Shopping in New York

Shoe shopping, lunch, chocolate, wine and hanging out with the girlfriends? I can't think of a better time!

On Saturday, May 17, I got to hang out with some cool women during a bus trip to New York organized by Reston Limousine. It was a long day, but a fun day. We left Tysons Corner at 7am and arrived back ground 11:30pm.

The ride up was awesome. I got to meet some fabulous women, all friends of the amazing Kristina Bouweiri, CEO of Reston Limousine. Many of use are business owners and moms, which made for some fun conversation.

We got dropped off at Canal Street around 11:30. Yes, we were hungry, but we had more important things to do. Our first stop was Shoegasm (yep, that's the name), where I bought a pair of purple ballet flags and a cute pair of black and gold sandals (a little more bling than I'm used to). Next up, Shoefinity, where I bought a pair of lavender Merrill walking shoes. (Did you guess I like purple?)

Next up, handbag shopping. Most of the group ventured into a secret basement shop to hunt for Pradas and Guccis, but I was too claustrophic. I wandered around Canal Street and got a wallet and Sponge Bob watch for my son.

After all that shopping, we were famished. The group split into two. The first group went for an Italian lunch. My group went for Chinese since I never get great Chinese in the DC area. Michelle led us to a great hole in the wall where we had a veritable feast for $25 per person. We had crab, duck, scallops, fish, noodles, beef, and soup. We even had bubble drinks from next door.

It was still early, so we hit some more shops. We hit a couple of sample sales, wandered around the discount department store Century 21 and even got to see Ground Zero. After that, we headed to Soho, where I got an amazing deal on a Cleo and Patek purse and wallet. Seriously, I bought the most beautiful purse I had ever seen and it was 60% off. The store manager said sales are way down and they are forced to discount.

Our day ended at Te Casan shoe store. This has to be the swankiest shoe store I've ever been to. The store carries 7 lines of designer shoes, many of them limited edition. Did you know that Natalie Portman has her own line of vegan shoes? The shoes start at $275 and I had already bought 3 pairs elsewhere, so I was able to resist the temptation.

After Te Casan, we grabbed some hot dogs for the road and headed home. The bus ride was long, but Kristina treated us to a movie (Maid Money, total chick flick), wine and chocolate covered graham crackers. We slept, we chatted, we shared our food, and we passed around the goodies we bought.

I was a waste of space on Sunday because I'm not used to all that activity in one day and I'm definitely not used to being up so late anymore! But boy was it fun! Reston Limousine organizes New York trips once a month. I'll definitely try to join another trip in the Fall. Fun times!

National Train Day

Last Saturday, May 10 was National Train Day. Since CJ LOVES trains, we headed out to Union Station to join in the celebration.

All of Union Station is a wonderland for CJ. First of all, the parking lot has a huge, glass wall that give you a view of the incoming trains - wow, endless fun to count the waiting trains and watch them come in. Next, CJ loves escalators. Since parking was tight that day, we had to park on the top, outside deck, which meant a half dozen escalator rides to the ground floor. More fun.

We got to the station around 12:30pm, which meant it was time for lunch. We headed to McDonald's and CJ proceeded to wolf down six chicken nuggets, a bag of fries and a bottle of milk. While we do indulge in takeout sausage egg McMuffins on a fairly regular basis (I'm ashamed to admit), this was perhaps CJ's second or third time actually eating inside a McDonald's. He loved it all, especially the Happy Meal toy.

Union Station was rocking for National Train Day. It felt like all Amtrak employees were out that day, staffing the events and information tables, passing out stickers, giving directions, giving away activity books. The main hall had a live band and we heard that President Bush was even scheduled for a visit (we didn't see him).

I was most interested in the train tour, so we waited in line. And waited and waited. God bless CJ, who patiently waited in live for an hour. Thankfully, it was worth the wait. We got to see the inside of:

• a Pullman car from the 1930s, beautifully restored by a local historical society. The sitting room was very elegant and we got to see inside two of the sleeper rooms.
• a regional train.
• an Acela first class train.
• an Acela business class train.
• an Acela dining car.
• a double decker MARC train.
• another Pullman car, this time from the 1940s, with its art deco observation room (you felt like you were on a cruise liner) and sleeper rooms.

CJ was fascinated by the beds and the chairs. He had to peek into every sleeper room and he has to test out the seats on every train. He would say, "let's sit here, mama" so we would sit down, look out the window, watch some people go by, then move on. He was in heaven and it was a real treat for me to see the Pullman cars.

Take me out to the ballgame

Last April 30, CJ and I got to go to the ballgame with our friends, Susan and Mary V. It was so much fun to ride the metro and go to the ballgame with the kids. Not to mention that we got to play a little hooky on a Wednesday afternoon.

Getting to Nationals Stadium by metro is really easy. We got off at Navy Yard and the stadium is a block away; there is a pedestrian path for most of the way. We were lucky that day. The weather was perfect - sunny and 70 degrees, with no humidity in the air. The kids were so excited to be out with their mommies, riding the metro, walking and running around, going to new place, watching some strange game, and eating hot dogs and Cracker Jack. Could life get any better?

So, about the game. The Nationals were playing the Braves. The game itself was pretty unremarkable. Both sides were playing rather poorly. It seemed like three players would go up to bat and then there would be three outs. The game started at 4:30pm; by 6:00pm, we were at the top of the 7th inning. CJ was very happy to sit in his seat, check out the crowd and eat his Cracker Jack. But he had never seen a baseball game in his life, on TV much less in person, so my pointing out the pitcher and the batter did not seem to really register. Oh well, maybe next time.

Because of the kids, we left before the game ended. Yeah, heresy, but for us moms , it wasn't about the game, it was about being out with the kids and enjoying a Spring day. At the bottom of the 8th inning, we headed for the team store to pick up some souvenirs. Alas, they did not have blue Nationals t-shirts for little boys!

Nationals Stadium is not as pretty as Camden Yards, but it's certainly a wonderful stadium. And it's definitely easy to get to if you have easy access to the metro!

Customer in Training

Harris Teeter is very smart. The store is mom-friendly and I appreciate that very much. My family patronizes a lot of grocery stores (the one closest to our house, the one with the special Asian sprinkles, the one with the special teas we like, etc.), but if I'm with CJ and need to go grocery shopping, Harris Teeter is almost always my destination. Here's why:

1) They have parking spots close to the entrance for moms with kids. This means I don't have to walk with my meandering 3-year old across a busy parking lot. Which makes me less nervous and probably avoids a lot of accidents.

2) They have kid-sized shopping carts. These are the cutest things. They are just right for a child of CJ's age, and they have cute flags that say "Customer in Training." CJ goes straight for his cart when we go to the store, he points out or takes the things he wants, and insists on putting his favorite items in his cart. Things like blueberries, milk, strawberries, sushi, cereal. The carts keep him busy because he has to push his cart to keep up with me.

3) They have wipes at the entrance to the store. I know, I can't keep germs away from my family and some germs are good, but wiping the handles of the grocery carts makes me feel like I am keeping the worst of the cold germs (and God knows what other things) away from me and CJ.

4) They have convenient, clean bathrooms. Unlike some stores I've visited, the bathrooms are not in the dungeons of the store, they are easy to get to, well marked, clean, and kid-friendly.

5) There is always someone around to help me. This is key when I am in a hurry, have a child who is about to have a meltdown, or just plain can't find something and need help.

6) They give away balloons. At the end of each shopping trip, CJ gets a free balloon, which makes the entire excursion worthwhile, as far as he's concerned. Harris Teeter also gives away cookies, but we just ignore them, balloons are enough.

It seems not all grocery stores are made alike!

He says the funniest things

CJ is now 3 1/2 years old, nearly 4 actually and he is saying the funniest, cutest things. My friend Sue said a while ago that I would be amazed by how much CJ will mimic me and Maki, especially our expressions and tone of voice. CJ's recent sayings:

"Oopsies" - when he drops something, something falls off the table.

"Sure!" - when I ask him if he wants to do something, like go out to dinner, or go to the supermarket. He's always very enthusiastic about life.

"Mama, I want to send you an e-mail" - he goes up to my laptop and pretends to type. I guess he's heard me say a thousand times that I just need to send one more e-mail.

"Maki!" - in a tone of voice that sounds just like me!

"I'm not talking to you" - when CJ asked Maki a question, but I answered. Yeah, he's already giving me attitude, but in a good way at least.

"Mama, I sent you a text message" - when I left the house early to attend a meeting, CJ got really upset, so Maki offered to send me a text message. Later that day, I called him and he let me know about my text message. He even wanted to see the text message on my phone when I got home that night.

He now uses "not yet," "actually," and "I'm not yet ready" all the time, as in "Let's brush your teeth - net yet, mama."

CJ is also clearly enjoying language. He makes up rhyming words or he gets really excited when he realized that words rhyme. He'll say "pat, cat, hat - it rhymes, mama!" He'll also make up words that rhyme.

Steven Pinker says that 3-year old are language experts and now I know why.

Joe Dillon comes to Matrix

I was so inspired by Joe Dillon when he came to speak at my Vistage group meeting in January that I invited him to come to Matrix to present to my staff.

About half of the staff attended -- not bad for a Friday morning when a bunch of people were out. Besides, not everyone wants to be lectured about diet and exercise.

Joe did exactly what I expected him to. He was informative, motivating, outrageous and pedantic. His presentation about diet really makes you sit up and think about all the junk that we put into our mouths each day. It makes me feel bad about all the chocolate around the office, and the birthday parties when we serve nothing but pure sugar and more sugar.

But Joe makes an amazing case for healthy living. He is in his 60s and he looks amazing. I guess the bottom line for me is that I want to grow old and live a good life. When I retired, I want to be in good health so that I can travel and keep doing the active things that I do now.

I had skipped my power walking for a week because of a cold, but I'll be back on the treadmill this week. Even Maki wants to get in on the program. At Harris Teeter yesterday, we got a bunch of raw nuts, egg beaters, and lots of chicken. So far, I have lost about 5 pounds and I feel great. The walking with weights really makes a difference and I can feel myself getting toned and strong. Stay tuned for more progress reports.

I finally got a fu dog!

A dog, you say, Joanna got a dog?  Is she nuts?  She doesn't have time for a dog!

Well, I'm talking about a stone dog, an ornamental dog, to guard our house.  A fu dog, sometimes called a fu lion, is a mythic creature that guarded palaces, temples, government offices and the homes of the wealthy in ancient China.  Today, fu dogs are mass produced, so anyone can have a fu dog.  Wikipedia (of course) has more information on fu dogs.  

I bought my fu dog from my favorite furniture store, Abaca Imports, in Alexandria, VA.  I love this place!  Anyway, the store started fu dogs a few years ago and I finally caved.  My fu dog isn't as fierce looking as others I have seen.  This one charmed my heart when I saw him, so I had to have him.  I will take a picture and upload to the blog this weekend.

CJ was excited about getting a dog, albeit a stone one.  He earnestly asked if he could name the dog, and I, of course, said yes.  CJ named him "fu dog."  CJ says hello and good-bye to fu dog whenever we come home or leave the house, it's very cute.

Fu dog really makes a statement now when you come up the steps to our house.  At first, I worried about people stealing fu dog, but he weighs a ton, so I think I'm fine.  Love my fu dog!