February & March Round Up

The last two months have been incredibly busy but I've loved every minute of it!!  With everything going on, I slacked (or basically completely gave up) on updating the blog, but now I'm back...Here's  a breakdown of the last two months:

1 half marathon

1 promotion at work

1 bachelorette party in Miami celebrating Shaney which was 1 day in Fischer Island + 2 days of wilding out Ultra party goers - 1 broken down door + 20 girls dancing on tables = major success

1 30 Rock taping - airs in April, look for me and Weissy

1 fancy event - BTBJ at Capitale, amazing night thanks to Kurbs!

1 neon birthday bar crawl

1 broadway show - Jersey Boys which was ah-mazing

1 Women's Rally

1 developed obsession with Soul-Cycle

2 Knicks games

2 engagement celebrations - yay Morgy and Mey Mey!

3 Concerts - GirlTalk, Big Sam's Funky Nation, The Band Perry

Before the NYC half

3 Movies - HappyThankYouMorePlease, Bill Cunningham New York, The Lincoln Lawyer
5 celebrity sitings - the cast of 30 Rock, Parker Posey, Jermaine Dupri, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Bosh
5 books - Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, The Confession by John Grisham, Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston, The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly, 
Endless birthday celebrations
Numerous Restaurants: GoBo, Periyali, Saravanna, Fabio Piccolo Fiore, Avra, Tao, ABC Kitchen, Betel, Friend of a Farmer, Westville, Beyoglu, Bar Americain, Rosa Mexicano, BonChon, Zengo, El Rio Grande, Socarrat

LOTS OF LAUGHS...and a partridge in a pear tree...


Regular blogging to commence shortly.

The gang in Miami

27th Birthday Party!

Black Tie Black Jack

Grand No More

On Monday my one month service on Grand Jury for the great city of New York came to an end.  All in all, I had bitter sweet sentiments as I was leaving.  I'm happy I don't have to shuffle back and forth from Lower Manhattan to Midtown, then working overtime to catch up on what I missed, but the experience is one that I'm glad I had. I'm not good with change or leaving people, so when my co-worker jokingly asked me if I cried when I said good-bye to the other jurors he wasn't so far off.  I seriously felt pangs of sadness and tears scratching the surface.  When you spend three hours of your day for twenty days on end, learning about one another's day jobs and families on our down time, arguing over various views and interpretations of the presented stories, listening to disturbing cases, and watching crying witnesses, you are bound to become somewhat attached to those you share the experience with.  With that here is my list of things I will miss, and things I will most certainly not:

Things I'll miss as much as I miss laying out in Sheep's Meadow with Pinkberry in hand:

• The entertainment of inexperienced DA's.
• Mike's morning greeting and more importantly call for 11am break time.
• The 18 year old next to me who was paid $40 a day to catch up on sleep.
• Our amazing foreperson who reminds me of my Grandma, who I love.
• The restaurateur yelling at his employees. 
• Playing the "that witness/DA/juror looks like..." game.  We had Dilbert, Alan Ruck, Valerie from the Princess Bride, etc.
• My new friend and fellow Hoosier.
• Seeing all the couples going to City Hall to get hitched.

Things I'll miss as much as trekking through two feet of slush:

• The stupidity of inexperienced DA's
• Jurors 1, 4, 7, and 17. I had about enough of all three of your stupid questions.
• Listening to heartbreaking stories from victims. 
• Duane Reade cases, note to all - don't try and pull a fast one on them, they will prosecute you.
• Listening to thirty minutes of the dictation of stolen check numbers and amounts. 
• Listening to two hours of seventy charges of shoplifting. 
• Going through security every morning - Yes people, change in your pockets will ALWAYS set off the metal detectors.

Without going into any detail, we heard offenses ranging from metro card tampering, robbery, assault, drug possession and sales, child pornography, and murder.  You name it - we ruled on it.  I learned so much over the past month and I wouldn't take it back for one second.  Though I've become a more cautious and weary about what lurks behind every corner, I feel a little bit more connected to NYC.  Now my duty is done.  See you in eight years!

Book Review

One of the perks of being in jury duty is that in our down time I get to read a lot.  One of my fellow jurors recommended that I check out Suzanne Collins' trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.  I'm the type of person that when I get into a book, I literally cannot put it down.  I will for-go going out, sleep, pretty much anything until I finish it.  This was one of those times.  I started the first book on Thursday night and was done with the third one by Tuesday morning.  I was even "forced" to download the Kindle IPhone app so that I could read it on the elliptical, which I subsequently fell off of because I was so enthralled in reading rather than my foot placement.

If you are a fan of either the Twilight or Harry Potter books, I think this series would be perfect for you.  The trilogy is not about vampires or magic, but they are equally addictive and easy reads.  Let's be honest we all need to stop and enjoy some mindless entertainment once in awhile.  I've already recommended it to some of my coworkers, one of whom told me she had trouble concentrating on playing with her one year old and put her to bed early because all she could think about was whether or not Katniss and Peetra ended up together.  Collins did a wonderful job of developing the characters and kept the reader constantly engaged in their well-being and survival.  I would absolutely recommend this to any of you.  Next up is The Confession by John Grisham, so far so good.  If the first couple of chapters are any indication, I'll be back with a review shortly!

Pistachio Pudding Puh-lease

** Raise your hand if you are sick of A) my alliteration titles, or B) posting about things today.  Hand goes up.  Don't worry this is the last for both, well definitely B, the cheesy titles I just can't help**

I found this recipe on one of the many blogs that I follow for "G.R.I.T.S" (girls raised in the south).  It's been a relaxing and cold weekend, so I decided baking would be a great way to end it.  If you are a fan of pistachios, or looking for something to bring to a St. Patty's day celebration this is a great option. 

1 Box White Cake Mix
1 Small Box of Pistachio Pudding
4 Eggs
1 1/4 c. Water
1/4 c. Oil
1 tbsp. some type of extract (I used almond extract)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased bundt pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes. After removing the pan, run a knife around the edges gently to loosen the cake. Place your plate on top of the pan and flip it over. It should come out easily. If it doesn't, better luck next time :) 

If you really want to get fancy, you can also add an almond or orange juice glaze:

1/4 c. of powdered sugar

splash of almond extract

splash of milk

Mix and drizzle. 

She added some green food coloring, but it creeped me out a little, so I just settled with the natural green hue from the pistachio pudding mix.  She also suggested to add some pistachios to the mix, which I agree would have given it a bit more texture. I think I will try that the next go around.  Happy Baking!

A Day On, Not a Day Off

    Happy MLK Day everyone! This morning me and Lauren did a day of service with her Firm. We dragged ourselves up bright and early and got on a shuttle bus to PS 292 in East New York.

Congressman Weiner

    When we got there, we were greeted in the auditorium with a real-life "DrumLine" experience, the only thing we were missing was Nick Cannon.  After the students performed their step routine, we settle in for several speakers, including Congressman Andrew Weiner and volunteers from City Year. The organization is a branch of AmeriCorp and it was inspiring to hear all of their stories and how many people they have helped.
     Our group was in charge of a mural outside of the auditorium which was a dedication to their successful martial arts program.  We also helped out painting some healthy eating panels for the cafeteria, but those were a little bit more detailed so I tried to stay clear from messing up their daily eating quarters. The day was incredibly rewarding, we met interesting people, and I got to embrace my inner artiste.

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" -Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Finished Product

All Done for the Day!