Fate???

I know I have been away for a while. My family had a bit of a tragedy. My grandfather lost his battle with cancer. It was a very rough time and afterwards, I took some time to grieve with my friends and family.

I needed to take some space and time to work through a complicated web of feelings and am very grateful that I have so many amazing people in my life who were there unconditionally for me.

 

So right after the funeral I left for a camping trip that had been planned for months. I knew my grandfather was very much about enjoying life so he would have wanted me to go. My family agreed with this as well.

Well, this camping trip was NOT the trip I had expected in any way. But it was the trip that I think I needed. It brought me closer to a couple who had previously been only acquaintances. These are two wonderful people who I see becoming more important in our lives. I found new things to bound over with existing friends. I had a whole bunch of new experiences. It was truly wonderful to experience. Friday night consisted of a bit of crying and mourning for my grandfather but the rest of the weekend turned into a whirlwind of life and laughter and emotions that I could not believe it. I went to bed with a smile and a happy heart every night. I woke up happy to be alive…..okay… I was not happy until after my coffee but same thing right??

I think that life has a way of providing you with what you need even if you don’t think it is what you need. I did not expect the camping weekend to go how it did but I am incredibly grateful for it.

Come On Irene!!

First I want to apologize for the infrequent blogging lately- been confronted with some really crappy stuff in my family lately but not sharing anything more than that.

 

So yesterday I was working on the Upper West Side and was a little shocked by just how panicked everyone in Manhattan seemed to be about the incoming hurricane. There were huge lines to get into the Fairway and the Trader Joes. Everyone had plastic bins, grocery store (and liquor store) bags in their hands. There certainly seemed to be plenty of feelings of having fun during the storm and I can not say I blame people.

I read on Twitter reports of stores being out of many necessities. I spoke to many people walking by on the street who reported that they could not find batteries or bottled water anywhere. Camping stores were a CRAZY scene with people wanting water gear, lanterns, candles, camp stoves etc.

People were seriously panicked by the storm. I have not seen this much panic over something in a while!! And usually NYers are so calm. I saw quite a few who acted like it was seriously judgment day combined with the zombie apocalypse.

I would in all likelihood be much more panicked if it wasn’t for how incredibly calm my boyfriend seems to be. He is such a good influence on me.

When I got home on Friday, we did some preparations. I picked up all my school books and varied paperwork and put it into a spare bin we had. I took everything off the bottom row of cubes in our cubicle organizer. I filled up all the water bottles we had with water and put them in the fridge.

Yes, there are linens on the bottom but we are putting them on the futon we will be sleeping on in a few hours. And yes I might own a monkey covered snuggie!

Some of the most important stuff I did last night? I made four quarts of cold-brewed coffee. Due to shortage in the number of pitchers, one of the two quart re-purposed bottles has not been filtered yet but I do not need power to do that. The boyfriend might have mocked me but I figure he does not want to deal with me without caffeine at all!! So it was really done only because I am a humanitarian and I care about him about having the best possible times.

There is a box half a box of wine in the fridge. There is plenty of peanut butter and yummy granola bars. There is plenty not enough beer. I also have cheese and crackers. I also have Greek yogurt. I have the stuff to make oatmeal if we need too. I think we will be okay.

Even if we lose power, we will be able to use our stove so I have plenty of stuff to cook. (Yay for not having an electric stove!!!)

This morning was a bit more prep. My boyfriend made blueberry pancakes and I drizzled raw local honey on them. It was quite delicious. Also for breakfast was some bacon!!

 

We packed emergency bags. We know where we are going if we need to. We picked up ice (had to buy more expensive ice because we waited but oh well). We filled up the bathtub with water to use in the toilet just in case.

The biggest concern I have is flooding. We have an adorable basement apartment. I normally love it but it is making me the tiniest bit uneasy. We have small windows and they have those cute lines on them so I am not too worried about them breaking.

What we JUST did and maybe should have done sooner is sandbags. We went outside to see the storm and the neighbors had made makeshift sandbags with garbage bags and linens/towels. We went back inside and immediately did the same thing! I am not the proudest of them but they are pretty darn good for what they are. I do hope some of the stuff in them is salvageable though. But I figure worse case- couple times in the washing machine will cure them!!

 

I made homemade mac-n-cheese for dinner even though it was a hodgepodge of things since I did not have all the ingredients for any one recipe I found. Recipe will come maybe Monday. It was unbelievably yummy though!!

I also have charged my Nook, my digital camera, my iPod,  am obsessively charging my phone. I just panicked because the netbook is not charged but I figure I still have time to charge it.

So QUESTION TIME!!!

Are you anywhere where Irene will be visiting? How do you feel about your prep for it? Are you worried, indifferent or convinced it is judgment day?   Have you been in a hurricane before?

Sunday Opinions

So there was a discussion on Twitter today that got me thinking a bit. The participants in the discussion included @laughsweatagain ( that would be me!!), @katieRUNSthis , @tlysvan  , and  @AllThingsGwen.

The discussion involved around was Sunday the end of the week or the beginning of the week. I view Sunday as a combination of the two. Sunday means I have to start thinking about the coming week. What am I making for dinner? What night will the man and I have a nice dinner/movie in date night? Do I have enough food for the week? Is there enough clean clothes to get through the week?

I need to start thinking about these things so I feel prepared for the coming week. I review my calendar and start to think of what days would be good for cooking, what days are good for gym/yoga. I also add anything to my calendar that had not made it into it previously.

I also try to make sure that the man and I have some chill alone time together to unwind from the previous week. This allows us to reconnect since we are both rather busy during the week and have very different schedules so when I want to cuddle, he wants to play video games etc.

I am very happy to have a productive Sunday morning and than a relaxing Sunday afternoon. I like it when we are both off on Sunday and can share the day and the chores and relaxing! It makes things so much nicer together! (I have a  nonstandard hours job and the man will take overtime on the weekend if it is available).

Today is a weird Sunday since the weather prevented me from doing laundry in the morning. But it did involve a quick trip to the grocery store, breakfast cooked by the man, some light cleaning up in the apartment and now we are on the way to a housewarming party for a friend!! I have not seen some of the people at the party since I left my previous job so I am excited to see people today!!

 

So how about you? Do you view Sunday as a day of rest or as a day to prep the week ahead?

Learning a Lesson

So I have talked a great deal about how much daily stretching and foam rolling has helped me recover so much of my strength and flexibility etc. However, lately I have fallen off the wagon. It is not pleasant. My legs (especially my calves) are super tight from all the walking I have been doing for the new job. It is not pretty.

I know I should foam roll more. I just don’t. It is because I forget. My legs are doing 100x better than they ever have in the past year or so and I take this for granted. I am almost glad they are getting tight. It is a gentle reminder to me.

In January, walking two blocks to my grocery store was a big deal. It took forever and ever. I did not stretch and had not found a foam roller at that point. Last weekend I spent SIX hours walking around Central Park and Riverside Park for work. I covered a LOT of ground. It was incredibly rewarding and I got to see things I had never seen.

My knee and my legs have been being good to me. It is time I remember I need to be good to them. I want them to keep getting better. I want to run that half marathon one day. I WILL run that half marathon one day. But only if I start remembering that my knee and leg does need to be babied. It is not made of titanium. It is fragile yet remarkably strong. It has done a lot for me. It is time for me to be a good partner to it and treat it better than I have been in the past few weeks.

With that said, off to foam roll!!!

Last saturday

So last Saturday I spent day walking around the city for my new job. I got to explore the West Side running path, Riverside Park, Central Park and quite a bit of the Upper West Side . This is just some of the beauty I was confronted with.

Moose Tooth Grill (Lake George, NY)

Ok so here is the review I promised last week about the pub/brewery we tried in Lake George Village while on vacation last week. It is the sister restaurant to the Adirondack Brewery in Lake George. This restaurant is much more centrally located in town. It also has a different feel (from what I remembered- I was last at Adirondack Brewery a number of years ago).

The recommendation to try the place out came from my mom of all people (she does have good taste though, except she doesn’t eat all the things I do). I tell people who think I am a picky eater they should meet her! But either way she is always right on when it comes to things like that.

I had been told it was an interactive restaurant and had lots to see and experience. And that the beer was good and so was the burger! That is enough to get me to try something.

And since my man is the sweetest person ever- he completely agreed to take me! He is not such a fan of beer tasting and pubs as I am but he loves meat so the burger might have helped to sway him.

When we walked in there was a lot of stuff hanging on the walls. They had a giant animal head and they had branches and lights. All sorts of stuff!! It was pretty interesting. It did feel touristy but I love touristy things.

This was the view right above our table! I loved it! Christmas lights!! Fake scenery!

The view across the table! I love how outdoorsy it is!!

Look at the squirrel!! He is watching you!!!

Hi friend!! The restaurant also played a soundtrack of nature noises. They would play thunder noises and the lights would flash and flicker. They had animal noises too!! I loved it!! But again I am a sucker for things like that!!

Plus they have their own brewery too!! I of course had to go with a beer sampler!!!

Doesn’t that look like happiness ? The dark brown one on the right is actually not beer. They had a special home-brewed root beer and you could get it in the sampler. I had to get it as one of the choices because I knew that guy would love to have it! And he wasn’t ordering it since there were no refills.

The beer was great! The one thing I was a little disappointed in was the Brewer’s Pick. I like light to medium beers and only ever order that. So when I saw the option for a “let them pick for you” I went for it! I was hoping that they would pick something a little different than my standard picks on the card! They had about ten choices and the sampler let you try six. But I got another light beer. It was not the worse thing to happen and I can see why they did that. I loved the lil cherry in the cherry wheat beer! It was such a great choice!! And with beer with names like “Dirty Blonde” and  “bear Naked Ale” what is there to not love??!!

 

That was lunch it was a crispy chicken burger with mozzarella cheese! I had my heart sent on a bacon cheeseburger but was disappointed when I found out they served the burgers only on the medium-well done side of the spectrum. I only eat red meat in the rare-medium rare range. So I decided to settle on the chicken burger. I do not remember the sauce on it but the burger was delicious!! The chicken was not dry and it was crispy on the outside and soft inside. The cheese (I had expected sliced and melted not crumbled on top) melted as I put the sandwich together. The pickles were great on it too!! I love pickles!! And French fries!! The French fries were bottomless. The old me would have had to get at LEAST one refill. The new me? I only ate the fries that came with it. No asking for more. No ordering the fries done extreme with cheese and bacon on them- just plain how they came. I did put salt on them but I am celebrating every victory. And that was a victory. (Plus another victory that day, had half a bagel, some fruit and a chobani for breakfast- I knew we were going to be walking around a lot!!)

All in all, it was a great meal! I enjoyed it! And I would go back!

 

Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated for the post. It was my idea to go there. We paid for all of our food. And all opinions are mine.

Cupcakes for Mikey!!

I love cupcakes!! And the proof is in my waistline but the BEST BEST cupcakes ever come from Robicellis in NYC! They are a husband and wife team who make super fancy and innovative cupcakes that get delivered to stores in NYC with their base and store in Brooklyn.

I have met them at fairs and events were they are selling the cupcakes and they are wonderful people. But one of the things that makes them so great is their sense of community and outrage at injustices. While normally I just read their Tumblr to see what cupcakes I can beg the man to get me, this week I found something much much more important.

They featured an adorable child named Mikey. He has cancer and the doctors have not been able to figure out a way to cure it or what is causing the tumors. There was a fundraiser for Mikey and St. Baldricks. A woman at the fundraiser- stole the money being raised and the stuffed animals they were selling to raise money. This was just heartbreaking. I have watched people in my family battle cancer and it was (thankfully) never a child. I can not imagine what possesses someone to do something like this. But that someone would steal from sick children is reprehensible.

However, their outrage and their network of outraged NYC food artisans is doing something about it! There are quite a few people offering discounts and portions of the sales from their goods going to benefit St. Baldricks. St. Baldricks helps groups and communities raise money for cancer victims and their families as well as for research. They have been behind the head shaving for charity drives that have slowly become more popular. My first introduction was a number of years ago when my dad and my lil brother both raised money and got their heads shaved! Let me tell you, I was proud that my brother (Who was around 15 years old) thought this was important enough to be involved in.

Please check out Robicellis tumblr and (link below) to help find out what you can do!! Please support these great small businesses who are putting their money where their mouth is and standing up for a great cause!

http://robicellis.tumblr.com/

Lake George for the Win!!!

So I have been quiet and I am sorry for that. I have been BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!!

First up was Wednesday afternoon I had my first day at work!! YAY!! And than I rushed home to get to bed early because we were going to Lake George for two days!!

Some back story: My family has been going to Lake George for about ten years now. This year I was convinced I would not get to see it since schedules and such did not work out for me joining them there for a variety of causes. It is just about my favorite place ever! I love it. It is peaceful, gorgeous and has a LOT to do. Plus it is just the most quaint place to stroll through the village’s main street.

Well, the man got an email notifying him it was Hero’s Week at the Great Escape. It is the Six Flags park that is up by Lake George. Since we both are Emergency Medical Technicians we would get free admission into park. Plus he had a lot of points to use so we could get a room for free!! It lined up incredibly!! Well when I found out that we were going, I might have jumped up and down and SQUEED!!!! (Okay so I did just that!)

We woke up nice and early on Thursday to spend the day at the park and make it up there not too late. Our goal was to do the whole park in one day. Well that was at least my goal since I wanted to spend the day wandering the village on Friday!!

The park was much smaller than we had expected it to be. We easily got almost all the park done and with the exception of one ride- went on everything we had wanted to. We even went on some rides twice.

When the park closed, it was time to rush to the hotel, change and run back out. There is a fireworks display every Thursday night. I could not wait to watch the lights over the lake. It sounded like a perfect night to me!!

My camera was not quite fully charged at that point so the pictures did not last through the show.

So that is one firework picture. I attempted taking more pictures with people in them but they came out bad enough I will not post them.

This is a road down the side of the lake. Next year I want to run here! I packed running gear but it was not happening. There was plenty of walking and such already and my knee was holding up but I felt running would be pushing it. I did sport sexy KT tape on it at the park and while working around town. (NOT a fan but will review later).

 

Welcome? From teddy bears who want to be stuffed and loved and taken home- sure thing!! The man vetoed me bringing one home with us though- so sad!

The BEST ice cream in the WORLD!!! It is called FlavorBurst. It is vanilla soft-serve and those pinkish-red stripes on the edge are bursts of flavor!! This one is red raspberry! Seriously? Why can this not come to NYC!!! NYC has everything else!!!

The boat is mad!!! He sees you!!!

Paddleboat that gives a tour of the lake ! I went on it years ago and loved it but did not do it this year.

Look at how clear the water is here!! It makes me want to just dive right in!!

Why yes, you can get a parking ticket for not putting money in the meter for your BOAT!! Seriously, how vacation-y is this?? I love it!

I love this view!!!

Please can I stay right here??!!!

 

This is a good little overview! I also had a great meal at the Moose Tooth Grill which I want to give it attention in its own post.

 

While we did get a lot for free this trip, it was nothing that was not widely available. It was nothing that I received as a tip/freebie/etc in exchange for these thoughts. The free admission to the park was open to all EMTs, fire-fighters, police officers etc.

Gorgeous Day!!

So I had work today and it involved five hours of being outside walking around the city! It was gorgeous today in NYC!

I have never spent any real time in Central Park. The last time I was in Central Park I believe was to see the Gates display. I think that was what it was called. The big orange curtain-like things that were installed in the park- does someone know what I am talking about??

Today I got to spend an hour walking around the park- it was gorgeous! I want to see so much more of it and just soak it all up!! That could make me wish I lived in Manhattan so I could get there more frequently. I am almost rather tempted to check online to see just how far I walked today- it would be nice to have an idea!

Something I learned- I did not eat properly or guess how much water I needed for the day correctly at all. I am so grateful that I keep Quaker bars in my bag- they were much needed today!! I think if I am working regularly I might want to keep Larabars or some home-made equivalent around! The day I moved in with the boyfriend all I had was breakfast before the heavy lifting started and it was only something small and light. Than I had a larabar a few hours into heavy lifting and moving and was shocked at how long it left me full for.

Also I have to admit- some NYers are really rather friendly!! Especially the ones I ran into giving out free gelato samples by the 72nd Street subway station today!!!

I wish I had brought my camera with me but I unfortunately did not which made me sad when I saw just how gorgeous the tiny sliver of the park is and how much the area I was in has changed from when I used to be there more often!

My (Brother’s) Ship Came In!!!

So my little brother has been off learning all about engines and working on a ship for his semester at sea! He has been gone for six weeks!! Well he came back on Saturday!!

The ship was due to come in and dock at 10am. I got to the school around 9am. My family had gotten there at 7am to stake out good seats! When I got there at 9am, people were bbq-ing and drinking up a storm! I thought it was a little early but appreciated the party atmosphere! Hard to be cranky in the morning when that is what is surrounding you (okay and when you have had two cups of coffee!).

I would love to get there earlier next year and celebrate- just thinking of grilled breakfast and getting excited! Grilled bacon and tomatoes- sign me up!!

Here are some pictures of the reason we were all there. Forgive the picture quality- a DSLR remains FAR, FAR out of my budget!

It was a wonderful time and it was so great to see my little brother!! He was so excited to be home he would not pose for pictures with us! He rushed us to the car and on to my parent’s house for homecooking! I am still waiting to see his pictures from his tour of Europe!!!