My Grandmother

Saturday, March 22nd, my mom's mom and my Grandmother passed. She had been battling Alzheimer's for years and her body couldn't take it anymore. Please Keep my mom and all of our family in your thoughts and prayers.

A few memories of my Grandmother:

Growing up, I got to see her and visit a lot. She only lived an hour and a half away from us in Magnolia, AR. She was an amazing cook. Her green beans and homemade roles were my favorite. She had a garden in her back yard and she taught me how to pick the vegetables properly and how to prepare them for cooking or canning. I remember sitting in the back yard and snapping green beans and listening to her tell me stories of when my mom was young. Then as the night came she would give us a jar with holes in the lid and my brother and I would catch firefly's.

Another memory is playing "Hide the Thimble" and "Going on a Bear hunt". Both games that I am convinced that she made up. Regardless, I could play them all night.

She was a extremely sweet woman and a perfect Grandmother. We will all miss her dearly but one day I will teach my kids what she has taught me and hopefully carry on her positive example of a strong Christian woman.

Traveling Once again.....

This Friday I am crossing the big blue pond again. Jon is turning 30 so we have a lot of celebrating to do. I promise to take more pictures this time. Hope you all have a great week. I will try to blog from the UK!!!

Why me?

I live in a city of 8.2 million people. 8.2 Million, that's a lot, right? We all live on a little island that is only 22.96 square miles. It's a huge place but actually very small. You would think that it would be near impossible to bump into someone you know, right? Well I have found that it is not only easy to bump into someone you know but even easier to bump into someone you don't want to see.

I have a gift. A gift of running into my ex's.
One of my ex's lived right outside of NYC but it never failed, I saw him every weekend. He liked to hang out in my neighborhood. I understand why as I live in the coolest hood in the city but why would he hang out on my street right in front of my apartment? Or at my regular brunch spot? There is so many other places in the city to go.

Another ex, one that I only had 4 dates with, lived down the street. Of course I would see him around. What's funny is that we see each other at least once a month in random spots in the city. At the gym, in a restaurant in another neighborhood, grocery store, passing on the street. Not once have we ever acknowledged each other. We act like we don't even know each other. Real mature, I know. But what's the point? It would just be this surfacy conversation that neither one of us has time for. After all, he has a busy job of picking up trash on the streets, putting it in a box and selling it as a souvenir of NYC. http://nymag.com/content/04/wk22/bestbets_040526.htm

2 date Wall Street boy, isn't lucky enough to be called an ex. But still someone that I would not want to run into again. 2 awkward bad dates in a row and then I just stopped returning his calls and emails. Of course I don't want to bump into him and have to explain why I was so mature in how I ended things. Where do I run into him? The busiest place in the city of course, Times Square. That place is a zoo of people and I am lucky enough to find Waldo. I was out with a client and he literally ran right into me. Before either of us could realize that it was each other I was off across the street.

Not an ex boyfriend but a random bump into over and over again was with Mike Myers, the actor not the killer. I bumped into him 3 times in one day and pretty much every other weekend after that for a year. Another time walking home late at night in the West Village and then several other times at bars and restaurants. He doesn't know my name but he does know my face. He does the light hello nod when we pass.

Most recent, Saturday night on the lower east side in a dark bar. The place was full of extremely tall people for some reason, so of course I fit in. I hear my BFF Bethany say cheerfully, "Hiiiii" i turn around to see who it is as the tone in her voice sounded like it was someone I wanted to see. Who's in front of me, the most recent ex. It's been over a year since I've seen him and of course on the night of amazon people in this place he, being 6'5, is there. I turn and say hi then go back to my dance impersonation of Janet Jackson.

Why does this happen? It's always with people that I would rather not see. I never bump into Derek Jeter or Mark Ruffalo. These are men that I would love to run into but no, it's always people that you don't really feel like talking to again. I would like this to stop please. It's not funny anymore.

Older and Older.....

This year I had a little present from London come see me. We had a great week long celebration and it made turning 32 not so bad.

This is my tasty Birthday cake that Jon surprised me with. Along with Champagne and Strawberries. Yes, he is romantic like this all the time.

Miguel, Bethany, Meredith and Arvand came to the party. It was a night of Cuban food, Mojitos and Karaoke. We are extremely mature, especially when we are together.

The best girlfriends I could ever have. Bethany, Meredith and Ayla.

One of the many songs that were sung that night. Jon singing "Tanted Love" and his brother fighting to get on stage. Can you feel the passion?

Jon's younger brother Greg. The Lay brothers are lookers.

Friday night I went out with some of Jon's college friends from Boston College. All very nice guys. These two are still single. Ladies?? Any takers?

I Wish I could Quit You

January 22nd, 2008 I turned 32 and Heath Ledger died four blocks from my apartment. I think most people felt the same way I did, shocked. I was not a huge fan of his but still was very shocked and surprised. Now the speculations start and I have heard both sides if the stories. He was into drugs, he wasn't into them just OD on a mixture of meds. Who do we believe? I think I will believe Britney's comment, "We all never really die y'all". Thanks for those wise words Brit.
Nonetheless, here are some shots of outside his apartment taken from my camera phone on a sunny Sunday stroll in Soho.

2 more Days

Saturday!! Saturday!! Saturday!! Jon's flight arrives at 4:59 EST! Then after going through customs, getting striped searched by the NYPD, getting his bag off carousel 8, waiting in the cold for a cab, driving across the Williamsburg Bridge into the city, and finally making it into Greenwich Village I will get to see him at 6:00pm EST. I AM VERY VERY EXCITED!!!

Can you tell?

It's been 2 months since we last saw each other. And I'm guessing 2 more before I get to see him again. So far it's working but I can't lie, I would like to see him more often. Any one have any ideas???? Maybe I should be a flight attendant, but then I think of me freaking out during take offs and landings would not be a good way to soothe the passengers.

Chitty Cruise 2007

This year we did something different for the Holiday. We, 14 members of the Chitty Clan, packed our finest Summer attire and boarded a boat for the Caribbean. This trip was planned and organized my my Uncle Gary and Aunt Susie, whom did a wonderful job and we are very grateful for. We went on a Carnival Ship to Cozumel and Progresso. Here is our ship.I looked forward to relaxing and being in the sun. Sipping on Pina Colada's was only an added bonus. This ended up being the only one I had the whole time. The Chitty Women. (Mom, Aunt Charlotte, Aunt Janeice, Grandmother, Myself, Aunt Susie, Aunt Donna and Aunt Leah)Me and my parents dressed for our fancy dinner night. This cracked me up every time I saw it. All the horses/donkeys wore Sombreros. They looked so cute. I am sure they didn't think so. I think we should bring this back to the states. All Horses should wear hats. We ran into some bad weather while on the boat. We were supposed to have 4 days of Sun but only ended up having 2 due to a front that was coming in from the North causing 70 mph winds and 15 ft waves. Made it hard to lay in the sun, so we had to find ways to keep ourselves busy on the boat. Dad and I took a wine tasting class. We learned all about how to math wines with our food and what makes a wine red and white, blah blah blah.Uncle Sonny and I enjoying good ole Mexican Beer. We were trying to fit in with all the locals, but I think his outfit made us stand out a bit. Me and my Grandmother. She had a great time!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 08!! We were ready to ring in the New Year with style.
I have never seen my Grandmother Dance. She had such a good time she couldn't stop.My Cousin Taylor and I.

My parents and Aunt Susie and Uncle Gary. Can you tell they are brothers?
Our Boat at the dock with the other Carnival Ship. I don't know how they park these things.1st time ever to hold one of these suckers. He didn't look so threatening with his little outfit on.
In Cozumel we went on 2 seater powerboats to a remote island. These were tough to drive and when you hit a wave it would send you flying in the air. Very exciting but made me nervous thinking that we could flip the thing at anytime.Aunt Susie and I relaxing in the sun after the power boat ride. This ended up being our only port due to the storm.

I love every night how our towels would be in the shapes of animals. They made us a stingray, Dog, Elephant, Rabbit and the Monkey (shown). This is my Dad's best impression of a monkey.The trip was great minus the sea sick and me having a cold the whole time. I enjoy my family and they constantly entertain me.