Only in New York

can you buy a golden mosaic bathtub shaped like a giant high heel shoe.




Seriously, who wouldn't want to soak in this beauty?

Easter Crafts

Chocolate dipped Peeps and Easter Packets!

Bex gave me this cute book on things to do with Peeps. Not only did I love the idea of chocolate dipped Peeps dusted with gold powder, but I already had the chocolate and the gold dust. I just needed to buy the peeps. The best things you can make are the things where you already have all of the supplies (a theme you will see repeated here).

I thought I was being very clever when I set them to dry on a rack (to avoid chocolate puddles on the backs of the Peeps) - unfortunately the part that touched the metal also stuck to the metal. I had to gently loosen them to save as much chocolate as possible and then I had to do repair work to fill in the holes. So much for being clever.

Once the chocolate was set I dusted them with gold dusting powder. I used a very soft new paint brush. I had extra chocolate and plenty of gold dust so some pretzels got the royal treatment as well. And really, who doesn't love a chocolate dipped pretzel - that salty sweet combination is a home run.

And finally the packaging. I put two in a bag with a little bit of green paper Easter grass and sealed them off with a big Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit sticker. I have so many stickers I bought for scrapbooking and then I saved them because they are "too cute to use". Well I finally started using them - and they are cute but they look so much better on a completed project than in my sticker binder.

This year I didn't make Easter baskets - I made Easter packets. It was one of those "make it work" moments. I needed something cute for my Easter treats and I didn't want to buy and send baskets - just too much and people have so many baskets already, what would they do with them? I didn't have enough cello wrap to make basket-less baskets like I did last year. But I did have my great big roll of craft paper I bought over the holidays. (This roll of craft paper has been amazing, it's wrapped everything from Hanukkah and Christmas presents and now Easter treats. Plus I feel so 'green' using craft paper as it is easily recycled.) I thought I could wrap up the treats in the paper, sew the ends closed, add some ribbon and it would look really cute. And again I had all the supplies already.

I didn't use any tape or glue to seal the packets, just folding and sewing. I trimmed the edges with decorative scissors and added a cute sticker (yay for using more scrapbook supplies). The packets were so cute. I was really pleased with how they turned out (Michael can verify this, as I kept making him look at each one and tell me how cute it was once I finished putting it together) and they were a hit with the recipients as well.

I suspect there will be more packet gifts in my future. Not only are they easy to make and adorable they are very flexible making them oh so easy to fit in to shipping boxes.

Remember When We Had Snow Days

It's hard to believe just 6 weeks ago we were playing in the snow - lots and lots of snow.

In Vermont we tried tubing, basically sledding but instead of a small hard sled you glide across the snow in a big bouncy tube. I thought we could just use our inflatable tubes from the lazy river in Las Vegas - not so much. They would have been shredded after the first run. The snow tubes are made from super thick plastic and they are covered with nylon. The tubes offer ample cushion over rocks and bumps - a key improvement over the sled.

Behind our hotel was a small 'adventure' course. They had rope ladders, a zip line, an ice climbing wall, and a small basin for tubing or sledding. We signed up for two hours of tubing and rented our equipment. They are smart enough to require helmets.

We started off small and well, I kept my runs pretty tame. I had some cute video clips but I can't get them to load! It's so frustrating. I've tried so many times - I'm just going to post without video and if I figure out how to add them I will.

I was still in 1/2 marathon training when we were in VT. I counted tubing as my cross-training for the day. Getting myself and my tube up those hills was a workout!

There are ski resorts that have tubing runs, you hook your tube to a tow rope and ride to the top of a hill and then slide down. Based on the fun we had on the little tubing course in Vermont we would have a great time on the bigger runs.

Only in New York

A new on-going series of things you only see in NYC.

Last Thursday night we were coming home from the restaurant Fish. In the West 4th St subway station we were entertained while we waited for the train by.....

piano music! As I tipped the musician (you should always tip before taking a photo) I asked how he got the piano down in to the station - he just smiled and held up his arm and flexed his bicep.

He was a very good piano player and it was really quite a nice way to wait for the train.

Cutest Cupcake Presentation - Ever!

12 mini-cupcakes packaged in an egg holder. The cupcakes were my first ever from Magnolia Bakery. They were delicious - just about two bites each with almost too much frosting. They were a mix of chocolate cake and vanilla cake all topped with vanilla frosting. The color palette was so cute for spring and each cupcake had a different topping of sprinkles or sugar flowers.

And the best part is Melissa had them delivered post-1/2 marathon so I could eat as many as I wanted and not feel guilty! They were a perfect post-race reward.

Where's Beckham?

That crazy adorable cat is providing me with so much material lately.

In an effort to keep Sadie from going up and down the cat stairs we tucked them under the front entry table.

It took us a few minutes to find him in his new secret spot but of course Beckham decided this was a perfect place for a nap. He nestled himself under the table and in between the cat toy bucket and the recycling bag.

Why Is It...

when I buy a lottery ticket I always have expectations of winning?

I know the lottery is tax for people who can't do math - I know the odds of me winning any amount of money let alone the millions of dollars for the big jackpot are ridiculous. Yet every time I buy a ticket and subsequently check the numbers I am disappointed when I haven't won.

And usually the longer I wait to check the numbers the more disappointed I am - because I'm just sure that old ticket is a big winner and I have been silly letting it age on my desk.

"A dollar and a dream" = great marketing!

Where's Beckham?

He's sleeping in the sun - and there is nothing cuter than a sleeping cat!

He was really tired - otherwise he wouldn't have let me shoot this video. Usually he wakes up, hisses, and runs as soon as he sees the camera. I love the twitching - is he dreaming about wrestling with Roxy?

Runner's Log 3.21.10

10 weeks of training...

179 miles.....

All for one step over the finish line, one big triumphant step a 2:53:08 - I didn't get swept and I finished under 3 hours.

Arts and Crafts

I was left to my own devices last weekend as Michael was enjoying the sun and Spring Training baseball in Tampa, FL. (He did get some rain too - one baseball game was cancelled and so was the round of golf. Boo hoo - and don't even get me started on his sun burn!)

I didn't make my usual plans to see a show, instead I had the biggest 'to do' list on the planet. Even as I was making the list I knew it was ridiculous. But I love a good list and I love crossing things off the list.

A friend of mine in San Diego recently had a baby - even before the baby was due I wanted to make her a baby blanket. Well little Colton was born before I was able to get the blanket made, but it was completed over the weekend and mailed yesterday - so he should get it before he is even a month old.

The front is a super soft fleece with embroidered dogs. They have the cutest chocolate lab named Tucker - I bet he is the best dog with the little baby.

The back is flannel with a tiny palm tree print - my homage to San Diego.

And of course the blanket is trimmed in shiny soft satin.

I hope he loves his blanky and yay for one more thing off of the list!

Roxy's New Spot

Yes, she has been caught several times in the kitchen sink! I think she is scavenging for little food bits (because you know she is starving and doesn't get served food 3 times a day) - but she will go in there when it is empty too. Maybe the little drops of water on the porcelain taste so much better than water from the big water bowl?

I even managed to catch her on video - what a silly cat!

Plan B - The Inn at Essex

And finally - some posts on our long weekend in Vermont.



After a 10 hour train ride that left late we arrived at The Inn at Essex. A full service resort that was charming and packed with amenities.

The front desk area had coffee in the morning and warm apple cider at night. There was a cozy library packed with books, puzzles, and games.








Thursday night we were assigned a wheelchair accessible room. This is not our preference so after breakfast Friday morning we asked for a different room. We were easily accommodated and ended up just down the hall in a red room. The sitting area is pictured below.

They also offered complimentary turn down service - but they didn't tell you that at check-in. We read it in the hotel information book and made sure to call for our turn-down every night. Housekeeping turned down the bed, turned the lights to low, set jazz music on the radio, and left Lake Champlain chocolates on the pillows. Who doesn't love turn down service?

The Inn at Essex had a beautiful spa facility. We spent most of Friday afternoon/early evening relaxing in the spa. We both enjoyed a massage and then spent some time in the lounge - we even shared a cheese plate. From there we went to the separate men's/woman's facilities to enjoy the steam room and sauna. The spa was really quiet and we almost had the entire place to ourselves, I can't think of a better way to spend the day.

The grounds at the Inn were pretty much covered in snow (although for Vermont it was hardly any snow), but there were plenty of great architectural features like the gazebo at the intersection of various walkways that we were able to enjoy.

And we're always suckers for a swimming pool. They had a huge indoor pool. It was the nicest indoor pool facility I have ever seen. It was clean, it didn't smell like too much chlorine, it wasn't musty, they had big fluffy towels and lots of pool toys.

And they had an outdoor hot tub! The hot tub looked better at night, with just a few lights and lots of steam rising up from the hot water. It was so cold outside, no matter how long you stayed in the hot tub you never were over heated. The night we went in the hot tub it was about 14 degrees outside - it was really cold going from the indoor pool to the hot tub, getting out was better as you were nice and warm from sitting in the hot tub for so long.

Vermont might not have been Dublin, but it was a great vacation. This was our second trip to Vermont and we know we will go back. Vermont has beautiful scenery, friendly people, maple syrup, and cheese - what else do you need in life?

Runner's Log 3.7.10

Or Hooray for Hollywood!

Central Park - 9 miles in 2 hours. Awesome. 4.5 mph pace - good enough to keep me from being swept.

It is an amazingly beautiful day here today. Bright blue skies and in the low 50's. I was very warm running, I could have been in a short sleeve shirt and been very comfortable. I was thinking how just two weeks ago the park was covered in snow and there were more people there sledding than running/walking/biking. Today I think most of NYC was out in the park exercising.

Sighted: a racoon! It was big and cruising through the bushes just west of the Delacorte Theatre. Quite a few people spotted it and several were taking photos. It was cute and so surprising to see out during the day.

I basically did 1 and 1/2 loops around the park - I wanted to do all 9 miles in the park and I decided to skip the Reservoir as I wasn't sure if it would be runnable. Because it is 1 mile to and from the park I actually did 11 miles today. I was pretty slow walking to and from the park, I'm counting those as official miles but it's nice to know I did almost the full half marathon distance of 13.1 miles.

Two weeks before the race. I really need to focus on my training, getting plenty of sleep, and eating well the next two weeks.

As my reward for a successful run today I am watching the Oscar's all afternoon. I plan to make real popcorn - the kind you pop in a pot on the stove with oil, butter, and salt! And I have lobster mac 'n cheese for dinner (leftover from dinner at Fish last night - so delicious I can hardly stand it. A thick white cheese sauce dotted with black pepper for a touch of heat that perfectly offsets the creaminess of the sauce and filled with chuncks of sweet lobster meat). I can't think of a better way to spend the rest of the day.

Blogus Interuptus

You may have noticed the daily posts of early February have slowed down considerably.

Here are the top reasons that have lead to the decline:

1) Olympic Fever - seriously I could not get enough of the Winter Olympics. They had me hooked with the Opening Ceremony Parade of Nations all the way through to the giant inflatable beavers at the 'Made in Canada' march during the Closing Ceremony. And how awesome is Curling? Curling was on quite a bit during the day and it while it was fun trying to figure out the point system and strategy the real entertainment came from the announcers. They had 3 Canadian Curlers and Fred Roggin doing color commentary. It was nothing less than awesome. A bientot Winter Olympics!

2) Immediate cessation of project acclimatization - between the Olympics (I kept staying up for the late night coverage) and my real dislike for waking up early the 7am rise and shine has moved to a more acceptable 8am. And for those of you who think I am slacking off - don't worry, I'm at the office by 8:01am. Work doesn't suffer, just the blog.

3) Medical emergencies - our sweet kitty Sadie had a stroke last Monday night. She had us very scared and she was in the ICU at Animal Medical Center until Saturday evening. At that point she was discharged but with a plan for some intensive home care. She is proving to be quite a fighter and she has been making incredible progress at home. She still wants to be living large as a Fat Cat in NYC and we are doing all we can to support her efforts.

The good news is I have several blogs about Vermont brewing. I plan to work them in and get you all caught up soon .

Runner's Log 3.2.10

Hills and valleys....

Sunday training was a 10K race - 6.2 miles, or a little more than one lap around Central Park.

It was 38 degrees and cloudy, a little cooler than my last run through the park and no sun. I was cold but that motivated me to get moving.

My uber-stretch goal was to run the lap in an hour, for me this would be an unheard of 6 mph pace, or 10 minutes a mile. My realistic stretch goal was 5 mph or 12 minutes a mile and the acceptable goal was to be done in 1 hour and 20 minutes to be on non-sweep pace.

I loaded the iPod with some new music. I made sure I knew which song was at the hour mark and which song was at 1 hour 20 minutes. I headed north on Park Dr. and I was doing OK on the slight uphill grade. (On my shorter runs I started setting the treadmill at an incline to get in some hill practice.) I kept setting short term goals - run to that stop light, I would hit the stop light and still feel OK so then I would run to the turn, or the ice skating rink and then it was the Great Hill. I made it at least half way up the hill before I had to take a break and walk. Much better than my first attempt on the hill. I hit my hour mark and knew I had around a mile and a half left to run. I finished the park loop (6.03) miles in just under 77 minutes (1 hour 17 minutes, 12.76 minutes per mile or about 4.7 mph). This is well under non-sweep pace - awesome!

Monday is strength training and stretch day, gotta give those leg muscles a break after a long run on Sunday. I passed the time in the gym being tortured by The Bachelor. How could he pick Vienna? I would like to say I won't watch that show again, but come on - I know I will so let's just move along.

Today the training schedule lists a 5 mile run. My plan was to run to the park (1 mile) do two laps around the Reservoir (just over 3 miles) and then run back home (1 mile).

I made it to the park but the path around the Reservoir was in horrible condition - it was either covered with slushy icy snow, mud, or puddles of water. I ended up going south on Park Drive to some point past 72nd (just over 1 mile), from there I turned around and went back up to 90th (about 1 mile), exited the park and down to 79th on 5th Ave (1/2 mile), across 79th to York Ave (1 mile) and then home (1/2 mile). I managed to get in my 5 miles but it took me longer than the 6 miles on Sunday. Bummer! I just didn't have the legs and having my route plan disrupted didn't help either.

On the positive side I learned that eating a handful of Reese's Pieces about an hour before a run doesn't give you the same amount of energy as Coach's Oats, GU gummies, or a protein shake. I'm glad I proved out this valuable research before race day.

An Open Letter to Theatre Patrons

The theatre is not a movie theatre, the theatre is not your living room. The same for the ballet and the seeing the Rockette's at Radio City Music Hall.

It's great that with so many shows and ticket at multiple price points the theatre is available to the masses, unfortunately the masses can be rude and sloppy.

When you go to a show don't wear jeans and sneakers. It looks bad and it is insulting to the performers and the guests that are dressed appropriately. A simple pair of black pants and dark shoes are perfect suitable and they take less room than a pair of low rise faded jeans and a pair of Ugg boots in your suitcase.

Just because they sell food during intermission doesn't mean you should eat during the performance. No matter how quiet you think you are opening your bag of candy (yes, I mean you in the Mezzanine row B, about seat 12 moved down from the higher rows during intermission at the Phantom performance on 2/25) every person around you can hear that crinkling bag and it is distracting and rude. Save the snack for a delightful treat post-show.

If you can't live without texting, tweeting, checking your messages for 90 minutes at a time - don't go. Even if your phone doesn't ring the bright light of the screen is annoying to the guests seated near you. (And this time I am talking to the young woman in the Mezzanine Row A seat 4 Phantom performance on 2/25 - guess what the light from your phone screen was annoying and I could see it every time you pulled it out from your JEANS pocket.) If you find the show so boring or your life outside of the theatre is so important you can't turn your phone completely off and leave it off for the duration of the show - DON'T GO. Save yourself, your parents, your friends the money and sit in a coffee shop sipping a frappa-mocha-latte-chino while they and everyone else that would have been sitting around you enjoy the show.

(As a side note one of the funnier moments at a show has to do with a patron and a cell phone. I can't remember the performance, I think it was "Curtains" but it could have been "Boeing, Boeing, Boeing". A husband and wife were seated across the aisle from me. Based on the jeans, sneakers, and shopping bags they were tourists. During the show the wife's cell phone rang. Of course it was some loud obnoxious ring that wouldn't stop until she fumbled through her purse and turned off her phone. Her husband gave her such a nasty look - he was embarrassed and furious all at the same time. Well don't worry he got served a big piece of humble pie. In about 15 minutes HIS cell phone rang! What a moron - you would think he would have checked his cell phone the minute his wife's phone rang, apparently not. His wife gave him the best smug filled smile I have even seen. It would have been really funny if only they hadn't distracted me from the performance - twice!)"

Even if the venue allows photography - don't do it. Put away the camera, put down the digital camera sit back and enjoy the show and every person sitting around you will enjoy the show as well. The photos and movies you take of the stage are going to look horrible. You don't have professional equipment and the lighting is terrible. If you really want to capture the memory, buy the DVD, buy the program, buy the soundtrack - the quality will surpass anything you can do sitting in your seat. If the venue requests no flash photography, TURN OFF your flash. The bright light is distracting to the guests seated around you and potentially harmful to those on stage. Put away your video camera, your dark and shaky image will not do justice to the spectacular on stage and you will enjoy the show more if you are focused solely on the performance. Your video screen is bright and that coupled with your raised arm are enough to upset even the most mild mannered theatre goer. (This is dedicated to the people sitting in front of us at the Rockette show in Dec.)

If you are lucky enough to see a show treat the event with dignity it deserves. Respect the venue and those around you and everyone will have the opportunity enjoy the performance.

Rant for the day

Why can't log out buttons on web pages all be in the same place?

I get so irritated when I have to search for the log out/sign out button. It's like the web designers make it hard to find on purpose so you spend more time on the page. Grrr.

Yes, it's one of those days. I feel a couple of open letters in me as well.

Runner's Log 2.21.10

I tried to keep up my training schedule as best as possible in Vermont.





They had a fabulous gym in our hotel (pictured below), but with so many other things to do it was hard to be focused.

I did work out in the gym once over the weekend and I count tubing as cross-training; dragging your tube up a hill is hard work!

I went in to this week a day behind and facing an 8 mile run yesterday.

As of yesterday it is exactly 4 weeks until the 1/2 marathon. I made the decision no more travel until the race and I gave up alcohol for Lent. The next 4 weeks are going to be all about training.

Yesterday was a big day, an 8 mile run. It was a beautiful day - sunny and warm. OK, for all of you in CA it was 40 degrees but that is warm for us and probably close to the temps on race day. I really needed to get in an outside run. I needed to get in practice on hills and see if I fixed my previous wardrobe issues.

I downloaded a runner's map of Central Park. If I ran the entire loop of Park Drive that was 6 miles. Next I used MapQuest to calculate the distance from our apartment to the park: 1 mile. It worked out really well, if I ran to the park, did the entire loop, and ran back that would be my 8 mile.

I really was comfy on the couch and I just didn't want to do the run outside. Luckily Michael was there to really push me and get me out the door. Even though it would be under pace, I gave myself 2 hours for the run. I was more concerned about finishing the distance than making good time.

It was hard getting to the park, crowded sidewalks, traffic lights, and a slight uphill grade the entire way. I jogged some and walked some. I hit the park and went north on Park Drive. I wanted to hit the Great Hill while I was still fresh. The Great Hill is the steepest hill in the park, it has the sharpest uphill grade but it is the shortest hill - there are a ton of hills in the park and all of them are pretty tough. The park was packed, half of the city was out walking, running, cycling, roller blading - at least when I was jogging I was passing the walkers.

It was rough going - my legs weren't getting tired but I was getting out of breath. I would jog and try to push myself a little further but then I would have to walk. I just kept thinking in my head, just finish the distance. Luckily along with the uphills there are downhills too, at least something to get me started at a jog after an uphill.

I didn't wear a watch but I have my iPod loaded with a particular set of songs that is just shy of an hour. I don't know the exact time at each song but I know when I'm getting close to the end. I also didn't know the exact miles as I was going around the park but I had an idea in my head of where I was and how much farther I had left to run. As I hit an hour on the set list I was thinking I was more than halfway done with the park loop - this was very encouraging. I started the play list again and kept going. Finally I was headed north, up towards the gate at 90th St. I passed the 72nd St transverse and all I could think was 2 more miles (20 blocks/1 mile to exit the park and then 1 mile home).

At last The Met was in my sights, that meant just a 1/2 mile to exit the park. At that point I was very motivated and I finished the park loop and the mile home jogging the entire way. I knew by my set list I was under 2 hours and I really wanted to get home and check my time. I really wanted to complete the run in under two hours.

I did the 8 miles in 1 hour 45 minutes! Yay! That works out to 13 min 8 seconds a mile - below sweep pace. I'm really encouraged. I worked out my wardrobe issues - except for the socks. I need to get some different socks but it was a great day.

Where's Beckham?

He managed to find a nice high sleeping spot on top of the living room bookshelf.





Of course I woke him up when I started taking photos - but then he was so tired he curled back down and fell asleep. He is so cute when he is sleeping!

Plan B

Even though it was a snow day yesterday Michael worked really hard to come up with alternate plans for the weekend. The cat sitter was already booked, why let that go to waste!

We are taking the train up to Burlington, VT this morning. We're staying at this cute resort hotel that has a huge fabulous spa, cooking classes, and lots of snow activities. Saturday night they will have a bon fire and we can make s'mores. He also found a ski run in the area that features tubing; you hook your tube to a tow rope that hauls you up the mountain and then you get to slide down on your tube. All the fun and not too much work.

And it's Vermont so there are sugar and cheese farms, craft stores, and outlet malls in abundance. We'll have a great weekend just without the Guinness!