My Bearded Accountant

Bearded Accountant
Originally uploaded by a_m_shea

My husband....well.....he is on his way to CPA-dom. He just got the results from his retake of Audit and he passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of him. That is all four parts of the CPA passed and completed. Now all the studying, worrying, and crazy stomach pre-test business is over and done. You can relax, enjoy the summer, enjoy our trip to Utah, enjoy our Anniversary, enjoy reading non-accounting books, and enjoy requiring those around you to refer to you as Andy Donkin, CPA. Huzzah! (James, everytime you fail to do this, you will be charge a handsome fee, more than when you mention hedges.)

no respect for Andrew Jackson

So I think in efforts to keep Obama from taking our money and giving it as bailouts to unresponsible peeps, Pete decided to shred it. I mean, I agree with him to a point, but this is a little too extreme for me. Stop ripping the money Pete. Only rip the old Domino Magazines.

Oh Martha

So, Martha is back in my good graces. We hit a wall with the marmalade, but we are back on track now. I made her pound cake from the July 2009 Martha Stewart Living and it was a delight. We had friends over to try it out with berries and fresh whipped cream.

I refrigerated the leftover pound cake which to my surprise was even better, day old and cold. Andy and I ate it for dessert the following night with lemon curd, fresh whipped cream, and a chiffonade of mint from my "garden".

Oh heavens! It was so delicious. I could really go for some more right about now.

In the magazine, Martha gives you the basic recipe for pound cake, then she give you like 6 or so alternatives to try (blueberry sour cream pound cake, chocolate chip pound cake, and toasted coconut pound cake, to name a few) based on the basic recipe. I went for the basic, but now that I know it is good, I plan on making more. Sadly, I did not have butter when I made this pound cake, so I used margarine. It worked, and it was good, but I bet it is divine with butter. I also added just a splash of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. But I am adding lemon to everything these days.

(*Note: I didn't add the salt. One because it sounded like a TON, and two, I was using margarine which already has salt in it. I imagine if you use salted butter, I wouldn't add any then either. And 1 Tbl sounds like a lot right?!?!?! So, maybe don't add so much. It just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. It sounds like the marmalade all over again.)

Ingredients
Makes 2 cakes
1 pound (3 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
4 sticks softened unsalted butter, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
9 large, room-temperature eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans. Combine all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl.
Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.
Lightly beat eggs, and add to mixer bowl in 4 additions, mixing thoroughly after each and scraping down sides. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until just incorporated. Divide batter between pans. Tap on counter to distribute; smooth tops.
Bake until a tester inserted into center of each cake comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.

He's a Changed Man....or Rather, a Restored Man

Living in NYC is harder for Andy than it is for me I think. There is a plethora of things for me to do and enjoy. But for Andy, many of his hobbies are temporarily put on hold: outdoorsy things like camping and hiking, or man things like grilling/smoking meat, working on cars, building things with wood, and other MANtivities that require much more testosterone than I care to have. Consequently, I am married to a slightly different man here in the city. A man that has no outlet is not a happy man.

So, in efforts to remedy this, if only slightly, for Father's Day/Anniversary (4 years on July 2nd!) I got my man this grill.

(its obviously not his dream grill/smoker/brick oven monstrosity that will likely take up half the backyard....when we get a backyard that is, but it works for our situation seeing as how we have to walk to the park to do the BBQ-ing)

So, one Saturday evening, we went to the park with friends for a good 'ol fashion manly BBQ. (oddly enough, this same evening, there was a gay pride parade and festival happening on Prospect Park West, the street on the west side of the park.)

Andy, finding MAN-ness again. I do believe this is the happiest I have seen him in NYC since we moved here (except, of course, when Pete was born. There aren't words to describe what I saw in his face that day.)

Andy, in his element, and on his way to a very strong back and hamstring.
(Andy Deli Brawts, hamburger patties, and super tasty chicken, courtesy of Kent & Elizabeth)

Kent also got a grill. "Let's put another shrimp on the 'Bar-B." (Kent is from Australia, or rather New Zealand, so he is ALWAYS saying this whether we are grilling or not. I think its funny that as Americans, we always say this phrase when imitating an Aussie, though I am sure they never, ever, say. Its ridiculous. I wish Kent would say it though.)

The thing I love about Andy and his BBQ is that he loves all aspects of the BBQ. He loves the setup, the cooking, the eating, and the cleanup. I only like the eating part. All the other parts I greatly dislike. Maybe thats where the testosterone comes into play.

JD and Melissa's little guy found himself a nice little mud puddle to play in.

He was quite pleased with himself until it was time for clean-up.

The evening was very good. Good food, good friends, good weather and I do believe Andy smiled for a good few days after that. Its amazing what a little metal and charcoal briquettes will do for a man.

This is for Andy

Who for some reason couldn't get dueling banjos out of his head this morning.
Dueling Banjos: Deliverance

1.....2......3......Boo! (sometimes)

"high five....you owe me five"

a stir fry night

So I bought snow peas at C-town (local grocery store), just one package. When I got home, I had two. I don't know how it happened but there it is. And though I know they probably could care less, my integrity is worth more than $1.72, so I walked the 15 minutes back and returned the stow away peas. I got a look of perplexity and then mild annoyance from the manager. He thought I was charged and wanted money back, I said no, I just bought one and came home with two. Once he realized this, he grabbed the peas and tossed them into a basket and left. Whatever right. At least $1.72 won't be hanging on my conscience. And who knows, maybe he will reflect on this day later tonight and remember the odd woman with the baby who gave back the peas she accidently took home and think it odd and wonder why I did it. And maybe, just maybe, it will make an impression.

a song at night

(bird photo found here)

Did you ever notice that the birds sing after it rains, even if its in the middle of the night?

I wouldn't say my life is hard. There are difficult things I deal with, but there are plenty more people that I know, and don't know, that deal with much more. But you can't compare your situation to others right. So sometimes I feel like my lot is hard to bear, but bear it I do. Gracefully sometimes, but not as often as I wish.

Life in NYC is more difficult and less glamorous that one might think. The lack of a car, washer/dryer, dishwasher, central AC in the hot humid summer are just a start. Cost of living is one of the highest in the country. I always get a little queasy when I write a check to our landlord. Such checks should not be written for such tiny, bare bones, sans-washer/dryer apartments. Grocery stores charge almost double. Andy and I, sadly, get excited to "babysit" cars periodically for friends. It means we can make the hour trek up into the county to the closest Super Walmart. We stock up on months worth of groceries (dry, not fresh obviously) and all for a quarter of what we budget each month in the city.

People here are difficult to deal with. They either love you, or hate you. Likewise, you either love or hate them as well. Sometime New Yorkers can be so helpful and they really pull together to do great things, and other times, they will trample you to death for a deal on a blue ray disc player (this is not joke or exaggeration, true story).

New York wears on you. I know there are many great and wonderful things to do and see. I love NYC for that and I do lots of those things. But you can see how it wears on you. Crowded subways, crazy buses, endless noise, impatient/angry/self-important people, a laundromat with a baby, grocery shopping with a baby strapped to your chest, then carrying all your groceries home ( a 15 minute walk usually), a crazy neighbor who yells at me for the way we arrange our trash cans (that's another story all together), loud trucks, jack hammers, seemingly endless construction right outside my apartment in a residential neighborhood, tiny apartment with a baby who would rather be in your bed than his own crib and makes in known many times throughout the night, millions of people, expensive toll bridges, expensive everything, hundreds of foul mouthed children and teenagers using the "F" word as much as is humanly possible on their way to school.

Sometimes all I can think of is leaving. Sometimes its really hard to be happy. But then I have moments like last night. I woke up early this morning around 2:30am. A down pour of rain had started to let up and the birds started to sing. I remember being confused and thinking that the clocks were broken because the birds don't generally sing until 5:30 or 6:00. But 2:30 it was, and singing they were. The rain started back up a little so I woke Andy up so he could check the windows. I love when Andy and I wake up in the middle of the night and Pete is asleep. We share a moment. Its different than when we go to sleep at night. When we first go to sleep, we are tired and worn from the day, Pete's shenanigans are fresh on the mind, and all we can think of is sleep. But when woken in the night by rain, sometimes we are oddly refreshed and we stay awake together for a short moment, alone, in the night, in the rain, our minds fresh and clear from sleep.

I stayed awake a little longer after our moment than Andy did last night. My mind was filled with curiosity about those birds singing so early in the morning. I started to reflect on the past few weeks and what a pessimist I had become. Since when was I always in such a bad/sad mood. Its not the rain that has been pouring for the better part of 2 weeks, I love rain. It makes me want to read. I decided that I had let the little things that bug me about NYC turn into big things. I let them fester and blister and sour me towards our life here. I started reading this book yesterday that mentioned that complaining about something only makes the problem worse, never better. I believe I have been burdening myself, my husband, my friends, and my mom with the complaints of my "hard life".

In those early hours of the morning, my mind was able to see things as they really were. My thoughts and feelings were not clouded by my frustrations, my perceived injustices, my selfishness. I realized how good I had it. I have a hard time making friends. I have a bad case of social anxiety when I meet new people. But here, in Brooklyn, in the short year and a half I have lived here, I have made a plethora of friends. I have old favorites and new favorites which are sure to turn into old favorites if given time. I have never had such a good network of friends except when I was in college and I married one of those, and have kept close contact with the others (very very close V&J and A&B, you know who you are and I am watching you.....).

There are women within walking distance of my apartment who have small babies like me. We are in similar situations and we try to be a support to one another. Many are better at it than me, but lucky they are because I have great examples to follow. Many of these women give selflessly to ease the burdens of the other mothers/ladies because they too know what its like, they know that overwhelming feeling you can get, that hole you let yourself fall into. I am surrounded by the best of women who all have strong ropes to help pull you out when you do fall.

Sleeping quietly in the next 1/2 room over is my little baby boy. He made me a mother and continues to do so everyday. How can I despair with such a joy in my life? His smile, his giggle...its enough to wipe away any of the rough times. He needs me and as it turns out, I need him too to become the type of woman I hope to become.

I also realized lying next to me in my bed was one of the best men I know. And somewhere along the line he decided I was one of the best gals he knew. Andy works hard so that I can stay home with Pete. Sometimes I don't give him credit for that. But it is a hard and almost impossible thing to do in NYC. Two income homes are almost required in some instances just to maintain the necessities of life: food, shelter, clothing. But he worked hard in school and at his job so that we can make this work on one income...... for "Pete's sake". On top of that, he comes home, tackles the baby stuff like bath time, and sometimes the dishes when I am feeding Pete.

All too often I fail to compliment Andy on what he does that is good and instead I focus on what he failed to do or what he did wrong. But the thing is, he does so much good! He does everything for me and Pete. I love my husband dearly and I want my actions to ALWAYS reflect that no matter what my mood. And in the midst of all the good and bad I throw him, he still seems to love me, albeit a tad frustrated, but rarely mad. I hate that I have allowed my frustrations with things beyond my control to interfere with my attitude, my home, my family, and my relationships. I can't control NYC, but I can control me. I can control what I decide to focus on; I can control my attitude towards my family; I can control my happiness. A wise man once said that happiness has little to do with circumstance, and nothing to do with location. I can and should find happiness with the time I am given. And I do. I do.

So, as I laid there and thought about this last night, it all came back to those birds. I wondered why they were singing at 2:30 in the morning. My only conclusion was that they were happy they made it through the storm.

We get storms you know. Big or small, they will come. I realized I had a slow drizzle over my head for weeks and let it get to me, and consequently, let it get to my family. I forgot to sing when the sun broke through. If you forget to sing, the next drizzle or rain makes it harder and harder to see the light when it comes. I realized that for all the little things that bug me or make it hard to be happy, I need to find blessing and things to be grateful for to counteract them. I forgot this, but the birds reminded me.

So, here's to the rain, to NYC, to never ending construction, to foul mouthed children, to my sweet little boy, to the lovely ladies I call friends, to my best friend, my husband, to being happier in the midst of a laundromat, and here's to the birds that sang to me last night.

Marseilles Dress SHABBY APPLE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Marseilles Dress SHABBY APPLE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I want a free dress, and even if I don't win, I think that these dresses are brilliant.

on being his mom

Sometimes things get hard...really hard. But in the end, I just can't help loving this boy.

what P does when he is supposed to be napping...

kinda crawling

Race Day

Last year, when I first moved to NYC, my gal pal Valerie and I were training for our first half marathon. However, I became pregnant and my doctor told me it would be wise to stop training for long distances and run no further than I currently was, so, the half marathon was put on hold for a year, for me at least.

Now, one year later, 8 months post-Pete delivery, I ran 13.1 miles in Brooklyn's Half Marathon!!!

Me running towards the finish line.
Valerie and I, post-race (for pre race pictures, see here this evening)
Coney Island finish line. I thought the race should finish at the pier with us jumping in the water, but I can see where that could lead to problems; 12, 000 peeps jumping in the water with running shoes on having just run 13.1 miles....well, its a lifeguard's nightmare.
(race started in Prospect Park finished on Coney Island board walk)

FYI-I just submitted my name for the lottery drawing for the NYC marathon in November. You can still submit yours until 11:59 tonight. http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/ Hopefully I will see you there!

November is so far away right now....

Annie, how about it, want to break that record you set last year? I am with you. What is it up to know, 9 times? 10? Whatever, count me in for 15!