Central Park West and Brooklyn

Thursday was bike riding in Central Park day.  It was the first of three mornings in a row that we ate at this awesome little hole in the wall type cheapo spot Angela's Sandwich Shop for breakfast where we could get really yummy filling breakfast sandwiches for 3 bucks.

MJ found a Groupon deal while we were there so we got a great deal on a four hour rental from Central Park Sightseeing.  Central Park is so much fun and it's huge.  It has beautiful architecture, lakes and rivers, all kinds of trails to walk through and an awesome designated bike route that loops around the entire park.  

This is where I imagine the rich people live.  I'd love to take a peek inside one of these homes just to see what NYC living looks like.  The parking there is so tight we saw a lot of cars with bumper protectors.  I'd never seen that before.

Illegal riding on the trails!  We only did it a few times.  

FYI: There was no baby in that lady's baby seat.  I looked!!

Apparently a pedestrian got hit and seriously injured by a biker in central park the day before we went riding.  There are lights and pedestrian crossing throughout the loop.  The next day there were signs asking for witnesses to come forward and we even saw a biker getting a ticket.  I guess they are cracking down.

It's weird because for the most part it looks flat but there were times when we were definitely on an incline because my legs were feeling it and I felt like I was on a stationary bike.  After the first loop we still had time so we did the loop again.  MJ is a pro so this route was small potatoes but my legs were really tired.  I thought I might have to stop and walk but I pushed through it and didn't have to.  Each loop is 6 miles so that was 12 miles of biking!  I had to sit and rest for a popsicle break after all that.  Exercise for the day done but not really because there was still plenty of walking to be done.

I'm the one who wanted to go back to Little Italy for dinner because they were having the The Feast of San Gennaro festival.  It was so exciting over there with all the people, vendors and music that I wanted to go back and eat outside at one of the restaurants on the main drag.  The way they pack the tables in and jam everyone in tight so that you have to squeeze your way in to get seated reminded me of Italy. 

Ignore the girls booty in the background

We stopped for a beer while we, or should I say I was deciding where we would eat.  I looked at every menu mainly looking for the best prices.  It turns out none of them were cheap, but I went with one of the lower ones. 

MJ got some deep fried atrocity.  He looked just like the girl in the background while he was eating it.

The next day was boating in Central Park.

Row, row row your boat gently down the stream did not exactly happen for me.  It's harder then it looks and we did not go merrily along our way when I took the oars.  MJ made it look so easy but I just didn't have the coordination to get very far.  It was really funny because I looked around and every single boat had a couple with the male rowing the female.  I tried it for a few minutes and then we switched back and I acted as look out.

Even though I was a week late for Fashion Week I still wanted to see Bryant Park.  It was much smaller then I expected and a little underwhelming without, you know, Fashion Week but beggars can't be choosers.  I can only imagine how it looks with all the tents set up.  It looks like a really fun place to spend an afternoon.

We stopped by the NYC public library since it was around the corner and began our journey to Brooklyn.  The subway was packed so we were standing the whole time.

Those Beautiful Brownstones

Mac and Cheese Muffin

MJ had already found a place for us to eat in Brooklyn.  As we got closer I was kind of concerned because I didn't see a whole lot of restaurants and the streets were mostly deserted but SoCo was perfection.  Really cute decor and a nice indoor but feels like outdoor dining patio.  Their Mac and Cheese is what every mac and cheese aspires to be and it was the best I've ever had.  I ate as much crispy, cheesy goodness as I could.  It was built like a muffin and unfortunately all I could eat was the muffin top before I was stuffed.  No left overs either because it was our last day so I had to leave it there. 

After that it was back to Manhattan.  The streets of Brooklyn came alive while we were at SoCo and there were plenty of people out on our walk back to the subway.  We liked the West End Bar so much that we went back for a few drinks.  We ended up in Hell's Kitchen in search of dessert and I was kind of bummed that we hadn't discovered this area before.  It was so lively and there were so many cool restaurants.  I almost did a grand jete (dancer talk) when I saw Alvin Ailey Theater.  The building was three stories, lit up with giant glass windows and I could see real live New York City dancers rehearsing.  So cool.  We ate dessert in bed and then went to bed.  It was a really good last day in New York. 

Snap shots from New York

There is something so cool about New York City. Even if you don't do or see half the stuff that you see people in New York doing on TV it feels really special just being there. When I think of New York City I think of dreamers and doers. I think of rich people, models, actors investment bankers, ballerinas and really cool and interesting people doing important things. It didn't take much to impress me there.  We saw set trailers parked all along a street in Chelsea and signs pointing the way to the set.  There was a guy walking in front of us who dropped something.  Turns out it was his script.  I saw a really tall pretty she-has-to-be-a-model type girl talking on her cell phone in Central Park about a casting.  I saw two ballet dancers in the Subway. The hyper-extended legs for days, long necks, and ballerina buns gave them away and then when one of them did a mini arabesque I knew for sure.  At the West End Bar we were sitting next to two oh my gosh rich girls.  How do I know this?  I'm really nosy and I overheard that they went to Sarah Lawrence College.  I googled it later just for kicks and tuition is $50k per year + room and board!! Apparently, they went shopping for $4,000 bags with mommy and daddies credit cards all through college.  I said, "MJ those girls are rich."  He said no they aren't.  Their parents are rich," and then I heard them talking about trust funds, so yeah they are rich.  I also saw a lot of preserved women that were probably in their sixties plus but had obviously had one or two plastic surgeries too many.  I think some people take it a little too far and the hands always give them away.  Do they think we can't tell?  I watched in fascination every time I saw someone step out into the street and raise their arm to hail a taxi.  I think I'd be embarrassed if I stood there forever and couldn't get one to stop.  We didn't try.  Too much traffic too expensive.  Even seeing a roach in the subway system was interesting because you know; you hear things about roaches in NYC and I actually saw one with my own eyes and it was gross but somehow so cool because it was NYC.  If it had been a mice I probably wouldn't have handled it so well.  New York City is just a cool place to be.  When I think of New York I also think of harsh cold winters, traffic and a ridiculous cost of living.  I'm 100% certain the lifestyle would not suit me unless I was filthy rich but it's an incredible place to visit.

The way back was a little bumpy.  One of the subway lines we needed to get to the airport was shut down but MJ is so awesome at figuring things out that he found us a new route.  We had to get off in Queens and take another subway but we made good time only to find out that the plane we were supposed to be getting on was so delayed that it would make it impossible to make our next connection.  We managed to barely make it on a different flight.  We didn't get to sit next to each other which sucked, but it was better then having to go all the way to New Jersey to catch a different flight or being stuck at our layover destination without another flight.  Aside from that little snafu United is awesome.  You get your own personal TV in the seat back in front of you with free Direct TV and movies.  Normally, when I get on a long flight it's like entering some kind of black hole of hell and I have no idea when it's ever going to end but they have this cool countdown that tells you and there is plenty of leg room anyway so I didn't feel like a canned sardine.  I watched three movies and the flight flew by.

That concludes my Buffalo/New York City recaps.  It's funny because before I start writing I always feel a little overwhelmed and I can't remember any details from the trip but once I get started it all comes back to me, I remember too much and end up including all of these little random details that are totally not essential to the actual telling of the trip but certainly things that I'll want to look back on and remember later.

Nine days, four posts.  The End.

Back to Buffalo

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Live Studio Audience and The High Line

If two bloggers meet up and there are no photos to document said event did it really happen?  I'm going to say yes and that I kicked myself in the butt all the way back to my hotel because I finally met Ameena after years of reading each others blogs and couldn't even get one single picture.  Total blogger fail, but picture or not it was so cool to meet her.  I don't know how to get anywhere on the subway without MJ so per my request she suggested a place within walking distance of our hotel.  We met up at Maison Kayser where I paid $9 for eggs and a piece of toast.  I'm not mad about it because they were most delicious eggs I've ever eaten in my life.  I hate runny wet soggy eggs and these were perfectly light and fluffy.  We chatted non stop the entire time. Thank you Ameena for what is officially my first blate.  It was the only day that rained while we were there but it stopped by the time we left.   

My shoes were seriously hurting my feet.  My converse are normally okay but they were rubbing the sides of my feet to shreds and after that even my Sperry's were hurting.  Ameena tipped me off that I could find Tom's at Whole Foods which I thought was random but I don't shop there so I guess I wouldn't know.  I went on my own before heading back to the hotel and it took me way longer then it should have even with google maps because of my miserable sense of direction.  At one point I knew it was close but still couldn't find it so I was spinning around in a circle staring at the pointy dot to figure out which direction to go.  The line at Whole Foods was insane.  It doesn't even look like a line.  It looks like a crowd of people standing there.  I had no idea what was going on but waiting so long gave me plenty of time to watch what everyone else was doing so that by the time I got to the front I knew what to do.  There were TV monitors to tell you when it is your turn and which register to go to.  Each 'line' was represented by a color and each check out had a number and when your color pops up it's your turn and the number that pops along with it tells you which register to go to.  It was that serious. 

Neither one of us had ever been to a live taping so that was one of the few things we planned ahead for before our trip.  Tickets for these things are free but you just have to find out how each show issues tickets.  I got The View tickets from 1iota and for Late Night with Seth Meyers I had to call a hotline.  They do fill up so you have to do it in advance.  I wanted Colbert Report or Jimmy Fallon but they were booked.  For Seth Meyers we had to be at the NBC store in Rockefeller Center at 3:30pm to exchange our reservations for tickets then come back to a designated area an hour later.  We were lined up according to the time we got our tickets and led in small groups to an elevator that would take us down to the studio.  Absolutely no cameras allowed.  They kick you out if you try.  The guests were Octavia Spencer from The Help, some author guy that I had never heard of and a game show host that I had also never heard of.  It was cool to see what's happening behind the scenes.  They make you clap a lot.  They don't use applause signs anymore.  They were there, but they hire a comedian/crowd wrangler to keep us occupied between breaks.  They signaled us when to clap, clap louder and keep clapping.

 After that we we found a restaurant in Times Square.  Drinks and giant burgers for both of us

Wednesday morning I did not want to get up.  At all.  We were supposed to be at The View at 9:00am and I was this close to just saying forget it and not going but it would be ridiculous to not do something so I could sleep.  I did not come to NYC to sleep.  I forced myself out of bed so we could make the 20 minute walk over there.  They were nice enough to feed us which was helpful because we didn't make time for breakfast.  We were handed a back of Chex Mix and a bottle of Apple juice when we walked in the door.  We only waited outside for a little while and then we had a large room with TV's to wait around in until they finally led us over to the studio in small groups.  Nobody gets to pick their seat.  We were only allowed to take out cameras on commercial breaks and specifically when told us it was okay.  More clapping.  The wrangler guy even made MJ and another guy get up and dance because they didn't look happy enough.  Unlike Seth Meyers which is taped and then shown later that night The View is actually on TV while we are there taping.  The guests were Doogie Houser AKA Neil Patrick Harris and Tim McGraw.  Rosie O'Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg take questions and entertained us during the commercial breaks.  The other hosts are Rosie Perez and someone else that I'd never heard of.  Rosie likes to cuss and she talked about her weight loss surgery.  Mr. McGraw performed a slow song from his new CD that I'd never heard before.  On our way out we were given his CD.  We're not fans so we gave them away to co workers.  We recorded both of the shows to see if we made it on TV but haven't watched them yet.

Times Square

Nope it's not Disneyland.  There are Disney characters just chillin' in Times Square.

Empire State Building

After The View we searched for food on our walk to The High Line. We stopped to eat at some place called Rare Bar & Grill in Chelsea where I ate one of the best Cobb salads I've ever had in my life.

You can still see the old railroad tracks

When we travel I have this misguided belief that I can walk anywhere.  I thought we could walk to the World Trade Center from Manhattan.  MJ shot that one down but Chelsea was sort of reasonable so we walked all the way from ABC Studios at West 66th Street to get to the The High Line which begins in the Meat Packing District.  I saw The High Line on a list of non touristy things to do in New York City.  It's an elevated abandoned freight railroad line that got turned into a park so basically it's a narrow park on a bridge.  On our right we could see New Jersey across the Hudson River.  The walk there was just a tad over 3 miles and The High Line itself is about 1.5 miles so that was A LOT of miles in one day.  We stopped at Chelsea Market where I got some gelato and then we took the Subway back to our hotel.

MJ is really weird and he just doesn't get tired but I was DEAD on my feet after all that so I had to take a nap before our 8:00pm show.  We were torn between Wicked and Kinky Boots but decided on Kinky boots which works out because Wicked comes to town next month and we're going to see it then.  I thought Vegas was bad.  Broadway show tickets are really expensive but it was worth it.  Kinky Boots was really, really good.  I loved the story and it was a really good show.  Afterwards we stopped at a really cool bar called West End Bar & Grill for a few drinks before heading back to the hotel to crash.

Central Park West and Brooklyn

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NYC: The 9/11 Memorial Museum

We got to New York pretty late on Sunday night and took a super shuttle to our hotel.  I wasn't surprised that there was traffic that late.  I wouldn't expect anything less from NYC.  We stayed in Midtown Manhattan at West 57th Street by Hilton Club .  It's a few doors down from Carnegie Hall and perfectly situated near Times Square and Central Park.

MJ wanted to go into the Statue of Liberty Crown but apparently it's like the leaning tower of Pisa and you have to book it in advance.  The soonest we could get in was Friday.  We didn't book it that day and then there were no more available spots after that.

Going to the 9/11 memorial museum wasn't something we'd talked about doing or not doing but when Lady Liberty fell through we decided to go.  We took the subway to the World Trade Center and the first thing we saw on our way over is the two square shaped deep fountains side by side where the Twin Towers used to be.  Etched on every surface surrounding it are the names of people who lost their lives on 9/11.  It's still hard to believe that two giant buildings were there and now they are just gone and it's eerie to know that you are standing in a place where there was so much devastation.

If you book your tickets online or in advance you are given a time frame for which you are supposed to enter and after going through it I know why.  There is a lot to take in and they probably don't want traffic flow to clog up.  The building itself is huge and dimly lit.  There are firetrucks from that day on display and various beams of steel and concrete that survived the blast.  At first I didn't think there was going to be much to see because the main building is relatively sparse but once we got started in the exhibition room it felt like there was too much.  You can take pictures in the main area but once you get inside the Exhibition room there are no cameras allowed.  The memorial is set up sort like a timeline that takes you through all the events leading up to 9/11, what happened with each plane that crashed and then the aftermath.  It is comprised of photography, video, audio, wreckage, personal belongings and anything else that tells the story of 9/11.  It covers every perspective including the perpetrators, first responders, victims, survivors, families and anyone else that would have a story to tell about that day.  I didn't realize that there discreetly placed tissue box stands throughout the exhibit  until I needed one.  The audio recordings is what really got to me.  I heard the voice of a woman calling her husband.  Her voice broke as she said she hoped he'd see his face again.  She was on one of the planes so she never got to and even now when I think about that it brings tears to my eyes.  What really struck me is how calm and matter of fact most of the phone callers from the planes were.  I keep thinking I'd be a hysterical nightmare if I was in that situation and part of it has to be that they really didn't know just how dire their situation was.  It's dark, quiet and there is so much information that I lost track of time but I think we were in there for a pretty long time.  It was major sensory overload.  I wanted to see everything but after a while it gets to be too much.  It's still so surreal to think back to everything that went into that day.  Such evil and misery transpired on 9/11 and it's all there.  

Survivors' Stairs: Many people escaped on these stairs from a building adjacent to the towers

I felt a slightly conflicted about the whole thing.  It felt weird to be interested in going to see it.  It was weird listening to voice recordings of people who died, viewing blood stained pumps and ash covered metro tickets.  I hadn't seen footage of what happened in a long time.  There were videos and photos of the planes crashing into the towers, people jumping out of buildings and recordings of the terrorists voices.  It seemed almost wrong to have all of this deeply tragic and personal stuff on display so that people can buy tickets and come look at it.  At the same time I think it does need to be presented that way to most accurately convey the events to those who only watched it on TV and to future generations that will only read about it in history books.  It was a horrific crime and the memorial preserves and captures it in a way that hits home but is also respectful.  That being said, if I had lost someone in 9/11 or had a real life connection to it I don't know how I would feel about going there myself.  I'm just not sure I'd want to revisit those emotions in that way but I think it would be comforting to know that it's there.  People have to live with the loss of their loved ones every day and the memorial is a way to keep that memory alive not just for those who knew them but for the rest of the world.  Mixed feelings aside, I think it was very well done and I am glad we went. 

White Pizza

After that we needed food.  We hadn't eaten all day so we walked over to The Little Italy section in Lower Manhattan and ate Pizza at Lombardi's.   Delicious.  We strolled around town a little bit before taking the subway back to our hotel for the night.  Our feet were already killing us and it was just the first day.

NYC:  Live Studio Audience & The High Line

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When in Buffalo

Buffalo New York  has never been on my list of places to visit.  I mean, who goes to Buffalo?  Turns out they have the friendliest people I've ever encountered anywhere on any trip.  We found ourselves chatting with friendly strangers just about every place we went.  There's not too much going on there but you can make fun happen anywhere if you want to so that's what we did.

It took 20-30 minutes to get anywhere we wanted to go in Buffalo.  That came in handy when we arrived hungry on Friday morning after our overnight flight.  We got our rental car and the first thing I did was check to see if there was a Cracker Barrel in town.  We don't have them in California so when we travel we are always on the look out to eat there.  We were in luck!!  There was a Cracker Barrel 20 minutes from the airport.  We devoured the best Pancakes ever in the history of Pancakes and then it took us about 20 minutes to get to Embassy Suites.  Our hotel room was one of the biggest I've ever had.  The standard size room was about the size of a one bedroom apartment but by that time the thing I was most interested in was the giant super comfortable King Size bed and a nap. 

When in Buffalo you go to Niagara Falls because it is there and who knows when you will ever make it back.   It took us 30 minutes to get there from downtown Buffalo.  We saw signs pointing us to it but it was still really hard to believe that we were anywhere near a gigantic set of waterfalls.  As we got a little bit closer we could see what looked kind of like smoke rising in the air.  As you get closer you can tell that it's mist from the falls and then you can hear them roaring.  

 We missed the cut off for the Maiden of the Mist boat rides but we could still get close to the falls by doing Cave of the Winds.  When I saw people coming back looking like they had taken a shower with their clothes on I wasn't so sure I wanted to do it.  Your ticket comes with a wearable trash bag, cheap little sandals and a plastic shopping bag to put your shoes and socks in.  An elevator takes you down and then once you walk through the tunnel you are at the falls. 

You can basically get as wet as you want to.  MJ decided he wanted to get a little bit wetter than me when he went up to the highest and closest deck to the falls.  The trash bag does a really good job of keeping you dry from the knees up but the bottom of our jeans were soaked.  His were drenched. It was fun.  I'm glad we did it.

Checking out the Canada side

When in Buffalo you also have to eat Buffalo Wings unless you are like me and you don't eat wings at all.  We walked over to Anchor Bar which is known as the home of the original Buffalo chicken wings.  Buffalo is kind of dead.  It was Friday night downtown but the streets were mostly empty.  There were a few restaurants open but most of the shops were shut down for the night.  There was no fun vibe to be seen at all on our walk over there but once we got inside the place was packed and full of energy.   There was a live band and the food was good.

We walked to a place nearby for breakfast on Saturday and then spent a few hours at the Buffalo Museum of Science mainly to see the Mummies of The World Exhibition.  MJ has an uncle in Buffalo so after that we stopped and had a visit with him and then went in search of a restaurant that we'd seen on Diners Drive in and Dives.  You'd have to be specifically looking for Mulberry's or else I'm not sure that you'd ever find it because it's located on a random corner in the middle of a residential area.  Without reservations we were going to have to wait 1 1/2 hours but we lucky enough to find two seats at the bar.  This place has such a homey atmosphere and the best lasagna I've ever had.  I wasn't that hungry so we were splitting everything anyways which was good because that thing was huge.  We met the owner and he was so friendly.  Then we got to chatting with this kind older couple at the bar who are regulars.  They bought us drinks because they were so excited that we came all the way from San Diego to visit their town.

We had a scary moment in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  It was probably around 2 or 3am.  I woke up with this weird feeling that someone was in our room.  I kept still and listened.  I heard a rustling sound.  "I think someone is in our room," I whispered to MJ waking him up but almost not really believing it myself.  We both listened and then heard the unmistakable sound of motion.  My heart was in my throat as MJ got out of bed and went into the outer living area and I heard him say, "What are you doing in here?"  The guy was drunk and he was sitting on the couch on his phone.  He started going on about what room is this and he thought this was his room.  MJ said, "You're in the wrong room."  He kept trying to explain himself so he said it again and then the guy finally left.  I was horrified.  How did someone get in our room?  That's when MJ noticed that the door doesn't shut all the way on it's own.  You have to actually push it closed so that explains how he got in.  It was the weirdest scariest thing!  That could have gone a totally different way because you just never know but I'm glad it didn't. 

We got up early on Sunday and ate breakfast at the hotel which is one of the best free hotel breakfast's I've ever experienced.  It was not your standard cheapo continental breakfast.  They also have a guest happy hour every night and unfortunately we only made it once.  You might be wondering why we went to Buffalo in the first place.  The main event and the reason for our visit was the Buffalo Bills home opener against the Miami Dolphins.  MJ is a longtime fan of the Bills and has always wanted to see them play in their home arena.  I'm not a football fan but I was down to go as long as it was the first home game because I'm not sure I could survive the cold of Buffalo anytime beyond that.  We really lucked out and the weather was sunny, clear and in the high 60's for most of the day.

Buffalo is a hard core football town and Buffalo Bills fans are die hard.  The night before in the hotel jacuzzi we ran into another couple that had flown in from California.  We went to the Bills Store at the stadium Saturday morning and the place was already packed with people getting their gear for the game.  We waited in line for almost 30 minutes to buy MJ's jersey.  He has three now.   Their fans are crazy and unlike any fans that I've ever seen.  It was like being at a frat party.  The parking lot was packed and people were already drunk by the time we got there at 10:30ish.  There were people tossing footballs and loud blaring music everywhere.  We saw keg stands, people dancing on cars and peeing in bushes.  There was craziness everywhere you looked.  We don't have fans like that where we live.  It was fun to see a real football town in action and MJ loved being at a game where he wasn't the only one rooting for his team.  We sat on a grassy bank to watch the shenanigans and were offered beers by a group of guys sitting next to us.

MJ found this crazy group on You Tube.  They do this every year at every game in the Hammer lot.  They cook macaroni and cheese in filing cabinets, drink a lot, BBQ on yard tools atop that old mustang (which believe it or not actually runs) then they line up to get squirted with ketchup.  Why is that fun?

The longtime Bills owner died and everyone just found out that the new owner is keeping the team in Buffalo so everyone was really pumped. I wonder if that's why we had to watch the whole game standing up.  Why pay almost $100 bucks for seats and then not sit in them is what I want to know.  I haven't been to a lot of NFL games so I don't know if this is typical.  If you want to see what's going on you stand up.  I also had to use a plastic bag for my purse because even my tiny purse got rejected as being too large.  I saw others up in there with purses larger then mine but I'm sure a lot of people got turned away.  We had to walk all the way back to the car to put away my purse and our camera bag because neither one fit on the index card the guy had in his hand.

You can't see it but I'm wearing a Bills shirt that MJ bought for me so I would fit in

 They won!!  I'm so happy that MJ got to go to a home Bills game and see them win.

It was a really long day.  We went straight from the hotel to the game which started at 1pm.  We were at the stadium all day.  Right after the game we went straight to the airport where we ran into other Bills fans in their jersey's on their way back home.  We ate dinner there while we waited for our flight to New York City.  If we were going to Buffalo we figured we might as well go there too.

So now you have some ideas of what to do should you ever find yourself in Buffalo. I can't guarantee that a sweet old couple will buy you drinks at Mulberry's but the lasagna is worth the visit.

NYC: 9/11 Memorial Museum

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Post Vacation Realities

The oh so charming brownstones of Brooklyn

We got home from vacation on Saturday night.  As usual, the first thing we do is unpack.  In the house and up the stairs where we park our luggage in front of the laundry room and start unloading.  It's almost like a competition to see who can get done the fastest.  MJ usually wins but I wasn't far behind this time.  The second stop is the shower to wash away all the travel grime.  I feel so dirty after spending my day in subways, airports and planes.  The last stop is where we collapse somewhere and don't move for the rest of the night.  Him with his playstation and me usually right next to him on my i Pad because I'm too exhausted to do anything else.  Vacation is great but I need at least a day to recover.  I don't know how people rush back to work the day after they get home.  I actually used to be one of those people but I don't know how.  There are too many transitioning back to real life things to do and a time zone adjustment.  I need time and as much sleep as my body wants to get back to reality.

Laundry.  It has to be done.  The longer you wait the worse it gets so I like to jump right into it and knock it out.  I did laundry right before we left so I was able to get our vacation laundry done in two loads.  I did not however have any cleaning to do because I can't go on vacation with a messy dirty house.  I just can't come home to that.

DVR catch up.  I usually feel overwhelmed when my DVR gets too full.  There are shows waiting for me and I have to watch them!  It can feel like some sort of To Do list or an assignment that needs to be tackled ASAP if you let it and I didn't want to do that this time.  TV should not be a source of stress.  That's just ridiculous.  I did not let myself be overcome by a silly sense of urgency to watch all the things but seeing as how it was recovery day I did burn through a lot of shows.  

Grocery Shopping.  The pickings are always slim when we get back from vacation.  I don't like to leave the house on my recovery day so although I knew there was nothing to pack for lunch and we needed things for dinner I still wasn't planning on going.  I guess I'd rather starve.  MJ took stock of our dire situation and stepped up to the plate.  He'd go to the store and I could give him a list or go along.  As much as I wanted to stay in pajamas and continue my DVR catch up I decided to go.  I felt bad sending him out on his own.  You know, teamwork and all.  We were there and back in an hour, it took us less then five minutes to put the groceries away and it's one less thing to deal with during the week.

Mail.  I pretty much hate the mail on a normal day let alone the day after we haven't checked it in over a week.  It's pretty much all junk mail and yet I have to sit there and sift through the credit card offers, refinance offers, magazine solicitations, adds and coupons I probably won't use anyway in case there is something important.   

The Scale.  Dun, dun, dun.  I usually feel a lot of food and weight related anxiety before a vacation and I'm one of those people that has to know what the damage is immediately after.  I'm excited to go but so so afraid of being out of my normal diet and exercise routine and dread the thought of how much I'm going to gain while I'm away.  I'm really proud of myself not only for skipping that whole anxiety bit but also for not giving a damn about what I ate or when I ate it on this vacation.  Our last vacation was all-inclusive.  In my mind I felt I had no choice but to go all out and I did but this one was different.  We hadn't already pre paid a fortune for food and drink so it was truly my choice of what to eat or not eat.  I listened to my body and didn't feel bad about it at all while I was doing it.  I literally covered my eyes the second before I looked down but two days later not a single pound was gained during the course of 9 days of intuitive unplanned and often over eating with walking miles across NYC as my primary form of exercise.  It wasn't like an all out I'm going to devour all the food fest but I definitely indulged as tends to happen when you have to eat out for every meal; which as it turns out is not necessarily three meals a day when it's not all-inclusive.  Yes, I tracked the calories (because that's what I do) but I honestly didn't pay attention to the totals.  This is a major accomplishment for me.  There are reasons why I would have gained at least 5 lbs on vacation before and essentially gained none this time but that's another post.

The Bill.  I checked my credit card balance just once while we were there and didn't check it again until after we got back.  I have gotten a million times better about sweating over every single dime while I'm on vacation but I can't help but think about it.  We spent money on food and we did a lot of really fun things in NYC.  Things that cost money.  My attitude before was that it's a miracle I'm on vacation in the first place so that even if I denied myself almost everything I wanted to do while I was there it's how it had to be.  Now, I'm okay (mostly) with spending money on outings and attractions and see it as money well spent to enjoy myself while I was there.  Many times I tried to say, let's not eat there or let's not do that because it costs too much.  MJ ignored me most of the time, we did it anyway and I'm glad we did.  You can't take it with you.  We did not exceed what is reasonable for our budget.  We'll pay the bill at the end of the month and life goes on.  We had a great time and it was worth it. 

So that was pretty much my day yesterday and last but not least on the back to life back to reality list is Work.  The necessary evil that allowed me to go on vacation in the first place and which will allow me to do it again.  Things were really busy when I left and they are going to continue to be busy but I decided not to worry about it like I usually do.  I HAD a job a long time ago that dictated extreme anxiety and it's taken me a ridiculously long time to truly realize that I don't have that kind of job anymore.  I left that nightmare for a reason.  I'll dig through everything as I can get to it.  Stuff is gonna get done but there is no reason to try to do it all at breakneck heart palpitating speed.

Coming back from vacation is bitter sweet.  Mostly bitter if I'm being honest, but traveling can wear you out and it's always nice to be at home in my own bed and my own house.  Once I get back into the swing of things routine that is life I'm fine....until I'm not fine anymore and then it's time to go on vacation again.
 

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I Want Out

I'm having a really good week.

The other day I grabbed raw eggs instead of hard boiled eggs by accident to eat at work for breakfast. Luckily, all it took was one small tap and no mess for me to realize it but it was a bummer that I lost half my breakfast.  I also forgot my usual water bottle which I know is really minor but having that water bottle is part of my routine and on a bad day it annoys me to no end when my routine is off even a little bit.  The ATM machine in 7-11 that I normally use was broke down so I knew I'd have to make an extra stop after work and then there were two accidents on the freeway so I sat in traffic and was 10 minutes late for work.  Last night I found out that El Pollo Loco discontinued my food.  The under 500 calorie black bean bowl is no longer available.  Don't you hate it when that happens?  They make you fall in love with it and then take it away.  I've never ordered anything else from there so I didn't know what to get.  This morning I put on my shirt and got deodorant all over it then I flicked yogurt all over my sweater when I was putting my lunch together.

When the traffic hit I turned up the music in my car and started singing along.  At least I got my coffee.  At least there is money in the ATM machine for me to get.  When I couldn't get my black bean bowl I tweeted El Pollo Loco.  I have no hope that they will bring back the bowl but at least I enjoyed it while it lasted.  Nothing really seems to phase me this week.  Even tripping over MJ's shoes yet again this morning didn't bother me in the slightest.  I want to bottle up this positive vibe and stash it away somewhere so that I can take it out on one of those days where I'm in the dumps or just in a rotten mood and every little thing pisses me off.  You know those days where you are so grumpy in general that you are annoyed with yourself for being annoyed by everything and yet you still can't stop being annoyed?  I've been struggling lately.  There were no less then two meltdowns last month so it feels great to be in a good mood and feel like nothing can get me down.

Does anyone else pack like this? 

What's even more amazing is that I haven't felt stressed not even once about our trip.  Normally I'm a complete and total hot mess the week of a vacation.  I freak out about forgetting things I probably don't need and stress myself out running around picking up last minute things 'just in case.'  I ridiculously over pack and over think everything little thing to the point where I wish someone would knock me out until I get on the plane because one I'm on the plan there is nothing I can do about anything that's not already in my suitcase and I can finally stop stressing.  You'd think I was traveling to a different planet and not just to some other city where they have stores that sell toiletries and all kinds of other things.  It's not the end of the world if I forget my favorite hair clip.  It is however the end of the world if I forget my contacts and glasses.  I can't exactly buy them when I get there so as long as I have those I'm fine.  It's only taken me about a million trips to finally calm down and hopefully I won't relapse on our next trip because it's really nice going into a trip and not feel like I'm losing my mind.  I asked MJ if he was going to start packing yesterday.  He gave me an are you kidding me, don't you know who I am? look and said nope.  He's doing it today sometime between after work and our red eye flight.  He's crazy and truly a professional packer if ever there was one.  I'll never be as good as him.  I just wish he didn't have to loose something before he travels.  Last time it was his license and this time it's not one but two credit cards one of them being his debit card.  I was the last (and only) person to actually see them on Saturday at home and now they are gone.  Just poof.  Disappeared. 

I'm sure most of my good mood is because of vacation.  I was just kind of whatever about it a few weeks ago but last night I was so excited I could barely sleep and focusing at work today is going to be hard.  I just want out!  It's been a long time since I went to NYC and I can't wait for the sheer magnitude of those giant buildings to have me standing on the sidewalk staring up at them with my mouth hanging open.  We've got some really fun things planned and I just can't wait!!  I won't be blogging but I will be on Instagram.  The significance of our travel date didn't dawn on me until a few weeks ago.  Flying to New York on 9/11 makes me just a little uncomfortable but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.

I'll leave you with this little gem from Sunday.  You might want to turn down your volume.  MJ thought it would be really fun to try to give me a heart attack while I was packing, film it and then put it on Facebook.  I was mad but even I have to admit that it's hilarious.  And just in case you are wondering our bed always looks that way.  We stopped making it everyday years ago and the decorative pillows never come out of the closet.

If you want to enter the Cocotique beauty box giveaway do so here.  I'll pick a winner when I get back.

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