I Love You Beautiful Mother Dear...

My mom came to visit me in New York for 10 days the end of Jan./Beg. of Feb. I have not seen her since July and that was waaaay too long! She was only with me in Nyack for a total of 2.5 days, but thankfully, I was able to take some time off of work and go upstate with her for a 4 day weekend with my G-parents:) I enjoyed every minute of our time together and needless to say... I miss her more than I ever thought possible. Oh great, I just started to cry. When I dropped her off at JFK Airport to head back to AK, my heart broke and I sat in my car for 15 minutes literally balling my eyes out. I am surprised I stayed on the road on my way home, I was a basket case.

My mom drove me from my first out-of-state living adventure in Minneapolis to Nyack in September 2009 and she fell in love with Nyack and really liked NYC, which I think was a surprise to both of us. We were not able to spend alot of time in the city this trip, but next time she visits, I have big plans! But, we were still able to do alot and get some much needed mom-daughter time in:) We spent a day in Nyack shopping and walking around to all the boutiques, she met all of my co-workers at the lawfirm and at Nordstrom (and my East-Coast mom, Marion!!), went into the city to see our friend James and his showroom and of course, my mom could not leave without cleaning my apartment! I just adore her!

The most common phrase said when I introduced my mom to people, "You two look so much alike". I'll take it:) My mom is so wonderful. My mom really brings our family together, either with amazing meals, or beegaritas (yum-o!!) and just being an awesome, supportive, kicking ass and taking names Mom/Grandma. I am alot like her, we don't take alot of crap, so you better look out, haha! My mom has always been tough love and that is why I think my sisters and brother and I are so strong and the people we are today.

After my mom I said to myself, "what have I done? Why do I live so far away from my family?!" But I quickly got a grip and remembered that moving to NY was the best decision I ever made and without the support of my mom and the rest of my family, I would not be able to survive here. I LOVE my life in NY! I just wish I had unlimited air miles to go to AK about 5 times a year:( One can dream, right? My mom now says she wants to visit NY a couple times a year to see me and my grandparents and I am TOTALLY ok with that:) Thanks mom, for visiting me in NY and making my life so much better:)

Holiday Season...Done.

Most adorable couple in front of the Bergdorf Goodman windows.

Eugene and I and the TREE!

A Little holiday fun with Becca and Alakai.

Gram and Gramp!!

New Headband from Kim:) Love it!

Walt, Sharlee, Emily and Sadie.

Eugene and I at my G-parents.

Why am I soooo lame at updated my blog lately!?! Well, it could be a myriad of reasons; One being that I have been working like a maniac the past 2 months. I work a full time job at the law firm, then work about 3 nights a week and every Saturday at Nordstrom. Needless to say, I am a walking zombie most of the time, but I think I have learned to thrive on little sleep. I just do what I have to do and work my ass off, that is the story of my life. Second might be that I have been lazy. I feel overwhelmed at how much I have to write about! Grip gotten...let's do this!

The holidays came and went and they were delightful! I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my Grandparents upstate and my boyfriend, Eugene, of about 8 months met them for the first time and he was a hit:) I will get back to Eugene later... My grandparents mean sooo much to me. I wish I could just live with them, they are so fantastic! Eugene and I then headed up to Vermont to spend the rest of the holiday weekend with my Uncle Walt and Aunt Sharlee and their girls. I spent Christmas with them last year and this was no different! Wonderful food, tons of booze, old movies and a fantastic time with my amazing family and Eugene!!

We then got stuck in the "Blizzard on 2010" as it was called in NYC. We decided not to chance it and stayed at my G-parents on Sunday night to wake up to a foot of snow! Can you say snow day?! After shoveling our cars out and helping with the paths, we were on our way back to the city. It was such a fantastic Christmas weekend. It is always hard being away from my family for any event or holiday, but at least I am with people that I love and people that love me and it I feel very fortunate for that:)

I said last Christmas and will say it again. Christmas in NYC is the most magical thing on Earth! I am sharing some pics of Christmastime in the city and hope you enjoy them. That handsome black man is my boyfriend Eugene who adores me and I adore him:) Life is beautiful!

Snowy/Salty Roads

If you have not heard on the news lately, the East Coast has been dominated by snow lately and let me just say... enough already. I know I am from Alaska and I am supposed to love the snow, but let me clarify something. I do love the snow, but I don't like walking in it everywhere I go. This was my problem in Alaska. I hate having to trudge through snow, but I am totally fine driving to it, or it even being in my yard and mountains. And I love skiing. There are a few differences with Alaska and New York winters. Alaska is dry NY is humid. Therefore, when it is 20 degrees here, it often feels like zero degrees. It is a cold that I cannot even describe except to say it is cold to the bone! It is completely different than AK. And the wind comes off the Hudson and through the valley and is absolutely ridiculous. Winter in the city it crazy cold! The wind just whips through the buildings and your face almost falls off.

Another difference: Salt v. gravel. I personally hate salt on the roads. I mean really, do I need the bottom of my work pants all covered in a white salt stain? NO. Do I need my car to be covered in a massive film of salt making it look like a cocaine wagon? NO. Do I need my already rust prone Suby to rust out because I cannot keep washing the salt off my car every two days? Def. NO! Stupid. In Alaska they used sand/gravel and it did its job. Tires grip, don't have stained pants, yada yada. Problem with gravel? My windshield was DOMINATED on a regular basis. And when I say dominated, I mean to the point where my NY friends were seriously afraid that my windshield would implode on me while driving. haha. Well, that did not happen because I got pulled over and this adorable cop made me fix it:)


Let me make something really clear. Snow plowers in NY are the WORST! I am beginning to think that I could do a better job. Every plow driver should probably go to Alaska to be trained. The time it takes to clear snow and the serious lack of skill to get the snow actually OUT of the road is ridiculous. This has been a big problem in NYC and in Nyack. Nyack is alot like the city, in that everything is really close together, right on the Hudson and there is nowhere to put the snow, so they kind of just push it around. Ridic. My driveway has not been plowed since Christmas. Nice, really nice. Guess this is just something I am going to have to get used to.

My Aunt Sharlee said to me a couple weeks ago when I was telling her that I had virtually no snow gear here, it was all in Alaska, "We have winter on the East Coast too!" Boy, do we ever! But, at least it does not last 6 months and we have real hot summers! I can live with that:) Now it is supposed to snow again on Tuesday for the 4th time in 3 weeks. Awesome.

I'm embarassed...

Well, the deed is done. I purchased a Jessica Simpson handbag on Saturday. Needless to say, it was an embarrassing moment in my life. There are some celebrity related situations which I refuse to engage in. The ultimate: Liking Angelina Jolie...that will never happen. 2) Buying ANYTHING from Jessica Simpson's fashion line. And if purchased on accident, return it. This is not because I think it is a horrible line, I just think she is horrible. But, I found this amazing handbag that is so adorbs, so me, and functional. BOOYA!! Against my better judgment, I bought the bag...Many people have informed me that in her shoe line is incredible. I refuse to believe that and if see a cute shoe with her name on the insole, I promptly put the shoe down as quickly as I picked it up. I draw the line at handbags, my foot is down...

B-Star, I Fracking Love You!!

If I ever thought I was nerdy before, this really seals the deal! Balltlestar Gallactica, you rule my world! I have fallen in love with this little gem of science fiction. There are so many amazing things about this show, I don't even know where to start! First of all, this is a Canadian show and, if you did not already know, I LOVE Canada...alot. Second, the special effects are quite amazing, especially considering it is only a t.v. show. Third, there are some hotties with naughty bodies, and let's get real, who doesn't like a man in uniform kicking Cylon ass? Fourth, Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell are spectacular actors and I am obsessed with them! I must give a shout out to my old friend, David Harper, for making me reluctantly start to watch this show on dvd before I moved from Alaska. I watched the first season and loved it, then forgot about it for a year and a half and BAM, my Uncle Walt started watching it and I got hooked...again. We are on Season 3 and it is blowing my franking mind!!

There are a few small, yet awesome, things about this show. I noticed right away that any square or rectangular item (ie. paper, picture frames) no longer have corners. NOTHING has corners!! Are they kidding me?! Also, pretty much the only swear word on the show is "frack". Can you say hilarious ! Walt and I still think it is hilarious, and that is because we are real nerdy... Also, this show has very religious undertones. They pray to Gods, but their enemies (the Cylons) pray to God, it is very interesting watching all of this unfold and them always arguing over what they believe in and what is true. Everything the Cylons are doing is because they believe it is God's will... all very interesting between the humans and Cylons.

In a nut shell...The Cylons (robots) were created by humans, then they turned against their creators and destroyed the human race, all but about 45,000 people. So, Cpt. Adama is leading all of these people through space in search of Earth! Of course they encounter the stupid Cylons all the time and have some kick ass battles. New Cylons are revealed every so often and they are always someone "human" that no one ever thought would be a Cylon. It is nutso!! Basically, you just need to watch this show. Especially if you love Star Trek: The Next Generation as much as I do! So Say We All...

P.S. Did I mention that I am a nerdy nerd?

Everyone has their thing...

I have been really stressed out lately with several things that are going on in my life and I tend to take other people's stress on as well and that just makes it out of control. I need to realize that I can't be everything to everyone all the time. I am only one person and it is okay to say no every once and awhile. I have been talking to alot of co-workers/friends at work lately and everyone seems to be going through something right now. Whether big or small, everyone has there thing that turns their world upside down, even if only for a minute. I have quickly realized that the more I complain the more I am taking away from actually dealing with what is going on in my life to cause the stress and realize that I am not alone, everyone is going through something as well and might be feeling the same way I do. Life is a crazy roller coaster of emotions and everyone has their thing...all I can do is deal with my thing the best way I know how and ask for help when I need it. Ugh, I think all of this comes from me working too much. I need to get a grip!

Dear Car...Can't you learn how to clean yourself?

My lovely Subaru, that I really need to take better care of...

Ok, there are a few things I really drag my feet doing and one of the big ones is cleaning my car. This may come as a shock to you, but I have not washed my car since I moved to NY, and when I say wash, I mean drive it through a car wash (which is one of my biggest fears) or even throw a splash of water on it... Is this laziness? Probably...get over it. The inside of my car is a whole different story. The only way to describe it is a shit show. I basically have enough outfits (including shoes and jackets) to last me for a week or any emergency, a tent (you know, just in case I need to set it up in the middle of Central Park for some reason), one random flip flop, one random mitten, a couple blankets, numerous cds, and don't forget my shopping bags that I refuse to take into my apartment after I go shopping. This has got to stop. Basically my only motivation for cleaning out my car is when I go visit someone and need to haul stuff (Lis, Gram and Gramp, etc.) News Flash: when you car is dirty, no one can ride with you and frankly, it's disgusting. Granted, I really don't have any passengers with me, ever, except 1, but that is still no excuse. I mean, the dust on my dash has been accumulating since 1983, get real! My goal this weekend? Clean my car. That is it, I have to put my foot down sometime and that time is now! Happy cleaning to me!