Somewhere That's Green

Upon our return from Australia, our winter was a hectic one. We didn't take any days off from work and plowed through the cold weather. Instead of planning another big vacation, we planned 2 small ones over Memorial Day and Labor Day.

MEMORIAL DAY GETAWAY

We booked a long weekend at the Mirror Lake Inn. We arrived on a perfectly cool Adirondack afternoon and went for a walk around the lake. We topped off the evening with a fantastic dinner at Taste Bistro.

The next day looked gloomy but we managed to get a few miles of hiking in during the morning. When the skies turned grey, we turned around and headed to the gym at our inn. It was actually pretty nice getting a run in with a view of the misty lake without suffering the mist itself! Then we spent the afternoon at Big Slide Brewery and had dinner at The View.

For a true day of relaxing, we took an entire morning to luxuriate in the spa complete with a eucalyptus steam room, whirlpools, and a hot stone massage. We did a bit of exploring in the afternoon with a walk around Main Street and a trip to the Lake Placid Olympic Museum. We topped off the night with an amazing meal with fantastic cocktails at Liquids and Solids.

Our final day was spent hiking up and down Cascade Mountain followed by an evening at an outdoor rooftop bar enjoying the view.

When we departed, it looked like the skies were about to open up at any moment. But we still had enough time to check out the ski jumping arena before it started to pour. Our drive back was long and rainy but we were so relaxed and calm.

LABOR DAY GETAWAY

We padded the long weekend with a few days on each side for a trip to Vermont and New Hampshire.

We stayed at the Rabbit Hill Inn which was absolutely wonderful. The breakfasts were amazing and we enjoyed in-room massages, 2 dinners at the inn, and many afternoons of post-hiking sweets while working on the incredible wooden puzzles they kept in the common room.

Aside from our time at the inn, we dined at Hen of the Wood and The Thompson House Eatery, explored the town of Littleton in New Hampshire, and had a great time at Shilling Beer Co.

A trip to the mountains wouldn't be complete without some time spent outdoors of course. We went for a relaxing kayak trip down the Clyde River and a bald eagle flew overhead at a particular magical moment. We also went on a bunch of hikes: from our inn to the Connecticut River, Spruce Mountain, Flume Gorge, and Mount Pemigewasset.

Being surrounded by greenery was glorious.

What's in a name?

A minor accomplishment in adulthood:
I completed all the steps to officially change my last name!!

When Alex and I got married, I knew I would be changing my last name to his. I had a lot of well-meaning friends and family members give me unsolicited advice about why I should or shouldn't change my last name. But at the end of the day, the choice was mine to make. And I said let's do this.

It's been a crazy long and tedious process. Tons of paperwork. A trip to the social security offices which was surprisingly pleasant! (in and out in 30 minutes - easy peasy.) A trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles which was a not as pleasant... (an online appointment, a ton of paperwork, and 3 hours of my time waiting in 3 different lines). Visits to multiple banks, the HR department at work, JFK airport to update my global entry card, and so many other stops along the way.

At first I was a bit worried that I would feel weird changing my name, but that went away as soon as we were married. Plus, there are so many advantages to my new name:
-Matching first and last names (Toni-with-an-i, Levi-with-an-i).
-Only 4 letters to spell out over the phone to customer service reps...as opposed to a whopping 8!
-I move up in the alphabet! (see ya later M-Z!)
-The prospect of having a child who will have the same last name as both parents (gulp!)...

I'm still practicing my cursive L. I often hesitate when introducing myself to a new person. And I sometimes don't respond when someone calls out my new last name. But I'm slowly getting used to it. And there's something that gives me all the warm and fuzzy feelings when we're called the Levis.

A major accomplishment in adulthood:
I was promoted at the Jewish Museum to Senior Major Gifts Officer.

A new name AND a new title! It's exciting to be rewarded for the hard work I've put in. And I'm honored to be recognized by my boss who I admire very much and by the leadership at the museum. I feel extremely grateful and proud of where I am professionally.

In My Own Little Corner

MY MINDFUL YEAR - JULY



I finally cleaned out my old room on Long Island.

For a while (ahem, 10 years), I've been meaning to go through the memories and tchotchkes and clothes and papers and books in my family's home. The task always seemed a bit too daunting.

When I left home for good and moved out on my own, I boxed things up and stored them in my old room, the basement, and the garage. Then Hurricane Sandy happened and suddenly I had a lot less stuff to go through. So my big plans of sorting and organizing fell to the wayside. However, when my brother started making plans to propose to his girlfriend, I knew it was time. After all, the house on Dover Road will one day soon be his.

This wasn't a complete nostalgia fest since this wasn't the house where I grew up -- my family moved to Oceanside when I was in the twelfth grade. I'd gotten special permission to finish out my senior year of high school in Valley Stream, 3 towns away. After school, I often stopped by my grandma's home in Valley Stream to hang out, do a bit of homework, and eat a snack. My high school boyfriend lived in Carle Place and, since his car was the same Jeep model featured in the original Jurassic Park movie, I usually drove to his neck of the woods for dates. Plus he lived near the mall. Also, minimal time was spent at home during my few free hours since I was 18 years old, working a part time job, and soaking up my last bit of summer before venturing off to college.

When I came home from college during breaks, this was where I hung my hat (and left all my stuff). But those breaks were only ever for a few weeks as I often took classes during winter and summer terms and spent a summer studying abroad. After college, I lived on Long Island and commuted into NYC for a year before moving into my first studio apartment in 2008. And in the ten years since then, I stay overnight on Long Island only a few times a year.

Somehow, despite not really ever truly living there, I amassed a lot of stuff that I stored there. So I dedicated an entire day to clearing, sorting, and discarding. I tossed a lot of stuff. I donated a lot of stuff. I knew I didn't have a ton of space to store more stuff in NYC, so I became pretty ruthless with my editing. I still have a bit more work to do before the room is completely cleared out, but it will be a fairly easy undertaking since everything is in order and contained to one room.

One day, when space is needed for other occupants (a niece or nephew perhaps?), I'll complete the task. And each time I visit, I vow to go through at least one of the neatly arranged assortments of stuff I have waiting for me.

But for now, it feels good to have made some headway on a project I'd long put off.