Memorial Day

So I woke up Memorial Day with the romanticized idea of jogging to the Chelsea Piers since it's a few blocks from our apartment. I would jog with the wind in my hair along the Hudson river and enjoy the park by the water. I would jog and jog for miles because that's what joggers do. However there is one teeny weeny fact---I am not a jogger. As soon as I started my jog I realized I made a bad decision. Running is painful. Running is NOT fun. Why did I even think it would be a good idea to pound the pavement, jarring my bones. On top of that, why did I think it was a good idea to do this at 10:30-11:30 in the morning when the heat of the sun on the first really hot day is blazing fiercely? What was I thinking? Kinda like the lady with the shopping cart in BBB but not as embarassing. (If you don't know this story scroll down to the post from a few days ago)

Anyways, despite the morning trauma yesterday evening was delightful. We went to a restaurant called Vento in the Meatpacking District with our friends James & Adelene. We stayed at their place the first few nights we were in NY. The restaurant is situated on a triangular island in the middle of an intersection (kind of like Times Square has the part where you can stand in the middle of the street) and we were seated at a prime people-watching location right at the tip of the triangle. We didn't notice anybody famous but my celebrity antennaes were down because I was trying to be polite and visit with our company.

I'm off to Philadelphia this afternoon for a meeting but I'll be back this evening. Toodle-loo....

Celebs in the Meatpacking District

This morning started out on the very wrong foot. Kyle turned on the shower and there was no hot water. We periodically kept trying out the shower over a period of about 45 minutes with no luck. Finally, we decided to ferry in microwaved water bowl by bowl so that we could shower. What a nightmare. I was so annoyed.

We tried out a new church called The Journey which was really great. I enjoyed it a lot. Lots of young people and a very hip praise band. Although a bit loud but we tried to sit far from the speakers. Since we're nearing our 30s we need to protect the hearing.

This afternoon we walked around Battery Park and watched all the sail boats running around in the harbor. It seemed everyone was enjoying the holiday weekend. There is a nice long meandering tree-lined path we walked on to enjoy the harbor views.

After dinner Kyle and I went to explore the fashionable Meatpacking District.....where everyone is way, WAY too cool for their britches and every type of fancy car imaginable is lined along the cobblestone streets. We stopped at a bakery to grab a dessert and then strolled up 9th Ave taking in the scene and people watching (the celebrity attenaes are always up for me) when all of the sudden I spotted Julianne Moore, her husband, and their little black dog eating at an outside table at Jean Georges' restaurant, Spice Market.


I tugged on Kyle's arm that I spotted her and he seemed to be confused and stopped and stared and wanted to about-face and walk right past the table again but I maintained that in order to not look soooo painfully obvious we had to continue down the street at least a few blocks more and then turn around. After all, I AM a professional celebrity stalker?! Hello....celebrity stalking ettiquette?! She has way more freckles than you see in the movies and was wearing zero makeup but it was definitely her. Kyle was more amused with a fancy Ferrari that was sitting outside the restaurant....go figure.... to each his own....

Two celebrities in two days. I'm on a roll!!

Our First Saturday in The City

Ahhhh, home at last....I feel like I've been walking all day. hmmm...probably because I have been! I realized today that I could not live in NY without baby wipes and Yankee Candle air fresheners. The air fresheners are working REALLY well. It smelled beautiful in our place today. Also, I love the baby wipes because I come home and wipe down my little feet from all the dirt and grime of the streets and slip on my pink fuzzy house slippers....good smells and fuzzy slippers....this must be heaven......small pleasures but that's all I got here.

So this morning I walked down my new street to the hair dresser to get my hair cut. I was walking on the sidewalk and I noticed a woman taking her dog for a pee. I was trying to avoid the pee and as I got closer I thought the lady looked quite familiar. Just as I was passing, I heard her talk to her dog and my suspicions were confirmed...it was Susan Sarandon. Hey neighbor! I almost stepped in her dog's pee and walked right by her. I played it cool. She had big white sunglasses on and kinda turned sideways as I passed. I'm sure she wouldn't want to be bothered looking like The Grunge at 9:30 AM. I know I sure wouldn't. That's my first official celeb sighting (no the Today Show people don't count anymore).....at least a real movie star within a 2' proximity. So this one counts big.

Kyle worked from home until about 5PM and then we went up to Central Park to walk around since he was getting a bit stir crazy being inside all day. There was a little street fair going on down the street which we enjoyed. And that was our first free non-working day in NY.

When Shopping Carts Fly

Oh boy…do I have stories to tell.

First off, I must say the glamour of living in our fantabulous apartment is wearing off. The experience is still fabulous but the living is a bit below Kyle and I’s posh standards. Our apartment is still OK. I think I had over-hyped it in my head after seeing so many dud places. The building smells like the funk and the highlight of my day was buying about $30 worth of Yankee Candle air fresheners and candles. Last night the cable went out and as I write this 24 hours later still no cable. At 11 PM last night there were firemen going into the building across the street and a fire engine parked out side our building which had us falling asleep to annoying red flashing strobe lights in our room. The loud obnoxious garbage men & their trucks woke us up periodically throughout the night, as usual. And this morning poor Kyle took a cold shower. I haven’t had a cold shower experience but I sure felt bad for Kyle.

I’m sure it sounds like I’m complaining but I’m really not. This is only a ten week gig and it’s definitely worth the cramped, old environment for the experience. It’s like CAMPING! “Roughing it”, I’d say…..

Ok, so go to the bathroom now because I have a story that may make you pee your pants.

Kyle and I are at Bed, Bath & Beyond buying the smelly goods to keep this place from smelling like the funk. We’re looking at some items and I round the corner to look down to the lower level of the 2-story store. In front of me is a lady at the top of the escalator who apparently needs to get to the first floor. Well, instead of looking around for an elevator that could accomodate her and her cart I guess she decides to make an executive decision to try out her own method of transport. I notice she’s balancing her shopping cart (as in the large grocery store-style push carts) ever so delicately on the first escalator step and before I knew what was happening she just releases the cart as it is balancing 2 wheels on the escalator and 2 wheels in mid air. My jaw drops to the ground. Is this woman an alien from another planet?! I see her hand fly to her mouth (she must've realized at this moment sending her cart down an escalator was a very bad idea) and my hand flies to my mouth in horror. We watch the cart go handle over wheels down the escalator …BOOM….KABOOM….BOOM….SPLAT! Everything in her cart AND the cart itself tumbles to the 1st floor. Thank goodness no one was on the escalator or at the bottom! She was super embarrassed and I was trying OH SO hard not to laugh as she turned to see if anyone saw her. Oh, yeah, lady...I saw the whole thing!. All the BBB employees were rushing to the scene of the stupidity and as I slinked away I started laughing so hard I was crying and one of the employees who passed me knew exactly what I was laughing at and started laughing uncontrollably as well.

Kyle and I laughed and laughed all the way home…the things you see in New York!!

A Fishy Experience

Yesterday Kyle got off work at 6 PM (miracle of all miracles). It was a good thing too because Aunt Jan was in NYC for a convention so we got to have dinner with her and she saw our place. We enjoyed visiting with her and we went to a restaurant on Union Square called Blue Water Grill. I've been hearing about BWG from so many different people in the span of one week so I was curious to try it out. Now I'm not a big seafood fan but the waiter said the Chilean Sea Bass in Ginger Soy Sauce was a best seller so.....when in Rome.....

I'm glad I ordered it because it was the most excellent fish I've EVER tasted! Take that for what it's worth since I don't eat a lot of fish I probably don't have a large pool of selection but this was amazingly delightful and I couldn't stop talking about it. Every bite was delish. Even Kyle liked it and he is not a big fish fan either.

Speaking of Kyle....he ate sushi which is amazing considering his narrow food selections. Granted, it was a type of steak sushi, no fish involved....but still it was on the menu as sushi wrapped in the tempura rolls with veggies. We're all branching out these days!

So today there was a big power outage on the trains up here. Good thing I wasn't travelling today. My boss was stuck in this jam (click here for the story). He was in one of the trains that was stalled under the Hudson River....uh, can you say claustrophobic?! I almost had a panic attack driving into Manhattan on Saturday when we had to just drive through the Holland Tunnel. It seemed like the tunnel went forever. My worst nightmare would be to get stuck on a train in a tunnel. Let's hope that never happens.

These Vagabond Shoes....

Let me just preface this blog by saying...how did I get wrapped up in this situation?? Moving around like a homeless woman? What kind of sideways adventure has my husband conned me into? I realize back in the day Kyle flew to London with nothing but a suitcase and no place to live. But that's when Kyle was taking care of Kyle. Now there's a Lori in the mix and somehow I got suctioned into the vortex that is my husband's wacky lifestyle....but so be it....I am amused and I am spreading my wings....like a mighty eagle....(but I am not bald, let me clarify)
Now to the story:

The vagabond gig is up!! We made our FINAL move last night and are now in residence at our REAL summer sublet! I spent yesterday evening packing up our stuff. Kyle got off work around 11 PM so that's when we made the move. We had made it at our temporary place without seeing any of the neighbors these past few days. Which is perfect because I don't like looking shady and a woman carrying all sorts of suitcases and bags up and down the elevator 4 or 5 times just looks like Shadyville, Population: 1 (that would be me). So last night just as I was moving out our stuff the neighbor across the hall came home at the same time....BUSTED! I really didn't want to explain why I was making 5 trips in and out of the apartment to line our stuff up in the lobby. Thankfully, he didn't seem to care even though by appearance it seemed as though I was wiping his neighbor's apartment clean....but whatever....

However I'm not sure if I would rather trade one more night in the creaky, rickety strange-noise apartment or being driven to the new apartment by a crazy, and I mean CRAZY!, driver. Kyle's company orders a car service to drive him home if he has to work late (which will probably be every day). So last night the car driver that brought him home also moved our stuff to the new place and I believe this driver came in on the first bus from Wackyville. I guess we were a good combo.....the lone resident of Wackyville driving the lone resident of Shadyville (and her husband) the heck outta Dodge! It was like we were in a terrifying real life video game. He kept jerking the wheel around and making bizarre lane changes. It was scariest when we were in the tunnels....more than once I thought we were going to ram the sides of the tunnel. And who goes 40 MPH down a tight one lane street with cars parked on either side?! Let me count the opportunities for disaster.....oh, wait I don't have that many fingers.

Kyle and I were genuinely frightened for our lives and I hope that driver never ever drives Kyle home from work again.....EVER! I've ridden in NYC taxi cabs and this was 10 times worse. There was something wrong with this dude. But we did make it home safely only to freak out because we had 4 keys and none of them seemed to open the front door of the apartment. A situation that I could have done without at this point in the story. After all it's past midnight now and key problems aren't making the Lori happy. I did not get this far to sleep in the hallway of some old brownstone with 20 bags around me. But we finally figured out the locks and all was fine in Casa de Bethancourt. Today I am super tired and praying that Kyle has lots of energy because we barely got enough sleep last night with the whole fiasco.

Creaks, Bumps, & Noises!

So all homes and building structures have their own personality & quirks. Especially if they are older, as are most of the places in New York. The place we're staying now is particularly interesting because you can hear other people moving around on the creaky wood floors in other apartments. It sounds like they're in our apartment.

Last night I came home late and Kyle wasn't home yet. I am paranoid in unfamiliar spaces so I checked all 3 levels of this little place (yes, 3 levels....sounds spacious but they are 3 very tiny levels). I checked in the bathtub & closets for boogey men, up in the loft sleeping area, and downstairs. I was in the clear. Kyle came home and BOY was I glad he was home because we were sitting on the couch and this horrible noise started which sounded like either:

A) Someone trapped in the wall trying to get out with an ice pick
B) Someone shimmying up a very unsteady and loud fire escape outside
C) Someone trying to hack themselves out of the wardrobe dresser that is upstairs in the sleeping loft

Seriously. Those were the only 3 feasible options to me. Kyle and I sat very still on the couch and were looking at each other with shifty eyes. We weren't sure what was going on but we were quite distressed for about 30 seconds. My brilliant husband realized it was the heater/AC unit making noise (yes, it's those smarts that got him to Wharton). I guess it was the pipes in the wall that were making the horribly loud racket like a trapped Big Foot in the wall? It was scary for a brief moment but thank goodness Kyle was with me otherwise I probably would have thrown my jittery self from the fire escape in a panic because apparently I do wacky things when faced with stressful situations. It's something I do need to work on. So try not to have any serious medical issues when you're alone with me. I can't guarantee sane responses.

AND....OH MY GOODNESS...wouldn't you know as I'm writing this blog at 7:30 AM, the noises just started again?!?!?! Thank the Lord I knew what to do and didn't freak out this time. It really does sound like a large animal is trapped in the AC/heating unit trying to get out!! I'm so glad we're outta here tonight!

We're Heeeeerrrrreeee!

We made it. We left Philly early this morning and made it to New York by 11:00 AM. Let's just say driving a car in Manhattan is quite a challenge. I'm glad it was Kyle doing it and not me. It appears that standard driving procedure is making right and left turns from the farthest lane. We saw plenty of buses and taxis crossing all lanes of traffic to make a turn! Totally illegal....

We dropped off our stuff at the temporary place we're staying until our place is available on Wednesday. We're on the Upper East Side right now. After dropping off our bags, we went to a Chili Cook-Off sponsored by the NYC Aggie & Texas Exes Clubs. We met a few Ags and had some chili. This evening we walked around Central Park and discovered a nice little area called the Shakespeare Garden. It was really cute...my favorite new place in Central Park....I hope I can find it again. CP is enormous. We've been watching and 8-part DVD series on the history of NYC (looove Netflix!) and they said something like "NY would not be a livable place if there was no Central Park" and I totally believe that. It's so nice to see grass and ponds and water and trees. How sad would New York be without the Park?!

We're going to turn in for the evening. Tomorrow we're going to try out The Redeemer Church. Good night!

Start spreadin' the neeeeeewwwws.....
....I'm leavin' todaaaaaay.....
....I want to beeeee a part of it!
New York, New York

(You can't see us but Kyle and I are doing "jazz hands" & leg kicks at this part)

These vagabond shoooooes.....Are longing to straaaaay......

And make a braaaand new staaaaart of it!!!!

NEW YORK, NEW YORK!!!!!

Yankee Stadium

Today was one of the most difficult working days I've had so far. I know you'll feel great pity for my harsh schedule......I worked half a day in NY this morning and then at noon I absolutely had to leave to attend a Yankees game with our consultant and 2 other co-workers. I must say it was a beautiful day for a ballgame.

On the way to the game I discovered the art of walking down a crowded street very quickly while having a conversation with my co-worker and dodging people all at the same time. For an uncoordinated soul such as myself I was just happy to not trip and hit the pavement or body-slam someone on the street during the rush.

But back to the game....the Yankees played the Texas Rangers. Last night Kyle struck the fear of Moses in me to not root for Texas or even have the slightest appearance of being a Rangers fan or I would surely get beaten up. Apparently the Yankee fans are a tough crowd. So I was very quiet during the game, cheering silently inside. I'm happy to report the Rangers won the game 6-2 and I left the stadium with no black eyes or profanities yelled at me. I would say it was a successful game.

The Gypsy-Turtle Travel Diary

I was on Cloud 9 after receiving my pass letter Monday evening.....so me and my happy cloud floated all the way to NY that evening to celebrate. My friend Kristen was in the city for a short business trip and I had to work at the NY office on Tuesday anyways so I decided to go up Monday night and stay in her fancy hotel for a NY slumber party!! We at least got to hang out for a few hours in the evening and it was nice to see a familiar friendly face!

I arrived in Philly last night, exhausted & weary, with a heavy overnight bag slung over one shoulder and lugging my overflowing breifcase/work purse in the other hand. I got off the train and headed to the taxi line outside 30th Street Station where I soon realized there was no such line? Whaddya know there was a taxi strike! (let me just say: what is the deal with strikes?!)Just my luck as I'm tired and dragging my entire world on my back like a turtle I now have to figure out how to get home from the train station. FOILED!....by the nutty cab drivers! I ended up taking the subway line (which was just across the street) that drops me off a few blocks away from our apartment. Certainly not an ideal situation but I was very grateful that we live in such a central area that I had an alternative option. It could have been much worse........(especially if had run into a cab driver in a dark alley......it would be a shame if my heavy bags happened to squish some unsuspecting striking taxi driver)

We're planning to move on Saturday. I'm really hoping it doesn't rain because moving in the rain is never very pleasant.....well, I suppose moving isn't pleasant in general but the rain doesn't help! We will be gypsies for a few days living under bridges and in abandonded buildings until our apartment is available on Wednesday. No, not really..... just making sure you're paying attention.....we're actually staying at Kyle's classmate's sublet since his friend already has access to his sublet but will be on vacation for a few days until he starts his job at another company.

Oh, the drama!!

I may not blog for a while due to our schedule of packing, gypsy-ing, & eventually moving into our sublet so keep an eye out for the 1st official NY blog of the summer!

Oh, and I am a bit late on this but Kyle and I would like to send a HUGE "CONGRATULATIONS!!!!" to all the new graduates in the family.....Cami & Chad are the newest Aggie graduates (WHOOP!) and Katie Rose has finished high school and is headed to t.u. [although it's sad to see one slip away to "the other side" we do wish her very well!]

The News We've All Been Waiting For....

...at least the news I've been waiting for....I know you're on the edge of your seat....I got my letter from the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners today.....and......

I PASSED!!!!!! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!

(that silence is the sound of me doing a little jig of joy of here)

I am so relieved and I already scheduled my second exam for the beginning of June. The positive momentum has started.....just push me on down the hill!

Saturday at the Main Line

Kyle and I started off our Saturday with mundane house chores however our evening turned into a social extravaganza. We went out to to the suburbs to have dinner at Kyle's boss' house. We ventured out to the Main Line (click here for Main Line history) which is the fancy pantsy collection of communitites just outside of Philly. Whoever said Philly is a boring city hasn't been out here I'm sure! There's nowhere in Houston that compares to the Main Line area. The landscape is beautiful....tons of trees and hills and houses on acres and acres of land. The highlight of the house was the pac-man arcade they recently acquired. Kyle and I were all over that thing. Pac-man brings back great early 80s memories, before X-Box & Playstation there was good ol' simple Pac-man!

Anyways, dinner was great. We had brisket, beans, pecan pie, & margaritas....a good Texas meal. Kyle's boss is from Texas, an Aggie in fact, so he knew what to cook up to make us feel at home.

Then we visited our French neighbors down the hall who had a house-warming party tonight. They just moved one apartment down the hall from their original apartment but it's an excuse to have a party, right?!

So now we're headed to bed. Too much partying for us :)

And still no word on the Arch. test. I'm thinking it may take a while b/c my results are sent to the Texas board of architecture and then sent to me so I'm not holding my breath.

An Idea Is Born

It is Friiiiidaaaaay again! Kyle and I went out on a date tonight to our new favorite ice cream place (no, we haven't replaced dear, beloved Rita's). Scoop de Ville is the Saks 5th Avenue of ice cream places and attended for special occasions only. The concotions they brew up there are deadly. I can do without ever knowing the calorie count of the "Ooey Gooey", which is what we split. The "Ooey Gooey" is chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, peanut butter, hot fudge & carmel syrups. Yikes, it scares me to even write all those ingredients.

We proceeded on to Rittenhouse Park to discuss the impending move to NYC and it was on a park bench that Kyle hatched a brilliant idea...we will embark on a tour of the world via the restaurants of New York! Back in February, my studio had a white elephant exchange where I ruthlessly stole the famous 2006 Michelin Guidebook (New York Restaurants & Hotels). I'm glad I ended up with the book because it will be our guide to visiting restaurants. (Finally a white elephant party where I left with something useful!)We've decided on the following cuisines:
American, Brazilian, Chinese, French, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mediterranean, Thai

Now this may not sound adventurous to some people seeing as our guide does have categories including Moroccan, Egyptian, Scandinavian, Turkish & something labeled "Gastro-Pub"(scary). However Kyle and I are not the most adventurous of eaters, subsisting on mostly hot pockets & Rita's water ice, so this'll be a stretch for us...trust me. I suggested to Kyle that we dress in themes appropriate to the country and take pictures before our night out. Then I could post the picture along with the restaurant review on the blog so you can take this journey with us....ummmm....the more I think about it I'm not sure about the themed outfits. That may be a bit much.....

But anyways, this will be a blast!!! Stay tuned...

The Numbers Are In....

Kyle's grades were posted today and he did very well with two DS', the highest score in the bizarre Wharton grading system. Way to go Kyle! Still no word on my Arch. Test even though I religously check the mail everyday, just as predicted.

Today I went into NY for work. I passed the plaza on my way into the building and noticed a very petite little woman behind a big table set up for cooking. My suspicions that it was Giada De Laurentiis from the Food Network were confirmed when I spotted her signature cleavage-revealing self from 50 yards away. I like her show, Everyday Italian, however it's an old joke between me and friends that watch the show that ol' Giada is always wearing a top that is a little too looow.

Kyle went to a Phillies v. Mets game tonight with a friend. Sadly, the Phillies lost miserably. I spent my evening doing the treadmill and studying for Part 2 of the Arch. Exam. As you can plainly read, it appears that we both had a deleriously exciting evening.

Weekend with Mom

The weekend was great. I took the 1st part of the architecture test on Wednesday. Not sure how I did so, PASS or FAIL, I'll be surprised. I'll be obsessed with the mail for the next couple weeks.....but that's no different than any other day. I luuuuv getting mail (except for the bills)

Kyle finished finals on Thursday so he is completely finished with the first year!!! His grades are slowly trickling in but for some reason the professors are not in much of a rush to get them out.

My mom came in town Wednesday night and we went to NY on Thursday and
Friday. We toodled around....saw a Broadway show (The Drowsy Chaperone) that was soooo funny, people watched in Central Park, went to the Met Museum, ate a lot and walked A LOT more. Our legs were dangling from our hips by their last ligaments by Friday afternoon. Ouch!

We went to Longwood Gardens on Saturday. Kyle's friends, Santiago & Sherry, came into town from New Jersey and joined us for that. A good time was had by all especially enjoying the BEATUIFUL weather. I love spring. I'd like to bottle it and sell it. I think I could make a small fortune and retire early.......

So I missed my friend, Juliann’s, baby shower this weekend. I made invitations for it and was super upset to not be there in person. Last night I called her to see how it went and we chatted about the gifts she got and we discussed other scary and mysterious things about pregnancy. She’s due in mid June. WELL, a few hours after we talked I got a text message in the middle of the night saying that she went to the hospital at midnight last night. Thirty minutes & three pushes later Baby Kendall came into the world almost 6 weeks early! I couldn’t believe it. But baby and mom are doing very well. I’m so happy for them!

And that’s all for today...it’s back to a regular week for us.

Slowsky Outtakes

For those who love the Slowskys as much as we do.....some outtakes from their commercial shoots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhxlMkK5qfI

Weekend Wrap-Up

So the weekend's over. Thankfully the books didn't keep us from enjoying Saturday just a little bit! It was just too beautiful to stay indoors and study while the sun was out. On Saturday we committed to study in the morning and in the evening for several hours and in between we ventured out to the museum area. It takes about 45 minutes to walk there (one-way) but it's a very pleasant tree-lined walk with a couple of parks and large fountains on the way over there. It reminds me a bit of the museum area in Houston....with all the trees in Rice Village.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art backs up to Fairmount Park, which is one of the largest urban parks in the country (besides Central Park, I assume). The Schyulkill River runs thru Fairmount Park. (The way you pronounce that river is Skoo-gill....the word looks funny). We stopped and watched some people fishing in the river. I really dislike fish so I kept my distance on a balcony above the fishermen while Kyle chatted with them about their bait and fishing stuff. Despite my dislike for fish, it was pleasant watching them cast their lines out into the river and see what they could get. One guy reeled in a Shad (?). I'm no fisher-woman so I'm not sure of the spelling. It was a decent sized fish about a foot long. That was exciting to watch.

Then we walked through an azalea garden that smelled of fertilizer. It was pretty but pee-ewww! We topped off the afternoon with a trip to Scoop de Ville. A funny little ice cream shop near our place. Yummy! Then it was back to the books.

This is going to be a great week because Kyle finishes his finals and I have a short 2-day work week! I'm taking Wednesday thru Friday off. My test is on Wednesday and my mom arrives that evening for a mini vacation. I'm looking forward to having her around.

So, my friend Square that lives in New York had a SUPER exciting weekend. I think she saw more celebs in one weekend than in her entire 9 months in NY?! She was EVEN rubbing elbows with the elusive offspring of Julia Roberts - (the famous yet oddly named twins) Hazel & Phinnaeus! See her blog for more details.....