A Rose In Bloom

Better than I could be. Not as good as I’d planned.

Tuesday, December 23, 2003

Hey gang, I'm back. Not that I was ever really gone...it just seems as if the holiday hiatus has gotten the best of me and I haven't really felt the need to blog. Not that the fast-paced life of small-town Texas has slowed my enthusiasm or anything--I hope you all heard the dripping sarcasm in that one! It just seems that since I have been home I have done nothing but eat! Not that it is a bad thing really, they just don't make good food in New York I guess because all I want to do here is let my arteries soak up all of the fat I have been missing over the last few months...and I take my work very seriously!

There have been a few high points though, however, the ungodly amount of aplique Christmas sweaters I have seen on middle-aged women is not , I repeat, not one of them!

So here are the high points, in a list, because I like lists lately...

*spending time with my best gal pals laughing hysterically at ourselves
*my joint holiday party
*all of my fantastic friends who made the holiday party a much enjoyed annual event
*wrapping Christmas presents
*purchasing a little girl night gown for a cute 2-year old that literally made Babs and I say "awww" as we searched
*repeating the "awww" as we drooled over wedding gowns at David's Bridal
*finding that my little blog is listed under the "those who might buy me lunch" section of a blog that I aspire to be like...thanks Jules, and yes, I would totally buy you lunch!

Thursday, December 18, 2003

Wait...did you hear that?

Oh, it was nothing really...just the sound of this final paper kicking my ass!!!

Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Just the Facts...

I feel the need to share the numbers as they have presented themselves over the last few days:

Number of hours my flight home was delayed: 1.5
Number of small dogs seen being carried in purses at the airport: 2
Number of aplique Christmas sweaters seen in the last 5 days: 10
Number of hours spent shopping for Christmas presents in New York: 3
Number of hours spent shopping for Christmas presents since returning home: 11
Number of restaurants eaten at since Friday: 4
Number of hours spent working on my final 20-page paper due Thursday: 7
Number of pages written: 4 (ouch!)
Number of times I have been told "you don't love me!" by a saddened 2-year old: 1
Number of hugs and kisses received from said 2-year old: too many to count!

What an interesting few days indeed!

Thursday, December 11, 2003

It's my last night in New York before heading home to fill up on family, friends and Texas love for a whole month! I seriously can't believe that I have been here for a whole semester already...to be totally cliche, I really feel like I just got here. I think that I have adjusted pretty well to this place, it does feel like home now. Of course it will be nice to go to a huge grocery store where a loaf of bread doesn't cost $3 and I am seriously looking forward to hitting the Super Wal-Mart and Super Target. There are no "super" things in Manahattan, there is no room, even the K-Mart kind of sucks. (Well, I think that is redundant, K Marts usually suck!) So, I am heading out to see a band in the East Village and share a few last drinks with my NYC buddies before journeying back down south tomorrow...see you all on the flip side!

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

The events as they unfolded...

Three women...great dinner at a little Italian eatery...underwear shopping at H&M...window shopping on broadway...two very large pitchers of Mojitos (resulting in about eight glasses each--literally)...one final round of perfect apple martinis...a fun celebrity siting...and a quick stop at the McDonalds around three o'clock...just another perfect night in SoHo.

Monday, December 08, 2003

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love weddings...I mean big letters and exclamation points...LOVE WEDDINGS! I watch things about them on tv, I read magazines and look at dresses online. I have had mine planned in varying shades of pink since I was probably fourteen. Just the idea of people vowing to share their lives together and share their love with friends and family and food and music...it really does make me happy. It is the hopeless romantic in me still clinging to the idea that someday I am going to meet my Prince Charming and we will live happily ever after together somewhere in our own little castle secretely pitying all of the people who have yet to find a love like ours. The idea of wedded bliss gives me hope, and I need that, I count on it.

But never before in my life have I ever been so close to the idea of matrimony as I am at this very minute. It's not me, my Prince Charming is still looking for me (hey, I'm right here in NYC...come find me!) But suddenly my close friends are discussing the topic marriage, and not in that slumber-party-I've-got-a-crush-on-Will-Smith kind of way, but in that "I met a man in Rome and we're getting married" Father of The Bride kind of way. Rings are already being selected and furniture is being purchased and I am wondering if I am going to need to write a speech for a congratulatory toast soon. I suppose it is right on schedule, most of us are getting to the quarter-century mark and suddenly coupling is more than a matter of pride, it is a matter of love. I thought I would be ready, but all of a sudden I am not so sure. I still love weddings, and I love my friends, and I even love the stupid games that our mom's will inevitably make us play at the showers, but I can't help being a little unsure. Until now, weddinsg were never tangible, just a fun way to pass the time on a Saturday afternoon as I tried on gowns in some boutique (yeah, I know, but it was SO much fun!)

I am totally happy for my friends who have found "the one" and get to have that special kind of love forever. I am prepared to helo in anyway I can, after all, I am the party-planner extraordinaire and much like Monica in Friends, I've all of the ideas together and just need to put them in a big annoying binder! So here goes nothing...my plan of attack will be to treat it like a game of hide-n-seek: close my eyes, count to ten, take a deep breath and then shout "Ready or not, here I come!"

Thursday, December 04, 2003

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Well, after my first New York City snow on Tuesday, which apparently was just a teaser/warm-up, I am preparing for my first real winter storm over the weekend. The trusty weather men are projecting 3-6 inches of snow by Saturday with a nice mix of sleet and freezing rain just for kicks. I already took some pictures in the teaser snow but no fear, I have lots of film left for real snow pictures. Maybe I can even talk Elly in to making and obscene snowman with me, that is if I venture out in the stuff at all. Oh, who am I kidding, I will be the dork outside running and slipping around while unphased New Yorkers stroll by mumbling obscenities under their breath. I did, however, stock up on food in case I get snowed in...(not likely but you can never have too much food in the pantry!)

So here's to wishing I had real snow boots...

Monday, December 01, 2003

Sometimes it pays to get up early and enter the land of the living before noon, today was one of those days! As I was walking to campus to turn in a librarry book and some paperwork, I walked by a movie set. Now I have walked by movie sets before and sure it's neat and all but nothing cool has ever really happened...until today! You see, what I thought was a movie set was really a tv show filming a scene on location in the East Village. And just what tv show was it you ask...well, nothing else but Sex and the City! Yup, I was literally twenty feet away from the gorgeous Sarah Jessica Parker (aka Carrie) and the stunning Cynthia Nixon (aka Miranda) as they shot a scene right in front of a little church I walk by everyday. The whole corner of the block had been covered in fake snow (actual ice for the close-ups and big chunks of white foam with glitter on it to give the illusion of glistening way off in the background and on the cars). They shot the scene a couple fo times as crew members directed traffic and made sure no one was taking flashing pictures during filming. In between one scene, a couple of girls who were hanging from a 4th floor apartment window shouted to Sarah Jessica "Carrie we love you! You're beautiful!" She acknowledged their praises with a flash of her brilliant smile and a huge wave and then she spun on her Cinderella heal and went back to her mark and waited to roll again. Both women were truly stunning...Cynthia's red hair is beautiful and Sarah Jessica is so tiny, but I must agree with the ladies hanging from the window...absolutely gorgeous! All of this and me without my camera! What a fun way to kick off the morning...in the words of famed gossip columnist Cindy Adams..."Only in New York, kids. Only in New York!"