Facts About Me!

We are so close to the end!! I seriously can't believe that I truly made through this challenge- I know I still have tomorrow but since that post is already half-written I will take this as a win. Anyways, there will be more celebrating tomorrow.

Today's prompt: Facts about ME! When I first started blogging I did a post with 25 facts about me. I'm not sure if I can whip about that many more but I will certainly give it my best shot...

• I do know how to knit but have currently been working on the same few projects for several years... I will finish them one day!

I made one mitten in this pattern (blue and coral colors) and only the wrist of the second...

•  My birthday is on the cusp of the astrological signs Leo and Virgo. I like to think that I am a little bit of both

• I've listened to the new Taylor Swift albums at least 20 times already this week...

•  I believe in ghosts and aliens

• I didn't start drinking coffee until I moved to NYC

• Winter is my favorite season- I'm so looking forward to snow!

• My favorite superhero is Wolverine (especially when played by Hugh Jackman)

• In 2010 I read over 200 books, I kept track in a word document. This included new and old stories- I would guess that I read about the same every year, give or take. (maybe this can be  new years resolution for 2015!)

And that's all I got for now. Come back tomorrow for the last day of blogtober and to find out my costume inspiration!!

Things I am Superstitious About

I'm not naturally a superstitious person but there are some things I still do out of habit from childhood..

- kissing my hand then touching the ceiling of the car when driving through a red light. this is meant to stop the light from turning red while riding underneath the light

- holding my breath when driving/traveling past a graveyard/cemetery. I don't always do this but every once in a while I do it without even thinking about it. a second weird nature.

-twisting an apple stem to the alphabet, which whatever letter it comes out on is the first letter of your future husband/wife. Another one of those second nature things, I do it without consciously thinking about it.

and a few that you might not even realize you are doing, but that we all do, which technically are superstitions

-blowing out our birthday candles on the first try

-crossing our fingers for good luck

-wishing upon shooting stars

-knocking on wood to prevent something from happening

-saying g-d bless you to someone who sneezes.

The whole superstition world is kind of a funny thing, some just get ingrained in you from society and your family. Others people are truly afraid of what could happen, or adopt superstitions as they grow older.

What kinds of things are you superstitious about?

Attack of the Cab Driver

NYC is usually a wonderful place- I currently call it home and adore that fact. Even so, you can encounter some nasty characters including evil cab drivers.

Last fall I unfortunately had the experience of meeting one of these crazies- one who I almost had to call the police on- it was not my most favorite night.

To start with I lost a great pair of shoes. We went out to celebrate a friend's birthday- and since I knew my feet would be dying  from my heels at the end of the night I planned for once and packed a pair of flip-flops in my purse. Late into the night, we are all decide to head home and as I pick up my purse to change my shoes I realize that someone has taken them out! I looked all around, with the aid of my friends, and no luck, they were gone.

shoes that were lost stolen.. so sad! 

We headed outside to find cabs, which is a bit impossible in the meatpacking district, and my feet were hurting something awful . Finally I couldn't take it and I did something I'm disgusted to admit- I took off my heels in the streets of NYC. I can assure you I thoroughly washed my feet, several times, when I did finally manage to arrive at home. My good friend's gentleman boyfriend offered me his own shoes after a few minutes- and I was oh so thankful, I only wore them for a step or two though because then I found the impossible- a cab, a gypsy cab (meaning not a metered yellow taxi), but a cab nonetheless.

gypsy cab

vs

 yellow cab

I hopped in and told the driver where I was going- 110th and 6th Ave. He repeats 110th and 6th. I told him yes and gave him a price $30, more than reasonable for the distance and time of night. He agrees and we are off.


View Larger Map general idea of route I was meant to be taking...
About 3-4 mins later, we stop. He tells me we are here miss. Um excuse, no we are not. Yes, Yes we are at 110 6th Ave, give me my $30.

WTF? No sir, I told you 110th and 6th Ave- not 110 6th Ave. I could have walked here. I'm giving you $30 to go to Harlem. I am not a tourist I know where I am going and how much it costs to get there.


This man demands I give him $30- I tell him I will give him $5. I'm not paying $30 for having gone 5 blocks, that's insane. I mention a yellow cab would be around $30 to go to Harlem and that is what I expect to pay him to do the same. He is not happy with this sentence.

Then sh*t really starts to go down- I try to open the car door to leaves, and he locks it. LOCKS the door- to his car. I reach to grab my phone- and he turns around in his seat and grabs my purse strap, holding me there, telling me I have to give him his money. I'm practically in tears at this point- upset at the situation and the way I'm being treated, as well as terrified. Thankfully I'm able to keep my cool and dial 911. Just before I hit send I inform the driver of what I am about to do. This breaks his spell because he releases me, unlocks the door and I jump out as fast as I can. And then I nicely flicked him off while screaming that now you didn't get paid at all!

I was able to flag a yellow cab- a legit metered vehicle at that point. I calmly explained where I was going, was assured the driver understood and was then officially on my way home to wash my nasty feet.

And you know what- my cab ride, with tip, was only $28.50 in the end. Boo-ya.

I've avoided gypsy cabs since then- and am very thankful the night didn't end differently, but geez there are definitely some a-holes out there.

Welcome to NYC
&

Happy Little Friday!

A Day in the Life

M-F for me is crazy crazy crazy, I leave for work early, get home late and usually have a million things to do in between...Here is my typically day (I'm using this past Monday as an example)

 6:30 AM : My alarm goes off- I dress quickly, feed the cats, grab bfast and check my email

6:55:-7 am: I walk out the door and to the subway. At the station I read theSkimm- sign up for it, now- and catch up on the news and then take either the 2 or 3 train to work, whichever comes first.

7:20am : Stop for coffee- this step is very important!

7:30 am: Walk into work- If Big J isn't awake yet, I wake him and prepare his breakfast. I also make lunches, get Little J up and dressed, Big J dressed, brush teeth, pack bags and snacks.

8:30 am: We all walk out the door and to the Bus Stop

typically bus ride

9 am: I drop the kids at school and head back uptown to do some grocery shopping

9:30-12 pm: Grab groceries, make dinner, tidy up the apartment, make beds, do any online shopping/refills, make any needed appointments, put pictures into a new album, wash kids winter coats and hats.

12-2:15 pm: I take a break! Grab lunch, blog my heart out, pop in the yoga dvd

2:15 pm: Pack up swim stuff and head to the subway to pick up the kids

2:45-4:15 pm: Grab kids from day care, ride bus to swimming. Change everyone super fast- Big J does private lesson with teacher, Little J and myself do the Baby and Me class. Finish swimming, change clothes and run back to work.

4:15-6 pm: Play with kids, finish anything that is needed for dinner.Big J does a yoga dvd, while Little J has speech.

my favorite yoga dvd for kids- buy it here!

6-8 pm: Eat dinner, playtime, and baths- everyone gets changed into PJs.

8-8:30 pm: Clean up from dinner and misc. around apartment, pick up toys, run dishwashers, prep for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.

8:30 pm: Go HOME!

9-9:45 pm: Get home, relax, feed the cats, have a glass of wine, read a book for a few minutes and then pass out.

what I find when I come home when I leave my house in a hurry

Everyday varies- there are always different activities in the afternoon and Wednesday are super crazy because we have some classes in the morning, but you get the gist. It is long and busy but for the most part I love it!

What does your day look like?

These are my Confessions

Last Wednesday I noticed a lot of posts going around with this link-up, which I somehow missed in my two months of blogging. They were all funny and honest. I also recently read Erin's (from Living in Yellow) post about secrets- which you should definitely check out- and it was very eye-opening. That one, along with post-secret, we all feel a lot more comfortable about telling our secrets anonymously, but that two, a lot of our secrets are all the same.

I confess: I've lived in NYC for almost 5 years and I have never been to Staten Island or Governor's Island. Both very different things- but both things I feel like I should have done by now..

I confess: I actually kind of hate warm weather- in an every day sense. I love warm/hot weather when I can sit by a pool, or at the beach or just do nothing, i.e vacation/weekends. But when I have to function in normal life with weather over 70 degrees- I hate it. I seem to be the sweatiest person ever (tmi, I don't care) and I just feel miserable- I'm sticky, gross, usually carrying a million things- I never feel put together while everyone around me does. ugh.

I confess: I took a cab 3 times last week! I know, I know- but with my sinuses acting like crazy pants I just wanted to get home each night, and get home quick.  We can count this as emergency situations.

I confess: I now know how to decrypt and rip DVDs to a flash drive. whoops! My boss made me do research it, I swear...

Thanks for the fun link-up Kathy!

TGIF!

This has utterly been a long and exhausting week for me- besides the fact that I literally cannot breathe out of my nose at this moment, Big J decided to pull some cra-cra shit starting Monday and ending never. (If it doesn't end soon, I may check myself into a facility for something I make up right now, hey hard drugs let's be friends!)

Anywho- I'm ready to curl up on my couch with a big hot mug of tea, a box of tissues, my favorite blanket, and Frozen. It will be happening in t-minus 12 hours.

But besides the outrageous child behavior I've dealt with this week and the beautiful (awful) sinuses my father so gratefully gave to me at the moment of my conception , thanks dad!, there have been some great things this week as well....

1) My newest Coffee Table Book- I've beeen a little too into coffee table books lately, but Urban Outfitters keeps me coming back for more with their shenanigans. This is my newest one- and it's freaking hilarious. You can check out the blog here, trust me- it will be the best part of your day.

a sample of my collection

2) I'm like 98% sure that I will be attending the Blogcation hosted by Erin over at Two Thirds Hazel- I'm still waiting to hear back from my boss if it's cool that I take a week off, but it will happen. If you haven't heard about the blogcation yet- I suggest you click here and read all about this perfect vacation for yourself and your blogging buddies... and if you are already going or thinking about going let me know! I need a roommate!


3) Kait, from Kait Makes A Run for It, blogged about this language app on Wednesday call Duolingo, and now I'm totally hooked and may or may not be learning spanish. We will see how that last part goes. I also downloaded QuizUp (my mistake) and I'm dominating in both The Harry Potter and Hunger Games book categories- don't mess with someone who has read those books hundreds of times. Boo-yah!

damn right I'm correct

4) I'm officially registered for the NYC Marathon this year and am actually starting to get excited about it. I've been a bit off on my running game lately but I started looking at training plans and tips and am hoping to jump back on the program in the next few weeks and then to start my official training in June. You will hear lots more as this happens. yay!

5) And as April draws to the half-way-ish point, I'm getting psyched for all my summer plans! Now I just need to order some new swimsuits, shorts, and find a good sunless tanner for my paper white legs. And does anyone want to help me install my AC unit...

Happy Friday!

32 Things That Make Me Happy

I'm a little late to the party with this link-up but with much ado- here are 32 things that make me happy!

1) Baby Animals: except for maybe snakes which is probably my only exception- I have yet to meet a baby animal that didn't make me happy

2) My family

I'm the adorable child in the middle!

3) Disney Pixar Films

4) 'Nsync

5) Candy aka Sugar

6) Coffee

7) Sadie and Phoenix

8) Harry Potter

9) Disney World

10) The Oscars

11) Singing

12) Watching a live show

13) traveling

Ireland

caves in Israel

14) gossip magazines

15) finishing a race

16) summer camp- wish I could still go back every year!

17) clean sheets

18) warm towels from the dryer

19) lazy sundays

20) Thunderstorms

21) Snow!

22) Hearing my little monkeys laugh

23) blog comments

24) Meeting celebs

Paul Rudd

Topher Grace (I swear!)

Ian McKellan

25) everything about my college

26) homemade vanilla ice cream

27) reading- check out some book recommendations here and here

28) picnics in the park- especially now that the weather is nice!

29) beach days

30) Miley Cyrus- her concert this past weekend was AH-MAZING!

we had a lot of this going on

31) new candles- lately I've been obsessed

32)  all of my friends, new and old!

yes, that's Leah from Sunshine and Traffic Jams- we go way back!

check out some of the other posts- and thanks to Erin and Sarah for the link-up!

And your time is running out to enter this awesome coffee+art giveaway! Enter now before it's too late!

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