home alone

This week started my summer without Mike.

I've been taking it easy when I come home for the most part. The worst thing is trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I just have little ideas/motivation, except for the fact that I'm usually pretty hungry and wants something right away. I'm really trying not to take the easy way out and just do cereal or simple salads. I know that's not healthy. I'm working on it slowly.

Today is my day for cleaning, as I didn't do much throughout the week, and it definitely needs it. Part of that means updating my photos, so here are some pictures from my trip:

First I have to explain that on Saturday, Mike and I went walking around Central park and saw some real characters! It was great fun. The best part was happening upon the rollerskating rink. They do this every weekend and holiday during the summer, and anyone who wants can come and rollerskate/rollerblade! It was wild! and the music was great. Here are a couple of clips and pictures of some of the crazy people we saw and met:

This guy had 3 waterbottles balanced on his head while he skated around:



And did his own little 'show':



This guy was selling CD's and talking about his prodigy (above) - guess the terrycloth thing is a linking fashion statement!



A shot of half the circle:



loved his hat:



These video's give you an idea of the crazy skating that was going on - The guy in the black pants had a metal belt that read SEXY SEXY SEXY all the way around - and he had the moves (although I didn't capture them well on here)



And if you didn't know better, you would think this was a shot of my brother (Gabriella's dad) - he really really reminded me of Carlo - even with his dancing! He was completely cracking me up!

The batman guy:



His dancing:



Presenting - Dotty the Chicken! She needs a few more spots, but I'm pleased with how she came out. She looks very regal here I think:


Here's a 'cousins' shot, including the one in my growing belly:



My other niece Gabriella and her new pink hat:



The little guys we found all over union station that cracked us up, and made my feet a little less sore while walking around:







Overall, I'm really glad I was able to spend the time with Mike - I think it was good for both of us - a nice transition. We're able to Skype most nights, so that makes it easier too. Plus, I keep up with his new blog (not to be confused with his website) where he's documenting what he's doing at his internship.

Next time I'll and post more pictures of me an my belly - first I have to get someone to take some pictures for me!

leaving the city

So my week with Mike in NY is over - so sad. It's definitely going to be different being at home without him in SC - the pregnancy just adds an unknown factor, but I'll take it one day at a time. 

While we were here, we visited the MOMA museum and I realized ... I don' t get modern art. I just don't get it. I mean, there were some pieces that were nice and that I saw took talent, but there were 3 times as many that just didn't make any sense to me - not visually, emotionally or any other way. It probably didn't help that I was exhausted after walking quite a bit, as I took the train to go see Mike's work first, and let me tell you - NY blocks are long - especially when you've been sitting on your butt for the previous few weeks. I do need to get some exercise in there. I was also asked, for the first time, in pubic, by a stranger, if I was pregnant! I guess I'm really showing then! We were waiting in line to check Mike's backpack and the guard directing people looked at me - did a double take and then said "Are you pregnant!?!" Like - what is a pregnant lady doing waiting in this line? or at the museum at all? It was a bit odd. It may have been what I was wearing or how I was standing, but it was definitely a shocker. 

We've also been to two different villages - one near Mike's work in Greenpoint, and one called Williamsburg - both cute areas with little shops and restaurants. We've had NY and NJ pizza and I do like their crusts - not like you can find in the south. Today we're thinking of hitting Central Park and tomorrow I head back to SC.

I was able to upload the video of my cute niece singing on Memorial Day - here is her singing debut to the world:

 

She's so cute!! I also finished the chicken - well except for a couple of spots, but pictures will have to wait until I get back to Charleston. I am working on a baby jacket by Debbie Bliss in a pretty plum color and here is the Ravelry link, but pictures would just bore you as it's just stockinette right now. 

Off to the park - and maybe a yarn store - see ya Brooklyn!

trying to break out of the laziness slump

...which in this case, starts with a bit of overdue blogging. I know I've not been posting for a while - so I'll try to do a recap of what's been going on with us here in SC.

First off - Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there, and mothers-to-be (Amy and Kristin - my SIL's included!!) May your day be joyous and .. simply wonderful! Mike and I are quietly celebrating our 6-yr anniversary as well today :) And he has started his own blog to write about his plaster adventures.

What I've been up to...the main thing that's been going on, is we've been trying to work Mike's internship for the summer. As part of his schooling, Mike is supposed to work for a company, in his trade, for the summer to gain experience. It can be anywhere in the world, it's just supposed to be at least 8 wks and paid. He's been working on finding one since December, and due to one thing after another - nothing was working out. Finally after writing to a company he was thoroughly impressed with, Mike was offered a 12 wk part-time internship in NYC! And, of course, the next day his school presented him with an opportunity for an internship in England. Now what to do!?

So then, a 6wk England/6wk NY internship was suggested, but didn't fit well with the NYC parameters and so, upon their suggestion, he focused on the England opportunity - only to have it fall through due to the company not being prepared for an international student and not having a work visa ready. Luckily, the company in NY, Foster-Reeve generously extended their offer again and Mike has accepted for 8wks. YEah!! The stress of not-knowing and waiting to hear back was almost worse than not having one.

Now Mike is trying to find some temporary housing in the lower Manhattan/Upper Brooklyn area for the summer months of June and July. (Email me if you know of anything!!) Once that is settled, we'll decide for what extent of time I'll be joining him. This will be the first time in the 6 years (as of today- Happy Anniversary Honey!) we've been apart where I'll be living by myself. The previous two times we were apart, I was either staying with family or had roommates move in for the interim. It'll be interesting - especially with my current developments (to be discussed in a future post - and I promise it won't be too long before I post and it'll include an explanation of another reason for the lack of blogging lately). We've got a couple things in the works and we'll just have to wait and see what works out.

In other 'happenings', I did get to see the Cirque du Soleil a few weeks ago here in Charleston - it was really amazing. There were just so many people doing things you would have thought were not doable! There were trapeze artists, jugglers, pole climbers, flippers, people doing all sorts of acrobatics on top of one another - it was really neat. The arena was also small enough that there really wasn't a bad seat in the house. I didn't quite understand the storyline, but it kept me engaged anyway.

In knitting news, I haven't been doing much knitting. More so the equivalent of pushing your peas around your plate but not really eating them - you know - looking at lots of patterns, and sorting through my stash, but not coming up with much. I'm in a bit of a knitting slump, but here are some pictures of a couple of projects.

My finished cable hat called Clamber or the Lilac Cable hat:



I am very pleased with how it came out, and it'll go perfectly with my Evangeline hand-warmers - although it may be a while before I'm able to wear either of them with summer being here but that's what I get for taking so long to get things done.

I have gotten a bit farther with my Dotty chicken thanks to the ladies at Knit-nite the other night. It was looking a bit phallic and I wasn't happy with the way it was turning out, so it had been put on hold, but with a bit of encouragement, it's looking a bit more like a chicken:


I really like the way the beak came out, but I'm not really thrilled with the crown, I may redo it. Now I need to fix up the tail feathers and add some spots!

So that's enough for today - I'll be back to write more soon - promise. No 3 week hiatus this time. And pictures and news next time. Just have to finalize a few things at work first....