20 Cornelia Street

Sunday, December 20

Visit with the Boys

I went down to DC two weeks ago to visit Jame, Becky, Gavin and Graham. Graham is so much bigger! He smiles and laughs and is just such a good little guy. He was almost sitting up alone when I was there, so by now I bet he's got it down pat. Gavin is so good to him, and loves him so much. We went and saw Santa, to Gavin's tumbling class and to a train exhibit. It was all so much fun and I can't wait to see them again for Christmas!

Monday, December 14

Food Group Starring Kate

Kate hosted our November Food Group. She roasted a stuffed pork loin, red potatoes, sauteed some tomatoes, and made a delicious salad. I brought cheese from Murray's and Jenny made a cheesecake. It was the perfect winter feast. We had a great time!

Friday, November 13

Christina and Peters' Wedding

Esther and I traveled to Philadelphia last weekend for Christina and Peters' wedding. Christina lived on the top floor of the DC house that Esther and I shared and we've stayed in touch over the years. We were there when she and Peter started dating, so you can say we've seen it from the beginning. It was at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, specifically the Children's museum. They are really sweet kids at heart, and managed to put together the classiest, yet most kid like wedding I've ever seen. They were engaged on the carousel at Disneyland, and married in front of a carousel in the museum, then took it for a ride, before all the guests joined in. The reception was in this grand room in the museum with cocktail tables set up that had games at each table. We chose Jenga. There were play cars, buses, etc. so you'll see some very random/hilarious photos that don't normally come from weddings. Needless to say we had a blast as did the happy couple. (I accidentally posted them in the reverse order, just FYI).

The Bride tries for a steady Jenga hand

I serve up some plastic food to people as they wait in line at the buffet

The bride and groom have their first dance in front of a recreation of the Statue of Liberty's torch

Saying vows in front of the carousel

There's really no explanation for this one...

Haha, just kidding

Esther was saying how beautiful all the lights on the Carousel were and how perfect everyone looked riding it, so I had to throw a wrench in the mix with this decidely un-beautiful face

Remember Ivy? She lived in the DC house too and took Becky's spot in the triathlon when Gavin was on the way. That was her first race and she recently completed a half-Ironman!!

Esther's boyfriend, Yang, had lunch with Esther and I in Chinatown, NY before we caught the bus to Philly. I don't remember why we're making those faces....goofing around I'm sure.

Sunday, November 8

Halloween and Esther's Birthday

Emily, Caleb and Rachel (with Leslie in the back) Queens Halloween night.

Kavita, Priya, Me (as Maria Sharapova) and Esther in our apartment before heading down to the Halloween parade.

Esther and I on her birthday. She's wearing the present I gave her - it says "Everyone Loves an Ohio Girl." I figured if I'm going to wear a Cambodian T-Shirt, she can wear this one.

Esther and I singing Karaoke in a pre-birthday celebration.

Monday, November 2

Gavin and Graham

I went down to DC last weekend and so much fun with my cute little nephews and of course Jamie and Becky too. We went to the playground, to a farm (that's Gavin playing in the cornbox at the farm above), and played Wii. Gavin is talking so much and has such funny and clever things to say. He is such a sweetheart and full of hugs and kisses for his Aunt Haha. Graham is such a good little baby! He's getting bigger and bigger and never takes his eyes off of his big brother. I can't wait to see them again soon!

Wednesday, October 14

Farm

Kate, Jenny, and Kate Billman and I went to a farm last Saturday to hang out with some goats and enjoy some apple treats. It was great to get out of the city for a day and wow, the grilled sweet corn and apple babies were delicious! The city certainly does not have it all.

This is Kate and I after we FINALLY found our way out of the Corn Maze, or Maize Maze as they like to call it. It was deceptively difficult and hot out, so it is not to be looked down upon that we had to cheat to get out. We would have gone mad in there! Who makes a Maize Maze so difficult?!

Yeah, really happy, so they got out half an hour before us. Big deal.

Why is this sheep giving me the evil eye?

Kate being adorable as always.

Sunday, September 13

Colorado Relay

Jillian and I in Frisco just before she sets out on her second run.

I just got back from Denver, Colorado where I completed a 174 mile relay race with a team of 9 other runners. We were a mix of coworkers, friends, strangers, boys and girls, and all had an awesome time running from Georgetown to Carbondale in 28 hours and 26 minutes. We each ran three legs of around 18 miles each starting at 5:30 am Friday morning and ending Saturday at 10:15 am. I ended up doing 22 miles - my longest distance yet. The scenery was gorgeous and everyone did so well. We're already planning to do it again next year!!

The team heading to the van after my last run. That's Jillian and the pink and me in the orange in the foreground.

At the end of my last run. It was five miles on a cattle road through a valley. The mountains were incredible, and made me forget about all the brutal hills I was running up!

Getting ready for my second leg of 11 miles along Highway 6. I started at 12:46 am after two hours sleep in the back of the van. I'm all decked out in reflective gear, waterbottles, and my headlamp. It was just me, the mountains, the stars and a dark, dark road.

Just about finished with my first leg of 6 miles. This one was at 10,000 feet! My lungs hurt for the first mile, but then it was okay and I ran a great time of 9 minute splits!

The team split up into two vans - runners 1-5 and 6-10 plus the two drivers. This was my van going left to right in the back: Tara, Paul, Alisa, Les, Me and Reid in the front.

Me on my first run with lungs about to burst!

Book Reviews

Are you there Vodka? It's me Chelsea - This is Chelsea Handler's second book of humorous essays. I've never seen her show, but all of her books have been on the bestseller list FOREVER so I checked it out out of curiousity. SO funny! Some are kind of shocking - think Sex and the City extreme escapades, but many made me laugh out loud. I'm definitely getting the other two now. If you need a quick, fun read, and aren't too easily offended (and a woman), read this!
Let the Great World Spin - This won the National Book Award last year and it's so well deserved. The writing is just beautiful and it's a great portrait of NY in the 70's.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - If you like Pride and Prejudice, then you will love this. Somehow, this author worked in zombies and ninjas into this Austen classic. It is hilarious!
Saving Sammy - This book just came out and is the best thing I've read since Born to Run. It's about a boy who very suddenly starts to display OCD symptoms at the age of 12. It gets to the point where this previously brilliant math student, outgoing, friendly kid, stopped bathing, eating, and was so debilitated by his ticks that he couldn't leave the house or sleep. His mother perserved with doctor after doctor and finally found the cause that saved his life. It's hear-breaking, but worth it, as it does have a very happy ending.
Born to Run - I know I label almost every book on here as soooooooo good, but the truth is, I only post about the ones I really, really like. And this one tops them all. I'm not kidding, this book is incredible. It will inspire you to not only get out there and run, but to be a better person. There are so many interesting things in this book I can't begin to list them all. Let's just say I learned about a native Mexican tribe of the fastest runners on earth; ultramarathoners who run 100s of miles through mountains and deserts; and how homo sapiens overcame the neanderthals by becoming long distance runners and so much more. And it's told in a narrative story that keeps you turning the page. Read this book.
The Lost City of Z by David Grann. This is a nonfiction account of a great explorer in the early 1900s who was one of the first Europeans to map out the Amazon. It's incredibly well researched and written, and is a thrilling adventure story.
Nabeel's Song (aka The Poet of Baghdad, as it was renamed in paperback) This is the true story of the poet, Nabeel Yasin. He was born and raised in Baghdad in the '50s before such a harsh regime took over. Universitites flourished, women were encouraged to go to school, and opposition to the government wasn't punishable by death. He had to flee in the '80s when he was persecuted for his writings and continues to this day to live in Europe with his family. It's such a good book! Very well written, you would think it's a novel. What a different look at a city that we only hear about in terms of war and bombs.
Ship Ablaze. This is an incredible book! It has a bit of a morbid theme, as it focuses on a 1904 steam boat fire on the Hudson River that killed almost 1000 people, but don't let that stop you! The author describes in such fascinating detail the people aboard the ship and what it was like in turn of the century New York. I highly recommend it!
Marley and Me, by John Grogan. For anyone who's a pet lover, especially a dog lover, this book is for you. It is such a sweet story of a man and his out-of-control dog. It's funny and sad - just a great read.
The Kabul Beauty School, by Deborah Rodriguez is the best book!! It's such an incredible true story about an eccentric hairdresser from Michigan who picks up and moves to Afghanistan to open a beauty school. The point is to help the women there gain some independence from their husbands and earn money for themselves. It's a crazy story, I can't believe it's true, but such a good read.
The Geography of Love, by Glenda Burgess. This is a nonfiction WONDERFUL love story. It's so beautifully written and is so touching. It's basically about a woman finding love late in life and then how she deals with her love's cancer diagnosis. Read it (with a tissue)!
Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician, by Daniel Wallace. Wallace is the author of Big Fish, you may have seen the movie. I wasn't a fan of it, but this title intrigued me and I really enjoyed it. It takes place in the 1950s South and follows Henry, a magician, through the tales of his circus coworkers. It's very moving/entertaining fiction. It's a quick read that is tough to put down. I finished it with a better understanding of that time period and our perception of truth. I recommend it.
The Appeal, by John Grisham. At first, I really hated this book. It's rather slow, and there's not too much action like A TIME TO KILL or some of his other classics. It's more of a, "I'm John Grisham, and I've written so many bestsellers I don't need to worry about that anymore, instead, I'm going to teach you a lesson about the law." Well, I wanted a commercial, mindless, action/thriller, not a law lesson. So I ened the book in frustration. Then I thought about it a bit and realized, learning isn't so bad. Still, I wouldn't recommend it.
The Sex Lives of Cannibals, by J. Maarten Troost. Okay, get over the title, and this book is a really fun read. Maarten and his girlfriend move to Tarawa, a remote island in the South Pacific and spend two years trying to make sense of a conflicted culture torn between tradition and modern day. The setting is at once an island paradise, and an imploding infrastructure. Maarten writes with humor and candidness, teaching the reader about this distant land and making you laugh out loud while you do so. (Plus I'm helping to edit his next two books, so I'm a little biased).
Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri. I've been hearing people rave about this author for a long time, but shied away from her stuff because so much of it is fiction. However, that was a HUGE mistake! She is amazing. And even though she writes mainly about Indian culture and the clash of older, Indian generations, with younger, Americanized ones, underneath the surface her themes are universal. Everyone should read this collection of stories!
The Unlikely Lavendar Queen, by Jeannie Ralston. This was a great book! She's a successful journalist who meets a National Geographic photographer and they fall in love. She loves Manhattan, and he needs the country. Somehow he convices her to move to Texas in the middle of nowhere and then manages to get her to try planting lavender fields. She's a great writer who puts a comic spin on life's ups and downs. She's a bit whiny at times, but this is a great memoir of a life turned upside down.
The Lace Reader. This book was all the rage at BookExpo America as the big summer book, but I thought it stank. Well, maybe the hype was just too much so my expectations were too high, but the storyline of a family who can see the future by reading lace, just didn't do it for me. I recommend you skip this and read something with a more cohesive plot!
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. This book would be really hard to read if you have a daughter. However, if you can get past the gruesome act in the beginning, it is a beautiful story told from the point of view of a young girl. It's also a very interesting look at the after life and what happens to us when we pass. Some parts were hard to hear, but overall, it is an amazing read.
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, Xiaolu Guo. A fictional account of a Chinese girl studying English in London. This is her perspective on Western culture and its sharp contrast to the Chinese way of life. It drags a bit in the middle, but is definitely worth the read for a new perspective and a good laugh.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Jamie mocked this guy, but I think it's pretty incredible he wrote the entire book while paralyzed, by blinking his left eye. Insane. Aside from that, it's a beautiful, while heart breaking, look at life and freedom. I was so impressed by it.
sTORI TELLING, Tori Spelling's autobigraphy. I'm not ashamed to say I read this...and LOVED it. For any 90210 fans, it's a guilty pleasure/must read.
Devil in the White City, Erik Larson - Highly Recommend!