Happy Thanksgiving!

AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

That is how I am feeling today!

Did courts open? Or are they closed for another week?

If they are open has anyone gotten court dates yet?

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Um, ya referral high has definitely crash landed into anxiety about getting our wee boy home!

NOW!!!

This is it....Celebrity Sighting!!!!

Ha! Hilarious! I was wondering how you would all take me postponing the "celebrity sighting"!

Had to make you squirm a little :)

No Rhonda, it wasn't Jerry Springer - I wouldn't even post if I had seen him...I would have run the other way!

Sarah was right!

After having spent the day walking over the Brooklyn bridge and back and then thru Chinatown and Little Italy we wandered into Soho.

Now you should know that these areas are all fairly close together - Manhattan is smaller than you think geographically because it is built upwards. Skyscrapers are abundant and this is where everyone lives - up in the sky or in brownstones.

We had just stopped for a coffee/tea break and then headed out to roam some more. We stopped at the APPLE store (Travellers Tip - if you are in a city that has an APPLE store this is a good place to stop, if it is convenient, to check email, blogs, message boards or whatever for free. All their computers have Internet access)

But I digress - we had just left the store and were wandering around thinking about where we would eat for supper when we came across a plethora (that's right a plethora) of black suburbany type vehicles and trailers as well as a large crowd of people.

Well, being the curious types we are we decided to see what was up and being the shy person I am, I walked right up to someone and said "What's going on? Why is everyone standing around?"

They said "Sarah Jessica Parker is in the trailer. They are filming Sex and the City 2 and we are all waiting for her to come back out."

"Reeeeeaaaaaally!!!!!" I say and whip my camera out faster than you can say "Boo". I love Sex and the City, and my sis-in-law loves it even more so I knew I had to get some photos if I could.

We stood there for about 15 minutes and were just about to leave when a commotion happens down the block and…...

Cynthia Nixon a.k.a Miranda Hobbes walks by

She wasn't very smiley or pleased to see the fans it seems.

We wait a little longer and are kept amused by the waiting crowd. Every so often someone comes out of the trailer and the crowd goes "oooooooooooooh" and when it isn't Sarah they all would go "aaaaaaawwwwwwwww!"

Too funny!

Then she did come out - and she was lovely taking the time to say "Hi" and wave to everyone and pose for a couple of photos. Then she left to go to set and the crowd swarmed after her so we followed the crowd because they amused us.

Sarah Jessica Parker a.k.a Carrie Bradshaw

Right around the corner is where they are filming a scene for the new movie. So we hung for a bit with the rest of the folks...and....

Kristin Davis a.k.a Charlotte York strolls by with her bodyguard.

Next up Kim Catrall a.k.a Samantha Jones arrives.

Let me tell you...the women in the crowd ( and it was mostly women) squealed with excitement when she came by...actually squealed!

The Paparazzi snapping the celebs! Don't they seem pleased with themselves.

We thought we might stay for a while to watch a scene being filmed but they shooed us away like little flies! Oh and we happened to talk to a fellow who lived in the area and he asked us what was going on. When we told him he said "oh $%^@, I am so annoyed by those girls...I mean they bring good business to the city but how would you like it if your street was constantly being shut down for shooting and you had tourists and paparazzi hanging outside of your apartment all day!"

Point taken! We did make sure to tell him we had just stumbled across this and it wasn't the reason we had come to New York...seemed to make him happier and he wished a pleasant time in NY.

New Yorkers, you gotta love 'em. They are definitely honest!

P.S. If you click on the pictures they as Cinn says "Embiggen"

Court Opens Soon

As in Monday, October 5!

We don't have a court date yet.....

I am really handling this wait in a completely different way from pre-referral wait.

I actually quit chewing my fingernails after we got Ade's referral.

But I have started again in the last couple of weeks.

I am definitely internalizing this wait...

You will know I am doing this if when you see me I am staring off into space and my lips are moving ever so slightly. Yvan tells me I do this when I am in deep thought....which I'm in a lot lately.

So, if we are talking and I zone out it is because I am wondering the following things simultaneously:

1. When we will get a court date?
2. Will we have to wait a long time to get one?
3. Will we hear about our date right away?
4. Will we pass on the first try?
5. I wonder if all the paper work is in order?
6. What is Ade doing right now?
7. Will we be good parents?
8. What color should we paint his room?
9. When will they tell us about about our court date?
10. What type of crib should we get?
11. Will I ever get over my fear of purchasing diapers?
12. Will Ade look at us and cry because he knows we have no clue about being parents?
13. When we will get a court date?
14. When we will get to travel to Ethiopia?
15. and it goes on, trust me it goes on, and on like this.

So, I have taken to chewing my fingernails again. I have also been getting cold sores...which I haven't gotten in a long, long time...these are usually stress induced and is a good indicator to me about how much I am stressing about court and didn't even know it.

Posting about our trip to New York has been a good distraction...it keeps me from boring you with awful nail chewing and repeated pondering of "When will we get a court date?" Although I am sure some of you are bored of our New York photos but it is good therapy for me.

Well, I have to go and pretend to do something...but really all I will be doing is wondering:

1. When will we get a court date?
2. Will we have to wait a long time?
3. Will we hear about our date right away?
4...oh wait I already did this.....

Sigh!

Chelsea, West Village and Greenwich Village

We spent Sunday in Chelsea, West Village and Greenwich Village.

These 3 areas were probably our favourite areas in Manhattan. They are funky, artsy, eclectic and laid back. We took the subway to Chelsea and walked from here thru the Meat Packing district to West Village and Greenwich.

We did a lot of walking! A lot! But it was worth it.

This is the Chelsea Market.

It is an indoor gourmet food market - in the upper floors of the building are studios and many of the Food Network programs are filmed here.

The Highline - an old railroad track built in the 1930's above the streets. In the last few years, it has been developed into a natural grassland park with benches. Eventually you will be able to walk on this old track all the way from the Meat Packing District up to Hell's Kitchen. Very cool! In a city that is a concrete jungle, this is a very nice getaway.

Yvan and his favourite building

Parking anyone? Yup, this is parking...and to get the car on the top...you got to move both cars below and then put them back again...it only costs about $34 per half hour! Yikes!

Uh, would you like a helicopter to go with your yacht. Why yes! Yes, I would!

Seriously, whose is this? And this was small compared to some of the ones parked at Chelsea Pier!

More of The Highline - cool that it actually goes thru buildings hey!

A little fashion shoot in the Meat Packing District (no, this is not the celebrity sighting...that comes tomorrow)

Groovin' in the village on Bleecker Street

Chillin' in Washington Square Park

Jazzin' it up!

Music, music, music everywhere!

View of the Empire State Building from our hotel room at night!

We were so tired after our day we crashed early!!!

But not before we ate some delicious Mexican food in the village :)

World Trade Center and Lady Liberty

On Saturday we decided to head down to the Financial District and Lower Manhattan.

We strolled thru the streets making our way to the World Trade Center site.

You use to be able to go right up to the site but now they have started to rebuild.

You can go here to see what they are working on.

Standing at this site was thought provoking. Over the previous couple of days there had been a lot of footage played from the day the attacks happened. Much of which we had seen, a lot of it from the day of the attacks, and subsequently over the years.

But when you stand at the site and you look up and imagine those towers and surrounding buildings...what they must have been like....how tall those towers really were...and you see the size of the WTC grounds....

....then you see the images in your mind of the horror that took place that day...the lives lost... you see the flowers, notes and cards left by families and friends who lost loved one...it takes your breath away.

St. Paul's Chapel - across the street from the WTC















Statue of Liberty



View of Ellis Island

View of lower Manhattan from the Lady of Liberty

*EDIT* - I forgot to write about our Saturday night!!!

We went to see a Broadway musical - A real, live Broadway Musical!!! In the theatre district...by crazy, insane, bright, crowded Times Square.

First we went for supper at the oldest Indian restaurant in New York City. It was on the second floor of a very narrow, slanted building. It was highly recommened to us and after we got used to the sensation of sitting on an angle -I kid you not the slant to the place was hilarious....we had one of the best Indian meals ever!!!

Then we ran over to the Al Hirschfield theatre (if you know us you know we are almost always late for everything!) to see HAIR the Musical!

It was amazing! The best Musical I have ever seen. The talent of the cast was amazing and it was so interactive...they kept coming out in to the audience singing and dancing and jumping on chairs.

Yvan even really liked it and he does not really dig the musicals. I did woo him with the idea that there would be a tad bit of nudity in the show which always helps :)

I think the people behind us who talked thru the entire first half didn't like the nudity - they didn't come back for the second half much to our relief.