When It Rains...

Yesterday we had an incredible storm here in NYC. Massive thunder, drenching rain and spectacular lightning starting mid-afternoon. Walking home at the end of the day, my bare arms and legs got wet and I found myself sliding around in my sandals, but I kinda liked feeling the rain on me.

Aloha Guy is still around. He came into town a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed his company. But, he's too smart and investigative and found the blog. Wasn't too happy with what I've written versus what I haven't written. So I find myself censoring my writing more than usual. However, I must say he continues to show his interest in me, which is flattering, and has a penchant for giving me gifts, which I'll admit I love. Yesterday, I received chocolates at work -- two big boxes which made me very popular with my colleagues.

I was anticipating going out with a vendor last night for dinner, but it got cancelled at the last minute. My attempts to make other plans were fruitless, so I decided to head to the gym. At the gym, my iPhone rang (which I was using as an iPod, so I answered). A new character to tell you about...

A few weeks ago, out on the town with a girlfriend, we went to a Cuban restaurant for dinner. In addition to fabulous mojitos, they had live music, and the singer/bassist was absolutely fantastic. On their break, I went over to compliment him, and his speaking voice was every bit as resonant and musical as his singing voice. He said they were playing later at another club that I wasn't familiar with, and I gave him my number to text me the info while not committing that we would show up.

We did show up and had a fabulous time. Cuban Musician was happy to see us and made a point of speaking to me on the breaks, even though most of the crowd were long-time fans and everyone wanted to talk to him. He's very cute...

And I've been out to see him perform a couple other times at different places around the city. He's a good kisser, but I haven't thought about it too seriously. He's fun, and very effusive in his compliments. He keeps telling me how much he likes me, but I guess I'm playing aloof. Our lives are so different, but I like hearing about his passion for music and how he composes, his travels and his contagious zest for life.

And then, last night, Cuban Musician called to ask if he could cook for me. I accepted and was entertained with his antics in the kitchen while he boasted repeatedly how good he was at cooking. I just laughed at him...until we sat down and ate. It was fantastic. He didn't follow a recipe and said this was a dish he'd created himself. And even if I told you the different ingredients -- including orange juice, rosemary, butter, onions, chicken -- it wouldn't begin to describe the savory goodness, and I don't think I could replicate it. As we finished the wine I brought, he sang for me. A very nice evening.

One Word Meme

Here’s how it works: USE ONLY ONE WORD!

It’s not as easy as you might think. Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? handy
2. Your hair? blondish
3. Your mother? cruising
4. Your father? cruising
5. Your favorite food? TexMex
6. Your dream last night? forgettable
7. Your favorite drink? martini
8. Your dream/goal? love
9. What room are you in? office
10. Your hobby? singing
11. Your fear? insanity
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? relationship
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something that you aren’t? rested
15. Wish list item? children
16. Where did you grow up? varied
17. What are you wearing? skirt
18. Your pets? Sabrina
19. Friends? true
20. Your life? confusing
21. Your mood? unsure
22. Missing someone? yes
23. Vehicle? none
24. Something you’re not wearing? pantyhose
25. Your favorite color? blue
26. When was the last time you laughed? today
27. Last time you cried? yesterday
28. One place that I go to over and over? subway
29. One person who emails me regularly? mom
30. Favorite place to eat? out

And now, I tag Vetmommy, EdamameMommy, Daddy (aka Grandad to those with kids) and Anna!

Packing in the Sight-Seeing and Visiting

Saturday and Sunday with Jenn, Anth and the kids here just flew by in a whirlwind of activity. On Saturday, we had a delicious but filling brunch and then headed up to Times Square. We bought tickets to Mary Poppins, which the kids were absolutely enthralled with. That night, we had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Sushi Samba.







Sunday, we went to church and then had Thai food in the West Village before heading over to the Hudson River Park. We kayaked in the Hudson and then walked down to the Staten Island Ferry, stopping along the way to play in the park and eat gelato.




The whole visit went so quickly! Although it was hard to have multiple conversations at once (how do parents get used to that without losing their train of thought?), it seems so awfully quiet now without them all.

More City Fun

Yesterday, we started the day with some delicious bagels with various shmears and then headed up to the American Museum of Natural History. Colin loves giant squids and ocean life, and I knew there was a life-size blue whale in the ocean exhibit, and whaddayaknow, there were also a couple giant squids.










The subway stop for the Museum is also one of my favorites because the mosaic tiles are beautiful compilations of different animals, fish and insects.


After many hours there, we met up with Anthony at the newly opened High Line Park. Originally constructed in the 1930s to get the trains above the busy city streets, it was saved from destruction by people who valued the history and turned into a greenspace with plants and flowers that are native to the area. It was beautiful, and we got some gelato!

Family Invasion

There are more people per square inch in my apartment than there ever has been, and I'm loving it!

My sister Jenn, her husband Anthony and my niece and nephew Anna & Colin arrived on

Wednesday afternoon. The kids were so excited to be here, they almost bounced off the walls. I had just finished a busy day at work, (and didn't feel like cooking) so we walked up to an Italian restaurant in Tribeca.

After a delicious dinner, Anna asked about dessert, and mentioned that when they went on vacation to Italy last year, they had gelato every night for dessert. That reminded me of a nice little gelateria in the World Financial Center, so we walked down there to see the palm trees inside the building and watch the sunset over the Hudson River.

Last night when I got home, Jenn made dinner! Our first course was this beautiful insalata caprese with tomatoes and basil

from their garden. It was absolutely delicious, as was the risotto.

Jenn's sleeping with me in my king-sized bed. The kids are on the inflatable mattress in the living room, and Anthony's got the couch. It gets really bright in my apartment really early, and on Thursday morning the kids woke up WAY too early for any of us, even though I had to get up and go to work. So I told them they need to cover their eyes when they wake up and go back to sleep. I gave Colin my eye mask and showed him how to use it. (He decided it looked like a bra and tried it on that way, too!)

But it worked! The kids both slept in this morning until 9 a.m. Anna said she put the eye mask on first but Colin took it off her and put it on himself, so she just ducked under the covers.

Dinner & a Workout

Aloha Guy was in town last week for business, and I met him a couple times for dinner and a workout.

He's a little better now that I've told him to chill. He's very much a gentleman, and he certainly knows how to treat a lady. But I'm still keeping him at arms length. For one thing, every time I ask about his marriage, he gets very uncomfortable. It makes me wonder, is he really divorced? Or is he just saying that? Wouldn't be the first time a guy pretends to be available.

Aloha Guy is very into fitness, and he offered to show me some different exercises with weights to take my exercise program to the next level. He showed me several different things and encouraged me to take it slow, but I guess I overdid it, trying to show him that I could do it all. My legs were killing me for the next couple days! Definitely going to take it slower from here on.

Boat Cruise Fun

I attended an interactive marketers event last night that was held on a great party boat, the "Spirit of New York." There was plenty of great food and drinks, and several of my colleagues attended, too.

The boat ride went from Chelsea Piers (at 23rd Street) up the Hudson. We got a great view of the USS Intrepid, which is now docked as a museum at Pier 86. Then we headed south for an up-close view of Lady Liberty at sunset.

Nantucket

While many of my family members are roasting in the severe Texas heat and drought, we've had such a slow start to summer here in the Northeast. June was almost completely washed out here in NYC, with only 5 days not having rain. Since July arrived, though, it is feeling like summer, and I've been reminded how much I enjoy summertime. For so many years, living in Texas, I dreaded the summer and the heat that zaps your energy, existing from the air conditioning in your house to the air conditioning in your car until you get to the air conditioning at work. Living further north, I've been enjoying feeling the warm (not hot) sun on my face and being able to enjoy the sunny days with outdoor activities.

This past weekend, I went to Nantucket to join my sister Steph and her kids for a few days. Nantucket is even cooler than NYC, and the water was so cold I only braved getting in on Saturday when we had the warmest weather.

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock

Did you hear about this?
Two new techniques to preserve and transplant ovaries might give women a better chance to fight their biological clocks and have children when they are older, doctors announced Monday. In the past, scientists have performed ovarian transplants in women with cancer, since chemotherapy often causes infertility. Doctors typically take out patients' ovaries before the toxic treatment begins and then reimplant them later.

Now, recent advances to preserve ovaries and surgically implant them could make the procedure more widely available, helping women avoid fertility problems as they age. Many women are now delaying having a family until their 30s or 40s, when fertility problems become more common. Women in their 20s or 30s could theoretically have an ovary removed and frozen, and then have it reimplanted years later when they are ready to have children.

Full article

Interesting concept. Of course, even if this had been an option for me when I was in my 20s (or early 30s), I don't know if I would have taken advantage of it. I'm so romantic and hopeful, I always thought I would find the "right" guy and have kids in plenty of time. Honestly, my goal was to have kids before I turned 30. When I was 29 and knew that wasn't going to happen, I reset the goal to 35. Now I've missed that goal post, too! :-)

Sometimes when I mention the ol' biological clock, people say, "But you still look young!" Thanks for the compliment, but how I look on the outside doesn't mean anything for the eggs. I found these statistics, from Dr. Kevin Lederer, president of Fertility Centers of Illinois:

Until age 34, women have a 20 percent chance of conceiving in a given month and 20 percent of those pregnancies will end in a miscarriage.

After 35, a woman’s likelihood of conceiving in a given month drops to 10 percent and her miscarriage risk goes up to 30 percent.

After 40, she has a 5 percent chance of getting pregnant and a 40 percent chance of having a miscarriage. After 42, “99 percent of fertility is over,” Lederer said.

I know some women purposely delay having children, whether to focus on their career or be more financially secure or other reasons. But for me, it's just been a happenstance occurrence. I definitely feel like the window of opportunity is closing, but I don't want to rush into something just to have children of my own. I'm trying to be okay with the idea that it may not happen for me. (I'm mostly okay with it.) I feel very blessed to have other children in my life, especially my beautiful and wonderful nieces and nephews. Still, there is a sense of "there's no time to waste" when I think of potential suitors.

A little work, A little fun

For the record, I love 3-day weekends! I think every work week should be only 4 days and every weekend 3 days. It's so much better balanced.

I had a great weekend and got so much accomplished. My dear friend Lauren had her baby boy Luke on Wednesday, so I knew I needed to get moving on the quilt I'm making for him. (I should be done soon, and I'm really pleased with the materials and pattern. Stay tuned.) I also needed to tackle my closet, and I wanted to help my friend Christine celebrate her birthday on the 4th.

Since losing 24 pounds and two sizes (and so far keeping it off!), my closet was filled with things that no longer fit. I went through each piece and decided whether they fit, are still in decent shape or need tailoring. I put the ones to tailor in my hall closet and folded the rest for donation. I usually clean out my closet twice a year to get rid of anything I haven't worn in a year, but this time it was really substantial. That's right...six bags!

I found things in my closet that had been pushed to the back that I can now wear again. It was great to find things I'd forgotten about and to realize I have more options to work with than I thought. Plus, it felt very freeing to get it all organized and uncluttered.

Saturday night, I went to dinner with Christine and her friends and family at a Cuban restaurant in the Village. They had a live band playing music, and the singer was really fantastic. I spoke to him on his break, and he invited us to see them later at another location. From dinner, Christine and I headed over to the fireworks, but of course there were so many people on the streets, we couldn't get very close or get to a place with an unobstructed view. Then she suggested we go to karaoke. We both enjoying singing, and we did that for an hour or two and then headed over to the restaurant/bar where the Latin band was playing. It was packed but we were able to get close to the band. The singer smiled at us in recognition, and pretty soon we were dancing with different guys there. I'm not the best salsa dancer, but it is so much fun! We were there until it closed, and my feet ached from so much dancing. I got home after 4 a.m., which is VERY unusual for me.

Needless to say, Sunday was a recovery day for me. I worked some more on the quilt, watched some movies and did grocery shopping for the week. All in all, it was a great weekend.

Aloha Update

Aloha Guy is in Hawaii for a vacation and sent me a postcard yesterday.

Oh, and it turns out he's not QUITE divorced yet. All the paperwork has been filed, but it's not final for a couple months.

I know from personal experience and from dating a guy that had just gotten a divorce that it takes time to recover from something like that. There's a lot of emotions you have to deal with, and then with kids involved, it definitely takes everyone time to learn the new relationships.

Aloha Guy seems a little too clingy to me, and after a text message that he ended "Love ya" and a multiple-page handwritten love letter, I told him to back off. Attentive is sweet, but his actions have made me feel uncomfortable. Oh well. As my sister Steph said, "Aloha means 'hello' and 'goodbye.'"