Blurry Photos of My Baby Boy

My screen saver shows
a silly dog, a baby bottle
and my nephew there
asleep, awake, alert, a little
ball of baby boy

Blue blankets around
adorable dimples and wide eyes
in Dad's studio
Or popped collars and a button nose
in your mommy's arms

Mommy, Daddy and Grampa Ackie
they get to hold you
in all those photos taken to send-
emails meant for me.
Soon, we'll be in New York, you and I.

Having a little fun with photos.

Leaving from Paris

I'm leaving Paris in 8 days. The last time I was here (in January 2007) I was only here for 8 days. It's strange how then, I wanted to do everything, see everything, experience everything I could in that short period of time. Now, I just want to go home. Oh, I'm still going up the Eiffel Tower tomorrow with some friends, and I'll probably go to a museum after that. And I'm still thinking of going to Bruges this weekend (though I have no idea if that will happen).
But I want to be back in New York. My roommie is planning a little dinner at Arriba! Arriba! for my return (yeah Mexican food!), and I am really looking forward to it. I've got her and another friend picking me up at the airport, which is amazingly nice of them. I want to smoke hookah and go to school on the UES. I want to find a job and go to work again. I want to take that long-ass train ride on hard plastic seats into the city and home again so that I can get some reading done. I want to hide my suitcase away so I don't have to see it constantly staring me down like the last 5 months because there's no where to put it in this tiny little room. I want Rachel's snoring to keep me awake and the sound of church-goers downstairs to wake me up. I want bodegas and Whole Foods and the good old buying power of the American Dollar. I want my city back, dammit! It is time.


My American Friend

The Day We Did Nothing.

We had plans for Friday. We really did. They included Jenn buying the books she needs to write her final paper, visiting a museum and going up the Eiffel Tower.

Unfortunately, the FNAC on the Champs-Elysées doesn't have a book department. And, we all left home a little too late to get to a museum before closing time. Then, when we finally saw the line at the Eiffel Tower, we decided we would be crazy to wait in it at that moment in time.

Instead of all of our original plans, we walked around a little, took some pictures and went to see a movie: Love in the Time of Cholera. So, it was still a somewhat fulfilling day, even if we accomplished nothing.


The Champs Elysées at night.


The Eiffel Tower, too.


Trying to catch the last of the light.

Holiday Recap

Christmas in the States

I was home for Christmas, and it wasn't a only in my dreams.

I got to see my adorable nephew Gavin. He's gonna be a real charmer. Little ladies are going to have to look out in a few years' time.

I fed him, I watched him sleep, I drove around with him in the back of the car and almost cried because there was nothing I could do to make him stop crying at the top of his lungs. Luckily, I never had to drive anywhere very far.


I ate out with the fam at a few different restaurants.

Here we are out at The 'back using up some much appreciated gift cards (Thanks, Gram!)

I saw a couple of good movies: Sweeney Todd and P.S. I Love You.

I had a great time with the Misuriello clan on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Great food, great laughs, great people. When they say that you can't choose your family, that only applies to blood relatives. You can choose what sort of family to marry into, and I have to say that my mom picked a helluva family for her second go 'round.

I also got to spend a little time in the warm(ish) air near the beautiful coast of South Carolina. I really do love to visit this place; my home away from home away from home.



New Year's Eve in Paris

I came back to Paris for New Year's Eve. I went with my friends, Jennifer and Christina, to a club we like right next door to the Moulin Rouge.


In fact, you can see the sign for La Loco just underneath the red windmill itself.

We met up for a little Beaujolais Nouveau beforehand at Jennifer's dorm room, where she debated whether or not to wear the bright red lipstick that matched her shoes (she decided that she should, it was New Year's after all) and Christina fretted over whether she had too much make up on. I, as usual, had only clear mascara and lip gloss. That is the extent of my personal grooming abilities.


We had a couple of drinks at the club, waiting for the crowd to arrive. Jennifer and Christina attempted to perfect the art of confetti throwing in order to take a picture of the little bits of paper falling. They did not succeed, but they did laugh. And they made me laugh too, when they startled me with a few wads of confetti in the face.




We had Champagne at midnight, threw our confetti for real, and headed to the dance floor- where people had finally started to arrive.


We danced on the techno and r&b floors of the club, avoiding weirdos and groping hands. I've never enjoyed myself so much at a club while sober. It was a completely new experience for me. The downside: we didn't quite have the stamina we would have had if we were totally wasted. We fizzled out the door around 3am, just when it seemed the rest of the world was trying to get in. Hey, I had just flown in from the States that morning and didn't sleep at all on the plane, so give me a break. And feet seem to hurt a lot more in mildly uncomfortable shoes when there is no alcohol to numb the pain.

All in all, it was a good time. Dancing, chatting with some adorable French guys, and hanging out with my meilleures amies. What else could a girl ask for?