January 7, 2011 - Dreary Day

Sigh, it was such a gray morning going to work. This is a shot of Broadway, facing south from in front of my office. It was pretty dark and depressing. Later on we got a little bit of a baby blizzard, and people thought the city might shut down again like last week, but it really wasn't bad at all. Anyway, not much to say except this picture is about as blah as the day was.

Since there's really nothing interesting about the photo itself, here's a bit of tour guide info... the building you see with the water-tower in the center of the photo is actually where they filmed the first season of MTV's The Real World - almost 20 years ago!! It basically started right after I moved to New York, and I remember thinking at the time (watching from my apartment under the Triboro bridge in Astoria, Queens,) "Where do those people live? They are so lucky, they're the same age as I am, but they have the coolest apartment ever!" Well, 7 apartments and a house later, I've gotta say I'm REALLY happy with how my housing path has turned out, so you just never know.

January 6, 2011 - The Most Decorated House

Here's Tom standing in front of a house in our neighborhood. It still has holiday decorations up and they are super bright and fun! We walk by this house all the time on our way to/from our fave restaurant (The Farm) and I figure the people who live here must like to celebrate stuff and must be fun themselves in general.

You can see they have Christmas decorations AND a Star of David... and last spring they had a huge banner congratulating someone named Amanda on her graduation up for a couple months. Also, notice the 2 geese above the porch (just under the star.) I think they appeared sometime last summer just after a controversial "de-geeseing" occurred in nearby Prospect Park, so I suspect these folk are animal fans too. Or maybe they're just kind of crazy... in a fun way!

January 5, 2011 - Work Mug

When I started my job last August, some of the first things I noticed were the personalized company mugs most people had on their desks or grabbed from the kitchen cupboard when getting their morning coffee/whatever. To me, they represented a sort of "insider status" that I wanted... but I didn't want to ask for one (I didn't want to seem hung up over a mug!), so I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, right before the holidays, our office manager came around to all the recent hires over the past 6 months and asked the magic question "What do you want on your mug?"

It just arrived. Hooray! I'm in!

January 4, 2011 - Howard Wants to Play

I don't really know what this pink thing at the top of the photo is or was, but it's basically a rag we've affectionately named "Flower Baby" since it kind of looks like a flower and also to differentiate it from Squirrel Baby, Hot Dog Baby and the other "babies" that Howard loves to fling around the room (on his own if necessary.)

Playing with Howard can get intense because he becomes completely focused on the toy - disregarding any obstacle in his way whether it's furniture, a person, another dog, anything - and most sessions end with Foxy letting everyone know he's behaving in a way of which she doesn't approve.

January 3, 2011 - Diet Time

So the past couple of months (the holiday season, no more marathon training, etc, excuse, etc) was not a great time for my waistline. When I saw this book in the office I figured it would be good new year motivation to work on dropping some weight.

I'm guessing it's obvious I haven't started reading yet, because it's pictured here next to my dinner - probably not the best choice to kick-off a new diet ha ha. BUT... the cover does say "200 Ways to Lose 20 Pounds," so it IS possible that at least 1 them involves pizza. I'm guessing not, but it would be awesome & I'll keep my fingers crossed just in case!

January 2, 2011 - Hucky's Doughnut

This is Huckleberry (Hucky) and his new favorite toy - a squeaky rubber doughnut with sprinkles (a gift from our dog walker, Jan.) To say he's possessive of it would be an understatement... he loves it. When he couldn't find it earlier today, he nervously circled the house until I pulled it out from under one of the sofa cushions where it was hiding.

Every time Howard picks it up, Hucky follows him around growling as if he's in pain - waiting for the chance to steal it away. The funniest thing is that he doesn't even really do anything with it, he just carries it around like it's the best prize any dog could ever have.

In the single picture we have of Hucky as a puppy (he was almost 2 when Tom rescued him,) he has a baby pacifier in his mouth - so maybe this is reminiscent of that in a way. But whatever the reason, it's always wonderful to see him happy!

PS - You might notice that this photo is titled with more than a date (an idea I'm stealing from my wonderful friend Ellen,) we'll see how it goes!

January 1, 2011 - Happy New Year

It's 2011 - so I'm trying again!!! Happy New Year everyone - and prosperity for all (courtesy of my New Year's black-eyed peas.)