Updates...

Always feel like I have lots I want to post about, but then when I get a few minutes to post something, the thoughts slip away (as well as the ability to be eloquent and deep!). So here are some random updates...

1. Last weekend my sister, her husband, and my oldest nephew Reeves were here for Reeves' 12th birthday. It was a surprise trip for him, and he loved it! They came in on a red-eye, arriving at 6:30 am Saturday morning. I picked them up, we dropped their stuff off at our condo (and they got the "grand tour" and really liked it!), said hi to Butter & Deuce and got Derek. At about 7:30, we then went and walked around the neighborhood and got breakfast. Lesson #1 about New York: cool, hip restaurants do not open before 9am. Except Tom's Diner, a Brooklyn hallmark (over 70 years!), with exceptional pancakes, excellent service, and 5am-4pm hours, Monday-Saturday.
2. After breakfast we walked over to Prospect Park and shopped at the Farmer's market. Apparently, just breakfast, dirty city streets, and the beautiful park and market were enough to impress Reeves, who announced to his dad while my sister bough challah bread that "This is the best birthday present ever."
3. My sister and her husband were impressed with how kid friendly and dog friendly our neighborhood is. Apparently, they did not believe me when I told them all of this, but had to see it for themselves.
4. From the farmer's market, we headed into the park and realized a 1/2 marathon race was happening. So we cheered the runners on, and my sister asked, "Man, who does this [meaning, running in races] for fun?" Derek and I both though we would see my dear friend Lauren, who is training for an ironman triathlon, run by any moment as an answer to the question. We didn't see Lauren, but I did see my friend Russ, who is also an IP attorney and who runs in a 5K at the annual conference we all go to together (and who actually told me about the job at the NFL!). My sister thought that was funny for some reason - I guess that she asked the question, and not but three minutes later I shouted "Go Russ!" and he yelled back, as he sped on by, "Hey Nikki!".
5. We toured the streets of Brooklyn for the rest of the morning -- it was a nice day, fun to walk and window shop. Lesson #2: If you would like to shop in NYC or Brooklyn on the weekends, in cool boutique shops, do not try to shop before 12:00pm. Nothing opens before then!
6. Reeves announced while we were window shopping and checking out the cool brownstones, "I love New York." What a wise wise child.
7. We napped during the afternoon to recover from the red-eye and early morning. After the nap, we took the subway into Times Square, which Reeves was really excited to see. However, he had a migraine, so there was a hitch thrown in our plans. Poor kid. I devised a solution that helped him recover before dinner -- I had Derek and Ryan go get some Advil Migraine medicine and take him to one of my favorite spots, DTUT's, which is a coffee/wine/beer/dessert cafe with big comfy chair and sofas. My sister and I walked around, and then went by DTUT's right before dinner (it is on the Upper East Side, and right next to where we were having dinner). We walk into to see Ryan and Derek enjoying a some wine, and Reeves happy as could be with a glass of tea, laughing, and staring at the amazing desserts. Reeves happily let us know that as soon as he took the medicine and sat down for a minute, he felt better! He loved the Advil Migraine and wanted to make sure they always had it around. Lesson #3: Advil Migraine = Crack.
8. Dinner was awesome. My gift to Reeves was making him have dinner with really amazing, inspiring people. We were at dinner from 8pm until 12:15am - and everyone had a great time. Lots of food, lots of wine, lots of LAUGHTER. I heard Reeves talking to his mom the next morning. This is what he said about my friends when she asked who he had dinner with. "Well, Nikki's friend Hollis, who is her best friend from college, or something like that. He films lots of televisions shows and movies. Like the Sopranos, and some other movie that Nikki and Derek liked but Hollis said was terrible. And he probably knows more than they do, so I don't really want to see it. And Hollis's wife, I think her name was Nikki. No, not Nikki, Neesha. And she writes books. I think her book will be pretty interesting, so I want to buy it. Remind me. And then Aunt Nikki and Uncle Derek, and Dad and Billi [my sister]. Oh, and Nikki's friend Lauren, who is INSANE. She is doing an ironman triathlon, which is insane. And Nikki's friend Mike, who is like even smarter than Nikki. He has some connection to Donald Trump [Mike is going to clerk for a 3rd Circuit federal judge, The Honorable Marian Trump Barry, who is Donald Trump's sister], but I can't remember what it is. But he is even smarter than Nikki." Yes, he did tell his mom twice that Mike was even smarter than me. But hell, at least I am being used as a standard for smart.
9. When splitting the bill, I suggested how to split it (Hollis & Neesha came later, and did not drink nearly as much as the rest of us), no one agreed with me and then came up with their own theories of how it should work, but they weren't adding it up right, and then Hollis suggested the same method I had. Lesson #4: Georgetown teaches you something about accounting, even if you are a psych major.
10. We then went to Times Square again, since Reeves missed it due to his migraine. He saw the Late Night with Dave Letterman studio, and Fox News studio, and the giant Toys-R-Us with a ferris wheel inside, and the lights and lights and lights, so many lights that it looked like 1pm on a sunny day, not 1am on a Sunday morning. He loved it.
11. We went to bed at like 2:30am, and except for Derek (who is an early riser), we all slept until Noon. Including the dogs. It was pouring rain, enough so that Deuce did not even want to go outside and Butter just wanted to play in our building hallway. I made everyone eggs and toast and fruit, and we lazily got ready and decided to go to the Museum of Natural History. We made it there by 4:30 (it closes at 5:45). We found out that it is free entrance if you enter the last hour before closing. Lesson #5: Sometimes it pays to sleep in and be lazy. (I need my husband to learn lesson #5!).
12. We had Thai food for dinner - the first time Reeves and Ryan had ever had it. Reeves is an adventurous eater, which is a great quality in a 12 year old. He loved it. So did Ryan. And our waitress loved Ryan because he really did try to pronounce the Thai names of the dishes, but just butchered them, and she giggled so sweetly.
13. We went to our beloved Apartment 138 for dessert, which was delicious. Billi and I tried to take a self-portrait with Reeves' camera, and failed miserably. Billi kept only getting me in the picture, or at most me and her nose (which is not big, I don't mean to imply that, just the angle sucked). If Reeves remembers to send the pics to me, I will share. But if you think that is going to happen, you will need to learn Lesson #6: Don't expect a 12 year old to remember something he says he will do:)
14. Monday was there last day here. I took the day off work, but we still came into the city via subway during rush hour "for the experience," which Reeves was mega excited for. We stopped at Nintendo World, which is only exciting to a 12 year old, or should only be exciting to a 12 year old. We saw the end of the taping of the Today Show. I brought them to my job, and they all loved seeing the NFL offices - the Lombardi trophy, the Super Bowl rings, the historical pictures and magazines and everything. It was really cool.
15. We then took the Staten Island Ferry back and forth in order to see the Statue of Liberty. If you are ever in NY -- remember this tip. Do not take a trip to the Statue of Liberty. It costs tons of money and takes all day and you can't really see it when yuo are right next to it. Take the ferry. It is free, takes about 1 hour (or 90 minutes) to get there and back, and the ride takes you right by the Statue and you can see it perfectly. On the return trip, you have a gorgeous view of the city. Lesson #7: The city is beautiful from the outside looking in, no matter how dirty the streets are.
16. Monday night and Tuesday I was depressed that they were gone. I baked a batch of brownies (with frosting!) and, yes, I ate the whole batch. And I was still depressed.
17. Monday night, and then again Tuesday morning, Derek and I got in a big fight. Probably because I was depressed. Which leads to Lesson #8: Don't tell a woman why she is mad when she thinks she is mad at you. It only makes her more mad!
18. Wednesday morning we made up. Which leads to Lesson #9: Sometimes, you need a good fight in order to experience the fun of making up. So cliche, but so true.