Did I mention my in-laws were just here?

Well, they were. They came on Christmas day, and left this morning.

Peter and I haven't had much time to do any touristy things since we moved here, so it was fun to kind of play tour guide and also check out some of the tourist attractions we hadn't made it to yet.

Like visiting Ground Zero... It was foggy at dusk, and gave everything a ghostly look.

and touring Canal Street. We'd already been there once, but we had to go to M&M World again!

I think the highlight was touring NBC Studios, where we got to visit the Saturday Night Live set and also Late Night With Conan O'Brian. (Which was especially special because both my hubby and his sis are big Conan fans). Pale Force! Jamie in front of 30 Rock Jamie Et Moi

On the LAST day of Christmas...

I'm not sure exactly if the 12 days of Christmas are supposed to start on Christmas day, or end on Christmas day, but no matter to me,

because today was officially the last day of Christmas at our house.

After packing up some treats to be sent home to my Georgia kinfolk I said adieu to my visiting in-laws and then began the de-christmasizing process. Which, of course, involves a long hard look at one's financial status.

Surprisingly, we did really well to stay under budget. (It took some blood, sweat, and a boatload of tears to stay there, but somehow we made it under!)

For example: a few days before Christmas eve I said, "lets go get a tree!" which elicited an unwelcome, "we can't afford a tree this year, and all our ornaments are in Georgia anyway." So, to be spiteful I said "fine!" and pulled some cardboard out of the pile of garbage sitting by the door about to be taken to the dumpster, and began fashioning a tree. Knowing he hates trashy, chaotic-looking, thrown together things, I thought that perhaps having to look at a pile of old cardboard shaped like a tree might inspire him to join me in a little budget bending.

But then I got into it.

Really into it.

Next thing I knew I was blowdrying paper mache and looking for some glitter to make a star with.

I trimmed it down and used cardboard rolled around an old spaghetti jar to make a trunk.

With all our gifts nestled around it, it made a cozy tableaux completed by the adorable snowman Aunt Janet gave me.

He looks very happy living under his tree of not pine, but garbage.

Who knows maybe I'll save my little garbage tree for next year.

Actually no, I won't because we have ZERO closet space already, and there'll be garbage enough next Christmas.

It's 1:35 in the morning!

Since it's past midnight you know what that means...

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!

Do you know what I love?

Getting commissioned to do paintings, that's what. With my hours at the flower shop dwindling I couldn't be happier to have people want my art. I haven't done many commissioned pieces in the past, so I always get very nervous because I want what the customer wants, and what I imagine (and am capable of) to match up so SO so badly.

Lucky me... I've had nothing but happy customers!

(That's me)

Well the semester is over.

Finished

Finito

and guess who got all A's? This girl!

Currently drinking from the mug of procrastination

One look at our pen/post-it collection will tell you that either a doctor or a very sick person lives here.

Along the Bics and Rollerballs are Flomax, Lovenox, and a variety of other cleverly named prescriptions on pens thanks to the drug reps that filter through Peter's hospital.

Yesterday Peter brought home my favorite freebie thus far...

THE MUG OF KNOWLEDGE

I think it's hilarious on many fronts- they know how to appeal to nerds, and also because they felt the need to print a disclaimer to explain that it does not ACTUALLY make you smarter.

Oh those drug companies know how to be cute.

Homeless in New York

I can't tell you how bothered I am by all the homeless people here in New York. Not actually the people, themselves, but by the fact that they have no home.and it is very cold.

We ran out to get some fast food the other day, and a guy came in off the street. He was elderly-late sixties, early seventies

rail thin, clearly mentally deficient

(perhaps a stroke, maybe parkinsons, posibly schizo?)

sweatshirt jacket instead of a coat, old socks as gloves.

He wasn't bothering anyone- he just came in and hunkered down in the corner near the heat vent talking to himself in a repetitive stutter-a combination of religious and political banter.

I wanted to call someone, but didn't know who.

The police would have escorted him out of the restaurant, but probably wouldn't do much more than that.

Who do you call in that situation?

I still had half my weekly lunch budget in my pocket, so I gave it to him. He called me an angel and trudged up to the counter.

I don't know what else I could have done.

Remember that thing I used to do...

Remember that thing I used to do where I mixed up paint and put it on canvas or wood or something until it kind of looked like something?

Well... I still do that... and the result is still up for grabs at

my shop

Miss church today?

Thats okay- Barats and Bereta have you covered...

but don't let it happen again. WHOOOOAA!

Thanksgiving Adventures '08

Hi! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I couldn't be with my family this year, but it wasn't all bad.

In fact, it was pretty darn fun.

We left the house, and caught a train to Manhattan, but then I realized I had forgotten the XD card to my camera.

No problem!

We stopped in at a camera shop to buy a new one, and even though the camera guy was disgusted by how old and gnarly my camera is, he did have an XD card that would fit. So now I have 650 remaining photos on my camera! Before, the best I could ever get was 32! I was always having to delete photos before they made their way onto my computer, but no more!

It was a good thing I had a card in my camera, too, or else I wouldn't have been able to take pictures of Pikachu terrorizing the city.

It was terrible! It took a team of twenty highly skilled poke trainers to wrangle him back into his poke-ball.

After the the pikachu had been taken care of we all thought everything was safe and that we could relax, but then a giant ogre came along to grind our bones into bread and other such ogre-y activities. He and his Smash Mouth loving minions spread destruction and chaos with the help of a giant clover-bearing elephant.

Fortunately a space man and Zack Ephron came along to save the day. I wouldn't have been able to recognize this brave young man if it weren't for the dozens of young female narrators near by jumping and screaming,

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh- IT'S ZACK EPHRON!"

We needed to recover from all the excitement, so we found a little place to have some soup,

then we went and explored the city some.

In keeping with the day's madness, we accidentally wandered into an enchanted forest. This was a magical forest where every bridge came with it's own saxophone player, and where, despite the barely being freezing temperature, a pond had frozen over. Some of the strange inhabitants of the forest had blades attached to their feet, and I could only assume that they were under some terrible curse, because they continually went around and around in circles on the frozen water. Perhaps someday Zack Ephron will come and free them from their icy domain.

When we got back home I got to work preparing a small feast, and we decided to give thanks for surviving all the giant creatures and other chicanery that we ran into. That's why we call it Thanksgiving.

The birds in the branches are cared for.

I've loved being a florist for the past several months, but it was a blessing that fell in my lap, and I'm feeling it might not last much longer. The economy has hit us hard, and job security is a myth, a fabled thing you hear of, but see no signs of real existence.

I'll be honest-things are not good right now.

Things are not good in New York.

Things are not good in America.

But you know what?

This is when faith truly kicks in.

There is nothing like hardship to remind us of God's love and mercy.

Example: When I got my first paycheck from my current job we were down to less than $70. Total. Rent, bills, food... and all we had was $65 and some change.

God provided.

I have faith that, no matter what, He will again.

If I lose my job I'll find another one.

juz anuthr lolcat I made

When will I stop thinking lolcats are funny? When?! WHEN?!

Probably never.

Once upon a time...

It's been a very long day, and I believe a bedtime story is in order.

(I know it's not that late, but I'm knackered out.)

Once Upon a Time ...

There was a girl

Who met a boy. They got married and moved to the Caribbean and got a dog. He studied medicine, and she worked at a resort. But she got sick of the monkies messing up her table settings, so she went to work for a camp for undocumented kids. Eventually they had to leave the island. It was very sad. She still misses her friends and the kids there. (Especially that kid, Helene)!

Now they live in New York, where he "works" at a very nice hospital and she is a florist 60 hrs per week, but still makes dinner, does class work and blogs.

The End.

Good night!

Things I love about New York #3

I love where I live.

Finally, we were able to find a decent apartment in a new city on the first try. Our last big move landed us in a shoebox apartment that had a hole in the floor in lieu of a tub and a gargantuan generator sounding like a Harley gang permanently parked outside our bedroom window. This big move, however, landed us in a cushy Queens high rise that's as dog friendly as can be. True, we may not have furniture like normal people. But somehow, the whole utilitarian desks-instead-of-a-couch thing works for us.

Things I Love About New York #2: Indie Theaters

Number two on the list of things

I love about New York

is

Independent Theaters.

Theres a small Theater a few minutes away from my place that almost exclusively shows independent films. I suspect that the reason for this is not because of the owner's overwhelming desire to be a patron of cinematic art, but because it's a really old and small establishment, and they can probably get movies that no one has ever heard of for cheap.

(This is just a theory- for all I know, the owner could be wearing a beret as he scoffs at Spielberg as we speak.)

I love it there.

The building is ancient, and the walls are covered in posters featuring actors and actresses that were mostly dead before I was born. Also, it's a very cheap way to spend an afternoon. Last week we saw Happy Go Lucky. Even though it was a little frustrating at times, it was a GREAT movie. If you live anywhere near a theater where Happy Go Lucky is showing, you HAVE to go see it. Seriously. Not seeing it would be a crime. It's more a character study than anything- the plot is cobweb thin- but somehow getting to spend two hours with "Poppy" makes it worth it. On a side note, I couldn't help thinking that artsy star Sally Hawkins bears a striking resemblance to fellow AUC wife, Gerri Dicarlo... only much paler.

Things I love about New York #1

I'm not one who is prone to homesickness, but a few bad days in a row can really make you start idealizing the past, which for me is a sunny beach side apartment in the Caribbean. But it's like Conor Oberst (of my fave band Bright Eyes) says,

"Life is how it is, not how it was."

So I tell myself to MTFU (WTFU would be more accurate, I guess) and focus on all the nice things about living here, which I will start doing here on my blog. Starting now.

Things I love about New York #1:

Mass Transit

I love that New York has such a great mass transit system. Anytime I want to go somewhere I just dig out my Metrocard and hop on a bus, or a train, or whatever. No looking for parking, no avoiding the crazy NYC drivers. I can take a book with me or my MP3 player and just enjoy the ride. This is effectively how I've done all my classwork this semester. I read a few pages on my way to work, then read some more on my way home. When I actually do get home, I can get right to brass tacks. Thanks mass transit!

One of those days

Ever have one of those days where nothing goes right?

Like when the bus you're on has a flat and you get to work almost an hour late.

When you trim the plants that weren't supposed to be trimmed.

When you manage to knock over an entire five gallon bucket full of water which then rapidly floods your boss's office because the floor is slightly slanted in that direction.

When you come home as tired as you could possibly be after 10 hours and your hubby is crazied up because the dishwasher is broken and all the dishes are dirty.

When you give everything you can, but still end up feeling like a lousy employee and wife.

It's one of those days.

I can has a lolcat!

Come see the lolcats web page!

No telling how much time I've wasted at that site, but the above pic is my first ever contribution.

Warning: Icanhascheezeburger.com can lead to serial procrastination and massive time wastification.

There aren't enough coconuts in NYC

Back when I lived in St Marten I loved to play with my video camera.

(I still do, I just don't have any video editing software anymore.)

This only looks dangerous because it's in fast forward.

I'm actually pretty handy with a knife.

Flower Child

Sometimes I wonder if God is watching out for me. Other times I KNOW he is. When we moved to NYC in typical peter-and-La Sha fashion (which is to say with little preparation and mostly flying by the seats of our pants) I could only hope to find a job. ANY job. (Especially with this crazy economy and my dubious education/ experience; "so... um... I worked at a camp for a long time... but you can't call them for a reference- it's an underground operation and they don't have a phone").

But God takes care of me when I rely on Him, and after only a little job-hunting I walked into a florist's shop just to look around. There wasn't a help wanted sign and they didn't appear to be understaffed, but I was compelled to ask if they needed any help.

Mind you... I have NO previous experience as a professional florist.

I started working there three days later.

(I LOVE IT and it pays well).

Right place, right time.

Some call it luck.

I call it BLESSED.

Exams, and papers, and contests- Oh My!

I always mean to keep a constant stream of blogging going... and all my laundry clean... and all my homework done... but life just keeps getting in the way. Unfortunately for my laundry and blogging I had the first exam of the semester a couple days after my arrival in New York, so everything non-survival related was pushed to the back burner while I over-studied for the online test. You would think that taking college classes online would be easier than taking them in a class room... but it's NOT!!! Having never met my professor I don't know if he's a hard ass or a laid back type. I don't know if using a somewhat humorous and creative topic as the focal point of the paper I'm working on will win me more points and maybe even a chuckle, or just disapproving frowns as he stamps my digital paper with a big red digital "F".

As it turns out, I ended up getting an almost perfect score on the paper, and a high A on the exam as well. Next time I'll probably be a little more chill than I was this time. Only three more exams and research papers left for this semester! Yay!

In other news, while wandering around Manhattan yesterday giving my resume to anyone who would look at it, I found a street populated almost entire by fabric stores. Actually not just fabric stores, but also stores dedicated to nothing but trim and even one dedicated solely to producing some of the prettiest lace you ever saw. I haven't been jazzed about sewing for a while, but looking at all those bolts of fabric was like walking around on a giant paint covered palate. I can't wait till I have a work area set up, so I can go back and whip up some projects for myself.

I haven't been posting much in my etsy shop lately, but I have been shopping around some. I am completely smitten by littleloveblue and her ADORABLE little felt creations. There is a contest going on to win the most precious black felt kitten on Earth. It reminds me so much of my old cat Panda, who was ran over by a car one day in front of my house. Everything about this little fuzzy creation reminds me of Panda, even the withering whiskers that are a little limper looking than most cats. Also the way it's postured looks like it was made to be a model of her. Littleloveblue has such a gift for turning lumps of wool into amazingly cute creatures. If I win the contest we'll go to lunch in the city, my treat!

White Female Seeking Short Term Relationship Furniture

I've been checking out the prices on "disposable" furniture at Ikea and Wal-Mart, and I'm not thrilled. There's a ninety percent chance that whatever furniture we buy in New York will STAY in New York long after we've moved back south of the Mason Dixon, so I don't want to spend a fortune on a bed/ sofa/ table that we'll only be using for one year, 2 years max. If you, dear reader, or anyone you know (that lives in NYC/ Queens) has any cheap used (infestation free) furniture please let me know.

Dude, that's like sooo nineties.

It's been several years since I experienced cool weather, and I've never spent a winter someplace as cold as New York. To prepare I've been rounding up all the warm clothes I can find. I had several boxes of sweatshirts and other stuff of the sort from high school that I stuck in my mom's basement, so I rolled up my sleeves and dug into the mountain of boxes down there. I found a bunch of old stuff I hadn't thought about in years, like 11 years worth of church camp t-shirts, and a box full of Lisa Frank stationary. My favorite box of all though was the box full of the most ridiculously ninetiesish stuff ever. It had my Mario Bro's "Duck Hunt" gun, a couple Spice Girls cds, a rainbow's spectrum of over worn w.w.j.d. bracelets, and several Blossom-style hats. (That's a woven fiber hat that looks kind of like raffia, with some kind of giant flower glued onto the front). You would not believe how cool I thought I was in a hat with a huge sunflower glued on. (That's Blossom, not me- just in case you weren't a fan of the show).

What's a sugar glider?

I've always liked to keep unusual pets- for ten years I had a pet turtle. (I gave him and his incredible custom built terrarium to a local kids museum when we moved to the Caribbean). Now my new favorite unusual animal is the sugar glider. They're native to Australia, but they're starting to become popular over here as pets. They're kind of like flying squirrels, except much smaller. When fully grown they're about the size of a chipmunk. I almost bought one of the adorable little critters, but then I found out that they're hundreds of dollars. Also it pooped on me when I picked it up. I made this little painting of a sugar glider meeting a dwarf rabbit. I call it "You're Strange, But I Like You". Either of the subjects could be the speaker of the title. I imagine a tiny rabbit might be strange to an Australian flying squirrel. I adore this little scene, but I've been told it's a waste of paint, that I should paint over it and use the canvas for something else. I posted him for sale in my etsy shop (www.loveaboveall.etsy.com) so maybe someone will come and prove mom wrong.