(not) Coming Soon to a Store Near You

So last week I had a "gig" at Martha Stewart Omnimedia, in which I modeled for her new line of crafts for Michael's. Well, to clarify, the crafts--in this case, tissue paper "poofs" that you hang from the celing as decor; sissy actually had some for the twins' first birthday party--were the models. I was more a prop in the shot to show scale (how big the poofs are in real-life). I arrived on set at 9:45, got dressed in a cute Catherine Malandrino cocktail dress the prop guy provided, and proceeded to sit...and sit...for two hours before the photographer was ready for me (oh the tough life of a high-fashion model! hahah). When she was, I sat at a gorgeously-appointed table, made up in the prettiest cream linens and china, and smiled as I pretended to lay some presents down (I believe I was supposed to be a guest at a wedding shower).

The photog. took about ten frames, and I was done...off to my next odd job...excited about seeing myself in a Michael's store a few months down the line. (The shoot was for all in-store promotions and packaging).

But then earlier this week, I found out that the powers-that-be opted to show the items sans model, so alas, my shots were quickly dropped to the cutting-room floor. Oh well, at least I have these pics to show for it!

Karl to the rescue!

In attempt to get our apartment rented (did I mention we're moving?), Mark and I have decided to start ridding ourselves of the "clutter" that could possibly be turning potential renters away. So I began by rearranging the living room yesterday to open things up a bit, then I decided to hit the bedroom. Our bedroom--just big enough for a queen-sized bed and a dresser, really--had been jammed packed with stuff, including a seperate wardrobe for my endless amounts of clothes (we have limited closet space, just one of the many reasons we're moving!). I had little desire to dismantel the piece, and always have difficulty letting go of certain items, but Karl convinced me otherwise. She came over after work and helped me go through my closet and wardrobe, determining which items needed to go and which could stay. (Deeming my style "trendy", she was right in saying that I had many disposable shirts, skirts, etc., whose looks are no longer in vogue, and probably won't be again).

We made a gingantic mess, but by 12:30 a.m., after a pizza dinner and a trip to 'Boken to drop off the first load of stuff, everything was cleaned up, put away, and the apartment looks 100 times better!

Now, I just need to gather my strength to take the 5 bags of clothes, shoes, and bags to the neighborhood thrift store! They're not going to know what hit them!

More weekend pics

A couple more highlights from our weekend: Earlier on Saturday, Mark and I met Maureen and her new guy, Paul, at the Zoo! I've been itching to go ever since I wrote the Nim's Island story that had me eyeball-deep in research on bearded dragons, Australian sea lions, and pelicans. So we set out on the gorgeous October afternoon (the weather reminded us a lot of our wedding day--almost two years ago! sniff sniff) and spent a few hours ogling the gorillas, hippos, monkeys, reptiles, invertebraes, etc. I think the last time I was at the zoo was when Mr. Dreskin took Sissy, Corinne, and I to some concert there in high school (I believe the band was called "Red Letter Day"--whatever happened to them?). It's such a fun place, especially for kids (or in our case, big kids)--can't wait 'til Sam's a bit older so we can take him there!

After the zoo, we went back to Wheatone for a delicious dinner at Nova Europa with the 'rents and Uncle Phil and Jeanie! Mark was treated to an extravagant birthday dinner, which included a dessert of profiteroles! I'd only had this dessert once before (at Balthazar), and I knew how decadent (and delicious) it could be. Nova Europa's version (pastry crammed with vanilla ice cream and topped with hot fudge) definitely did not disappoint. I credit all of my energy for the race the next morning to my grilled salmon and all of that sugar!

Thanks to the 'rents for being the best "B&B" hosts, we love staying in their guest suites!

A 10K and Some Birthday Cake

I didn't have a chance to write much this morning, but I couldn't resist posting those adorable pics of Philip enjoying his birthday cake! The party was so fun; Aleta did a such a fab job in seeing to every detail, from the blue party hats to the Crown-shaped Pinata! A bunch of people turned up and I have a feeling Philip went home with a bunch of fun presents--and lots of new toys! (We didn't stay long enough to see everything opened).

Earlier yesterday morning, we dragged ourselves out of bed to go down to DC to run the Boo! 10K. Maureen and Eileen were running with a bunch of Mo's co-workers, and of course I can't resist a race! Hah! I actually have a better appreciation for the 10K distance now that I've been running more; even more so when I don't have to do a one mile swim and 25-mile bikeride beforehand! The race went down around Hains Point (twice) and finished/started on Ohio Drive. I loved running and seeing all of the memorials--it was a beautiful morning and great running weather. I ended up getting 2nd overall and running my fastest 10K time every (42:15, nothing to sneeze at, but decent for me), and Maureen and Eileen did great as well!

We hit up brunch at our old fave Rhodeside Grill afterwards, then ran off to get ready for the party. Then to top off the very fun day, we made it back to NYC in record time and found a parking spot right across from our apt!

"Prince Philip" Turns One!

Thinking of yew

Dedicating one of his (and my!) favorite songs--Kenny Roger's The Gambler--to Grandpop today. It's hard to believe he left us exactly two years ago, but of course he never left our hearts. And can you just imagine how happy he'd be to know that he now has five great-grandchildren!?

A trip to the Upper Breast Side

So I'm learning there are things that you just have to get used to when you have a baby. Or, for me, when your sister has a baby. These things include casual coversations about poop, pee,
burps, gas, and of course...breasts. Not the baby's breasts, of course. The mom's. And what I've discovered about the latter is that the baby business has come up with all sorts of puns to celebrate them: "Brest Friend" (a breast-feeding pillow), "The Breastaurant" (as in It's time for the baby to take a snack at the Breastaurant) and, here's a new one for ya: the "Upper Breast Side." That, my friends, is the name of a store that sells everything a nursing mother could ever desire--bras, shirts, dresses, pumps, pads--located (where else) but on the Upper Breast (oops I mean West!) side.

With Sam snuggled up away in his adorable little Infantino sling, Leezie and I hauled up to 71st and Columbus to check out the goodies. I think I expected something along the lines of Buy Buy Baby or Destination Maternity: a SuperStore for moms. What we got was more along the lines of a tiny closet without even a display window--blink and you'll walk right by. When we walked in, we were quickly escorted the back room where Leezie was told to strip down so she could be measured. Another woman--with her 5-week-old in town--did the same. Then another woman, 9-months pregnant. Talk about being out of your element: There I was, surrounded by new (or soon-to-be new) moms, naked from the waist up, being measured by some woman who kept saying her baby was "39 years old" (that joke got old pretty fast, especially when she admitted on more than one occasion that she, too, wore the nursing clothes...for their comfort). Not knowing what to do, I started looking at the clothes. But when I reached for a dress folded up on a shelf, I was quickly reprimanded not to touch the merchandise.

Quite the experience, to say the least, but Leezie did get some good stuff out of it, so I guess it was worth taking a trip to the Upper Breast Side (sorry, had to do it one more time...).

Birthday Baby!

Another birthday boy! Philip Thomas Calder III turns 1 on Monday. Check out Aleta’s blog for lots of amazing pictures of my little second-cousin-once-removed, like this one. You can tell Mark and Philip are bound to be buddies—not only do they have similar birthdays, but they also share a love of motorcycles!

Happy birthday, Philip! We can’t wait to celebrate with you next weekend!

Birthday Boy!

Mark celebrated the big 2-9 on Saturday! We had a lovely day, first hitting the Russian barber shop for a little trim, then chowing down a Lumber Jack at the Sweet Life. The fun was only beginning, as Mike was set to arrive from DC to whisk him off to 18-holes of golf at the Spook Rock course in Suffern, NY.

I dropped off the boys—no golf for me!—and drove up to Newburgh, where I met UlaBeck and SJ at M before driving up to Traphagen. Karl and I took a great bike ride on the rail trail (thanks to John for letting me ride his awesome bike), then we did a little impromptu photo shoot in front of the beautiful sunset.

I picked the guys up later on that night, where they had been enjoying the “19^th Hole”, until, that is, they closed and the guys had to drink their beers in to-go cups outside the course. (I was way late!). We drove back into the city and opted for a night in of pizza, wine, and cheesecake instead of going out, fine for all of us tired old folks!

Mark says he had a great day, despite the fact I didn’t have any prezzies for him to open. I know, bad wife! But my present came in the form of golf lessons at Spook Rock with the resident pro. He’ll be challenging Tiger Woods for a match in no time!

Happy birthday to the best and most adorable husband in the world!

Bowled Over

I'm very excited to have found a sport involving balls (and hand-eye coordination!) that I can actually BEAT Mark in...bowling! Yup, he got SERVED in the lanes of Chelsea Pier's swank bowling alley on Saturday night! We were all set to have a big workout dork's night of well, working out and going home to watch a DVD when we spontaneously decided to go bowling. Within minutes, we were whisked back to the VIP section (that move had nothing to do with who we are; I think they just needed to fill lanes) and began bowling away to the beats of Britney and Rhianna as a disco ball spun above us.

I started out with a spare (beginner's luck, I thought) and consequently leveled off to 7's and 8's. Mark, meanwhile, was hitting strike after strike, leaving me completely in the dust. But sometime around the moment the DJ started spinning Britney's "Gimme More" (Mark DESPISES that song, especially when I sing it over and over and over), he completely crumbled. Game 2 saw a few more spares and strikes for me while Mark was rolling despondently downhill. By the end of the second round, I'd squashed him by about ten pins. Mark claimed all of the lifting he did made his shoulders "sore", but did I mention I'd run the Fifth Avenue Mile that morning (in 5:44)? The soreness excuse was all mine.

The night resulted in perhaps the priciest bowling matches we'll ever encounter, but we definitely had a great time. And I won! Can't complain about that.

Doing my due-dilligence as Bec's psudeo publicist, I wanted to share the news that she's featured in today's Frederick News Post! I must say it's not the most well-written story (lots of fact-checking errors, for one!), but it's still nice to see her get some much-derserved local coverage! Maybe this'll get her a bid to the Mount Athletic's Hall of Fame?!

Check out the full story here: Slice of Life — Former Mt. St. Mary's star is professional triathlete

"Moore" Sightings

Seems like everyone I know who lives in the West Village (well, my sisters at least) have seen Julianne Moore at least once. I've always lamtented that I never had the honor--until yesterday, that is. As I walked down West 11th, I noticed a blonde, smiling woman leaving her beautiful brownstone with a bright red door. I did a double-take a saw that it was JM, somewhat disguised because of her lighter locks (for a movie, I think). As she walked out, she yelled across the street to a man at a garage (whom she presumably was friendly with) about the heat and how she had to go run some errands. I wanted to say, "yeah it is hot and guess what...I'm running errands, too!" But I kept my mouth shut--and kept walking.

A little later on, as Leezie and I popped into a Four-Bucks after Sam's checkup (he's healthy as a horse and growing by the minute!), we spotted Oksana Baul! Again, we were tempted to chat her up (I mean, how many fans does she really have anymore! She probably would be flattered!). But alas, the she was immersed in a conversation with two other women and looked a little ragged in a faux Juicy track suit and cheap-o Chinatown slippers. We noted she had an Ace bandage on one ankle--nursing a skating injury, perhaps?

I really love this picture of Jeanie, Ella, and Philip, taken yesterday at the farm by Aleta. The lighting is just perfect, everyone look so happy, and it puts you right there at the Farm. And I love Ella's side pony!

Looks like they all had a great day yesterday!

Shout Outs...

OK, haven't said "shout outs" in about three years, but the phrase just popped into my head as I wanted to say congrats to bec, for her big win in the Westchester Tri this morning, and happy birthday to Brittany, who celebrated a very big birthday in Vegas this weekend! I'm sorry I wasn't there to either root Bec on or celebrate with Brittany, but my thoughts were definitely with you!

Mini Speed!

Just couldn't resist pulling this shot of a sleeping Sam (aka Mini Speed) from Leezie & Speed's new photo blog. Keep checking back for many more pics of adorable 9-day-old Sam! They'll be posting new pics often.

I've now seen him every day since he was born, and I can't get enough! Today, we went on a lovely walk down Bleecker Street with visitors Felice, Elana, and Jared (up from Montgomery Village for the day), with Sam sleeping away, tucked into the Bob Stroller. We hit some shops and enjoyed the perfect weather--this is seriously the best time in NYC. It was so great to spend time with Felice on her home turf! As she had to remind a sales guy in the Juicy Store who mistook her for a suburbanite, she did live here for the "first 36 years of her life!" Once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker, right?! Elana and Jared are doing great...I hope they all come back to visit often (and bring Dana and Jeff next time!)

Outside the world of Baby Land, things are busy around here. After going out for drinks with former NYRR co-workers and then meeting Nandita up for dinner at the Inn LW12 (very good, btw!) and drinks after in the Village, we had a nice relaxing weekend. Much needed since I'm up against a bunch of deadlines for stories that have me writing and researching anything from sea lions to the dating habits of teen girls. Plus my variety of "odd jobs" keep me running (literally, sometimes!) allover the lower part of Manhattan.

Sightings

Amidst all of the Sam excitement, I haven't really mentioned some of the good celeb sightings I've had lately...today alone, I saw Tony Bennett (and his much younger wife) leaving a building in midtown. Tony was wearing what I guess were his "workout" (or maybe just his every day) clothes, a Cuban shirt and track pants. He looked good and totally unassuming--I kind of wanted to say I loved seeing him on the Emmy's, but us New Yorkers always pretend not to notice celebs, anyway...even when it is Tony Bennett!

A few minutes later, I spotted my favorite ER doc/NERD, Anthony Edwards, on Madison Avenue when I went to meet Mark for lunch. Again, another unassuming guy--no glasses, entourage, bags, nothing. He even gave me a smile! Sweet!

Then last week, as I was crossing over Hudson on Christopher, I saw Life on the D-List (and Real World) alum, Trash-elle, hailing a cab (remember her?). She actually looked pretty, although I have to question the chartreuse cami/red bra/red shoes combo she was sporting...

And this is kind of borrowing from Bec (although I did see the back of her head!): Natalie Portman walking down 12th Street with her British beau.

Odd Jobs

Over the past couple of months, I've realized that the best part about being a freelancer is all of the random stuff you get to do--and among that is picking up part-time gigs. Luckily for me, I've figured out a way to get paid for what I love to do, e.g., run! My latest "assignment" is a leader for the adidas Urban Run, which is a twice-weekly distance run leaving conveniently from Chelsea Piers. We take anyone who wants to join us out on a free 6-8 mile run and offer them a place to hang out and refreshments. I started last week and have already been"promoted" to a leader at another run for adidas, geared toward marathon runners and leaving from Central Park. So I'm now committed to running on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays--maybe I should start training for a marathon myself?

On top of that, I'm writing a bunch of stories, including one about training for triathlons during the off-season and the various ways to keep the motivational fires lit over the winter. So I'm testing out a bunch of places around the city that offer out-of-the-box workouts (anything you won't find in a typical gym, really), and today I hit Velocity, a training center in midtown. There, I was told that my mechanics weren't ideal (stride's too long and inefficient), and I went through an hour-long training session trying to right all of my wrongs (funny, I always thought my long stride was a good thing!). Hopefully, the inevitable soreness will be gone before I try out a yamuna body rolling session, a strength session, and an agilty session at other gyms/studios within the next week!

Like I said, lots of random stuff going on these days. Never a dull moment!

By popular demand, here is another video of Sam. Actually, this is more of Leezie and Speed, but I figure the parents need a little love, too. Doesn't Leezie look great for having a baby just THREE days prior? Anyway, you can see what a homecoming's like for the West Village baby.

I'll have to edit everything down one of these days to make one continuous clip (sans my annoying voice, too!), but for now, enjoy the snippets!

Sleeper's Awake

I promise I'll write about more than just Sam one of these days, but right now, he certainly seems to be occupying most of my thoughts! I visited Leezie this afternoon, where I was treated to a bit of an awake Sam! I pulled out the video camera and filmed away, catching big moments like a sneeze, a yawn, hiccups, and lots of looking around! Here's just a little glimpse--we were trying to figure out who he looks like, but now it's still just a big ol' mystery!

You may notice that Sam's sporting a onesie straight out of Lemoore's Naval Air Station! This, we believe, was courtesy of his first cousin once removed, Sissy, who gave it to Sam's second cousin, Philip III, who eventually grew out of it. Then Sam's other first cousin once removed (by marriage), Aleta, passed it on to him. Got that? (And please, correct me if I'm wrong, I had to look at some geneology chart to figure that out!)

Well, no matter who it came from, one thing's for sure, he's definitely the only baby in New York City to rock anything from Lemoore!