Mold on the cookie?! WHY!?!?

So my co-worker gave me a cookie and I was halfway through it before I realized it had a strange tangy taste, and I was like, this cookie tastes odd, and then I looked at it really close and it was covered in fuzz! with little black specks so small I could hardly see them inside the cookie! I almost ate an ENTIRE moldy cookie! Needless to say, I feel ill. I still feel the fuzzies on my mouth and throat, and I researched on the internet that some molds you ingest on bread (OR cookies) can make you sick! Bleh!

Baby Stella! 4 1/2 weeks old!

I Love My Job!

I went to lunch with a couple co-workers, and it was SO nice outside! I really just wanted to leave right then. But alas, there was still the entire afternoon of work to be done. But then! My boss came down at 2pm today and told us all to take the rest of the day off! She said the weather was so beautiful right now, we can't waste it by staying inside! So I got to take the entire afternoon off! I love my job. I love my job!

Nothing to blog about.

I can't believe I have NOTHING to blog about- one of the reasons why I put the previous post about getting a puppy. That's a lion, people. It's pretty cute, though. I have been needing a haircut for awhile now, so I finally bit the bullet and got an appointment at a specialized curly hair salon in NYC! I'm kind of nervous, excited, scared but intrigued! They cut your hair dry, curl by curl. Cross your fingers for me! I'll definitely post a picture so you can see the outcome... we'll make it a before and after!

Side-note: remember when I posted about the guy in the room next to me editing a show that sounds like animals getting busy? Well, today it sounds like ET coughing up a hairball. I love my job... I love my job...

I'm getting a puppy, too!

He's the one on the right, and I'm naming him Simba. Isn't he the cutest!?;)

Baby Stella playin with her sibs...

And the nominees are...

OUTSTANDING INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM‑‑LONG FORM

Who Cares About Girls?
Oxygen (produced by National Geographic Television)
Slave Girls of India

The other nominees:

Cinemax Reel Life
Cinemax
Have You Seen Andy?

MSNBC Special Presentation
MSNBC
Mississippi Cold Case

Stella's eyes are open!

We found out which puppy is ours! This is Stella!!!

Emmy Nominated!!!

"Who Cares About Girls: Slave Girls of India", the National Geographic documentary I worked on for the Oxygen network has been nominated for an Emmy!! It's so exciting!!!

The awards ceremony takes place in New York on September 22nd.

Better not tell you now...

When I've got nothing to do, I like to check out my friend's blogs. Today, that meant I was on Courtnie's blog asking the Magic 8 Ball a few very important questions, all of which I would have preferred the answer to be yes.

Here was the progression of answers I received:

Better not tell you now.
My reply is no.
Don't count on it.
My sources say no.
Outlook no so good.

Then I asked, are you sure? And it replied: Without a doubt. I wanted to chuck it across the room (alas, it was digital).

What are the odds?! I looked up all the possible answers a Magic 8 Ball can reply to you. The thing only has 5 negative answers out of 20! Sheesh!

I went back to Courtnie's site and re-asked every question. This time I got (you guessed it!):
Yes Definitely.
It is certain.
You may rely on it.
As I see it yes.

New York Taxi

Here is an accurate representation of my ride home tonight.
That is Brenda on the left and me on the right. The worst taxi ride I've ever had in NYC. Bad taxi drivers aren't myths, people! We had 4 close calls, as in 4 narrow escapes from DEATH, and even with my seat belt fastened, I smacked back and forth between Brenda and the door more than a couple times. Didn't puke though... congratulations to me.

Watch this...

I can't take the credit, Jenn found this uh-mazing video. Love it.
This version is pretty good too...

Happy Birth-week!

Here's what Birth-week Day #2 looked like.

Manicures and Pedicures!







It's hard to see in photos, but we really did get our nails done! We all got really sheer colors! haha...

Brenda, Ashley and Ashley (we're holding up our pretty nails!)
The best card...
Thanks to everyone for making my birth-week so much fun!! (and it's not even half-way through yet! ;)

My Baby is in this bunch!!! Little Stella!

4 o'clock on an idle Tuesday

Love it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH, SHELB AND DAVE!

Happy 25th Birthday Ashley & Shelby!

Happy Anniversary Shelby and Dave!

Happy Independence Day!!

This year I spent the 4th of July at home in NYC. I decided I better see the amazing Manhattan fireworks before I leave NY (not that I'm leaving, just planning ahead so I can be out of town on future 3 day weekend holiday's such as the 4th). ANYWAY... It was raining today. All day. I don't think the clouds got the memo that it was the 4th, and that a certain Ashley needed to see some New York fireworks.

Here is a pic of Ashley, Me (also Ashley), and Heidi- Red, White and Blue! (we didn't even do it on purpose!)
My friends planned a picnic today, but since it was RAINING we spent a brief amount of time picnicking in my living room. :)






It turned out that, rain or shine, the fireworks would be blazing for all to see!! Here we are at South Street Seaport waiting for the show to begin.
Melanie and I (above) had been planning to watch the fireworks since earlier this week, and we were accompanied by some good friends!

From left: Me, Melanie, Meghan, Kim, Brittney
The show was magnifico! So much so, I couldn't spare a moment to take a picture... :P
My favorite thing about fireworks? The boom they make that goes through your insides. That's the best. Happy 4th everyone!

Old Jeans

I have been wearing an oldish pair of jeans this week, as my other jeans are in the hamper (gotta do some laundry this weekend)... the point is, I had my ipod in my back pocket, and when I pulled it out, a small piece of paper also exited my pocket. Upon further examination, I realized it was a movie ticket stub, in mint condition! According to the stub, I last wore these jeans on October 30th, 2007, to the Union Square Regal theater where I saw "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 3D. It was a 9:00pm movie on a Tuesday, it cost me $13.50 and showed in Auditorium 12.

Animals in the Next Room??

I sit in a cubicle at work along a wall of edit rooms. Edit room number 1, in the corner by the window, has caused me concern recently. The noises I hear coming from that room are very odd, sometimes embarrassing! Today I decided there must be an elephant show being edited in there... or possibly a show on mating monkeys. Seriously. My co-worker and I throw each other strange looks when we hear the noises that come out of that room... If I was editing it, I would at least turn down the volume!

Which brings me to a question... who watches these animal mating shows?

Which brings me to a story... today my co-workers and I went to lunch at Yum-Yum Thai, and what did they have playing on two huge screens in the restaurant?? You guessed it! Sea lion love. In a restaurant. Weird.

Phone Phobia and ANXIETY!!

Today I was forced to write an email that I did not want to write... which I knew would elicit a phone call that I would not want to answer. I hit send on the email. Literally 30 seconds later the phone rang! I looked at the phone, it was from the right area code. It rang again... each proceeding ring sounding louder and LOUDER! The phone looking bigger and BIGGER! And the room feeling smaller and smaller! I couldn't, I had too, but I couldn't! So I didn't! And the phone call rolled over into voice mail. The longest 20 seconds of my life passed as I watched the new message alert go from 0 to 1. Anxiety pounding my chest, throat, the room! For five minutes I tried to do something else, anything to change the subject and try to forget! Then my co-worker strolled over, and I blurted "I'm so scared!!" And then I had a brilliant idea, have her listen to the message instead of me. Yes, this would make it all better. But no, it didn't. The look on her face while listening to the message was enough to send me into Cardiac Arrest! Which prompted me to unload the whole thing on my other co-worker, George. Phew! He took it and handled it all no problem.

This whole experience made me sit back and take a look at what had just happened. Fear of phones and/or phone calls. Phone Phobia. OR maybe "Dealing with Angry Guy" Phobia. Either way, this type of response can be very debilitating.

My friend who is also a therapist, Dr. Cory Harmon, has a solution for all of us who may suffer from situational anxiety:

Exposure and Response Prevention:
a treatment method for anxiety disorders (sounds serious, but can apply to anyone with mild to serious anxiety!). It is based on the idea that therapy is achieved as you confront your fears and totally avoid an "escape" response.

When looking back on what happened, I totally avoided and escaped talking to the guy because I was afraid of what he might say to me. This in turn caused me buckets and heaps of anxiety that probably could have been avoided had I just answered the stupid phone and referred him to George in the first place!

So, for all of you out there who might have anxiety issues, try Exposure and Response Prevention. If you feel anxious in a social setting, stick it out. You'll see after a moment that it's really not as bad as you think. The feelings of anxiety will subside. This will train you to be more well adjusted, and I'm guessing happier all around- especially if anxiety stops you from doing the things you would really like to do.

I gave it some time, and my phone finally returned to the right size, as did the room, along with my pounding heart. And my anxiety finally subsided too. I think it's also good to remember, life is more than just a silly phone call, more than a stupid party. In the grand scheme of things, these little moments don't matter. "Don't sweat the small stuff", a wise Papa Pinney once said to me. Even more wise, he followed it with "It's all small stuff."