Insight into the lives of Jeff and Melissa Snider. Their lives in Nashville,TN.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
October 2009
It has been way too long since I wrote a blog post! Fly lady would not be proud of me. I have it clearly written down in my weekly routine that I will blog every Sunday. {What happens?} I am too busy writing down my routines to actually do them. (I think this is a paradox) So, highlights since the last post are: • Going to Virginia Beach to visit Jeff for two days. We had a wonderful evening on the beach. It was cold but we had dinner at this great seafood restaurant (catch 31). I had a blackened halibut, but they put brown sugar in the blackening spices with roasted root vegetables. Yum!! They had heaters on their beautiful patio that overlooked the ocean. We walked the shore, and then did our best to stretch dinner into an evening out. We even did coffee and desert to stay longer and soak in the ocean mist. I was thinking about what my friend Julie Hunt says about how she is reminded of Gods faithfulness when she is at the ocean. Every time we come back, the ocean is still there; steady, trustworthy. Just like God, always the same and so big! The waves are still crashing even as I write this post. Cool. • I just spent a week in LaCrosse with the Snider Family. It was so great to be with family and not alone since Jeff won’t actually be home in Nashville until January. Wa-wa. Marie and I worked on making a scrapbook of Jacks first six months. It was really fun! Just like a good alcoholic, I couldn’t just do one scrapbook, oh, no. I had to do it in triplicate! I did a scrapbook for me, one for the Snider’s and one for the Kane’s. Moderation is for sissies. (he.he.) It was quite the project. I couldn’t have done it without Marie’s help. Also, we had lunch with Great Aunt Mary from Tomah while we were in town and did a Zumba class with the famous Helen Haley. Really fun!
Glad to be home for a few days. Next week we are off to spend thanksgiving with Jeff in Greenville, SC. Jack is becoming a very experienced traveler. He is really beginning to talk! We joke and say that he is going to grow up to be a politician with all this talking! He is eating baby food now and his favorite is green beans. He also can roll over really well.
I haven't stayed to what I set for myself. BLOG EVERY SUNDAY! This was my goal. Err.. I got busy.
Jack and I went back to Nashville last weekend at the last minute. I didn't get back to NY until Monday night and I was totally tuckered out. Alas, no blog! Then Jeff's cousins came into town and we have been hangin' with them. With my online class I feel like I am constantly on the computer. But, like flylady would say, "I can do anything for 15 minutes." So, here I am.
Highlights
1. Body: the exhibit. This place was awesome. Real human bodies displayed. It was incredibly interesting, expecially since I just finished antaomy last semester.
2. Going back to Nashville was great. I had a weekend to reconnect with friends and not be by myself since Jeff had to go do a Kenny gig. I went to church, went to my community group, and got to connect with my AA girls at a book study. I saw my mom and dad. It was great. One highlight was spending the afternoon at my friend Julie's house (who is an excellent baker) where we made a bannana creme pie for my dad's birthday. It was so fun! THe pie turned out amazing!
3. Jeff's co-worker's wife Jennifer is finally here in NY. She has two kids (Evangilene, 3 and Cameron, 6mo). She has been in my shoes for the past two years. We have been having a lot of fun together in Central park. I am becoming sort of an expert on playgrounds.
4. Alas, Kenny did not give ANY bonuses this year and Jeff and I feel like the griswalds from Christmas vacation. It is a totally bummer. We were totally expecting a pretty big check. Boo. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. So we are buckeling down for a bit to adjust. I went to the grocery store and guess what? 3.29 for a head of lettuce!! Annie, I think I am beginning to understand how you feel. EK! If you can believe it, Whole Foods the the cheapest store to shop. So I got us some groceries and it's meals at home for a while. (not a bad thing)
Ok, well here are some pictures and I am going to try to blog on Sunday. (God help me)
I found Weight Watcher and if you can believe it, I lost 1.8 Pounds. What the heck? It must be all the walking. Crazy, because I seriously have been eating what I want, when I want, and how much I want. Ekk! I think I am on a food bender. It is just too good. Jack and I met up with Jeff for lunch and then just walked around the rest of the day. I went to a Middle Eastern Restaurant for dinner that had rave reviews and the owner was known to be a total rude jerk. We'll he wasn't that mean, and the food was just okay. My first let down on the ethnic cuisine. My class started today officially. My paper is going to be on: The paradoxes in the Communist Manifesto. @*? wish me luck. The paradoxes in Freedom and Responsibility was already taken.
Tuesday:
I went to the Peanut Butter Company in Greenwich Village. (This was the wonderful suggestion of my dear friend Julie H) It was incredible, seeing that I love PB! I had a cinnamon raisin sandwich. This included Cinnamon raisin peanut butter, vanilla cream cheese and apple slices. DELICIOUS! Then jack and I scoped out the neighborhood and some of the treasures that we found were; vintage clothing stores, a sassy rice pudding shop, handmade baby shirts (which I am going to try to do on my own), massage parlors, and a nice park. We sat in the park and I ate pudding. It was lovely. However, it is a little lonely. Jeff's co-worker''s wife and their two kids will be here next week and I hope to spend time with them during the days. I went to an AA meeting and Jeff parented to finish the day.
Wednesday:
Date night! So. First I will say that we finally met Holly Hall who is the daughter of Michele hall from Grace. She is a student in NY at the Kings college. She does babysitting for extra money. What a sweetie! It was such a God thing that Michele was able to connect us with her daughter and her daughters friends for babysitting while we are here. Well, I searched for a "fun" place to have dinner in NY and "Lucky Cheng's" came up in my research. It is a dinner theatre slash drag queen show. The reviews said It was really funny and a good time. So, I thought we could check it out. It sure isn't something you would find in Nashville. I THINK OUR EXPECTATIONS WERE TOO HIGH. Well, There was quite a bit of "audience participation." I had no idea. it was a long night that had Jeff in full drag by the end of it... Yeah, this is Jeff chiming in here, good lord... NOT fun. Tried to be a "sport" about it but I'm not recommending drag shows as a good date night option for ANYBODY! Perhaps a good option if somebody loses a serious bet.
Thursday:
Today I walked to the MET, looked around for 2 minutes, then ran out with a crying baby. Er..I walked home. Then, at night I went to Zumba at the YMCA. It was great! It was the perfect mix between dance and cardio. The teacher told me about his class at on Saturday at the Alvin Ailey American Dance school. I talked about the class and him so much Jeff is suspecting me of cheating! (j/k)
Friday:
Today we trekked to IKEA in Brooklyn. This is where I hiked the equivalent of the pyramids with a stroller and a car seat (with a child in it). Ain't no mountain high enough to keep me from IKEA. We took a water taxi back to the island...That was kinda cool. Jack and I stopped by Jeff's work and got some really cute pictures. Jeff and I made home made pizza and watched a movie.
Saturday:
I did Zumba at a bonafide dance school. I was cool. I pretended like I was a Daaaaansir ( you know how to say it) I know it was just a dance fitness class for fatties, but for a moment, with the ballet bars and Manhattan skyline, a girl can dream. It turns out they have a ton of classes for "the general public." I would like to do a couple more. Then we strolled in Central Park. In the evening we went on a guided walking tour of Greenwich village. We met a couple from here on the tour and they have a baby the same age as Jack. Susie invited me to a mom's group and gave me her card. How cool! The tour was very interesting. We ended up leaving a little early cuz Jack needed to eat. Jeff did his best Arnold S. impersonation and said "walking tour over, taxi tour starts NOW!" he. he. Dinner at the PB company again.
Today:
Slow morning of home made egg sanwhiches and coffee. Jeff went shopping solo. Then, I met up with a new friend from AA, Zoe. We had coffee and went to the 4pm meeting. It was really nice. We had Mexican for dinner and now I am finishing what I am proud to say is my second blog post in two weeks. Yippie.
The Snider Family has officially been in NY one week tomorrow. Jack is now three months old. The flight here was pretty good, Jack mostly slept the whole time. Jeff is working at the office for TSO (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) from 10am to 6pm. We will be here until October 12th. It is really good to be here with Jeff. It really takes the sting out of the Fall tour, since he doesn't come back to Nashville until January 5th. Jack and I will be very experienced travelers once this tour is over. Jack had a hard time here the first couple days. I think he was adjusting to the new enviornment.
Some highlights so far:
1. GREAT indian restaurant 1/2 block away "Basera"....Oh My...so, so Yummy (For all who may be wondering, Yes, I am still doing weight watchers...I ate 57 points on Friday)---my limit is 29 Ekk!!!
2. World plaza sitting area with trees and public seating is also 1/2 block away. Jack and I hung out there on Thursday and listened to the free jazz band. Jack likes Jazz music.
3. Central Park 1/2 mile away. Jack and I went there twice this week and just hung out. ( I breast fed him laying down in the park..he.he.)
4. Kane Family Visit this weekend...Mom, Dad and Billy were here. It was great having them because Jeff was gone doing Kenny, and it was just great having them here! We went shopping and also went to Queens for a BBQ at my uncle's girlfriends house. Jack and I went to the doctor on Friday because he had a low-grade fever. I turns out he is teething! He is a little ahead of schedule.
5. I GOT AN IPHONE! My life is forever changed. That is all I will say about that...I guess people get annoyed when people go on and on and on about how much they love there phone.
6. I took Zumba at the YMCA here in NY. The bad thing is that they don't have childcare. Boo! The class was good though, it was half filled with very Gay men...
7. There is an awesome AA club house just 4 blocks away. I went to a couple of mtgs so far and plan to go to more there.
That is my update for now. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts. I feel like God is really going to use this time for our family to really have some good time/memories together. Thank you to everyone who is praying for us. I can really feel it. We have had a great experience working together as a team since we have been here. I am trying to get some structure on my days, I want to try and do one cool thing each day. Museum, store, or just walk in the park. If anyone reading this has been to NY and has a suggestion for me..(jack and mom friendly) please comment. I start my introduction to Philosophy class online tomorrow, I am looking forward to it! ( i am also a little bit nervous) Thinking about thinking...I already think too much. Ok..love ya'll Melissa
