So, we are still here waiting it out… Took Dopey out for a walk about a half an hour ago and the weather is starting to get pretty nasty. The wind is really picking up and the water levels are rising. I think it is a good time to hunker down and stay put. Please be safe my friends. Here are a few pics from the day so far.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Frankenstorm, Hurricane Sandy, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, nature, pics from 79th street boat basin, pics of boat basin before hurricane sandy arrives, waiting for sandy to arrive in NYC | 2 Comments »
Well, here we are in a bit of a waiting game again. Just like with Hurricane Irene those of us on the east coast are wondering what kind of weather phenomenon is coming our way. If you listen to Fox News or CNN you would think that we were one step away from impending doom. I prefer to follow my twitter feed and the much more calmer and saner tweets from the Office of Emergency Management or the Mayor’s Office. That being said, it is looking a bit scary out there. The following pic is from twitter, I believe it was retweeted from Ivanka Trump (makes sense, she WOULD have an apartment with this kind of NYC view!) and it looks rather ominous.
The calm before the storm!
I can’t help but think of all of those movies where NYC is totally decimated. I guess we should all head to the Central Library, again 😉
Seriously though, there are massive line ups to just get in to many of the grocery stores, windows are being secured, sandbags are placed in low lying areas and parts of the city are being evacuated. The MTA is shutting down the mass transit system (buses, subways and trains) by 7 pm. tonight. Public schools have been cancelled for tomorrow and shelters are open. And now we wait and see and hope that it is not as bad as many sensationalists have been predicting.
On the positive side I am looking forward to riding out Frankenstorm by snuggling on the couch with the family, watching movies (for as long as we have power), playing board games, reading and dipping in to our stash of Halloween candy and wine.
Stay safe my friends!!! xoxo
R & R at her first Jets game today- the “Hurricane Bowl”
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Frankenstorm, Frankenstorm in NYC, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Sandy in NYC, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, office of emergency management, office of the mayor, preparing for a hurricane, waiting for bad weather to arrive, weather phenomenon | 2 Comments »
The other day when I was in a migraine fog standing on a NYC street corner, I became very aware of how much activity seemed to happen on a NYC street corner in such a small amount of time. There were numerous little stories taking place around me as I stood in place waiting for my friend. Deep inside the haze an idea formed for the blog. Every Friday I am going to stand on a different street corner in NYC and record the hustle and bustle (or lack of) for one minute. A little slice of life in the city. I hope you will enjoy! Happy Friday my friends. Take the time today to hug someone and remind them just how much you love them 🙂
Corner of 31st & 7th
On a Friday afternoon this is an insanely busy block. Right across from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station, people are rushing to catch buses and trains out of the city. New visitors to the city are arriving, friends are meeting for drinks, hustlers are hustling, noses are in cellphones, traffic (by foot and car) is heavy and the general chaos of the city is palpable. You can stand on the corner and let yourself be lost in the swirl of humanity.
***And… I am still working on getting this idea up and running. Please enjoy some pics from 31st & 7th, while I figure it out! Thanks for your patience.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 31st&7th, a minute in NYC, a NYC moment, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, NY Minute, people watching in NYC | Leave a Comment »
Today I had the fantastic experience of spending the morning with R’s second grade class. We went on a field trip to Central Park where with the help of a Park Ranger, we learned all about rock formations. It is at times like this when I feel very fortunate that we have such an amazing greenspace to explore within the city. We may not have a backyard but we certainly do have an oasis of beauty to escape to whenever we would like. The kids loved being outside and I was thrilled to be along for the adventure! Here are some pics, Central Park is truly spectacular at this time of year. Enjoy and have a great day!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Autumn in Central Park, Central Park, Exploring Central Park, Field trips to Central Park, greenspace, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, nature, park ranger, Pics of Central Park in the Fall, rock formations, Rock formations in Central Park, Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday Pics | 1 Comment »
My aching head!!
On Saturday morning I woke up ready to go and hang out with the family when BOOM! right around the time we were supposed to leave I started to lose my vision. Little blurry, fuzzy squiggles were dancing in front of my eyes and I knew that this was the first sign of a full blown migraine. The crushing pain would soon follow. Needless to say the family left without me and I took some kick ass meds and crawled back into bed praying for absolute darkness and silence.
Except that I live in NYC and there is no such thing as absolute darkness or silence. Big time bummer when you are suffering from a migraine. For those of you who are fortunate enough to have never experienced a migraine, I will give you a bit of a description of how it feels. Basically, you have insane thoughts about cutting off your head because the pain is so intense that it feels like the there are daggers stuck in your head (not that I have ever had daggers stuck in my head, but I am sure migraine equals same pain), if you are really lucky you are nauseous as well, oh and you have an extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Fun times. So basically all you want to do is crawl into the darkest cave you can find (provided there is not a snoring bear in it) and wait until it is over.
On Saturday I settled for my room. Where it was not even remotely dark enough so I hid under the covers. And then I waited for sleep. But while I was waiting, all of the surrounding sounds of NYC that I normally seem to tune out seemed to be magnified by a thousand. I swear I could hear the jackhammer 10 blocks away, as well as the rumble of the subway, dogs barking, people yelling, cars idling, deliveries being dropped, babies crying, skateboarders bombing down Broadway and then there were the sirens, the piercing, blasting sirens. How many friggin’ fire trucks do we have in this city???!!!!
Finally I slept.
When I got up a few hours later I remembered that I had booked a bike for my friend Julie’s class at Soul Cycle. I decided that I was feeling a lot better and that going to Soul Cycle might just help. Ron thought that it would either be epically bad or good, I guess I would know once I got on the bike.
Even though my head was feeling tons better I was still in that post- migraine, still medicated haze. My body seemed to be good to go but my mind was about two steps behind. This was a very odd feeling and as I stepped out (with my dark sunglasses on) into the late afternoon Saturday hustle and bustle of the Manhattan streets, I felt a little disconnected to what was going on around me. All I could think about was “wow, everyone is moving really fast”.
Luckily I met up with my friend Meilan who escorted me to spin where I only managed to make a small fool of myself NOT on the bike but when I didn’t immediately recognize a certain famous Canadian (who just happens to be a brother of another friend) and stumbled and bumbled my way through a conversation… Ugh. Not necessarily my most eloquent moment. And if you want THAT story you will have to buy me a drink first!!
I guess the moral of my migraine story folks is this,-there really is no safe place to be stuck with a migraine but I am really hoping that if it happens to you, that you are as far away from mid-town as possible 😉 Have a good week!
PS. The Soul Cycle was good for both the head and body- definitely got the blood moving, thanks Julie D =)
Can someone please turn off the lights?! Thanks =)
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Avoiding the bright lights and big city when you have a migraine, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, Migraine, migraine humor, soul cycle, Suffering a migraine in NYC | 2 Comments »
I love to read, it is one of my favorite all time activities. So, I am always on the lookout for a new book, something I can really delve into and escape for awhile. That is why I am soo excited that my friend Tim O’Mara’s new book “Sacrifice Fly” has just been released. It has been sitting pre-ordered on my Nook, taunting me… until yesterday when I was finally able to download it. YAY!! Now that the days are shorter and the nights are a bit cooler and seem a bit darker I am going to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and get lost in this highly recommended new mystery (one of my fave genres) that takes place in NYC. I suggest you do the same! Congratulations Tim!!!! Happy Wednesday everyone 😉
Love the book artwork
“Tim O’Mara’s Sacrifice Fly is the best first crime novel I’ve read in years. Knowing about the ways of city life and compassionate about its flawed characters, the writing has a swing as natural and strong as Roberto Clemente’s. It’s a real gem.”
—Peter Blauner, author of Slow Motion Riot and Slipping into Darkness
Will definitely be stopping by on Thursday at B&N on the UWS
“Tim O’Mara’s Sacrifice Fly is superb—one of those rare first novels that delivers on every level. Raymond Donne is an unforgettable character, and O’Mara will make you feel the steam coming off the Brooklyn streets where Donne works, lives, and tries to stay alive long enough to do the right thing. I can’t wait to read O’Mara’s next book—this newcomer is one to watch.”
—Jan Burke, bestselling author of Disturbance
And finally, here it is!! I am getting my cup of tea ready right now 😉
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged brooklyn streets, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, Mystery Novels, Pics of Sacrifice Fly the Novel, Reading a friend's novel, Sacrifice Fly, Sacrifice Fly by Tim O'Mara, Tim O'Mara, Wordless Wednesday | Leave a Comment »
We just got back from visiting family in Calgary and I will post more about our incredible trip later on this week but because it is Wednesday I thought I would post some pics of some of the great signs and the beautiful scenery we saw on our day trip to Banff. What a gorgeous spot! All I kept thinking was… well that is definitely not something you would see in NYC! Hope you like the pictures, have a fabulous Wednesday!!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alberta, Banff, life in Manhattan, living in NYC, nature, Pics of Alberta Road Signs, Pics of Banff, road signs you will not see in NYC, Visiting Banff, Visiting family in Calgary, Wordless Wednesday | Leave a Comment »
We arrived in beautiful Calgary a couple of hours ago. It is wonderful to be back in Canada, with cherished family and in the glorious fall season. There was even a light dusting of snow. Here are a few pics, we are definitely not in NYC 😉
Happy Wednesday.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged fall in Canada, life in Manhattan, living in NYC, pics of Calgary, visiting family, Wordless Wednesday | 1 Comment »
Right now in our household we are beginning the process of figuring out the whole middle school application procedure for our oldest who will be entering 6th grade next year. In NYC this whole business is just as stressful as applying for a job or figuring out what University/College to attend. It involves tours, test scores, portfolios, interviews, school tests and auditions. And yes, this is for public school. So, we are approaching this with as much of a level head as possible, trying to keep our sense of humor and our perspective. After all, these kids are only 10! I will write in more detail about the whole shebang later on. But right now, I am off to do more research! Oh NYC… Happy Wednesday. Keep calm and have some wine 😉
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged keeping calm, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, NYC middle school process, NYC Public Schools, school tests, Trying not to stress over middle school, Wordless Wednesday | 2 Comments »
I have walked by the One Million Acts of Kindness bus (see pics below) a few times in the past couple of days and to be honest I haven’t ventured over to their website but I am sure I will. Instead, what it got me to think about was the simple act of just being nice. Thinking before you act and trying to be positive. In NYC, it is possible to come in contact with dozens, sometimes even hundreds of people a day. That kind of human interaction can be exhausting at the best of times. When I looked at the bus and read the inspirational quotes written on it, it inspired me to just be a little bit nicer as I went about my day. It really doesn’t take a lot of effort. With all of the crazy going on in the world today, just being nice to the people around us might go a long way to enjoying a happier state of being. At the very least, it just might make someone’s day 😉 On that note, have a fabulous day and be well. Happy Wednesday, S xo
One Million Acts of Kindness Bus
Words of kindness
Just be nice!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged acts of kindness, human interaction, Just be nice, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, NYC Pics, one million acts of kindness, one million acts of kindness bus pics, spreading kindness, Wordless Wednesday, words of kindness | Leave a Comment »
It's Always An Adventure 