Although I had a fun time in Seattle I was SO glad to come home!! I ! was so looking forward to seeing Tom. I got home around 5 and after having only three hours of sleep (thats what I get for hanging out with Geoff and Michele the night before) before catching my flight, the couch, the dogs and Tom were all I wanted to see. I had a great time with Geoff and Michele though so the teeny amount of sleep was worth it. Their sweet kids, Emily and Ashley are our little nieces--even though technically unrelated (That family is as close to us as our immediate families)!!!
We got tons of pics and I will post some for sure---but prob tomorrow when I am more awake and I feel like taking the long trip from the couch to my suitcase to grab my camera. :-)
One tidbit of news we'd like to add here that is relevant to my recent air travel (so it seemed to me at least thanks to my aisle neighbor in row 15 on fliht 1580...and relevant to Tom's homeland). Very interesting we both thought...
"Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that obese people will have the right to use two seats for the price of one on all flights within Canada.
The court declined to even hear an appeal by the Canadian Transportation Agency.
The Canadian airlines had originally lost an appeal, launched by Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet, back in May at the Federal Court of Appeal.
The airlines were seeking to get a new appeal with the Supreme Court but they got denied."
Will America follow suit?
its been a great week here in seattle. I had great meetings at work and got to see tons of people I don't see much both at work and friends and family.
Today I wrapped things up at work and had a chance to go to lunch with my team as well as meet my friend Todd for coffee later. Its always great to see him and share coffee, m&m's and grand plans to partner in an up-start coffee roasting company in the hills of Guatemala. I hope he can make it out to NY again soon.
Attached are some pics from GNO #2 (Girls Night Out) and at Deb and Chris' house just before we went out where they toasted Tom and my engagement! Little Lauren even got in on the "ching-ching" toasting action (with juice of course).
Seattle has also put me in the Christmas spirit!! One of the radio stations here is already playing 24x7 Christmas music! Love it!! At first I felt repulsed some--its too early--but really when you think about it, its not. A month from now we will be doing that last minute shopping!!
Early am flight tomorrow and its supposed to snow in NY (fingers crossed, yay) so hopefully my flight is on time (fingers crossed again). But------ before I can even think about that too seriously, I am prepping to head to Michele and Geoff's (my BFF's) house for relaxing and laughing. I may just stay up all night watching movies with them to avoid having to get up at like 4 30 to get to the airport. :-)
pics: girls night out bunch (Marin, Melissa, Deb, Laura, me)
Deb, Chris, Lauren and me
Lauren with the girls
Seattle from my camera phone while I was stuck in traffic on I-5
hey everyone--I haven't had a lot of time to post any entries or pics and I am sorry about that. My visit has been non-stop action with work all day and then visiting friends and family in the evening. I do have lots of pics and I will post them as soon as possible. Since I last wrote, I met up with Jean and we shopped, laughed, ate and slumber-party-ed it up, had a girls night out last night with Marin, Deb, Laura and Melissa and tonight Melissa and I hit up this great new wine bar in Bellevue. Its been a wonderful visit and the weather, so far, has been great. Tomorrow is another full day with lunch with my friend Todd, a group outing and then a celebratory engagement dinner with Matty. There are so many people I wish I could visit with more/longer/at all---but the time goes by so quickly. :-(
I am a little happy though that the week is flying by--I miss Tom so much! He is doing a great job with being mr. mom this week with the dogs--not an easy thing to do alone, especially with his 12hr work days. I am looking forward to seeing all of my little family Friday afternoon.
For now, here are (some silly) pics from when my brother and I hung out with my cousin Ryan and his beautiful wife Katrin on Sunday at my parents house. More to come, I promise.
"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart".
And this week I have whole heartedly come to Seattle. I am here for work but flew in this morning and spent most of the day with my parents, brother and cousins at my folks house. It was very relaxing and very nice to see them, catch up and talk about old times. My nephew and niece are sick so I didn't get to see them. That bummed me out.
I loved watching the mountain ranges as we flew over Washington-- I do miss that back east, no real mountains. The weather was actually pretty good today too, around 60 and some blue sky. Mt Rainier and the Seattle skyline stood out brilliantly.
Tom is home partying it up with the dogs. After they (yes, they) took me to the airport this morning, they headed to the boat to continue working on getting it ready for winter.
So aside from this long day today, I have to tell you about yesterday. Tom, the dogs and I decided to do a borough tour around NY. It was horrible weather yesterday morning so we thought a drive out of town would be great. As soon as we got into the Bronx--the fog that enveloped the city (couldn't even see the top 2/3rds of the Empire State Building) lifted and it was beautiful blue sky and hitting about 72 degrees! In mid November? What? It was GREAT!
We drove through the Bronx, Queens and parts of Brooklyn. We drove over the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge (you can walk across both as tourist attractions). They take you over to Manhattan, right in the heart of Chinatown. Driving through the bowels of Chinatown at a snails pace (heavy traffic, narrow streets) is nearly as fun as walking through (for the car passenger at least--poor Tom, driving in the city is NOT easy). After our drive around and snapping some shots (see below for the inspiration for the quote in this entry) we headed home to get ready to come BACK into the city with our friends Frank and Patti for dinner.
We had reservations at Bar Americain (a Bobby Flay restaurant in the Theatre District). This is a pretty hip restaurant right now and of course Patti and I had our movie star finding glasses on (but alas, no movie stars this time...AGAIN! Where are they all? I am not going to these hip places just for the food!!) :-)
The dinner was wonderful and the company even better. After, we walked a couple blocks to see the tree at Rockefeller (just being put up now) and the lights and festive decorations that are going up all over the city! The shirts you see all over say it all... I (heart) NY!!!!
More to post later this week. I plan to see as many of my friends as possible in the evenings after work so it should be a fun, busy week!
pics:
seattle skyline
radio city music hall decked out
a couple shots of bar americain
Confucius statue in Chinatown (uploading soon...)
Today my good friend Lisa brought this news story to my attention. Who knew this was even debatable?
Of course, this news changes my agenda entirely for my trip to Seattle next week...:-)
Seattle Parks Board won't ban nudists
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- The Seattle Parks Board has declined to ban nudity.
The board refused to change its policy at a Thursday night meeting despite a few complaints about naked bike riders and nude swimmers and sunbathers.
KING-TV reports some people saw more than they cared to in July when nude bike riders flashed through several parks. And others were offended by nudists in a Seattle Center fountain.
A police spokesman, Sean Whitcomb, says just being nude is not against the law, but showing yourself naked with the intent to alarm and offend is illegal.
happy weekend! Not too much happening here--but wanted to just post a quick one to say hello. Tom started winterizing the boat yesterday. We keep it in the water all winter as the marina "bubbles" water under the boat all winter so things don't freeze. The leaves are nearly all gone on our trees, much different than last year at this time when summer extended into Nov it seemed. Its still so beautiful and planning on seeing sunny crisp days make getting up in the dark mornings much easier.
All of the decorations are up in the city and the store windows that display their decorative masterpieces that are tourist attractions in themselves, open this week. The Rockette's opened their show, White Christmas is on Broadway and The Rockefeller Center tree should be up soon too. Melissa is coming to visit in December and every single thing we do that weekend will be holiday related! We can't wait!!!
This will be a busy week for us--Tom will be traveling some within NY and I will be working and preparing for my business trip to Seattle. Sadly, I won't be able to see everyone this time--its just too hard. This next summer Tom and I are planning a trip out there together---not for work, for vacation, so we'll see everyone then!
Until we have something more interesting to say... have a great week!
pic: our pumpkins' last day...
You know, its been a while since we have felt proud of our President... but after last night, that feeling is back. This is a victory not just for the United States, but for the World. Of course there are areas, as in all administrations, that don't fit with our lifestyle 100%, but what is that saying---"you can't please all of the people all of the time". Overall, we are pleased.
And that's all we will say on this matter going forward. Our blog is for ALL people--and we don't wish to offend anyone.
I am sure that one thing we can all agree on, regardless of who you voted for, is the all encompassing feeling of joy that the election is OVER! Yay! No more campaign commercials!!
Have a fabulous Wednesday.
Yay Fred!! He ran the famous race and won!! (not really, but he got really close--- he got 6745th out of 37,000 runners!!)! He finished better than he had wanted and was very happy! Tom had some work stuff going on that kept him on conference calls most of the day sadly so Kim and I banded together and became support staff for Fred (well, truth be told, we were REALLY hoping we'd catch a glimpse, or more, of David Beckham cheering on his wife (whatever her name is) who was supposed to be running the race too, but we didn't see him...
Before meeting up with Fred (the race ended at the Tavern on the Green in Central Park), Kim and I headed into the city and after visiting the biggest store in the world (Macy's) we headed to the Upper West Side to wander around before meeting Fred at Starbucks (fans can't really get to the finish line unless you are there from the beginning of the race).
It is safe to say that the Upper West Side is now possibly my favorite part of the city. Its very local-- not touristy at all and the shops and buildings are so beautiful. We wandered through (although probably not really welcomed) into the Astonia where Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have a place and where Babe Ruth used to live. NICE.
The cool supermarket, the awesome cheese shop, the Nepalese store, along with the many trendy dogs and people are never ending entertainment.
After meeting Fred we headed home on the subway and train and Tom picked us up.
What a day! Fred looked great and did great!
pics: david beckham (since we didn't get a race pic of him) :-)
fred and kim at the subway
part of the race route on Central Park West
gargoyle at the Astonia
reeces and ollie running around in costume. frank's costume was dead to him at this point.
WOW! Best Halloween ever!!! Fred and Kim are here visiting and while Fred and Tom hit the NYC Marathon expo on Friday afternoon (after dining with Kim and I at one of our fave hangouts, Dos Caminos), they headed home and Kim and I decided to stay in the city and see the sights. Not only did we hit the regular haunts (pun intended) the highlights including Top of the Rock (got my fall pic of the Park), Grand Central Station, Union Square, Bryant Park.. and Greenwich Village (more on that in a sec). This wasn't just any day in the city-- people were dressed in great costumes (adults and kids) all throughout the city and many of them were getting ready for the famous Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. Each year this parade heads from Houston St up 6th Ave and finishes at Union Square. It starts around 7pm and approximently 2 million people head to this stretch of the city to see the spectacles. Greenwich is one of the more liberal areas of this liberal city. As many of you know, the beatnik area pretty much IS Greenwich Village. Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and more all lived and played here and today the music stars of now, that keep with the hippie chic feel of the 60's and 70's--and 80's actually, can be found performing impromptu shows in small bars and clubs through the Village. The parade, one of the most famous that occurs in the city is quite the event and that is why Kim and I had no choice but to go. We had to, how could we not?? As we got closer to the Village the crowds grew and the costumes became more common. Some people really went all out and the gashes in the face and swords sticking out of the chests look quite real. Others, like us, just witnessed the fun in our normal clothes. It was 65 degrees out--we couldn't have asked for better weahter. After having yogurt at Red Mango (missed you Kristen) we headed to the parade route and took our place behind one of the countless barricades. We marveled at the costumes in the crowd and made conversation with the folks around us (one inpaticular complimented on my beautiful toes (I was wearing sandals). For real. I didn't know what to say. Kim, like a good sister-in-law who had my back, chimed in with "you do have nice toes" and a guy to my right encouraged me to consider foot modeling. He was kidding. I think) so needless to say, we enjoyed the crowd well before the parade started.
We got some great pics of the parade and some video with our faves being the reinactment of the Michael Jackson Thriller video and some really cool ghost float things. We had SO much fun and were so happy to witness this tradition. And just for you Eric (our nephew, Kim and Fred's 18yr old son) we snapped a pic of some clothing challenged women that were very happy to be part of the action. After leaving the parade we headed back towards McDougal and Bleeker (the main drag in the Village) thinking that we'd miss some of the crowd while we headed back uptown. Wrong. There were just as many people partying on the streets there than there was at the parade. It was great and we got a bunch more pics of some great costumes. People were very nice and more than willing to pose for pics.
We managed to shake the crowd and hopped the subway to catch the train home. Tom and Fred picked us up at home and we are sure they wished that they were in Greenwich with us for the parade. haha.
It was a great time, we had so much fun and we can now scratch this off our "to-do in life list".
Today, we took a quiet day at the boat and took a spin out in the Atlantic. It was warm again today--Spring weather--we can't believe its Nov 1. The dogs had their little halloween party. the pics are great.
Tomorrow we head to the city again to cheer Fred on for the Marathon. The race starts in Staten Island and ends at the Tavern on the Green. We had our pasta for dinner and have sympathy pains for Fred as he prepares to run the 26 hilly miles through each of the 5 boroughs.
The attached pics are:
Diana and "Andre Agassi" at the parade
Some parade shots
Di & Kim with the Empire State Building
Autumn shot at Central Park
Ollie (dragon), Frank (frankendog and possible future participant in the greenwich parade), Reces (Hula girl). Snicks grew tired of his costume and chose not to be pictured. :-)
videos to come...
as we get closer to the big election day, there are many creative videos out there made by celebrities, organizations and regular people to encourage us all to get out and vote. I'd like to think, dear reader, that those that are regular visitors to this blog will absolutely get out and vote--its a given, but just in case some rogue reader happens upon this blog-- VOTE.
There is no need to elaborate on the impact this election will have on the world.
Here are a couple weird things we saw today regarding this topic. Have you heard more? Comment on this post and lets hear them!
**a bogus flyer directing Republicans to vote Nov. 4 and Democrats to vote Nov. 5 has surfaced in Virginia to take advantage of "new" voters. Sneaky.
**joe the plumber - you know, you've heard his name a dozen times a minute from the mccain/palin campaign - has signed with a manager and is due to have a country record out by inauguration day. What? Wait, Wait, WHAT?
Its a winter wonderland here today and I am so excited! Tom doesn't understand my love for snow, but thats because he is from Canada where they actually GOT snow on a regular basis. You all know where I am from... need I say more?
Only a few wet flakes were called for--but that is not what we are getting. Its been snowing for over 2 hours now and sticking everywhere! Its really early to be getting snow for this area, but they have been calling for a tough winter so I guess this seems about right.
We probably have 3/4 of an inch or more. Its not super cold so I expect it to begin raining again any minute as it did all last night. When I came home for lunch I snapped this pic (when it had just started to stick) and let the dogs out to play. Ollie runs into the woods immediately loving it but Frank takes the path less traveled--through the bark under the low hanging tree limbs--so as he is hardly affected by the flakes. I took a video of them and will try to get it loaded later tonight, and if we end up getting snowed in... I will express my excitement to you in another blog entry!!
Hi everyone! Its Saturday night and we are relaxing at home! Tom has spent the last 3 days working at a retail store in Brooklyn (T-Mobile sends the directors to the stores throughout the year to work and assist the front line sales people. Its a learning experience for all and its something Tom really enjoys). His store's customer base was approx. 75% spanish speaking -- but thankfully [shame-less plug coming...) everyone speaks the universal language of "cool phones" and since T-Mobile just released the Google phone --the store was packed and Tom sold a TON.
I was going to head to Brooklyn today myself to wander around while Tom worked, but it has been raining ALL DAY and I didn't feel like getting drenched so I opted out. Instead I had a leisurely day at home and around town.
Here are some pics of our jack-o-lanterns and the dogs sitting with Tom (seriously, could Ollie be any cuter??)
Last week the ice rink at Rockefeller Center opened and today, the most famous rink in the city, Wollman Rink in Central Park opens. So beautiful with the fall colors especially!! Its supposed to snow a bunch this year so we can't wait for that!!
Even now, its much cooler than last year. The wind was whipping today and when I took the dogs on a walk they had to wear their sweaters! Its great though--cool, crisp, fall days!!
Last night Tom and I drove into the city to meet up with Tom's older brother Fred for dinner. Fred was in town for a conference and each time he comes out this way we try and meet up. In New York, being the hotbed that it is for posh restaurants, its impossible to frequent all of the" 5 star places" unless one lives here for a lifetime! However, Tom and I are trying our hardest to hit as many as we can. Last night was no exception! I made reservations at Butter. Its a very trendy, "in" restaurant and club right now located in the East Village and we lucked out with getting a table at such short notice. Turns out that Monday is their BIG night with the club downstairs opening at 11pm. Yes 11pm. Who is partying at 11 on a Monday?? Well, the answer to that is pretty much anyone you can think of that has graced the magazine pages of Rolling Stone, People and the like. While we considered staying for the club opening (not really) we decided our schedule was already full for the evening (going home and going to bed like normal people "our age").
But--it was nice to be there and we enjoyed visiting with Fred. He and Kim will be out here in a week 1/2 for the marathon so we'll spend more time with them then.
Happy Tuesday!
I know, I am posting a ton this weekend, but I can't help but share all we have seen the past couple days! As some of you know that have come to visit, Morristown, NJ is famous for the part it played in the Revolutionary War. George Washington and men camped in Morristown and had established headquarters that can still be visited today throughout the town. There are historical markers all over and each one is very informative. Being from the West, I think they might be especially interesting for us since they mark events and dates that are far older than anything we are used to seeing in the States.
Possibly the most beautiful historical spot in Morristown is the Dam on Speedwell Lake. This "park" area contains the lake (that in the summer is filled with trout), the dam, the historical bridge and the modern day jogging bike trail "Patriots Path". In the fall the park really stands out with the various colors of all the trees surrounding the lake. What seems now like a large pond in reality is the "lake" and in the 1880's-1900, it was quite the draw for the townsfolk. To give you an idea, a small side-wheeler type steamboat operated on it prior to 1900 giving tours. I am posting a picture Tom took today--the Lake is behind the Dam.
Speedwell, an historic town within Morristown, is actually a historical landmark in itself. It was the location of the FIRST message sent by telegraph--which was invented by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail. Alfred was just a college student at NYU back in 1836 and persuaded his father, a judge who housed his family in Speedwell, to loan Morse (a college professor with the original idea) and himself $2000 to get the invention off the ground. The judge had the honor to script the first message his son and Morse would end up sending. The message: "A patient waiter is no loser". It was successfully sent over 3 miles of cotton covered copper wire strung around Vail's barn. Upon this achievement, the judge rewarded Alfred and Samuel with a large party with all the town and an oyster feast--quite the luxurious party no matter what the year!
Today, Morristown and Speedwell are a bit more modern. Morristown is one of the best places to live in the State and they have just constructed multi million dollar condo's just down from where Tom and I used to live when we moved here. Speedwell has soccer fields now where Washington and his men had their gatherings--but history is still very well preserved in both locations.
We had great weekend just playing tourist in our own town! Tonight--we carve pumpkins! :-)
The pics are
-the Lake
-di at the remains of a headquarter building at the Lake
-another park in Morristown where we like to take the dogs to run (where Frank had the infamous "deer run-in" about a year ago
-frank trying to track the squirrel that outran him
-ollie flying. super dog.
these pictures were taken only a mile from our house (which is amazing to us!--seems like the country)! The turkeys were just roaming through a yard near the pumpkin patch yesterday.
