So, posting every blue moon seems to be the pattern here, so I'll try to give a good update...

Eric and I are coming down to the verrrry end of closing on the apartment we're buying. It's a 1-bedroom in Riverdale (a neighborhood in the Bronx). We really love it here, I am personally much more relaxed here than in Brooklyn! There are a lot of cute places around here to hang out- restaurants and bars. Looking forward to NOT renting and settling in a bit!

We are still on our running kick. We ran a 5K in the spring and are now training for a 10K which we will run on December 6th. It's my 28th bday present to myself. (health!) We have adapted to a morning run schedule which leaves us both really happy and geared up for the day. I'm becoming a morning person! After the 10K we plan on joining a gym here (Bally's) and training for a triathalon (Eric's dream).

We are both now happily employed full-time permanently at Columbia. Alicia is a Financial Aid Officer and Eric is a Gift Coordinator. He works with all of the incoming gifts/endowments to the university- BIG money! We're enjoying finally having good jobs and recovering from the major economic crash RIGHT when we arrived to our big city dreams over a year ago.

Our second anniversary was this past week. We took a walk in Central Park, had a pre-dinner drink at a Moroccan lounge, then a biiig dinner at a Turkish restaurant. It was very nice! Eric also sent flowers to me at work <3.

Eric was making gumbo on Sunday (I was in CT) and he was chopping frozen okra, slipped, and almost chopped his thumb off!! He ended up in the ER with 8 stitches (after 6 hours) and it's really hard for me to even look at it! Poor thing!


We are enjoying everyday and are looking forward to settling down and getting all of our visits in. Next up is Thanksgiving in Lake Charles, yay!

We had a great weekend - very relaxing.

Friday Eric and I were able to have lunch together after he got off of work as a substitute at a fancy upper-east side all-girls school. We ate at a place called Le Monde and sat outside. It was very nice. After I got off work, we went to a place called Lion's Head Tavern for happy hour, which turned into much longer.

Saturday was a rough start, but Eric worked and I ate Doritos and cookies for brunch. We went to Fred and Jamie's house-warming party. It was a lot of fun- their deck is amazing! I think we'll be frequent visitors during the warm months.

Sunday we went running- started a new week of our Couch-to-5K plan.. didn't quite make it through the whole routine.. I didn't drink any water beforehand and it was a bit warmer than I expected. So we'll try again tomorrow and hope that the endurance continues to build. It's been about a month now since we've started the program and I'm feeling great! We're on schedule to run the 5K in June, so hope it stays that way!

Sunday we also went to Prospect Park with a blanket and sat around, played cards, people-watched, then walked around a bit. It was a beautiful day! Eric is pretty sunburned and I have some red coloring myself. It's so refreshing to be outside and see people coming out of their caves for the warm weather.

And even though today is Monday and I'm back at work, I'm still feeling so refreshed and reawakened. I have been working in my new position for 3 weeks now, and it's going great!

So I've had a large coffee this morning and it has prompted me to remember when I "discovered" coffee about 3 years ago. It was one of the most enlightening times of my life that sadly didn't last too long.. I eventually got used to it and that magic spark that seemed to be in every cup disappeared. It had been a while since I drank coffee until this morning, so I caught a glimpse of what it used to be that first week (possibly the most productive week of my life).

Work is great, I've been signed up for more training, and my everyday training is ongoing. I'll continue to whittle away at it, and hopefully one day (that I cannot foresee at the moment) I'll be ready to impart my breadth of knowledge on others.

Last night Eric and I had dinner with Jamie, Anna and Caitlin at a Fort Greene restaurant called General Greene. It was goood. I had some blue cheese mashed potatoes and some kind of awesome banana cream pie. We also got to preview Jamie and Fred's new apartment- awesome! I like the neighborhood and am looking forward to returning and exploring more.

Today is kind of rainy and gross. I'm back to counting calories hardcore. Eric and I had completed 2 weeks of our Couch to 5k program and were all psyched to add an extra day to our routine (Monday we tried). Well, we got about halfway through the run and I had to stop. My shins were killing me! I walked/half-limped home (poor Eric, I'm such a killjoy), and we looked up what it might be. A novice runner's plague! Shin splints! So we iced my leg and read that we should take a break. It still hurt this morning, but hopefully by tonight it'll feel good enough to run. I was getting into it- actually enjoying running! Curses!

So I just got to work at Columbia after commuting from New Haven, CT this morning. We had to get up at 5! But let me back up...

We (Eric, Kara and I) went to my parents' house in CT for Easter Weekend. Kecia came up from DC for most of the weekend, and Nana and Poppy were also there. The original reason for me going up there (besides being able to spend a holiday together) was for me to sing a duet with my dad at Easter Sunday. The list of attendees increased and I got more and more nervous about singing. Anyway, we had a great time hanging out, playing and singing in the basement, and shopping of course. My dad and I sang our duet with no problem, and I think we'll do one again soon. We also have committed to our 5k race: It's June 14th in CT -  Eric and I will have to make sure we keep up with our training. We just finished our second week of the Couch to 5K program. Feeling good about it, actually. It's exciting to have a goal that I never thought I would have (running in a race) and seeing it happening. Anyway, it was a nice reunion weekend for us. Last night we were having so much fun that we decided to stay and commute to work from there. I didn't think that it was too bad, but I think it would get old really quickly if I had to do it everyday.

Hope all is well, better get to work!

So we are very lucky to report that I got a job! (Alicia) I am completing my first week as a Financial Aid Officer at Columbia University. The training has been and will continue to be intense. It's a lot of federal regulations, school policies on financial aid, etc etc. But I will be happy to (quickly) learn all of this information and in turn advise students. We are going to Connecticut for Easter weekend with the whole Stauffer family. I am also singing a duet with my dad at church, so we'll see how that goes. I didn't think the whole family would be home, so I'm more nervous now that I have more of an audience. My stage fright is returning, ahhh! So I'm writing this quickly at work just for the sake of getting an update out... hopefully I will return soon with more about our lives.. and pictures!

I also need to update about our new cat Tom Cruise!

It's December 1st and I can't believe it! The weather here has gotten very cold and we have been stocking up on sweaters, jackets and scarves. (I have yet to invest in a pair of gloves, but that breaking point is rapidly approaching) So let's see.. November recap: I (Alicia) have been working at Columbia and really enjoying it. My position as a temporary employee is ending February 1st, but let's hope that this leads to something else at Columbia. Eric has been working at Sylvan and LeSportsac. We're hoping that the economy starts rebounding for both of our sakes! I have been dieting and obsessing over calories, but that definitely pays off when you're walking around the city everyday. I hope I don't drive Eric too crazy. We've been able to reconnect with some of my friends in the city and have been meeting up with them for happy hours, dinner, and parties. It's been really fun.

We just got back from a few days up in Connecticut for Thanksgiving. What a great time! All of the Stauffers (plus Eric) were there and my mother made a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. I don't remember what the final name of the turkey was - Tom I think, but he was delicious! I went for a run with my dad and by the end was exhausted - hills and cold weather make running a lot harder! Hopefully I'll be able to manage the Connecticut hills sometime in the next year.. I'm hoping to make it up to a 5K by the spring/summer. We of course had some fun times in the basement with karaoke, pool and pinball. Journey never gets old. Kara and I tried to sell our cars, but Carmax's offer was a JOKE! We'll have to do it the old-fashioned way. That turned out to be OK because by the time we were ready to make the trip back to NY, we had filled her car full of clothes from shopping, a plant, suitcases, and other stuff that just seemed to appear out of nowhere. The drive back was sleet-y and slow. But it turned out alright and now it's back to work.

So the next big thing (this weekend actually) is Kristen's wedding. We will leave here on Thursday and return on Sunday (my birthday). Yay, airplane ride! Eric and I are in the wedding party - very exciting! I have my dress and Eric is all fitted for his tux. It sounds like a lot of the Stewart clan will be in attendance, so it should be an enojoyable mini family reunion. We will update later.. but for now I'm re-living my own wedding experience and am so nervous for Kristen. Boy am I glad that all that pressure is off of me! But now I'm working my way into the late 20's (can you believe I'll be 27 on Sunday??) and soon I will be old! (am I already?)

Well, we face the halloween weekend with no costumes and no plans, ahh. (that's a good, relaxing ahh) After a week of working and studying (for Eric), we are ready to relax and spend the new couple of days with no planned agenda (except one). Our friend Jamie is having a Marathon Party on Sunday at her place to watch the runners of the NYC Marathon go by. That should be fun. I'm going to try and make some fun breakfast bars or something wife-like, haha. I think Eric is going to make gumbo. So it should be a relaxing weekend.

And I think we're going to get going on selling my car, it's just not worth it. We'll be happy saving a lot of money and spending it on enjoying this awesome city!

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!

So, all is going well, we are working and keeping busy. The ONE thing that might be a major issue is my car! What made me think that it's ok to have a car in New York City (area)?? So far I've amassed 3 tickets and most recently a tow! Eric and I had to trek down to the sketchy Brooklyn Navy Yard to pay a hefty fine and claim my car. It just seems like it's not going to be worth the hassle. Besides the cost of my parking mistakes, the hassle of trying to remember when to move it and then if I get that right, finding a spot can take forever! I've looked it up, and my car has retained its value pretty well and we might be smart to cut our losses and sell the thing.
I do have a mild obsession with it and think its quite sexy... but I just can't justify keeping it if it's going to cost more money... we don't even use it unless we're driving to CT or another random destination... Shouldn't we be spending time in the city?

So sad to now think of how happy that car made me on the day I drove it home..

As I'm posting, Eric looks like this...




I am quite impressed with his planning and consideration for this day.. he must be really exhausted. All day he was planning and coordinating what was to be crammed into one night to make a special anniversary - I am so thankful for him.

So, I got off of work at 5:00 and Eric was waiting for me outside in a smooth button-down shirt and slacks. We hopped into a cab that took us all the way down from 116th Street on the West side to 35th Street on the East side. It was an amazing drive.. we got to see a lot of Manhattan as our cab driver aimed his way to our destination. We ended up at a pier that a ferry was to dock at. Across the river was a restaurant called Water's Edge. They have a ferry to bring their patrons to the restaurant and it was only the beginning of a great view. We sailed across the river and landed at a table for two that had a view to die for. Eric ordered for me, and we drank wonderful red wine and ate great food- the mashed potatoes were amazing. We talked about all the things that have happened in the past year- so many things! We are thankful that we could be so lucky.

After dinner we walked to the subway to take us home. Our cake awaited us at home! My parents had the top of our wedding cake in their freezer for most of the year, and we finally got to have another taste. (I don't remember eating much of it at the wedding) It was unexpectedly good and we took the chance to do what we had wanted to do a year ago- smear the cake in each others' faces! (See pictures below)

And finally, in our room, Eric had arranged a table with a selection of red wine and a choice of a movie to watch. We hung out and watched the movie. Eric passed out, and I am ready to get some rest for work tomorrow.

It's hard to believe that our first year has passed. We have thrived with the help of our families and friends. Thanks to all who have and continue to support us. We look forward to our bright future and are glad to be able to include you all. Lots of love and hope to see you all soon!

Eric and Alicia (Marriage veterans) - hardly!

Cake-smearing pictures:

Anniversary 2008

So first of all, I (Alicia) FINALLY got a job!! I am working at Columbia University in the Alumni Development Department. I've only worked one day, but the people are all really nice and it seems like fun work. I had interviewed for the position last Wednesday and on Thursday they asked me to start Friday. I was more than willing to start, I've been dying for work! It's a temporary job, but my coworker said that the chances of me getting a permanent job are pretty good. I'm filling in for 3 months for a maternity leave... so I'm hopeful and relieved!

So when I got home on Friday, Eric said to pack my bags because we were going to Atlantic City! The drive wasn't bad, about 2 and a half hours. We drove in after dark and got to see all of the casinos lit up, it was cool! We stayed the first night at the Tropicana, and got a free room upgrade because it's our anniversary. I didn't think that would work, but I guess women are sympathetic- good for us! Our room was in the newest "tower" of the hotel and the room was the biggest on the floor with great views of the city and a big bed. We had a great time in the casino and walking on the boardwalk the next day. There are a lot of interesting people and things to see.

First strange thing was the guys pushing carts with people in them along the boardwalk. I guess if you didn't want to walk, you could hire this cart-taxi to push you. They were licensed by the city, so it was legit, but they seemed to be from the bottom of the barrel. I have a picture of one of the guys in the photo album below.
Another interesting thing was if you walked just one block away parallel to the boardwalk, the only stores were liquor stores, convenience stores, and Cash for Gold stores. Haha, casino towns are different.

So we found our Saturday lunch at a place just off the boardwalk called "Irish Pub". It was excellent food and cheap beer- but you could only pay in cash.. guess that's how they keep the prices down. There was an attached gift shop with a leprechaun as the cashier. Seriously, this guy had the real beard and green outfit. I was scared to take his picture, but trust me, it was awesome. We found a great pizza place for dinner and stayed at the Days Inn just on the boardwalk. They also upgraded us and we got a balcony with an ocean view-nice!

So, it was a great trip and although we didn't win big at the casinos, we had fun and will continue to celebrate our First Anniversary! Can't believe it's been a year already!

Here are the pictures from the weekend:

Atlantic City 2008

As I'm watching the debates, I'm also thinking of my 2 job interviews tomorrow..

I wonder if it would work for me to answer every question the SAME way!

haha- Just joking, but it does seem like they are running the same ground in every answer, ugh!
Anyway, I got a couple of calls today from agencies who found my resume on Monster.com. Sooo, since everything moves so fast in New York, I'm off to interview with them tomorrow already. They seem to be interested in my education background and passion for cross-cultural relations, so that's a positive thing for me. So far, everyone I've talked to has asked me to suppress my experience in the academic realm and emphasize the office assistant stuff. While that's all great and everything, it just makes me feel like a square peg being jammed into a round hole!

So, I have a class to teach at 7:30 am tomorrow morning.. at least then I'll be up and full of coffee when it comes time for the job interviews. Eric is working a full day tomorrow at his temporary job. We are returning to Connecticut this weekend to continue house-sitting. (SUCH a tough job- hot tubbing, pinball, and campfires are so draining!) We might even get to see Kecia, woohoo!

I see that the month of September has gotten away from me and I forgot to post!! Sorry!

So, during the last month, here is what has happened:

- Alicia got a job teaching ESL online and is actively teaching (finally!) after a couple of months of training
- Eric has gotten some temporary work
- Eric registered to take the actuary exam in November
- Weekend in PA for Grandpa's 75th Birthday!
- Shupp's grove in PA
- House-sitting for Alicia's parents 1st 2 weekends in October

So, my grandpa had his 75th birthday the last weekend of September. We had a "Card shower" for him and got as many people as possible to send birthday cards to him.. I think he had gotten over 80 of them the last time I heard. (how fun!) We drove over to PA on Friday night from Brooklyn. It took about 4 hours, but the traffic was great surprisingly. We were joined there by Kara, Kecia, my parents, and we also got to hang out with Aunt Gale and Uncle Phil. We had lots of great food and fun, a presidential debate, and lots of sweets! We also squeezed in a trip to Shupp's Grove. We managed to avoid most of the rain and we bought an awesome old bar-type thing for our apartment. This, however, was too big to fit into anyone's trunk, so we ended up using bungee cords to hold it into Uncle Phil's trunk, oops. It was a great weekend, and we had a lot of fun with everyone. I also got some fun stuff from Grandpa which was a great bonus! Hope we get to go back soon!

Now, we are hanging out in Connecticut. The weather is cool and the leaves are falling! My parents left for vacation yesterday with Nana and Poppy. Today, Eric and I drove to Lyman Orchards to pick up some Apple butter and peanut butter, yum! We grilled burgers, steak and stuffed peppers on the grill for dinner, and are now hanging out waiting for Saturday Night Live to come on since the fire wouldn't start! (things are still a bit damp from the rain) I think we're returning to Brooklyn tomorrow and will be back to cleaning and trying to find FULL-time employment. But we'll enjoy tonight and next weekend also.

Hope everyone is doing well and will be voting in the election!
We LOVED the Vice Presidential debate- Go Palin!

Next big event= Kristen and Matt's wedding! We have our tickets and I have my dress ordered, yay!
We'll be posting pictures from Grandpa's birthday weekend soon, so check back for those!

Love and miss everyone!

The day began with my car being towed to make way for the parade, so we spent the morning hours figuring out where the police moved it. It doesn't count as a tow since they were just "relocating" it, kind of like a game of hide and seek, but instead, it's "find your car". So we finally found out which presinct had moved it and where they had moved it to. Turns out it is only 3 blocks from our place, so all those miles walked were probably unneccessary. Oh well, we got to catch the first part of the Caribbean parade until I succumbed to the blister on my foot and Eric to his sleepiness. It was awesome, good food, and I can still hear the music from our apartment. We might go back later as it's an all-day thing.. for now, here are the pictures:

Caribbean Parade Labor Day 2008

Well, of course we're glued to the TV watching Hurricane Gustav close in on New Orleans to rip down everything they've fixed. It's lucky that we've just moved away or we'd be fleeing for our lives as well. Eric's family is evacuating to various places in LA and TX. We're keeping everyone in our thoughts, hope everyone makes it out of there!

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, this weekend is the big West Indian-American Day Carnival. I've already seen some parades and music and great-smelling food around our block. This is the big event of the year for our area, and the culmination of it all is tomorrow's parade along Eastern Avenue which we will definitely be attending. We'll be sure to post pictures of that!

Otherwise, Kara isn't here this weekend, so we're hanging out, doing laundry, reading, and cleaning. Sounds fun right? We'll update if anything else exciting happens!

So we got our first visitors these past two days - Kecia and Emily!

They took some time before their semesters start to come visit on Wednesday. We played board games and watched movies and ate Mom's chili (yum!) Thursday we walked around in Brooklyn, found some great stores,and ate Popeye's (which we then had to burn off by walking the mile or so home). We went back to the apartment, got Kara and Jeff and took the train down to Coney Island. We ate Nathan's hot dogs of course, and walked along the boardwalk. Kecia, Emily, Eric and Kara went and got a better look at the ocean while me and Jeff stayed behind. Personally, I don't particularly like sand between my toes unless it's an all-day thing, so I just watched them take pictures and I finished my lemonade. Jeff then got a mango on a stick and we checked out the carnival-like rides. We took the same path that Eric and I had before and ended up in Little Russia, which was fun. Kecia got a great book about a "world-famous" guy from Russia named Yuri Kuklachev whose cats do tricks for kids.

We rounded out the evening with more games of Taboo, Scrabble, and Cranium. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, so we went to bed.

We were sad to see them go this morning, but we had a great time. Hopefully they will come back and visit again soon!

It's very quiet now...


Eric and I signed up to get temporary work on Wednesday. A lot of it ends up being permanent, so that's encouraging.

I'm having major writer's block, so I'll leave it at that and keep searching for jobs.

Well, last night was a lot of fun! Friday Night 50 cent beers, you can't beat it! Eric, me (Alicia), Kara and Jeff met in midtown Manhattan at a bar called Bourbon Street to get the best deal ever on beer. Although it was Bud Light (ew), after a few it didn't matter. We got to meet some of Kara's friends from work, hang out and forget about the job hunt for a bit. We are still organizing, and it is coming along very slowly, but as we make progress, our room feels better and better.

New pictures! We uploaded all of our pictures from the past couple of months, so make sure to go and look!
http://picasaweb.google.com/TheEricStewart

Bye for now!

Today we decided to get going before noon and head down to Coney Island to check out the boardwalk.

We were able to cut through the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens on our way to the Prospect Park subway stop and enjoy the sunny cool day. We took the Q train down to Coney Island and immediately headed to Nathan's for some hot dogs and lemonade. A lot of other people had the same idea and were hanging out, eating and walking down the boardwalk. The problem in New York is that they list the calories on ALL menus, so it's a major guilt trip ordering food anywhere.. but good to realize that a double cheeseburger meal has 1900 calories!! So we stuck with 350-calorie hot dogs. We walked along the boardwalk and out onto a pier where everyone was fishing and one crazy guy was listening to latino music on a boombox and dancing (we took a video). We walked east towards Brighton Beach and ended up in what I'm thinking would be called Little Russia. Russian signs, stores, restaurants everywhere. It was like stepping into a piece of Russia, salespeople in the stores assume you speak Russian and start talking to you... uhhh, sorry we don't speak Russian! But there were cool things to buy and we'll definitely be back to sample some of the cuisine and maybe buy a fur hat when winter comes. We caught the Q train (where we were serenaded by a guitar and accordian player) back to Franklin Ave. (our subway stop) and are now organizing our room. We have our shelves (wall wardrobe as I like to call it) installed and now we need to go back and go through and organize the stuff we just threw onto the shelves when we first put them up. It's exciting to carve out our own space in the new apartment. We'll post pictures when we're finished.

So, the rest of today will be lazy and we'll probably go to Ikea and watch some Olympics tonight. Tomorrow we'll go to the Lutheran church that we found (only 2 blocks from our place), so that should be nice. I have a second interview with a company on Monday.. the office is literally right next door to Grand Central station, and 2 blocks from Kara's work. It would be ideal, but in this city no job is for sure. So, keep your fingers crossed, I'm ready for a job!

Today started out slowly..

Last night I stubbed my toe so badly that the skin tore and my pinky toe is black and blue.. doesn't help with walking.
Eric and I had pieces of our new wall shelving unit in our car and wanted to bring them up to the apartment, so I hobbled along and did my measly share of that work. Those stairs are killer!

Afterwards, we decided that since it was such a beautiful day (breezy and surprisingly cool!), we would go for a walk. We shortly found ourselves at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens (2 blocks from our place), and got in for free (every Tuesday it's free admission). It was a perfect day to see trees, flowers, and nature. They had a Japanese garden which was amazing- complete with koi pond, waterfall and mini shrine. We noted trees that we liked: our favorites were the Ginko (Maidenhair) and the Weeping Beech. We strolled through the gardens and ended up near Prospect Park on Flatbush Avenue. There we found a store that sells wholesale beer and other drinks (yay) and a store called Phat Albert's that has a huge variety of discount items (kitchen, curtains, shoes, clothes, furniture) -- by far the best discovery yet! So after that we walked through what we believe was an area of Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and admired the beautiful houses that we would love to have one day (driveways!).

We ended up at home just in time to beat the rain. Kara and Jeff cooked dinner for us and we watched the Olympics (more specifically the women's gymnastics team choking). What a great day! Tomorrow we're going back to my parents' house in Connecticut to finish and return with our wall wardrobe. I think once we get it set up in our room, the boxes will continue to disappear and it'll feel more like home here. We continue to look for jobs.. I have interviews with ESL schools (online and in person). Keep your fingers crossed for us!

We're back and now living in Brooklyn, New York! Sorry that we haven't been updating, but now that we're on a new adventure, we'll be writing again.

So we finally packed up and moved across the country from Louisiana to New York City. We sold off extra vehicles, threw away dirty dishes, enlisted help packing a Penske truck and towed my Civic behind it. Our first day driving the truck was long and nerve-wracking. We both drove (surprised?) and ended up at Uncle Randy and Aunt Ann's house in Knoxville. They were gracious enough to let us stay the night, but the next morning we were back on the road heading to my Grandma and Grandpa's house in Harrisburg, PA. The second day wasn't as long, but we knew that Day Three would be the worst, so we took it easy. We bunked in Harrisburg and left the next morning for the last leg of our journey. It took us through the NYC area and just driving in a huge truck with crazy northern drivers was enough to make me start biting my nails again. We ended up in Middletown, CT at my parents house. We were relieved and excited to have a month to relax and get ready for the last part of our move - the big city! Our month (in something like heaven) was awesome. Stress-free, good food, and fun karaoke nights. But of course, the time flew by, and we found ourselves packing up a moving truck once again. This time, we included Kara's things and headed to Brooklyn. We were enthusiastic about moving our things into our apartment, which was on the fourth floor of a building with NO elevator. We double parked on Union Street, and assembled our team: Mom, me (Alicia), Eric, Kara, Kecia, and Jeff (Kara's boyfriend). We started taking loads up to our apartment, and after a few trips up those evil stairs, we re-assembled down at the truck. There was NO way that we could A) go on like this B) finish by the end of the day and C) have any fun. So, we scrambled to find some movers who would be able to help us with such short notice. Of course everything has a price, so we agreed to hire 2 moving men and they were there within 3 hours. I don't think I'll ever try to move again without movers to help. So, we are now unpacking, organizing, and making the place our own.

The task was daunting, but with help from friends and family, we were able to make it., and July 31st marked our first day as Brooklynites.

Eric and I continue to look for jobs, and some days it's disheartening. It's hard to know that we have so much to offer, and all we need is for someone to give us a chance to prove ourselves. That will happen, and the only way to get there is to keep trying and try to develop some thicker, New Yorker skin. I might just be speaking for myself, it's not like Eric is crying himself to sleep. We're having a blast. Our neighborhood is culturally brilliant with most of the people from Caribbean countries. There is an abundance of Jerk Chicken and thick island accents. We have received nothing but warm welcomes from people in our building, people working in local stores, and even people just walking on the street. "Welcome to the neighborhood!" is a phrase I've heard several times when people find out that we've just moved here. It's great to be in such a different place. We are about a block from the subway stop, and from there, we are only minutes (20-30) from Manhattan. I have already found a Japanese Ramen shop, and we will soon find some good comedy clubs to frequent. We love living here and can't wait to have any of you come to visit! We will post pictures soon, so look out for them!

Love and miss you all that we don't get to see often.. we will keep in touch!
Come back soon for more of our adventures in the big city!