Omniscience

My favorite scripture this week is 2 Nephi 2:24:
"But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things."
Okay, WOW. "All things," stated twice is a very reassuring phrase. Our Heavenly Father knows the due dates for our bills, our spouses' idiosyncracies, what's on sale at Hobby Lobby, the circumfrance of the moon, when we are happily serving Him or not, and how long our toenails are. Big and little things, Significant or inconsequential things, He knows them ALL. How great is that? We can trust in Him because He is omniscient.

More pics from the trip

Pe

Pedicures with nieces Alyssa and Olivia, Posing with Herb and Laurine Cihak, Peter and I in our old place, Miranda's 15th birthday cupcakes, and Miranda with Quinn -Meredith's 11 month old son. He's a chunker! I think those two weigh about the same...

Spousal Abandonment

Peter and I moved from Brooklyn to Manhattan the last Saturday of June (about 10 miles north), and after one day of unpacking, I abandoned him! It was for a good cause, of course, as I was representing the both of us at both get-togethers for both sides of the family. Peter knew that it was, ostensibly, a temporary abandomment.
I spent three days in AZ where I was reminded that the "DRY HEAT" still feels like a blow torch when its 116 out. I got my hair done by my favorite hairdresser from years ago, gooshed on my nieces and nephews, ate at Ned's Krazy Subs (a family tradition) and Cafe Rio (a personal tradition), had in-house pedicures with my niece Miranda, saw ECLIPSE - the 3rd and newest Twilight movie with the sistahs, beat my brother-in-law Jake at numerous board games, and generally enjoyed being lazy.
On the fourth day of my vacation, I flew to SLC to spend a few days with Peter's side of the family. We went camping out by Oakley, where fortunately we had access to plumbing facilities and my brothers-in-law Curt and Gregor provided superior dutch oven cooking. [Featured above is Patrick posing with the dutch oven, or"frothy bacon" - all grease! Yuck! I mean Yummy!] It was posh camping. We went canoeing on the lake and attended the 75th Annual Rodeo in them there parts. The Rodeo was fun, despite the fact that I feel guilty enjoying a production founded on animal abuse. The announcer kept saying random phrases such as "Whoa Big'un..." to the larger bulls or horses, that became immediate fodder for jokes later on.
After two days of camping, I spent a couple of days in SLC at Nat and Pat's relaxing, working out, playing with darling Ava, eating at Red Lobster with the family before fireworks, shopping with the sistahs, gooshing on the nieces and nephews, seeing a midnight showing of ECLIPSE (see above description -yes, it was my 2nd time in 4 days) with the girls... and Gregor...what a sport, socializing at the family party on Sunday evening, and generally enjoying everyone's company and the antics of Eric and Patrick. The last song at the fireworks display was "America" by Neil Diamond. You know the one..."got a dream to take them there, they're coming to America. Today!" Eric leaped up in front of everyone and did a Rocky air punch on cue with "Today!", much to the delight and amusement of everyone, especially me. I'm still laughing.
I missed Peter A LOT, more than I realized I would and he reminded me that this is what I get when I abandon him. :) I got back a week later on the 5th where Peter and I had a sweet reunion and more boxes to unpack. Thanks for a very fun week everyone! I sure love my family and I'm so grateful to be a part of y'all.
In my absence, Peter started his new internship program at St. Luke's-Roosevelt and is liking it very much. He says its much better than the Brooklyn Hospital Center. More details to come!

Warrior Fitness Boot Camp

Well... I survived. An hour of intense exercise with former Marines yelling at me to go faster, count louder, push it harder, and climb 9 flights of stairs three times, and it was, well, awesome. The class is entitled "Warrior Fitness Boot Camp" and it is held on the 4th floor of a Manhattan sky scraper (on 35th street between 5th and 6th). Push-ups, sit-ups, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, squat jumps, jogging, obstacle course, and of course the stairs (3 intervals of 9 floors). We could do manhy of the basics at home, but do we? No, we pay dudes to yell at us, join the class and cry in agony for mercy as they push to extremes. Initial class is $20, but packages begin at $38 - $50/ class. No thanks. My budget isn't that generous. Guess I'll have to dig deeper and start doing some of the basics at home.

Here I am pictured with my co-worker Trisha, who initiated and encouraged our attendance. We are clearly posing, as the real pain and other class members are long gone.

Eatons in NYC

Peter's cousins were here this past week. We, or rather I, met up with them for dinner on Friday night at some random hole in the wall burger shack in the hotel lobby of an upscale property in Manhattan. Yummy. Good choice Clin. We had some quick catch up conversation and then they were off to see another broadway show. Peter had to work that night. But Sunday afternoon Peter and I were both able to join Alana and Andy for lunch and a cathedral tour of St. John the Divine (which will be located diagonally from us when we move to the city). It was a wonderful afternoon. Except for the boring tour guide that made Peter crazy, and the random waiter who egregiously neglected us and then we caught him watching football when he was supposed to be processing our bill. !? Oh well, it made for a typical customer service memory in the city.
Here I am pictured with Nate, and the group shot features Andy, Clin, Arianne, Ben, Alana, Nate, with Jackie and I down in front.
Did you know that in Italian they pronounce Eaton as AY-UH-TONE? Just as they pronounce President Clinton as CLEEEN-TONE. Very amusing. :)
Thanks for coming out gang, we really enjoyed seeing you!

Memphis!

I saw the musical MEMPHIS this past week with my friend Sara Orlando. It was surprisingly fantastic! The dancing and choreography were superb, the singing was outstanding, and the storyline and acting were great. I have only positive things to say about this show. Wow, it seriously took me by surprise and was more fabulous than I thought it would be.

The show's about a white dj in the 50's who likes R&B or black music as it was referred to in racist Tennessee at that time. He attends a black club regularly, and falls for a beautiful, talented black girl named Felicia. Their relationship is taboo and must be kept secret. Huey, the dj, promises Felicia that he'll make her famous. He makes good on his promise and she goes on to success in NY, but Huey struggles to find himself outside of Memphis.

The funniest characters are Huey's mom, Huey himself and Big Love Daddy.

Worth the $67? Yes, because like I told Peter, it was our anniversary celebration 2 days early (even though I didn't even go with him) and thus he only had to buy ONE ticket, not two. :)

Memorial Day 2010

Plan B turned out to be splendid. Plan A was to go as passenger on friend's motorcycle (Honda Nighthawk 750) up to New Hampshire for a weekend with the Makechnies (Peter's twin sister and her family). After much deliberation, we decided that Plan A would lead to extreme exhaustion and soreness of body despite the excitement of the concept. The bike ride would have taken 6-7 hours each way... and good thing we changed our plans because said friend failed her licensing test on Friday morning, which means we wouldn't have been able to go anyway! Truly, the bus was the way to go for that distance.
So, plan B. Fall asleep on the couch at 8:30pm watching a movie Friday night w/ Peter.
Saturday am - go to the gym, jog, weights, the works. Enjoy a leisurely brunch and pick up groceries and flowers at nearby Trader Joe's.
Saturday afternoon - hang out with Peter all afternoon... walk in the park, dinner at the Smoke Joint (BBQ), and watch a documentary about Tony Blair.
Sunday - go to church, song practice, relax, rollerblading with Peter at Riverside Park along the Hudson River. Stop by new apartment on the upper west side in Manhattan and measure doorways and cupboard space for the big move next month!
Monday - jogging in the am, brunch with Peter, read my book for hours (2nd one in the Hunger Games trilogy), head over to friends' for BBQ preparation. Leisurely afternoon in friends' backyard and hammock. Collapse in bed.
Who doesn't love a 3-day weekend!?