Still in Carmel...

This morning Kyle, John, & some friends played golf at "Clint's Place". That would be Clint Eastwood's spectacular golf course/compound named Tehama, about 15 minutes from Carmel. While the guys were out Debbie and I went on a long walk to visit some art galleries and home furnishing stores this morning before stopping off for the morning service at Carmel Presbyterian Church.
Debbie and I met up with the guys at Tehama for lunch and toured the clubhouse which was featured in last year's Architectural Digest magazine so I was excited to get to see it up close. We ate on the patio and had this gorgeous view of the course....

The picture doesn't do it justice. If I were a serious golfing gal I would try to be here as much as possible. The weather....the views....just perfect!

Kyle, Debbie, & I spent the afternoon looking at open houses in Carmel which was a lot of fun. There are so many new houses and remodels, it was interesting to see how different each home was fixed up. And, once again, there's no way I could pick a favorite because they are all so cute!

I think tomorrow evening we'll be heading back to Alamo....it's going to be hard to tear me away from beautiful Carmel but I suppose the vacation has to end at some point....

Greetings from Carmel, CA!

We arrived in Carmel on Wednesday and immediately went to play on the beach. This is our picture with Pebble Beach golf course in the background. We saw some sea otters and sea lions poking their heads up while we were playing on the rocks there.

The next morning Kyle played some golf at Cypress Point golf course. Check out his swing and the amazing cypress trees in the distance.....

That evening we made a fire on the beach, roasted marshmallows, and made s'mores. That was one of the most relaxing things EVER! I could do that every night of my life and be happy :)

Today we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium and saw this adorable little sea otter sleeping in the water. Ah, the life! I had to share this picture because he was sooooo cute!

This afternoon Debbie, Glenda, & I walked around the little shops here in Carmel. There are so many art galleries and antique shops and clothing stores. It is just the cutest little town and everywhere I turn one house is cuter than the next! It drives me crazy....but in a good way!

More to come.....

Technology: A Love/Hate Story

So Wednesday night we moved from New York back to Philly. I never want to move again!!

Our arrival marked the beginning of a 2-day technology meltdown. We arrived home to find the trusty wireless connection we'd been leeching off all last year had forsaken us. The people who had the wireless must've moved because our apartment is now a dry zone. So we signed up for our own wireless Internet and upgraded cable through Comcast "We're Taking Over the Universe" Cable.
Sidenote: Is it just me or is Comcast soon going to form a sovereign nation and become the next superpower in the world because they are EVERYWHERE lately.

Then, part 2 of the technology meltdown happened when I came to work on Thursday to find my computer (which had been FedEx'd from my IT people in NY) had arrived without THE POWER CORD!!! I love our IT department. Brilliant. The power cord is kinda important here. So I had no computer access which was a nightmare! Today my power cord arrived and I am back online.

We leave this afternoon for a 2 week vacation to Houston and then on to California so the blogging may be sporadic. I can't wait to get outta here!

Things'll Be Great When You're DOWN TOWN...

Our studio (the team of about 15 of us headed by a Principal) is getting ready to move down to the Wall Street office....goodbye Rockefeller Center....goodbye Today Show Concert Series.....goodbye crowded midtown & 5th avenue....we're headed downtown! The move officially happens on Friday but I will be moving back to Philadelphia on Wednesday so these are my last few days to work in Rock Center.

Speaking of moving, I started packing last night for our move back to ol' PA. This morning as I rat raced myself to work I dreamed of how nice it will be to get back to the slower pace of Philly. I can enjoy the nice fall weather as I commute the few short blocks to work. No subway to deal with, no masses of humanity in my face. And.....our spacious, SPACIOUS apartment is waiting for us!!! That's one downfall of NY. We can't spend much time in The Rectangle together. We're like cooped-up experimental mice and the extreme close quarters ignites our volitile behavior. And the little mice get angry!! The solution: The little mice try to go outside as much as possible. To celebrate our final weekend we went to see our last Broadway show, Spamalot. It's based on Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. Some of that British humor was a little weird but overall it was a good show and we laughed.

We went to brunch with some friends on Saturday and afterwards stopped by the renown & exalted Magnolia Bakery on Bleeker Street where they sell to-die-for cupcakes and there's a legendary line out the door at all hours of the day. Dinner was at Del Posto owned by Mario Batali, one of the Iron Chef's on the Food Network. (Apparently Kyle has become a "foodie" and insists on visiting all the Iron Chef restaurants)

Sunday we met up with some other friends for lunch at this place called The Burger Joint. The Joint is a very secretive place. The only way you know it's there is a little burger-shaped neon sign tucked in a corner of the Le Parker Meridien hotel lobby. You go behind the curtain and you're in an old, graffiti-ed burger joint....in the middle of this fancy hotel? Weird but the burgers were delish!

Nobu.....WAHOO!

Having a hard time keeping my head from slamming the keyboard. Last night was late. Came home near 1AM....

This is how the evening went down: We had plans to meet Kyle's co-worker & his girlfriend for dinnerat Nobu 57 at 9 PM. We arrived and I enjoyed getting to meet this guy that Kyle had spent most of his summer with and his girlfriend was really nice too. Since Kyle and I are newbies on the sushi scene we let John order everything for our table. If we were ever going to try sushi Nobu is the place to do it. Just so you understand---John and Kyle are on opposite ends of the adventurous eating spectrum. John was fresh off vacation from Korea describing to us his adventures in eating a live, squirmy octopus and throws into the mix that sea urchin is also one of his favorite dishes. Kyle, on the other hand, well---you know Kyle.

John did a super job on selections. Hold on to your seats---we tried edamame and spicy peppers, raw oysters, some yellowtail sashimi, lightly seared tuna for appetizers along with our first bottle of sake. For the main course we sampled rock shrimp tempura, soft shell crab tempura, some toro (raw fatty tuna), live scallops, barbequed eel, spicy tuna rolls, and some black cod with miso that was so amazing we ordered a second round....and washed that all down with a second bottle of sake that--again John ordered and--was the absolute best sake the restaurant had in stock. Kyle and I looked it up when we got home and it was (no kidding) $400 for that second bottle of sake. We didn't know that at the time but we knew it was expensive so, needless to say, we kept drinking it so as not to waste one single drop. Talk about being light headed...

We finished off the meal with 4 different desserts! I'm feeling full just writing about it. We enjoyed most everything but the texture of the oysters was hard to get used to but we both tried it at least. Bet you didn't know Kyle was a sushi man??

We each discreetly caught a glimpse of the final bill (we later conferred in the cab) and surmised that our freewheeling sushi experimentation exercise topped out at over $800 (that's before tip, folks). Now that's a New York story if I've ever heard one. As exciting as the evening was I'm sure it will never be duplicated so we enjoyed the moment while it lasted.

So tonight Kyle is out again. This time it's just the boys and they are going out to Craft Steak which is definitely more up Kyle's alley. I'll let you know how that one turns out. Should be another good meal since the big boss will be at this one.

A Reunion A Decade In The Making

I knew it was bound to happen. This whole summer I knew I would have to see actor Tim Robbins (of Shawshank Redemption fame) at some point. Earlier this summer I spotted Susan Sarandon and I knew that Tim Robbins (her "life partner/common-law husband/whatever they are") couldn't be far behind because they live on our street. And yesterday morning was the moment...as I walked out of my apartment heading to work there was a gigantically tall Tim Robbins walking down MY street toward me wearing gym shorts and a Mank Top (that's a man tank top). He was with his son headed in the direction of his brownstone home. The movies I've seen him in he's either really nice or really scary but he looked fairly regular and non-menacing yesterday.

The highlight of the day was meeting up with a friend of mine from high school that I hadn't seen in a full decade! Aimee lives in New York and had found out I was in New York also from a mutual friend at our 10 year reunion. So Irene passed along Aimee's email and we got together for our own little reunion session at the Chat N Chew restaurant here in the city. It was great to catch up with her and know what's going on in her life. Plus she gave me all the juicy scoop on the reunion! I hope we can continue to meet up when I come back to the city for work. There's just something comforting about seeing someone that you've known since you were 8 years old in a big city like this and being able to reconnect!

Free As A Bird...Or Is It Weird As A Bird??

I’ve noticed a certain thing about people here. They are so free….free to be themselves….free to do whatever….free as the wind blows….free as the grass grows…here are two stories from today’s Free People File.

So the subway’s always a breeding ground for people behaving freely/weirdly and today was no exception. I was sitting across from a young woman who appeared perfectly normal until I noticed she was talking to herself….no big deal…. I’ve grown used to plenty of people talking to the air. She was really serious about the conversation, though, and then I noticed the script book she was holding. I brilliantly deducted it was an actress (I’m guessing a newbie) practicing for an audition. You should’ve seen this emphatic, dramatic, imaginary conversation going down, eyebrows and lips moving around angrily. I was perfectly intrigued although I could hear no words. It was like something sick that you don’t really want to watch but are compelled because you never see stuff like that. Adding to the funniness (is that a word?) was the giant burly man squished and overflowing in the seat next to her. He was practically sitting on top of her but seemed either scared or intrigued by the whole script. I couldn’t tell because his expression looked like both. I really wonder what that script was about but I had to get off at my stop and go to work.

I’ve noticed that iPods have really freed people also. As soon as people have those earphones in the ears it’s like personal karaoke time and the world is my stage. I have seen/heard more people singing along with their iPods as if their voice somehow magically dissolves away when the special white earphones go in. This evening I was walking home from work and a dude a few steps in front of me was just singing his little heart out, jamming to his tunes. I can relate though because sometimes I want to sing along with my iPod too so sometimes I walk around and just lip synch and people probably think I’m weird but that’s OK because I’m freeeeee too!

Have I Got A Book For Ya!

Below is a blog entry about Kyle & I's weekend but I thought this next piece of info deserved it's own blog title.

I am so proud to announce my dear Mom has published her first official, real live book! This accomplishment is so exciting to me. The book has been coming together for many years as a result of her experience in family counseling and with loads of prayer shaping it into the final format. The book is available at major online bookstores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, & Borders. (Can you believe it?)

The name of the book is
Letters From Your Father God by Maya Graves
so check it out!

Here is the link to the book at Amazon.com

YAY, MOM! XOXO

Time is Ticking Away in Ol' New York

This is our second to last weekend in New York! Can you believe it? We'll be packing up soon and heading back to our little sanctuary in Philadelphia. I'm kinda looking forward to being home again even though I will miss NY a lot. I will just have to come back to visit.....

Friday night we were cruisin' the Meat Packing District and saw filming taking place of the TV show Law & Order. It seemed exciting at first with all the lights and equipment and cameras occupying an entire block radius BUT when we realized we were watching the film crew sitting around eating catered food we decided it wasn't that exciting. 3 hours to shoot 2 scenes.....talk about a snail's pace......

Yesterday we took the Staten Island Ferry and here is my

Top Five List of Reasons to Take the Staten Island Ferry

#5: Feeling the wind through your hair

#4: Feeling claustrophobic alongside all the fellow hot and sweaty passengers

#3: Great views of Manhattan & the Statue of Liberty

#2: The peg-leg pigeon (he was missing all toes on one leg) standing at the helm of the ferry as we crossed the water. The “ferry commander”, if you will. We affectionately labeled him “Pirate Pigeon”. Arghhh!

And the #1 reason to take the Staten Island Ferry…..It's FREE!!!

Here is a shot of Kyle pondering what it was like to be an immigrant coming to America. (that's the statue just south of his nose). Here's a better shot of Lady Liberty......

Here is a picture of the skyline.....

One Year Philly-versary

This is a quick post to mention that today marks our 1 year anniversary of moving to Philly. With only 2 duffel bags and an air mattress we checked into a hotel before grabbing our apartment the next day and Kyle starting class the day after that. It's been an exciting year and it has flown by so fast. Only about 9 months left until this school thing is finished! I can't believe it :)

And for those that are concerned that we are roasting like turkeys on Thanksgiving, we are surviving the heat but just barely....thankfully a cool front came in tonight....

I'll blog more tomorrow....