Trash Digger

 

New York Day 4: Originally I wasn’t planning on writing about this day but some drama happened at JFK and it is all because of the pizza and maybe the ribs and probably the mac and cheese plus some stupidity…you know how that song goes by Jamie Foxx…”Blame it on the a a a Alcohol.” My song title for the day is, “Blame it on the p p p p Pizza.” Let me explain. As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, we ate like little piggies. When we were shopping, I bought a ring…not an expensive one but one I was planning on wearing with a ring Louis gave me for my 25^th wedding anniversary…one problem…fat fingers from my bad vacation diet. I was so enamored with my purchase, I put it on and put my anniversary ring in my purse for safe keeping.  When I got on the airport shuttle, I decided to put it back on my finger but you know what….my dang fingers are still swollen! I should have just put it back in my purse, but I slipped it on my pinkie. When we got out of the shuttle, it started pouring rain and we were in a hurry to get out and into the terminal. I reached into my pocket for tip money, then ran inside to check in. I then went into the restroom (sorry but this is important to the story) and when I was washing my hands and had just thrown the towel into the trash, my heart stopped…my ring was gone! I immediately sat on the floor and dug through an airport trashcan, touching every paper towel in there desperately searching for my ring…pretty gross. We then retraced all of my steps and posted Diane as luggage watcher as Nancy and me searched for the ring. We think it probably fell out when I reached in my pocket for the tip money. It is lost and someone is now enjoying my nice ring. Hate to think of someone wearing my ring but more than that I really hated to tell Louis the bad news. I couldn’t even bear to call him. I had to send him a text with lots of I’m sorry and pictures of hearts. He was great about it and told me not to worry and to have a great flight. I couldn’t even read the text aloud to the girls as it choked me up. This July is our 30^th anniversary and I think I’ll have to keep him for another 30 years.

So up until the last day, our New York adventure was great fun. We will probably have to join Weight Watchers or go to food rehab. I highly recommend when you travel to take your trainer with you like I did. When I show up to work out, she will be as puffed out as I am…share the guilt.

Have you ever lost something really special to you?

Eat Yourself Silly

New York Day 3:  Before we left on our trip, several friends recommended restaurants that we had to try. We did our best but honestly there weren’t enough meals in three days to hit them all. On Saturday, we decided to ride the subway down to Bleecker Street, one of the oldest streets in New York. It runs though Greenwich Village. Before we left, my friend, Gina, told me about a great subway app. You just put in where you are and where you want to go and bam…you get directions on where the closest subway station is and which train to hop on. This is a marvelous invention. We never got on the wrong train and we rode them all over town. It was nearing lunch time and Nancy’s friend told her about a place called, John’s Pizza of Bleecker Street. We went in and I can’t even describe how wonderful it smelled. I guess it is one of those little places that the locals enjoy. It was established in 1929 and the pizza is baked in coal fired brick ovens. The cozy decor probably hasn't changed much and all the booths had initials and small carvings  by customers past. We sat down and I don’t know what came over us but we all ordered a beer (which is rare for me and I think it was Diane’s first beer she had ever ordered). Then we ordered two pizzas…Nancy and Diane shared a large and I ordered a medium and ate the whole thing except one slice. Now I totally could have eaten that slice but I just couldn’t live with myself knowing I ate an ENTIRE pizza. We polished off two pizzas except for that one slice I didn't have the guts to eat...literally! Our table was right by the open kitchen and we told the surly pizza guru that he made the best pizza we had ever had. He asked us where we were from and Diane told him California...he replied, "Yeah there is no good pizza in California." Compared to what we demolished at lunch, he was right. As I sit on the plane, I really wish we had ordered a pizza to go. 

Waiting for the large pizza to arrive

We spent the rest of the day sightseeing and shopping and by the time we got home, we were tired. It was our last night in New York and we couldn’t just sit in our apartment…where to go to dinner?? My friend Jamie just shared with me a great quote, “If you don’t get out of the bottle, you can’t read the label.” This really pertained to us our last night because we spent a lot of time running around the city but never looked in our own neighborhood. Right next door to our apartment was a restaurant called, Neely’s. I don’t know if you have seen the Neely’s cooking show on the Food Network but they are a cute couple who specialize in comfort food. We made reservations and even after we consumed mass quantities of pizza, we were ready to have us some barbeque. Oh my gosh…we took our already sodium overdosed bodies into that restaurant and ate like it was our last meal on death row. We had these amazing spicy passion fruit drinks that had some kind of jalapeno and passion fruit juice. It had a hot little kick when it hit your throat. We then ordered hushpuppies and deep fried pickles but we didn’t stop there. I had delicious baby back ribs with a side of mac and cheese and Diane and Nancy ordered beer can chicken with some mac on the side. What started out as a fine meal ended up as, “What were we thinking???” Our appendages are still swollen from all the bad eats but we promise to be good starting tomorrow!

Nancy and Diane with Lady Liberty...she looks bigger on TV!

Saturday was a great day, with great memories. I wish laughing burned all the calories we took in that day….we’d be skinny by now.

Central Park and Jesus

New York, Day 2- Once again the day was way too warm to wear my new coat and boots I bought for New York. We slept in since we had had zero sleep the night before and the three-hour time difference was killing us. Since the morning (okay, it was really late in the morning) was so beautiful and sunny, we put on our running clothes and headed to Central Park…only thing is, is that we did no running. We were way too busy looking at all the scenery and taking pictures. A lot of joggers passed by us and I thought, “How cool would it be to say that I ran through Central Park” but instead I just bought a New York running store T-shirt, which works for me. The park was full of New Yorkers who thought it was summer and took Friday off work just to enjoy the park. It was so warm that the ice skating rink even had a layer of water on top. We found the Bethesda Fountain and heard singing. There was a group under the bridge singing pretty harmony and an audience soon gathered. We then went over by the fountain and listened to two young women singing with ukuleles. Diane felt compelled to give them money as well as all the other street performers. She started her own scholarship program for starving artist.

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Late in the afternoon we went over to Times Square and bought same day tickets for Godspell.  Nancy suggested it and tickets were available. Nancy had always loved the music from it, so we trusted her and we are so glad we got to see it. Godspell was a musical originally done in the 1970’s so I thought it was going to have a 70’s hippie vibe. The music is the same but the dialogue has been updated for today. It was performed in a small theater in the round. We had great seats. Godspell is based on the parables of Jesus and set to music. I’m sure it was popular in the 70’s because of the Jesus Freak movement. It’s funny; cause the very same musical is relevant still 40 years later. I guess that is because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is timeless. I think the play really represented Jesus well which is weird in these modern times. He was portrayed as loving, generous, encouraging and sacrificial. The story was so powerful that people were emotional when the play was over. We topped off the evening with cheese cake and then walked lots of city blocks to ease the guilt.

A New York Minute...or how to survive Manhattan on 60 seconds of sleep

Day 1:  This is my fourth trip to New York and each time I have traveled here, I have taken the red-eye flight. I now understand the terminology. Nancy got about one hour of sleep and she was the lucky one. Diane and I slept for about a minute...total. I don't know; maybe it was the seat that only reclined 2 degrees; maybe it was the turbulence over the Rocky Mountains that made me fearful the rest of the flight. All I know is when I walked to the back of the plane EVERYONE was asleep under coats and sweaters looking like they were filming a glorious mattress commercial. I was envious of their slumber and wished I was more like my husband who can fall asleep sitting anywhere.


We hit the ground running. The fun started with a shuttle ride from JFK. It looked like a clown car with all the luggage and the 43 people in it. The ride was interesting as lines on the road seem subjective to most drivers here. Horns were blaring and breaks squealing. Luckily we were the second group dropped off. We checked into our apartment and headed out. Just like all fine New York apartments, this one comes with a doorman. Not one in a fancy coat who opens the doors for you, but one of the crazy variety. He was a very friendly old guy who found out that we were from California. He went on to tell us his life story and about visiting California 20 years ago. He even showed me pictures of himself when he was a little boy that he kept in a baggie at the front desk. Now every time we walk by the desk, we try hard not to make eye contact but to no avail...he talks to us anyways. He kind of gave us the heebie jeebies last night as he was not at his desk...he was walking down OUR hallway with a million keys in his hands. We were worried that maybe he made a visit to our apartment when we were out. Luckily, he has the weekend off! We covered most of Manhattan that day. We went all the way down to Battery Park to gaze at the Statue of Liberty across the water, (kinda like Chevy Chase looked at the Grand Canyon in the movie, Vacation), visited Ground Zero Memorial, went to Times Square and finished the night with the view from the top of the Empire State Building...all on NO SLEEP. By the end of the evening when we were in line for the elevator at Empire State Building, we felt like we were at Disneyland at midnight and our kids just wanted one more ride. By the time we rode the subway home and walked the few blocks to our place it was past midnight. We turned in around 1 am and we all slept like rocks.

Day 1, on our terrace...I felt as tired as I look.  This is a bad, funny picture!

I am too old for the red-eye but I know I can sleep when I'm dead....and this almost killed me. See you tomorrow.

The Real Housewives of Cucamonga take on Manhattan

In two short days a few of us housewives, three to be exact, are going to New York for an extended weekend. We will be leaving the guys behind. As much as I love to travel with my husband, there is nothing like a girl's trip. I have been to New York three times before...once on a couple's trip, once with my family for a surprise 40th birthday trip and a few years ago, my sis and three girlfriends flew there to walk in a half marathon for "mature women."

When it is just the girls, the remote control is never touched....in fact, the TV is rarely on. It is all about go, go, go. We land at 8 am and will not land in our beds until late in the evening after a very cosmopolitan dining experience at around 10 pm.  Then, we'll walk back to our east side apartment around midnight. Of course the three hour time difference doesn't hurt!

The weather is suppose to be mild. I am packing a different kind of coat for each day, as the weather is changing from pleasant to cooler over the weekend. I plan on blogging throughout our trip. This is Diane's first New York adventure and I think Nancy was there once when she was a kid. That means I have to be the tour guide and subway aficionado. We will follow strict diet guidelines....only eat at indigenous restaurants. A bagel or two (okay, maybe one every morning) will be a must as well as a pretzel with mustard from a street vendor. 

The Cucamonga Housewives are ready for adventure, not the Sex in the City variety but long walks (possibly a jog, just so I can say I ran) through Central Park, a stroll up 5th Avenue (where I will say, over and over..."I can't believe I'm walking up 5th Avenue") a visit to Ground Zero, a Broadway musical and the most but necessary touristy thing of all, a city view from the top of the Empire State Bldg.

Stay tune. I'll post pics. We will not be wearing our typical sparkly evening gowns, halter tops and diamonds. We will leave those in Cucamonga. We will try to blend in with the natives, because we will not have time to stop to sign autographs.

What is your favorite thing to do or favorite restaurant in New York?

Stop This Train

Don't know how else to say it, don't want to see my parents go
One generation's length away
From fighting life out on my own

Stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't but honestly won't someone stop this train

So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game to find away to say that life has just begun
Had a talk with my old man
Said help me understand
He said turn 68, you'll renegotiate
Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
Don't think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly we'll never stop this train

See once in a while when it's good
It'll feel like it should
And they're all still around
And you're still safe and sound
And you don't miss a thing
'til you cry when you're driving away in the dark.



I love the lyrics to this song and I think it sums up what I am feeling this week. Yesterday, my baby turned 22 and today, my baby sister turned 50. I know, I know...it's so cliche to say, "Where does the time go?" but really....WHERE DOES THE TIME GO? My life is going by so fast and I worry that I spend my time waisting most of it. If I don't make a conscious effort every day to accomplish something, even if it is just dusting or folding towels, I can spend too much time on the computer, running to Target for things I don't need or searching for the perfect lip gloss (I have about 12 in my drawer practically the same color). Yet I fall in bed every night like I was doing something important like a 15 hour brain surgery. Really my life is not that complicated but I think I have reached a point where I just kind of wander from mindless task to mindless task. I know...I'm living the dream. There are people, like my sister who run two dental practices, sits on a little league board (mind you, has no kids in little league), is heavily involved in her son's lives, has three horses that need to be fed and exercised and an array of other important activities. She would love a day of mindless running around. I hate to say this, but I think I need a job...okay a part-time job. Wait, if I got a job, wouldn't my days even go by faster?


Okay, maybe I don't need a job but maybe what I need to do is take on the day and squeeze as much valuable living into it that I can so when I do fall into bed exhausted, it was because I did something worthwhile. Since my son's injury, I have had to help him with his daily stuff but with each day, he needs me less and less. It's kinda like when he went off to kindergarten, I needed to re-evaluate. I think I am getting to the same place. Kristin has moved out and Brian can pretty much take care of himself now....where does that leave me?


In eight very short years I will be an age that starts with a six!! I'm not quite sure how that happened. I do know when I was working and raising kids the days flew by but I never expected that time of my life to be over so soon. I remember thinking, "I can't wait to be able to go to a store and have Brian not run around under the racks of clothes." and "soon, Kristin will be old enough to babysit her brother and we can go out without having to pay a sitter." Those days came and went. I guess I can look forward to chasing my grand (gulp) kids around department stores.


I think I need more than a to-do list to make my life meaningful...plus I hate list...too confining and rigid. How do we stop or just slow down this runaway train? Maybe that is the wrong question. What if we didn't stop it but totally enjoyed it like a thrilling roller coaster ride? What if life was so full and rich that we actually wanted the train to keep going so when the ride was over, we giggled and screamed, "I want to ride some more!" Just like the lyric says, "Don't for a minute, change the place you're in." I've got to learn to appreciate the time I am living in now...not wish for younger days and not worry too much about the future.


 I gotta go....got a train to catch!

Sixteen Candles

Kathy, I mean Kate, and me 2012

Yesterday, I made the two hour drive to San Diego to see one my best friends. Okay, let me explain. Girls are the only ones who care about the "best friend" title so not to offend my best friend, Diane, of 30 years, or Chris, my childhood best friend, or my sister, Robin, who is like a best friend or my cousin, Jana, who I love like a best friend, Pam who I worked with for 16 years or Gina who I serve at church with....WAIT, am I the luckiest girl or what??? Now that you all know how important you are to me, I will continue. I met Kathy in the 7th grade at a small, neighborhood church, New Haven, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was short, (everyone was shorter than me, even then) freckled face, funny and had the guts that I wasn't born with. She liked Peter Frampton, Kansas, and Gary Wright and still to this day when I hear the song "Dreamweaver" it takes me back to her yellow bedroom with a white fur bedspread...so cool in 1975. When she put that album on, she would stand there, put her hands in the air and sing it like she was performing at Madison Square Garden. All talking had to stop and we had to pay homage to Gary and his Dreamweaver. We spent EVERY day together during the summer, weekends during the school year and never fought about anything. She taught me how to do a back flip on the trampoline and a back dive off the diving board. She was fearless and I was a chicken. I think that is why I liked her so much....that and she laughs really easily. 

I moved to California when I was 16, just when stuff was getting really fun. Kathy stayed and went to school there and eventually got married and is now living in Scottsdale. We have kept in touch over the years, but life got crazy and busy and we haven't seen each other in 12 years...until yesterday. Kathy is in San Diego for a week with family and that was too close not to make the drive. Yesterday was 1976 all over again. Peter Frampton did not show up, but we didn't need him. I would love to say that we haven't changed a bit but when I look at the picture we took at the beach yesterday, I still see the cute freckle face girl sitting next to a middle aged lady with wind blown hair. We have changed. We have been through stuff that our 16 year old selves could not have imagined...both good and bad. We are way more interesting (Kathy has a new name, Kate, that her husband gave her in college), loving, forgiving, entertaining and depend on God way more than we did at the tender age of 16. Plus, we now realize that we don't know everything and are not afraid to admit it.

I really can't explain how a friendship last over 40 years. I've been told that relationships, marriages, and friendships have to be nurtured in order to be sustained but this friendship hasn't been nurtured at all. It has a life all it's own...we just choose to join in. It's almost like Kathy and I were weird Siamese twins separated at birth....she got all the freckles and I got all the height and every time we see each other it is some crazy cosmic reunion.

Life is going by way too fast not to value your dearest friends. I think it was Susan Sarandon who said in a movie, "A husband is a witness to your life." I think that is really true but especially true about friends you make during your youth. That is why it is so much fun to get together and reminisce. All these things that are distant memories come alive again and takes you to a really rich place.

Who is your Ethel to your Lucy?? Call them up today and laugh about something you did together. You know laughing adds years to your life. Kathy and I plan on laughing all the way to the senior center!