Moving to New York has brought about two interesting changes in my dear husband. First, I have gotten to eat sushi, and he LOVES it! He first tried sushi in Dallas at Sushi Samba, but it was not the best sushi I have ever had.....however, he thought it was pretty good. Since being in New York I have been pushing him to try different sushi restaurants with me but he as persistently denied me until this weekend. We planned to head to the city to a small restaurant called Yama in Union Square, but decided to stay in Astoria for the day. We took a walk around the area and found a small Asian fusion and sushi restaurant on 31st Ave and 38th St here in Astoria called JJ's. I had JT try seaweed salad, which I love, and edamame (steamed soybeans that are yummy and healthy). After that, he picked two rolls and loved them both. I had him get one tempura roll, which is fried, and one regular or "raw" roll. And surprisingly he liked the regular roll better. It was called the Astoria roll. It was a typical roll filled with crab meat and avocado and topped with seared salmon and a tasty sauce.

Though JT has always loved to read, since being here, he has been broadening his horizons.......from all history and sports non-fiction to literature and plays and novels..... He just finished "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway and is starting a "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams. He also recently finished "The Kiterunner" by Khalid Hosseini, and we saw the movie recently thereafter. These readings are all juxtaposed to his past favorites such Phil Jackson coaching books, Michael Jordan biographies, and The Lone Survivor about war and politics. I like this change, the former English major in me coming out. I, too, have been reading my spare time. I just finished "What Remains" by Carole Radziwill. She was the wife of Anthony Radziwill, the nephew of JFK and Jackie O, thus John Kennedy Jr's cousin. She became best friends with John Kennedy's wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. Sadly, after the Kennedy's died in the plane crash, her husband died three weeks later of cancer. The book is a memoir of her marriage and friendship, of happiness and tragedy. Though sad, the book instills an appreciation for the here and now. It also reveals the side of the Kennedy's and her family that one would not anticipate. A good read.... I am going to read "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee Williams.....it is a short play. But mainly I am reading it because the play is going to be on Broadway in February and we want to go see it. I am also going to read "The Other Boleyn Girl" mostly, again, because I want to see the movie by the same title coming out this spring starring Scarlett Johannsen and Natalie Portman. With all this being said, I should also clarify that I do read school books as well but do not think you would enjoy titles and descriptions of books like "The Washington Manual of Medicine and Therapeutics."

Our running started today.....the preparation for the Derby half marathon. We did a total of about three miles today but only ran a little over a mile or so. There is a park about a mile away called Astoria Park. It is along the East River with a Manhattan skyline view. There is also a track there. It was nice today, around 45 degrees or so. Tomorrow is supposed to be close to sixty but JT works late and I work early so we have to run on our own. It is much more fun this year running together as opposed to last year running alone in Dominica, but I must confess that the Dominica heat was better to run in than the New York cold.

Well, I am going to go finish watching the Chargers and Titans game with JT. Thanks for voting in the polls....I like the honesty of someone telling me I should lose weight. I was just wanting to see if anyone would say as much....it took a set to do so. I will write on the topic that wins the poll in a few days! Have a great week! Love you, everyone.
~nat