mickey, minnie and tigger oh my.

My brain feels absolutely fried. Thank God I can escape this in 50 days! Yes, 50 days is how much longer I have to wait to go to Orlando. But that also means J.D & I have 50 days to book the flight since that's the last thing we haven't done yet. We even debated staying an extra day. I don't think we're going to be able to do it but it could happen. We'll see. So far he's booked us dinner (and the occasional lunch) at the following places: the San Angel Inn Restaurant (Epcot, Mexico), Coral Reef (Epcot, Living Seas pavilion), Prime Time cafe (Hollywood Studios), Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (Hollywood Studios, photo on left & below). We were laughing over the fact that we're equally excited for the food/dining experiene as we are for the rides and et cetera.













I've become sucked into the world of Twitter. It's kind of a guilty pleasure following celebrities' lives, checking their Twitpics, updating freely about what I'm doing...come follow me: twitter.com/coffeeisgreen.





Lately my appetite is never ending. Why am I always hungry?!





Remember that song Bounce by Sarah Connor? It was released some time in 2004 (although I believe it originally came out in Germany a year prior to the U.S release.) I like the bit of MJB's Family Affair in it. All around catchy song. I downloaded it last night...damn, I'm a sucker for pop music. (Although technically it's labeled as poprock/R&B.)





I'm done rambling.

barely getting by, it's all takin' and no givin'....

I'm definitely getting hit with a case of end-of-semester blues. I have two weeks left, 3 finals, 3 papers and desire the size of a peanut to get it all done. But I will anyway...speaking of which, I got a B on my Sociology exam! Prof. Gorman gave me my grade late because he said he forgot to grade it after I took it. Haha...nice. Glad to see I'm not the only one who procrastinates!



My latest 'thing' is 9 to 5 the musical. I really really want to see it. On my way home from work a few nights ago, I saw audience members stagedooring after the show so I caught sight of Allison Janney, Megan Hilty, Stephanie J. Block and Mark Kudisch. I've heard nothing but good things about it so hopefully they do lotto so I can try catching a show some time before my Disney trip. I really do not feel like dishing out $100+ for a show again! You can learn more about the show here. While we're on the subject of musicals, I thought I'd compile a list of all the musicals/plays I've ever seen on Broadway, which really now that I'm thinking about it, is not very long. And it's not in order since I can't remember when exactly I saw them. I am no Almanac ;-)


1. Cats
2. Rent (twice)
3. Movin' Out
4. Footloose
5. Saturday Night Fever
6. Shrek
7. Equus
8. In the Heights
9. Jersey Boys
10. Beauty and the Beast
11. Xanadu
12. Hairspray (4 times)
13. West Side Story
14. Cyrano de Bergerac
15. Tarzan
16. Seussical the Musical





I think this is pretty much it. Tarzan and In the Heights are a given, for those that know me. I think what really got me into musicals was Footloose. I was about 13 or so when I saw it, maybe a little older and I think I went about 7 times. It was a great musical, too. Shame. Michael Cavenaugh, who did the piano for Movin' Out was phenomenal!





Looking forward to Idol tomorrow night...Rat Pack week! (No surprise that there are five contestants left.) I'm pulling for an Allison/Adam finale. The only reason I mention Adam is because I know he has a huge fan following, so realistically I have to add him. And although I was rooting for Kris for the first part of the season, I have become a serious Allison fan after re-watching old performances. We'll see what happens.





On a parting note, I would like to wish Grandma Esther a speedy recovery. She fell and broke her hip, resulting in her needing surgery tonight. But last I've heard she is doing good. God Bless her. She has the determination of a bull. She'll outlive us all =P

here, there, everywhere.

My health professor let us out 40 minutes early today, which is a good thing on any given day but more so especially when it's 66 degrees out. He wanted to know where I was the class before spring break started. I was slightly embarrassed to admit that I had completely forgotten there was a class! The Friday before, I had slept over J.D's place and when I woke up, I had just enjoyed my cup of coffee, was changing and at promptly 10A.M, noticed the time and it hit me: I forgot to go to school. Seriously, who does that?!

Anyway, tonight I am hitting up Medieval Times. It's a belated celebration of Anthony's birthday, which was on the 6th of this month. I haven't been there since a class trip in the 6th grade! So I'm really looking forward to that, if only to eat with my hands =P

Robyn and I were talking about saving up for a two bedroom apartment and then renting out the second room. But it would have to be someone we trust. I can't imagine posting up an ad on Craigslist. You don't know what kind of crazies are out there...even though that's how I found my current apartment. But I just wanted to take the time out to acknowledge I am lucky to have my sister in my life and to be able to call her a friend as well as a sibling. She has saved my ass so many times, I lost count. And she'll never judge me, even with a gun to her head.

Yesterday, Tiffany and I met up with her friend Jacob, who hails from Seattle. This is his first trip to New York City and so far, he's been having fun. I asked him if he's seen any stereotypes about this place proven true and he made a very good point when he said the stereotypes about NYC can happen any place. But it was funny when he showed us a text from his friend from home that asked if Jacob's seen any dead bodies yet or has Law & Order been lying to him. LOL...I'm happy to say I have never seen a dead body or been mugged or anything along those lines, and I've lived here for 23 years! We went down to the West Village to have crepes at Creperie. I got the one with raspberry puree and bananas. HEAVEN. Then we hit up a nearby Thai restaurant called Beyond. No complaints at all and the lychee mojito Tiffany & I had was so freakin' good. She treated us really well that day -- thank you Tiff!!! Next weekend we want to visit Mi Nidito. It's my favorite Mexican restaurant and they have drinks called Elmo, Lemon Drops, Scooby Snack...I can't wait!

"i love to swim..."

I got hotel review happy during my Sociology class today because well, when you have about 2 and a half hours to sit through, the mind begins to wander. Not to knock the subject and all. We did have a very interesting discussion pertaining to gender roles in society. We also read an article called I Want A Wife which you can read here. I'm happy to say we (or I) don't live in a society where this is what is expected of wives, for the most part. This was written in, I think, 1972? Things sure have changed since then. But yeah, back to the hotel reviews...so far, nothing but great stuff. J.D & I are staying at Pop Century Resort. For the most part, it's got great reviews. Basically, you get what you pay for. I'm hoping the bad reviews were from disgruntled visitors who expected more than what they paid for.

I saw The Last House on the Left with Tiffany yesterday. Absolutely loved it! I had to cover my ears during the rape scene...I thought it was painful to watch/hear. Otherwise, it kept me on the edge of my seat. Monica Potter and Sara Paxton could be mother/daughter in real life. If you love the horror genre, go see it! I didn't realize it came out on March 13th, otherwise I would've seen it sooner. As it was, the theater was not full at all but everyone was really engaged in the movie; you can always tell by the verbal response theatergoers give. For those who don't know the premise (the original version came out in 1972...which seems to be the theme year of this post), you can read about it here.

Final papers, final exams and the final week of school are all coming up. Then in exactly 57 days, I will be leaving this great city for the other great city of Orlando. I absolutely cannot wait! I have a feeling I will be mentioning Disney World plenty of times until then. Bear with me!

The iced mocha at McDonald's is heaven in a cup. In fact, I like it better than Starbucks' version of the drink. Imagine that!

been running so long....

Head Over Heels is officially my guilty pleasure movie. I think I've watched it 4 times since 'renting' it! I also developed a fondness for the title song, by The Go Gos. From there, I YouTubed their original video for the song. It wasn't until I saw a more recent video of the band performing the same song that it clicked: the lead singer was the woman from Dancing with the Stars (right)! I had no idea what she was famous for. Oops.

Vacation to Disney World has been booked! June 19-23. Fortunately, Jonathan and myself were able to find ways to cut corners to make the trip cheaper. But that also means more movie nights at home until then, LOL. That trip is worth every penny though. I don't remember much from my first and only visit to Orlando in 2001. I'm looking forward to making new memories there, especially because my friend Brian is a Disney nut and so maybe finally I can agree with him =P Also, can I just add how frusturating it is to book through Disney's website?! Three freakin' hours it took to finalize everything!! Maybe the 'site was just having an off night. According to AOL.com, Disney has some Do's and Don'ts. Read on...

Do: Spring for a "deluxe" resort

Don't: Opt for Disney's budget digs (they mentioned the hotel we're staying at as part of the don't...even though they acknowledged it is on park premises, which has its pluses. But J.D's been there before, so I trust his opinion.)

Don't: Chase after discounted tickets

Do: Consider renting
Do: Splurge on a guide
Do: Get a game plan

Do: Get a Fastpass

Do: Go easy on the extras

Don't: Pay more for a view

Do: Book a character breakfast

Don't: Eat during peak lunch hours

Do: Rent a car

I added a fifth class to my schedule come fall: table tennis! I decided to drop that tennis class for the summer so that I could save money. Besides, I am less likely to make a fool out of myself in ping pong than actual tennis.

Michael Balderrama is taking over the role of Usnavi in In the Heights tonight and the next few nights. This should be really interesting. He's been listed as Usnavi's understudy since it opened but he's yet to go on so this is pretty big. Break a leg, Michael!

so call me your sugar...

My parents came home from vacation with not only stories but some great things for us: a Harley Davidson tank top (gee, I wonder which parent got that), a coffee cup with my name on it, a beach bag and a turtle themed travel coffee thermos...do my parents know me well or what?! But the best news they gave upon their return was they already booked a January 2011 cruise for all of us!

By the way, all this time I thought the F in Flo Rida was a gun. Turns out it's the state of Florida. Which also explains his name. Man, I'm slow to pick up on those things. Thanks to Tiffany for pointing that out!

Zac Efron in 17 Again turned me, Tiffany and Robyn into ditzy 12 year old girls. Seriously, we were talking about how jealous of Vanessa Hudgens we were. I can't believe I'm even admitting that! The movie itself, however, was no cinematic masterpiece. I think 13 Going on 30 did it slightly better. But Zac Efron definitely carried the movie all the way to the end. In fact, he had better chemistry with Leslie Mann (who played his wife) than Matthew Perry did! And any scene Zefron does with Michelle Trachtenburg (who plays his daughter) is straight up funny, more so the ones where she tries to come on to him.

oh summer, where art thou?

This friendly French man stopped me on my way home today and asked for my name. That's how I came to learn he was French, because apparently he says everyone in France is named Nicole. He joked Americans stole the name from them but what he didn't realize is it actually originates from Greece (derived from Nicola). It means victory or victory of the people. Nice. Let's hope some of that winning power comes my way.

The Baby Name Advisor on this site thing cracks me up. You put the mother's name and the father's name and it gives you each possible baby gender's name suggestion. According to that thing, my parents should've named me Aubree. And Chris' (the first boy in the family) should've been Curtis. Close enough!

That lovely red envelope is bringing me Head Over Heels tomorrow. Remember that movie? Freddie Prinze Jr, Monica Potter, a bunch of models, an assumed dead person...even my brother, Chris...or Curtis?...remembered how funny that movie was. And Chris is hard to please when it comes to comedy. I can't wait to watch!

The advisement appointment went well. Four classes this fall and they include Psychology, Ancient Civ (snooze), Speech Communication and German! dürfte interessant sein!

and away we go...

I previously wrote about a possible trip to Orlando this summer and it looks like it could happen earlier than I expected. As in June. I'm supposed to be taking two classes in the first part of the summer. Key words, supposed to. I have an appointment with an advisor tomorrow so I'll figure things out then. However, one of the classes I registered for is tennis (hey, it's required!) and I really am looking forward to that. At the house in Pennsylvania, Alex and I play because they have a court. We're no Maria Sharapovas but we're not bad at all. So here's hoping I don't make a fool out of myself!

Where I really would like to go this summer is either Germany or Croatia. Our cousins from Germany are coming here so I don't think a trip there is possible but I am dying to see the house where my Oma grew up, the things my mother saw as a little girl (though she did not live there long nor was she born there). I would like to travel somewhere that has meaning, not just a vacation, you know? The picture above is a cathedral in Sibenik, where Opa grew up. He says the majority of Croatians are Roman Catholic and that there are churches everywhere. Uh, sounds like my kind of place all right! He goes there every 6 months but I can never go when he goes. Can you tell I'm itching to go somewhere?!?

Almost 70 degrees on Friday. Can I get a HALLELULAH? Besides that, it should be a very good day. The car show @ the Jacob Javits Center, 17 Again...aye carumba!

"I will never leave you alone..."

Every season, I think, my dad receives a newsletter/booklet from The Universal Living Rosary Association or ULRA and I always look forward to it because it has some great stuff inside. For Spring of '09, they have what they call Daily Duties. If you are not Catholic but are curious, feel free to read! Actually feel free to read whether you are human or alien, red or blue LOL.

As soon as you awake, make the Sign of the Cross and say "Oh my God, I offer Thee all that I am, and all that I have, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary." Arise diligently and punctually at the appointed time, Dress with modesty. Kneel before a Crucifix or a picture of Our Lady, and say the Morning Prayers.

Attend daily Mass as often as you can. It is by far the best and most profitable of all devotions.

Seek always to live in the presence of God. Take great care to sanctify all of your actions by offering them to God. Give them into Our Lady's care by praying the Hail Mary before, during and after each duty of your day.

Do all things in moderation, desiring always to please God, whether you are eating, drinking, sleeping, at work, or in recreation. Say the Grace before and after meals faithfully.

Spend at least a half hour in good spiritual reading from the Gospels, lives of Saints, and other spiritual works. Doing this will nourish your faith and piety and will serve to arm you in battle against the false maxims of the world.

Avoid those companions who are danger to your soul. Keep a strict guard over all your senses. Curb your tongue. Don't be idle.

Waste no time in profane or light reading, which too often is poison to the soul.

When tempted to sin, make the Sign of the Cross and immediately call upon God to help you.

Do not be discouraged if you have the misfortune to fall into sin, but quickly cast yourself down in spirit at the Feet of Christ and humbly beg His pardon. In the case of mortal sin, make an act of perfect contrition and then receive the Sacrament of Confession as soon as it is possible.

Try to make at least a quarter of an hour's meditation each day. Think upon the Passion of our Lord, the virtues or the sorrows of Our Blessed Mother or the virtues of one of the holy Martyrs or Saints.

Accept all trials and humiliations which God may send humbly and with resignation saying: THY WILL BE DONE!

Make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament during the day, if possible. Never fail to pray the Rosary every day, and meditate upon its Mysteries.

Finish the day as it was begun, by kneeling to say your night prayers. Make an examination of conscience, and humbly ask God pardon for the faults of the day.

Go to Confession and receive Holy Communion at the very least once a month and on principal feasts. If you can make a spiritual retreat each year, make every attempt to do so.

Offer your life in sacrifice to God, especially when you are sick. It is most important to prepare for your death during your Day of Prayer each month. When you are very will, when death seems imminent, make haste to receive the Sacrament of Extreme Unction as soon as possible!

Whew! Congrats if you made it this far. If you skimmed, it's all good LOL. If you're not reading this part at all, oh well. This sounds like a lot, and it can be overwhelming, but I hope to apply these little by little. I call this food for soul.

In other news, I may be going to Orlando this summer! We'll see how that goes. I haven't been to Disney World since 2001, in which I had my first plane ride (pre September 11, that is). I'm looking forward to it, God willing it happens!

He has risen.

Happy Easter! I hope everyone (well if you celebrate it) had a most blessed day.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, my parents are away on a cruise with my youngest brother, leaving the rest of us at home with not much to do. So instead I spent the day at Casa de DiDonato. They are one of my favorite families besides my own. Today was also my last full day watching Jorda. Tomorrow I will walk her in the morning and then peace out. I'm thinking a long, leisurely walk around Central Park oughta do it. Her owner won't be back until late tomorrow so she'll be cooped up until then! For a dog her size/breed (boxer/pit) I can't fathom leaving her alone that long. Besides, boxers crave human attention by nature.

Before I do the Easter photos, let's recap. This week (sans internet, which explains the lack of updates) has been fun. I got free reign of my friend Justine's apartment while she was away on vacation so it was nice to just get away from my apartment for a bit. Kind of like a breather. Jorda is the perfect roommate, she really is. Late one night I stumbled upon this show. I thought it was so completely fascinating. I stayed up waaaay past my 'bed time' for that one.

On Friday night I went out here for Vinnie's birthday. It was so much fun because I had not been out since St. Paddy's Day and thought one was in order. I like the atmosphere of Whiskey Tavern. Trying to find it was an adventure however...anything below Canal confuses the shit out of me!

Now on to...the Easter photos!

We fawned over the baby...

And belatedly celebrated cousin Danielle's birthday...

And posed for photos (or in my case, ruined them)...

And looked frightened while eating rabbit cookies...

And made sure Johnny developed an early love of football...

And showed him some love.

All in all, a great day!

you know you love me, xoxo...

Roommates: can't live with them, can't pay rent without them.

Until the 13th, I will be staying in the Upper East Side, taking care of one of the best dogs you could ever hope to meet. Yes, Jorda turns into devil dog when she sees other dogs and forget about squirrels but she's sweet as can be and great company...especially for me because I am a scaredy cat at night by myself. It would be extra sweet if I spotted a Gossip Girl cast member or even stumbled upon the set of the show somewhere in this 'hood. Alas, I have yet to see anyone. Except for Taylor Momsen aka Little Jenny Humphrey but that was in Times Square.

Blogging this week will be sporadic because I don't have access to a computer. But on a brighter note, I have regained movement in my neck!! Hallelujah.

On a parting note, Happy 27th Birthday to my dear friend Anthony!!! :-)

pop goes the...muscle?

Well, pooh. I was going to do the Freaks & Geeks post but yesterday didn't go quite as planned. I've been staying in the basement apartment of my parents' house lately (my grandparents occupy the second floor) just because I wanted to get away from my apartment for awhile. So there I was, drinking coffee and chatting with my Oma on Thursday morning when I cut her off to turn around in my chair to reach for a spoon behind me. When I turned again to face her...SNAP! Oma went and put this icy/hot thing on my neck but it didn't do much. Went downstairs, Mom tried to massage my neck into good health (she's a massage therapist so I have to give her credit and say she knew what she was doing). It helped but it still was hurting bad.

I had to go get my dogs in the city and then head to school. Even though I wanted to go to the chiropractor literally up the block from me, I didn't have time. I wish I had taken off for the day because by the end of the day, I could no longer put my head up. It was titled to the right and it seemed it was there to stay. But this morning I went to see Dr. Scheff, the best chiropractor in the world, and I can now sit up straight! It's still inflammed and hard to move around but he still helped greatly. The sound my neck made when he snapped it was pretty damn impressive. Dr. Scheff's been practicing for forever. I'm not kidding when I say that...he was taught by the son of Daniel Palmer, the man who invented the practice of chiropractic!

I feel kind of silly that all this ensued because I reached for a damn spoon. But my dad said the last time he sprained something in his neck, he had just been stretching in the morning. The reason I feel silly is because when I was in Starbucks yesterday morning, the barista at my local one wanted to know what happened (I had a neck brace on) and I told him the story. He responded "Oh my God, are you serious?" I was going to say, "Why wouldn't I be?" but then I realized that saying I got hit a car is probably more 'impressive' than 'turning around in my seat'. Not to make light of car accident victims or anything.

I couldn't work last night and I can't work again tonight, this time on doctor's orders but I am going to take advantage of this by watching "The Bone Collector", since it just came in the mail (thank you, Netflix!) I remember seeing it in 1999, when it was released. I enjoyed it a lot and remember the feeling of being kept at the edge of my seat. Let's see it I still feel the same in 2009!

fool me twice, shame on me.

Happy April Fool's! Did anyone fool you today? I love playing pranks on people so this day is right up my alley. However, I didn't do as good as I've done in the past. I managed to fool a few people but they caught on quickly. I also learned that most females joke about being pregnant. I'm sorry to say I was one of them. Gotta be more original next year!






After watching Kris Allen perform Ain't No Sunshine last night on Idol, I am now a loyal follower. I don't even want to say how many times I've watched his performance...okay, 10...but seriously, how did I not notice this guy before? And he's my age to boot! But all that is pointless, since he's married. Mrs. Allen, you better hold on to that boy! My favorite part of tonight's result show, besides the fact that Megan Joy left, is when the Idols were mocking each other's singing. And Megan's arm flapping as she went to the bottom 3. And Allison imitating her when she went. As for Lady GaGa's performance, I was not impressed. Although I did like the zipper over her eye...






June 18, 2010. Does that date mean anything to you? Well it should. That's because Toy Story 3 comes out. I just read that right now. WHOA. I thought the series was long over by this point. This...should be interesting.