Bike Share in NYC

I'm fascinated that New York City is starting a Bike Share program (sponsored by CitiGroup).  Kind of wild to see all these bike stations in the old neighborhood:

(Used Phoster App)

I didn't have much desire to ride a bike in New York when I lived there because the roads seemed fairly un-bike friendly at the time.  But Mayor Bloomberg has been aggressively trying to make it more bike-friendly, like adding new bike lanes along avenues:

FWIW, this bike share program is geared towards using bikes as a commuting tool, rather than a leisurely ride in ride in the park, with a time limit of 30 minutes (or 45 minutes for annual passholders) to get from from bike share location to another. But with the girl getting into bike riding, this program has gotten my attention. Plus there is obviously the health benefits to getting more people to ride bikes. I guess the only downside would be having a sweaty bike rider arrive at your office fresh from a summertime commute.

Tuesday

THANK GOODNESS for Enterprise car rental and their complimentary pick-up service.  They picked me up at my mom's house and I was able to rent this compact set of wheels::

"Chevy's answer to the Smart Car--HOORAY!" shrieked no one

I made it to the Trader Joe's and made salad rolls for my mom, which she really enjoyed.

Thankfully, despite the rain, I didn't get into any car accidents. That counts as a good day for me!

Highlights and Lowlights of my Memorial Day weekend

I flew in LaGuardia Saturday afternoon and got a blessed ride to Brooklyn from my friend as she was driving in from CT (public transport from LGA to Brooklyn is a long mess).  We met up with another college friend for food:

And drinks:

I was able to meet with more friends for a great brunch on Sunday:

Later in the afternoon, my sister and my brother-in-law returned from their weekend trip and brought back these cuties:

We got to walk around and see this guy ride his scooter (so cute!):

Even Monday (Memorial Day) morning started with these cute faces:

Unfortunately, that's where the highlights end and my lowlights begin with:

After seeing our mom, I dropped my sister off at the train station and as I was driving her car, I got rear-ended. Argh. I was thisclose to the exit for the Trader Joe's. But I was very grateful that no kids were in the car and that I was able to walk away.

I had hit my head when the car hit and folks were advising/pressuring me to go see a doctor. Unfortunately, my primary doctor was back in SoCar AND it was the Memorial Day holiday so the Doctor Express type offices were closed. Finally I was convinced to go to the ER when folks (including a nurse) were advising that I should be examined within 24 hours of the accident and by early evening I was starting to feel aches in my neck, joints, and lower back as well as having a dull headache. I was very sheepish going to the ER when I wasn't on the verge of death but decided to go that night rather than wait until the next day because I had some appointments for my mom during the day.

I got to the ER around 9PM and found this delight:

 A pack of name brand gummy bears for 90 cents?  YES PLEASE.  That will certainly help the medicine go down.

I finally saw a doctor around 1:30am and he was very nice about my non-mortality-inducing car accident and its accompanying aches and pains considering I was expecting him to say, "Oh are my eyes rolling?  I guess when I'm in the ER, I'm used to SAVING LIVES.  But go on about your neck pain..." In the end I walked out at 3AM with 3 prescriptions for my whiplash.  Well, I guess that's one way to end a holiday weekend.

Off to the north

Heading up north to see my mom, squeeze in a few eats with friends, and smooch some cute babies. Like this one:

Bike baskets: a difference of opinion

I finally got the bikes tuned up and the girl has really taken to some freedom that the bike offers.  Besides riding it to school (and not having to wait on the school bus), she has been enjoying not relying on me to go meet her friends for after school events and programs.  Frankly her new independence is a mixed bag (She says she's going to a friend's recital then text me later that she wants to hang out after it) but overall, it's satisfying to see her embrace it. 

To make it more practical I installed various storage receptacles, including a nifty basket:

The cool bike basket on the front, I mean:

But shockingly she didn't find it nearly as amazing:

Landscaping!

Anybody who knows me knows that I don't have a green thumb and lack landscaping skills, talent, and drive.  But our sad frontscape even made a city girl like me want to do something about the front of our house:

So sad:

But for my birthday, a friend brought over 8 bags of mulch with a promise to help me transform my front "yard":

She had big shears to trim down the shrubs:

And the mulch really made the green leaves pop!

Total improvement right?

Ending school on a high note

The girl finished out middle school on a high note.  We attended the Middle School Honors award ceremony and she was one of the students that received all 3 awards for the district and state:

Then tonight she had her final concert at school.  All the kids "graduating" from middle school had a chance to introduce a song, including our girl:

And we were psyched that she had a solo in the program!

It was a sweltering day but worth it to see the girl enjoying playing the viola:

And given that the humidity was a thousand percent, I'm psyched that I actually looked dry in the picture.

New Brookland Tavern : My Brother My Sister

I took the girl to her first show at New Brookland Tavern to see her friend's band:

Unfortunately, the girl seemed to prefer that I didn't hang with her during the show.  Sigh.  Guess I'm not a cool mom.

The band, My Brother My Sister, were fun--it seems the strong influences were Nirvana with a bit of The Strokes.  The girl's friend Jenny, played drums.  For some reason, I always appreciate female drummers.

Good show. Looking forward to taking the girl to more shows there.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day from this happy mom:

Hope your day was filled with as much joy as mine was with bagels and chocolate!

NJ and Brooklyn Visit

On my way to the Charlotte airport to fly up to NJ to celebrate my mom's birthday, I had an unlucky start:

My car kind of just stopped working and all these lights came on.  I called AAA and got my car towed back to the shop in Columbia.  I was able to get on a later flight and not miss the festivities for my mom's big b-day lunch.  My aunts and uncles all flew in as well which really made my mom happy.  That and the platters of sushi:

And of course, have her youngest grandchild pour on the charm:

Back in Brooklyn, my niece helped me cook some broccoli:

How soon can I get that broccoli?!

And of course, some funny face time!  Tried to squeeze in both kiddos, which was a bit challenging:

Visiting a friend at work in Manhattan and got an awesome birthday cake cupcake at Crumbs:

It was a fast and furious visit--finally relaxed on the plane ride home, with some DD coffee and getting sucked into Divergent.