SNOW DAY!

Growing up in Las Vegas meant I never got to experience a "snow day"--where school gets canceled due to weather. But here in New York City, it's happened to me twice within a couple of weeks!
Well, I now know the joy children feel when they hear school is canceled due to the weather. This picture doesn't do it justice. I plan to visit Central Park some time tomorrow. Pictures to follow.

I Want To Be A Mother

I'm not around kids much, these days. Haven't been for years, actually. So, when I do find myself in the presence of a tiny one, I notice things like this and love it.

Yep. 30 is just around the corner, and it's showing.

I Spy

Would you get your hair done at Hector's??

My Dream Job

I can't believe I haven't pursued this, yet, as a money-making venture here in NYC.



It must be done! I love dogs!

Time's a-wastin'!

For the first time in my adult life, I live in an apartment with cable television. I just never have signed up for cable before. Most the apartments I have lived in, I found and started the lease and, frankly, I just never wanted to pay for TV. And all of the roommates I've had were cheap like me, or they just didn't care either way. I did go out and buy "bunny ears" once or twice, in order to receive basic channels, but I could not justify paying more than 12 bucks for something that I very well knew would numb my mind. Don't get me wrong; over the years I have loved watching cable TV whenever I was home at my parents' house or at a friend's. It was like a treat, since I never got to do it otherwise. And I should mention, my parents did not get cable until all the kids were out of the house! Go figure. And maybe that's why I just never cared to have cable, because I didn't know what I was missing.

Well, after nearly 10 years of adulthood and nearly 10 different apartments, I moved in to a place that ALREADY HAS CABLE! And just as I might have suspected, I have been "living at my parents house" for the past 6 weeks. What I mean is, I've been acting like I've been on vacation ever since January 1st. Or, in other words, you could call me a "coach potato", but we don't have a couch where we watch TV, so...my nickname would be more like "mat potato". There's a thin, yet, comfortable, mat or pad with a bunch of pillows up in our loft where the TV is, which provides instant, easy lounging, perfect for watching endless hours of nothingness. Oh, and did I mention we also have DVR?! Seriously, the death of me. If only we still had televisions that looked like this:

Then, maybe I wouldn't get so sucked in. But we have one that looks like this:

so it's a little bit more appealing.

BUT! I have a plan. I've been attending a Gospel and World Religions class, and as a part of class I will participating in Lent, starting this Wednesday. I plan to give up this vice of mine for Lent, which lasts until Easter. There's just one exception to this rule...

I know it's not entirely giving up TV; HOWEVER, it is cutting back my TV watching from who knows how many hours a week to ONLY 1 hour a week. I'd say that's progress.:)

Feelin' Domestic

I made it a goal recently to finally try my hand at making stuff, like, food, I mean. All my life I've been pretty lazy/uninterested in cooking, but I suppose I'm becoming domestic in my old age. Ha. So, the goal is to make something once a week (baby steps).

Two weeks ago I made my mom's barbecue meatloaf.
And even though it tasted pretty salty, I made it again last week, too. Come to find out, there WAS way too much salt in it. Either I was told wrong or I wrote it down wrong. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to making it again with much less salt.

On Sunday I made granola!!! And LOTS of it! (p.s. the pot may be misleading. I didn't cook it in a pot...I just didn't have a big bowl to mix it all together.)
I know I've only made two things so far, but this is probably going to be my favorite. Here's why:

1.) It's so easy!! Just a tad time consuming, but what else are you going to do on a Sunday?!

2.) It's delicious!! What's great is, after the main ingredients, you can customize it with the nuts and dried fruit you like.

3.) It's long lasting!! The recipe calls for a pound of oats! I'll be eating granola for DAYS and loving every minute of it! And it keeps nicely.

4.) It's good for me!! It's got wheat germ and cranberries, to name a few!

I think I've made my point. But it's back to the not-so-healthy for the meal to be cooked later this week--Tater Tot Casserole, here I come!

Eh (and other words)

I wasn't that impressed tonight. But I'm still committed to seeing the show to its end, no doubt.

Dear Abby came over to watch it with me tonight! Thanks, Abbs! It's always a comfort to be around that one. She's my Vegas connection, aka my "home away from home". I'm trying to get it through her head (and have been for months, now!), and I say that lovingly (she knows that) that it makes a world of difference when I have "home" around me more often. Abby and me in SLC (ironically, not in Vegas)

Several people have told me it took one year (a few have said 6 months) to get to the point where they transitioned/got accustomed to/enjoyed living in the NYC. And, of course, I have experienced moving and taking time to adjust to new places plenty of times. I guess what's different this time is I'm kinda over it, I've done it so many times. I used to thrive on it, for some reason. I'm coming up on 6 months here, soon. That's really weird. It's going incredibly fast, and I imagine when my time is up here (aka: graduation!) I'll be all nice and settled in....just in time to move again. Such is my life. Some day I'll have a home and stay there. I think I am realizing that is what I have wanted all along.

Commuting My Life Away

Like everyone else, I'm sure, I am shocked it's already February. Where does the time go?! I'll tell you where it goes...the New York City Transit. If I added up the time I spend commuting in this illustrious city (but I won't) I would probably find that half my waking hours are spent walking to and from and riding to and from various locations. From where I live now, it takes about one hour to get to my internship one way, and I do that commute three days a week. Two days a week I commute to school, about 35 minutes or so each way. And don't forget even the Sabbath. I take either the train or the bus at about 15-20 minutes one way. Now, that's not bad, and I realize that people commute in their cars back in Vegas easily for 30 minutes to an hour. Honestly, as much as this sounds like I'm complaining, it is nice to just sit and not have to worry about bad traffic or, even worse, bad drivers!