Is this the end?

December 31, 2012 - Pic #366

Wow. Bitter Sweet... this is the last one. Like we all must, as I say goodbye to 2012, I look forward to 2013. Happy New Year's eve!

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December 30, 2012 - Pic #366

A rare sight! 2008 NYC Reunion: Becca, Sesi and Meghan were all visiting from their respective new cities at the same time. We went to Cilantros, a favorite of Meghan's that I've somehow never been to before. Good friends and good fun!

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December 29, 2012 - Pic #364

While home, I do love baking/cooking with the parents. I finally gathered the courage to try making Arancini (Italian rice balls) from a recipe in a cookbook I got in Sicily five years ago. From start to finish the whole operation took a little over four hours, but it was worth it! Hard to tell here, but they are the size of baseballs. Delicious. 

September Snap Shot

Well, this blog certainly got away from me. I'm a little sad about it, but not surprised. I am glad that I kept it up for as long as I did, since most of my journals and diaries in past years only ever lasted until about January 10th :). However, I have kept up the picture a day project, and that's the real win. With a couple of exceptions, I've managed to get one picture posted on Facebook each day by Midnight. 

Anyway... a lot has happened in the last three months, some of which is really difficult to think about, much less write about. 2012 has certainly been a roller coaster of a year. Since I want to see this project to its end, I've decided to do one long post each for the months of September, October and November. 

Enjoy!

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September 3, 2012 - Pic #247

Laboring on Labor Day! With the wall officially down in our new giant living room, we decided to liven up the space with some color. Bee-yoo-ti-ful, if I do say so myself.  

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September 4, 2012 - Pic #248

Kittens were not happy to be awoken from their cat nap. I'm glad to have gotten this picture of them together :). 
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September 5, 2012 - Pic #249

Remember rock band? Sesi, Tara and I brought it back tonight, Beatles style. We are need of a drum set, though...
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September 6, 2012 - Pic #250

Early morning view of the East River from the 16th floor of 199 Water Street. 
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September 7, 2012 - Pic #251

Blimp! According to this, there are only 43 blimps in the world. Also, happy 17th birthday, Kailey!
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September 8, 2012 - Pic #252

This might be the saddest art I've ever seen. Poor turtle can't go anywhere! 
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September 9, 2012 - Pic #253

It's dangerous living with a roommate who likes to bake: Maple Bacon cupcakes happened. I helped... but only with the eating part. 
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September 10, 2012 - Pic #254

This was a very hard day. Found out that Franny Pants is really sick. Sesi came over to visit for a bit and gave me her good luck charm. Friends like her are one in a million. 
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September 11, 2012 - Pic #255

No one will ever forget the events of September 11, 2001, especially Downtown Manhattanites. But, this tower, as intended, does represent new beginnings. It's easy to become jaded, seeing it every day on my way to and from work, but today is a day to remember. 
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September 12, 2012 - Pic #256

12:12 on the 12th! Most 12:12 pics this year have been during lunch hour or meetings at work. It's both comforting and a little sad that my life is so routine. At least I have good friends to share the time with :). 
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September 13, 2012 - Pic #257

A few of us threw Mike and Manny a surprise wedding shower at the Chalk today! It was a super cute hit.
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September 14, 2012 - Pic #258

I was hoping if I stared long enough they would turn into a flash mob - or at least one of them would wave. No dice. 
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September 15, 2012 - Pic #259

Oh hey - surprise party number 2! Brunch was a wonderful time, and the Snickerdicker cookies I made were delicious. These are some lucky boys :).
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September 16, 2012 - Pic #260

This picture project has forced me to acknowledge how often I do nothing. But at least I do it with Friends. 
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September 17, 2012 - Pic #261

"Whatever happened to predictability?" or "Rice-a-roni, the San Francisco treat!" Yes, I am riding on the side of a Trolley and taking a selfie. Only slightly dangerous, but totally worth it. I was nervous about traveling alone, but I actually had a blast walking around a new city and getting completely lost. I even scored a free bus ride from a generous driver after he realized I had no idea where I was. I think I could live in this city. With all the hills, I'd certainly have buns of steel. 
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September 18, 2012 - Pic #262

Day 1 of the Dreamforce Conference, and I hadn't made any real friend yes. Luckily, Saasie was there to keep me company. Dreamforce posted this picture on Facebook and tagged me, forcing me to explain to several co-workers that this is actually work. 
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September 19, 2012 - Pic #263

Day 2 of Dreamforce, and I've made some friends! Sir Richard Branson isn't one of them, but we did brush shoulders. I almost tipped over after backing up into a security guard that was escorting Sir Richard and Marc Benioff (CEO of Salesforce) around the exhibition floor. The conference was fairly star-studded, with the likes of MC Hammer, the Cake Boss, and Colin Powell, to name a few. 
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September 20, 2012 - Pic #264

Mooooooo. Day 3 of Dreamforce. I chose a very bad time to leave the exhibition hall. There is an escalator of people off to the right funneling into a completely full lobby, with hundreds of people trying to move in different directions. Turns out Tony Robbins was on a podium a few feet to my left giving an interview, but I didn't realize that until I had already waded out of harm's way. 
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September 21, 2012 - Pic #265

Sad to leave San Francisco! I missed the last day of the conference in order to make it back for a very important social event :). I had a truly wonderful time and met so many fantastic people. 
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September 22, 2012 - Pic #266

Happy Wedding, Mike and Manny! It was a beautiful ceremony and a helluva dance party. 
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September 23, 2012 - Pic #267

When this picture was taken, I thought Franny was on the mend. It turns out she was not, in fact. I'm so grateful that she had such amazing care and love from my parents in her final weeks. 
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September 24, 2012 - Pic #268

Over the last two years, I've spent many an hour stuck on the LIE in bumper-to-bumper traffic. At least it affords some quality thinking time. 
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September 25, 2012 - Pic #269

PSA from a Dunkin Donuts' bathroom. Desperation beyond words - at least English ones. 
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September 26, 2012 - Pic #270

Sugar cookies are appropriate any time of the year... all you have to do is change the color of the sprinkles!
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September 27, 2012 - Pic #271

Just a band's sticker on some light post in the city... but "meaningless" in Italian has a lot of meaning for me :). 
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September 28, 2012 - Pic #272

It's never good to come home late at night and find ConEd digging a giant hole outside your building. I was happy to find that our power was a-okay.
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September 29, 2012 - Pic #273

The beauty of having an iPhone is that is provides endless ways to waste time. Seriously though, this is suspect. 
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September 30, 2012 - Pic #274

The Medieval Festival in the Bronx was awesome, to say the least. However, the jousters really could have used some more practice. Two fell off during the show, and one had to be taken to the hospital. Talk about a stressful show! 

12:12 on the 12th - STRIKE!

August 12, 2012 - Pic #225

Post babysitting? Midnight bowling with Sesi! We were both pretty terrible... but at least we got to pay a fortune for it! 

And many more!

Pic #211 - July 29, 2012 

Happy Birthday, Sesi! Went to a birthday brunch at Amy Ruth's (Chicken and Waffles) in East Harlem. Delicious... and awesome star lights.

Mooooooooo

Pic #209 - July 27, 2012

Yankees/Red Sox game with Matt, Carrie and Sesi was a success! Well, for the Yankees fans, at least :).  Unfortunately we had to 'moo' our way home through the commuter cattle in a billion degree subway heat. 

Mermaids are such lushes

Pic #192 - July 10, 2012

Sesi and I went to Cowgirl Seahorse for dinner tonight, since neither of us felt like going home and doing work. My glass of pinot grigio came complete with a tiny plastic mermaid, and I stole Sesi's so mine wouldn't get lonely. Of course, they were dunked on my first sip... which is how long it took me to realize why cocktail decorations usually only adorn drinks with straws. 

Beat Ba Beat Ba Ba Ba Beat - Go Bayside!

Pic #181 - June 29, 2012

Sesi's birthday is still a month away, but her present arrived early and I was way too excited about it to wait. If you don't know who the Bayside Tigers are... friendship over.

The Return of the Sesi!

Pic #147 - May 27, 2012. 

Any day Sesi is in NYC is a good one! And now we have a whole summer's worth :). Welcome back, G!

Sleepy time in Cyberspace

Pic #51 - 2/20/12

Didn't know what to do with myself after I finished my paper this afternoon...

May I take your coat?

Tried to be fancy in a fancy restaurant tonight and it just. wasn't. happening. Restaurant Week at Nino's...decided upon because of its Upper East Side location and the fact that Regis is a regular. Kind of sad he didn't show. More on that later...

Pic #34 - 2/3/12

I'm going to dream about this for months. 

Bonus Pic: 

Sesi!! :)