Amber & It Sure Is Weathery

At least rain boots brighten things up a bit and keep Tiggy's and my feet dry.

Amber & HOW?

How? And more pressingly, why?

(Hat tip, Erl.)

Amber & Um, Snow?

Did we know this was coming? I sure was surprised by the sound of shoveling outside at 7 am. Winter, you win.

Amber & The Lessons of Gigi

Today, we celebrate second annual Gigi Pooja, the festival of Ginger, Kitty of Chaos and Mystery.

Above all else, Gigi teaches us to accept the chaos swirling around us in life.

Why does he chew the paper towels and make a giant mess?  Because he is Gigi.  And that is what he does.  We shouldn't dwell on the pee on the floor or get angry; that does us no good (and may even make him have more pee problems).  We can clean it and think about what we can do to prevent it in the future (non-clumping clay litter seems to be the solution and has the added benefit of tracking less), but it's not worth stress.  We can accept the chaos in our lives and move on.

And inextricably linked to that chaos is beauty and softness and and warmth and amazing, unconditional love.

Life, and Gigi, aren't always easy.  And we can't always understand them.  But they are amazing gifts we are so glad to have.  And they make us happy.  So, so blessedly happy.

And, Gigi Pooja is about remembering to eat your vegetables.

Because if you don't Ginger will.

Amber & And Then This Happens

So....  I woke up this morning, and Woody was snuggled up next to me.  When he saw my eyes were opened, he sort of stretched, made clenchy paw and rolled over so I could rub his belly.  It made it a very relaxy and happy morning, and waffles and syrup and listening to aGenius "Chamber Pop" Mix really only deepened my contentment.

I made a weekend to-do list which helped me feel calm and present.  And then I made an exciting Monday afternoon plan with Amy Bee (two boroughs! four cats! several hotdrinks! what more could a day off ask for?) and headed out to do errands.  La la la.  Milk at the Deli.  La la la.  Spoiled Brats for kitty food, a new candle for the bedroom, and to schedule a 40 lb. litter delivery.  La la la.  A new shower curtain liner.  La la la.  And then, I turned onto 176th Street to discover Law Enforcement.

I got a police escort off the block, noticed some activity involving an empty double-parked civilian car, saw lots of officers with what looked like rifles in capri cargo pants and boots running into the different buildings on the block (and then mine), and then got this assuring and timely text from Nick of a bus stop in Boston.

Yes, everything is going to be alright.  Just like those assuring stairs at the Ace Hotel promise, something I always appreciate hearing after a Breslin lamb burger, a couple of their "Sufer Rosa" cocktails,  and a trip to the ladies' room.

So, so true.

Amber & This Is Where CRD is RIGHT NOW

What is wrong with them? I hope CRD is safe.

Amber & My Jam of the Day

I am using "jam" loosely here.

Amber & In The Mails

Look what I got in the mail today!

That's a photo of my cousin, Steven, and his lovely wife, Kim, and their beautiful children, Emily, Olivia and Ryan.  Super adorable.  Thanks to Auntie Carol for sending it along.

Oh!  And there also happened to be this pretty bracelet, lovely wallet, and super sweet Valentine's Day card in the pack.

Not even the ridiculous hat hair I have today can spoil the pleasantness of this surprise!

Amber & It Only Hurts When I Exist

I am ridiculous.  I got out of bed on Sunday and discovered I have somehow hurt my knee-- not the trick one but the "good" one.  It hurts when I bend it at angles of 90° or more acute.

I saw the doctor and had an x-ray yesterday, which we fully expect will not show anything.

But insurance requires you get an x-ray before you get an MRI which may then show something.  The doctor says there is a wide range of things that it could be, ranging widely in severity and treatment, so we are not speculating.  Or Googling our symptoms obsessively.  Or doing MayoClinic.com's symptom checker repeatedly to try to get different diagnoses.

Here is a photo of me at the doctor yesterday.

I'm doing something new with my hair, as you can tell.  And, you can tell from the expression on my face, as Erl warned, it sure hurts when they move your leg around to diagnose the problem.

Remember when I had shingles?

Amber & Foghorn (Leghorn)

My BFFs over at the NWS tell me this.

I think they mean this.

Or this.

Amber & How We Met

I sure have had a hellish week.  All of the crazy work that kept me from blogging, getting home in time to vacuum, and remembering my hat until I got outside in the cold culminated yesterday with me wearing this shirt with a ridiculous bow on it to distract from the data on my Keynote slides.

Clever, right?  And check out Kevin in his dress shirt.  Fancy times.  ("Is that chart showing the price of a New York pizza slice over time..? Wait, look how fancy the New York staff is dressed.  What's going on with that bow on Amber's shirt?"  Etc.)

But, tonight, I am seeing some Lang at Film Forum with Kevin, then I am having Twin Times with Amy Bee (to be blogged and explained later, blexplained?) and then meeting Nick for a pub crawl and fancy dinner.  To celebrate our seven years of friendship, I wore the shoes that spurred our first non-work conversation.

That went something like this:

A: Here is that budget variance report I mentioned earlier.
N: Thank you.  Those are great shoes.
A: Thank you.  They are this kind called Fluevogs.
N: Oh, I know.  [shows shoes he is wearing, also Fluevogs]
A: Oh!  You are now my best friend ever.  Let's go to River House together!

Something like that.

Amber & Time-Lapse Photography

Monday, 11:54 am EST:

Monday, 1:22 pm:

Tuesday, 11:17 AM:

Boys.