My Highlights of 2012

The way I spent New Year's Day last year was magical, and I just knew it was going to be a good year.  We knew for a very long time that we were moving away from NYC and going to Little Rock, so I really savored my last months there. I had constant visions of a huge page turning, because a huge chapter was turning in our lives. Matt was finishing his educational path which lasted 12 years. Even though he had three actual graduation ceremonies from medical school five years earlier, this was the final and real graduation. 

January - I was in the NY Post for having done a diet book review.

I only lost 2.2 lbs., but the book taught me some good stuff that I still think about.

February - I got to review this Nirve bike Momentum Magazine. It was published a few months later.

March - I got this awesome seat at Rachel Maddow's first book event. 

April - this one extra-awesome weekend I rode my bike to Brooklyn on Saturday night for a Leslie Hall show. This is one of the only concerts Matt and I go to together in full force. 

... and the next night I rode back down there for the Miss Lez Pageant and was delighted by the winner and thrilled by the runner up's gown made from nothing but tampons. 

May - Even though I was in the worst mood ever and felt totally lonely, I'm proud that I rode the 50+ miles in the 5 Boro Bike ride. It's over 50 miles and takes you through all the five boroughs. I'm also proud that I raised money for Planned Parenthood NYC in doing so.  And I ran into Bill Cunningham and snapped this pic. 

June - June was when we were really running out of time in NYC. I started eating absolutely everything, but that's not the point. June was all about saying goodbye to New York City and our friends and the experiences we got to have while we lived there. The most exhilarating thing for me was attending Barack on Broadway - An Obama fundraiser featuring tons of Broadway stars and Bill & Barack. It's really funny how much money I spent seeing Bill Clinton from afar while I lived in New York City, but now I see him up-close for free in Arkansas. 

July - We arrived in Arkansas! We took our time getting down there. It was hard to get a driver's license. It took us a couple trips to the office and we had to drag out our Hawaii marriage license, which I like to point out, looks exactly like Obama's birth certificate. Same green printed paper and fonts and stuff. Here's my Arkansas driver's lic. photo. 

August - August was about nesting in our new apartment, walking to the farmer's market and my volunteer career began at the Clinton Library. 

September - I got this sexy road bike that I still haven't ridden that much. 

October - We used our commuter bikes to go on our first bike date in Arkansas. 

November - DOLLYWOOD! We went to Dollywood with our best-friend couples. We only rode like 2 rides, but we spent the day and went for the Christmas decorations. I loved her Chasing Rainbows museum. 

December - I got a visit from Amalia, my best friend from kindergarten and 20+-year pen-pal and we fulfilled our dream of making a Bill sandwich. 

Amalia is a key factor in how I got myself on The Martha Stewart show. I was applying to talk shows to try to get me and Amalia a trip to be re-united because we hadn't seen each other much in the twenty years since she moved away and we were just pen-pals. I applied to Ellen and Oprah and I was tinkering around on the Martha website where I found the Teach Martha application. That's how I got on. That and all my skills. 

A Sea of Light

The first day of the New Year was fantastic. We rode our bicycles...


Our lunch ran really late and I had a special event to attend. I thought I was going to a small, dark, theatre, so I wasn't uptight about my outfit.

Even the day after New Year's Eve... still so many people.


Turns out I was going to a private penthouse party in a fancy doorman building and I was terribly under-dressed. I was greeted by one of my lovely drag friends. I was thankful I knew someone.

The event was small and intimate and mysterious. I enjoyed everyone who I spoke to while we waited for the performance to begin. This made me feel even deeper belief about what a truly good-hearted person the host and performer was- The fact that she surrounded herself with lovely people affirmed my admiration and confidence in what a nice person she is.

The view from this apartment was pretty spectacular. It overlooked a very flashy part of Times Square and yes- there were blackout shades installed.


The performance put me in a place where I wanted to turn myself into a sponge and absorb every moment. It was very This is my New York City life. And I wanted to remember everything about it. I loved the anticipation of the performance. The excitement of waiting for the hostess to appear! The seriousness at which the boys she had assisting her carried out the steps of the performance: A special mix cd was to be played promptly at 5:30, candles were to be lit at 6pm sharp... 
I did not take photos because I didn't want to be rude and we were being photographed. We had been advised that this would all be video taped and I didn't want to trash it up by taking pics with my little pocket camera. 

We were instructed that we could watch the performance on the television screen, or we could watch out the window. We were on the 25th floor. The hostess did not appear in person - she first appeared to us on the TV screen.  She was live downstairs and it was a thrilling treat. She had on a dramatic gold cape and was carrying a big lighted ball in her hands.

She walked to the TKTS red, glowing stairs and gave a really lovely speech about re-dedicating herself and her life as an artist. We were cheering for her and reveling in our love and admiration and just a little bit hoping she would not be arrested for breaking past the barricade and going to the top of those red, glowing stairs.

Remember- an apartment full of people were watching this unfold live on a tv screen upstairs.

When she made it back to the apartment the crowd burst in applause. I told her she really is a sea of light and I think she thought I was being corny, but I wasn't at all. She really is a positive energy and a ray of sunshine in everything she does.

It was a very magical way to start the new year. 

Sultana, on the left was the assisting "hostess" who greeted me at the door and fixed us all cocktails and the real hostess and performer is Linda Simpson on the right.
I'm happy that I told her I have Blind Faith in her entertainment value and I was so happy to attend this festivity.

The performance was video taped and if I find it online I will share it, because it was really cool and precious and it really did make me want to morph into a sponge and record all sights & sounds for a few minutes.

It made me looove my New York City life. Appreciate. Soak it in. This is your life. 


Then when I came out- it was raining. The drug store was closed and I did not have a garbage bag. It wasn't that cold so I even stopped at some pretty windows and took Kate Middleton's photo. 



Even though it was dark out, I thought I would appreciate the eye-protection the sunglasses would give and I sure did! 

I didn't have to ride very far in the rain. It was also amazing to enjoy our mild weather and be physically comfortable riding in rain in January.

Here's hoping for the magical times to continue... 

Happy New Year!

Gwynne during the confetti & balloon drop. (Gwynne cuts my hair!)



I'm so glad I caught Gwynne's tweet about this party and tweeted right back at her that I wanted to go!
We were both stuck in the south - She in Florida, and me in Arkansas, tweeting about our hopes & dreams. We made it back and went to the New Year's Eve party at the Jane Hotel.

I've been hot to go to the Jane Hotel for 2 sexy reasons -
1. They brought the survivors of the Titanic here.
2. It's right by where my love Rachel Maddow lives.


I'm happy with how my look turned out.
This dress was purchased last Feb. when I still worked for PF. It's been hanging in the bag with the tags on it. My make-up boo who helps me at MAC gave me this glitter lip gloss. I'm AMAZED that I kept it in tact all night.

I was really scared of how I was going to get home. YOU CANNOT GET A CAB ON NEW YEAR'S EVE. So I did not want to get drunk and helpless later. I did good- I only feel like shit today because I stayed up til 4am.


I'm so in love with this bar area of the Jane. I can't wait to take Matt. There's all kinds of neat old-looking stuff and taxidermy.


I've not had many nights in New York of going out with straight girls. These 2 babes were great! Cute midnight kissers!

We went to Taco Bell, and I'm very proud that I didn't go fat-hell wild and eat something regrettable. God bless this Taco Bell/Pizza Hut.


I wasn't sure about this monochrome look - the pantyhose match the dress.

I'm also really happy that I didn't have to buy a new dress.

After Taco Bell, we ended up in a really embarrassingly giant limo. It was huge & fun and LOUD.


My sweet Baby Girl let me sleep until 11! When I go out, I usually bring my purse to sleep so I can text, read email and put myself to sleep looking at the photos on my camera.


2010 was a really special, great year and I have a sneaky feeling 2011 is going to be no less than utterly fantastic!

For all the pics click this link for my Flickr set.

Last Ride of 2010

I got so bored today, I faced my fears about riding my bicycle in these snowy conditions.
This is my biggest fear- being pushed over into the snow-bank or onto the snow-slush with hard-chunks and crashing.

That dirty shit is where I need to be riding along smoothly!

I didn't get too wet and my jacket stayed pure, even thought it was so wet outside with the snowmageddon melt. The streets are so wet!


I rode the big loop in Central Park, then down through Times Square to see the maniacs waiting for the ball drop.


One of the many snow piles that are taller than me and my bike.


This is usually a fast-speed-riding part of my commute but all the people in the streets had traffic - foot and car - stopped so I could take pics.


If you visit me, I won't help you ride in one of these, because I don't believe in it, but it looks great in this photo.


If you visit me- we can use a pedi-cab to tour the park.


My Mother-in-Law gave me this coat. She got it for a buck in Louisiana.


I got some more, new fake glasses at WalMart last week in Arkansas. These were on sale for $3. I also go this bandana at a thrift shop in AR.

My big box of new thrifted clothes has not arrived. I ship my stuff home to myself.


It's never too early to start scheming to enter next year's Mad Men photo contest. I hope they do it again!

Get Out of the City!

Sometimes it's really nice to get out of the city. I'm always appreciative of a little escape. This was also my first escape to Westchester County where some of my heros and role models live - Hillary & Bill and Martha. The little village of shops near the train station indeed looked like when Martha shows you her little village. I really love shopping in quaint little small-town grocery stores. The homes were big and beautiful and the leaves were stunning.



I was surprised how quickly the Metro North train got us there. I wish all of America had better train service. Trains are great because you can text, talk and do your make-up without fear of wreckless driving or crashing. Oh! It's nice for the environment too!

The face is fresh, but the hair is dirty-


My husband is a doctor, though still in residency, and we went to another doctor's home, to a social event full of doctors. When I find myself in this situation, I secretly choose in my head who I would want to help me should I need emergency medical attention. I chose the nurse and the outgoing Latin mother who has several children. Both not-doctors.

Matt wouldn't do duck or goose calls for us but he was happy to climb this tree.


Gossips- I can tell by the look on his face that Matt just said something really bitchy and Emily is responding.

Apartment Therapy!

My pictures worked! Our little Cherokee Apartment is on Apartment Therapy under the New York Home Tours section. I stated that it's 500 square feet. Still not sure, but it's quite small.



Here's the link to Julie's Historic Cherokee Apartment - Home Tour

Please visit the Flickr photo album for extensive photos of the progress we've made since we moved in and CLEANED this place up and all my 1 year anniversary pics. that I took last Sunday night.

Flickr Over the PAST YEAR.

FLickr of the 1 year anniversary PIcs.