Happy B-day W!

We are laying low today since we are racing at West Point tommorrow. We were the oldest people seeing Superbad last night, so I guess age is just a number!

For Mario Batali, It’s Molto Michigan - New York Times

For Mario Batali, It’s Molto Michigan - New York Times
Sounds like you should make friends and become dinner guests (A+K!)

The little plant that could

I love to grow tomatoes, but I do not have any ground to plant them. I try to see what I can get out of containers with varied success every year. This year's crop took a serious beating. They were moved at least 4 times, and contractors took over our backyard. I just love this little pathetic plant and how it used up all of its energy to produce a fruit. It is the Charlie Brown Christmas tree of the tomato world.

Hey doggie

All I have to say, is this the best they could do? This is the dog they chose to highlight adoption from the pound?

The Swell Season Live - Lies

I just downloaded the chords, so wish me luck. I need to look up A#. The visual here is not good, but the sound is good nonetheless.

Mysterious Congressman Challenges Leading Candidates To Debate At Dawn

What is the status A+K?

Water Levels in 3 Great Lakes Dip Far Below Normal - New York Times

World’s Best Medical Care? - New York Times

World’s Best Medical Care? - New York Times

Housing crisis

We spent much of Sunday going to open houses. It instilled more hope in me since the houses were all nice (not like the million dollar dumps in Greenwich we saw a few weeks back). We looked at a fixer in Rye that was 1.3, but that was just to poke our heads in since we were nearby. The market here is slowing down and moving in our favor, but it is still a daunting idea to buy here. There are many factors we are considering, but the main one is to be a reasonable commute to NYC (in case Mike has to work there in the future). Here is the synopsis:

One of the houses was on a beautiful property, house was in great shape and updated, but the ground floor plan was not very open. We would knock a wall down where we could do it in that house. The commute was good for being further north from where we live now.

The next house I did not want to look at, but Mike convinced me. The house was in good shape, but needed to be updated. The price was good (for the area, none of the prices here are really actually "good") and it was really unique. They had 5,000 feet of decking instead of a lawn and the house was in the woods. It was like living in a nature preserve. The commute was not so good there.

The next place was in Greenwich on the border with NY. It was a more typical .2 acre lot with a colonial, but they had made some great updates inside. It had a pool, but I really do not want one (unless it is 25 yards!). The price was good, taxes were really low (taxes are 5,000 in Greenwich, but in Westchester they begin at 10,000 and go up to more that 20,000 in some towns). Good commute to city and access to highways, and we get to go to the beach in Greenwich!

We headed to Rye where there was a newly built house. The house was great, but it was on a street that was not pretty. They just reduced the price 100,000 on it!

It was funny that we were almost the only ones showing for many of the open houses. It is a slow time of year. Anyways, the realtor at the fixer for 1.3 ended up following us around. It was weird since we had really no interest in the house, and it was crawling with people. Maybe she smelled that we were looking in general on us. It was weird though. We went outside, and she popped beside us 2 separate times and chatted us up. She was not annoying though and talked a lot about the town in general too.

Glen Hansard Live at Sundance!

This is a song from the movie we saw this weekend. I need to get the soundtrack now. What a complete sound standing there in Park City with a guitar.

Good Musical

Once the Movie - A Film by John Carney

Outkast-Hey Ya!

Here is a pick up for everyone. This song makes me want to dance anytime.

Smells like home

I was driving in congested traffic the other day, and I saw a car with a bumper sticker reading "My other car is a Zamboni". When I saw it, I thought it was weird to see in the metro NYC area, and it would really belong on a car with Michigan plates. As I marvelled at the car with the bumper sticker (sporting NY plates), I saw they also had a Red Wings license plate holder. So my initial Detroit instinct was correct after all. I must have Detroiterdar.

Squeeze

Be sure to finish strong with the proper ending, "If I, If I, did'nt, did'nt, Love you, love you, love you

I was suprised they played it!

Hello

I have not been updating too much lately. I have been getting ready for the fall (What???), trying to create a schedule without complete information, getting ready for my new job, trying to get a trip lined up for August, looking for a house with a wishy washy attitude (along with Mike's), and goofing off as much as possible. I have not been biking much due to horrible heat and company, so I need to get in the saddle since we are racing next weekend.
I am in new territory with my new job starting up as well. I have a non-compete clause in my contract, and I would never violate it. The problem is that many of my ongoing kids want to see me in the pool now! I try not to advertise what I am doing in the fall, but with my reduced hours everyone starts asking. So I am going to talk to the head of the agency tommorow to see what I can work out with her. It is not in my nature to have to be this guarded about what I can offer people, and it is no fun. It is also hard since I know kids who would really benefit from the service. So my legal and ethical bells are sounding loudly.
We are also trying to decide where to spend New Year's (way too early). We will be in Deutchland for Christmas, but that will be for a few days only. Any suggestions?

NPR : Alter Egos in a Virtual World

NPR : Alter Egos in a Virtual World

Hello! Bad cop

Bad Thai cops to endure Kitty shame - Yahoo! News

Design for the Other 90%: Water

Design for the Other 90%: Water
In case you were interested in the kind of work Ed is doing. It was pretty fascinating to see what is out there. The exhibit in the museum was interesting, because there were also many designs for the victims of Katrina. His company makes the moneymaker pumps and other devices.

Weekend of Ed

As I mentioned before, our esteemed friend Ed is in town from Africa. So it was a lot of fun to catch up, and he was tolerant of how boring we are (or is being really polite!). We went to the Cooper-Hewitt to see what he is working on in Africa, and we met his boss who created the company he works for now (Kick Start). Please check out the entry below to see the pumps.

We went to some open houses today, and we finished our hot day with a hike to Breakneck ridge. No necks were broken, but ankle was turned and a knee was hyper-extended (guess who did what!). I know some of you are familiar with Euromike, but I just met Zenmike.

Squeeze was fantastic. They played all of my requests, and some other tunes I would not have expected. When they went off before the bogus encore, everyone in the place started doing the ooooweoooo from Cool for Cats. That was a first! When the show let out, there was a massive thunderstorm. Everyone was huddling in the theater lobby, and the umbrella salesmen came running! Tracey and I ducked into the first bar was saw, and it turned out to be a gay bar (not that there is anything wrong with it). That ended up being entertaining since the bartender was an outrageous dancer, and some dude that got kicked out started dancing on the sidewalk in front of the window. That is what Mike and the boys came in on time for, but it was not like that before we came in!

Squeezin' and Steamin'

Tonight I am going to Squeeze with my friend Tracey. I am excited to go, and I am sure it will be fun. Ed is out here from Africa, so we will be hanging out this weekend. Now the last minute cleaning begins!

It is really a NY summer now-totally hot and steamy! I treat some kids at their day camps, and it is amazing how hot it is for these kiddies. Many of the kids I treat are in preschool, and they go to day camp all day long. I treat some kids who go to camp in the morning, and they just turned 2 last week? What in the world is "camp" then? Just a way to over schedule them extremely early!

Yesterday I went swimming outside after a hiatus (I was fighting a cold all week). I reached for my fins, and the lifeguard first called me maam (holy shit, I hate being called maam even though it is not disrespectful. I suppose I do not look like a miss anymore!). Then he informed me that they were not allowed anymore in the lap lanes. I asked him when the possible safety concern could be (WTF????), and he told me that somebody complained after being hit by them. I can not wrap my mind around how you get hit by fins! How can a fin (made of soft rubber) hurt you in any way. The person who was hit was being the idiot in my opinion. I guess I am just a swim Nazi or something. If anyone who has been run into or hit by apparatus, that would be me, and the only thing that is painful at all is smacking arms. Even that only hurts for a matter of 10 seconds, even when you lock up with people going fast! Oh wait, it also hurts when you smack your head (or your extremities) on the wall which is generally your fault too (unless the backstroke flags have been tampered with!). OK, I will stop whining!

NPR : Experiencing a Feeling of Wildness

NPR : Experiencing a Feeling of Wildness

Do you know any cool girls who blog?

The Subconcious Brain - Who's Minding the Mind? - New York Times

Trying to find myself.....

Prizm > Market Segmentation Research, Tools, Market Segment Research, - Market Segments, Consumer Markets, Customer Segmentation Profiling
This is pretty silly, but kinda fun too. I have to say I really do not fit into these catagories since I am so unique :)

Squeeze - Up the Junction (TOTP)

Getting excited for the Squeeze show this friday. I hope they do not switch up on the instruments!

Aimee

Mike and I were at our favorite little pub, the Lazy Boy. We always end up going there, because you can usually sit and they have an extensive beer selection. Anyhow, Aimee came on the Jukebox (Pure Prarie League). I had never thought about the lyrics much, but it struck me for some reason. I know the refrain mainly, and here it is:

Aimee, what you gonna do
I think I could stay with you for awhile
Maybe longer if I do

If you were going to the effort to write a love song to impress the lady you are trying to woo, shouldn't you use stronger language. Or perhaps it would help to sound sure of yourself. It's like "Yeah baby, I could see myself dating you for a couple of months, maybe longer". I do not know this Aimee, but maybe she was only worth dating a couple of months anyways.

Open season

Yesterday afternoon, I started feeling like I was coming down with something, so our extensive visiting along with the muggy weather was a good way to make me rest. We suprised Jonathan for his 50th in Brooklyn. He was not expecting it, and we parked right in front of him and he did not see us. He was distracted by the dog, etc. We were watching our meter, and I went out to feed it 5 minutes late. Of course we already had a ticket. I went back to the restaurant without putting more money in since we got caught. When we returned to the car, there was 2! So they are not too nice in Brooklyn about parking. Ouch! The traffic was bad both ways. You just never know when you will hit it. When I plan for the worst, generally it is not bad. Then when I assume it will be clear, I am always wrong. Just a hazard of living here I suppose. We also visited Charlie, Lesa, and the 4 kiddos. That was fun to see them, and we swam at their swim club. Needless to say, Mike got a workout towing the kids around.
Today I dragged myself up late, and then we hit open houses and conducted drive-bys. It was helpful to see what some of the 'hoods are like. It is amazing the variety of prices (most are insane) that people ask. One totally gross house was asking 1,009,000 just based on expansion possibilities. The lot was only .3 acres, and it was not even that nice. I can not comprehend it!

Bomb scare forces evacuation of Blythedale hospital

Bomb scare forces evacuation of Blythedale hospital
That is the hospital where I used to work. Sounds pretty crazy!

I knew it!!!!!

Aquafina labels to spell out source - tap water - Yahoo! News

I have been pretty boring lately eh? I have been doing a lot of running around without a lot of bloggin'. I suppose I have been having a life eh?

One of the 4 year olds I treat this week suggested that I cough or clear my throat. He heard that I had a frog in my throat, and it was pretty funny to get the suggestion from such a little one! I guess it was not the first advice (unsolicited) that I have received from some of the stinkers, and it was not offensive.

I have this game I play with the kids when I want them to jump down from a step. For some reason, it is magic. I have not encountered a child who does not like the game, and this may be the only way I lure them to do it in some cases. I have them jump off the step into an imaginary pool to splash me. If they use the right movement patterns, I pretend the splash is getting bigger. To heighten the drama, I sometimes pretend to be reading a book to relax. Sometimes I hum when I am doing it too, and kids will request I start humming before they jump. I make a big deal about getting wet and pretending to dry off. Many people like to teach their children correct anatomical terms, and I often get to hear little kids gleefully chant "penis" or "vagina" along with the classics "Poop" and "Pee". Recently playing my jumping game, a 4 year-old I see yelled, "I got your VAGINA wet!". I can assure you that I switched games immediately after that statement. I prefer the innocent clueless children personally. I guess parents can give me their opinions, but in my experience they do not always get the information. I guess you can teach them where people should not touch them, etc.

In a unrelated schadenfreude moment, I was at a meeting 'til late last night for my new job. Mike went to the gym without me and did a really hard core run on the treadmill. This morning he told me he woke up with a calf cramp, and my initial response was to laugh. In fact, I am laughing while writing this. So I am really unsympathetic to his suffering. I also laugh like this when he sneezes 30 times in a row (I am not kidding, he really can sneeze that many times, especially in Nuremberg!). He always gets really mad when I laugh at his sneezing, but it looks so funny to me. He is always miserable when it happens. I tell him his sneeze is not effective which is not appreciated. I do not know why I find this stuff so funny, and it is ironic since I work in a helping profession.

With friends like these.....

Find Yourself Packing It On? Blame Friends - New York Times

P.O.V. - The Chances of the World Changing . Film Synopsis | PBS

P.O.V. - The Chances of the World Changing . Film Synopsis | PBS
I was really tired last week, but I got sucked in by this documentary. It was fascinating, and if I am not careful, Mike will start doing stuff like that!

I bet you'll feel better

Expect the Best? Placebos Are for You!: Scientific American

Day, Night, and Dahli

Chicago part deux

Of course, I was up way too late this weekend. Friday night was due to travel, and Saturday was due to the wedding. I forced us up on Sunday AM, and we ran again (touristy running). There were all these tour groups on Sedgeways (Nerds!). The park ranger was cruising around on one too. There is something so geeky about them (as if I am cool!). This the first time I passed people on bikes while jogging (that is a feat since I suck at running!). We ran to the Field Museum and back which was really fun. The weekend weather was incredible! Blue skies and in the 70s. Perfect city weather. We wandered around Michigan Ave too. We went up the Hancock building which was fun (I wished it was all open air though). We also hit Gino's east, but I forgot that you have to wait 45 minutes for the pizza to get done. It was too nice of a day to wait (even for that!), so we missed out on that experience. I am used to the fast NY slices I guess. We finished the weekend at the Art Institute which was the cherry on the sundae (so to speak). So we had a great weekend out, and now it is back to work.

Chicago Part 1

The trip was very planes, trains, and automobiles (although very little of it was automobile). We departed late from Laguardia (of course) and got to play some Ms. Pac-man. This was really exciting 'cause I can actually control games that solely use a joystick. We got in to Chicago and took the train to the city. That is the world's slowest subway I have to say. We had to transfer to a bus at one point due to track work. So we got to bed really late. The hotel was really nice, so that was good. We got up late Sat, and wandered around all day before the wedding. We hit the Museum of Contemporary Art first. That was a great little museum. One of the installations you could actually climb inside, and there was a see-saw for 10. Unfortunately that installation was not open for demonstration at the time we were there. That was a great little suprise. We had some excellent weird photo-ops all weekend. We wandered around some more and took a jog along the river to the lake. That was an urban jog going up and down staircases and negotiating crowds. The wedding was Sat. night at the Adler planetarium. The venue was fantastic. Right on the water with a spectacular city view, and we got to play with all of the displays in the museum. The wedding was really fun. The reception area was on the water with a glass wall and ceiling for lake and city views. She even got free fireworks! I did not know many people at the wedding, but it was still a good time. Kristen (the bride) is one of my camp friends that used to work at the U. They donated to camp in honor of the wedding which was a nice suprise!

I'm back!

I am tired, but here are some pics. Enjoy the madness.

J.W's day off

I am heading to Chicago tonight for the weekend. I am going to a wedding of one of my friends from camp (sounds like we have been friends since childhood eh? I suppose if I had gone to camp as a kid she may be!) I can not remember the last time I went to Chicago. I really love Chicago, but Mike gets all defensive about NY when I say that. He has nothing to worry about, and I think it is OK to love more than one city after all! I heart NY!!!!!!!! Here is a list of other cities I love so far:
Prague
Salzburg (because I did not want to go there, and I was glad we did. I may have been influenced by the Kaiserschmarren serving guest house nearby and the Eisriesenwelt)
San Francisco
Amsterdam
Boston
Detroit Rock City
I am missing anything?

Diablo Rojo (Rodrigo y Gabriela)

Here is something to wake you up on a rainy day. I am low energy in our rainy, hot, and foggy day. I need this to pick my sorry arse up.

Hey, I feel so trendy!

Just the Thing to Carry Your Conscience In - New York Times I suppose it is more cost effective than a Prius.

Why my eye does not wander on bike tours!

The Bicycling Paradox: Fit Doesn’t Have to Mean Thin - New York Times

Fiona Apple - Parting Gift

I dig this song, even though the lyrics are kinda harsh!

John Edwards Vows To End All Bad Things By 2011

I suppose I am already sick of the campaigning for president. Is it me or are they starting this earlier than usual?

Oh those nutty environmentalists!

Selling a Lofty Concept (Clean Energy) by Appealing to a Basic Desire: Free Beer - New York Times

Physical and phestival

This weekend has been comprised of workouts and various activities. Yesterday we swam and ran early 'cause we decided to go to an afternoon music festival in Pleasantville. The day was beautiful, appropriately hot. We would'nt have gone if it was in the 90s. It was still a challenge not to get sunburned. I lathered a lot of 50 before I went, and we carried some along. Mike is my skin protection cop. He constantly asks me if I am protected, and recently said that we should not hang out on the beach. A couple of days later, one of the nannies I know was yelling at me too about going in the sun. I have been so good about sunscreen that I put it on when I go out to treat the kids I see too. We considered bringing a beach umbrella, but we were not sure if we could bring it in or not. If we do it again we will bring the umbrella for sure. It was a family friendly event, so there loads of kids running around. I bet it was weird for the last band playing to see the kids running around like that. There were jumping castles and activities for the stinkers. One of the activities was face painting. I have to say that the caliber of the face painter had left a little to be desired. I would spot a kid and think their face was bleeding, then realize it was the face painting job. One kid looked like they did blackface on him! We also would get occasional whiffs of diaper smell. Kid watching was pretty entertaining. The bands were good too, and we saw Jonatha Brooks, Sean Mullins, and the Damnwells. The Damnwells were from Brooklyn, so we started looking for Brooklyn people in the crowd. There is definately a Brooklyn look. The most extreme of the look is the mermaid parade people. The formula is people who look like they have not seen the sun for quite a while, funny hipster glasses, weird shoes, and hipster doofus outfits. I swear you can spot them a mile away! http://www.coneyisland.com/mermaid.shtml

On another note, K + A will be sadder to know the Michigan winery article hit #6 in the most emailed on NY Times website yesterday.

More traffic for A+K

Michigan’s Wine Country Grows Where the Cherry Is King - New York Times
Hey, Lelanau has hit big in the NY Times!

the The - Uncertain Smile- LIVE!!

I could not help the nostalgia.

Happy Friday the 13th

I am not superstitious, so I am wishing everyone a happy 13th. I am trying to wake up right now. I am going to work a little today, but I did not have to get up early today. I ended up passing out while watching the World Series of Pop Culture. Mike was really disturbed at some of the info that I knew. The shocking memory that came back was my ability to recall the name of the bar that Jake from Melrose Place bartended! I had some good 90210 background as well. This is due to the fact that I was in college and had a TV when those shows were on. I used to get mad 'cause some of my friends would not go out until they watched those shows. I can appreciate good crappy TV. Heather told me I need to try out for the Singing Bee. I think that would be pretty appropriate. I wish I could remember useful things, but my mind is cluttered with BS.
No weekend plans, but that is good since we will be in Chicago next weekend. I can not remember the last time I was there (not counting layovers and emergency landings!)

Suckin' a little more than wind

For Athletes, an Invisible Traffic Hazard - New York Times

Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye

fun song, even though they sound remarkably like Smashing Pumpkins.

Back in the swing of things

It is funny all of the effort that I have to make to form a schedule that will only last 6 weeks. When I do it for the whole school year the work is worth it. Many of the kids I picked up at a school will only marginally benefit from me seeing them. By the time I get to know them, they will be gone. Many of them are not verbal, so it is really hard to interpret them. The good news is that I have an aquatics job, so reducing my hours with my agency pre-emptively ended up to be a good move.

Otherwise, just striving to see all of these kiddos in the stinkin' heat. Hopefully this cold front is for real. When the weather gets like this, I start adopting this philosophy.

Shape Magazine Declares July 'Let Yourself Go' Month

more images

Head of the Meadow Beach, our view of the fireworks in Ptown, and a seal popping his head up at the Head of the Meadow. We go to that beach almost every night to watch the seals. He has a fish in his mouth, and we got to watch them eat.

Freezin'

I live in a paradox at home. It is 80 degrees outside right now (11PM), and I am cold. I am under a blanket with a hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants, and socks. I am still freezin my arse off, and I think the temp is 61 in here. This is the only time I can settle under my down comforter all year.

Here's a view from our deck last week. Overnight one night it was storming, and I thought our little cottage was going to be swept out to sea. The next picture are the dunes at the National Seashore in Provincetown. The last you will have to click on, but it is a restaurant we always see on our way to Truro, but I never have a desire to eat there. This is based purely on the cartoon. I am not sure how well you will be able to see it. I think that there is something wrong with the Sea Dog.

This one's for Kevina

Ever wonder where you can buy feather boas and pretty dresses for men? Look no further than this store in Provincetown. I took the picture, because I have seen those scary mannequins before. There was a store recently in Rye that featured them. I found them to be scary (on the order of clown). Before I could snap a picture of them, the store closed (what a suprise eh?). I suppose one of the only towns where those scary faces could last is Provincetown. I also can not decide which store scares me more in that town. There is a shop called Spanking the Monkey, another named Toys of Eros (makes Noir leather look tame), and of course the store pictured above.

Rodrigo y Gabriela Orion (Metallica cover)

We were at the concert (well, outside the gate). This is amazing to hear Metallica in this way, and their guitar is amazing. We got the CD and have been listening to it a lot. That is a feat since I do not like to listen to instrumentals generally.

And I would like to thank my sponsors....

Wow, time does travel fast. Thanks for all of your love and support through the first 5. Sorry we did not have a big party for it out west, maybe for the 50th! There have been some changes since this picture was taken. It is good to step back and take stock of all of the blessings that you have.

Back to reality

I suppose I am not ready to go back to work. This vacation was too brief, but better than nothing. We did a whole lot of nothing in one of my favorite places. I even braved some 58 degree water for about 5 minutes on Saturday. It is amazing how quickly I can kill a day where I do not do much at all.

Glimmer

I need to get the chords for this one once somebody gets around to figuring them out. I think it is a beautiful song, and it is slow enough for me to figure out.

Why is this news?

Girls Gone Wild sued for sex harassment - Yahoo! News

Off to the cape

I may be quiet for a few days. I am working tommorrow and driving to the Cape for a few days. yahoo!

Open House

Today was a full day. We went runnin', swimmin', open housin', and visitin'. We went down to the city with our friends Igor and Regina who are visiting from San Fran. We hung out in the park with our other friends Tracey and Marcello, and we all caught up. There was a free concert in the park that we listened to on the lawn (Rodrigo and Gabriella who are Mexican guitar players from Dublin/they like to play metal classics on acoustic guitars, and they were pretty good!). We ended up having dinner at Cafe Lalo. That is the cafe in "You've Got Mail", and it is usually a tourist zoo. The desserts are really good there, so I have been there several times with actual New Yorkers. On the train home, a baby was in distress. They were calling out for doctors. It was just as we were pulling out of Grand Central, and the emergency response was pretty fast. We had to switch trains before we finally left.
The open houses were interesting. One we just wandered into, and we knew the house was way too damn expensive. It was cool to take a look. The other house we had looked up before, so it was fun to check out. I suppose it is fun until we have to put an offer on a place. Here's the big and cool place that we can not afford! The realtor told us it was one of the best values in Rye.
http://www.coldwellbanker.com/servlet/PropertyListing?action=detail&ComColdwellbankerDataProperty_id=11726543&page=property

"The Kitten"

I think this story is about more than a kitten.