Back from the Long Weekend

Back from the long weekend and gearing up for fashion week, dates, and a busy fall schedule! Stay tuned, it's going to be an interesting week!

Fashion Week September 2010

If you're wondering why I'm laying low, I will be involved with Fashion Week which begins September 10, 2009 in New York City. So stay tuned and have a wonderful and safe Labor Day Weekend!

Christmas & New Year's on QM2 in 2010

In 2010 I will be spending the holidays aboard Cunard Cruise Line's QM2.

Itinerary:

Day	Location	Arrival	Departure
Sunday, December 19, 2010	New York	--	06:00 PM
Monday, December 20, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Tuesday, December 21, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Wednesday, December 22, 2010	Grand Turk	08:00 AM	01:00 PM
Thursday, December 23, 2010	Tortola	09:00 AM	06:00 PM
Friday, December 24, 2010	St Maarten	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Saturday, December 25, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Sunday, December 26, 2010	Curacao	09:00 AM	02:00 PM
Monday, December 27, 2010	Grenada	09:00 AM	06:00 PM
Tuesday, December 28, 2010	Barbados	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Wednesday, December 29, 2010	St Lucia	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Thursday, December 30, 2010	St Kitts	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Friday, December 31, 2010	St Thomas	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Saturday, January 1, 2011	At Sea	--	--
Sunday, January 2, 2011	At Sea	--	--
Monday, January 3, 2011	New York	06:30 AM	--

Care to join me? Email for details and pricing as well as travel agent contact information to book. Group amenities and pricing apply.

SWF42email@gmail.com

A Girl's Weekend of Shopping - Good Idea!

I was reading an article about a Girl's Shopping Weekend this morning in Examiner.com, and, began thinking how long it's been since I've gathered my friends together to enjoy such as weekend. Of course, we always put our unique spin on it like going for afternoon tea at The Plaza or heading to Lucky Cheng's for a some laughs, but, it has me thinking it's a good time to start planning for later this Fall.

I'm actually a bit amazed at the hotel prices, and, how low they are compared to years past. And, yes, regardless that we're all in the NYC area, we still do our shopping weekends right, and, get hotel rooms, it's all part of the experience. But, after checking Expedia.com this morning, I will be making some calls to get things arranged this week...

Take a look at some of the prices I've found (weekend of Friday October 23 through Sunday October 25):

Omni Berkshire for $762.88 for 2 nights in a Deluxe King Room

The Michelangelo Hotel for $746.12 for 2 nights in a Executive King Room

Loew's Regency NYC for $1,032.04 for 2 nights in a Superior King Room

Taking into consideration these are all 4 star or better hotels, these are outstanding rates! Time to call the girls and figure out a shopping weekend before the holidays!

I Want A Do Over

I wanted to shared this - I wrote an email to a friend - it pretty much sums up how my week is going:

Have you ever had one of those days where you wish you were a kid and you could start it over with a "do-over"? What a night/day I've had... Normally I'm not one to complain, well at least not too much, it has to be something pretty major to get me going or lots of little things that add up to be a bigger pain than just one big thing. (Did you follow that?)

Anyhow, I go to the gym last night and everything was fine. I come home and the apartment is stifling hot. First thing I do is check and make sure the cat is ok. He's warm but otherwise fine. I walk into the living room in socks and the rug is soaking wet - the air conditioner broke. So, after waiting for the super in an unbearable heat (I have an apartment where the window's only open a bit), he tells me he needs a part and can't get the part until the morning. Well there is no way I'm staying there so I get a room at a hotel where they accept pets.

I get to the hotel and my cat (who is a huge chicken to begin with) freaks out and runs under the bed. I figure this normal, he'll come out eventually. So, I wait and I wait and I wait, I fall asleep and get up in the morning. He's still wedged under the bed. I have to check out and get back to the apartment.

So I call the front desk and explain the problem and they send someone up to help me. It took two guys to physically lift the bed while I went under and pulled the little sucker out. Luckily he went right into his carrier. So, I check out and get back to the apartment to let the super in.

As I wait it's getting warmer and warmer since the day is getting brutally hot. FINALLY the super shows up and gets the AC running. After babysitting for a good two hours I figure it's cool enough that the cat is ok and I can head off to work.

I get home and now find out the delightful news that our never, ever broken elevators are undergoing maintenance, and, to use the freight elevator. On any other day this would be simple. Today, someone is moving into the building and the freight elevator is use and in the hold position for a good 20 minutes as they unload it.

Finally make upstairs- what a day

So can I get a "do-over?" :)

Summer Finally Arrived and I'm planning a trip to Russia

Well summer finally arrived, it's hot here, well into the 80s in NYC but, with the humidity factored in it feels more like 90 or hotter. By week's end it should be much cooler. This is going to be short and sweet entry since I'm planning a cruise for Northern Europe and Russia next July. Here's the itinerary:

Day	Location	Arrival	Departure
Saturday, July 10, 2010	Southampton, England	--	04:45 PM
Sunday, July 11, 2010	Brugges,(zeebrugge),belgium	08:30 AM	03:00 PM
Monday, July 12, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Tuesday, July 13, 2010	Berlin (warnemunde), Germany	09:00 AM	11:59 PM
Wednesday, July 14, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Thursday, July 15, 2010	Stockholm, Sweden	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Friday, July 16, 2010	Helsinki, Finland	10:00 AM	06:00 PM
Saturday, July 17, 2010	St. Petersburg, Russia	07:00 AM	--
Sunday, July 18, 2010	St. Petersburg, Russia	--	06:00 PM
Monday, July 19, 2010	Tallinn, Estonia	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Tuesday, July 20, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Wednesday, July 21, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Thursday, July 22, 2010	Amsterdam, Holland	09:00 AM	11:59 PM
Friday, July 23, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Saturday, July 24, 2010	Southampton, England	05:30 AM	--

For more information about this cruise visit: Celebrity Cruises at http://www.celebrity.com

Life's Curve Balls - Putting Things Into Perspective

Looks like I'm heading to jolly old England next May for a short trip on Cunard Queen Victoria. It's only a 5 night cruise but, I am very much looking forward to it since it is visiting some of my favorite cities in the world. I'm also looking forward to the pre-cruise stay in London before heading down to Southampton. No, I'm not taking requests for someone to join me, I've already been bombarded with my half joking request to have someone join me for The Nutcracker.

*Sigh*... A friend of mine just returned to England and not for the best of reasons. Her beloved brother died of cancer last night - he was only 45. The worst part is that he couldn't hang on until my friend got home to say good-bye to him - she was mid-flight home when he passed, and, I received the terrible news this morning.

It's times like these when life gets put into prospective a bit. The little annoyances just don't seem so troubling after receiving news like the death of someone too young to die.

So if you find yourself having a rough day, put things into perspective and somehow it probably won't seem so bad. ..