A chorus line

I don't consider myself to be horribly uncoordinated, and yet there are moments when I feel that I should reconsider my self-evaluation. Last week (or was it 2 weeks ago? It all runs together) we had a dance call to determine which of the singers would be used as "featured dancers." (actually they call them "singing dancers" to distinguish them from the "real dancers.")

I will mention without a hint of pride that I have been a featured dancer twice in the past, and come to think of it, it was in two separate comic kick lines... which might explain it. Once I was a Russian model with a giant hat in an "impromptu-models-of-the-world" kickline. The other time was in Pirates of Penzance in the With Cat-Like Tread encore. We had glittery hats. I am quite sure that I wrote about it here. It simply gets no better than a Pirate kick-line.

Now to others that were in attendance on that fateful dance call morn, what I'm about to describe may not have even registered with them (unless they were among the fallen.) I should mention too, that I left my bag of dance shoes in NYC in the big rush to Des Moines after Drake's graduation in Texas. I decided that my black puma ballet flats would do. (no buckle, no tie.)

I'll keep this short, cause it all happened within a minute. So all the ladies are holding hands in a circle and we are to do a grapevine which gets progressively faster until we are running with this simple dance pattern. One of my shoes flew off, and one of them simply stayed on the floor where my foot had been and where the other 20 girls were about to step since we were holding hands and running in a circle. Needless to say everyone tripped and the tripping stopped only with the dance instructors intervention. The show must go on, and such.

I don't recall anyone actually hitting the floor, so much as a great and growing stentorian outcry as each colleague twisted an ankle or disrupted the pattern. I confessed promptly, since I was the only one left entirely shoeless in the course of events and hid in the back of the room for the rest of the morning.

I was not selected as a featured dancer, even a funny one this year. But then again I bet none of the selected dancers ever got to rock a Pirate Kick Line.... ;)

4 mile race with Brie

Ran a 4 mile race in Central Park today. That was fun. My time was about what it always is--about 48 minute (12 minute mile) A nice trot it was.

Didn't think I would end up running at all when I woke up at 5am with a migraine-- but fortunately I took medicine and it passed and I drank a "Sports Drink" and sucked it up and ran. It still surprises me that that's something I do now. Even if I don't do it as regularly as when I lived in the south...

Central Park is an awesome place to run a race. So much to see! Zoos and aquariums and weirdos. I love it

Reconstructing Papa Smurf

Before & After

Today I had intended to sleep all day. When this didn't happen, I had to think about something that would make me happy to get up and start my day. The smurf doll has been on the bookcase opposite my bed since we moved to Brooklyn in November and this morning when I sat up, I decided that nothing would make my day brighter than to reconstruct him. What could be better on a lazy Saturday than re-making smurfs??? What I ask you?!

This smurf has a long history. As many of you know, I grew up with Memere, and she was a constant crafter. She was constantly making stuff, and she taught me how to make stuff. There was a time in the early 80's that she was into toy making, did a bunch of dolls, and did a series of Sesame Street characters as well as some Smurfs. I wanted a Smurf SO BAD. She told me if I wanted one I'd have to make it myself. The pattern is complicated, so I started with a doll, and once I had finished that, I lost interest.

Flash forward 20 years to a couple Christmases ago, when Mem had laid out her whole inventory and told us all to take whatever we wanted. Needless to say, I went for the smurf, and he sat a spell in storage, and he sat a spell on the bookcase until this morning when my project began.

First I cut off his hat, eyes, nose, ears and arms. (I had no need to remove a beard, since my mom had ripped it off that Christmas. She said "I always hated that beard. It looks awful") Memere has 47 grandchildren. She was a toy factory. Needless to say, some of the details fell through the cracks. I had to undo about half of his head in order to get the stuffing out, and found something strange! She had stuffed him with an old cut up quilt! How resourceful that Mem is. So I restuffed him and put him back together, made him a new beard (hopefully mother won't rip it off, though she has already threatened...)

Ahhhh... what a great morning!

9, 9, 1, 100

I met George outside of my neighborhood liquor store tonight. He's always there, holding a cup and a cell phone. He talks to everyone as they walk by, but only people who he knows are listening. I've always had my headphones on, and am usually on my way to the grocery store.

Today I went into the liquor store to get some wine, and gave him a dollar on my way out, and he said "Wait! you've been looking for me, haven't you!" Truth be told, I was. He's a bit of an institution on our block, and I'm always interested in meeting interesting characters.

Once we established that I'd been looking for him, he told me the answer I'd been looking for; it's 9, 9, 1, and 100. Now I just have to find the question. When I find it, I'm supposed to report back to him. He said I'd see it within the month.

He also said that while I am a very nice lady, he doesn't like Hilary Clinton one bit.

I've been thinking about the numbers a great deal, because I have no doubt that they will somehow manifest themselves into my life. It works like that more often than reason would suggest.

Crochet Weekend 2008!

So... Kate and I had a weekend devoted solely to crochet toys and here's what happened....

Investment Banking, Valkyries, and Canolis

So am I allowed to still call my blog "Texification" if I am very clearly ensconced in New York City? How strange to have spent 4 years in the South wondering how I got there and then to end up in NYC wondering how I ever got back. Life is funny.

Drake and I got temp jobs right away, which was good. I'm in a long term assignment in Global Corporate Financial Strategy. Isn't that funny too? Don't I strike you as the Corporate type?

We've done many fun things since arriving in NYC we've seen the Dress rehearsal for Die Walkure, which was 5 HOURS LONG. I knew that going into it, but man alive. The third act is the very best act of all. The problem with this is that it doesn't come until the end, and by that time it's almost too late. Almost. I think the scene with the Valkyries is as close as opera singers will ever come to rock stars. When those ladies come out hoi-yo to-ho-ing I wanted to mosh or body surf or light something on fire. As soon as they left the stage I fell promptly to sleep. Drake got mad at me but, as I pointed out, Brunnhilde and Wotan were in exactly the same spot on the stage when I woke up 40 minutes later and I could hear them just fine with my eyes closed.

We also went to a movie premiere. Our friend works for Picturehouse which released "The Orphanage" (presented by the guy who did Pan's Labyrinth.) SO GREAT! so suspenseful and thrilling. And the after-party was great. Many tasty little foods. I love eating.

Speaking of eating.... have I mentioned the deliciousness of the canolis at Fortunato Brothers near my house? MAN ALIVE. these are tasty little devils. Historically, canolis have not been my poison, but now I think about them all the time. We happened upon them one night while re-parking the car. Re-parking the car is a hateful chore, but in this instance it yielded a tasty discovery. Like an oasis in the desert, a single parking spot materialized in front of the bakery and presented us this tasty dessert. Now there is no other dessert for me.

I get like this with desserts. I become entirely consumed with consuming them. For most of my childhood it was Twinkies (not dessert you say? well don't be so elitist.) It was Twinkies until my Aunt Denise encouraged me to eat as many of them as I wanted all in one sitting until I didn't want to eat anymore. I ate the whole box (12?) and never glanced sideways at a twinkie since.

Our new apartment!

OK. So here are the pics of our new apartment!
Here are dad and greg and joe relaxing on our front stoop after the big move!











Our fireplace... the stockings are hung by the chimney with care...



















Drake relaxing on the couch. See the bookshelves up high? Those will extend all the way around the other wall too.

You may notice that we "couched in the door" that's what we're calling it.

We did this because otherwise the couch wouldn't fit, and then where would our friends stay?














The kitchen! more pics will follow, but I have to go to NYC for an audition with Katie!