Friday, August 31st, 2012

Good morning!  I got a new iPhone yesterday so instead of taking a picture with a camera and uploading the photo onto my computer, I used my phone.  However, I'm not at the point where I know how to use my iPhone to upload my photos to the blog directly.  I'm working on it.  In the meanwhile, happy Friday and Happy long weekend!

Thursday, August 30th, 2012
Central Park East - 6:45am

Good morning!  Today I found a little summer and a little autumn for you.  I never want to wish time away, but I won't lie, I am a little happy that there's only one more day for me to plug in for August until it's finally September.  This morning was beautiful!  62oF and sunny.  Perfect temperature.  Doggies were loving it!

This is my favorite time of year - I love Autumn.  I love the transition into Autumn from God-Awful-East-Coast summer.  I always really liked school as a kid, so thinking about everybody getting new clothes, backpacks, class schedules, and heading back to school makes me really happy.  That time of life was so pleasant that the other day I found myself just a teeny tiny bit sad that I would never again be a kid getting my pencils and heading back to middle school.  The next time I do it, it will be vicariously through someone else.  Where did that time go??

Even though I miss those days, I still feel so fortunate to really love what I get to go off and do every day.  I enjoy the people I work with, I am intellectually satisfied with my job, and I have a boss that motivates me, encourages me, stays out of the way, and occasionally brings us pizza and/or espresso, and/or french pastries.  I also forget that at this time last year, I kind of was going "back to school."  I had my new bag, class schedule, itinerary for the year, new housing, etc...  That's as close as it will ever be!  The new crop of first-year's is here for orientation and start classes next week.  Tonight I'm accompanying them on the "Lower East Side Cupcake Crawl."  I'm excited to meet the new ones and to see what they're interested in, what senses of humor they have, and just make some new friends.    

Have a wonderful day!

Wednesday August 29th, 2012
Central Park East - 6:45am

Good morning!  I'm in a happy mood this morning because of 3 good things.

1.  Brian came with me to take the 2 little dogs to the big park today :) :) :)
2.  We saw a friend who I often meet in the Park walking with his son, Conrad.  I hadn't seen this friend in awhile and he informed me he and his wife and kid had spent the summer in France in both Corsica and Paris.  (Awesome).  Well, he also happened to offer us some box seats for the US Open as long as we could get away for a day sometime in the next 2 weeks!  I don't know if that's possible but it would be really awesome if we could.  So generous of him.  I think he has them for like 2 weeks or something so he isn't going to go every day.  He and his wife are realtors (& he's also a pianist) so they have flexible schedules. You meet the nicest/most interesting people in the Park.
3.  I just made myself a 3 egg omelet with red onion, spinach, and cherry tomatoes all from my CSA and it was incredible.

All good things happened today.  Lets hope that the day keeps going so wonderfully!

Have a great one!
3. 

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012
Central Park East - 7:30am

Good morning!  A hot and sticky one this morning.  The dogs are literally going insane right now.  I wish you could see it.  They are running around the room jumping from one couch to the other, barking, and slamming each other into things.  Aren't they supposed to be worn out from these walks?  Isn't it too hot for them?  Apparently not.  The start of the trouble was Sofie finding a broccoli stalk from last night.  I don't know where she found it, but she emerged from the kitchen with it.  Bear went after her in a fit of envy and tried to steal it.  In the commotion, Sofie dropped it, I threw it away and now they've been going insane ever since. 

Time for work!

Have a great day!!

Monday, August 27th, 2012
Central Park East - 6:30ish

Good morning!

Back to the grind today.  I shouldn't call it "grind" - I like what I do.  Well I came home from Oregon Saturday night.  Got home at around 1am after a day of flying that was much better on the way back than on the way to (Bear peed twice on the way to Oregon - once on the floor of the Denver airport and once in his carrier - resulting in him being pee-soaked upon arrival at PDX).

I posted 2 pictures from this morning that don't quite hold a candle to some of my favorites from my trip that I posted below.  While in Oregon, Brian, Sofie, Bear, and I went from Coast to Hood and back again while enjoying ridiculously good food and entirely too much alcohol (Oregon beer is just better - I stuff myself with Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale every time I'm home - it's disgusting...and shameful).  Bear and Sofie were in doggie heaven - beaches, cool weather, flowers to dig through in the backyard, beetles to eat, mountains to climb.  In addition to all of that food, between running and hiking, I covered over 50 miles in 12 days at home - not badddddd!!  Bear and Sofie were along for every hike - Bear toughed out a 9.1 mile hike at Mount Hood like the tiny champ he is.  He also fell off that log in the above picture and into Burnt lake - earned some big boy stripes.

I'd have to say, though, the highlight of my trip was getting to be with my family a lot - (with the exception of Sarah & Grandma Clark, I feel like I never get enough of Sarah and Grandma Clark).   The best day was the fish fry/yucca drinking day at my Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Keith's house out near Salem.  I don't know if I've ever known such warmhearted good times as hanging with Keith, Christopher, and Aunt Jeanne.  That was the most fun I've had in a long time.  Keith had caught a LOT of brown and rainbow trout all summer, seasoned it up with some lemon and other good stuff, and grilled it in foil....oh so delicious.  My cousin, Christopher and his roommate and roommates gf Wesley made this wonderful/deadly drink in a glass gallon jar that you pass around to one another (true hillbilly BBQ wouldn't be complete without a huge jar of icy, citrusy booze complete with all of our germs!).  Another highlight of that day was helping my Uncle Keith choose the music to put on - choosing between "mix," "damn good mix," "summer mix," and the like.  LOL.

Fantastic trip.  Was hard to say goodbye and head back to NYC.  When I got onto that jam-packed M60 bus back to 125th in Harlem and heard an Indian guy screaming into the phone behind me, and delighted in the beautiful sights and sounds of Queens *sarcasm*, I was actually feeling pretty happy to be back.  

Another funny thing I saw while I was away was that my other set of cousins in DC, Chris and Dan, were off to college.  When I saw the Facebook picture of them both setting up Daniel's dorm room, I got a wave of nostalgia for my college days.  I'm so excited for them to have the privilege of the experience of college - not everyone gets that chance.  I don't know if anything will ever again be as fun, hard, and wonderful as college (but I guess I can hope - no...grad school is not as fun).

Happy to be back to little dogs, big park.

Seize the day!

Lenox Advisor's Offices 10:17am - 5th Avenue New York, NY


Well, Jen's has ventured off to Portland with the little man and I'm back in New York at work :(

Sofie and I had a nice walk this morning (sorry, no pictures). We mixed it up by going down to the East River for a change. Jen doesn't always like to walk down there as there are often junkies and the usual weirdos making noises or bathing themselves on the park benches. We didn't encounter anything terribly unusual this morning, so that was nice.

It was cool enough to take a run with Sofie yesterday and we had a GREAT time. I ran her through her usual walking route in Central Park and stopped to splash water on her a few times. After the run, we laid down in the grass and hung out to cool off from the trek. It's silly how she has small tendencies and behaviors that come out only when Jen is gone and it's just the two of us. It's hard to explain exactly what it is, but it's like the "old" days when she was little and I took care of her during the day.

Oh well, my co-worker is looking at me like I should be doing some work.

Gotta run!

Monday, August 13th, 2012
Central Park East - 7:35am

Good morning!  It's our last morning in Central Park for about 2 weeks!  What a morning it was. 

Check that out - 70 degrees and sunny.  It was a beautiful morning - started to make me very, very excited for some Autumn weather.  It made 2 small dogs much more rambunctious as well.  Tomorrow Bear and I leave for Oregon!!!  I'm SO excited!!  I'm taking Bear and Brian's taking Sofie on Friday morning.  This is because Bear can't make it through the day yet and Sofie can - Brian can't come home from work at noon to let Bear outside.  It will be the first time that Bear is the only dog for a few days :)  Well - I should stop my rambling and get to work since it's my last day before vacation.  Have a wonderful day and expect some little dog posts while we are away in Oregon.  The pictures will likely be much more fun :)

Peace. 

Friday, August 10th, 2012
Central Park East - 7:45am

Good morning!  Feeling much, much better today.  Still have a nasty cough - but it's not painful anymore and productive.  Otherwise I'm feeling back to my usual self.  I slept in again today - until 7:15am.  Will be late to work, but that's ok.  I got such little sleep the past 2 nights that I felt like I needed it.  Doggies were very happy in the Park today since it was *mildly* cooler.  Sofie did a lot of slide tackling and dive-bombing Bear.  At one point he even let out a little yelp - like "hey!  I've had enough!" 

She found a particularly good stick this morning, prompting immediate competition.  To Bear, if she has it, it must be good so he chased her all around after it.  I uploaded the video to youtube and have attached the link.  If you click on the link, you should be able to watch the video of them romping around :) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0OwD_q1OdU&feature=youtu.be

Enjoy!

Have a wonderful day - Happy Friday!

Thursday, August 9th, 2012
The COUCH - 9:15am

Good morning!  This is a lot of what we've been doing these past 2 days.  I did go to the Park with them yesterday morning and this morning, but I was just trying to get it over with.  I didn't have it in me to even think about taking pictures.  I'm just glad I didn't zone out and lose one of them to be honest.  I'm feeling pretty shitty today but have improved since the tylenol, coffee, and cereal. 

I'm watching the Today show right now waiting for the Olympics to be on - I'm psyched to watch the USA women's soccer team play Japan for Gold in the World Cup Repeat.  I'm soooo happy that Misty May and Kerri Walsh won gold in beach volleyball for the third time.  I love their attitudes and style of play.  They know each other so well that they're just fantastic teammates.  If you compare them to other beach volleyball teams, they just sync incredibly well and even when things aren't going right, they're always positive.  I'm not going to lie, I cried last night a little during the medals ceremony.  I'm glad I got to watch them the past few Olympics because Misty May is moving on and is retiring from playing competitively. 

Seriously - my throat is killing me.  I hope tomorrow is a better day. 

Have a great day, friends (at LEAST better than mine :))

Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
Central Park East - 7:55am

Tis a blah morning.  Remember how I told you I was just waiting to feel sick?  How it couldn't be possible for me to be around a single other sick human being and not also become ill?  Well the moment has arrived.  Last night, to be exact.  Between me and Brian, it wasn't a good night.  Mom & Dad - we're headed your way with our germs and dogs next week so get ready!!

I walked the dogs this morning despite feeling crappy and actually feel better now that I've eaten and had coffee and a walk.  I made 4 eggs and 2 slices of toast with butter and 3 cups of coffee.  My doggies made some new friends in the Park today, owing to the fact that I was up so late my normal crew wasn't there anymore. 

Oh - this is exciting.... the lady who bought Bear's brother Lynx lives in Brooklyn.  She wants the brothers to be able to meet again and be a part of each other's lives.  I hope for my sake that this lady is not a weirdo, otherwise this could make for some awkward get-togethers.  She is bringing Lynx (now Delroy) to the Park later this week so the two can meet again.  I'm interested to see if they will remember one another. 

Have a wonderful day!

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012
Anxiously awaiting breakfast following their walk.

Good morning!  Well....maybe better for some than others.  Poor Brian is sick!  All yesterday and the day before he's been feeling terrible.  He's supposed to go to a Mets game with some of his coworkers tonight so hopefully he can take a little Dayquil and actually enjoy the game.  I'm sort of anxiously awaiting when I will begin feeling symptoms.  I don't think in my entire life history I've been the one who is NOT sick....it's only a matter of time.  *Please not just before vacation*

It finally took a cooler turn this morning.  The Park was lovely - about 72 degrees, breezy, and blue-skied - lots of people out enjoying it all. 

I've been loving these Olympics.  Is anyone else obsessively watching them?  I absolutely love the swimming, track & field, and beach volleyball.  I'm a little sad that Michael Phelps is not going to be returning now that he's competed in his 4th Olympics and has 22 medals.  I remember watching the Sydney Olympics in the sunroom of my parents house in Gettysburg 16 years ago.  I can't believe it was that long ago, but I remember watching Michael Phelps swim as a 15 year old.  I watched him in awe in Athens, then Beijing and now London.  I've always had a lot of admiration for him.  I'm particularly into the women's track & field events lately.  Allyson Felix, Carmelita Jeter, Lashinda Demus are all such incredible athletes - I'm glued to the screen.  I hope you all are enjoying them, too!

Have a great day!

Monday, August 6th, 2012
Top: Fire Island (last Friday)
Bottom: Central Park East - 8:00am

Good morning!  Sorry for the late post today and for missing Friday.  Sarah and I went to Fire Island last Friday to enjoy her last full day with us.  The top 2 pics are Fire Island (which is a small island near Long Island).  The pictures don't really do it justice, it was a very pretty place.  There are no cars allowed so it's just connected circuits of small boardwalk-style trails.  This made it both very quaint, but also very difficult to navigate.  We wandered the island all day long, got tan (or pink, as the case may be), and finally scrounged up some food at the Kismet Inn.  We were starving by the end of the day so we sucked down the worst margarita we'd ever had (tasted like straight sea water), then played it safe with bud lights and local caught blue fish with mashed taters and summer squash.  That part was really good.  We also happened to stumble upon a nude gay beach, which was entertaining.  We could neither stop giggling nor staring.  It only became more awkward when a portly, tan guy told us we looked like Julia Roberts.  Hey man, you can say that all you want, but I'm not stripping down to get weird in nature with you.  It was a wonderful day. 

It was back to business as usual this morning.  Back to doggies in the Park.  It's so hot, you should see them now.  They are literally sacked out near my feet as we speak.  Too hot for little hairy doggies. 

Have a wonderful day, friends!

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012
Central Park East (below...obviously) - 7:00am

Good morning!  Another great day w/ Sarah yesterday.  I was in lab early and worked worked worked - left by noon so we could hang out.  We went to Bareburger again for egg sandwiches then decided to just go walk around downtown somewhere.  Ended up taking the 6 train down to Astor Place - it rained on us which led us into a Gap, which led us to believe that Gap is actually making a comeback.  We then wandered up to Union Square and went to Nordstrom Rack, where Sarah guided me in the underwear buying process.  She said the bra that I had on at the time needed to no longer be in existence.... it is now no longer in existence.  Then we WALKED the whole way to 59th street with the intention of going to Bloomingdales (we actually just went to another, bigger Gap and actually got stuff this time).  Then we went home and made dinner and watched the Olympics.  Dinner was baked tilapia with roasted tomatillos and tomatoes and lemony broccoli on the side.

After dinner...we wanted a froyo nightcap so we went to Tasti-D-lite.  Their card machine was DOWN!!!!! NO!!!!!!  We attempted to get cash but the ATM fee was 3 f*cking dollers (or doll hairs as Sarah would say).  I will not pay 3 doll hairs to access my own money.  You can suck me bank (excuse my french).  So we walked the whole way up to 77th in search of Pinkberry - when we got up there, I was informed by Sarah that she did not like Pinkberry because it tastes too healthy.  Turn around....walked to 1st and 70th - TLC....finally....NOPE they are cash only!  What is this!? We ended at Food Emporium with 2 pints of Haagen Dazs - Dark Chocolate and White chocolate Raspberry.  The real thing was better than fro yo, anyway. 

Have a great day!

The Little Dogs did not make to the Big Park today due to epic downpours....I mean epic.  We got caught in it on the way there.