Mi casa es su casa

Check out the bookshelves. I've read almost every single book on there. Sometimes I sit on the couch and just gaze at all the books.

Many of you are asking for photos of our home. Although it’s new-to-us, the house has been around since the 1800s. We have 10-inch wide wooden floorboards, a woodchuck living in the basement, three working fireplaces, and a quarry as a backyard. Honestly, it couldn’t get much better.

How did we end up here? After living in the city for five years, I was ready to move back. Oscar and I were cohabitating in a tiny studio and we jumped at the chance to move into a four-bedroom house that was being vacated by my brother and his family. (Though technically it’s a zero bedroom house to some realtors, as there’s not a single closet in any of the rooms.)

There certainly are pros to living here. We are really close to family, which makes it easy to have taco and pizza nights (on an 8-foot long dining room table) regularly. We can also run through the grass barefoot and even plant gourds.

But as with any pro, comes a con. There is most definitely a lack of Starbucks and four-story Barnes and Nobles, and for the first few weeks, there was also faint trace of “starting over” – new grocery stores, unfamiliar doctors, and having to rely on GPS. But that feeling soon faded and we melted in the Cornwall landscape.

And it feels great to be back.

Enjoy the photos!

The Mancave!

I just adore my zebra chair. It's the best place to sit, relax, and drink of a big cup of tea.

This is our small table in the kitchen -- basically for breakfast and quick meals.

The fireplace in the dining room. The little metal arch was used to put pots on and cook food back in the 1800s.

I'd love to ask my great-great-grandparents 'What's the secret to longevity?'

The Plinky question of the day — what would you ask your great great grandparents?

My answer: What’s the secret to longevity?

My paternal great great grandmother lived to be 106; my great grandmother, well into her 90s. (How many people can say they had a great grandmother until they were 17! Pretty cool!) My grandfather, who celebrates his 87th birthday next month, still mows the lawn, runs errands all over Orange County, and gets extremely animated while watching Yankee/Red Sox games.

I’d ask my great great grandmother, Nonna, as she was often referred to in my house as a child — what’s the secret?

Pocket Rockers…anyone? anyone?

The other day, I asked my fiancé, “did you have pocket rockers in Venezuela?”

“What the heck is…was a pocket rocker,” he asked.

“Hmm, well, it was like a little radio — mine was pink — that you’d carry around with you wherever you went. The tapes were really small and each side played a different song.”

My pocket rocker followed me everywhere I went. There’s actually a videotape somewhere in the depths of my grandparent’s house of me singing oh so extravagantly to Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now.” My tongue jutting to the top of my teeth with each TH, my head jerking side to side with each chorus.

Now I know that just writing about this toy could either date me significantly or prove my youth — either way, I’m not too worried.

Does anyone else remember these?

Manic Monday by Bangles

La Bamba by Ritchie Valens

I think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany

What my shoes say about me

I absolutely adore my Chuck Taylor all-stars. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a fan, wearing high-tops, low-tops, purple, kelly green, or fire engine red, throughout the years, depending on the mood I’m in when I make the purchase. As a kid, I’d prance around in mis-matched high-tops, complete with sparkly laces, and hum to the Punky Brewster theme song. As a young teen, I wore lemon yellow plaid and black and white checkered. In college, I rocked the hot pink, and as an early-twentysomething, I toned it down a bit with the basic grey (seen here, on my feet in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo, Japan). I’m somewhere in the middle now, wearing the classic purple low-tops.

What do these shoes actually say about me? Hmm, let me tell a story…

“Awesome shoes,” an older woman said to me the other day at Dunkin’ Donuts.

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “Converse…I love ‘em.”

“Purple shoes — so fun,” she said and stared down, pointing. I resisted the urge to jump up and do one of my little side kicks. “I love the color. Oh, how fun.”

So, I guess my shoes say … Hey, I’m fun.

Hardcore: International Pilates Day 2009 (now, with photo)

 

Yes, that's me in the green!

This past Saturday was International Pilates Day.  I had grappled over whether or not I was going to partake in the day. My usual pilates studio, which is near and dear to my heart, wasn’t participating, so I knew I’d have to venture out to a new one. Though I’ve been doing more and more of that these days — venturing uptown, downtown, and everywhere in between – to research various teaching methods and prepare for the certification course next month, there’s still some trepidation about entering an unfamiliar studio where “you’re the new one.”

 

“You’ve never been here before, have you?” the receptionist usually asks when you enter, unsure if you’re supposed to take shoes off, leave socks on, hang coat up, leave purse in some random locker, tuck in your thong, etc.

“Fill out a form,” they usually say. Ding, Ding, Ding! Yes, I’m a newbie, it declares to everyone in the room, while deep down I think “I’m only new here – not to pilates.”

Anyway, I decided that I need to fully immerse myself in all things pilates if I plan to get my certification soon. I called a pilates/gyrotonic studio a few blocks from my apartment and signed up less than twelve hours before the event – a two-hour mini-thon of select pilates classes.  There was no turning back. After all, every studio has a 24-hour cancellation policy.

The space was gorgeous, with big windows that let in tons of light, and everyone was friendly, which put me at ease. While waiting around for the first session, I checked out the gyrotonic machines. Weights, pulleys, velcro straps in odd places – I was slightly scared at what I got myself into and started to sweat.

I grabbed a mat and a magic circle, and after a brief introduction from the first teacher, we went right into the first 45-minute session – Magic Circle Challenge.  The magic circle prop has been one of my favorites from the beginning, since it’s so challenging (revert to session title). Thirty minutes in and my inner thighs burned, my abdominals ached, and I had sweat marks on my shirt.

Directly after the Magic Circle Challenge, we went into Intermediate Mat Flow. Roll-ups were a little difficult, but I got through it.

After the Intermediate Mat Flow, we began our third and final session – Reformer on the Mat with Flexband (something I had never used before). The reformer is basically my all-time favorite piece of pilates equipment, so I was excited to see “reformer” on the agenda, but disappointed that the “feeling of the reformer” was to be “recreated with a theraband.” Nonetheless, I wanted to stay and check it out – and it was worth it. My wrists were a little tired after awkwardly grabbing the band for the first half of class, but otherwise, I felt invigorated.

Though I’m still sore and walking bowlegged, my first Pilates Day experience was a great one.

I’m very much looking forward to Pilates Day next year – when I’m the teacher!

Photos coming soon, so check back.

If each day had three more hours…

I’d spend my extra three hours each day getting back to basics: reading and writing. As a self-proclaimed book nerd, I absolutely love to do both. I’d blog more, finish my memoir, and pitch a few of those quirky essays sitting on my desktop. I’d also get back to immersing myself in a book each night before going to bed. I have my eye on a few new memoirs, mainly The Other Side of Paradise by Staceyann Chin and Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult by Jayanti Tamm, but have yet to actually purchase them.

Oh, and if I had an extra 50 minutes leftover, I’d head over to the pilates studio and work on the Cadillac — that thing is awesome!

Sound like how you’d spend an extra three hours?

Twitter, Facebook, Plinky, Oh My

While browsing the Interwebs today, I stumbled upon Plinky - a site that sends you daily prompts to answer, as inspiration for your blog. I know, I may be a bit behind the curve (the site launched in January), but as soon as I saw it, I signed up instantly. I’ve been slacking in the blog area, so I thought this daily nudge would help. After all, Plinky’s tag is “Hey, didn’t you used to have a blog?”

The first prompt was “Relive a vacation.”

“Sweet,” I thought to myself. “I just went on a vacation. I can do this. I even have photos.” 

Here’s the product:

On our trip to Bangkok in February, I wanted to make sure Oscar had the chance to see all of the cool places I hung out while I was teaching there in 2004. Here I am at Bumrungrad International -- the hospital that served as my second home. I experienced my first colonoscopy there. Need I say more?

Of course, we did many touristy things, including the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, where we purchased hairy cherries -- among my most favorite fruits.

After Bangkok, we were in Tokyo for three days. In every guide book I purchased, the author recommended visiting the Harajuku girls who dress up as anime characters in elaborate costumes. I was amazed at the great lengths the girls went to in order to stand out. Here's one of my favorite photos from our afternoon in Harajuku.

I live in New York City. I'm used to crowded sidewalks, trains, and stores. But nothing compared to Shibuya Crossing -- arguably the world's busiest intersection. Thousands of people cross in minutes. Those of you who have been here, you all know where Oscar took this photo of me in the midst of crossing -- the Starbuck's overlooking the intersection.

Monsters vs. Aliens in 3-D

“Woaah,” I mumbled, half begrudgingly. I felt borderline dizzy. “I’m not sure if I like this.”

A man on the enormous screen in front of me played with a rubber-band paddleball and almost pelted me in the face. Boing, boing boing.

“Don’t worry. They’ve fixed the 3-D glasses,” Oscar said. “So now you don’t get so nauseous watching an entire movie.”

I snacked on heavily salted popcorn, while thinking about who “they” referred to.

When Oscar proposed the idea of going to a 3-D movie, I admit, I was skeptical. And the skepticism only grew when he told me each ticket was $16.50! A 3-D animated movie, for the price of a brand-new hardcover book, on a Friday night? I wasn’t too sure.

When we got to the Union Square theatre, I looked around for a big bin of those paper 3-D glasses. With the right side blue and left side red. The ones from my childhood.

Come to find out, those ordinary glasses are long gone. They’ve been updated. The movie theatres actually hand out real glasses. (See photo, at left)

“Do we put them on now,” I asked Oscar during the first preview.

“No, they’ll tell you when.” He had obviously done this much more than I had.

“What about now,” I was like a kid.

When the big brother voice of the theatre announced “Please put on your 3-D glasses,” I did as told, while looking around to ensure everyone else was doing the same. And they were. We were all in this together.

I sat and watched, occasionally slipping off the glasses to see what the movie looked like in “real life,” but quickly put them back on.

It was a good experience, I have to say. A perfectly harmless way to spend a Friday night. 

Back to Bangkok

Hello to all of you faithful readers. As many of you know, I will be spending the next two weeks in Asia. Eight days in Bangkok, then four days in Tokyo. Right now, I’m at the Tokyo airport, waiting for the flight to Thailand. As much as I want to stuff my suitcase with any and all green tea products available, I’m resisting the urge. I have to tell myself that I’ll be back… 

I’ll try to post photos and travel stories throughout our vacation.

Update: Tea Time at Starbucks

As promised, I’ve continued my quest to try all of the fancy new Starbucks teas and here are my updates:

• The apple cider chai is dreadful. [period.]  (In case you didn’t see the one right there)
• The London Fog Latte is quite possibly one of my favorite drinks of all time. Described on the Starbucks site as “full leaf black tea with citrusy Italian Bergamot and a hint of lavender; sweetened with vanilla syrup and topped with steamed milk and velvety foam,” the latte is the perfect treat on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The sweetness is so subtle and blends perfectly with the earl grey. I highly recommend it to all of us tea drinkers.