Julie the Tour Guide

I've been BUSY! I made this sign out of a shopping bag. And spray paint. 

I DRANK the past 6 evenings in a row! (Congrats to me!) 

Last night I completed my training for the Planned Parenthood of NYC Activist Training. 

I'm an official member of the PPNYC Activist Council and 4 specific councils within. 

I am super-excited that I joined a two councils that require ongoing education and extra training!

I had my first Honey Bourbon drink last night. Good stuff! 

Monday night we (Me, husband and another couple) went to see Bridesmaids and I almost died. I was choking and crying, I was laughing so hard. If you're planning a wedding or even attending a wedding this summer- which is all of us- drop what you're doing and go see it! 

My Dad and his wife were here over the weekend. They left Monday morning but I showed them an awesome NYC Tourist time. 

Thursday night we took them to Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem. We were shocked by the wait-time  and hung out in the bar. 

Matt eating a GIANT MEAL that was surely meant for a Bear. 

I think this is my favorite pic - Matt, Me, Dad. We are Henderson State University Alums!

Yes- I took my dad to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit. The exhibit is so freaking cool Matt did not hesitate to agree to go again with his sister & her husband in just 2 weeks. 

It opens with spooky music! There's a gorgeous, painted football helmet in there too. 

We rode the bus a ton. 

Friday we went on this awesome boat tour as I previously posted. We took Matt's Mom on this tour Easter Weekend. 

They loved the M&M's store in Times Square. 

I made them eat Magnolia Bakery cupcakes and sit at Rockefeller Center. 

They could not stop talking about how crazy the buses & taxis drive and how close together all the cars are. My Dad though the Guggenheim was a fancy parking garage. 

We ate a big German dinner at Heidelberg and drank huge beers on Sunday night!

Lots of beers when your family is in town is a good, good thing!

Very Busy

I'm very busy being a tour guide for my Dad and his wife this weekend. I've lived here 4 years and this is their first visit. This boat tour is the best tourist-y thing that costs money in my opinion.

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge late at night so you get the amazing view of Manhattan's skyline is the best free tourist thing.

I was putting some little videos of their reactions to things on YouTube for other family members and I found this old video of my demonstration/application for Martha Stewart. This is shot in our little house we had in Durham, NC.


Yes- I had long, blonde hair and black nail polish. This was in October 2006.

When I was in the process of applying to Martha and the producers asked me to send in a video, I rushed out and bought a camera and am just now really using it again. Matt is very proud that he shot this in one take (and I got on the show!)

A Tough Transition

My transition back to working woman is going a little rough. Working full-time means putting "My Housewife Life" behind me doesn't it? No! The shitty parts of housewife-life are stealing my free time and making me angry!

I definitely haven't been this irritable and mean to Matt since I was being tortured at PF. Today I was irritable and mean because I had to slave my fucking Easter day away cleaning and doing laundry, meal planning, puke. Being Betty & Don Draper at the same time is making me be a huge bitch.

Anyway- I rode the bus to Baltimore on Saturday to see my cousin and his wife. They have a really hard, stressful life as they take care of her dad, who is definitely an invalid. He can't be left alone, he's immobile. Wow. I admire them for not putting him in a home or putting him on a raft and sending him down the river. Their life is hard. Harder than me having to use my Sunday to be a hobbyist housewife-slave.

They got their neighbor to "Bobby-sit" as they call it, because his name is Bob. They took me to a Mexican Flea Market. It was fantastic! I have to be more organized next time. If I knew where my camera was (I cleaned SO WELL today that I don't know where I put it) I would post photos.

It's so good to spend time with my cousin because he is older and knows the history of my parents before me - he actually knows what my mother was really like. We also really mesh well and we both realized we have to re-assemble a new line-up for our close family roster since our original close families have had so many members die.

I just watched "An Education" and LOVED IT! It hit very close to home in that my father/parents expected me to go to college to "get married off" and that's what I did. My dad was very relieved to be rid of the ultimate responsibility of me when I got married. He was looking for an engagement ring long before I.

This has been a very Domestic-themed post.