Wiiiiiiii!

Uncle Sam was very good to me this year. Rare, I know, but it does happen. So I splurged a little (read: A LOT!) and bought myself this:

That's right, I caved and got a video game console. Something I pretty much swore I'd never do. But hey, it's totally the perfect toy for a 20-something, isn't it?? (*wink*)


I have been avoiding the gym for months and months now, not because I don't like working out, but because I really dread dragging myself to the gym. The process makes me a little crazy, and I don't feel good about it until I've been on the treadmill for a good 5 minutes. Which is a big deterrent since it takes about an hour to get to the gym where my trainer works. So why not bring the workout to me! And that's where the Wii Fit Plus comes in.


The Wii Fit Plus is a combination of crazy games designed to improve strength, balance, and humility. The last one not being listed on the packaging, of course, but nonetheless very true. Options for training include yoga, cycling, step aerobics, ski jumping, and an obstacle course. Not your cup of tea? Then how about snowball fighting? Or hula hooping? Or tightrope walking? How about rhythm kung fu? No?

Then I suggest flapping your arms like a chicken and hoping to land in a bullseye, all the while praying to god your neighbors can't see what you're doing through the windows, and that there's not a hidden camera in your apartment to broadcast your antics onto the interwebs for all to see! Yes, seriously, there is a chicken flapping game (check it out on YouTube). Only the Japanese could come up with something so asinine and yet so entertaining -- like these non-Wii gems (1, 2 and 3), also care of YouTube.

So that is how I'm spending my extra time and energy. As of yet I haven't mastered the art of being a chicken, but I have plenty of time to work on it. Meanwhile I've become quite a faux-ski jumper and snowball dodger. And my hula hooping skills are vastly improving with all the hip circles in pole dancing class.

Yes, this is what my life has become. Pole dancing, video games, and romping in the snow. Might need to change the title of the blog to "30 going on 13"... Weeeeeee!!!!

Snow-icane

It seems a little ridiculous that the last post I put up was about snow, too, but here you go. Clearly this is what is important to me!
So here are a couple of more pictures of the most recent snow dumping we're getting. I've always wanted a New England winter, and I'm getting it this year! They are calling this one a snowicane, which apparently is a snow hurricane, although honestly the wind isn't nearly as bad as the last storm we got, like a week ago.



Sure does make my boring street look a lot prettier. I'm not sure I'll love the extended commute in the morning, but at least I'm getting a smile out of it now. In fact, I spent most of the day staring out the window, smiling. Like an idiot. Or a ten-year old who knows this much snow means a day off of school. If only that's what it meant in adult land...


In the remaining twenty minutes of my day not obsessing over snow, I did sneak in a little cooking to keep my belly warm. I made a really yummy caramelized-carrots-and-feta dish, and then some homemade cinnamon apple sauce. So good, there aren't words.



And now it's time to go stare out the windows a little more before crashing for the night...

The February Fury

We got hit with a "blizzard" in these here parts this week, in case you hadn't heard.
In the words of my incredibly liberally-minded father*, it was supposed to snow "until Al Gore cried Uncle". Which it almost did.
I was so excited that I actually started taking pictures hourly to track the snow accumulation.

10am









12:30pm












1:30pm










Which really wasn't as much as I expected, considering this is New York. I mean, really, I want a Nor'Easter kind of winter for once, with blizzards and feet of snow and mass hysteria. Ok, maybe not the last one, although it does sound a little fun to watch staid New Yorkers lose their composure for a day. But alas, I seem destined to only get about 18 hours of snow and maybe one foot on the ground. Which I suppose is a good start. And there was maybe enough hysteria to keep apartment supers out shoveling all day, which was pretty funny to watch. From the comforts of my warm apartment. Almost as funny as listening to the yahoos with cars trying to get them out of their parking spot tombs after days of thaw/freeze/thaw/freezing that have turned the road into solid ice. I'm pretty sure a month of subway rides would be cheaper than the amount of rubber being left in the ice. Crazy people with cars!

Hope you enjoy the pics! As it was a very snowy week for everywhere except the Winter Olympics venues, I'm sure there are plenty of great snow stories from this week. Hope everyone is warm and safe after this "February Fury".

Anti-Valentine's Day

It's that wonderfully, awfully, romantic holiday again. I've tried my best this year to ignore the Hallmark cheesiness of it all and not buy into the idea that I need to have someone around on this one day a year to be happy and fulfilled. It's only kind of working.

This is the first Valentine's in quite a while that I'm so incredibly alone. Which sucks, it really does, but has also given me a chance to figure out a few important things about my life. One, the last 4 months or so have been the happiest of my whole life, and I did that, all by myself. Two, I think we're all like animals in search of a pack, needing that connection to others and wanting to belong to a bigger whole. I think that's what has felt missing for me, even in all this happiness. Three, searching for that "pack" is exhausting, and sometimes you just need to curl up in a cave and recharge.

So that's my Valentine's plan. Brunch with some good friends, and then a day at home, pampering me. Maybe dinner and a romantic movie? Sounds like a date. With the coolest person I know! :-p

I hope you all have had a lovely Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year/weekend as well.

Right on track...

I know, I know. I'm way behind on updating the blog.
For those of you who know me well, and the previous blog attempted, you should realize that this is par for the course. And for those of you who know me really well, you should know I'm a super perfectionist and want to say just the right thing with just the right pictures before I hit "post".
So I'm a little slow in catching the blog world up with the details of my life. A small recap:

*I've been working A LOT. January was the worst schedule ever, and I feel like I may as well have moved in to the hospital. Thankfully that's over, and everyone involved survived

*I worked a lot, so I'm building much better relationships with my coworkers. Life in NYC looks better and better every day!

*I spent a lot of very delirious time with Photo Booth on my laptop (see pics above, to side, and below). This is what happens when I work something like 130 hours in 14 days.

*I had a great birthday in Atlantic City. I think a posting on that one might be necessary...

*I bought a Wii (post also to follow soon, I promise) so I'm perfectly content never leaving my apartment again. Except for visits to the chiropractor, as I'm fairly sure I'm going to do serious bodily harm with sword fighting and boxing. But it will be so worth it!

*My new-found cooking delights. I tackled cinnamon rolls and chocolate truffles this month, on top of lamb stew and lasagna, which are already firmly in my repertoire now.

*I took a pole-dancing class with coworkers. This might in fact be the highlight of the past month, as it was ridiculously fun and empowering, and an incredible workout. My whole body hurt for days afterward. (see link here to check out the classes)

I think that sums it all up. Doesn't seem like much, but living it has been a whirlwind. The next two or three months look just as crazy, so I'll try to get postings up as I can. With pictures, of course!