{looking up...waaaaaay up}

{the most amazing sandwich ever, courtesy of the Amish Market (45th & 2nd)}


Yeah...I fell in love again. You could spend months there and never run out of things to do or see. I just can't get enough.

4 days is definitely not enough (though better than 3).

But...it was packed with quality time with two of our favorite people, including a fabulous and memorable meal at a great little Brazilian restaurant (with great little Brazilian drinks...), another fabulous memorable meal at Monte's Trattoria in the Village, and an evening wander through SoHo, wearing summer clothes, enjoying PinkBerry frozen yogurt while people watching.

Love, love, love.

Yet another repeat performance is in the works for 2011...

I can't believe that I'm already planning out 2010 vacation time, but here I am...carefully mapping out my vacation days over a year, trying to figure out how to make the most of them. And how NOT to spend them all in Canada, like this year. No offence, Canada, but I can get to London for the same cost as going home. Um....yeah.

So, that being said, I do need to kiss the soil of my Motherland at least one time next year. We don't know what we're going to do about our postponed wedding, but I do know that I'll be in Ottawa at the end of May and that K wants to be there for the CHEO BBQ in June, so there's a good possibility that those weeks will be our Great Canadian Adventure for 2010. Other ideas we're tossing around:

NYC for a long Easter weekend at the beginning of April. This is all but a done deal. We've been dying to go back since March 2008.

Boston for a long weekend in the Fall. Boston is a city that I have wanted to go to for years, even long before I moved to the Rock, where it is one of the primary destinations for island feverish Rock-dwellers. I hear it's best in the Fall, so the Fall is when we'll probably go. The deals from here are phenomenal if you book early.

NYC in November so I can kick some marathon ass. This is totally up in the air and obviously totally dependant upon me actually training for a marathon. I have a friend here who is running the marathon in DC this November and who had some words of advice for me that made me believe that the training here isn't as impossible as I thought it might be. I'd still really love to do this and it's still very much in my plans.

All of those trips together will still leave me with a week of vacation days left. Hmmmm.

I live for vacations.

I've already started my packing list for our trip to Victoria next month. I'm going to try to take home some of my book collection to pawn off on various readers, so that should weigh me down a bit. But, I'd rather bring them out there than leave them here to rot on the shelves. How can I possibly have this many books? Oh right. Because I have a PROBLEM. Amazon should ban me.

So far, my list includes the following:

- my good friends, Nikon and Canon. Canon fits in my purse.
- my journal, for any general reflection and/or insights I may have. Or to doodle in on the plane.
- iPod Touch, loaded with a season of a TV show (TBD)
- iPod charger
- Kurt
- cell phone, for international text messaging purposes (hi, Ash!)
- Canadian SIM card so I can actually use my allegedly international cell phone
- my local debit card, which is cleverly disguised as a VISA (and therefore accepted everywhere)
- a necklace which needs repairing
- August's Book Club Book: Middlesex

Oh, and maybe some clothing. And toothpaste. And my favorite earrings.

That's as far as I've gotten, but seeing as I'm still 3 weeks out, I think I'm doing OK.

I love checking off the work days. Wednesday is up next and it's almost my favorite (Thursday is my absolute top favorite work day). Though, for a Tuesday, today was pretty OK.

I am LOVING the post-work swim. Tonight we decided to wait out a thunderstorm (to avoid possible electrocution). So, we had some dinner - my famous "clean out the fridge" salads, topped with whatever vegetables I could find, some of my favorite capers, leftover teriyaki ginger chicken sausage and broiled asparagus, watched another gory episode of True Blood (is anyone else watching this awesome show?), and then went for our swim just after the sun had gone down. I did some "laps" out to some boats and back and K spent his time in the shallower water, checking out the many, many fish who are very interested in these new intruders. I swear, no one swims there. Ever. The fish are not amused, but they are trying to act casual and disinterested. It's not working. We also saw a gigantic sea slug that I could have done without...it wasn't your standard colorful coral reef creature. Nemo would have puked if he had seen this thing.

Just over three weeks until we're on the plane, heading to Victoria. I can't believe that it's already half-way through July. We didn't have much planned for this trip (well, we DID, but obviously the schedule eased up significantly when we postponed the wedding), but now in the last week the days have started to fill up with dates, dinners, a junior high school reunion (more on that later), and a jewelry-making class that I'm pretty excited about. I think it's going to be an awesome trip. And then, a month later, we're heading to Ottawa for another week, though that will be more of a working trip, I think. We've decided to go through the tiny mountain of belongings we left behind, pare it down, and bring back quite a bit of it to the Rock. It's time to move here, I think. And by that, I mean that it's time to bring all of the GOOD kitchen stuff that we left behind thinking that it might get ruined by the INSANE HUMIDITY AND MOULD that everyone was talking about before we got here and which we have yet to experience. Kitchen items, a few of my favorite hats, my journals, and I'm sure we'll find other odds and ends to pack up and bring back with us...I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what we crammed into those bins in our mad rush to leave in '07.

...and kind of worried that we might have accidentally thrown in something that perhaps wasn't supposed to spend two years in a bin in a basement...it might not be pretty.

We also have to purchase a gas insert for the fireplace in our house, since our lovely tenants had to deal with a broken one last year. I have never purchased a gas insert before and have absolutely no idea of what is involved, but hopefully it's as simple as buying a couch or a lightbulb, because that's about the amount of effort I feel like putting into it.

On second thought, the likelihood that plane fares will go down for that weekend is very, very slim, so the trip to Miami will be postponed until September...or maybe October. Some time when American Airlines is NOT taking advantage of Rock-dwellers gasping for dry land every time a long weekend rolls around. Seriously. The weekends on either side of the long one are each about $200 less per fare. They take advantage of our desperation. Not that I blame them.

A very good friend of mine recently moved to another rock. It's a rock I've spent some time on and I know she's enjoying it so far, but this Rock hasn't been the same since she left.

I'm debating a possible mini trip over our upcoming 4 day long weekend to meet her in Miami for a couple of days of mayhem with a side of shopping. The airfare is pretty high right now, so I'm hoping I can find a deal online in the next couple of days and if I can...I'm so there. It's a quick flight for her and we would finally be able to experience Dolphin Mall (pretty much the greatest place on Earth) together.

I think I blogged about Dolphin Mall before, after the weekend where I stumbled upon the entire mall having the biggest sale imaginable. People were walking out of the Coach store with gigantic sacks of purchases...it was quite a scene. Anyways, amidst the chaos I was able to do some fairly serious shopping of my own in a fairly short time frame and I have been dying to go back ever since.

Fingers crossed for a seat sale! A shopping trip in Miami with one of my favorite people? Just what I need.

My Visa card is so hot right now that I can practically feel heat waves coming off of it. Why? Airfare surcharges kicked in and let me just say...ouch. I really, really, really should have booked our summer travel back when we first decided on dates in, oh, March. Instead, I let the weeks pass, putting it off and...guess what? We just paid a whole lot more than we could have if I had been on top of it. What a bust. The other bust was logging onto CheapTickets.com last night, AFTER having booked a segment of our trip, only to find the entire trip (though routed through the US instead of through Canada on the way home) for almost half of what we paid for our Canadian tickets. Note to self: explore all options. You know, I TRY to support Canadian companies, I TRY to be patriotic and fly in a plane with a maple leaf on it, and all it really does is bite me in the ass. No offense, AC, you know I'll be back, but seriously. SERIOUSLY. We could, quite literally, have purchased round-trip tickets from here to Moscow, London or Rome for less than we just paid to go to Ottawa and Victoria. ROME. I love Victoria, but it's not Rome.

All that being said, I really can't complain. It's my fault. It just makes me even more set on getting our wedding info out there (working on a wedding website...can you say nerd bride?) so that others can take advantage of booking early.

In the four and a half years that we have been together, Kurt and I have never once been on a trip that wasn't either with family or to visit family, or a combination of the two. Weird, right? Maybe. But when we were in Ottawa, Victoria was always at the top of my list of places to fly to and, if the money and vacation time were there, that's where we went. For the past two years, we've been lucky enough to fit in a sunny 10 days in Mexico each February, where we'd meet up with my parents. My parents are pretty laid back...if we'd wanted to do our own thing and have our "own" vacation each day, we totally could have...but we never felt the need to. What can I say? My parents are cool and we both enjoy their company, and I spend a good portion of my year missing having them around. Also, my Dad's meticulous research has always kept things interesting with new places to scout out. Without them, we never would have found the totally random crocodile farm, the even more random hot springs in the middle of the desert, or the amazing beach we were engaged on.

Other trips together have included a long weekend trip to Maine with his family (mmmm...my mouth still waters for the Maine lobster) and a trip to Florida with them which, actually, was the closest we've come to a trip on our own, since we drove his parents car back to Ottawa (a grand total of 24 hours). We've squeezed in a couple of weekends in Montreal, and most recently, an awesome weekend in New York - without a doubt the best weekend of 2008 so far. I know we've been really lucky to have had opportunities to travel at all and to have always enjoyed paid vacation benefits from our employers. Without these little excursions, however short or functional, I'm not sure I would have lasted the 5 years in Ottawa. It really is hard to be away from family and our favorite people (and the many people who fall into both categories).

Now that we're both in the "away from family" boat, we're even more set on trips that a) get us off the island and b) afford us the chance to visit with these people. Not only that, but there are lots of demands on us to come home as well...not that we mind them one bit. But, we are both more and more excited by the idea of going off on our own and doing our own thing and, with a wedding coming up, there comes along with it an expectation that we will do just that so...the honeymoon research has begun. When? How? And most importantly, where?

We have so far decided on the following:

1) It will be to a place where neither of us has been before AND where the local population does not speak English as its first language.

2) It will be for a significant period of time...hopefully two weeks or more. Best case scenario? A month. (never going to happen).

3) We will be completely out of touch while we're gone. Work will just have to deal.

4) Like Heather, as few North American tourists as possible.

5) Good food. We are foodies, after all.

6) Legwork requirement. I want to do the research and form the perfect trip for us.

7) A TRIP vs. a VACATION. There is a difference.

I have zero interest in honeymooning via any of the following:

1) All-inclusive resort. I have nothing against them, but I'm saving that for a time when I crave a zero-thought, sunny vacation with total and complete relaxation. We'll totally do this at some point...I certainly know enough people who have vacationed this way and had a great time. But, this is a vacation, thus contrary to #7 on the above list. It is also contrary to #6 and #4. It is out.

2) A cruise. I am saving this particular method of travel until I'm old enough, which, according to the thousands that embark on the rock each week (21 square miles but 4 cruise ports...sometimes they're all full), means that I have to be well into my retirement years. I'm also waiting until I can afford to do this. See the world in 106 days...go big, or go home. At $55K each...I expect to be at least 80 when I embark on this journey. Perfect.

3) DisneyWorld. I loathe the Disney culture. Seriously...WTF. I like The Little Mermaid as much as the next person, but I have no interest in spending my honeymoon with her, or any of the other Disney Princesses for that matter.

I'm not sure when this trip will happen. It's possible that it could be done right after our wedding, which would be amazing, but it may have to wait until 2010. Or, for a time when neither of us are working and therefore have no requirement to return...we could just go until the money runs out. We'd need more time to save for that to happen (like...a lot more time), but that would be awesome. Neither of us have done much travelling. I've had three amazing weeks in England and Spain and Kurt's had 3 months in Australia...time to get out there a bit.

Exploring the Mediterranean...travelling through Italy...Tuscany...maybe the Azores. What about Mauritius? Though, it sounds like a larger version of this place with better food.

Mmmmm...vacations. My world pretty much revolves around them. Is that so wrong?

So, the rumours are true. New York City is actually fairly awesome. And by fairly awesome, I actually mean probably the greatest city I have ever visited. Yes, it even trumped London but only because it didn't require large (nonexistent) reserves to get there, stay in a great hotel and eat well. London fails in all but one of those departments, cost-wise. It's pretty cheap to fly to London from here. That being said, I suppose inflated costs are worth the history...

We arrived on Friday morning and were at the hotel by around noon. We headed off in search of lunch but got so caught up in the exploring, shopping and compulsively taking photos of pretty much everything that we never did actually eat more than a street pretzel. Which, for the record, is one salty piece of street food if I've ever had one. It was pretty cold, probably just above zero, but the sky was clear and as long as we stuck to the sunny side of the street we were fine...so long as we also kept moving. We hit up all the stores - FAO Schwartz (I watched a Barbie fashion show), Coach's flagship store, A&F (total nightmare), a huge Nike store, Borders Books and Music, Tiffany, Henri Bendel, H&M, Apple's famous 5th Avenue store...the list goes on. I didn't want to spend the whole trip in stores, so we were trying to get our shopping over with before meeting up with the rest of the group. Thanks to my handy (nerd) map, we succeeded brilliantly, with 15 minutes to spare.

The streets of Manhattan are so well laid-out that it is virtually impossible to get lost. It is a great city for walking, which we did a LOT of, and never bothered with the Subway. We caught a cab to dinner on Saturday night and to the airport yesterday, but that was it. We had a couple amazing meals, exactly three delicious lattés (one of which was enjoyed in Trump Tower, though there was no sighting of the Donald, unfortunately), some great wine, and best of all, some quality time with a few of our all-time favorite people. It was so great to visit with them in such a cool place - they were able to navigate us around, and we really did fit a lot into our pretty tiny time frame. We know better now though, our 2009 trip, already in the works, will incorporate a few more days. And a few more Starbucks lattés. Yes. Starbucks.

I took a ridiculous number of photos, which I'm looking forward to going through tonight and posting the "best of". There was so much to see, and there is so much more to see...I'm really looking forward to going back when the leaves are on the trees. We did see all of the "major" sights - the amazing Empire State and Chrysler buildings, a corner of Central Park, the Plaza (no Eloise sightings either, unfortunately), the Waldorf Astoria, where Stephen Harper was apparently staying judging from the embarassingly tattered Canadian flag hanging in front of the door, the Brooklyn Bridge (blue steel), Grand Central Station, the Village, Macy's...my camera got a workout.

We might try to go back for a weekend in the fall if we can find a good deal.

So, the much-anticipated trip is over, but it was a huge success. We both came back feeling like we'd made the most of it, and we didn't even get slammed with duties when we came back, which was like the cherry on our Easter Sunday.

Photos to come.

Kurt and I have approximately 52 hours to spend in New York city this weekend. Had I known that my boss was GOING ON VACATION, I would have booked an extra day, but there you have it. 52 hours in the Big Apple. What to do??

True to form, I have been researching our area for weeks. And from what I have gleaned from the WWW, it's pretty much awesome. Midtown East...shopping central. Within a 20 minute walking radius we have a 24/7 Apple Store (which we plan to visit in the middle of the night, just because we can and really...who wants to waste time sleeping?), Coach's flagship store, Saks, Tiffany, Henri Bendel, H&M, Borders Books & Music...among many, many others. In geek-fashion (because geeking is necessary when trying to fit the most possible into a short period of time), I have printed a map of the area, marked our hotel, and then mapped out where the stores are that we especially want to visit. We should be at the hotel around noon and have plans to meet for the "FDAW on location" at a local bar around 6, giving us 6 hours to cram in the shopping we'd like to get done so that the rest of the weekend can be spent seeing the sights, eating the eats and drinking the drinks with friends (and friends of friends). On my "must buy" list are jeans, books, an iPod Shuffle for the gym, *possibly* a new purse, and clothes, clothes, clothes. We're pretty much travelling with empty suitcases and will get slammed with duties like nobody's business, but that is just life on this small rock of inflated everything.

I hadn't exactly realized how starved I am for some retail therapy until I unleashed the beast last Friday at the local Nine West and took advantage of a corporate shopping night...to the very great advantage of my closet. As far as shopping goes, the island pretty much sucks. There are a few stores here and there that are semi-OK, but a lot of crap in between and very little selection. What they do have sells out quickly, especially if you happen to be of somewhat average size. Sure, they have that dress you want...but only in a size 0 or a size 14. Awesome! Or not. Books have a huge mark-up on them and normally require a special order (which isn't actually that bad...takes about a week). We have found some deals on items that are inexplicably cheaper here than in Canada, such as running shoes (about $30 less than Canada for all of the main brands i.e. Asics, Mizuno, Brooks, Saucony, etc.), and, to our surprise, maple syrup. Canadian maple syrup, which arrived here on a boat and is put on the shelves for $6.99 for about 500 mL.

I digress.

Obviously with this being my first trip to the city, I'm looking forward to seeing the "big" sites. And the big sights. I can comfortably skip Ground Zero this time around, but the group is thinking about doing one of those hop-on-hop-off bus tour things to get the main attractions at least captured on camera, if not explored a bit. The city is so huge that to try and see it all in 52 hours is actually totally impossible, so we're going to concentrate on our neighborhood this time around and then plan to stay in a different area on each return trip and do the same. For the record, round trip airfare to NYC for Kurt and I from here runs us less than $500 most of the time, for the two of us. This time around it was about $500, but I've seen deals go as low as $150 round-trip per person, so we'll be watching for those too. We bought this trip as a package on Expedia and were thrilled with the deal we got, so...yet another plug for them. I hear their customer service sucks if anything goes wrong, but so far we haven't had to deal with that.

It's going to be a grind to fit it all in, but we're both really looking forward to the whole trip. It may only be 52 hours, but we'll make the most of them.

And with that...I'm off to eat an apple.

We've been going over our anticipated expenses for 2008 and our travel costs this year will be...costly. However, they are also necessary when you're living in such a small place. You get itchy feet. I've heard that they're supposed to kick in every three months, and so the fact that I'm feeling them now means that I'm right on target, if not a bit ahead of schedule. One month today, we leave for Mexico and our feet leave this island for the first time. After that, we have a tentative trip planned to Toronto in May for a wedding, a trip home planned for July (though the logistics of who spends how much time and where are still being hotly debated...), and a possible trip to New York in September. That's a lot of useless air miles right there.

Obviously, we have to shuffle a few things around, financially. We have to budget for each of these trips and, even though travel out of here is actually pretty cheap, it all adds up and it all subtracts from our debt repayment/savings efforts. Still, at the end of the day, saving a bit more and having no break is not an option for us. We have paid vacation...why wouldn't we use it somewhere where we can also see much-missed friends and family? No brainer.

One area of our lifestyle that has taken a financial hit as a result of my new household "regime" (which also includes a low G.I. diet, by the way), is our date nights. Sadly, we have made the decision to cut them from once weekly to once monthly. We figure that one great date each month, at a fantastic place, is better than 4 OK dates each month at 4 pretty good places. Since it seems to be impossible for us to eat out together (lunch or dinner) for under $50 on the island, and most often the bill is closer to $70 or $80 (and that does not include a bottle of wine but may or may not include a couple of dark 'n stormies), our bank accounts will definitely benefit from this change.

Consequently, we are cooking again. For those of you who may remember the brief though fabulous life of the Floog, I am bringing it back. Maybe not THE Floog, unless I can instill any interest in Heather and Lai to join me in the revival, but definitely some recipe posting, since I've had some good experiences in the kitchen lately. Mostly vegetarian experiences, but good nonetheless. We moved here with what we considered to be the "best of" our kitchen, though we did forget the one thing we used most - our awesome, deep, stainless-steel skillet with a glass lid. Still, we arrived with our (extensive) spice collection, best utensils, our favorite pots, and the cookbooks I couldn't live without. Time to give this stuff a workout.

The 2008 Regime is coming together nicely.