J...O...B...

We are pleased to let you know that I have a new job! I am now an official Senior Assistant Nursery School teacher at a cute school on the west side. They offered me the job last week and we spent the weekend thinking about it and whether or not I would take it. After much consideration we decided it would be a good foot in the door and a good opportunity. I accepted it yesterday and will start in September. It should be interesting. I will continue to search for school counseling positions and maybe one day something will develop at this school for that position. We'll have to wait and see.

Orie and I are excited that I will be employed again soon! My time since leaving Marie Chantal has been great though. Grace and I enjoy lots of park time and I keep a really clean house! It's also a blessing not to have to continually go to a job that I hated and in the great retail industry of NYC - people can be such snobs! Have a great week!

Another Great Weekend!

Wow - we did it all this weekend! Friday night we headed to Brooklyn for Celebrate Brooklyn - a free summer concert series. It was great! We didn't really enjoy the hour long subway ride to get there but once we were there it was awesome. We had our blanket set out on the lawn and listened to great music all evening long.

Saturday we had planned to go to Hoboken and Jersey City for the day. Hoboken is a really cute town with lots of great streets to walk and people watch. Our journey there on the PATH train was long and I could hardly believe that Orie has to make that commute to Jersey each day. I could not do it!! We really enjoyed the scenery in Hoboken and I like the face that it wasn't a dead town on the weekend. After that we headed to Jersey City to see where Orie works and visit the HUGE mall underneath his building. It was a very nice building and steps from the PATH train when he exits. The mall wasn't half bad either!

After that we headed from Jersey City to DUMBO - an area of Brooklyn Down Under the Manhattan Bridge (DUMBO). Our friends Liz and Christopher live there and have been wanting us to come check it out. We tried to head there via the subway but do to the flooding in Brooklyn (yes it floods all the time!!!) we had to hop out in Manhattan and take a taxi. Once there, we had dinner in their neighborhood at a Mexican Tapas bar/restaurant/general store. It was really cool and there was even live music - my FAV!! It was a 5 man band with at least a dozen instruments including a banjo, box drum (yes, literally wooden box), and an accordion. The music was incredible - all in Spanish and we really enjoyed listening to them!

Then we headed to their apartment which was beautiful. They have a nice luxury high rise building with views to die for. Truly spectacular - if it were in Manhattan Orie and I would be sold. We just don't have the patience for such long commutes. WE hung at their apartment for a bit and then headed to their rooftop for even more amazing views. What a spectacular evening!

Today has been a little more low key around our household!! It's back to dog, dog walks, laundry, cleaning and getting ready for the week. Orie leaves for Vegas this week and is super excited to see his friends and have some relaxation from work. I am fortunate enough to make a trip home this week as well and I can't wait! 6 months is a long time!

Have a great rest of the day! Enjoy the pics!

...and it was a blast!

Look What We're Doing Tonight.....

http://www.celebratebrooklyn.org/celebrate/062708.asp

Big Hugs

Just wanted to send big hugs to our great brother in law Rodney. Jennifer and Rodney's family lost a wonderful brother this past week and they have been in our thoughts and prayers ever since. We are glad that they are safely back in Shreveport after a long and difficult trip.

If you know Rodney, you know how great his hugs are. They always come right when you need them and they last long enough to know he really loves you when he gives you one. Thanks for a lifetime of free hugs and we're sending some your way today and always!

My sweet Orie

As I was tidying up our apartment the other night I heard Orie in the bathroom shaving. Since I had just cleaned the bathroom I wanted to make sure he wasn't leaving little hairs all over the counter, sink, floor, etc. As I pop my head in I discover that Orie has gotten a little carried away with his razor's attachments. The man that I have not seen a day in my life without facial hair is hairless!!! It was hilarious and I had to laugh. Obviously, I think he still looks so handsome but it was such a shocker. He is confident that his beard will be back in 2 weeks and definitely before he takes a boy trip to Las Vegas for 4th of July weekend!!

Enjoy the pics. Some are of Orie and sweet Grace after a long day (tuckered out in the bed). The rest are after the "accident"!!!!!

Sunday Sunday...da da da da

Well first we will say Happy Father's day to our fathers and grandfathers out there. We love and miss you all so much. We hope your day was amazing!

Orie and I enjoyed a somewhat quiet weekend. Friday night we went to dinner at a new neighborhood establishment. It was a nice evening. We were able to dine outside upstairs which was beautiful. It was one block over from our first apartment so it made us reminisce of nights when we had much the same view right out our window. (Orie loves the quiet of our new apartment with all interior windows - I on the other hand miss the excitement of the street views!!!)

Saturday I worked and Orie ran some errands, got a hair cut and even brought me lunch at work. He's such a good husband! That evening we had tickets to see Les Liaisons Dangereuses on Broadway. I took a college class on the novel by Choderlos de Laclos (sp?????) in college and fell in love with it. Throughout watching the many movie remakes Orie became a fan as well. The performance was amazing which included Laura Linney (one of my favs) and Ben Daniels (Broadway debut). We really enjoyed a nice treat for ourselves.

After the play we had the privilege and good timing of being able to meet the Price/Hassell/Walker ladies in Times Square. They were here enjoying a girls weekend and we both had theatre tickets on Saturday so decided to meet up afterwards. We enjoyed a nice evening of McDonald's soft drinks smuggled into the La Framaglia pizzeria!!! We were so scandalous but enjoyed every minute. The Price/Hassell/Walker ladies were already pros at this event!!! We really loved seeing our friends from Shreveport (and now D.C.) Kathy even had a few plugs about the Robinson film center and the growth of Shreveport. It was like my mom had scripted her conversation so it would encourage us to move to Shreveport!!!!! We so enjoyed our time with friends and can't wait for more to head this way. Please, just let us know!!!

Today we enjoyed a restful morning since we did not come home last night until 2 a.m. (yes, the Price/Hassell/Walker ladies were out that late!!!) We took Grace out this morning and to run a few errands. About 4 minutes into our outing the bottom fell out of the sky and it began to pour. It was almost comical!!! After the rain though the sky opened up and we decided to head to the park and enjoy a nice walk. We strolled upon our friend Geoff who was playing in a softball game! It was great fun to see him and he even had an RBI while we watched the game. Afterwards we strolled past the street artists at The Met and then made our way back home. Since then we have cleaned house and watched several sporting events. We saw parts of the U.S. Open, then cheered on our LSU Tigers in Omaha, and now are hoping the Celtics can win the championship in L.A. What a big day!!!

Each show has a special tribute to fathers and it's such a nice addition on this father's day! I have to tell you the card I sent to my dad today - I think it was just perfect. It says on the front..."I'm smiling because you're my father..." then on the inside it says..."I'm laughing because there's nothing you can do about it"

I absolutely adore that card! We love and miss our families very much - they have made us everything we are today!

Enjoy your week...more photos to come soon I'm sure!

A Hot Day In The Park!

Wow - today was another hot one. NYC has had a major heat wave this weekend bringing our temperatures up from the wonderful 70's straight to the 90's!! Yesterday was 95 and today was 88 but felt like 94. Walking outside almost feels like you are being suffocated!

This weekend is the Puerto Rican celebration in New York. There was a festival yestereday and a parade today down 5th Avenue. Orie and his friend Geoff were stuck in this trying to come home from Central Park last year. So today we planned ahead and took Grace to our weekday park on the East River - Carl Shurz Park - aka Gracie's park (because of Gracie's Mansion - the governor's house. It was full of sunbathers, families, friends, and people working out. I think everyone had the same thought going through their head - it was steaming. We lasted about 2 hours and then decided to head back home. Grace is at the point where she is panting before we even reach the park!! She had a good time today and spotted several squirrels.

We have spent the evening watching LSU in the super regional - we're hoping they can pull it out but it's not looking good. Tonight we will watch the Celtics hopefully win game 2. Orie and I love sporting events especially when they reach tournament level or playoff status.

Enjoy the photos from the park and have a great evening!

Not Much Going On...

Believe it or not we haven't had much going on this week. I did officially get a license so that is some news. Orie had a pretty busy week at work but was able to work a couple of days in Manhattan so that was nice (makes for a later morning and earlier evening). We are still posting our adventures - just haven't had any lately!!!

Crawfish Fest

We had a blast at Crawfish Fest this past Saturday. It was in Augusta, New Jersey and what a fun experience. We took the Lakeland bus about an hour and fifteen minutes away. When we got off the bus we really weren't in Manhattan anymore! It was held at the New Jersey fairgrounds and it was huge! The crawfish were great and the music was even better. We really felt right at home with our tailgate chairs, crawfish, and live music!! The rain even held off all day until we were getting back on the bus to go home. Really a perfect day! Enjoy the photos!