Inspired by JP's post at Buttered Noodles I'm writing to tell of the news I hinted at towards the end of March...
As of April 1st, after 12 years of commuting to & from NYC (120 miles round trip, or roughly four hours a day give or take 30 odd minutes) - I left my job. Starting May 1st I am enrolled as a student at the Institute for Therapeutic Massage. I am studying, first, to get my certificate in Oncology Massage and then after, to get my certificate in Eastern Bodywork.
This is something I've been wanting to do for a looooong time and finally we were able to save enough scratch to help take the sting out of my lack of full-time employment. It's a big change for us in so many ways but one we're looking forward to, albeit with a teeny, tiny amount of trepidation.
In the interim we took a trip, which was a gift to me from my most amazing husband, and I will post a link to photos soon. Otherwise, I've been home doing this & that and basically ignoring my blog.
Stay tuned for the trip photos link! Until then...
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
27 April 2010
14 April 2010
12 January 2010
I'm back
Well, actually... I've been back since January 6th but I hadn't gone near the computer too much since I was technically still on vacation.
We spent two weeks on Kauai and the last days of this week prior getting readjusted to being home - This cold weather BLOWS!!!! and our sleep is still somewhat skewed to five hours behind.
I'm in the process of getting my trip photos out of my camera and will post images & highlights soon.
Other than that - welcome to a new year - two thousand and chill...
Ahoy!
We spent two weeks on Kauai and the last days of this week prior getting readjusted to being home - This cold weather BLOWS!!!! and our sleep is still somewhat skewed to five hours behind.
I'm in the process of getting my trip photos out of my camera and will post images & highlights soon.
Other than that - welcome to a new year - two thousand and chill...
Ahoy!
02 June 2009
Two for two
In the spring M said he'd like for us to go camping on the Outer Banks once every month until the fall. We managed to squeak in our May trip on the very last weekend of the month, this time traveling with friends.
This little green guy tried to get a ride home with us the next day but we thought it best that he stay behind. We'll see you at A9 another time, friend.
This little green guy tried to get a ride home with us the next day but we thought it best that he stay behind. We'll see you at A9 another time, friend.
29 April 2009
It's finally warm enough to fire up the grill!
Last weekend, the 25th and 26th of April, had unseasonably warm, Summer-like temperatures. It was kind of crazy how it went from barely Spring straight into weather you'd find in mid-July.
Saturday the 25th we and a bunch of friends went to see Thomas Campbell's "The Present" at the Paramount Theatre. It's one of the best surf movies I've seen in a long time and our friend Jon wrote a nice piece about it on his expn blog.
After the movie a few of us went back to our house and had the first official BBQ of the season. Jon cooked up a bunch of veggie burgers and tofu dogs, I cracked open a bottle of Vino Verde for me and Dana and we sat around on beach chairs laughing and having a good time.
I love warm weather.
Saturday the 25th we and a bunch of friends went to see Thomas Campbell's "The Present" at the Paramount Theatre. It's one of the best surf movies I've seen in a long time and our friend Jon wrote a nice piece about it on his expn blog.
After the movie a few of us went back to our house and had the first official BBQ of the season. Jon cooked up a bunch of veggie burgers and tofu dogs, I cracked open a bottle of Vino Verde for me and Dana and we sat around on beach chairs laughing and having a good time.
I love warm weather.
20 March 2009
What I did on my four-day vacation
As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I went to California at the beginning of March to visit Stephanie, Peter and Sadie. I was gone for four days and it was such a magnificent time, I really wished I had made my trip longer. I'll know better for next time...
The day I landed, Stephanie picked me up from the airport and immediately whisked me off to La Note for lunch. We ordered Creme Fraiche pancakes, Tomatoes Provençal and Rosemary Potatoes. In my hunger and excitement, I forgot to photograph our food. The restaurant was really nice. The staff so accommodating and the people at the next table (we were practically rubbing elbows with them) were super friendly and really seemed to enjoy Sadie.
After we had lunch we went and walked around the UC Berkeley Campus. Stephanie said it was called Telegraph hill. We strolled through the campus, noticing how many of the students dresses like we did when we were in middle school and a LOT of them had dogs. I can't have imagined taking care of a pet when I was that age, but who knows about the kids these days?
Not only did we walk around the campus, but we walked around the neighborhood where we saw a really interesting art exhibit - mostly pieces that you could wear or use like jewelry, shoes, and clothing. Then we walked around the surrounding neighborhood and I saw a ton of beautiful homes that I also forgot to photograph. I wish I hadn't spaced about taking photos - I saw about 20 that I thought I could easily live in, although I'm sure they're far too expensive for us to afford.
After our walk we hit Trader Joe's (my favorite!) and picked up things to make for dinner that night. TJ's is within walking distance of S&P's apartment - they are SO lucky!
The following morning to start the day Stephanie and I made Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bottoms. Stephanie had a recipe ripped out of magazine she got from her in-laws. We used the coconut palm sugar I brought with me instead of the regular sugar the recipe called for. Palm sugar is really low on the glycemic index and can even be eaten by diabetics. It made the muffins sweet but not as sweet as they would have been had we used regular sugar. Afterward, S and I waxed philosophic about how else you could make those muffins - like with cranberries or blueberries instead of chocolate chips - or how you could use a little bit of cocoa powder and make them more chocolaty. They were scrumptious! (of course I forgot to photograph those too).
After baking and changing out of our pajamas we hit the streets of Emeryville for a nice, long walk. Stephanie gave me the grand tour through her neighborhood, past all the warehouses that were home to things like The Blue Bottle Coffee Company's roastery , a wine bottling facility where they had tastings four afternoons a week... we walked by Pixar studios, and then over to BevMo (I wish we had BevMo in NJ!!) and Trader Joe's again. We were probably gone about four hours!
Having finished our walk, we returned to the house and gave Sadie lunch.
We cleaned ourselves up for our trip into SF. We were meeting Peter to have dinner at Puerto Alegre. I've only been to SF two other times in my life and only one of those times I ate at the incredible Poncho Villa - Puerto Alegre is like PV but sit-down style. It was INCREDIBLE. The food and atmosphere were SO good and so were the margaritas!
The following day we went back on the BART and into the city to the Ferry Building and the Farmer's Market.
I was so excited for this! Not only was the weather incredible and the day spectacular but I couldn't wait to see all the fresh vegetables and fruit that is grown so near by.
I was not disappointed... The Ferry Building is beautiful - it's filled with little shops, restaurants and boutiques. There was so much to see and taste, including freshly shucked oysters and French Mararons from Miette.
We walked on the promenade down to the Fog City Diner for lunch. We drank Bloody Marys and Stephanie & I shared an Ahi Tuna sammy and The Dungeness Crab "Louie" Salad.
I thought it was delicious, although P & S said it used to be better. It didn't matter, we ate EVERYTHING anyway. Besides, what did I care? I was on vacation and I loved just sitting out in the sunshine, enjoying the company of my friends who I've missed so much since they left NJ a year and a half ago.
Later that day we walked away from the water and the market over to the Blue Bottle Coffee cafe where we bought some coffee for home.
Then we picked up some things for dinner like cheese and cherry tomatoes to go with the amazing bread we purchased earlier in the day.
Dinner was a casual affair, just a lovely cheese plate, the yummy bread and some really lovely wine.
After dinner, we chilled out and I gave Sadie a photography lesson and how to push the shutter release button and then check the photo when she's done. It was really funny - she's a super smart girl, that little one.
Sunday found the four of us meeting my friend Donna at Chester's Bayview Cafe in Berkeley.
Being brunch we of course had Bloody Marys. Stephanie and Donna ordered the "Not Huevos" Rancheros, made with Tofu and I ordered the North Berkeley Eggs, and the were nice enough to sub out my eggs with tofu too!
The food was delicious and while Stephanie and Sadie were checking out the view from the rooftop where we were eating, they spied some people with cupcakes. So after brunch because we hadn't eaten enough, we bought some cupcakes from Love at First Bite, which is right under Chester's in the Gourmet Ghetto area of Berkeley and just around the corner from the famous Chez Panisse, run by Alice Waters.
I have to say I was a little bit disappointed with the cupcakes. The shop was certainly cute and filled with nice things. The cupcakes were meticulously decorated but sadly, they looked prettier than they tasted. My favorite was the Strawberry.
We spent the rest of the day dropping by a few stores to run a few errands and then back to the house to chill and recover from the cupcake sugar crash we gave ourselves after eating the baked treats. We got to relax in the hot tub and then have a very easy dinner of baked tofu and fresh salad greens.
The next day (Monday) was my day to return to the Jerze. I can't believe how quickly my trip flew by! Not a moment was wasted and we packed as much fun and activities into such a short period of time as was possible. S & S rode the BART with me out to the airport where I was seriously sad to leave.
The next time I go out to visit I plan to stay longer and so Peter doesn't feel outnumbered, he can head to NJ to do man-things with Matty. I'm hoping S & P can make it out East, especially so they can look for a house to buy not far from us and move back to New Jersey. If not, I'll be happy to head back west as soon as I can. I just hope it's not so long in-between next time.
Please do go check out the remainder of my photos by clicking here.
You may read Stephanie's perspective on my visit here.
And I hope you enjoyed my trip even a fraction as much as I did.
Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!
The day I landed, Stephanie picked me up from the airport and immediately whisked me off to La Note for lunch. We ordered Creme Fraiche pancakes, Tomatoes Provençal and Rosemary Potatoes. In my hunger and excitement, I forgot to photograph our food. The restaurant was really nice. The staff so accommodating and the people at the next table (we were practically rubbing elbows with them) were super friendly and really seemed to enjoy Sadie.
After we had lunch we went and walked around the UC Berkeley Campus. Stephanie said it was called Telegraph hill. We strolled through the campus, noticing how many of the students dresses like we did when we were in middle school and a LOT of them had dogs. I can't have imagined taking care of a pet when I was that age, but who knows about the kids these days?
Not only did we walk around the campus, but we walked around the neighborhood where we saw a really interesting art exhibit - mostly pieces that you could wear or use like jewelry, shoes, and clothing. Then we walked around the surrounding neighborhood and I saw a ton of beautiful homes that I also forgot to photograph. I wish I hadn't spaced about taking photos - I saw about 20 that I thought I could easily live in, although I'm sure they're far too expensive for us to afford.
After our walk we hit Trader Joe's (my favorite!) and picked up things to make for dinner that night. TJ's is within walking distance of S&P's apartment - they are SO lucky!
The following morning to start the day Stephanie and I made Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bottoms. Stephanie had a recipe ripped out of magazine she got from her in-laws. We used the coconut palm sugar I brought with me instead of the regular sugar the recipe called for. Palm sugar is really low on the glycemic index and can even be eaten by diabetics. It made the muffins sweet but not as sweet as they would have been had we used regular sugar. Afterward, S and I waxed philosophic about how else you could make those muffins - like with cranberries or blueberries instead of chocolate chips - or how you could use a little bit of cocoa powder and make them more chocolaty. They were scrumptious! (of course I forgot to photograph those too).
After baking and changing out of our pajamas we hit the streets of Emeryville for a nice, long walk. Stephanie gave me the grand tour through her neighborhood, past all the warehouses that were home to things like The Blue Bottle Coffee Company's roastery , a wine bottling facility where they had tastings four afternoons a week... we walked by Pixar studios, and then over to BevMo (I wish we had BevMo in NJ!!) and Trader Joe's again. We were probably gone about four hours!
Having finished our walk, we returned to the house and gave Sadie lunch.
We cleaned ourselves up for our trip into SF. We were meeting Peter to have dinner at Puerto Alegre. I've only been to SF two other times in my life and only one of those times I ate at the incredible Poncho Villa - Puerto Alegre is like PV but sit-down style. It was INCREDIBLE. The food and atmosphere were SO good and so were the margaritas!
The following day we went back on the BART and into the city to the Ferry Building and the Farmer's Market.
I was so excited for this! Not only was the weather incredible and the day spectacular but I couldn't wait to see all the fresh vegetables and fruit that is grown so near by.
I was not disappointed... The Ferry Building is beautiful - it's filled with little shops, restaurants and boutiques. There was so much to see and taste, including freshly shucked oysters and French Mararons from Miette.
We walked on the promenade down to the Fog City Diner for lunch. We drank Bloody Marys and Stephanie & I shared an Ahi Tuna sammy and The Dungeness Crab "Louie" Salad.
I thought it was delicious, although P & S said it used to be better. It didn't matter, we ate EVERYTHING anyway. Besides, what did I care? I was on vacation and I loved just sitting out in the sunshine, enjoying the company of my friends who I've missed so much since they left NJ a year and a half ago.
Later that day we walked away from the water and the market over to the Blue Bottle Coffee cafe where we bought some coffee for home.
Then we picked up some things for dinner like cheese and cherry tomatoes to go with the amazing bread we purchased earlier in the day.
Dinner was a casual affair, just a lovely cheese plate, the yummy bread and some really lovely wine.
After dinner, we chilled out and I gave Sadie a photography lesson and how to push the shutter release button and then check the photo when she's done. It was really funny - she's a super smart girl, that little one.
Sunday found the four of us meeting my friend Donna at Chester's Bayview Cafe in Berkeley.
Being brunch we of course had Bloody Marys. Stephanie and Donna ordered the "Not Huevos" Rancheros, made with Tofu and I ordered the North Berkeley Eggs, and the were nice enough to sub out my eggs with tofu too!
The food was delicious and while Stephanie and Sadie were checking out the view from the rooftop where we were eating, they spied some people with cupcakes. So after brunch because we hadn't eaten enough, we bought some cupcakes from Love at First Bite, which is right under Chester's in the Gourmet Ghetto area of Berkeley and just around the corner from the famous Chez Panisse, run by Alice Waters.
I have to say I was a little bit disappointed with the cupcakes. The shop was certainly cute and filled with nice things. The cupcakes were meticulously decorated but sadly, they looked prettier than they tasted. My favorite was the Strawberry.
We spent the rest of the day dropping by a few stores to run a few errands and then back to the house to chill and recover from the cupcake sugar crash we gave ourselves after eating the baked treats. We got to relax in the hot tub and then have a very easy dinner of baked tofu and fresh salad greens.
The next day (Monday) was my day to return to the Jerze. I can't believe how quickly my trip flew by! Not a moment was wasted and we packed as much fun and activities into such a short period of time as was possible. S & S rode the BART with me out to the airport where I was seriously sad to leave.
The next time I go out to visit I plan to stay longer and so Peter doesn't feel outnumbered, he can head to NJ to do man-things with Matty. I'm hoping S & P can make it out East, especially so they can look for a house to buy not far from us and move back to New Jersey. If not, I'll be happy to head back west as soon as I can. I just hope it's not so long in-between next time.
Please do go check out the remainder of my photos by clicking here.
You may read Stephanie's perspective on my visit here.
And I hope you enjoyed my trip even a fraction as much as I did.
Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!
19 March 2009
Alternating between BUSY BUSY BUSY & lazy lazy lazy
So this past weekend when I was going to work on making a post about my trip to see Stephanie, Sadie and Peter, I ended up doing chock a block other things and did not have time.
Work has also not been the ideal place to get this done, since well... I'm at work, doing work.
When I get home from work, I am too lazy to sit at the computer for another couple of hours editing and producing my photos since I just spent the last 8.5 hours of my day at the computer.
Therefore, I direct you to Stephanie's blog where she has a lovely write up, complete with photos, of my recent trip out west.
I will have my own post to follow soon (I hope).
Until then, Happy 1st day of Spring.
Work has also not been the ideal place to get this done, since well... I'm at work, doing work.
When I get home from work, I am too lazy to sit at the computer for another couple of hours editing and producing my photos since I just spent the last 8.5 hours of my day at the computer.
Therefore, I direct you to Stephanie's blog where she has a lovely write up, complete with photos, of my recent trip out west.
I will have my own post to follow soon (I hope).
Until then, Happy 1st day of Spring.
11 March 2009
je suis retourné
I'm back from my visit out west.
I haven't had a chance to download all the images and figure out what to blog about and what to link to - so it will be a few days before I have a real post about my trip.
In short, I had an amazing time and wish I was still away.
Here are two of my favorite photos to hold you over...
Sadie, Stephanie & Peter - having some fun on the couch before Sadie goes to bed.
Sadie - Quite possibly the greatest baby in the world
I haven't had a chance to download all the images and figure out what to blog about and what to link to - so it will be a few days before I have a real post about my trip.
In short, I had an amazing time and wish I was still away.
Here are two of my favorite photos to hold you over...
Sadie, Stephanie & Peter - having some fun on the couch before Sadie goes to bed.
Sadie - Quite possibly the greatest baby in the world
04 March 2009
Don't you just love Otis Redding?
I'm heading out Westward Way
To a little place on the East Bay
I won't be gone long
So I'll leave you with this song
To hold you over until I return
This time tomorrow I'll be eating Creme Fraiche Panqueques at La Note with Stephanie. I'll write about my trip when I return.
Until then - be well my friends!
23 January 2009
snowy so far
Newark Airport - It's been a snowy winter so far...
Monday, 19 January 2009 - The day we returned from Las Vegas.
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