No daylight for us this weekend!

A total bum-around weekend. Dave didn't even go outside! (For those who don't know him- that's unheard of!)

Dave hanging around the apartment


Lou hanging.


I think we have to rethink this whole job thing. It’s all fine, but the workload if almost overbearing at times. We’re too tired to do a whole lot lately. We’ve got to get back to taking care of ourselves!

After work relaxation

After work tonight Dave, Eric and I walked a few blocks in a totally different direction than normal and found a café with seating off the street. It was relaxing hanging out on the street, drinking a few beers and watching the world go by. After the sun had set, we wandered through the street of Greenwich Village and passed a million bars with live music. We were even too tired to go in. Instead, we headed home, invited Jef over for a few beers and hung out all night.

An apartment building on 28th

Work for the studio

I found out that the place I used to work at offered a big project to the studio I work at- as long as I am the project manager! How cool is that? And it couldn’t have come at a better time. I really hope it all works out!

If you're reading this, "THANKS PK!!!!" ;)

Ferry ride home

It’s a bit out of our way, but we walked over to the ferry from work and took it over to North Hoboken. It was a beautiful day, the sun was setting, and the air was clean. Of course, I didn’t have my damn camera, but here are a few shots from my cell phone’s camera…

The sun setting on New York


NY meets JC


We hung out at the Hoboken pier and watched the Manhattan skyline light up little by little until the sun finally went down. Then we walked through Hoboken, following the river, passing parks and condos, restaurants and shops. Hoboken is a very beautiful place to live- a very healthy, active environment.

Orlando trip in October!

Yea! And crap! October is already on the way! Dave is the best man in one of his best friend's wedding in mid-October, so we were on a work-out kick there for a while, but I’ve been dropping out again (due to work, as usual). I also just found out that I’ll be flying to Orlando (with Eric and my boss) a few days earlier for business… and to my old job at that! HA! I can’t wait to see everyone again! And I actually miss that job very much. How much weight can I lose in 30 days? Lets find out…

I’m With Busey DVD

I’m not normally much of a tv person, but Dave and I have been watching VH1 like crazy lately! They've had some really awful but entertaining reality shows (Tommy Lee goes to College, Hogan Knows Best, etc). One of the ones we always try and catch is Celebrity Fit Club 2, which features none other than Gary Busey! I had heard of a reality show about him called “I’m with Busey” a few years back, but never saw it. So, I bought a DVD of the whole season off eBay! I’m so excited! Gary is a complete nut.

A birthday weekend at Cape May

Welp, we found our newest little getaway! Cape May was awesome!!! We rented a car and drove there (it’s about 2 hours away) on Friday night and stayed for two nights at “ The Abbey ”, a Victorian Bed and Breakfast. What a cool neighborhood, too- it felt like “The Truman Show”, but with a beach!

The Abbey had rooms to lounge in that were filled with actual Victorian furniture, musical instruments and various items. I felt like I was in a museum, but I could actually touch and use everything there. I would totally stay there again.

The beach was also great. We went Saturday morning, and there were at least two dozen dolphins out there jumping and playing. They don’t get close enough to touch, but they were fun to watch!

There are multiple restaurants, shops and places to stay, all along the beach. We ate at Harry’s twice, one of the beachfront seafood places. We ate dinner at The Lobster Pot, a gigantic seafood place a few blocks away. It consists of several restaurants that sit on a pier. There’s a fancy inside restaurant, with a more laid-back one outside alongside a raw bar.

We also both went to a local spa for the day. We each got major body massages and facials. We felt like rubber when we left. Extremely awesome. I’ve been waiting for a spa day forever! Dave agreed that we should do it at least once a month.

I highly recommend Cape May for both a family and romantic getaway. Staying at The Abbey ended up costing $200 a night, but there are plenty of other affordable places to stay right down the street.

The street our place was on…


The Abbey (our room is at the very top on the other side)


One of the lounges in The Abbey


At Harry’s on Saturday


The Cape May Light House. We drove there and climbed to the top.

Dinner at Gavroche

Tonight our boss took a hand-picked group of people (including Dave, Eric and I), out to eat at the fancy Gavroche on 14th street (Chelsea) to celebrate two other birthdays (I kept my birthday a secret). Gavroche is a French restaurant with an outdoor garden with beautiful lights and patio seating. Not only was the atmosphere and food exquisite, it was all paid for! (Hooray for free food!)

Happy 33rd to ME!

We got up late since we were out drinking so much last night! After I got out the shower, there was a new shirt hanging on the closet door for me to wear for the day. Dave bought me a cool, rock 'n roll-looking shirt that had Incubus-type designs on it. (Note: That's Incubus- one of my very favorite bands of all time!)

Work went all right. I think it helped that it was birthday. After work, we walked over to 44th Street and checked for tickets for "Spamalot". We knew we wouldn't be able to get them, but we thought we'd check anyway. You know, just in case my lucky birthday stars were out. Or if someone got stood up by three other people. Or if one person got food poisoning from eating one of those hot dogs from a street vendor and the other two people that were supposed to go along felt bad for them and decided not to go. .....It could happen, you know.

By the way, I'd just like to add how cool it was that we walked a just few blocks and could walk right up to Spamalot. And Phantom of the Opera. And Lennon musical (which we're seeing SOON!). The Producers. Fiddler on The Roof. I love New York.

And, out of aaaall the places I could have chosen to eat in New York on my first birthday here, where do think we went? What? That expensive seafood place uptown? That trendy martini bar in the east village with the fun little finger foods that look like art pieces? Or the new, chic "Suba" that I've heard has the most amazing atmosphere and food? Nope. I chose Olive Garden. And not just ANY Olive Garden, mind you. Oh, no. I'm talkin' about the 3-story one in TIMES SQUARE! Oh, YEAH!

Actually, Olive Garden is one of my old favorites. I should probably be sent straight to hell without a hall pass since I live in New York, which in my opinion, has Italian food as close to real as you can get it without taking a flight to Italy itself. But the salad and breadsticks make me so happy! I guess I'm just easy that way.

Afterwards we wandered around Times Square. It's just 3 blocks away from where we walk to work every single day, but we rarely go there, even though it reminds me that I'm in New York more than many other places do.

We went to the Virgin store, and Eric bought me DVDs of "Dumb and Dumber" and Dumber and Dumberer". Ah, now THAT'S a special type of humor. ;)

For my big b-day gift: Dave gave me my very first iPod! Ok, I think iPod can close up shop now. Now every single person in New York owns one.

We're really getting excited about our weekend trip to Cape May! Just a few more days to go!!!

NY music scene

So things went all right on Monday...sort of. I won't get into details. Everything else is crazy at work- way too many meetings going on to get everything else done!

But, whew! Open mic on Monday night was crazy! And I may have said this before, but Dave's voice has changed so much since we've moved here! Not that his voice was bad in Orlando- it’s that he’s been hitting some notes FULL VOICE that he was never able to reach before! He’s added on a whole octave since he’s been playing here!

I'm sure it has to do with him being more relaxed. The life he was living in Florida was crazy. He's also doing yoga now, and playing out at least twice a week, every week. Lots of practice. And, he's got quite the NY music network going on!

We're really getting into the music scene here, and it's so different than Orlando! (All together now: “DUH!”) The attitude is so much cooler, the networking is so incredibly strong- musicians from different bands actually play nice. They support each other. And playing out is FINALLY about the music. Not the fans, or the perfect stage performance, or the perfect vocals. It's actually real! We've missed that. And all those things make the music sound even better!

Dave has written some great stuff, and is dying to get out there as a band, rather than acoustically. He's taking his time, though. No ads to find the other musicians. Just word of mouth, meeting people at gigs, and jamming for fun. It will happen naturally.

My birthday is tomorrow! I'll be at work, though. Dave and I are working on the same project, so we can't both take tomorrow off. Plus, it's no fun sitting at home by myself!

Rain

I've been working so hard, and sometimes I feel like it's for nothing. I've been ignoring my personal life again, something friends and family always remind me of. I haven't gone to yoga since last Sunday, or eaten very well, or gone to work before the sun went down... all just to do my best at work. I need to play the lottery.

I was still really depressed and stressed out all day over Friday's event at work, plus my boss wants to reconvene on Monday morning for closure on "the subject". I just sat at home and pouted, popping acid reflux pills. Dave went over to Manhattan to pick up some birthday gifts. He's so sweet.

Late this afternoon, there was a sudden rain storm. The sound of huge raindrops beating on the windows, lightning and thunder... I instantly relaxed. It doesn't rain very often here- in fact, it seems like forever since I heard the sound of rain. I love it. I took a long bath after it calmed down and vegged in front of the tv until Dave got home.

My birthday is on a Tuesday this year, and I'm actually bummed about it. I won't have any time to enjoy it and probably won't be in the mood to. There's so much going on at work, and I'm so bothered by how I feel about it that it's ruining my Birthweek! I'm going to be 33.

We're going to celebrate my birthday mostly next weekend instead. Dave booked two days at a Bed and Breakfast at Cape May, a town at the very tip of New Jersey with a beautful beach and a little village with restaraunts and shopping. We're going to rent a car and drive there on Friday night (it's about a 2-hour drive), and have a beach-filled weekend, along with a day at a spa together. (If I were rich, I'd be a total spa junkie. I'm not much of a girlie-girl, but MMM...hot wraps and facials... ROWR!!!)

Tonight, we're eating Italian food and watching "Kung Fu Hustle" with a Corona Light in hand. Weird combination, but, that's how my life feels lately- it seems fitting.

Dave @ I.C.U Bar again

Dave was asked to play again at I.C.U Bar last night. He invited Geron to play too, and the owner asked Joff from "The Irthlings" to play. The place was packed and everyone had a blast!

I didn't go this time (although Dave coming home at 4:30am was a good sign that I would have probably been burned out for the whole weekend), but I was already worn out from a shitty week at work. It was my turn to be unnecessarily raked over the coals (in my opinion) on Friday, and it pretty much drained whatever bit of energy I had left after working my ass off for the last two weeks.

ANYWAY, today was a total veg day. We didn't do a whole lot, and it was everything I hoped it would be.

Lou "hanging out"

A few pics taken of Lou...

More music

Tonight Dave, Eric and Bobby headed out to Arlene's Grocery (GREAT place for live music!!!) to see Derek James and his band, who is a friend of a friend. He's pretty good at getting around NYC, too- I've seen invites for this guy (as a band and by himself accoustically) a ton of times just in the last few weeks! I even saw an invite to see him play at the bar in Trump Tower! Dave and Eric said they could see why, too; they said the music was astounding.

After that, a band called "Great Jones" played and rocked everyone even more! I need to see those guys next time.

There were even two A&R guys from a major label there checking both bands out. I wonder if anything came out of it? Dave and Eric kept peeking over at them to see their reactions. I guess it's a lot easier to be seen by a major label if you're both local. How exciting!

Ukulele Lloyd

Tonight at open-mic (@ Kate Kerney's), the place was packed, a few of the regular musicians were in, and people were having a good time...

Then, a red, frizzy-haired guy in bright clothing carrying an electric UKULELE entered the bar along with a guy that resembled FLEA, but he was carrying a snare drum. They looked wired, and marched right up to the bar and started guzzling beers. Everyone tried not to stare, but I think everyone was wondering the same thing. Were they actually going to perform?

They introduced themselves as "Lloyd and Bingo", and immediately started jamming. They were AWESOME! Wacky and amazing. Lloyd jammed on his ukulele like it was an electric guitar! "Bingo" used wisks and did amazing harmonies. A total full-energy show! The bar exploded!

I spoke to them later- they are totally social, cool guys from Jersey. Dave and Lloyd spoke quite a bit, and they all played a few songs together during the night. Nearing the end of the night, Lloyd and Bingo did the coolest Duran Duran cover: Hungry Like the Wolf.

If you're in New York and want to check them out (along with Dave and some other really great acts), stop by Kate's on Monday around 7pm. (Kate's is in Midtown on 50th St.) Have a few beers and a great time!

Here are two photos taken with my cell phone:

Dave playing his newest song, "Only the Winners"...


Dave, Eric singing along, Bingo and Lloyd jamming along...

Blog catchups (17 days later!)

This is DEFINITELY the longest I've gone without blogging! Thought you lost me, huh?

Not at all, my little readers. Dave and I have been busier than ever, but this time, it's all been FUN! We've made more friends in a short amount of time, and found many, many places to share!

I've pulled all of my pieces and parts of various blogs together and added photos for your viewing enjoyment! Please see today (8/5) all the way back through July 19th!!!

Enjoy! And thanks for your patience!

This year's birthweek plans

Coming up in a week and a half: my first birthday in New York! It's going to be hard to decide what to do this year!

I always make sure to do something very different every year. Last year I went to my very first Bikram Yoga class in Orlando and vowed to take it up when I moved here. (Which I did, thank you very much!) Years before that, it was piercings, traveling, etc.

We also try and celebrate our birthdays as birthWEEKS. Depending on when our birthdays fall, we start on the weekend right before our birthday and go out of our way to have extra fun, go out to dinner a few times during the week, get extra little gifts throughout the week, do some out-of-the-ordinary things for fun. ...Kinda like the way you're SUPPOSED to live every day. But, life- I mean time- permits that. So, instead of our birthday coming and going for what usually seems like 5 hours, we spread it out and really enjoy being around for another year. How can you cram something so special into one day?

We've been thinking about going on a 2-3 spa vacation off the beach... Hmmm... or maybe I'll finally get that tattoo! (Whaddya think about that, Mom and Dad?)

The Superficial.com

You may not have noticed, but I had added a new link to the side column a few weeks ago: The Superficial.com.

It's a quick read to get caught up on the latest celebrity gossip... which, actually, I've never really paid much any attention to until about a month ago. And the writer makes it worth it, because I love sarcasm. No...really. I do.

Mysterious Popeye arms

I think this might come across as one of my stranger blogs...

Over the last two months, I've noticed some major muscles showing in my FOREARMS.

At first, I though maybe it was because I was losing weight from yoga and some new, lean muscles were showing up. But there's not really any major use of the arms in that class... Dave and I couldn't figure out where these guy-looking muscles were coming from. Dave has been calling me "Popeye". (You know... for extra support.)

[insert anchor tattoo here]

I know, not a pretty-looking arm. Maybe this doesn't look like much muscle to you, but it's almost getting too much for me, and it freaks me out!

Recently, we came up with a possible explanation: believe it or not, we're thinking that it's the way I hang on to the poles in the subway. Yep! I tend to grip tightly (sometimes for my life when the operator is heavy on the pedal), and I kind of "hang" back at an angle. I think it's a pretty good guess.

I wonder if there's a way to REDUCE muscles???

Monday night music

Yep, back at Kate's again. The crowd is growing larger and larger every time! There must have been 30 plus people in that tiny place! A lot more artists are coming in now. And you know what? Every one of them is completely awesome. No drunken singers, no people up there on a dare- every person is amazing. There are even women in there with guitars that sound like songbirds. Guys with amazing blues talent. Dave is really doing some huge networking, too!

Here's a photo (with my crappy night setting) of the rowdy crew that Dave brings in with him every week!

Dave, Bobby, Simone, Marina and Eric. (Steve and I are missing from the photo.)

Dave get his bags searched

Dave actually got his bags searched today at the PATH station this morning! Dave had his book bag and his guitar in a guitar case.

First they checked his guitar case. Then they opened his book bag. One officer dryly announced what was in it: "A banana, a packet of oatmeal"... then in a serious (but joking) voice added, "There's no salt in that, right?" Dave quickly replied, "No sir."

In spite of everything going on right now (in London), everyone is still staying in good spirits. And it makes me happy that he was searched. I'm glad they're out there keeping an extra eye on things, even if it holds you up for a whole 20 seconds. I've read that there were people out there that were actually upset about having their bags searched! I almost think they shouldn't have a choice. I want to be safe. And they should have nothing to hide.

There are extra cops at every other few stops- and every once in a while one will stroll through one door and wander out the other while the train is briefly stopped. They sure do remind you of past and present events.