day and night

really in love with this

Thursday night i went to this

Photo by Steve Giralt

Photo by Steve Giralt for People of Facebook in B&W, a personal project he has been working on.

There is always a story ....

(roasted lobster, fennel and asparagus...i had no idea anything was going on i had taken a photo of the dinner just because i had though it was sweet and that it was the first lobster dinner for me)

He surprised me on a Monday after work. Eric usually has Sundays and Mondays off from the restaurant so we try to have a date on at least one of those nights. And due to the awesome economy, those date night are usually composed of a dinner at home and a netflix movie (I don’t mind at all! When you have someone that can cook better than any restaurant I am happy to take advantage of his kitchen skills).

We had an upcoming trip planned to Belize early April 2009 and when we had planned to be there it was not lobster season so they ask you not to order it in restaurants so that can help avoid illegal fishing. I had recently changed my diet to include fish and not yet had a chance to try lobster. I asked Eric on Monday while I was at work what he was planning to make for dinner and if he needed me to bring anything home. He told me he was making lobster because he wanted me to try it and since we shouldn’t order it in Belize he would make it at home. (Pictured above: roasted lobster, fennel and asparagus...i had no idea anything was going on i had taken a photo of the dinner just because i had though it was sweet and that it was the first lobster dinner for me) and that I should just bring home some wine to have with dinner.

After a very frustrating subway ride home (most of us are too familiar with the F train and its inability to run properly on any given day) I stopped by the wine store and picked up a moderately priced bottle of sauv blanc (read: cheap). With that in hand I started to have pains of guilt that Eric had worked so hard to create this lovely meal and had really gone all out with lobster so I decided to get a 1/2 bottle of our favorite champagne for desert to contribute to our date night dinner. I had taken a wine tasting class with a friend one time and remembered distinctly the teacher’s advice to never save champagne for a special occasion and to have it any time you would want…everyday if you felt like it. So that was my thought process to bring home some sparkle to a usual Monday.

I came home and began to unload and put things away from my day, Eric said he was almost finished and that he didn’t need my help. His plan was to keep me out of the kitchen just incase I would catch a glimpse of anything out of the ordinary and get a clue as to what was going on. My perspective on it…was that I could sit on the couch, do nothing, relax and get some dinner soon. Anyone would want to be in super lazy mode after working a full Monday…

We sat down to have dinner and just talked about the day and I was asking him about lobster and talking about how I liked it and that we should make it all the time (ha!). Then he said he was going to grab dessert, where is when I should have thought something was off cause we rarely have dessert. But I had no idea! He came out with two bowls on top of each other.... I really had no idea what was happening until he sat dwon next to me at the table and started to get really serious and asked me to open the bowls and said “ I want you to know that I love you”… That is exactly the point when I got all sweaty and nervous all I could say was “ahhh ok, ok , ok, ok, ok , ok”. Then he said " only 'ok'?" and i replied " ok i mean yes" It was very sweet. I think you always have some sort of idea about the how the act getting engaged would go down…mine was a little more deer in head light reaction that I had previously imagined it to be. Once I came to we called our parents, and I was so impressed he had called my dad earlier that day and asked permission, it really meant SO much to me. We celebrated that night by going down the street to B61, the bar where we had been introduced just about 3 and a half years ago.

The next morning Alex brought in some amazing croissants and scones for breakfast and bought my tulips in celebration.

And there it is for you! Going to Belize a few weeks later really was the best part, we could be away in a beautiful place with each other and just be excited to snorkel, lay in the sand, and think about getting married.

Annnnd here it is

and i said "yes"

weekend

this weekend i am heading upstate to clean out the house i grew up in. It is getting ready to be sold. Its very bitter sweet.

only 3 more weeks until i am here!

Boyfriend

all photos by Jenny Acheson

taxes

Its that time of year again....when as much as i try to keep my spirits up i ultimately end up depressed.

I did mine on Sunday, granted I didn't owe any money but I never seem to be on the receiving end of a big refund either. Its like losing the lottery you were convinced that you were going to win. Turbo Tax should take stock in anti-depressants.

This is how they get me, you start out and enter your name (yay! easy enough) and that info. A little glance at the top of the screen and woo- so much money in those two little boxes labeled state and federal. Then as your type in the next w2 your hopes come plummeting down to next to nothing. Nothing! nothing! nothing...a little something. And i think to myself " ok, well its not as much as i would have liked but hey its something"....and its not over because after state comes federal. I hate you federal, how to i always end up owing you. seriously? so federal pillages the state surplus and then i add the cost of my "free download" online tax form with the $35 EACH submission fee and i subtract that from the bitty "surplus" left. yea...after all of that i have a big enough return to "treat" myself to a coffee...not a Starbucks fancy coffee...more like ghetto bodega coffee.

i hate you taxes.

monday night/date night

Art for Afghanistan

Paintings of downtown Albany, NY that Sam as transferred to canvas from old photos. All areas painted have since been torn down and build over. The one at the end is a photo of where a present day Pepsi Arena (formally know as the Kinckerbocker for all you upstaters) sits today. He told me that in original photo you are able to see his grandmother and grandfather.

Sam, Artist.

It was wonderful to see Sam, we’ve know each other since I was 14, I remember he used to be a bouncer at these shows that the local radio show would put on for something like $.92 due to the name of the radio station. I don think It was Fly92. But it very well may have been. (We are talking like 13 years ago). Sam has the biggest heart of anyone I know and the ability to make you feel like the world revolves around you when he sees you. And I am also learning that he has an incredible artistic ability to compliment an amazing personality. No matter what life hands him, this kid will always be sipping on lemonade.Convergence art expo.

68 Lexington Ave
March 4th -7th
The 2009 Convergence Show
underwritten by Art for Afghanistan
Hours: March 4th: 5:30-10pm,
March 5, 6, 7th: 12-10pm.

-Artists help Operation Homefront-

On March 5-8, the 2009 Convergence Show takes place at the 69th Regiment Armory, 68 Lexington Ave, NY, NY; with 50% of the proceeds for Operation Homefront, to support troops and the families they leave behind.

Two friends, Samson Contompasis in NY, and Spc. Tamara Gabbard, in Afghanistan, came together to produce an art show for the troops in Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan this year, now bringing it stateside to the Historic Lexington ave Armory . Samson is a multi-media artist; Tamara a National Guard photojournalist.

Dozens of artists from around the world are offering hundreds of and pieces and installations of great diversity. Samson explained "We want to give something back with a history changing show done by grassroots artists". Installations include a 1/4 size reproduction of the original 1913 Armory show, and many more

Admission is free. Donations accepted.
Sponsors welcomed.
Contact Samson Contompasis at 971-207-8937, artforafghanistan@gmail.com

If you have the opportunity go!