Postcards and Snapshots

Cotton Candy Clouds....

2012-01-17T20:20:00.003-05:00

I saw two clouds at morning
Tinged by the rising sun,
And in the dawn they floated on
And mingled into one.

- John G. C. Brainard (1795–1828): I saw Two Clouds at Morning.

Europe Continued: Avignon Day One, Hotel D'Europe

2012-01-06T12:40:00.001-05:00

French countryside on the way to Provence.

Pondering the early morning sunrise on the train.

We woke up very early Friday morning, and headed to the train station at about 5:45am to catch our train to Avignon. We had decided that we would take a weekend in Avignon as a long awaited, and slightly truncated honeymoon. Because of the receptions in Madison and Spain - we never really traveled anywhere for our honeymoon. Sure we've gone to many spectacular places like Spain, France, and Brazil since then...but it's just not a honeymoon when you are staying with friends and family, especially if you are sleeping on an air mattress on the floor! So, we booked a room at the spectacular five star Hotel D'Europe in Avignon.

The Front of the hotel.

The beautiful courtyard.

They have an amazing, ancient plane tree in the courtyard.

The hotel was built in 1580, and is the longest operated hotel in Avignon.

The staff were terrific - they all spoke multiple languages and were extremely helpful. They offered to call ahead and make restaurant reservations for us, they were there with anything that was needed in the room, and arranged car service for us to the train when we were leaving.

We got our room key and were escorted up to our room by the bell boy.

The room was beautiful!! look at the detail of the birds on the lamps!

The view out our window, overlooking the square.

The amazing bathroom!

After such a long train ride, we relaxed a bit and cleaned up before we headed out for lunch. The room was amazing, super luxurious and spotless. It was definitely a nice way to start out our "honeymoon"!

Other Photos of the lobbies and corridors - all amazingly decorated:

Looking down on the lobby.

A massive, antique tapestry - was probably 30 feet by 20 feet.

The wrought iron stairwell.

Christmas Time's a Comin'!

2011-12-24T11:36:00.002-05:00

Happy Surprise to mom!!!

Originally we weren't able to come to Wisconsin for Christmas with my mom - we're running low on vacation days. But then Thanksgiving weekend we found out from my younger sister that she would be shipped to Afghanistan before Christmas of next year. I didn't want to think about not spending another Christmas without my sisters and my mom (and her birthday on the 25th too!). So Felipe and I decided we were going to come back to Wisconsin for Christmas...but that we would surprise mom. Best decision I've ever made regarding a surprise. I learned after Dad passed away, that time with the family is too valuable to pass up. I had to be there with everyone this Christmas.

We spent the last month collaborating with Mariam and Grace about our arrival. Grace was coming into town ahead of us, so we arranged with her to be picked up from the airport. She told mom she needed to "pick up a friend" from the airport and managed to get mom into Milwaukee for the day.

Felipe and I got to the airport really early yesterday - our flight was leaving at 8pm and we arrived around 4pm...we didn't want to risk anything with holiday traffic leaving Manhattan. Grace and I kept in contact via text and I kept her updated on our flights arrival.

When we landed in Milwaukee at 10:15 (only 15 minutes late!) I sent mom a video on her iPhone - earlier in the week I had lip synched to Raffi's "Christmas Time's a Comin' " while in front of our tree at home. I sent the video to her as a little hint - because the chorus goes "Christmas time's a comin' and I know I'm going home..."

Grace knew then we were on our way out of the terminal, and so watched for us and was ready to film mom's reaction - which you can see in the video above. I was walking straight towards her, and she was looking directly at me but it didn't register to her that it was me. It wasn't until I waved at her that her jaw dropped and she recognized that it was actually Felipe and I walking toward her.

Best surprise ever. Merry Christmas to us!! and to all of you too!!

Where Has the Time Gone?

2011-12-16T09:54:00.000-05:00

Today marks three years since dad's death, and I'm not quite sure where the time has gone to. "They" are right when they say the hurt and the loss gets better with time - at least it has a bit for me. I still think about him and miss him on a daily basis, but I know he's with me. The picture above is of the gravestone - we've finally just go his name on it this month. It took much longer than I had hoped/imagined, but these sorts of matters can be more complicated than on might think.

1985

2007

For what it's worth, the anniversary of his death will always be a good reminder at this time of year to really appreciate the people in my life and not take for granted the time I have with them. I'm especially grateful for my husband - Felipe is the best partner I could hope to have. And I love my mom and my sisters, even though we're often very far from each other. And I love my extended family, and the time we get to spend together when I visit Wisconsin. And my friends, no matter how often we talk or how often we visit - all of you are with me every day in both in spirit and in the way you have influenced or impacted my life.

Thank you.

Europe Trip Continued: Paris Day 4

2011-12-14T21:29:00.000-05:00

On Thursday we met with one of Felipe's friends, Hadi, for a drink at La Terrasse (address: 2,place de l'Ecole Militaire in the 7th arrondissement). Hadi had chosen a cafe/restaurant on the corner across from the Ecole Militaire. We did not have much time, as Hadi was just coming off of work, and we were to meet others for dinner. But we had a nice visit, the first visit we've had since my first trip to Paris with Felipe in June 2007.

I just loved the look of the signs on the street corner.

A nice woman from California was sitting next to us reading a book. She offered to take our photo, which we accepted.

Before we had met Hadi, we had some small amount of time to pass. We'd walked down the avenue a short way, and didn't see much of interest. But then there was a very narrow side street that passed between a couple of buildings. We took this to find ourselves on a small cobblestone pedestrian street filled with beautiful shops. I could live on a street like this. Such a stark difference to the areas of NYC that I spend most of my time in.

A bright, fragrant flower shop.

Oh my God, the fromagerie....why oh why can't one of these open on my block!

And of course a small wine shop (right across from the butcher shop - not pictured).

After drinks with Hadi we took the metro to Grands Boulevards to find the restaurant Clementine (address: 5 Rue Saint-Marc, 75002). We had planned to meet two of Felipe's former EY Paris colleagues, Sebastien and David, for dinner there. David chose the restaurant and he chose very well. It was on a very short street, off of the main Boulevard Montmartre, but not too far. We arrived and waited outside a bit, after some minutes deciding to ask within if anyone else had come yet. As it was, Sebastien was waiting at a table upstairs.

The food was fantastic! (it went quite well with the terrific company that we had with David and Sebastien). We each ordered from the menu the entree, the main and a dessert. I started with a tomato mousse with fresh cut tomatoes and a salad. It was delicious! The mousse was so smooth, and a bit tangy. The salad, well - arugula is one of my favorite salad greens!

The main for me was lamb with tarragon sauce, with ratatouille and gratin potatoes. If I could recreate this meal on a weekly basis I would. The tarragon sauce with the lamb was perfect. And the sides were delicious and not so large as to fill you up.

For dessert, well I opted for a cheese plate. Maybe it was inspiration from the fromagerie we'd seen earlier in the day, or maybe it's just that I LOVE cheese. It did not disappoint. Unfortunately I wasn't told exactly which cheeses I was getting. I do know that one was a Camembert, and one of course a blue cheese, and a goat cheese. But there were two I wasn't quite sure of.

We had such a delightful time with Sebastien and David, it was nice to see Sebastien again and to finally meet David for the first time. I look forward to seeing them again on our next trip! maybe at another terrific restaurant.

Stay tuned....I will be finishing my Europe posts by the end of the year. And the next post will begin our Avignon trip!

Yay! A Real Christmas Tree This Year!

2011-12-05T23:11:00.000-05:00

Felipe's new 2011 Ornament - Glitter Santa

Glitter Santa's friend, Glitter Snowman

Felipe and I decided that this year we were going to get a real tree! This is my first real tree in about 10 years and his 2nd real tree ever! So after work we stopped by one of the tree stands on the upper west side and picked out our first ever real christmas tree together. We carried it home (I held the top part, while he held the trunk) and put the Christmas music on and trimmed the tree. We don't have space in our apartment for a large 6 or 7 foot tree, so this one is about 4 feet, and to give the illusion that we've got a larger tree, we set it on top of a side table. Here it is!

I really enjoy sitting on the couch looking at it. And the smell is terrific!

One of my other favorite things about having a real tree, are the fantastic shadows that the lights and the branches cause to fall on the wall. Just beautiful!

Europe Continued: Day Three - Food!

2011-12-01T21:53:00.000-05:00

Coffee at LaDuree

We started day three by going to have breakfast at Ladurée Bonaparte - home of my favorite pastry ever! Breakfast was a little more involved than we would usually do, but on vacation I was willing to go out on a limb! We each got the typical breakfast - a small plate with assorted small pastries (brioche and croissants) with yummy currant jam, the awesome french butter, cafe au lait, and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Yum!

The restaurant is beautiful, with amazing paintings on the walls.

We really enjoyed the food and picked up some pastries and macarons for later - they have so many delicious flavors to choose from!

(Photo from the Laduree website)

Ladurée Royale
16, rue Royale - 75008 Paris
Tél : +33 1 42 60 21 79

After Laduree we walked around FOREVER! I mean, legs about to fall off walking around. but we had such a nice time walking through the streets, window shopping and enjoying the city in general. While walking along the Seine we passed a building that had a bunch of art propped up against the windows. There was no one in sight, but there was a small stool and a set of paints. We didn't have any cash on us, so we thought we would find a bank and return when the artist returned. Well let's just say that you can see your bank on every other corner, until the moment you need it. We walked for a half an hour through the winding streets before we found the right bank. Then we walked another twenty minutes to get back to where we started!

But it was worth it. By the time we returned, the artist was back, and we purchased two sketches/paintings for Parisian building. I really enjoy picking up something arty while we travel - it's easy to bring back and is a nice souvenir!

After all that walking around we went to Le Grand Epicerie, my favorite grocery store in the whole world! There is nothing not to love about this place!...unfortunately I don't have any photos. Let's just say that it has every grocery product you can imagine, from all over the world. Felipe and I go every time we're in Paris, and shop for fun stuff to bring home and a little bit of food to have a picnic lunch.

Me and my violet flavored Religieuse.....mmmm.... (no, I didn't just have pastry for lunch, I ate regular food too!)

Felipe and some super yummy green olive tapenade on fresh baked baguette.

After lunch we wandered around a bit more. I suppose when I put it that way it sounds like we had nothing structured to do, but I tell you that we love just having the time to wander and people watch. Towards the late afternoon, before we headed back to Laurence and Sylvain's place we were walking down the street and the sky and buildings caught my eye. I do love Paris!

More posts to come! Again, apologies for the belatedness in my posts!

Europe Continued: Paris Day Two

2011-11-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

So when Felipe and I are in Paris, we treat the time as if we lived there (but didn't have to work of course!). We spend the days walking around the parts of the city we love. It could be like the day before when we walked along the Boulevard St. Michel near the Latin Quarter, or along the Seine by the Pont des Artistes. This was a favorite spot for Felipe. He told me about having picnic style lunches with his friends on weekend evenings here, and so we often stop by to sit on the benches and people watch for a while. This visit was not as nice, as it seems that there was all sorts of changes passing on the bridge. People have started placing locks on the railings of the bridge, meant to symbolize their and their partners undying love - but in reality the bridge is entirely covered in locks...it's a bit unsightly and Felipe lamented the new "eyesore". Secondly there were people all over the bridge pushing for you to sign some sort of paper, none of them spoke, they just held out the paper and made a writing motion with a pen, asking in that way for you to sign some sort of petition. I'm not one for signing random things, so we politely declined. Thirdly, there was some guy hustling people playing three card monte (or as I guess the French call it: Les Trois Perdants). It's a public place, so of course the people may do what they please, it was just a bit of a let down from our past visits to the bridge.

We decided instead to relax a bit along the Seine itself, and so enjoyed a bench and watched some boat traffic, and people walking by.

You can see that many of the trees along the Seine have graffiti carved into their bark. I was taking some photos and notice the graffiti on the tree of the first photo in this post. I couldn't help but notice that inside of the heart it appeared that someone had carved a "F + S", maybe it's not that...but "looks like it" is good enough for me! If I ever were to carve my and Felipe's initials inside of a heart on a tree, I suppose I would do it next to the Seine in Paris. However, I'm not one to go carving into tree bark (it feels a bit wrong), so I'll just enjoy that someone else did it for themselves and it worked out for Felipe and I as well :)

Unrelated to this area, but having to do with our walk that day, we passed a little street market and I had to take a photo. I'm not sure the older woman by the butcher quite understood why I was taking a photo....

I would LOVE it if NYC had street markets like this! Sure we have some farmers markets, and a really terrific and large one in Union Square, but they get SO crowded and so cramped full of people that it's not a very pleasant shopping experience, for me at least. These little street markets are all over the place - I've never seen them so packed that you couldn't hardly move.... Well maybe someday we'll live in Paris and I can enjoy shopping at them.

November's Painted Sky

2011-11-19T17:10:00.000-05:00

I don't know what it is about October and November that makes the sunsets so beautiful - maybe it's the change in time of the sunset, or the climate and the atmosphere? well, either way, it makes for a beautiful scene outside of our window. How lucky are we that our entire south facing window gives us view like this every once in awhile....

Europe Continued: Paris Day One

2011-11-17T13:03:00.000-05:00

Enjoying breakfast on the train.

Felipe and I left Barcelona on Sunday evening. We traveled to Paris via overnight train - a mode of transportation that I think beats everything else. There is something to be said for arriving to the train station easily (no lengthy trip to the airport), no massive lines for checking your bags or security, and your own private little compartment (since we were sleeping we got our own cabin). Perfect! We settled in and watch Hitchcock's North by Northwest, which happens to be a terrific movie for a train! and relaxed. Eventually the attendant comes around and unlocks your bed for you and there you have it. The next morning we woke up when we were nearing Paris and went to the restaurant car to have our breakfast.

We went to Laurence and Sylvain's apartment where we were staying and had a nice lunch with Laurence before heading out to roam the city. Felipe lived in Paris previously, and I've now been there a few times, so many of the main tourist attractions hold less influence over our decisions about where to go. We headed over to the Boulevard St. Germain and the Latin Quarter where Felipe used to live and walked around a bit. On our way back to the apartment we stopped at the Jardin du Luxembourg and enjoyed a quiet walk. The colors were changing in the leaves on the trees and the sky was grey as is typical of Paris in the autumn and winter.

Later that evening we ate at a nice little restaurant that I can't remember where it is or the name - very unlike me, but was a nice evening with Laurence, Sylvain and our other friend Ruben. Unfortunately the only good photo I got was of the three of them while Sylvain was retrieving the car...so much for him or I being in the photo ;)

Europe Trip Continued: The Wedding Day!

2011-11-16T21:10:00.003-05:00

Ana getting ready at the salon.

Okay, I know, I know - I'm so behind on my Europe posts! I'll get better, I swear! So here it is, the post about the wedding! On Saturday morning all the ladies got up early and made our way to the salon to be thoroughly prepped for the big day. It was so much fun to spend the time together, to laugh and chat and we all had a wonderful time!

All the ladies enjoying a morning of pampering - nails, hair and makeup!

Tia Elisa getting her hair done.

Tia Ecy all ready to go!

Here she is, Ana all ready to go!

Here are all of us girls ready to go!

Then we moved on to the ceremony. After a long nervous time waiting it was time to go!

Doesn't Sergi look blown away! He uttered a simply stunned "Wow!" when Ana came into sight, so sweet!

Here are the happy couple, listening intently to Sergi's sister giving a beautiful speech.

Sergi's sister gave a beautiful speech - which I mostly understood, even though it was in Catalan. Very moving!

A nice photo of us with Eda and Primitivo.

The happy parents with the group from Brazil.

Here's a fun video of the dancing!

A Beautiful Morning Walk in the Park (11.11.11)

2011-11-12T14:17:00.000-05:00

The colors, the shadows, the trees and the people in this scene reminded me of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Seurat (not saying my photo is as good as his painting - just trying to describe how picturesque the park was at that time in the morning!).

Yesterday I got up a bit early and left for work with enough time to allow myself a walk through Central Park. Because I pass through the park every day, I see the colors changing through out the season, and this week we've had amazingly clear weather and I just knew I had to see the leaves as they seem to be at their peak. Fortunately we've not had a lot of rain, and so the leaves haven't been beaten off the trees like they were last year. It was a beautiful morning, full of joggers and people out walking their dogs....much more serene than on a weekend day when the park is crowded. I hope you enjoy the shots as much as I enjoyed the live scene!

I can't tell you how amazing this spot was - with this blanket of red leaves covering the path, and the ducks in the pond...

Europe Continued: Pan amb Tomaquet, Lost Baggage and the Endless Excitement

2011-11-06T20:47:00.001-05:00

The friday night before the big day, the family and all the visitors got together for a nice dinner at Pan amb tomaquet in Vilassar. They didn't have a rehersal dinner like they do here in the states, instead Sergi spent the evening with his family and Ana with hers. Pan amb tomaquet is a nice restaurant in the village where Eda and Primitivo live and we've been there many times before with the family. They had a small lofted area of the restaurant reserved for all of us and we had a terrific time mingling and sharing our excitement over the next day.

Of course, there was some delicious food involved too!

My tortilla and pan con tomate - yum!

Felipe with his pan con tomate and lomo jamon.

Felipe with Ecy and Elisa.

Many friends came for the wedding from Brasil - Eduardo, Bianca, (I can't remember this gentleman's name...I'm working diligently on remembering...), Carolina and Ana in the background.

Eda at the table with Ana Luisa and Bruno - friends from Brasil as well, who you may remember from a previous post (they visited us earlier this year in NYC).

Primitivo and Ernani.

Ana and Primitivo with Primitivo's brother Francisco (Paco) and his wife Mari and their kids Paco, Miguel, and Ana who all came from Zaragoza for the wedding.

After dinner we all headed back home and tried settling in for the night. Let's just say that everyone was a bit hyper over making sure all was ready for the next day and it took quite some time for everyone to wind down. It had been a long day - did I mention that all six guests arriving from Brasil had their luggage lost and that Tia Ecy was "lost" as well for some time - as she missed her connecting flight and no one knew precisely which flight she had been moved to.... well thank goodness that Ecy was found and eventually everyone got their luggage, that is after Eda, Primitivo and Elisa spent about 10 hours in the airport!

Here's Eda and Ana "winding down" before bed...it involved some sort of acting out of an exorcism, which at this time I cannot remember why...

and fake sleeping/laughing:

Sweet dreams for the day to come...

NYC Marathon 2011

2011-11-06T16:41:00.004-05:00

Winner Geoffrey Mutai

Today was the New York City 2011 Marathon, and as usual I went to cheer on the thousands of people pushing themselves to the limit in a show of physical stamina that could impress just about anyone passing by. I know a few people, casually, who are running today, but didn't get to see them - it's hard to pick them out of such a crowd and I didn't know their start times. But I had an enormously fun time cheering on everyone from the pros to the amateurs. Felipe and I got to Mile 26 around 11:45am, just in time to see the Men's winner passing by. After two and a half straight hours of clapping and cheering, I had to call it quits, maybe next year I will train for a cheering marathon and then my voice won't give out!

Here are some of the photos I grabbed while there. Enjoy!

Runner 332 and 127

Runner 213

Runners 1-880, 6-431, 2-334, 742, 2-853

Runners 8-555, 1-286, 4-125, 3-491, 4-020

Runners 5-292, 3-737, 13-028, 3-407, 6-383

Runners 12-388, 12-344, 7-706, 827

Runners 6-063, 7-166, 9-266, 5-064, 10-802

Runners 12-693, 6-331, 8-612

Runner 3-592

Runners 14-261, 7-871 and Apolo Ohno

Runners 19-484, 5-822, 9-725, 9-089, 11-181

Runners 11-249 and 7-703

The Bright Side of the Road...

2011-11-05T22:30:00.000-04:00

Into this life we're born
Baby sometimes we don't know why
And time seems to go by so fast
In the twinkling of any eye.

Let's enjoy it while we can
Won't you help me sing my song
From the dark end of the street
To the bright side of the road.

-Van Morrison

Ana and Sergi: Part One, the Civil Ceremony

2011-10-30T15:11:00.001-04:00

Looking ready for a lifetime of wonderful days together!

We arrived to Spain on Wednesday afternoon, and did not do too much - we all had prep to take care of for the upcoming wedding on Saturday. But important not to forget was the small civil wedding ceremony that Ana and Sergi had that Thursday. We all gathered around noon and walked through Vilassar to the Judge's office. There they had a small, very short civil ceremony. I'll admit that while my Spanish is improving, I did not understand much of what was said...but I knew what was going on!

A photo of the couple listening to the judge, families are in the background. I'll admit - this picture is posed! Almost everyone was taking photos the whole time - I think it was a more photo documented ceremony than the Prince of England! So in the end I asked if everyone would mind if I took a pic while everyone was sitting down, and fortunately they all obliged me.

Well then it was time for family photos, and boy did they abound! We held a whole miniature portrait session in that tiny room, thanks to some pretty terrific light. But I think that it was how happy everyone was for Ana and Sergi that made them all look so good!

With Eda and Primitivo, her very proud parents!

With Fina and Joan, Sergi's proud parents!

With Felipe and I.

And then it got silly...

With Sergi's sister Gemma and her husband Francesc and nephew Pau and niece Ariadna.

With Ana and Felipe's Aunt Elisa.

Afterward we went to another small town nearby and had a really wonderful lunch together. The place was called Casa Roura, and was in this very old large mansion/estate. The inside was beautiful and we had a nice private room to dine in. We all had a really terrific time!

The rest of Thursday was spent preparing for the arriving guests the next day, there were six people coming from Brazil, and some other small preparations for Saturday's big event.

The Last Train from Paris

2011-10-29T20:02:00.002-04:00

Felipe and I dressed as Khover T. Ageante and Mary K. Trarie.

Last night we had a fun murder mystery dinner with a few friends. We purchased a "murder mystery game" online and have had it for almost a year now. We wanted to invite all our friends, but unfortunately there were only 8 roles. The next game we'll arrange for more roles so we can invite more people!

The "Suspects"

Barbara Z. Enhussie (Sammi)

Malcom R. Conntint (Mike)

Duke Schwazhe B. U. Klare (Cord)

Belinda Screete (Eva)

RAF Group Captain Weyland W. Awfcorse (James)

Princess Idelle Chattre (Amelia)

Khover T. Ageante (Felipe)

Mary K. Trarie (Silva)

The Task:

We were all guests on the last train leaving Paris before the Nazi's occupation on June 14, 1940. Each of us was invited by a mysterious person to join on the train. This person it turns out was murdered shortly after the train left Paris. We were all to try and solve the mystery a la Orient Express.

Getting the night underway with introductions.

Idelle and the Duke during introductions.

Barbara explains the cyanide she bought from Mal...

Wey, is he telling the truth? or could he be hiding something?

Khover doubts the "facts".

Belinda, Wey and Barbara

Khover and the Duke, listening carefully in case of an revelations...

Mal - is he revealing information or is he concealing something?

The story was a bit complicated at times, but over all a lot of fun. I cannot reveal who the murderer was, as I may be passing this game on to someone else to use...but let's just say it was a shocker! We'll definitely be doing another murder mystery party in the future, but like I said we'll try to get one with more characters. Felipe says he may try his hand at writing one himself, so maybe if he starts now it can be ready by next halloween ;)

What?! Snow?!

2011-10-29T14:33:00.000-04:00

So yeah, it's snowing in NYC! A big old nor'easter. It is hard to believe that it's snowing in NYC before it's snowing in Wisconsin! Well folks, I have a lot of catch up to do on this blog - I have TONS of photos from our recent trip that I need to work though and post. I've been putting it off because I was sick with a cold, but now that I'm feeling better, expect to see some posts coming up!

¡Felicidades a Los Novios! Congrats to the Newlyweds!

2011-10-09T09:35:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to my beautiful sister-in-law Ana and her terrific husband Sergi who were married yesterday! It was a beautiful day, a beautiful couple and a great time with friends and family from around the world. We even danced until three a.m.!

I'm on vacation, with limited wifi, so posts will be infrequent until I get back. I promise it will be with the wait, as posts a from Spain and France (PRis and Avignon) are yet to come :)

Guests Abound!

2011-10-01T14:41:00.001-04:00

Tim, Gina and I on top of Rockefeller Center

Tim and Gina at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park

Tim and Gina on the Staten Island Ferry

This last two weeks we had some lovely visits with friends. First we had my college friend Gina and her husband Tim visiting us from Minnesota. It's been quite some time since we saw Gina and Tim last - in fact I think it was at our reception in Madison in July 2008. They arrived on a Friday night and stayed through Monday morning. Boy did we pack in a LOT in the few days they were here! We saw EVERYTHING that NYC has to offer - all the sights including landmarks, New York City characters, and good food. The time went too quickly, but we certainly had fun! I'm looking forward to the next time Gina can come visit with our other college friend Anna - it's been since 2006 that the two of them visited together.

Our Second visitors arrived on Tuesday morning - David and Nieves came from Dublin (they are friends from Spain).

David and Nieves waiting for the train.

At dinner at Virgil's BBQ.

and a photo of Felipe and I :)

We had a terrific time with David and Nieves - at a bit slower pace than the weekend before with Gina and Tim (mainly because we had a bit more time for their visit). We had a couple of nights in for dinner, even including a homemade pizza night, and we went out and about too. It was nice getting to spend some more quality time with David and Nieves, as most of our hanging out time in the past (at least for me) was at a lunch or dinner, or wedding - so this was a great chance for me to get to know them a bit better. I hope we have more opportunity for that in the future!

I'll catch up a bit with more posts this weekend. Sorry for my huge absence - September has turned out to be an EXTREMELY busy month...and has flown by!

P.S. - I was so tired from all the excitement of having guests the two past weeks that I was exhausted. David and Nieves left for the airport last Sunday around 5pm, and I was in bed by 8:00pm - something I never do unless I'm sick!

Happy Anniversary to My Favorite Guy!

2011-09-27T07:45:00.001-04:00

A very Happy 4th Anniversary to Felipe - the wonderful man I get to wake up next to each morning, and cuddle with each night. It makes me smile thinking how fast time flies and that it's been four whole years since we were married in the garden at St. Mark's, and I am so grateful for every day.

We're looking forward to celebrating another marriage next week - when Felipe's sister gets married!!! I guess autumn is just the best time of year for that sort of thing ;)

In Memory

2011-09-11T10:47:00.001-04:00

Photo taken by me in January 2004.

In honor and memory of the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center. It's overwhelming to think how many people died on that fateful morning, and how many people mourn their passing. Having lived here in New York City for the past six years, it's easy to imagine that any of those people could have been one of my friends or coworkers. I hope that all may take this as a day to remember how important it is that we put forth kindness in our daily lives, that we help and serve others and not just ourselves, as our life on earth may be short and you never know how much time you have to make a positive impact on the future....

New Recipe: Cheddar Chive Bacon Biscuits

2011-09-03T11:42:00.004-04:00

This week we did another one of our tiny potlucks at work and rather than lunch like we usually do we decided to do breakfast. So I made the Cheddar Chive Bacon biscuits and they turned out quite yummy! I got the recipe off of epicurious.com and it says it appeared in Bon Appetit in February 2010.

Cheddar, Bacon, and Fresh Chive Biscuits

Yield: 12
Active Time: 25 Minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:
6 Thick cut bacon slices
3 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated sharp cheddar (about 12 ounces)
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
1 3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper. cook bacon in a heavy large skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown. transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, then chop coarsely.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add butter cubes and mix in with a pastry cutter until a coarse meal forms. Add cheddar cheese, fresh chives and chopped bacon - toss to blend. Gradually add buttermilk, stirring to moisten evenly. Batter will feel sticky.

Using lightly floured hands, drop generous 1/2 cup batter for each biscuit onto prepared baking sheet, spacing batter mounds about 2 inches apart.

Bake biscuits until golden and tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes and serve biscuits warm or at room temperature.

Happy 99th Birthday Uncle Marty!!!

2011-08-29T18:46:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to a wonderful man - Marty Kaprelian!

Uncle Marty Celebrates his 99th birthday today! Can you believe it?! We are so lucky to have him in our lives, he's a true treasure. Having never met either of my grandfathers, I consider myself blessed to have had the chance to develop such a wonderful relationship with Uncle Marty (he's really my great uncle - in all senses of the word). Uncle Marty has lived through many many things in his lifetime, I cannot even imagine what it must be like to have experienced so much change!

He was born in the back of a shoemaker's shop...and has seen the world through industrialization, war, peace, prosperity, depression, technology and so much more. A man who once as a kid sold newspapers on the street corners in Chicago, who acted in community plays in Milwaukee, who made gin in his bathtub during prohibition, who served in the United States Navy and countless other amazing things. I wish I could write an elegant snapshot of his life thus far, but Uncle Marty leaves me practically speechless.

What can we say, except for maybe "Hip Hip Hooray! Happy Birthday Uncle Marty!!!"

Some more photos from his family birthday celebration this past Saturday:

We "Survived" Irene!

2011-08-28T21:21:00.001-04:00

A video of the amazing sunset we saw today! Photos taken over an hour period, the wind was passing the clouds by pretty quickly.

So we "survived" the hurricane...I say that in quotes as it barely felt like anything to us. We were lucky. We must just be in the right spot on Manhattan, as we barely saw any wind this morning when it was supposed to be at its worst, and there was hardly any flooding by us (only a bit in a parking lot low area next to our building). The wind picked up again this evening, but was nothing devastating. We're lucky because we know how many people were left without power, or who were flooded or dealing with downed trees.

In the end we did not need our extra bottled water, or the candles (which they said later that they shouldn't be used in an emergency situation like this), or stockpiles of food. Well we didn't have stockpiles...enough for the two of us for a few days.

I told Felipe today that after "weathering" an earthquake and a near hurricane in the same week that we better make a run to the gun store or to home depot to pick up some shotguns or axes for when the zombies attack....they say bad things happen in threes, stay tuned for that! ;)

Come on Irene! - Hurricane Watch 2011 [UPDATED]

2011-08-27T12:52:00.007-04:00

So here we are, just days after experiencing an earthquake, waiting for the arrival of Irene. Part of me thinks that this is a case of over preparation, over reacting...but then again maybe not? The news and all the talk around town has been of "flood zones" (we're in Zone B if you would like to know), "Storm Surges", MTA transit shutdowns and emergency supplies. We've made our preparations: we have our candles, matches and lighters out and accessible in case of power outage; we have extra bottled water, enough for several days so that's no problem. There's very little chance we'll need to evacuate Zone B, as that usually only happens with a direct hit from a Category 2 storm. Right now there are conflicting reports of whether we'll be hit by Category 1 or whether it will be downgraded to a tropical storm.

Either way, people are taking this seriously. There were massive crowds at almost any store that sells groceries or emergency related items. I have plenty of candles and flashlights, but my coworker wanted to stop and pick up and extra flashlight...we entered the Home Depot and were greeted by a woman standing at the entrance with a sign and yelling "We have NO flashlights, NO batteries, NO candles and NO generators left - Sorry folks!". Well, hopefully we won't need any of it, but I think the worst that could happen here would be a power outage.

Yesterday was a busy one for everyone, preparing for the worst. Mayor Bloomberg started evacuation of everyone in Zone A. The evacuation was supposed to be completed by noon today. This also included evacuating hospitals and other medical facilities. Yesterday I spent my whole day at work calling each of the division administrators in the Department of Medicine to find out who exactly on the emergency plan would be available and to what degree they would be available. This meant finding out what docs were accessible physically to the hospital, and which ones were accessible via phone and email, but not able to access the hospital due to the danger in travel or the shut down in transit. This is partially due to the fact that there was an expectation of a rise in patients from the evacuated hospitals. I'm optimistic that our hospital is totally prepared for any scenario, as we have really terrific doctors and dedicated hospital staff.

Well, I will keep you guys updated as time passes. We've only seen a bit of rain so far, but they predict that starting later tonight and through tomorrow midday we'll be experiencing the worst part of the storm. So look back for updates and pics...

UPDATE - 9:15pm:
So, we've experienced a lot of rain yet today however the reports say the worst is just on the horizon. We're just starting to get the wind and the rain as the hurricane passes the New Jersey coast. On top of the rain starting, we're now under tornado watch as well (in addition to the hurricane warning - a first for me!). So yeah, I guess we'll be keeping an eye out for that too. All of the news coverage, which is probably the same that you'd be seeing if you were watching it on TV, says that people are "hunkering down" all over - it's really amazing how many times I've heard that phrase today. What does "hunkering" mean anyway? I guess for us it means hanging out on the couch watching TV.

The eye of the storm is supposed to hit us around 8:00am, which is apparently high tide...so they're really worried about flooding here, especially since we've had a very wet august and the ground is totally saturated. This also is worrying people that trees will uproot because the ground is so soft. We don't have any trees by our 6th floor apartment to really have to worry about them damaging our home, but there is always the concern that they will fall on a powerline. We're very fortunate right now to still have our power, as I've heard over a million people have lost their power by now. So yeah, saturated ground, high tide and storm surges...that's what we have to look forward to.

Apparently the city is boarded up and the streets largely abandoned. Here's a few pics from around the internets:

Michael Appleton for The New York Times

An empty Grand Central Station from the MTAPhotos flickr feed.

So that's the update now...more rain and tornado warnings. Will keep you updated as we get more information.

P.S. - why make all those poor weather reporters stand out in the rain all day? seems dangerous and bit stupid as it does not validate their weather reports any more than if they made the report from safely inside of a building....

The Impending Storm

2011-08-19T19:56:00.003-04:00

A Massive storm has been moving past our window this evening...the photo above is of the impending storm. As much as I love looking at the calm clouds that I posted yesterday, I also love watching thunder storms! We've had lightening galore! Apparently a lot, maybe too much... We just noticed that there was a greater usual amount of fire trucks hanging out across the street. Thirteen to be exact!

Now I'm super curious to find out what's going on that would call thirteen firetrucks to our neighborhood...

[Update]: ALL of the trucks are gone now...must not have been such a bad emergency.

[Update 2]: The guy who owns the business downstairs says that the ruckus was all about the sewer drains being blocked up. Apparently the guys doing construction across the street closed off the drains and it was causing major flooding. Case solved!

Ever Wish You Could Just Float Among the Clouds...?

2011-08-18T19:33:00.000-04:00

"Cloudbergs" floating in a sea of clouds...

This week has been a bit stressful, to say the least. Every morning at work has felt like a struggle. It's just one of those weeks that I wish I could just kind of float among the clouds. I remember a long time ago, in third grade, our teacher must have needed to get our class to settle down. It was hot, so probably early in the year when the weather could still be warm, and he told us all to put our heads down at our desks and told us a really fantastic story about a journey through the clouds in a floating bubble. This was one of those days where I needed to turn the lights off, put my head down and imagine I was among the peaceful looking clouds.

Unfortunately, I am an adult now, and it would look strange if I were at my desk with the lights off and my head down. So I'm posting these photos now, so I can look at them whenever I need to take a relaxing "bubble in the sky" kind of break.

I've always LOVED looking at the sky. Sunsets, cloud formations, lightening during the storms - I love them all (I'd add sunrises...but I'm rarely up at that hour!). These pics were taken from an airplane of course. While I was flying to Oklahoma earlier this year...I just couldn't help trying to capture these clouds on camera. I'm sure my seatmate thought it a bit strange...

Night Shots "Series"

2011-08-04T21:24:00.000-04:00

Silva gets bored while home alone... It started with some shots of the moon, a sliver among the clouds, but when those shots didn't work out as I like I turned to the street scene. So here you have my "Night Shots Series".

A New Recipe Each Week

2011-08-01T20:24:00.001-04:00

So a couple weeks ago I decided that after a slight tapering off of my cooking that I wanted to start making more yummy home cooked meals and decided that I would try at least one new recipe a week. Last week we had a super good chicken club sandwich with an olive tapenade and today we tried another delicious and successful meal. Now anyone who knows me knows I'm not much for pork - it's a mental thing I think, something I haven't "liked" for a very long time. But I've been easing up a bit lately when it comes to prosciutto. Especially when the prosciutto is cooked or crisped. There comes in our recipe for today - Ham, Gruyere and Shallot pizza. Now because I don't eat ham we replaced with prosciutto and it was a good result.

As you can see from the photo above, it looks delicious and tastes just as good as it looks. So here's to two weeks with two successful recipes! Maybe you'll give this a try and enjoy it as much as we did.

On another note, it's getting us very excited for our upcoming visit to Paris and Provence later this year!!!

Ham, Gruyere and Shallot Pizza
Real Simple, October 2009
Ingredients
cornmeal for the pan (optional, we did not use this)
1 pound pizza dough, thawed if frozen
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, cut into thin rings and separated
12 sprigs fresh thyme
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli ham (I don't like regular ham, so we used prosciutto instead)
1/2 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese (2 ounces)

Directions
Heat oven to 425º F. Sprinkle a rimmed baking sheet with the cornmeal. Shape the dough into a 14-inch circle and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of the oil and bake until puffed and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss the shallots, thyme, the remaining tablespoon of oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
Top the partially cooked dough with the ham, shallot mixture, and cheese. Bake until the crust is crisp and the cheese has melted, 12 to 15 minutes.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame - 2011

2011-07-30T11:09:00.000-04:00

Right in front of our seats - home plate!

A week ago, last Saturday, Felipe and I had the pleasure of using the Yankees tickets from his work. That is, the Yankees tickets right behind home plate, row 1, food and drinks included.....awesome!

So when the tickets are not claimed for use with clients they sometimes give them up for employees to use - they don't want the seats to go empty, and Felipe had the fortune of getting last Saturday's tickets, along with another of his coworkers and another guest. I suppose the tickets were maybe available because no one wants to take a client to a baseball game in the 110 degree searing heat...but we managed to survive it!

The tickets were not only the best location ever, but they were part of the Legend's Suite, which included all food and non-alcoholic beverages. So first we had a bit of brunch in their fine dining restaurant that had all sorts of display cooking and foods of all types. Super delicious!

Felipe enjoying brunch before the game.

Another view of one of their food selection displays.

As you leave the Legends restaurant and bar you are greeted with a wall of treats for the taking - cracker jacks, peanuts, gummi bears and more...yes please!

The view from our seats. No zoom.

Take me out to the ball game - buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks!

We had a pretty good view of any batter up, and any of the opposing teams players warming up for at bat. The Yankees were playing against the Oakland A's, so here's a shot of Hideki Matsui warming up before he goes to bat.

Matsui at bat. Can you imagine being the umpire or the catcher, with all that gear on in the sun, in 110 degree heat? jeez...

Derek Jeter warming up for at bat.

Derek Jeter at bat. Check out that pitcher - no wonder those baseballs fly at 97 mph!

Felipe and his coworker Fahd.

Felipe and I. You can't see her, but the woman sitting right next to me was something like seven months pregnant...I don't know how she could handle the heat either! At least beverages were free, so we were able to stay hydrated with as much bottled water or sodas as we wanted or needed.

From Left to right: Bench Coach Tony Pena, GM Joe Girardi, unknown, Outfielder Brett Gardner.

Derek Jeter again.

Robinson Cano warming up for at bat.

We really enjoyed the game, it would be difficult not to enjoy it with the seats we had. In the end the Yankees lost to the A's, unlike the night before where they killed them. I think the heat really affected the way the game went. I can't imagine how difficult it is to hold on to the baseball and pitch it well when every inch of your skin is sweating. I'm not sure that Felipe and I will ever have another chance to enjoy seats like that either, so we stayed for every minute of it, and loved it.

After getting home we took a much need super cold shower and parked on the couch to watch a replay of the game - we had to see if we were ever visible on television :) Plus we were wiped out from the heat. Well after quite some time of watching we got this shot of us sitting in the first row, right behind Derek Jeter between pitches. You can see Felipe with the striped baseball cap and me with the panama hat. So fun!

Mom Time!

2011-07-28T22:04:00.000-04:00

Cheers - a cool glass of white wine at the Central Park Boathouse

So right after we got back from Grand Cayman we had a really nice week long visit with my mom. I wish it had been longer! (especially since I was tired from the previous week). She arrived Saturday while we were still in Grand Cayman and we got home on Sunday, it was nice to have her here when we arrived.

We spent most of the time just hanging out, at home or out for drinks or dinner. We always try to stop at the Boathouse for a drink after work while my mom is in town. It's hard not to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere, with the light reflecting onto the ceiling off of the water.

Felipe and I

I took the Tuesday off of work, because it was my birthday and I wanted to spend it with her and not at my desk! Mom and I had a nice day walking around window shopping and then decided to head home so we could change and freshen up for dinner. It was super hot that day (although nothing compared to what was to come...but more on that in another post). We ended up meeting Felipe after work and went to Le Relais de Venise (L'Entrecote) - a super yummy french restaurant that has only one menu item - Steak and Frites, with their amazing special secret sauce. We all thoroughly enjoyed the meal (it was as good as it was in Paris).

I swear - it was a different black dress ;)

On Friday night we did our big event for the week - we went to a Cyclones Minor League Baseball game at Coney Island. We did this last year, and super enjoyed it, so we came back again! Since we all went directly from work (except for mom!) we stopped at Nathan's for a bit to eat before the game. Delightfully yummy, awfully messy and not super healthy, but a must go.

Mom and Felipe enjoyed their hot dogs, while I had chicken fingers - if only I liked hot dogs...

Then we rushed off to the game (I think we missed the first inning - but that's what happens when the game starts at 6:30 and the train takes an hour and fifteen minutes to get there). Loved our seats! We were definitely within the foul ball fly away zone behind home plate - and Felipe almost caught one too. Maybe he'll get it next time.

After the game they had the fireworks again, but this time instead of watching them from the boardwalk we watched them from inside the stadium. It's no Fourth of July fireworks display, but it is enjoyable after a good game (the Cyclones won 10-4).

The bright ball of light on the right hand side is the moon! It was a crazy beautiful full moon that night. The photo below is as it was as taken - no photoshop.

All in all we had a terrific time with mom here in town. As I mentioned before I just wish I hadn't been so tired from the weeks leading up to her visit, or that we'd had more time, but we'll take what we can get! Next year we'll have to have her come out for her usual ten days instead of seven...that extra weekend time makes such a difference! Thanks mom for a wonderful time!

Doesn't Seem to be a Shadow in the City

2011-07-23T10:55:00.002-04:00

Photo taken at from the Central Park Boathouse.

It's undeniable, the heat that my friends and family across the United States experienced last week and earlier this week has finally skulked it's way over to the east coast. Yesterday with a record high of 104 degrees, all I could think while walking outside was that Lovin' Spoonful song - Summer in the City - Hot town, summer in the city, back of my neck getting dirty and gritty...

Hope you can all stay cool out there!

Rosie - Crestwood's Favorite Crossing Guard

2011-07-21T08:34:00.004-04:00

Photo by KYLE McDANIEL (State Journal archives)

A great figure from my childhood has passed away - Rosie the crossing guard at Crestwood Elementary died of cancer on Saturday. This amazing woman was the crossing guard at Crestwood for 47 years! How many of us she protected and cared for, she always had a smile for us. I can't imagine anyone that would be more fondly remembered than her.

From the State Journal article about her:
Decked in a blaze orange vest with a stop sign in one hand and a cheery demeanor, Hiestand crossed nearly 10,000 children during her career, according to Madison police crossing guard supervisor Patti Knoche.

In 8,500 days of work over five decades, she likely missed fewer than 12 for illness. She never had a driver's license and walked twice each day up the hill on Old Sauk Road.

Everytime I ever drove by Crestwood, I would always look for Rosie and if she was there would honk and wave. A couple of times that I had been back to Madison for a visit I would stop and say hi. Last November when I was home visiting I made sure to pull over and say hi when I saw her, and take a photo with her. I had the opportunity to thank her for how well she took care of me when I was in elementary school, and how much she meant to me and countless others.

Thank you Rosie for being such a wonderful caretaker of so many kids over the last half century. You will surely be missed by many former students, parents and teachers among countless others.

Grand Cayman - Saturday

2011-07-19T21:01:00.000-04:00

Looks like a foggy day on the beach, but in reality it was just that the lens kept fogging up when we walk outside in the mornings.

Saturday was kind of low key in the morning. Sean and Claire hosted a breakfast at their hotel, and we all amazingly crawled out of bed and met over bacon and eggs. It was nice to

A "foggy" photo of Josh and Virginia on the beach.

An old ship docked by Georgetown.

After Breakfast Felipe and I went to visit the Georgetown area with Josh and Virginia. We took a bus there and then walked around. I will be straight up honest when I say that Georgetown was a bit of a disappointment. I mostly expected to find something similar to Paraty - with older colonial buildings and little shops and restaurants. Unfortunately it was some restaurants, not many worth note - including a Hard Rock Cafe and a Margaritaville. Alongside those were several luxury jewelry shops and perfume stores - mostly good for their air conditioning.

We were able to find a restaurant on the beach, and stopped to get something cold to drink - most everyone ordered shakes and I had a strawberry smoothie. we spent a bit more time bumming around Georgetown kind of passing time until we were to meet up with a bunch of others for lunch.

Lunch was a decidedly more enjoyable experience than Georgetown. We walked for what seemed like a while (probably wasn't, but the heat was pretty tiring) and ended up at Seymour's Jerk Centre (love it!).

Here's a nice little video about Seymour's - apparently a very famous jerk joint!

Felipe looking very ready to eat some super yummy food.

I got the Jerk Chicken, while Felipe had the Jerk Pork. They had this amazingly delicious jerk sauce to put on the food...so good I actually used the two pieces of white bread that came with the chicken to sop it up. Super delicious!

Here's the group of us, sitting at one of the two picnic tables next to the jerk shack.

Walking away full!

Could there be a more beautiful day to go to the beach?

I mean, come on! Look at this view!

After we had had a serious fill of delicious jerk food we all headed back to our respective hotels to get ready for some beach time! Everyone reconvened at the Beach Suites beach and spent some very enjoyable time floating in the water where we were joined by some of Sean and Claire's family as well. The natural progression went to another game of Ultimate Frisbee

Kevin takes another hard dive into the sand, but catches the disc and gains a goal!

The cheering squad - Justin, Claire, Jackie and I all cheering from the side.

Half time cool off in the water. Idyllic.

We walked back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, and were graced with a beautiful sunset.

Picture taken with a timer, not the best shot, but still a beautiful background.

I'd like to thank this anonymous swimmer for completing the shot.

I had never seen so many beautiful colors over the water. Was just the perfect way to spend our last night on the island.

Congratulations Sean and Claire!

2011-07-18T18:40:00.000-04:00

Exchanging vows on the beach - what a beautiful place...

So the entire point of our trip to Grand Cayman was to attend and to celebrate the marriage of our friends Sean and Claire. And celebrate we did. Claire (and Sean too...) planned a beautiful wedding with a ceremony on the beach at the Grand Cayman Beach Suites. Fortunately the weather decided to cooperate and it turned out more than lovely.

The ceremony was set up right on the beach, and as I said the weather cooperated so nicely!

Virginia made a lovely bridesmaid :D

Claire being supported by her parents.

Claire had asked me if I would do one of the readings for their ceremony, specifically if I would do Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. I was delighted to be a part of their wedding and was excited for the challenge of reading Shakespeare in front of people. I practiced for a couple of weeks and was able to recite it without using my card, but I will admit that the nerves kind of made my arms go numb!

Josh was also asked to do a reading, he read (quite well!) The Promise by Eileen Rafter.

Josh read so well that Claire gave a great big smile - Isn't she beautiful!

After the ceremony finished, they signed all of the wedding papers and Felipe acted as one of the witnesses. I don't think I saw Claire stop smiling at any point after this!

With tears and hugs, Claire and Sean greet the wedding party and their families.

Claire has a lovely moment with her mom and dad.

After the ceremony they had cocktails on the roof of the hotel - the view was amazing! I think this was the one nice photo Felipe and I got of the two of us together. Thanks for taking the pic Mike!

Sean and Claire were originally going to have their entire reception on the roof, however they had to decide earlier in the day if they would move it to an indoor location. The decision had to be made by noon, and they decided not to risk it (it is the rainy season in Grand Cayman) and so they had it at a golf club affiliated with the hotel. And it was a great decision on their part, because just as the dancing was getting started there was a very heavy downpour!

The reception was beautiful and intimate with the fifty or so wedding guests. Claire's dad made a lovely speech, and the couple were so welcoming and excited to share the evening with all of their family and friends. And then the dancing started! And let me tell you, there was some pretty fantastic dancing happening there! Everyone had a blast, there wasn't a cool spot in the place! (well except for the air conditioned bathrooms...thank god for those little breaks!).

Here is the group photo of the "EY Contingent". The group of current and former EY-ers that came for the wedding...a pretty good representation I would say!

Post wedding hanging out at the bar.

After the reception ended, we all went back to the bridal party's hotel and had a few more drinks at the bar (and many continued on and had a "few" more drinks on the roof). It was a really fun evening with a bunch of great friends. I think we all owe a big thanks to Sean and Claire for picking such a great place for their wedding. It was so great to be able to spend so much fun time with the group in such an exotic locale. A far cry from the streets of Manhattan! We walked along the beach to go back to the hotel, and you could see far off in the distance, over the sea, great big flashes of lightening. There was no thunder, so it was very quiet, with just the sound of the waves and the sand beneath our bare feet. I couldn't help but think how nice it would be if that were our usual commute home after hanging out with friends, instead of that walk up ninth avenue...

Thank you Claire and thank you Sean for throwing such an awesome party, and mostly, Congratulations on your marriage - I am sure you will have so many happy and wonderful years together!

Grand Cayman - Friday

2011-07-17T11:32:00.001-04:00

The view of the beach from the walkway of our hotel.

Friday was the day of the wedding (pictures of that to follow in another post). We spent the beginning part of the day at the beach and the pool. We had some sun that day too! Above you see the beach from the walkway from our hotel. The hotel was not directly on the beach, but it was only a 50 foot walkway from the pool area to the beach (not bad at all!)

A better view of the walk. The night we walked back late (I think it was Thursday night) we encountered a giant iguana in the dark on that path...Felipe tried to tell me it was a "banana leaf", but firstly there are no banana trees around there, secondly it was in the shape of an iguana, and thirdly it was not there the next morning!

It was dark, but I bet it was this guy's bigger, badder older brother. Photo by Felipe.

A nice view of the beach, not a bad place to lounge!

Mike approves!

The guys decided it would be awesome fun to play ultimate frisbee on the beach (in the hot afternoon sun). I am not very good at throwing anythings, so I offered to be the official cheer leader and photographer. Here they are plotting their strategy.

Action shots!

Looks like Kevin took a face plant into the sand...

Cooling off in the pool afterwards. I believe a few Caybrews were ordered as well!

I have a bunch of video from the ultimate frisbee which I still need to process. I will likely make a video post at the end of the picture posts. So come back for that. Also, the next post will have a few pics from the wedding festivities. Mike...I may be borrowing a few of your photos so that my non-ex-EY friends can see them too. Thanks in advance :D

Grand Cayman - Wednesday Night and Thursday

2011-07-16T14:13:00.001-04:00

Group photo at Cimboco - dinner on the first night.

We had such a great time in Grand Cayman for Sean and Claire's wedding, what a terrific idea of having the wedding there! Not only was it a beautiful place, but we had a really great group of people to hang out with, as many of us have been friends for some time and we have a large group (at any given time there was 10-15 of us). Above is the only photo that I got from the first afternoon/evening that we were on the island. We had dinner at a little restaurant called Cimboco that was surprisingly able to accommodate our 8 people in record time. From left to right you have Mike, Felipe, Justin, Virginia, Josh, Jackie and Kevin.

The next day we all slept in a bit, had breakfast together at the hotel and spent some time at the beach in the morning. It was overcast, but the weather was nice and it was even good to not be in the blazing sun.

Thursday afternoon was wonderful as well because Sean and Claire had invited us and several others (wedding party and family) to go on a boat ride out to Stingray City for snorkeling and stingrays.

from google maps. Essentially it is a sandbar out in the middle of the sea between the two ends of the island.

Mike's photo of us on the boat (thanks Mike for letting me "borrow" it!)

Another of Mike's photos, taken by the boat's photographer - us with one of the GIANT sting rays.

On the boat, look at that water!!!

Some of the boats that anchor out there with groups of people. The sting rays are so placid (as long as you don't antagonize them!) because they are so used to having people around them.

Josh and Virginia with Claire, the beaming bride.

Josh and Virginia on the boat on the way back.

Sarah (Claire's best friend and Maid of Honor) and Claire on the boat on the way back.

We had such a great time on the boat trip, and really enjoyed the sting rays (I touched one, but did not hold it), and the snorkeling was amazing - so many fish and corals!

The rest of the day we went back to the hotel and cleaned up, met for dinner at a really terrific restaurant called Deckers and then met everyone at Sean and Claire's hotel for welcome cocktails. It was a truly enjoyable day!

Sand and Surf...Time to Relax

2011-07-14T22:41:00.007-04:00

New posts are on their way - I've been a bit occupied with vacation and my mom's visit. In the meanwhile, sit back and relax to the wonderful sounds of the surf on Seven Mile Beach where we just were last week.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T13:32:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day to two wonderful dads! (an all the other dad's out there) We're so lucky to have had these two great guys in our lives and continue to enjoy all that they've taught us. Wishing we could be in Spain to celebrate Father's day with Primitivo and missing Dad a lot...

An Evening with Friends

2011-06-18T10:47:00.000-04:00

The Guys playing pool at Bar Nine

Yesterday we went out to dinner with some friends to celebrate Virginia's 30th birthday (Yay! Happy Birthday Virginia!) and had a really nice dinner at Becco. The food there is delicious and super reasonably priced - no wonder Josh and Virginia love it so much!

After Becco we went to a bar up Ninth avenue a ways, where Mike was waiting for us. The guys had a nice time playing pool (see the above photo with Josh, Mike and Felipe) while the rest of us relaxed and chatted on the huge couches they have in the back. It was a very enjoyable evening.

Felipe, Virginia and Josh

Josh showing off his fancy behind-the-back moves (he did make the shot!)

Mike taking a shot

Josh on another shot. Felipe was more a spectator/fan - didn't play but encouraged/heckled Mike and Josh.

Grace's Graduation - Videos

2011-06-12T18:29:00.000-04:00

This is a video of all of the Soldiers exiting the auditorium together, you can hear Grace's Drill Sergeant Gonzales calling cadence.

Grace and her friend showing off.

Grace's Graduation - Fort Sill, Oklahoma

2011-06-12T17:23:00.000-04:00

Grace is super hugged by Mom after the Family Day presentation.

I left Wednesday to go to Fort Sill Oklahoma to see my younger sister Grace Graduate from basic training. Mom and Mariam and I met at the airport in Dallas and flew in to Oklahoma City together. Thursday morning there was a brief program for the families, with skits of what the soldiers in training had been doing each week.

Here they are demonstrating how they prepared to go into the gas chamber.

After all of the skits the soldiers were released for the day to spend with their families. This mostly involved eating and picture taking. Grace's "Battle Buddy" Savard joined us for the two family days since his family was unable to make it to Oklahoma from Rhode Island. We had a lot of fun with the two of them.

Grace and Savard (first name is Frank) in the car on our way off the base.

As I said before, the day involved going out for a nice lunch, driving around the beautiful city of Lawton, OK and getting more food and coffee (this is missed on base) and red bull (I've never seen people drink so much red bull, but apparently the soldiers in training are very sleep deprived!). We had to have the two of them back at the base by 8:00pm.

The next day there was the Graduation ceremony at the McMahon Auditorium in Lawton. We arrived and all of the soldiers were already seated in the auditorium. They had strict instructions not to acknowledge the presence of anyone, looking only straight ahead. Something Grace later said was very strange and zoo-like because so many people were taking pictures.

Grace with her fellow C Battery graduates.

Captain David Leibovich, Battery Commander

Grace's Drill Sergeants - Gonzalez (left) and Alaniz (right)

After the ceremony we took the mandatory gajillion photos. Here you can see Grace next to her Drill Sergeant Gonzalez.

A nice photo of Private Frank Savard

Later Grace took us back to her base and showed us around a bit. We got to see her bay (where they sleep) and some of the grounds where they do physical training. Including below, the Treadwell Tower.

Finally saying goodbye to mom and the rest of us....it had to end sometime.

She then fell in to formation with her battery.

One more shot of her Drill Sergeant - I swear this guy is right out of a movie!

And that concludes Private First Class Grace Sergenian's graduation from basic training. She's now off to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for 16 weeks of Advanced training. Congratulations Grace!

One, two, three...GO!

2011-06-05T20:04:00.001-04:00

Felipe with Ana Luisa and Bruno at Virgil's

I swear it, I am back to posting! It's been a while since I have kept up this blog regularly, but jeez, time really goes fast! It's June already?! We had a nice day today visiting again with Ana Luisa and Bruno (friends of Felipe's parents from Brazil). We met them for lunch at Virgil's Barbeque near Times Square. It was nice to have another chance to meet up with them before they leave. Bruno was here doing a visiting scholar program at Fordham and they've been in New York City for a month. We had a lovely time with them over Memorial Day weekend when we met them for a show at Dizzy's Club (jazz).

This week promises to be jam packed - tomorrow my dad's friend Steve will be visiting with one of his friends, and they will be staying with us through Wednesday. Then Wednesday night I leave to go to Oklahoma for Grace's graduation from Basic Training at Fort Sill. I'll be meeting mom and Mariam for the visit (coincidentally we will all be meeting at the Dallas airport as we got the same flight in to Oklahoma city).

I'll come back to New York City on Saturday and we'll get to spend some time with Laurence who is visiting from Paris again (she's in town for a conference). Busy busy! And, if I might say so without jinxing myself, I think we are seriously close to finishing the medical textbook that we've been working on at work - this would be MAJOR! This book has been my main project at work for the last two years and this past several months has really been a mind marathon.

So wish me luck with my busy week, and look forward to more posts coming up!!!

What I Learned in 3rd Grade

2011-05-11T13:34:00.000-04:00

An article in the New York Times recently noted the decline in the use of cursive handwriting. In the third grade I argued with my teacher while learning it that I would never use it. Ms. Nichols - I was wrong.

On your mark, get set, Green!

2011-05-09T18:39:00.001-04:00

Had an awesome walk home today. I really love the afternoon light in the park, and how green everything looks now! The lilacs are still blooming, so I can still stop and smell them on my way through (damn the allergy consequences!). Today the pollen must be through the atmosphere - I think I even saw a massive cloud of it hanging over the sheeps meadow. I think weather.com even lists the pollen count as "so high you're never gonna breath again!"....looks like it will be claritin with my dinner tonight ;)

I hope the weather is as nice by you!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T10:05:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day Linda!

Happy Mother's Day Eda!

We're eternally lucky to have two great mothers in our lives! We could not be the people we are today without your love, support, and guidance. Lots of Love!

-Silva and Felipe

April in New York - This Might Just Be My Favorite Time of Year

2011-04-25T21:09:00.000-04:00

A view of the Sheep's Meadow, with some very low clouds misting up the area.

So I've missed the blog a bit here...winter gets cold and dark and not very inspiring (at least after the holidays have passed), and the family history project has taken up much of my free writing time and photos taking time. But today, this afternoon, there seemed a new day. The sun was shining (mostly) and people were out walking around in the late afternoon warmth (up to 73 degrees today!). My walk through the park on my way home was one of those that reminds me again how much I love being in this city, and how much I love having that park there for me to enjoy.

So here's a couple of photos to show you spring as it blossoms in New York City.

Another view of the sheep's meadow.

A stranger enjoying a moment of sun near one of the blossoming cherry trees.

I know this picture is blurry, I just couldn't get the camera to focus right, but man - look at those colors!!! The lilacs are just starting to bloom, and will be in full bloom by next week I would guess. That's probably my favorite part of spring in the park...that moment where you get just close enough to smell the lilacs...

I'll be back to posting more regularly on the blog soon. I'm supposed to finish working on my family history book by the beginning of May in order to have it finished and printed in time.

A Quick Visit Home!

2011-03-26T17:35:00.000-04:00

Mom and Grace looking mother-and-daughterly in Madison.

Last weekend I was able to go home for a real short visit (Friday night through Monday morning) to spend time with my mom and my sister. Grace joined the army and starts basic training in a few days, so I thought it would be nice to have a little extra time with them.

I arrived Friday night and mom and I had dinner in Milwaukee before heading back to Delavan. Saturday morning we headed up to Madison to meet grace (she took the badger bus in from MKE) and we spent the afternoon bumming around the downtown area.

Mom and grace hanging out in the hotel room, while we try to figure out what to do for the afternoon.

In the end we got lunch at the Oakcrest tavern (had to have some cheese curds!), went to Target (something I miss a lot here in NYC), and then decided that we would grab some food from Trader Joes for grace's party the next day. While we were at Trader Joes, one of the employees noticed grace had a particular talent for dancing with the music and awarded her the "Best Shimmy Dance This Year" award. Grace immediately turned lobster red.

After that we took some flowers to dad's grave and spent a little time there. Unbelievably there was a group of about ten high school students walking through the cemetery, playing catch with a Frisbee as they jumped over graves. How disrespectful can you get?

For dinner that night we went to the Old Fashioned on the Capital Square - I love this joint, and was re-shocked at how cheap drinks and dining out can be in Wisconsin...$6.00 for a mixed drink?! Definitely not something you see around NYC.

After dinner I managed to get Grace and mom to wait outside while I photographed the Super Moon. I'm generally speaking a sucker for looking at the sky...the moon, the clouds, sunsets...they're all pretty amazing to me. The moon was quite impressive, although I couldn't get a shot nearly as good as many that I've seen on the internet...but I did get one good one.

Sunday was a busy day. We met our dad's friends Steve and Ned at the Original Pancake house for breakfast. After that I met up with my uncle Bob and Aunt Sally, and later my Aunt Jayne to do some more interviews for the family project I'm working on. Then around 2pm we had a little family get together for Grace over at my uncle Marty's apartment. It was kind of a good luck/farewell party. Over all it was a really fantastic visit - quick, but filled with good times. I can't wait for my next visit...and the chance to see my madison friend!

Brazil a Day - Last one, Last day!

2011-03-19T23:34:00.000-04:00

Our last day, at Copacabana Beach. I hope you all enjoyed the photos from our trip as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Brazil a Day #19

2011-03-17T17:15:00.000-04:00

Copacabana Beach

Our last day in Rio was a Saturday, we were flying out at 9pm that evening. I managed to convince Felipe, and Primitivo and Eda to go to Copacabana beach one last time (not exactly the time they would usually go - on a very busy saturday morning). It took some time to find a parking spot (Thank you to primitivo for dropping us off and continuing to look while we grabbed a spot on the beach).

Me soaking up as much last minute sun as possible!

Brazil a Day #18

2011-03-16T17:30:00.000-04:00

Primitivo took a nice photo of Myself, Felipe, Ana and Sergi at the top. Just look at beautiful Copacabana beach and the wonderfully blue water. Wish I were there now :D

Brazil a Day #17

2011-03-15T16:25:00.000-04:00

A view looking down Pão de Açúcar, with one of the cable cars. It's a short, but slow three minute ride from the bottom to the top of the first Morro, and another short but slow three minute ride to the top of the other Morro...and totally worth it for the wonderful view of the city.

Brazil a Day #16

2011-03-14T17:58:00.000-04:00

Brazil a Day #15

2011-03-13T17:33:00.002-04:00

It's hot, and all this is a nice view...I think I'll sit and enjoy it a little bit.

Brazil a Day #14

2011-03-12T17:25:00.002-05:00

Felipe and I on top of Pão de Açúcar.

Brazil a Day #13

2011-03-11T17:46:00.002-05:00

A view from atop the Pão de Açúcar, overlooking Botafogo and the city.

Another view from Pão de Açúcar, overlooking the city, with the Christ the Redeemer statue on the right.

Brazil a Day #12

2011-03-10T17:43:00.002-05:00

Felipe and I overlooking Botafogo Bay. There was a wonderful view from the top floor of a small shopping center there. You can see, of course, Pão de Açúcar in the background.

Brazil a Day #11

2011-03-09T18:42:00.000-05:00

A beautiful mural.

Brazil a Day #10

2011-03-08T16:47:00.005-05:00

A happy looking couple aren't they?

Brazil a Day #9

2011-03-07T17:03:00.003-05:00

There were cranes all around the beaches in Rio, I suppose I found them a little more beautiful than the common gray pigeons I'm used to seeing around the city ;)

Brazil a Day #8

2011-03-06T17:30:00.002-05:00

As the sun was setting, we decided we would wave it good bye. Pictured of course are the shadows of myself, Felipe, Ana, Sergi and Primitivo :)

Brazil a Day #7

2011-03-05T18:28:00.004-05:00

Sitting on Leme Beach, enjoying the scene. Wishing I were there right now....

Brazil a Day #6

2011-03-04T17:25:00.000-05:00

The Copacabana way...

Brazil a Day #5

2011-03-03T12:23:00.001-05:00

Sometimes it wasn't just about the scenery, but who we were sharing it with :)

Brazil a Day #4

2011-03-02T17:15:00.000-05:00

Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue on the hill. We tried to visit the statue one afternoon, but there were multiple hour delays in getting to the top of the hill, so we had to settle instead for seeing the "Big Guy" watch over the city, and us, from different vantage points through out the city.

Brazil a Day #3

2011-03-01T17:13:00.002-05:00

Felipe and I overlooking Copacabana beach.

Brazil a Day #2

2011-02-28T19:05:00.001-05:00

Along Ipanema Beach, you can see the Calçada Portuguesa (Portuguese sidewalk that is all over the city). Ipanema and Copacabana have these wildly geometric patterns that you see repeated in fashion and design around the city quite often. It's an amazing accent to the city.

Brazil a Day #1

2011-02-27T22:05:00.000-05:00

In honor of the upcoming Carnival (and also a little because I'm about a month and half behind posting the last of my trip photos) I will be posting a photo, or two, a day to catch up. So each day I will post another photo from our trip until I run out, I hope you enjoy!

The Joy of Getting Lost in Manhattan

2011-02-21T18:21:00.001-05:00

We had some unexpected (to us) snow last night, left some pretty scenes around the city before melting and turning to slush. After spending some time at the Strand, where I picked up a couple of great books about New York City, we walked down broadway a bit and passed Grace Church (pictured above).

I know there's been an absence of blog posts, something I'm working on finding a remedy for. What can I say - when it's cold and yucky out, I spend more time inside and have less to inspire me!

Today was a great day though. Both Felipe and I had off work for the President's Day Holiday, and so that is a bonus right there! We slept in a bit, and then went down to the Union Square area. Today is the five year anniversary of the day we first met, our first date. So we had lunch at Virage, our restaurant in the East Village. It was a bit of surprise when we walked in the restaurant, as we haven't been there since my aunt's visit in October, they have completely redecorated the interior of Virage. Part of me is really sad to see it change, I have very fond memories of the dark brick wall, and the art prints they had - it had a very welcoming atmosphere for a nice dinner. The red brick walls have all been painted over with white, and the neat prints they had hanging were replaced by paintings of still life fruit (I can't say I agree with this choice), and the chandelier no longer hangs from the ceiling...it has also been replaced by round white globe lamps.

I suppose it's fitting that we see the change to "our restaurant" when we went there five years to the day after our relationship began. It would be unlike the New York City way if it didn't change, and serves as a happy reminder to reflect on how we have changed ourselves (positively) since that cold day waiting outside to meet.

My New Angel

2011-02-10T21:27:00.003-05:00

By Mina Lee

I just purchased this work of art that was done by my cousin Mina, she's done many beautiful collages. But this simple one of hers really touched me. Mina passed away this evening after an amazingly courageous battle with breast cancer, lasting as far as I can remember, around 10 years. She leaves behind many sad family and friends, but she also leaves a legacy of creativity, love, and good memories.

Her three kids are around the same age as my sisters and I, and I remember Mina watching us when we were little, especially when my dad was in the hospital. She'll always hold a special place in my heart. And now, I have two new angels, one that was born of her creativity, and another that was born of her amazing spirit. All my love goes to her family now, knowing what they are going through, and hoping that they find as much peace as they deserve.

Ice Ice Everywhere!

2011-02-02T11:45:00.001-05:00

(Photo from Andrew Kunkel on Flickr)

This morning was definitely interesting for many people in the midwest and the east coast. My mom reported having a four foot snow drift in front of her door this morning, and my cousin posted a photo of a snow drift outside her living room window that went to the top corner of the window (about 6 feet I would estimate). Here in New York City we didn't get snow, but lots of freezing rain and ice.

On my way in this morning on the bus, we passed so many beautiful trees encased in a crystal clear ice. It was quite breathtaking. I didn't have my camera with me (I know, silly...but I need to replace the batteries!), and so I'm borrowing the photo for this post from Mr. Kunkel on Flickr...nicely taken!

p.s. - Happy Groundhog Day! (Time for some flapjacks!!!)

Beautiful Street Art

2011-02-01T22:03:00.000-05:00

I wish I had time to walk all over the city and take a pictures of all the amazing "graffiti" which is better labeled as street art. Graffiti is a whole different strata in Rio - so many amazing murals and paintings, I just wish I could have captured more of them - although that gets difficult from a moving vehicle! Here are the only four I could capture while walking...

One of my favorites - St. George slaying a dragon! A sword in one hand, a can of spray paint in the other!

Look at the amazing detail! Do you see the Damask print behind her? Pretty classy right :D

Just google "Graffiti Rio de Janeiro" and you will see some of the most amazing street art. New York City has nothing on Rio!

A Different Kind of Skyline

2011-01-31T22:13:00.000-05:00

Contemplating the view of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountains) and Guanabara Bay where the Botofogo and Flamengo beaches are.

Day 7? 16? 45?: Buzios

2011-01-27T21:28:00.001-05:00

Who keeps track of days after the first one or two anyway? By this time I knew it was after new years, but couldn't ever remember what day/date of the week it was. But that's a good marker for a vacation.

We took another small trip the second week, this time to Ararauama, Cabo Frio and Buzios. We didn't have as much luck with the weather. It wasn't ever terrible, but not nice enough for us to go to the beach - to my disappointment. But we had a nice couple of days walking around the towns. Buzios was nice, and we had a good time shopping and eating and enjoying the scenery.

A nice pic of Felipe and I by the water. Starting to tan, aren't we? ;)

The whole gang, minus Primitivo who's taking the photo.

Gotta capture those awesome shots...they're not gonna make it on my camera by themselves.

You can see it was a lot overcast, but still nice to see all of the colorful boats bobbing in the water. This one is 100% Buziano! (I'm not sure what that means...)

Cute mosaics in the sidewalk.

A nice photo of Felipe and his dad at dinner in Cabo Frio. Primitivo was happy to be spending time with his son, and Felipe was happy to be spending time with his dad (he was happy as well about the all you can eat pizza he was having for dinner too...)

I'd love to go back in nicer weather. The beaches were so wide and amazing looking. It just wasn't meant to be on this trip. Actually, you could get me to go back to Buzios anytime, as long as I could find that street vendor who had the best ever cocada that I tasted while I was there. A cocada is this supremely yummy coconut and condensed milk treat...something I plan on leaning how to make and perfect so that I can feed my newly acquired cocada habit without having to go all the way to the southern hemisphere. Just to give you an idea, this woman looks like she makes a very very delicious cocada. I would have taken a pic of mine to post...but I was too busy eating!

Behind, so very far behind!

2011-01-25T08:24:00.002-05:00
Okay, I know - I'm very far behind in my posts...I have a bunch of photos from our trip to Rio to post! But somehow I've been tied up...I think it's because I got back into my family history project and that has taken up most of my free computer time at home.

Anyway, to tide you over (and to let you know I'm still alive and planning on posting!) here is an awesome find I came across today:

I found this Fantastic Mr. Fox coat on Etsy, and really wish I were a kid, or had a kid I could give it to. How cool is that!

Well, just letting you know I'm still around and will be posting more Rio photos soon! Don't go away...

Greetings from (sometimes) Sunny Rio de Janeiro!

2011-01-07T12:12:00.000-05:00

At Leme beach, looking towards Copacabana.

Well everyone, it's been a busy week here - explaining the lack of posts, and we're on our last full day of Rio. I'm sad to think we'll be leaving tomorrow, especially since we'll be going back to winter! I'm posting this photo I took along the beach in Rio on Wednesday afternoon to tide you over...I may not make any full posts until we get back to NYC (our remaining time here is precious!).

Ana and Sergi have left just now to fly to São Paulo for a couple of days, and so things are winding down. I hope they have safe travels, and that everything goes smoothly for us as well when we leave tomorrow night.

Happy Birthday....

2011-01-03T07:50:00.002-05:00

Today would have been Dad's 64th birthday - I hope he's up there rockin' with Elvis ;)

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-01T09:37:00.000-05:00

We had a terrific New Year's Eve! We all had dinner at Ernani's house (a family friend) in Copacabana. We were there for a while eating and dancing before heading over to the beach.

Me and my brother in law Sergi dancing Samba, tons of fun and very tiring on the legs!

After dancing, at about 11:00pm we walked the two blocks from Ernani's apartment to Copacabana Beach - what craziness! There will thousands of people on any given street and when we got to the beach, and were met by 4 million other people, well let me tell you - that was a sight I never thought I'd see! The Beach stretches for about 6km, so thankfully everyone had plenty of space to stand.

They had 4 live music stages, and screens set up all over the place. At 10 seconds to midnight they put the countdown up and everyone started screaming. At midnight all the lights on the beach went out and the fireworks started. 20 different boats set of 25 tons of fireworks for the first 20 minutes of the new year. it was an AMAZING sight. Everyone was cheering and happy, and colored by the sparkling fireworks in the sky. I couldn't have imagined what it would feel like to be surrounded by 4 million revelers, but it was really something out of this world.

Here is a picture of the crowd last night. If you look at the middle left of the photo, you will see a big white screen...we were about a hundred feet to the right of that - can you see us? ;)

We stayed on the beach until about 1:30am and then walked back to Ernani's apartment where we waited a bit longer for the crowds to clear out (although I'm not sure that actually happened - they seemed just as many when we left at 2:30am). By the end of the night we were wiped out, but happy.

Happy New Year to all - I wish you the best of happiness and health in 2011!

Day Six: Ilha Grande - The Beach!!!

2010-12-31T08:56:00.000-05:00

A BEAUTIFUL beach that we visited. Probably my favorite.

On day six we got up around 8:30am and had breakfast before walking to the beach in the village. Here's us ready to go!

Felipe relaxing in our first bit of (real/uninterrupted) sun!

When we got to the beach, Felipe's uncle Chico arranged for us to have another private boat for the day (this is about $300 for the whole day - divided by that 8 of us - quite a deal!), this time a motor boat, super new and very nice! The man who owned the boat - Oldair from Cariocas Tour, took us from beach to beach and it was the best!!!

Me on the boat - ready for a sun filled, beach filled day!

The first stop was at the Lagoa Azul - there was no beach, but you could swim right off the boat. It was a perfect place for snorkeling! We saw so many fish! and cool corals and sea sponges. It was beautiful!

Felipe on the boat. He had to keep a shirt on the whole day as he got pretty burnt when we were boating around Paraty.

Ana and I taking a break from snorkeling (it's hard floating around like that!)

A pretty typical picture of Felipe's uncle Chico.

Wish you were here!!!

Almost every beach was super quiet, with hardly any people. I think our guide knew when to go to which places, so that we would beat all the big crowds from the larger boats.

On this particular beach there was a little path that led to a small church on the hill. Felipe and I walked up there together to see it...

A stone statue of an angel next to a very old grave.

We then went to another small beach where we got a bite to eat for lunch. Portions were HUGE! I ordered grilled chicken and it came with rice and beans, and french fries!

Felipe's ice cold Guarana Antarctica - a very popular soda here in Brazil. I don't like the taste at all!

A view of the beach from our table. Nice and relaxing!

The last beach we stopped at was the most beautiful, and by far my favorite. We practically had the whole beach to ourselves! It was clean and long, with crystal clear water. You can see in the photo below our boat:

By this time it was 4:30pm and we were happy to relax a bit in the shade.

I can't think of a more perfect way to have spent the day. Each place we stopped was breathtaking and I wished a hundred times that I could share it with all of my friends and family. It's something I never really anticipated having a chance to do, and am so glad that I did!

After all that sun and swimming we went back to the hotel to clean and rest for a bit. We lazed around for a while and then slowly made our way back towards the center of the village for dinner. A perfect day.

Day Five: Ilha Grande

2010-12-31T08:27:00.000-05:00

Departing on the catamaran from Angra Dos Reis.

On day five (I am losing track of what day of the week, and the date like a true vacation!) we traveled from Paraty to Angra dos Reis where we got a boat to Ilha Grande. Ilha Grande is just that - a very large island just off of the coast.
The island is only accessible via boat, and it takes about 45 minutes on the faster catamaran to get there. You could see why they call it the Costa Verde - the water was a beautiful shade of blue green.

We arrived in the Vila do Abraão on the northern coast of the island (facing the mainland), and walked to our pousada - Pousada do Anambe, which was a little off the beaten path.

A view of the street beside the pousada.

A view from the balcony by our rooms.

The first afternoon we did a 2km hike around some of the state park, where we saw an old abandoned hospital (it used to be a quarantine for people suffering from cholera) which was later a notorious prison for political dissidents in the 1940's and 1950's. There was also a very old aqueduct that was on the trail. It was all very beautiful!

The Trail.

A window into the old abandoned hospital/prison.

Inside the abandoned building...you are not allowed in because of hazard of collapse.

A sign describing the history of the building.

We moved past the ruins and walked further on toward the aqueduct and a small portion of the river with a natural pool. Everything was so verdant! Here you can see Felipe and I at the aqueduct.

When we got to the natural pool, there was a portion of the trail that broke and we had to cross the large rocks that the river passed over - very slippery rocks!

Fortunately we all made it over safely, and enjoyed a bit of the refreshingly cool water!

We had a great time walking around the forested trails, which I think was perfect because the day was very overcast and rainy at times. I think it really made the green that much more impressive! After the walk we all went back to the pousada and changed/rested. We spend the majority of the rest of the evening walking around the small village visiting the little shops, eating pastels (very large empanada type food), and enjoying the scenery. We had dinner at a little restaurant called Rapala, where the food was terrific and the service not so much. Are orders all came out at different times and at least two or three things were brought out wrong. I might be guilty of enjoying it the most as I had most of the luck - all my food came right away, and it was super yummy! All was made up for by grabbing some treats from the man selling them in the cart on the street afterward.

Day Four: Paraty

2010-12-30T20:00:00.000-05:00

Day four was great - we started out in the morning with a good breakfast at the pousada. My favorite part was the watermelon juice and felipe was happy to have some super fresh papaya.

After breakfast we all walked to the shore near the historic district. Here is where Felipe's dad and uncle bargained for us to have a boat take us around the coast for swimming. In the end we had Maestre Antonio of the Paraiso do Sol! We spent the next five hours boating from beach to beach around Paraty.

Felipe and I on the boat.

At the first beach, the water was this amazing shade of turquoise green.

Thankfully Felipe had the foresight to bring snorkeling masks, because there were some areas that had some amazing fish. Just throw a bit of crackers in the water and there were tons of them!

Ana and Sergi enjoying the "sun deck" on the top of the boat.

Unfortunately the sun didn't last the WHOLE time we were out on the boat. We weathered a few very heavy downpours. Below is a photo of the group huddled under the overhand of the boat's roof.

Although not as fun as sun, the rain did make for a really beautiful scene.

I especially enjoyed the way the water looked with all the millions of raindrops falling...

In the end we took advantage of the rain - we were all wet anyway from swimming! so we just had fun!

Felipe coming in after a rainy swim.

One last group photo after the rain let up a little bit. Our guide for the day, Antonio is in the red and blue jacket.

After five hours of swimming and boating around, we went back to the pousada for a bit of a rest. Then again in the evening we walked around the historic center, and felipe found a treat he'd not had in a long time!

Corn ice cream!!!

Sunset (kind of - it's there behind the clouds).

Day Three: Paraty, Brazil

2010-12-30T18:46:00.001-05:00

A view of the Paraty shore.

Day three saw our arrival to Paraty, a small colonial town south of Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately most of our time in Paraty was slightly marred by rain, but it always allowed enough breaks in the rain to enjoy the town!

We stayed at the Pousada do Principe, it was a short walk to the historic part of town, and a very nice little place to stay.

After setting our stuff down into our rooms, we took a stroll around the historic portion of the city.

They had some beautifully colored doors - not just some I suppose, but all over.

In front of the Capela de Santa Rita (Chapel of Saint Rita) - built in 1722, and it's the oldest church in the town.

Because it was raining so much, there was water flooded into the streets. This seems to be not abnormal - as they have platforms that cross the streets at some points to keep you from having to walk through the water. This was designed for when high tide hits too.

Here it was day three of my trip - and I had yet to have a coconut or see a beach! So this was my first coconut and my first Brazilian "beach" ;)

This is the man who cut the top of my coconut off with a machete. This is apparently a very popular after-beach refreshment. My first sip was less sweet than I had anticipated, but still good!

That night we went back to the pousada and just relaxed. We had dinner at the little bar they operated in the common area and talked for a few hours before going to bed.

Rio Day One: Merry Christmas (Eve)!

2010-12-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

What a day! We spent the night on a very old, and very very cramped plane - but after 10 hours we finally made it to our destination! We were greeted at the airport by Felipe's dad and Uncle and officially started celebrating our vacation. It was very exciting to know that I had just landed for my first time ever in South America, and I knowing how much excitement lay ahead.

We had a nice lunch at a little cafeteria/restaurant/buffet in the neighborhood that Felipe's Aunt and Uncle live in (Flamengo). Felipe immediately filled his plate with all the favorite foods he'd been missing (sorry - low quality iPhone photo):

We relaxed much of the rest of the afternoon, awaiting the arrival of Felipe's sister Ana and her fiance Sergi. It was a good thing too that we relaxed a bit, because we had a Christmas eve party to go to last night. We arrived around 10:30pm, and had dinner served around 12:30am. It was a LONG night, but we had a lot of fun!

The conversations in Portuguese were hard for me - I love to talk (as you all know very well) and it is difficult not to be able to participate as everyone else is. Fortunately my Spanish got me by, as many people understand Spanish as well, doubly fortunately many people spoke English as well. All were very friendly and happy to be sharing the special occasion together. Sometimes I stop and remember, or someone points it out, that I am the sole "Americana" in the crowd. Political conversation ensues...

You will be hearing more, but in the meanwhile...enjoy your Christmas holiday!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-12-25T09:32:00.002-05:00

Outside the Christmas windows at Tiffany's in NYC

Wish I could be there to celebrate with you, but I know my sisters are keeping things fun for you! Happy Happy Birthday :D

Is that Tornadoes in the Forecast?!

2010-12-22T12:33:00.000-05:00

Looking at the symbol for Thursday, Friday, Saturday...kind of looks like a tornado icon...fortunately it's just their version of a "thunderstorm" icon.

Keep your fingers crossed that we don't experience any tornadoes! ;)

If Santa's Big Red Bag of Gifts Were Instead....

2010-12-21T23:51:00.000-05:00

A BIG red suitcase!

Okay, so did some packing today for our trip to Brazil, and it turns out our largest suitcase is filled almost entirely with gifts! Which means we better get a few good gifts to fill that suitcase up on our way back!

I'm getting super excited for the trip, although at the same time pre-missing the cold Christmas Eve feeling...

We still have a load of things to do to prepare to leave and make sure our apartment isn't a nightmare (for when we get back AND because we have friends staying here while we're gone).

Hope all of your holiday preparations are going well!

Two years...

2010-12-17T07:32:00.001-05:00

It has been two years now since I lost my dad, he passed away December 17th, 2008 from Burkitt's Lymphoma. Not a day goes by where I don't think about him, or miss something about him. It's easier now than it was before, the conditioned behaviors like reaching for the phone to give him a call are becoming less frequent. I miss him the most when I have something fun or important that I want to share, wouldn't it be great if I could show him what I'm doing with the family history project! Or miss him when I go back to Madison and cannot visit him (visiting a grave is just not as warm - and the grave site won't do a crossword puzzle with me!).

My dad had his faults, but he had his great qualities as well - he was caring, smart, and he challenged me. It's strange sometimes to stop and truly realize that he's no longer with us, that he's not just "away" somewhere, or not answering the phone - but that he's really gone for good.

I will always cherish the time that we had with dad, even when his health got bad - as I am sure it makes me a better person. But if I had to share anything with those of you who still have both your parents, it would be this - cherish every moment you have with them, ask them questions - questions about who they are, what they were like when they were younger, what they wanted to be, and what they want to be remembered for. I had dad for 26 years and still wish I knew more about him....

I will miss him always, but will carry him in my heart much longer than always...

Snapshots Catch Up - Autumn in Central Park

2010-12-03T22:37:00.000-05:00

This autumn has been busy with all sorts of visitors, travel, and general happenings. Today felt like the first cold winter day...the start of what I am sure will be a very long and dark winter season. And I thought I would take a chance to upload some of my autumn photos that I hadn't yet shared, before the snow starts to fly around here.

I took these while walking around with my aunt when she was visiting. I love Central Park all year round, but Autumn is when it is at it's most spectacular. I hope you enjoy these snapshots as much as I enjoyed taking them.

I love the couple just beyond the bridge...

I know you are, but what am I?!

2010-12-01T21:25:00.002-05:00

Pee Wee and I...friends for 21 years and counting.

With mom in town, and Pee Wee in town...there was only one logical thing to do. Sunday morning mom and I took a trip down to Times Square (yuck!) to wait in line at the TKTS booth and see if there were any tickets to the "Pee Wee Herman Show". It was our good luck that there were (not so sure if it was good luck for Felipe too...but he was a good sport and came along!).

Mom and I in front of the theater.

We've been huge fans of Pee Wee for the longest time...of course as a kid I watched his show religiously every Saturday morning. And then of course you have Pee Wee's Big Adventure, classic awesomeness. So we were both stoked to see his broadway show, and we were not disappointed!

The set is just as the television show, as garish and bright, filled with shiny, colorful, and retro. Of course, all the favorite characters were there too...Chairy, Pterri, Jambi, Conky, Magic Screen, Clocky, Mr. Window, Globy,Miss Yvonne, Cowboy Curtis and so on, and so on, and so on....hahahaha. I think one of my favorite moments (and man how I wish I could have gotten a photo) was when Pee Wee came on stage in a fully bedazzled suit. Just terrific! The big foil ball even made an appearance.

We had such a blast, I'm very glad we went and I think in the end, Felipe gained an appreciation for the crazy that is Pee Wee. The only room for improvement that I could see was if the theater could have had a little heat! It was freezing in there, I'm sure colder than it was outside! I highly recommend the show to anyone in NYC...it's running through December 31st. Can you imagine...New Year's Eve with Pee Wee?!

Happy Thanksgiving (yesterday)!

2010-11-26T10:58:00.000-05:00

Nicole's taking a photo of the group of us...ravenous and ready to eat!

So Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I know, this post should have gone up yesterday, but then how would I have included the photos?! Plus...I spent the whole day preparing the meal, so yeah! We had a fantastic time with my mom, Cord, Nicole, Sammi and Mike - it's a meal and an evening I look forward to all year!

See me in the back there... Everyone did a good job of not digging in to the turkey before everything else was ready ;)

After dinner we entertained ourselves with games of Taboo, playing with Josie, and drinks!

And just before leaving us...Josie sat in the kitchen wishing for some left overs....

We had a wonderful day/evening, and I hope that all of you had as good a Thanksgiving as we did. I know that I am thankful to have my "Manhattan Family" to celebrate with, as well as having my mom out here too!

Conflicting Messages

2010-11-22T21:28:00.000-05:00

Found this while searching old newpapers for my family history project...nice to see that even back in 1931 the newspapers were giving conflicting signals on body image...on the one hand you can lose 47 pounds of fat in 3 months! on the other hand...you've got new ways to serve that Oscar Meyer bacon! Yum! haha. I just had to share it with you!

Snapshots from the Past - Family History

2010-11-15T12:16:00.000-05:00

Ara and Alice

I've been having a great time going through more old photos and old stories with my Aunt Miriam and all of my uncles. This Family project is really coming along, and I'm really starting to look forward to the end product! Here are just a few of the photos - a sampler for you all!

Bob and Sally, with the first grandchild - Laura

Ara Jr.

Marshall

Ron

Paul and Diane

Miriam at the Cotillion with Ara and Alice

Paul (Background), Dan(Dad), Miriam and David

Dan (Dad to me!) at Miriam's Wedding 1967

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

2010-11-11T01:52:00.002-05:00

This afternoon I flew back to Madison for a long weekend. A friend is getting married on Saturday, and I took a few extra days to spend time with family. I'm hoping to get some of the interviews of the family done so that I can further my family history project along a little bit.

I arrived to Madison a bit early, about 4:15pm. The direct flight was nice, and well worth it. It was a bit hard coming in to the Madison airport, as the last time I flew in and out of the Madison airport it was when my dad died, and also around the same time of year. I flew by myself today too, Felipe is joining tomorrow, and that brought up enough memories as well. It was hard to walk through the airport and not think "This is the spot where I learned my dad died"... Difficult too knowing that no matter what I won't get to see him while I'm here. It's not all bad though (I don't want you thinking I'm super depressed!), my aunt Miriam came to pick me up, and I'll be staying with her while I'm in town. I like that I now get all of this quality time with her when I am in Madison.

After she picked me up, the two of us went to the Alliant Center for the Porchlight annual recognition dinner with my uncle Paul (uncle Marsh and my cousin Kathy were there too). He's worked/volunteered with the organization for quite some time. Porchlight is a pretty amazing organization in Dane County that helps provide services to homeless individuals and families, and has special services as well for mentally ill homeless individuals. They have a very large campaign right now to raise money to provide more housing for mentally ill homeless called Madison Cares. They've raised $2.8 million dollars and are just a few hundred thousand away from their goal of $3.5 million. I hope they get there, because it's such a valuable and tremendous service. I recommend taking a look at their website - donate too!

As for the rest of the trip, I have some family time planned out, and of course the wedding on Saturday. Other than that it is really play it by ear. My last visit to Madison was super ultra planned out, and I think felipe felt like we were going to meetings instead of hanging out with friends. Maybe I did go over the top in creating a schedule. So this time it's much more relax. My main priority is family and working on this history project. But I do hope to see friends a little bit...I'm just playing it by ear though ;) Feel free to let me know if you are available and in town!

Don't Forget to Vote Today!

2010-11-02T09:07:00.001-04:00

Today are the mid-term elections, I won't get too into the politics here, but remember - it is ALWAYS important to be a part of the democratic process!

A Family Visit - Aunt Miriam in NYC

2010-11-01T20:30:00.000-04:00

Last week was Aunt Miriam's visit to New York City... her first visit since 1992. I can't even tell you how much I was looking forward to it! We had a couple of really terrific walks around Central Park (the foliage is beautiful right now!):

We had lunch at Grand Central Station:

But my favorite was this last Saturday. We spent the entire afternoon wandering around Ellis Island, really enjoying our family's heritage and introduction to this country. We had a lot of family come through Ellis Island during some of it's busiest immigration years. I felt really happy to share Ellis Island, a place I have enjoyed twice before, with her and with Felipe. Each had meaningful connections, us with our family's history, and Felipe with his own immigration to the United States - very different from my great-grandparents experience, but in many ways the same.

Overlooking the Registry Hall, where her grandparents (my great-grandparents) were processed when they arrived in 1907.

By the Wall of Honor where Uncle Marty had our family's name engraved to commemorate their arrival at Ellis Island.

Mugrdiche and Aznive Kaprielian on the Wall of Honor

Felipe and I inside overlooking the Registry Hall

Immigrant v.2005 ;)

We had a wonderful time at Ellis Island, thoroughly enjoyed the Museum, and probably could have spent more time there if it weren't for the fact that we were already there until closing as it was! After that we had a lovely dinner at our favorite restaurant Virage. It was the perfect way to finish up a terrific visit. I am already looking forward to her next trip out here...which I hear will be spring of 2012!

Happy Halloween (part two)!!!

2010-10-31T20:52:00.000-04:00

We had a great time carving pumpkins, and they turned out well! This year I decided to make a pumpkinstein :D

We had a special guest too - got to meet Josie for the first time. Josie is Nicole's new Guiding Eyes for the Blind Puppy...only 11 weeks old! Super cute and sits really well for photos. Hopefully we'll be seeing much more of her.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T11:32:00.000-04:00

Looking forward to some pumpkin carving, scary movies, apple cider and handing out candy to the kids!

I'll post pics of the pumpkin carving later on :D

At the Shack!

2010-10-24T21:32:00.000-04:00

The weather was SO nice that we met Nicole and Dexter (not pictured) at Madison Square Park during the evening to have a little Shake Shack. Can't believe how wonderful the weather was this weekend, and I have heard it's supposed to continue through the week. We can always hope!

Anyway, we enjoyed the evening with burgers and shakes (mine was peanut butter chocolate as usual - yum!).

Hollowe'en is coming soon....

2010-10-22T18:35:00.000-04:00

The New York Public Library has a fantastic collection of Halloween postcards on their flickr stream. I've picked some of my favorites here...

We plan on doing our usual Halloween pumpkin carving and movie night, this year, in addition to the Vincent Price House on Haunted Hill, we'll watch The Shining too! I'm looking forward to the roasted pumpkin seeds, and Felipe is looking forward to the spiced cider. Happy autumn everyone.