Where Has 2010 Gone? A Look Back at 2nd Quarter

2nd Quarter which means we can tell people that we are having a baby! Fay named her Mimi for Mini-Michelle and Tom announced it to world on Facebook!

Our 10 day trip to Argentina for fun and JCI was amazing! We must have ate a cow, walked 20 miles and toured 2 countries! We climbed a 125 step light house, sweated off at least 15 pounds, got a couple of massages and had 1 car accident on the long drive to Rosario. Home for 4 hours and then it was off to Maine! Never a dull moment!

In May, we went to see Jen Lancaster in Birmingham, one of my favorite authors and my new BFF! This reminds me of our other celebrity adventures - chasing Ethan Hawke down a NYC street, running into a mean Renee Zellweger on a flight from NYC to DTW and helping Grasshopper pick up his papers that were spread all over first class cabin floor.

Now, it was time for the Yankee games! It reminds me of Spring Training, when Tom and I were sitting in the 9th row of the Yankees - Tigers game and I kept waiving at Derek every time he looked my way. I must have intrigued him so much, he finally tipped his cap to me and the teeny boppers behind squealed in delight!

USJC Convention in New Orleans was a blast! I got to finally go to Mardi Gras World! There is something about lots of bright floats, free cake and lots of picture opportunities that make me giddy!

NYC at any time! Running around the city visiting favorite haunts - Dashing Diva for pedis, Ruby Foo's for Chinese and Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes! Memories of the Puerto Rican Day parade with Amanda and Jamie, the Gay Pride parade with Wendy and trying to hobble around NYC on crutches spring to mind! This trip had some new adventures also - a Carnegie Hall tour with tour guide Bennie Goldstein and a fun trip up the Rock with some friends!

Let's hope Mimi has the travel bug like her parents!

I Feel Like Carrie Bradshaw

Recently, I was in NYC for a meeting and had half a day to wander around the city with no clear direction/activity in mind. What does that really mean? It means I ended up tired and hot with blisters on my foot from my swollen feet rubbing against my Skechers but you know what, it was awesome!

I left my hotel on 57th and 7th with 2 goals in mind - lunch and then a pedicure at Dashing ch Diva on 71st and 2nd. First up, lunch at Dean and De Luca where I had a pastrami panini which to me embodies NYC. It could not have been any better if I was at Katz's Delicatessen. From there, I started wandering, passing by my favorite haunts. I passed Dylan's Candy Bar where Wendy and I ran around getting hopped up on sugar. I passed Bloomingdale's where I had a total makeover before Molly's wedding in the city. I went into Serendipity 3 to get a frozen hot chocolate to go only to find out that they don't do To Go. They are missing out on a whole new market!

I finally made my way to Dashing Diva, an oasis in the 90 degree heat. This reminded me of my trip to NYC with Mary Jo (but that itself is it's own story). As I drank my complimentary bottled water, sat in my pretty pink chair and had Social Climber lacquer applied to my piggies, I had to sigh at the fact how contented I was. I love NYC. It gives me so much energy and the possibilities are endless!

As the week progressed, I alternated between tourist (going up the Rock), avid fan (soaking up the atmosphere in Times Square) and an old friend (going to Ruby Foo's, finding a Starbuck's on every corner, cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery). Even though I am married and having a baby, the city brings me back to my single days and my crazy trips to the city with Wendy, Mary Jo, Lori, Scott, and Tom. It is like a friend that no matter how long you have been away, it welcomes you back with open arms.

While Carrie Bradshaw might be more glamorous in her Jimmy Choos and Manolo's, I guarantee she can not be any happier than I am when I am wondering the city reliving great experiences with friends and trying new and exciting things!

I Love New York

The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps. Empire City. Gotham City. New York City.

Frank Sinatra sings about it in New York, New York, Billy Joel talks about a New York State of Mind and Jay-Z and Alicia Keys describe an Empire State of Mind. Movies want to Escape from New York, express their infatuation in New York, I Love You, detail the grittiness of the city in Gangs of New York and show romance in Autumn in New York. I've always had a love affair with New York City since my first trip when I was 4 or 5. Here are some highlights:

• Going up the World Trade Center and looking out the glass bottom floor when I was 4 or 5 with my parents, aunt and uncle thinking the cars looked like match boxes.
• See my first play "Nunsense" when I was in junior high.
• Having Helen Keller threaten to "open a can of whoop ass" on Nick on a street corner in Greenwich Village.
• Hanging out with artists who lived in a garage with no running water.
• Being mortified when my parents started singing Happy Birthday at Planet Hollywood on my 21st birthday.
• Hard core shopping at the now defunct Warner Brothers store.
• Skating in Central Park with the Alpine Club (aka, Molly, Amanda and Me).
• Swips and cankles with Mary Jo on our Central Park rickshaw tour.
• Losing an EF student on a Central Park bike tour.
• Trying to go to the Met during the Puerto Rican Day parade. It is not possible, don't even try it!
• Stumbling across the Gay Pride Parade as we toured the city while I was on crutches.
• Drinking my $18 drink atop the Marriott Millennium.
• Having a stomach ache at the Fancy Food Show after trying way too many samples, but pushing my way to the front of the line to meet Paula Dean.
• Hanging with Al Sharpton in the LGA World Club.
• Flying to DTW with the bitchy, unfriendly Renee Zellweger.
• Hanging with Randy at Tao - need I say more?
• Mary Jo's meltdown at Jay-Z's 40/40 club.
• Feeling like a superstar at Spice Kitchen and Curtains with the Pedro.
• Chasing Ethan Hawke down the street.
• Cursing Woody Allen who was filming in Time Square while we were running late for a show.
• Stopping at a light and running into The Bachelorette Trista and her husband Ryan.
• The majestic feeling of Yankee Stadium.
• Being pissed that the summer I lived in the Bronx was the same year as the MLB strike.
• Almost dying in the Bronx when my father did a u-turn in 6 lanes of traffic!
• Derek Jeter, enough said!

I could go on and on but New York Rocks! As Frank says, "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere, It's up to you, New York, New York!"

Things that Make Me Happy

As the winter rages on here in Michigan (thanks Puxatony Phil for nothing), my mood deteriorates. There is nothing to do. I feel unsettled, blah, logy (a new word Scottie is using meaning sluggish) and just downright pissy. So as I try to cheer myself up, I decided to think about what makes me happy. Here we go (in no particular order) -

1) Sangria at Dominick's - even though a gallon costs more than a movie for 2, it makes me think of warm weather and the U of M students being gone for the summer.

2) Vacations - I love the planning, organizing and executing a vacation. It is time to start planning our Buenos Aires trip that is in a couple of months. Florida in 6 weeks is already well planned out.

3) Putt -putt - It just rocks! My goal is to play the semi-pro course with the longest fairways at Disney World in a few weeks. Did I mention that I am obsessed?

4) Dinner and Drinks Outside downtown - just don't stick me under a buggy tree, but the people watching is out of this world!

5) Baseball - spring training here we come! I miss you Derek, I miss you Tex, hurry back Swisher! I might be a little stalkerish in Florida, but I will get your autographs!

6) Wine Tours - going from winery to winery in Traverse City, singing "Papa Don't Preach" at Madonna's Dad's winery and eating way too much cheese!

7) NYC - We weren't there for JCI last year, but we will be this year, so I need to find the latest and greatest things to do. The city that never sleeps makes me crazy happy!

8) Flip-flops and Tank Tops - my summer uniform - need I say more?

What I don't like? Snow, Cold, having to stay indoors, no sun, all typical characteristics of Michigan winter. All things that have occurred in the last week in old Ann Arbor.

With it being Valentine's Day weekend and all, I probably should say my husband makes me happy, my family is cool, all that mushy stuff. While they do, I said I was focusing on Things that made me happy, so sorry you did not make the list! There will always be another list!

Random Thoughts from 2009 - Day 9 aka The Top 10 Cities (continued)

As I get ready for my next trip for JCI to Paraguay for 2 1/2 days, I have to stop and wonder, what would happen if I had actually time to hang out and explore the city? I would probably get bored if I did not have to cram 10 things into 12 hours.

5) Monte Carlo - home of Princess Grace and Prince Albert and the mystic that is royalty. As I went to the casino, I felt like I was in a James Bond movie. I was waiting for James to come and pick me up in his Porsche and drive me through the mountain side. What I got instead was a Rose Garden that closed 5 minutes before we got there, a bus ride to nowhere and a lot of walking.

Word to describe Monte Carlo: Mystical

4)Maui – Kannapali Beach - the place where Tom and I spent 10 magical days on our honeymoon. Adventures abounded - biking down a volcano, riding in a submarine, exploring a Buddhist temple and even watching a movie about Hawaii!

Word to describe Maui: Breathtakingly Beautiful

3) London - the best place to visit when you are a new traveler. They speak English, it is easy to get around but it is freaking expensive. What did I learn? Never take a bus tour ever again! They suck - they are long, crowded and people are always late. However, there are some super cool places to visit including Harrod's, the Sherlock Holmes House and Madame Toussard's.

Word to describe London: Familiar

2) Las Vegas - besides the multiple girl's trips to Vegas, the site of our wedding, the most memorable day of my life so far. From the bachelor and bachelorette parties at the top of Hotel Mandalay to the great reception at Stallion Mountain and dinner at Mesa to the brunch at the Bellagio, the weekend was awesome! Despite the trip to the ER with my Dad during the rehearsal dinner (what is a vacation without someone being sick?), it was a blast. Don't forget the trip to Starbuck's in our wedding attire with the limo!

Word to describe Vegas: can't, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas......

1) NYC - the city that never sleeps - to me the best place in the whole world. From the Village to Yankee Stadium, every step is an adventure. Nothing can compare. As Jay-Z and Alicia Keys sing
In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There's nothing you can't do,
Now you're in New York,
These streets will make you feel brand new,
Big lights will inspire you,
Lets here it for New York, New York, New York

I so wish I lived the Sex in the City dream!

Word to describe NYC: Unparalleled

Let's see what my 2010 travels bring!

Random Thoughts from 2009 - Day 8

As I started my 12 Days of Random Thoughts, I believed I had lots of bizarre ideas and opinions, but as I struggle with the last 6 days, I realize I might not think enough. So I guess one of my resolutions for 2010 will be to think more. But in the mean time, I am hungry. I just ate my Fruit Loops and yogurt, but I really want a waffle. Too bad, no one at work has one for me! So anyways that got me thinking about my favorite restaurants so here is My Top 10 List (like David Letterman):

10) Chimaya (Huntington Beach) - Wendy, Mike and I spent a good part of a year there drinking mango martinis, sitting around the fire pit on the beach and eating chips and guacamole. I recently came across a picture of me there as I was loading our new Digital Frame Christmas present and while I had bad hair, I looked skinny, had good skin and seemed happy.

9) Luna Park (L.A.) - Dr. Pepper martinis with Dr. Pepper jelly bellies, need I say more? Fay and I were full of candy when we were done but it kicked off a fun weekend adventure in California that included San Juan Capistrano!

8) Chop House (Ann Arbor) - Wendy, Tom S, Trudi and I spent a very fun-filled evening here discussing the publication and marketing of Tom's book Managed Murders. I felt very grown-up and smart as we discussed book signings, interviews, launch parties and such. To this day, the only book that I know of where I am in the acknowledgement section.

7) L.A. Farm and Whist (Santa Monica)- Again more Michelle and Wendy adventures where we made friends with the chef, were late to our reservations yet again because of traffic but had the best salmon and steak of our lives!

6) Spice Kitchen (NYC) - Besides being a celebrity hot spot, it represented a fun weekend of sightseeing and the Fancy Food Show with Tom. After a yummy dinner with Tom, Liz and The Jose, it was off to see the Broadway play "Curtains" and then champagne at the Marriott Millennium. A true New York experience!

5) The Stinking Rose (San Francisco) - A whole restaurant where every entree (and desserts) include garlic! A stinky but yummo dining experience during a fun trip to a great city that included a Ghost Walking Tour!

4) Auberge du Soleil (Napa Valley) and Yavapi Restaurant (Sedona) - The views were spectacular - vineyards at the first place and the red rock mountains at the second one. It doesn't matter who you are with, if you are a nature lover or not, you can not help but be impressed with these restaurants. Just don't eat my jicama like the waiter at Yavapi did. I don't care that I think it is gross, don't touch my plate! French Laundry, here I come!

3) Palio (Ann Arbor) - our favorite Italian restaurant in town. The mushroom crostini (or as Scott calls it, the fungi) is to die for, the pesto is delicious and they have the great birthday special that I love so much. They make me feel like I am in Naples (I'll let you know if my feeling is accurate once I actually visit Naples).

2) Rosa Mexicano (Washington D.C.) and some hole in the wall Mexican restaurant (Albuquerque) - both adventures with Helen. The first involved 2 extra subway rides and about 2 miles of walking in 95 degree heat because we were in the wrong quadrant of the blasted city. The second involved a strip mall restaurant recommended my a friend that had mouth watering quesadillas, crazy patrons that were sharing their dinners with us at the bar and way too much sangria!

1) Real Seafood (Ann Arb0r) - the best crab legs on the planet and Tom and my engagement dinner (only I did not know it - I thought it was just a birthday dinner!) Over the years, I have been there with so many friends and family, it seems like an extension of our dining room (though a much better one). My mouth is watering now!

This blog did not help with me being hungry but it did bring back memories of good times, good friends and fun travels. OK, off to find some toast!

New York City on Crutches

NYC on crutches suck. Even on a good day, I am not coordinated on crutches. I resemble a cross between Frankenstein and someone trying to learn how to use stilts. I start, I stop, I trip, I complain. I get bruises under my arms and callouses on my hands and I yell and swear a lot! In 2004, I hurt my leg playing softball on a Thursday and was scheduled to leave on Friday with NYC with Wendy and another friend.

The trip was a debacle. First of all, navigating through the airport was ridiculous. Trying to get me, my suitcase and my crutches through security and to the gate was a 3 person ordeal with one person pushing me in the wheel chair and the other wrangling 3 suitcases. We looked like refugees walking to a camp with all our worldly possessions. People walking parted like the Red Sea as we passed them in order to protect their appendages from being run over or hit with suitcases.

Once there, the whole escapade at La Guardia was repeated and then we were finally picked up by Wendy's brother and off to dinner. The next day we were off to a NYY game. What a cluster! Randy drove us to the stadium and dropped us in front but finagling my way to my seat was exhausting! I was like a fish swimming upstream trying not to get steamrolled by the rabid Yankee fans.

On Sunday, we were walking around Midtown and came across the Gay Pride Parade. Before you knew it, we were swept up in the excitement. We met Harvey Fienstein, were dancing in the streets like they do in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and saw so many interesting sights. It is definitely unlike any parade that I have ever attended!

As I hobbled back to the airport like an old man, I decided that I would never do NYC on crutches again! The weekend concluded with meeting Renee Zellweger on the plane ride home. She was rude, thought we were crazy and would not even pose for a picture for us!

That night, as I collapsed on my bed, I decided that I would try to be more careful playing softball.

Tales of the Taxi

I have a love/hate affair with taxis. They are convenient. They can still get stuck in traffic. They beat the heat of the summer. They can be smelly. They allow you more freedom than public transportation. They can be impossible to find when it is raining out.

Taxis can be dangerous (or at least the drivers driving them can be). My friend and fellow JCI Ben were in Monaco and had to go to Nice at 4 am to fly back to the States so our hosts arranged a taxi for us (since they were still partying). We crammed our enormous suitcases in to the taxi (mine definitely took up more space than his) and we were off. You would have thought we were on the Autobahn. We were zipping dangerously around curves in the French mountains. We were speeding on dark roads and God forbid if we met oncoming traffic or someone going too slow - we wove in and out of lanes like we were Mario Andretti. Ben and I had death grips on the holy shit handles and hoped we would make it to the airport in one piece (we knew we would be on time).

My husband Tom arrived in India after I did last fall and had to take a taxi from the airport at 1 in the morning. His first visit to a 3rd world country, he was leery, as we soon found out he should be. He did not get cheated out of money, as a voucher is pre-purchased, but he was almost cheated out of his dinner (as vomiting could have occurred) . The cab driver made the 45 minute drive from the airport to the hotel in 18 minutes. As Tom careened back and forth in the back seat, they dodged cows, rickshaws and elephants like they were playing Frogger.

Taxis can be used for odd events. In Panama, Lori, Lisa and I wanted to go to the Panama Canal so we hired a taxi for 3 hours. The driver drove us to the canal, we visited it, we ate lunch, and then the driver who would could not identify from sight came back up to us and asked if we were ready to go. I guess paying only 1/2 your fair up front helps keep the driver committed to you. It seemed odd to us to continue to pay a taxi driver to work for us while we were eating lunch, but everyone was doing it. When in Rome......

Taxis can be deceiving. This past weekend some friends who had over imbibed at Universal City Walk went to the taxi area, hopped in a yellow car and asked the driver to take them the 17 miles back to our hotel. When they got there, they asked, "How much?" The driver indicated, "I don't know, I am not a cab driver." What would possess someone to take my friends 17 miles without mentioning this???? They gave him $40 and got the hell out of there!

Finally, taxis can be downright unreliable. I was visiting NYC with an ex in December 2005 for a long weekend. We were having a great time until the last day. The taxi drivers decided to go on strike - there were NO taxis running in NYC. It felt like Armageddon. The streets were like canyons that you could run down, it had a Will Smith, I am Legend, feel. As we scrambled to find transportation to the airport, we cursed the taxis. How could the government let this happen? When thousands of taxis stop running, it impacts EVERYTHING!

Oh well, taxis are good, and taxis are bad. They make me curse, but they give me the freedom to explore!