* pic is a preview of Ollie's fabulous Halloween costume...Ollie Longstocking. Doesn't she look thrilled?
It has been a very busy week for us! Quarter end for Di means tons of contracts that must be negotiated at the last minute to get a "great deal" and Tom has been on the road more than he has been home. Today he is in DC for a day meeting---took the fast train, like 180mph or something. We are glad its the weekend--even though it will be fractured; Diana leaves Sunday afternoon for Seattle to spend a week in meetings and but to also get a much looked forward to chance to see some friends. I wish Tom could come; but he is looking forward to NOT flying for a bit and to have some one-on-two quality time with Frank and Ol.
Tomorrow we are trying to add to our friend base out here and are possibly going to dinner with some friends of Tom's that he used to work with. Should be fun!
Our close date on the new place is officially 10/10! Yay! Only 11 days to go in the tiny apartment!
How cute is Zane? Seriously. I had to post this picture. It is too cute.
It was HOT today--90. Tomorrow is supposed to be just as hot and then cooling down to the mid 70's for the weekend.
Tom is freezing in Seattle, but is hopefully hopping an earlier flight tomorrow to come home earlier than midnight.
I have been so busy the past couple days with work. Quarter end. The dogs suffer some, less time for walks.
I will post more in a few days!
Thanks for all of the feedback on the blog. We have a lot of fun with it. :-)
Today we had a nice day in the sun here in our new hometown. We wandered around Morristown this am with the dogs visiting a swiss bakery and enjoying the Sunday paper and then heading to the farmers market to stock up on veggies for the gourmet stir-fry dinner Diana had planned to make (for those of you who know Di's cooking credentials--stir fry IS gourmet). Its nice to buy local organic veggies, we feel like we're back at Pike's Place. The dogs are getting to be famous around here. Regulars that see them on their daily walks come and greet them as well as pretty much anyone we pass on the street. Frank is Mr. Friendly, while Ollie is a bit more reserved.
Later on we wandered around Madison a bit so Tom could see the area and then we headed home, Tom gave the dogs a bath and then we headed to the park. This is our life right now, and we couldn't be happier :-) It is so great to have Tom home after he has been gone for a week. He leaves again tomorrow night, for Seattle this time, but just for 2 nights. He won't have a chance to see family or friends though do to meetings and the fact he is trying to get home early on Wed.
As much as we love it here, we are very ready to move. This apartment, that we are sure had cats as its last residents, has never really seemed our own--always temporary. Today when I overheard Tom say to Ollie "I wonder how you would smell if sprayed with febreeze" I knew for certain we had overextended our stay at Chancery Square. Hopefully the 9th is our new confirmed closing date. I may have mentioned it before, but in NJ you have to enlist not only a real estate agent, but an attorney as well when buying a house. This complicates and lengthens things some.
The weather was wonderful today and is supposed to be nice all week. In the paper today all of the major historical sights in Greenwich Village were identified (i.e. where John Wilkes Booth plotted the Lincoln Assasination, where famous poets met to converse on current events, where they filmed Sex in the City :-))... so I think Tuesday I am going to once again head to the city to visit each of these places as well as Central Park.
Special hi to our niece Kristen! We are glad you like the phone and blog! Come and visit soon! :-) <3
*pic is of Kristen with her dad (Tom's older brother) Fred.
Tom is in Chicago right now waiting for the last leg of his flight home. Of course his plane is delayed. You can almost guarantee it these days, especially through Chicago. I can't wait for him to get home! It seems like he has been gone forever! Frank has been sitting at the window for about 2 hours now just waiting for Tom to get home. How do I know he is waiting for Tom to come home? Everytme I say--"where's dad" Frank runs to the window or door and just waits.
So sweet. Tom had a good trip to Denver but he really dislikes traveling and he is anxious to get home--even if it is to this tiny apartment. We may have an earlier close date than we thought on the new house--we hope so!
Tomorrow we're thinking of taking the dogs and heading to the Shore or to the city. Its supposed to be really nice. Although today it was supposed to be nice too and instead it was more like an average day in Seattle--gray.
When you have lived in Seattle most of your life, the joke is that you must have grown gills to survive. I guess that is the case because I have survived so far when it has rained out here; out here--you need gills. It was warm this morning when I wandered into a local church rummage sale about a miles walk away from the apartment. When I left the church about 20 min later (with my incredible find of very cool sushi dining essentials), I was caught in a downpour that lasted no more than 30 min, but in the 5 min walk from the church to the coffee shop where I took refuge, I was soaked and dripping wet! I am sure my Seattle friends are calling me a wimp etc, but I wasn't just rained on, I was seriously drenched! Like, soaked to where I had to get napkins and wipe myself off. I am sure I looked lovely. The rain is more wet here, if that is possible.
After the downpour I took a drive to Madison, a town about 5 miles away-my new favorite town!! Tons of shops (bookstores, record stores, knick knack stores and the best outdoor sports store I have been in in a long time---excluding REI). They also have a Whole Foods in Madison which is a treat in itself. I think we'll be spending a lot of time there as its close to our new house too. There is also a private university there, Drew University. It has a huge theology department which interests me, but also undergrad and business studies. I browsed their catalog and they have a few different course options than NYU for "adult learners" such as myself (one not going for a degree). Its an option. Its a beautiful campus and as with NYU, the courses I would be taking I would audit--meaning no grades, meaning perfect. I am not interested right now in going back to the days of working and going to school with the pressure of good grades. I think actually, without that pressure, I will get more out of the classes I take.
If we see anything interesting tomorrow, I will of course snap some photos and post them.
UW plays tonight against UCLA! Go Dawgs!
*pic of famous Canal Street in Chinatown--complete with Chinese characters.
Its been great weather here and with the first day of fall being Sunday---its not supposed to feel like fall for a couple weeks yet (its in the high 50's in Seattle... I don't miss that at all)!!!
Tom is in Denver this week and also having nice weather, but his days have been spent in a retail store dealing with phone sales and angry customers! :-) He gets home late Saturday night. So, its been just the dogs and me hanging out. I have been busy working, but found some time to head into the city today and I just cannot say it enough---I love NY. I love everything about it. The train ride in, the shopping, the churches (went into a beautiful episcopal church today near the Village that reminded me of the churches in Europe), the people, the parks... I could go on. I barely needed my map today and didn't even have to ask anyone for directions!
As I stood IN the street at each crosswalk (opposed to on the sidewalk) and walking in-between cars (opposed to in-front of them) I actually felt like people might mistake me for a local... but-- as I walked down the streets with my head darting back and forth, up and down, I knew I must look like the biggest tourist EVER. There is so much to see, I can't help it! Today I walked down to Chinatown (about 7 miles round-trip!) and had some more interesting interactions with the black market purse vendors, saw tons of bootleg movies on dvd (that are still in the theaters) and a large quantity of people dressed like it was still 1984--and not like shoulder pads, leg warmers and high hair--I am talking costume type raver/punk 1984 with the crazy star sunglasses and clashing flourescant clothes. That was very odd. I passed through Koreatown too, unintentionally, but I am glad I did; Neat to see.
I really have fun just getting lost and seeing as much as I can. I am looking forward to family and friends visiting so I can show them these things that make me so happy!
After getting home I found out that I was just blocks away from nearly running into George Clooney who was cruising the city the same time I was. I'm not sure what the secret is to seeing celebrities ... obviously.
I am not sure quite what we expected (or what Diana expected) so see on our way to Rhode Island... but what we saw was somthing I know I did not expect.... Nothing. I liken that 3 hour drive through NJ, NY, Conneticut and Rhode Island to the most horrible drive in the world based on the boring factor: Seattle to Portland. I was constantly looking for something "neat" to stop at and take pictures. The closest thing we saw to cool was Yale (we drove by) and an outlet mall. I even asked a couple clerks at the outlet mall to tell me what we could see in Conn and Rhode Island... what they recommended for "tourists". The only thing they could come up with for Conn. was the beach (i am sure that is nice, but we didn't have time for the beach) and that Conn. used to be the insurance capital of the country. That didn't really do it for me so as we pulled away and continued out of Conn. and into Rhode Island, I sort of gave up on seeing anything but I-95. The one great thing was the weather it was great and Tom and I always have so much fun on our road trips. We both look forward to them very much--even if there isn't much to see. :-)
We had a really nice visit with our friends Mike and Virginia and their boys Alex, Jack and Christopher. It made the snooze of the drive totally worth it. We went to a great Thai dinner in East Greenwich, RI and then met for breakfast this morning. It was a great time and we are happy that for now, we are only 3 hours from them.
On the way home we went over the George Washington Bridge which has a great view of all of NY. We traveled through Queens and the Bronx which was fun. We didn't make it to Boston. It was further north, so that will be a trip all its own.
Before heading home we headed to the Jersey Shore to look at a boat. we LOVED it! It was in great shape and plenty big for entertaining. We are thinking it over...
So we are home now and getting ready for the work week. The weekend flew by!!!!
and although its still in the 70's during the day, the air is crisp in the morning and evening. It seems as if fall came very quickly. Even some of the leaves are already changing color. This weekend its supposed to be low 70's so not too bad. We were just commenting that we do not have any many "winter" clothes with us--most are packed away in storage unaccessible to us until we move into our new place Oct 12. Looks like we'll be doing a little shopping :-)
Tomorrow we are headed to Rhode Island for the night to visit some friends of Tom's. I am looking so forward to the drive as we cut through a few states including NY, Conn, Mass (very excited to go through Boston). We're going to drive leisurly and stop when we want--I love that! We are also doing some boat shopping. We went to dinner last night with a friend that got us registered for a slip at Marina Jack's marina in Sarasota, FL where we can keep a boat year round. We can head down there on some weekends (flying ourselves or commerically---pretty cheap flights). We are very excited---its all Tom talked about last night. As our friends Chris and Deb know, we have been boat window shopping for a while now... but this time I think its more than window shopping. We are hoping to spend Thanksgiving in Sarasota! :-)
The dogs are getting boarded for the first time here this weekend and their "hotel" is more expensive than the one we are staying at in Rhode Island. And of course you can buy tons of "a-la-cart" services for your dogs during their stay and if you don't, you sort of get the look of "oooooooh, you must not really love your dogs". So--Frank and Ol are getting some doggy spa time and some one on one play time attention.
Tom traveled a lot again this week (just day trips) and next week he flies to Denver for Retail Store Training (where he has to actually work in a store). So if you are in the Denver area, look him up for superb cellular customer service! My week has been busy as well. I find that I work more hours in NJ than I did in Seattle. Having a 10 min commute gives me more time to work I guess. But I can't complain--I love my job and the shorter commute lets me get a run in every day as well as a long walk with the dogs. My big news of excitement is my registration at NYU. I am all registered and contemplating some different classes---at least one online, but hopefully one at the campus as well that is possibly work related so the tuition will be covered. I probably won't start until Winter quarter since we're pretty busy with the move etc.
My Uncle Rod and Aunt Toni are in NY this weekend, but sadly we found out too late and can't meet up with them as we had all hoped. But they still win the award for FIRST FAMILY or FRIENDS TO VISIT US on the EAST--its beside the point that they already had a trip planned. My sister is already planning her trip as well as my friend Jean (and hopefully Craig). My friend Melissa will be out late Oct and we are already planning our days by the hour!
Finally some pics are posted from my solo trip to the city and some new ones of the dogs **under photos tab** and we'll add some from our road trip up north this weekend! The one above is of some Brownstones in Greenwich Village.
Today is the 6th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy.
We found this website which we think is wonderful. It shows that one person can make a difference, even if its only to one other person, on just one day.
http://mygooddeed.org/
The following is an excerpt from the yahoo news website about mygooddeed.org.
'The heroic acts of all those killed trying to save others that September morning has spawned a growing grass-roots movement. The goal is to ensure that future generations remember not just the horror of the attacks, but also the extraordinary outpouring of humanity during the days, weeks, and months that followed.
"It was the worst possible day imaginable, and in some ways, a remarkable day, too, in the way in which people responded," says David Paine, cofounder of myGoodDeed.org. "We need to rekindle the way we came together in the spirit of 9/11: It would be almost as much a tragedy to lose that lesson."
Sept. 11 has inspired dozens of philanthropic efforts – from groups dedicated to building memorials to foundations designed to improve education in the Middle East. But myGoodDeed has a more universal goal: to turn 9/11 into a day dedicated to doing good – from small, simple things like Lisa Scheive's pledge to help stranded turtles cross the road in Pompano Beach, Fla., to lifesaving efforts, such as John Feal's decision in New York to donate one of his kidneys to help a seriously ill 9/11 worker.'
What will you do?
*pic of Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village
*pic of a potential chess partner
The past few days have been pretty busy for Tom and I. Tom was in Philly on Wednesday, Chicago on Thursday and Boston Friday. He doesn't have any cool sight seeing pictures to post though since all of his time was spent in meetings in conference rooms. Poor guy. Each day he left early am and got home at night (the Chicago trip being extra fun with him departing at 4 am and not returning until 1 30 am the next day (he had 4 different flights rescheduled and he and I were both on the phone with the airlines trying to creatively book him on an ontime flight).
I on the other hand do have pictures to post! I went to the city Friday by myself for some exploring and I LOVE it there! I took the train and when getting off at Penn Station, I just started walking. I headed past Madison Ave and Park Avenue and walked through Madison Square Park-- a nice park right in such a busy part of the city. The US Open is happening now in NY (Queens) so an area of the park had a big screen projection tv set up so people in the park could sit and watch the matches. People were laying out in the sun (it was HOT---near 90 and a bit humid), playing games and walking their dogs. This park, as does Washington Square Park which I also went to, had a dog park--but not the type we have in Seattle. These dogs have no grass, instead, pebbles to run on. Its neat though--the dogs seemed happy. I think Frank and Ollie will have a lot of fun there.
After walking through Madison Park, and convincing a very devout Chasidic Jewish man that I was indeed not Jewish as he insisted I talk to him about his religion, and then politely declining an invite to play chess with a very nice elderly gentleman (see pic) at the public boards in the park, I went to 'Strand' (prob the most famous bookstore in the city) that boasts an inventory of 2 million books. It is right near Union Square, so I cruised through there. I took my time walking through the Green Market (Farmers Market) full of Organic veggies and fruits etc. Pretty crowded there for a Friday. Union Square also has a small art walk that Tom and I experienced last Saturday---but there were more vendors there today.
I then headed down towards NYU. (I may sound like I had an agenda, but I did not nor was I positive about the direction to walk. I asked a handful of very nice New Yorkers directions at times and they all were very nice and went out of their way to help me---one woman even walked me to an intersection to show me which way to go).
My friend Matt went to NYU and he has been a good reference for things to see in the city. He and I chatted on the phone as I stood outside the NYU bookstore and he rattled off a couple "must stops" on my walk around town. Matt moved to Seattle a couple years ago and I think talking to him on the phone with the sounds of NY in the background made him want to be back out here. I hope so! He is going to head this way in a couple months and Tom and I look forward to having him visit us in the new house and showing us around NY :-)
After NYU (and buying a couple of T-shirts and deciding to take a class there) I headed to Greenwich Village via Washington Square Park. The park is really cute. Its a good size and again people were relaxing in the grass, dogs were in the dog park, a live jazz band was playing---it was great! The park basically leads right into the Greenwich Village area. When Tom and I were in the Village last week we didn't really spend tons of time there and I really wanted to check it out more. Instantly when in the heart of the Village, you are removed from the hustle of the city. Its still busy, but it seems isolated. The Brownstones are so beautiful to me and the shops and cafe's are plentiful. I stopped and had a quick lunch of guacamole and chips at a little Mexican place while I studied my map. After lunch I continued walking around the Village and headed to THE most famous cupcake shop in the city, if not the tri-state area: Magnolia Bakery. Matt recommended this place and I had actually heard of it. Cupcakes are the craze everywhere now and I think this place help started that. There was a line half way around the block!! I waited in line and am very happy I did... cupcakes for Tom and I this weekend !
After the cupcake stop I started heading back to the train.
So to sum things up--I had a great day!
The pics will be posted in the NY album under the photos tab... enjoy!
Hey all--so to make sure its clear, there are two tabs on the upper left side of the blog directly above this entry. The second is labeled PHOTOS. Click here to take a look at some of the photos we have added in the last two days--like this one of Tom in Seattle last Bumbershoot or my nephew Zane doing yoga.
Thanks everyone for looking and commenting! Special note to Bev! Thanks for reading! :-)
Hi! Yesterday we went to Hoboken. Hoboken is a trendy town that used to be pretty ghetto. Its now a great city with boutique shops and is basically in NY its so close to the city. Its about 25 min from us and it has THE BEST view of NYC (looking at it across the Hudson.) It is amazing. We walked along the Hudson and I took tons of pictures, but they won't do the view justice. Attached is one. I will add more pics soon.
Today we hung around the Morristown area. Did a bit more shopping for the house (bought a new master bedroom set!), took the dogs to the park and played some tennis at the court at our new house (which was very fun). Pretty mellow. Its been a great weekend, really sunny and warm--prob 85 or so with no humidity to speak of. Not too much else to report today so this will be a short one. Look for pictures soon. :-)
Today we went into NYC (sans dogs) for a day of sight-seeing. (Above pic in Times Square as I take my life into my own hands as I step into the street to get my pic).
We LOVE the city!!! The weather was great and I am so glad that we live here because if we were just visiting and that was our only day in the city I'd be disappointed as there is so much we haven't seen yet. As Tom put it, "its an overload for the senses". For those of you that have been here you know there is constant activity all the time. The sheer volume of people blew me away. We started out (after taking the train from Morristown into Penn Station right by Madison Square Garden) at the Empire State Building and planned to head to the top, but this being a crowded holiday weekend and our first trip to the city, we didn't want to wait in line to get to the top. Another time.
We decided to take one of those touristy buses where you sit on the open-air top, see the sights and hop on-hop off as you wish. What a great way to see the city. We rode for a bit and then hopped off at Chinatown which was packed. Much to my delight, as we left the bus we were greeted by a woman that asked if I were interested in designer purses. OF COURSE I WAS and she led Tom and me to a store front with nothing in it but 4 steel doors--no windows. She opened one door, Tom and I went in followed by a "clerk" and the door shut. Designer purses and accessories were wall to wall, ceiling to floor----it was great. I am very aware that these are designer knock-offs, but the likeness to the real thing was incredible. Tom was a great sport as I modeled a few different styles (all the while I am imagining him thinking "its just a purse") before deciding on a couple cute ones. I could have spent more time there, but Tom was doing so great with all of the window shopping I didn't want to ruin a good thing (and I know I can go back anytime!!)
My sister is very jealous and I have gotten detailed instructions on what to get her when we go back next week. She is even wanting to turn this into a business, me being the supplier and she'll handle sales for the Seattle Market. Get your order in now! :-)
We then walked up through Greenwich Village (Shakespeare Book Company!!!!) complete with tons of brownstones and too many famous literary stops to count (Aunt Cindy you would love it) and then we treked through Soho up to Times Square. Tons of walking, lots of window shopping. We tried to get to Central Park, but we didn't want that to be a rushed thing, so when we head back next, that will be our first stop. Sadly, we ( I say we, but really I am just talking about me) missed all of the Brad Pitt sightings as apparently he and his fam were in Central Park for most of the weekend.
It was a great time and again, so much to see and so much we did see. Lots of interesting people and something very cool, as we were standing with our map open (a couple times in fact) we were approached by "locals" asking if we needed any help. Very nice in a city where they say people do not make eye contact or assist others.
Tomorrow we are shopping for stuff for the new house and cruising around NJ a bit more. I am really liking it here.Tom and I were just talking about how different it is than Seattle. I am embracing it all and excited each day to see something new. That sounds so cheesy... but its true!
I will upload some pics from the city tomorrow.
