work

I have one of the best professions ever.
I'm a teacher and a researcher/writer.

I feel appreciated.

I am constantly learning and developing new skills.

I am so connected to my students and we have such a great, easy going relationship.

I am not stuck in an office all day, instead I am using the city as a learning tool and a canvas with which to create documentaries, and not just any type of documentaries, social issue documentaries that have/will make change in the world.

I love my coworkers.

I am writing, not just to write, but to publish, therefore,  I am making a difference in academia through my original research and writing.


Okay, I'm not tooting my own horn, I'm just pointing out the fact that I am so happy at my job. It's one of the only things keeping me in NYC (besides my family and fabulous friends).

toot-toot! lol.

speed runs

I've begun incorporating speed-work into my long-runs. It works out great-- let me tell you why:

Because by the time I get home, I'm really working against the clock. I don't want to be outside running alone in the dark, so I time my runs so that I have to run quicker during the second half in order to make it home before the sun sets!

In other words, I force myself to have a speed workout! HAHAHHA, whatever works, right?

I'm so happy to be back in training season! It feels GREAT!

my weekend

I had a great weekend with amazing friends!

Started out with a birthday party/going away party at Hudson River Cafe in Harlem. What--WHAT!!!

Then had mexican with an amazing person ;)

Then off to Tea Lounge in Park Slope for girl talk and a little help with something that I've been putting off for a long time (but I cant reveal on here due to the moral/ethical questioning that may occur) haha.

I love my ladies!

back in the swing of things

I'm working my running miles back up after taking a little break while I was planning the wedding. I'm now up to 17 miles per week, I could do more but don't want to injure myself. I bought new running shoes and am discovering new routes in Brooklyn and Manhattan via www.mapmyrun.com, a great site which measures how far you run and suggests routes for you.

Each week I'm going to try to increase my mileage by 1-3 miles to play it safe. I'm jumping to 20 miles next week, with my longest run being 6 miles.

I have a 10K (6mile) race in 2 weeks in Central Park, I'm going to work it! Can't wait! Me and my homeboy are running it together, a cop, lets see if I can beat a cop in a race, haha!

I love running, and am so happy to get back into it! Especially because the weather is getting nicer and I see my arm muscles forming and my energy is through the roof!

Running mixed with an intense super charged fight club class that I take twice a week at Harbor Fitness will get me in tip-top shape by the summer and help to me to feel strong again!
(I sound like an infomercial, hahah)

Okay folks, work it--work it!

TODAY...

 I got a european facial,

a haircut, 

I sipped on a PIKE and wrote in my journal, 

spoke to my husband and made marvelous future plans, 

I took a nap and now 

I'm off to the gym, then to a birthday/going away party tonight for one of my High School friends.

It's been a wholesome Saturday so far.

:D

a great friend

One of the greatest people in the world just came over to watch Jersey Shore with me and keep me company. I told her I was having trouble sleeping recently and she came right over! AWWWWW!!! I just think little acts like that are so sweet. 

I'm happy.

the way I live my life right now

I've decided to live a carefree life, full of love, happiness, and pretty things. The less responsibilities I have, the better. Work for now is enough (and I love my job) I say this because I don't want a car, I don't want a pet, I don't want children, I don't want to get into a mortgage right now (maybe in a few months to a year though), I don't want to be tied down with anything more than my job and my husband. I am happy with those two things and want to stay that way! 

Negativity and unnecessary responsibilities OUT (or should I say, DON'T COME IN), 

love and positivity IN!

I need more mini vacays

I just booked a trip to Washington DC for Spring Break! I'm so EXCITED! I need to get away and since I'm planning my future, and preparing for it, I can only afford mini vacations, so Washington DC, here I come! Its only a 4 1/2 hour bus ride away!

a NYC detail

You can do and find anything in NYC, so when I heard that there was a Nikki Beach that just opened in Midtown, I wasn't too surprised, but best believe-- I was all up in it! Its just a NYC coincidence that a friend of mine knows the promoter, so this afternoon, we went there for brunch (which sucked by the way and was way over priced), BUT the ambience was amazing, house music with a live violin player rocking to the music! It was so cool! Plus, all the staff wore all white (very Cuban)!!

When we left it was still daylight, weird... its like a day time club. NICE! I think it's my new Sunday afternoon spot! NYC is so full of amazing places, but so expensive! It really is a city for people that don't mind blowing money!

Paintballing in Long Island

It's cool to have a teenage brother because you get to do young people things and get away with it! :0)

This weekend was my brothers 14th birthday party and we drove out to Long Island with my family and a few of his friends to PAINTBALL! 

Above all else, I was super happy because I had the chance to catch up with my ex-step sister (his half-sister). I haven't had a chance to talk to her for about five years since my dad and her mom divorced. It was such a nice bonding experience and I'm glad that my other brother was there too. God knows we had FOUR hours to wait until the kiddies were done, so we occupied our time by filling each other in on our lives.

Anyway, Long Island seems to be THE IT PLACE for paintballing. It was kind of creepy because it looked like a military base and sounded like 200 people had some pretty bad gas, ewwwww...

Well, it was an overall unique experience. Glad I had it. I should enjoy it while it lasts, because I wont have another sibling going through this, EVER... well, you never know, haha (but I hope not).

St Paddys Day 2011, NYC

I had the best NYC St Patricks Day celebration ever! (but nothing could ever top my Belfast celebration, it was just wild!)

I met some friends in the city and we went Irish Bar hopping. It was mad. I got home at 4am and had to work the next day (today) at 9am. Complete Craziness, and I loved every second of it! Too bad my camera battery died! arg...

The Irish are some of my favorite people in the world! GREAT CULTURE! 

Happy St. Patricks Day!

not enough time! ahh!!!

I'm finding it very difficult, or should I say time consuming to work full time, take care of my home, have a social life and train like I want to. I am sleeping less as a result. I usually sleep 9-10 hours a night, now its more like 7-8, which is okay, but I would like more.

Cooking dinner and cleaning takes about two hours in total. I'm a vegetarian, so there's a lot of cleaning, peeling, chopping and slow simmering involved. I also bring the leftovers to work for lunch, so I have to put it in Tupperware. After that, I have to wipe everything down and wash and dry the dishes. IT TAKES FOREVER! I took for granted having my husband here. He did EVERYTHING!

I just took the garbage out (recycling!!!), and I don't want to sound like a spoiled brat, but I think that was the first time I did that in my NYC LIFE!

Yesterday, after returning from a 4-mile run, I couldn't make a snack without cleaning the house, so I sweeped, cleaned the mirrors, tidy-upped the bathroom, and made the bed. I was starving by the time I was done, but I wanted everything to look beautiful and orderly, so I am forced to do it now.

I know I'm babbling on about all this being alone nonsense, but its the small things that I am realizing that need to get done that I never did before. I always lived with someone!

Now I come home and its a silent house, although I don't mind that too much, haha.

More soon.

our first property-- in the beginning stages

I'm so excited because my husband and I (formerly known as Spanish guy, what should I call him now on blogger?) is in the works of buying property in Spain. My husband is there now looking at places and talking to people and the great thing is one of our good friends is a lawyer so he'll help us for free!

It's so exciting to think of! We probably wont live there for the first year because we will be in NYC (I love my job and am not ready to leave it yet, plus I'm saving lots of money that will be helpful for the move), but its great that someone else can pay off our mortgage (especially after I was paying off someone else's for so long).

Aside from looking at property, my husband is also preparing for a government exam to have a life-time job as a teacher.

I'm so proud of him. It's so exciting to think of our future, and in case you're wondering, we've decided not to have kids, at least not for 6-8 more years. We don't want to ruin the unique flexibility of our relationship.

We just want to enjoy one another.

Happy, exciting times!

Brooklyn Batting Cages

I've been dabbling in different things throughout NYC, just to see what new interests I would come across. Last weekend my family and I went to the batting cages and it was great! I knew I liked baseball/softball. I was on my High Schools team and loved it, never missed a game.

This experience was great for me. I'll be going every weekend for a few hits. It's a few minutes from where I live. FUN FUN FUN!

NYC newlywed

I'm a NYC newlywed alone in NYC. My husband is away for a few months and I find myself sitting on my funky red couch watching Jersey Shore alone. I went to the gym today and I took my time, after all, I had no one to come home and have dinner with. I'm on my own schedule now. I don't have to take care of anyone but myself, but that doesn't mean that I don't think of my husband. I was thinking of him all day and I'm sure I'll think of him everyday until he gets back.

I'm going to use this time in a positive way. I have five races that are coming up. I'll be training for them. I'm going to focus on work, I'm teaching an advanced film class this semester and my students are amazing! I'm also going to read more novels and write in my journal a bit more.

I'm sure the time will speed by, but I miss him a lot.

I'll talk to him tomorrow. :)

For now, I'm a NYC newlywed living all alone.

He's leaving

I'm a newlywed, and its wonderful, but tomorrow, my husband is leaving for a while. He's going back to Spain and will be back this summer.

More soon. 

It's my last night with him for a long time.

I hope the time flies...

a wedding gift.

A wedding gift from a dear friend of mine. 

It brought tears to our eyes when we watched it. 

The story of our romance leading to our engagement.

Untitled from F T on Vimeo.

wedding day, 2/19/11

This is one of a few pictures I'll post of the wedding. I just want to say, this day was filled with so much love and happiness. The ceremony was perfect. Spanish guy was so emotional, he could hardly speak, it was wonderful to see the love in his eyes, and I hope I showed him mine. Feb 19th, para siempre en our hearts. 

My Husband and I in the everglades: Honeymoon #3

I made him sit near the edge of the airboat in case there was a little accident, if you know what I mean... hehe. Definitely one of the most memorable experiences of my life! The boat ride was insane! So fast and loud, and the driver would spin the boat around in a circle to stop it as it was stopping, mud would fly everywhere and he would suddenly fly out like a jumping bean and roll around in the swap! It was insane and I loved every second of it! Afterwards my husband got to hold a teenage alligator. I was too scared, but he wasn't. Good for him! We also saw a peacock in a tree! CRAZY!!!!

Honeymoon #2: MIAMI BEACH

Miami was a bit more crazy than Key West for us. We knew it would be. Thats why we saved it for the second half of our honeymoon. We know this is not a typical romantic place for honeymooners, BUT we are young and want to have fun! PLUS, the beaches are the BEST IN THE WORLD!

We stayed in the heart of South Beach, Collins ave and 14th street, SMACK in the middle of it all. We woke up early everyday and had an early breakfast before heading to the beach to play our favorite sport: beach paddle ball! We play it every time we go to the beach. Our relationship has been a beach relationship. We met in a beach city, we went on vacations to beach towns, and we just love everything about it! SO after being in NYC for 8 months, we enjoyed every single second of the beach! Even sitting and watching the beach sunset! We were definitely in our element, especially my HUSBAND coming from a warm climate in the south of Spain!

Anyway, I won't bore you all with the rest of the details, so I'll stop here. Next blog: our everglades trip!

Living in the f-in life of luxury-- Honeymoon #1: KEY WEST

(for all my Brooklynites out there, you understand my title, I'm sure)

We are in route to to NYC right now. Probably flying over North Carolina or somewhere around there. It's 8:34pm on the East Coast and we are set to land in JFK at 10:20pm. My HUSBAND and I are on our way back from our honeymoon. We spent the last eight days and seven nights in Key West and Miami Beach (South Beach). We are so sad to be coming but... but... we won't worry because we will be back in ESPANA SOON!

Anyway, that last comment merits its own blog post and this isn't the space for it. 

We were living in honeymoon bliss this last week. Walking through small towns in Key West and visiting the southern most everything in the US! (I'm going to write another blog about Miami, I'll keep this one about Key West). Its like we had the whole island to ourselves (although in reality there were a bunch of people there) but we walked along the shore, swam in the pools, watched the sunset, and enjoyed every single moment of our time there, especially the beautiful drive to get there, over the seven mile bridge!

It was just great to have the sun kissing our skin every moment of the day. Such a great place to spend our honeymoon. It will forever be in our hearts.