Joisey Adventures: The 21st Annual Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade

This past weekend was all about smiles and laughter. My work week was done -- time for some relaxation and fun! Who could not use a big dose of smiles and laughter? This was my mission and I accepted it with furvor!

On Saturday October 22nd with a crisp fall air, I trekked down to Tompkins Square Park for the 21st Annual Halloween Dog Parade. 500 dogs and 3,000 spectators gathered at the run for the competition. I did not want to stand along the gate as I wanted to be up close and personal with the dogs so I made a $5 dollar donation to First Run Friends and snapped away, talked to a lot of people, petted a lot of dogs, and made my own dogs jealous when I got home. You see I have two big dogs -- Hudson and Sweetums -- who are both rescues. Since they are not service animals I would have to put them into a cage on the train. I love my dogs but I am not that strong yet to cart over two hundred pounds of dog! This was also a great opportunity to gain some ideas for costumes for my dogs....and myself as well! Please enjoy the photos below!


A Three Musketeer!

Steampunk Puppy!

A Hot Dog!

Mr Draper and Betty Draper from "Mad Men"

Puppy Clown!

Bride of Frankenstein!

Monkeys with a Banana!

Beekeeper with a bee!

Self explanatory!

Puppy Sightseeing!

The Lindenburg!

Puppy Pincushion!

Popeye and Olive Oil with their can of spinach!

Mama and baby peacock!

Pirates!

A Cat Burgler and the cop who caught her!

An ice cream sundae and pumpkin!

An MTA Subway train I would love to take!

Another bride!

An aircraft carrier with pilots!

Prince William!

Native American Puppy!€

A NYPD officer with the 99 percent!

Quote the Raven Nevermore!

A pea in a pod!

NYC garbage!

Dorothy and Scarecrow with a scarecrow and poppy!

The Good, The Bad, and the Puppy!

A hammerhead shark that I would not be afraid of!

Things I Love Thursday -- October 20th Edition

Whoa...has it been an entire month of not posting a blog? Apparently so. You see, I have entered the world known as teaching Kindergarten. It is crazy busy all day long so when I come home from work all I really want to do is sleep/nap with my dogs or go to Zumba. I did keep up on my writing in my notebook though so in a way I did blog but just not on the computer. I also feel completely horrible that I have not kept up with my Radical Self Love bootcamp. Life keeps on getting in the way whether it is book signings, conventions, trips with my mother, or that pesky thing known as work. The positive thing is that I am living my life my way without regrets. So without further adieu...

~~Going to New Orleans with my mom. It is a great city filled with so much life and realness and great food. Can not wait to go back!
~~Lemon rooibos tea
~~Sandwiches that come with yummy salads.
~~Hanging out in bookstores.
~~Always having a clean desk at work.
~~Having soup for lunch.
~~Having a stranger tell me that I was sweet enough and did not need to add anything to my tea.
~~The rain stopping suddenly when I was walking to a event last week.
~~Getting my groove back.
~~Feeling smart.
~~Getting work done before it is due.
~~Meeting some amazing people in my travels.
~~Intelligent conversation.
~~Having my own pot of tea
~~Simply syrup as a sweetener
~~Winning a bet
~~Spending time with my brother at TNA Wrestling Bound for Glory
~~Cutting negativity and drama out of my life.
~~Shelling pistachios.

What are you in love with this week?

BMW Guggenheim Lab Presents Love Night

In my effort to produce more positivity and love into my world; on a gorgeous Friday evening; I took myself down to the BMW Guggenheim Lab located on 2nd Avenue and East Houston Street which was a couple of steps away from the subway station. Little did I realize that it is an open space and will be in NYC only until October 16th.

Tonight's event was "Love Night" which brought about new insights in brain science that suggest we are hard-wired for altruism and trust—even among strangers. The Lab invited neuroscientist Paul Zak, psychologist Emanuele Castano, and Kio Stark of NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program to help design a party that will bring out the love in even the most hardened New Yorker. This was also in collaboration with: Project for Public Spaces: Photography for Love Night video, Anna Letitia Mumford: Video editing for Love Night video, Ryan V. Brennan: NYC Based Social Performance & Collage Artist, Dr. Sabine Seymour: Director, Fashionable Technology Lab at Parsons The New School for Design and Research assistant Scott Peterman, and the entire class of Fashionable Technology. There were various activities which I will go into detail that involved human emotion and love. I also figured this would be a great pre-cursor before I start the Radical Self Love boot camp.

The first exercise I participated in was "Secret Exercises". I was asked two questions -- if I was a Democrat or Republican (I answered Democrat) and what my favorite colour was (I answered purple). I was then handed a green card with these instructions: This secret assignment was meant to find it's way to you at this moment. Read all instructions carefully before performing secret assignment. Step 1 - Walk throughout the lab looking for someone standing in one spot holding an orange secret assignment card. Step 2 -- Approach this person and ask them what they are thinking about. Step 3 - Put this green assignment in your pocket and follow the instructions on the assignment the person you found gives you. Note -- Try not to get distracted on your search for someone standing with the orange piece of paper as they are in fact waiting for you.

Now since I am a teacher, taking directions was easy. I found someone with an orange card and had a interesting conversation about ice cream. The underlying point of this exercise was to obviously meet someone new and start a conversation. I have no problem in that department; especially if you read my Things I Love Thursday this week!

The next exercise I did was 8 Hugs a Day. Here is the description -- When we hug, hormones are released in the brain that relax us and make it easier to interact with others. Get a hug from neuroeconomist Professor Paul Zak a.k.a. Dr Love then pass it on. Hug ambassadors will be equipped with special garments. Your goal will be to give 8 hugs today. This exercise I overdosed on. I was hugging a lot of people! The garments were modifying t-shirts that were treated with thermochromic dye (hypercolor) that when you touch it the color changes due to the warmth of your skin. It felt really nice to get hugs! The point of this exercise was to break down your walls and to invite people in. I think a lot of New Yorkers might need this lesson....

Next exercise was the Emotional Maps area. Description --- The city is more than a collection of roads, parks, and buildings. It is also a psychological landscape. Together we will create an emotional map of New York City. The map that was used was a NYC Subway Map and had star stickers; a different color star for a different emotion. Because it was dark out I could not really see the colors of the stars all that well so I chose a blue star that apparently stood for Joy. I placed it on 14th Street/Union Square because that is where I get the most joy -- the park, The Strand, Forbidden Planet, Regal Cinemas...I could go on and on!

The next exercise I did; the one I enjoyed the most; was Urbanology. Here is the description -- The Urbanology game has been a hit feature of the lab and lets you work with others to run a city. Come play, meet new people, and build a better city. Urbanology is a game which examines the complex ways in which cities develop. It puts you in charge of your own city by presenting you with a variety of real-world urban dilemmas. Every decision you make impacts your city negatively or positively; often in ways you might not expect. These accumulated impacts build a matrix of priorities for your future city. This matrix can then in turn be compared to the equivalent matrices of real-world cites. At the end of gameplay, a custom algorithm takes eight major categories (innovation, transportation, health, affordability, wealth, lifestyle, sustainability, and livability) into account, and then calculates the closest real-world equivalent to the city you've created.The game experience for Urbanology was developed by Local Projects, and the physical design was created by ZUS [Zones Urbaines Sensibles]. Basically it was a live version of Sim City. I controlled the Wealth icon. The way the game worked was there was 8 questions and the people around you all had to vote yes or no. Votes were tabulated and results were given. Based on the results of the voting you move your token. This exercise for myself was the highlight of the night for me -- it rekindled my love of debate. The end results of the game I played was the city I created with the help of others had the livability of Berlin, the sustainability of Johannesburg, the transportation of Shanghai, the lifestyle of Stockholm, and the wealth of Mexico City (at which point I screamed great we are fucking poor!) If you have a chance to play go down to the lab on Wednesday from 1pm to 5pm.

After the game, I got myself a hot cocoa and made my way home. Overall this event was a lot of fun. I plan on checking out more of the Lab's events before it departs on October 16th.

Things I Love Thursday -- September 29th Edition

Another busy week...had a cold but with some NyQuil and sleep I was able to beat it into submission! I am still kind of stuffy in the nose but that does not mean I do not notice what has been fueling my love this week!

Here is what I have been in love with this week:

~~Meeting a letterer for DC Comics on the PATH train home. It was just so random...he was wearing a Detective Comics t-shirt and I go to ask him about the New 52 and which ones he has read/liked and then he just dropped the bomb of where he works. Yay for making new friends and to myself for being a queen of small talk!

~~The grilled cheese, tomato soup, and mixed greens I had for brunch on Saturday 9/24 at this open air restaurant called Belcourt on East 4th Street and 2nd Avenue.

~~Reading a comic book in my favorite Starbucks and almost getting a number!

~~Being a kid at heart.

~~Getting extra sleep.

~~This next one will sound bad of me but considering my opinion on Michael Vick I loved this: The Giants winning against the Eagles and the Giants breaking Vick's hand.

~~The great effort of the New York Jets when they faced the Oakland Raiders.

What are you in love with this week?

Review: Milk and Honey Pedicure at Blush

I am a member on this discount site called Gilt City New York. Every couple of days I get numerous discount offers on trendy restaurants, trendy beauty regimens, trendy beauty places, even concerts and screenings of movies before they are released. Well at the beginning of September I received a 50 percent discount voucher for a Milk and Honey Pedicure at Blush, a trendy nail salon in the East Village.

Here is the description of the service: A special milk, honey, and chrysanthemum bath will be followed by a homemade sugar foot scrub, callus eliminator treatment, honey leg rub, ten-minute massage, and paraffin treatment.

My appointment today was at 2pm but I got there early, just in case. When I walked in, I will admit I did feel the hipster/fashionista vibe going on but that does not stop me. I was told to hang out for a little bit as the person who was taking care of me was busy. I have no problem hanging...that is what magazines and books are for!

After picking out my nail polish, which is a metallic sparkly red I was instructed to go to the station...which is a big comfy chair just for me and a white basin filled with warm milk and flowers -- just like the description. Here is a picture to prove its worthiness:
There are only three of these stations by the way so if you do go here, make sure you have an appointment. Anyway let me continue..

The person taking care of me today -- her name was Sandy. She carried my bag, which I usually do not let a lot of people do because it can be heavy sometimes, over to the station which had a hook for it. Another score! Most places do not have that; or the places I have been to. I took off my shoes, climbed up the two steps and put my feet into this luxurious warm milk bath. It felt so good. Sandy did the basics -- cut my nails, filed, and then put this callus treatment all over my feet. Her hands, which were gloved (yay sanitary!) were nice and firm because I have the ticklish feet ever. I told her that up front and she said "Don't worry. I know what to do." Most people who have given me pedicures have such a light touch with scrubbing my feet with the pumice stone that either causes me to jerk my leg or laugh uncontrollably. Not here. Sandy scrubbed my feet into the softness oblivion I have ever received. Another plus!

After the scrubbing and a generous amount of sugar scrub -- which is much welcomed -- she massaged my legs and feet with warm honey. Yes honey, the stuff you put in your tea or on your Grape Nuts cereal. I thought it was pretty weird too but after about 3 minutes my legs and feet felt so good. Her massage technique did NOT include the pounding of the fists on the feet and legs which I hate. It was pure kneading goodness. After this came the regular lotion, pushing of cuticles back, base coat, nail polish, top coat routine. She was so precise with the application of the nail polish as well and if any dripped on my skin, she was quick with a orange stick dipped in nail polish remover to remove the snags.

Now this next part for me is very crucial -- standing and getting down from a pedicure station with wet nail polish takes some maneuvering. Not here. I swung my legs around the basin, stood up, and walk down the two steps to the bottom and went right to the nail drying area with a big smile on my face.

Blush -- I think you have a new customer. While I enjoy Galleria Nail Salon in Alphabet City this place will get my business with pedicures. Blush is located at 218 East 5th Street between Cooper Square and 2nd Avenue. Give it a shot! Here is their website for more info -- Blush Nails Lounge

Things I Love Thursday -- September 22nd Edition

It has been an interesting week...yes I did not post a TiLT last week and that was due to being busy all week so here is a two week TiLT!

Here is what I have been in love with for the past two weeks:

~~Seeing The Big 4 with my brother in Yankee Stadium. Rocked my face off.
~~A good seat on the train.
~~Losing weight without even trying.
~~My organizational skills.
~~The history of Atlanta.
~~Having people in my life who have the same views.
~~Anticipating fall color!
~~Hugs from my students. There is one student who does not leave until he hugs me goodbye. It is so cute.
~~People watching in parks.
~~Watching the Jets vs. Cowboys game through texts.
~~David cuddling my arm on the subway and the way his head leans on my shoulder when he is tired.
~~Having ideas float in mind for a book. Yes I am thinking about writing a book.
~~Starbucks Chai after a busy day.
~~My students! So cute and love to learn!
~~That two of my students would rather read their beginning books than color their take me home books.
~~Sitting by the window in Starbucks.
~~Being a Math geek.
~~The excellent Sunset Bites for Two dinner at Brick NYC on Warren Street.
~~Catching up with a good friend with good food.

What are you in love with this week?

Thought Tuesday #29

“Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future” — Charles F. Kettering

What words or thoughts are fueling you today?