Happy Birthday Kenny!

Just had to give a birthday shout out to my little (well, not so little) brother. I hope those Brasilians are treating him well for the big 22! I love you bud!

Bermuda: Day Two

Yes, there was a day two and three and I'm just getting around to posting (though to my credit, the baby news and moving chaos took some serious precedence). I think an appropriate title for day two would have to be: Pioneer children sang as they WALKED and WALKED and WALKED and WALKED! Yes, I did catch myself singing that throughout the day as my little (by little I mean long) legs were getting mighty tired. I thought NYC provided sufficient walking to prep me for any day filled with walking, but I was wrong. Anyway, we had lots of fun exploring the island.

We successfully found the church in an attempt to see the first session of conference, but to no avail. The cable company didn't switch over to the right station and the guy who knew how to do it wasn't in, so after an hour we all gave up (there were about 8 of us there) and we headed to sight-see.

Brett had seen ads for these caves and was anxious to check them out. They were conveniently located right next to the church. We toured Fantasy Cave where Brett learned the difference between stalagtites and stalagmites.
It sure was beautiful inside!
This is what they call a 'chandeleir' - can't imagine why!
I loved being among palm trees again. It reminds me of Alamo (a street in good ole Simi Valley). I particularly liked the topless tree...it gave us a good laugh. But really, where did all the leaves go?
He was so good to me and carried the bag pretty much the entire trip!
Walking to the bus stop...
Waiting for the bus...Overlooking Tobacco Bay

Looking out from Fort St. Catherine
Self portrait
Giving a little attitude outside of Fort St. Catherine after finding out that we had walked all that way only to find it was closed.
I just couldn't get enough of these views...the water is so very clear...

Saw these cute little guys on the side of the road and just wanted to take them home with me...a picture had to suffice.

The trek back to the bus. Honestly who knew that things would seem so far away on such a small island!
City Hall...what a cute building!

And that's day two for you. I didn't get any good pictures of the dinners we went to because I always forgot to bring the camera along. I actually think that for day two we ordered in and watched the semi final games of March Madness.

Day three to come...

Things to be grateful for...

1. A beautiful apartment that came through at the last minute (4pm the day before we had to move...talk about cutting it close)!

2. Bubble wrap and Mov Eze plastic wrap that made packing so much easier and left all of my things unharmed after the move (at least as of this morning there were no casualties).

3. Friends (both old and new and even my seminary kids) who sacrificed their energy and Wednesday afternoons/evenings to help us move and clean our old apartment.

4. My cute husband who has made time during his busiest season of the year to be home in the evenings and around for the move and the weekends before and after to make it all possible! He has worked tirelessly to get things unpacked and organized, even when I'm too tired to help (and subsequently slip into the bedroom for a two-hour nap while he works away)! He's been good to me and the place is looking great - finally starting to feel like a home! Thanks Brett for making the time and choosing us!

5. Fabulous girlfriends who have volunteered their time to come help me unpack, organize and decorate. Thanks Janers, you're the best! Mindy, can't wait to see you tonight!

6. Good friends (they're pretty much family) in Jersey who were ready and willing to let us stay there as long as we needed if things had fallen through. Thanks Scot and Ellen for checking up on us!

7. Delivery in NYC! I can have everything from groceries and all my purchases at Bed, Bath and Beyond (and pretty much any other store) to laundry/dry cleaning delivered right to my door so that the strong delivery guys can carry it all up the four flights of stairs and spare me the exhaustion of lugging those heavy things up the stairs. (I sound like a total wus, but really, I'm not...I lugged quite a few groceries up myself on Saturday, but when someone else can do it, why not let them have the opportunity to serve)!?!?!?

8. A kitchen to cook in again! I didn't realize how much I missed cooking until I had a kitchen back. I'm absolutely sick of ordering in after two weeks of it! This weekend once things were unpacked in the kitchen, I cooked away and boy did it feel good!

9. Doors! As much as I loved our cute studio (it really was a perfect starter apartment), I am SO glad to have more room and doors to separate the space. Now Brett can get ready in the morning without waking me up and I can stay up late to prep for seminary without hearing him say, "It's too bright in here, I can't sleep!" and then having to go finish my lesson prep in the bathroom so he can sleep.

10. Sleeping with a comforter. We previously lived right above the boiler and no matter what time of year it was, it was HOT as hay in the apartment. Now our place gets chilly and there is nothing better than snuggling up under a warm down comforter - it just provides for a better sleep.

11. Perfect HD reception. Now we get all of the network stations and then some - all for free!

12. Getting back to "the best of times" and the feeling of being on top of the world again!

*More updates on the move to come with pictures and all.

Update

Still no apartment to move into tomorrow. Looks like our things are going into storage, but I guess a miracle could happen in the next 10 hours (fingers crossed!)

I do still believe that people are good though. I believe that the cab driver in Bermuda, after taking us to our hotel, tried to return the $200 that his previous clients dropped and we found in the cab. I believe that people will follow through on their promises (even though one landlord has repeatedly fallen back on her word).

That's all for now. More details to come post move!

It was the best of times...

...and yes, it was the worst of times! Honestly, sometimes you feel like you're on top of the world - nothing could possibly go wrong. But inevitably, you know a time will soon come when the world will be on top of you (and my is that world a heavy weight to carry)! And although you know it is inevitable when you're on top, you still feel it is impossible.

This weekend the world was definitely on top of me! Late Friday night, the apartment we were supposed to be moving into fell through. The back up option that the landlord gave us might just be an infinitely better option except for the fact that it's a fifth floor walk-up with no laundry in the building (I know, I've been spoiled in my NYC apartments thus far) AND she couldn't promise it to us (still awaiting word). I hate the feeling of not knowing where we'll be on Wednesday - the only sure thing is that we HAVE to be out of our apartment by end of day Wednesday so the new tenant can move in on Thursday. Instead of spending all weekend packing, we went back and forth between packing and looking at apartments (which yielded NO fruits). I know, I'm a total whiner. It could be worse, right? I mean it was slightly over three years ago that I lived among those who had no running water, two outfits to wear (that they took turns washing in the river), days where they couldn't afford food and lived off of whatever fruit fell from trees around them (whether edible or not), no formal education...the list could go on. And here I am complaining about the possibility of having to walk up and down five flights of stairs countless times a day and walk my laundry to the laundromat on the corner and then haul it back up the stairs. Or the possibility of having to put all of our stuff in storage and stay in a hotel or with someone else (what about a cardboard box on the street? People do it here all the time). I mean, really, perspective Kris, perspective! These can be my "pioneer" stories that my great grandchildren will be telling of me! And let's be honest, the downside of the apartment is at least a health benefit for all of us (definite help in losing baby weight)! But the question still remains if it's ours or not. Apartment situation aside, the weekend was still just a tough one - stress levels in our apartment were at a high and for those of you that know Brett or me are well aware of what happens at those stress levels! We made ourselves miserable! And to top that off, where has all my energy gone? I always figured I'd be the invincible pregnant one - no morning sickness, no aches and pains, all the energy in the world. And though this second trimester has brought more energy, I'm still a lot more tired than I ever used to be. So I had to kiss those late nights of packing til 2am goodbye and tuck myself in for the night at 10:30. I also had to look away from the mirrors. This having no control of gaining weight thing is just not conducive to my obsessive 'need to be in control' nature.

I am grateful, however, that through all of this there are shining moments that give you the strength to keep fighting. Like Friday, for example...what moment could be better than sitting together watching your little one moving around inside of you and finding out that a little baby GIRL is headed your way?!?! Or having 5 smiling kids in seminary this morning (and that's a lot to ask of teenagers at 6:30am) and sharing a fabulous 45 minutes with them talking about Proverbs. Or getting a phone call from your husband and hearing him admit that maybe you were right. Or laughing hysterically with Adrienne on the phone because she thought you said 'hold on' and you thought she said the same and subsequently sitting in silence for a minute for no reason at all! It's absolutely crazy that life can be so bitter and yet so sweet all at the same time. And boy am I ever grateful for the "sweet" moments - and there are many! No fear though, I plan to be back on top of the world very soon...

Life is full of surprises!

Pink Sand Beaches and Coral Reefs: Day One!

I've decided to break up the post about Bermuda into days. The thought of going through all of these pictures and uploading all of them for one post now sounds exhausting. So, instead I'll break it up.

I arrived in Bermuda late Thursday night with no problems...I managed to catch my first flight, so unlike Brett, it was easy to get there. It's only an hour and a half flight from JFK! Thursday night was uneventful considering I got in well after dark (and it gets dark late there). The cab driver was so friendly and we chatted the entire 30 minutes from the airport to the hotel. He told me the top three places to go while in Bermuda and of course he recounted his life story (hmmm...reminds me of the mission).

Thursday morning was overcast and windy, but we didn't let that stop us. Here is a view from our room that morning...beautiful view and those clouds cleared up and we never saw them again the rest of the trip.

On the way to sight see, but I just loved this little nook of the hotel and all the coi swimming beneath my feet.

We stayed at the Fairmont Princess. There is another Fairmont in Southhampton, so they provide free ferries down there every few hours. We hopped on one of those and spent the rest of the day getting to know the beaches of the South shore.

Enjoying the ferry ride. Brett made sure to be first in line to get us a front row seat!

Approaching shore with a perfect view of Gill's Lighthouse.

The hotel's private beach.

Horseshoe Bay (one of the world's most beautiful beaches)! And since the day started out overcast, the people went elsewhere and left the beach almost entire to us!

I know, it wouldn't be a vacation post without some pictures of the food (I got that from my family). We didn't eat this bad the whole time, but it was the only thing around, so we sucked it up and enjoyed a grease-filled lunch from the snack bar!

Testing out the waters.

Enjoying the warmth of the Atlantic! I would have been there with him, but "they say" not to leave your things unattended and we surely didn't want our nice camera or cash stolen. And for the record, I spent some time in the water, but didn't go all the way in since it was still breezy and we only had a small towel (already used by Brett) with us.

So you can't really tell here, but the sand really is pink (or better said, it has a mixture of pink and, for lack of a better description, sand-collored grains of fine sand). It was heavenly to walk on!

Overlooking Horseshoe Bay before heading back.

We couldn't figure out what kind of fish were laying all over the beach.

Then we saw a sign on the way back warning beach-goers about Portuguese Man-O-War and their stinging tentacles.

There were so many beautiful, tropical flowers and I just couldn't snap enough pictures. Here's one of my favorites:

On the trolley back down to the ferry. Note: Brett had already spent two additional days in the sun, hence his color and my sheer whiteness. Oh how I miss the days of a year-round tan in Cali. Someday!

Since I was the photographer 99% of the time, this is about the only view I had of myself. It was a relaxing ride back - much warmer than that morning and almost no wind at all.

A view of our resort from afar!

And there she is, the Fairmont Princess in Hamilton.

All in all, day one was great! We enjoyed a stroll (that word makes us sound 50 years older) in downtown Hamilton where we went to the Lobster Pot for dinner. I was all ready to get Lobster until I saw that it wasn't anything special...it was Maine lobster! Hello, I can get that in New York AND it's probably fresher in NYC since it has a lot less distance to travel! Unfortunately we didn't bring the camera with us that night, so no pictures to document the evening or the great food...sorry to disappoint! :)

Absolutely in heaven!

It's been way too long since I've spent time with my former love, volleyball. Well tonight, after a couple of years, we reacquainted ourselves. A few weeks ago I was up in the studio at work and this girl walked in looking for something. She looked at me and said, "Girl, how tall are you?" (I was wearing three inch heels that day, so I was looking that much taller). Upon telling her my height, she continued, "You play volleyball?" And there began a little friendship. She has been playing on a Division 1 team (meaning that it wasn't just like monkey ball) in a city league here and invited me to join them for their last three games of the season. Unfortunately I couldn't make it to the first one, but tonight I made sure to keep the calendar clear. And oh boy, did it ever feel good to get back on the court and brush up on those skills. I wasn't up to my game, but considering how long its been, I thought I held my own. It was an hour of heaven. Oh how I miss that part of my life. I used to spend 12+ hours each week practicing and during club season, most of my weekends were consumed by tournaments. I literally lived and breathed that game. Thanks mom and dad for allowing me the opportunity to play for so many years!

Leaving, on a jet plane...

Poor Brett has been leaving on a jet plane for the past 24 hours. What a nightmare of a flying experience he has had over the past day. He missed the first day of his three day conference. Let's say that just about everything that could have happened did. I'll spare you the details, but after a missed flight last night, a cell phone left behind in the car, a delayed flight this morning that caused a missed connection, a flight back to LGA, a car ride from LGA to JFK, and 5 hours waiting in the airport, he is en route to Bermuda. Only one day late. Pobrecito! On a good note, I got to see him last night, even if only for a few hours! And now it's only two days until I get to see him again. I head out to Bermuda on Thursday evening (and yes, I am planning on leaving extra early for the airport just in case). Looking forward to a relaxing weekend, just Brett and I on a tropical island enjoying the sun, more warmth than I've experienced in at least 5 months, maybe a bit of snorkeling, or golf, or scooter-riding, swimming, sleeping in and all the other luxuries of our resort. Here's a taste of what is to come:

Basketball, Broadway & Bunnies

Our weekend started early - thanks to Good Friday (though I didn't technically have the day off, my good boss told me coming in was "up to me"...so of course I slept in, had breakfast with the other half, strolled into work around 11:30, stayed for 2 hours to get one or two things done, and took off to shop for the afternoon...I mean really, who wouldn't?). Brett got off on Thursday early - his half day allowed him to leave at 5:30pm!! I unfortunately didn't have a half day and headed straight from work to R.S. I came home to a husband on the couch, with feet up on the ottomon and some of this:

Yes, we do have an HD antenna, but we've never been able to get CBS with it. Brett would not stand for that during March Madness, so he went straight to Best Buy to take care of it. Now we have TWO antennas...we get CBS with this one, but not ABC or the CW. I guess between the two of them, we've got the main networks covered. I must admit, I wasn't so thrilled with the idea, but after strongly voicing my opinion, I came to grips with it and I'm sure glad that Brett has been able to enjoy his weekend off with lots and lots of basketball. And of course I didn't leave anything for dinner, so I should have guessed. All that remained was a pizza box lying on the floor with a couple of strings of cheese stuck to the inside. All Brett could say was, "What? Pizza and basketball." Too cute! I was just upset that he didn't even save me one slice...that's right, he ate the ENTIRE pizza by himself. I brought him home some desserts from R.S., but when he looked at them he said, "My stomach hurts a little." You think? After downing an entire pizza :)

Basketball really devoured our weekend...I wasn't as much into the games as how I was doing on my picks. In my family there are first, second and third place prizes for picks and I'm ALWAYS at the bottom of the todem pole. This year though, I'm holding my own and I root for whatever teams I picked.

Saturday we went out to look for apartment with a broker (yes, we've resorted to a broker so they can do some of the work for us). What a drag! We just want to find the perfect apartment - no more looking!!!! Soon enough, but in the meantime we'll keep chugging along.

After a morning trekking through the Upper East Side, we continued to celebrate Brett's birthday with a matinee performance of Phantom of the Opera. I saw it when I was little, so I don't remember much of it. We enjoyed it, though we wished that we had gone in knowing the story a bit better. The music and cast were phenomenal. Yes, my childhood dream of being a Broadway star lives on! I brought my camera to document the occasion, but much to my chagrin (and much to Brett's joy), the battery was exhausted.

Sunday morning the Easter bunny found us - mmm, some tasty treats landed in our basket (but not too many so as not to "blow up like my Aunt Roberta" - name that movie)! We enjoyed a good block of church meetings and then a bit of basketball before heading over to have Easter dinner with some friends. We were in charge of bringing dessert, so I put my Martha Stewart skills to the test. I realized very quickly that I am no Martha Stewart - it didn't quite look like this:

Ok, so it looked nothing like that. But supposedly they tasted good - though everyone may have just been obligated to say that. I thought they were fine, but of course the cooks opinion really doesn't count!

All in all, a good Easter weekend. The only thing that would have made it better - pictures! I can't believe I slacked on some serious scrapbooking opportunities!

I'm so excited! I just can't hide it!

There are some indescribable moments of joy in life and today provided one of them. Congratulations to my sister for matching in York, PA!!!! She matched for her ER residency at her top pick! Of course, I'm not surprised because she's just so incredible and is always on top - everyone loves her and the York ER Residency program is so lucky to have her! We've all been waiting for this moment for a long time now and as I opened the text message, I felt as if I was opening a mission call again! Truth be told, I cried at the news and then again at the email her husband sent out with pictures. It's great news, but what makes it even greater is the fact that now she'll be a mere 177 miles from NYC (3 short hours by car)! Brett and I have been trying to convince any of our siblings to move out east and join us. We made a valiant effort with Becky and Ben, but to no avail. At long last, we'll actually have family we can visit more than once or twice a year. Kirsten and I have already had a conversation this afternoon about our monthly visits. Now there will be family to spend holidays with and we can regularly see their little wee in its first years of life. Just in case you wanted to see how very close they'll be, I mapquested the route!

And here are a couple of pictures documenting the event. That smile on her face is just priceless! Look out York, Kirsten, Kyle and little wee are on their way!
Kirst, I'm so proud of you! You definitely deserve this! And I look forward to all the memories we'll create in the upcoming years!

March 18th

For the past four weeks, March 18th has been branded into my forehead. All I was working for was to make it successfully to this day. As I type, the "mucky mucks" (as my mom would call them) are up in "the penthouse" in an all-day meeting with a very important client (so important she was flown in on a corporate jet and her security is down in the lobby). I've been working like crazy along with my team to put this whole meeting together. We've had many long hours (weekends included) and late nights bringing things to life. The run through yesterday went relatively well, with only minor last minute changes. Leaving at 9:45pm last night was much welcomed considering that we all assumed we'd be here well into the wee hours of the morning. It's my first quiet day in a while and I'm anxious for 5:15pm to roll around so I can hear how it all went (of course, I'm sure it will roll off without a problem) and then head right out the door and get some good sleep. For at least the past week, I've had multiple nightmares each night about all of the reels I've put together for this meeting, etc. I'm looking forward to sweet dreams now!

At about 10:15 this morning as I sat down to catch up on all the work I've neglected, I was pleasantly surprised to find our group admin walk over with a beautiful arrangement of flowers (from my boss' boss' boss) just for me in appreciation of all the work I've done. So sweet! It made the 70+ hour weeks worth it! (Well, the senior exposure I received over the past weeks was also an added bonus to the project). Now all I have to do is clean my house (which has been harshly neglected over the past few weeks) so the flowers have a fitting home for the next few days...maybe tomorrow!

P.S. I'll have to post pictures of the final set-up of the room once I grab them from our admin. It is a sight to behold!