AT CLOSE RANGE(R)



Our friend Lutty and her husband Nelson scored an extra pair of tix for tonights NY Rangers game. And not just any seats. 7th row seats! So Celvyn and I jumped at the chance. We even had waiter service! Our chicken fingers/beer came within 2 minutes. Best of all, this was Mark Messier's last game (or is it?)

The crowd was so excited the last 13 seconds of the game. Everyone was screaming MESS-I-YEAH, MESS-I-YEAH over and over while clapping their hands and cheering. It was a very emotional moment for everyone. All the fans flooded down to get as close as they could and take their last pictures. Mark made a few final skates around the ice as the Buffalo Sabres stood in line and tapped their sticks on the ground in honor of the great Messier. It was a great time, even if they did lose 4 to 3.

Happy Christening Sophia!

Woke up mighty early to go out to LI for the christening of my newest cousin Sophia Lydia. It was a mass christening with about 6 babies, all crying and/or screaming. The Deacon actually forgot to anoint baby Sophia until we yelled his name several times. Damn Deacon. I was given photo duty which put tons of pressure on me that I didn't expect. This is a big event, what if I screw up? I went up when it was our time, pushed the button, and nothing. AACK! My cousins will disown me if I don't get this right. But after a couple of tries I was able to take a few pics so I think I'm still good with the family.

Went to a lunch celebration afterwards at a seafood restaurant in Bayshore. Shrimp, clams, oysters and salmon. Very tasty. Baby Sophia is adorable and has quite possibly the roundest head of any baby I've ever seen.

I can't imagine ever moving out the the suburbs, especially Long Island. I just don't get what people do with their time. But I guess you have no free time once you have kids so that pretty much explains it. I wonder where we'll end up when its our time?

I got my hair cut today. In fact, I got them all cut! (hardy har har)

I've been in desperate need of a hair cut/hair style for some time now. I've been putting it off because my hairdresser (Marco, grrrrrrrrrrr) is ALL the way in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn-about an hour fifteen minute subway ride. But I finally made it and BOY am I happy I did. Not only did I get a Marco kiss (well, he IS Italian), but I got a great new cut/style.

The salon was extremely busy tonight and I was quite worried when he was cutting my hair but keeping his eyes on the woman who was sitting in the shampoo chair. Um, look at ME when you cut my hair. But it seems she had a bit of a coloring disaster so I was understanding. About 85% of her hair was the chocolatey brown color she desired, but the top part near the crown had an orangy look to it. Glad I didn't get any coloring done. Phew! He did get some other chick to blowdry my hair which gave me less Marco time than I would've liked. But in all it was a wonderful experience and now I have to figure out how to sleep standing up so my hair looks this good tomorrow.

Some interesting reads on Bush and more at Howard Stern's website.

Seems he will only be on another 2 wks or so due to all the bullshit going on with the FCC. I find this all extremely upsetting. But this picture is pretty darn funny!

Yesterday was great, despite the cold, windy temp. Spring? I don't think so.

Started off the day stuffing our faces with Dim Sum at our old fav Golden Unicorn in Chinatown. They sat us up on the pedestal part of the restaurant so poor Henry had to run around everytime a cart passed by. But after a while I took over and it was all good. Thanks to Dave for running into the kitchen to request 3 plates of Mexican Buns. I mean, it is the main reason we go there. Sweet, salty, eggy goodness.

Oddly enough we were craving dessert (again) so Henry, David and I walked to eat even more food at our fav French coffee/dessert hideout Ceci Cela. Had very tasty Cafe Mocha, along with 5 DESSERTS that we shared. David got the most amazing Creme Brulee with a hint of Bergamot flavoring. Also on the table for sharing was Coffee Eclair, Strawberry Shortcake, Madeleine and a Mixed Berry Tart. It was just perfect. If a bit much.

Walked over to the Apple Store and relaxed there for about an hour. I love the ' instructional theatre' on the 2nd floor. Learned a lot of neat tricks for Panther. We've had it for some time but I never really play with all the diff hot keys much. So much to learn.

Decided to call it a night so we all hopped on the train. Started thinking about juicy cheeseburgers so in a mad panic for greasy goodness we jumped off last minute at 14th Street and took the bus to what I've been told are THE best burgers in NYC-Corner Bistro Waited for at least 20-30 min. We were hit with various smells while waiting which ranged from tasty burgers and bacon cooking on their TINY grill to probably the worst bathroom smells imaginable. We were finally seated. Mmmm, there's nothing like $2 beers and $5 greasy, juicy, drippy, messy burgers. And the fries were awesome. Perfectly crispy. The whole meal was just great. Best burgets in NYC, I don't think so. But still a nice finish to what has now been dubbed as Last Winter Weekend Glutton-Fest!

Went to an allergist yesterday in preparation for my lovely spring allergies. He pricked my upper arm 13 times with different common allergens. Turns out I'm allergic to 2 things only. Trees. And cats. CATS??? WTF??? I have 2 cats. What does this mean to me? Well, nothing really. I am not getting rid of them. The cat allergy is not nearly as bad as the tree allergy. The doc told me the bumps on my arm should go away within 2 hours. Well the tree bump is still there 36 hrs later. So no tree climbing for me until they've fully bloomed. I think I will stay in for the Spring and come out in June.

We had a great time at dinner last night at Perbacco with David, Matthew, Celvyn, Henry and Karen-who happens to have gone to the same jr high school as me and lived only 10 blocks away! Her Dad also works for the same company my Mom has been associated with for many years. Its a small world after all indeed. But for some reason I keep thinking her name is Jenny. Hi Jenny! :) Dave chose the place and it was such a great find. Tiny, neighborhoody place with tons of Italian charm. Great Italian red wine, beautiful glasses, great food, even better desserts. Just a cozy, comfy place. Thanks Dave.

Woke up this morning to the sounds of that damn kid who lives above us jumping up and down. I swear he puts on his mom's heels and stomps around every wknd morning at 9:30 on the dot. I think he's a crossdresser in training. So what if he's 4. I'm just so tired of it. And so tired. I can't wait to move (someday) and sleep in until 7pm. Mmmmm.

So I woke up, moped around the house, and then decided to read some Time Out NY. But something was wrong. Really wrong. I couldn't read the words. Everytime I'd start to read the words would become all distorted. It was as if someone put a distorted piece of glass over the line I was trying to read. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I took off my glasses, wiped them clean, and tried again. Still no good. I panicked. OH MY GOD, I'M GOING BLIND. THIS IS IT! IT'S ALL OVER FOR ME. Went to call my Mom and nothing! The phone was dead. Went to use my cell phone, dammit-that's been dead all week. David quickly jumped online and looked up what could be the problem. He told me to take a shot glass and wash my eyes with water. I did so. Aaahh, better. All that panic for nothing. Very strange. It was like a floating crescent moon shape in my right eye. I still don't know what it was but it was very scary.

Went walking around the Upper West Side today. We passed by a new bakery with a HUGE line. Something new. Whats the line for? Were they giving away something for free? It was Beard Papa's Cream Puffs! I hadn't heard of these but we had nothing else to do so we waited in line. And waited. And waited. Must have been around a 20 min wait. Apparently this is a worldwide chain and this is the first store in the US. Delicious puff pastry shells filled with vanilla custard. All filled to order. They were fantastic. But the reviews on the window said they were served warm, and they weren't. I think if I got a warm one it would have been a lot better. I would go back, but I wouldn't wait in a 20 min line for them again. They weren't THAT good.

Does anyone love bubble wrap as much as I? Well there's good news...

Almost as good as the real thing.

We booked a trip to Miami for a little R&R. First week of May, for 5 days. I have it all planned out.

Day 1-a little bike riding in the everglades. Yikes! Watch out for those nasty gators chomping on the tires.

Day 2-a little snorkeling at John Pennekamp Park. Woohoo!

Day 3-a litte South Beach, a little Corona, a little topless fun ala Janet.

Day 4-5-spend w/ family hanging out and enjoying the warm Miami life. BAH-why does May have to be so far away.

My husband won first place the other night in the Book Show. YEY-go husband!

I think he was able to nail this cover because, well, he can relate so well to the title.

"If you like, then I don't like,
If you hate, I'll think it's great!"

henry | 02.24.04

Bah-too busy. Too busy to blog. Too busy to read blogs. Just too damn busy.

Too much snow.

Too much cold.

Too long until Summer.

I got me some free tickets to see the Indigo Girls tonight at Radio City from the CFO at my company who couldn't go last minute. What a nice treat! They were awesome. Although I'm not digging the new album too much-a little too country and guitary, I prefer the more folksy, vocal Girls-the audience was really into it. I've never heard an audience sing along so beautifully to almost every song. It was just a happy, feel good time. I haven't picked up any of their albums since early 90's so I didn't know much of what they played, but they just sound so beautiful together. 2 of the most amazing voices out there. And the acoustics in Radio City really are like none other. Such rich sound.

Dave recalled a Indigo Girls concert he went to in Buffalo years ago where everyone rushed the stage towards the end and sang along to the final songs. No such luck this time, but still a beautiful event. Thanks Barb!

We had a little work party last night at the neighborhood bar. 3 hours of open bar and appetizers-including the popular favorite scallops wrapped in bacon. Woohooo!

As a special treat they had arranged for a "mentalist" to perform. What is a mentalist you ask? Well basically he's a magician. He claimed to learn his "talents" from psychology classes, reading body language, blah blah blah.

He had his assistant hand out 3x5 cards to everyone along with pencils. We were asked to write our full names, followed by 2 questions we'd like to have him answer. Then he was blindfolded 3 diff ways and yada, yada yada-he guessed what several of our names were, and answers to our questions. But he only chose questions that had numbers/dates in the answer. People were amazed. I know there's got to be some way he read those cards. He was only able to guess the things on the cards, NOT what you were thinking right then and there. Just a bunch of BS if you ask me. But apparently some people liked him because he's been picked up for an NBC special coming this Spring.

NANU NANU



So my friend Vanessa was telling me about her vacation to Colorado to visit a friend. She said she went skiing and also visited sites such as Denver, Red Rocks and Boulder. I said "Boulder! Thats where Mork & Mindy were!"

Her response-"Who's Mork & Mindy?"

WHAT???

Damn, I feel so old :(

I am off the South Beach Diet and I'm Lovin' It. (bah dah dah dah daahhh)

I've had enough. I was miserable. What was I thinking? I mean, the book isn't all trash. I did learn some interesting things about sugar and white flour. But I just got to thinking. Its never healthy to lose too much weight early on. If you do its most likely a fad diet. And I just can't imagine myself living on sugar free jell-o and eggs. In the end, its just not for me. I will still be eating healthier. But boy, did I enjoy that bread basket with dinner tonight. I'm back!

I can't seem to get enough of this fantastic Greek strained Yogurt. Its so freakin' good and so much better than the American style thin yogurt. But beware, it is unsweetened. Usually we add a little maple syrup to it (of course on the SBD I've been putting in a little Splenda instead). I highly recommend!

I want this. I want this bad.

Thumbthings Wrong Here

Better makes sure those are croutons you're eating!

Well, I'm pretty bummed. I didn't win the dream home. Surprise surprise. But some nice lady and her husband did. And she cried. And I was happy. Kinda. Oh well, there's always next year. Turns out something like 36,000,000 people entered. Um, I think I have better chances winning the lotto.

I was listening to Stern this morning (while I still can) and I caught the tail end of his theory on why his show was taken off of 6 stations throughout the US. Stern used to be a Bush supporter (with all the war business and everything), but he has changed his mind w/ all this Jesus crap going on and is now Pro-whoever-can-beat-Bush. According to Stern, Bush is somehow linked to Clear Channel Media and Stern believes that he took the shows off the air in those specific areas so that Stern could not steer the Florida audience towards voting Democrat. Interesting theory. I wouldn't put anything past this Bush bastard. If he wins I am moving to Trinidad.

Ok-so if yesterday was a 9 on a scale of 1-10 (10 meaning I will faint within 5 minutes) today is about a 5! Woo-hoo. Thanks to your support (Henry/Rach-not Cel). I still have the constant slight headache and very little energy, but I can manage. Still, it was equally impossible to get myself out of bed this morning. I can't wait for the weekend so I can sleep in for 48 hours straight. Mmmmmm.

I have noticed that I am totally turned off to ALL food. The thought of eating eggs in the morning grosses me out, as does eating any more veggies n chicken. But I will try.

In other news, tonight on Entertaiment Tonight they will be revealing the winner of the HGTV Dream Home contest. So yes, after today you are all welcome to come and visit hubby and I in our new house in Georgia. I can't wait! I have a good feeling about this . Whats really depressing is there is actually a Dream Home Message Board. I was curious so I browsed through. Its all these women who are sitting at home waiting for the HGTV truck to pull up and announce they're the winner. Who are they kidding? I'm the winner!

Ok so after 1 1/2 days of South Beach I feel nothing but lethargy. Fell asleep very quickly last night. Impossible to wake up-just didn't have enough energy. 1/2 hour late to work (not that unusual) and could barely climb the escalator stairs. Um, is this supposed to pass because I don't think I can take another day of it. Things just aren't working right with no carbs.

Tried their 'dessert' suggestion last night. Part-skim ricotta, cocoa powder, Splenda sweetener. D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G! Who the hell can eat that crap?

Ugh. I'm in a bad mood and the scones downstairs at the market next door to us are lookin' pretty good in my mind right now.

: (

BAH! This South Beach Diet it making me dizzy, cranky and I have difficulty concentrating. I hope it gets better : (

WOW. I mean WOW. This weather is amazing. Everyone and their mother (and dog) were out and about this wknd. Upon leaving our apt we stumbled on this cutie at a Kerry rally. I don't think he was fully aware of what was going on and seemed happy to pose for the picture.



So the diet has begun. As a goodbye to carbs, we stumbled upon a great place yesterday in the East Village. When I saw the name I knew it was THE place to enjoy my last white bread/sugar laden supper-The Original New York Milkshake Company. What could be better than grilled cheese and a black & white shake?

As we approched I noticed the CLOSED sign on the door. But the hours were till 11pm, and it was only 6. So I opened the door to the guy behind the counter yelling "we're closed-we ran out of milk and ice cream". Um, can't you go across the street to the deli to pick some up? No, we use frozen milk. Ohhh, I understand now??

So I ordered a grilled cheese anyway. Cheddar on white. Then he decided he did have a little ice cream left and made me the last shake of the day-black & white of course.

He had quite an attitude. Yelling at customers who asked for shakes. A poor girl who had JUST arrived for her first day at work was told there is no more ice cream and she has to go home. "I TRIED TO CALL YOU. DON'T YOU PICK UP THE PHONE AT HOME" he yelled. "Uh, no, I wasn't home." He wasn't exactly mean, just frustrated.

My shake was great. Not amazing like an Island Burger shake, which I consider the best ever, but pretty darn good. The grilled cheese was made in a sandwhich press. During cooking they would raise the press and slather it with the buttery looking mixture. Tasted a little artificial but still yummy. They even packed it to go in one of those nifty BBQ insulated bags. Nice thinking! They also ran out of cup lids. Bad day in the grilled cheese/milkshake industry.