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Posts Tagged ‘momspy’
me, at the beach in Rockaway
Some people will do anything to stay young.
I am not satisfied with staying young at heart. I want to be young.
Let me be clear. It is not my youth that I am chasing. It is the childlike wonder and simple fearlessness that I want. That is why I surf.
And of course, in order to be good at it, I run every morning and I take hot yoga classes for strength, balance and focus. Somehow, the stars and the surf are in alignment here in the Rockaways and it is now reinventing itself as the coolest beach with the skyline of Manhattan just over the bay. There are yoga classes on the beach during the week, beach tennis, a skateboard park and the big deal of the day is the food vendors along the boardwalk now have a liquor license!
How to Rock the Rockaways
You want to know how to do this?
- Listen, get up early, get out here around 7:30 am on a Saturday. At this time you can probably find a parking spot off 96th street in the big lot across from the library. The A train stop is 96th Street.
- Walk over to 108 street and set up your yoga mat by the water. The class is free, usually taught by my friend Helen who is fabulous, and begins at 8:00 am for one hour. There is no better way to start off your weekend.
- Afterwards, you can rent a bicycle for the day and cruise up and down the boardwalk. Check out the surfers at 91 street, I’ll be there. You can grab a bite at Rippers – great veggie burgers and juice bar. My fave is the Dreamcatcher.
- Find yourself a piece of sandy heaven and relax.
- Rinse and repeat.
Hey, this is a lot of work but it is so worth it.
Sky and his new surfboard
I am lucky to have a friend to go running with every morning.
I am blessed to have a son I can go surfing with every summer. He is the reason I paddle out to catch waves and try to hang ten.
Today, I saw him surfing with his friends up around 143 street in Neponsit. It was a whole scene – lean, tan boys laughing in the tumbling waves out past the first set of breakers, giggling girls in bikinis waving at them. Getting called in by reluctant lifeguards under the stern gaze of their supervisor and whispering conspiratorially,
“Hey guys, I know you guys can swim out there. My boss is here so I have to call you guys in. You know I won’t bother you when he’s not around. We’re surfers too.”
Sky grabbed his board and his eyes barely flickered a hello as he dashed by me with his crew. Does that bother me? I suppose it could but, I surf too.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
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Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
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Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
Sky, far left
“Mom?”
“Mom? I can’t find my cool white tie. Mom?”
I took a deep breath and did my very best evolved Buddhist move. It did the trick. Five minutes later I was burning rubber along the Jackie Robinson Parkway into Forest Hills. Squeaked into a parking spot, slammed the door and tore down Austin Street to Anthony’s, a mens’ shop that always has some stylish expensive looking linen jacket in their window.
“We’re all out of skinny white ties. It is June, you know, lots of weddings, graduations, proms.” I felt my world crumbling. What was I going to do now? The young salesman pulled out several light colored ties. ”Perhaps one of these – “
“Absolutely not. He is wearing black and white. Black shirt, pants, shoes, belt – black. The tie has to be white.” I practically barked at him, startling a man trying on a jacket in the back of the store.
“I do have one white tie left.” He rummaged through the display case and pulled out a wide, white satin tie, slightly wrinkled, but otherwise perfect. ”Give me a minute and I’ll iron it for you.”
I practically floated home with the precious tie. Sky met me at the door. ”I have to meet my friends for pictures. Now!”
Jumped in the truck, tore down the street and pulled up in front of the house. One of the moms helped Sky put his tie on while I fumbled with my camera. When I looked up, the smile on his face made me forget everything except that tonight, the night of his eighth grade prom, was something really special. And you know what? I was so thankful I was able to be part of the craziness with him.
Do you think they’ll play slow music? Who should I dance with? What should I use in my hair, gel or mousse? Did you ever talk about stuff like this with your mom when you were thirteen? Oh, my God, and here we are plotting prom strategy, Sky and me. I took another deep breath and did my best evolved cool Mom move. I just listened and nodded my head non judgmentally.
Every mom standing on the street snapping pictures of this well dressed group of kids had a similar story to tell. For the girls, it was the dress, of course! And the shoes, the makeup, should they wear their hair up or down?
It occurred to me that these kids grew up together from mommy and me classes til now. Many of us moms were waddling around, heavy and pregnant on the beach thirteen summers ago. How lucky they are to have friendships that stretch from sippy cups and strollers to the dawning of their high school years.
“Mom, stop taking pictures.”
“Mom, you should leave now.”
“Mom!”
Sky was right. I stood with the other moms watching the kids clambering into cars and driving off to the party of their young lives.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
photo by bayan 160
He was tall, dark haired with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Everything about him was right, I knew he was the one who could help me.
I walked towards him, the question burning in my mind, my heart beating a little faster with each step. He was sitting alone and I could easily grab his attention.
I took a deep breath and as soon as the words left my lips, I realized how ridiculous I sounded. My face turned a blushing red, my mouth open in disbelief, my God, how did this happen?
He, however, gazed at me and repeated my question with a faint smile.
“Where can I find romance?”
I felt my ears burn.
“Hard cover or soft cover?”
Gulp. “Hard. I mean, hard cover.”
“Second row of shelves in the back of the library. “ He turned his gaze, thank God, to the next person on the information line as I slipped away.
Where do you find romance?
I prefer less mortifying experiences. But that’s just me. Luckily, the ladies in the Carpool Court agree with me that the search for romance should be a less public endeavor and we have decided to get together for Romance Night at our house. We are going to talk about what we like to read, what authors we follow, what types of characters we are drawn to and what we are going to drink. Not necessarily in that order, of course.
Yes, I admit. I am intrigued with romance. And I think you are too. So what I am going to do is capture some great conversation and write a romance story.
In hard cover.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
On the first Saturday night at Boulud Sud, we descended with an unexpected crowd of eight.
Mais sans doute, it was a typically magnifique! Here we are, moi, Daniel and Mikki.
It is tres difficile for me to imagine the life of a successful restauranter as he continues to build his empire without wondering what the secret sauce is.
What is it about Daniel Boulud that brings him success, the three star Michelin rating, his restaurant’s ranking among the best in the world?
The vodka gimlet elegantly served in a slender carafe?
The Lamb Cleopatra that was simply delicious? The accompanying roasted beets in pistachio yogurt?
How about that Turkish pudding surrounded by some kind of rhubarb swirl?
The edgy grapefruit sorbet? The mint chocolate pave with pine nuts, jasmine flower and chocolate sorbet? Yum!
The smartly attentive staff?
All that, and Daniel himself, working the room and making all of us feel extremely especiale and enchantee. Of course, the food and the service are exemplary. The ambience is chic and inviting. But I think that intuitive ability to connect with with his guests is the cherry on the cake. It is what makes an evening out with friends memorable and it is what makes us his best word of mouth warriors.
Boulud Sud. The new star in the empire. Ask for Michael, the guy with the cool tie and glasses. He will make sure your evening is heavenly.
Bon appetit.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
Seth and Dr. Krantzow
When I saw him peel his shirt off and bare his soul to the other man in the room, I knew it was time to go.
Does your husband need you?
Seth got up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. He grabbed his left shoulder and could not move without wincing. We found ourselves in the ER of Peninsula Hospital where we spent a good part of the day in a time-has-no-meaning state of mind. I held his arm, helped him sit down, barked at nurses and did everything I could to make him as comfortable as possible until the doctors could see him.
This is one of those times I think about spending time together with the one you love. I am guilty of assuming life will always provide me with a tomorrow and that yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ll plan something to do this weekend. And then something always comes up to knock our plans off balance. Sky has somewhere to go, I need to finish something, we need to go food shopping… Life gets in the way.
Sometimes it feels like we are comrades in the trenches going out into our day and returning exhausted to base camp in the evening.
Here are a few ways to remind yourself you are married
1. Make every occasion a date
That’s right. When Seth goes out for the paper in the morning, he brings back tea and coffee for us. I am usually still half asleep when he puts my cup of chamomile tea with lemon, fragrant and hot, next to me. It may not be dinner at Daniel but it is our morning date and I really look forward to it.
2. Turn monster times into memorable moments
OK, the ER was tough. But we made the most of being together in a tough situation. It was not as much fun as the no-tell motel adventure but we made the best of it and made some friends among the orthopedic residents and nurses. Like Dr. Krantzow who is someone who took great care of Seth. After all we’ve been through together, we could go out and pick curtains together.
3. Find the humor
Seth is really good at this. He flirted with the triage nurses, told jokes to the X-ray technicians, made the residents laugh with his tasteless jokes. It actually made the time pass quickly between tests, consultations, waiting and freaking out.
Alisa Bowman touched upon this in a post where she asked how to have a happier relationship with a man. Here’s an excerpt:
“Either way, the hard time you’re having probably won’t define your entire life together, so work on staying as connected as you can, as loving “as you can, as forgiving as you can, and then dig in your heels and ride it out to smoother waters.”
If you ever think you can’t make time to spend with your husband, think again or you will find him half naked with someone else like a cute ER doctor.
Quality time is what you make of it, whether it is in the emergency room or the bedroom.
Get more Wow!
If you want style notes and more for people who change the world, please check out:
Getting to Wow! to feel good, do good and look good
Nonprofit Knitwear for all things knit and nonprofit
Style Notes from me, your artspy
Hoong Yee
– Subscribe and get a little Wow! every day
– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
– Link to a post on Twitter (follow me @hylkrakauer)
– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.
Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?
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