New York New York Pictures & Movie Links

NYC Movies: http://s283.photobucket.com/albums/kk303/vslane/NewYork2009/
Abbie has multiple NYC Photo Albums on her FaceBook Site. Look under her albums for the following:
1. New York Dining, Dogs, and Death by Culinary Ecstasy
2. Last Day in NY
3. Winters Eve 2009 Highlights
4. MoMA - Museum of Modern Art
5. Bar Boulud
6. NY Celebrity Sighting
7. Macys Thanksgiving Parade
8. Balloon Inflation
Matt's Photos: http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/10588422_tmaeF#735859682_KSikL
Abbie was a guest blogger for MyUpperWest, check it out: http://myupperwest.com/upper-west-side/winters-eve-recap/
Winters Eve Movies: : http://s283.photobucket.com/albums/kk303/vslane/Winters Eve 2009 Lincoln Square/

New York New York Last Day

Tuesday, December 1st -
Central Park morning
Lansky's Deli for another PLT
Flight Cancelled, but not
Last walk with Frank
Cab Ride home

New York New York Day 8

Monday, November 30th -
Emerald Inn - Chicken Pot Pie
Regis Sighting!
ISAW Photos in Central Park
Time Warner Center
Touristy-Shopping & Tasti-D-Lite
Much Needed Reflexology Session
Picking up the Laundry
Winter's Eve Festival!

New York New York Day 7

Sunday November 29th -
Leftovers
Home Brewed Starbucks Christmas Blend Coffee in the Krups!
Battery Park
Hot Dogs from a Vendor
Site of the World Trade Center Towers
Century 21 Shopping Wonderland - Matt's coat, my new purse
Santa Fe - Rosangel
67 Wine - Santa Julia Malbec, Mollydooker Two Left Feet

New York New York Day 6

Saturday, November 28th -
Starbucks Christmas Blend
Brunch with Gulru & Turkish Delight at the Central Park Boathouse
5th Avenue stroll to Tiffany's
EAST VILLAGE
Prune - Bone Marrow, Apple Pie A La Mode,
Cellar 58 - Bulgarian Wine?
The Continental - 5 shots of anything for $10. yeah, CRAZY!
Learning my ABC's-
Blue and Gold Bar
Porch
Duke's
Sunflower Deli with Kymry
Blessed Sleep and WHAT no Hangover? AWESOME!

New York New York Day 5

Friday, November 27th -
Levain Bakery - a 6 ounce dark chocolate cookie with peanut butter chips, and amazing Coffee!
National History Musuem - apparently where all the Black Friday KIDS go. It was MAYHEM!
Gray's Papaya
Shop a Little
La Traviata Pizza
Morrell Wine Bar - Mollydooker The Boxer

New York, New York Day 3

Wednesday, November 25th
BreadSoul Cafe - where we dined for breafast (delicious and inexpensive)!
MoMA - had to do the Art thing. We saw Van Gogh's Starry Night, and the Claude Monet exhibit as the highlights of the day.
Rosie O'Grady's - where we went to lunch. We shared the Maryland Crabcakes, fries, and I had wine while Matt had Stella. Gorgeous Irish Pub!
67 Wine - where we bought wine for Thanksgiving Day. YES they had the Beaujolais Noveau Georges Duboeuf.
Dinner @ Alachi Masala with Kymry. After Lauren came home, we hitched a cab over to an Indian restaurant, where we met Kymry. We hadn't seen our dear friend in almost a year, so it was nice to get to visit with her again. This restaurant doesn't serve alcohol, but they will let you bring your own. So I brought some with us.
Macys Balloon Inflation Ceremony - Lauren took us to this event.
Then we walked back towards the apartment, stopping at a deli for desserts & a quick stop at the wine store. Back to the apartment (hiked up the 5 flights of stairs), and then much drinking and visiting with our pals.

New York, New York Day 2

Tuesday, November 24th - Lauren and Torrey had to work. We slept in late, then walked up the street to Lansky's Deli. Torrey recommended we try it. Matt had the PLT (aka Pastrami, Lettuce, Tomato) sandwich with fries. I had a burger with cheese. I was so hungry! Everything came with coleslaw and pickles. Matt was in heaven over the pickles. I was in heaven over my Burger and Fries. Everything was delicious! Hit the spot! Of course we could only eat 1/2 of our food, so we packed it up to take back with us.
We made a mental note that Lansky's will make you a Central Park Lunch Basket for 2, and I thought perhaps we'd do that later on during our stay.
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We stopped at a wine store along the way. I wanted something for dinner that night. Lauren had offered to cook up some cucumber/Thai dish, so we picked some wine to go with that. We grabbed a Sauvignon Blanc and a Malbec (I think? it has been a while so I forget). Lauren also had a bigger bottle that they hadn't finished yet. Matt insisted on a nap that afternoon (and since it was just Tuesday, I said OK).
Torrey was in and out most of the day, and we also learned Frank's routine so we'd be able to care for him while they were on vacation.
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We had a glass of vino ready for Lauren when she got home. Then we all ended up hanging out, talking and listening to music, while she made dinner. Since the kitchen was right next to the living room, Lauren could hang with us while she was chopping up the food. We had a lovely time chatting over the wine, and into the wee hours of the evening, and finally we had to get to sleep around midnight.
Whew!

New York, New York Day 1

This year, we had the wonderful opportunity to help out a friend AND have a fabulous vacation in the Big Apple. Our dear friend's Lauren & Torrey wanted to spend Thanksgiving with their family in Colorado, but they needed a sitter for their beloved dog Frank. Besides the obvious perk of caring for a smart, polite, and very well-trained dog - we had free lodging in Manhattan for 8 days. Their lovely apartment is situated 1/2 block from Central Park West (for walking Frank every morning), and very close to Lincoln Square. OF COURSE we offered to dog-sit. Why NOT?
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My dear friend Marybeth, sent me "Mike Colameco's Food Lover's Guide to NYC" about 2 weeks before the trip. I've almost read it cover-to-cover, bookmarked it, dog-eared the pages, carted it all over Manhattan, and it has been the BEST gift EVER. We couldn't have had the culinary ecstasy of a vacation without this book. THANK YOU MARYBETH!!!
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Monday Nov 23rd, we flew in. I was just starting to come down with a cold, but was lucky to only have Monday feeling ill, but recovering nicely on Tuesday. We arrived late that night, and Frank was super excited to see us. Lauren & Torrey were glad also, but it was super late (delays with the trains/subways and our Manhattan navigation abilities). Matt has decided that he does not CARE anymore if it's a $90 cab ride, he's paying for us to ride stress-lessly in one vehicle to our destination from the airport. No more hopping onto NJ Transit, then Subway, then Walking, then up 5-flights of stairs - all the while carting around each of our 40pound suitcases. We got a WORK OUT! Anyway, I enjoy the bustle, it's totally my thing.

Drugged up and reving my engines

RECAP of HOLIDAYS:
Matt's mom, stepdad, sister, and her hubby came over) on Christmas Day we had Honey Baked Ham, Mashed potatoes, spinach souffle, sweet potatoes, toffee ( I made it), pasta salad, apple pie, and appetizers (little things I had for wine club). we slept very well that night. LOL.
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Brad (Matt's stepdad) put in our new front door and sidelights on Christmas Eve. Then he came back on Christmas day for dinner, and then on the 26th he came over to paint the door. Matt's mom came over the 26th also, and we watched "PS I love you" since I hadn't seen it yet. She's Irish so she was really lovin' the Irish guy who played the lead Gerard Butler from 300. ooh yummy. HE IS HOT! Love that accent.
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I went to St. Pete, Florida for a few days to see my Sister Jamie and her family. Hint - NEVER travel on the Sunday after Christmas. Talk about TRAFFIC all the way down to Florida it was insane! Every Gas station, every restaurant, just busy and packed. IT took me 9 hrs to drive a 7.5 hr trip. Blah! but I made it. I finally got there about 8:30pm. The weather was VERY humid and hot. IT was high of 75-80 degrees the day after I arrived. I was wishing I had packed sandals, but it was okay. lovely sunshine. It had been raining in ATL so it was a nice change.
Jamie - She seems happy but she is frustrated with her hubby (I don't blame her), and money has been tight. I stocked her grocery cupboards, and got baby Michael a Dora/Diego training potty and pull-up pants (he is 2 now so he will be training for potty soon). He still isn't really talking that much, but he makes babbly noises like he's trying to talk to us. He is in his terrible twos so he did throw a few screaming tantrums. One day we got screamed out of the restaurant I took her to. Oh well. But the one very very good thing, is that I set her up with a new phone . It's an AT&T Go Phone (prepay so she doesn't have to use credit), and it's in Her name. Also this way the family and I can replenish her minutes online if necessary, so she won't be stuck without any human adult contact. Thank goodness!
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Other good news - Jamie just got hired as the Apartment Manager of her complex, so her rent will be 50% off. YAY! Praise the Lord! I was praying for her, and it seems things are working out better now. Now they just need medical benefits someday. I have been encouraging her to see if she can work at one of the 3 Starbucks places within walking distance of her apartment (since her hubby has the car all the time for his landscaping business - no luck with driving). Starbucks will do full benefits even if you only work 20 hrs/week. She could maybe do a couple evenings and weekend mornings to make her hours, and then there would be no need for her to worry about daycare expenses. I hope this plan works out. But we'll see how it goes.
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Then I drove home the night before NY Eve.
Matt & I rang in the new year at Solstice Café. It was delicious! I had the Sweet Potato Soup, the Wilted Spinach salad & Fennel salad, egg plant entre, and the beets appetizer (I know I am weird I love beets, but Matt can't stand them). anyway it was really yummy. It was warm here for a little bit (65-70 Christmas day and beyond), but then it was 20 degrees on NY Eve night.
New Year's Eve Photos - Tom's and Matt's
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BACK TO REALITY:
I think I am coming back down with the sinus infection I had over Christmas week (and previously around Dec 4th), but I am resting and taking it easy. damn sinus infection. I can't smell anything. Got Antibiotics finally on Monday at the Doctor, but the decongestants make me feel like a zombie!
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TODAY our Tile Guy is starting on the Master Bathroom. I forget if I told you or not, but the shower is leaking into the foyer, and we have not been able to fix it. The fear is that the subfloor is damaged and rotting. Long story short we are basically redoing the entire bathroom. We needed a low-flow toilet anyway and the floor isn't level, etc etc. . . so here we go. I am not happy about how much it costs to do, but we will pay it off with tax refunds and just delay some of our other things for now. Oh well. I am excited for getting a new bathroom though! Yesterday I cleaned it out, so our tile guy can have at it when he gets here. I'm so ready for this to be DONE!
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Oh yes we had a visit from my cousin Tara and her new hubby and her 9 yr old son on the 26th. It was short notice but since they were welcome to stay at our house they didn't have to worry about getting a hotel. They were driving back from Virginia for the holiday and when she said she could potentially come by Atlanta, I told her to come on. We went out for Mexican and played a lot of the Wii games. It was nice visiting with her. She got married in October this year. Her new man is VERY sweet and good looking. They make a lovely couple. She is 1 of 3 cousins who are just a little older than me. Everyone else is younger. It is nice to have relatives close to my age. I usually feel old when the younger folks come over. LOL.
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My parents are flying down to Tennessee to visit Grandpa in February around Valentine's Day. So Matt & I will meet them up there for a little vacation that month. Grandpa went to Memphis to the Peabody hotel for brunch on Christmas Day. He feasted like a king, let me tell you. He was going on and on about the caviar and the shrimp, etc. I love him so! He is hilarious.
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Matt's mom's birthday is next weekend, so we are going up to their house to celebrate next Saturday. She wants to go to Red Lobster. I need to go on a diet. LOL.
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Matt gave me the Sex & The City Movie for Christmas and he even watched it with me again. He is so sweet! I am a very lucky lady to have such a wonderful husband.
We have been experimenting with different chili dishes the last 2 days. I'm trying to gradually use up the Green Chilies Matt's Auntie sent us last Christmas (she had overnighted them from New Mexico, and the last container had been in my freezer for 1 yr - yes potent). So we are very slowly using it up. So far it is DELISH!!! I took lotsa Beano don't worry. LOL. I kicked his butt at Scrabble earlier last week. Friday last week, we got to Mina and Chris's to say farewell to her family who visted of the holidays. Ian is already 1 yr old can you believe it ?
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Ok that is all the ramblings I have for now.
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May your new year be even more fabulous than last year!

19 Golfers, a Masseuse, and me - oh my!

Photo Credit goes to A.G. - you know who you are - E & A at Mellow Mushroom awaiting our delicious "Magical Mystery Tour" pizza.
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Photo Credit

Yes, just 5 days after returning from a cruise, I hopped on to another vacation. Although, this one was slightly more business related. My best girlfriend is a massage therapist, and she was hired to travel to Palmetto Dunes on Hilton Head Island, to massage 19 golfers before/after their tee-time and play. I was along for entertainment and to keep her company. I suppose anyway. We had no idea there would be 19 guys there, and that we'd be the only women in the group. However, they were perfect gentlemen, and we were given the Master Suite in the main rental house on the resort property, for our accomodations. The bathroom was as big as my kitchen. May I just say I was impressed? Whilst the lovely massage therapist was busy doing business, I hung out with the dudes. Over the weekend, we played Texas Hold 'Em Poker, Euchre, sipped 23 yr old rum (Ron Zacapa, OMG it is good), sipped wine (I brought my own stash), and puffed on some cigars. They were apparently impressed with my gaming skill, and wordly knowledge of alcohols and cigars. I was flattered, and they were nice folks. It was good clean fun. During the day when the men were golfing, my friend and I hung out at the beach, shopping, went to see the "W" movie (which I do NOT recommend, it was not a comedy after all, at least not a very funny one), and discovered a wonderful style of cooking called "Gullah." We had the BEST crabcake I have EVER eaten at "Dye's Gullah Fixin's." Delish!

Overall it was a great weekend. I just wish my hubby could have been there to share in the fun.

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It was a cryin' shame that I don't play golf. After this trip though, I'm considering taking it up. Expensive hobby though.

Migraine abated - for now.

Photo Credit (tried to find a pic of Andy Samberg as Cathy from the SNL Premiere, but no luck).
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Chant with me now "Vacation in 3 days", "Vacation in 3 days", "Vacation in 3 days."
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Well it took an Emergency visit to the Chiropractor, another nap, and some more China Gel, to finally kick my Migraine's *ss. This one was a DOOZY. Fourteen days in the making, 3 days of recovery. ACK!! I really need another way to get rid of these things (or stop them from occurring). I honestly thought I was doing everything preventatively-correctly this time around. I'm cursed, I swear.
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Side Effect of Migraine - I can't work out until it's gone. I'm literally walking around slowly (to stay calm), laying down, or sleeping it off. It's like I've been hit with a crowbar in the head, and then I'm sort of feebly functioning until it goes away. Thankfully, I made it through work yesterday without feeling too horrible. So our beloved Wii Fit tells me last night, I gained back the 3 lbs I thought I had lost last week. And then this morning it tells me I lost 2.2 of those same 3 lbs. I guess because I had eaten dinner before weighing myself? Heck if I know. I will test it again tomorrow and see if there is any improvement. I did the full YOGA today (finally made it thru with no pain). YAY!

"The Terrible Two's" Meet Auntie Abbie & Uncle Matt

I took the photo myself. It's Jamie, Michael, and Me at Reelfoot Lake on the Boardwalk. YAY!

ok

So where to begin.

Jamie and Michael flew up to Atlanta to visit us. We had prepared by "baby proofing" the house as best we could, and borrowing car-seat for the boy (thank you Mina & Chris!). I ended up buying a pack-n-play-yard crib for him (since Jamie & I and the baby were travelling to my Grandpa's house also over the weekend). It was easily portable. We also got a portable booster seat (with straps), so he could eat at the table with us. and then lastly a "kid cage" as Matt calls it - an extra long accordian-like baby gate. You can enclose the baby inside of it, or you can stretch it out to cover doorways, stairs, bookcases, whatever you wanted to block him from getting into. It worked great, and was also portable for Grandpa's house. I didn't want anything that I had to "drill into the wall" to mount. Blah. Portable is best.
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Michael is a good little boy, he giggles, he laughs, he is independant and likes to run around by himself and wont' sit on your lap for very long, but is prone to occaisional temper tantrums and screaming (she says his terrible twos are starting early), and so we are now partly deaf, just fyi if you call me I may not hear the phone. Just kidding.
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Matthew even babysat one night for us, so Jamie & I could go out to dinner with Erika and Holly. Very cool!
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Aunt Julie travelled down from Iowa to meet us at Grandpa's, and we all had a blast. We dined on filet mignon with the Family Silver (which has been handed down for many years, and is now dad's), and the best part was that Grandpa got to meet his great-grandson. Hip-hip hooray!
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Links for Photos . Movies .

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I have to admit, the house is very very quiet now, and I miss the boy. Although, Sport is very glad that he is gone. He liked to chase the poor dog - pulling his tail and "patting" him (more like punching him with his toys) - and Sport was getting irritated. We mostly kept Sport out on the screen porch during Michael's visit. It was okay though.

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For such a GREAT visit (when she arrived, the plane was 30 mins EARLY - whoever heard of such a thin?), the last day was kind of a mess.

The FAA had a "software malfunction" and my poor sister was STRANDED at the damned ATL airport for over 8 hours. I dropped her off around 5pm, and told her to call me if she found out her plane was delayed (we had some storms the day before, so I was hoping the weather wasn't going to be a problem) - oh that wasn't the start of it.

I drove all the way home (the other side of town), and then she calls and says her flight was CANCELLED and the next one isn't leaving until 11:30pm! Her "prepaid phone" was almost out of minutes, and she wanted me to call her husband to let him know. I also offered to come back to the airport to have dinner with her (but she'd have to come outside of security and then go back thru later), she said nevermind she was going to take the baby to the "play area" in the airport and stick it out alone. I said ok. So we hung up. Then I called her hubby. No answer. I left a voicemail, but he normally never gets those.

Typical.

I wait about 15 mins and call him again.

No answer.

I know from experience, sometimes you just have to call him over and over and finally he realizes his phone is ringing. so I did that.

On the 7th call (after no answer), I was about to give up, and he finally called me back but he was really rude, he goes "WHY is my phone ringing off the hook? What the Fxxx is so important?" and I said "well! Jamie wanted me to let you know she is delayed at the airport and her phone is almost out of minutes", he yelled "ok how late?", and when I told him, he goes "That's just f-cking great!" and hangs up on me. He never let me tell him the new flight number or anything.

about 20 mins later, he calls back and says (in a very accusing tone) - "well why can't you get her on a flight for tomorrow? so I can pick her up at a reasonable hour?" I tried to explain to Mr. Dingleberry how unpredictable this would be due to the FAA having caused the mass confusion at the airport, and how ALL airlines were affected. What a prick!!! And finally he goes "so she's just stuck there?" and I said "I don't know what other options we have right now" and then he hung up again. JERK!

so, I'm livid at this point. I call Jamie back and leave her a short message, hoping she gets it and saves her minutes. No, she calls me back. We are midsentance as I explain about her *sshole of a husband, and click - her minutes run out. I have NO WAY to contact her over a phone. Even if I WAS to go down to the airport again, I do not know where she is, I can't go past security (because I do not have a flight to board), and how would I tell her where to meet me in this VAST/LARGE building?

It's nearly 6pm, and she's stuck there for at least 5.5 more hours, and there is NOTHING I can do about it.

I'm starting to clean up all the baby stuff (the booster seat, the crib, the baby gate), and washing laundry, and I'm feeling VERY badly. I start to cry. I cry for the stress she is having at the airport. I cry for missing them already, I cry for the life she is going back to and hope that her husband doesn't treat her like he just treated me, because if he does, she has a long hard road ahead of her. I cry for my nephew, who I love dearly, and hope his daddy just had a bad moment, because I don't want him to have that sort of role model 24/7. I cry because I feel so helpless, and moments before they were safely in my car and we could have driven anywhere we wanted. Matthew tries to console me, and eventually things calm down and we go to bed.

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But I wake up at 12:45am to call her husband to see if she has arrived safely. He's tired and less cranky thank goodness, but tells me she was delayed again and won't arrive until 2am. I ask him to call me back and let me know they are safe or if she needs me to come get her. And he says he will, but he never calls, and I wake up at 6am not knowing where they are.

And today I write this, hoping that they are fine at home, and catching up on their sleep today. I will have to wait until the hubby gets off work to call. he never answers the phone during the day. Sigh. Jamie's phone is still dead as a doornail, no luck there.

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I go back over the pics from our visit, and Baby Michael's smiling face remind me that we still had fun, and even if the plane was delayed, the overall visit was a good one. Grandpa is happy in the photos too.

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Well work is the same as ever - and I have a loving hubby at home, a loving doggie, and tonight a chiropractic adjustment and massage. Maybe things are on the upswing again.