Nostalgia...

This is the house where I grew up in Maplewood, N.J.

On my trip to Manhattan this past weekend for the About.com Guide Event, I stayed with friends of mine who just bought a house in Summit. After my event on Saturday, instead of going back into the city on Sunday like I had originally planned, I spent a nice, relaxed, laid-back day with my friends.

First, we went to Maplewood Village and had REAL bagels. I had a salt bagel with cream cheese. And no matter how much I love living up here, there are some things that folks up here just don't "get"... Like what a REAL bagel is.















We took the dog for a walk around the streets where I can remember riding my bike as a kid. And then we stopped and they let me get ice cream at the Magic Fountain, where we went damn near every night in the summer.















Going into the city for the first time in I don't know how long was an experience. I could barely contain myself as the train carried me from Summit through Milburn, Short Hills, South Orange, Maplewood, Newark and right into Penn Station. The people-watching was amazing. My iPod provided the soundtrack. And I even managed to find a helpful person on the subway who got me to my destination at the Metropolitan Plaza.

The conference itself was great. Very inspiring, very motivating, and I came away with a ton of great ideas. (Now I just need some ideas on how to find the time to do everything that I want to!)

The only thing that put a damper on the weekend was that the bleeding was unbelievable on Saturday, and it had me a little worried. I wasn't as present at the conference as I had hoped I would be - I was jumping up to run into the bathroom every ten minutes or so to keep an eye on things, as they were. And then I was just exhausted by the time I got back to New Jersey. I think it was just from all the blood loss, and I certainly hope that I won't have to repeat this experience next month.

I know I sound a little drab this evening, but truthfully, I am still exhausted. I just don't seem to have any energy these last few days. And today was another day of crazy running - play group first thing in the morning, then grocery store, post office, dishes, cleaning up the living room from last week's play date, cooking dinner, and then finally sitting down to get a little bit of work done. It's also cold and damp and rainy, and we haven't turned the heat on yet for the season, something I'm hoping we change tonight. I'm sure if it were a little warmer in here, I'd feel a little bit better.