NYC - Pre Christmas

Sorry, it’s been awhile since the last time this was updated….But since I was back home HOME, I was too busy enjoying myself to sit in front of the computer. (I save that for my boring life over in the States…*sigh*) Plus, do you have any idea how sloooooow the internet connection has been back in KL since the earthquake in Taiwan???

I have a ton of pictures taking up space in any computer I can land my hands on (namely, my work computer, home laptop & John’s work laptop) so I figured it was time for me to clean up my mess (One of my New Year’s resolution…be timely in my responses/TQ cards/correspondences)

So….we were back in NYC again the weekend after we left Buddy over at Mary Kay’s house…Figured that we might as well take advantage of our curfew-less weekend (not that we stayed out that late…we’re on “old people’s” time schedule, remember?)

John wanted to test out his new handheld GPS thingamajig that he's been begging and begging and begging to have (and I finally caved because I got so tired of hearing about it...Hmm...I wonder where he learnt THAT trick from??) and since one of his arguments for getting that darn thing was “Think about it, honey…When we are in NYC, we can find our way to every shop that you want!” – like THAT ever happened….the best I got was speedwalking past the entrance of the store that I want to go in)

So, there we were, walking along 5th Avenue, trying to find the Museum of Natural History (we got excited seeing the preview for “Night At The Museum” (starring Ben Stiller) and wanted to get a first hand feel of it)…We finally stopped at Central Park where John was trying in vain to get the Satellites God to align with his toy, and I was…entertaining myself, people watching and smelling the horse poop that permeates the air around that area (A horse drawn carriage is a VERY romantic idea…on paper…But when you’re actually there, seriously, how lovey-dovey can you get when all you smell is eau de poopy?? Bleh…)

Finally, I got tired and took out MY toy (Cellphone/PDA with internet access) and found the blo*dy address to the museum…It took me 5 seconds. Makes me wonder why I was standing around for 5 minutes waiting for my husband to (unsuccessfully) find the way to our destination.

For those who think that they will be stuck in a similar predicament, take note:

American Museum of Natural History

+ Add: 79th Street and Central Park West

+ Tel: 212-769-5100

+ Hours: Sun-Thurs 10am - 5.45pm, Fri & Sat 10am - 8.45pm

We did stumble upon Tavern on the Green though...It was GORGEOUS!!! We tried to see if we could squeeze in there for a lunch break, but alas, it was overflowing with people with the same idea in their minds…Next time, we’ll do better. This is definitely on my to-do list before we leave the New England area for good.

At least we got the chance to ogle at the people who had the foresight to make a reservation…hehehe…(the building had clear glass walls in the back area of the restaurant, where the topiary garden was located.)

Not that my outfit was that interesting, but since I'm bored, and I have a captive audience, I'm wearing: Juicy Couture Reversible Fur Hoodie in Ziggy, Arden B. pink L/S top, True Religon Joey jeans, Chanel Cambon tote, Uggs in Chocolate

That location must be magical, because the GPS unit finally decided to work, and we were on our merry way to the museum…Which, by the way, I have no idea why we got so excited about it anyway, because the displays/artifacts there were average at best…The most interesting event was probably watching the guys at the cafeteria try to sweep a cockroach into a dustpan (seriously, how many guys does it take? And it was only a baby roach...)

And of course, since it was close to the Christmas season: THE tree is UP! ("What tree", you ask?? Where have you been all your life? Don’t you watch movies??? I’m only talking about the legendary Christmas tree that’s been dragged out of its 50+ year old address in some forest only so it can be decked out in ornaments and twinkle lights by the truckloads for 3 weeks, ogled at by millions of people and then, when Christmas is over, it’s moved to a dump site where it’s left to die – what a life)

And don’t let the twinkle lights fool you. In broad daylight, the tree is as sparse as hair on an old man’s head.

Bah, humbug…..Merry Christmas, y’all!!

Bah, humbug...

I’m sick, my eyes ache, my nose is rubbed raw…thank goodness my throat is all better…I miss my dog (bawled when we had to leave on Saturday night). So, in a nut shell, I’m feeling crabby. However, one look at this:

*Chanel Medium Cambon Tote & my mini Christmas tree from John*

makes me feel much better! I love my hubby =D

Last Trip Down?

Sorry for the long lull...For some reason, I can't seem to gather up enough energy to do anything beyond the regular eat, sleep, go to work cycle. Now that the holiday season's here, I'm just impatiently fidgeting in my seat at work till I can finally shut down my computer and go HOME!

Nway, it was Ethan's 1st birthday party last weekend (he's not officially 1 year old yet...that would be on Nov 22nd), so we made the trip down to Maryland again. It’s probably one of the last (if not THE last) time we’ll be down at their house before they pack up and leave for Australia. Kinda sad, since I really love what they did with the place, and they are great company.

It’s been roughly 1 month since we’ve seen the baby? And he’s so big now!!! Still adorable, of course!! =D

It’s a pity that they are moving so far away…John will miss his buddy (Tommy). Those two are so alike that it's quite quite...interesting.

Guess Where We're Going on Apr 27, 07??

To see her:

We've got floor seats (not the greatest, cause it's to the side due to a bozo that I shall refrain from naming - grrrrrrr!!) and I can't wait!!!!

For those who don't know who that is in the video, it's Christina Aguilera, and she's bringing the Pussycat Dolls and Danity Kane, so even if it's not the best concert ever (which I highly doubt...it'd be AWESOME!) there's guaranteed to be a *ahem*...boob-packed performance!!

Baby Fever And A Trip Back To Michigan

This past weekend, we flew back to Michigan for a whirlwind trip to attend a friend’s wedding and our new nephew’s baptism. It was…..fun, but definitely exhausting. I think I needed another weekend just to recover from it! Getting out of bed on that following Monday was positively NOT fun.

We got to see all the babies (well, I’m talking about the “real” babies) of the family…Yay. Joey (Heidi and Phil’s baby) is definitely a cutie-pie. Anna’s all blond-haired, blue-eyed…Actually, come to think, they both are…Pity our kid won’t be….Ours will probably be the typical squinty-eyed, bowl-cut hair Asian baby

Speaking of babies, John is definitely experiencing baby fever. He can’t leave all the babies alone! So I’ve started my research on the whole labor issue…just reading about it makes me want to buy one of those old-fashioned chastity belts!! A few things I found out:

1) On a scale of 1 to 5, the pain level of natural childbirth is oh, about a TEN!!!!
2) There will be vaginal tearing…I KNEW that it’s not quite so natural for something that big to come out of something that small!!
3) There’s always the possibility that the mother will POOP when pushing
4) Even getting the epidural will hurt
5) And if I get a caesarian, I get to look forward to bedrest because my skin, muscle and whatnot were cut open and stretched out to take that darn baby out.

So tell me, why on earth would I willingly have a kid???!!! And this does not even take account of the hemorrhoids, the stretch marks and the all-nighters that we’ll have to go through once the baby is here….I told John that if he wants a baby, he’ll have to start the adoption process. There’re plenty of babies in China…and chances are, people won’t even notice the difference when they compare the baby to us…I’ll probably get, “Oh Steph, he/she looks JUST like you!” cause all Asians look the same to the Americans anyway!

Back to the weekend…It was so nice to socialize again!! John and I obviously don’t have a life back here in Connecticut, and to have a taste of what being around friends again felt so good! And his immediate family were all there, so we got to hang out with family too! Two birds with one stone, anyone??

John's Birthday

So John turned 25 (old fart!) on Sept 10 and guess where he wanted to celebrate it? I'll give you three guesses............what? What's that I hear?? Yup, New York City...Are you starting to see a pattern here? When we are bored, we go down to NYC. When it's a special day, we go down to NYC. When we need a treat, we go down to NYC. I'm surprised that the people at the train station haven't recognize us by now.

Once again, it was hop, hop, hop over to the Amtrak in Stamford (veeery close to A.Florence's place....we should make it a point to knock on her door someday) and onto the train. The weather was so-so...the moment I put on my coat and wrap my scarf around my neck, it gets hot. But when I take it all off, it's cold again...I bet that if the weather was human, it'd be a woman (who's going through menopause)

Since it's his day and all, I allowed him to "plan" this trip. Direct translation: Walk around aimlessly until it's time to go home. Boy, was that fun!

On our way to nowhere, we passed this amazing display of cakes, pastries and pies and naturally, we went in since it was Johnny-boy's snack time. I'm not really into sweet stuff lately, so i passed. Which was a good thing since a single serve was HUGE

Street fairs in NYC is pretty common during the weekends, and this weekend was no different. There were vendors selling fresh blended juice, popcorn (LOVE the kettle corn! We bought a big bag, and had to carry it for the rest of the day. It was worth it!!), kebabs, funnel cakes, etc etc etc....it was almost like the pasar malam down in Bangsar (not as crowded/ noisy though, but close enough)

Finally, after trying to send telepathic messages to John all day long, he got the hint and we went down to the Times Square area and toured Madame Tussauds' wax museum...Dang, the entrance fee was high! But it was definitely interesting....almost eerie. 50% of the time, it took me awhile to realize that the person in front of me was not even technically a "person"! The wax figures were THAT good! With this museum, we mere mortals got the opportunity to get chummy with Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson (whose shirt now says the Ex- Mrs Lachey – interesting. Good to know that they keep up with the current events!), the Beatles, etc etc etc...To be quite honest, I had no idea who most of the people were...

Boston, Boston....

That just doesn't have quite the same ring as "New York, New York", does it??

As you may (or may not, depending on how interested you are in our daily lives...which I can't really imagine to be that interesting, therefore the number of people interested in our lives would be practically....3) be aware of, we were in Boston during the Labor Day weekend with Florence, Tommy and his family. A. Florence managed to score a great deal at the newest Westin Hotel and I guess what better way to enjoy that than with family??!! *blink blink*

We didn't take much pictures (since we are still getting used to the idea of capturing our mundane lives in digital stills) but the trip itself was great fun...Actually, the most memorable thing about it is the insatiable appetite of both U.Tommy and my husband....Man, those two can eat!!

Ok, and here are the pictures that I know that you reeeally want to see...(and no, it's not of me...apparently I'm not cute enough... )

For those who would like to see a little Millard baby, I'm afraid that there's a little more waiting to be done! So this will have to suffice...

Notice that he's laying on the most padded area of the bed, where the comforter is folded twice?? These days, our bed is his bed, and his bed is his bed...He's such a little diva! THIS is why he'll probably die if we put him in a kennel during our trip home.

How Time Flies....

I can't believe that it's been almost a year since:

I'm so glad that I found that one special person I want to annoy for the rest of my life!!

Anyway, I'm at work (it's almost 9pm!!) waiting for John who's at this charity poker event downstairs...So, I'm utilizing my time in a "productive" manner! So here's a little something to take a trip down memory lane....

*You can click on the picture to make it bigger*

And once again, a very big, heartfelt thank you to all of you who took the time, energy and effort to be with me on my "special" day...I probably did not express it (enough) but it really meant a lot to me, especially during that time of my life. So, thank you again! And guess what? We get to do it ALLLLL over again in a few months time!!

Does This Sound Like Me??

An interesting site to find out what your birthdate, and your name says about you....

http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

Here's my Life Path...

The Life Path 4 suggests that you entered this plane with a natural genius for planning, fixing, building, and somehow, with practical application and cerebral excellence, making things work. You are one of the most trustworthy, practical, and down-to-earth of individuals; the cornerstone members of society. Indeed, as a Life Path 4, you are a builder of society. The cream of the crop in this Life Path can be a master builder in society. if you are among these highly talented people, you have an idealistic nature which is grounded in practical terms, allowing you to conceive grandiose, far-reaching schemes and carry them through to the end. If you desire and are willing to work for it, you can achieve enormous success, prestige, and fame. Obviously, everyone with a 4 Life Path does not become famous.

All with this Life Path have the ability to take orders and to carry them out with dedication and perseverance and many 4s live and work happily in this context. (I think I'm definitely one of those) But so often, the 4 Life Path is the entrepreneur and manager in the community. In either role, you always demand as much from yourself as you do from others, and sometimes a lot more.

You have the kind of will power that is often mistaken for sheer stubbornness. (Hear that hunny??!)You don't think of yourself as dogged, but your honest beliefs and that ever direct speech makes you come across as completely unremitting. Once a decision is made, it will be followed through to the conclusion, right, wrong, or indifferent. You are very set in your ways and determined to handle things the way you are so certain that they should be handled. Your tenacity of purpose and ability to get the job done borders on obsession. You are a wonderful manager with a great sense of how to get the job done.

You are an excellent organizer and planner because of your innate ability to view things in a very common sense and practical way. (Not that I'm saying that I am, but people have actually said this about me before...numerous times...so, is it true??) This stems from a strong desire to be a perfectionist in your labor. Planning is necessary to avoid errors. It's very likely that a 4 Life Path person invented the to-do list, because it is the rare Life Path 4 who doesn't have one by her side at all times. (Hahaha...That probably explains my unhealthy obsession with stationery!) Your life is programed in an orderly fashion permitting you to catalog and manage the flow of ideas and activities that fill your day. Indeed, you seem to function best when you are under the gun and facing a tough set of problems.

Loyal and devoted, you make the best of your marriage, and you are always the good provider. Friends may be few in number, but you are very close to them and once friendships are made, they often last a lifetime. (So THAT'S why I don't have any friends!! )

The number 4 is solidly associated with the element of earth from which it gains its strength and utter sense of reality. You are one of the most dependable people you know. If patience and determination can ever win, you are sure to achieve great success in life. Often, you are called on to take care of others; to finish what they have started. It may not seem fair and probably isn't, but it may be the key to your accomplishment and reputation.

The negative side of the 4 can prove dogmatic to an excess, narrow-minded, and repressive. A lot of skin-deep people turn you off, and you lack the tact to keep your feelings from being totally clear to all around. Additionally, the negative 4 has a bad tendency to get caught up in the daily routine of affairs, missing the big picture and major opportunities that come along once in a while. (Quite, quite true, I'm afraid)

John's Birthday Weekend - Friday

Because I had a whole week of "celebration" for my birthday this year (it started on the Friday before when my sweetie in-laws threw me a surprise "party"), my husband thought it was only fair that he had one too. But since his falls on a weekend, whereas mine was on a dreary Wednesday (probably one of the dullest days of the week), he only got 3 days (which was plenty enough for the both of us to gain a significant amount of pudge, by the way!) to do anything he pleased with minimal nagging on my part. Oh dear.....

So at 11pm on the Friday night, we began our 1 hour long drive to the casino (the 3 wrong turns didn't help the total length of the journey). It was one of the most desolated areas I can think of to put a casino on. I mean, if I had to do it again, I wouldn't drive that 8 miles of winding country roads (avid gambler that I am not) to get to Foxwoods again...I'll just hop over to Mohegan Sun, located probably right off the highway, not 5 minutes away from the Foxwoods exit.

But in the middle of nowhere, there rises this monstrous construction, complete with spotlights...It's just so random...

Anyways, there are 3 separate casinos in the building, each tied to a different hotel *I think*. We first went to the Great Ceder Casino, since we parked at the Great Ceder hotel...It was mainly just slot machines there. We played (and lost) $5 there and moved on. He was in search of a roulette table...

Next up was the Grand Pequot Casino in the Grand Pequot Tower. John got roulette happy whilst I wandered around, people-watching until I decided to try my luck on a particular slot-machine halfway down an isolated row...Call it a coincidence, but I won $17.50 on my very first *run* (is that what they call it?) I took the money and cabut!!! (Hey, I'm not rich enough to risk it!)

Birthday boy wasn't so lucky (or perhaps he just didn't stop at the right time)....we left after he spent his agreed upon sum (even then, I had to drag him kicking and screaming away from that room of booze, smoke, greed & gluttony). Poor John....

Ah well, nothing that a huge ice-cream cone won't cure!

Dear Santa...

Since it's a Friday (and therefore the day tends to drag on and on and on until the clock strikes 5pm), and I'm bored out of my mind, I've created a "Dear Santa" list on the side bar to get the things I'm currently lusting after, out in the open. Who knows, perhaps one of these will land on my doorstep because I'm such a good girl.

*blink blink*

Our Connecticut "Home"

Since we've only moved 3 times in the last....oh, TWO YEARS (!!!), I've pretty much given up the idea of living in an area PERMANENTLY. Because given my husband's nomidic tendencies of never being able to stay at a particular position for long, I know from experience not to get overly attached to a particular location because the moment I do, that's when I'll receive news that we'll be moving within the next week.

However, since I was given forewarning that this little stint in the East coast has an expiration date, I've come to really appreciate it for what it is, and will probably try to fit in as much sightseeing as possible in this beautiful New England territory.

What I do like about our current apartment is that it feels homey. Our Kentucky place was simply too big (and had too little nooks and crannies) for it to be a real home.

And I do like that it has a bigger closet that our previous residence. Finally, I can have my "side" of the closet once more!

Our First ORGANIZED Trip to NYC

So, after our last trip to the city (which ended up with the both of us sitting in front of the library, with arms crossed and huffing away), it was time for us to get organized, and to actually have a plan before venturing back to the best city in the world.

So, I turned to my resourceful girls from my forum and was recommended this. For those who are extremely into shopping (i.e. Moi), this is like the treasure map to shopping in NYC! Notice that it only has certain areas in the city (namely, areas that would cause your credit card to go into overdrive, and your significant partner to break out into a cold sweat because wifey over here is hyperventilating at all the gorgeous displays & goods). So, being the 'kiasu' person that I am, I printed off all of them (using the office printer, mind you), and sneaked back into my cubicle and proceeded to lay each of them out and taped them all together (again, by using office supplies). And voila! A new, informative map that not only shows us a detailed view of the streets in Manhattan, but also where the metro stations, restaurants, museums, landmarks are. More importantly, it also has the more important information that other maps sorely lack: where all the good shops are located. =D

Today, to celebrate Father's Day (apparently having a puppy gives one the right to be called a parent, along with all its fringe 'benefits'), of course my dear husband would want to go down to New York City and inhale all its glorious dust. So we hopped on the Metro, landed in the Grand Central, and started our day.

First stop: Lunch (hey, I was hungry and whiny...If there's something that can shut me up - at least, literally - is to have me a whole mouth of hot food!) Went to this place called Burger Heaven - pretty cool decor, but was not that impressed with the staff. Food was decent

Next: The Central Park Zoo.
Yes, there's an actual zoo in the middle of this concrete jungle, complete with live wild animals.(Where do you think the animals from the movie 'Madagascar' were from??)

Anyhoo, me being the animal enthusiast, I went completely gaga there...yes, I was pushing and shoving along with all the LITTLE kids for a good viewing spot...hey, just because you're 5 doesn't give you more of a right to be in a prime nose-pressing-against-the-glass position!

My favourite was the polar bear, who appears to be a creature of habit since he was swimming from point A to point B the whole time we were there (for, oh...about 30 minutes) Lucky for my husband, since he apparently lacks the whole hand-eye coordination thing...For goodness sake, that bear is already helping you by being in the same spot every 20 seconds...how can you miss it???!!

I'm wearing: Tara Jarmon for Target babydoll dress, Chanel 5087-H sunglasses, Gucci Horsebit Hobo bag

After the zoo, we took a cab (yes, a cab...for the first and last time ever) down over to SOHO for me to oogle at some Balenciagas...Sadly, I couldn't find the one I was lusting over. Ah well...

In the process of finding the Chinese dim sum restaurant we were going to for dinner, we got a little.....lost. And John was no help as he was too busy laughing at me...Apparently I was an amusing sight...hmph!

We finally said "forget it" to finding a Metro station and just walked all the way from SOHO to Chelsea. At least we got to see the infamous Magnolia Bakery (from Sex & the City)...Next time, we'll actually take the time to line up around the block to get our hands on the cupcakes...

When we were making our way back to the Grand Central, we stumbled upon Times Square. It was John's first time there, and yes, I said "stumbled"...Even though I've been there before, I'm so directionally challanged that for me to land up where I want to land up is always a surprise. Put me in a mall, however....