Up close and personal with Sam
The oft-ignored, but much-beloved home of my random thoughts and observations of life...now beyond Washington Street.
5.12.2008
A friend in the news
5.08.2008
Cute Jack.
5.05.2008
Columns + Cover Story!

Visit from the Flynns!
We had a few hours to spare, so we dilly-dallied in midtown, grabbing breakfast and eating it in Bryant Park, doing a little shopping (re-upped my spring scarf collection with some street pashminas), and stopping by Rock Center. Then, back to the theatre for the show, followed by a subway ride downtown for an early dinner at Katz's famous deli. We filled up on pastrami and corned beef (tuna for me; it was my weekly allowance!) then walked it off by heading west to the Village. There, we met up with Leezie and Sam, still recovering from their meeting with Suri Cruise and TomKat on Friday night and their 5K stroller walk that morning. We got some sweets at Le Pain Quotidien and rested our weary feet before heading back to Hoboken.
On Sunday, I got up in the iffy weather for the Urban Run and ran four miles with the group, then headed home for a very, very yummy pancake, egg, and sausage brunch prepared by Mark. By then, the sun had emerged from the thick, gray clouds of the morning, priming the day with ideal temps for the Hoboken Music & Arts Fest that was taking place just a few blocks down from us. So after brunch, we walked down and checked out the goings-on, which included three stages (one marquee, one for smaller bands, one for kids) and plenty of your typical street fair fare. The sun was BRIGHT and HOT by 1 p.m. (when Eileen departed for the bus) and the streets were packed. Definitely a successful fair, but we were ready to rid ourselves of the crowds soon enough.
So, after a stop at Joey's BBQ for sandwiches, we escaped to Hamilton Park up the hill to check out the sights. The park's in Weehawken, at the edge of the New Jersey Palisades, and, aside from a panoramic view of Manhattan, it's also a historic site: It's just above where Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr dueled in 1804 (and where, consequently, Hamilton was shot and killed by Burr). We also walked around the surrounding neighborhood, which features some pretty amazing, quite oppulent houses. I couldn't help but think that the real Tony Soprano may live up there! (Speaking of the Sopranos, sighted on the streets of Hoboken earlier in the afternoon: Little Stevie!)
When we attempted to go back home afterwards, we hit some TURRIBLE traffic, courtesy of the street fair. Stuck in bumper-to-bumper going the opposite direction from our apartment, we decided to take a detour to the movies to see Ironman. For a blockbuster-y, action-packed movie, it was really good! I tried to block out the three-ring circus going on around us (it was the Newport Mall, after all, so we expected the crowd to be, well, animated. Add in some feisty kids, and there wasn't a quiet mouth in the house--'cept for ours, of course!).
Finally, after the movies, we ordered up some pizza and ate at home. A perfect way to end a wonderful weekend! Pictures below.
4.30.2008
4.28.2008
Surprise
Got a great surprise on Saturday by way of Anna, who was in town with her
gentleman friend (hee hee), Tom. We met at Leezie's, who was at home with the cuter-than-ever Sam, and then walked over to Havana Alma de Cuba, our old go-to place on Christopher Street. We had a yummy dinner (I couldn't resist getting my fave, pollo a la maggie) and had fun chit chatting (Leezie and Sam even stayed for a while, underlining Sam's staus as the coolest baby in the West Village). Afterwards, we joined the hordes of tourists at Magnolia and indulged in some yummy cupcakes...worth the wait, of course!One of these days, I'll have to get up to Boston to see Anna before she ventures off to law school---she's either heading to San Francisco or New York--but until then, it's always nice to see her in this neck of the woods!
4.27.2008
Fast Finishes

Wassner's identical twin, Rebeccah, crossed the line 10 minutes earlier in second.
it was the first time the two competed in the same race.
"I would always wait for her," said Rebeccah, a professional as well. "I would go back and try to run the last bit with her if I was allowed to."
The two 33-year-old triathletes plan to train together for upcoming events. Rebeccah lives in New York; Laurel lives just across the Hudson River in Hoboken, N.J.
"I don't think anybody else in the race could have felt what we were feeling," Laurel said. "It's pretty unique."
4.25.2008
Another Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
I'm going to take a break now and get some grub. The basketball in my stomach (yes, that would be Baby F, who is growing astronomically) cannot be denied food any longer!
And BTW: Good luck to Karl and Bec at the St. Anthony's Tri this weekend!
4.22.2008
4.21.2008
4.20.2008

In an attempt to do anything but work, I took a few minutes to check out the press pic's from yesterday's Olympic Trials. Among them was this nice shot of Bec and a fellow triathlete on the third leg (note that thought she's behind here, she did in fact wind up passing her before the finish line).
As Bec recounted, yesterday was not her day. The glory--and the Olympic berth--went to her training partner, Julie, who had the race of her life to make it to her second squad in her second sport--an amazing feat. Just as amazing is the fact that I share similar DNA with one (make that two!) of the fastest female triathletes in the nation. Regardless of how Bec finished yesterday, the true accomplishment is that she made it to the Olympic Trials. And how many people can say that?
So congrats to Bec on this phenomenal feat, and here's to an awesome '08 season for both of my pro triathlete sisters. Expect to hear many, many good results from them within the next few months.
Young Frankenstein!
Run for the Parks
On the typical Sunday morning, I meet with adidas Urban Run to do a quick 4-miles along the West Side Highway. This morning, however, we ventured up to Central Park for the annual adidas Run for the Parks. Mark joined our group of about ten for the 4-mile jaunt underneath gloomy gray skies and chilly temps.
Given that I'm not supposed to be running very fast these days, I held back all urges to take off at the gun and ran a super relaxed race, coaching Mark as he fought off a nagging charlie horse in his back of all places. Ouch!
Once we got home, we relaxed with a yummy pancake, egg, and sausage brunch at home...now it's time to WORK!
4.18.2008
SELF!
Sam & Bob
I've had so much fun being Sam's pseudo-nanny over the past couple of weeks. I'm sure I wasn't the super nanny that my mom was, but I learned a lot about keeping a routine and keeping him entertained while trying to keep up work! It's getting me even more excited about Baby F's arrival in approximately 3 months and 30 days!
4.16.2008
Tune in to Bec's race on Saturday!
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (April 14, 2008) -- Slowtwitch.com, a leader in online multisport news and information, will be providing live updates from this weekend's 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The races are set for Noon (women) and 2:30 p.m. (men) Central Time on Saturday, April 19.
You will be able to follow the action to see which male and female athlete will join Jarrod Shoemaker and Laura Bennett on the U.S. Olympic Team at September's Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
USA Triathlon has three qualifying events for the Games. The first was in Beijing last September, with Shoemaker and Bennett earning the first spots. The Olympic Trials in Tuscaloosa on Saturday will give the top U.S. man and woman the next spots. The final man and woman will be selected after the June 22 Hy- Vee Triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa. Those remaining slots will be awarded based on a points system taking into account the best two races for each athlete left in the running.
Visit Slowtwitch to view the updates on Saturday.
Here's the list of athletes competing in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. (Athletes must be ranked in the top 125 of current Olympic rankings or World Cup rankings)
Women
1. Sarah Kortuem
2. Julie Ertel
3. Sarah Groff
4. Sara McLarty
5. Becky Lavelle
6. Jasmine Oeinck
7. Margaret Shapiro
8. Rebeccah Wassner WHOO HOO!
9. Joanna Zeiger
10. Amanda Stevens
11. Mary Beth Ellis
4.15.2008
Cry Baby
4.14.2008
Daily column and some new stuff
Inline skating gets you fit fast
Profiles on Bike New York Riders
Running to Beijing
4.13.2008
crash bam BOOM
We later found out that the driver first smashed into another parked car right down the street, which sent him careening into the first four cars on our corner. The impact sent one flying into an area that just hours before was packed with people eating outside at the Elysian Cafe. The driver had to have been going at least 80mph (in a 25 mph zone) to cause the damage he did...at least two if not three cars totaled.
Funnily enough, exactly one week before, another accident occured on our side of the street in which one car smashed into another car adjusting a parking spot. That one wasn't nearly as bad (at least no one needed to be carted out in a stretcher), but also caused a parked truck to jump the curb and smash into the mailbox in front of our building.
Makes me think twice about parking on Washington Street...
4.12.2008
Congrats to ULA!
Inside Tri wrote up a good piece (tho poorly edited..hopefully one of these days they'll get Bec's name spelled right) about the race, featuring a nice mention of Ula...reading this brought happy tears to my eyes!
One of the happiest women in the field is Laurel Wassner, 32, of Hoboken, New Jersey, sister of elite pro Rebecca Wassner. Laurel is making her pro debut nine years after surviving a bout with Hodgkin’s’ Lymphoma and was the first cancer survivor in the United States to earn a professional triathlon license. “Last year my sister and I went to see the Iron Girls race in Columbia, Maryland, not far from our family’s home in Gaithersburg. “I was so impressed,” said Laurel Wassner. “It was run so well and I loved seeing so many women of all ages and abilities having fun together. I saw a daughter, mother and grandmother all race together and I loved the whole spirit of the event.”
Wassner emerged from an excruciating five years of exhaustion, uncertainty after a debilitating process of chemotherapy. But just a few years ago, she got a clean bill of health. “When I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in 1999, I was on the George Washington University swim team with Jessi Stensland and psyched to start triathlon. But when I was diagnosed, I was sidelined for several years. Mentally and physically, it was the worst feeling. For three years, I felt like I was nauseated and 100 times more tired than I had ever felt before. But when I started to feel better, I did one triathlon in 2005, then a few more. The turning point for me came in 2006 when I went with my sister to the World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was bigger than any triathlon I had seen before and just really made me want to race. Right after that, I got word from my doctors at the Sloan Kettering cancer institute in New York that I was officially dismissed from treatment. Right then I started training with my sister Rebecca. Some of her hard work and drive mist have rubbed off on me, because last year I won The Nation’s Triathlon in DC. It was the best day of my life – I ran my best ever 10k – 37:15 – which took me past my old college (George Washington).” Later that year, Laurel Wassner took third overall elite amateur at the Nautica New York City Triathlon and second overall amateur at the US Open in Dallas.”
4.11.2008
4.09.2008
4.07.2008
I have the best sisters!
BTW...
A good Monday
I called it quits around six and went on a great run around the 'hood with Mark. Since Hoboken is only a mile square, you have to get creative in order to get any mileage in. We have a nice route that takes us along the water (with the awesome view of the skyline), down the piers, and back along past Steven's Institute. Hopefully, we'll be able to keep this up for at least another month or so...still feeling pretty good during runs, though I have had to resort to boxy t-shirts to keep my bump covered! (All of my other workout shirts tend to ride up with every step I take).
Afterward, we whipped up a delish dinner of mahi mahi (courtesy of a Trader Joe's stop over the weekend), and brown rice...topped off with a Little Debbie brownie for dessert...(I just couldn't resist...)yum!
4.05.2008
Column o' the day
Getting a sneeze-free grip on seasonal allergies
4.03.2008
4.02.2008
I worked for a bit, did a phoner, and packed things up when M and Sam arrived for a visit. We chatted for a bit while Sam entertained himself by staring at the light fixtures and making his favorite blubbering-lip noise. As usual, his cuteness attracted attention from strangers, which he soaked up like a pro.
We went back to Leezie's place and proceeded to order southeast Asian food (thanks, M!) for din. Mark joined us and we had fun watching Sam eat his carrots and apple sauce, then playing with him before L got home from work. I can't tell you how nice it is to just be able to pop over there whenever I want and see my mom...I'm going to miss her when she goes back next week!
3.31.2008
The large chunk of items I just turned in will be hitting the web soon, in the meantime, here are some other recent pieces to peruse:
Fitness tips for future brides
Pick-me-up foods to boost your energy
The dangers of anesthesia: Are you at risk?
Sideline sunburn when working out
Getting a sneeze-free grip on allergiesGet fit with Gyrotonics
Monday, Monday
The weekend was, for the most part, a working one as I was sidled with a whopping 15 columns to write for sheknows.com. That's what happens when you squeeze half a month's worth of daily columns into one weekend. Lesson learned. Tomorrow, I start fresh and vow to write one item a day throughout April and all ensuing months. It's the only way to maintain my sanity! On the plus side, a couple of my pieces are now being prominently featured on the sheknows.com home page, so that makes all of the stress and late nights worth it.
Otherwise, we just hung around home, grabbing our almost-weekly Saturday brunch at Turning Point (joined by Patty and Rick) and catching up on NetFlicks (Gone Baby Gone and We Own the Night). I ran with Urban Run yesterday, then met Keren at the gym, then lunch at Chelsea Market. It was so great to see her and hear all about her training for the NYC Tri. (she's doing Team in Training). I wish I could be training alongside with her...next year!
A column calls, so I better get on that. Hoping to finally see Leezie and Bec (and Sam and Speed and Ula if she's around!) today, too.




















