Tag Archives: Becca

Day date!

Yesterday Tom and I did something completely different – we went on a date during the day…to a bar. Our friend, Josh, was having his birthday lunch at VGBG in the NC Music Factory complex. VGBG is a bar that serves many beers on tap, has games to play and a half dozen sand volleyball courts that were packed full of serious volleyball players. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful. It was so relaxing to sit outside, eat lunch, drink a beer and enjoy the weather. I felt like I was back in college again (except that I only had one beer and had kids to go home to). I made Tom take a picture with me so that I could prove that we were actually out on a date together. We enjoyed lunch for a few hours, went home to take a nap, and then had a realtor come over to tell us what we could get for our house (which will be a different blog post at a later date). I enjoyed spending the day with Tom and our friends. I would love to do it again sometime very soon.

42!

I do not like to grow older every year. I dread the coming of another birthday because with it comes more wrinkles and the admission that I am not spring chicken anymore. It also reminds that time keeps flying by, no matter how badly I want to slow it down. This is why I instituted the ritual of throwing a Christmas/birthday party at our house every year. My philosophy is this: getting older is a lot more fun when I have a party to go to. This year was no exception!

Saturday night we had 24 of our closest friends come over to our house to celebrate and have a good time together. Thankfully, I know how to throw a low maintenance party and that has plenty of snacks, alcohol and friends. The food table was full of hummus, veggies, cheese and crackers, olives, mixed nuts, and pigs in a blanket (the latest food addition that was a huge success). I typically buy only 6 bottles of wine because I know that nearly everyone that walks in the door will bringing a bottle of wine with them. It is almost guaranteed that I will have more wine left over than I started with….not a bad thing to have happen.

It has also become a ritual to play the charades game that we played last year. It is a hilarious game that involves everyone at the party, and you have to pay attention in order to do well. Sidney is the designated game master. Here is Megan acting out one of the names she drew out of the hat….

Last year I forgot to take pictures so this time I took some early in the night before I forgot.

This is Damian and Mandy DiFilippo and Josh and Kristee Bostick. Mandy finally made it to a party. Kristee was thoughtful enough to bring a bottle of the party’s favorite vodka (another tradition).

Mandy, Me and Kristee ….

Stephanie, Mackenzie, Sidney and me…

Me, Patty and Kristee have been friends for over ten years. They were some the first girls that I met in Charlotte. (We got photo-bombed by Jerry but I cut him out. haha)

Michelle and Joe McCready. I am lucky that they even showed up….she is over due with baby number one.

I felt very loved and joyful Saturday night. I had fun and celebrated with my friends from many different circles: church, neighborhood, school, and the gym. Sidney’s comment was, “Wow, you guys know a lot of people.” We do, and I love everyone one of them and am so glad that they took the time to come and enjoy the night with us. Until next year….

Ninth Anniversary

I have been a TOTAL SLACKER when it comes to writing this blog. It has been over a week and two major things have happened, one of which was mine and Tom’s ninth wedding anniversary. Our anniversary falls right in between two birthdays so it typically gets a bit overlooked. This year we actually went out together on the 15th. Amazing! We were planning
to go out to dinner but I didn’t want to take the chance that we would start talking about sensitive subjects and end up arguing on our special night out (yes, that happens sometimes). I decided that the best way to avoid that situation was to go to the Comedy Zone uptown. We always have fun there. We needed an enjoyable night out together doing something fun and different ….and laughing. As usual, I had a Groupon that needed to be used at the Comedy Zone so I made reservations, got Sidney to babysit, and off we went.

It was a lot of fun. Refreshing actually! Before the show, we belly-ed up to the bar and ate dinner at the Mexican restaurant upstairs from the club. Then walked down to hear the comedians. There were four comedians total and two of them were quite funny. Oddly enough, we had seen the headliner last year when we went to the Comedy Zone with some friends. It was a great way to spend our anniversary – no kids, no serious conversation, and lots of laughter.

I should also add that Tom did a fabulous job picking out a present for me. He went to three jewelry stores before our anniversary and picked out a necklace and a ring to match…..and he kept it within budget! I was so surprised and loved what he picked out. Here is the ring…

Back in New York City

Tom had another business trip to New York City this week so I tagged along again. This time we stayed at the W on Lexington, which is closer to Central Park than last time. Thankfully tom had most of Monday to hang out with me. We strolled through Central Park together, found The Boat House which is a restaurant and a bar, and had a drink while watching families boat around the small lake. Then we had dinner at Mint, and Indian restaurant that that had fabulous lamp chops. Tom won the award for “best dinner”.

On Tuesday, I walked over thirty blocks to Highline Park. Everyone talked about how beautiful it was but I was not very impressed. It was an old elevated train track turned into a sidewalk with plants lining it. It seemed similar to something I would see in Charlotte. I decided that I would brave the subway again in order to get back to the hotel so as not to have to walk more miles. It was a piece of cake. Lesson learned: don’t try to get on subway from Time Square – get on at a small corner many blocks away from it. I found a park on my way back to the hotel, ate a sandwich and finished the book I was reading. Very relaxing. Grand Central Terminal was on my way back to the hotel as well so I stopped by. It was beautiful. The ceiling was very high and was painted a brilliant blue with constellations on it. Everything was white marble and very clean. I wanted to stay and simply watch the people and the building, but happy hour was calling me back to the hotel to meet with Tom and his coworkers.

I do love New York city. There is so much to do and see. I love being right in the middle of all the people and then two blocks later being able to relax in a park. The building architecture is amazing as well. The older buildings have such intricate designs and sculptures around the outside of the them. One building had child-like faces rimming the top of one of the floors. Amazing.

I could write about all of the things that I did and saw during my time in NYC, but what I enjoyed the most was the things I didn’t do. I didn’t do anything that required work or servitude. I loved the peace and quite of doing nothing. I loved riding my bike through Central Park , stopping to sit under a tree and doing nothing. I just stared out at the scenery for a while before deciding to read a book. I rarely read at home now that the tv is back on at night. I finished one short book and started into another. I loved having four hours in which to do nothing but ride my bike around the park and sit in various locations. I loved being able to buy a banana on a street corner so that I could sit and eat it in peace while under one of those trees in the park. I did see many of the sights in NYC which fulfilled my need for adventure and knowledge. But relaxation is what my mind and body also needed in order to replenish what it has been giving out at home. I feel like the Becca that I used to know before kids …this is what makes going home difficult. I see her only in glimpses throughout the year, but it sure is nice to have three full days to be her. This will probably be my last vacation alone for a while. School starts soon and I will be back to work. Going to NYC was a great way to wrap up the summer.

New York City

So many people have been asking me how my trip to New York City was this week. I tagged along on toms business trip and had two full days to myself in the city. Here are some deep thoughts and high notes….

Thoughts:
I could have been in any major city in the world. Loud, busy, and lots of dirty store fronts. I saw a US post office and thought “weird. Wonder why there is a US post office here? Oh yeah. I am in NYC. ”

The 9/11 memorial is impressive. Beautiful. It was sad to think that some visitors were tourists, but others were there to honor a family member or friend.

The Water taxi was a brilliant idea! It was cooler on the boat, I could sit down and I could see the city and Statue of Liberty clearly. I also was able to gain a better perspective of the location of the city and it’s surrounding Burroughs. Luckily I had planned ahead and bought a Groupon for the hour boat ride. Go Groupon!

All of the New Yorkers I met were very friendly and helpful.

It was hard for me to sit down relax. There were so many things that I could be doing and seeing. I felt I HAD to do them.

Biking in Central Park was unnecessary. You can only bike on the outer loop, not through the park. The tour bus could have driven me there and I then could have walked from the stop. Live and learn.

The Met was worth the stop and the view from the top was breath taking. I spent about an hour admiring famous painters and their works. I am not big on artifacts but the paintings alway impress me.

I have no idea how people drive through the city. It is crazy and the cars never end. I decided that they don’t get into accidents because they are all driving too slow.

I decided that since I was a seasoned traveler I would try the subway. I walked down to the subway and bought a ticket. It was crazy down there! I went through the turnstile, looked at a map and then asked somewhere what train I should take. I still couldn’t figure out where the heck I was going! I just turned around and walked up to the street again….after finding the right exit. Lol. I would have ended up in Brooklyn.

Although it was a busy two days, I really enjoyed getting to do something fun and unusual. I love to travel and go on adventures. It was exactly what I needed. I hope to go back again soon.

Comedy Zone

After the rough week that I have had, I decided that going to the Comedy Zone was just what I needed. I called Sidney and Michaleh, found a sitter for the kids, and off we went to the Comedy Zone in Charlotte. I had been there once before and loved it. How often do you get to sit and laugh for an hour or two straight? Almost never. Tonight the headliner was Ryan Hamilton. He was very funny. Here we are with him after the show.

He reminded me a lot of Seinfeld. They looked the very similar and they even talked similarly. His bit had to be at least an hour long. After it was over we all realized that his whole show was free of profanity and sex jokes, which is rare in the comedy world. It was so very refreshing. At one point I looked at Michaleh and she was crying because she was laughing so hard. It was such an enjoyable night. I really needed a little bit of comic relief and a night out. I am so glad that I was able to spend it with these two girls. Here we are before the show started sharing our giant margarita….

Trivia Night

All throughout the fall and early winter Sidney and I would go to the YMCA every Thursday night for an awesome Cardio Funk class. When Lem quit teaching it at the end of January we quit going. We just knew that it wouldn’t be the same. Four weeks ago we found something new and exciting to do on Thursday nights: Trivia! By the end of the first night we were hooked! Of course the fact that we have won every week, and received a gift card to help pay for our tab, has certainly been part the inspiration for returning. Sidney is a one woman show when it comes to trivia. I am not much help. I can justify that I am part of the team because I typically can help with two or three of the questions – we need those to win too right? There are eighteen questions in all and the final question is like Final Jeopardy – we have to wager a certain number of points. Now we just wager them all. Go big or go home!

So far we have come in second place three times and first place once. Most of the time it is just Sidney and I playing, talking and laughing together. It is a great night out for the two of us. One week I invited some of the teachers from the Little Church preschool where I work. They loved it. They are asking to return and play another night. I think that we may have a rather large crowd next week because a girl from our dance class at the Y wants to meet us there too…another convert.

The funny thing is that I find myself listening to NPR hoping to learn a bit of useful information. One night I even got on CNN.com to catch up on the news and then caught up on my pop culture knowledge as well. Anyone that knows me well knows that this is very unusual. I am completely withdrawn from what goes on in the world. I don’t watch the news, read newspapers or listen to the radio very often. I laugh and say that WW3 could be going on and I would never know it. I am blissfully ignorant of anything that goes on beyond my interests and daily travels. Trivia has motivated me to use my brain a bit more because I am realizing it is turning into mush and I am only 41 years old. It is time to reverse the damage from years neglecting my brain.

All kidding aside, Sidney and I have a great time on Thursday nights. Yes, we have gone from working out to drinking beer and eating peanuts, but we are still together doing something that refreshes us from our daily lives with children. We feel like fun women again and that is what really matters. Winning doesn’t hurt either.

The Dressler Family

A Day in the Life…