Backyard Work

Ben has been hard at work on our house and yard. He has broken up most of the concrete backyard (with a sledge hammer) in preparations to plant grass and plants. We're not sure when it will all be done, but hopefully it will be ready enough to enjoy when the weather gets nice. Also, we got the bathroom floor retiled and Ben is in process of painting it from dark red (not our choice) to a cool blue. We haven't started on the baby's room yet, but hopefully we can soon.
It stinks that I can't do any of the painting during the day, because I am anxious to have it all finished, but Ben is doing a great job.

30 weeks

Yep, that is what I really look like now. It's hard for even me to believe and I live with it everyday. Only about 10 weeks left.
In other news, I got laid off from the Orchestra last week. They let 12 people go and are struggling financially. I am really sad about it since I really loved that job, but at least I have the baby to look forward to and plan for.

Visiting Virginia

Last weekend, we went to Virginia and spent time with my Mom, Michelle and Walter and went to visit my Grandma. We had a great time! It was so nice to see Mimi in the place she is living now and that she seemed happy and healthy. We arrived to see her on Sunday during the group exercise class, at which Mimi was the star! We worked on a ridiculously hard puzzle with her, which she is great at!

San Diego

Ben and I had a great time in California for a short vacation. We flew into LA, then had lunch in Santa Monica, which was really nice. Being there, you can really feel the difference between West and East coast pace. Everyone was biking or rollerblading or just hanging out. The weather was nice and it's always a treat to get to be near the ocean. Then we drove to Beverly Hills and through Hollywood. The traffic was unbelievably slow and it took us hours to get anywhere. I am sure it didn't help that it was 2 days before the Academy Awards and they had a big chunk of Hollywood Blvd. blocked off.

We then drove down to San Diego to stay with Ben's Uncle and Aunt (Dan and Sue) for 4 days. They live in a really beautiful house in Point Loma and it overlooks the city. We spent a lot of time sitting on their deck looking out at the view. Dan and Sue were so good to us and we appreciated them showing us around. We went to Ocean Beach, La Jolla, Coronado, Old Town and drove through the Gaslamp Quarter. I think my favorite was La Jolla. It was so pretty and at one point we went onto the top of the cliffs and sat and just stared at the view. It was perfectly quiet and so peaceful. It is rare to find those moments and they are really special. We also had some great food - fish tacos, calamari, Mexican food, pizza, and Winchell's donuts.

The baby is such a mover these days, even waking me up in the middle of the night with all his wiggling. I am in my third trimester now and feeling very pregnant, but enjoying it. It's fun to always have someone with me (who is, for now, minimally demanding). Although, I don't appreciate it when he stomps on my bladder, or kicks me in the ribs, or flips so much that i makes me a little nauseous.
We are looking forward to the spring and anticipating our little guy's birth!

24 weeks

The Ball

Last night, Ben and I attended the 152 Academy of Music Concert and Ball. At work, I have been helping out with the organization of this event, so we got to go for free. It was a white tie affair, men in tails and women in formal gowns, about 1700 people altogether. The gowns were really spectacular, so unique and lovely.
We went to the President's reception (at which I had to work) which had amazing food (lobster fritters, oysters, shrimp, caviar!) and then off to the Academy for a concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra and James Taylor, which was really beautiful. Blythe Danner was the host of the night and Fred Willard did the comedy portion. It was all so well done, not to mention that we were sitting front row center. After the concert, there was a sit down meal at the Belleview hotel and then dancing at 6 different ballrooms throughout the hotel. Everything was so lavish and beautiful and it was really exciting to be there. Ben and I spoke with the Mayor of Philadelphia and Ben got a picture with him. He is such an approachable man.
It was a truly memorable night and we had a great time. I think the baby had a good time too. He's been dancing and kicking all day today!

For more picture of the ball, check out Philadelphia Magazine and especially picture #29! http://www.phillymag.com/party_pictures/gallery.html?gallery=244706

Philly Arts

Over the past month, Ben and I have been to more performing arts shows than we would've gone to in a year living in NYC. In combination of working at the Orchestra and getting student tickets to the Annenberg center courtesy of our friend Cara, we've been able to go to a variety of shows for very cheap. Since December, we've seen the Philly Pops Christmas Show, a dance show that I was in, The New Years Eve Philadelphia Orchestra Concert, Doug Varone Dance Company, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and Ain't Misbehavin (a Broadway Musical). Not to mention seeing Coldplay in November and the Dancenow Performance at DTW (which I was in).

Although Philly's Art scene is small and limited compared to New York and most of the art is experimental, it's nice that we have such easy access to some good companies/organizations. And there is a benefit of living outside of New York, in that most reputable dance companies tour the country more than they perform in New York.

We do notice that almost 90% of the people who come to these shows are over 50 years old, which makes us a little worried for the arts in smaller cities when our generation is older. Will our generation be patrons of the arts when they are old? I am not sure. For now, I encourage all of you to take advantage of the arts in your area.