A baby I love so much.. (and her momma too!)

Whoosh

It's almost November, oddly enough. So much has happened in the last month alone, and I feel I'm running to keep up these days. The city and I did not get off to a good start this morning and I don't think it got as warm as the weather guy told me it would be. Now that I stop and reflect, this entire week has been a bit strenuous. I think readjusting from my time in Texas has taken an entire week.

All before 9:00 today, I went to the gym, made a pot of coffee, stopped by a friends apartment to make sure her cat wasn't trapped in her bedroom (long story), got stuck underneath the city in a subway between 51st and 42nd "due to an earlier incident" for 12 minutes which made me three minutes late to work. Which is not too bad, all things considered. Tuesday, I was called at 7:00am and asked if I could make it in by 8:00am. Sure thing. I'll get right on it. So I was out the door by 7:30am and there were no cabs to be found, of course, because it was pouring. I hoof my way to the subway, stopping along the way to try and wave down a non-exist taxi-cab. I made it to the subway stop at 7:54. I arrived at Grand Central by 7:57 and in the doors of the office on the 19th floor at 8:04am soggy and sweaty beneath my synthetic tights, polyester-blend dress, and pleather knee boots.

And, it's okay now, but my first day back from Texas, last Friday, Chris took me to look at new apartments and I thought WW III was about to break out- or possibly he could just live downtown and I could live uptown. He could have the bachelor pad with the flat-screen TV, refrigerator just for beer and order take out every night. I'll keep my 10128 ZIP code and highrise studio, thank you very much.

I was kind of bratty. I hate moving. And packing. And cleaning. I just hate the idea of it. It wears me out. (And let's be honest, I do most of the packing and cleaning and quite frankly- it is a beating.) After a week of this unspoken tension, maybe unspoken is not the word but unknown tension, we have come to a resolution.

We can move. Chris's commute is a hassle and he hates it. And I realize this and I love him, I love him more than I hate the idea of moving. So, we will see what we can find. We can't move until our lease is up, we can't afford to throw away month's of rent- we agree on that. And we'll look closer to that date. There are great spaces for rent now, and there will be then too. So, even if we loose our washer and dryer, and our gym and our large kitchen-- I will make it work. And I realize most people wouldn't mind sending out their laundry or eating out more or saying "screw it" to the whole exercise thing, but I am not most people and I want what I want. Oh, wedded bliss.

I feel like once the page on the calendar flips over to November and I see that cornucopia spilling out with corn and wheat and apples and gourds, it will set in that the holidays are here. They are no longer coming, or something to look forward to, but actually upon us. We're in the midst.

Christmas in New York- so magical.

Where to begin...

So, you know when you join a gym and you are going, like, a consistent 4 or 5 days a week? I mean you are going strong. Feeling good. Feeling healthy. You meet someone in kickboxing class, Jennifer. She tells you where to get inexpensive sports bras. The girl at the front desk knows your membership number and the guy at the smoothie bar knows you like Soy Protein Powder. You look toned and radiant. Then, it's your anniversary weekend and you miss a few days. Then you go on a two week vacation- and miss two more weeks. Then, you return home and want to spend the weekend with your husband. This is a three-day weekend of course- he did take off work on Friday for you. And after all, if he did take off work for you then you shouldn't waste time at the gym.

Then you feel lethargic. Bloated. Lazy. And quite embarrassed for missing so much time away from the gym. You were good at the gym. You were the gym goddess. You looked forward to it and actually enjoyed it. People commented on how well you looked and how refreshed you seemed. Now, you wonder if you could ever go back there again. How pathetic.

After being away for almost a month (and people are noticing & asking) you decide to just start where you are.

So, here I am. Starting. It's not the gym for me--- it's this blog! I have a problem called an "all or nothing worldview." I am such a perfectionist that it often causes me to quit before I even actually give myself a chance. I am going to do it (the it being anything), do it good, do it right, do it until I give myself an ulcer or a hernia or a heart attack. (And by the way, I think everyone should do everything like this too. Yeah, you, why aren't you a perfectionist like I am?)

I am completely overwhelmed with where to start and what to say because I feel like I have so much to say, but obviously that must not be the case, 'cause I sure ain't saying much!

Someone asked me, "So, now you have a full-time job and can't write?" Sadly enough, that is pretty much the case. However, I will do this thing. I will get pictures up soon too, of my trip home and the people and places I saw while I was there. I missed home. I hated leaving alot this time. I asked myself why I was living so, so far away from the people who love me most. Then I remembered my current mantra- To Love Well. Love Well. Love Well. I am in NYC to love well. To love the unlovable and lonely and worn out folks. I do love NYC.

I have been writing though. In my journal. Only you can't read my journal, but I'll share an excerpt I wrote on my plane ride back to NYC.

"I am pretty sure the lady sitting beside me in 8F does not like the way I smell of patchouli and almond. She keeps covering her nose and is leaning purposefully toward the center aisle. But, I don't like the way she smells of curry and saffron (or turmeric, or whatever that smell is). So, I guess we're even. And stuck here for the next 2 1/2 hours."

(And now, as much as I want to go on and on, I must go back to work...)

Pictures

Follow this link to our old website to find pictures of our Fall Trip.

http://web.me.com/chriscchambers/Site/Welcome.html

Click on the 2009 Photos Link at the top of the page

Married

Today is our third wedding anniversary. Although, sometimes it seems alot longer since we met over 15 years ago. This weekend we went to Lake George right on the edge of the Adirondacks. The leaves are at peak there and I absolutely love looking at leaves. The last two years we were able to get away during Columbus Day weekend and head north to Vermont, Connecticut, Canada- but this year I am working. So this was our Annual Fall trip.

Here are the top experiences from the weekend:

1. While venturing out on Saturday we ran into some really heavy traffic on the scenic route. On the two-lane, no shoulder, 50 mph road there were lots of folks. When we got to the center of town, low and behold, we found ourselves at The World's Larges Garage Sale. You can't make this stuff up. It was like First Monday Weekend to the "N"th degree. (Sorry if you don't know what that is.) It was so weird. We just drove through the rummage which went on for miles. Oddly enough, Chris and I found it very entertaining. Yeah, there are people like that everywhere I guess.

2. Our hotel room at the Comfort Suites with a KING SIZE BED! The room was about the size of our apartment. So, so nice.

3. Eating at a random cozy restaurant named Tip-a-canoe. Our waitress was in her early 40's had long dark hair past her waist, wore no make-up but lots of patchouli and Birkenstocks. Chris's fish & chips consisted of a generous piece of halibut and lots of freshly cut fries. I got the veggie burger- which was made in-house with lentils and portobello mushrooms- and a side salad that was delish. We love going to the local, random restaurants. The ones where they actually prepare (and sometimes even grow) their own food. Joni Mitchell and Jack Johnson pumped through the speakers. While Chris drank his local ale, I told him it was probably her iPod hooked up to the sound system.

4. Leaves, leaves and lots of leaves. Rivers, rolling hills, farms, farmers, old tractors, chipmunks, apples & pumpkins and coffee shops and wooden bridges and hay silos and Green Mountain coffee. I love everything quaint and perfectly autumn about New England.

5. I peed in the woods. (If you want to know details surrounding why I did this I'll share, just not in this public forum.) This is only the second time in my entire life (that I can recall) that this has happened. (Yes, this is a highlight of the trip... I'm proud of me!)

6. Outlet Mall shopping at Van Heusen (for Chris) and Kenneth Cole (for me). Van Heusen carries men's fitted shirts that fit Chris wonderfully. We usually go "back to school" shopping there for him: sleeves long enough, collar big enough, but not too long and not too wide- which seems to usually be the problem. I got a new black peacoat. The one I currently own is a size 14 which makes me look like I am wearing my dad's jacket.

7. Listening to the new David Crowder Band CD,Church Music. I think it's been a year since Chris and I listened to a CD in the car while driving around. It's the little things, right? This is something I miss sometimes. When I had a car, it was where I listened to music and sang. So now, I have to make sure I get my music time in. And my singing time, too.

Pictures WILL come, I promise. I may post them on our old website. Blogger is not photo friendly. But I do want to share our weekend pictures with you all. Hopefully, they will get loaded this evening.

Between now and when I leave Laguardia for Texas Saturday morning at 8:00am I have to: deal with a broken dryer (I know, I know, at least I have a dryer in my apartment, right?), unpack, pack, take lots of straight pins and lots of cardboard pieces out of about 15 new men's shirts, go to a choir rehearsal, decide which group of girlfriends I'll be meeting for beverages after that choir rehearsal at 9:00pm- which is LATE for me, meet other friends Thursday night for pumpkin desserts-- and I think a birthday event?, and Friday a meeting to discuss our church Christmas event in New Jersey-- you know that OTHER state so, so far away! Hopefully, in all of this I can get my pictures uploaded and find the time to buy a couple special NY treats for my friends and family in Texas. Oh, yeah and tonight-- I'm pretty sure Chris will not be letting me do chores or errands- dinner and time together are on the agenda. I will not get the Swiffer out as badly as I want to.

How do working people get anything done? And I just have to take care of Chris and myself. We are down to the last roll of toilet paper & Chris still expects to eat everyday. Somehow oatmeal, Balance bars and yogurt aren't satisfying enough.

Storytime

I have had the time to write today, I just haven't known what to say. My writing instructor hates the idea of having a blog- a platform to write- with no "real" purpose. My purpose is just to say something. Anything, to keep me writing.

Like I could write about the weirdness that is NYC. How on 91st Street today, between First and Second Avenues on my way to the train, I saw a butter-knife (the real silverware kind, not plastic) and a tiny baby doll (the cheap kind you'd find at the dollar store, or on the toy aisle at the grocery store) just laying on the sidewalk. Weird stuff. Or how during her lunch hour, a co-worker saw two otherwise normal looking women- walking topless down 42nd Street. "What was their agenda," I asked. I work in midtown. Less than a block from Grand Central. This isn't the East Village after 7:00pm where things get wild. It's what you'd expect to see there. "Breast Cancer Awareness Month something-or-other," my co-worker explained.

I could tell you about how I'm already sick and tired of bundling up in the mornings, because after all, it is in the 40's. I hate it because I'm sweating by the time I've hiked to the train. It's not that far, really. It's just that beneath synthetic tights and wraps & plastic raincoats, my skin can not breath. Seriously. If I don't wear the layers I'll regret it after sitting at my desk for an hour. I'll definitely be swearing, "I'll dress for this weather tomorrow" as I wait after dark for some crosstown bus. I never sweat in the summer, only in the winter, beneath all these blasted layers. (It's times like this I know why my mom always made us wear cotton underwear. She'd never let us get the pretty lacy/ polyester/ rayon/ silky whatever they are for little girls.)

I could write about how I went and bought a $7.00 salad (field greens, tuna- not tuna salad, just tuna- asparagus, sprouts, peas, roasted red peppers, mushrooms and balsamic vinegar) for lunch even though my office provides free pizza on Fridays. I did grab a Diet Coke before they were gone. And I did clean up the mess the boys left in the "war room" as it is called. Still haven't figured that one out yet. I work reception at a large construction firm. There are five girls on the floor I'm on- and the other receptionist and I are two of them. These boys are messy.

I could write about how my three year wedding anniversary is Monday, October 5th and we're celebrating by getting out of town this weekend. I was just told to pack a bag and meet Chris at Grand Central Station at 6:00. I like the not knowing. And he likes planning and surprising me. I'm spoiled- right? I could write about how spoiled I am. How lucky and blessed and terribly happy I am. But I don't have the right words to say it all. So, I'll just leave it at this.