Lessons Learned

Today I went to NY. Since I've already blogged about that mundane experience, I'll just share a few new lessons I learned today after six months under my belt.

Lesson #1:
Pretend to be asleep on the train and people won't sit next to you! For some reason people (me included) don't want to sit next to a sleeping person so once I've "played opossom", the train starts moving, I sprawl out on two seats and, voila! another hour of comforatble rest for ME! I can't really say it's "sleep" because it's not a full sleep but resting on the train sure refreshes me.

Lesson #2:
Today was a banner day. I figured out the subway system to get from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia aaaaaall the way to Rock Center in NY without ever going outside once. I do have to ride 3 different subway trains but whatever. The point is that when it's raining (as it was today and the past FOUR TIMES I've gone to New York) I don't have to worry about getting soaked to the core and having an umbrella fiasco as I did several weeks ago.

Lesson #3:
Turn the melodramatic notch down a thousand. And stop watching A&E TV specials on Sept. 11th! This afternoon the building manager came over the loudspeaker announcing "an alarm has been detected in the concourse level of the building, please stay tuned for further instruction." This probably would have been a non-issue had I not watched a TV special just last night about 9/11. The woman interviewed on the TV special said the building announcement instructed them not to leave the building; however after staying put for a few minutes she decided to leave. Kyle and I agreed (just last night) if we were ever in a situation where the building were in danger, we'd leave immediately, no questions. Weeeeeeellll, wouldn'cha know....I get put to the test the very next day. It did cross my mind to flee the building, however, I did not. Turned out to be nothing but my stomach did a flip flop. We're only on the 8th floor so I figure I can staple my clothes together to form a make-shift parachute. Might be embarassing when I land naked but, hey, at least I'll be alive.

Kyle had his first interview for a summer internship today. He says it went "OK". It was a different kind of interview called a "case interview" for a consulting company. They ask different types of questions than what you would normally think, asking you to solve real problems a business might have. There's another interview on Thursday (regular-type interview) so keep him in your prayers.

I sure hope our internship is settled with more time to spare than what we had for finding out about this school to begin with. I'm not really down with the last-minute-decision trend continuing much further.

All Suited Up!

It's a rainy Sunday in Philadelphia. We attended the church potluck lunch this afternoon following the service. We really like our little church and the little community it has become for us. I brought chocolate chip cookies to share with everyone and we visited with the group.

Yesterday Kara and I went to Manayunk and toured the little shops on Main Street and had lunch at a cute restaurant. It didn't take much for Kyle to volunteer to stay at home upon learning the trip was all about window shopping.

This upcoming week involves a lot of meetings for me in Philadelphia so I will be pretty busy. Kyle will be busy interviewing for summer internships this week. I took a picture of Kyle in his new suit and I noticed something quite familiar........

Things haven't changed much, I see :)

Mutiny!!!!

Thank goodness for the bizarre little hat my mom convinced me to buy when I was in Houston over Christmas. It's a white knit cap with connecting ear flaps and a giant pom-puff on the top. I am under the distinct impression that it makes my head looks twice a big as it's actual size however I was drawn to it's functionality: head warmth and ear warmth all in one unit. I wear it often (especially on a cold day like today) and am usually self-conscious about it but since it performs a good service for me I continue to wear it. Several people have commented how it's so "cute" and "hey, I love your hat". However, I'm just convinced that the shock of it's appearance begs people to comment on it and instead of laughing they just humor me and tell me it's cute and I get self-conscious all over again. So if you see me wearing this hat please don't tell me I look cute or you like my hat because I won't believe you.

It appears that apartment-tenant mutiny is on the brink at 1500 Locust! I spotted a flyer calling for all citizens to report to the top floor TV room to discuss the elevator situation. The words that inspired me in the memo were phrases like "our safety is being compromised" and "nothing will be done unless we unite!" Hurray! Yes, I've jumped on the bandwagon. I've had it with freight elevators stopping in between floors, waiting for 10 minutes (and more) for an elevator to come to my floor, coming home to a 15 minute wait in the lobby after a hard day's work, the elevator cab continuously displaying the wrong floor number, and running desperately (insert Chariots of Fire music here) to catch the closing elevator doors and knowing that if you don't get on this one....it could be another 15 minutes. I'm fed up! I'm resolved! I'll be at the meeting to discuss the demise of our property managment. What will we seek as retribution? Maybe one....no, TWO months free rent! Will our plans involve camoufloged, middle of the night guerilla tactics? I can't tell you when the meeting will be because there could be spies reading, however, I'll report back after the fact. The residents of 1500 Locust have had it! It's time for SHOCK AND AWE!

As Kyle pointed out, it should be interesting to see how everyone makes it up to the top floor all at one time? It may take up to an hour to get everyone assembled??? What a disaster that would be. To be continued.....

The Mean Streets of Philadelphia

Life has been boring around these parts. Kyle is busily looking for summer internship possibilities so we got him a few suits this weekend. He looks so sharp and very intellectual in his new suits. (I think I was more excited about suit shopping than he was, actually) I'll have to dress him up like my own life-sized Ken doll and make him do a fashion show so I can take pictures to post :) He's got a few interviews set up for next week , a few resume floating out there, and a few more phone calls out to his mysterious network of contacts. It'll be quite exciting to see where we are this summer. It's looking more and more like NYC is a high possibility....

I've been busy going to New York (was there yesterday). Lately it's been a couple times per week. Hence, the tardiness on the blog and the bags under my eyes.

Today I was an hour late to lunch (the black hole has followed me to Philadelphia!) and ol' Gus, my food truck guy, noticed and commented that I must be busy because I didn't come at my usual time. If you only knew, Gus....if you only knew.....

Well, if the rash of crime sweeping the city doesn't kill us, maybe our apartment elevator will. Wouldn't that be ironic? Yes, let's back up there...."rash of crime sweeping the city". In the past week there has been a woman raped, a Wharton classmate robbed at gun point (just yesterday), and today a Drexel grad student was chosen at random to be beaten up while the kids videotaped.
Those first 2 things happened in the rectangle area between where I work and where we live--yowsers!!

But my bets are on the elevator killing us first. Kyle reported that while he was waiting in the 15 people deep rush hour line in the lobby a guy told him he was taking the freight elevator (which has to be run with someone from management because it won't close or open on its own) which dropped (yes DROPPED) four feet and stopped in between floors and everyone had to crawl out to the floor. Now, that's scary!

Blown Away

Well, being awoken at 1 AM to 50+ mph wind gusts was certainly not what I needed on a night when I had to wake up at 5 AM to go to NYC! Seriously I thought it was the end of the world! Now our windows aren't quite state-of-the-art weather-proof so there was this annoying whistling of the wind whipping in through the cracks. The wind was rattling the windows so hard it sounded like they were going to shatter inwards. Plus, we live on the 37th floor so it was probably even more windy up here. Kyle got up to check it out and decided we could hunker down in our hall closet if we needed shelter. Never been through that much wind for such a long period of time unless it was a hurricane.

The weather was the big news around these parts today. Click here for the news story from CNN. The train scheduled to leave before mine to NYC was an hour late so my train was super crowded this morning. Ah, the commuter life. NY was windy and rainy. The highlight of the morning was having my umbrella fly inside out as I walked to work. I got totally soaked. That'll wake you up in the morning. Quite a few others were battling it out with their umbrellas so I didn't feel as retarded with my umbrella wildly inverting and reverting.

Kyle met with the Donald Trump of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. He had a meeting in Harrisburg (this is the capital of PA, in case you were wondering) to get information for a school project. Pennsylvania has an archaic system for selling alcohol which requires all liquor to be sold through state-owned stores. For this reason, Pennsylvania is the world's largest single buyer of wine.

Well, I'm completely exhausted from my lack of sleep last night worrying if the 37th floor was going to blow off the building so I'm off to bed.

Good night!

My Visit to the Funny Farm

So today I visited the Funny Farm (aka -- The Post Office) and the Bank during my lunch hour....and, yes, it took me the full 60 minutes for those two simple tasks. Wow...being an adult is definitely not all it's cracked up to be. My experience at the Chestnut Street Funny Farm around the corner was a bad one.

I was hoping to drop off a package real quick and pick up some 2 cent stamps. Little did I forget that it's lunch hour and EVERYONE and their aunt goes to the Post Off---I mean, Funny Farm since it's the only one in a six-block radius. This particular FF is notorius for having long lines at lunch, most of the time actually, and even on Saturdays. The line was 28 people long (and I did count because what else is there to do when waiting in line but brush up on basic arithmetic skills). I decided that Post Office employees must completely REVEL in exerting what little control they have over the world by completely ignoring the fact that a ridiculous amount of people are waiting to to do some very mundane tasks yet time seems to be of no concern to them. No concern! Time stands still when you're at the Funny Farm. I guess they don't believe in clocks there? My favorite part (and I think they did this for shock value) was the audible gasp of frustration every 15 minutes (during what I like to call the "changing of the guard") when 1 of the only 2 clerks would put up their "Window Closed" sign, slowly pack up the register and disappear. Only to have another staff member relieve them 5 minutes later but still.....I think Funny Farm employees live for making people's skin boil.

So if I ever mail you a package, you better know you are so worth it to have me wait in line for 45 minutes.

The only upside to running errands was when I hit my regular food truck guy for my (almost daily) $2.75 turkey hoagie. He starts my sandwich when he sees me crossing the street. Gotta love it. I don't even have to order any more. Gus knows what's up.

On to other things...

The much anticipated visit to Manayunk came about on Sunday when I went on an excursion while Kyle studied/worked....Manayunk's the cute town just NW of here with little shops lining Main Street. Very pedestrian. I got to visit a Pottery Barn for the first time in at least 7 months. Also, I managed to find Costco on my own out in KOP (King of Prussia, another suburb). Yay me! I get so nervous driving in unfamiliar territory.

Kyle went to a dinner last night to welcome the Aggies who are on the MBA trip visiting Philadelphia. Today he had lunch with them and toured them around Wharton.

I was in NYC yesterday and saw Square for a brief moment. She accompanied me while I ran errands at Saks across the street during lunch. She had the nerve to scare me by saying "Guess what?!" as a preface to some important piece of news but of course I freaked out at the phrase and thought she was announcing she was pregnant. Word to my friends and sisters-in-law: unless you're trying to give me a heart attack, do not call me and say "guess what!" unless you really mean "GUESS WHAT?!". And, Erin, if you tell me to "guess what" any time soon , well, I don't know what I would do....

Kyle's been working a lot helping his company get ready for a big presentation and I'm going to NYC tomorrow...it's shaping up to be a busy week. I'm not sure I'm cut out to be all "metropolitan" and such. At least it makes the days zoom by --- this travel back and forth.

That Bloody Times Square!!

It's been a fun couple of days. Kyle and I went to NYC yesterday for a Texas A&M Wall Street Aggies Reception. It was an event for business undergrad and MBA Aggies to come up from Texas and mingle/network with Aggie alumni that live/work in NYC. We had a good time and met some interesting people. I think Kyle got a few good connections for possible summer internship opportunities.

After the reception we were on a hunt for a place to eat dinner and somehow landed in a diner place in Times Square where we paid $20 for a sandwich. This was really traumatic for us but Kyle especially since he prides himself on "cost-awareness". At least we split the sandwich but it wasn't even that good. $20....for a sandwich.....that's what desperation for a meal at 10 PM costs you.

Now, the following is Kyle's headline story for the weekend. Most of you have probably heard this already since he called everyone he knew to recount the story:

We went straight to the reception from the train station and walked through an intersection in Times Square. We noticed there were a bunch of cop cars but crossed the street anyways. I was walking ahead of Kyle through the intersection and once Kyle caught up with me dragging our rollie suitcase he recounted his convo with the cop
Cop: I wouldn't stand there if I were you
Kyle: Why is that?
Cop: You're standing in blood
AHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I vaguely noticed the substance I walked through seemed a bit unlike water but who knew it would be blood of all things. Disgusting. Thankfully our suitcase came out unscathed. Can I just say YUCK-YYYY!?!?!

On to more pleasant subjects.....The highlight of today for me was brunching at Mesa Grill. My favorite chef on the Food Network, Bobby Flay, owns and is the head chef here and I made reservations a month ago for brunch today. My dish was so great. I loved everything. I was the big dork and took a picture (!) of my stupid plate. Whatever?! It looked so colorful and pretty.

Kyle's big treat for the day was seeing his favorite athlete of all time (from all sports)---Mark Messier, a hockey player for the Rangers, who was taping something in front of the Rockefeller Center ice rink for NBC.

We went to a bunch of different stores to check out the sales. I discovered where designer clothes go to die....the multi-story Loehman's on 7th Ave and 16th. It was a sad mess of a store and I didn't have near enough time to pick over everything. I'll tackle that bear when I'm without husband.

And tonight it's snowing! It hasn't snowed here since around Thanksgiving so we're excited about that!

Triangles! Rainbows! and Elton, Oh my!

It was when I was filling out paperwork at the doctor's office that I began to second guess my haste in finding a doctor that could see me in 24 hours.

Thought process went something like this:
Triangle Medical Group....hmmm....wonder why triangle....triangle.....oooooooh, triiiiiangle. I wonder if this has to do with the restaurant I passed next door which was proudly covered in several gigantic rainbow flags......wait.....is that....why yes.....it's Elton John crooning '90s soft rock ballads through the sound system!! Where am I, Toto?! More importantly, am I dressed in coordinating colors?

I slowly lift my gaze from the paperwork to the fellow patrons in the lobby. Several middle aged men....Then I glance to my right and on the wall is a bulletin board with business cards of patients, letters, and one big postcard with what looks like a late 1700s portrait of our forefathers and a woman gathered around what, I believe in the original portrait, would have been an American flag but in this artistic diversion it was a big ol rainbow flag! At this point I have to hold back my laughter because I'm just in the twighlight zone. Totally didn't see this coming!

So I move to the examining room and I'm sitting on that medical bed/bench covered with that tissue paper stuff and I realize I'm stuck in a bad southwestern motif pattern from the 70s. Waiting for the doctor I'm staring at a maroon wall with a little puffy rainbow sticker directly ahead of me, about 4 cactus plants, one of which was wearing a cowboy hat, and a hula dancing doll. Nice touch. My favorite part: the electrical cover-plate and light switch cover-plate are wrapped in FABRIC to match the fabric on the doctor's chair which also matches the fabric tied around a big clay pot in the corner of the room (which I'm guessing might be a "decorative accent piece"-- and I use that term loosely). I have many things to say about this scene but I'll let the mental picture speak for itself.
Fabric electrical plates.....that's a new one to me

After trying to convince me that I should get a hepatitis shot in case I travel to India (becaaaause.....do I look like I'm planning a secret Himalayan trek to bathe in a river with the locals??!!) the nice doctor gave me some drugs that should help me with my cough and make me sleep through the night without blowing out a lung. So I'm grateful for that.

On to Kyle's day: he says that his CNBC professor gives daily updates on the stock market to the class and will answer any question students have so if you have a burning question regarding the stock market for Prof. Siegel, email Kyle and he will try to get you an answer!

And a New Year Begins....

Thank you, Lord for another year of life and overall good health!

What a weekend.
On Friday I was working in NYC and Kyle and his friend, Kevin, came up to tour the city as well. I was sitting at my desk and got a phone call to "look out the window!"...I do as I'm told and lo and behold there's my precious hubby doing circles around Rockefeller Center ice rink all alone...no one to hold his hand and be romantic! I wish I could have been on the ice too! But I waved from my window and Kyle blew me kisses from below and it was all the same.

I haven't written much because I haven't done much. I spent the whole weekend inside the apartment resting. I read books and slept. I've been having these coughing fits where I wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning and start coughing like I'm forcing up a hairball. It's so bad and I wake up poor Kyle and it's just horrific b/c I can't stop coughing for about 15 minutes. This has happened 3 nights in a row and I think Kyle has devised a back-up plan for tonight....setting up an auxillary bed on the living room couch. If my usual 3 AM couging spell hits tonight, he will revert to plan B. I finally have a doctor's appointment set up for tomorrow morning and I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on whatever meds he has for me.

Kyle started back his first day of the second semester today. His first class is with that semi-famous professor/commentator that Uncle Jim likes from CNBC. He said that class went well. He has also been busy working for that firm he helps out with once a week. Kyle's schedule is definitely full to the brim!

I'm signing off but I'd like to send a belated Happy 1st Anniversary (!) to Phillip & Cami. Congratualtions on one year guys! :) And a Happy Birthday to you Phillip! What a big weekend for y'all.

Also, if you don't already know my sister in law, mother of the triplets + one, has started a blog which I'm sure will be chock-full of amusing stories and reflections on motherhood raising these little cutie-pies so visit her site too www.lifewithmyfoursons.blogspot.com

I hope you feel better soon, Daddy!

Today I am a Happy Camper

I successfully made stir-fry chicken....on a whim, even...can you believe it?

AND....to add even more excitement the recipe was a concoction of my Rachel Ray cookbook, an Epicurious recipe, and my own fabulous brain. I am equally amazed because I actually enjoyed eating it too.
This a great feat because I especially have some problem eating chicken that I prepare myself for some bizarre-o reason.

On the way home from work I stopped by Sue's Produce--the best produce shop in the 'hood. I got a bunch of veggies for my stir-fry plus some all for $6. So, anyways, I got home and marinated the chicken in orange zest and juice. (This was a super-fabulous idea, by the way). Then, sauteed shallots, ginger, snowpeas, broccoli, carrots & garlic (those first 3 ingredients....never used 'em....NEVER?!...like I said, this is a whim here). One reason I chose this recipe was that it called for me using my shiny, new sharp Santoku knife to chop up a bunch of different things. Chop chop chop....
On a ridiculous side note...yesterday I was desperate to slice something with my new knife so I stood in the kitchen and chopped an apple into crazy sized pieces and ate it piece by piece....I decided leisurely chopping isn't as satisfying as chopping purposefully.
Okay, I digress....
So we were at chop chop chop....and Oops! I did accidently brush the side of my finger ever so slightly in my energetic fervor. Oh well...at least it wasn't worse. It didn't hurt at all. In fact I only realized what happened when I saw blood running down my finger and thought Bloody Chicken Stir-Fry should certainly not be on the menu at Chez Bethancourt tonight. So the fact I didn't notice the cut tells you how sharp the knife is or what a crazed chopping state I was in????

So on to Kyle's big news. He received his grades today and made 2 DS' (Distinguished Student, highest possible score) & 1 HP (High Pass, 2nd highest score). The rest were P's. He was very excited about the DS'. Yay, Kyle! He also went to Jersey today with his co-worker to visit one of their holdings, a Marina, it's within a mile from the Statue of Liberty and has a great view of NYC. I think he enjoyed touring that.

Tomorrow Kyle's friend, Kevin, is coming to visit us for a few days. I hope we can entertain him well.....hee hee....could a trip to you-know-where be in the cards????

Ok, gotta run. We're watching the t.u. vs. USC game and USC is winning at the moment....

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!

I hope 2006 brings you all health, joy, and no visible signs of aging!

It's true, the blog has suffered due to our vacation. Almost 2 weeks of no work/school was just what we needed and the e-diary was put on the back burner!

A quick recap of Christmas:

Christmas was super. We spent Eve & Day at Justin & Erin's with Kyle's side of the fam. Of course our FOUR nephews are so adorable and Christmas is just a whole new experience when you have little ones around. I mean who can resist little snowflake onesies and a candy cane striped baby....J & E, if you're children go missing you might want to check Philadelphia ;).....

Here's everyone's saying "CHEEEESE!"

Click here for full Christmas pictures (to be updated soon)

My parents flew off to Spain to spend Christmas with my aunt who just moved to Malaga to do missionary work. My mom has always wanted to go to Spain so I was happy that they could be there, tour, and also be with my aunt although I missed them on Christmas. They returned on the 27th so we got to spend time with them then.

A recap of New Year's Eve:

My dear friend, Anne, came up for the weekend to visit us. Unfortunately we were all complete bundles of un-excitement as exhaustion and the beginnings of illness overcame me and Kyle was recovering from congestion. We did push through and visited Reading Terminal Market for a cheesesteak but overall it was a pretty low-key evening, watching Ryan Seacrest on TV and all the people in NYC jammed packed like little sardines in Times Square. At midnight we witnessed a great fireworks display from our 37th floor bedroom window. All around south Philly fireworks went off in different locations for about 20 minutes. It was the longest (seemingly) unorganized fireworks display we'd ever seen. Now we know that NewYear's Eve from our apartment window ain't too shabby.

On the first day of 2006 we rented a car, went to church, then took a road trip to South Jersey and we actually saw "THE SHORE", as they say here.

Then we drove on to (I'll give you one guess where we went....) LONGWOOD GARDENS, of course. No Bethancourt visitor's trip to Philly is complete without going to Longwood. You visit us, we take you to Longwood so just be prepared, OK? Unless you just have absolutely no interest but with the hoopla I've created about this place you might think you've missed one of the 7 Wonders of the World if you don't go. And thanks to Kyle & I's annual membership, Longwood welcomes us year round with open arms and no entrance fee! Thank you John & Debbie for fueling our addiction to The Gardens. We definitely plan to make the most of it.

And tonight we'll turn in early. I'm so thankful for the short week at work!

Striiiiiike!

It's been an interesting few days. I went to NYC yesterday for work and had to walk 20 blocks from Penn Station to my office because of the big transit strike. It took me about 30 minutes. However, 20 blocks was nothing compared to one guy in our office who walked 73 blocks! That took him an hour and a half. Thankfully I had already arranged to stay overnight in a hotel which was very close to the office so I didn't have to fight the mad Penn Station confusion. I caught an early train back to Philly tonight and am ready to pack up for tomorrow's eeeaaaarrly morning flight at 6 AM!

Kyle and I opened our Christmas gifts to each other tonight. Here's a picture of our tree with presents underneath....

OK! I've GOT to pack....In a few short hours we'll be headed back to Texas!!!

The Home Stretch....4 Days 'Til TX

It's been an exciting week! Kyle's been studying for finals and I've been working hard to get things wrapped up at work before I am gone for almost 2 weeks! This is gonna be great! I can't wait to be home.

Kyle and I tried out a new restaurant on Friday night called Monticelli. It was pretty good. Then we went to (where else!) the Ritz Carlton for our usual favorite...a brownie sundae dessert. Yuuum. On our way to the RC we witnessed a strange sight. Remember, it is about 8:30 at night as we head to the RC and we kept hearing people yell things from all different directions. We then realized there were people in groups of 3 or 4 running along the sidewalks who were doing the yelling (couldn't really tell what exactly they were saying). However they didn't really look or were dressed like professional runners. And it wasn't just one rogue group because we saw several of these groups of "runners" pass. Some were wearing Santa hats or Christmas-y attire. Then from behind us we heard jingling...like jingle bells on a reindeer and then WHOOSH a slightly round man with a reindeer headband jogged by with a jingle bell belt on so with each step he took he sounded (and looked) like a reindeer. It was weird. Kyle noticed it was a full moon out. Somehow we were trapped with the crazies on Walnut Street.

But we safely made it to the RC. We people-watched and had a nice evening of conversation and enjoyed the big Christmas tree in the atrium. It's sad to think that when we come back to Philly Christmas will be over and the winter will be in full force. We've been warned that (weather-wise) it gets much worse here . YIKES!

Today I volunteered in the nursery at church and played with the kids. They're so cute. We had this one little girl, Kennedy, who looked and acted like an 80 year old woman in a 2 year old body. It was hilarious. When her 4 year old cousin arrived in the room looking skeptical because she doesn't normally stay in the nursery Kennedy walked up, stood right in front of her and put her little hands on the cousin's shoulders, rubbing them up and down as if to comfort her and said "dear, dear!" (or maybe she was saying "there, there"?) and then gave her a gentle hug like a little old mother would do. What a riot! She is an old soul in that little baby body.

Well, it's off to start packing tonight. I'll be in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday and then we leave early Thursday morning.....So I've got to get my packing done tonight!

In the Meadow We Can Build A Snowman....

It's offical: my nose is now just a raw nub on my face. I've been sick and having to use non lotion kleenex coupled with the fact there is no moisture in this freezing air has just made my nose look horrific, despite my moisturizing efforts.

I'm really glad I invested in a feather down puffy jacket. It feels like I have my feather down bed comforter wrapped around me when I'm outside. The problem is that my face cannot be completely covered unless I wear a ski mask which is not going to happen. So the face still turns into a popsicle.

Yesterday was busy in NYC. As usual. I've decided the only way to LIVE in NYC is with ECANJ (Endless Ca$h and No Job). Going there for work is losing it's luster since I don't ever get to see anything besides the ugly white walls of work from morning till dark. Upset with the situation I'll voice my disapproval here with a loud bellowing BOOOOOOOOOOO!

At the Philly firm I work at I sit in the front area near the receptionist, in what used to be a conference room. Apparently this room has speakers which are wired to the XM Satellite radio and ALL day long I am subjected to Christmas music. Now, I love Christmas music. I am one of those people that will bust out the Christmas music in July because I love it so much (just ask Kyle). However, I like listening to it at my leisure. 20 different versions of Walkin' In A Winter Wonderland playing throughout the day is enough to send me into a crazed mental state. If I hear one more thing about "Parson Brown".....really! I hope this is only for today.

Hot Toddy Night!

Ugh! For the past few evenings I've been forcing down the repugnant mixture of hot water, lemon juice, honey, & scotch to ward off my throat soreness and pesky sniffles. My mom used to give me this when I was sick. It works and helps me to sleep but BOY does it taste icky!

Tomorrow I have to work in NYC so I HAVE GOT to feel better. After this week, I just have half of the next week and I'll be back home to Texas. I can't wait! I'm so ready for some time off.

Last night we went to a party of Kyle's classmate that was on the 21st floor of our building. I met a bunch of Kyle's other classmates which was fun. The highlight of the party was the fire alarm going off about 45 minutes into it and we all had to evacuate the building. Of course Kyle and I didn't bring our coats because we didn't leave the building to go to the party. Standing in the cold with no coats wasn't too fun. Then the challenge was to get back upstairs and anyone who has visited us knows the horrible elevator situation. Imagine at least 60 people trying to get back upstairs. So we decided to take the garage elevator to the 14th floor and then walk up to the 21st floor. I definitely felt the burning in my thighs and hope to never climb that many stairs again.

Let it Snow!

So it did snow on Thursday night/Friday morning and I experienced my first ever walk to work in the snow-slush. It was interesting because you really have to watch the ground for icy patches as you're walking. The worst part is getting to an intersection and facing the slop and puddles. You must choose your route wisely. I felt like Super Mario in Nintendo having to jump and dodge obstacles at every intersection. I made it to work pretty easily. I could have even walked the whole way underground via the pedestrian walkway but I wanted to experience my first snow walk. After Friday I can see how this situation gets old....especially if you had to drive!


I walked throught Rittenhouse Park today when I went to the post office. The tree looked so great that I had to take a picture for you.

They light up the tree at night and it looks great! I also came across a bizarre sight....something I dubbed "The Unfortunate Homeless Snowman"

One leg (fragmented into pieces, no less), one arm, beady newspaper eyes and if you can't see close enough a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his snowman lips. Kind of a scary sight for a Saturday morning stroll in the park.

Kyle is studying for finals these days so keep him in your prayers. I know he'll do so well but there's always lots of material to cover.

OH! Kyle and I stopped in the Polo store on Walnut today and he pointed out what he wanted for Christmas. Black velvet slippers embroidered with skull and crossbones. Sometimes I think I know my husband and other times I'm not sure that I follow?

When I have a spare $650 maybe I'll splurge?

Penguins & Moisturizer

This morning I waited for my bus for 8 minutes. On most days that isn't too long but considering the official weather at the time was 24 degrees (but felt like 17) it was a long and harrowing 8 minutes. It was so cold and the wind was making my eyes water so I had tears running down my face and maybe boogers too but I couldn't tell about the boogers because my nose and upper lip were frozen so I couldn't feel them if they were creeping out. I bet my fellow bus companions were thinking "Is that crazy woman crying because the bus is late?" Indeed, you could say I was crying because the bus was late.

I've also made it a habit to slather moisturizer on my face lest I turn into a leathery-faced Clint Eastwood type. Last year at Debbie's Christmas party I met a really nice woman who used to live in Texas but relocated to San Francisco. The first thing she said to me was, "OH! Your skin! It looks so youthful and healthy!" all the while analyzing every pore on my face and then with a wistful sigh she said, "Oh, I'm sure I would have aged so differently if we stayed in Texas". For some reason this woman's very casual comment is forever emblazoned in my memory and now I have a complete fear of living in dry climate where my skin will surely shrivel up like a prune if I don't take serious precautions. Maybe I should bump it up a notch and make sure every morning begins with a thick Vaseline mask to prep my face for the abuse ahead. What a scary sight that would be....here comes Vaseline face!

If you haven't seen the movie March of the Penguins I highly recommend it. I'm such animal person though so I love anything that has to do with animals that have even a remote sense of personality. And I have learned by watching this movie that penguins have an AMAZING personality and sense of family (at least with their family the year they breed). Ok, I know you're laughing but...they do!

Anyway, watch the movie....my point is that the Emperor penguins in this movie survive harsh winters in Antarctica where the temperature is 80 degrees BELOW zero. How insane is that?! It's a mystery to me how the penguins don't just freeze solid instantly. Maybe they could use a Vaseline mask....hmmmm. So all that to say -- it makes me feel better that it's only 17 degrees in Phila and I don't have to huddle with my head tucked down in a crowd of people at the bus stop to brace against the wind....that's what the penguins do. Thank goodness I am no penguin. But if I were a penguin you can bet I'd be a highly moisturized one :)

We're settling in for a cozy night. It's supposed to snow!

Sock Mania!

I haven't been to NYC in a whole month (for work, at least). So this morning it was rough waking up so early. I took a quick nap on the train. It's getting easier and easier for me to sleep on that train. Today the buzz at work was the Hot Sox sample sale on floor 7 (I work on floor 8). I hopped down there with some co-workers and purchased some funky socks. I got some fishnets, some argyles, & some crazy striped knee high cashmere blend socks that are sure to keep my legs toasty in this cold weather. Woooo-weeee!!

So the train ride back from NYC was one of the most miserable I've experienced thus far. Several of the trains before mine were running late and as I watched the Penn Station board carefully for my train track number to show up my train listing disappeared momentarily! Thankfully it reappeared but in the meantime I had a small panic attack. Being a veteran train traveler, with the track listing delayed, I decided to move to the concourse level of the Station to watch the monitors instead of watching the large board on the upper level. As soon as the track number flashed on the screen I took off like a bullet! I arrived at the train only to realize it was pretty full already so I grabbed the first seat available. Then all the people who were watching the board from the upstairs arrived and it was pandemonium. People from the earlier delayed trains were told to take our train. All seats were full, the entire aisle was packed with people and it was unpleasant. Some unfortunate people stood the entire way from New York to Philly. The train ticket man didn't even have room to come around and check tickets until 10 minutes before we got to Philadelphia. There just wasn't room for him to move. It got so hot in the train. It was hard to believe it was 20 degrees outside. I wanted to throw myself out the window. In fact, I never put my coat back on after I left the train.

Well, it's 10 PM and I'm off to eat dinner. I think it'll be cereal tonight.

Oh, The Weather Outside is Frightful....(not really)

This morning I forgot to bring breakfast with me to work and was absolutely drooling all over myself dreaming about how wonderful a big egg and cheese kolache would taste. Mmmmm. It's official. I'm going to make a beeline from the airport to The Kolache Factory when we arrive in Houston in a few weeks.

This morning I actually had to walk through a little bit of snow to get to work. The weather people were a little zealous in predicting 3-6 inches. It was more like 1-1.5 inches. On the bus I take to work, we passed by Rittenhouse Park and it looked so pretty. There's a big Christmas tree in the middle of the park and now it has a dusting of snow that makes it look so picturesque. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me today but I'll have to take a picture of the scene at some point.

Speaking of pictures. I'll have you all know that I am now an official card carrying member of Longwood Gardens. In a few short weeks I should also start receiving the AARP magazine. JUST KIDDING! No offense to all you who get the AARP magazine. Dad, you're one of them :) It just seems that those who frequent Longwood are either little people or people of , as they say in Spanish, "The Third Age". Just an observation!

A year membership to Longwood is John & Debbie's Christmas gift to Kyle and I. Since we like going there so much and now we can go ALL THE TIME. You thought you'd seen the end of the flower pictures....ha ha....just wait till the Spring Tulip Extravaganza!

It's soooooo cooooold

Sunday morning we all woke up to our first snow of the season here in Philly. Kyle mistakenly thought lobbing icy snowballs at Kristen and I on the way to church was an amusing past time. He also clocked John & Debbie's rental car with a windshield snow bomb....while she was driving, no less. Later in the day we banded together for a counter attack while he was distracted on his cell phone.

The wintery trend continues this week because the forecast for today is icy with 3-6 inches of snow in the afternoon. Today Kyle and I went to lunch together and all I could say as we were walking was "It's SOOO cooooold!!!". And today, at 30 degrees, is supposed to be the "warmest" day this whole week. This evening I'm going to snuggle up with my newly discovered favorite drink: Dunkin' Donuts hot chocolate (which is soooooo yummy fabulous!!) and enjoy the view of the snow-covered buildings from our (nicely heated) apartment window. I can delight in the snowy atmosphere a bit more than others because we don't have to drive anywhere. I'm SO glad we didn't bring our car because it seems like a big hassle during these months. All we have to deal with is walking and that's not so bad as long as your eyes spot the icy patches before your butt does!

And what is another thing the cold, dry air brings? Static electricity. With my body full of charged electric particles who needs a taser for self-defense? Just give me a patch of carpet to shuffle my feet on and I'll point my cold bony little finger in your direction. You would fear me too!