Speaking of Former Hot Girls...

The last time I was in NYC, I spent the entire weekend eating Chinese food in dank basement restaurants, manuevering the back alleys of Chinatown for the best knock-off designer bags, going for falafels at 4 in the morning and sipping martinis in swank bars.

I'll be heading back in June, but this time, I must make sure that any restaurant I eat at is stroller-friendly, I'll be sending my mother through the alleys while I bargain via text message, and the only 4 am feedings will be in a hotel chair, by lamplight with one or both breasts exposed. Yes, Little Miss and I are taking her first vacation to the Big Apple to meet my mom there. Mom & I are going to see the Broadwar revival of The Wiz, while Little Miss gets to know her aunt, uncle and cousins.

A new friend of mine asked me if all my Yelp! posts from here on out will be about the family-friendliness of restaurants instead of how quickly my drinks arrived from the bar and how late the restaurant stayed open (and served quality food). I think she may be on to something. Now, I'm more concerned about whether or not restaurants have those cool carseat slings and family restrooms than what the food might actually taste like!

Its a brand-new life for me. A completely alien one. But, I love it! I have to rethink the way we vacation (I guess nude beaches and adult-only resorts are out for now), the way we shop (if I'm going by myself, I have to time it between feedings), the company we keep (cuz there are only a select few I will let touch Little Miss) and our activity schedule (don't want to over-stimulate her). Now, the search for a travel nanny begins.

Well, the weather is back to normal here. No more frigid temperatures, torrential rains or freak snow storms. Gone are my fears of slipping and falling on ice (which I managed to do, but at least it was only once and I was already close to the ground).

This week, my college is celebrating the legacy of MLK with a bevy of invited guest speakers and performing arts ensembles. Its a great time to be on campus because there is so much activity going on. Plus, on the eve of the inauguration of President Obama, there is a sincere feeling of hope and excitment of things to come. The mood is infectious and I find myself smiling for no reason other than being glad to be a living witness to this time in our history.

I've identified my areas of focus for 2009. Last year was a good one, but it was a bit overwhelming and I think I put my mental needs to the side to be sure that other important areas of my life (ie. my marriage, my career(s), my family) where well taken care of. Well, now that I'm confident that things won't fall apart on account of l'il ol' me, I can take care of myself.

The areas that I need to focus on are:

1. My spirituality - Without a local church home and the absence of my ashtanga yoga practice have left a void and my relationship with the Divine has suffered because of it, I think. Good news is I'm pretty sure wer've found a church home and I've carved out 2 hours on one day a week to continue to my yoga practice. Because if there was ever a time for pranayama (breath and control of mind through breathing) then this pregnancy and the impending labor is surely it!

2. My ability to multi-task - This has never been an issue for me, however, I've never been a mommy before (and I'm assuming that my raising of Figaro the wonderdog doesn't count). So, I need to be sure that I can balance parenting, my career, my small business and being an attentive wife all at the same time. This will mean that I must remember to say no to some volunteer activities and try to keep at least an hour of "me" time each week in there somewhere. "Me" time is so important for us only children. We really suffer without it.

3. Having "unplugged" moments - Between my desktop, my laptop, my handheld and the phone at home I rarely get a minute of peace. And when I do find myself with sometime, I'm always scrolling through the DVR list to see what my dear recorder has captured for me while I was preoccupied with something else. Thanks to the writer's strike, I broke it off with quite a few tv shows I used to follow. I'm down to about 3 hours of tv a week and I don't feel so bad about that. Anyway, the more minutes I can spend without logging on to something, I'm sure the better off I will be.

I think if I can master these areas, I can handle whatever 2009 throws my way with a minimum amount of stress and worry. I want to be able to devote most of my energy to my family and I'll be no good to anyone if I don't have a leash on my own special brand of crazy.

A snapshot from my awesome childhood

This is a picture of me and my dad, circa 1981 in the field across the street from my grandmother's house. This is my favorite picture. My mom took this (she is such an amazing photographer). I think this photo captures the essence of my early childhood. I'm hanging out with my family do something extremely simple, but most likely having the time of my life.

This little girl is now expecting a little one of her own, my dad long ago ditched the Member's Only jacket and tight jeans and my mom rarely has the time to find and capture moments as beautiful as this. This picture is my little reminder of a time when things weren't complicated and my only care in the world was keeping this kite from crashing to the ground. And, as always, my mom was there to catch my moment of success and dad is cheering me on.