Lake George Birthday

For my birthday this year, Nat surprised me with a trip to Lake George in upstate New York. Up until this point, I had never been to upstate New York and everyone always raved about how gorgeous it was so it was must-do on our list. Two birds with one stone. The long weekend included a mountain-top picnic, bed and breakfast, Six Flags (the real driving force behind this destination), hikes, waterfalls, breweries and the list goes on and on! It was so much fun!

Prior to leaving, Nat mapped out our route so that we could stop at a fresh market on our drive to Lake George. We picked up the necessary picnic ingredients and then shortly after that, arrived at our picnic spot. After a short hike to the top, we dined while overlooking all of Lake George. So beautiful!Post picnic.

SIX FLAGS!! I think it's safe to say that I am an amusement park junkie. I literally turn into a 10 year old kid when I enter the park. And even though he doesn't have quite the same reaction as me, Nat is slowing starting to love screaming his head off. While going backwards. And upside down. It was a cloudy day which made for PERFECT conditions in the park. We showed up early so we could be among the first through the doors. Turns out, they opened the park 15 minutes early so by the time most of the people arrived, we were 5 thrill rides in! They also had a water park, which is where Nat turns into the 10 year old. All around, this was a great day!

On the last day, Nat found a great spot where we could hike around Lake George and up to a waterfall. On the left is a picture of the drive up to the hiking spot. It was so nice to drive through these gorgeous woods with our windows down. Definitely something you can easily take for granted when you own a car and live outside of NYC! On the right is our view of Lake George as we hiked around it.



Where's Waldo? He's a crazy one!



I don't have proof of it, but I did go up to where Nat was in the last photo. However, I did not stand under the freezing cold falls. This was enough of my body in the water for me!!



This was our first attempt at a self-pic with my new camera. As you can see, we could totally see ourselves on the screen so instead of staring at the camera lens, we choose to stare at ourselves!!



Second attempt. Just right. :-)

Two Very Important People

I was beyond blessed when Nat came into my life. Nat, by himself, with no awesome family members would have been enough. I, however, happened to hit the in-law family jackpot with the McIntyre's. They not only immediately treated me like family but they naturally felt like family. It's hard for me to even think about a time that they weren't in my life.

And while they are all awesome, it's two very important people that I want to focus on. Lilly and Max, our niece and nephew...here is preview....


I miss them every. single. day. I have officially gone off the deep end when it comes to these two. I save their voice mails (then play them for my roommate who is super understanding of my addiction). Talk in funny voices in front of my entire office when they call (via their mom's cell phone). Constantly tell stories to perfect strangers about their awesomeness. The list could go on and on.

Since moving back to Nashville, it's definitely been a hard adjustment not seeing them. When in NYC, Nat and I made an effort to get to Cape Cod once a month to spend time with them. Now it is particularly hard when Nat gets to visit and I'm not there which is exactly what happened this weekend. He does the best he can to make me feel like I'm there through phone calls and texted pictures but he knows it's not the same (It must be said that this activity only reiterates what an awesome dad he will be, as if I had any doubt!). And, as with everything else in our life, we turn their beautiful love and affection into a competition! haha. Not a real competition, but one where we ask who their favorite is and try to always make sure that person is you! As kids do, their favorites are constantly changing which makes this a fun and acceptable game.

Nat was giving me a hard time before he left for his visit last weekend. Our convo went something like this:

Nat: What if Max doesn't even remember you?
Jenny: Oh, he'll remember me. I'm his favorite. I'm just glad that you're getting some alone time because I am running away with this competition.

As fate would have it, one of my favorite moments from the weekend was when Susie (Nat's sister and their mom) asked Max if he was excited about seeing Uncle Nat to which he loudly proclaimed "Where's Jenny!". Yeah, I rock. I have the love and favoritism of a 2 year old and that is enough for me! ;-)

*This is one of my favorite pictures of Uncle Nat and Lilly. It was taken on the Staten Island Ferry during their NYC visit.

*This kid ALWAYS has the biggest smile on this face.

*Napping on the beach with his Auntie Jenny

Southern NON-APPLE Girl!

I'm willing to bet that 100% of my readers already know this gem of information BUT (I kinda still have to tell it for the sake of my blog transition!) a couple of months ago, Nat and I made a big decision and decided to move back to Nashville! It went kind of like this...

*Jenny gets offered big promotion at work that if she accepts, will require a move back to Nashville.

*Nat is very loving and supportive but also slightly anxious about the future of his ACTING career in MUSIC city!

*As with most things in our lives (little or big), we talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, and then talk a little bit more about the decision. All in all, I think the talking spanned a solid 2-3 months!

*Once the actual offer was made, we already knew what our decision would be and we couldn't be more excited to start our next chapter in Nashville, TN!!

*Nat already has some teaching gigs lined up with a theater here in town and hopes to stay with his agency which just opened an office in Atlanta (4 short hours away). This new move has also ignited talks about opening our own theater company, him writing more plays and us finishing (and by finishing I mean starting!) some of the screen play ideas that I must keep top secret for the time being. ;-)

I am officially back in Nashville and living with one of my best girlfriends. Nat has plans to join me within the next few months and then wedding planning, house hunting and lots of quality time with friends and family is on the schedule!

Now don't panic. My blog is not going anywhere (I can hear major sighs of relief! haha). I'm going to transform it into a journal of sorts about my life, our life, our wedding, our friends, our move and our next chapter. The plan is to write more but that is always the plan and so far, I'm probably scoring a D in that department (actually probably more like a D-). Hang in there!

And because it's the end of Chapter 2 for us, it's probably a good time to look back over our NYC journey...

Yes, I'd love to have my food delivered to your bar.

I love having visitors for a number of reasons. Obviously and most importantly, I love getting to see and spend time with my friends!

But another perk to having people visit is getting to see the city through new eyes again. It's amazing how quickly you just become accustom to your surroundings and what started out as bizarre or unusual or exciting, becomes your new norm. Our friend Luke Sheets was in town for a visit and reminded me of one of these NYC norms last night...

Picture this...you're anywhere else but New York City and you walk into a sports bar to catch your favorite team's game. You sit down at the bar and order a beer. You then proceed to ask the bartender for his binder of to-go menus because you want to order some take out and have it delivered to his bar! He would not only look at you like you were crazy but he might hit you across the head with menu for their food!

This same scenario is something that gets played out in the majority of sports bars and pubs across NYC. When I first moved here, it was such a strange concept to me that you would literally order food from a restaurant down the street and the delivery person would come into the bar to bring your food to you. Now that I've been desensitized to this, it's my new norm. When Luke visited and we went to our favorite gyro place to pick up food to take into the bar, Luke was shocked that it was ok to just bring in your own food. We explained that not only was it ok but they actually encouraged it and provided you with delivery menus in case you didn't bring in your own food!

And just for kicks, here is a picture from Luke's visit in front of our local liquor store...

SLACKER! SLACKER! SLACKER!

Let' s just pretend that it's not really June (because honestly I feel like it should be February) and that I haven't blogged in like a year. Okay. Awesome.

With that out of the way, let's do a quick summary of things that have happened in the last year:

1. (And most important) The MossIntyre's are engaged! The deed went down on Feb. 20. At our best friend's house. On the couch where the first, extremely awkward move, was made. Awwww, memories.

2. Nat booked a play, MacBeth, in St. Louis that ran throughout the month of February. He moved there from Jan-March. While he was playing in St. Louis, I moved back to Nashville and worked from my company's headquarters. Probably the only time in our lives we can say that we had homes in 3 cities.

3. My brother also got engaged to a great girl! Their engagement went down exactly one week to the day before our's did. Yay for Moss family weddings and love and joy and my dad being thrilled that he only had one girl!

4. We took a vacay to Riviera Maya, Mexico with 2 other fabulous couples. For anyone looking to try an all-inclusive vacay, I would HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the Now Jade Riviera Maya.

5. About a two months ago, Nat found a way to trip so hard over our entertainment center that it broke a piece off and sent our 42" flat screen tv plummeting to its' untimely death via glass coffee table. The glass coffee table left without a scratch and definitely got the last laugh.

6. My company is expanding like crazy. We have a new, awesome space and two new, awesome employees. I love being a part of something from the first stages of growth.

7. I feel kind of like I'm writing a Christmas card right now.

Now that the official slacker post has happened, I feel like we can all move on and talk about much more ridiculous topics. Until next time (which will be VERY soon!)...

XOXO

NYC loves NASHVILLE

How cool is this?!?! I know people say it all the time but it really is a small world. I receive an email from a best friend and old co-worker which came to her through one of our other mutual friends and business counterparts in Nashville. He happened to be in touch with a lady who lives and works in NYC and was arranging a benefit concert to support flood relief in Nashville. And they're charity of choice...the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee who I also happen to work with on a weekly and sometimes daily basis! Wow.

I am so excited about this project. I mean...I was in Nashville and experienced the flood first hand. I would consider it my true home yet here I was in my new home, NYC, meeting people who had also lived there and wanted to do something to support a city from their past. And I met these people, not because I lived in NYC, but because of my friends from Nashville. Talk about full circle.

So here are the details about the event in case any of my fellow NYC readers (anyone out there?) want to attend...

“NYC LOVES NASHVILLE” BENEFIT CONCERT ANNOUNCED

LE POISSON ROUGE

TUESDAY – JULY 27, 2010 AT 8:00PM

FEATURING TONY AWARD® WINNER MICHAEL CERVERIS, LAURA CANTRELL, CALEB HAWLEY, JENNINGS, MILTON AND STUEDABAKERBROWN

**ALL PROCEEDS AFTER BREAK-EVEN DONATED TO THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE IN SUPPORT OF FLOOD RECOVERY**

(New York, NY – July 27, 2010) Former Nashville residents announce the “NYC Loves Nashville” Benefit Concert at Le Poisson Rouge on July 27th. Doors open at 7:30pm with the show beginning at 8:00pm and tickets are $20 at Le Poisson Rouge’s website (www.lprnyc.com). The concert will feature a diverse group of artists coming together to raise funds and awareness for the relief efforts in Nashville, Tennessee after unrelenting rainstorms in early May caused severe flood damage all across Music City. Participants include Tony Award® winner Michael Cerveris, Nashville’s own Laura Cantrell, Stuedabakerbrown, Caleb Hawley, Jennings and Milton. These artists have also generously donated tracks – some unreleased – that can be downloaded for free for a limited time with the purchase of a ticket online. Be sure to visit www.nyclovesnashville.com for the most up to date information or to make a donation at any time.

In addition to ticket sales, money will also be raised through door prizes and auctions of fantastic donated items from sympathetic musical artists and businesses in both New York and Tennessee. Among these many coveted prizes are autographed items from Alan Jackson, 3 Doors Down and Counting Crows along with coupons for free ice cream at Dylan’s Candy Bar, Magnolia Bakery cupcakes, free bowling at The Gutter and Brooklyn Bowl, assorted baskets from various bakeries and gift certificates from businesses including American Apparel, Southern Hospitality BBQ, Brooklyn Brewery and many more.

Proceeds from “NYC Loves Nashville” benefit The Community Foundation’s flood recovery funds which ensure that one gift can impact the widest range of charitable needs in times of disaster. The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee makes grants from flood recovery funds to Middle Tennessee nonprofits and/or government agencies on the front lines of immediate and long-term flood relief and recovery. The Foundation’s flood relief funds strategically address needs as they emerge and evolve throughout the rebuilding and recovery process. For detailed information on The Community Foundation’s flood recovery efforts, visit www.cfmt.org.

For more information, media inquiries or interview requests, please contact Drew Farrar at nyclovesnashville@gmail.com.

For more information on the participating artists, please visit their websites below:

Michael Cerveris – http://www.cerveris.com/
Laura Cantrell – http://www.lauracantrell.com
Caleb Hawley – http://calebhawley.com/
Jennings – http://www.jennings-music.com/
Milton – http://www.miltonmusic.com/
Stuedabakerbrown – http://stuedabakerbrown.com/

Jenny vs. The Window Air conditioner

As I see this turning into a saga that is sure to continue into the months of the year that people in New York consider "hot" months, I figured I better start writing about it now. Let me preface this by saying that I realize that plenty of people all over the world survive just fine in their everyday life without the luxury of central heating and air or for that matter, without the luxury of window air conditioners. I, however, am officially a central air girl. Actually, I might just change the name of this blog to http://www.centralairgirl.com/. I think it has a nice ring.

In coming to NYC, I understood that most places that I could ever conceive of affording would be without central air. I know, I know...Old houses, it's only hot for a couple weeks out of the year, blah, blah, blah. I got it. It's a LIE. It is now officially the middle of July and quite possibly hotter here than in the south where it supposedly gets "dirty" hot. Seriously folks...the time has come to stop playing the hot-only-2-weeks-in-August card.

Now we are very fortunate and have not one, but TWO window air conditioning units. We're living life large in NYC. The problem is that I have no experience either cooling a house with one of these or paying a bill where one of these is used. I have a very intense (and pretty realistic) fear that our next bill will be $500.00. I do have a price to be comfortable and cool and it's slightly less than that. So now we play the game or what I like to call Jenny vs. the window air conditioner. Here are just a few of the situations that I'm either up against in defeating this beast or have to consider when going to battle:

1. Do you section off the apartment to speed up the cooling process by filtering the air into only one room?


2. If you do this, do you leave the windows open in all other rooms even though it's 100 degrees outside or are you somehow only damaging your cooling mission by doing that?


3. How do you work the sleep scenario? If you leave it on and fall asleep, you risk running it for the next 6 hours and adding mucho dinero to the bill.


4. If you only run it for the hour before you fall asleep, you're bound to wake up 2 hours later looking like you just went for a work out.


5. When you wake up 2 hours later, do you just turn it back on and go to sleep (therefore reverting back to #3)?


6. Or do you just open the window when you wake up? It's still not going to get really cool but at least you're saving money.


7. Does the economy setting really do anything? The air is still cold and it's still blowing out.


8. Realistically, what is this doing to my bill? Comfortable and cool definitely have a price cap for me. I have a feeling that I'm going to be over it when I see the next bill.

We tend to section off the bathroom/pantry/kitchen side of our place since the air conditioner is in the living room, thus cooling down that one room pretty quick since it's only technically meant to cool one room. With that being said, I was having a conversation with my mom the other day and told her that I'm now officially one step closer to knowing what it feels like to use the bathroom in an outhouse...I had just come back from using ours and it was at least 95 degrees in there! Stay tuned...

Bikram Balls

I'll get into the details of this insane work out experience later but in the meantime, I didn't want to deprive you of this gem of a story...

I get home from my third day of doing this grueling, awesome, relaxing, strenuous, intense workout that they call Bikram Yoga. For those of you not familiar, it's set up to constantly be 95 degrees in the room using heaters that are mounted in the corners and blow heat throughout the 90 minute class. The only rule that they have is that once you start class, you can't leave. Yes, you heard me right. Why would anyone do this workout and keep going back for more? Your guess is as good as mine.

So anyway, home from my third class. I'm on the couch and telling Nat how it went. It was a tough class. It was Friday evening and it just seemed like everyone was beat. This is the type of class too where you feed off of everyone else and kind of push each other to get through. If you need to take a break, they instruct you to sit down with your legs bent underneath you and focus forward at the mirror, keep your focus and work on steadying and maintaining your breathing.

About 45 minutes into the class, I desperately need a break. I move into "break" position and am looking forward to focus my eyes. I couldn't have picked a worse time for this break. As I look up, the man in front of me, who is wearing only a speedo (and I really don't blame him because you want as little clothes on as possible for this class), is bending over and grabbing his ankles. I immediately realize that focusing my eyes and breathing is absolutely not going to happen because all I can see is the massive amount of sweat dripping from this man's private region and more specifically, balls.

You might think that Nat would be disturbed by this story. Perhaps grossed out. Perhaps disinterested in hearing about another man's sweaty balls. However, you would be wrong. Literally the first words that come out of his mouth are "You have to blog about that!". So there you have it.

Tip of the day: Avoid speedos in a 95 degree yoga class at all costs.

It's official: 2 years in the books!

Yes, that's right. Nat and I just celebrated our 2 year anniversary on March 19. I can't believe how fast time flies! I mean, I know we haven't been together (in the same city) for 75% of it but still, it's flying by! It felt even more crazy when I talked to my best friend Caitlin and she pointed out that after 2 years of dating Ryan, they were married!!

We planned to have a very low key celebration and instead of giving gifts, we booked a week long trip to Florida with a couple of our other best friends in June. Little did we know then that Nat would get offered a theater gig and book a play that is running during the same time as the trip! This in turn leaves me flying solo on our anniversary vacation...at least it's with friends that are used to me being minus my + one! :-) The perks of dating an actor with a never fixed schedule! Oh well though...I'm pretty sure we'll make up for it after he's done with the play (*cough**cough* Nat).

I'm getting off the subject though. I wanted to share with you guys what I would like to call my week of anniversary-ness:

DAY 1:

While not suspecting anything at all since it was only Monday and our anniversary was Friday, these lovely guys made their way into my life announcing themselves as the first day of our anniversary week flowers. And the crowd goes "awwwww."

DAY 2:

These little gems, my favorite aside from Godiva truffles, make their way into my life announcing themselves as day 2 of our anniversary week chocolates. Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter. Yummmy!

DAY 3:

As these 3 roses make their way into my life on day 3 of our anniversary week, I find out that the plan all along was to do flowers each day but by the time he got home on Tuesday night from his meeting in Philadelphia, all of the flower shops were closed. Ummm, you're not hearing any disappointment from me! As you can see, all of the flowers had to bunk up in the same vase because I'm not a girl who has ever had a need for more than one flower vase at a time!!

DAY 4:

Last but not least, day 4 anniversary week flowers! As you can tell, I didn't take the picture quite as quickly as I should have but they started out as the prettiest ones of the entire week. Now all three of my flower bunches are bunking up together in one vase! We tried but there just wasn't enough water to go around! ;-)

For the official anniversary night, I purchased a Groupon (if you don't know what that is...send me a message...immediately!) for $75.00 of French cuisine at a restaurant in NYC called Picnic for only $35.00! Always one to look for a deal. :-) Coming out of the awesome week of anniversary gifts (and not participating myself) I decided to splurge and instead of splitting the coupon with Nat, I covered the whole thing. What a girlfriend! haha.

So here's to 2 years. It wouldn't be right to celebrate without extending my HUGE gratitude and thanks to everyone that helped us get to this point. I know there were times when it wasn't an easy ride for us to be that far apart and you have all played a part whether it was being a cheerleader, shacking buddy, plus one, road trip companion, ear to listen, happy hour partner, canoe buddy, party planner, evite composer, travel agent and so many more things. You are always appreciated. And YOU, Nat McIntyre, are the best anniversary week (or anytime really) boyfriend I've ever had!!

Guest Blogger: Nat McIntyre

Followers of Southern Apple Girl, it is my great pleasure to be the first guest blogger in the illustrious history of SAG. For those of you who do not know me, I am the reason that your beloved Jenny Moss is braving the windiest, snowiest, and coldest New York winter in years. I am her boyfriend, Nat McIntyre. Jenny moved here because she loves me (or is punishing herself for some horrible crime she committed in her past, but I choose to believe she loves me). And because she loves me, she wanted me to be able to pursue my career in theatre, film, and television. I wanted to give you a taste of what life is like for a first year NY actor. Many of you would probably think that after I finished my 3 years at one of the top acting conservatories in the country I would move to NYC and start auditioning and performing in plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Mamet, and Churchill. And movies with actors like Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks. Well, year number one has been a bit more humorous than that (although I cannot complain). Here is a list of some of the roles I have gone in for in film and television-

Royal Guard
Douchey British Guy
Working Class Boyfriend/ Murder Suspect
Dangerous Hick
Stupid Hick
Neglectful Dad
Chauffeur
Stupid Bouncer
Drunk Irishmen
Irish Cop
Irish Thug
Irish Friend
Irish Thug
Journalist
Cop (4 times)
Russian Gangster
Russian Wrestler
Helmsman of Pirate Hunting Yacht
Mover
Construction Worker
Sheriff

PRETTY GLAMOROUS, HUH!?

It has not all been for nought, however. I was indeed cast as the Irish Thug, Cop, Helmsman of Pirate Hunting Yacht, and mover in a commercial for the Tribeca Film Festival. It is this last one that Jenny thought you all would like to hear about. It was between that and the audition for a Russian Wrestler in Angelina Jolie’s “Salt” where they told me I had to act like I was holding my newborn baby for the first time and then pretend I found out my new baby was dead. All without any prep, baby, or lines. But as bizarre as that was, it wasn’t nearly as bizarre as my two days on the set for the Tribeca Film Festival Commercial…

Day one started at 6am - I was playing the part of a mover who was literally moving Tribeca (which is a neighborhood in NYC) to people’s living rooms so they could watch the festival remotely. Sounded funny. It wasn’t funny at 7am when they had me and another guy out in 20 degree weather shooting our first shot of the day which consisted of the two of us lifting a 140 pound man on top of a 90 pound cast iron bench and carrying it about 50 yards…12 times! The rest of the day consisted of chasing a mime down the street, moving a cab wrapped in bubble wrap, carrying a 350 pound Hasidic Jewish man, moving a model, garbage, a steam pipe, numerous boxes, a walk sign, a stop light, and a horse… Ah yes, the horse. I was in charge of walking the horse down the street. I had been practicing with the horse and its rider for a while and we were all feeling very comfortable. That was when they decided to put a humongous moving box that had been built special for the horse on top of my new friend Brutus. Well he was a little skittish from the start, when out of nowhere a small van turned down the road and spooked the horse. Oh man, Brutus went crazy. Kicked through the box and started bucking backwards down the street. The rider barely stayed on, but the horse ran into a car. No worries, Brutus was fine, but when you see the spot, there will be no horse. The day ended at 6pm after 12 hours of moving everything in sight and I thought that was it.
However, they called me back the following Monday to shoot a final scene…. With Robert Deniro. Quite a couple of days!

So, ladies and gentleman, there is a taste of the life of this first year New York actor, who is incredibly thankful for your friend Jenny Moss and all the support you are giving both of us.

My incident with the car

So apparently everyone who has lived in NYC for any given amount of time, has had an “experience” almost or actually getting hit by a car/taxi/bus/bike/etc. I guess it was only a matter of time until my time came…

Nat was working another conference, although this time it was in New York which meant an awesome hotel (The Intercontinental) right down the road from home. So of course, this also meant that I would be joining him for a mini-vacay and date night in the city. Hey, gotta make the most of every opportunity!

I meet him at the hotel after I get done working and we head out to find a dinner spot. We have a great dinner at a Thai/Sushi place that we stumbled upon and then head out to find a Pinkberry for dessert. We get Pinkberry to go since it’s such a nice night out and decide to walk back to the hotel and eat our dessert. It’s such a beautiful night. I just had an awesome dinner with my boyfriend. We’re heading back to our beautiful (and free!) hotel. I couldn’t be happier.

We’re waiting at the crosswalk and all cars have passed so we proceed to cross the street. There had been a taxi and car that had just passed in front of us and stopped just in front of the crosswalk to make a right hand turn. We head across the street, walking behind the stopped, right-turning car and taxi. I’m not paying a ton of attention because there’s honestly not much to pay attention to when all of a sudden the couple behind us start yelling at me to get out of the way! I look up and the car that had previously been sitting, stopped, waiting to make a turn is now backing into my leg! I make a diving-ish awkward leap to throw my body out of the way while Nat attempts to pull me and get in between me and the car. The couple behind us is literally yelling at the guy in the car for backing up into a cross walk without looking! The whole thing lasts about 5 seconds and no real harm was done. Everyone asks me if I’m ok, which I completely am. At this point, I’m just a bit shaken and doing that awkward laugh that I do when I don’t know what else to do.

Here’s hoping I can cross this one off the list and that it counts as my NYC encounter with a moving vehicle.

Props to Nat

Props are given when props are due and it's definitely something that I don't do enough when it comes to my partner in crime. He's completely adjusted to living with an apparently OCD (I'm just discovering this whether you've known it all along or not) individual who loves a non-cluttered house, bad reality tv, celebrity gossip, wine by the cases and food that is not healthy for you to say the least. He's been great and that's an understatement.

Having said that, I decided to throw a true test at him the other day: Decorative towels. My mom got me/us this awesome set of towels for Christmas with the letter "M" embroidered on them. I promise you, it wasn't until THIS Christmas present that I even realized that both of our last names started with the same initial and that IF we were to plunge into the union they call marriage, my initials wouldn't even change. So yeah, I thought it was cool that I can hang towels with an "M" on it and it applies to both of us!

One night when he wasn't' home, I decided to hang these decorative towels. I knew going in that educating Nat on the correct protocol for using, or rather NOT using, decorative towels would be a challenge. I even went into it thinking that I would probably fail and not really, truly caring if he ever grasps the non-usage of decorative towels because really, who understands decorative towels. So he comes home and I gently broach the topic. I take him into the bathroom and show him my new display. He loves it of course...what the hell else is he going to say.

Then I go into my whole spill about the "new" place for his towel. We explore the rack on the back of the door and he says cool. That's that. No questions about not using them or the idiocy behind displaying towels in the most convenient place in the bathroom that you're not even allowed to use. Nothing. At this point, I'm waiting for the towel display wreckage to occur. Each day passes by and with each shower, comes Nat's towel being hung on the back of the door. Not a single wrinkle, crinkle, lump, etc. shows up in the decorative towels. Now I realize that this might seem like a small step, but for a girl who knew she was living with a very boy-ish boy and for a boy who had one suitcase to his name moving into this place, trust me, it's a very big step. I love him so much for so many big things that I wanted to make sure to recognize the small, simple things too! And for those of you wondering, a picture of the grand decorative towel display...

Pizza by the slice

It hit me the other day as I was rushing to meet Nat at Ikea to pick up a couple things, I have never in my life ate as much pizza by the slice as I do in New York! I ran into our local joint to grab a slice, got it to-go, paid my $2.25 and was on my way to the Subway. I get on the train and start partaking in the goodness of a huge piece of cheese pizza by the slice. This must be a New York thing.

Where I'm from, I only, and I mean ONLY, got pizza by the slice when we were at the mall and there was a Sabarro's in the food court. And don't get me wrong, it was an awesome treat then. Being able to purchase a slice of pizza that was the equivalent of 3 slices from Domino's and twice as greasy...who doesn't love that!

I finally came to a conclusion the other day. Pizza by the slice is the northeastern equivalent of fast food in the South! It's EVERYWHERE here. It's your go-to, on the run, cheap lunch or dinner. Each could, and at some point probably has, given someone a heart attack. I'm guessing that neither one has a single bit of nutritional value and both taste amazing. They even have a dollar menu version of pizza by the slice...it's a $0.99 stand and you have to scout them out when you're in the city.

Germ Guardian to the rescue!

So it's been too long. Let's get that out of the way. Now onto the amazingness that I would like to call "Germ Guardian" (it's what is printed on the front)!

Below is a picture of our new best friend. Since about the time that I made the move here, I have been an extremely itchy girl. And I don't just mean a casual patch of dry skin. I mean, full-on, my entire body itches and NO amount of the most deep moisturizing lotion can heal it. I literally got to the point where I was putting lotion on my entire body 3 times a day and after showers and nothing was helping. I would wake up in the middle of the night itching myself like a crazy person. Now a person who is from the northeast or who has lived here for an extended time (other than my boyfriend who is oblivious to this kind of knowledge), would automatically tell you that it's dry skin. A person who is from the south where humidity is a curse and not a blessing, would first assume otherwise. I went through my mental check list:

1. Haven't changed detergents - CHECK

2. Haven't changed soap - CHECK

3. Not using a crazy new lotion - CHECK

4. Maybe my clothes were dusty from the move, so I decided to wash my most frequently worn - CHECK

5. Cleaned the house to rid it of anything potentially harmful to my skin -CHECK

So at this point, I'm beginning to develop a rash on my chest and back. I assume it's from some crazy product or medicine that I've introduced into my life. Now there's probably half of you that would have immediately came to the dry skin conclusion and another half of you that would have taken my steps. You don't have to reveal where you stand. So now that I have the rash to deal with, I start talking about it to some of our NY pals. This is when the discovery is made.

Drumroll please...it's because of the steam heat and its drying effects on your skin. Ok, so new agenda. I set a pot of water in the bedroom to add moisture. Bam. Not a week later, the pot is dry. Ok, so this is working. We're now getting ready for the holidays and I figure that things will drastically improve once I am in the great, humid state of Tennessee. As expected, they do. This startling revelation led us to the point we're at now. We needed a humidifier. Yes, my southern friends who strive at every turn to rid themselves of the horrible thing we call humidity. We have now used our hard earned money to pump humidity INTO our home!! Last night was the first night with it. It's portable, so it's basically finding a home in whatever room I'm in. It also has a "soft glow" for night time use and a really calming sound. I LOVE IT! I'M ADDICTED! And I thought it would be a great post to kick off the new year and the posting drought. Lots more to come!

Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting 2009

Just bear with me...I wasn't sure if there would be a countdown or if they would just turn it on so I videotaped the a bit early. :-)

3 Month Evaluation

I thought this would be an appropriate time to make a list about things that I miss about Nashville and love about New York. Obviously, my friends and family and said boyfriend go without saying. These are more tangible things...



NASHVILLE

1. The radio. I realize that I could listen online but it's not the same.
2. Rosepepper
3. Predators hockey games
4. Being able to control the temperature of my apartment
5. Humidity...Yes, ladies, I said it. I committed the mortal sin and said that I miss humidity. You try living with steam heat in a dry, cold climate and see what it does to your skin. I would rather have a frizzy fro' then an itchy rash!
6. My own washer and dryer
7. Yazoo
8. Mafiosa (sp?) - I've tried lots of pizza here but none of it can compare
9. Not always feeling under-dressed. Everywhere you look in New York, people look amazing. I just can't compete (nor do I want to!).
10. Having a microwave - I realize 2 things here 1. They're cheap and we could just buy one and 2. This goes against my excitement for a tea kettle. Each of these points are valid but the microwave stays on the list for the time being.
11. My hair stylist
12. FAMILIARITY! (food, bars, roads, buildings, stores, etc)
13. My car, driving, etc.
14. Knowing someone or knowing someone who knows someone who is involved with everything that happens in Nashville.
15. A dishwasher
16. Cheap everything. Beer, food, wine...well, those are the staples at least. And by cheap, I mean financially cheap not quality cheap.
17. People talking to strangers. I wanted to give a lady my extra coupon at Bath & Body Works the other day and she looked at me like I was crazy and going to rob her!


NEW YORK
1. The access to a $25 spa mani/pedi
2. Delivery anything...Thai, Chinese, Mexican, laundry, liquor, etc.
3. Never having to get out in the rain or cold to fill my car with gas
4. Gas cooking. Love it!
5. My tea kettle. I realize that I could have had one of these in Nashville but I had a microwave so it didn't seem like a necessity. Now I have one and I love it. It's confirmed...I'm a dork.
6. Strangers
7. Christmas lights, store windows, parades, events, holiday markets, etc.
8. Flea markets - Trendy flea markets, local flea markets, cheap flea markets, hand made everything flea markets. Take your pick.
9. Free movie Tuesday
10. Reading on the train
11. The ease of access to anywhere in the northeast. Seriously, I can go to DC, round trip for under $10.
12. The shopping goes without even needing to be said
13. Celebrity and Dredyl - These came into my life since being in New York
14. Lots of visitors!
15. Cheap airfare and three airports to choose from!

I'm sure that I'll add to this list as things come to me too but it's a good start. I think it's good to do this...I wouldn't have thought that the lists would have been so even but I guess that's where the friend factor comes in and weighs heavily on the miss Nashville side. I'll see you tomorrow with arms wide open Nashvegas!

Yesterday

So I realize that it's been WAY too long since I did this but yesterday was such a random/hilarious/new york day that I wanted to share. This is what I intended this blog for anyway.

1. I'm walking home from picking up some last minute gifts. I just got off the subway and am in our neighborhood, probably 2 blocks from home. I'm walking one of those walks with an extra pep in my step. Christmas shopping is done. I'm going to Nashville in two days. I can't wait for Christmas. You know, that walk. When all of a sudden, I look up and can't even believe what I'm seeing. There is a man, not 10 feet in front of me, going into one of our local bodegas. And what you may ask is so crazy about this man...he's carrying not 1, not 2 but THREE very dead, very skinned, very young, GOATSSSSSS over his shoulder! Seriously, I realize that meat has to get into places somehow but I always imagined that it came into stores via cute little, shrink wrapped packages! This blew my mind. Here is this guy on the street, making his daily or weekly delivery of dead, skinned goats!!! And of course, their head's/eyes were facing me and just kind of bobbing by.

2. It's laundry day for the McIntyre-Moss's. Typically, Nat would do laundry if he had an afternoon or day off during the week but he's been so busy with work that this wasn't an option. So we pack up the 2 biggest suitcases that we have and head off (we don't do laundry as often as we probably should!). We get there, load the machine (by the way, they have a $5.00 machine that literally fits both of our suitcases of clothes...who knew). And ladies, you maybe asking yourself about my delicate stuff...I just do that at home by hand. Underwear, sheets, towels, pjs, tshirts, etc. is all that makes it to the $5.00 universal bin! Anyway, we then head off to grab some food while that is going. I don't want Chinese because I've been eating Chinese leftovers for 3 days now so we walk down to try out a Mexican restaurant (I use the term restaurant loosely here...they mainly do deliveries) that we've seen but never tried. We go in...I order a Chicken Taco Salad and Nat gets a burrito. We order salsa and chips, get our Diet Cokes, tell them it's to-go and pay. Everything up until this point seems very normal. Then Nat very casually leans over and makes the very candid observation...."Hey babe", he says, "do you think it's kind of strange that we just ordered Mexican food in a Mexican restaurant from all Chinese people." Yes, that's right.

3. Now the kicker. Nat leaves before our food is ready to check on our clothes. I get the to-go food...it's packed like typical to-go food in a large, white, plastic bag that is tied at the top. I'm heading back to the laundromat and crossing over the main street that we have in Kensington. I mean, this is literally the biggest, busiest intersection in town (most of you can probably see where this is going). As I cross the street and am almost to the other side, it happens. The plastic on my heel hits the pavement wrong and all of a sudden, I'm doing a Grade-A, Major face dive into the concrete. Fortunately, I was able to save my face with the to-go bag of food. As my knees crash into the road that happens to be the busiest intersection in Kensington, my face crashed into our chips and salsa! Of course, I hop up like nothing happened because this embarrassment is too much to handle. Two very nice guys approach me first and ask if I'm ok and then after I take a few steps, another guy comes up to make sure I am ok. Of course, I laugh it off, thank them and try to courageously head on. It takes about 10 steps to really realize the extent of my injury. I'm walking with a limp. Very small tears have welled up in my eyes and I just want to get back to Nat for some sympathy!! That's about it for that story. I have a huge bruise/knot on my knee and can't bend or straighten it out all the way without some pain but this too shall pass.

The good news...this made for a great blog post after a long lack of new posts!

Car vs. Subway

I had two very opposing thoughts the other day. I was on my way to meet Nat for our weekly "Free movie Tuesday" courtesy of Cablevision. I was on the subway and I'm finally getting to the point where I feel comfortable enough with the knowledge of our stops to listen to my ipod. I know this seems simple enough...listen to your ipod WHILE you pay attention to your stops. But you don't realize the power of music until you become entranced with a song, series of songs or play list and literally blow by your stop. Trust me, it happens. It happens enough that I was literally warned by fellow friends and New Yorkers that I probably wasn't "ready" to start listening to my ipod yet.

That being said, it's like Day 2 of subway ipod listening and I'm jamming out to my newest infatuation of songs: "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles, "You're Not Sorry" by Taylor Swift, "Paparazzi" by Gaga, "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum, "Happy" by Leona Lewis and "Run This Town" by Jay-Z & Rihanna, when I realize how much I 1) want to sing out loud and 2) miss the mini-concerts that get to take place when you have the freedom of a car. Now anyone who has had the pleasure of hearing me sing, knows that I should WITHOUT A DOUBT keep my concerts to the confines of my car but there is a joy that I never appreciated or really realized about singing freely and uninhibited in a car. So for all you Nashvillians, sing loud and proud for me today!

Where is the opposing thought you ask? Subways give you a unique time to think, process, stress, worry, create, explore, etc. So thought #1 (above) comes and goes and I move on to thought #2. I'm looking around me, listening to my tunes and for the first time since I moved here, really appreciating the spectrum and beauty of human interaction that I am surrounded with. In one subway station, subway car and walk to the movies, I experienced a young couple, all dressed up on their way to a play, date, gathering, etc. A father sitting next to me as his daughter curled up and fell asleep in his lap. An older couple walking down the street and holding hands. A very new couple, flirting with each other, rubbing noses and laughing the way you do when you just start to fall in love and still want to laugh "cute". A couple (seasoned couple I'm imagining) fighting on the sidewalk. A man by himself that decided to dance and sing to his music without concern (unlike me) that anyone else was around. And it goes on and on. A couple just leaving the gym with their protein shakes and super trendy work out clothes. People in a hurry, people dressed up, dressed down, dressed crazy. A model walking into a basement bar to work that night.

It wasn't until I shared both of these thoughts with Nat that I realized how opposing they are. I wouldn't have shared a space with a 1/4 of the people that I did that night if I was in my car. But I would have been singing out loud!!

Blogger Block

This is my first case of it. I want to write and share and for some reason, can't come up with or can't decide what to write. Nat suggested that I just get something on paper so here goes...



1. We had our first Broadway play date night a couple weeks ago. So Nat is teaching for a company called TDF (Theater Development Fund). They are also the same company that runs the TKTS booths (Unfortunately we get no special access or discounts :-(). He got assigned to teach a new Broadway play called FELA!. In order to teach it, he obviously has to go see it so he convinced them to give him 2 tickets and we put it on our calendar. We were very excited! So originally, we were suppose to see it on October 23. October 23 comes and goes. We lounge around all night, prepare for our apartment warming party, watch tv, play Wii and go to bed. Next day, apartment warming party starts and I hear someone talking about another Broadway play that they saw. That's when it hits me....we COMPLETELY forgot to go see FELA! Seriously, F.O.R.G.O.T. How does that even happen? And to top it off, we literally sat around all night on Friday. Long story short, Nat tells a slightly exaggerated story so that 1) he doesn't lose his job before it begins and 2) we get tickets to go see it again.

We finally went to the show the following Tuesday, October 27 and let me say, it was AMAZING! I had no idea (except for what I read on their website) what it was going to be about. It's basically a play that is set in the last night of Fela Kuti's club, The Shrine, in Nigeria. Fela created an amazing style of music called Afrobeat. He was also a huge human rights activist, had 27 wives and formed a republic in Nigeria that he declared completely independent from the Nigerian State. It was pretty amazing. TONS of energy and singing and dance and awesomeness and crowd participation. Since it's fairly new to Broadway, tickets will most likely be discounted at the TKTS booths for some time. I would really suggest seeing it if you're in town.

2. I saw my first fight on the Subway. Between 2 women. At 10 am. Seriously. I was on my way to my first client meeting in the city and the two women, literally sitting across from me, starting yelling at each other. The train was pretty crowded and apparently woman A (as I will call her) coughed or sneezed and didn't cover her mouth/nose. Now woman B had her 2 kids with her and that obviously didn't sit well. She turned to woman A and told her that she needs to cover her mouth next time. Woman A protested and declared that she did cover her mouth and that Woman B should mind her own business. From there, it just proceeded to escalate (all while Woman B's two kids sat quietly next to her). Woman B is yelling and at one point says "You better watch what you say because you never know when you're going to run into a crazy person. And I'm a crazy bitch!" They continued to yell for another couple stops. Once they were done, they both turned in their seats, woman A started reading her paper, woman B started talking to her kids and it was over. Neither one moved their seats or acted like anything happened. Note to self: always cover your mouth/nose on the Subway!

My "I'm a New Yorker" moment

Ok, so I've had a couple of semi I'm-a-New-Yorker moments since I've been in the Big Apple but nothing quite like today. The few that I have had were more internalized and me thinking to myself "Look at me getting around on the subway by myself!" Or "Look at me meeting a friend in Manhattan for drinks!".

Well today, I was on the subway by myself heading to the movie theater for our "free movie Tuesday" (we get two tickets to the movies for FREE on Tuesdays with our cable rewards program...kinda awesome, huh? And they say everything is expensive in New York!). Anyway, the subway is pretty empty because I'm traveling the opposite direction of the rush hour crowd. I was reading a book and not paying much attention when a guy that had fallen asleep suddenly wakes up and is trying to get someone's attention to find out if he missed his stop. I happen to look up, catch his eye and in my most nonchalant voice, tell him "No, you're stop is still two stops away." He was very thankful and I was very impressed. I guess I'm not a tourist anymore!