All posts by ali

not in the mood

I just wanted to say that there has been nothing new here because I just haven’t been in the mood to write. And I’m not really right now, either, but I got sick of that same post popping up as my home page.

I have no photos to show for it, but…

Life is good, life is busy, I adore my boyfriend and I love my parents to pieces!
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bucket list

I’m not sure this would be my bucket list, but it was interesting nonetheless…
{from facebook}

Things I have done during my lifetime:

( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Donated Blood
(X) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die ~ and I dread this…
(X) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X ) Been to Florida
(X) Been to Hawaii
(X) Been to Alaska
( ) Been to Australia
(X) Flown on a plane
( ) Piloted a plane
( ) Flown in a helicopter
(X) Been lost
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Hugged a homeless person…involuntarily, actually
( ) Played cops and robbers
(X) Played cowboys and indians
(X) Swam in the ocean
( ) Swam with Stingrays
( ) Swam with manatees
(X) Been sailing in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Ran a marathon
(X) Sang Karaoke
( ) Volunteered at a soup kitchen
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
( ) Been to the top of Pikes Peak
( ) Seen the Northern Lights
(X) Been Parasailing
(X) Been on TV
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Fed an elephant
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Fired a gun
(X) Danced in the rain
( ) Seen the Sistine Chapel
(X) Been to the Opera
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Serenaded someone
(X) Seen a U.S.President in person…the first George Bush
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone
( ) Driven a race car
(X) Been to a National Museum
(X) Been to a Wax Museum
( ) Eaten caviar
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States…but I so want to. Who’s with me?
( ) Flown an ultralight
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
(X) Been Sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling
(X) Gone SCUBA diving
(X) Lived in more than one country…four months in Mexico
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
(X) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Grand Canyon
(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty
(X ) Watched a play on Broadway
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle…and I even lived there one summer. Lame.
(X) Been on a cruise
( ) Taken a gondola in Venice
( ) Seen the Mona Lisa in person
(X) Traveled by train
(X) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
(X) Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
(X) Been to Disneyland
(X) Been to Disney World
( ) Truly believe in the power of prayer…can I change this one to Faith?
( ) Been in a rain forest
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
(X) Been to Niagara Falls
(X) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Ridden on a camel
(X) Swam with dolphins
(X) Been to the Olympics…Barcelona 1992
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Climbed Mount Fuji
( ) Climbed Mount Katahdin
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
(X) Watched a volcano erupt
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(X) Been water-skiing
(X) Been snow-skiing
(X) Been sailing
(X) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
(X) Swam in the Mediterranean
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Swam with sharks
(X) Been White Water Rafting
( ) Written a book or screen play (At least a few chapters)
( ) Installed a toilet
( ) Installed a fireplace or wood stove
(X) Been the first to say, “I love you”

late night freak out

I am still in New York, where it is cold. Earmuff cold…
earmuffs
I am having trouble changing my internal time zone, so about this time (11pm EST), I freak out. My mind starts racing and I suddenly feel wide awake when I should be going to sleep. There is so much. I am filled with mixed emotions; I need to dance, cry, jump-for-joy, scream and melt all at the same time. I am making a big transition and I have to have a conversation I dread.
*more anon.

Meanwhile, I am still in NY ~ so back to that.

I spent Saturday in Brooklyn with Lindsey. What a wonderful, long afternoon-evening we spent wandering Smith and Court Streets looking in all the little independent shops. At one point we took a tea break (hooray for tea-bag messages!)
tea break with lindsey tea messages
In the evening, we went to see “The Wrestler” which my friend Rie worked on. (She helped to prepare Marisa for her role). Yeehaw for Marisa and Rie!
After the movie, I found out that Jesus lives in Brooklyn…
jesus lives in brooklyn
Finally, we rounded out the day with a lovely Thai meal before I got back on the subway to Manhattan. Here is Lindsey with our heart-shaped rice…
i *heart* LB and rice
I heart Brooklyn and I heart Lindsey!

And since there can never be too much Lindsey, tonight she came over to my cute little Manhattan apartment after work and we ordered in. It was nice to have some time to just vegg-out with her: that doesn’t happen very often anymore, what with 2000+ miles between us.

Then, we both walked outside in the frozen wind, she to the subway, me to the gourmet market for some dessert. Look at this crazy selection and the chocolate-covered creampuffs I chose…
1000 desserts filling the need
Um, hormonal much?
I miss R, so I ate chocolate. And I don’t even really like chocolate.
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free in nyc!

I arrived in New York on Wednesday evening and am loving this work/getaway trip so much. I arrived to my dear friend and co-trainer, Rie standing on the stoop of our rad little apartment in Chelsea ~ it’s a 3rd-floor walk-up and is full of charm. There will certainly be photos taken of this sweet apartment.
Rie and I shared a day of training on Thursday before she left this morning for Chicago and then for home. I miss her spirit already.
Last night some of the teachers and trainees went out for dinner to say goodbye to Rie and hello to me. We had a fun time with a flirty waiter who kept trying to offer us free shots. We’re not really shot takers, but he convinced Rie! (usually a non-drinker) and Beate to shoot Tequila…

flirty waiter fun

Then Rie and I walked home in the rather frezing wind. We both had on hats and thought we might have red noses, so we tried to take a picture. We were only a little successful…
we thought we had red noses hats in the wind

More fun to be had as the days go by, including a full weekend of seeing another dear friend, Lindsey, rendezvousing with Megan over here in the East and dining with Mike. Yippee for “business” trips to NYC!
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back in bed

I am back in my bedroom! While there is still work to be done (carpet installation), I decided yesterday to go ahead and move my bed and other stuff back in there.

I put my rug down for my toes and a couple of towels next to the bed so the concrete floor doesn’t shock my feet…

bed with concrete floor exposed

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I still have no hall closet so my coats and dress-up clothes are still hanging on the temporary clothing rack, but at least it’s out of my living room…
hallway - still to be re-done closet and extras

I can’t wait for the carpet to be installed. I chose eco-friendly carpet made from recyclable materials. How Green am I?
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