Blog

Looking forward to 2015

Hello, new year.  We meet again to share reflection, goal setting, and once again look to another 365 days with that newfound optimism that 12:01 seems to bring.  My main goal for 2014 was to get my artwork from the show out into more hands. Of course, Winter kept my hands pretty full already (as expected) so that goal still remains. I have a few other things in the works but will wait to announce. Anyhow, I know 2015 will be a year of change so I'm just buckling my seatbelt and getting ready for the ride.  2014 was still pretty amazing—see below:

Disney Dream Recap (with an infant!)

Itching to escape the city for a beach vacay, we looked at several caribbean spots but in the back of my head, I always like to put cruising on my list of options mainly for the no-brainer, all inclusive nature of a cruise. Food- check. accommodations - check. Entertainment - check. Relaxation - check plus.  So for vacation, I just happened to look up a disney cruise and everything seemed to line up: dates, price (it was almost half off the regular  cost), and weather. We booked with less than 2 weeks to the sailing date. That gave me 2 weeks to do some serious internet sleuthing to prep for our first time on a Disney Cruise. Things I've learned:
the beds are super comfy
Our stateroom: 7126. That couch turns into a bed. Cribs are available upon request
Which room to book? Due to the last minute booking, I opted for a guaranteed balcony room. This means you don't choose your stateroom but instead get placed based on what's left. We ended up with a great room. The disney staterooms are designed for FAMILIES. So there's space and storage and the split bathroom (a tub and a shower?! and separate toilet room?) was a plus. Don't be afraid to book a guaranteed room - you might end up scoring a better room than you bargained for.
Disney Dream lobby atrium
Cruising with an infant: I thought Winter (and us lol) would totally miss out on all the fun being that she's not old enough to use the Oceaneer's club (starts at 3 years old) which is basically the best daycare/camp I've ever seen for kids but the great thing about Disney is they've thought of that as well and have a decent sized playroom nursery that takes infants younger than 3 and at a very reasonable rate ($9/hr).  
Meals are infant friendly too  
Winter was still in soft-food land so we found the restaurants (as expected) to be very accommodating. And because of the rotational dining system Disney has (with 3-4 themed restaurants you rotate through for dinner), your waiters will be prepared by the second night. Our waiter would have winter's food ready and pureed to go right after seating us. Food wise, I thought it was good not great but better than I was expecting. Coming off Celebrity cruises, I thought their food (and service) was excellent but that's just a different cruise experience I thought that shouldn't be compared. 
infants can't go in the pools but can enjoy the nemo splash area
Win is her name! My baby blowing away the competition...
Activities: Disney is so detailed oriented that there's activities for every age group on board. No one is left out. I was surprised to meet a good number of groups who were traveling without any children at all (strange? a little, but these were hardcore cruisers or Disney enthusiasts so I give them a pass). She was curious and the presence of hundreds of kids was fun for her. She had a few play areas she could venture into (nemo splash area), character meet and greets she could attend and even an activity or two she can participate in (diaper dash?!)
Not staged - it really looks like this.
Ports: We were on a short 4 day cruise to the Bahamas and Castaway Cay (disney's private island).  All cruise reports say to skip bahamas and opt to stay on ship but we've never been so we checked out Atlantis and the Cove. Atlantis felt dated but the water park looked awesome so we'll save for an older Winter. Castaway Cay was as great as everyone reported it to be. We only had Coco Cay (royal carribbean's private island) to compare it to and its hands down above and beyond Coco. The boat literally pulls up to the island, which I assume is an engineering feat unto itself but it lends to easy disembarking  (rather than hopping on a ferry to island like other cruise lines). Again, designed for everyone - (paved roads, trams, private adult only beach/area, cabanas for families, etc) Disney thinks of everything.  I heard about the 5k they host on the island so I laced up and ran in that despite the crazy humidity, sun, and late morning heat.  It's unofficially timed and the crew members who run the race make it as fun-minded and non-competitive as possible (spoiler: everyone gets a medal - even if you cheat the course - which is a little boring, but you get your workout in). 
Don't let the smile fool you, I wanted to a pass out from the heat/humidity!
The beach areas are jam packed with recreational options for families but I liked that even the sand and design of the beach (very gradual slope) were infant-friendly. You're treated to a bbq lunch buffet/picnic on the island so don't skip it!

Overall: It was a great vacation for the family.  I forgot to add they do Halloween on the Seas which lets the kids trick or treat in costume (and families went ALL OUT FOR THIS). Also memorable was Pirates of the Caribbean night (how apropo) where you have a midnight buffet and a fireworks show off the ship (pretty cool). I hear christmastime is also fun and magical for guests. This was an added bonus to the experience.
Arggh! Pirate night!
 I would definitely disney cruise it up again but only when Winter can take advantage of the Oceaneer's club (It's seriously amazing and I'm a bit jealous us adults can't enjoy it!). However if you have an infant and are seriously considering it- go for it! we met a few couples traveling with infants and they like us, took everything in stride and enjoyed the option that they could have alone time whenever they wished or just have a fun new experience together as a family.   As you can see from the video, we had a great time!


Carter's 3rd Birthday

Did you know Winter and Carter are birthday twins? How neat is that? I think this is one of the reasons why they are so close (ok, my opinion) but anyhow we headed to BK to celebrate his bday at Ample Hills Creamery. The birthday was fun especially for the older kids who got to churn their own ice cream using the ice cream bike and then they made cute tote bags as a craft project then finish up with decorating their own individual sundaes. The parents all each got to taste ice cream off Ample Hill's menu. I've never had their ice cream but the flavors are ridiculous concoctions that taste just as good as they sound. We're already planning a followup trip to go grab some pints to take home!

Winter's 1st Birthday Pajama Jammy Jam

For her first bday, we knew she wouldn't really know what was going on (nor would she probably remember it) so this was a party for everyone—Winter's older kid friends and of course, us parents! So when I found out about Baby Loves Disco and that they were throwing an event just days before Winter's bday - it was a done deal about what Winter's party theme was going to be: an all-out day party.  Because of all the offerings both via entertainment and snacks given to guests, there's little I had to do in terms of decorations and food. We had a cake ordered, I bought a tray of lumpia and pancit, and a few pizza pies and called it a day. All in all I think ALL our guests both young and old had a blast and Winter, well, she managed to stay up to see her cake and bottle sparklers go off so I think she was in happyland too. See all the photos here.











School Projects already?!

She's not even one yet and I've already been tasked with two school projects at her daycare. One of the best parts of being a designer (as well as an artist) is that as much as I'd love to go to bed at 10pm and then realize I have not done said school project; I still actually look forward to creating them (and it takes me less time to design something in Indesign then it does to cut and paste photos scrapbook-style). I can imagine this may not be fair for other busy moms but believe me, when that future school bake sale/potluck event comes up I will be scratching my head staring at a bag of flour. Anyhow we were given a blank piece of construction paper and asked to decorate it with what Winter is thankful for. Um, everything? lol she's only cranky when she's hungry or sleepy. Everything is else is just a whole new world, so how do i list everything? This is what I came up with:
IT was fun to make because I got to look back at photos of her this year and realize it was so full of experiences.  Such a joy that I obviously anticipated but just had no clue how amazing it was going to be. We're totally thankful for you, Winter.

Winter's TV Debut

When winter got the chance to play an extra on a cable television show, we jumped at the chance and flew to LA for filming. You never know if you'll ever get the opportunity to do this (no matter how old you are) so we went into this with an open mind and tried to have fun and keep it playful for her.  Her role was to be a fussy baby and at this age, she had NO problems playing the part (who is this strange lady holding me? Mommy?!?! Insert meltdown here). It stressed me out more that she was ruining the shot but everybody on set was so nice an accommodating that all just made the best of the situation and got the take down. I can't wait to see if she makes the final edit! Here's some pics we were able to take behind the scenes in the midst of the craziness:
Winter in costume about to shoot her scene

She got her own trailer!

Living it up with daddy
She's all smiles now... lol

Walk with us to Cure Lupus

Today we particapted in the charity walk for the Alliance for Lupus Research. This is our fourth year but we had a new "team" member join us on the 5k from the Intrepid to Chelsea Piers and back. She was all smiles until maybe 15 minutes before the finish when she passed out into naptime in the stroller. 

Check 1 2 1 2

Had a fun night with my other half at the def jam 30th anniversary concert. I am a late bloomer when it comes to hip hop so though I appreciate watching legends step up to the mic (EPMD, Meth/Red, Keith Murray) I didn't know many songs. But once we got to the 90s artists (DMX, ja rule/ashanti, warreng G, foxxy) and current hits (2 chainz, big sean, rick ross) I was dancing and having a blast. 


Race Report: Newport Half Marathon

The team
Haven't had these in a while but i like reading these after the fact (good or bad) so I'm gonna do one.
Cheer squad
Newport 1/2 marathon
Newport, nj

The good: I finished
The bad: worst time ever-2:51
The ugly: lots of walking

I ran this race because last year I came to cheer my friend B run her first 1/2 marathon. It was a super chilly fall morning and perfect for running. I was however 7 months pregnant so I was coach and cheerleader but told myself next year I was doing it. Fast forward to this year and there I was on a muggy humid 75ish Sunday morning with husband and daughter cheering me on at the start line. B was there for a repeat and we persuaded M to train and run this for HIS first 1/2 marathon. Unlike the BK half which I ran earlier in march of this year I did a better job training - even purchasing a jogging stroller so I could take winter with me on my runs. So I was optimistic I'd beat my 2:34 time I had in brooklyn.
starting out strong
Fat chance. We started out strong for the first 5 miles - hovering around a 10min pace but I succumbed to exhaustion just before mile 6 and trailed behind B and M. I tried to tell myself to just run slower but I was also aching from the waist down. It was uncomfortable to jog it out so i just said I'll walk mile 6 and then pick it up afterwards. Walking (when you don't plan on it) felt defeating - everyone's passing you now and just felt so slow. So then I tried to jog again and it  wasn't cutting it. So i started walking again. After I reached the waterfront around mile 7 I pretty much gave up hope of finishing with a decent time and tried to craft a strategy to finish quicker than just walking the rest. I tried pointing out landmarks and saying "run to that" or timing my runs "run for 5 min and walk for 1" and pretty much kept that up until I finally crossed the finish line almost 3 hours later.  The worst. 
RUNFAIL at mile 8
Training: I had an 8 week plan that I pretty much followed 80% of the way (definitely hitting the long runs though - even the 10 miler) however a foot injury the week before the race pretty much negated my taper week. I had to switch my kicks to Aasics Kayano which are super comfortable but heavier than the New Balances I've been so accustomed to.

What I learned: there's a first time for everything.  There are bad runs and there are BAAAD runs. Yes I finished but I don't think that was ever a question. I trained more for this than I did for the BK half which I realize was probably running off of adrenaline more than anything. I remembered i could barely walk for a week after that race. After this race, I was slightly sore the next day but two days after I was fine (yay training).   All I can think of is redeeming this performance but I'm not in a rush so I think I'll seek out shorter distances for the remainder of the year and focus on another half next year.   I'm glad I did this race though and I would love to do it again next year -it is a beautiful flat course and has a very local feel to it that I would recommend runners and first timers to check it out.


Happy Born Day!

first birthday as a mom. no parties, no craziness, just quality time with my other half and mini-me.  all good. what i wanted as a gift though? long overdue haircut and hair color. I have greys!!  I got to go all fancypants at the Warren Tricomi Salon in the plaza hotel in midtown. fancy yes.  fancy results - yezzir.
before

after!
On my actual bday (which was sunday) I went for a morning run with Winter then had brunch with my bestie and then hung out in the park with the kiddies.  chill.   Afterwards we picked up some cupcakes from sprinkles. Then Mr. P's friends came to hang out with him and one of them brought an ice cream cake! (aw) 



 The office usually does a nice showing of bday festivities but alas no one but my sis remembered (and this is why she is my sis lol)  so this was what was on my desk on monday morning. Thanks, M!




baby bootcamp

it doesn't have to be a weekend for us to hit the park. a little mommy and me time on the lawn so you can work on your planks and mountain climbers and squats..

It felt like I came home to a little girl today... you're growing way too fast!