To my lovely visitors from London (and other surrounding areas)

Who are you? Lots of you frequent this blog.

We should be friends.

I love your country.

In fact, I want to go live there.

Keep your fingers crossed.

In the meantime... drop me a comment. :) 

I googled "London friends." Is this place real???

for the love!

Contrary to popular belief, this post has nothing to do with Valentine's Day because the only good thing about Valentine's Day is the movie Valentine's Day.

I think there is something definitely wrong when I have absolutely nothing to say. 

That time is now.

And I NEED to actually write not one but five personal statements. 

This isn't good.

I will say that I have a lot to say about things not related to what I do need to say. Such as...

* I will absolutely die if Natalie Portman doesn't win the Oscar.

* Inception... WHAT?

* I need a vacation. STAT... and I may get struck by lighting for saying this, 

but I am not talking about an European adventure.

 I am talking about the Grand Hyatt Resort in Kauai, 

with a very large DC on hand, tunes on the iphone and endless books to read. 

When you have actually BEEN in this place, how could you not want to go back?

* What in the world will I do when I run out of Stephen's Hot Chocolate? 

I only have enough for one more portion.

* Why am I obsessed with grocery shopping at expensive stores? 

Zabar's, Eli's, Gourmet Garage and Citarella will be the end of me... or my wallet. 

* And... in response to a certain e-mail from a certain ivy league university that I received just now: AHHHHHHHHHHHH

Pay it Forward

The scene: Three girls (Steph Zundel, Jaylynn, me) having a bit of lunch at a restaurant in Inwood.

A guy approaches our table and asks if he can sit down so he can tell us a story. We told him that he could. Then he proceeds to tell us that he had been on two tours in Iraq. He was in the Air Force, but I forget exactly where he fit in with that. On his second tour, one of his best friends in his unit was killed. He, and his other friends made a pact to honor their fallen friend by doing three kind acts of service for strangers:

1. to help an elderly person (that was the easiest, or so he said)

2. to help a couple (also check)

3. to help a group of three people

Apparently, he has been searching for a group of three people to help since his friend's death in 2006. I am not sure why, but he decided he would help us. He said he couldn't tell us what he had done, but that we would find out soon enough. Then he got up and left.

When we asked our waitress for the bill, she told us that it had been taken care of. He had bought our lunch! We were so touched by his random act of service. We really appreciated it and we were glad he finally was able to make good on the pact.

Steph made a good point. She said that sometimes, being the person who receives the service is just as important as serving others.

I am so touched by what he did and I hope his friend up above is proud of him.

Service is so meaningful. When you are the person who receives it, pay it forward (because according to Phil from Modern Family "They don't make movies out of bad ideas").

Thursday

New York has quite literally frozen over. 

Why, just yesterday morn, I ice skated down my street and over to 

the 3 train because walking would have been pointless... 

Not to mention, less fun. 

The cold and ice and snow are all getting old. 

In fact, I think they got old back in November... 

Before any of it really started. 

I guess I should be grateful I am not the owner of a Toyota Matrix I saw parked on East 76th Street covered under a sparkly blanket of ICE. A REALLY thick sparkly blanket of ice.

Someone always has bigger problems.

Am I the only person in the history of the world who is way unfamiliar with Groundhog Day?

I will tell you this, according to one William Broumand, my name is now Betsy Groundhog.

I help to solve some kind of crime. I forget exactly what...

Our new abode is almost ready for a proper house warming. 

A new couch has been purchased.

Last minute repairs have been taken care of...

Well... there is still the midget deadbolt lock situation,
 but that may have to be resolved in the near future.

We finally have Internet and cable. 

Thank goodness. I don't know how many more movies I could have re-watched.

Pictures to come soon... If I can find my camera. 

Exciting trips are in my near future.

Sadly, neither involves lots of sun and sand.

More like lots of layers of clothing and chain restaurants.

One involves Bolt-busing it down to DC.

The other involves driving as fast as possible to catch a 10PM show of Prometheus Bound at ART.

Sadly, neither involves crossing the Atlantic, 

but do stay tuned as this may also be resolved in the near future.

Just one last thing... Who is responsible for this design? 

Really? I look down on your font choices. 

European shots

I have so many good decorating ideas, however, most of them include copious amounts of cash that I simply would rather spend on a Broadway show... or another trip to Europe. In my quest for a more "grown-up" room that still showcases my interests, I decided to leave out my signed framed Playbills. A painful decision, and I am sure other theater enthusiasts will agree. Instead, I used my creative eye to digitally alter some shots from my London and Paris trip. Here's what I came up with...

Carnaby Street. London.

At the top of Notre Dame overlooking the Seine and the Latin Quarter. Paris, France.

View from the Pont d'Iena. Paris, France.

Trafalgar Square. London.

I think they look fantastic and will serve as a reminder of how worth it that trip was. I will post an updated shot when it's all up. :)

* let's be honest. My signed HAIR window card will still go up.