What Should I Read Next?
Despite having three large bookcases brimming with books, I'm often at a loss for a book to read. Part of the problem is that most of the books are Sean's and, much as I love the man, I don't share his taste in reading material. (No dear, I don't want to read Atlas Shrugged!)
This site helps you break out of your mold and find other books that you might enjoy based upon your previous reads. You can try it with one book or register (it's free) and enter in multiple books for a more complete picture of your reading habits. It makes me wish I had more free time for reading.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
Chance's first full day at school
It's funny how sometimes you worry about how something will go and then it turns out to be nothing at all. That would sum up how Chance's first day at school (by himself) went. He was a champ! He and Drew (his bestest buddy) marched off to class with barely a backward glance.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
JWtDO - Part 3
(Michele asked what the heck happened to the account of our meeting so this is to appease one very pregnant friend.)
One great added bonus of this trip was getting together with my friend Michele. 'Chele lives in CT with her wonderful husband and two adorable children. We met several years ago on an online forum for women expecting in Feb. '01. Her daughter Katie and Chance are only about two weeks apart in age. But I digress....
We met Saturday morning for dim sum in Chinatown. Wow, absolutely delicious! Great food aside, it was a chance for Michele and Mark to see that I really do have a husband. I've met both of them (in person) before but they'd never met Sean, so it was a fun to get all four of us together. Now they have proof that I really do have a husband, and the boys entertained each other so Michele and I could catch up.
I'd post a picture of the two of us, but of course, we were idiots and forgot to take a picture before we left each other!! Mark took a pic of her and Sean took a (not so good) pic of me and now she's trying to Photoshop the two of us together! We'll see....
Anyway, it was so wonderfully nice of her and Mark to make the trek in from CT to NYC just to spend two hours or so hanging out with us. Now that's what friends are all about. Michele, you made my weekend complete.
One great added bonus of this trip was getting together with my friend Michele. 'Chele lives in CT with her wonderful husband and two adorable children. We met several years ago on an online forum for women expecting in Feb. '01. Her daughter Katie and Chance are only about two weeks apart in age. But I digress....
We met Saturday morning for dim sum in Chinatown. Wow, absolutely delicious! Great food aside, it was a chance for Michele and Mark to see that I really do have a husband. I've met both of them (in person) before but they'd never met Sean, so it was a fun to get all four of us together. Now they have proof that I really do have a husband, and the boys entertained each other so Michele and I could catch up.
I'd post a picture of the two of us, but of course, we were idiots and forgot to take a picture before we left each other!! Mark took a pic of her and Sean took a (not so good) pic of me and now she's trying to Photoshop the two of us together! We'll see....
Anyway, it was so wonderfully nice of her and Mark to make the trek in from CT to NYC just to spend two hours or so hanging out with us. Now that's what friends are all about. Michele, you made my weekend complete.
Friday, September 16, 2005
JWtDO - Part 2
Did I mention caching? Of course we cached. I tease Sean about being the cache junkie in the family but I'm probably just as bad. After all, I was the one who loaded the Manhattan maps and caches onto the GPSr. The one thing we didn't really consider was the difficulty in getting a good signal in the "canyon" of tall buildings. Which explains why there aren't far more caches in NYC.
We did, however, manage a few fun ones in Central Park (CP Guardian, Swamp Gas, In the Ramble, and Lakeside View) and a geeky-tourist webcam cache in Times Square (see pic above). All-in-all, not bad for a couple of out-of-towners.
We also managed a pilgrimage to Washington Square Park so Sean could get his chess fix. After walking around for awhile he finally talked himself into a game with one of the resident players. Eric was very friendly and...well...normal. (Forgive me, but some of the regulars there are a tad...um, eccentric.) After two games Sean had a loss and a win and was content to walk away. I'm not normally a chess spectator but these were two very fun games to watch.
Dinner on Friday night found us acting like a pair of foodie-wannabes. We looked up Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles restaurant. I've never been to a French restaurant, per se, so I thought this might be interesting. (At this point, I'll take a page out of Sean's blog....)
Restaurant: Les Halles, Park Ave., NY, NY
Avg. Cost of entree: $24
When: Friday, September 16th, 2005.
Who: Sean & Jo
Our Order: Filet de Boeuf Bearnaise (beef tenderloin, bearnaise) and Tranche d'agneau grillee aux herbes (lamb steak w/fresh herbs) both of which are served with a generous side of pomme frites
Review:
We had an incredible dinner here. Of course there were no Chef Bourdain sightings (although, we found out later that he'd been in the restaurant earlier in the week) we thoroughly enjoyed our dinners. The meat was cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful (although the lamb was a tad garlic-y). The wine selection was nice and the Pinot Noir we chose with our entrees was very nice. All-in-all an excellent meal.
We did, however, manage a few fun ones in Central Park (CP Guardian, Swamp Gas, In the Ramble, and Lakeside View) and a geeky-tourist webcam cache in Times Square (see pic above). All-in-all, not bad for a couple of out-of-towners.
We also managed a pilgrimage to Washington Square Park so Sean could get his chess fix. After walking around for awhile he finally talked himself into a game with one of the resident players. Eric was very friendly and...well...normal. (Forgive me, but some of the regulars there are a tad...um, eccentric.) After two games Sean had a loss and a win and was content to walk away. I'm not normally a chess spectator but these were two very fun games to watch.
Dinner on Friday night found us acting like a pair of foodie-wannabes. We looked up Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles restaurant. I've never been to a French restaurant, per se, so I thought this might be interesting. (At this point, I'll take a page out of Sean's blog....)
Restaurant: Les Halles, Park Ave., NY, NY
Avg. Cost of entree: $24
When: Friday, September 16th, 2005.
Who: Sean & Jo
Our Order: Filet de Boeuf Bearnaise (beef tenderloin, bearnaise) and Tranche d'agneau grillee aux herbes (lamb steak w/fresh herbs) both of which are served with a generous side of pomme frites
Review:
- Look & feel: Large open room, noisy, bustling. Not for that romantic quiet dinner gazing into each others' eyes.
- Unexpected: Who knew fries could possibly be so good?
- Would I come back?: Absolutely
- Dress: Business casual - casual
We had an incredible dinner here. Of course there were no Chef Bourdain sightings (although, we found out later that he'd been in the restaurant earlier in the week) we thoroughly enjoyed our dinners. The meat was cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful (although the lamb was a tad garlic-y). The wine selection was nice and the Pinot Noir we chose with our entrees was very nice. All-in-all an excellent meal.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Just what the doctor ordered - Part 1
Today marks the first day our mini-vacation in NYC. Mind you, it was supposed to be a getaway to New Orleans (please, let's not talk about our luck with hurricanes, ok?) Anyway, as luck would have it, it took us roughly an hour and a half to get from LaGuardia to our hotel since it's Olympus Fashion Week and a special debate of the UN General Assembly leaving Manhattan looking like one very large parking lot.
All that aside, we arrived at our hotel, got a bite to eat and began exploring our immediate area - lower Times Square and Bryant Park. Bryant Park, by the way, was the site of the Olympus Fashion Show. Oh joy.
If nothing else, Manhattan is one of the best people-watching spots on the earth; with OFW right nearby it was the place to be. What's really funny about this, though, is that I doubt you could find any two other people who have less fashion-sense than Sean and me. We could've tripped over Kate Moss or some other model and wouldn't have known the difference. It was almost funny. No matter, we had fun watching the paparazzi and autograph seekers waiting in the wings.
Eating out in Manhattan is wonderful. (Nothing like stating the obvious, eh?) Our first night found us walking a few blocks to Grand Central Station and the MetLife building adjacent to it to Tropica. (We played the tourists in GCS by standing to the side of the great atrium and staring up at the ceiling, which is a beautiful blue background with various constellations drawn upon it with the occasional star lit up.) We had a delicious meal that rivals the best of Rochester restaurants and garnered one superlative after another. Maybe, if I get ambitious enough (and Maia naps long enough) I'll start reviewing restaurants like Sean reviews golf courses. Yeah, I've got time for that.
A nice walk back to the hotel took us by Bryant Park again and we gawked as the last of the fashionistas trailed out of the tent. Ahhh, it's a rough life.
All that aside, we arrived at our hotel, got a bite to eat and began exploring our immediate area - lower Times Square and Bryant Park. Bryant Park, by the way, was the site of the Olympus Fashion Show. Oh joy.
If nothing else, Manhattan is one of the best people-watching spots on the earth; with OFW right nearby it was the place to be. What's really funny about this, though, is that I doubt you could find any two other people who have less fashion-sense than Sean and me. We could've tripped over Kate Moss or some other model and wouldn't have known the difference. It was almost funny. No matter, we had fun watching the paparazzi and autograph seekers waiting in the wings.
Eating out in Manhattan is wonderful. (Nothing like stating the obvious, eh?) Our first night found us walking a few blocks to Grand Central Station and the MetLife building adjacent to it to Tropica. (We played the tourists in GCS by standing to the side of the great atrium and staring up at the ceiling, which is a beautiful blue background with various constellations drawn upon it with the occasional star lit up.) We had a delicious meal that rivals the best of Rochester restaurants and garnered one superlative after another. Maybe, if I get ambitious enough (and Maia naps long enough) I'll start reviewing restaurants like Sean reviews golf courses. Yeah, I've got time for that.
A nice walk back to the hotel took us by Bryant Park again and we gawked as the last of the fashionistas trailed out of the tent. Ahhh, it's a rough life.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Chance's first day back at school
Today was Chance's first day back at RNS preschool. He was so sad this summer when he learned that he wouldn't be returning to the same class with the same teachers. That made me a bit worried about how today would go.
I shouldn't have worried.
Barely a minute in his new room and he discovered a box full of Legos...no worries now! Now he assures me that he loves his new room and his new teacher. All's right with his world.
I shouldn't have worried.
Barely a minute in his new room and he discovered a box full of Legos...no worries now! Now he assures me that he loves his new room and his new teacher. All's right with his world.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
It's all Sean's fault
Like so many things, this is all Sean's fault. You see, I don't really think I need a blog...heck, like anyone wants to hear the rantings of a stay-at-home mom? I don't think so. Fine, I'll humor him. Maybe he'll get so bored reading this that he'll decide it really was a better idea to just let me publish to his (which, I might add, has a much cooler name ;) ). Anyway, I've now got to figure out how to upload pictures (which is the main purpose of this silly thing)...wish me luck.
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