Band aids

I'm feeling a little better..... After all, it's all about me, right? We fixed the external problem this afternoon. Nicole was pampered in the dentist's chair as they cleaned her teeth and then we headed to what Nicole called 'the barber shop.' She's just adorable, no matter what!

the barber shop next door

Dear Nicolee is just like me. She's a people pleaser. We're both sad when other people are not happy. I just need to teach her to draw the line when that someone feels happy means cutting Nicole's hair! This is the 2nd time it's happened. I know Nicole's hair is too beautiful to resist, but please....

Isn't her hair beautiful???

Well, it was..... Now it's gone :(

Mmmm, sweet OJ. Tangy OJ. Rancid OJ.... WHAT?

I love orange juice. It's a little too tart for me in the morning (especially since I don't like to drink it 'when I get up'... 5 for all you that don't know!), but I still love it! I especially like this orange, strawberry banana blend here in NY... But I'm the only one who likes it. I have to drink it ALL! It takes me a while to finish the entire liter!

That should be my first clue.

I reached into the cupboard for a small glass for the OJ and a coffee mug fell on top of it. The glass shattered in my hand!

That should have been a sign.

After cleaning up the shards of glass, I grabbed a 2nd glass and took a whiff of the pitcher.

That should have been a 3rd clue!

A little sip made my tongue fuzzy.

Clue # 4.

I took a BIG gulp.... And it burned all the way down.

That was 5!

After a sour face, a second whiff of the pitcher, and a churning gut for hours and hours, I finally deduced.....

It was old.

I'm in the City and the City's in Me

We went to NYC this weekend and I LOVE LOVE LOVED it! It was a busy day, without a doubt. We stayed in Puqueepse (a little spelling help, please!) overnight and then rode the train in the early morning... After finagling a ticket out of the machine and scrambling into the subways, we headed to the Statue of Liberty. Even though I have already been there, it is still beautiful. Breathtaking.... And it bordered on being cold.... Jacket on, jacket off... But look at her standing in all that glory.... Who wouldn't be overwhelmed by freedom and liberty and the thought of hauling over all of that copper?

Then we went to Ellis Island and Dave and Nicole played peekaboo while the 'rents checked out their family history in the computers... Silly kidS! I looked at the wall and read my families names.... Wondering if I had heard of those individuals or not.... After a quick lunch on liberty island, where Dave caught a pigeon with his hands and Nicole begged to be able to do that all day, we left the island, saw some very strange dancers in Grand Central Station (One in particular played the drums and had a giant pole attached to the top of his hat with a VERY long ribbon tied to the top and waved it around to the beat! It was interesting for sure!), serenaders, begging for a buck, Arabs preaching about 9/11 not being their fault, but ours, and the giant construction site where the twin towers were.

Then we headed to the Empire State Building. I always feel a little cooler when I go there..... Since my dad grew up in NYC, I often asked if he went to the statue of liberty and the empire state building, and he always told me that he had never been, had no desire to go.... So I kinda felt like I did a 'first' by going to these..... But looking at the long lines, I know I really wasn't first!

Macy's caught our eye, of course.... Who wouldn't want to be in a 9 story department store that takes up a whole block? Well, I wouldn't, but I love shopping! I bought Nicole a Christmas present (shhh), omehow stumbled across the New Year's ball in the basement, you know, the one that they drop, and Nicole found a mouse running under all of the racks in the children's department! She named her 'Macy Mouse' and tried really hard to catch her!

By now, we were starving again.... New York City is quite the melting pot, eh? We found a Mexican restaurant right underneath the Empire State Building! (well, that would be on one of its corners, right?) Chipotle. Awesome burritos. Very filling, but a little more on the healthy side for fast food (as long as you don't eat the WHOLE thing!).

And then we were about done. We saw a little of this and a little of that before we got back on the subway and the train, but my dogs were barking the whole ride home! Sleeping in on Sunday never felt so good! I missed seeing my good friend Ange in the city, but we've got time, right babe?

You know me....

I will do anything for a laugh.... And I usually find them everywhere, too! This morning, as I was taking Nicole to school, I was discussing some of the traffic laws,like understanding the lights. P.S. I have explained this to her a million times already! I believe that Nicole should understand her world around her, not just look at it! So her response? "I know, mom... I already know everything because I am in Kindergarten!" Maybe I should go back to Kindergarten!

Also, as we turned around the corner to jump into the drop off line, a little boy came around the corner on his skateboard.... Skateboarding to school! I haven't seen that in AGES!!!

a fatal attraction

Today was the grand opening of a McDonald's in our town.... A Mc Donald's that supposedly burned down and then was rebuilt! EVERYONE and their mother was there! I went with a friend, Nicole, and her kids... We walked into the playroom and let the kids GO! As soon as they kicked off their shoes, they were gone! We looked around for a table, a bench, A chair.... Between all of the customers and onlookers, there was no room! Finally we snagged the table right next to the jungle gym.

After a good 15 minutes of marveling at the insane amounts of energy contained in our children, I finally took an 'order' and headed to the front lines! From the moment I stepped into line to the moment I actually walked away with my tray, 35 minutes had passed. You read correctly, 35. You see, I already told you everybody and their mother was at this place! This local yocal town has a great turn out for every occasion, be in small or grandiose...

This McDonald's happens to be a cuisine of choice. Most of those 35 minutes were spent behind 14 other members of the line. Plus I had a large order to place! And after consuming my drenched snack wrap and fries, which now sit like a sack of wet rags in my gut, I still consider whether or not the endeavor was truly worth it.... Is it worth it to fill my system with saturated whatchamacallit and preservatives just so that we can follow the crowd and play on the indoor playground?

Next time I will make my own chicken nuggets, place them in a brown paper bag with a smiley face on it, call it my own happy meal, and save a LOT of calories.....

Next time I'll order a grumpy mel from Mickey D's!

I am Batman

Seriously, not. But every morning on my way to work, I turn down Gotham. They pronounce it a little differently, which makes me giggle inside and think about Batman a little more! But Gotham street is a little more familiar now.... Can't say that about the rest of the grid, though! I can find my way around, though, just give me a little time, I'll pull off some random turns and FIND a street that I know! I think my sense of direction is getting a little better! Yesterday I was coming home from work and my car started to act little funny. It was acting like it didn;'t want to drive.... And then it shut off. Luckily I had pulled over to the curb, so I coasted out of the MIDDLE of the street! I would start and roll over fine, but then it would DIE! I gave up on it. I turned it off, grabbed everything out of the car thta I needed, and started walking home... But which direction was home? I turned down a couple of streets.... I was thinking of knocking on a door and asking which direction was State Street.... But did it! I found my way! I was pretty stupid, though. I grabbed EVERYTHING out of my car. The soup cans I just bought, my bag full of books, my jacket, a few other random things I had left in my car, and I carried them all the way home. At LEAST a mile! Okay, maybe JUST a mile.... But that's enough for me! My car is fine, just finicky, now.... I need to learn the streets better! However, if I WAS Batman, I wouldn't have to worry about the car OR the streets so much, would I?