Happy New Year!

In 2011 I had my first real surgery, I got kicked out of my house by my evil landlord, I watched my husband attain the title of Doctor as he graduated from dental school, spent 3 months apart from my husband, and moved to a city that I less than like. So, here's to 2011's end and the beginning of a new year! Yay 2012! I'm determined to make it a good one.

New York is a different country. Maybe it ought to have a separate government. Everybody thinks differently, they just don't know what the hell the rest of the United States is. ~Henry Ford

It's been a really tough week. I've never been more unhappy than since I moved here and I have had a lot of outbursts saying, "I HATE IT HERE!!!" This wouldn't be a very honest blog if I didn't admit it once in a while. Living in New York is FAR from easy, fun, or glamorous... At least for me. Sit back and hold on because this is going to be a bitch-fest.

Reasons I hate NYC this week:

1. This city is completely stroller unfriendly. What happens when I have another kid?
2. Taking my child anywhere and keeping her interested/under control is impossible.
3. The fear of us getting separated on a train, her running away from me in the park, or her falling on to the subway tracks are very real to me and somedays I have such bad panic attacks I can't leave the house.
4. Got a ticket for having my dogs on the playground. $50 Effing dollars!
5. People here suck.
6. My husband has hardly been home in 2 weeks, therefore, no help, no relief, and no one to talk to.
7. I still feel like a total outsider in my ward, there is not one person I relate to.
8. Being so poor, I can't even shop at H&M or TJMaxx.


Sometimes you just have to vent. I can't pretend that life here is wonderful all the time. Next week I'm sure I'll have a list to counter all my complaints today.

XOXO

Brrrrr,

New York has been fabulously cold lately. As a mountain grown girl I love being cold, the heat makes my skin crawl and even in the winter there is a window open in my house. I love the look of red noses and cheeks from walking around outside and I absolutely love not sweating like a pig everyday. What I love about cold in New York is the fashion parade late fall and winter bring out in a fabulous array of outerwear. There are so many pea coats and trenches to drool over this season. In New York winter is about 2 things, a fabulous coat and a fabulous scarf. Hats and gloves are optional but not overlooked. In other states that I have lived winter outerwear is whatever coat you wear to the ski resort. In New York, your coat is as important as what's underneath. Because everyone walks everywhere in NYC you rarely see what's under someone's coat, so that coat has to be fabulous and as fashion forward as every other piece in your wardrobe. My favorite styles are the coat dress, Military, and the classic pea coat. Here are some examples of what I'm drooling over as I walk down Madison Avenue:

The coat dress

The Military trench

The classic Peacoat

Walking

I love to wander and just lose myself in the beauty of the city. I had a doctors appointment over on the east side this week and I decided to make a day of it. I packed a lunch and snacks for little miss and we took the subway to 71st and Central park west. We entered Central park and by Strawberry Fields and passed the "Imagine" memorial to John Lennon. It's a beautiful walk especially in the fall. You go past Bethesda Terrace (my favorite place in the park), and the Boat House restaurant. The trees are so vivid Orange right now that it causes the light to glow this gold/orange color everywhere. It's breath taking.
After my appointment I decided to continue down Madison Avenue and then crossed over to 5th avenue and walked down to The Plaza. This was how beautiful the walk was.

I walked all the way over to Columbus circle and then caught the train home. I wish I had had the thought to turn on the GPS on my phone to see how far I walked, but it didn't occur to me. Little miss slept through the doctors appointment and all the way home, it was peaceful and lovely and I think I need to do it more often,

Halloween!

Here are some pictures of little miss in her cute costume. She was sleeping beauty this year.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Saying that life in New York City is great every minute of everyday would be lying. Somedays I experience pure Euphoria when I walk around and notice that I'm standing where my favorite movie or TV show was filmed, and somedays the comments people make make me want to take a bat out and start swinging at everyone that walks past me. I thought New Yorkers minded their own business and didn't care about anyone other than themselves. I was wrong, at least about the ones in my neighborhood. The predominant Dominican population in my neighborhood seem to have an opinion about something I do or something about my daughter everyday. In random strangers eyes I do everything wrong and they can't help but tell me.

New York is a tough city (understatement). It chews you up and spits you out, and the toughest are the ones that can take it over and over and over. I love some of the experience that I'm having here. It is the most amazing and unique city in the world, just not always for good things.

Noticing the difference between the East Side and the West Side is kind of funny, the west side is a little more low key. My favorite hangouts are Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center, and little miss's favorite, the Museum of Natural History. The East side however is it's own universe. 5th avenue splits the island in half and does it ever! If you were a child coloring New York in a coloring book, I'd use bold earth tones for the west side and gold, silver, white, and pink to color the east side. My Endocrinologist is over on the East side in "Gossip Girl" territory and as I left my appointment and walked back toward the park I observed the east side "prep" teenagers coming home from school. Prestigious looking uniforms on young men carrying their lacrosse sticks, and girls with VERY short skirts (yes their uniform skirts), knee high stockings and designer handbags made me wish I had worn more than yoga pants, a tee shirt, and sneakers in their presence. However I have not yet purchased this season's fashion must have's (and probably will never have the money to), so I wasn't about to wear something totally uncomfortable when I had to walk from 86th West to 81st East by way of Central Park.

So what's the good about living in New York City? Experiencing a place that is truly unlike anywhere else on the planet. In every other city in the country you can compare it to another, or describe one as a mix of two. Not New York. It stands alone. The good: historic locations and unmistakeable must see landmarks; The bad: Sometimes the people here suck and can't mind their own business, it's exhausting taking subways all day long with an over active three year old; The Ugly, how I feel most days when I compare my life or myself to the people that can go shopping where the like and buy whatever they want, and my jealousy of those who get to live in the nicer neighborhoods when I live in "The Heights" even though I can guarantee my apartment is bigger than theirs.

It's been a tough adjustment here, but even after the darkest storms, the sunshine eventually comes out.

Autumn

"Don't you just love New York in the fall?" Well I agree with Meg Ryan, New York in the fall is Magical. The light is almost Orange and the leaves are changing rapidly. I took little miss to the little playground by our house in Washington Heights. It was cold and rather windy, but my sweet baby girl (ok she's not a baby anymore) was running as the leaves fell down around her and chasing the pigeons as they tried to eat the pretzels she was dropping in the process. As I sat watching her run and squeal I had one of those moments of pure motherly joy. I was so happy in that moment, at complete peace. I haven't felt that way for a long while. My family has been through a really rough patch for the past 5 months, but finally this morning I feel like I'm coming out of that feeling of constant stress and not feeling safe to take a deep breath. As I was watching the wind blow the leaves around I felt a heavy weight lift off my chest and I finally took a deep breath. Things are ok now. We are happy, Little miss is happy. New York, as hard a city as it is, is wonderful, I feel at home, I can be happy here.

New Pictures Coming!

Guess who got a fancy new Camera? Yup, ME! Well, ok, my husband. It's necessary for photographing his patients, but hey it's for personal use too! I see all these beautiful and interesting places around the city and it's pathetic taking pictures with a camera phone all the time. It just doesn't do the beauty of the city in the fall justice. Stay tuned for some pretty picture to come after this weekend!

Wanderings and Ponderings

I awoke very early this morning and took the subway downtown to Columbus Circle where I started my workout. I walked from 59th to 34th and over to 5th avenue, up to the Plaza Hotel and through Central park back to Columbus circle. It was a beautiful morning in NYC and it was fun to run through Times Square when it wasn't crowded with hoards of people. The most exciting part of my run was through Central Park. I took a path not frequently traveled and a little ways down it I saw a beautiful woman. She was very tall and very slim, but not icky skinny, she had long brown hair and was watching her young son play on the side of the path. Who was it? None other than the most famous and highest paid SUPER model in the world, Giselle Bundchen!!! She said good morning to me and I didn't realize it was her until I looked at her and said good morning back. It hit me and then my jaw dropped and I figured out who had just talked to me. I wished I had had little miss with me! She would have run up to the little boy and started playing with him and I could have stood and talked to her! Oh well. She was gorgeous. It was a very fun morning!

Dr. J and I spent the afternoon watching the LDS Semi Annual General Conference. That's right I am a Mormon! Twice a year for 2 days we get to hear from our Prophet, apostles, and other general authorities of the church. It's amazing how the Lord can speak directly to you through his inspired servants. I felt as if they were giving council directly to me to improve my life and my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

I believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints has the true and complete gospel of Jesus Christ. I have the faith that the Heavenly Father love me and know me by name. I know that families can be sealed for eternity and if we keep the commandments and live worthily we will once again live with our Heavenly Father in Celestial Glory. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and restored the gospel to the earth. I know that he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ after a humble prayer in a beautiful grove of trees in Upstate New York. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of God and that he loves all the members of the church. I know that his apostles are divinely inspired by God to give us counsel to improve our lives in order to achieve our divine potential.

This is my testimony that I know through faith to be true.

Hardships

While life is really great in New York there are a few things that are difficult to get used to. It's difficult when it takes 40 minutes to get anywhere by train or walking. I can't just get in the car and get there, I am dependent upon other people to get me places, like subway drivers, or taxi drivers. I have to go to several different stores to get everything on my shopping list. You have to go to one store for food stuff, then another for toiletry items. There is a Costco which is nice, it's way over in East Harlem so it takes quite a while to get there. It just part of the adjustment that comes with living in New York City. It unlike ANY other city in the nation. I now understand why people are aggressive and a little bit hardened here, its because things are HARD. It's not unpleasant hard, its just that everything in this city takes calculated effort and planning, and tremendous energy expenditure. While my apartment is awesome, I miss a house, with a garage and my Xterra in the driveway. I miss Fred Meyer, Target, Michaels, Costco, and my gym being 5 minutes or less away. Maybe someday I can move back to my beloved Beaverton, Oregon.

A Night in Little Italy

Tonight we met my cousin downtown in Little Italy, it was the Festival for San Gerrano. It was nice to catch up with him while walking among the hoards of people and the smell of garlic in the air. I LOVE walking around New York at night, if you stay in the populated areas and you know which neighborhoods are relatively safe you can have amazing experiences at night in New York.

Remembrance

Tonight I am writing this post from the Lincoln Center plaza. As I sit here listening to the New York Philharmonic i look up at the sky from where I am sitting and see two thin pillars of light and I find myself a little choked up and in awe. I know what those two lights represent and it's overwhelming to see them in person. I can't imagine what tomorrow is going to be like for the native New Yorkers and those closely affected by 9/11. I am not a New Yorker and what happened 10 years ago still haunts me all the time. This event is my generations Kennedy assassination. Everyone remembers where they were that day. I was 21 years old and a student in college starting my senior year. I was running out the door and heard on the Today show that a plane had hit a building. I didn't know it was the World Trade center, I didn't know it was in New York. I remember a few months earlier in the summer that a Concorde had crashed into a building in Paris, so I honestly didn't think anything of it. I ran out the door to head for class. I had a book on tape I was listening too so I didn't hear the radio announcement. After I got out of class I was walking to another part of campus when the guy I was dating at the time told me what had happened. I couldn't comprehend what he was even saying, it didn't make sense to me. I walked into the library that afternoon and saw the footage in the entrance hall for the first time. It was like a punch in the stomach. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I blew off classes and went home and just watched the horror over and over.
So as I sit here in this beautiful plaza surrounded by beautiful music and iconic buildings, my prayers go out to those who've lost a loved one on that terrible day. I pray that hearts will be healed and lives will be blessed with peace.

Fashion Fashion Everywhere and Not a Penny Anywhere!!

I don't know of another city where fashion trends are so obvious. As I was walking around on the upper west side and around mid town tonight I noticed 4 distinct pieces on just about every woman of every size and they all looked amazing and meticulously put together so here it is,

1. The Trench Coat: in neutral or RED, short or long.

2. Skinny Ponte pants, black , brown, gray, and if you dare RED

3. The Riding Boot: ESSENTIAL!! (at least that's what I'm trying to tell my husband)

4. The Circle Scarf, Any color, any pattern, yellow and purple are very popular.

So there is your uniform for fall. Think red and neutrals. Red is everywhere! For this upcoming Winter, just add a heavier coat.

I am currently trying to persuade Dr. J that these items are essential and I need them. I need to work on losing the extra 30 pounds so they actually look cute. Reward maybe?

Rain Rain

It's raining all week this week and since it takes so long for me to get anywhere in this city little miss and I have decided to lay low during the day this week and focus on a huge hurdle in any child or parents life...POTTY TRAINING,dun dun duuuun. Little miss has been waiting a good long while until she is ready and finally she took the initiative last night and did it!! She's done great all day with only one accident. Yay babe!
I am anxiously waiting for Dr. J to get home from work because I am going stir crazy after 2 days at home. I'm going to hit Tasti D-lite down on the upper west side, yes I said DOWN on the upper west side because I live so up high in the nose bleed section of the island the upper west side is about 80 blocks downtown. Tasti D-lite is a place I heard referenced in Sex and the City and have been curious about it ever since. I finally got my first taste about a week ago and personally I like it WAY more than regular ice cream and it's way less calories.
Dr. J is way protective and worried about me going out after a certain time at night alone, so there's a possibility he won't let me go, in that case I'll hit the Dunkin Donuts at the end of the block and read for a while. I can't tell if he gets offended when I take alone time. I love hanging out with my husband, but after a long day with little miss and her constantly vying for my attention I am desperate for a break just to hear the thoughts that flash quickly through my own head.

Jumping back into Life

My first few days here I felt like I was setting up my life again. I needed to find doctors for little miss and myself. She obviously needed a pediatrician and I needed an OB/GYN and an endocrinologist. My thyroid needs constant attention like a socialite needs the paparazzi. I needed to find a preschool that doesn't cost $7000 a semester, this task is harder than you think. I have never been anywhere where parents are SO obsessed over PRESCHOOL! I don't even remember much of my preschool and I don't think it contributed to where I went to college or what I did for my career. Anyway, I found someone at my church running a "Joy school" program from her home, $60, done! Little miss is an extremely active and energetic child, she is constantly busy. Running,jumping, and building forts and castles out of blankets, chairs, and pillows. No matter what I do I cannot seem to ever expend enough of her energy, even after mine is well spent. All this energy unfortunately leads to crazy behavior and trouble listening and following rules. As a first time mom to a three year old it is amazing how much harder life has gotten since she turned three in June. Discipline is a sensitive subject in general, and unfortunately Dr. J and I differ on some disciplinary practices. Anyway, back to setting up life.
A huge part of me is fitness, you wouldn't think it to look at me, I'm not particularly svelte or stacked with muscles, I know they're under there, I feel them, I just have residual evidence of child birth left around the middle. I'm not huge by any means just a tad thick at the moment. My #1 objective since moving here 2 weeks ago was to find a gym. I chose New York Sports Clubs and have been pretty happy with it thus far. They're clean, lots of machines, a nice play area for little miss, and somewhat competent personal trainers. Now I have EXTREMELY high standards and expectations for a personal trainer or fitness leader of any kind. They have to be smarter than me. As former trainer myself, a medical professional, and having a degree in Exercise Science and surgical technology, they just simply have to have a greater knowledge of body mechanics, anatomy, and they must be up on the newest training techniques and equipment. I had a session with a trainer last Wednesday and I must say I wasn't super impressed. I have been incredibly spoiled with some amazing trainers back in Oregon. He was competent with what he knew, but when I started showing him new exercises and different things you could do with a TRX, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to continue with him. I'll stick to classes and cardio machines.
After getting all this set up it is the day to day routine I am currently figuring out. Dr.J's program officially begins tomorrow and he should start getting busier and busier with work. He's been home a lot over the past two weeks and as much as I love him, it kind of throws a wrench in the routine I'm trying to cultivate with my little girl and it's starting to drive me nuts. I'm super happy when he comes home a 5:30, but before then is my time. Preschool starts next week and we have that Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. Other mornings will be spent at the gym and while she's in school I'll run in Fort Tryon Park. We mom's have to squeeze workouts in whenever we can.
The grocery store is an interesting experience. I had no idea, but the grocery stores literally only have groceries. If you want shampoo, or deodorant, or in some cases diapers and wipes, you have to go to a pharmacy, like Rite aid or Duane Reade. At lease this is how it is in Washington heights. There is Target, one in the Bronx, and one in East Harlem. East Harlem also has a Costco, but to get there I have to take the A train one stop, transfer to the 1 train and take that to 86th, then wait for a cross town bus, and then walk 3 blocks in Harlem. Thankfully they have a car service to take you home! I was surprised how HARD everything is here. This is not me whining, its true, even simple errands take a considerable amount of effort and planning. I miss my old Fred Meyer store 5 minutes from my house in Oregon. I could get groceries, toys, toiletries, and clothes for little miss all in an hour's time. Life is definitely going to be vastly different over the next few years.

Welcome to the Big Apple

I have just moved to New York City and have experienced a perplexing range of emotion since arriving here. We just moved from Oregon to New York for my husband to start an "exciting" residency in Prosthedontics (dental implants) at Columbia University. We've been married six years and have a three year old daughter and are anxious to add another child to our family. I'm not going to share much of our backstory because I want this blog to focus on our life and experiences in New York and the crazy things we encounter each day. The journey here was difficult to say the least.
After 3 months separated (not by choice) from my husband and after a miserable 12 hours on a plane, little miss and I finally arrived to the arms of our husband and daddy! If you think that was the end to the problems, ha! Wrong! They lost one of my bags, so I had to stand in a SUPER long line at the Baggage services counter and file a claim. Now, you can imagine that those who work in baggage services are not the most friendly people and not super excited to help you. They are basically expecting to get chewed up and spit out by every single person in that very long line, well multiply that by a New York personality and you have an interesting species of people. I waited another hour in the line from hell and finally gave all my information to the lady at the desk and she said they would find it and send it to my house. Off we go to home at 3am.
I remembered, from coming out to look for an apartment with my husband, the building that my Washington Heights apartment was in. It was a typical New York apartment building, no exciting architectural design. There is scaffolding all around the buildings on my block, a chinese restaurant, hardware store, beauty salon, and a dominican restaurant downstairs. While I remembered the building I really couldn't remember what our apartment looked like, we looked at 2 in the building. We're on the 4th floor at the end of the hall, the apartment is huge! 1100 square feet in New York is practically unheard of, we certainly weren't counting on such a big apartment. Its only 400 square feet less than our house in Oregon. The kitchen is immediately to my right (this would later become my place of solace where I hide out most often), closets to my left. The dining room ahead of the kitchen on the right and the living room at the end. Hubby has painted the living room a warm shade of cherry red. My brownish couches are just as comforting as they were when I last snuggled on them 3 months ago. The deep red walls, the comfy couches and the ivory shag rug make the room inviting and snuggly. Off the living room to the left is the bathroom, the usual black and white tile you find in most NYC apartments and buildings. Down the hall to the right is our room, it's set up the same as in Oregon just opposite side of the room. Little miss's room is across from ours and I have to say, Daddy did an incredible job decorating her room. She has the biggest room in the apartment, it's all hardwood with a pink "counting" area rug in the center. The whole room is flanked with toys, a rocker, a kitchen set, and bookshelves. He put up a flower boarder around the center of the wall and put up the pinkest, fairy-ish, sparkly drapes I have every seen. They look like pink sheets of sugar covering the window, I loved them, little miss loves them. He did an amazing job and I so appreciate him setting up the house before I got there, it was so nice to come home to a home, and not a ton of boxes to be unpacked.