Fleet Week

Hold onto your horses, people. Because I'm about to bore you to tears.

Last Sunday, Blondie and I headed to Food Fest for just a little bit. It was hot and there were a lot of people there, so we ended up bailing pretty quickly and going for pizza at the new pizza place in our hood. We split a pizza and meatballs, and I had sangria (on tap, FTW!). Afterward, I headed to Pony to meet Glitter, but she had an errand to run so we were only there for a few minutes. I didn't want to head home then because Blondie had gone home to work and I knew I'd just bug him if I were there, so I ended up at Winchester. I was only there about an hour by myself before I was joined by AA and Heinie. Good times.

Sunday night was memorable because our cable box "blew up". It rebooted while we were in the middle of watching TV and then went into an endless cycle of reboots. We ended up unplugging the whole thing and watching Netflix the rest of the night.

On Tuesday, after not having cable for two days (the box wouldn't power on at all after we plugged it back in), I talked to our cable company and ended up walking two miles with the cable box to the cable company's office. They replaced the unit for me and then it was a 2 mile walk back to our hood for grocery shopping. It was a muggy day out and when I finally got home, after walking four miles and carrying bags loaded with hardware and food, I was *coated* in sweat. Yuck.

Wednesday, Blondie worked from home. That was nice. I did a bunch of laundry and then I met up with Glitter for my first pedicure since last October. Then her and I headed for lunch followed by margaritas at a new mexican place in the hood. Afterward, I went back to the apartment and bugged Blondie some more before finally heading to Winchester to end out my night.

Thursday was notable for a dentist appointment.

On Friday, I went to Winchester around 4:30 pm and met up with Heinie and AA. We hung out until about 7:30 pm and then I trucked on home to meet up with Blondie.

Saturday, Blondie and I stayed in all day. AA texted around 8 pm and said he was going to the bar, and we joined him around 9:30 pm. We only stayed a few hours, but it was good getting to hang with AA.

Yesterday we took an Uber out to Queens. A old coworker of mine has a house out there and he had a BBQ party. It was so much fun. He has a great group of friends, and I spent all afternoon laughing my ass off. My sides actually ached when we finally left because I'd been laughing so hard. It was one of those days where everyone was in a great mood and it was one of the best parties I've ever been to.

On our way home last night, AA texted again from Winchester so I went and joined him after we got home to watch the Rangers game. On my way out of our apartment building, I ran into a friend of mine from the building and told him I was going to Winchester. He ended up joining me and AA. We ordered in cheesesteaks to the bar and stayed until it closed. There were sailors in there because of Fleet Week and we talked to them for several hours. These guys looked like they were twelve. It was freaky. The best part was when they asked what we all did for a living and then one of them said, "Jokes on you all. We're actually timeshare salesmen and we just bought these sailor suits to wear to pick up women." Literal LOL. Afterward, building friend and I headed home and I grabbed Blondie and we went and hung in building friend's apartment until about 2 am.

Today I slept until noon and I think I was still drunk when I woke up. I finally worked out around 1 pm. But I still feel blah right now.

I've been working out still. I decided to do round 2 of T25 Alpha so I just finished week one of that round yesterday. I cursed out Shaun T today doing the Cardio disc though.

Also, I didn't lie above. You're bored to tears, right? ;)

--K

A Whole Lotta Nada

Yay for doing nothing. Because that's what makes living in NYC so exciting. A city that never sleeps... and I choose to stay in. I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel. LOL.

Last Sunday I met up with Glitter and Heinie around 3:30 pm for some beers at our local. Our original plans had us going to a new oyster bar in the hood but after AA and Blondie both decided to stay home, and after Heinie announced he didn't feel well so he'd come to the restaurant but not eat, we bailed on our plans. I ended up just drinking until about 5:30 pm and then headed home to eat leftovers and make fun of the new Hobbit movie. Blondie *loves* me for that one.

Monday was Blondie's first day at his new job! I thought about him all day long, but my worries were in vain because Blondie loves his company! I met him for a few beers on the patio at a neighborhood bar on Monday night and he told me all about his day, and then we trucked to our local to meet up with our friends for celebration drinks as well.

Also on Monday, I submitted my book to the publisher I'd like to work with (previous blog post). I want to stress that I really do have a better chance of winning the lottery then I do with having the publisher accept my book. Even knowing this, I'm going to still be heart-broken when it's rejected. Wah. I should know within 4-5 weeks (so 3-4 weeks now) what their decision is. I will let everyone know as soon as I hear, rejection or otherwise, so hang tight on news and keep on keeping body parts crossed.

Tuesday was Blondie's BIRTHDAY!!!! His work actually busted out shots of vodka and then everyone sang Happy Birthday to Blondie. He has the best job EVER. I met Blondie on Tuesday night for dinner and then we ended up at our local again to have a shot of fireball to celebrate.

Wednesday I went to grocery shop and on my walk to the store, about 10 police cars, sirens blaring, came flying down the street. The traffic cop stopped traffic (pedestrian / cars) and let the cop cars through. When I got home from shopping, I found out that the crazy hammer guy (guy who hit random woman in the head with hammers) had been shot and killed (he attacked a female police officer with said hammer and the cops took him down) 2 blocks and 1 avenue from where I was at the exact time I was there. So those cop cars were headed to the scene of the shooting. Exciting stuff.

I made chicken tortilla soup on Wednesday night and it was delicious. I used the Pioneer Woman website recipe and highly highly recommend.

Thursday we stayed in. Blondie had to work late already, so I just chilled and ate leftover soup for dinner.

And on Friday, Blondie went out for drinks with his coworkers and I cooked fajitas for dinner. Then Tigga and I saved a kitty! :) After I ate, I was sitting on the couch with Tigga and he started doing his "stare at the front door" move which usually means Blondie is fumbling with keys outside the apartment. So I muted the TV and realized I could hear a cat crying. I went to the hallway and a cat was hanging out, so I picked it up and found the owner's apartment. Our doors don't shut fully unless you physically shut them yourself (you can't let it swing shut and have it shut by itself) and I think the cat's owner thought the door shut and it didn't. That's how the cat got out. So go Tigga for hearing the cat in the first place!

Yesterday was supposed to be Food Fest fun but Glitter and AA had to bail at the last minute. So I stayed in all day and pouted that I didn't get my frito pie and spicy chicken empanada. :) Maturity. That's me. Today now instead, we're going to do food fest.

And last night was turkey burgers and veggies for dinner, and wine and rum for desert.

No plans for this coming week other than working on my next book (about 10000 words in as of this moment).

I finished Alpha T25 this week (well, I'll finish it today as soon as I get off my ass and do the Stretching disc) but I'm thinking about doing another round of Alpha before moving on to Beta. I was so fat when I started, so out of shape, that I'm just now getting to the point where I don't have to follow the modifier on every move. So I thought maybe another 5 weeks of Alpha would help. But I'm still trying to decide.

This was a boring post wasn't it?

TL;DR - I did nothing this week.

--K

Submission Day!

My book was officially submitted about 30 minutes ago to the publishing company I'd like to work with! It's such a super fucking long shot. I have a better chance of winning the lottery. BUT. I'm just so excited!

Keep your fingers and toes, arms and legs, torsos, pets' paws, kids' paws, tongues... you name it... keep them crossed! Wish me good luck! Tell me to break a leg! Throw salt over your shoulder!

ARGHHHHH.

--K

Gap Week

Most excellent week. I wish every week was a gap week for Blondie!

Last Sunday was indeed Sunday Funday. We left our apartment around 2 pm and headed to our local to chat with our bartender for just a second. After that, it was up to Pony to meet up with Heinie for several rounds of frosty malted beverages and a BALT (bacon, avo, lettuce, tomato) sandwich. Then, of course, back to our local for just a few more. Yay for lazy Sundays!

Monday was even more lazy. We didn't leave the house at all.

Tuesday was Cinco de Mayo, and so after vision check-ups for both of us, it was off to our favorite Mexican (not Tex-Mex) restaurant for a late lunch. Enchiladas and guac and a Modelo made my afternoon. Glitter texted on Tuesday night. Our normal Tuesday night bartender (who does not like to make mixed drinks) was off for the day and his replacement was our Sunday bartender (who has no problems making mixed drinks). So I headed to our local for a few margaritas and then some more beer and jukebox playing.

Wednesday, the weather was shit so we just hung out people watching on our balcony. It was perfect.

On Thursday, we started off with a dentist appointment. I like our new dentist a lot. He took his time and walked through my x-rays with me, and then the cleaning wasn't that bad either. After the dentist, we made our way up to Times Square. One of Blondie's nieces did some kind of project for school and asked us to take pictures from around NYC and send them to her for the project. So Times Square was first followed by a trip down to Freedom Tower and Wall Street (the bull and stock exchange). We then got on the Staten Island Ferry so we could take pictures of the Statue of Liberty, and ended our journey in Washington Sq Park so we could get a photo of the arch and the Empire State Bldg.

Finally, after all that, we went to lunch in the NYU area of town. We stopped at a local bar and had burgers and beers, and then sat with a pitcher, people watching Bleecker Street traffic. After lunch, we ended up getting a slice of pizza (the burgers were small and it was late in the day when we ate = STARVING. Not that I need an excuse to eat pizza) and then went to one of Blondie's favorite beer bars for a few beverages.

We ended the day back on our balcony, having some more drinks. The highlight of the night was watching AA walk down the street to the local. We texted him: "We see you!" And he wrote back: "Quit stalking me." LOL.

Friday we stayed in. Blondie had to get a cavity filled and came home from that appointment with several bottles of wine. We ordered Indian food for dinner (eggplant, chicken curry) and then watched TV until I fell asleep on the couch.

And yesterday was yet another lazy day. We lounged around all day, and then joined our friends at our local for several hours last night. Lots of jukebox playing happened. Some dancing happened. Some laughing happened. A great way to end the week!

Happy Mothers Day to my mom, Mrs Pooh and my MIL!!!!

Happy early birthday to Blondie!!!! The big day is Tuesday for him!

Good luck to Blondie on his new job!!!! He starts tomorrow!

And in book news - I FINISHED MY BOOK! I'm in the middle of going through it one last time but will have it sent to the publisher I'd like to work with tomorrow. *If* they accept it (HUGE LONG SHOT), I'll be ecstatic!!!!

Have a great Sunday youz guyz! Exclamation points!!!!!

--K

Spring has sprung!

So excited about the beautiful weather NYC has had these past few weeks! And this coming week is looking to be just as gorgeous as well. Highs in the low 80's + Blondie in a gap week between jobs = fun is HAPPENING. IT'S ALL HAPPENING.

Soooo.... Let's see.

Two Mondays ago, I met up with an old co-worker who used to work full-time for the company "not from the office." He was in town for the week, so I headed to my local to get caught up with him. Also, Glitter's mom was in town as well so there ended up being a big group of us at the bar that night. Even Blondie came out!

Two Tuesdays ago, I took Grumpers The Cat to the oncologist, and told them about the bile/diarrhea (BD) thing he seems to like to do lately. Then they weighed him and the cat actually gained a bit of weight. Anyway, there were basically two options that could be causing the BD. First was that he just had a tummy bug. The vet said that cats with his disease are more susceptible to issues with their stomach. And then the second was that it might be the beginning of the end. That maybe the cancer is starting to win. BUT, he seemed almost positive it was just a bug b/c the cat did gain weight.

Two Wednesdays ago, I'm going to call Hell Day. Glitter and I met up early morning and walked down to Chelsea to meet our Sunday bartender at Flywheel. For those that don't know, Flywheel is a fancy spin class. You get clip-in shoes and the bikes have meters so instead of your instructor telling you to "turn the knob a little to the right" (every gym spin class I've taken), the instructor at Flywheel says "turn the knob to between 20 and 25 and keep your rpms above 80." HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAH. Fat girl on a little bike. It was 45 minutes of hell. They even had 2 and 4 pound bars attached to the bike, so at one point you're pedaling and lifting weights. The good news was I burned between 545 and 615 calories (estimated for my stats for a 150 lbs person, and I am WAY more than 150 lbs person).

After hell, we all walked to Meatpacking and ended up on a patio at a mexican restaurant for margaritas and queso. Yes, I see the irony that I worked out and then ate like shit. In my defense, the queso was really good. While at lunch, the vet called and all Tigga's tests turned out normal!!! Which means STOMACH BUG!!!! Not the beginning of the end. SO RELIEVED. After lunch, we split from our bartender, and Glitter and I walked the High Line back to the hood.

Two Fridays ago, we stayed in for the night and ordered deep dish pizza from Tribeca. It was perfect. And two Saturdays ago, we stayed in most of the day but ended up at our local for a few drinks early evening.

Then last Sunday, me and Blondie and AA and Heinie took a cab to Gramercy and went to a mexican restaurant that opened up about two months ago and is legit tex-mex. SOOOO GOOD. Many drinks happened there (Shiner on tap FTW!) and then we cabbed back to our hood where everyone but Blondie ended up at our local. And we drank all afternoon. I went home, ate a leftover taco from Saturday night, and went straight to bed. Because that is how I roll.

The past week was much more low-key. We had 2 instances of BD from the cat, and we think we finally figured out why. We have a cast-iron skillet we use a lot and on nights when we use it, we leave it soaking in the sink. We *think* that he's been getting up on the counter and drinking the water from the pan. So we've decided to now wash it immediately and see if that stops the problems. Poor guy. I'll feel like a total ass if this is why he was sick.

In other good news, Blondie's last day with his company was on Friday! He now has a week off and then he starts up at his new job next Monday. I'm so excited for him! He's extremely happy about his new opportunity, and we celebrated hard on Friday night. Complete with multiple shots of Fireball (barf).

Yesterday was kind of boring. We were lazy until 6 pm and then we met our friends at the local for the KY Derby. The most boring two minutes in sports. AA, who has a knack for picking the exact wrong teams/ sides / horses / you name it, continued his losing streak by putting $150 on the horse who came in dead last. And that horse didn't even have bad odds. The horse that raced at 68-1 odds came in 11th place, and the horse who AA picked (20-1 odds) came in 18th place. Then he told me that he was picking Pacquiao for the fight last night, and I immediately knew Mayweather would win. Yep.

Today has been productive. Up early and already went to the grocery. I wrote my blog on time for once! Now I have a workout to do and then I'm going to bake some brownies before meeting up with the friends for Sunday Funday!

Blondie and I have big plans next week. We have eye and dentist appointments scheduled, we're going to see Avengers one morning, and then we're going to walk around the city one day. Central Park, High Line. The weather is going to be insane and I'm hoping to get some patio and beer time in as well.

Workouts are still happening. I'm three weeks through Alpha T25. It still sucks every single day.

In book news, I had to "fire" my editor. I've known it was coming but hoped everyday something would change. It didn't. The work she had given me was great, but the problem was that the last time she had given me pages was 4/1 (46 out of 162 pages) and every deadline she had given me since 4/1, she had completely missed. Like not a single page given to me. Like I had to track her down (multiple emails each time and when she'd finally respond, it was always "oops, next week! :)") I had to finally write the company I went through and tell them I wanted out of my contract. The owners were actually amazing, and offered to completely edit the book themselves in two to three days, and when I declined that (just a bad taste in my mouth about everything), they refunded the money we had paid (it was half up front, half when book was done). I was expecting to have to eat the first half costs.

Anyway, the plan now is to finish up a book that's not part of the series. I have about 3 hours of writing left on that. And then I'm going to submit to a publishing company. It's a long shot but if they take it, I'd be ecstatic. If not, I self-publish that. After I submit to the publishing company (early next week), I'm going to revisit the book from the "fired editor" and edit it myself and get that self-published. So hopefully within the next 2 weeks, I have two books ready to go!

Cheers!

--K