It's Always An Adventure

It’s Been Almost A Year: “Top Ten Things I Say In NYC All The Time”

June 17, 2011 by Sandra Guirguis

Okay, it is hard to imagine, but it is coming up on our one year anniversary of living in New York City. What an adventure it has truly been! Over the past few days I have started to reflect back on this past year and all of the challenges and changes that we have encountered. I wouldn’t change a thing. Although I do find myself desperately missing a BBQ, but I will save that for another post 😉 This city is crazy, intense, awe inspiring, but best of all it is now our home. Over the next few days I am going to post some “top ten” lists about moments/events/sights that I think reflect this past year. Today I am going to start with phrases/thoughts that I find myself saying/thinking repeatedly since I have moved to the Big Apple. I hope you enjoy my insights. Happy Friday!!

1. “Please don’t lick the pole!!” -I never thought I would have to say this, but with small kids, I am always reminding them to get their faces away from all parts of the inside of the subway- EWWWWW!!!!

Anyone have some hand sanitizer? 😉

2. “I moved from Ottawa (blank stare), it is in between Toronto and Montreal (nodding)” It still amazes me how many people do not know where Ottawa is. I like to remind them that it IS Canada’s capital. The response is always “Oh, our Washington”. Exactly… sigh.

Oh Canada!

3. “Yes, I live in NYC with these two big dogs” It is a bit strange for a person living in NYC to have two large dogs. The norm is owning pets on the smaller side. We get lots of attention on the street from natives and tourists alike. The truth is, as long as they get some daily exercise big dogs just like to find a nice quiet space and chillax.

Dopey taking over the couch 😉

4. “If you want to go to the American Museum of Natural History keep walking up 79th street and you can’t miss it” I answer the question of how to get to the AMNH at least three or four times a week. Tourists always get off at the wrong subway stop and need some help getting oriented. I LOVE getting this question because I feel like they know I am from here and it makes me think that I look a bit like a New Yorker, or maybe I just look a little less lost than they do 😉

American Museum of Natural History

5. “Yes, that is the Empire State Building” My children are always asking as well as friends from out of town. There is a certain magic about the building. In certain parts of the city it almost seems to be following/watching you.

The Mighty Empire

6. “Be prepared to expect the unexpected” Walking the NYC streets is ALWAYS an adventure with interesting people and places around every corner.

Why hello there Superman!

7. “Look Up” I am constantly telling friends and family to do this. You will miss most of the true beauty of Manhattan if you never look up and enjoy the amazing architecture that surrounds you.

Buildings in Battery Park

8. “What’s the weather like today?” I have discovered something interesting about New Yorkers. They are as obsessed with the weather as much as Canadians. I think this is due in large part to the fact that we rely on walking as our main form of transportation. It is essential to know if we will need to pack umbrellas, sunscreen, hats etc…

Miserable in the rain

9. “Are we taking the 1, 2 or 3 train?” Just as important as the weather is the subway schedule. It is important to always be on top of schedule changes due to construction, incidents etc. I feel like I spend tons of time googling stops and routes from the subway to various places. I am not sure what I would do without mass transit!

The "1" train buried in snow

10. “Always keep your eyes open for the next adventure!” You never know when something interesting will cross your path. The joy of living in this city is that there is always something to look at and experience. Don’t be afraid to embrace it. “It’s always an adventure” 😉

A very cool little factoid that I found on my walk last night!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, moving to Manhattan, Moving to NYC | 120 Comments »

Wordless Wednesday: My View of NYC this Week

June 15, 2011 by Sandra Guirguis

I have been doing a lot of walking this week keeping up with my hectic June schedule. Here are a few pics I took along the way. Enjoy 😉

Alright, I'm paying attention!

The Beacon Theatre- host of the Tony Awards

Times Square- Outdoor seating to view the Tony's on the big screen

Some of the nominated shows on billboards

A family favorite- Woohoo Bobby!!

Everything a dollar, except...

Caught in the rain!

Scary- it appears people are still living in the building. Also best use of "perilous" that I have seen.

Church in the City

Summer = Construction (and a cool view of what lies beneath the streets)

On the Rocks (fence view)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, Pics of NYC | 1 Comment »

Being a Drama Mama

June 13, 2011 by Sandra Guirguis

One of the amazing things about living in NYC is being surrounded by all of the incredible opportunities to experience theatre, one of my true passions. This weekend, however, was a true first for me. I sat in the audience and watched my oldest daughter perform in her first musical. My daughters are very fortunate to attend one of the city’s best public schools where they have many opportunities to try out and experience a wide range of activities. For those of you that know ‘A’, she is a true drama queen and loves everything that revolves around acting, singing and dancing. So, it was only fitting to sign her up for an after school program called “Shining Star Musical Theatre” where the students spend the school year learning about the aspects of musical theatre and then rehearse and prepare for a final performance. This year they performed “Bye, Bye, Birdie”.

My little shining star!

Now, I am used to being in the theatre. I am used to pre-performance jitters and last minute panic attacks of “OMG, I hope everything goes okay” but nothing really prepared me for sitting in a packed auditorium waiting for my little girl to come on stage. The waiting is unbearable. All I could think about was that I finally knew how all of those parents of my former students must have felt as they anxiously waited for the lights to go down. I had to remind myself to breathe. My baby was going on stage and no matter how prepared she felt she was, I wasn’t really sure I was prepared 😉

And then it happened, there she was, commanding attention as the formidable Mrs. Peterson. The audience was laughing at her perfect comedic timing and over the top performance as the overbearing mother. I was in awe. I was beyond proud. She was incredible. I started to breathe again and wiped a few tears from my eyes, looked at Ron and squeezed his hand. Our baby was on stage. We had created a monster!!! =)

Rose, Albert, Conrad and A as Mrs. Peterson

The whole production was simply amazing. I had to keep reminding myself that the kids were 8, 9 & 10. They were all so professional and talented. An incredible piece of theatre all around. ‘A’ had an unforgettable experience, working with an ensemble, learning self discipline and hard work and most of all feeling the joy of being a part of full length production on stage. After three days of performances, she was quite happy to chill out and take it easy on Sunday. I was too. Being a drama mama is hard work. It’s not easy to just sit back, relax, take in the view and trust that all will work out. I guess I had better get used to it, just like her mother, ‘A’ seems to have been bitten by the theatre bug. And who knows, one day she may end up here:

Tony Awards, June 12, 2011- Beacon Theatre

I am just not sure my nerves could handle it!!! 😉

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bye Bye Birdie, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, Musical Theatre, New York City Public Schools | 1 Comment »

Wordless Wednesday: Getting Down and Dirty in the Concrete Jungle :)

June 8, 2011 by Sandra Guirguis

Well, it is June and that means that there are a million (only a slight exaggeration) end of year school events. On Monday night A had her third grade picnic at Riverside Park. What struck me most about this event was how awesome this simple gathering was and how it promoted just getting out and playing. Sometimes it can be difficult to find some time with nature in the Concrete Jungle. There are days when you feel like all you have done is pounded the pavement and ducked in between one looming building to the next. But then you remind yourself to take a breather and head out to one of the many parks. Monday night was exactly that, a bit of down time from the craziness of the hectic June schedule. It was wonderful watching the kids getting down and dirty and playing in the wide open spaces. Hope you enjoy the pics!

My third (almost fourth!!) grader

Making mud puddles

Family picnic time

Sharing a blanket

Baseball, soccer, dodgeball, tag, finding fairies, mud, climbing trees...

Taking some time out to just "be"

Looks like it is bath time 😉

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged concrete jungle, Kids playing in the park, life in Manhattan, living in NYC, picnics in the park | 1 Comment »

The Birthday

June 5, 2011 by Sandra Guirguis

As I sit here and do a little bit of reflecting on this Sunday afternoon, I am feeling very blessed and lucky. Ron is traveling, the girls are snuggled on the couch watching a movie, the dogs are stretched out snoring and I am feeling at peace. There is nothing like a birthday to make you feel all warm and fuzzy and well, generally loved. Thanks to Facebook, the messages start pouring in and even if you wanted to forget that you were turning a year older, social media won’t let anyone forget 😉 So, on Friday I embraced another year in my life and celebrated in a wonderful way. It was a little tamer than my wild girls weekend in NYC last year but it was equally as special.

I started off the day by heading to R’s Kindergarten class for a poetry celebration. It is amazing to see how far the students have come in a year and how grown up they seem now. Each student read a poem that they had written, out loud to the parents. I am telling you there was not a dry eye among the parents. It was precious. R’s poem went something like this:

Dopey

Dopey went

SPLASH

in the pool, made a hole in the water.

R and a couple of her friends

It was the perfect start to the day. After the poetry reading I headed over to Starbucks and enjoyed a birthday chai while hanging out and reading my book. Lovely. I then headed to the gym and met Cass who introduced me to a class called Impact! Yes, it was as brutal as it sounds. Basically non stop punching and kicking a heavy bag with some push ups thrown in for some extra fun. It literally kicked my butt, but in a good way. At least that is what I am telling myself =) After the class we had a birthday smoothie and then I headed back over to the school to help unload supplies for the street fair and spend a little time reading with my little reading dude (one of my favorite things to do!).

After school the girls and I headed home to freshen up so that we could go and meet Ron at his office and head out for a family dinner in Little Italy. The girls INSISTED that we take a cab, since I deserved to be treated “fancy” on my birthday and should not have to get into a dirty subway car. Too cute! Little did they know that getting a cab on a Friday at 5:00 was extremely hard to do and no cabby liked to head into midtown at that time of day. But, luck, or birthday karma was on our side and we found a cab that half heartedly took us to 42nd street. We met up with Ron and headed into Little Italy to one of our favorite nostalgic NYC spots (Ron and I went there on one of our first trips to NYC), Il Cortile. The food was incredible, the service exceptional and the company, irreplaceable 😉

My lovely dining companion...

And the other two 😉

It was a fabulous evening and after dinner we strolled through Chinatown as the girls devoured some fresh gelato from Mulberry Street. On the cab ride home both girls promptly fell asleep in the back while Ron and I took in the sunset along the Hudson River and the NYC skyline. It was magical.

All partied out!

Too much gelato??!!

We made a quick stop at Magnolia Cupcake for my birthday treat, you know I LOVE my cupcakes!! When we arrived home there were some long distance birthday messages that added to the perfection of the day. That night as I snuggled under the covers with my noise cancelling headphones (Thanks Ron!!) I said a little prayer of thanks for all of my blessings, I am truly, one lucky lady.

The whole crazy family!!

P.S. Everyone is NYC should have noise cancelling headphones!!

P.P.S. Next year is the big 4-0, I am already starting to plan 😉

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Birthday, Il Cortile, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, My Birthday | 7 Comments »

Wordless Wednesday: Memorial Day Weekend in Pics

June 1, 2011 by Sandra Guirguis

We had a fabulous long weekend spending time as a family and venturing off on fun day trips including the Bronx Zoo and Jones Beach. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the weekend. Enjoy!

Saying hello to a few sailors on Friday night- LOVE Fleet Week 😉

Above ground on the subway on the way to the zoo!

Two excited faces on the way to the Beach!

Crowds of people gathered on the beach for fun in the sun and the air show

Water Monkeys!

Ahhh... the ocean

Daddy and his girls

Memorial Day lunch at Max Brenner

Mmmmm.... chocolate

More delicious temptations!!

The Strand Bookstore

Rows and rows and rows of books...heavenly

A little quiet time...

Looking for books on Greek Mythology- Uncle Scala would be soo proud!

William T. Sherman

Relaxing in Sheep

Nothing like ending the day with a little swing time in Central Park

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Jones Beach, Long Weekend, Long weekend in pictures, Memorial Day | 1 Comment »

Sandra’s Big Adventure off the Island to the Mall…

May 30, 2011 by Sandra Guirguis

The other day I was speaking with a friend of mine and it came up in conversation that since moving to Manhattan I had never been off the island to visit Target or any other large big box store. When we moved here, we got rid of both of our cars and have been happily getting around NYC and beyond using public transit. However, I have to admit I had been missing (just a little bit) getting into a car, driving to a store, leisurely pushing a cart around wide open aisles and shoving purchases into a trunk. So, on that note, my friend Claire invited me to join her on an ‘errands run’ that would be taking her to The Container Store, Target and The Westchester Mall. We picked up her car at the parking garage and sped off down the Hudson River Parkway to embark on our shopping adventure.

My lovely and gracious chauffeur 😉

It was a beautiful, sunny day and the drive was quite pretty taking us out of the city along the Hudson Parkway up through the Bronx, into Riverdale, past Yonkers and to our final destination of White Plains, NY. Soon we were in the ‘burbs passing gas stations, movie theatres, stand alone shops, chain restaurants and of course the big box store. We pulled into the parking lot of The Container Store grabbed a cart and strolled through the air conditioned retail, uh, mecca.

Hello Big Box!

Our next stop was the The Mall. Now, just for reference, when I think of “The Mall”, this is what comes to mind: circling the parking lot trying to find a suitable spot that is not miles away from the main door, cheesy instrumental pop music being piped through the cheap tinny speakers, rows and rows of stores book ended by a large department stores such as Sears, The Bay or even a Walmart, a food court consisting of every fast food restaurant that your body does not need to eat from and of course, roaming bored teens huddled in masses at various locations. So, I was extremely unprepared for The Westchester Mall.

First of all, the parking lot is a paid parking area. There is also VIP concierge parking available if you don’t feel like actually parking your car. We parked at one of the department store entrances- Nordstrom’s and walked in. Just like any other mall we went up an escalator and through the store to get to the stores in the main mall area.

SALE! Woohoo!

And Voila! Hello Mall!

THE Mall

Wide open shopping spaces, no crowds, everything in one place, but wait something was a bit different than the malls I was used to…

I started looking at the stores in this mall and that is when I looked at Claire and laughed. This was no ordinary joe mall. In fact, I felt like 5th Avenue had been scooped up and put into one fancy building. We passed Tiffany’s, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Juciy Couture, Pottery Barn, Burberry and list could go on… Yep, this was not exactly like the malls I was used to shopping at in Ottawa.

You know I LOVE Kate Spade

Mr. Vuitton

Luckily, for my husband and his credit card we spent very little time at the mall as Claire had to only do a quick return, but I have to admit I did enjoy my first visit to the big department store Neiman Marcus where I may have drooled over a few Manolo Blahniks =) I know that there are many “normal” malls all over New York but I just can’t help but laugh that the first one I get to visit was just like strolling through Manhattan. For the record, I never did see the food court and there were very few teens hanging out.

Our real destination for the day was Target and I was more than a little giddy about perusing the rows and rows of stuff that I probably really didn’t need but was going to buy anyway because it was such a good deal and I couldn’t get in the city. Yes, we did need “Phineaus and Ferb” bandaids and “A Little Mermaid” beach bucket- don’t judge 😉

Target- there is something that draws us here...

A successful shopping trip!!

Overall, it was a super fun day. A nice mini-escape from the city. Fun shopping with a good friend, sharing laughs and chatting. Best of all was being dropped off at the door, retrieving my bags from the trunk and walking into my apartment building. A nice treat and a fun reminder of what life used to be like when shopping at the big box store and the mall was the norm. A big THANK YOU to Claire for patiently answering all of my questions and being such an excellent guide =)

Heading home, a view of the George Washington Bridge

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Leaving Manhattan to go shopping at the mall, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, Target, The Container Store, The Westchester Mall | 1 Comment »

Wordless Wednesday: The Piers, Chelsea and the Meatpacking District

May 25, 2011 by Sandra Guirguis

This past Saturday while anxiously awaiting the end of the world (NOT!) we decided to get out and enjoy a rain free day in the city. After the girls gymnastics classes at Chelsea Piers we wandered along the water and then meandered into Chelsea and the Meatpacking district. It was a beautiful day and this is definitely one of my favorite areas to explore in Manhattan. Hope you enjoy the pics!

Sisterly Love

Driving range at Chelsea Piers

View of New Jersey

The Standard Hotel

Highline

A little shopping...

Wall art

Street view outside of Pastis

Top Chef Touring Show and Exhibits

Clouds behind advertising

Street View

Street view from the Apple Store (W. 14th Street)

Stepping down at the Apple Store

A little city climbing!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, Pics of Chelsea, Pics of Chelsea Piers, Pics of Meatpacking District, Pictures of Manhattan | 1 Comment »

Why I Have Love For Lady Gaga

May 20, 2011 by Sandra Guirguis

I have to admit that I definitely have some love and respect for the amazingly talented Lady Gaga. Not only do I like her music but I really admire what she stands for. Being yourself, standing up for what you believe in and living in an world of inclusiveness. These are all excellent messages. Yes, she can be shocking, outrageous and a tad bit inappropriate at times and her fashion sense is not really my taste but hey, to each their own, right? She is bold and courageous and dare I say it, a great role model for young women.

Last year for our anniversary, my incredible husband took me to my first ever concert at Madison Square Garden, it was Lady Gaga. Her concert was mind blowing- the energy, the costumes, the music, the dancing, the sets, but what struck me most of all was her message. She talked about how she had once sat in the nose bleed section at MSG and dreamt of one day being a big star. She also talked about how she never gave up, even when people told her that she couldn’t do it or that she was strange or different.

As a mother, this is the message that I want to pass on to my daughters. They can achieve anything that they set their mind and hearts to. But so often in life we are held back by fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of getting hurt, fear of being different and most of all, the fear of failure. As parents we often try and protect our children from failure and hurt by making sure that we choose paths for them that avoid the bumpy roads. What Lady Gaga reminds me as a parent and as an individual is that sometimes the bumpy roads are the ones that will lead to the most rewarding ending.

My daughter has said that sometimes kids at school will call her “weird” because she likes to sing out loud and make up songs. Her response is to tell them “thank you”. She doesn’t want to be “normal”. Perhaps she is embracing her inner Lady Gaga and I have to be brave enough to let her do that. Being “normal” IS boring. As I learned time and time again in the classroom it is those people that are willing to take a bit of risk that will have the greatest success. Failure only makes the rewards that much sweeter. Being yourself and believing in yourself are the hardest lessons to learn and to pass on. It is a life long work in progress. I guess that is why I have love for the Lady, she sings it loud and proud and it is a message that we all need to hear.

On that note, it’s the weekend. I think we should all step into some platform boots, embrace our Gaga and just dance!! =)

Lady Gaga Subway entrance @50th St.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Being true to yourself, Believing in yourself, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga at Madison Square Garden, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, Pic of the Lady Gaga Subway Stop- 50th Street | 1 Comment »

Wordless Wednesday: Rain, Rain, Go Away…

May 18, 2011 by Sandra Guirguis

This is the third day straight of rainy, miserable, gloomy weather. It is even a bit on the chilly side. The forecast for the rest of the week does not look very promising. I want the glorious days of spring time in Manhattan back! This weather is making me sleepy and extremely un-motivated. So, in order to brighten my day and hopefully yours, I am posting some pics of some of my favorite moments in the sun over the past few months. Here’s to sun filled days ahead =)