Guess You Just Had To Be There

Duh!  Everyone has a rooftop, but we have one that is accessible and we didn’t even have a clue about it.  When we were moving in last November, we had asked if we had rooftop access and were told that we didn’t, so we just left it at that.  Then this evening at the suggestion of some friends, I walked above the 2nd floor of my building for the first time ever.  I was excited, but also a bit nervous.  What if the door was locked and an alarm would go off when you opened it?  What if?  When we made it to the fifth level of my building, not only was the door not locked, it was WIDE open with a sign that said “for tenant use and their guests.”  For the first time since moving to Sunnyside, I got to view our neighborhood with a fresh and new perspective: from the top of our roof.  I am so excited at this little discovery and feel like a whole new world in New York has been opened for me.

This is what greeted me when I woke up this morning.

Four years ago today Daniel & I decided that we would pursue a relationship together.  I was living in Tallahassee and was in the process of moving to New Jersey, and would be traveling to Texas for a month.  He was living in Atlanta.  It was the beginning of a unique and long distance relationship.  A month later we would go on our first date, but this day was the beginning of so much wonderful.  And this is one of the reasons I love living in New York:  Orchids are cheaper than Roses here!  Whodathunkit? Gotta run, Daniel made French toast!  Yummy.

I was shopping at target with my sister Jamie today.  Well actually I was on the phone with her, but we were still shopping together.  I was asking for advise on mascara.  I don’t ever wear mascara, because in my past experiences my eyes get watery, itchy  and my lashes fall out WAY more normal. In the end I decided not to make a purchase.  Jamie’s advise was very helpful, because she has tried so many different kinds, so if anyone reading this has any suggestions, that would be helpful.

Enough about mascara, the real joy and discovery of my shopping trip was this…

Okay, I know what you are thinking!  Whippty Doo…you found yourself a 2 litre of Coca Cola at Target.  As if you can’t find that at Targets across America!  But take a closer look at the lid…

It’s KOSHER Coke.  This means NO high fructose corn syrup. During Passover, Jewish families cannot have any corn products in their homes, so Coca Cola manufactures this product especially for them.  How awesome is that? I haven’t tried it yet, but I am hoping that it is similar to the coke products that I’ve had overseas.  So Yummy….

Why am I here?  Not why am I here in New York, silly?  But why am I here writing on the world wide web?  One, I am slightly a theatrical person. (I prefer the word theatrical over dramatic.  Though my family has called me dramatic, and now my husband way to easily follows suit.  I am simply expressive about life, and feel that everything I express is simply the way it needs to be expressed. Anything less would not give justice to my feelings.)  Blogging somewhat provides a stage for your average everyday writer,  whether I have an audience or not. Two, I feel that this is a way to provide some discipline to a very undisciplined writer.  I thought that majoring in creative writing would FORCE me to write and to put things out in a timely matter.  Instead of going to grad school, I got married and realized that grad school really had to take a back seat to many things going on in my life at the time.  I figured I needed to not be forced into the discipline of writing, but just do it, because I loved to.  That has worked out to some degree, but I have fluctuated between writing prolifically and not even picking up a pen to such great extremes that I was starting to go crazy. Three, I love life, and have so many amazing things happen around me, I just can’t think of a better way to share these things, then to blog about them.  Four, I often tell people “I am going to blog about that,”  when they proceed to do something crazy or tell me an off-the-wall kind of story.  I need to have more power behind this previously empty threat! Five, I just recently moved to New York City, and am experiencing so many new and fun things, I need an outlet and a way to remember when, for example, seeing a rat running around was a new experience for me. (More on this later.)  So here, I am blogging about my life, not sure if any one is listening, but a girl has got to start somewhere.

I can’t believe that January has come and gone! In someways this month has gone by incredibly slow, but I still can’t believe that it is over. January is a difficult month. It goes by slowly for many reasons. It is the first month after December, a fast-paced month filled with fun. If you traveled to spend time with family, it is the first month away from your family.  All of a sudden the beautiful lights of the Christmas season are packed away.  Store window displays sparkle a little less, and people begin to “awake” from the holiday spirit, bogged down by New Year’s Resolutions and credit card bills.  In December, when it is cold, it is just part of the beauty of the holidays.  The cold weather is a blessed reason to stay home with people that you love, sipping hot chocolate (at least that is what I would be sipping on), and staying warm together.  In January, it is just COLD!  The same people that brought you warmth, are now just annoying.  The cold weather seems that much colder without the promise of holiday cheer to bring a different perspective to it. And yet, with all these reasons to look down on this crazy month, I am going to miss it. I can’t believe that 1/12th of the year is already gone. Goodbye January.

I finally got the opportunity to go to Peanut Butter & Company in New York City.  If you LOVE peanut butter, than this is probably your heaven.  The menu is full of all sorts of amazing peanut butter sandwich and desert creations.  If you want to check out the menu it is at www.ilovepeanutbutter.com.  I, unfortunately, do not LOVE peanut butter, with me it is only a ‘like’ type of relationship, so I decided to ask one of the workers for a recommendation.  The guy behind the counter recommended ‘the Bee’s Knees’, so naturally I followed his recommendation.  I have to say, I think I ordered one of the most boring sandwiches on the menu.  For a menu that offers amazing creations of peanut butter with any thing from chocolate to bacon, I had to order the one that came with apple butter and wheat germ.  Argh!  Not only that, I felt that the bread was kind of dry and there is nothing worse than dry bread with an already saliva-sponge of a sandwich. The crust on the bread was also extremely tough, and if I hadn’t ordered a wonderful glass of milk and tried a bite of the slightly more exciting flutternutter sandwich (which also had tough/dry bread), all hope would be lost.  As it is, I am no lover of the butter, so I believe that I may be slightly pre-disposed to being a little critical at a store that’s entire focus is surrounding peanut-butter, especially when my taste-buds where less than amused.  I am willing to give it another try, and would be remiss to make a final judgement based on one sandwich sample.

This is it!  Not that impressive looking.  The sandwich in the background is the Flutternutter.  The one in the foreground is the Bee’s Knees.

Inside the Bee’s Knees.

I love the little magic words in life: Please, Thank You and You’re Welcome! I have to admit that since being in NYC, I haven’t heard those words very often. Tonight was an exception though. I am not sure why. It is SOOOOOOOOO cold outside, you would think this would make all New Yorker’s extremely grouchy and irritable. Perhaps, because it was SOOOOOOOOO cold, the chill cut quickly through the exterior and brought out every one’s inner warmth. I even found myself walking around with a huge southern grin for most of the evening. As I exited the 7 train, my love for these words and for my fellow New Yorkers escalated so much that before I could stop myself, I found myself waving good-bye to the train conductor and shouting out “Thank You.” To my surprise, she didn’t just throw up the window and give me a dirty look, but genuinely smiled back and with all warmth of heart, that only the coldest weather can bring out, returned my greeting with a lovely “You Are Welcome.”

Today I woke up. I woke up to many things. I woke up in New York City with beautiful snow falling outside of my window. I woke up and realized that my life has drastically changed since this time last year. I am in a new decade; ah the wonderful thirties! Three years ago today, I was also in New York City. I wasn’t living here, Daniel and I had visited the city for an amazing date, that ended on top of the Empire State Building with Daniel on one knee asking me to marry him! I said yes, as snow swirled all around us. It was a beautiful, beautiful day. It was the first snow of that season and it felt like heaven was smiling down on us. I felt so much joy and hope for the future on that wonderful day. This morning I woke up and I was reminded of that amazing joy. Heaven was once again smiling down on me, and I was remembered! I am living in the most amazing city in the world, married to the most amazing man. I have family and friends, who both love and challenge me. So here I find myself stepping out from behind my journal that stays safely on my shelf and into the world of blogging.