apple picking!

yay, it's september and fall is practically here! on wednesday, we were supposed to go to sesame place, but as it turns out, the park is only open on the weekends. so we decided to trek back up to northern new jersey to alstede farms and we ended up picking our own produce. i used to go apple picking every year with my own family but I haven't since I gave birth, so this is Sofia's first time. i forgot how much fun it is. i miss going with my family though, but with just us three it was the beginning of our own family tradition.

we got apples, peaches, eggplants & raspberries.



fuji apples




the animals there were so friendly.




picking raspberries



you could also cut your own flowers there

there was us and a few other people there, but the farm is so big that it felt like we were the only ones there. it was nice to be surrounded by all that greenery and it was so peaceful and beautiful, it was truly a perfect day.

remnants of sheffield house

There was something about this place that felt so peaceful, specially during the day. It reminded me something from my childhood.

There were windows in all the rooms which allowed for beautiful sunlight to come streaming in from all sides of the flat, which also made it feel warm and cozy. I've only been there a few times and these photos were from the day Adrienne moved out.

There was a book next to Leila's crib called, "Undead" by John Russo. I read a few pages while I was there and came across a quote which I found so poignant at that time. I didn't have a pen or paper on me so I decided to e-mail it to myself. Mind you this was back in January and I completely forgot about that quote. I didn't get the e-mail until a couple weeks ago which was odd. Here's the quote:

"Why does life seem so ugly and beautiful and sad and important while you are living it, and so trivial when it is over?

Life is a constant endless creation of graves."

with no plans in mind, we wandered the deserted streets.

my thoughts go out to Japan, Hawaii and the Philippines...

be safe J.

sofia getting ready

our guilty pleasure: white mana / "diner of the future" / 1939 world's fair building.

the burgers. it's like white castle, but better.

the snow finally came. all i can think about these days are food and comfort.
life is 2.5 times harder.
i say 2.5 because that's how many hours late i was to work this morning.
it really is difficult, all of it.
where do i begin.

my mantra for today was: "only the strong survive"
the PATH train station on grove st. was packed.
they had to shut down the turnstiles to control the amount of people
on the platform because trains were running on some "special" schedule
which required rerouting to hoboken.
so i waited for the wtc train instead.
it didn't come for a while. i ended up right by the edge of the platform.
which made me fear for my life, thinking to myself:
some one better not go berserk right now, because i could seriously fall off this edge.
i could feel the person behind me swaying.

at last the train came.
i took my time walking and trying not to slip into gray sludge.

i made it to work, eventually. had to stay til 7 though.

tomorrow will be better.


***
on another note

these pictures were shot a few weeks ago.
when i went all shutter happy.
i've picked up the cameras again for the holidays
and this time i bought some nice film.
i'm excited to see how they turn out.
i don't think i'll be able to develop them any time soon, though.
but... i've got tons of food pictures...
as if you guys don't see enough of those.

a week of sunsets

there was a whole week when the sun was setting right after i was able to pick up sofi. the moment lasts for a good 15 minutes. it feels slow at first and ends rather quickly. the colors change so much in these few minutes, and suddenly it is only darkness. it's getting darker and feeling much later than it really is. now, i only get to watch the sunset from the bus on the way to pick her up and by the time i get there, the sky is only a tint of blue. it is also 20 degrees colder now.

morning commute.

so i'm not going to pretend that i haven't been obsessing over this first world problem of mine with this camera. but i have come to a conclusion that i should at least change the battery and purchase myself a seal kit on ebay.

hello, autumn.

we would've named you Autumn, but you came in Summer instead.

it's been busy around here as usual, but we'll take any chance we can get
to enjoy the outdoors before all the pretty flowers and sunlight go away.

summertime.

this will always be the summer jam.

afternoon naps

Sundays have been my favorite day of the week. It's been the most peaceful and relaxing day for me because both sofia and her dad take their afternoon naps and I steal away to do my own thing. Sometimes I go shopping or run some errands. Last Sunday I set out to get a manicure and pedicure. On my way to the nail salon, I passed by a Chinese massage parlor which looked a bit shady from the outside, but I figured I should scope it out anyway. It turned out to be the best thing I've ever done for myself, better than a manicure or a pedicure. It was like a vacation and I only had my legs massaged. This was no ordinary massage, it's Chinese acupressure, which has a lot to do with unclogging trapped energy (chi). It goes hand in hand with qi gong and tai chi which I used to do, and should start doing again. Basically I sprained my ankle a few years ago and it has not been better since. I even got physical therapy for it, which unfortunately was a complete waste of my time and money. However, the magic this man performed my legs and ankle is truly remarkable. I am in awe that my legs feels this good at the end of the day, when usually after so much walking in the city I am miserable and want to chop my legs off. I am already thinking of other persistent aches that bother me so I can go back. Also the lovely thing about this place is that it's not trying to be "fancy". It's just is, massage tables next to each other with curtains separating them. The lights were off, but there was ample daylight coming in. It's very quiet and all you can hear is water falling. You close your eyes and just let him do his thing on whatever pains you and it's instant serenity.