FYI

An article from the NYT entitled: The 110 Things New Yorkers Talked about in 2010.

Specifically on THIS New Yorker's list:

32. Those damn vuvuzelas.

33. The iPad.

39. Patti Smith wins the National Book Award for “Just Kids.” (I gotta read this one!)

53. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is repealed.

70. The increasingly scary body count in “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”

76. Gary Shteyngart’s “Super Sad True Love Story.”

99. That “rent is too damn high” guy

100. The never-ending downtown mosque controversy.

106. The Brett Favre “sexting” controversy.

Can't wait to see what 2011 brings!

NY Blizzaga

So you may have heard we got some snow.  In fact, it looks like frickin' Minnesota here, except that people don't know how the hell to get around in it.  (Except me.  It reminded me of my University of Minnesota days, tracking through unplowed territory.)  Did I mention I had to walk home from 137th in this shiz?  Good work out.  Here's some photos to help you visualize our winter wonderland.

Here's a photo of First Avenue (I think) from the hospital during my break.  That would be a bus stuck in the snow surrounded by a harrowing blizzard.

Usually I walk from work to Penn station, but today, I'll take the bus, thank you very much.

You know, whoever came up with platform rain boots is an idiot.  Whoever wears platform rainboots in the snow is an imbicile.

How nice.  They shoveled a path big enough for one on Riverside Drive. :p

The biggest problem with snow in NY is lack of place to put it.  This is an SUV under there.  See you in the Spring!

Our building is wonderful, however, and they had a lovely path right to my front door.  Home sweet home.

Stay warm!

Looking ahead to 2011...

A new year is close upon us my friends, and I have been doing some goal setting.  I've always had goals, larger goals that one must go through the motions to get to. (E.g. to become a nurse, you must go to nursing school, take the NCLEX, get a job).  But some of my goals are less straight forward now so I am creating mini-goals to help get me there.

As most of you know, my husband challenged me this year to read 50 books.  To some of you, this may sound very daunting.  Who has the time, right?  Though others of you will say, 50 books?  I read 3 books a week, what's the big deal? (Though I suspect you are either a) reading teachers or b) fantasy/mystery book readers.  I'm not judging fantasy or mystery readers here, I'm just saying, those books are quick reads.  I am a snob and tend toward literary fiction...though will slip in the occasional mystery novel here and there.)  Anyways, so Scott presented me with the 50-book-challenge and I am happy to report, thanks to lots of subway rides and lack of energy to do much else while working the night shift, I have officially completed 54 books this year. (Notes on this challenge to be published in the new year.)

Scott has since challenged me again, though this challenge I'm choosing not to share his challenge for some goals do not need to be discussed with everyone or the pressure becomes too great.  But I will share the challenge I am creating for myself this year:  This year, I have challenged myself to write 365 blog posts.  (Significant blog posts, I'm not about to cheat myself by writing one-word-blog posts.)  So ideally, a blog posting every day, though this will not always be possible due to work constraints and travel (Western Caribbean Cruise- March 2011!!), I will make up for these missing posts and become a dedicated blogger this year.

What has inspired me you ask?  Maybe it was all those words I read in 2010 needing some way to regurgitate themselves after looping through the gears of my mind?  Maybe I enjoyed the movie Julie and Julia a little too much.  Either way, I hope you'll follow my challenge this year, even if it's just occasionally.  And I hope you'll set some goals of your own.  Mini-goals even, to help get you to those big ones.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays friends.  See you in 2011!

Too much to do...too little time

Alright friends, I have to admit.  I did not finish my novel.  In fact, I gave up writing it about a week ago because I decided I couldn't force it.  I had too much going on already between my 50-book-challenge and starting a new workout regimen.  BUT, I will try again next year.  Promise.  And maybe after the New Year, I can go back and look at the 12,008 words I did write and do something with them.

Here are some of the things that kept me busy this past fall:

Painting the bedroom

The Final Product: Kangaroo Tan

Went home to visit nieces and a nephew! Here are Zoe (4) and Tyler (2 1/2)

And celebrate Scott's 29th birthday.

And celebrate my Mom's 60th birthday (complete with surprise party and old fart novelties.)

And celebrate Erin's 30th birthday.  (And visit little Dani, 1.5 months here. I'm obsessed).

I attended a bachelorette outing for Jamie Lyn.  We found this random Catepillar out by our hiking path.

And later we enjoyed some beverages and candy corn in Scranton, PA.

I was personal attendant to Jamie at her wedding on Oct 16th.

Scott and I had lots of fun!

And I got to know some very nice ladies a bit better.

We went to Philly to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Schwartz Family. With us here is Liam, age 7.  He was a week old during the first Thanksgiving Scott and I ever spent together.  :)

We got to hang out with a bunch of cuties for 2 days.  Here are Grandma Judy, Liam (7), Aunt Elaine, Noam (4), Scott, me, Adam (Scott's 2 1/2 year old doppelganger), Amy and Roan (2 1/2, Adam's twin).  We had so much fun!

It has been a busy fall, but great!  Lots of memories have been made here in NY, at home in Mn and visiting family in Philly.  Now to finish those last 4 books for my 50-book-challenge and our year will be complete!

On my way to 50,000...

Keep up with my word count for the NaNoWriMo challenge on the right side of my blog!  Currently at 5,629!

Up for the challenge...

November is National Novel Writing Month and I have pledged myself to write a novel this month!  The challenge is to write a 175 page novel (50,000 words) in 30 days.  Quality is unimportant.  Quantity is what counts.  Revisions are for later.  If you're interested in more information, visit www.nanawrimo.org and wish me luck!!

Welcome Dani Alexandra to the world!

Early in the morning of August 10th, 01:30 CST to be exact, my new niece, Dani Alexandra Baker, came into the world!  Erin and Steve were at the hospital all day on 8/9 as Erin was getting a trial of induction gels.  Baby Baker was 4 days late and presumably pretty big ("a good sized baby" as Erin's MD told her).  Also, Erin had been suffering from PUPPS (puritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy) which was driving her nuts with itchiness.  She had been dilated about 1.5cm for a week or two.  After being at the hospital most of the morning, they sent Erin and Steve home to let the gels do their thing.  At around 4:30pm, Erin's contractions became intense and close together and they gathered their things to drive to the hospital.  Once they got there, Erin's water broke.  Things were progressing well at first.  Erin got an epidural around 7:30pm and dilated to 5cm.  Then the progression stopped.  The baby wasn't descending and her heart rate was starting to decelerate at times.  The decision was made for a c-section for the safety of baby Baker.  Finally at 01:30am on 8/10/10, Dani Alexandra arrived!

In the OR. The Baker family!

Erin and Steve were surprised to discover that Dani has blonde hair (similiar to highlights says Grandma Karen) and blue eyes.  The peroxide treatment must be what kept Dani in her mother's womb so long.

Dani weighed 9lbs, 2oz at birth, and was 20 and 3/4 inches.  Erin reports her feet are so big that they didn't fit on the foot printer.  She must take after Aunty Lo there.

Both Mama Erin and baby Dani are doing well, as is new dad Steve! Grandma Karen says Dani looks a little angel.  She sure looks like a little cherub to me with those chubby cheeks!

Congratulations to Erin and Steve on their new baby girl!  I can't wait to meet her in a week and a half.  Keep her cute in the meantime!  Also, congrats to Grandma Karen and Grandpa Alex on their first grandaugher.  Many of these pictures are courtesy of Grandpa Al.

Last of all, welcome Dani!  May your life filled with love, laughter and joy, and everything else that makes life worth living.  Love, Aunty Lo.

Celebrating our 1st!

Scott and I have had so little time together this summer, that celebrating our anniversary at a swanky NY steakhouse was a huge luxury!  We went to Del Frisco's on 49th and 6th and had David was our waiter.  (He was excellent).  The food was delectable and we even got a complimentary brownie sundae for dessert.  (I told you our waiter was excellent.)  I can't believe our wedding was over a year ago now! Still so many fond memories of that amazing day.   Here are some pics from Sunday:

Brownie Sundae w/ Raspberry Sauce. Yummo.

Here's to many many move anniversaries to come!

Six-Flags Great Adventure- Jackson, NJ

Aug 3: Scott has dreamed of getting me to this theme park ever since he visited it a couple years ago with our friends Courtney and Bruce.  Despite my complaints that I am easily motion-sick, he convinced me to go with him and we had a great time!   The day was full with roller coasters, lame water rides, guidettes (we WERE in Jersey), many Diet Cokes to settle my stomach and 90 degree weather.  Needless to say the following days Scott and I felt hung over and our bodies felt wrecked.  We are perhaps getting too old for this kind of fun....

Creepy Old Six-Flags Guy

Creepy-Old Six Flags Guy (dancing)

Scott and I were at the park for apx 10 hours, and we rode 6 rollercoasters and 2 water rides. Perhaps we should have gotten the Flash Pass....though I don't think our bodies could have handled any more.

In the cave in line for Batman
(the roller coaster)

The Batman Rollercoaster (your feet dangle).
This was one of my faves.

I peed myself after that ride....JK.  This was after Congo Rapids.
That ride was lame, as the pre-teen girl across from us
kept saying. It actually was pretty lame.

Sure looks like I peed myself though, right?

They had these cool spray stations that sprayed a mist of water
to cool you down.  They also happened to make you
look like you had been stuck in a frozen tundra for days...

King da-freaking Ka. (King da Ka). The world's
tallest and fastest roller coaster.  It was
actually my fave (but maybe cause it was so short.)
We stood in line for 3 hours to ride this one!  

This is not us. And yes, this picture is facing the right way.
This is just to show you the Superman ride, where you ride
with your stomach down, like you're flying.  Pretty sweet.

This about sums it up.

We were quite happy to be stationary at the end of the day!  

My 27th...

Aug 1: AM- Brunch at Dressler (a Michelin Star restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn).

Scott and I.  I'm vain and thought the only good picture of the two of us this day was the one in night vision.

Julia and Dan. Julia is a friend from nursing school who now works at a hospital in Brooklyn.  Dan is a PhD candidate at Columbia in Religious Studies.  They are new Brooklynites, having moved there in May.

Paul and Karen.  Karen is also a friend from nursing school. She is continuing her studies at Columbia in the Family NP program, and eventully into the Doctorate program (DNP).  Paul is an IT guy at Columbia's business school. They had a Puerta Vallertan wedding in May! Newly weds. :)

Jamie Lyn and I.  As some of you may remember, Jamie was one of my bridesmaids last year in our wedding.  She is also recently married, but her hubby is a Navy serviceman and is stationed currently in Virginia. Therefore, he was unable to attend the festivities.   She will join him there at the beginning of the New Year and will be missed in NY!

Afternoon: Karen and I continue the celebration by Zip-Car-ing it to Jersey Gardens, an outlet mall near Elizabeth, NJ.  We share a passion for shopping, and specifically, my passion effected my checking balance at Ann Taylor Loft Outlet.  Oops...

Scott with his "TNT"- tanqueray & tonic w/ blue curacao,
pinneapple and OJ.  I secretly though it was delicious.

Evening: Scott and I met up after his evening shift for dinner at Vinyl, a trendy restaurant in the 51st on 9th Ave which is a hangout of many theater people as well as many gay men.  It's always a good time.

Thanks everyone for making it a great day!

Me and my chocolate milk shake. Enough said.

What a week!

Scott and I have had more excitement in the last week than we've had all summer.  Some of that is due to the fact that we decided to get married 1 week after my birthday.  This week included my 27th birthday celebration (Aug 1), a mind-numbing (literally) trip to Six-Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ (Aug 3), and the celebration of our 1st wedding anniversary (Aug 8th).   Our work schedules (my hideous hours plus Scott's excessive hours) have kept us apart most of the summer, so it was a pleasure to get some much quality time with my mister.   The three following posts document our good times. :)

Notes from the Challenge: 1

This year, my husband challenged me to read 50 books. I am currently reading my 29th book (War, by Sebastian Junger, non-fiction account of life with the troops in one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan.) Having read so many books this year, I am filled with connections between books and current events, and would like to share those on my blog. I will call these posts "Notes from the Challenge". Here goes:

Having been a Lindsay Lohan fan during her Mean Girls days, I have been fascinated with her downfall, and I've watched her life turn into a trainwreck via Perezhilton.com and other media outlets with fascination. I was interested in this post on CNN.com about looking for hidden signs that your child has problems with addiction. It really hit a note with me as I recently read Imperfect Birds, Anne Lamott's new novel about a small, non-traditional family in California. The family discovers that Rosie, the sole, teenage daughter of Elizabeth and her husband, James, has been traveling down a dangerous road. Rosie's consistent lies have successfully covered up her substance abuse issues for a while, but Rosie's world starts to unravel, as she gets deeper into drug culture. Much to Elizabeth's surprise and dismay (Elizabeth is a recovering alcoholic herself) Rosie's in way over her head, and it takes family (nuclear and otherwise), to address this issue. A recommended read on an always relevant issue.

I'm back!

It's been almost a year since my last post, and I've been feeling my creative juices beginning to flow lately so I've decided to take up my blog again!

An update for those of you who I haven't spoken to recently:

I am a registered RN. I work the night shift on a cardiac floor at a world-reknown NYC hospital. I've worked here for 9 months. I hate working the night shift.

I have been married for almost 1 year to my lovely husband Scott. We live in Washington Heights in Manhattan.

Scott is an actor. He is currently working days in a theater management office in Times Square, and evenings bartending at Mamma Mia (the broadway musical.) He hates working this much, but it is only temporary. This April, Scott joined Actor's Equity Association (aka AEA, the acting union which is a HUGE accomplishment and very difficult to become a part of, especially during these difficult economic times.) More good news is that Scott is signing with the agent he has been free-lancing for the last 2 years in the coming weeks. We are thrilled!

I am going to become a biological Auntie within the next few weeks! My sister, Erin, who resides in Vadnais Heights, Mn, is expecting a girl anytime now! Of note, I am already an auntie by marriage to my wonderful niece Zoe (age 4 1/2) and nephew Tyler (age 2).

More exciting posts to come. :) Happy to be back!