happy birthday! August 24, 2008

a few birthdays have passed
but the celebrating is not over.

happy birthday to:

July 28th
erica (see picture of me, erica
and her fiance, sean below)
she got a new roxy tote from
me.  a gift of love from hawaii!
she loved it!!  and i love her!!

august 8th
clint
he spent his 29th birthday in his
camis and boots as he began his
first 7 month tour in iraq.
he had a handful of birthday cards
to keep him company… oh, and a
bunch of sand and marines.

meghan:
august 8th
she spent her 25th birthday at
cape cod with her family.

here is where the bulk of the story
begins.

now that she’s back from the
cape we decided to have a birthday/
end of the olympics party for her.

we went with an
america/china/olympics
theme. 

decorations were as follows:
paper chinese lanterns
shiny american flag swirly hangy things
tissue paper american flag
gold cups
american flag plates
red and blue foil streamers
(see the entry way columns 
in the pictures)

party favors:
plastic gold medals
everyone had to do something
an olympian would do to earn
their medal.

food:
to pay tribute to the many countries
that participate in the olympic
games we went with an international
theme.

bruschetta
roti cani (malaysian curry)
egg rolls
meatballs
chips and salsa
doritos (zak thinks it’s not a
party without doritos. so those
were for him)
bejing bomber (our punch)

fun:
music
games
viewing of the night’s olympic coverage

it was a fun time.

now, one attempting to party
with us should be warned
that many of us are night nurses
and we can

rock the night away

this was no different this night.
our party didn’t end until
2:23am and almost everyone
hung in there with us.

i was most proud of cory for
his late night participation.
he even had work the next day!

he deserved his gold medal!

while decorating for the party earlier
in the day we played the olympic
theme song.  it’s quite triumphant.
everyone should download it onto
their ipod and play it when you need
a little inspiration…a little help on
the jog, a little pick me up when you
have some one-arm push-ups
to do…
or when decorating for a party!

duuum duum du dum dum dum dum
(can you hear it in your head?)

 

this is me decorating the columns.
brianne is the acting safety officer.
and she’s a good one!!  i would have
fallen without her!

we made meghan wear a birthday crown.
and by crown i mean chinese farmer’s hat.

      
this is me earning my gold medal.                              this is zak earning his medal.
i’m on the balance beam/ back of the couch             he’s on the pommel horse/side of the couch.
                                                                              i don’t think his performance deserved a gold, but hey!

    
meg doesn’t love cake so much, so        me, sean, and erica
we made her chocolate chip cookie
ice cream sandwiches.

   
genny enjoying her cookie ice cream                                     it’s game time!!!!
sandwich.  i don’t know what she did to
earn her gold medal.

olympic viewing.  the american turnout in
track and field has, for the most part, been
a disappointing.  that is sean in the doorway.
do you see the hangy things?  they were more
stunning in person. (i’m using ’stunning’ lightly)

end of the party picture.
erica is pointing at cory’s nasty knee scab.
brianne is lovin’ that tinsel wig.
zak is just trying to keep his eyes open.
sean is wishing he’d won the game we just finished

we ended the night with a stuck landing
and smiley salute to the judges.

found August 23, 2008

the other day i got a call from
my dearest julie.

she had some good news for me:

she found my ipod

C H E R Y L

in her car!!!

can you believe it???
tucked way back under the front
seat cheryl found a nice little
hiding place.

i was so happy.

thank you!

since we are talking about
named electronics i should
tell you that i named my
new iphone.

my computer is named
mr. anderson

and so i chose to stick to the
matrix theme and call this new
phone

MORPHEUS

you’ve all seen the matrix, right?
that’s a strong name, hu?
i’m happy with it.

 

 

lost in the apt August 19, 2008

me, brianne, and meghan
had tickets for the yankees
game on sunday. 

i worked saturday night, so
i came home sunday morning,
took a cat nap, and got up and
ready for the game.

the three of us decided to go
with striped clothing to participate
in the pinstripes.

we were feelin’ good and
ready to roll.

then…

the unthinkable happened!

we couldn’t find the tickets!!!!!

we looked in the ticket holding
area.  this is where the ballet tickets,
tickets to other yankees games,
tickets to the last show of rent on broadway,
tickets to concerts, and
tickets to the us open are usually kept.

BUT
the august 17th tickets to the 1:05p
yankees game were nowhere to
be found.

we looked everywhere. 

E V E R Y W H E R E

they are lost in the apt.
or stolen. 

if they were stolen i hope it was
a little mouse family that took
borrowed them. and i hope they
had a fabulous time watching
the yankees smash the royals 15-6. 

i do not know what happened to
our tickets, but i hope they were
put to good use.

we all got a little teary when we
realized that we would not be
eating hotdogs or nachos or
dip n’ dots ice cream.  we all
had moist eyes when it sunk in
that we were not going to see
jeter or damon or abreu or
giambi play the wonderful game
of baseball.

it was slightly heartbreaking.

morning stroll August 13, 2008

when i get off of work each
morning i have a feeling of
loneliness, for some reason .

a very small sense of loneliness
but it’s there.

to remedy this i often text my
dad.

he’s usually the only one on
the continet who is both
awake and willing to text me
back.

the texts are usually simple:

me: morning dad! it’s a crisp 62
outside here!  enjoying my walk
home from work.
dad: fall is coming
me: yeah!! bring it on!
dad: no place better in the fall than
ny!
me: i know! I am looking forward
to it. you should come visit.
dad: ya. you are right. how about
phelps?
…..
…..love u.
me: love you too!!

this is just one example.
sometimes i give dad a tip
for the day or just say, “i love
you and good morning.”

the streets of new york at
7am are pretty quiet.  this
morning i had a nice typical
walk home on the upper west
side.

here are a few highlights:

i passed a preteen ballerina
all dressed up in her tights
with a tight bun resting on
the back of her head, and a
sports bag on her shoulder.

with downcast eyes, i shyly
smiled at a group of construction
workers sipping coffee.

i saw a suited business man
wave happily at his drycleaner
as he walked past the open
glass door of an organic cleaners
shop.

i passed more than one shiny
metal bagel stands with a line
of new yorkers not-so-patiently
waiting for a coffee and bagel.

i smiled at some more construction
workers stepping out of the way
to let me to pass.

i contemplated going into
fairway market, but decided
against it.

i gave a cheery “good morning” to
several doormen, some reading
the paper, some standing nice and
tall at the door of their apartment
building.

i threw the last group of construction
workers a bone; i smiled, waved, and
said good morning.

and i passed a couple of dog owners
walking their pooches, plastic bag
over the hand ready to scoop.

this comparatively quiet walk lasts
three avenues and two blocks.
i think it’s a great walk home.
no subway, no bus, no car…
just the doormen, construction
workers, and me.

thanks for keeping me company
on my way home, daddy.  like i
always say… you’re the best!!

is anyone else up at 7am eastern
standard time who wants to text
with me on my way home?

nope? 

i thought not.

5:00pm August 10, 2008

i attend the 5pm service at
redeemer presbyterian church
here in new york city.

it’s always good.
i am always refreshed.
i am always challenged.

here are two of the songs
the that were so meaningful
for me today.

be merciful to me

be merciful to me o God; be merciful to me,
for my soul trusts in You and in the
show of your wing will i find my rest.

Lord, my soul cries out for Your
from a dry and weary land.
thru my tears i long to see Your face
and to feel your gentle hand.

thru the watches of the night
when awake i long for rest,
when my sin had robbed me of my joy
i will cling, o Lord, to you.

i will bless You all my life.
i will raise my hands on high
for in You my soul is satisfied,
and my heart can sing again.

be merciful to me o God; be merciful to me,
for my soul trusts in You and in the
show of your wing will i find my rest.

He knows my name

i have a maker, He formed my heart.
before even time began,
my life was in His hand.

He knows my name.
He knows my ev’ry thought.
He sees each tear that falls
and He hears me when i call.

i have a Father.
He calls me His own.
He’ll never leave me
no matter where i go.

He knows my name.
He knows my ev’ry thought.
He sees each tear that falls
and He hears me when i call.

mostly cloudy, scattered showers August 10, 2008

today as brianne and i spent
a leisurely sunday afternoon
watching sports we came to the
knowingly illogical conclusion,
given the evidence thus far in
our day, that it is cloudy and rainy
everywhere. 

the sun is not shining anywhere.

how did we come to this conclusion?

this is what we were watching:

*pga tour in michigan—gray and raining
*olympic cycling, beach volleyball,
rowing, and archery in bejing –gray and raining
*here in new york–cool, gray and raining

then late in the afternoon our theory
was blown when we tuned into the
yankees/angels game in l.a.–clear and sunny.

well, it was a solid theory while it
lasted.

the best ever August 9, 2008

yes, i am talking about the
2008 olympics opening
ceremony.

it was

f a n t a s t i c ! ! ! ! !

[go here for some AMAZING pictures]

we were glued to the screen
the entire time.

i’m glad we had some commentators
to puzzle it all out for us, because
i might not have understood all of
the symbolism.

brianne and i were not dresses
at 7:30pm, but we were relieved
when we realized it was just
pre-game on TV until 8p when
the real hoopla began. 

we were ready in our double pretty
outfits by 8.  many of you know
what double pretty is, but in
case you don’t let me explain.

one’s outfits is pretty on top
and pretty on the bottom,
but not so pretty together.

brianne went with a stripes
theme and i went with a floral
theme.  in reality the stripes
and floral would have mixed,
but our wardrobes just couldn’t
stand up to that challenge.

we ordered chinese take-out for
dinner and homemade mint
chocolate ice cream.  yes, i
said homemade.  it was
so good. 

we clapped when appropriate
and were wowed with the rest
of the world.

the fireworks all over the city…
all the performers that were
exactly together with perfect
timing…
the beautiful detail…
and the torch!!

it was all so wonderful!

“wooohooo!  yessssss!  we love the olympics!!”

addicted August 8, 2008

there are two three things i
have really enjoyed since
being back in new york.

and by “enjoyed” i mean
“become addicted to.” 
i can’t get enough.

1. pinkberry 
it’s so yummy and low cal. 
it’s frozen yogurt.  it tastes
more like actual yogurt than
ice cream.  it’s light, really cold,
and refreshing. 
it’s delightful.
and the west side location is
literally just around the corner
from the cates apt and 4 short
blocks from brianne and meg’s.

it’s so yummy.
fresh ripe mango,
sweet and juicy pineapple,
plump blackberries and raspberries…
could it be anything other than an
arctic party in your mouth? 
NO! the answer is NO!!!

2.arrested developmnet
so funny.
jason bateman is hilarious;
dry
witty
buster (i don’t know his real name,
and i’m too lazy to look it up at the
moment.  sorry buster)
has perfect comedic timing.
i can watch several 30 min
(22min w/o commercials)
episodes without even realizing it.

3.the west wing
aaron sorkin, you are B R I L L I A N T ! ! !
it’s so well written.
i’d never seen it before.
there is a lag in my tv watching,
i am aware.
it’s too hard for me to watch
current shows.  old shows are
much easier.  and it allows for
watching back-to-back episodes.

i wish i were at smart, as quick…
and as tall as cj.

thankfully i am only on disc 4 of
season 1 and still have 6.5
seasons of brilliant west wing
enjoyment.

t – 20 hours August 7, 2008

can you feel it?

the olympics are about to
begin.

brianne and i are ready.
we have a plan. it involves
homemade ice cream
chinese food
attire inspired by chinese
(we call it double pretty)

and the glory of the olympics!

wooo hooo!!!!!

are you ready?

on the run August 7, 2008

did i tell you that i’ve been
running?

i have.

i thought i’d better get my body
moving somehow.  i think julia,
my new future roommate, and i
will do p90x, but i’m not in the
apt yet.

so running, here i come.
i’ve been going out for a daily
run since the cates left for their
summer vacation, july 24th.
(except for today.  today i’m
doing some p90x yoga in the
loft)

there is a website where one can
put in their starting location and
ending location and how long it
takes them to get there and it
calculates the distance and pace.

with my new iphone, that i have
yet to name, there is an application
that allows you to do this while
running.  using gps it calculates
how far i’ve gone, how fast i’m
going, and it clocks my time.

isn’t that amazing!?!

[one other thing about ________,
my iphone.  when listening to
the ipod and i get a phone call. 
the music sweetly fades
out, pauses itself, then phone ring
comes in and all i do is click/squeeze
the microphone thing on the earpiece
to answer you are talking to someone. 
then when the call ends my music fades
back in right where i left off.

now, how many of you want to go
get an iphone right now?

YOU SHOULD!!!]

i run from 73nd and riverside
down the river to 46th street,
and back. 

it’s only 3 miles, for now.
i’m not a runner. 
i should have started this
post with that bit of info.

funny things happen, as
you can probably guess. 

one day i noticed a fruiting tomato
plant along the path mixed in with
other shrubbery.
tomatoes?
some gardener was hungry the day
that was planted?

i have a hard time staying on the
far right of the path and maybe i
swerve around a bit.  i know this
about myself and feel a bit
self-conscious about it at times.

one time when i was running in the
middle of the path and a lady on
a bike zoomed past me and yelled,
“NICE WATCH!!!”

without thinking i yelled back,
“THANKS!”

then i thought that since my watch
is a cheap iron man watch from
walmart she can’t be talking about
my watch.  maybe she was being
sarcastic and was telling me to
watch where i’m running and get
out of the way.  i don’t know, but
i ran in a straight line for the rest
of that run.

another day i saw an old old lady
dressed in serious cycling gear
cruising on a pink huffy. 
i’m not even kidding.
i’m talking helmet, tight slick
top…and shorts, sunglasses,
water bottle.

on a huffy! 
i laughed to myself.

maybe she got the gear as a gift
from her child and still has
the bike that child rode when
she was young and decided
to take it out for a spin.

i don’t know, but i enjoyed it.

   

julia wants us to train for a mini
triathlon.  i’m in, but need some
serious training. 
swimming
running
biking
in
a
row
sounds extremely hard to me.
remember when i said
“i’m not a runner”?

well, i’m not a swimmer or
biker either.

but julia is convinced i can do
it.  i think i’ll try.  i’ll keep you
updated on this story.

so, who wants to come cheer
us on if we do this?

anyone?

316 August 6, 2008

that’s the building number
of brianne and meg’s apt.

it’s my new home until mid
september.  i’m out of the
cates house and into the
genow/skahen house.

meghan is away at cape cod
so i’m staying in her room and
sleeping in her bed until next
wednesday.

when she returns i’ll be sleeping
in the bed in the loft.  that’s
where all my stuff is living for
now.

let me list some great things about
this apt:

*fireplace (no need for it now, but it’s
just magical during christmas time)
*my own space in the loft
*a cable tv with tvo capabilities
*an apt mate (brianne) who loves
all that is sports.  that means
ESPN
ALL THE TIME!!!
(we heart pardon the interruption)
*lots of jewelry to borrow
*a book nook to read in
*more cereal to choose from than
even julie and i had in hawaii!
*lady.  she’s a turtle
*an ice cream maker
*the list goes on and on

this is us enjoying a bowl of spaghetti last january when i came back to nyc for a visit. 

thanks for letting me bunk
up with you girls!!

and thanks for the good
times cates family!!!

Bejing August 6, 2008

t-2 days!!!!!

i

love

the

OLYMPICS

and i cant wait for
friday to get here!

the surprises
the emotional stories of personal triumph in the lives of the athletes
all the sports
the opening ceremonies
the torch
the way that all americans unite to cheer on other americans in sports they hardly ever watch
the highlights of the country and culture who host the games
the red
the white
the blue

it’s all so wonderful!
i just might cry right now!

    

taking suggestions August 4, 2008

i like to name things:

stuffed animals
phones
ipods
computers
etc.

i need a name for my new
phone.  i haven’t decided if
it will be a male or a female.

if you have any thoughts
feel free to send them to
me. 

i need to pick soon if we
are going to bond properly.

trial run August 3, 2008

kari jo is taking bets about
how long it will take her to
convince cory to get her an
iphone.

i’m wagering a long time
since she lost her other
phone that she hardly used.
(in your defense kj, i do think
that you’d love and use an
iphone…you’d hang it on a
string around your neck
and kiss it every time you pulled
it out of your top to use it.)

i think that to prove to cory
that kj can handle an iphone
she should get this hand
knit one and carry it with her
everywhere for a few months.

you know, a dry run,
no costumes.

all of you wanting to show your
spouse or parents that you can
handle an iphone are free to use
this idea. 

it may
or may not work
for you.

escape from alcatraz August 3, 2008

it was just not a good scenario

neither is trying to jump ship
in this apt.

staying at the cates’ apt while
they are gone came with a
few responsibilities. one being

the pets

i use the word ‘pet’ loosely.
two fish
two hermit crabs

the two fish currently reside in
a glad container until they return
to henry’s kindergarten classroom
when school starts.

i have not given these living things
lots of attention, but they have been
fed.

apparently someone was not happy
and decided to get out and see the
world. 

it cost him his life.

yesterday while sitting in the boys’
room i saw mr. crab

DEAD AND CRUSTY

ON

THE AIR VENT

what a way to die! 
i think he was headed toward
the light of the window…

or maybe the other crab broke
his leg and he went out to
find help.

i can’t really say.

i checked on the other crab.

dead too.

curled up like a little ball in
the cage.  i don’t know what
i did… or didn’t do, but i
killed them both!!

I’M SOOOOOORRRRRYYYYYY!!!!!

i know kari jo is secretly thinking:
“thank you.  thank you.  thank you.”

but the kids will be sad.

kj, maybe you should start to
prep nathan for the loss.

    
 do you see him in the top right corner all sad                so gross!
and dead and curled up?!

uhh, ohhh.
i just realized that now i have to
pick them up and throw them away
or bury them or flush them or
something.

eeewwww!