Black eye Peas @ Central Park tonight

I may not have mentioned this a few months ago. However I entered a contest here and won 4 for tickets to see This Concert here in New York to raise money. It’s the Black Eye Peas who I will say are actively involved in helping NYC. It was postponed due to a storm however tonight it’s on again. I am taking Isabel and also a girlfriend of mine who coincidentally is an Aussie too!
Weather looks great and we could hear them doing sound check yesterday which got us super excited.

Will post all about it and will try and take photos :)

Catching up with an old friend.

Since moving here to New York I have to say my “facebook” time has increased somewhat. Some may say I am always on it. I always have my laptop on hence facebook is always on.

The main difference I think with us “oldies” is that we tend to keep up with friends that we may have not kept in touch with over the years. I know with all my Ansett Friends it is certainly the case. I love getting on and reading what people are up to. It’s actually wonderful to still be connected even though its via the net.

A few months back I had an old friend send me a message telling me she and her family were heading over to NYC. She wanted a bit of advice from a “local” which I enthusiastically responded to. Finally yesterday we caught up after 10 years!

We had a lovely morning trying to catch up on 10 years. We met each others families and reminisced about the good old days. Times are very different now 10 years down the track .Both of us married with kids now however it’s just so lovely to at times step back and just laugh about things.

I love catching up with old colleagues as I love reminiscing about those days as a Flight Attendant. I know now how I just didn’t appreciate those days when I was living them.

Makes me realize why I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to live the life I am living at the moment. I want to live each day to the fullest and I know that I am very lucky to be here. I know now in my 40’s that one day I will be an old woman sitting in a nursing home. I want to be able to read my blog and remind myself at how lucky I was to have had this one in a life time opportunity to live in this amazing city.

HUGE Pumpkins popping up everywhere....

Over the last week I have seen those huge pumpkins popping up everywhere which I have only ever seen on TV. Halloween is the next holiday and it’s our first. I should clarify to my Australian followers that the word “holiday” here refers to a celebration rather than a vacation. Holidays are events such as Thanksgiving, Halloween Christmas, Hanukkah etc .When you take time off and go away it’s referred to a “vacation” here rather than “holiday” which is what we would say back home in Australia.

Halloween has slowly become a bit of a celebration back home in Australia but in a very little scale in comparison to the United States. Growing up in Australia it was something we would see on American programs. Finally after so many years we will experience a real Halloween next month here in New York.

What I just love about American culture is the lead up and the celebration of these holidays. These pumpkins are slowly popping up in all the food markets and I am mesmerized by the size of them. I have already received a few invitations for Halloween parties for the girls. The next step will be the costumes.

Apparently even the adults gets dressed up which should be interesting.

I embrace any opportunity to learn and participate in these celebrations. The girls and I are going to attempt to carve out a pumpkin.

I am going to have to ask my Mom friends as to the protocol with the candy and the trick or treat procedure especially here in Manhattan.

The girls are so excited and so am I.

Isabel turns 8

Well today Isabel turned 8. It seems like only yesterday I was struggling through contractions at North Shore Private Hospital in Sydney. Hugo and I were so naive. We both had no idea how much our world was going to turn upside down. Isabel was always a very much wanted child and lucky for us she was conceived very fast. My pregnancy was relatively easy and very much text book. Besides the horrible morning sickness I got for the first 12 weeks it was a very healthy pregnancy.

Both Hugo and I have been on an amazing journey after having Isabel.  Most of our journey has been wonderful however we have had our fair share of dark moments also. We have endured post natal depression, an awful robbery, a few miscarriages and then of course my thyroid cancer.  Through all these low times my Isabel has always been the shining light that kept me going even when I felt like just giving up at times.

Today I look at her and realized how much she has grown up. I love her with all my heart. Not just for being an amazing child but also loving me and Hugo so unconditionally. Unless you have children you cannot truly understand what it means to be loved faults and all by your own child.

Isabel has made such a huge adjustment moving here and starting in a school that is so different to what she came from. This year she has been put in a class with none of her girlfriends she had last year. They do that here In New York where they mix up the classes every year.The chances of your child being with close friends is rather slim. I know there must be logic to it however it’s very stressful for the children at the beginning of every school year. Regardless she has taken in her stride and is enjoying the beginning of Grade 3 here.

This morning we went to the famous Magnolia Bakery and picked up her birthday cupcakes for school. She had specifically requested them as they are our favorites here in Manhattan. She was so excited as her birthday was the first one to be celebrated in her class this school year.

The report from Isabel at school pick up was all went very well. I even got a lovely comment from her teacher thanking me for getting the mini cupcakes rather than the regular huge ones. I suspect the fact it was less sugar for the kids that she was happy about.

Happy Birthday my darling Isabel xxxx

Off to Coney Island again

Isabel is turning 8 on Tuesday. I asked her a few weeks back what she wanted to do for her birthday. CONEY ISLAND with her friends is all she wanted to do. I realized then how much she is growing up. So we have three of her school friends arriving in a few hours and off we go. I am taking her on my own so I dont have Annika to worry about. Hugo is going to spend the day with her.
I am sure this is going to be one of those birthday she remembers for always. Its such a New York experience for her.

9/11 here in Manhattan 2011

Yesterday was the day I had thought about for so long. Finally September 11^th 2011 had arrived.

Since arriving in New York last November I have to admit I have wondered exactly how I personally would feel on this such a sad day. I knew I would be extremely emotional. I have come to love New York and feel such an emotional bond now with this city. How could such a thing happen here?

It’s so strange even after 10 years and even after the hours of footage I have watched there still seemed to be some sort of detachment from the people of New York and their loss. That detachment was no longer there for me yesterday. For the first time since it happen I thought of nothing but New York and her people.

When this all happened 10 years ago it coincided with the collapse of Ansett Australia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KA28LIOMKY

I also had ended a long term relationship after I had found out that my partner at the time had been cheating on me for a few years. So it was a very dark time in my life where I pretty much feel in a heap and had a break down.

Yesterday I didn’t even give a second thought about what I had loss but I was overwhelmed as I watched the memorial service and family members called out the 3000 names. As  each name was called there was a photo for most. Each person reading would read a few names then the last name they read was a family member. They would then say a personal message to them. This is what really just broke my heart. So many shattered dreams. I was lucky! I had had some really bad blows 10 years ago and look at me know. Happily married, 2 kids and living in this magnificent city. These people never got that chance.

We are planning to visit the memorial that was opened yesterday however its booked out for a few months. I think it’s a great idea they only allow 1500 people at a time to allow for people to reflect and honor those who paid the ultimate price.

I watched an amazing documentary last night narrated by a Local New Yorker Robert DiNiro. The footage was captured by two French cameraman coincidentally filming at a NYFD about a Rookie Fireman. They had been filming this new Fireman and were filming the day it happen. There is footage of these Fire Fighters in the Tower 1 World Trade after it had been struck.

I was moved and inspired by the sheer selflessness of these men. They are truly heroes. The sad story is they continue to pay even after 10 years. Some have died of different types of cancers they feel were contracted by the deadly fumes they inhaled that fateful day and as the days and weeks went on.

Many suffer depression and simply cannot erase the images of destruction they witness that day.

Today as I walked back home after dropping the girls at school and I saw a fire truck drive by. I looked up at the Fire Fighters and could not help but feel amazement. They are an inspirational breed of men and woman and not just here in New York but everywhere.

Back to School..........

Well I went and saw the filming of Hamish and Andy on Tuesday night. I can finally now talk about it as I know it has been aired in Australia. For those who read my blog and are not Australian here is a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9bmEQZ416g

They are hilarious and pretty much the way you actually seem them is the way they really are. Its seems Hamish is a bit more outgoing that Andy however both just Aussie clowns.I went with a friend and we both laughed so hard and really enjoyed ourselves.  As we left the studio and headed out to look for a place to eat I had the strangest feeling. I realized that during those two hours of the filming I had somehow felt that I was back in Australia. Walking around Brooklyn momentarily felt surreal as the realization I was actually in New York set it.

Susan Sarandon was a guest on their show which was a huge surprise.She is lovely and I could say it was another Celebrity sighting here in Manhattan.

On a different note Isabel (my eldest) returned to school and into grade three. The system they have here at the beginning of the new school year is the children are all mixed into different classes so they go into a new grade with new classmates. I don’t understand the logic and in fact most parents don’t either. However I feel there must be some logic behind it otherwise why put the kids through the anxiety. Regardless her first day was great and once again my big girl adapted to a huge change in her young life. I am so proud of both my girls!

Annika starts her new preschool tomorrow so I am anxiously awaiting the return of “me” time that has been missing in my life for the last ten weeks (who’s counting?).