it. He ended up getting a job at my hospital, and it started from there. Two years later and here were are! I consider him my friend and I'm pulling he'll get into veterinary school. Well with spring comes spring cleaning...we have done a little of that here at home, and finally we are getting a little renovation done in our second bedroom, so I'm looking forward to that. Springtime also means beekeeping time! Marcus and I are prepping for our second year of beekeeping, so that will be exciting...

Food Porn to the Rescue

First I wanna say that I just logged in to write this blog entry and saw a photo of myself in the beautiful Caribbean from a previous blog entry---and it looks like I have armpit hair! I don't though, I swear. It's unfortunate shadowing and pooling of the water. Anyway, I was just thinking about food...and what I love to call food porn...my personal past time...talking and fantasizing about food, especially when I can't have it. It's kind of sadomasochistic, because it really hurts to talk about it and not be able to have it, but it's also very satisfying. I realized I found my ultimate food porn TV show---"Paula's Home Cooking". There's something about Paula Deen's unapologetically unhealthy recipes and her speaking with that slow, Southern twang. It's madness. I once caught myself staring at the TV screen with my mouth slightly open. Anyway, an easy recipe I got from her show is Guinness Chocolate Cake. Yes, with Guinness Stout. It's super easy, and very impressive. Now it's not a fancy looking cake, but it tastes so incredible. I made it for my father's birthday and he was raving about it. You can get the recipe on her website, and believe me it's worth it! YUM YUM YUM. Speaking of food porn, I recently went to Hill Country, a Southern style BBQ restaurant that serves up fresh cooked mouth watering meats and sides. I got to hang out with my vet school crew which was great. It was pretty good and I ate like a lumberjack!

Old Fashioned Film

When Marcus and I went to Aruba last December, we got one of those disposable underwater cameras. I just got the film developed and it's funny because with these types of cameras, you hope half of the pictures turn out. We had some fun ones turn out. What's funny is that the photos make it look so overcast or that a storm is looming, and it was blazing sun. But that's the fun part---you never know what you're going to get! Today I'm home sick...about 6 months ago I had a bout of idiopathic positional vertigo (BPPV) aka when you place your head in certain positions and the room starts spinning. It took a week to go away, so I was dealing with moving horizons when I walked, constant nausea, and out of nowhere room spinning, so much so that I fell once. Once you get it, it can happen again. Which sucks! Since then, I've had very mild relapses...yesterday I woke up with the room spinning and I knew. It's mild, and today I just feel nauseous, but it's really frustrating. Luckily my great friend Jennifer happens to be an audiologist specializing in balance (and is about to graduate medical school!) so I luckily have her to give me recommendations, because for most people I would assume, who would you turn to if you woke up to the room spinning?! No pun intended. My friends are awesome. Oh this is really random, but I just realized that I had a dream last night that I was working with Harvey from TMZ?!

Cali: In-N-Out-Quick-Weekend

This past weekend Marcus and I headed out west for a quick trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Marcus had a meeting in SF, so while he was conducting business, I headed over to the Hayes Valley area to check out the scene. San Fran is kinda sorta like California's take on Seattle--maybe? Clean, laid back, I enjoyed it. Hayes Valley had a lot of maybe Soho-L.E.S. type stores, good coffee, and some nice restaurants. I only compare to NYC cuz that's what I know. We stayed smack in the heart of Tourist Trap USA, but it's all good. We stayed at the Argonaut Hotel, and it was really nice! Nautically themed, but not cheesy or campy. We ate at Zuni Cafe, which is supposed to be one of SF's best restaurants, it was pretty good. Good service and nice vibe. And can I say how wonderful the SF Airport is?!?!? I ate gourmet food there waiting for my flight! Then we headed to LA to check out Marcus' friend Linus, AKA Style of Eye, perform at Swedish House Mafia's Masquerade Motel. It was a huge show, so it was really nice of him to hook us up. He was AWESOME. We also watched Swedish House Mafia, and it was pretty amazing to see thousands of people there to watch---I remember the old school days and I never could have imagined the graphics, pyrotechnics, and groupies at a house show?!! We had met up with Marcus' college friend Matt and his girlfriend Nicole and went to the show together. The night was a lot of fun---and I made some dancing friends, bless their hearts, these kids invited me to dance with them and then asked me if I went to college at UC. Hahahahaha. After the show we ate at a 24 hr diner joint and I had chocolate chip pancakes, bacon and poached eggs... Pretty good. Even though it was a quick weekend we got to meet up with some key people so I was really happy. We ate dinner with Azon and Anthony, who had recently moved out to LA, so it was great to see them. Then the next morning we brunched with my cousin Norrel and her husband Larry. Before the show, Linus met up with us for a short while, too. Marcus and I stayed at the Redbury Hotel, and as amusing as it was, I would stay again---I got sucked into the hype. We had a sweet room. But the hotel reeks of uber-hipness, so be prepared to be kept up all night from the loud music either from the club next door or the bar in the hotel. I joked that the hotel's goal is to make you feel like a partied out rock star---whether you party or not....because the first night we got there, we didn't stay out late, but I was up till 2AM listening to club music, so I woke up the next morning as if I had been out all night. And the rooms are dark so when you walk outside you feel like a vampire. Otherwise Marcus and I had a little downtime to walk around and we saw the famous Capitol Records building, I had a burger at Umami Burger which was pretty solid, and we went to Amoeba Music and I bought some old vinyl. I could have spent hours in that store...oh, and we didn't go to In-N-Out Burger, but it fit my title for this blog....

Valentine's Day...

I know a lot of people think Valentine's Day is a joke, a media scam to get people to buy chocolate and cards, but I really like it. Why not celebrate love and friendship? And, if it's a reason to receive chocolate, why would I have a problem with that?!?! Marcus and I are going to watch a Rangers game at MSG tonight and then go to dinner somewhere tomorrow night. He got me a lovely box of chocolates from Switzerland, on his most recent trip to go skiing in France and to attend some business meetings in Geneva. Chocolate---good chocolate is probably the best gift ever. I made him a card (see photo) which was fun, because I love origami. Yesterday I watched this "documentary" called "Whores' Glory"....I feel like the point of documentary is to present both sides of the story as they happen and through interviews...of course the filmmaker's opinion can shine through...but overtly staged scenes are a no-no...and I felt like throghout this film there were weird, unnatural staged scenes. Then there was a john having sex with one of the prostitutes---well, given the full monty shown, I can attest atleast that was legitimate. Woah. Speaking of "The Full Monty"---isn't that a fun movie??? So Marcus and I have been slowly, but surely trying to renovate our apartment. We've been here over a year, but things move slow! My sisters have been really helpful. Most recently we finally replaced our old vertical blinds with new shades and they look great! What's next...hmm so many things---the bathroom, the closet doors...I stumbled upon these cute dry erasable best in show ribbons----aren't they cute?! Happy Valentine's Day and may you enjoy the best chocolate of your life!!!

New Year, Big Changes

It's 2013! And with the new year comes change. I found out that a few friends are moving away, my very good friend Anthony and his wife just moved to Los Angeles, and my very good friend Jessica is heading back to Australia, where she grew up. I'm happy for all of them, but also it does sadden me because I'll miss them. But it sounds like they are going to be happy, which is great. I myself got myself a new job, which I hope brings me peace in my professional life. It's a good hospital with great medicine and management. As a result I'm scaling back at my current job so I can be part time in both places. Marcus and I went to Aruba before Christmas and had an incredible time. Aruba---perfect weather, friendly people, good times! I would go back in a heartbeat. We enjoyed the beach, our hotel, great food, and we got to go to the Donkey Sanctuary! I got to assist a local veterinarian, Dr. Ricardo Contreras, with a donkey neuter and talk shop with him. It's always fun to meet veterinarians in other countries and talk about how they practice. When I travel I love to try to connect with fellow veterinarians. As for the Donkey Sanctuary, if you ever go to Aruba, it's totally worth it to visit! We spent hours there, and we met the volunteers and the owner and you can tell the donkeys are well cared for and happy. Such funny animals. As for the hotel we stayed at, we stayed at Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts, and oh my God---what a great place. Relaxed, quiet, considerate and customer service oriented without being over bearing, and adults only. We loved it there. As for the many places we ate, one was crazy---deep fried goodness taken to a new level. It's a local spot called Zeerover's Fish Bar ("pirate" in Dutch) in Savaneta...you get there, you pick how many pounds of freshly caught fish you'd like, and then you take a seat in an open air restaurant by the water, and wait for crazy, almost sickening amounts of deep fried fish. I don't think I could do it again, but we were glad we went. Augh---I wish we were back in Aruba...aahh Aruba...anyway today I just finished watching a very interesting movie---called "Skin". It's based on the true story of a woman named Sandra Laing, who is the daughter of two Caucasian Afrikaner parents, but herself appears to be of African descent. Her parents fought to have her classified as White, and they swore she was their biological child. It follows the complicated and painful upbringing she had....worthwhile to watch.

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...