Changes.

It seems that everyone we know is trying to find jobs, either here in NY or someplace else. Our friends Jeff and Tori are moving on officially this month, Jeff to a PhD program in Rochester & Tori a new job in Houston. They are two of my favorite people, so it's a bit sad. :'(

Last night, we went to dinner with Tori and Ian to Cafe' Havana in Soho for some moritos and yummy cuban food. I love them both dearly, the chemistry of our group is so great. Crazy to think a piece of the puzzle will be missing in a few weeks...

Joey's been job searching... and who know where that end result will spit us out. So, it's all a little crazy right now.

Moving on to something more fun...

I went searching for some new music right before our getaway trip that subtly expressed- hey, it's summer! Here's what I came up with:

1. Matt Costa- Sunshine

2. Sufjan Stevens- Holland

3. Coconut Records- West Coast

4. Matt Costa-Songs We Sing

5. Eagles- Hotel California

6. Anna Nalik- Breathe (2AM)

7. Sufjan Stevens- The One I Love

8. Matt Costa- Whiskey and Wine

9. Coconut Records- Ask Her to Dance

10. Coconut Records- Nighttiming

11. Matt Costa- Wash Away

12. Sufjan Stevens- Chicago

13. Creedence Clearwater Revival- Have You Ever Seen The Rain

14. Otis Redding- Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay

15. Matt Costa- Yellow Taxi

16. Jason Mraz- I'm Yours

17. Goo Goo Dolls- Iris

18. Lily Allen- LDN

19. Matt Costa-Sweet Rose

20. Json Mraz- Lucky

21. Matt Costa-These Arms

My idol.

My life will be complete if we can get tickets to this...

Keep your fingers crossed on Monday at 10 AM :)

Abs Diet Progress. (Since I know you are all dying to know.....rolls eyes)

Tonight was my first night starting the weights sector... and I quickly learned that Mr. Triceps Pushdown and Mr. Benchpress are going to be my mortal enemies... *angry face*

Lucy is amused by the whole ordeal. While I'm doing crunches she will play with my hair....which I like to think of as mini pep talks. :)

I do feel so much healthier already, and it's only been two weeks. I have more energy and am rarely hungry because of the encouraged snacking. I've reunited with whole wheats, protein shakes, and fruit.

As I am writing this, I feel like a complete hypocrite because I am having flashbacks from this weekend....

Joey and I stopped at Walmart in the hopping town of Catskill for some healthy granola bars for our hiking trip. Good plan, right? Well, we start weaving in and out of aisles looking for them and happened to go down that very evil/glorious aisle of Little Debbie, Entemann's, etc.... causing all hell to break loose. We grabbed 2 cartons of Newtons, a jumbo box of Little Debbie brownies, cheese crackers, cans of guava juice...we looked like we had just broken away from fat camp.

God I miss Walmart! New Yorkers are so deprived when it comes to variety of food. The stores are smaller, so the selection shrinks drastically. It stinks!

Anywho, last night I went with my friend Beth to a free night on Museum Mile. From 6-9PM, New Yorkers had free access to any museum along 5th Avenue. Our choice was the Guggenheim, which was awesome. I've always been a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright and it was amazing to see all of the sketches and models that he created. Here's an inside view of the museum:

Nature trip.

The things I love the most about life are the simple things.

This trip to the Catskills had it all: dandelions, chipmunks, pickup trucks, bluegrass music, creeks, wildflowers, and nice people.

Needless to say I got in touch with my Southern roots.

In all honesty, do you want to know what my favorite part of the trip was? Driving along Route 23 with the wind blowing in my hair and bluegrass/country music blaring in the background of our enormous rented pickup truck. :)

Joey wasn't too keen on the pickup at first...I laughed about it and sang the "Ford truck man" to him.

We drove through these super cute small towns that moved at a much slower pace than Manhattan. We stopped at this place called "Couchie's Corner" for some lunch, which apparently only served breakfast on Saturdays and closed shop at 12:00 :) We were the only people in there, and the owners were super chatty and curious. The guy wanted to know why we picked to come to the Catskills and seemed to be outraged by the concept. He said, there's nothing out here. Our response was....that was the point. I will say, those ham and cheese omelets were the best I've ever had. Hands down.

Here is Route 23.

The owner at the lodge was like a wise old owl. He knew everything there was to know, and was more than happy to help with our clueless questions. For you 'Office' fans, I felt like we were staying at Dwight's beet farm at times. The owner checked us in, cleaned the pool, and was the saxophone player at the steak restaurant. A renaissance man.

There was a pool, basketball court, and little benches by the creek. We went white water tubing Saturday, which was a wild experience. When I get the pictures back from my waterproof camera I'll post about it.

I think the fresh air and change of scenery helped Joey clear his head for comps. He managed to fly through his set of 'R' questions, which was awesome.

Hiking.

Sunday we went out to the Kaaterskill falls. We spotted this waterfall while driving along the winding Route 23, plus the owner of our lodge highly recommended the trail. So we checked it out. :)

I love the clay color of the stone here. It reminds me of the Grand Canyon.

I decided to take my shoes off and walk around the creek water. I found some cool stones (nopt rocks, Joey) and kept them as souvenirs.

Me-ooow. Joey and his poses...

This is my favorite cause it looks like it's from Jurassic Park. Pay attention to the very top waterfall...cause you'll see it again soon.

For the second part of the hike we followed this little dirt path. In the distance you could hear soothing water falling and little birds chirping. There were dandelions and wild flowers everywhere. *sigh*

Remember the very top waterfall I told you to remember? That was the end result for this trail, and here is the view. Amazing...

Here is the water right before it drops off.

Joey wasn't so sure about this.

This is as far as he would go, which is still pretty far.

Standing so close to the edge was so tense. It was like I was in a scary dream, waiting for an innocent foot slip or misstep to push me over the edge.

Queen of the world ;)

Here is the view below us. This 14 year old kid walked over to the edge and was leaning over while laughing. I told him- pleeease don't do that!! His sister grabbed his arm to come back, which could have been bad if he pulled away. Ugh, scary!

Checked out.

Could I have one order of "no cars honking, crowded concrete streets, or homeless/schizophrenic people, with some peace and quiet on the side" please?

Today, we leave for the Catskill Mountains for tubing, water parks, and hiking. It's safe to say that we've both been looking forward to this weekend for a while now. While Joey will still have to study, it will be a nice chance for us to relax and clear our heads.

Before moving here, I never really craved the woods or had any desire to go on a hike. I feel like Manhattanites (that's a silly word) crave these very basic, primal needs since they are deprived of them on a daily basis. To be fair, we do have Central Park. And while it is beautiful in all it's magnificence, there are still people within a 50 foot radius of you at all times. Plus you can never really get away from the incessant car honks.

Now I am going to download some cool nature applications for my iphone. One will help you identify poison ivy, ticks, etc. The other one is a compass... exciting stuff I know.

Adios Amigos. :)

Crime scene mystery on W 73rd St.

Tenant Joseph Sylvester entered apartment at 14:00 hours and was greeted with a broken souvenir, chipped bass, broken candle holder, and knocked over books.

Plausible causes for the above scenario:

A: The gust from the air conditioner was so strong it caused a domino effect on the mantle. First the books, causing the Las Vegas souvenir and candle holder to topple over, then hitting the top of Joey's beautiful bass before crashing unto the floor.

B: Lucy leapt two feet from the arm of a chair unto the mantle, causing the same domino effect stated above.

C: Joey really has in the closet anger issues and wanted to break things when he got home....(comps have been stressing him out)

All of the books that caused this mess were laying on the mantle. All except for one, that was laying on the floor: How to live with a crazy, neurotic cat.

Joey searched the mantle for paw prints but didn't find any. Lucy's trial date is being discussed. If found guilty, she will be sentenced to community service in the apartment to correct the bad behavior.