If I knew it'd be this way, I'd do it all again.

So quite a few really awesome things have happened since my last few posts. I don't want to be too long-winded, so I'll try to keep it short and sweet. I can't concentrate much anyway; construction right in front of my building makes it difficult to even hear the television. I included some photos and what not to try to break it up a bit.

Color Run
Went back to Michele's in Maryland and spent a night watching television, eating pizza, and drinking beer (ale, but whatever). Then got up the next morning and ran 2.5 miles. Not quite a 5k, but still impressive for me considering November was my least active month since March. It was a nice visit and I'm glad I went, though we did lose some time together due to the upcoming holiday season! Blah, retail. Either way, my shoes are still colorful—and at a recent trip to the gym, I busted through them. So I've officially worn them out, which means I get a new pair of running shoes this spring!! :)

These used to be pink!

Cowboys Game!
Despite below-freezing temperatures, a torturous windchill, and seats one row from the top of the stadium, Matt and I went to our first NFL game. And, again, despite all those factors, we had a really great time. Those tickets were easily one of the best gifts he's ever given me (ranked up there with my Kindle Fire and my Pandora bracelets). We spent $5 on hot chocolate, almost $20 on hot dogs, and $5 on a bottle of water that froze before halftime. We couldn't feel our feet or our hands and I'm pretty sure I had windburn on my cheeks. A win is a win and should always be celebrated, but a win against the Giants is definitely worth sitting in the freezing cold next to middle-aged men who lack the creativity to come up with a taunt better than "Romo is a homo." I yelled and cheered, but next time, I want to be extra obnoxious and wear my jersey and paint my face—as long as it's an early game next year instead of one in the dead of winter.

Being an ass before the game.

First Cowboys touchdown with 4:17 left in the first quarter! <3 04/17/05

NaNoWriMo
As stated in my previous post, I signed up for National Novel Writing Month toward the end of October to get my butt in gear, creatively. The goal, through the website, was to write 50,000 words in November. I didn't reach that goal (November was such a horrible month for free time!), but I got closer than expected. With Constance's encouragement and Matt's helpful feedback between the last week of October and November 29, I managed to write 40,843 words. Which is approximately 41,000 words more than I've written in years so... I'm happy with it! After the holidays, I plan to pick it back up, but I'm not going to try to kill myself to hit numbers. I got fewer hours of sleep and only managed to work out twice the entire month because I put this task first, so if I pick it back up again, I'm going to need to balance it with the rest of my life—which will be a bigger challenge than meeting any word counts. I have no real plans for this; it's just nice to be creative now and then.

Working title: Forgotten but Not Gone

Dave's Wedding
The day NaNoWriMo ended was the same day Matt and I took to the road for Dave's wedding! We rented a car, enjoyed really great weather, and actually made it to the church with plenty of time to share. It was nice to see everyone and though we didn't do as much dancing as I'd hoped we would (or any, really), we had a pretty good time. In our almost nine years together, it was the first wedding we went to as a couple and I doubt it'll be the last. Hopefully more dancing at the next one!

Love <3

The New York Times and The View
Work's been really great recently—other than an insane workload and some unforeseen sudden deadlines. The Fall 2013 season was the first of which I had books come out that I personally acquired, so I found myself watching sales figures, self-promoting (as can be seen on my Facebook) as often as possible, and bugging publicity for any and all updates. This is going to seem like a brag-fest, so my apologies ahead of time. Some highlights:

Why Do Only People Get Abducted by Aliens? was named one of Kirkus's Most Anticipated Fall Debuts.

Left had favorable reviews and was blurbed by New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt.

Kitchen Things was named one of 2013's Best Books to Get You Thinking About Food by AP, appeared on the New York Times website, and was called a "coffee-table must" by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Victorian Secrets was discussed on The Today Show, and author Sarah Chrisman has been interviewed for magazines and newspapers in various countries (including Italy and Australia) and was featured in the print and online editions of the New York Times. She also appeared on a short segment of The View in early December. I was able to go to ABC's studios with her publicist and we hung out in her dressing room and backstage during the taping. Experiences include: meeting Ryan from All My Children and chatting Whoopi up in the hallway. It was a great time and I'd definitely do it again. :)

Our book is available for pre-order!

Our book!

Set for release in April 2014 (just in time for our nine-year anniversary!), you can get the book Matt and I put together (illustrated by Kerri) at Amazon, B&N, Walmart, and some place called Fish Pond. It's just a little quote book, so there's no real publicity or anything like that, but I still think you should buy a copy! We spent many of our Sundays in the park flipping through books, at B&N going through magazines, and on our couch, reviewing page after page and writing introductions. We're proud of this, and we can't wait for everyone to have a copy. :)

Book #2, for me at least

And since the kitchen book is wrapped up, I may as well report on a new development: I'll be writing The Little White Book of Wedding Planning Wisdom for publication in Spring 2015. I've never been married, but I was supposed to be in two weddings at one point! I pitched this book as a quote book to fit our series, but a few minutes later, it turned into something much more, so now in addition to quotes, lists, etc., there will be real advice and research and we'll see how it goes. I'm excited about this one, and I should learn quite a bit that will hopefully come in handy in the future...

Christmas plans
The tree's up, presents are wrapped, and it's only December 11! All that's left for me is stocking stuffers. And I'm pretty sure Matt did some shopping Monday night, so I may actually have gifts to open on Christmas day! We're heading home for a day or two, but plan to be back in the city for Christmas Eve since we both have work that day and the day after the holiday.

The next few Sunday/Monday combos are vital for us in terms of holiday preparation and just spending time together. Matt's schedule is changing after New Years, which means we're back to seeing each other maybe twelve hours a week (Monday and Tuesday nights). This is inconvenient for a variety of reasons (no more Super Bowl party, no more huge birthday celebration, significantly less time together, absolutely no time together in daylight hours... I can go on), and we're both incredibly unhappy about it. We'll see what happens. Not looking forward 2014 in that respect, but there's so much more to think about so... it'll be okay.

I commited myself to this today.

Let the games begin!

If I had a bucket list... (Or, that moment when I get all reflective after reaching a big goal)

It's that time of year again—tea time! (Or at least, it is this week. No telling when the summer weather will return... again.) I pulled our tea pot out for the first time since... since we moved in, maybe? I can't remember ever running when the whistle sounded in this apartment until tonight.

Making tea or this fake cappuccino stuff always reminds me of the ten or so months I lived alone in W-B. At that point, I actually poured the water into a ceramic tea pot and brought it out to my living room, where I'd sip on it for hours while I worked and felt... utterly lonely instead of independent and accomplished.

As I sip my "cappuccino" tonight, I don't feel lonely. I am independent and I am accomplished. As of this past Saturday, I've checked another item off my bucket list—a list that doesn't actually even exist. Something I just mentally add to from time to time when I decide there's absolutely something I have to do—something I won't settle until I do.

This Saturday, I ran my first official 5k! Paid, registered, got a bib, received an official time, and didn't walk a step (though I did have to stop dead in my tracks when a little girl toddled out in front of me...... and when I almost tossed my cookies at the end during a sprint to the finish line). I didn't do as well as I wanted to (40:37... meh. I've done 37 minutes by myself), but figuring in the trappings of a head cold, an unexpected hill, a few annoying kids on scooters on the trail, and not training to my full ability the week before (because I was psyching myself out and making myself feel sick/injured)... I did well. I finished, which was my real goal.

(Pics below.)

Huge thanks for Michele for motivating me the whole way, whether I actually comprehended what she was saying or not. Not sure if I would've stopped and walked for a bit if she hadn't been by my side the whole time. <3

And huge thanks to Matt for making me feel guilty for even considering skipping my runs from time to time and for getting up at 8 on a Saturday morning to hold our bags while we ran. <3 <3

Before April of this year, I hadn't been able to run a minute without feeling like my heart was going to explode. These days, running a mile is a "quickie" and two miles is a "short run." Though I did reach my goal of actually running and finishing this race, it definitely won't be my last! I want to continue running outside at least three times a week (minus this week, while I'm just focusing on being able to breathe through my nose... head cold...), then train in the gym when it gets too cold. I'm already registered for a Color Run with Michele in Baltimore in November, so I want to beat my last time during that race if possible. Then after that... something more? Maybe when spring rolls around, I'll try to add a few more miles to my longer runs. Michele's convinced I'll be doing half marathons with her any day now, but I'd rather take it a bit slower. No need to get ahead of myself! ;)

So yeah... another goal, checked off the list! As I was talking to Michele this weekend, I was telling her that every time I accomplish something "big" that I had set my mind to (whether I had gotten the idea years and years ago, or simply two weeks ago), I feel this overwhelming sense of satisfaction. I've done all the things (but one), that I said I wanted to do recently. I moved to the city; I got a job in publishing; I'm publishing my first book to be sold nationwide (though it's not the one I had in mind...); I'm in a healthy, committed relationship; and now, on a whim, I've trained for a 5k and then ran one. (And, in the process, I lost all the weight I put on since Matt and I moved out here!)

I'm absolutely not going to be cocky and say that I feel I can do anything I set my mind to, but I definitely feel good about it. And I know that if there's something I want bad enough, I possess the drive to go out there and do it or get it. I can't make excuses; there are no excuses. I'm not going to say that this works for everyone, but, in general, if there's something you want to do... gather your resources, get in the right frame of mind, and just do it. (Thanks, Nike!) But seriously. Most of the time (though not all of the time), the only person holding you back is you. The only person who has ever held me back from anything I've wanted to do is me—regardless of who or what may have been influencing me at that moment, I'm the one who has made the decisions to give up, put things off, or simply go for it. I've known that for some time, but every time I check something off my "list," it's proof that I can focus and achieve the goals I set.

So with that, I'm on to another one...Yeah, I want to continue to run and race. Yeah, I want to lose more weight. Yeah, I want to get married, have a family, etc. But the next thing I'd really like to do is write the novel that's in me. I have the idea (I've had it since high school), but talking it over recently with a few people has really cemented it in my mind. So, Matt and my manuscript for our quote book is due on October 15. The following week, I'll commit at least one night a week to outlining, writing, or anything related to my ultimate goal. Don't know how long it'll take to finish, and I don't know what I'll do with it when it's done, but... if I want to be a writer... I suppose I should start writing again!

Dressed up for dinner at Matt's restaurant. I need a haircut!

Pre-race. Which one of us had more energy?

Pre-race friskiness. And I'm asleep. Because I haven't seen 8:00 on a Saturday morning in months.

Post-race. Someone's still energized...

... probably because my pace resulted in her almost walking those long legs for 3.11 miles

Results from the site!

Psst, 4/17 is Matt and my anniversary...

This is a bonus in the typical "Matt presses the button and neither of us are ready" fashion. You don't want to see the others. This is not our "official" annual Cowboys photo of the year. That's still to come. Stay tuned.

The Night My Boyfriend was "Arrested"

Disclaimer: Not that I ever lie about anything I post, but I just want it to be known that this is all true. This really happened last night, and now we can laugh about it, but last night, we were understandably troubled.

—————

I don't even know where to start.

Oh ... yes.

So ... around 1:30 a.m., as I'm falling asleep after spending about an hour trying to beat the same level of Plants vs. Zombies 2, I get a phone call from Matt, who I had assumed was either still working or was on the bus home by then.

"You'll never believe what just happened to me," he says, disbelief in his voice.

"Please tell me you didn't get mugged," I reply, panic in mine. I'm already envisioning him stuck on the Lower East Side, without his wallet.

"I was just handcuffed and put in the back of a police car."

I sit straight up in bed, no longer sleepy at all, and exclaim, "What?!"

So he proceeds to tell me the following story:

He'd just gotten out of work and had stopped for two slices of pizza and a bottle of Snapple at a place near the restaurant. Then he went to the bus stop, where he ate one slice of pizza and started on the next. It was chilly, so he had his hood up, and he noticed that cop cars kept passing him, slowing down, and then driving away. He thought it was weird, but that was about it.

Then an unmarked police car comes around the corner and three cops get out and approach him. They tell him to put the pizza and the Snapple down—which he does—and then they ask where he was coming from. He tells them he works up the street and his shift just ended. They ask what he has on him. He tells them he has his phone, his wallet, and maybe a pair of headphones. (Probably mine, for the record.) They pat him down and tell him he matches the description of a guy who just got in a fight with another guy, broke the guy's arm, and then ripped off a cab driver. Matt tells them he didn't do anything wrong, but they cuff him anyway and put him in the back of the cop car.

They drive him to the guy who was attacked, who is seated on a curb (where we guess they left him?) a few blocks away, and the guy tells the cops that Matt's not the guy who broke his arm. So they uncuff him, sort of apologize, and let him walk away. Before he leaves, one cop asks, "Did you get your juice?"

So this is when Matt calls me, confused and in shock and somewhat lost because they drove him away from the only bus stop he knows in the area. He gets a cab and is home around 2:30. He comes into the bedroom, turns the lights on, and shows me his wrists, which still have cuff marks on them.

Apparently, from what we gather, a white male, about six feet tall, wearing a gray hoodie attacked this guy. And poor Matt, being a while male who is 6'1" and was wearing a dark green hoodie, was mistaken for him. Because they didn't tell him he was under arrest, and because they didn't read him his rights, he wasn't technically arrested, but I think this would count as... detained? Not quite sure.

Either way, what the f— would I have done if the victim had either identified Matt as the attacker or if he had gone to the hospital and the cops had taken Matt to the precinct instead? I know I'd be the phone call he got to make, but honestly, what could I have done? I don't know any of his coworkers' numbers, so I couldn't have called them and asked them to alibi him out. I couldn't have called the restaurant because it was closed. I couldn't have bailed him out (if it came to that) because we don't have that kind of money. He would've probably had to spend the night at the precinct.

Luckily, they just let him go (minus a piece of pizza, a Snapple, and a ride home—rude!) so we don't have to worry about that, but it got us talking about all the innocent people who are accused of committing crimes every day and who, for whatever reason, don't have alibis and are held for hours on end for having done nothing wrong. And that's kind of disturbing... To think that you could just be getting off work, enjoying a slice, and suddenly be in the back of a cop car, accused of hurting someone when you were no where near them.

I'd say "Only in NYC," but I doubt this is only a NYC thing. I'm sure it happens elsewhere, but I doubt it would've happened if we were still in W-B.

At the end of it all, I looked at him and I said, "I can't wait to tell people about this tomorrow."

And, of course, I was late for work this morning (because who can just fall asleep after that), and in my inbox was an email from my direct boss: "Why 9:30 this morning?" To this, I replied, "Oh, do I have a story for you." I went into his office, told him what happened, and he listened the whole time with his eyes wide and his jaw slack. "I've heard a lot of late excuses in my years, but this one takes the cake," he told me. I swore I didn't make it up, and he laughed it off and said he believed me. After all, who would make this up?

So yeah... Matt was "arrested" last night. Got to ride with his hands cuffed behind his back in a cop car. And got ripped off a late-night snack and beverage. I think NYPD should apologize, personally. But I suppose they have bigger things to worry about... like shooting innocent pedestrians in Times Square!

Kristen, Jeff, and Christina: If you guys read this, we've decided not to tell your parents. They worry enough about him walking around that late by himself downtown. This won't help! lol.

My Proudest Moment in Publishing Thus Far (Oh... and It's Football Season)

And here we are again... I should be reviewing a manuscript for a meeting I have with the publisher and a prospective author tomorrow, and instead I'm watching X Factor... but only because I'm too scared to hook up our new cable box. I don't want to screw up the cables, etc., so I'm just going to let it sit here until tomorrow night, when I scramble to put it together in time to watch the game.

The game... the game... the game...

FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE. I won't bore you with the details, but I have two fantasy leagues going and though I don't think either of my teams are as strong as last year's, I'm still pretty pleased despite my last place standings in my non-work league. Best time of the year, hands down. Especially since Matt and I will be at the next Cowboys/Giants match up! Couldn't be happier about that.

I also couldn't be happier with some facets of work right now—one book in particular has me beaming with pride nearly every day. If you're my FB friend, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Ilana Garon's "Why Do Only White People Get Abducted by Aliens?": Teaching Lessons from the Bronx is exceeding all of my expectations. I mean, I knew it was a good book, otherwise I wouldn't have acquired it, but it's getting a lot of attention, and that's great. She's been featured in magazines, in the local paper, on an international website, and on a bunch of blogs and sites. And Kirkus even named the book one of the most anticipated debuts of the fall. And then Huff Post reposted it—which is, again, awesome. Though I managed to get lost in the Bronx last night on the way to her reading, it seemed like, for a second time, she had a great turnout. And there are more events to come!

Though sales of the book is important, I think my proudest moment came last night, when I saw what one of her former students posted after they attended her reading at B&N and purchased a copy of the book:

This is my dream come true—working on a book that's so good, it makes a non-reader not only want to buy it, but read it front to back... and enjoy it and want to talk about it and let people know what they think about it. It's cool that he came to the reading, it's great that he bought the book, and I love that he's reading it, but the fact that he liked it so much and is so proud of his reading that he went out of his way to share it with others online... that's what really struck me. He could've just bought a copy, got it signed, and put it on a shelf. But it sounds like he actually read it—and he wants people to know.

I enthusiastically texted Matt as soon as I saw this last night, and I took a screencap on my phone that I printed out at work today and hung in my cube. I know I'm still new to the industry, and I do hope there are more moments like this to come, but I'll remember this post for a while.

Other than work stuffs (busy, busy, busy), I'm just trying to get back into the running. The 5K is three weeks this Saturday and because I was a lazy ass (and busy bee) in August, I wasn't running as often as I should and now I'm back down to just under 2.5 miles, with a break to catch my breath after the first 1.5. I know I can get to 3.2 again, and more, but it's been rough getting back into it. I actually almost started crying two Sundays ago when I realized I needed to stop after a mile. It's just... disappointing. Because I know what I was able to do a few weeks ago. And I know what I need to be able to do a few weeks from now.

So with that thought in mind, and now that it's only 84° instead of 91° out there, I'm going to take a run down Park Ave and back up in about a half hour. Even if I can't hit the distance, at least I went tonight. Hoping for cooler weather Friday and Sunday! I'm over summer. I'm a spring/fall gal.

I shall leave you with... proof that I've been busy!

And I haven't even added a bunch of stuff coming up in late September. Sigh. At least I can't complain about being bored...

Killing Time

I've noticed this week just how much the rest of my life falls apart when I'm overworked. I picked up a few freelance projects week and, while I do absolutely appreciate the extra money, the workload really kicked my butt. Now, I'm definitely used to be overworked (and underpaid!), but last week was pretty relaxing and I actually enjoyed it... and maybe, unfortunately, I got used to  it. And that was bad.

The past few weeks, my workouts have been regular, I've been running consistently (and getting better each time), and my diet has been spot-on. And I was able to keep up on housework, for the most part. But then... this week...

I mean, not only did I have a bunch of extra work to do, but I also had my very first author event on Thursday (and it was awesome—the last time I felt that proud, I was watching my baby sister graduate college), but I also had plans last night, which meant I couldn't take part in my traditional Bride Day Snoozefest, which I've been enjoying the past few weekends. (I watch TLC and I sleep on and off from about 8 p.m. till 2 a.m. It's wonderful. And necessary, after a really long, exhausting week.) I loved the author event, and I had a really great time with friends last night, but both nights just added to the complete ass kicking my mind and body took this week.

Because of the extra work, I've been moody and not very pleasant to be around and that's probably because I haven't worked out since Tuesday and feel effing gross. And even Tuesday wasn't a great workout because I didn't have a lot of time to spend at the gym. I've been trying to be really good diet-wise, but there have definitely been a few slip-ups. And I also spent more money this week than I did in the past two weeks, because I've been running all over the place and sometimes a girl just needs a coffee... or a smoothie... or a glass of sangria...

After a week that was super freakin' exhausting, I took my time getting up this afternoon  morning and eventually had enough energy to actually be productive. Since the time I've spent at home has been completely work-related this week, our apartment was also a giant mess. I used today to tackle the kitchen, the bathroom, the laundry, the living room, and our bedroom (see also: the entire apartment). I was also able to make a tasty quinoa salad and peanut butter cups. Delicious. On both counts. I even fit in coffee with Andrew at B&N and a trip to Duane Reade. And I also finished what I hope will be the last part of one of my freelance projects (copy editing a website for a NYC private school). I hope.

I think the point of whining for five minutes here about how busy I've been was basically just to organize my thoughts and help me see that I have to find a better way to approach work after work... my second (and sometimes third) shift, if you will. Because when I let it take over my life, I lose focus on the stuff that actually matters—my health, especially. I've been doing really well with my jogging and I want to keep it up. I want to make sure I have time for it every week. I need to find a way to balance everything, and I think it comes down to... I have to stop procrastinating. I need to start my work when it's assigned and then spread it out over a few days instead of slamming it all in the night or two before its due. I need to stop wasting my tiiime.

Case in point: this entire post. I still need to put clothes away, take the Swiffer to the bedroom floor, and start a proofread for next week. But what did I just do? Yeeeahh...

Go, me!

PS: I'm twenty-five-and-a-half today. Hence the peanut butter cups. =P

"And we're running, just as fast as we can..." Or, Another Post Where I Jabber Nonstop about Exercise

Quick updates! (While I watch Tia and Tamara on Bravo... Shhh. Don't judge me. Switching to TLC's Friday Bride Day next.)

And I mean, really quick, because I don't even really know what there is to talk about other than work and my new-found hobby...

Oh, I know! The visit to Michele's was fun! The bus ride... not so much, but the visit itself—though very brief—was definitely worth the nine hours on the bus. It was great to catch up; and I love talking about friends about their career and life goals, so it was lucky that that's a lot of what our conversations were about. I swear, if this writing/editing thing fails me, maybe I'll get into guidance counseling or something. Maybe I can find a school that will at least let me help make student schedules. Because everyone knows how much I like planning!

And we made plans to run in a real 5K! My first (running the entire way, anyway) and her... who knows. At that point, fourth? Fifth? The date's October 5, and we're going to follow it with a cupcake tour through NYC and a night at Matt's restaurant. Not that I want to rush life or anything of the sort, but I can't wait!

So that was... two weekends ago. This past weekend was the Glow in the Dark 5K by Living Social, which I attended with some wonderful girls from work. It wasn't a serious run, though we did try to run as much as we could. But people kept dropping their glow sticks and bending down in the middle of the road to get them and knocking down traffic cones and cutting corners and it just wasn't something you could seriously run start to finish. But it was fun, nonetheless. We wore our glow gear, we bought over-priced drinks and snacks, and we danced with the ten thousand other racers till the event was over. I'm not much of a sober dancer, so I admit to being kind of lame at that point, but it was still fun! And I think we discussed tutus and glow-in-the-dark crowns for next year.

Let's see... Oh, more running news. Because apparently that's all I care about these days. Which might be annoying to some, but I'm really proud of my progress and don't mind letting people know that I'm not sitting on my couch, stuffing my face every night! Anymore.

Last Sunday, I finished the very last workout in my Couch to 5K app. I was really disappointed in my distance for the day (2.17 miles), because it wasn't better than the previous workouts, so Matt decided that the next day, we'd run for distance instead of time. The C25K only tracked me up to 30 minutes. So it absolutely blew my mind when, Monday night, I ran 3.2 miles and 45 minutes. (A 5K is 3.11 miles.) And I didn't die. I didn't struggle too much. There was a definite challenge, and I'm definitely one of the slowest runners on the planet, but... I did it. And that's what matters.

So, since I knew I could do it, I did it again Wednesday night, except I went a little farther at 3.3 miles. If I can somehow fit in three workouts a week, I can split my focus between pace and distance and can hopefully improve my time and follow in Michele's footsteps and train for a 10K after the 5K. But we'll see. I fear the coming winter and colder temperatures and an enclosed gym, but... again. We'll see. I would love to keep this up. Because I have found that I actually like everything about it. There's no downside.

My twelve-year-old self is slack-jawed in disbelief right now. I wish I could've down this years ago. But now is better than never.

What else, what else...

Started typing up the manuscript for our book this week! I have no doubts that we'll hit the word count, and I think it's all coming together nicely. I can't wait to post the link, but I have to wait until we have a cover. And who knows when that will be. But I'll post when I can. And then anyone who's interested can pre-order! (You better all pre-order.)

Say Yes to the Dress is distracting me. Can't think. The one bride looks like Jacob from Twilight. Which reminds me of the movie, which reminds me of the book, which makes me want to read. Think I'm going to go do some dishes, work on typing up more quotes for our book, and then maybe drink some chocolate wine! Sometimes I love these Friday nights to myself. <3

It's effing hot. And other seemingly unimportant updates.

This time last year, Matt and I were blasting two air conditioners in our old apartment (day and night) like silly little children we were who had never lived through a summer in the city. Our apartment was on the first floor, and was decently cool throughout the day, but we still felt the need to be freezing whenever possible. Until we received our first air conditioning–affected electric bill. Then we started reading by candlelight and sleeping without blankets.

This year, we're on the top floor of a five-floor walk-up that traps and holds heat for days after the heat waves are over. If it was 96° on Monday, and 79° on Friday, you better believe it's still about 88° in our apartment, with the windows open at the front and the back and the fan on.

Every night when I come home from work, I'm soaked in sweat from waiting on two different train platforms and squishing in packed train cars full of irritated (and oftentimes unnecessarily rude) New Yorkers. Then after the short walk to the apartment, and five flights of stairs, I do everything I possibly can to resist the urge to turn on the air conditioner we have in one of our bedroom windows. Luckily, our (now) smaller apartment has doors to each room and we can shut the door between our living room and our spare room and cool the living room and the bedroom with this one unit. However, if I don't have to use it, I really try not to. Because I fear the electric bill that's coming our way. That August 2012 Con Ed bill will be in my mind until fall, when we can pack up the AC for yet another long, cold, brutal winter. I have yet to decide if I hate Manhattan summers or winters more. Why can't it be spring or fall all year long?

Now that I've wasted all this space talking about the weather, sweat, and bills... something a little more fun?

Let's see... in the past month I've been absent, I...

• finished the developmental edit of Sara's young adult book and resubmitted it on her behalf for consideration! I'm very proud of Sara and her revised novel and I do hope that if my company can't take it, it'll find a much-deserved home elsewhere. Beta readers have confessed to falling in love with the main male character, and I think that's a really great sign for a YA book. Some of my favorite YA books of the past have been the ones in which the main characters have made me swoon.
• [sticking with the YA theme] got my very first YA assignment at work! I'll be conducting the content edit of a Spring 2014 YA book and then another, more senior editor will be doing the line editing and what not.  I'm excited about this one, because my main interest (in reading and, I think, writing) is young adult, so the more titles I can get my hands on, the better. If I do well, perhaps I'll pick up my own assignments and acquire a few of my own titles.
• had an "unofficial" one-year review. My one-year full-time anniversary with the company was July 2, so I bugged my director for a review of some sort. Even though "official" reviews are to be conducted for everyone in December, we sat down for a little while and talked. Everything went really well, and I'm more than satisfied with the outcome. I'm now in a better place than I was at my last job, even though I'm working roughly 60 hours a week and doing four times the work. But... whatever.
• received a surprise, handwritten letter from my grandfather, thanking me for his Father's Day card and other sweet sentiments. It ended mid sentence and wasn't signed, but it was cute nonetheless. I wrote back. But have yet to receive a reply. The Pony Express must be slow...
• was able to spend a very long weekend with Matt and my family!
• Matt miraculously has July 4 off, so we were able to spend an entire weekday together. It feels like it was such a long time ago (I honestly can't even really remember what we did), but I know it was much-needed and I think sandwiches and BLTs were involved. Actually... BLTs were definitely involved because we ate them late and left the racks/pans in the sink to soak... for five days. It was not fun scraping the grease off those by myself when I got back from PA. Oh, and we saw a children's movie. Because we're still children.
• On July 5, I went home for four whole days. I haven't been in W-B for that long since before I moved to New York. I was able to finally see Steff and Fred's house (so cute!) and spent quite a bit of time with the family. It was really great to see my grandparents, though circumstances could've been a bit better... On Sunday, Matt joined us and we both burned our pale selves at the pool. We caught up with some friends and made a new one, I came face-to-face with the biggest dog I've ever seen, and we had a lot of fun. It's difficult to come back here after a weekend like that. Not because we question if we did the right thing in moving away (we did), but because we're reminded that those closest to us aren't a simple drive away. It costs lots of money and a fair amount of time to go home, and not being able to just hop in my car and drive three blocks is sometimes difficult for me. And I know it is for him, too, especially since he lived in the house he grew up in right up until he moved out here for/with me.
• started editing a whole foods/real foods/Kosher nutrition book that is totally starting to get to me. Not that I'll ever eat Kosher, but I can see the benefits of it and the whole "eat natural" thing is really appealing. I can never be one of those people who examines every single label for multiple things (looking up calories is hard enough!), but the idea of eating more fruits and veggies is definitely worth looking into. And is probably something I should've been doing for years now. I also started making smoothies! And if you've spoken to me in the last week, you know all about this. Because I feel healthy and proud, even though they're the simplest things in the world to make. Right now, I'm just on a fruit/yogurt/ice kick, but maybe someday I'll experiment with the greens...
• went to my first Comic Con! It was a little one, and it was the last day, but it was still... I'll use the word interesting. We'll definitely go to more, as this is still a shared interest, but I definitely didn't feel like I... fit in. There's a whole spectrum of people who attend these events, and we're definitely at the end that involves not dressing in costume, not waiting in line for two hours to spend five seconds with the cast of The Walking Dead or the Fonz, and not recognizing the names of comic book illustrators. But it was still fun to pass by booths and be like "Oh, look, it's Carl!"
• have run two miles without stopping multiple times! I'm currently entering the last week (Week 9) of the Couch to 5k app. I technically started the last week of April, so it's been longer than nine weeks (repeat work outs, days off, laziness, etc.), but the important thing is that I'm about to finish this program. When I first started it, I really wanted to finish, but I wasn't entirely sure I would. I start a lot of exercise programs, diets, etc. and end up getting too lazy, distracted, or busy to follow through. But I think the fact that I could just stick ear buds in and go and have someone else tell me what to do and when to do it really helped. And also, if you haven't noticed by now (GoodReads, this blog, daily planners, MyFitnessPal, my special dates on Facebook...), I like to record/log things. And the fact that this keeps a record of every single workout really helps me. Since I started, I've walked/jogged (jogs only the past three weeks) 52.3 miles in 12 hours and 54 minutes.
• I am no where near actually being able to run a 5k, which is the disappointing part. My pace is still super slow, and the app only tracks you for a half hour, so at my pace, I can't reach the 3.1-mile target, but as soon as I finish this, I'm going to switch to Nike+ and see if I can eventually work my way up to it. The farthest distance I've run so far is 2.06 miles and that was in 28 minutes. So I have to add another mile or so, so maybe after a few weeks, I can do a 5k in 45 minutes or fewer? We'll see.
• The fact that I'm even disappointed that I am able to jog only two miles without stopping is another point worth discussing. Like... what?! Two miles without stopping? Are you kidding me?! For a kid who hated running two single laps around the soccer field at the beginning of every high school soccer practice, this is incredible. I used to want to fall over and die after those two laps, and now I can probably do forty of them without any issues. A few weeks ago, I was in W-B and I went jogging with my mom. And I think I was on something like, Week 4 of the program, and it had an eight-minute stretch in it. And I kept telling her, "I've never run that long before; I don't know if I can do it." And now... I march home all pissy when I can't beat 2.06 in a half hour. I can laugh at this, so I still have a healthy perspective, but I can guarantee that if I can't get my distance up soon, I will become obsessed. And we will have issues.
• scored a $1 bus ticket to go see Michele in Maryland this weekend! I had been planning to go Friday night into Sunday morning, but when I saw the $1 ticket available for Saturday morning, we adjusted our plans accordingly. I don't think we've seen each other in... definitely more than a year. There was a Dunkin visit when I still lived in W-B and she was in State College and visiting her family, but before that, we haven't spent any significant time together since I went to see her in State College the summer of 2011. I told her the other night that a lot has changed since then, for the both of us. I spent the entire drive to her place that summer blasting Bayside's Killing Time and Something Corporate's Leaving Through the Window and just bawling my eyes out because Matt was in Vegas with his friends and we were pretty much broken up. I was miserable, I was socially awkward (we went to a BBQ; if I remember correctly, I didn't speak much), and I don't know how she and Joe put up with me. I don't even know how I put up with me that summer. Ugh, gross. But I digress... she took me to a discount bookstore and the rest of the trip went really well. I probably haven't read a single book I bought that day, but it's the memory that counts! Back then, she was managing a store in the SC mall and contemplating going back to school. Since then, we've both moved to totally different states, we've both made major career decisions (me to intern, which led to full-time work, her to start working again), and we've both adopted a more active lifestyle, though she's ahead of the game on this one. It'll be great to spend some time together (a whole 18 hours together? if my bus is on time? minus sleep...) and just catch up.

This is much longer than I thought it'd be, but that's what happens when I don't update for more than a month. My bad... I can't think of anything else that's really going on. Matt's still off Sundays and Mondays and we're spending every Sunday we can at the park, browsing through his endless supply of cookbooks and food writing for quotes for our book (pub date is April 2014! Right on time for our ninth anniversary!) and we're both looking forward to football season. Because he'll actually be able to watch the games with me!! Just the thought of this makes me so happy. :)

One Year in NYC

On May 28, 2012, my mom and my aunt drove me and a few of my boxes from Wilkes-Barre to NYC. We said goodbye, they got back in the car, and I stayed behind. Andrew took me to dinner, I set up my stuff temporarily in a stranger's spare bedroom on the Upper West Side, and I wondered if I could really get a full-time job out of the minimum wage internship I'd signed on for.

Exactly one year later, here I sit in the apartment Matt and I share on the Upper East Side, in an area we never dreamed we could afford. Sticking out of my computer is a flash drive full of work that I have to get to—manuscripts to copyedit, PDFs to proofread, proposals to review—and on my to-do list, conveniently placed beside the mouse on my right-hand side, is at least one chapter of a young adult book I'm helping a friend develop. None of these words (copyediting, proofreading, proposals, reviews, developing, manuscripts) were part of my vocabulary this time last year.

I have a full-time job; I have a pretty great apartment in an amazing city; I have the most supportive, understanding, and loving family anyone could ever ask for; and I'm in a healthy, long-term relationship with a guy who's really shown his true colors this past year. Respectable, dedicated, loyal, hardworking, sweet, creative, intelligent, and just the right amount of funny—Matt has it all, and I would follow him to the ends of the earth and support him in any decision he made. And, in the past year, I've felt as though he's proven that he would surely do the same for me.

Although the days aren't long enough and the work is beyond stressful, I wouldn't change a single thing about this past year—mostly because I'm doing so many things I always wanted to do, but never had the chance to do in W-B. Aside from all the previously mentioned job-related things, I'm meeting new people and have a handful of new friends with similar interests (interests rarely found in those at home...); I'm expanding my palate and have come to love particular cuisines (although pizza still reigns supreme); I'm more independent than I ever was in the past, and I'm enjoying taking care of myself... and Matt; and I'm finally feeling... settled. And content. (When I'm not stressed out of my mind from work.)

Other big accomplishments this year, in various categories:

• I've acquired almost twenty books. I'm at seventeen or eighteen now.
• I've almost beaten my fear of stepping on and off escalators, though the old rickety ones in Macy's still make my legs shake.
• I'm more comfortable making phone calls and am now about 80 percent certain that people don't laugh at my cluelessness or stumbling words when I hang up.
• I can read a map! And am not as directionly challenged as I was this time last year. Give me a second to figure out where we are, and most of the time I can get us pointed in the right direction.
• I can walk in heels! Little, itty bitty heels. But heels nonetheless. And only in short spurts.
• I've put my candle, lotion, and body spray obsession to bed. I honestly don't think I've bought a single scented item (minus air fresheners and cleaning supplies) since I moved. Though I do graciously accept gifts and donations.
• I'm no longer planning every, single, second of my days. Sure, I use a planner, but I used to be... so bad. So. Bad. And I think I've finally relaxed a bit. I'm not spontaneous, but I've definitely learned how to become available and move things around.
• I can jog 8 minutes without dying! I jogged my first half-mile (and then did another!) on Sunday with my mom and sister and didn't have to stop once. It's a good feeling, considering even five weeks ago, I could barely make it through 1 minute.

May 30 is my one-year anniversary at work; I started as an intern that day. And July 2 is my one-year anniversary as a full-time employee. It's crazy how quickly this year has passed. If you had asked me even two years ago if I thought I (or, we... when Matt is factored in) would ever be living and working in NYC, I would've said "I hope so," but it wouldn't have held much confidence. It was always something I wanted, but never anything I was absolutely certain I would attain. It's also something I never really knew how much I wanted until it actually happened. And now that it has... I couldn't imagine my life without it.

I think it's only (or oddly?) appropriate that on my one-year anniversary of moving to the city that I announce that I signed my first contract today. Matt and I will be compiling a quote book for publication in Spring 2014, in April or May. The book will contain quotes about food, restaurants, cooking, kitchens, and eating and is, in our opinion, our relationship to a T. It'll be a lot of research, but it'll also be a lot of fun, and we're looking forward to putting it together... and then pushing everyone to buy it. ;)

Happy anniversary to me! And hopefully the night ends with either a glass of wine or some ice cream.

And water, of course.

Safari Exteriors, Salivary Stones, and Other Stressors

Finally figured out why my blog is getting about twenty hits a day: SPAM.

And how did I figure it out? Because these comments keep appearing on my entry about apartment hunting:

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So at first I thought I had a bunch of Nosy Nancys on my FB friend list, but then I realized that somehow this particular blog entry got linked to somewhere weird. They can keep leaving these comments and I can keep marking them as spam; I care not. A hit's a hit. So keep 'em coming, spambots!

IN OTHER NEWS . . .

Our anniversary, Justin's visit, my trip home to W-B, and Stan's visits were all successful. They kind of went like this:

Wednesday, April 17: Twenty or so courses of wine, beer, and sake followed by a coffee.
Thursday, April 18: A glass of wine, a cocktail, and a coffee.
Wedneday, April 24: Red bull after lunch, giant bowl of Ramen soup for dinner.
Thursday, April 25: Two cocktails, and a coffee.
Friday, April 26: A can or two of soda and a glass or two of wine.
Saturday, April 27: An after-dinner coffee and a glass or two of wine.
Wednesday, May 1: A cocktail and an after-dinner coffee.
Thursday, May 2: Two cocktails and an after-dinner coffee.

Plus a cup of coffee each morning, sometimes one in the afternoon, a few more Red Bulls, a handful of diet sodas, and very, very, very little water following all that wine before bed. (There's a point to this tally, I promise.)

The morning of May 2, I thought the area around my left ear/jaw kind of hurt a bit. It felt a little swollen by the end of the day, and I feared that I was getting one of my beyond stellar ear infections. So I figured I'd give it the weekend and then call my doctor on Monday if it was still bugging me.

But then Friday, May 3, I woke up and my cheek felt like it was the size of a golf ball. Of course, it wasn't that bad. But it squared off my jawline Channing Tatum–style. And it hurt like HELL. I freaked out, naturally. (It was my FACE.) And called my doctor as soon as I got to the office.

Phone call?

(Give my name, my doctor's name, the receptionist asks what's wrong.)
Me: I woke up this morning and my face near my jaw and ear is really swollen and very tender.
Receptionist: Is there any swelling of your sinuses? Runny nose or sore throat? Congestion?
Me: No. No congestion at all. Just this swollen part of my cheek, kind of.
Receptionist: Hold on a second. (She puts the phone down.) She has congestion and swelling in her sinuses. (Picks the phone back up.) The doctor can see you at 1.
Me: Okay, but there's no congestion. My face is just swollen.
Receptionist: Okay, see you at 1.

Uh huh...

So at this point, my face hurts so bad that I can't even open it wide enough to put the spoon from my yogurt in. I try to eat one of those soft Nature Valley granola bars and can't even chew it. So, what do I fill up with? More coffee!

At 1, my doctor scares the shit out of me and says my ears are fine, my teeth look fine (wisdom teeth, a-okay), and my sinuses aren't clogged. She's absolutely stumped and runs out to call an ear, nose, and throat doctor to see if one can squeeze me in. Before I head to a specialist a few blocks away, she says it's nothing in my lymph nodes and assures me that it'll be fine.

But the entire time, I'm thinking... This is my FACE.

So after more paperwork and about a half hour of waiting in the ENT's office, he spends two minutes with me and tells me I have a salivary stone and the fluid leads him to believe that there's a back up of infected saliva in my face. (If you want to see gross, Google "salivary stone" and go to Images.) It's like a kidney stone, all calcified and shit, IN. MY. FACE.

He gives me an antibiotic (three pills, three times a day—no joke) and tells me to also take two Motrin when I take the antibiotics. So... That's fifteen pills a day.

He also tells me this happened because I was severely dehydrated. Gee, I wonder why... (See list above.) The stone could pass on its own, he says, but I need to stay as hydrated as possible.

I have never drank so much water, Gatorade, and Vitamin water in my life. But again. FACE. Not taking any chances.

So I went back for my follow-up today and even though there's a bit of pain, he thinks it passed on its own. Which is lucky. Because he said that to actually pull a stone out, he'd have to enlarge the salivary duct in my mouth and go in and yank it out. Like a loose tooth. Wonderful mental image, no? Don't quite believe me? Google.

I celebrated my recovery with a tall skinny vanilla latte. And immediately followed it with not one, but two, cups of water. I'd like to say I learned my lesson, and I hope that I'll remember to suck down some water after my bedtime glass of wine on the weekends. We'll see, though.

DESPITE ALL THIS DRAMA . . .

5K training continues! I made it through Week 3 with little difficulty (minus the one day the treadmill shut off on me mid-stride and I had to try to figure out how to finish the program) and even spent two nights in the park with Matt, walking/jogging around the reservoir, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

But Week 4 started out as impressive and became disappointing all within twenty minutes. I've never before in my entire life jogged five full minutes without stopping, but I did it on Sunday! But then, when it came time to run the second leg of the program, I just couldn't do it. Maybe it was my sweaty bangs in my eyes, or maybe it was the jelly beans bouncing around in my stomach that I ate as I ran out the door to head to the gym, but I just couldn't do it. And I was so pissed.

But after a little chat with Michele and others, I'm ready to give it another shot tomorrow. And Wednesday and Thursday with Matt, too. I'll get through Week 4 eventually, even if it takes me a week or two to do it.

And I'll drink lots of water before and after my workouts, too. Can't risk any more swollen salivary glands. That shit hurts.

Just Us, Some Food... Oh, and a Small Percentage of NEPA

One of the great many things I like about my job: It always involves books. Reading them, reviewing them, editing them, promoting them. Books, books, books... Tonight, I took home a "confidential" package of information to look through for my publisher about a website that we may/may not support that is eerily similar to GoodReads. I love GoodReads; I still get a bit excited when I get to update my progress on a book or when I see my numbers rise in my yearly challenge. (See right sidebar: I'm kicking ass!) If we end up supporting this site, I get to play a big part in it, so that's pretty exciting for me. It might not be the most important task ever, but it'd be cool. Because I have very lame interests...

Moving on...

Anniversary!

As I mentioned previously, our anniversary was last week. Matt used his "connections" (his wd hostess called Atera's hostess) to get us much-coveted reservations at a really cool restaurant in Tribeca. The atmosphere was pretty awesome and relaxed, but sophisticated, and we looked really snazzy all dressed up. The entire experience was great—definitely one of the more impressive fine-dining experiences we've had (though... nothing has topped Alinea thus far!) and we'd definitely want to go back if the menu changed. The food was phenomenal; I didn't dislike a single thing I tasted. And the wine pairings (and beer and sake!) were perfect. And the music... so reminiscent of my childhood! I kept flashing back to Saturdays at my family's old apartment, music blasting as we cleaned house. Not bad memories at all.

Twenty courses, fourteen glasses of booze, and a really great night. Some of my favorite dishes included (I don't have the menus near me; Matt's keeping them safe for framing) the following:

Squab! (First time I've had it; it was delicious.)

The charcoal-ish looking thing is a beet. And I think that was asparagus and salmon roe.

I don't remember what was inside this, but those green parts are lettuce-flavored ice chips.

Inside: bone marrow, Outside: heart of palm, Everything: DELICIOUS.

Hard-boiled quail eggs. I typically hate hard-boiled eggs, but these were phenomenal. Not my first time for quail.

This was the best dish of the night. That looks like, and tasted like, and smelled like smoked ham... but it's fish. Salmon or tuna. I think salmon, though. It was fantastic. And the little plastic-looking thing on top brought the salty, seafood flavor.

One of the desserts. Loved it. So yummy.

I think the best part of it all was knowing that Matt pulled it all together himself. I shouldn't, after eight years, be singing his praises re: his ability to make plans. But this was truly a big deal for us. We've really grown as a couple this past year, and I think his effort this anniversary really showed that. Other than dinner, we kept it pretty simple: just exchanged cards. He was really sweet the next day, too, when I stayed home from work with a really bad headache...

Luckily, by dinner time, the headache went away and he again pulled some strings and we went to his boss's new restaurant, Alder. And we ate about 85% of the menu, paid for half of it, and were treated really well. They've only been open a few weeks, but everything was really low-key and the food was delicious. It was the first full day we'd spent together since New Years (a day we barely spent together because we were both horribly hung over), so even though most of the day part was spent in bed with a headache, it was still one of the best sick days I could ask for.

Visitors

Our apartment will be a revolving door for a few people from NEPA the next few weeks. My sister visited this past weekend; we walked in Central Park, shopped at Bloomingdales, snacked at Shake Shack, and ordered delivery cupcakes, sipped wine, and watched Pretty Woman. Nothing too crazy; satisfying. First time she's come to NYC alone—and she survived! 

Tomorrow, Matt gets his first visitor since he moved out here (minus one or two day trips from his parents). Chili will be staying with us Wednesday and Thursday, then I'm going home to W-B Friday through Sunday to see my parents and grandparents (and Amy!), and then Stan shows up the following Wednesday and Thursday. It'll be difficult to keep our apartment in one piece (rather than 40,000 little piles), but we've done the mad-rush-Tuesday-night clean in the past and we'll probably do it tonight and next week, as well. Luckily, we don't live like total animals (or college males) so it's never too much cleaning. We're just... not completely unpacked yet. Damn my obsession with lotions, body sprays, and candles... =X

I think we have a lot of eating out planned for these next two weeks (Matt wants to show off his favorite stops), so I think we'll be in and out of restaurants and bars... and perhaps even Yankee Stadium, if time and weather permits. Should be an interesting and exhausting couple of weeks.

The gym!

Sales conference totally kicked my butt a few weeks ago. (I stress ate like whoa.) But now things are slowly getting back to normal. In addition to trying to diet (... again ...), I also started training for a 5k! Not that I will ever participate in one, but I think learning to run the right way and adding running to my elliptical sessions and weight lifting will hopefully get me some of the results I'm looking for. Plus, it'd be really cool to run in the park with Matt on his nights off. He can go for a while; I can barely run more than a minute and a half right now. But! I can do that minute and a half every other minute without crumpling over and dying so... progress!

We'll see how long this lasts. I downloaded an app for it, have been consulting Michele (who is running her first 5k on Sunday!!), and need to dedicate three days a week if I want to stay on track. I'm fully expecting a few set backs, especially with all these visitors and work and what not, but it'll be cool if I actually see some progress in the coming weeks. My main goal is to be able to run around the reservoir in the park with Matt without stopping. That's a bit over 2 miles, which is less than a 5k, so if I can do that, then I'll be happy. Wish me luck!

Love!

He's so handsome. <3

Why April Is My Third-Favorite Month of the Year

I have absolutely no idea what happened yesterday, but for whatever reason, this blog had twenty-one views. What gives, guys? That's really weird. I'm not all that interesting, and haven't been posting recently, so... weird.

And while we're on the subject, if you want to know something, just ask... ;]

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In other news, it's April! Which means we've got some pretty exciting stuff coming up:

• Game of Thrones is back! Matt and I really got into this show last year and it's something we continue watching today. However, we can never watch the original showing on Sunday nights, so if you want to talk to me about this, wait until Thursday morning! Wednesday night is GOT night in this household.
• Today, I sent the first fourteen chapters of Sara's YA novel to a handful of beta readers. Hopefully they'll be able to help us out, point out some weak spots, and then we'll be on our way to the second half. I've really enjoyed helping Sara develop her manuscript and the experience is really making me want to start writing creatively on my own. Perhaps when I finish with her book, I'll use the time I'm spending on it now for my own writing. Perhaps.
• The first novel I edited will be released on Tuesday. I'll be the first to admit that it's not the greatest book in the world, and the process was more than a little frustrating, but at least I got my hands on a novel in my first few months of employment, which is hopefully a sign of what's to come! (I have one in Fall 2013 and one in Winter 2014 already.)
• Our sales conference for the fall season is next Wednesday and I'm presenting six of the books I acquired. One of my books is actually a lead book for the fall and there's already been some interest in advanced copies and reviews in a few magazines. This is exciting, but I'm so focused on how nervous I am that I can't seem to feel the excitement. The conference itself will be kind of boring, but I'll be so anxious that I think boredom will be the farthest thing from my mind. I hate public speaking and I don't think I ever saw myself having to do it while being employed in this industry. I suppose I understand why we, as editors, do it... but I'd much rather sit out in the crowd, sip coffee, and listen to people talk about the books than have to actually open my mouth and speak into a microphone. It's my preference. But I know what I want to do and what I should do and I understand that sometimes those two things aren't necessarily the same thing...
• Our eight-year anniversary is the 17th! Matt's made secret dinner reservations that he won't tell me about, but I bought a new dress last night anyway because I have a feeling it's somewhere nice. He's already talking about maybe framing a new menu, and if we're framing another menu, that means the menu is from somewhere he's probably always wanted to go. And if you know Matt, you know that means Michelin-rated and sophisticated. (Which totally calls for a new dress!)
• Funny story: Matt's been saying that he wants to get a massage really bad. He's always sore from standing fourteen or fifteen hours a day, and that's totally understandable. We've been discussing possibly getting a couple's massage on and off for a while now, but we always decide not to do it because it's too expensive. So this weekend, I get an Amazon Local 60% off deal for a couple's massage and I bought it for us as an anniversary gift. He comes home that night and I'm really excited to tell him I bought us a massage. So I say, "Want to know what I got us for our anniversary?" and he says sure, so I say, "A couple's massage!" And his eyes narrow and he says, "You would do that, wouldn't you." In an act that is totally un-Matt-like, he went ahead and bought us a couple's massage, as well, at a different salon and through a different site (and not 60% off!) a week earlier. So... we bought each other the same exact gift for our anniversary. Yep. At least I know we're kind of on the same page...
• Kerri's visiting! If all goes as planned, my little sister will be here the 19th through the 21st. And I am very, very excited about this. In our area now, there's so much to do and see and I'm really excited to walk her around and show her everything. She hasn't visited by herself yet (and my brother hasn't visited at all! WTF >:[ I've almost been out here a year, Jeff!) and I think we're going to have a lot of fun. Hopefully the weather holds up and we won't be rushing from store to store, dodging puddles or ridiculously oblivious New Yorkers who don't know how to walk and hold umbrellas at the same time!
• I'm going home to the W-B! The last weekend in April, I plan on spending some time with my grandparents and meeting up with Amy and her other bridesmaids to discuss wedding plans and what not. Not quite sure what else this short visit has in store, but I'm really excited about seeing my grandparents. I haven't been home since... January? I think? So it's time.

I think that's about it... Should be a busy month! But, really, when am I not busy?

Must find time for naps.

————

Oh, and February is my favorite month because it's my birth month! (Duh.) And I enjoy October, too. Love the weather, love the colors, love the relaxation that October usually brings.

Ramblings.

Well, Spring is supposedly here. But... I don't see or feel it. I'm pretty sure February was warmer than March, and that's pretty sucky. And since it's been so cold and rainy lately, of course I've managed to get sick. Luckily, not the... flu-like illness that plagued the office earlier this month... but the typical sore throat/sneezing that seems to hit me every few months. But it's not so bad. It's an excuse to sleep all day and not clean...

But it's not an excuse to skip the gym! I think I'm finally falling back into a rhythm, and Andrew's going with me every now and then so it's nice to have some company even though we don't really talk when we're there. I'm only up to about 30 minutes of cardio, but I plan on increasing that soon. Still trying to figure out the best times of the night to go so that I have access to all the machines I want. Friday nights are golden, I know that for certain. I have a wedding to attend this November, and then I need to give my dress size to Amy by January for her wedding in October, so that's definitely extra motivation to get back into this and do what I can to get healthy.

Unfortunately, Matt can't really join me on this fitness journey because his schedule just doesn't allow it (or much of anything else...). We've been trying to go for walks in the park on his days off, but it's typically raining or snowing or dark or 20° by the time I get home from work, so that's only happened... once... so far. I think his schedule is still our biggest hurdle; we really don't see each other a lot. It's like I live alone sometimes. But I think I'm getting used to it. Not sure if that's good or bad, though.

I wish I had something exciting to write about, but things have been pretty chill lately. No real updates on our place; we're not not 100 percent unpacked, but I may have sold my dining room table. (I'm not sure; the buyer is really handling this all in a weird way.) So if that's the case, we'll get a few corners back and might be able to finally use our spare room. Uhm... what else? Work is fine; I'm back on track and feel good about most of the work I'm doing. I was able to get copies of a few books in which the authors acknowledged my work inside, so that's pretty cool.

Hm... Easter's coming up. Not going home because we don't get time off for the holiday, so it'd just be too difficult. Unfortunately, Matt doesn't have the day off, so... It'll just be a lazy Sunday for me, I think. I'll make a salad, do some work, take a nap, and then it'll be Monday and I can pretend I didn't spend the holiday alone. Easter was never a big deal for me, so I'm honestly not too concerned about it. I'm just sometimes bothered by the idea that my family is getting together without me while I sit here by myself. But, I'll manage.

Oh! Our eighth anniversary is coming up in April, too. Matt says he has everything figured out/planned, but I don't know what that means and he won't give me any hints. I don't know if there are reservations in store, or if he plans on cooking something here. I don't know if I need to dress up? And if so, if I have to run out and get something new... I said no gifts this year because we're trying to budget, but he just kind of gave me this look so... I'm not sure what's going on. Trying not to get too excited about it, though, because he's human, as am I, and we both occasionally drop the ball. Looking forward to seeing what he does... It's been a crazy year and we've done quite a few things in the last year that we weren't totally planning so we should definitely celebrate. We just can't afford to really break the bank at this point in time. So, we'll see what happens.

Just kind of wrote this to keep myself awake, as I'm pretty comfy on my couch right now and still have two and a half hours until gym time... I could keep going, but it'd be about a whole lot of nothing. Maybe someday soon I'll have a real story to tell!

While I Was Out...

 
I honestly have no idea where I left off, what I've covered, what I haven't... My bad... Things have been pretty busy.
 

MOVING

Mid-January to early February contained the most hectic weeks of my life I think—topping, even, the move to NYC, which happened gradually and calmly, even though I only had a few weeks to do it all. Moving within NYC, though... Totally different story.

But, that's almost all behind us now. We're 75 to 80 percent unpacked, depending on whether you ask me or Matt. While it's true that we only have three or four boxes left to unpack, we still have so much furniture all over the place (anyone want to buy a pub table or a papasan?) and so many random things to put away/hang/store/throw out, etc. Really no idea when we're going to get around to finishing up, especially since neither of us ever makes much progress on our own (he likes to sleep on his days off; I rarely have days off) and we have like, no time together. But we'll figure it out. Everything's functional for now. When it's tidier, I'll have photos. Until then, check out the empty apartment photos and visualize furniture!

WORK

In the meantime, things at work are finally back to normal. I had a few rough weeks during the move in which I struggled to get to work on time and was just kind of falling behind because of constant phone calls with the real estate agent and picking up the keys from the landlord and signing papers and packing and just... everything piling up. But now, that's all behind me and I've been getting to work not even on time, but early some days! Which, if you know me, is... odd.

Wrapping up spring books a bit early, starting on fall books soon (many of which I acquired myself!), and then looking ahead to winter and spring 2014 and attempting to acquire a few more. I went to lunch with our editor-at-large this afternoon and we had a good time, eating sushi and talking about the acqusitions process. It's definitely something I enjoy and definitely something I want to do more and more of as time passes.

I also received an email from an author today that ended with the following paragraph:

"I can't imagine doing what you do. And you do it so well BTW. You are a saint. A goddess of the publishing world. I'd go nutz dealing with ne'er do wells like me everyday...."

I made sure our director saw this, and we joked about getting me a plaque. Then he dubbed himself a publishing god. Today was a good, amusing day. The office was very... lax. Everyone was joking around, there wasn't a ton of stress. It was almost better than last Thursday, when our publisher treated the entire office to a cupcake and coffee fieldtrip. (I kid you not.)

MATT

Matt works... and works... and works. He has his first social engagement (for lack of better words.. man-date?) that doesn't involve me (or drinks at 2 a.m. after work) on Thursday and is pretty excited about it. They're going to a show downtown that I'm not even the slightest bit interested in, so I'm glad he found someone else to go with! However, I'll have to go if the friend backs out. So... let's hope that doesn't happen.

Like I said, we don't see each other a lot, but it's working. He's hoping to move up to the main kitchen (there are three: main, prep, and pastry) soon, which will also come with the opportunity to create an amuse-bouche (one bite dishes) or two for the menu. He's constantly talking about flavor combinations and this and that, so I'm pretty sure that means he's excited about it. And I would be, too. I think, in SAT speak, his amuse-bouche is to an acquisiton in my world. Maybe. Might even be more exciting than that.

GYM!

I'm back to the gym! And for real this time. The new gym is three blocks away and is wonderful. It's definitely no Planet Fitness, that's for sure. And I'm barely paying more than I was paying at PF. The members don't remind me of convicts—and they don't look at me like I'm a drumstick, either. The machines are new and clean, the locker room is really pretty and has a steam room, and there are two or three classrooms. The classes are included in the membership, and I really think I want to try a spin class eventually. Not right now, though, because I don't think I could handle it just yet.

You can actually tour my new gym on Google+! Check it out if you're interested/jealous/curious/nosy: click! (No judgment here. I'd do it if I was reading your blog.)

Going to try to get back into at least three days a week, at least an hour each day (cardio + strength) to start. Eventually work my way up to 1.5 to 2 hours, like I used to, depending on the day and how much work awaits me at home. One of the good things about Matt's schedule is that I don't have to worry about rushing home to hang out with him because he's not here. Which gives me tons of time to work on myself. Which is healthy and necessary and nice.

OTHER STUFFS

Spending tons of time reading (mostly on the train) and enjoying every second of it. Totally in the right profession; no doubt about it.

Also spending a bit of time working creatively, as I'm finally getting around to helping Sara out with her YA novel. We're about five chapters in now (hitting Chapter Five right after I post this) and I think it's looking good! We'll be looking for Beta readers soon, so if anyone's interested/curious, chat me and we'll set something up.

I can't really think if there's anything else going on. Trying not to spend a lot of money, so there hasn't been much social stuff, other than spending every single weekend with Andrew, my BFFL! ;) I'm trying to challenge myself to spend no more than $50 a week on my own stuff (non-apartment essentials/food). So far, haven't spent a single dollar Monday or Tuesday, so we're off to a good start! (This challenge started Monday, ps.)

Don't think there's really much else... Found out recently that four or five people from high school are out here, too! So we're going to try to plan a night for drinks when everyone's settled. Should be fun!