two days in new york.

the place i have wanted to visit, rather live since before i graduated high school. i equated the big apple with movie making and i always believed that i would become an academy award winning actress, returning home every so often via my personal limo where i would pass money out the window to childhood friends who couldn't wait to get a glimpse of the movie star (ahem, me) that once went to high school with them. i'm making myself sick just writing this, but i am being serious.

i've always loved dreaming big. this dream in particular led me to many acting courses and audition chasing in my late teens. i would often get lost on a street in miami, searching for my next 'break!' yes, i've been turned away many times, but i nabbed a few exciting jobs too, but i guess my shelf will remain bare where my oscar should sit.

i've even met a few famous people in the process...johnny depp, al pacino, and a few others. it was an exciting time of feast or famine and dream chasing. lots of ramen noodles and wound licking and i wouldn't trade those years for a single thing. i was constantly uncomfortable being outside of my box and if i were jennifer anniston right now i would tell you that those years molded the actress i was today, but i'm not. so, i will just say that i think we should all do something that makes uncomfortable sometimes, especially in the name of a dream. you'll be better for it.

some dreams come true and some don't, but having that dream, albeit self-centered and a just a tad unrealistic, tucked neatly away in the back of my mind as i made my way off the airplane onto NY ground, genuinely made my first trip to new york more special to me. like i had a special secret and the city was it.

when i saw the 'Welcome to New York" sign, my heart and excitement almost burst through me and i wanted to tell strangers around me that i finally made it here... to the place that many of my young dreams were built on.

people were everywhere. like everywhere. this city never sleeps and i find that to be charming in a city new to me. people were walking, working, running (with three bagels)! tourists are constantly roaming around, spending money and...looking up.

the buildings are impressive and fantastic.

so i grabbed my pumps and i headed out to find the treasures of the city i had only seen in movies. on my list:

1. see and eat a bagel in central park!

2. eat a hot dog from a corner vender (the important stuff usually involves food i guess)

3. see Trump Tower and Time's Square

4. go to FAO Schwartz for the kids.

5. stay up late.

6. sleep in.

7.(added later) don't get hit by a cab driver!

time's square was amazing and bright and full of life. it was candy for the eyes and i may have whiplash from swinging my head around at looking at everything. it's an amazing and vibrant place to be. i have many questions about this place though, like...

how in the world does someone change out those billboards? it is amazing and startling all at once. at one point i looked up and saw a HUGE like bigger than a couple of houses huge, photo of some girl in a bathing suit looking down at the crowd. (it was an abercrombie ad, i think)

i wondered how'd i feel feel if that was peyton's ass everyone would be staring up at. would it pride or hide? i'm leaning more towards tear-that-board down, but i can't say for sure.

i can only imagine how proud these young Gap and Hollister models were when they visited their digital billboard in the middle of Time's Square!

quickly learning street names and cab etiquette i pretended like i was a native new yorker throwing terms around such as Uptown, Downtown, Midtown! Take me there! "I'll meet you at 22 east 54th Street!" "i'll catch a cab!"

i guess i felt like carrie bradshaw without the vintage threads or donald trump without the limo and helicopter transportation, and cash, but i still worked it. hey, when in rome!

i walked in like i owned the place when in reality i was scared i was going to be thrown out for unglitzy garb.

i walked in. i saw it. it's nice and gold just like on tv.

five minutes after being dropped off at the wrong place no where near our hotel that nobody had ever heard of...i became fascinated with the street vendors selling...food. big surprise. i quickly spent 4 bucks on 10 candy coated almonds and vowed nothing had ever tasted better but i would never waste money like that again. a few vendors down i realized that i had been taken...over a bag of nuts. every other vendor was selling his 10 candy-coated nuts for $2.50. not cool.

walking the street with a constant waft of food floating around the air was...AWESOME! it may be a little excessive, i mean how many hot dogs can a new yorker eat in their lifetime, but they were on every corner leading me to believe that hot dogs must be a major food group in NY. well hot dogs and pretzels! i loved the coziness of it even though i never did get my dog. next time for sure.

surrounded by billowing skyscrapers that fill the sky and sizzling food carts that inhabit each corner, i am in awe of all this city has to offer. i think of how many people began their new lives here after going through ellis island. the bonds formed and family trees developed and succeeded.

and...will someone actually buy this? it is stunning.

the streets of manhattan had everything including a bride (i happened to stalk to get this photo).

we met some celebrities at madame tassauds wax museum...

peyton and becks, this is for you!

we packed a lot into our our little two day trip and when the sun started to set, we set out to a couple of well thought out restaurants with our friends and birthday girl, leslie!

this photo was hanging in the bathroom stall of the very dark restaurant we were eating at...needless to say it scared me so badly that i fell into one side of the stall walls. then, i started laughing and taking pictures (apparently) of the marie antoinette staring at me while i peed. freaked me out.

but the food was divine. it was amazing and i highly recommend it. the edamame dumplings...oh my goodness. heaven in my mouth!

not to mention a movie was filmed here: a scene from sex and the city movie. it was the stunning backdrop for carrie and big's wedding rehearsal dinner!

my best friend from high school met up with us to say hi! both of us used to dream together of living in the big apple, but she really did it and has lived there for twelve years!

then, we headed to see Wicked. one word: wicked. go see it. it was beyond fabulous! it was a treat to be able to go and see this show and the talent still amazes me 5 days later.

we ate well, but the closest i ever got to the statue of liberty was when i was on top of the Intrepid...

small but still as proud as ever!

note to photogs:

*a wide angle lens would work awesome here (mine is in the shop-boo).

*walking/running while snapping pics is fun, but dangerous. i think cab drivers like it when we watch where they are going instead of pedestrian (me) running blindly in the street to get a photo of a bride...i didn't even know.

*photos taken by strangers may be blurry, but they seem to be the best of the bunch and i love them.

just a hunch though:)

new york, new york, until we meet again...

xo

giveaway next post! to celebrate three years blogging!

eat that ugly frog first!

i'm in the weeds...again! i know it's pretty bad when i get a phone call from my sister...

"hey, you ever going to post again. i have been checking everyday at work and ...nothing! what is up? get on it. i need new pics of the kids." and usually for good measure she'll throw in, "but no pressure, i know you're busy!"

(my words are all smooshing together. maybe a blogger glitch. sorry about it.)

i used to dread those calls because when i am behind in posting our family memories, it weighs on my mind like barrel of bricks. of course, as the days pass...the barrel gets heavier. a heavy barrel is rarely a sign.

truth is, i love writing here. LOVE. IT. but another equally honest nugget of truth...i overwhelm myself with stuff to do and then instead of working harder to get things done, i spin my wheels doing unimportant projects or smaller tasks that can probably wait until after i 'eat the ugly frog.' why would i eat a frog, you ask?

“If you eat a frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you do all day.” – Mark Twain

my husband shared this 'frog' thing with me after he returned home from a rejuvenation weekend in New York. an all-expense paid trip in which some large company with more money than they know what to do with, pumps inspiring stories and ideas into the young minds of the young professionals of today and tomorrow hoping to make them the best that they can be. it's very touching.

they are the trips that don't happen often, but when they do, i feel jealous and have been known to fall to the floor, stomp my feet and to wail about how unfair it is that his job offers him free training and the time to better his professional self; they are taken out for beautiful surf and turf dinners in some beautiful hotel i'll probably never visit and they get to visit old towns in new york where the church bells sing throughout the day injecting it's song, history, and faith into the dullest of financial gatherings.

i think moms should get these kinds of "Perk You Up" gatherings. it should be mandatory!

Rejuvination for the Tired Mama or Super Chic Domestic Goddess Conventions aimed at healing our bodies and revitalizing our minds so that we can be better mothers, daughters, and people in general. let's face it, in the beginning years of babyhood and new mama hood, and all the new 'hoods' that come with being a new parent...life can be a bitch.

being in love with one's baby for the first time is vulnerable, beautiful, scary, amazing, surreal,...it's life changing in a way that is...

sublime.

which is why most of us don't mind looking like soggy cheerios for the first few weeks of new baby's life because we are in survival mode...the mode where we learn about how much our body can take and it's also when the concept of a full night of sleep changes and becomes a distant memory. it's a time that we celebrate REM sleep by calling our mothers and best friends and sharing the good news, "i feel like a new person. i slept for four hours straight last night!"

we need mandatory sleep seminars.

unfortunately, i'm out of that phase in my life for now. my kids sleep throughout the night and although i find this tidbit of reality comforting, i sometimes long for the sleepless nights of nursing and diaper changing. i realize that this only because i am out of that challenging phase. if i were knee deep in mustard seed poop and lanolin creams...i'd be singing a little bit of a different tune i'm sure :)

back to the frog...

to eat the frog means to do the task that has been causing the most procrastination first, and then all of the other things on your to do list won't seem that bad or daunting.

i love this quote.

brian tracy also says, "that if you have two frogs, eat the uglier one first. that way the second one won't seem quite as bad. translated into procrastinating things, this means do your hardest task first, the one you have been putting off the longest, and then the other task will not seem as bad!"

in my case, my ugly frog is a huge photo shoot that needs editing. i keep completing smaller shoots but the large one. in turn, i let everything else go, namely my blog.

procrastination has positive side for the kids...

*i blew up about 1000 (not really) water balloons today so the kids could have a water ballon fight.

* i shopped online for some wall art,

*and i cleaned out a closet.

booyah. it's not all bad! i'll eat my frog first thing in the morning though...my ugliest one and it's going to be finger lickin' good!

i have a bazillion photos from a trip to the keys, but for this weekend, i leave you with some singin in the rain pics!

by monday, i will have eaten another frog and vow to have another post up with a brand new recipe for mahi mahi! sooooo good. amazing good!

rain, rain go away...

***

and when the rain stops...

thank you to our babysitter, sarah for these photos!

i marinated this shrimp in a ziploc bag of...

2 tblspoon of olive oil, fresh squeezed lime juice, kosher salt, pepper, minced garlic. 30 minutes or more in fridge. grill over med heat! a few min each side! squeeze more lime at end.

spring green mix of lettuces you like, a dressing of lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper. dice fresh mango and throw over greens. top with crumbled bleu cheese.

devine! and healthy!

happy almost summer, now go and eat the ugliest frog you can find and enjoy the rest of your day with watermelon and happy tunes!

xoxoxox