Piece O’ NYC: Favorite Spots

Posted on by
4
Jeff and I have some favorite ‘spots’ in the city where we like to go and relax. Shhhh, these are top secret so don’t share them with everyone ;p.

One of the spots is at Lincoln Center. We live around the corner from LC, so we mosey over fairly often. It’s a really neat area. During the summer, they project free operas on a large HD screen for all to see. The chairs at Hearst Plaza are my all time favorite chairs in the world. They’re not particularly great (in fact they hurt my back), but they certainly say ‘relax here by the water … chill out for a second … ‘ which can be rare in the city. When your day-to-day hassles can start as soon as you step out the front door, you need to find some sweet spots that motivate you to chill and stop thinking for a bit. This is mine. If we ever move, I will be stealing one of these chairs. You may have yoga, I have Lincoln Center chairs. They’re my zen.

DSC_0101 DSC_0107

Another spot is at Riverside Park South. Every summer since 2012, I’ve gotten an ‘adult smoothie’ from Pier i. It’s my summer tradition. Nothing beats sitting by the river, drinking a few beverages, and watching boats goes by. Add a sun shade or umbrella and it’s ‘just right.’ You can walk all of the Hudson Greenway, along the west side of Manhattan, for a good workout. And on the weekends, there’s free kayaking in the river offered right at the pier! Though I’m scared of literally everything, so I can’t recommend it personally ;p.

DSC_0100 DSC_0098 DSC_0094
IMG_9258

Finally, we adore the Central Park Conservatory Water. You may have seen it in movies – it’s the location with the small sail boats. The little cafe (which apparently is transitioning into a Le Pain) next to the pond offers up a few local beers, mixers, and some cheap wine along with various food items. Jeff and I love sitting here on windy days to watch the boats and to spot French Bulldogs (we play “Slug Frenchie” instead of “Slug Bug”). Then we sadly amble home and start working all over again.

DSC_0120

Dr. Jeff Goldsmith, Biostatistician and purse protector ;p.

IMG_9815DSC_0112

What was lost has been found!

Posted on by
6

Not long after my last post, Steve came in with my old Fitbit…

2015-07-09 15.02.26

It must have fallen out of my pocket and then been driven over, maybe more than once. I’m glad I went ahead and replaced it because this one is toast.

Yes, I am fit(bit)…

Posted on by
5

After reading your comments, after thinking about it a little more, and after lunch, I went to Target yesterday and bought myself a new Fitbit Charge. Thank you all for your comments. I didn’t feel the least bit guilty when I bought this new gadget.

FitbitOnArm

It’s hard to take a nice picture of your own arm :-).

The color choices for this model are not great: black, gray, dull navy, and orange. Black seemed to make the most sense… it will look fine with fancy attire, right?

I had a discussion about the Fitbit over dinner with friends last night—about why some of us like wearing this sort of device. I believe that Oscar had it right when he said that it offers validation. I don’t feel the need to broadcast my daily activities, but I do like knowing how active I’ve been, compared to how active I usually am.

I have always treated my body as if it is a used car. If my car starts acting up, I take it to the mechanic because I do not want to be stranded somewhere. My body is in reasonably good shape for its age, but when parts of me act up, I go to the appropriate doctor. The Fitbit is just one part of my simple, self-monitoring system. That, and I like the mental pat on the back I give myself when I reach my daily goals :-).

Am I still fit if I’m not wearing my Fitbit?

Posted on by
14

I have been wearing a Fitbit One for more than a year. That’s the kind that goes on a waistband or in your pocket. It’s not fancy, but it did keep up with my activity. I lost it yesterday. If I knew where I lost it, I could find it, but I don’t. Deep sigh.

fitbitone

This morning I got up as usual, took my 2+ mile walk with Laurie, played 45 minutes of pickle ball with Catherine, Carla, and Ann, and then did a hour of barbell blast. That last hour is not exactly my favorite thing and during the entire time I’m wishing it was over. But I can tell it’s good for me so I’m going to continue to make myself go, twice a week, Mon and Wed. Pilates is Tues and Th—also not my favorite thing but I’ve been doing it for so many years that I’d feel guilty if I didn’t go.

Anyway, the point is, I did my normal thing, but there is no Fitbit to record it. Do I care? I sort of think I do which is funny because the only time I notice the thing is when it tells me either that I’ve almost met my daily goal or that I’ve surpassed it. I don’t check my stats, I don’t care about my heart rate, and I’m darned sure not going to spend time tracking my calories or sleep. Why on earth do I care about this thing?

Steve and I are going with friends, Amanda and Keith, to Hawaii on Monday. We are going to be there for 3 weeks because it’s far enough away that it makes good sense to stay awhile. (FYI: I’ll post lots and lots of photos!)

Now, back to the Fitbit… We are going to do a whole lot of walking and hiking. One thing I especially like about the Fitbit is that is tracks not just how far you walk, but the number of ‘floors’ you’ve done. (My morning walk includes hills and which amount to 32 floors!) I’m pretty sure that after each hike (and they mostly involve inclines) I’m going to want to look at a Fitbit to know just how worn out I should be :-).

I’ve looked at the various models and I am seriously considering the Fitbit Charge, which looks like the one below but doesn’t come in purple. The one below is a Charge HD that comes with extra bells and whistles that I don’t need.

FitbitCharge

The Charge costs a little more than my previous model but maybe it will be easier to keep up with. And it can double as a watch! You know, I had hoped that by writing this post, I would talk myself out of wanting to replace the lost Fitbit. I’m pretty sure the opposite has happened. Sigh.

An aside: People who know me well, know that I am into tech gadgets, Apple gadgets in particular. I am surprised that I don’t want an Apple Watch yet. The main reason is that I have such a small wrist that I don’t love the way it looks on me. But it’s also that the watch is connected via bluetooth to your iPhone. When it’s out of range, many of the cool ‘connected’ aspects of the watch no longer work. I’m going to wait until Apple makes a watch that has its own cellular connection and that looks good on my wrist.

That’s my (youngest) boy!

Posted on by
4

Jeff is a biostatistician on the faculty at Columbia. I try to understand what he does, and sometimes I sort of get it, but I can’t exactly explain it.

He goes to conferences to present papers often. I’ve never seen him speak until now. He gave a talk in Banff at the Frontiers in Functional Data Analysis Conference a few days ago and it was recorded. He said I could share the link with you!

Click here to watch Jeff’s talk. I find it interesting that it is the norm for a speaker to speak fast at these things—they have a time limit and a lot to fit in. I’m proud of the fact that Jeff is clear, even when he’s talking fast. I don’t think I could do it.

Here Jeff is, younger. It’s fun to show him in front of a quilt-in-progress on my design wall. I’m lucky that my boys (and my DIL) all love my quilts. And it’s interesting to me that they like different quilts so everyone get to be happy.

jeff-2

FYI: That quilt went to American Patchwork & Quilting. They patterned it, and they own the quilt.

Piece O’ NYC: Christmas in July

Posted on by
6
It’s July! Happy 4th! Jeff and I don’t usually do anything unique for the 4th other than make a good southern meal. This year it’s home fries with pulled chicken sandwiches and a fruit salad. I miss my parents’ ribs and bbq, but this is a nice substitute when you don’t have a grill…
July is hot as heck in the city. I miss the Texas heat this time of year, because Sherman always had downright dry heat. NYC has humidity along with heat. It’s gross — it’s makes the subways smell gross, it makes my hair do gross things … everything.is.gross.I run like a banshee in the mornings to work so I can get there before the humidity meets the sun and they claim subways and then me. Enough about heat though, let’s take a minute to think about a colder time of year (which we’re really familiar with in the Northeast) and talk about the holidays! I LOVE Christmas. I could keep holiday decorations up all year ’round. No joke you guys, I’m a Christmas freak. I have a bazillion Christmas quilts to request of Becky … though I think she’s essentially put up her white flag after making me that last Christmas pillow.

Fortunately, the city really sparkles and transforms during the holidays. You’ll spot random Christmas trees up in places, even on the sidewalks, and tons of holiday decor everywhere. So, if you ever visit during the holidays (starting from Thanksgiving to January 1), this is what I highly recommend you do — please note, they’re super touristy things, but I love doing them all!!!

  • See the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade. Jeff and I act like kids on Thanksgiving morning: we wake up excited for the food we’ll he’ll make and then we drink lots of coffee and head over to the parade to at least catch the Hello Kitty float go by (I have no float preference but that one because, you know, it’s a cat and it’s cute). Then (here’s the best part!), we come home and I put up my (fake) Christmas tree — YAY!!!!!!! *insert pity face for Jeff who hates helping me with this while we he cooks everything*IMG_8236 IMG_8228
  • Go see the Christmas Spectacular. I thought I’d hate it, but in fact, I’ll go for the rest of my life if I can. Nothing beats floating snowflakes, mass amounts of sequins, and ‘happy’ holiday singers! If you can’t deal with the Rockettes (like Jeff), go see the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center (even he likes this one). Here’s a good, and SUPER easy, way to locate cheaper tickets or discount codes – Google them! I just typed in ‘discount code for Christmas Spectacular’ last year in Google and BOOM, cheaper tickets (who knew!)!

radiocityIMG_0494

  • Go to Rockefeller Center to see “The Tree.” The biggest tree in America comes to town, and across the street from it Saks Fifth Avenue will usually do some sort of light show as an accompaniment. Here’s a tip – they put the tree up around Thanksgiving and even if it’s unlit, it’s still great. Go see it the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving at like 8 to 9pm after you’ve gone up the Top of the Rock for a night view of the city. No one is around!

IMG_8324xmas1 copy

  • Go ice skating. But I recommend you doing it at the ice skating rink that pops up in Bryant Park each year. It’s quieter, often cheaper, and the Park hosts a fun Holiday market. We grab hot apple ciders from a booth close to the Library and head to the ice (well, Jeff does because I’m too scared to skate…I’m also clumsy, so it works well for me).
DSC_0055

Jeff and Ella testing out the rink back in 2013!

  • Grab the only souvenirs and gifts you need from the Holidays Markets. One of the best ones is at Grand Central – pretty venue, lovely gifts. Another good one is at Union Square.