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.