CS/23

Another grey, drizzly day. Another walk. Another celebrity. This time we were wandering around Central Park when we noticed a film crew by the Bethesda Fountain. We couldn't see much, so we kept walking and came upon the line of trailers and vans for the film crew. I told Adrian to be on alert when I noticed a girl in a raincoat being escorted by a much larger gentleman walking straight towards us. I stole a glance at the last second and realized it was Natalie Portman. Since I always need to be doubly sure, we turned around and continued to follow them back to the filming area we had just passed. We even went so far as to head down to the actual area (carrying the stroller and a sleeping Jack down a flight of stairs) just to be able to stroll within ten feet of her. Adrian agreed it was "Queen Amidala" and we were then able to leave before we looked like stalkers. I guess she's currently filming a movie called "New York, I Love You" which is an anthology film joining several different love stories. We'll be sure to rent it when it comes out and look for the scene by the fountain.

CS/22

Having spent most of the day inside, we decided we needed some fresh air and headed out for a walk around the neighborhood. We were wandering aimlessly - Adrian was on the phone with Dave and Jack was asleep in the stroller. I was basically just letting the stoplights guide our way. We came to a stop on the corner of Amsterdam and 80th when I noticed a guy across the street that looked very familiar. I nudged Adrian and asked, "Hey, is that Matt Dillon over there?" I figured he agreed when he didn't answer, but instead told Dave that we could see Matt Dillon across the street. (I mean, really, who else but a celebrity wears dark sunglasses on a grey, drizzly day.) We were going to follow him, but he ended up just heading into a restaurant on our side of the street. To make sure it was him, I Googled "matt dillon upper west side" when we got home, and sure enough, he owns a place on Central Park West.

"THE FINAL SEASON"

Yankee Stadium is being torn down this year after 85 years of ball play and the team is moving into a brand-new stadium starting in 2009. Besides a tour we took of the place when my parents were visiting, Adrian and I have never been there to watch a live Yankees game. We've gotten various things in the mail promoting this "Final Season" and we discussed getting tickets. Of course, Adrian being Adrian, he only wanted to see a really good game from really good seats, so I let him do all the research and decide what our plan was going to be. Well, come this July 4th, we're going to be sitting behind the Yankees dugout on the first base line watching them do their best to beat the Boston Red Sox. Since we haven't been in the States for the last two July 4ths, we could think of nothing more patriotic than watching America's favorite pastime (plus baseball's biggest rivalry) on the good old Fourth of July.

COMEUPPANCE

On our anniversary this year, Adrian and I decided to try out a new restaurant (meaning only that we'd never been to it before) in our neighborhood. From the outside, it looked like a nice place to celebrate three years of matrimonial bliss. From the inside, it was a whole different story. First, the pretentious hostess made us wait almost ten minutes for a table, even though there were empty tables in the back. Then she seated us at a table right by the door that had been open the whole time we were standing there. I noticed immediately that the couple at the table next to us didn't look happy and that they didn't have any drinks on their table even though their place settings were still there - I deduced that they hadn't been served their food yet, but still no drinks? Weird. Then the hostess brought us water and spilled it on my menu. With our menus closed, she came back to take our order (we had noticed there was only one server for the whole place and he was busy with our neighbors who were complaining that they had ordered some sodas that were still missing). When I deigned to order the pumpkin ravioli (mind you, it was the MAIN reason we were going to this place since I had looked the menu over a few days before), she told us they were out of it. Great. After telling her we now needed some more time, we ultimately decided to leave. The whole place was a disaster. So why am I telling you this now - three months after the fact? Because whenever we have walked by it since, we always sneer through the window at how bad a restaurant it is...until yesterday when we walked by and there was a huge, neon yellow sign on the front window proclaiming the place, "SEIZED by the city of New York for nonpayment of taxes." Our sneers turned into big grins and then mighty chuckles.

FEELING LIKE A NEWLYWED

Due to New York City's harsh weather, this winter I got a weird rash on my ring finger of my left hand - right under my wedding rings. At first, I simply tried to moisturize it more than usual, but that didn't work, so I eventually took my rings off to try to let it heal. This was over two months ago. It took awhile, but it did finally heal, but I had gotten so used to not wearing my rings that I simply left them off. Adrian and I joked that if we were celebrities hounded by paparazzi, we would have ended up in a magazine with the caption "Trouble in paradise? Amanda is no longer wearing her rings!" Shock, gasp! We also joked on our trip to California about how it probably seemed like Jack was born out of wedlock to any strangers who met us being that Adrian doesn't wear his ring ever and I'm usually the one touting the bling to make our pairing official. Anyways, as I was straightening our bedroom today, I decided to clean my rings and put them on again. They're so pretty! I didn't realize how much I missed them. I guess I just needed a break to make them new again.