that was just cruel

the meterologists.

not cool. not cool at all. Monday morning i jumped out of bed within seconds of my alarm going off. and that never happens. i ran across the room threw open the shade in hopes of seeing 19th st covered in a white blanket of snow. and what do i see?

nothing.
absolutely nothing.

not even a flake. just grey skies, a wet fire escape and the sky just spitting. so thanks weather people. thanks alot for making my morning crap. i couldn't wait to pull the wellies on and run through the snow. but no. instead you got me all excited thinking this huge nor'easter woudl dump up to 6" of snow on nyc. so enough with the hype.

and if wasn't bad enough, the forecasters and local news teams who you know were just kicking themselves for not coming up with quality news because they were relying on reporting school closings and down power lines due to accumulation. instead, they just kept going on about why it didn't snow. "well you know folks, the temperature just didn't drop as much as we thought it would."

Thanks for that. just kick me when i'm down.

here's to better forecasting and the next big dumping.

for dinner?

my mom came up to visit this weekend for some much deserved girl time. we shopped, walked around and caught up, good times overall.
i have to say my favorite part of the weekend would have to saturday's dinner. after some wine and apps at my place (edamame-ole recipe care of mom/cooking light made by me --it's a guacamole recipe using edamame instead of avocado, very yummy) we took the m15 downtown to Max Brenner.

what made this dinner quite so good? i'll have you decide for yourselves. here's a bit from the menu, and what we ended up feasting on.

Chocolate Pizza with Peanut Butter and Sliced Bananas

Hazelnut Cream Crepe
a think french crepe stuffed with melted chocolate chunks and hazelnut cream. served with vanilla ice cream, toffee bananas, vanilla sauce and candied hazelnut crunch bits.

it was friggen fantastic. dessert for dinner? why not. who needs a main plate when you can have the sweet stuff firs? we deserved it and life's too short. it was unbelievable. i just finished off the remaining couple bites of the pizza, i think i'm skipping the main again tonight.

i'm not going to be able to sleep tonight anyway, nyc is supposed to get hammered by a snow storm, dumping up to 6" by rush hour. any mention of snow quickly turns me into an first grader waiting impatiently next to the local news for the school closings.

new york covered in a blanket of the white stuff is one of my favorite things- everything goes so quiet and turns the hardest people soft.

well have a good one, have to go put pj's on inside and out and backwards in hopes of more snow.

I'm going to be a good wife... one day

not only for my sarcastic sense of humor, but because i can roast a chicken like nobody's business.

I had a small dinner party at my house this evening, just 3 of us, who vow to rotate houses to try new recipes. but you know what? i'm damn good in the kitchen. everything was homemade, on schedule with no reheating needed.

what was on tap you ask? for starters we had a nice slice of brie with whole grain crackers and sliced apple with a mix of spanish olives for those who craved a more spicy note.

the next course was a mixed baby green salad with fresh shaved parmigiano reggiano with a lemon dill dressing.

following the salad, served in chilled bowls i might add, was a roast chicken, stuffed with thyme, a head of garlic, lemon and sage roasted on a top of a bed of chopped onions, carrots and parsnips. a side of rosemary roasted diced new potatoes accompanied the meal.

honest to God the most moist and juicy chicken i've ever had. paired with a couple bottles of wine, you can't go wrong.

chocolate dipped strawberries topped off the evening care of a deb and were delicious. so i'm going to bed with a full but comfortably stuffed tummy.

with the promise of blogging a bit more. it was nice break.
i really should've taken a picture of my bird, it was just beautiful.

so if you...

poured cement in my ears it would not drown out the collective, harmonizing "whoo hooo's" i keep hearing from my upstairs neighbor's apartment.

she's having a party, with about 15+ other girls. now wait for it... wait for it...with strippers.

god for friggen bid. Yes a large white man, and a large black man are dancing around in your 400 sq foot apartment in banana hammocks and cowboy hats. just great.

I hope they are wearing knee pads because every time they "drop it like it's hot" my light fixtures shake. It's 12:22 am people. i don't need to hear Britney's 'give me more' nor do i enjoy the calming, high bass tune letting me know that both strippers are 'bringing sexy back.' oh is that what you are doing? I wasn't quite sure.

i have no idea what they are celebrating. I'm guessing bachlorette. and if it is a bachlorette, you're eff'ing it up. you are supposed to take the bride to a respected strip club an embarrass her by having some stripper drag her up on stage with all the other brides to be in their matching tuille viels. it's the only way to go.

anyway. i have to go back out to LA, last trip. almost done. staying in santa monica again, not too shabby, nicer place this time, I'll send pics. then the project goes live, very soon. You'll see pictures once it's in market. until then i stand behind my contract of client confidentiality.

anywhoo. i'm going to plug up my ears with little plastic plugs hoping that i can only hear a few decibels of the whooo hooooo's and "shaaaaakkkkeeeee it's."

talk to you soon from cali.

just kick me while i'm down, won't you?

I'm in la for work.
by law new yorkers are supposed to hate la. i don't hate it, but i don't love it. it's a driving city and I miss my metrocard. i'm here for a project for work of which I have all the faith in the world. but R&D (that's research and development), is proving difficult and D-day (launch) is fast approaching But it will get done and it will be amazing and you will all hear of it. it won't fail, because i don't fail. i just wish everyone would see it the way i do. chin up. i'm sick of being positive enough for everyone.

god the stress.

on a lighter note. i had a small break today. saw muholland drive on the way to the fabrication shop. it's pretty amazing. due to the fires & marine haze it wasn't sure clear, but you get the idea. after that was a quick drive bite to eat & the hollywood sign. here are some pics:




this picture cracks me up. typical me right? that's a fake smile i'd say.


well. so here i am. i ate dinner on the 3rd street promenade alone, it was what i needed. a gooey cheesy lasagna, house salad and a tiramisu to go. comfort food? yes. i'm stressed and i don't' mind if it means 3 extra miles on the treadmill this week.

here's where i'm staying, the huntley in santa monica. (note the plastic bag on the big squishy bed, that's the tiramisu that i'm going to indulge in straight away). bathroom is nice too. great hotel, but doesn't hold a candle to the graves in Minneapolis. anyhoo. i have to work now. catch everyone up on this project.


and on top of it all? Rutgers lost. i'm down. just kick me.

mad libs anyone?

Tomorrow in nyc it's supposed to rain like (-----noun plural------). Unfortunately I've left my wellies at (-------place-----). They are currently (------location----), doing me no (----adverb----). This makes me super (----adjective----).


If you guessed the following:
cats & dogs
work
under my desk
good
angry

ding, ding, ding! you've got it right.

your prize? you can revel in knowing that you are quite smart in comparison to my stupidity.
i'm a weather channel freak, you think id' be prepared.
argh.

weekend away

me and my new bag (pictured below, and yes i love it) ventured down to jersey yesterday to visit the fam. the bag is a herve chapelier, thanks to laura i finally got the name of the designer instead of being tempted to ask everyone at the gym who the hell made it. i think of this purchase as body insurance. sure, it's a tote, carry-all what have you, but it's my gym bag. I normally wouldn't condone spending over $100 on a gym bag, but i had good reasoning. The mornings when my alarm clock goes off at 5:55 am, and i'm so needing more sleep, i say to myself, "self, you spent over $1oo on gym bag. get the hell out of bed and bring it to the gym.".

whatever. it's screwed up reasoning, but when did anything normal ever work for me?

anyway. so today was fun, the weather has finally changed for the better. this friday i intend on treating myself to my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. well.. could be tomorrow afternoon given the screaming match, aka meeting i have in the morning. ah creatives, can't live with them, can't take them off their pedestals.

so, today was an errand day for my mom and i. every time i go home we hit the usuals, Marshalls, possibly tjmaxx or target, always wegmans and a few other stand bys thrown in there. Wegmans ranks with Publix in terms of grocery stores, and shopping in NJ is much cheaper then shopping in nyc. Exhibit a: sliced smoked turkey (deli) - Wegmans, 1/2 lb $2.50. Gristedes: the worst food store on teh face of the earth: 1/2 pound deitz and watson: (and gross) $5.75. i mean seriously?? c'mon people. so i shop in nj when i can.

in addition to the turkey, ham, arugula, feta, lemon caper sauce (so good), olives, hummus etc. I also bought 36 oz of chocolate chips.

chocolate chips you ask? I know. I know. i'm so not the baker, i usually suck at it, but i keep trying. (just as caren. i nearly burnt down her kitchen once.. haha) i can cook until the cows come home but ask me to measure stuff and i get all confused. (remember, i'm advertising because i don't need more then a high school knowledge of mathematics)

so. today i made 8 dozen chocolate chip cookies. 8 DOZEN! and they are so friggen perfect. golden brown bottoms, perfect crunch factor. amazing. martha steward couldn not have baked a better cookie. well. maybe that is pushing it. so, 4 doz for me and 4 doz of my mom. I'm bringing mine to work to bribe people to get my stuff done, and award others for doing such a great job. Luckily it's more of the latter.

anyway. since i've only eaten 2 of the 8 dozen, i'm going to go polish off a few now.
sadly i do not have any milk.

i don't care

how much it costs. or where the hell i have to go. i'm getting a massage tomorrow. every muscle in my neck, shoulders and upper back is tense. so much so that on the bus i had to remind myself to not constantly try to touch the tops of my shoulders to the bottom of my ears.

i'm going for some retail therapy, buying that herve chapelier bag i want at bloomies. then a massage. hello citi card. you're finally going to get some use. because dammit. i deserve it. 70+ hours weeks and tense shoulders say so.

i'm exhausted.
i'm going go bed
night night

wait. is that music?

i can't sing. really, i can't, wish i could. i am at peace with this portion of my non-talent so i in no way feel compelled to sing in public.

much to my dismay, not all people are this self aware.

exhibit a? the bar across the street from my apartment that now hosts live music. the guy on the mic right now is well into his first set.

hell i tell you. complete hell. I'd close the windows but It's so nice out. maybe it's time to bring out the ear plugs again. here's his set list so far:

1. Me and Julio Down at the School Yard- Paul Simon
2. You've Got to Hide Your love Away- The Beatles
---yep. every time the "Hey" comes up, he sings way to loudly into the microphone. c'mon buddy.
3. I'm not quite sure what this song was, he was mumbling too badly. possibly trying to channel his inner Dylan? - not working.

4. lyrics, indistinguishable. no idea what this one was.
5. ditto #4, but with harmonica.
6. Heart of Gold- Neil Young


okay pals. as much as i'd love to give you an amateur hour play by play, i'm going to hit the hay early. i skipped the gym this morning due to last nights catch upon sleep because of tuesday night's 3:00 am bender. so when you are all tucked in your comfy beds at 6:00 am think of me walking to the gym.

joy. can't wait.

i see famous people.

i never do. i suck at it. so, since my monthly unlimited metro card ran out on thursday, i had to renew it on friday. and since i'm the mta's #1 bus fan, and they don't sell metro cards on the buses, i had to take the subway. luckily it wasn't 900 degrees.

as i was crossing 15th and 3rd, the corner that smells like coffee (i'll get to this in a bit, it's too good to pass up), i see this stunning woman crossing the street. she had to be at least 6 ft tall. she was super casual, dressed down but so put together. i wanted to be her. as i got closer, i realized who it was.

no other then Uma Thurman.


oh wait.it gets better.. Ethan Hawke. i NEVER see famous people. they were with their children, I'm guessing on the way to school. she is really that pretty and yes, he is hotter then ever. sickeningly hot. their kids are probably going to adapt and a start super race with those genes.

so, of course what do i do? cross the street and locate my phone in the depth of my black hole of a bag and call caren. because she saw adrien greenier when she was here visiting day and i didn't. she was excited for me. hehe


so back to the coffee story.
in january my parents were here visiting we were walking toward the union square subway station, and were held at the light crossing 3rd at 15th. my mom stops and said "i smell coffee." my father and i look at each other, then at her and laugh.

we were standing in a front of a starbucks.

so from now on, that's the coffee corner and when i'm there I always think of my mom and laugh. cracks me up every time.
hehe

heaven

i recorded 'sarah's secrets' on the food network today because she has a couple of recipes i've liked on their website. low and behold, best show ever aired today.

those who know me, know how much i love to chop. me and a good kitchen knife make an excellent pair. well. get ready.... today's show is all about chopping. i'm trying to contain myself from taking notes and posting them all over my kitchen. who knew there were easier ways to chop tomatoes? and she made a caponata that looked just delicious, and it's all chopped! i'm making that as soon as the 2nd paycheck kicks in on friday.

now... shes julienning! i'm locking this show so it's not deleted by mistake.

forgive me, but i have to learn how to julienne.

happy chopping.

train wreck.

i'm sorry i just couldn't keep this one to myself. i'm watching the mtv music awards did anyone else catch britney's spears' opening number? it was like a bad accident where you just can't look away. the dancing, the hair weave. the lip syncing? yikes.

if i am ever that loaded i will have people to tell me 'no lauren, you're making a fool out of yourself.' sad, really.

quite frankly, i'm a bit surprised at mtv. they are no better then the tabloids. exploiting people for the sake of some ratings. sad. sad. sad.

i'll give it to her though, for someone who has had 2 kids, her body doesn't look bad. i hope to look like that after popping out 2 lil' ones.

put another notch in the W column

Rutgers did it again. we just beat navy 41-24
There is just something about the first football games of the year that make me so happy. Could be the smell of fall in the air, or gearing up for a great RU season.

needless to say the big east has 4 Heisman trophy contenders, and one being Ray Rice of RU.

unbelievable... a heisman candidate from Rutgers.. I love it

check it out. See Ray run... all the way to the trophy ceremony.

by the way, he just crushed the Rutger's all time rushing record this evening against Navy.
well done Ray, well done.

just remember, RU is the birthplace of college football. you can thank my alma mater for your saturday game watching activities.

if i attracted men like I attract mosquitos, i'd be a floozy.

great labor day weekend, very relaxing. I headed down to beesley's point to join lauren and a couple of college friends to celebrate the end of summer. great time.

I took the bus from port authority directly to atlantic city, and let me tell you, that is one helluv'an experience. the people watching one can do on a greyhound is uncanny. I caught the 10:00 bus and quickly grabbed a window seat and got situated. as i took out the trusty ipod, an elderly lady sat next to me and struck up a quick conversation. She turned toward me and pointy her frail finger my way and said "you, i chose you because you look quiet."
...and then went into a 20 minute diatribe on atlantic city, the taj mahal. that's about the time i told her i'm going to take a nap, then put on my headphones. so much for quiet, eh? she was funny though. at one point during our journey her phone rang, and she had a brief conversation with her friend who was due to meet her. It went a bit like this.

" No. the taj.. no the TAAAAAJJJJJJJJ. oh come on.. you know where i am, slots. on the right, no no near the exit, where i usually go."

cracked me up. after a 2 hour and 10 minute trip (only about 10 of us got off the at the atlantic city bus terminal, others were going to the taj--- and we were early) lauren and brian picked me up and we headed to house. it was a great time, drinks and dinner at the tuckahoe, boating, clamming, crabbing and mussel hunting. it was the seafood bounty of a weekend.

after lots of great food, good drink, warm sun, fantastic company and many, many mosquito bites i got back on the bus last night for the return trip home.

my seat mate had a bag of fried chicken, leftover from the AC buffets i'm guessing. after 30 minutes I didn't smell it too much. the company just as interesting as the ride down.

shore traffic and late bus got me home in under 3 hours and I was happy to be back in my bed .

great way to end the summer. now break on the sweaters boots and spiced pumpkin nonfat lattes.

oh. and i got in a bus accident on the way home today. ridiculous. cabbie cut off the bus. everyone was fine just a bit knocked about.
i swear. only in nyc.

i'm getting bad at remembering

is that even possible?

I forgot a ton of birthdays this month, or remembered them a couple of days too late.
So to the following family and friends, I'm so sorry and I wish I was around to celebrate. In no particular order:

• Aunt Joan
• Jason
• Jeff
• Keith N.
  

And I honestly think there is one more, but for the life of me, can't remember. this is a problem. Normally, i'd have a stack of my own hand made cards to choose from, or draw a few up special for each person. not this year. where does the time go? it's amazing how much i got done in atlanta during free hours. i need to get back to that rhythm. and they say the south is slow. the work-pace may be much quicker up here, but jeez. i don't get 1/2 as much done. maybe we're all too concentrated on having walking races on the street (see below) that we don't have enough energy to do anything anymore.

I barely have the time to pick up the phone to call you fine people. Or if i do have the time, i'm so zonked out from the day i'd be incoherent and suited better for drooling on myself in front of the television then a phone conversation. sad, really.

when you have this undying love for paper and blank books, you feel the need to have on that is only birthdays, or anniversaries, what have you. only problem? I think that book is stashed in the back of my filing cabinet at work. not entered into my moleskine as it should be.

so please everyone, send my your birthdays so I won't endure this horribly embarrassing posting again.


walking races... i think its fun to race people on the way to my destination. it makes for entertainment while in transit. basically, instead of passing people or cutting them off on a major highway, you do it on the sidewalk. hehe. whatever gets you by.

all new yorkers do it though, don't let them tell you different. we all hate slow walkers, and we all like the think we live in fast lane with the biggest strides.

a while

its been.

brief perspective of time? one year ago today i quit my job bbdo and began planning a move to new york. crazy what happens in a year isn't it?

last week i was in florida with rachel visiting my mom. it was a great trip. hot as hell. not so sure global warming is a fluke. we had a great relaxing time.

i went to a show last night on the lower east side. band called red romance. taught me i am not hip enough to be a hipster. nor do i look good in skinny tight black jeans, striped top, fedora and chuck taylors. then again, not sure hipsters are hip enough themselves.

blogging came up a bunch this week. i had a friend say it's more a less a ranting journal. he has point, but with all the time and miles between us all, i try to think of it as more of a long email, updated daily. or not so daily in my case. i've kind of lost the spirit of blogging, i'l try harder.

well. since the weather is due to be beautiful tomorrow, i'm planning on going to governor's island via the ferry to take some time to enjoy the water.

best to everyone.

you'd think it was a monsoon

I woke up this morning around 6am to be at work by 7, to start the day early. - not to the sound of my alarm, nope, but to huge claps of thunder. many of you know, thunderstorms are one of my top 5 favorite things so I happily laid in bed and watched the lightning until around 7 then got up, showered and out the door by 7:45. Since the bus lines have been crazy due to the steam explosion a couple of weeks ago, I opted for a quick subway ride instead. When i got to Union Square station to catch the 4, 5 express uptown, I heard there were no trains running. So, back to the bus stop at 14th and 3rd. i seriously think there were 120 people on that bus. i made it in, and am currently the only one in my dept. everyone's stuck in various boroughs, between boroughs or sick-daying it.
haha

i leave you with a couple of reasons why NYC could never be in Seattle:


Due to severe flooding throughout the subway system, there are extensive delays on all subway lines. Customers are advised when at all possible to use bus service. The detours are as follow

The train is running on the line in both directions between the Canal Street Station and the DeKalb Avenue Station.

There is no train service in both directions between the Van Cortlandt Park-242nd Street Station and the South Ferry Station.

There is no train service in both directions between the Wakefield-241st Street Station and the Brooklyn College-Flatbush Avenue Station.

There is no train service in both directions between the Harlem-148th Street Station and the New Lots Avenue Station.

There is no or train service in both directions between the Euclid Avenue Station and the Jay Street-Boro Hall Station.

There is no train service in both directions between the World Trade Center Station and the Jamaica Center-Parsons-Archer Station.

There is no train service in both directions between the Jamaica-179th Street Station and the Forest Hills-71st Avenue Station.

There is no train service in both directions between the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station and the Jay Street-Boro Hall Station.

There is no , or train service in both directions between the 149th Street-Grand Concourse Station and the Borough Hall Station.

There is no train service in both directions between the Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway Station and the 8th Avenue Station.

There is no 42nd Street Shuttle train service in both directions between the Times Square-42nd Street Station and the Grand Central-42nd Street Station.

There is no train service in both directions between the Jamaica Center-Parsons-Archer Station and the Broadway Junction Station.

Astoria-bound trains are running on the or lines from the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station to the 36th Street Station.

In addition, due to debris on the track at the Church Avenue Station, the and trains are running on the or line in both directions between the DeKalb Avenue Station and the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station.

that's off the MTA website.

Here's some more fun from New York 1.

Due to flooding at the Times Square-42nd Street Station, shuttle service was unavailable between Grand Central-42nd Street Station and the Times Square-42nd Street Station.

Due to a smoke condition at the Borough Hall Station, there was no 2 or 3 train service in both directions between the Wall Street Station and the Borough Hall Station.

Buses in Manhattan were also being rerouted.

In addition, LIRR service on the Port Washington Branch was suspended in both directions due to a flooding condition at Bayside, with alternate bus service being provided.

As of 7:30 a.m., Metro North was also reporting no service into or out of Grand Central Terminal on the Hudson, Harlem or New Haven lines because of flooding between the Mott Haven and Melrose sections of the Bronx.

ow

holy hell. it's been a rough couple of weeks, but im done complaining and pitying myself over work. although i think the chaos is crazy, deep down i thrive on it.
i met diane for a beer and a burger at Pete's on 18th tonight. i was late, and I hate being late. i'm stuffed as hell though 1/2 a burger some fries and a cold beer, nothing beats it.

nothing else new really, i'm back in the gym, which is awesome. current class of choice is Fluidity, it combines ballet, pilates, yoga & strength training. why not get it all in one shot anyway?

i've been been watching Mad Men, have you seen it? Advertising the way it was before I was born. crazy really. once i watch more i'm sure i'll form a more interesting opinion. now i'm just kind of in the mood to sit on my couch and slobber on myself. im tired.

who are you calling DUMBO?

it's been one of those weeks. drama filled. the kind of week when something so small changes your outlook on everything. not the steam explosion, impact like that is almost commonplace in nyc. needless to say, it's been a rough one.

so i needed a day trip. and why not brooklyn? fitting, really. a chance to get off the island. so i rang up deb and we met manhattan side to traverse the brooklyn bridge, i've always wanted to do that. check out the pics.


brooklyn bridge, another thing crossed off my nyc list. you can't beat the weather today either, absolutely perfect.



after reaching brooklyn we stopped for ice cream, walked around the we walked around the waterfront park, love these little whirlygig RV's, they cracked me up.

we walked around DUMBO (its an area of Brooklyn that stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). cute shops, up an coming neighborhood that it think would be great to live in, in a few years. at night i could see it being a bit scketchy walking around seeing that i'm a single gal.

out in front of this furniture place that i found a great bed that on sale (teak withan espresso stain, platform style beautiful head board) for only $900ish. lucky i did not have my credit card on me. anyway, near the store, was this mini cooper convertible with a gigantic dog in it. cracked me up. frigging hysterical.

well. tonight should be fun, wine tasting event at the pink elephant in chelsea and a black and whtie party on some rooftop.

i'm trying to end this week on a better note.
wish me luck

i'm fine

thank you for your calls and concerns this evening. grand central is 1/2 a block from my office. I was on the phone with my mom when the fire alarms went off, notifying us of a smoke on the 3rd floor ( i work on the 5th ). You could tell by the tone of the man's voice something was wrong. I looked around and took in the situation. who was moving? who was dismissing the alarm and still working? I looked down the row of cubes to take the cue from my boss who is a workaholic like myself. furrowed brow means something was up, and the plume of smoke seen outside our window confirmed it.

our building was evacuated, down the stairs and out to the street where we met thousands of other new yorkers heads tilted toward the sky. we hung around a bit outside the office, calling coworkers who got recently got on the subway, texted family, etc. 9 times out of 10 got a 'network busy.' so. we walked.

and walked.
and walked.

west then south. without cell service, or a newscast, what else is one to think? you see smoke and plume out of one of the largest landmarks and public commuting spaces in NYC at rush hour and your mind jumps. i've overheard '9/11' more times today then then the 10 months i've been here. I was one of them. people were running, screaming, crying.

i walked with coworkers , slowly they'd leave to go home. I ended up at at bar in the 30's on the west side with my boss, when we finally figured out what had happened. a man hole exploded, because a 24" pipe, build in 1924 finally gave way. the sad thing is, most of the country knew before I did what was going on 1/2 a block away from me. bit scary.

luckily. i felt safe. not quite sure why. i was with people i trusted and knew, so I was and am okay.

this city is crazy at times. part of the reason why so man are drawn to it.
i know i was.
i get it from my brother, just can't sit still.