We made it!

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Friday is upon us! This week dragged indescribably long, so I am happier than you know to bid it adieu.We've made it. 8 more and hours and we can sleep in as late as we want and avoid the cold, cold early morning air. I have plans to hit up a dive bar tonight and I can't wait for a good, cold beer and a night out. I hope you all have relaxing weekends planned ahead, or at least really, really fun ones!

blustery day

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I woke up to quite the winds this morning - and I slept incredibly poorly last night due to insane gusts shaking my window panes and knocking some irritating thing outside into my wall. I woke up with exhausted eyes and an unwilling brain but I forced myself up and out and into the winds and now here I sit, willing the weekend to be here already. This week has felt very long, I can't say why but it most decidedly has and all I really want to do is to reach Friday night so my plans to go for a cocktail can be put into action.

uuuggghhhh! and mint milanos

KAREN: Where is my Mint Milano?
ROSARIO: I don’t know, lady. Maybe you ate it.
KAREN: No! I would remember. You know that I allow myself one Mint Milano per day. And now, I cannot have another Mint Milano until tomorrow. And yes, I’m sure that my doctor would be very happy if I could go a day without a Mint Milano. But I say a person’s got to enjoy life! I want my Mint Milano!
ROSARIO: What are those crumbs on your jacket?
KAREN: …Mint Milano. Maybe I did eat it.

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I had a lovely post all written up, complete with a picture I really liked, somehow hit the backspace button at the perfect time, and the whole thing is gone. Daggammit! I hate technology. Suffice it to say, last night I enjoyed some delicious drinks and Cuban tapas after work, and then - rather than get myself a healthful dinner - I popped into my local bodega for what my body was really wanting, Mint Milanos, and treated myself to a sleeve of them after a halting chat in Spanish with the cashiers who grinned at me, and nodded, and helped me along as I needed it. It was a very nice evening, all said, and I hope everyone (yours truly included) has a lovely Wednesday today!

whoopsie

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It is rainy and gloomy today - although decidedly warm as the temperature hovers in the 60's, I swear I will never get used to such humidity! - and I had fully intended to go around my neighborhood taking pictures of the Christmas lights last night so I could post them here. But I did not, and so while such images would have surely brightened up your day as well as mine, we must do without. In other news, yesterday marked my 300th post on this blog! Who would have thought that I would have been able to fill up so many? And mostly with pictures I did not take, and filled with ramblings about this thing called weather. Oh heavens why do any of you read this again?? I hope you all enjoy your Tuesdays, and I promise I'll get some holiday cheer up on these pages very soon! Oh, and that piccy has nothing to do with anything, it just made me smile. That, and I appreciate odd-looking Mario's thought process.

delighting in overindulgence

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A dear friend from home extended a business trip to the city to get to hang out this weekend (never have I been more popular than since moving to this bustling metropolis!) and we spent Saturday wandering around the city along with a friend of his from college. By "wandering around the city" I do of course mean drinking and eating all day long. It was a glorious way to keep back in touch although sitting in a dark bar all day is seldom my ideal way to spend a weekend. With the right company however - and done in moderation - it can be quite fun and such was the case this weekend. I - pride point! - managed to pace the entire day getting only mildly buzzed so I staved off both too much over-imbibing as well as the day-drinking sleeps.

I did of course end the day on Saturday feeling quite sluggish and a bit ill as that many bubbles and fried delights are bound to take a toll. So on Sunday, waking up a mere 3 hours after hitting the sheets to ensure the necessary return-to-Cali plane was caught, and then sleeping my face off once more until the early afternoon, I dragged myself to the gym. Getting my muscles engaged felt amazing, even more so thanks to the quiet nature of my gym at 1 pm on a Sunday. I even followed up with a yoga class at a little gym near by new neighborhood, which ended up being one-on-one between me and the instructor as I was the only attendee to show up. I walked home from that class feeling more relaxed and calm than I had in recent memory, which says as much for physical exertion as it does for the wonder of yoga and my very relaxed, encouraging teacher. A wonderful weekend, all said, and now let's make this Monday productive!

Friday Friday Fri-day!

 For some reason I woke up feeling completely exhausted this morning, refused to get up to go to the gym, and didn't even roll out of bed until a half hour past my usual rising time. Then before getting on the train to come into the city I popped by my favorite local bodega for some coffee, ran a quick little errand, and made a phone call. I almost think that doing something active before "starting" my day - and something different than just schlepping to the gym - has quite improved my outlook. It's really rather lovely. I hope this weekend finds all of you well and that you have a fantastic time!

new month

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There's something about a new month. Especially when it's the month in which to wrap up all the old stuff from the previous year, that can be very enlightening. Welcome to December 1, 2011 folks, the last month of the year. A fresh day for cleaning and tidying up the remnants of 2011, and looking forward to what 2012 will bring us!