Question

Have you ever been invited to a wedding (of a former co-worker that you remain friendly with) but your spouse wasn't invited?

Do you:
(a) just go without your spouse and feel awkward the whole time but just hang out with the other male co-worker who is going?
(b) talk to your friend and ask if you can bring your husband?
(c) RSVP for 2 and then force your spouse to attend with you and make him feel awkward all night?
(d) decline invitation and just send a gift?

On one hand, we are in a recession and Dereck doesn't know my co-worker. But on the other hand, this isn't just some random guy I'm dating. We are married, isn't it customary to at least invite the spouse. Plus I feel like now there isn't going to be much incentive to have any couples outings in the future...

Kind of weird, huh? What would you do?

My poor little blog is suffering as of late.
I’m going to blame it one the rain.

I mean, seriously was NY transported to Seattle unknowingly? On one hand, I’m grateful because my garden is thriving! On the other hand, not seeing the sunlight has really messed with me. I NEVER want to get up in the morning. It’s not good. Plus, I feel cheated out of a large portion of my summer. Summer in New York is truly magical. And it’s been raining everyday, so that sucks the life out of you and makes it impossible to attend concerts, movies in the park, etc. Plus, when it rains on the weekends that is just lame.

On another unrelated note, I’m so fascinated with how people are reacting to the passing of Michael Jackson. I admit I was shocked when I heard it yesterday at work. It seems that everyone around the world knew him and has a memory associated with his music. Whether it was making up dances to his songs as a kid, attending one of his concerts, break-dancing to his songs on old cardboard boxes, watching him moonwalk across a stage, remembering “We are the World,” or just being fascinated and/or horrified with his life being played out on TV in front of the entire world. He truly was the king of pop.

Unfortunately, we also can’t forget about: “blanket”, the face masks, the accusations, the surgeries, the marriages, Neverland, the Martin Bashir documentary…I could go on and on. But, despite how his life ended up, my heart goes out to his family and I know that he’s in a better place, free from the pain he experienced on this earth.

The cool thing is that people seem to be really remembering the good that he brought to our lives through his musical talents. I’ve been listening to “All Michael, All the Time” today from an online radio station today work and it’s been great. I may even stop by union square on my way home to check out one of the many vigils happening around the city.

...HEEE – HOOO…..(sung in a high pitched tone)

Some words

My sister (in-law) sends me these daily "Words for the Day" that she gets from a friend of hers. (Unfortunately I can't quote the source, sorry.) However, here are two recent "words" to help you through this rainy, dreary week.

Possibility of success

You can make your life a triumph in spite of every adversity. Or you could make your life a mess in spite of every advantage.

Success does not depend on where you start. If it did, no one would have ever been successful. Success comes from what you choose to do with whatever you have. It is fully available to anyone who decides to make the effort and the commitment.

Whatever the day holds, it also holds the possibility of success and achievement. Whatever the situation may be, there is a way to create real value from it.

Choose to see the positive possibilities, and you will. Choose to follow those possibilities, and success takes root.

The opportunity for success is always yours, and so is the responsibility. Decide to do what it takes, and create the success that is your own special destiny.

Rich and Powerful

The strongest power has no need to show itself or to prove itself. It is quiet, calm, determined and unshakable.

Boastfulness is the surest sign of weakness and insecurity. True confidence has no need to speak of itself.

Authentic richness is endlessly generous. Anyone who has the need to appear rich suffers from a terribly painful poverty of the spirit.

How do you fill your life with richness and power? Honestly be yourself, and give freely of yourself.

Give up the fantasy of gaining benefit over others, for even if you could get it you would receive no real value from it. Instead, make it your business to promote, encourage, raise up, love and appreciate others at every opportunity.

Pretending to be rich and powerful is agonizing work that incessantly erodes your spirit. Being truly rich and powerful fulfills your deepest longings and brings you fully to life.

Have a great day!!

I might be obsessed

I think if my voice were tolerable, I might have pursued a singing career...ok, probably not, I should just be grateful that my friends like me for who I am and they aren't offended by me singing off key...I guess I'll never be the karaoke superstar that I am in my dreams.

Completely feeling the groove.

The entire Karaoke gang. How classic that Clark and Atticus were such good sports. By the end we had to fight them for the mics! They were pros.

At one point both Atticus and Clark started crying...was our singing that bad?

Just jammin to a little Kanye or was it Eminem?

Oh, the laughs we had! Amberli come back so we can sing, just one more hour.

My hot mama and sister

How cute is this?

My Uncle Warren sent this to my mom who sent it to me.

Had to share.

When Kijuana comes to town...everything's more fun....

Kijuana and I had the best time when she came over Memorial weekend. We laughed and laughed and had a great time. Wanna come back, sis?

Hanging in Little Italy after getting our shop on.

Eating delicious Chinese food at a super sketchy restaurant in Chinatown.

Cheers!

Saying good bye!

Please don't go!

The re-creation

Kijuana and I's version of: http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

KARAOKE!!

No, seriously probably one of my top ten nights of all time. Why is karaoke always hilarious?

Michelle and Kijuana

My solo debut...

Sara and Kijuana
Food, friends, fun, and karoke!

I know Michelle and Kijuana are going to kill me for posting these, but at least I will have died laughing....so funny....

Remember me?

Apparently I'm a once-a-month blogger, but oh well.

Life has been busy and interesting and good.

Here is the top 5 things that's happened in the past month:

5. I've been maintining my 3-day a week workout schedule.
4.We had one week of summer-like weather.
3. I'm starting an organic garden with my friend Sarah...(it's going to be in her backyard since I don't have one - she lives about 6 blocks away)...get ready for lots of veggie posts.
2. I'm spending a lot of time and mental energy on my new project and am getting sooo excited!
1. Dereck started his new job 2 weeks ago as the Loss Prevention Manager for the Brooklyn Region!

Hope all is well with you!

In Honor of Earth Day

An Article from EcoTextile News

MANCHESTER – [07.04.09] The trend in recent years towards disposable ‘fast
fashion’ is rapidly impacting on natural resources in ways that would shock many
consumers, according to new research from a leading UK-based textile testing
laboratory.The latest research from Shirley Technologies (STL), suggests that
while consumers may believe low-price apparel such as T-shirts and jeans offer a
genuine bargain, in reality, the environmental cost could be up to four times
the price of higher-quality clothing.
“A pair of ‘bargain‘ jeans may come
with a low price tag, but they come with a high environmental impact price,”
said Asif Shah of UKAS accredited Shirley Technologies. “Our research
illustrates that somebody may keep and wear a good or high quality pair of
jeans, for instance, for four times as long as they might keep low-price
jeans.
“People purposely buy ‘fast fashion‘ to wear a few times and throw
away, but in doing so they are going through raw materials four times as fast,
using four times as much water and four times as much chemicals.”
STL also
found that the increasing trend for recycling was not resonating particularly
well in the clothing sector with only 12% of textiles recycled in the UK.

Hopefully KGrace Designs will be your answer to fast fashion....stay tuned!

Harvey Faircloth

So, I'm a little late in blogging about this, but better late than never, eh?

Two lovely ladies that I know (and their very talented friend) have created this wonderful new clothing line called Harvey Faircloth.

I know you will find them as beautiful as I do! Please see all these links below...

Here

Here

Here

and

Here.

Talk about talent. They were also featured in WWD, which is like the coolest for all things retail/fashion related. I'm so impressed and excited for them!! And here they are in their line.

Aren't they great!?!

Soon to be available in: Milkmade in Venice, Calif.; Elsa Arms in Providence, R.I., and Cabana in Dallas.

The Husband.

Talk about handsome.

This is my man and his father. They were probably causing all kinds of accidents looking this good! haha

I just thought this picture was so cute because they're posing so similarly without even knowing it.

So it turns out, I'm not such a good blogger after all. I'm kind of bored of it. Does anyone else feel the same? I'm sorta considering ending this blog and starting a new one, but don't worry, I'll keep you posted.
Otherwise life has been busy, but good. My darling Cathy came to visit. We of course, had an awesome time!
We went out on the town on Saturday night...tons of fun!
The best part about this picture is that she was genuinely so excited about her hot chocolate and then I ended up drinking it...go figure?

Happy Easter!

I hope that everyone had a lovely day.

Colorado

Colorado was so much fun. This picture basically sums up what we did all day...
Read here and here if you want to read about it. All I can really say is that Kelly and Dave were the best hosts ever - wasn't I supposed to come to help THEM?!

Here are a few additional pictures. I miss you guys already!
Fun seeing the twins and Chad!We circled New York before landing, I was a bit bored - so here's Long Island for you.

A Lesson in Patience and Perseverence with DELTA

So, after I posted my last blog post I left work about an hour later and headed to the airport.
There is a bus that goes from Grand Central (by my office) right to JFK, so I often take it when I leave from the airport from work. I got on the bus. No problem.

So, I got to the airport at about 5:45. (flight left at 6:55). Normally that's plenty of time. I checked in at the kiosk and got in line at the bag drop so I could drop my bag and head to the security line. Since it's JFK and stupid, I ended up being in the line until 6:20. At that point, I motioned for a Delta agent (lady #1). I let her know that I had been standing in line for the past half hour and that I need to quickly drop my bag off because I had to get through security and not miss my flight. She takes one look at my boarding pass and says, "It's too late."
I sort of waited for her to continue, but that was it.
I responded - "Um, I'm sorry but I've been in line for a half an hour just trying to drop my bag off. It's not too late. I need to get on this flight. If it was too late, the kiosk that I checked in at would have informed me of such and not let me print my boarding pass."
She just stares at me.
"What am I supposed to do?" (I'm getting really irritated) "Can I just take my bag through security and throw away my liquids?"
"No, you're bag is too big," she replies, "You'll have to get on a different flight."
Right...
So, I ran to the First Class window (as lady #1 instructed since there was no line) and spoke to another woman (lady #2) who was extremely unhelpful. She basically told me since it was the last flight of the day and there were no connecting flights that would be work that I would have to purchase a new ticket. She told me to go to jetblue since I bought the ticket on hotwire....huh?
Well, unfortunately I bought the ticket on delta.com so I seriously have no idea where she was getting this information. So, I just walked away after dealing with her, cause she was clueless.

So, I got on the phone and called Delta's 800 number. I spoke to someone there (lady #3)(finally!) and explained my situation. She informed me that since I was at the airport that it would be better to speak to an agent at the airport. (After being on hold for 10 minutes.) Grrr....I waited for the lines to die down and got in line again to talk to someone else. (Enter lady #4). I spoke to her for about 30 minutes, basically back and forth about why I missed my flight and I had her look up all the other options. At the end of the conversation she had convinced me that I needed to have a ticket re-issued since there were no other options until tomorrow and the cheapest it would cost is the $150 change fee. She would be happy to put me on the same flight tomorrow. By this point, my emotions had overcome me, I was tired, sad, mad and knew that I wasn't going to pay the money since I had gotten such a good rate on this flight. I told her I'd decide tomorrow.

I had called Dereck and went outside to wait for him. I had to call Kelly and Cathy to let them so they weren't waiting for me and had myself a good cry.

On the way home, I couldn't get over the injustice of it all. I have missed a few flights in my day and have NEVER been treated so poorly especially when it wasn't my fault!! So, when I got home I called the Delta 800 no. Again. I spoke to a woman (lady #5) and explained the situation. She told me what the "policy" was and that they don't make exceptions...I asked for her supervisor. (Gentleman #1). I spoke to him and told him the same story and made it perfectly clear that it was NOT my fault. I had been at the airport in plenty of time, I have flown out of JFK before, I understand the procedures. Why was I allowed to check in, if in fact I was "too late" as Lady #1 said? After some pleading he finally said. "OK. I'll make the switch for you to fly on the same flight tomorrow."

Kind of stunned, I thanked him, had some dinner and went to bed.

The next day I went to work. (Everyone thought I was going to be out so that was weird.) Left work an hour early than I left on Thursday just to be sure and hopped on the shuttle bus. It felt like Groundhog day! We encountered some traffic, but I still figured I had plenty of time. Next thing you know, I feel the bus slowing to a stop. I looked out the window and could see the exit for the terminals up ahead, but knew we had not reached it. I hear the bus driver talking on his cell phone in Chinese and hear other passengers exclaiming to one another, "the bus broke down"....

Of course it did.

I waited on the bus for about 3 minutes where I was running scenarios in my head...what to do, what to do...I was secretly just hoping the bus would be un-broken and take me to my gate...no such luck...

So, I got off the bus, with a few of my fellow passengers and proceeded to WALK to the terminal.
With my bag.
On the freeway.

Oh what I sight I'm sure I was. Luckily it wasn't too far and I made it a terminal, hopped on the airtran and got to my terminal in about 25 minutes. Not bad. Take that, fate.

So, I was still OK on time, went to the kiosk to print my pass (again de ja vu) except there was no record of me.

NO RECORD OF ME! (I screamed this in my head).

I proceeded to the shortest line and waited. I got to the front, I gave my ID to lady #6 and started to explain the situation. She wasn't buying it. She was like, we DON'T just change tickets without payment if YOU miss your flight. I felt like letting her HAVE IT. But, I remained calm and explained to her that if she could just read through all the notes, there had to be some mention in there of me talking to Gentleman #1 last night. Nope. So, she calls over the manager. (Gentleman #2). What a joke. He was on his walkie-talkie and not even listening to her as she was explaining to him my situation and just shakes his head no and walks away.
So much for customer service, huh?
So, lady #6 just shrugs and tells me there's nothing she can do without payment for re-issuing this new flight which at this point has jumped to like $400. So, I call the Delta 800 no again and speak to lady #7! She says that she also sees no record of this alleged "free flight" she called it and that I would have to pay the difference. I asked to speak to a manager. Lady #8. She had me on and off hold as I told her the story, she looked through the notes, etc. for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, lady #6 kept giving me the evil eye and told me to please stand aside so she could help other customers.
Finally, lady #8 came through for me! I really thought it was a lost cause and I was going to have to pay the difference, but somehow it all worked out. I made lady #8 stay on the phone so that when I talked to lady #6 I could have back up if need be.
When I walked back over to lady #6 she seemed so mad that I was actually RIGHT! She was so rude and just basically threw the label on my bag that I had to just pause for a minute, look her directly in the eye and say, "Thank you so much for taking the time to help me deal with this unpleasant situation." (or something like that). She was probably embarassed but instead looked at me insincerely and said, "You're welcome." Punk. Apparently it take speaking to 10 people to get anything done!!! Ridiculous.

But, my bag was checked and I was on my way! The line was long through security and literally when I got to my gate they started boarding like 5 minutes later. Boarded the flight taxied about an hour and a half and then the rest of the flight there was uneventful. I think I fell asleep the minute I sat down on the flight and after sleeping about 30 minutes, woke up to the captain saying...we're making good progress only 30 more airplanes ahead of us...come on!

I'll write about the lovely time I had in Denver in my next post. But for now onto the return flight.

On Monday morning Kelly, Dave, and Charlotte got all ready and took me to the airport. I talked to Dereck that morning and he said that NY had gotten about 6 inches of snow. Meanwhile it was 70 degress in Denver, so I figured we'd be fine and that it should be cleared up by the time I got in at 4pm. So, I checked my bag, went to my gate and waited until about 9:50. the flight left at 10:25, so I ran to the restroom in anticipation of getting ready to board. When I came back, I saw that my flight was CANCELLED. Oh, NOW they're going to tell me. How crazy is that? Why would they let all those people check in?

So, I call Delta and lady #9 informed me that they have re-booked me on the same flight tomorrow. I call Kelly, call my work, go downstairs and get my bag. I stopped by the Delta counter just to confirm (lady #10) that all was ok and she informed me that I did have a seat on Tuesday's flight and she gave me a meal voucher. (Sweet!)

Lovely Kelly and Charlotte came and picked me up and we had our extra day, so it was actually kind of great. I was a little hesitant heading to the airport on Tuesday morning again, but all went well and my flight was fine, it was just a long day. I got home Tuesday night at like 6:30! But, better safe than sorry and I'm sooo glad I didn't give in and pay for the flight. Wow, what a mess. So at the end of the day, I probably won't be flying Delta if I can help it.

More to come about the actual fun part of the trip!

And I'm off...

to this lovely city.

to see this lovely family.

can't wait.

Day Number Seven

Here's a dress for Sunday.

What happened to Day Number Six you ask?

Well, apparently I unknowingly "forfeited" my day because I took off the brown sweater from Day Number Five. Right...

I was hot, what could I do?

Well, I guess I should also add that I substituted it for a lighter weight sweater.

It was still a nice week despite the technicalities...

A Question

Is it weird that I still eat peanuts amidst the massive recall that's happening?...
I LOVE peanuts and peanut butter and don't feel like giving them up. Are you still eating peanuts?

Day Number Five

Friday could not come soon enough!

Here is what the mister put me in this morning.