Meredith

A New Year and A New Look

2009-12-29T21:19:00.004-05:00

It was time to change the appearance of this here little bloggie poo for the new year. It's hard to believe she'll be five years old in 2010!
What does one do on such a painfully cold and windy day while on vacation? Why clean, purge, and organize, of course! It was a joy to stay in my pajamas all day and clean out under the kitchen sink - a rather large and scary space that needed a lot of help. Glad that's done.
One of my Christmas presents was a couples cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education. Pete and I selected the class we want to attend: The Great New York Steakhouse. The class isn't until February but I simply cannot wait! Here's what we'll be making: Classic Shrimp Cocktail, Clams Casino, Grilled New York Strip with Beurre Maitre d', Filet Mignon au Poivre with Cognac-Cream Sauce (my mouth is watering on THAT one), Grilled Center-Cut Pork Chops with Bourbon-Mustard Glaze, Caesar Salad, Leaf Spinach with Cream Sauce, Whipped Truffled Potatoes, and Almond Bread Pudding with Brandy Sauce.

We braved the cold - brrrrrrrrrrrrrr- to get a bite to eat.

Baby it's cold outside! I'm so glad my brother-in-law got me a Snuggie!!!!!!! I laugh hysterically every time I slip into this bad boy.

It's Christmas Time in the City

2009-12-28T21:10:00.004-05:00

It feels so good to be on vacation - not a care in the world and lots of relaxation. I was so excited for Christmas this year - almost as excited as when I was a child ~ I couldn't sleep! (Rather, I did not fall asleep the instant my head hit the pillow - an impressive talent of mine.) Santa has been good to me this year - and I don't mean in a materialistic, acquisition-of-things manner. This holiday time has been a celebration of family, friends, and all things feeling good.

Thanks for the beautiful profile mom and dad!

2009-09-29T23:28:00.004-04:00

It's incredible how something so small can make such a big difference. It's amazing how others know EXACTLY what you need.
It was after hours at work and I was busy on the computer. A coworker, whom I adore, passed by the door, stopped dead in her tracks, looked at me with her artist's eye, and then declared, "Beautiful profile!"
A genuine thank you poured from my lips along with, "Wow! I really needed that!"
Who knew?!
I just love it when someone makes me think differently about something.

Feast or Famine

2009-09-02T21:41:00.002-04:00

Summertime is like a feast of taking great care of myself. Great food, gettin' shit DONE, plenty of dance classes, and yoga in between. Summertime is a feast of time with my husband - delicious and oh so yummy!
Back to work and back to school are like a famine: A lack of time, a shortage of quality self care, and a disaster of trying to juggle it all.
I love my husband.
I love my job.
I love learning.
But why can't all 3 live in harmony?

The Teachers We Trained

2009-08-23T20:46:00.005-04:00

Before I share more about the teacher training program we facilitated in South Africa, I think I'll share with you a little bit about the teachers and the population they have to work with. The majority of them have 15 plus years experience teaching in the schools - some 30 plus years! Keep in mind that they are from and educated in an apartheid society. They then taught for years prior to the end of apartheid. We trained and worked with the literacy group. Most English teachers have about five classes with 50 - 60 students - approximately 300 papers and tests to correct and grade. I'm not sure they give feedback. I think they just grade and you get what you get. These 9th - 12th grade students do not speak English as their first language. Most students speak either Afrikaans or Xhosa at home and were educated in their home language up to grade seven. At that point the curriculum switches to English - cold turkey. The fact that I found most disconcerting was that these English teachers are teaching Shakespeare to grades 9 - 12. Isn't Shakespearean English yet another language?! Teachers complained of 10th grade students having a 3rd grade reading level but did not know whether or not these students were literate on grade level in their home/first language. Another bothersome fact is that no one could answer my questions, "What is a future vision for some of the students?" "What are the goals of the students?" "What do the students hope to achieve?" The only vision for the future I heard was in a first grade, Xhosa (black township), classroom. Our guide told the students, "Stay in school so you can have one of these (a cell phone)."

One of the most profound activities we had the teachers complete was an "I Am From" poem. Please peek into their lives, not as a voyeur, but as one who cares for other human beings and is thankful for our lives here in the United States.

For some reason, I can't seem to format the poems how they were written so I just put periods in where the writer went to the next line. I used their spellings and their language and put my translation in parenthesis.

I am from the era of 1985. Tear gas, batons, hippos (an enormous army tank). The order of the day. You deny me the right to teach. You deny me the right to express myself BUT you will never quell the passion within me to teach. Learning and teaching might seem so simple. yet I am concerned about living and dying. You robbed me of my innocence the day you shot my classmate You stole my zest to learn the day you said, “The doors of learning are closed.” I am from the era 1985. - Hemmie Govender

I am from a wonderful family. I am from a family full of love. I am from a family of unity. I am from a family who knows of poverty. I am from a family used to sharing. I am from a family who knows what loveliness is. I am from a community that is ravaged by death, crime, and pain. I am from a community that strives to survive. I am from the best! By Jean Mfunda

I am From. Known as the ghetto. Feared by many. Surrounded by shacks. I am from the township. We cannot think. We cannot write. We cannot build. We cannot create. I am from the disadvantaged. We drink. We use drugs. We rape. We murder. I am from Mitchell’s Plain. We can love. We can pray. We can hope. We can dream. I am from God. - Lynn Damons

I am from a place unknown. A place without a name. Where secrets lurk. promises broken. A place without a name. The alleys dark. Where pain unfolds. A place of broken dreams. Sunlight shattered. A place with only shame. I am from a place unknown. Dark clouds. Cold days. A place where lightning strikes. And thunder shatters dreams. I am from a place unknown.

I am from a town of dusty roads and potholes. I am from a place where poverty dwells. I am from no dreams and no aspirations. I am from a place where efforts are in vain. I am from pain and suffering and gnashing of teeth. I am from no sunny days but rain. I am from breaking through barriers of red tape. I am from making it against all odds. I am from free from condemnation and shame. I am where I am today. I am a king on the hilltops of fame. Living my dream away from all shame. I am Glenda Ann September rising again and again.

I am from Cape Town City. The number one place. I am from the sea, the mountains and the rivers. I am at peace here. I am from a family of love and sharing and caring. I am a teacher, a father, a husband. I am from curry, rooti and rice. I am from English, Afrikaans and Arabic. I am Abdul Aleem Sparks.

I am from the womb of woman. I am the product of many women. Therefore I am flexible like the cat who always lands on her feet. I am the product of my society. I have suffered and conquered the slings and arrows of many both close and distant. I am from a family who are many and varied. Emotional and cold, passionate and detached. All of this has made an impact on me. And all of this has made me who I am. - Cheryl Charmaine Stevens/Fisher/Bolters

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe "The Smoke That Thunders"

2009-08-21T19:54:00.004-04:00

I had posted earlier that I would share a bit about what a mess the country of Zimbabwe is...Honestly, I don't know much about the country because all along I knew that I would only be spending one night there in preparation of seeing Vic Falls. "Just passing through" if you will. We had already spent 2 weeks in South Africa touring, completing our teacher training, and well, me, getting sick. (I rarely get sick! What happened to me??!!) I was really looking forward to a more "African" experience. South Africa is so unique and although it's part of the continent, it did not feel like what I had expected Africa to feel like. I know there are many cultures and many countries with varying histories on the continent but South Africa should be put up in the Mediterranean somewhere.
Back to Zimbabwe: We flew from Johannesburg, South Africa into Zimbabwe and then drove from Zimbabwe to the border of Botswana. Chobe National Park in Botswana is where we spent three days observing all of the African safari animals - amazing! On our drive from Zimbabwe into Botswana one could feel how depressing and desperate things are in Zimbabwe. At this moment the country has no currency. They are using US Dollars and South African Rand as their currency so the banks are closed and the ATM machines don't work. There is no petrol (gas) and all petrol stations are desolate. After our three days in Botswana we drove back into Zimbabwe and stayed over night to see Victoria Falls. There was no one, and I mean no one, at the hotel while we ate lunch. There were plenty of workers fighting to help us with our bags in hopes of US dollar tips - so desperate. As you know, I've traveled before and I'm used to being treated as a "walking dollar sign" in, for example, Ecuador, Honduras, and Mexico, but the desperation of Zimbabweans was different. The hotel we stayed in couldn't process credit cards because the systems were not formatted to US dollars. The Internet was not working for the hotel rooms or at the front desk. The night I stayed in Zimbabwe I ate crocodile and warthog, which was delicious, but I got sooooo sick that night - I've come to learn that I did not get sick from the food but from the antibiotics I took while in South Africa! (Public service message: I got very sick from taking antibiotics. Go easy on the antibiotics folks. Try not to eat animals treated with antibiotics.) I was told that Zimbabwe is hemorrhaging residents into South Africa - that's part of the problem with the "black" townships in South Africa - they are filled with illegal immigrants. Wow - to think that living in the slums of South Africa is a better life than living in Zimbabwe. While in South Africa we talked to a taxi driver who was an engineer in Zimbabwe. He left his country because there are less and less freedoms there - the police just harass you for no reason, make threats, or worse. Zimbabwe's (formerly Rhodesia) president, Robert Mugabe, revised the country's constitution to keep himself president. Although there was an election in March of 2008 Mugabe hasn't conceded his position and now shares leadership with Tsvangirai. The country suffers from a mismanaged economy and hyperinflation. While I was there I saw 5,000,000,000. notes/bills (Zimbabwean dollars)! Zimbabwe also suffers from atrocious human rights violations. I saw online (Wikipedia) that in November, 2008, the government of Zimbabwe spent $7.3 million donated by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria on something other than what was intended. Who knew that such a short time in a place like Zimbabwe would have such an impact on me.
On a lighter note, we took a helicopter tour of the falls. It was my first time on a helicopter and it was SO much fun! During the ride I kept thinking, "Wow, I really want to learn how to fly one of these things!" I have no clue where that emotion is coming from...

Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Botswana

2009-08-20T15:53:00.003-04:00

Enjoy! I think my favorite animal encounters were the lioness with her two cubs and the herd of elephants. The hyena was pretty cool too but much better on video than in photos.

Some Cape Town Photos

2009-08-20T11:30:00.004-04:00

When I made this slide show, I accidentally made it accompanied by a song. Please just turn the song off - it does not go with the photos at all. There's so much more to say about each photo than the small caption I was allowed.
When going through the photos I remember how incredible it was to change the thinking of the teachers we trained. I thought watching "light bulb" moments with little first and second grade children was the greatest thing in the world - well, when you alter an adult's way of thinking it just changes something inside of you. In reality, I was there to guide and train them but I suspect I learned more from them then they learned from me. How is it that adults can say and do something utterly charming just the same as my little 6, 7, and 8 year-old cuties?
Please notice the difference between Camps Bay - a white neighborhood, the "colored" township, and the "black" township.
Please notice the difference between public and private schools - one looks like jail and the other looks like a resort.
Also, keep in mind that it's winter in the southern hemisphere and there is no central heating in most of the buildings/schools I spent time in (even the private school). Students stay in their winter gear throughout class.
The language, Xhosa, is pronounced "Cosa" (in English) but really the /X/ is a click sound. Xhosa is Nelson Mandela's home language and it has a beautiful sing-songy sound to it - it was lovely to listen to.

2009-08-19T11:01:00.002-04:00

Okay...I think I've ironed out the kinks with this here bloggie-poo...For those of you who couldn't log on, I've just opened up to everyone. Yes, that leaves me feeling very vulnerable but I can always go back to invitation only. I've put the "comment" section up. I did not realize that it simply didn't exist. I had received strange comments from "anonymous" before and it was a little creepy so the changes I made to "comments" were too drastic. For some time I had no interest in writing but recently I wake first thing with something to say; something to write. I still have so much more to share about my trip to Africa!
It's hot, hot, hot in the city and as much as I LOVE New York City I still believe no one should live here in the summer. Wait, why haven't I bought that beach house yet?!
Yesterday I spent the day by Jenny's pool like a pretty little princess and got some much needed sun. Ahhhhhh - Summer time! (OUTSIDE of the city, of course!)

20 Year High School Reunion

2009-08-17T17:24:00.002-04:00

Gallena Babes convinced me to go to my reunion. I'm happy I got to see some very important people from my past. I got to chat with my elementary school friends, my middle school friends, and my high school friends. The best was catching up with my life time friends! :)

Freedom

2009-08-17T15:53:00.007-04:00

Momma lioness trying to cross the road with her two cubs. She's a whole lotta lady - very healthy!

Here begins a herd of elephants returning from a drink along the river. Herds include only females and their young.

Here you see the herd pass right by our jeep. I cried because I was overwhelmed with both excitement and fear.

I've been asked, "What was the BEST part of Africa?" When I was THERE the best part was experiencing the animals in their natural habitat. I was fortunate enough to see lions, elephants, hippos (not too close - dangerous!), giraffes, crocodiles, jackals, hyenas, vultures, storks, zebras, cape buffaloes, kudus, impalas, monkeys, warthogs, and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone...

But now that I'm home, I think the best part of my African experience was my new found appreciation for freedom; for being free.

What does "free" mean?
According to Thesaurus.com, "free" is an adjective. It means unrestrained personally.
The synonyms are: able, allowed, at large, at liberty, casual, clear, disengaged, easy, escaped, familiar, fancy-free, footloose, forward, frank, free-spirited, free-wheeling, independent, informal, lax, liberal, liberated, loose, off the hook, on one's own, on the loose, open, permitted, relaxed, unattached, uncommitted, unconfined, unconstrained, unengaged, unfettered, unhampered, unimpeded, unobstructed, unregulated, unrestricted, untrammeled

Antonyms are: bound, confined, hindered, limited, restrained

With the exception of my short time in Botswana, I never really felt free or felt that the locals felt free. Where you shopped, stayed, or visited was dependent upon your identity. Identity is dependent upon the color of your skin, eyes, and the texture of your hair. I felt the painful suffering of those in South Africa and Zimbabwe who don't get to feel the wonderful feeling one has when living in the U.S. and that's FREEDOM.

From Zimbabwe to Botswana

2009-08-12T02:14:00.006-04:00

We flew from Johannesburg, South Africa to Zimbabwe and then drove from Zimbabwe to Botswana. Zimbabwe is a mess and I'll post more about that later. Botswana has their act together and you feel it. It was lovely there. I felt very safe and comfortable. I'd highly recommend and I'd go back there in a heart beat!

Botswana provides beef to Europe so they work really hard to make sure that we don't bring in "foot and mouth" disease. The country of Botswana is divided into different zones when dealing with their cattle farming. The "zone" we were in might farm cattle but they wouldn't ship it outside of the country. When walking across the border, we had to sterilize our shoes in case we brought in any "foot and mouth" disease.

Here I am cleaning my shoes making sure I don't bring in the foot and mouth disease. What about the shoes in my bag?

The sign on the right says: Botswana has ZERO tolerance for corruption. Very fitting coming from Zimbabwe.

Here we are walking across the border from Zimbabwe to Botswana.

I'm home!

2009-08-12T01:48:00.004-04:00

Great news - I'm home! I was very happy to be back on U.S. soil. Spending time if Africa really made me realize what it means to be "free". We really are "free" here folks and the "American dream" exists. Yes, you know it when you are here but you FEEL it when you are in Africa.
I'm happy to be home and have so many blog posts to catch up on - I can't wait to share all of the animals I saw! I also can't wait to process all that I experienced...
Upon my return home, I suffered from something nasty in my gut - ugh! I finally got the meds needed to clear up my sick gut and now I can focus on getting back into a proper eating and sleeping schedule. Also, I need to wrap my brain around all that I experienced!

So, I left off with a description of what the homes are like in Johannesburg. Here are some more photos.
Most homes have a wall like the one in this photo PLUS an electric fence on top PLUS barbed wire on top of the electric fence. Behind the gate might be an armed guard and/or a very hungry dog.

Here you see the barbed wire on top of the fence and wall.

Could you live like this? So much fear.

How is Africa?

2009-08-03T14:23:00.003-04:00

This photo may explain a bit about things are in South Africa. This place is so complex, confusing, and confused.
What is the culture? Settled and influenced by Dutch then switched to Brittish rule. European culture?
Slaves were brought from all over Asia (India is part of Asia). Asian culture?
The natives are black. African culture? Nope bc there were forced to live in the slums so there were stripped of all opportunity to have a culture or be a culture or cultivate a culture.
Driving through Jo-burg in the wealthy areas of town was probably the most unique type of living I've every witnessed. The homes are built surrounded by a fortress wall. The wall is then covered with ADT signs. On top of the wall there are electric fences. On top of those electric fences are barbed wire. Wealthy families have private armed guards and guard dogs. There are private patrol trucks that drive through the community. Roads are gated and locked so you cannot drive through them. Everyone is bunkered down so as to not be robbed. It's just the worst feeling.
This particular photos is of the old mining bunkers that were built for those working in the gold mines. There are 5 cement slabs in each room where the workers slept. Of course the workers were men who left their families to make money. Women were brought in to satisfy the men. Those women had AIDS. Vicious cycle. Currently, those old mining bunkers are apartments in the Soweto township. Mandela and Bishop Tutu, two Nobel prize winners, resided in Soweto township.

That green fence has 3 razor blade spikes on top. Most homes are surrounded by this fence along with a fortress style wall.

HIV/AIDS Orphanage

2009-08-03T14:01:00.003-04:00

This is me, Jelecia, and Holly at an HIV/AIS orphanage in Johannesburg, South Africa. The little guy on my lap dressed in blue, Moses, was buried alive. Yes, you read that correctly. His mother was so desperate that she buried him alive. Buried him. They are not sure of his birth date and they are guessing he is about 3 - 4 months old. The other little guy on my lap dressed in red, is Simbusisu "Simbu". He's 8 months and later on in the day he feel asleep on my chest. Jelecia is holding the only girl in the group of 6 children at this orphanage. Holly is holding baby Peter.

This little guy is the only one with HIV. Because he is HIV positive, no one wants to adopt him. :( He just started the HIV meds and he is doing well. His life expectancy is age 20. He was very sweet!

As you can see from the photos, this orphanage, Baby Haven, is quite lovely and very loving. In the first photo, if you look very carefully, you can see a woman, Joanna, in the kitchen. She is the orphans mother and both she and the babies call her "mommy". They take in abandoned and orphaned babies in the Johannesburg area, of course many due to HIV/AIDS. There they wait for a "forever family". It is VERY difficult or nearly impossible to adopt if you are not a resident of South Africa due to child/human trafficing and child pornography problems in the world. (Maybe you hear of Madonna's troubles adopting a child from Africa?)

Johannesburg

2009-08-02T14:12:00.002-04:00

I'm in Johannesburg. Jo-burg as it's commonly known. It's a MUCH bigger city compared to Cape Town and it has a more "African" feel. I'll have to get back to you on exactly what I mean by that. I'm feeling as if I like Jo-burg a bit better because it reminds me of New York (big city) and it has energy! I like the energy here. It's winter here so the physical beauty (trees, landscape) is non-existent compared to Cape Town. Any land you see in the distance if not covered with homes looks like the dump and it is since this town was founded when gold was found. Due to new mining techniques, they're currently "re-mining" the land in order to scrape out every bit of gold. For every 50 tons of land/dirt they "re-mine" they get a gram of gold. The architecture is lovely and again, same as Cape Town, there are "townships" (ghettos, slums, shanty towns however you want to describe) as far as the eye can see. We were told 5 million people live in Soweto (South West Township). About 8 million live in NYC geez! I'm trying to imagine what most of NYC would be like if everyone were jobless and poor. We did a short walking tour to see just how poor the conditions are in the worst part of Soweto. Why is it that nothing is surprising me? Eleven year old girl carries her baby brother on her back. Five year old girl dressed in cotton capris, a long sleeved t-shirt and sandals; holds my hand as we walk along, shivering. (Did I tell you it's winter here?! They forecast called for snow yesterday. It would have been the first time in 1986.) And yet, I'm completely unfazed. Please don't think I'm not caring. Maybe I'm numb. But maybe, as the tour guide described it, the people who live there don't think about how bad they have it. They just live the best that they can. Although our guide told us taking pictures is allowed, our guts wouldn't let us do it. We did take a photo with all of the children that followed us around. It's on Jelecia's camera and I'll try to load it up and get it on here. One boy tried to share a sad story with Jelecia and then proceeded to beg for money. The guide warned us NOT to give the children money because then they won't go to school the next day. They'll stay on the streets (dirt path) and beg any tourists who come by for money. Well, I'm sure with time and space I'll be able to better wrap my head around all of this. For now it's just go, go, go, go and see the next museum, Bishop Tutu's house, Mandela's house, the Apartheid Museum, the US Embassy (that's a maybe right now) and then we're off to Botswana in two days!!!! Safari animals and 90 degree weather here I come!!!!!
Update on my health...
I'm feeling MUCH better! (Scarlet Fever - rash and step throat) The worst part, honestly, was the upset tummy from the penicillin. (No pain just UNPLEASANT!) I'm still on the penicillin and just started my malaria pills. I'm trying to juggle when I'm taking everything so as not to interrupt effectiveness. My rashy spots are getting a bit itchy but manageable.

Baboons

2009-07-29T16:19:00.002-04:00

Around Cape Point (where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet) live baboons. Here are the ladies and their babies - so cute!

Workin' hard

2009-07-29T14:51:00.005-04:00

Aaahhhhhh! So far away! I miss New York (but not the humidity)!!!! This sign is at Cape Point - where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet.

We're midway through the teacher training program and overall I feel like it's going well. The teachers are terribly fed up and frustrated with the public school system, the outcome based education (test scores determine all), and the poor motivation and abilities of their learners. Not to mention the administration being no help at all. Some teachers have 4 - 6 classes of 40 - 60 students! That's about 200 - 300 papers and/or tests to grade and give feedback!
The students speak either Afrikaans or Xhosa ("Cosa" in English but if you know how to make the "click" sound that's how the /xh/ really sounds. Mandela's home langugage/native tongue.) and are required to learn English in school. The crazy thing is that schools will teach the home language up to grade 7 and then switch to English! Teachers teaching grades 8 - 12 are frustrated because the learners don't know English.
We've been working with them and modeling some great ideas for them and having them work in groups. They are starting to feel empowered to change their thinking (to more positive) and hopefully to take one or two ideas and instill some change in their teaching and the classroom. From there we hope they can work toward training their peers.
It's all very exciting but at this very moment I'm terribly exhausted. I'm sure I'll be able to better realize the teachers' impact on me and my impact on them with some time and distance. Which brings me to homesickness...
I am incredibly homesick this trip. I've traveled on my own and been away from home for much longer lengths of time but this trip is really taxing me. I'm certain it's all of the emotional and mental energy needed to deal with the teachers and the training so I'm very much looking forward to getting to Botswana where I can relax and spend some time with the elephants.
One thing that is making me feel at home is our pigeon momma who is nesting her eggs on our deck. For being a New Yorker, I have never seen a pigeon nest, pigeon eggs, or baby pigeons. For some strange reason, I've heard people talk about there never being baby pigeons. Anyway, coming "home" to our hotel room and our momma pigeon is a little like having a pet to come home to. I've tried to upload the momma pigeon photo but it's not working - I suppose if you've seen one pigeon you've seen 'em all...

The pigeon eggs. (The photos is turned to the side.)

The African Penguin

2009-07-27T16:04:00.007-04:00

The African penguin is known as the Jackass Penguin. They aren't shy at all but it's best if you stay still when they go by so as not to frighten them or get snapped by their beak. So cute!

Here comes a penguin...

A momma and her baby.

Springbok

2009-07-27T15:23:00.005-04:00

One of my new very favorite things are my springbok shoes!! They are so "me" and so perfect. Jelecia says they look just like dead guinea pigs on my feet and although I rather agree, they make me feel so fabulous. Coming soon to a town near you.

Since I'm taking the lives of all of these springboks for my vanity, I may as well eat some too. While in wine country, Franschhoek (means French corner in Afrikaans), we ate some very fine food and drank even more fine wine. I enjoyed springbok shank and tried my table mates eland - they are all the deer like creatures popular in Africa. Not gamey one bit. Delish!

Me at sunset on the winery.

The pastoral landscape.

My delicious springbok shank.

The view from our table - breathtaking.

What exactly is this place like anyway?

2009-07-26T16:17:00.007-04:00

Of course this looks NOTHING like where I'm staying. So far we've only driven by or through the townships. Tomorrow we will take a tour.

This is what Khayleitsha Township looks like.

Township - as far as the eye can see

Okay, I should be preparing for tomorrow because we have to present and facilitate for a full day workshop tomorrow but I'm busy blowing that off because I'm interested in writing...
Cape Town, South Africa:
This city is quite possibly one of the most physically beautiful places I've ever been to on Earth. The beaches are exquisite, pristine, and huge ('cept they have great whites - yikes!). The mountains are majestic, powerful, and seem to almost hug and protect the city. The wine, wineries, and pastoral landscape is an escape from reality. The colors, architecture, history, plants and vegetation are very unique but the people - the people - the people are so displaced, disparaged, raped of any and all identity that might put them in respectable social standing. It leaves one feeling confused, unsafe, guilty, and well kinda like it would be better to behave like an ostrich and just put my head in the sand, ignore what's around me, stay in the lovely white neighborhoods, and act like nothing is wrong with this place.

The people are extremely friendly, warm, chatty (as a matter of fact they don't shut the hell up - but it's charming), and proud of how beautiful their city and country is. BUT and there is a really big BUT - The contrast between the haves and have nots is so significant that it is down right depressing. The problem is not so much that there are people who are poor and under privileged and jobless and illegal immigrants and don't speak the language and live in a shack; it's that there is no hope, no vision, no plan, no aspiration, no leaders in those aforementioned communities, no guidance, and no hope and no where to go. The people just don't know what to do. Whites just keep living their nice privileged lives probably trying not to feel guilty and also scared of loosing their nice life. Blacks, well, blacks just don't exist. They are around but you don't see them doing any of the things we've been doing. I guess they just stay in the townships (shack after shack after shack as far as the eye can see - one township has about 1 million people - but I could be wrong) Then there is this HUGE group called the coloreds. They were a little bit privileged before apartheid and they currently hold most of the jobs from what I've seen but they don't know about the potential and the power they could have if they worked together (my opinion). They feel ignored, forgotten about, and like they lost that nice social status they had during apartheid.
This is my opinion and perception so far. Let's hope it evolves.

I pet a cheetah!!!!

2009-07-26T14:24:00.003-04:00

I love cats and have always loved cats! I probably like animals more than humans...
Today I got to pet baby cheetah cubs! They are 11 month old males whose names are Peter and Pedro - how funny is that? I cried when I pet them I was so overwhelmed with excitement. They were very peaceful and they purred - the EXACT same as a house cat only MUCH bigger. Petting a cheetah is the same as petting my cat, Hallie - she's kinda wild herself - we always have to pet her from behind and don't touch certain areas. Enjoy!!!!!!

I'm in South Africa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-22T17:43:00.003-04:00

I have arrived safely and I'm so thankful for that! Well, it sure was a looooooong flight and I would be VERY happy to complain all about it but our guides, Holly and Ben, had the suckiest experience EVER. The missed 3 flights trying to get here, had to purchase (again) a plane ticket that they had already purchased, and the worst of all - their luggage STILL has not arrived! :(

I'm adjusting well and not suffering from any debilitating jet lag. (Yet. I'm told.) The hotel we are in is located near the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, which is a fancy shopping mall for tourists. The water front is very industrial but colorful. The weather is ever changing. We've had all four seasons in one day! We had sunny, windy, rainy, cold, and hot all in half a day.

Today we visited Robben Island. Nelson Mandela spent years of his imprisonment on Robben Island. It's about a 30 minute boat ride from the mainland in rough waters. Ours was the first tour in 13 days - the winter weather is ever changing in Cape Town and the seas can be so rough! Our guide gave us one of the BEST tours I've ever experienced. We were a bus load of approximately 45 people/tourists from all over the world: Australia, Italy, England, Ireland, Gambia, Nigeria, Belgium, and U.S.A. Well, our tour guide knew how each and every country either supported or didn't support those who were persecuted in South Africa. I have to say that the guide said wonderful things about the United States of America and I was so proud! Yes, we got to see Mandela's jail cell and it was SMALL! There was a bucket, a wool mat, and a food bowl and nothing else - no toilet, no bunk, no shelves - nothing. I think one of the things that impacted me the most was a story Mandela shared (told by our guide). Upon one of the 14 return trips Mandela made while a free man, the tour guides shared bits about the lives of the guards that lived on the other side of the island. There was a church the guards and the guards' family members attended and each time a baby was born they would hoist a pink flag for the girls and a blue flag for the boys. Mandela shared the most painful thing to experience while imprisoned not being able to see or hear children for ten years. Of course he missed his own children but not hearing the play, laughter, and din that children make was so depressing. Tear jerker. Sigh.
Robben Island is beautiful and it's hard to believe that people would choose to use such a beautiful piece of land for prisoners and a leper colony. Now, it is a UN World Heritage Site so no one is going to plop a spectacular resort on the island. It is home to 129 species of birds, rabbits, feral cats, and African penguins. The Australians brought the rabbits for food - sailors could stock up on some meat - and now the island is over run with the same type of bunnies that hop through my parent's yard. They also brought eucalyptus trees which quickly drop their seeds and grow more eucalyptus trees and then proceed to drink up all of the fresh water on the island. The few people who live on the island have to pay a tremendous amount of money for water.
On the boat ride from Robben Island to the mainland, we not only spotted a rainbow but two whales! The whales were camera shy and quick about their surface time but I was really excited - my first time seeing a whale!!! (The one was so quick and didn't show us much that I swore it was a dolphin.)

Food!!!!
There is tons of seafood here and I got me some oysters from Namibia. Wow! So fresh and creamy like Pacific Coast oysters. I had a seafood potjie (a cast iron pot full of seafood) but didn't like it much because it was heavy on the curry sauce. Why cover up the amazing taste of fresh seafood with the strong curry spices? The hotel we are in is hallal so no pork products but they sure do manage to fix up an amazing breakfast! I had an egg over easy (orange yolk!), beef macon (bacon?), beef sausage, thai noodles (Malaysian influence), fried tomato (England), coffee with warm full cream milk.

Language
South Africans speak many languages - there are 11 official ones. Most speak English that is accented similarly to, in my opinion, an Australian English more so than a British English. They speak slowly but my brain is still on a time delay translating.

robots = traffic lights

Identity

2009-07-06T23:13:00.002-04:00

Woman
White
Able-bodied
Heterosexual, married
American
College educated

How you see (identify) yourself and how others see (identify) you can be very different. One's identity can change due to where in the world you are, who you are hanging out with, and whether or not you are at work or in your home. Some identities are very difficult to deny or change (gender) but, alas, some DO indeed manage to change this. Discussing socio-economic class identity is still very taboo and gauche but I'm going to guess that most people would like to identify themselves as "middle class". That's a very safe identity group to be a part of, right? (Maybe not with all that's going on in today's economy but that's a different blog entry.)

Apartheid - means separateness in Afrikaans (Afrikaans is the language spoken in South Africa it's from the Dutch speaking settlers.) Apartheid was the system of legal racial segregation in South Africa from the late 1940's - 1990. Members of South African society were classified into racial groups: black, white, colored, and Indian. Blacks were deprived of their citizenship. The government provided separate education, medical care, and services - all of which were inferior to what whites received.

Well, I learned that while I am in South Africa, I may be considered, "colored" because my eyes are not blue and my hair is brown and curly. Very interesting! I'm eager to see how my identity changes due to my coordinates on the map.

What I love most is how I identify myself on the inside. With age comes wisdom. My core identity is always blossoming and evolving. I am grateful that I have the support, peace, and love in my life to allow for this ever changing internal identity process to occur; no matter what one sees (identifies me as) on the outside.

When am I leaving? Where am I going? What am I doing? Why am I going?

2009-07-02T23:48:00.004-04:00

I feel so old fashioned writing a blog since most people are down to a Twitter or a Status on Facebook but I figured since I'm going to Africa, it would be nice to write more than a couple of characters - it IS a really big continent, ya know?
I leave July 20th and return August 9th. Jelecia, my coworker and friend, and I will fly New York to Atlanta and then across a very wide Atlantic Ocean to Cape Town, South Africa. We will be facilitating a teacher training program for public school teachers in Cape Town. Our main focus is literacy. Some days my confidence is with me and other days I am like totally freaking out!
The woman we are going with, Holly, has been taking groups from Northeastern University for years. She has been teaching us and trying to prep us for this endeavor. Here's something I learned that is sticking with me and is, quite frankly, overwhelming me...
This is the situation the public school teachers have to deal with: They have 60 students, no resources, and the students are less and less motivated. Students feel that education is not going to make a difference in their life, so, why bother? There is a huge pregnancy rate, rape (it is still believed in the back areas of the Township that sex with a virgin will cure a man of AIDS), incest, and mortality is through the roof. Two out of five girls have been violently raped. Infant mortality is high but paradoxically this is saving the community. By 8th grade, girls are taking care of their family.
Am I supposed to be teaching the teachers or will they be teaching me a thing or two?

A Taste of Spring

2009-03-18T18:09:00.002-04:00

Spring was here in the city today! I'm on spring break and my only goal is to catch up on my college homework and reading since we have a midterm exam next week. Luckily, there is no shortage of outdoor cafes where I can buy a coffee and a sweet and sit, and sit, and sit and catch up on my reading. For three hours I sat in the sun reading my text book and enjoyed every ray of sun that penetrated my body. It's days like today that remind me why people would put up with the four seasons.

Spring

2009-03-05T19:13:00.003-05:00

Took the Amex out of my wallet.
Put cash in it's place.
Don't spend cash.
Won't spend cash.
Can't part with my cash.
Less quickly becomes more.
Buds.
A lot less quickly becomes a lot more.
Blossoms.
Spring.

When is the next vacay?

2007-11-04T22:21:00.000-05:00

Work
Stress about not getting everything done
School
Read
Write a paper
Stress about not getting everything done
Back to work
Stress a little bit more
Teach a jewelry class
Attend a conference for a midterm report
Stress
See a show
Dance class
Listen to the new Britney CD (I refuse to be ashamed of this.)
Shop for clothes, unsuccessfully
Yoga
Mani/Pedi
Write Parent/Teacher conference notes
Laundry
Back to work and school
Stress a bit more

Poor meow, meow, meow

2007-08-26T19:54:00.000-04:00

Before I write about another amazing dinner here in the city with Jenny, I must say that I have been sick with worry about my kitty. A little history on my life with cats. I've been a cat lover my entire life. (Actually, I love all animals and I do wonder as to how I love to eat them so much.) We have 2 cats - one who is overweight, oversentive, bites, declawed, and has never spent a day doing normal cat things like sit on my lap. She's grumpy and old but so rugged. The other cat is sweet, energetic, snuggly, and does all things cat. Oh and did I mention how sweet she is?! So one day, I came home and noticed spurts of blood around the apartment. When I ever saw her sweet white paw/claw bloody I freaked. I ran to the vet - they were closing that minute but told me it wasn't emergency unless it was a gusher (it wasn't). So, this small claw problem has turned into a week of antibiotics, epsom salt soaks, hives/allergic reaction, dehydration, furball, vomiting, the big D, and overall malaise. She's been to the vet 3 times in 3 weeks and well, my stress level is through the roof! She runs and hides from me if I try to pick her up. Yesterday she scratched open an itchy spot on near her ear - more blood on her sweet, innocent white fur. To add insult to injury, she's sneezing a lot. I'm so stressed about my sweet meow, meow, meow! I'm consumed with worry even though she is recovering.
Now I'll have to write about my dinner later...

I'm really real.

2007-08-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

Between misty rain clouds I swung by the Starbucks on Monday and sat outside to, well, just enjoy sitting outside. After getting my goods, I was told by Guy-Gettin'-His-Milk-and-Napkin that I'm "one of those 'real' types who likes real cream and real sugar in their coffee." Yep, I'm really real. I also ate a real doughnut but it wasn't really good so I didn't really finish it. Really, life is meant to be enjoyed and real food makes life so much more enjoyable!
Guess what book I'm reading right now?
Real Food by Nina Planck
See, I told you I'm really REAL.

Is it me or...

2007-08-05T23:04:00.000-04:00

Okay so I'm tying to monitor who does and doesn't read but the glitch is that my readers have to have a Google account. I have one bc I have this here blog. I'll try to make it easy for my readers and let you know...

Saw Harry Potter's new movie last night (loved it!) and all I have to say is, "What the fuck is up with the loud talkers?" Am I now some unhip, not-with-it, old fart who just doesn't get it? Are manners, common decency, and acknowledging that others exist a thing of the past? Is talking nonstop and LOUD during the movie what's acceptable these days? Okay, in loud talkers defense, we think he was translating the movie to the woman he was with but couldn't he have been just a wee bit more quiet about it? (The manager kicked them out.) To think I was worried about the family that brought the 4 month old baby in the baby stroller into the 9:15pm movie. Let me know when there are movie theaters that have showings with: No cell phone ringers, talkers, checkers, or texters (bright light people). No loud chewers who smack their gums and suck their teeth. No babies crying.

Today was soooooo beautiful and much needed as the humidity was getting me down. In the humidity, I'll zip out in the a.m. to run errands but then I won't go out again until it's very close to dark and I'll just sit and sit in the air conditioning all day long - and the a/c is not even that cool. How wonderful to open the windows today! Pete and I went to Central Park for a bit. It's truly an oasis. We just read, nap, and watch all the people - today we saw bachi ball players, gatherers/pickers (what the hell they were picking, I don't know), and the most curious - a cat walker. Yep, some guy brought his cat to the Park in an enclosed stroller and walked the purr body around on a leash. Maybe I'm just jealous bc my cats just stay at home and wouldn't take kindly to being put on a leash and taken out of their safe and comfortable environment.

Tonight was a good ol' fashioned summer time dinner - hot dogs on the grill (minus the grill, I had to pan fry), baked beans, summer salad, and corn on the cob. Yum! The summer salad was American lettuce (an Italian woman I once met called iceburg lettuce "American lettuce."), tomatoes, radish, vadalia onion, green olives, dried oregano (very important), and feta cheese with olive oil, fresh lime, and a bit of the olive juice. The tomatoes really juiced it up too. We ate it fast as it gets soggy quickly.

Pete leaves for Dallas tomorrow to do more commercial filming. He's done more traveling this summer than I have - how unlike us! Jenny and I signed up for a wine and cheese class at Murray's this Thursday night.

I had to go through puberty all over again

2007-08-04T15:56:00.000-04:00

I keep asking myself, "Why haven't you written?" I came to the realization that for the most part, I kept a blog for myself. A history of my life or a diary of my life that I can go back and revisit with photos etc. But then somewhere, somehow, in some way, I would write and edit myself when I thought about certain people reading. Not a big deal but it reminded me of growing older when a child goes from a hedonistic young thing to a self conscious awkward pubescent mess. I liked the hedonistic blog days when I didn't care who read or who made comments - just so long as I felt good about life. Also, I started to get freaky political comments from anonymous peeps - I will welcome any comments or opinion so long as I know who you are. So, I think I've gone through my self conscious teenage blog days to my more mature adult blog days - 'cept not much will change. You'll still read the same shit but this time only if you're on the list.

Honorable Mention!

2007-03-12T00:39:00.000-04:00

Out of 10 nominees for Best Horror Comic Book, Pete received an Honorable Mention Rondo Award!!!!!!!!!!!
The winner was Universal Monsters Cavalcade of Horror - Pete said he would have voted for that one.
There was one runner up and three honorable mentions - Pete's Trapdoor Maker being one of them. Yay!!!!!!

Vote for Pete

2007-02-22T18:48:00.000-05:00

Vote for Pete in the Fifth Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror awards, recognizing the best in monster research, creativity and appreciation.

These awards are by fans, for fans. Every Rondo nominee is being recognized for a significant achievement to keep the monstrous hobby alive and thriving. So take a look at the ballot and let the nominees know how much we all appreciate their work by voting.

Look for number 17 on the ballot: BEST HORROR COMIC BOOK

Email your vote and hopefully Petey will win a Rondo Award!

Think differently about aging, diets, and making trash.

2007-02-21T21:04:00.000-05:00

One thing that I really like are quotes. I like inspirational quotes, thoughts, famous people comments, mind changing poetry, horoscopes, and basically I like reading anything that makes me THINK differently; makes me think about something that I simply hadn't considered before. My favorite people are Gandhi, Oprah, Martin Luther King, and Maya Angelou - all have said some mind blowing things. If you haven't read some of Maya's poetry, check it out - she makes you feel feelings you didn't know you had.

I'm so proud of Dove - their best quote right now is that they believe in "pro-age not anti-age." I'm a huge fan of Dove products - always have been. There's nothing better than a fresh bar of white Dove soap. I think they are so cool to make a PRO-AGE product line. Because of them, for the first time I can't wait to be over 40 and looking super wise, beautiful, classy, flitting around like I know OH SO much more than those younger then me with TONS more confidence then I already have. (and I'm pleased with all of the confidence that my 30's have brought me!) So, Dove made me think differently about all of the anti-age lotions, potions, and creams I invest in.

I just read a quote that is making steam come out of my ears:
Moroccan author Fatema Mernissi's proposition that Western women are kept in a harem by the Western male fantasy of the perfect woman's body - that of a teenage girl. "We Muslim women have only one month of fasting, " she writes, "but the poor Western woman who diets has to fast 12 months a year."

Did you know that three countries have banned those plastic shopping bags that clog sewers and get stuck in trees - Taiwan, Bangladesh, and South Africa. When Ireland mandated a charge for every bag, usage dropped 90%. In the U.S., 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year - and we know there is no such place as "away."

Where oh where is that quote that is going to make me think differently about my gray hairs that are attacking my temples. I'm trying to wear them gracefully; like I'm totally confident and cool having a bunch. But the consensus is that only men look distinguished with gray hair and women looked old, washed out, and tired. I don't mind a few gray hairs but why oh why do they have to stick out alfalfa style?

The cat is packed

2007-02-20T18:57:00.000-05:00

We spent most of our weekend packing. Boxes. Lots and lots of boxes.
What's been pressing on my mind is how to move my meow, meow, meows.
Surprisingly, one of my kitties is all ready to go...

Surprises

2007-02-16T16:59:00.000-05:00

I learned from a coworker that she was surprised from her fiancee with a trip to Anguilla. Of course I was thrilled for her - I thought, "What a WONDERFUL surprise!"
Now Pete and I can't stop talking about how we're going to surprise one another. He surprised me and visited my classroom to share some of the projects he's been working on. I told him, "I'm going to surprise MYSELF with a massage." It'll surprise me if I actually pick up the phone and make the appointment...and I did! Surprise!

I, surprisingly, received a beautiful thank you note from one of my students. Being a 1st and 2nd grade teacher can be a completely thankless job. The parents always give thanks and are generous with the gifts. The kids always tell their teachers, "You're the best teachers we've EVER had!" (They've only had about 2 or 3 teachers in their whole life!) But days go by and I wonder, Are these kids actually learning anything? Well, surprise! The thank you note I received was perfect in every way. I might actually frame it. Here's the back story...
Math.
Student receives instruction and no matter what claims, "I don't get it!"
We tried EVERYTHING to reach this student. (It's Feb. and we're just now heading off the "I dont' get it's")
Finally, we sent home the work ahead of time (My assistant's idea) and wished said student, good luck.
Success.
No more, "I don't get it!"
Whew.

Here's a copy of the note:

Dear Ms. Woodruff,
Happy Valentine's Day. Thank you for being a very good teacher. And thank you for staying in for recess so I get the math. I tried very hard to get the math. I like when you copied the math ahead of time. Sincerely, your student
Surprise! What a MUSH and this student is so NOT a mush!

How do you want to be surprised? If no one is surprising you, then surprise yourself! Sure, trips to the Caribbean are GREAT surprises, but the little surprises can be just as warm and wonderful!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-14T18:36:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!
I have a few minutes before my Valentine, Petey Pie, gets home so I thought I'd update.
Remember when you were in elementary school and you gave Valentine's cards to all of your classmates? Did you pick out the extra "lovey" card for the cute boy you had a crush on? Did you give the less desirable card to the boy who always got into trouble? Did you save the prettiest card for your best girlfriend? Well, things never change! I received the best Valentine card today from the student who rarely listens to the teachers or the friends in the class. The cute little elephant on the card said, "I'm all ears for you Valentine!"
Good news! We had our board interview and they accepted us. That was the final step in getting our new home. We're looking at a February 28th closing date and then we're all set to move in. I guess we'll move in the next day! We'll be busy packing everything this weekend - we have a few extra days off for President's Day.
Enjoy the snow - stay cozy at home! As one of my students said, "It's a white Valentine's Day." (Instead of a white Christmas.)

What is a girl to do?

2007-01-09T19:47:00.000-05:00

What's really going on? Stress. And worry. About things I have absolutely NO control over.
So, what do I do? Why I think about meaningless things, like where are the fashion police when I need them? There's a huge retirement gala event being held at the St. Regis Hotel next week and well, can I wear the dress I wore to Ken's and Jen's weddings? I love the dress but I think the material may not be appropriate for winter. I feel good in it but I'm afraid it will be too sexy - not what I want for a work related event.
So, what do I do? Why I brew a wonderful pot of Japanese green tea and get all jacked-up on caffeine in hopes of getting my homework done.
So, what do I do? Bring home homework. I stopped doing this a couple of years ago but then I started again. Bringing home work just makes me suffer bc I never complete all that I bring home in it's entirety and then I feel guilty and I hate guilt.
So, what do I do? Blow off homework and write meaningless stuff on blog.

What's really going on? Feeling stupid.
We heard from the managing agent today for the co-op we're trying to buy. In our application packet, we neglected to put in the commitment letter from the bank stating that we have applied for and have been approved for a mortgage. DUH! HELLO?? IS ANYBODY HOME?

Dear 206 E 90th Street,
We are a nice couple who would like to buy one of your apartments.

Dear nice couple,
Of course you can buy one of our apartments. Please show us the money.

How on earth did we miss THAT part of the checklist?

Oh well, time to get my homework finished before it finishes me.

Saying hello to a home and goodbye to a good friend

2007-01-06T19:14:00.000-05:00

Sign below.
Send with a check for $$$.
Sign below.
Send with a check for $$$.
Sign below
Send with a check for $$$.

So far so good.

Today we handed in our application, a 200 page document, to the co-op board. We had to make 6 copies so all members of the board will be able to study all about us. How much money we make, friends and coworkers references, tax returns, bank reference, landlord reference, all our financial statements, our debt, work contracts, and work history. Just about everything except when we went to the bathroom last.
Will we get accepted? Will they like us? Will we look like good people? Will we say the right things in the interview? Yeah, I know, all they really care about is that we can pay our bills - monthly maintenance and mortgage but it's still stressful.

Stress. Ugh!

My holiday has been both a little restful and a lot stressful. Sadly, Pete's good friend, Royce, had a fatal heart attack and lost his life. Needless to say, this has been a tough time for us. Royce was an amazing mentor and such a loyal friend to Pete. Just before Royce's death, he wrote the most lovely recommendation for Pete.

To Whom It May Concern:
I would like to provide a personal and professional reference for Pete Bregman. I have known
Mr. Bregman for over 5 years and have had the pleasure of working with him on several high
profile commercial and entertainment projects here at Treehouse Animation. I have always found
working with him to be one of the best experiences in the studio’s history. Of all the creatives I have
employed or hired as general contractors, Mr. Bregman is at the top of my list as far as work ethic
and dedication above and beyond the call of duty. He is an extremely honest and creative individual
who always can be counted on to give 200% to the project he responsible for.
Two noteworthy projects are: LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Batman mini-movies. Both of these
films earned the studio worldwide acclaim. These films could not have reached such high acclaim
without Mr. Bregman’s hard work, brilliant creative and attention to detail.
Our relationship continues as we have several properties under development. His work is vital to the
creative development and execution of these projects. Pete receives my highest recommendation on
both the personal character and professional responsibility fronts. If you need further information
about Pete, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Royce Graham
President
Treehouse Animation

Happy New Year!

2007-01-04T21:47:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!
New Year. New Blog. I'll still be fussing with it...
I have been reading such a great book! Omnivore's Dilemma A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan. Get ready for me to jump on my soapbox...

"Hellllloooooooo in there!"

2006-12-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

Everyday I'm like Charlie Brown while visiting my mailbox (both snail and electronic). "Helllllloooooo in there!" Sadly, Chuck never receives any Christmas cards and happily I've received lots. And I love 'em. And I especially love the ones with the photos. And even better, I love when my friends include photos of themselves - I love seeing the kids grow but more than that I love getting my friend in the mail. And an even bigger bonus is the letter highlighting the families' year. But best of all is the personalized note. Hug, hug, heart, heart, heart! :)

3 and a half days and countin...
...please tell me I can do it!

Home is where your heart is

2006-12-16T20:12:00.000-05:00

Here I am. I feel guilty for not writing. Really I do. But I also felt a bit free. Free to be and do and just keep to myself what I do and be.
One of the greatest things that I've added to my life is a personal trainer. (The other greatest thing I added long ago is a housekeeper! I have not for one second stopped appreciating her nor have I taken her for granted.) Yes, I am blessed to have someone mold me and shape me. But it's more than that...it's changed my life. Is it that the body becomes strong therefor the mind? Or is life more like yoga - mind strong, breath strong, body strong? Maybe I had a strong mind and a decent body from all my dancing but THIS is different. I feel so STRONG in all areas. And when I don't feel strong, I go to the gym and instantly feel better. The other morning I was at the gym with my trainer and I think I saw one of my student's parents at the gym. (I wasn't going to look closely and check! Then I'd have to say hello.) Yuck. It wasn't a big deal but it just felt like my sacred time was no longer sacred. Now I know how movie stars feel when they are trying to just live their life and next thing you know, everyone knows about it.
On to more great things in my life! Pete and I are in the process of buying an apartment here in New York! It's perfect for us! It's just five blocks from our current apartment so it'll be a new neighborhood but not foreign. Here's what the advertisement said - and it was actually true!

Beautiful one bedroom /one bath plus large home office space, northern /southern exposure apartment on a tree - line street, close to Central Park. Not your typical cookie cutter, the unique details and custom design in this cozy prewar apartment will make it easy to call it home. The apartment boasts grade A wide plank maple wood floors, oversized windows, brick walls in the bedroom and home office space, and windowed kitchen and bathroom. The large open, custom built kitchen with 23 cabinets and granite counters is a dream come true for anyone who loves to cook. While the bathroom's simple rustic feel features wainscoting, subway tiles and sink faucet and tub spouts and system made by Pegler.
APARTMENT FEATURES :
-SOLID WOOD MAPLE FLOORS
-CUSTOM MAPLE WOOD KITCHEN
WITH 23 CABINETS, 7 DRAWERS, 1 PULL OUT SPICE RACK
-AMANA OVEN, AMANA RADARANGE MICROWAVE
-AMANA FRIDGE WITH ICE MAKER AND FILTERED WATER
-BOSH DISHWASHER.
-PEGLER CLAWFOOT TUB FAUCET AND SHOWER SYSTEM
-ACQUA RAIN SHOWER HEAD
-VESSEL STYLE DURAVIT SINK
-FRENCH DOORS
-3 CUSTOM MADE WOOD PILLOWED TRUNK UNDER EACH WINDOW FOR EXTRA STORAGE
-LARGE 10'X9'X2 CALIFORNIA CLOSET
BUILDING AMENITIES:
-COMMON GARDEN
-LAUNDRY IN BASEMENT
-BIKE STORAGE ROOM
-PETS ALLOWED

Dreamy

2006-09-20T21:07:00.000-04:00

Sitting outdoors at a lovely little cafe on a beautiful autumn like night in New York City is just dreamy. Sipping a syrupy sweet, Gewurstraiminer Schlumberger white wine from Alsace, France is dreamy. Trying a new cheese, with a strange name: Fox River Soft, and loving every bit of it is dreamy. Chatting and giggling with Jen is just dreamy.
There is simply no other place on Earth that I'd rather be than New York in autumn. Yes, I'd be so happy to live in Mexico, or on the beach, then again, Paris (oh! I'm such a gemini!) but New York is just perfect when the weather is perfect and everyone is positioned in the cafes, or parading their new fall clothing along the sidewalks. Life is dreamy like that oh so creamy Fox River cheese.

Oldie but Goodie

2006-09-19T22:45:00.000-04:00

I don't have a favorite TV show. It used to be CSI but most recently I just don't get as excited about it. I'm sure I'll be front and center with the new episodes coming up and maybe I'll change my mind. I always love my Oprah but a few of her new episodes have me disinterested. I don't get excited when she has stars on her show - I'll watch but I'm not on the edge of my seat. So, here I sit watching Seinfeld with a big goofy grin on my face and giggling every time Elaine behaves like "Elaine." I guess I just have to accept that Seinfeld is my favorite show. :)

Kids say the dardest things...
Can I get in trouble if I write about how awesome my students are this year? They are still (yesterday's blog) so cute and perfect and funny and sweet and good and well, I'm just loving them!
The other day one of my students saw a teacher who is about 6 months pregnant and showing. The student asked, "Is Mrs. So and So getting pregnant?!" I replied, "Why yes, I think she is!"

Ms. Wuuuuuudroooooofff!

2006-09-18T22:15:00.000-04:00

Just an update about the high triglycerides that I wrote about before. I recently had my blood work done and my number went from 192 - borderline high, to 48. How is that possible!? I think there was a little mistake! I probably hadn't fasted before my blood work the first time. It sure makes me think of a Seinfeld episode or two...
More doctor visits. I need glasses!!!!!! My doctor recommened I get my eyes checked and I didn't think it was a bad idea since every time I watch TV, Pete asks, "Mere, why are you frowning?" During night driving (all of one or two times a year, right?!) lights are beautiful starbursts. I don't have any complaints about my eyes but recently, I can feel them working hard. When reading something close then needing to look at something in the distance I actually feel my eyes adjusting. The doc saw it right away before I even described it. So I've got my prescription and need to go pick out some glasses. Wish me luck!

So, what have I been doing since I haven't been blogging? Working! With teachers it feast of famine. Last week was the first week of school and my kids are perfect! They are so darn cute and sweet and polite and have common sense and don't argue over stupid little things - I'm just loving them! They also say the darndest things...one of my new students told me, "I was hoping you'd be my teacher!" I was curious to know why so I asked, "Why were you excited to have me as your teacher?" Surely this little cutie was going to impress me with sweet words such as: I liked when you visited our class in kindergarten, or I thought you were nice, or I thought you were pretty. NOPE! The kid said, "Oh, I don't know. I just liked your name. 'Ms. Wuuuuudrooooff!' and started cracking up! Thanks!

My Hips (or Liver) Don't Lie

2006-08-31T20:50:00.000-04:00

I've been a naut-tee, naut-tee blogger - sorry to all my loyal readers. ;)
It's not that I've been too busy. It's not that I haven't been doing anything that's blog worthy - that's not what my blog is all about. It's not that I haven't anything to say. I have too much to say and when I don't keep up the the blogs I guess it's hard to weed through all the noise in my head and select what to write about.
This particular entry is inspired by Shakira and her truthful hips. Actually it's inspired by my bad health report card from my last physical. My blood work reported that I have borderline high triglycerides. That's a fatty liver. Fat in the blood. I'm skinny on the outside and fat on the inside. The good (cholesterol), the bad (cholesterol) and the ugly (triglyerides). With this mal health report I've realized that the haircuts and highlights, the eyebrow wax, the manicure and pedicure, the braces and tooth whitening, the facials and lotions and anti-wrinkle and anti-brown spot creme, the fabulous shoes, push up bras, fabulous non-clumping mascara, jewels, and nice fitting clothes don't mean shit when your insides are turning to fat and could clog up the arteries. Doctor's orders - I need to do cardio. I hate cardio. I can dance allllllllll night long. I can yoga pose and fold myself in half. I can focus on a particular muscle and lift weights. You simply won't find me on a treadmill or an eliptical machine. There's something so psychologically painful about running IN PLACE.
So, I joined the gym and actually GO to the gym. I hired a personal trainer, Eileen, who makes me do things with my body I didn't know I could do. And yes, I use the elliptical machine (still f*^%ing hate it but when I'm hating it and mad I visualize the fat vanishing from my blood and liver). I take the ballet class and yoga class. And just recently, I pretended to be Shakira and took a belly dancing class. I have never felt more like a woman then when I was dancing in this class. It was fun, and sexy, and just raw real-woman-body appreciation. The cutest person in the class, besides the teacher, was the 8 and a half months pregnant woman - she was my favorite. My hips weren't lying - the class was hard but worth it.
So, my insides are reminding me to pay attention to them and take very good care of them but I still love products for my outside. Here are some of my favorites I've recently discovered. Special thanks to CVS for selling products (Vichy, Avene, and La Roche Posay) that were only available in France and Canada and sometimes at my dermatologist.
1. Vichy Oligo Yeux - I've finally found the best eye cream that DOES NOT creep into my eyes as the day goes on.
2. Avene Creme for Sensitive Skin SPF 50 - I put this around my eyes daily and all over my face when sunbathing.
3. LipFusion Micro-Injected Collagen lip gloss - this is no ordinary lip gloss - move over Angelina.
4. C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve - A girl can't always blow everyone away with her beautiful pouty lips. Sometimes she just needs a little moisture.
5. Avon Skin So Soft Hair Lightening Gel - Where was this stuff all my life? This miracle gel reduces the appearance of hair by making it lighter, softer, and finer - in 3 days. It's not your business where I'm puttin this stuff. (get your mind out of the gutter and it's not there).

I have a couple of products from Avene that I'm loving: Thermal Spring Water Spray and Cleanance Anti-Shine Lotion for combo skin that regulates the oil so I don't look like an oil slick at the end of the day.

Other "things" that I'm loving right now: Justin Timberlake's new song, citron green tea, my Crocs flip-flops, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Jersey Tomatoes.

The last of Roatan

2006-07-21T17:34:00.000-04:00

Here's the video of our shark dive. It takes a while to load and it's about 15 minutes long. I'm not in the video a whole lot bc I was clinging on to the guy shooting the video which was really stupid bc he's the one who was the closest to the sharks! About three quarters of the way through you'll see me standing by myself with sharks all around. There were about 15-20 sharks alltogether and I think the video doesn't convey this.

http://homepage.mac.com/pbregman/sharkdive

Here's the sunset from our terrace.

On the water taxi to the beach. Notice how there is no development (yet?!) on the beach!

Pete enjoying a smoothie at Rudy's - everyone heads to Rudy's for their smoothies - they are a freak of nature!

This is our walk to our favorite restaurant, The Lobster Pot.

The most amazing pina colada at the Lobster Pot.

Freckle Juice

2006-07-19T23:03:00.000-04:00

Yes, it was hot but there wasn't tons of humidity so it COULD have been worse! I fled the city. Jen invited me to her parent's place in Nyack. Cute little place right on the Hudson river but most importantly, there's a pool. Let me tell you, it's hard work sunbathing in the high heat trying to protect my fair skin, the sweat just makes the sunblock run right off - doesn't matter that it's waterproof. Wearing a big brimmed hat and sunglasses just makes you hotter. It's not that I don't like being tan, I'm becoming vain about age spots - mostly on my face. I've come to accept the teenage acne scars and large pores. I cherish the wrinkles around my eyes as those of from laughing at Pete everyday of my life. But brown spots, age spots, liver spots. Yuck! Can't I just have scars, large pores, and wrinkles? I refuse to have brown spots on my face - weird shaped brown spots. All other blemishes are welcome.

Diving Roatan

2006-07-14T14:17:00.000-04:00

Right about now I'm really missing our room on the beach, sunsets from our deck, coconut crusted grouper, and sandfly bites...
There is so much to do and see in Roatan and we spent most of our time diving, eating, and sleeping. Pete learned how to dive and I practiced my diving. I feel much more confident in my diving abilities - the warm, calm, Caribbean waters are just the pace for me. We saw so many amazing things: spotted eagle rays, parrot fish, sea turtles, squid, snappers, arrow head crabs, lobsters, sea urchins, amazing corals, schools and schools of colorful, friendly fish, eels, groupers, and triggerfish. Hands down the most incredible thing we saw was an octopus on our night dive. Your heart is racing to begin with on a night dive and to see an octopus is so incredible! It was a ballerina and martial artist all in one dancing and twirling all over the coral. One of the more interesting dives was in an "eel garden." That's exactly what it was - a garden of tiny eels peeking out of the sand 70ft. below the surface swaying around like question marks. When you approach they spy you with their little eye and quickly hide back in their little holes! We spent a good 5 minutes watching a group/school of about 30 squid dancing near the surface of the water - it was like a traffic jam of squid! They just hang out and stare at you and twirl their fins like a flamenco dancer. On our last day we went diving with gray reef sharks! That was Pete's favorite! Me and 8 boys plus 2 instructors traveled 70ft down and sat on a coral wall and watched as 15-20 gray reef sharks attacked a bucket of chum. They are so graceful, confident, and intimidating at 9-12feet long! As the instructor said, "You'll see the whites of their eyes!" I did and was thankful I didn't see any teeth along with shark eyes! We have it all on DVD and Pete's shrinking it down so we can share it online - I'll let you know when it's ready.

Sueno del Mar

Me and Pete on the dive boat

Pete in his dive gear

WHERE did you go?

2006-07-12T11:08:00.000-04:00

Roatan, The Bay Islands, Honduras
Check out the tiny dot north of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea:

Here’s a little Bay Islands history…
There are 3 Bay Islands: Roatan (the largest and the one we stayed on), Guanaja, and Utila. Roatan is 33 miles long and 4 miles wide. The coral reef that surrounds the island is the 2nd largest in the world. (Australia having the largest)

The Bay Islands were home of the Paya Indians when Columbus discovered them in 1502. None of the European countries claimed ownership so French, English, and Dutch pirates took over and used them as a base. It’s estimated that as many as 5,000 pirates lived in the islands. From 1650 – 1859 the islands were owned by Spain, England, and the Central American Federation. In 1797, 5,000 Caribbean natives (a mix of African natives, Arawak Indians, and Caribbe Indians) were brought to the islands. Finally, in 1859, under English rule, Brittan agreed to recognize the Bay Islands as part of Honduras but Honduras had to commit to not grant the islands to any other country. The Bay Islands have a long history of very mixed cultures and that diversity remains today. The locals have a very mixed ancestory. As one local told me, "Take all that you learned in the States about color of skin, languages spoken, and where your grandparents came from and throw it out the window." The Islanders are a very unique group who speak English with a bit of a light, sing-song, Caribbean accent.
We felt very comfortable in Roatan and there seems to be a sense of peace and self assurance about the place. The locals were very friendly, hospitable, and downright charming.

Jen's wedding

2006-07-11T21:33:00.000-04:00

I was there from the start of the planning and watched closely as things evolved and unfolded. A lot of the details came through as planned and all was a good time!
Jen and her dad. It was very important to Jen to come down the stairs. Dress flowed so beautifully and this photo captures it.

Jen the bride

Me and Jenny

Heather, Tom, me, and Jen dancin!

The cake

Ken's wedding

2006-07-09T11:06:00.000-04:00

I'm long overdue for a bloggie poo. It's been over a month and well, when I wasn't busy I didn't feel like bloggin'. So what the hell HAVE I been doing?
Planes, trains, automobiles, boats, and scooters - that's what I've been doing!
Attending weddings, cleaning my classroom, attending meetings and trying to end my school year (which involves so much work that I STILL haven't finished!!!!!! UGH!), a quick zip (12 hours) down to PA/NJ to see the fam - I missed my parents and when Wendy says she's cooking something I come a runnin' plus I wanted to squeeze the hell out of my niece and nephew's thighs, hosting out of town guests (YAY Kelly and Anna!!!!), interviewing for a summer job (INSANE), interviewing an assistant for Jen since she was busy getting ready to get married when I really should have been finishing my classroom and making a wedding cake, taking care of my sick husband (bad cold, lost his voice, and terrible, wake me up all night long cough), and finally, a quick vacation in Honduras to do some diving with all kinds of cool ocean animals.

Long, long, ago we went to DC for Ken's wedding. Pete has a handful of good friends who are really like brothers from elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. Ken is one of Pete's buddies from high school and college - they are fraternity brothers. Ken was one of our groomsmen at our wedding and most importantly, Ken is one of Pete's all time favorite "characters" to draw. Attending Ken's wedding was both a family and college reunion. I think one of the coolest things about the weekend was listening to the old college fraternity brothers talk about the t-shirts and banners they still had that Pete drew! One wife was complaining that her husband had to keep this dirty old sheet when they bought a house and moved out of their apartment. It was a volleyball tournament banner Pete made while in college. We had a really nice time!

Pete and one of his high school friends, Tom.

Me and Pete at the church.

Me and Pete at the Washington Club.

Not so planned summer plans

2006-06-04T11:09:00.000-04:00

Have I made summer plans? Yes and no. Usually by now, especially after a few hot, humid, muggy, and very smelly days here in New York City, I'm in a total panic. For some reason, I'm not too concerned.
Pete and I will be celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary this summer! I knew, from the minute I met him that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. We've been together for 13 years, married for 5, and it feels as new as two!
To celebrate us, we've booked a 10 day trip to Roatan, The Bay Islands, Honduras! We have a room right on the beach and we can't wait to dive in the world's second largest reef! Pete will learn how to dive and I'll see if I remember how to dive without tons of fear.
After July 5th I have no plans. For years I've wanted to work on a farm - care for the animals, collect fresh eggs, and pick fresh veggies. I found an organization, called WOOF, that, once you sign up, they will send names and numbers of organic farms that accept volunteers. Volunteers work for 5-6 hours a day for room and board. Some have weekends free so you can explore the town or some hope you help out at the weekend farmer's market. How fun would it be to travel around France or Italy working on organic farms, getting to know the land, meeting friendly, hospitable people, and possibly eating the freshest goat cheese, veggies, eggs, and drinking the wines?! Tending the animals and riding a horse or two would be nice. This is how I picture it but all of this would require a lot of planning on my part and, well, I'm feeling lazy about it. Also, I like nice weather. Would any of you out there be willing to work on a farm in the summer months? I'll think of something, I always do.

Is it a curse?

2006-06-01T23:20:00.000-04:00

Only in New York. The strangest thing happened while at dinner tonight...Liyo and I were sitting at our cozy little French bistro table by the window when the English guy next to her dropped something on the floor, went to pick it up, and FELL into our table. His fall was broken by the corner of our table AND his EAR. Bloody ear. Liyo, being the good Asian girl that she is, just sat there looking straight ahead with her eyes popping out of her head. Me, being the dramatic American that I am, SCREAMED! He was fine once the ear stopped bleeding - probably terribly embarassed but not much more than that. Profuse apologies were made but things remained a little awkward between the two tables for a while until our food distracted us from Mr. British Bloody Ear. Just when we were forgetting the whole incident, Bloody Ear's friend starts asking us about our meat. (see Feed the Soul, food blog) The old bait and switch occurred...
"Friend" quickly switched from discussing steak to discussing other meat - beautiful women. He asked, "Do you think being a beautiful woman is a curse?" He believes that it must be exhausting for women to deal with all the men flirting, staring, and trying to start up a conversation - therefore, a curse. Wasn't he, at that moment, behaving like these cursed men he was mentioning?
Do I think beautiful people are cursed? Beauty is subjective. What's cursed is not finding or seeing beauty in yourself.

I'm addicted

2006-05-31T23:29:00.000-04:00

I'm totally addicted to Sudoku! Have you tried this yet? People have been talking about it and trying to show me how it's done. I was interested but never really took the time to try; at first I thought it was an adding the numbers puzzle. I wasn't keen on doing more teacher work such as grading first and second grade math homework papers. (adding all the numbers) One of my students brought the Kid Sudoku book in to class and got me hooked...and now I can't stop...and it's all I want to do...

35 Year Old Spider Woman

2006-05-30T19:10:00.000-04:00

Inspired by my students, I decided to go rock climbing for my 35th birthday. It was much easier than I had anticipated. The first go I was strongly encouraged (as in pulled at times!) by the guy holding the ropes. I tried a much more challenging climb the second go and the guy holding the rope hardly helped me at all! Pete was amazing! He was the true Spidey!

Shoes

2006-05-02T22:46:00.000-04:00

I love shoes! I know I'm a sick shoe lover because I don't even flip them over to look at the price anymore. If I like them I don't care how much they cost. Don't misunderstand me, I don't swing by Jimmy Choo or Milano Blanik - I'm not an idiot - but at the shoe places I shop I just don't care about the cost. While I was in the 2nd shoe store of my 6 shoe store visit this evening, I saw the STRANGEST thing...I saw a woman sniffing, YEP SNIFFING the new shoes she was trying on. No clue, not even guess, about that one.

Sadly, I can't find the perfect new pair of shoes. I know exactly what I want - a fabulous pair of platform wedge shoes in a deep, dark, espresso, brown - totally hot and totally sexy. Can't find them. Well, actually I CAN find them but they just don't stinkin fit. What's up with that? I, all of the sudden, have a "narrow" foot. Well, I never had this problem before! How'd my feet all of the sudden go and get all narrow and not fit any shoes? Maddening I tell you.

1. Never wear a size too small - yep, heel creeping over the back reminds me of Cinderella's wicked step sisters - stop trying to be something you're not. (a smaller size)
2. Toe hanging over the front of open-toe is a big no-no. Even worse is when there is so much hang over that the toes begin to look like fingers grabbing the front of the shoe. Yuck. (This is my narrow foot problem.)

Some photos

2006-04-30T17:14:00.000-04:00

I haven't been very good with managing my photos. I have had a digital camera for almost a year and not one photo has turned itself into a hard copy. They all live in electronic land, virtual life, and I don't do a very good job with helping them come to the land of real life.

Easter weekend - My nephews, 16month old Kyle and Aidan age 2.9.

Me and my sisters had a cocktail (or two or three) while the boys were sleeping.

Me and Pete at Jen's 30th birthday celebration.

I'm a victim of identity theft!

2006-04-28T22:04:00.000-04:00

Yep, it's true! I am a victim of identity theft! When I came home from work today I received a collection letter in the mail for $754.28 for a cellular phone from AT&T/Cingular. Of course I totally freaked! I thought I was going to be sick and I wanted to cry but none of that was going to help the situation. Calling the collection agency doesn't help too much 'cause I'm sure they are used to people calling all of the time claiming the bill is not theirs. The only recommendation I received from the collection agency is to contest the letter in writing. Right before we hung up she did mention that I could call AT&T and maybe they could help me. After internet searches for phone numbers, many 1-800 numbers, calling India, a ten minute wait untill a service representative would be on the line, and numerous "please press one nows" I finally spoke to two wonderful human beings.
This is what I've learned about my old cell phone account that was never paid.
- I opened the account in August of 2004 and it was cancelled for nonpayment in December of 2004. (This is the very first I'm hearing about it, April 2006)
- The day after the account was opened I changed the billing address (hint: FRAUD!)
- The day after the account was opened I tried to add other cell phones to the account that happed to be stolen! Every phone has an ESN (electronic serial number) and a dealer reported these particular phones stolen.
- The billing address was originally 72 East Pastous St Philadelphia, PA 19144
- In February 2005 a Jose Rodriguez called about the account and couldn't verify the information on the account. (My name and ss#)

So, what happens now? The AT&T fraud department was wonderful and extrememly helpful. They'll mail out all of the necessary letters (and just to be certain, I'll do the same on my end) to say this is fraud and then I'll get the free credit reports to see if there is anything else fake out there. I'm sure this won't be the last of the identity theft incidents. It's so creepy and there is NOTHING I can do! Can't report it to the police, can't press charges, can't take some kind of action. People are getting free stuff using my name and ss#. I guess it's really no big deal unless I go to buy a house and my credit is bad. Is this why people are doing it because it doesn't really HARM the person they use? It's just annoying and could potentially cause me to have to pay higher percent interest on loans. I'll keep you posted if this continues and what the true harm is when someone steals your identity.

A little soapbox action

2006-04-26T20:15:00.000-04:00

I'm really into food - good quality food. Yes, I enjoy a cheeto and cheezit and an Entemann's glazed cheese danish once in a while but the more all natural, organic, and close to nature the food is the better I enjoy it! The farther away from nature or the farther away from olde world processing (nobody can take me away from my dried, cured, salted meats) the less I like those particular foods. I really like sweetened tea or lemonade but I'm finding that I prefer to add my own sugar as opposed to buying the ready made with high fructose corn syrup. I find that we as food consumers need to be much more careful about what we buy and eat. Yes, if you LIKE the taste of it and it's salted sawdust than eat it - it tastes good right?! That's my number one rule: If it tastes good, I'll eat it. BUT, we need to be very careful with what we consume. Here's what I've recently learned while reading an interview with Dr. Andrew Weil in Time Out New York...

What is the connection between food and politics?
...federal gov't has taken the position that obesity, for example, is a matter of individual responsibility. It's unconscionable to blame this on individuals when the most expensive calories you can buy are fruits and vegetables, and the cheapest you can buy are low-quality carbohydrate foods like products made with corn sweetener. They're cheap because of gov't subsidies. (See for yourself. High fructose corn syrup is in almost EVERYTHING! Once you leave this country Coca Cola is no longer made with high fructose corn syrup but rather with sugar). So, how can the gov't say this is not their doing? There is collective responsibilty...In the past few years under the Bush admin., the FDA has gotten much more cozy with industries. It is now allowing health claims on a lot of food products that are very dubious...(Soon my cheezits, cheetos, Entemman's cheese danish will be very, very good for me with all the vitamins I need to get me through my day!)

With the exception of the Karo corn syrup I use to make my once annual pecan pie where do I get a bottle of this HFCS?

My suggestion? Turn USA corn production into fuel for cars instead of fuel for our bodies that we just aren't burning off. OR follow Dr. Weil's suggestion and become aware, get aroused, and take action.

From Peru to India then to Greece

2006-04-23T16:39:00.000-04:00

No, these are not my summer plans! Of course I'm working on something amazing! ;)
This is where my life takes me when I step inside a restaurant or two in my neighborhood. First stop, Peruvian with my girls. Reminded me of my Ecudorian fare - fried plantains, fried seafood salad with lots of lime and thin sliced veggies, fried sausages (hot dogs), french fries, avocado salad, and the house specialty - 2 day marinated chicken - tender and OH SO delicious (and I usually turn my nose up at chicken.) We sipped on some of the best sangria I've ever had! We talked about wedding plans, honeymoons, and creative ways to make a wedding gift registry not so Crate and Barrel and more like GC's for the honeymoon or GC's for experiences together as a couple; for example, dance lessons.
Next stop around the globe, India. I love the food, love the culture and music, and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the people (hello? Ghandi!) but I'm just not sure it's on my list of places to travel. Maybe if I had local escorts. Pete says he won't go because he doesn't want to get a parasite. (His friend went to India and came home with a parasite. EW!) So, happy to visit the restaurants here in the city - hopefully parasite free. Our dinner was sooooo good and we had such a nice time sitting across from one another laughing and talking. Pete loves the tika masala and I'm a korma girl. Lamb, saffron rice with fruits and veggies, spicy okra with tomatos and onion, raiita yogurt to tame the heat, and fabulous nan to mop up all the extra sauce. Is that bad manners?
My last stop, Greece for Greek Easter. Anna and her mom have spoiled me rotten with the fabulous break-from-the-40-day-fast cuisine. My favorite is the Easter lamb soup, magiritsa. It is so rich and lemony with the most delicious bits of liver that are so uniquely flavorful your mouth wants to keep going back for more! We dined on sweet bread, calamari, jumbo grilled shrimp, seasoned meatballs, and my most favorite - Loukaniko - chargrilled Greek sausage. Okay, I don't know WHAT they do to this sausage but it is so flavorful and delicious. Not sure what kind of grill they are using but the flavor is incredible. Lamb with lemon potatos, blood red hard cooked eggs, and some other delicious Greek meats...okay, how do I describe this. It's like they take all the innerds of the animal and wrap it in more meat. This wrap is then char cooked until super crunchy and yummy. It's not that I particularly like organ meats but I think my tastebuds just get used to hamburger, bacon, chicken, pork, fish, and an occasional steak/filet mignon. When I actually try something different such as duck or organ meats my mouth is like, "Hey! Bring it on!" Yes, the restaurant food was very good but NOTHING compared to Anna's mom!

DR: Forget the tan I've got eating to do!

2006-04-04T21:52:00.000-04:00

This our hotel room. Why do I only share this? Because this is pretty much all Pete and I saw of the Dominican Republic. Now get your minds out of the gutter...I don't go THERE on my sweet and innocent little 'ol bloggie poo...

It poured rain all but one day that we stayed in the DR. We tried so hard. We walked on the beach but I couldn't take the rain hitting the inside of my ear. We laid on the beach, in the rain, under a palapa, in our damp clothes under even damper beach towels trying to convice ourselves that the cold, rainy, wet beach just HAD to be better than being up north. I'm NOT complaining! We had a great time together laughing, falling in love all over again, laughing some more, sleeping, resting, reading, and EATING every two hours. We ate full meals as much as we possibly could since we weren't sunning ourselves. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort and typically the food is decent but rarely described as good or really good. Well, the food at our resort was excellent! We were thrilled with everything! For breakfast we had Dominican COFFEEEEEEEEE con leche - Yum! Why is their milk just so much more tastier than milk here in the states? It has such a much more earthy flavor and they serve it warm. Fresh made churros - OH MY GOD I ate at least five every morning! Fried eggs, sausage, toast with butter, some sort of mashed fruit or veggie such as plantains, yucca, or squash. Pineapple was my fruit of choice and jugo de pina was my drink of choice. Next thing you know it was time for lunch! Yahoo! Pretty much my lunch and dinner plate was the same. Some kind of light, white, flaky, fish pan fried with tons of lime squeezed on top. Side of salad with tons of lime squeezed on top and rice and beans. Reminded me of exactly what I ate every day while in the Galapagos. We also ate tons of fabulous meats such as rabbit, goat stew, roasted pork - all parts of the piggie (never did try the "trotters stew" as in pig feet!), chicken, turkey, shrimp, lobster, beef, and veal. Only the rabbit wasn't good because there wasn't a whole lot of meat on the bones. We ate more fried bananas/plantains than you can imagine and they were never fried the same way twice - they were "tempura-ed", fried in sugar, mashed and fried, sliced thin and fried to make chips, and put into huge balls of dough and fried. Each way was better than the next. Fresh fruits such as guyabana, watermelon, papaya, grapefruit, cantelope, and pineapple all with tons of fresh lime squeezed on them made their way onto our plates. Along with coffee and cigars, the DR produces sugar. I ate more veggies in sugar than ever before. Carrot discs cooked in brown sugar. Root veggies mashed and cooked in brown sugar. Interesting and delicious! I wasn't a huge fan of their desserts - cake and cookies never taste fresh in a 110% humidity climate but you can't go wrong with flan and more cafe con leche y azucar! Not much sunning and sand but plenty of eating and food!
This is the view from our deck. This photo was taken one hour before checking out of our hotel - the sun FINALLY came out and we were dressed and ready to fly to New York.

Vegas baby!

2006-03-28T12:33:00.000-05:00

Me and Jen at Tao ~ This place had the best food and the club was soooo sexy!

Me, Jen, and Anna at Cafe BaBaReeba for tapas, sangria, and good latin music. Meat and cheese plate along with a melted goat cheese spread was oh so yummy!

What I learned in Vegas...
~ I will be able to dance all night until I'm 105.
~ It's official. I'm old. I cannot wear fabulous 3 inch heels out dancing two nights in a row without my feet screaming and complaining. One night yes but the next night I need sneakers!
~ Men are dumb.
~ Men are really, really, really, dumb.
~ If men simply and politely asked, "Would you like to dance?" They'd get so much more action. Hint: grabbing, putting your crotch up against my butt and grabbing my hips, staring, staring even more, and "I love you! Will you marry me?" just doesn't feel that same as, "Hey, Wanna dance?"
~ There's still really good, tender, juicy, flavorful pork out there.
~ I love spas.
~ I love hot in the sun cool in the shade.
~ I love my girlfriends and giggling and being silly.
~ I love to dress up, put make up on, make my hair all fancy and dance all night long!
~ I could make A LOT of money if I was willing to pretend I liked a foreign dude and danced with him all night long.
~ You are either a VIP, can afford to hang with VIPs, know someone who will put you on the list to be near the VIPs or you are a wannabe. (Thank goodness we were on "the list" to be near the VIPs)
~ New Yorkers suck at service with a smile and at first I was sad at how nice the workers in Vegas were compared to NYC but as soon as I returned home I was sooo happy!
~ Whining babies do not belong on a five hour flight home from Vegas with girls who have had less then 4 hours of sleep in two days!
~ Vegas can be sexy!

The view from the 64th floor of Mix Bar at the top of Mandalay Bay's THE Hotel.

13 week old lion cubs - so cute!

Front of the MGM Grand - that place is huge!!!!!!!!!

917-684-4631

2006-03-19T20:08:00.000-05:00

Yep, the last person in Manhattan finally purchased a cell phone! I've made a few calls already and programmed a few numbers into the memory but other than that I have no clue how to use all the bells and whistles the phone comes with. In time...
I made it. I made it to my vacation! I nearly crawled my way to my vacation. I got a cold the last week before sping break. The periods I did not have the students I was meeting with the parents for conferences with my smelly, cold, breath and warbly, hoarse voice. By the end of the week 5 kids were out sick. It took all that I had to get through the week. It's amazing how healthy I felt waking up Saturday morning!!!!!
So, now, for the next two days I'll prepare to hop a plane to Vegas. It sure does take a lot to get a girl to Vegas!
Expect to see my number pop up on your phone!

Vacation's all I ever wanted

2006-03-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, yeah, so, I have nothing to write about and so much to write about.
I am counting down the days until spring break - next Friday baby! First stop, Vegas with the girls. This will be my first time in Vegas and I'm really looking forward to the whole deal. We're on "the list" at a few hot spots for dancing. We'll be watching the Cirque de Soleil perform O. I've scheduled a massage - ooohhh and aaahhhh! The best part will be giggling with the girls! After I tire myself out celebrating Jenny's end to her singleness I'll head to the beach with my Petey Pie! We're going to the Dominican Republic!

Olympics and Weddings

2006-02-23T21:08:00.000-05:00

I love figure skating. I became addicted in college due to the Nancy Kerigan scandal which led me to a Michelle Kwan addiction. I have wanted nothing more than for Michelle Kwan to win an Olympic gold medal. Well, once I found out she wasn't going to compete this year I have watched NONE of the Olympics. No other figure skater does it for me. I'm trying to watch tonight but I just can't get into it and who allows them to wear those ridiculous outfits? Makes me want to turn it off even faster!

On to more exciting things...
So, ya'll know my girls are gettin married! Jenny's is June 23rd and Heather's is August 12th. Jen asked me to make the cupcake cake - one of my most favorite things about my wedding (thanks Anna!) besides my adorable husband and all the LOVE! I wanted nothing more than to whip up all of these beautiful cupcakes for Jenny on her big day but how could I do that with only ONE 12 cup muffin pan, not one other material related to cake decorating - I don't even have toothpicks, and a mini NY apartment? I was so sad. :( I have designed earrings in my mind that would look beautiful on my Jenny. I could throw some stunning flowers together to go beautifully with her silk gown that has hand painted flowers on it but how could I get myself together to squeeze icing into beautiful sugar flowers? My heart was broken because I didn't even know where to begin with the cupcakes - maybe I could make regular cupcakes and use real flowers? Well, Jenny gave me the good news today...Anna will be in town to help with the cupcakes! Yay! I'll be able to whip up anything with the best teacher by my side! Oh! And I'll be throwing together some flowers for Heather's wedding! :) Now...if only I could make those earrings I pictured...

This is a photo of a photo of my wedding cake - made by Anna! Happy Birthday (yesterday) Anna!

Yay! Weekend

2006-02-18T19:31:00.000-05:00

The start of my four day weekend - so relaxing! Petey and I went to the diner this morning for a wonderful breakfast! Sometimes I just crave a belgian waffle so that's what I had. Well, a girl can't live off waffles alone so I had an egg and bacon with it! After breakfast we relaxed at a coffee shop (surprise, NOT DTUT!) called M. Rhoars. It was so cozy!
I fought the cold - ugh how the wind just cuts right through me to the bone - and went to the public library. I have loved the public library since I was a child. Thank goodness for Andrew Carnegie leaving tons of his steel money to the New York Public Library because now I get movies for free. Yep, if you have a library card you can borrow a DVD for a week. They don't have a whole lot of brand new releases but there's always a popular movie or two to choose from. Lots of classics, lots of documentaries and the arts like ballet or concerts. Before I went to the Galapagos I borrowed three films about the G's. I just love the public library!
When I returned home I was so zapped from fighting the cold I jumped right into bed for a little nappy poo with Petey and my two snugglie cats! Ahhh weekends are fun!

Groundhogs don't know nuthin'

2006-02-12T00:20:00.000-05:00

The Groundhogs predicted an early spring. Well, we've been having spring all winter! I was quite happy to sit outside Starbucks and sip a coffee with friends a few weeks ago - felt like spring! I was wondering when we'd have a few days of winter.
I just love it when it snows in the city! It just seems so unnatural that the city would be covered in snow - as if the bricks and pavement are so far from nature yet when it snows they become one with nature. I woke early to check on the snowfall and my cat, May, joined me. She loves to chase the snow. It's sweet to watch her tap at the window as if she's really going to catch the snowflakes. She herself looks like a little snowflake dancing around tap, tap, tapping the window! It's so quiet here when it snows. There is still some traffic (it IS NYC afterall!) and lots of foot traffic. One can hear the scraping shovels since by law the sidewalks need to be clear. One of my most favorite things to do in the city is to go sledding in Central Park - here they call it "sleigh riding" - but I haven't picked up that expression yet. Oh how I miss Anna and Lance, the best sleddin' buddies! Lance would 'take air' and Anna just giggled the entire time! I never knew if I was tired from the physical exertion or all the laughing! If it was a school day I'd convice my students to meet me on the hill in place of doing their homework. Pete is still dreadfully sick with a 103 degree temperature! Blah! I'm not sure he even knows what day it is or that there's actually snow outside! Poor thing!
I think the closest thing to sledding I'll be doing today is sliding onto my sofa to watch movies and sliding a ton of goodies into my mouth!
Enjoy the beauty!

The view from my living room at 8am this morning.

May searching for the perfect snowflake to catch.

Caught it!

Snow slowing down, 11am.

The Infirmary

2006-02-10T20:16:00.000-05:00

Pete's got it now! The VIRUS! Don't know what the hell it is but it sucks. I had perfect attendance at work but not anymore! After Saturday night fun I laughed my way from the comedy club to sore throatsville. :(
I can honestly say that my throat hurt worse on Saturday night than when I got my tonsils out! The doctor gave me a prescription pain killer when he saw how red my throat was! No joke!
I was good for nothing. Fever, malaise, aches, and a very painful sore throat. All I did for 3 and a half days was sit around and watch TV - when I wasn't sleeping.
Back to last Saturday night...
We went out for Korean food with Heather and Juan Carlos. I think what was most fun about being out for Korean was
#1. Sitting on the floor. I've never taken off my shoes and sat on the floor out at a restaurant. It was cozy and fun!
#2. Speaking a bit of Spanish while dining on Korean!
After dinner, we went to Brianne's (Heather's sister) sketch comedy performance. Talk about talent! That chick is hillarious! She could easily stand with the best on Saturday Night Live - I was near crying from laughing!
We're supposed to get a little blizzard this weekend - Yahoo!

Afterschool activities

2006-02-01T22:20:00.000-05:00

Monday night, ballet and bills
Tuesday night, volunteer at the International Center
Wednesday night, tap
I'm gettin stuff done but the blogs were put to the side.
I loved loved LOVED my tap class tonight! I love my ballet class but I still stink at remembering the routines. I can do all of the ballet moves in isolation but when they are put all together, things get too fast for me and I don't like to let the quality of my moves go. I guess I need to let the quality of my moves go so I can succeed at getting the routine down! Anyway, I have no problem with the moves in tap! It's crazy! It's especially fun to imagine all of my problems underneath my taps - I'm sure to stomp really hard!
With all of my afterschool activities I haven't had time to do lots of cooking. I just whipped up some crab cakes late last night. They were very good but not to die for.

Ice Capades

2006-01-26T22:07:00.000-05:00

Today my job was to take my students ice skating in Central Park. This trip is so much fun! Those kids are so darn cute slipping and sliding all over the place falling down all kinds of ways just trying to make their way around the rink or trying to chase their teacher. Some have the craziest noodle legs and others just glide beautifully over the ice. Others cling onto the wall and never manage to separate themselves and break free. I just love ice skating and I think I could do it every day! This year I practiced an arabesque while skating forward. I also learned a spin - so cool! The kids learned with me and it was so much fun to be equals with my students - our spins pretty much looked exactly the same! The best part was when some of my students were speaking poetically about the "fresh cold air and mist from the ice" in honor of our poetry unit!
Tomorrow it's cupcakes at 9am! Teaching is fun!

Dancing to Wedding Bells

2006-01-23T18:59:00.000-05:00

I did it! All my Saturday morning – EARLY Saturday morning- rehearsals paid off. I performed my ballet routine naturally, without mental energy. Physical energy yes, but no serious mental energy trying to remember the progression of steps in the dance. The group as a whole did beautifully – we felt we stayed together and performed our best. Pete, my mom, sister’s Wendy and Stephanie and my niece, Grace, attended the first performance. It was interesting to change Grace’s thinking. Once she saw me in my pink tights and black leotard (standard ballet issue!) she wanted to know if I was a ballet teacher. She asked what class I taught. None kiddo! Adults can be students too! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for coming to see me dance! It means so much to me!!!!
Adrenaline fades quickly and when the second performance rolled around I was feeling like it would be difficult to perform for an audience without a personal cheering section. I was surprised by Heather and Juan Carlos’ arrival! They were told the show was sold out but I told them to stick around so I could sneak them in. No need for sneaky stuff, they eventually let everyone in right as the show started. So nice to have more loved ones in the audience!
I didn’t know Heather and Juan Carlos were coming to my recital – even though we work together, I rarely get to see or chat with Heather! I was wondering why I didn’t hear from her whether or not she was going to attend and I realized it was probably because she so happy and busy in love with Juan Carlos and then I thought, “Oh! I can’t wait until they get married!”
AND THEY ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

Balance

2006-01-19T22:22:00.000-05:00

I can't balance. I set a personal goal of not hibernating this winter. Well, it's been easy since the weather has been very mild. Now I've got the reverse of hibernating - whatever you call THAT. I'm out every night of the week. It's fine, I'm managing to get stuff done but now I'm really looking forward to being free in the afternoon a couple nights a week. The problem is that I keep signing up for stuff!
I'm excited about the food blog! It's picking up a bit and well, it's just fun!

Comic Convention

2006-01-18T22:48:00.000-05:00

Thank you everyone for all of your well wishes and inquires as to how the convention went!
Let me start off by saying that I am so proud of Pete and all of his dedication, talent, creativity, and hard work. His accomplishments with The Trap-Door Maker are admirable, inspirational, and motivational.
Now, for my interpretation...The convention was a small venue with many independent types. Now, for the crowd. Who visited the convention? The only way I best know how to describe this cast of characters is the way Pete's boss' 12 year-old daughter described them. Her impression goes like this..."The people here are like South Park People, but real." The majority of the people at this convention were mentally challenged and those that were fully functioning citizens in society were socially retarded. My simple greeting of, "Hi. How are you?" scared the crap out of them! The best one of the day was the guy that came to our table, asked great questions about the comic, pulled out his wallet then ran away!

Bliss

2006-01-17T23:09:00.000-05:00

When I feel like doing something I want to do it. I don't want to make appointments and wait. I hate making appointments- by the time the appointment rolls around, I might not be in the mood any more! I phoned Bliss on Saturday and asked for a facial on Sunday. They were booked but had one available on the next day, Monday. Perfect! What a nice place! Nice and pleasant staff; not too kiss-ass and not aloof. The facial was excellent! I especially enjoyed getting the leg and foot massage and the arm and hand massage while waiting for my mask to dry. My skin feels so clean and fresh!

Bar au Vin

2006-01-12T22:34:00.000-05:00

After one stop at a shop on Madison and one pair of wedding shoes later, Jenny and I decided that drinking wine and eating was much easier and much more desireable than more shopping. I'm just not good at shopping, unless it's food shopping. I don't like it. I like when I come home with loot but I don't like the process of looking for the loot. So, we quickly made our way to a cozy little restaurant. When I opened the menu I thought, "Oh. I must have the wine menu." Nope, the menu was just mostly wine and a bit of food to choose from on the back. My kind of restaurant. Started with a very good arugula, beet, cranberry, goat cheese salad. Next up, fish soup with gruyere cheese, croutons and rouille. Okay, I don't like fish soup; I should have ordered the duck breast. I thought there would be FISH in the fish soup all fresh and tasting like 'fruits of the sea' but it was more like fishy fish broth; like the water they steamed shell fish in was served to me - and it was brown. Blah. It grew on me and I ate most of it but next time I'll get a full description of fish soup before I order. I was thrilled with the creamed spinach (and I usually only like to eat Jen's) and frites! No room for dessert so we'll just have to go back and get the chocolate souffle!

Make Me Change My Mind

2006-01-11T22:00:00.000-05:00

When you see something through someone else’s eyes it changes everything. Take something as simple as a manicure and pedicure. I can do my own. I’m fine to go au naturelle, sans polish. Once in a while I really crave a 10 minute massage – okay, that’s not really true. I could literally spend my entire existence being massaged, scratched, groomed, rubbed, exfoliated, and/or ‘spa-ed’ in some fashion – but for now my bank account allows for the 10 minute deal-y. So, while I’m looking forward to getting my 10 minutes I figure I may as well get the mani-pedi too, can’t hurt. Well, here in NY when you get this treatment I go out of my mind with boredom waiting for my nails to dry. Some women have managed to talk on their cell phones, read People magazine, AND keep their nails under the dryer but I haven’t mastered that yet. It’s one of the only times that I’m absolutely certain that I have ADD. I can’t stand waiting under the dryer. (I hate it at the hair salon too.) Well, listening to my mom and sister describe their experience at a ‘NY corner nail salon’ made me change my mind. They were thrilled to sit at those dryers because they got to watch all the people go in and out of the Starbucks and walk around on the streets, not only did the nail ladies help them put on their boots but they used saran wrap on their toes to protect the polish, THEN they were helped with their coats, AND THEN they had to pay only $19.99. So you see, today, when I got a mani-pedi, I wasn’t bored at the dryer, creeped out by slimming around in my boots with saran wrap on my toes or annoyed by them helping me with the zipper on my jacket.

My Sides Hurt

2006-01-09T22:06:00.000-05:00

My Sides Hurt from laughing...Anna called tonight! I miss her so so much it brings tears to my eyes! She called tonight so we could laugh about how her brother and sister-in-law gave birth to...well, a mini Anna! Adorable 'Anna' pink cheeks and all - I can about hear the baby giggling just like her Auntie!! We talked about Jen's bachelorette party in Vegas and yes, we're excited to party...whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...but I got really excited when Anna reminded me about $1.99 buffet! I said, "OOOOHHHH bacon and eggs!" She said, "Shoot this ain't no bacon and eggs! This is shrimp and lobster tail!" Even better! Bacon and eggs WITH shrimp and lobster tail!

I've decided that this is our year for abundance/the beginning of a lifetime of abundance. Last spring, I worked with a coworker/friend, Mary, to Feng Shui our apartment. We put the money plant in our abundance corner and well, we've managed to finally sell our car! If all goes as planned, we'll sign over the title this Thursday. Also, we have original art from Jack Davis hanging in our abundance corner. Who's Jack Davis? He's a legendary artist from the original, 1950's, Tales from the Crypt comics and Mad Magazine. He's Pete's all time favorite comic book artist and number one inspiration for completing The Trapdoor Maker. Well, HE CALLED PETE TODAY! Jack Davis took the time to call Pete and give him feedback on the comic! Abundance!

Here are some products that I am loving and can't live without right now!
1. Airborne - feel a cold coming on? Take this stuff! It's a miracle in a fizzy tablet! Kids can take it too!
2. Eucerin Calming Creme - I am the queen of itchy dry skin in the winter. This is so disgusting, not to mention TMI, but the skin on my stomach has been so dry in the winter that one time there were flakes of dry skin on my jeans. EEEEWWWW! My skin is so happy with this creme - I've even put it on my FACE! The only negative is that it doesn't smell good - unscented.
3. Aquaphor Healing Ointment, also by Eucerin - my lips and cuticles have no clue it's winter in New York.
4. Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads - Actually, Delia recommended these and she was right! They come in a huge tub which is a pain to have hanging around the shower but it's worth it! Jelecia suggests you cut them in half and they work just as well and last longer - Perfect!
5. Cascadian Farms Frozen Organic Berries - Heather suggested the frozen fruit and I tried. I have had delicious smoothies and I just made homemade blueberry muffins!
6. Shaller and Weber Bauerenschenken (AKA ham) and Jarlesburg Swiss Cheese but then again, I'm always lovin ham and cheese and can never live without it, all times of the year.

Appreciation

2006-01-05T20:07:00.000-05:00

To put off, yet again, writing thank you notes to the families of my class I’ve decided it would be much more fun to blog…
What teacher’s appreciate:
Teacher’s appreciate a thank you. (I bet the parents would appreciate a thank you right about now!)
Teacher’s appreciate when their hard work is noticed and acknowledged.
Teacher’s love receiving gift certificates to Bliss Spa. (In all my years as a teacher this is the first time that I’ve received a ‘pamper yourself’ gift!)
Teacher’s love watching their students grown, learn, and mature. It’s a teacher’s dream when a student begins to ‘take responsibility.’ -truly groundbreaking!
Teacher’s appreciate teaching, reading, guiding, laughing, learning and chatting with their students.
Can you tell I’m just adoring my students? They are so amazing right now. Yeah, they are still annoying one another, flying off the handle with one another and can’t stop touching one another but I am so appreciating their straightforwardness. My students just flat out tell one another why they are annoyed or don’t particularly care for one another. One student, was told, “When you cry too easily over the smallest thing I feel annoyed. When you yell too loud when excited, happy, hurt, angry, or frustrated, I feel scared. When you interrupt me when I’m talking I feel mad.” So, why can’t adults talk to one another this way? Why can’t we say, “Hey, buddy, when I see your dog pee on that tree, I feel sad. Miss, when you cell yell on the quiet 10am bus, I feel annoyed and embarrassed for you. Um, coworker, when you comment on my weight and ask questions aabout everything I put into my mouth, I feel really awkward and uncomfortable; I wonder, how am I supposed to respond to ‘Gawd, ya sew skinny’?” Yeah, so maybe adults can learn a thing or two from those little buggers!
News about the peeps in my life:
-Anna is an aunt to 7.15lbs baby Antoinette Elizabeth Congratulations!
-Delia, Maddie gave me a HUGE hug today and I asked her a million and one questions that she couldn’t possible answer!
-Petey is finally healthy after two long bouts of stomach flu. Now that I’m back at work and he’s perfectly healthy, I’m wondering if it was me that was making him sick!
-Omar, my favorite coffee and Italian sandwich guy at Eddie’s Market, asked if I was lining up my summer plans. (Not Yet! But I’m always thinking about it!) He’s sure I’m done with Ecuador and convinced I should return to Mexico. (of course, he’s Mexican)
Hum…where will my heart take me next…
Mail me your thoughts and ideas! He-he-he!

I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

2006-01-03T21:55:00.000-05:00

I'm back at work and one would NEVER know that I eliminated my sleep deficit over the break. I can't get to bed at a decent hour and I'm really tired. I do wake right up in the morning but come 4pm 'somebody get me a coffeeeeeee!'
Was lovin the kids today! A few grew and one or two, I'm convinced, will never grow (mature). They were all calm, sweet, and well behaved and I was just loving them!
Back at the International Center and met with my English conversation partner. This is the third time that we've met and it went really well. She's so sweet and genuine. I learn so much culturally but I'm also learning about what it's like for women not from this country. Being raised in the USA has made me a different woman than women from other parts of the world and I compare the difference between the two. I'm constantly reminded how society, culture, and beliefs decide how a woman is supposed to behave. I wonder what it would be like to walk in her shoes.
I'm still getting the emails, phone calls and cards and I'm so happy!!!!!! My Galapagos students had a baby boy. The children I was a nanny for while in Atlanta have grown so much! One mother wrote that her son loves to read and thanked me for all the reading I did to her son. The little girl (the other family) is not little anymore and her mother wrote that she is still soooo sweet! Her older brother is gorgeous! (the photo card) I received an email from a former student who now lives in Australia - he's still so damn funny in his emails! Of course I got the homework report...Aussies in 3rd grade have much less than 1st and 2nd grade children in NYC.

Sleepedith

2005-12-29T16:59:00.000-05:00

Pete always calls me "____edith" For example: Whinedith, Complainedith, Laughedith, Meowedith, and on and on...

It's unbelieveable how much sleeping one can do! I'm easily getting 10 hours a night! Sleepedith. I stay up super late and sleep even later - 7pm feels like mid-day. Ahhhh! Vacation! After my espresso I get busy 'doing stuff' around the house. I've put our car up for sale, organized our files, tossed a ton of unnecessary papers, organized our finances, purged, applied, cooked, cleaned, and then made bigger messes to clean. When I get out of the apartment it's to shop for organizing materials - Staples, or to eat - of course! Yesterday I was super sales lady...I went door to door at the comic shops here in NYC and gave out promo copies of Pete's comic book along with the order number for book 2. It gave me some great experience for when I attend the comic book convention this January 14th. Yep, peeps, I'm going to a comic book convention...ahhhhh true love! We plan to celebrate the New Year at home with peel and eat shrimp and crab legs; great food and great conversation!

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T10:11:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!
Peace on Earth!
We'll be home for Christmas!
One of our Christmas gifts was Quicken so I'll be playing with that, trying to figure it out all day long. For now I think the money mangement program should be called 'Slowen', 'Frustraten', or 'Ha-ha-ha you MIGHT be able to manage your moneyEN.' Wish me luck! Pete got me an adorable new hat but I won't be wearing it bc it feels like a bit of a heat wave here in the city - no complaints! I love going out with only a vest on! Petey got a Sony PSP so he'll be takin breaks from his comic and playin with that. Our pantry and fridge are packed. We'll enjoy naps in our cozy bed inbetween an eating marathon and play time.
Feliz Navidad!

Season's Greetings cards

2005-12-24T18:30:00.000-05:00

Oh I just love the Christmas cards!!! I'm like Charlie Brown, "Helllllooooo in there" everytime I visit my mailbox! My favorites are the the photos! The best is the bonus photo - my family and friends put THEIR picture in the card along with the kids! Of course, the best card of all is the personal message! I just love it love it love it!!!!!!!
I've also been receiving the emails from all over the world wishing me the Merriest! Yay!!!!!!
It's Christmas Eve and Petey and I are at a Starbucks enjoying their yummy peppermint mocha. He's busy penciling the next issue of his comic. We just returned home from Atlantic City yesterday. I can not and could not stop wishing I was in Mexico. Yes, we definitely struggled with 'our-greatest-problem-is-that-we-couldn't-fly-to-Mexico', poor us; how pathetic... Two nights in a hotel was a treat and we got a little 'refueled.' Still not fond of AC but I found pleasure in walking on the beach, cruising the boardwalk (Pete won a stuffed animal for me in one of those claw grabbing arcade machines!), and eating (boardwalk pizza)! Good thing AC did not disappoint in the food department! Good crab legs, fish n chips, and shrimp gumbo. Excellent Irish pub grub! I must have major Irish blood in me bc I love everything on the menu - shepherd's pie, fish n chips, corned beef and cabbage, and the best of all...Irish soda bread pudding with Guinness ice cream!!! That ice cream was sooooo good!

Sick

2005-12-20T10:33:00.000-05:00

Cry
Pete got really sick and we had to cancel our trip to Mexico. :( :( :(
Yes, I'm disappointed but the worst part is watching my Petey Pie not able to eat! One of my favorite things is when others enjoy food as much as I do. The poor thing is so sick with nausea he can hardly eat and when he does it's not much. He's sick with worry that he has disappointed me and sick with worry that he's not going to make the deadline with the next comic book issue. I'm sick with worry watching him green, sweaty, and sighing. Blah! (BTW a bottle of bleach and changing the sheets works great if you don't want to catch what your mate has - Thanks WenMc!) So, I guess things were getting better and Pete ate two huge bowls of ice cream last night and woke me complaining that he was going to get sick again! I'm not a very good nurse! Today I put him on a strick diet of clear and white. If oatmeal and mint tea work their magic, we'll hop a bus and head to Atlantic City for two nights. Yes, AC is a far cry from Mexico but the hotel swimming pool and jacuzzi is much bigger than my bathtub...
Stay healthy peeps.

Petey Pie my Sweetie Pie

2005-12-14T16:45:00.000-05:00

Last night we went to the Geppetto Christmas party. It was a really nice event at an unpretentious restaurant with cozy fireplace, harpist, and original cocktails named after employees. Fun and Yum! Green tea martini with sake and other sweet stuff. Now that Pete works freelance at Geppetto his former coworkers miss him desperately - work is no fun without him! After a few cocktails the gang sure bent my ear with how much they miss him and how things just aren't the same without him! I'm glad they miss him but what I'm most happy about is that he quit working there full time and that I have much more of his time and energy. That he's pursuing his passion. That he's an inspiration; he's living and working his dream. So many of his coworkers envy him because they wish they could quit and pursue their dreams...but they don't. I'm glad Pete has moved on!
So, check out his passion, his inspiration, his comic book: The Trapdoor Maker, by Pete Bregman on Amazon.com

Countdown

2005-12-12T22:35:00.000-05:00

Only 3 and a half more days! I don't who is more excited...the students or the teachers!
This time next week Petey and I will be on the beach! Yay!!!! We're going to Playa del Carmen, Mexico for 5 days. Stayin in a small hotel right in the center of town and we can't wait!!!!!!!!! Sun and sand and more sun - yahoo!
So, I've been freakishly busy with...stuff! Haven't wanted to bloggie since most of my spare time was spent writing report cards. After writing, writing and writing on the computer I didn't want to write anymore. So, now I'm back. :)
Most nights last week I spent out and about the city with Petey, Jen, watching Heather's improv performance, volunteering or babysitting. Come friday night I grabbed a bite with Petey then was home and in bed by 10pm! This weekend I realized there simply aren't enough hours in a day to get everything done! I was a cleaning machine last night and ended up oversleeping this morning! Funny how I'm up and wide awake at 6am on weekends but can't peel myself from bed during the week.
Tomorrow Pete and I have a Christmas party to go to.
Tis the season to be busy fa la la la la la la la la!

Short and with no emotion...

2005-12-04T22:32:00.000-05:00

Hopefully, that's not my life: short and with no emotion...

Friday:
Afternoon, I checked in on a broken collar bone. Yep, I broke someone's collar bone while babysitting. Worst night and day of my life.
Evening, diner with Petey.

Saturday:
Early (and I mean EARLY for me!) I had ballet rehearsal.
Went to a loooooooong brunch with Heather.
School to work on reports.
Home to nap.
Karaoke to celebrate a birthday.
Korean food until 3 in the morning.

Sunday:
Slept a lot.
Diner with Petey.
Worked on reports.
Waited for Fresh Direct to deliver my groceries.

Wine and Cheese 101

2005-11-30T21:50:00.000-05:00

Oh my god I've died and gone to wine and cheese heaven! I took a class at Artisanal to learn how to pair the perfect wine with the perfect cheese. Well, I really don't care about the pairing I just wanted to eat a whole bunch of yummy cheeses and drink some decent wine. I'm trying to expand my cheese pallet. If only my girls would have been there with me...but I did well on my own. Heather and Jen we'll have to sip and dine at Picholine!! (After we visit Barbounia, of course! Flaming Cheese!!!!!)
There were 8 different types of cheeses from goat, sheep, cow and mixed. I thought I hated the goat. My past experience with goat cheese has always been - ew, I just licked my hand after visiting the petting zoo. I have tried and tried and tried to find a goat cheese that doesn't offend me. I've managed a few times (at Dean and Deluca) but for the most part I steer clear. Well tonight I learned to love the goat! Two really good recommendations are: 1. Mont Saint-Francis from the US with firm texture and an assertive flavor (but not goat sweat assertive). 2. Casinca Chevre from France with a salty/buttery finish. My favorite favorite favorite cheeses of the night were: 1. Nisa from Portugal made from sheep's milk. Semi-hard texture with an herbaceous flavor. The most interesting thing about this cheese, which is cousin to Manchego, is that it's not pasturized so it's still ALIVE and that it's made with vegetable rennet. 2. (My absolute favorite of the night) Hoch Ybrig from Switzerland made with cow's milk. A very firm texture with a sharp nuttiness. This cheese went well with a Riesling, Pinot Noir and went especially well with a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Well, what do you know...the Cabernet has flavors of coffee, black current, and 'earth' (YUM!) and it paired best with my favorite cheese. I typically eat espresso, (probably shouldn't have Cabernet before work - right?) some type of hard cheese with a bit of honey for dipping, along with greek yogurt (full fat baby!) and berries for breakfast. The teacher tonight recommended this! NO joke!
I think what I'm most fascinated about is that cheese is a good souce of calcium and the nutrients in cheese help metabolize fats and sugars. I thought I was eating it because it tasted really good!
I just loved learning about the whole history and science behind the making of cheese. I was sad to learn about how much genetically modified materials (rennet for example) the US is now using to produce cheeses. Western Europe won't allow imported US cheeses, produce, and other items because of the GMOs! Blah! Almost 90% of our foods have GMOs in them. Boo-Hoo. :( This is probably why I love the flavor of foods outside of the US!
Time for bed now that my tummy is full, my tastebuds have been stimulated, my blood is buzzed with wine and my brain has been exercised with the science of food! Nitey!

Ballerina

2005-11-28T22:11:00.000-05:00

Ballet class. I love it but often have no clue how to do the routines. I just do my own thing and try to look like I know what I'm doing. I often wonder why, why, WHY my little first and second grade students just can't follow oral directions. Probably the same reason why I can't follow when my ballet teacher gives just oral instructions and no visuals. She's speaking french. But not the kind of french one can use when you're in Paris such as "Hi, how are you?, how much is this beret?, where is the metro?, I'd like to order a hot ham and cheese with french fries and a big bottle of wine." Anyway, I get so frustrated when my first and second grade students are sort of blobbie when they don't know what to do. I always say, "If you don't know what to do, just do something, anything." This is me in ballet class. If it looks like everyone is jumping, I jump. If they are sliding across the room, I slide. If they are turning, I turn. If you put all those things together, I am totally making up my own ballet routine that is NOT what the teacher has instructed us to do but it sorta kinda looks like it. When there are two groups in the class - one with fast music and slow music, I'm in the slow music group. I'm not relegated to the back row but I have to have someone in front of me to help me follow the routine. I could stress out about this situation but why bother? I'm there for me to make a nice tight ballet butt, break a small sweat (at least ONE time a week!), and to keep me feeling young and nimble (my hips and knees sometimes scream otherwise.) I have no desire to impress anyone in the class. If the class needs to wait for my group (the slow group) to mark the routine over and over I feel good about it. Sadly, one of my classmates couldn't keep positive about being in the slower group and she resorted to crying. I felt bad. I KNOW her frustration but, hey, she didn't stand out as one who didn't know the routines and at least she's not sittin at home doing nothing.
Speaking of nothing...that's exactly what I did all my days off from work. When I wasn't eating and sleeping - which I did A LOT of - I did pretty much, nothing. Some reading here, some cooking there, a few rows of crochet, a couple of snuggle sessions with my cats, hardly any cleaning and organizing, and a walk through the park to watch the squirrels run gracefully through the leaves. That's it! OH! I did discover 'on demand' on my cable TV. One of the highlights was watching the movie, Crash. It's a 'really-make-you-thinker.' See it. Especially see it if you think you are not a racist. See it if you think you know what it's like to be of a culture that is different from your own or if you simply like to learn about others. If you are a human being walking this earth, trying to function in society, see this movie.
It's a good thing I did nothing because I was all happy to be back at work. My kids were supper yummy today!

Cool news! You can order Pete's comic book through Amazon! Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977386600/002-0604005-1508007

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-24T19:43:00.000-05:00

I am thankful...
-that my sister and brother-in-law travelled all the way up to NYC to eat turkey with me and Pete. We went to a cozy little restaurant just down the street from my apartment. The bird was actually juicy!
-that the weatherman sucks and is always wrong because NYC didn't have a nor'easter with rain and snow - it was sunny today!
-that I have friends and family that I can trust, depend on, have great conversation with and most importantly - LAUGH with!
-that I'm healthy and more importantly, that my loved ones are healthy!
-that my husband is pursuing his dream, living his passion, being an inspiration.
-that I have a cozy apartment in NYC with an even cozier husband and two snugglie cats.
-that I've seen and learned all that I have and I look forward to seeing and learning so much more!
-for Oprah - I love her!
-that I have cash in my wallet. I remember a time when I had only a few coins in my wallet.
-for very simple and small things like a new episode of CSI tonight, no 'piles' on my table or coffee table, all my dishes are clean, and sweet potato pie sittin around the house for snacking on later!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday with Friends

2005-11-21T19:38:00.000-05:00

Heather and Juan Carlos

Friday night with friends. Couple friends. Definitely one of those times that makes me ask, "Why don't we do this more often?" The best part was the laughing!!
Highly recommend the Beaujolais Nouveau 2005 - it's good stuff.

A lot of peeps have been asking about Petey's comic book and we thank you!
Here's the info: Approximately 300+ orders have been placed by shops. We don't know the exact shops but plan to find out. When Pete first got the news of the orders, he was a bit down - the distributor told him, "Yes, those numbers are low." If the book fails to receive lots of orders after three tries, then the distribution company will drop Pete's comic.
The best part is that with this info, Pete started to look into other options, routes, venues etc. So, he'll sell on Amazon. He'll attend a comic convention in January. There is a HUGE Phantom of the Opera fan base on the web and they want everything and anything that has to do with the Phantom so, Pete will oblige them. The book will be in shops this December but in the meantime, Pete is frantically trying to complete the next three chapters by January, work on freelance (has to make money!), and make his wife feel like she's getting attention.

Jen and Tom

My favorites right now

2005-11-16T23:13:00.000-05:00

My favorite art right now is by Oswaldo Guayasamin. He's considered the 'Picaso of Ecuador.'

My favorite CD right now is the new Madonna - anyone want to go out dancing all night long?

My favorite students right now are the ones whose parents behave themselves. Students that behave themselves come in at a very close second favorite.

My favorite food right now is manchego cheese - aged a lot of months.

My favorite thing to do after work right now is go to the International Center.

My favorite afternoon 'pick me up' right now is hot tea with cream and sugar.

My favorite person right now is my housekeeper Teresa. The day she comes is the best day of the week!

My favorite vacation to look forward to right now is Thanksgiving. Only 4 full work days left until HOLIDAY!!!!

Let's do brunch

2005-11-14T22:10:00.000-05:00

Stalking Carter, my favorite bartender! No, not really! Jen recommended Five Points for brunch so when my sister, Linda, said she'd be in town and wanted to 'do brunch.' I went with Jenny's rec. It was a good one indeed! Haven't seen Linda and Ed since last June!!! It was great to meet up with them and eat really good food. We sat outside and enjoyed the fabulous weather! I'll take it! Winter always makes up the cold days on the back end - the bone chill stays until May! :( Anyway, back to the food...Started with passionfruit belini. Linda has the white peach belini. Good but not as good as the bloody marys with horseradish, lemon and huge stalk of celery! Yummy! Fish tacos for me, a crock full of eggs and meat for Linda and Pete (hey that rhymes!) and a big fritata for Ed. The best was ending it with churros and chocolate. The churros were better than they make in Mexico but the chocolate didn't come close to Mexico - fine with me, it was the churros that I was after! Oh! I'm gettin hungry! Gotta go!

Day to Day

2005-11-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: Survived parent-teacher conferences. All went well but it's one of those days that makes me think I could write the follow up book to The Nanny Diaries...The Independent School Teacher Diaries by ANONYMOUS. Since I'm not courageous enough to put my name on it, I won't write it. But, damn, it would be a fabulously hillarious read!! Voted then shared a bottle of wine with Jenny to accompany our nibbles at Uva.

Wednesday: Worked tirelessly. The day after conferences is exhausting. Visited the New York Historical Society with the students to view some art from the Hudson River School - group of artists from the 1860's who painted what this place looked like before too many people. Babysat.

Thursday: Had another training class at the International Center. This week we learned how to teach English vocabulary and pronunciation. Of course I loved it! My partner was, Yuki, from Japan. It continues to astound me how hard people work at obtaining another language! If I worked half as hard as people trying to learn English I'd be like the next Oprah or Martha. I just love every second of being there! I have one more training session and then I will start my 'partnership.' I'd like to do more so maybe I'll start training in order to teach a class. We'll see where it takes me!

Friday: Petey and I went to see an Imax film, Galapagos, at the Museum of Natural History. Here's a link if you'd like to check it out in your area: http://www.imax.com/galapagos/ The first few images brought tears to my eyes and a longing ache to my heart. I had to refrain from leaning over to My Pie and saying, "I saw that." "I saw that." "I saw that." "It's really like that." He was patient with me. It was a nice little revisit for me. :)

Lovin toasted pinenuts

2005-11-07T19:21:00.000-05:00

I love pinenuts! Okay, nevermind that I've skipped ballet class bc I have so much work to do to prepare for my parent teacher conferences tomorrow and now I'm bloggie blogedith...
Yep, I love pinenuts. First off, I love all types of nuts and berries but I was never fond of pinenuts until this past summer. Thinking back to Galapagos (this is sort of an exaggeration but not by much) the only foods on the island were fish, tomato, red onion, and lime. One could have fried fish with a side of tomato onion salad in a bit of lime juice, fish ceviche cooked in lime with chopped tomato and onion, and/or fish soup with tomato topped with fresh onion and a squeeze of lime. So, the time I got invited to eat dinner on the sailing yacht and they served a mesculin salad with toasted PINENUTS I thought I died and went to heaven. Victor, Jim and I ended up sneaking and eating all of the pinenuts from the serving dish while our hosts cleared the table and fetched dessert! It was so exciting to be eating something so different, so exotic while living in the Galapagos!
Yesterday, I made a fabulous cream of cauliflower soup - very, very simple and delicious! Boil onion and cauli in chicken stock for 15 minutes. Zap in Cuisinart then add 2 cups skim milk and reheat. Of course salt and pepper! Top with walnuts. Well, I ate all my walnuts so I used toasted pinenuts, of course! ;) Bon provecho!

The sailing yacht, The Tamsen and Victor, me and Jim

Delia's Wedding

2005-11-05T19:48:00.000-05:00

Delia and Joey

Me and Delia

Me and Pete

Delia's wedding was so lovely and a lot of fun! The highlight (besides Delia being a beautiful bride!) had to be when Delia's parents, along with other family members and friends busted out with the bagpipes and drums -so cool!!! Next came the Irish step dancing! How wonderful! Oh! More highlights! The live music at the ceremony, the FOOD - chilean sea bass, sushi, cold seafood bar and hot hors d'oeuvres YUM, the very attentive and polite service and the band at the reception - everyone was up dancing! Everything was beautiful and perfect in every way ~ what a great send off for Delia and Joey!! Congratulations!
While I was partying at the wedding, my sister was celebrating her birthday. Happy Birthday Wendy! :)

The International Center

2005-11-03T20:53:00.000-05:00

One of the more exciting things going on in my life is that I finally got a volunteer position/job. I started seriously searching last fall and just now managed to begin! I was originally searching for a literacy volunteer program. I would have loved to teach adults how to read at the NY Public Library but sadly, the library was so poor at contacting me and returning my calls. Finally, I found the International Center but by the time I got in for an interview it was late spring and was leaving for the Galapagos all summer. The International Center has always been great about keeping in touch and returning phone calls. They contacted me in September, as promised, and my calendar wasn't free until now to complete the training. I went to my first English conversation training class last Thursday. I loved it!!!! The volunteers are from all walks. Some were born outside the US and immigrated while very young. All volunteers were like minded and very inspiring! The 'students', who pay only $350.00 a year for this fabulous Center, tend to be mostly from Asia. There was one student from Argentina. It was so inspiring and invigorating to work with others who are so interested in being at the Center and eager to learn English. Of course, most of the students were professionals in their home countries but felt the need to learn English if they want to further their career. How amazing! I look forward to spending time there each week meeting new and interesting people from all over the world. One of the greatest lessons I learned and a lesson that I've learned throughout my travels is that I don't know much about my culture. Not country but CULTURE. So, I will hopefully be learning more and more about my culture. Along with perfecting other's English I'll be able to teach them about US culture. Wish me luck. Apple pie, hot dogs and baseball right? Another interesting tidbit that we talked about was that people all have behaviours that are: Universal, Cultural, and/or Personal. Do we behave in a certain manner because it's Universal - all human beings do it, Cultural - our cultural upbringing taught us to conduct ourselves in this particular manner or Personal - it's a belief or understanding I've come to on my own? Very interesting...
So, yep, I loved my experience at the International Center!

Busy Bee

2005-11-02T23:25:00.000-05:00

Busy Bee...
I haven't been home in the evenings...
It's all good. I figure if I was home I'd be thinking about all the 'stuff' that should be gettin done. I don't like should. I don't do well with should. As my aunt has said, "I 'do' when the spirit moves me." (Or when I've been pumping my blood with really good coffee.) Oh yeah, espresso update: I love love love my new machine! I am now making perfect espressos with 'crema' on top. It took a few weeks to perfect the art and science of making an espresso but so far I'm a success!
Well who would have thought that my blog would include my school's lunch?! Today it was 'hamburger turnovers' also know as meat patties. I ate 4! Yep, they were good!
Tomorrow I'm going to an orientation to become an English conversation volunteer at the International Center. I'm really excited about this!

Volcan, Ballet butt, and Lousy Louse

2005-10-31T22:04:00.000-05:00

I added more photos to my Shutterfly account.

How cool is this...
I just received an email from my Galapagos friend, Jim. He said that due to the volcano the water is much warmer! I want to be there! I want to dive and surf and never get out of that warm water!

Now back to reality...
It wasn't easy but I dragged my butt to ballet class. Since my classes are held at the jewish community center they cancel class whenever there is a holiday. There was a holiday for the past two Mondays so it would have been very easy to continue the pattern of NOT going to class. Believe me, I didn't happily skip there. I dragged and dragged and wished I was home eating a hot ham and cheese. Well, I made it and of course it was one of my best classes ever! I can never remember the routines - I'm always making up my own dance routines but tonight I was remembering everything. Only complaint is that I'm sore already! I even signed up to be in the recital this winter. I'll let ya'll know about my dance recital! (Not sure if it's Jan or Feb) Things may not work out because I've also signed up for another graduate course - this one is on Saturdays for the next 6 weeks. The ballet rehearsals will be on Saturdays. If the graduate class is anything like the class (oh-my-god-it-sucks-so-bad-I-can't-call-it 'a class') on Fridays, no worries, I won't be attending the Sat class.

Bad news...my school has lice. :( Blah! One of the kids said, "ALREADY!" The kid is 7 and she knows that it's simply too soon to be getting lice. Lice is popular the 1st day of school - remnants of summer camp or in the heart of the winter - hat wearin season. YUCK YUCK YUCK. I'm afraid of those critters gettin on my pillow. In my hair? No big deal. You just shampoo and pick. But my sweet, innocent pillow??? UGH!
Bye - my head itches - time to go scratch...