Wednesday, February 29, 2012

moving

As I made my way from my house to the train station this morning, I realized that it was one of the last few times that I will be making that journey. It was representative of a lot of things in my life that will soon come to an end. Things that I took for granted, or things that I hardly noticed, but played a major role in my everyday life.

I will no longer be near my family. I will no longer be near my friends. I wont be in the neighborhood I grew up in with familiar faces, stores, trees, cars, parks, and subways. I know this may sound so silly, but these are the small things that make up a community, and community is a big part of peoples lives (good or bad, in my case, good).

Its sad for me.

I know I will be okay in my new neighborhood (which by the way-- Im moving into the city!), but it just wont be the same. I have to create a new community- or be accpted into an old one. I have to make new friends and meet my neighbors. I have to get used to my new route to work and get to know the neighborhoods' resturants and shops.

They say that moving is one the three major stressors in a persons life. And now, after so much instability, I realize why.

I'll be okay though. I appreciate what I had and embrace the new, its just a little sad, thats all.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

NYC rental horror story.

Spanish guy and I signed a lease on an (way under our budget) apartment. It turns out that the lease was incomplete and there are MAJOR problems with the building, not to mention the landlord. NOW-- we are trying to get out of it and get ALL our money back (Im intentionally being vague). This landlord DOES NOT know what she got herself into this time. I guess she is used to renting to people with little or no power or means to take action, but she best believe that a hurricane of legal action and community organizing is coming if my money is not refunded IN FULL and steps are taken to repair the building for all of the current and future tenants!


More NYC rental horror stories to come.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Celebrating our 1st anniversary

I had a magical anniversary weekend in Massachusetts. Spanish guy and I really didn't do anything out of the ordinary (except visit the Sam Adams Brewery, which was great), we just walked around, ate, slept, joked around, watched the sun rise and set and we were content. We are happy and appreciate the little things in life.

A new environment is all a couple needs sometimes to refresh their relationship and put things in perspective. We were both pretty bummed to return to NYC, but we have a lot of exciting things ahead of us, like a new place to live, a summer in Europe and Spanish guy will be getting a new job.

So although vacations are great, they are not everything. 

Our year of marriage has brought us a lot of heart ache, drama, separateness, and we were on the brink of divorce. But with a lot of love, understanding/ listening, we were able to build our relationship back up and really work on being a couple as well as loving our lives separately (if you don't love yourself and your life ALONE, you shouldn't invite someone else into it). Compassion and understanding is key in every relationship. We are both committed to living healthy, extraordinary lives (not following society) and enjoying every step of the way.

Heres to one year of marriage and a lifetime more!
CHEERS!

Early morning walk on  Nantasket Nature Reserve beach
A light house in the distance. This is serenity, New England style.
Paradise at our resort. They made it into a summer oasis @ Nantusket Resort and Spa.
Our anniversary dinner at Noche in downtown Boston, a complimentary glass of Champaign from the wait staff.
Our balcony view. amazing.
Sam Adams Brewery tour, and free tasting glasses (that we accidentally broke right after, haha)
Free party bus from the brewery to an old Irish Pub. PARTY ROCK!

We continue to build and develop our relationship intimately and openly so that we can be a model, not a statistic. Marriage is a difficult thing, but one of the most beautiful relationships one can have (if done correctly).

I document my marriage through this blog as well as my personal life and goals in order to reflect back and demonstrate that you don't have to loose yourself when in a relationship. Be an happy individual as well as a compassionate open partner.

More soon.

the stomach virus, bleh!

I dont know whats been up with me these last few years. I keep on getting stomach viruses. THANK GOD that my latest one started right when I returned from my anniversary weekend (and not during). I was stuck in bed with the worst cramps ever, and couldn't keep anything in. It must have been all the junk food that I ate while in Massachusetts. Whatever it is, I'm taking it easy this week. Nothing crazy like I originally planned, haha. My stomach is still a bit upset so bland food it is!

At least now I can get some work done and blog a bit more! woo-hoo!

xo

Sunday, February 19, 2012

One Year Wedding Anniversary

Today is our one year anniversary -- we ended the year with coffee and a sunset in New England.

Now on to Boston for the REAL celebration!



More when we get back!

Friday, February 17, 2012

vacation

I'm FREE for a week!
I'm on winter break and boy-oh-boy do I have plans!


I'll be celebrating my one year wedding anniversary in two days. Spanish guy and I are leaving tomorrow to go to Hull, Massachusetts.  We'll spend our wedding day on the beach and then exploring Boston and enjoying each other and the new scenery.


When we return, I'm hitting up the meat packing district and sleeping in. I also am going to play volley ball, tennis, run, and ice skate! CANT WAIT! We are also going back to Pennsylvania to snowboard, and hopefully we can get our new apartment ready and set a move-in date (officially). 


I really need this vacation, I need time alone to enjoy myself and get my sanity back! It couldn't have come at a better time!


More soon.
xo

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Valentines Day and Society

Valentines day was special, as its always been for me. 

Everyone always says that you have to show love all year round and that it shouldn't be just on valentines day (blah blah blah), yes, it should be all year long, (if its only one day a year you need to re-evaluate your relationship), but its special because this is the one day a year that everyone is planning and making their partner feel special as a society, as a world. I think its beautiful that we have one day a year in which the majority of  couples celebrate and appreciate each other TOGETHER (yeah its a shame that people jack up prices on most things, but thats a side effect of the mass love). For the ones that don't celebrate because they believe its a hallmark holiday, those are the people that I think have a chip on their shoulders, but hey, to each his own. We complain when we collectively do bad things (like war) and complain when we do good things as a society. With some people, you can never win.

I used to question everything... now I just appreciate the traditions and use them as a meaningful way to connect in a special way to my partner and my community.

It was beautiful to see so many men walking through the streets with flowers in their hands. Im sure their partners had an even bigger smile on their faces.

As for me:
We celebrated in the house, making home-made mini pizzas together and chatting. Spanish guy bought me a Flamenco DRESS and red carnations! I was SO HAPPY, I wanted a Spanish dress for so long! :D





Monday, February 13, 2012

last few days at home.

I'm trying to cherish the last few days in my house. 
Its the house I got married in, and although it is small, it will hold a big place in my heart.


Im still trying to get myself out of whatever I'm in right now.
This whole move thing is not helping...

Friday, February 10, 2012

getting out of a funk

Theres only one way out of a funk, and its not medication or supression. Its self empowerment and self love. Its normal to feel down once in a while -- especially when life gets difficult. I cried all day today. I had to leave work early. I cried on the train. I tried to pretend I had a cold so people wouldn't think I was crying. Sometimes even the strongest of people, the happiest of people go through hard times, and the strongest of people get out of them and become even stronger.

Thats what I'm trying to do now.

I just had a little snack of natural peanut butter on whole wheat bread with a cafe con leche that Spanish Guy made for me. Now I'm blogging, and in a bit I'll go for a short run while really concentrating on my breathing.

Later on tonight I'm going salsa dancing. My soul needs it.

But let me just sit with my fluffy pink robe for a minute more and self reflect...

breath in, breath out

My mind is racing, my throat is tight. Me cuesta dormir por la noche y estoy triste a veces. Hopefully it will pass soon, because this should be a happy time in my life.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

on moving

I’ve been searching for an apartment for just about a month now. I currently live in a (pretty nice) basement, but Spanish guy and I desperately craved windows with lots of sunshine to illuminate our abode, not to mention our lives. So when we started the search, we decided to look in the neighborhood that we were currently living. Way to high – the price I mean. This made me nervous, MY WHOLE LIFE WAS IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD! My friends, my gym, the express train into Manhattan, EVERYTHING!

I thought that if I moved out I would turn into this blubbering, extra large, friendless, pathetic person! That would be the end of me! My social life revolved around my gym and my community!

But then, I opened up my mind a bit. Maybe its okay to explore other areas, maybe I can make new friends, and maybe I can find serene little streets and nature to run in. And that’s what we did. We decided to move to Bayridge, Brooklyn.

Its a neighborhood with lots of walking and running trails along the East River, a park with views of lower Manhattan, tons of restaurants, bars, clubs, lounges, and an eclectic mix of people.

We found a lovely place in a prewar building with hardwood floors, original details, and get this: A VIEW OF THE RIVER! Views in NYC are very hard to come by, so as soon as we saw it we put a deposit down to secure it!

We are trying to stay smart and not give into the American culture of HUGE houses, TWO cars, and living WAY above your means. We also don't want too much responsibility (I know I mentioned this before), but the more responsibility you have, the more stress you have and the worse your life becomes. We are avoiding this at all costs! We actually rented this place for a lot less than we can afford. Now we have disposable income for travel and sports, and we STILL have a super cute place to go home to every night.

So maybe I won’t turn into a blubbering mess, maybe we will be okay in Bayridge.

Actually, I’m sure we will.



Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The Giants, go NY go NY GO!

It was a weekend of the Giants! Spanish guy and I ran the Gridiron Classic with the New York Road Runners in Central Park on Sunday morning at 9am, as a nice healthy way to celebtae the Giants making it to the Superbowl. Later in the evening (after a little cat nap) we headed to our local sports bar to cheer on NYC!

When they won, I was so happy! Jumping up and down, slapping strangers five, whistling, yelling in the streets. LOCURA!

Unfortunately I had to work yesterday so I couldn't get to the parade -- but Spanish guy and my brother went and said it was GREAT! They saw the Giants passing by on the trucks, and they said the energy was through the roof!

So COOL! Proud day for NYC! FUN FUN FUN! 
Next up: Baseball, and more races for Spanish Guy & I 
Racing season has begun!