Memorial Day Ohio Vacation

As if I haven't been taking enough (unscheduled) blogging breaks already, next week will also be a blank. We're driving to Ohio on Saturday and splitting the holiday week between Paul's family and my own.

I'm nervous because my morning sickness hasn't completely disappeared, though it does seem to have settled into a routine. Ironically, I'm at my best in the morning. I've been getting up early and getting my chores done before work, because that's the only time I can consistently count on feeling good. The morning commute through the afternoon is mostly good, but then I start feeling like crap about an hour before I leave work, and the subway ride home is awful.

I'm starting to think I don't really have motion sickness anymore -- maybe it's just the time of day I ride the subway. Paul and I were in the car for a couple of hours last weekend, and I was A-OK, so I'm hoping the drive to Ohio will be fine, too. I'll be bringing plastic bags along just in case.

I still have serious food aversions -- again, mostly at night -- and both my mom and mother-in-law have been kind enough to ask what they should stock the kitchen with. Unfortunately I can't guide them too much -- I consistently eat baked potatoes and peaches, but everything else is day-by-day.

I'm now firmly into the second trimester, so I'm hoping this all will end soon. I'm significantly better than I was four or five weeks ago, but I'm ready to replace the nausea with hunger. I'm hoping this week's vacation will be just the rest I need.

Candy Art in Bay Ridge

Participating businesses on Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge were paired with an artist to create a unique piece for local storefront windows. My favorite by far is at the entrance of a nearby baking supply store: a candy representation of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Delicious!

Live Music ... at McDonald's

McDonald's second floor piano player

McDonald's in New York City is like Starbucks: there's one on every corner. But the one nearest my work is a little different. It has a live piano player during lunch.

The McDonald's is on Broadway in Lower Manhattan, and an easy walk from the 9/11 Memorial and the Century 21 shopping mecca. Therefore it attracts a lot of tourists. But, of course, it counts many nearby workers as customers, and the live music certainly makes it stand out from the other nearby dime-a-dozen restaurants.

The pianist isn't playing Mozart are Beethoven -- but instead she often plays songs I recognize, like "Moon River" or some tune from West Side Story. But just as often it's something nice and pleasant that I don't know. Whatever it is, it's better than Lady Gaga or whatever radio station Wendy's has on.