Monthly Archives: July 2013

5 Things That Mad(k)e Me Smile

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Smiling is infectious.  Smiling feels good on your face, and it looks good too.

I find myself smiling tons of times a day and today was no different.  Here is my “Made Me Smile” list for July 11, 2013!

1. Cute, teeny kids going to summer camps.

Early in the mornings during the summer, instead of taking their kids to school parents take their kids to summer camp.  There are tons of camps and kids of all ages go – little 3 year olds to teens.

My smile comes from those little teeny kids in their matching camp tees going to camp like the big kids.  They are nothing short of completely adorable.  I would never take a pic of somebody’s little cutie so I googled one for you as an example heehee!

2. The San Remo

Strolling along 5th Avenue at about E 100 Street you will see these iconic beacons of New York  history.  Situated on Central Park West at abut 74 Street, you can see these towers from many points in the park.  The focal point of many artists paintings and photographers photographs, this apartment building screams “Live Here!” but of course only if you are one of the 1%… or maybe 2%.  A couple of summers ago I took a drawing class in the park and these towers were our muse.  How I love old NY townhouses, old gorgeous apartments and buildings – your beauty and intricacy makes me smile.

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3.  Really nice bus drivers.

These are pretty hard to find.  On my way home from curriculum planning at school today I hopped on the M1 on 5th Ave at 96 Street (which means I walked 15 blocks first then decided to take the bus :/).  So anyway, usually bus drivers are pretty quiet when you get on and only make the necessary stop announcements if you’re lucky.  Not this driver!  At each stop the driver addressed specific people about the stop they wanted to get off at and where they should catch the transfer bus or subway.  AND he sounded so sweet!   This driver made me smile for making people’s days a little easier in their adventures in the city.  That’s the attitude every bus driver needs.

4. Picking up my number for the MLB Run for Sandy race.

This smile actually stems in two parts:

partly because the running community is awesome – people full of positivity and high levels of endorphins!

partly because I am participating in a fantastic and very meaningful event.

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5. Camomile tea!  My reflux was bothering me today, first time in quite a while… So I got out my mason jar of camomile tea bags, turned on the Keurig and made some hot tea on a hot and steamy afternoon.  A cup later, feeling better which means I’m going running soon (another thing that makes me smile!)

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What made you smile today?

Guilty No More :)

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It is not healthy to hold that guilt that many of us feel.  It wears you down like a stress on your soul.  So today I felt guilt free, and I don’t even feel guilty about it.

Let me tell you why.

Every summer I dedicate time to go into school to plan for the upcoming school year.  In the past, planning had taken up to 3 weeks of my summer mental relaxation time.  Fortunately this summer all parties involved know that one week will be plenty.  While the planning time is necessary (added bonus to doing summer work for the DOE is that you do get paid – say what?), the fact I have to go to the place I spend a very wearing day of the 10 months of my year – in July is enough to trump out most guilt I would feel for the rest of the year.

Ten months of my year are spent teaching underprivileged, under cared-for, under-loved yet entitled elementary students (the use of the word entitled here is very loaded and I’ll leave it open for your interpretation).  Every one of those days I go to work is a day that I strangely look forward to (well… usually anyway, and not until I’ve fully woken up) despite the overly taxing expectations and demanding environment.  The dedication, time, skill, and nurturing we (teachers and school staff members) put forth in our daily routines should entitle us a golden ticket to a guilt free life!

So please indulge me in a couple of pleasures I encountered today on my lovely stroll home, of course after I had my lobster roll lunch at Luke’s Lobster and a freaking delicious Rootbeer Float frozen yogurt at Yogurt-land!

YES! This is Rootbeer Float, New York Cheesecake and Orange-sicle frozen yogurt topped with cookie dough and Heath of course! 🙂

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I also love watching these talented people! #newyorkdogwalkers

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And Just in case you need a huge stone mermaid (?) head… inquire within…

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Please enjoy some guilt-free time!

CitiBiking

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Today was pretty awesome, a nice mix of work and fun (happy hour, bike ride and She & Him at Summerstage in Central Park).

But here’s what is on my mind at the end of the day:

After a nice refreshing afternoon beer at Ulysses on Stone Street with my usual happy hour girls, we walked over to feel the river breeze near South Street Seaport.  Among our many topics of conversation, our last revolved around the CitiBike program and biking/bike riders, etc.  So as our conversation was wrapping up and we were getting ready to part, I decided to bike home along one of the city’s Greenways from downtown to my Turtle Bay street.  (Thanks Kristen for showing me the map otherwise I may have ended up on the highway a couple of times!)

The three of us bode our farewells then I walked over to get a bike from the dock at Wall Street Ferry Terminal.  About 5 minutes into my ride I get onto a nice stretch of Greenway nearing the Williamsburg Bridge.  I passed a few runners and bikers, sections with benches for viewing the river, nice little garden areas, basketball courts and soccer areas, and all the apartments that line the other side of the FDR.  I reach for my phone to snap a shot of the bridge to capture a piece of beauty. It’s then that I realize that only 9 short months ago, this entire area was under water.

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I suddenly felt guilty.  Here I am, riding along, enjoying myself in this section of the city that had been engulfed by storm surge during Hurricane Sandy.  So many people displaced and stranded, without power and normal life for days.  As I kept riding, I was envisioning the enormity of the area that had been taken over by water.  Four of the five miles I rode were flooded areas.  I still cannot even imagine seeing the water that high, taking over the streets of Manhattan as if no one lived there.  I felt guilty that I haven’t participated in some sort of Sandy rebuilding project.  These areas of Manhattan have been functioning for months but there are so many areas in Brooklyn, Staten Island and New Jersey that are not.  Yes I donated items as a part of a school collection, and yes I am running in the MLB Run for Sandy this weekend at Prospect Park…. but shouldn’t I do something else?  Are my small contributions enough?

My CitiBike ride turned out to be more important than exercise today.

I’m Back! Follow Me?

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UPDATE!!!

Ok so!

My first blogging experience didn’t last long… at all so  I’m giving it another go!  I started this blog in 2010 before the start of the 2010-2011 school year which was not smart on my part, so I decided what better time to restart my blog than in the summer of 2013 with a new name and vibe!

Yes, there will be some stories of teaching once the 2013-2014 starts however I wanted to write a few times a week about daily life.  My ADD won’t let choose one niche for my writing so the topics will be plentiful!

Some topics may include and are definitely not limited to: running, cool products, traveling, crazy events and/or people, some cool pop-up art exhibit I walked by on the way home, feelings that have been elicited by current events or teeny-tiny city-life craziness OR big craziness like when the man hole exploded outside my apartment – hence the new page title “Jibber Jabber & Happenstance”.

Sooooo, my writing will vary day to day because the beauty of life is that each day is different from the previous.  I look forward to sharing my jibber jabber and happenstances with you!

Stories and comments are welcomed 🙂

Tammy

Need I say more?

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PS – Previous posts are from September 2010!  Didn’t want to delete the memories 😉

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