a little something about fall

it has begun...the autumn season is upon us. the catalyst to this realization was not based on the official start of fall on september 21st, the football season commencing, the added chill to the air or even leaves changing color...no, the catalyst was the fact that i now plan my daily ensembles based on what jacket/coat i want to wear.

for those that haven't seen my closet in recent years...i own a plethora of coats. a total of nine to be exact and that doesn't bring into account blazers that can act as coats when called upon. this year i have been given the "green light" to purchase just one coat and one new jacket. (thanks for the tough love netter!) i'm now planning my strategy as to what type of coat and jacket i want and when is the right time to strike (i.e. the sales at Macy's start).

welcome autumn. i hope you spend lots of time with us.

for those that have an interest in my fashion...i paired my cream cordoroy tuxedo blazer with brown pants and my cashmere short sleeve gold thread turtleneck.

pathways #2

cape cod, massachusettes

click on the picture for a larger view

celeb sighting - val kilmer

as a young girl (probably 8 years old) i begged my mother to let me go with big lug and his buddy air force to see the movie "Willow." she said yes so it meant that big lug was forced to accept. we sat towards the front of the theater and i literally was terrified almost the entire movie. my hand very rarely dropped its covering of my eyes. the troll scene on the bridge still skeeves me out when i watch it as an adult. that was my first connection with val kilmer. we've had some other good times like top gun, the saint, batman forever, tombstone and of course the voice of K.I.T.T. the talking car from Knight Rider.

my second encounter with val happened this past saturday morning. while eating brunch with netter at an UES eatery i happened to glance up from our table and see a man walk by. we made eye contact and i thought he looked an awful lot like Willow's hero Madmartijan only older with grandpa glasses and long hair.

i mentioned to netter that i thought i just glimpsed val kilmer but was somewhat dubious because he looked so different. moments later, when the same man emerged from the restroom hallway, he ran into a server and handed her a card then proceeded to exit the restaurant, hop in his volkswagon toureag (totally jealous) and hit the road. the server with the magic business card started giggling and talking excitedly to her other server buddies because it was val kilmer!

it often surprises me when i happen to glance a "celeb" looking or behaving in a very ordinary way (i.e. using the restroom). for some reason i think they should all be constantly trailed by their own gaggle of screaming girls or paparazzo with long zoom lens cameras. i don't expect one to enter a restaurant, use the restroom and then zoom off in his much coveted ride.

pathways in the park #1

photography is my new hobby. i've been teaching myself lighting, composition and am now trying my hand at editing. my skill level is completely novice but it gives me a goal to work towards improving my abilities.

my favorite subject matter is the pathways that are found throughout the city, primarily in Central Park. occasionally i'm going to post one of my new favorites that i've worked on. please let me know what you think.

Pathways #1

selling US Open tickets

i decided to sell my mens semifinal "Super Saturday" US Open tickets this year. those matches are some of the hottest tickets for the Open every year.

last night put my tickets up for sale on craigslist. after posting my ad i received about 10 inquiries within the first 5 minutes. had no idea i could sell my tickets so quickly but then realized that i had priced my tickets way below market. i only priced the tickets for about $15 higher than what i paid. i didn't look to the going rate of others who were trying to sell the tickets on craigslist or stub hub. not the smartest move i've ever made.

hope the people i sold the tickets to have a great time. can't wait until 2010 when joani and i will attend lots and lots of matches. start saving your pennies joani!

two favorites - football & photography

all who know me are aware of my love of football. i have developed a new love through the influence of my brother flex. he introduced me to the beauty of photography. i was ecstatic when i found a "behind the scenes" of the BYU Football poster photo shoot on YouTube. i know mark philbrick casually when i worked in the athletic marketing department at BYU so it was fun to see how he captured the football with his camera.

my favorite photos are at the 1:54 mark and of course the ultimate poster shot. enjoy and go cougars!

laboring on labor day

i woke up at 8:30am and have been doing laundry ever since. i just brought up the final of 5 loads that i did today. i'm kind of baffled that i could produce 5 loads of laundry without kids. i guess when you wash multiple sets of sheets, floor mats, shower curtains, towels, clothes and blankets that it just adds up. in my case it added up to 5 loads and $12.50 in quarters.

a little something to showcase my new Apt.

since my joani (and rahni) asked again for some photos of the new pad, i decided to comply. the apartment is slowly coming together. let me know what you think.

a little something about carrie fischer

in my research of upcoming broadway plays/musicals i came across a show performed by carrie fischer that opens in september. the entire show is anecdotes and stories from her life as a celebrity baby, actress, author, mother, etc. normally i would think only the Star Wars crowd would be interested in what carrie had to say, which doesn't include myself...then i remembered watching something with joani and flex a few years ago.

AFI was honoring george lucas and carrie did her part to express her humble gratitude for being cast as princess leia. she was hysterical. check it out for yourself.



i'm thinking that if i find cheap tickets and have nothing else to do on a tuesday night that spending a few hours with carrie wouldn't be the worst option. :)

no fun feeling sick

i'm sick. i'm not a good patient and i feel more lousy laying around at home instead of being productive in some way. i have strep throat and it bites the big one. the funny thing is that the medicine i have to take is huge...like 2 1/2" in length. whoever thought of giving a patient with a severly sore throat a huge pill to swallow is just plain cruel.

here's to hoping that this illness is of short duration and i don't infect gooch with my germs. thankfully we have the lysol spray at the ready.

celebrations in terre haute

at the end of july, most of the g fam gathered in terre haute, indiana to celebrate my birthday and my nephew jimmy's birthday which happen to be the same day. it was a great time to eat, talk, go for walks, and overall enjoy each others company. this trip allowed for one of the rare occurences to happen in my life...all of my nephews and nieces were in the same place. my amateur photography went into overdrive.

these are some of my favorite shots from the time in indiana.

...and i'm back

i played tennis on friday night. it was fabulous! haven't played since big mike whipped my trash in arizona this past february. it felt good to be hitting something. my serve was even landing in the appropriate box.

the short hour and a half that was played made me even more excited to enjoy the tennis artistry that is soon to be seen at the us open!

successful craigslist purchase

on a random basis i like to peruse the merchandise for sale on craigslist. i've never bought anything but find it interesting to see what people are trying to unload. here in manhattan it is has taken the place of garage sales a la the 'burbs.

i have been in the market for some barstools for my newly constructed breakfast bar. my taste tends to run to the expensive and i have very specific requirements. i found the barstools i wanted from crate and barrel but was put off by the price of $229 each w/o tax! that seemed steep so was trying to figure out a way to pay for them when inspiration struck...consult craig and his list!

i normally only search in manhattan for furniture for sale because who wants to figure out a way to transport furniture from the outer areas. on monday i did a search using the specific bar stool name from crate & barrel without the manhattan only filter and to my astonishment 2 bar stools were for sale from a family in riverdale. (zipcar came to the rescue for transport...another reason why i love it)

gooch and i headed to riverdale and got lost on our way to making my first craigslist purchase. i'm very happy with the bar stools and they look GREAT in my new apartment. so thank you to craig and your list. i got two barstools for the price of one if i paid retail. not too shabby.

i'm such a girl

it will come as no surprise that i became giddy after reading this article. i adore all things Jane Austen and had been looking forward to a new Emma adaption during Masterpiece Theater's Jane Austen Festival over a year ago. i was saddened that they just re-aired the Kate Beckinsale/Mark Strong movie from the early 90s.

BBC has since made amends by casting Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller in this FOUR hour adaptation. i'm very excited for january 2010...it's probably the only thing i'm excited about in january.

a taste to whet your whistle:

i heart ZipCar

my newly formed relationship with ZipCar seems one-sided with all the joy coming to me. gooch and i booked an SUV to take us to Jersey, the land of IKEA, malls & Target. ZipCar is running a special where if you reserve a vehicle on a weeknight between 6pm and 8:30am the next morning that it is a flat rate of $39 INCLUDING gas and insurance.

we hopped into our Honda CR-V and bought shelves, a dresser, an over the door mirror, clothes, and FOURTEEN boxes of cereal. gooch and i enjoy a good bowl of cereal. more often than not it is my dinner of choice.

unfortunately the $39 promotion only lasts through the end of September so we'll have to do another run when our cereal supply gets low.

totally in "love" with this new feature of New York City. i imagine many more ZipCar trips to come.

indianapolis airport hates me

i spent last weekend with big lug's family in indiana because my nephew nintendo was baptized. my flights were chosen to coinside when joani, pookie, sunshine and their two boys landed from their flight. this allowed big lug to make only one trip to the airport which is 1 hour away from his home.

while sitting at my desk, chatting with joani on the phone i got a call telling me that my flight was cancelled and they rebooked me on a flight leaving the next day. i flipped because all of our plans were about to go out the window. thankfully i found flights that connected through cincinnati but were scheduled to leave in an hour and 45 minutes. i was still at work and it takes about an hour to get to JFK. i ran out of work, found a cab and off we went. got to security and breezed through. when i reached my gate they were already boarding so i barely made it. had i chosen a different security line i probably would have been late. arrived in indy and met up with the family and headed to a good time at big lug's.

the night before my department from indiana i had a dream that i had to scramble to get back to new york because of flight troubles. sure enough as we were about to leave big lug's to go to the airport i checked my phone and noticed that my flight to la guardia had been delayed over an hour. called delta and when i finally got through to speak to a human i was told that my flight was cancelled but they booked me on a flight that left at about the same time but connected through atlanta and arrived at JFK not la guardia. so off big lug, joani and i went to the 1 hour away airport. when i checked in i was told that my flight was delayed at least 40 minutes and i could miss my connection. i asked about available flights the next day and after consulting with big lug opted to take the 6am flight direct to la guardia the next morning. thankfully i made that choice because when i randomly checked the flight from indy to atlanta i learned that it too had been cancelled.

big lug, joani and i got up at the crack of dawn and drove to the airport yet again. thankfully brother doesn't have to pay for gas because it is a company car.

once i got to work on monday morning i finished what was pressing then left early. i took a bus home per usual up madison avenue and at 72nd street a woman got sick on the bus. an ambulance was called so it took about 20 minutes before another bus came to get the stranded passengers. i hope the woman was okay but it made me laugh that my ability to take transportation has been a wretched experience recently. cross your fingers that this transit curse is of short duration.

any one else had a horrid transportation experience? i could use a little cheering up by hearing about your "i want to tear my hair out" experiences. :)

a mid summer update

i have been a very bad blogger this month. i blame my lack of update on the move from #5C to #2G. also, i seem to be just as busy with work, church, life, activities, etc as i am during the three other seasons. for some reason i always thought that "summer" = "slower". apparently this was an incorrect assumption.

here's a quick snapshot of my summer (i.e. May - July) thus far:

visited Big Lug, Liver and the munchkins in their beautiful home in May. had our traditional meal at a restaurant that currently alludes me. went on a slight spending spree at Toys 'R Us and had a wonderful meal with Liver's parents. also gave my nephews their first faux-hawk.

hung out with Claire in CT and opted to chop my hair. she cut off about 6-7". i really enjoy my new do.

my cousin Gooch moved in with me in mid-June. she just graduated from the Y and recently got a job at a PR firm. she gets the pleasure of crashing on my pull out couch every night and watching SYTYCD on the "big screen."

moved. (enough said)

went to boston with flex and netter to enjoy the 4th festivities. we took a duck tour, drove to the end of cape cod and enjoyed a parade and declaration of independence reading at plymouth rock. then flex and i hit the intrepid air and space museum on the West Side. it was fabulous!


found out they sell Dippin' Dots in the city. this could be very dangerous info for my waistline. i love, love, love the cookies 'n cream dots. thankfully the vendor location is WAY far away.

here's hoping that my remaining days of summer will result in some color on my skin as well as another Andy Roddick v. Roger Federer showdown at the US Open Championship. did you see that Wimbledon Final? it was amazing!

batting .500

last night was the results show for SYTYCD 5 where the top ten were revealed. at the start of the season i predicted who i thought would be part of the illustrious top ten. i ended up getting 5 out of 10. not the best but with little to go on for some of the dancers i think i can give myself a little pat on the back.

thus far there have been only a few stand out routines in my estimation. i think the dancers have "brought" it but the choreographers left it at the dance studio door.

Standout Routines:
Kayla & Kupono performed Mia Michaels' "Addiction" - it always helps when a song i adore is used for powerful choreography
Janine & Phillip performed Nappy Tabs "Mad" - first dance of the season and it was fabulous!
Ashley & Kupono performed Wade Robson's "Crash Test Dummies" - entirely inventive and entertaining
Kayla & Kupono performed Sonya Tayeh's "Vampire Stories" - the costuming and make up was fantastic but the dancing was even better, loved the almost violence of their movement
Janette & Brandon performed Dave Scott's "Rock Hip Hop Wars" - so much fun and loved the ending!

hoping for more excellent dancing once the pairs are split up. i've pretty much enjoyed all that melissa and ade have done especially their mandy moore jazz as well as evan and randi. really need the "star quality" to shine like nigel mentioned. i guess he does know what he's talking about.

one year ago...

...i was actively planning for my trek to hawaii to celebrate my birthday. it was such a great vacation. joani and i talk often about returning soon to hawaii for some more island fun. the house, weather, food, pool, and ocean were so gorgeous. it was fun to share it with my family and watch my brothers try to boogie board on the "waves". :)

instead of packing for a hawaiian adventure this weekend, i'm packing up everything i own into boxes to move it around the corner to my new apartment. always amazes me how much stuff i accumulate and find space to store in my shoebox of an apartment. kinda crazy.

wish me luck that no more head injuries or bleeding occurs while cleaning out the apartment. feel like everyday i make progress.

now it's vital not to think about unpacking.

come a long way

most all know of my overwhelming love and devotion for 'n sync back in the day. don't think i'll ever be fully cured from enjoying a nice boy band number. i can even enjoy an occassional new generation peppy JoBros tune.

a couple of days ago my iPod when into shuffle mode and came up with the song below. i must admit i rocked out and sang along to the cheesiness. it was fun to return to the days of when boy bands ruled the world. check it out: