TURKEY

It's almost turkey day. I got my bird today. It's in the fridge, chilling and waiting to be placed in a yummy salty brine. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!

THANKY-G

I ordered the fixings for Thanksgiving today. Though I am mildly frightened to have so much family in our apartment (not to mention cooking the damn meal) I am simultaneously excited to eat a bunch of yummy Thanksgiving food. I do love sweet potatoes and stuffing and pumpkin pie.

PARK WALK

A few days a week I walk across Central Park to the C train instead of taking the 6 to the Shuttle. These always tend to be my favorite days at work, as a good visit with nature in the morning tends to put things into perspective.

A couple of days ago I was entering the park at 96th Street and 5th Avenue when a young woman approached me asking if I could direct her to 94th and Broadway. She had an adorable little puppy with her, and therefore wasn't allowed on the crosstown bus. This was one of those moments that come every now and then, where you have the choice to either be a real person or to be a stereotypical New Yorker. I started on the stereotypical New Yorker track, and began to direct her across the park - "just keep walking straight until you get to the other side - you can't get lost if you just keep going straight" - when it struck me that this was an opportunity to be a real person, to connect with another human. We were both going the same direction. Our paths were literally the same, at least until we got to CPW. So I stoped midsentence and said, "I'm going that way myself. You can walk with me if you like."

And she did. And we had a lovely walk and chatted about her life and how she can't wait to move out of her cousin's house and into her own place in the Bronx. And I learned that she had never tried to take the dog (named Patches) on the bus before and didn't know he needed to be in a bag. And so she was walking across the park for the first time ever. This nice lady was experiencing a lot of firsts that day.

I had a first too. It was the first time since I have lived in New York that I let a stranger through my New York protection wall. We all have our New York protection walls. They don't mean that we are rude or anything - they just stop people from getting too close. We can smile and say hello and hold the door for a stranger, but we're not going to comfortably let our guard down.

That day I was able to let it down. It felt good. Really good.

WICKED

Can someone please explain to me why WICKED continues to gross over $1 million dollars a week? David Stone has done something right. And it can't just be the show itself - there are tons of great shows that closed because they couldn't sell enough tickets. There are tons of great shows that are still running, but making MUCH less money. And - from what I've heard - WICKED is a good show, but not a great one. So what is it?

I want to know what it took. What did he do to make it work?

TODAY

I just spent a lovely day with a dear friend. We brunched here and then we walked all around Union Square and over to 6th Ave and 18th Street. We brought bras and undies and hand towels and oven thermometers and alarm clocks and looked at wrapping paper and sweaters and lamps and even braved the Union Square Trader Joes on a Saturday afternoon.

I am already looking forward to doing it again.

Aren't friends are the coolest?

CABS

Riding in a cab is definitely one of my favorite things about living in NYC.

FROM WG WITH LOVE

This came to Liz today with cookies.

WG totally gets that it defies logic.

TONY TRUTH

The truth is out, thank you Mr. Riedel!!

Check it out.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

Last night's episode basically replayed a conversation that Geoff and I have repeatedly been having: the baby conversation. Should we, shouldn't we, how will we still work, where will it sleep, are we really ready to be parents? It was as though the writers had bugged our apartment.

It's hard to know. But the little fingers and toes and teensy socks and soft toys and sweet baby smell make it a hard idea to resist.

YUM

I forgot how yummy a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato is.

PROPOSITION 8

I cannot believe that there are still enough small-minded people in this country to make it impossible for two people who love each other to legally spend their lives together.

How long will it take for people to realize that we are all the same, whether we are gay or straight, white or black, fat or thin? We have the same fears, the same joys, the same heartbreak.

Isn't being gay just another part of a person's make-up? Isn't it the same as skin color and height and weight? These people who voted for Proposition 8 in California, would they support a proposition to eliminate a Hispanic woman's right to vote? Would they support a proposition to eliminate a fat person's right to marry, or a tall person's right to raise a family?

Isn't marriage a religious ceremony? Aren't church and state separate? Why do people think that the government should regulate who people share their lives with?

Why do I deserve the right to share my life with my husband, but my friend in California doesn't deserve the right to share her life with her girlfriend?

Compassion, love for others, thinking outside of yourself...simple concepts, but seemingly difficult for people to put into practice.

CHANGE

"This victory alone is not the change we seek;

it is only the chance for us to make that change.

And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It cannot happen without you,

without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism,

of reponsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder

and look after not only ourselves, but each other."

Yes we can.

Yes we did.

And we will keep on doing.

ELECTION DAY

I forget, after each election, the wonderful feeling I get after voting. It's that "I'm a part of something great" feeling. That "I've got a voice" feeling. That "this really is my country" feeling.

I hope that more and more and more Americans partake in this incredible right as the years go on. I hope that more countries realize that this is the greatest way to ensure the citizens are being represented as they would choose. I hope that Barack Obama wins this election and that America is ready and willing to back him up for the next four (then four more!) years, as he institutes policies of great change and growth.

Now, if you haven't already, get out there and VOTE!!!!!

Day 21

Well. I made it to 21 days. Today is the final day of that 21. And I am happier than I've been about pretty much anything to reach today. And to know that at 6pm tonight I am done with this detox and can eat my stone crab legs (celebration dinner!) dipped in butter!!!!!! God, I love butter.

I've realized that we are stronger than we think we are. For the past 21 days I have not eaten any of the good things that I love to eat, but almost more significantly I have taken a vitamin every day, I have consumed flaxmeal everyday, and I have exercised everyday. EVERY day! Not a ton, but some physical movement everyday. I am very proud of that and I plan to keep it up, maybe even mixing in a run around the park every now and then.

I've realized that we have more will power than we think we have. I would not have believed that I could go a day without sugar, but I committed to this idea and my will power was strong enough to succeed. Even through Halloween and my husband eating chocolate fudge pops on the couch right next to me.

I've realized that eating good food makes you feel better. Simple statement - SO true. It's actually not hippie-dippie crap. The fuel that goes in to any system changes the energy and the waste output. Good food means good energy and good waste. Bad food means sporadic, uneven energy and bad waste.

I've realized how much I love being me. I love that I challenged myself and learned that I can still do the random positive things I did when I was younger.

What's next? Maybe running a marathon...