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....