Birthday Bash!

I had a wonderful birthday! Spencer took me to NYC for the day and I had a blast. Here a ton of pictures of our adventures

This is the entrance to the central park zoo. * we actually didn't go in just walked to the entrance.

There are tons of these yellow bushes in NY! So pretty.

Central Park

The dry fountain in central park

The Museum of Natural history

Yes these are real dinosaur bones! 

This is the highest frog I've ever seen! I hate frogs

Mr T.... T Rex

Toy Shop in Times Square

Yes I am Spider Man

I made Spencer take this picture because when I first came to NY with my family Karen and I took a picture in here. :)

the apple store inside Grand Central

I was playing a game..lol

A shoot of the central park zoo. It looks just like the movie Madagascar 

inside Mast brothers chocolate. This is where they make chocolate bars straight from the bean in Brooklyn 

cocoa nibs

a cocoa pod

He was so excited

Just taking pictures on broadway, we didn't see one yet

Times square

Birthday Cake with Friends

Ughh trick candles..

Well I hope these pictures show what a great time I had.

Plus the week after my birthday my parents came and bought me tons of house stuff for my birthday! BUt that is for another post. 

Dear __* Letters

Dear ____*

* Body- please stop being so sore. I would like to move again

* Kitchen- I wish you would do the dishes all by yourself

*Money- stop causing me such headaches

* CA- how I miss you :(

* NY- Thank you for having such a mild winter with almost NO snow, but please be sensitive this summer as well. Not too hot and humid ok?

*Neighbors- please don't be upset if I am jumping in the morning, Im trying to exercise

* Spencer- I am so proud of how hard you are working in school. Keep up the good work. You are an amazing husband and my absolute Best Friend

*Alan- I think about you all the time and miss you so much. I hope you are well. You can visit me in my dreams any time. I enjoyed that :)

Living with a food snob

Last week I had a really good money week at work so I asked spencer if we could go out that night for dinner. We decided to go to this new place called the Everready Diner

Anyway as you can see it is a very retro place we both wanted to check out. We didn't expect it to gourmet food or anything close. 

I ordered a pasta which came with a salad and Spencer ordered a Barbecue Chicken sandwich. 

When my salad came out all spencer could do was criticize everything about my salad. The onions were sliced but still stuck to gather. The mushrooms were cut very uneven, some were thin and some were practically in a half. Then the tomatoes were not ripe. lol. Now all of these complaints were kept to ourselves because we are not those people to be complaining about everything. I mostly four the whole thing funny. Now that spencer know the Right way to do things, he notices when its done wrong. 

Then the pasta was mediocre, and his sandwich tasted, "like it came from a bag," his words exactly. 

WE still ate and gave a reasonable tip but decided that we would probably not go back there. The milk shake we had was yummy, and the atmosphere was fun. :)

Spencer just chuckled and said the only was he was probably going to impressed with a meal is if we spent about $100. LOL well let me tell you, this is NOT happening anytime soon. :) But, I'm sure it will, just not yet.

We laughed at how Spencer is becoming such a food snob. It doesn't help that he eats gourmet meals at school everyday.

Food education in schools

     With Spencer being in Culinary school there is a lot of food talk at our house. The subject came up about nutrition and cooking and how it is not something we are really taught in school.

We began to wonder why. Why is Health something you only take for a semester in high school and all they really talk about is STDs, but  PE is something required to take all though school?
      It has been proven that exercise is not to only key factor to staying healthy or fit, but a good diet also. If food is something we need everyday from the time we are born to the day we die why are we not taught this in school.
O it's up to the parents to teach their kids. Well that is a load of crap because we all know it doesn't really happen. I am not saying everyone is a bad parent but it is something over looked by many people. I think children should be exposed to food education from the time they enter school. I already have a system figured out too.

When the kids enter school. k-3 they spend 45 min a week with a nutrition teacher or chef teacher and go over basic fruit and vegetable identification. The teacher would work with the whole school alternating days kind of how the music programs are run now. The kids would be able to see the different foods and try them. It would be really fun and educational. no homework involved just exposure to food. Them when they get older like 4-6 grade they could have a co-cooricular club that is a cooking club to get these kids using ingredients and learning how to cook things for themselves.

In jr high and high school they could require a nutrition class or some kind to accompany the PE education. There nutrition class would also introduce healthy recipes for kids.

My plan might have a few bugs in it but i think it sounds pretty dang good.

I mean I don't understand why the states have put so much emphasis on art or music education  and 0 emphasis on food education when like i said previously food is essential.

I am happy my husband is learning all of this stuff now so when we have kids we can teach them. Part of it is the health benefit but also just being able to be self sufficient and making things from scratch even if they are brownies ( which by the way I am about to make by scratch and I never have).

I really feel like my eyes are being opened to me in the world of food. I am infer more eye opening experiences since Spencer just started school, but I am enjoying my second hand education. I think learning about food is very important and it is fun too.

A Short Bit

People think this is where I live....

This is actually where I live. ( picture taken from the internet. Its not actually fall now so all I see are tree twigs.)

This is where Spencer is going to school

And this is where I work.

Well that is the quick tour of NY. Spencer and I are living apprx. 1.5 hrs away from the Big Apple but we have only been once so far. It cost about $35 per person to take the train to the city. We are saving up so we can go again maybe in April or May.

Our weeks are spent going to school and going to work. On the weekends we grocery shop and clean house and usually watch a few movies .:)

This huge transition has been adjustment for both of us. Spencer is having to get used to having homework again and going to school everyday. He is doing a great job. He has already finished 2 classes! ( food safety and math) and is half way done with his other classes. He is really enjoying it. He does say it is very tough and not like regular school. But he is having fun and really learning a lot.

My parents are coming to visit next month and I could not be more excited to see family! I do feel some pressure because they want us to show them around but I don't feel like I know much, so hopefully we can figure it out by the time they arrive. 

I talk to people all the time about the different things i should visit while on the East coast and I get so excited to see so many new things but $$ is the key, and sadly we do not have any extra right now. :(  Nut i know eventually we will be able to do some sightseeing and I look forward to that.

But I do miss California everyday. I never really knew how much I was a Ca girl until I left! :( and who knows if Ill ever move back but we will try to get closer for sure. :)

Changes.

     Spencer and I made the 6 day drive from CA to NY! We have been here for 2 weeks now and starting to get settled. WE are currently living with another couple who have been so generous to take us into their home when we have no idea what is going on.

     Spencer is going to school at the Culinary Institute of America, or CIA as people call it. He has only been in school for 1 week but is very excited. The first week was mostly orientation stuff and bringing home supplies everyday. He brought home 15 text books, 5 sets of uniforms, and a backpack full of kitchen gear! He is meeting people and eating great every day! On tuesday he starts his REAL classes and I think he is a little nervous.

     I found a job!!! *sighh of relief* I got a serving job at the Tavern at the Beekman Arms. Apparently it's the oldest INN in America! I start work on MOnday, which I am a little nervous about.

I am excited to meet some people and start making more friends! hopefully. :/

 

Alan

Alan.... I almost don't know where to begin. At the beginning?? NO that is too hard. How about the end? Wait I don't like the ending.. :( NO matter how I slice it this is  hard thing for me.

Alan was so strong and he fought so hard. I am SO glad I got to see him before he left us.

...


It was really hard seeing him in the hospital struggling with his health.


...

I wish I new he was sick before I went to Europe, I would have given him huge hug. I know he knows that now.

....

I am proud to say that I was there for him in him in his time of need I stood by that bed and held his hand.

....

I was there

....


Some days are hard for me and I just cry for him. but there have been blessings from this.
I know how can she say that?? Well trust me I know Alan fulfilled his purpose on this earth. Do I like it?? NO

.....

My husband is being my rock and my foundation to lean on. My family has gotten stronger because our trials. But I still want it to go away....

...

It won't!

Alan I love you.

....

This is too hard for me.