My last few days in NYC were busy and stressful and difficult, but also amazing and illuminating. I spent several days feeling loved, appreciated and valued.
Wednesday, the 23rd, my boss took me and some coworkers out to dinner.. FOR ME. Since I expect Japanese food to be something I will desperately miss, we [click to continue reading...]
Two of my very good friends took me out for farewell drinks a few nights ago. The spot we went to used to be one of our favorites. The outdoor bar on Pier 84 only opened last year and it used to be a GREAT spot to hang out, drink, and relax with the dogs [click to continue reading...]
Most of all… my friends, of course: work friends, Shiba friends, neighborhood friends, miscellaneous friends
Meeting random new, interesting people at least once a week when I’m out with Snickers. I doubt that many people are out and about at 11pm in the suburbs of Indianapolis.
The not so random, wonderful people I get to meet during [click to continue reading...]

At least that is how I am thinking of it. Let’s please not call it “leaving NYC.”
<sigh>
I moved here 21 years ago, still a teenager and totally in awe of everything around me. I made the mistake of leaving in 1991 and spent the next few years desperately trying to find my way home from [click to continue reading...]
Rescue, that is.
As you all know, I’m just a bit involved in NYC Shiba Rescue. You may or may not know that my sister, Debbie, had the rescue bug long before I did. She fosters and transports for Above and Beyond English Setter Rescue and she is also a moderator for the online transport community, [click to continue reading...]
I gave someone a card years ago that said “You Are Not a Poopy-Head.” I think maybe I treated him like one sometimes though. Which sucks, cz I loved him.
I don’t have a lot of patience for people. Not like I do for dogs anyway.
Speaking of dogs and poop… I have a new foster dog [click to continue reading...]
Snick and I Got to Meet Janet Yesterday
Janet is in NYC for the weekend and stopped by our Shiba Meetup yesterday for her Shiba fix. I didn’t know she was coming, so when she introduced herself I was like "oh, hi" and then "wait! oh, hi!" I’ve known Janet online for a few years now, [click to continue reading...]

My sister lost her heart dog, Chase, last night. He was a good boy and will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him, but most of all by my sister. We’ve both had a lot of pets through the years, but Chase was the dog for my sister and even though she knew his [click to continue reading...]

Therefore, I must promote her newest online presence. She’s moving beyond MySpace and Facebook and she’s BLOGGING. Of course, if you’re over, oh, I dunno, 16, you may not find it very interesting, but I’m promoting it anyway!
For those of you who don’t know, She’s actually a pro at this online stuff already. [click to continue reading...]

I ran across these two photos completely randomly last night. This was the first time I had seen them within a short enough time frame to realize the similarity. I put them side by side and couldn’t believe it. I guess the more things change, the more they really DO stay the same!!!

A friend of mine just sent me this photo, taken before Miss ~T~ and Secret went to live with T’s Dad.
Today is the 19th anniversary of the day I met The Divine Miss ~T~’s father.
He and I have been through a lot in those 19 years (and have both grown up a LOT), including 12 years of marriage, a wonderful daughter, a lot of laughter and tears, some badly hurt feelings, a relatively friendly divorce, [click to continue reading...]
So… I’ve had a couple people email and IM me asking about Secret in the past few days and it made me realize just how little I blog lately. An aside to Janet in NC, owned by Teddy: I didn’t respond to your IMs because I was offline and didn’t receive them until several hours [click to continue reading...]

I ran across this tonight when I was looking for something else. This is one of my very most FAVORITE pictures of Miss ~T~.
Help Snick and me Make a Difference
On May 6, 2007, we are participating in The American Cancer Society’s Dogswalk Against Cancer. As participants in this event we can help make a difference in the lives of our friends, families, co-workers, neighbors, and of course… dogs!
Funds raised support the lifesaving work of the American Cancer Society [click to continue reading...]
Go T! Go T! It’s your birthday! It’s your birthday!
For anyone who doesn’t know already… this is a big one. Miss ~T~ is a TEENAGER today!

Miss ~T~ and I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for the first time last month. A friend that lives in Brooklyn invited us out to visit the Garden and have dinner w/her in Park Slope. We almost never venture into the boros unless we’re headed to the airport, but we make exceptions for friends. [click to continue reading...]
I have a lot to be thankful for, but this is not a long, sappy post listing all those things. This is just to say that I really love my friends and I’m so happy to finally be living in the version of New York City that I was headed for when I left the [click to continue reading...]
subtitled Bye Bye (for now) to Benedict and Kaos
Benedict and Kaos have a 3pm flight out of LGA to Miami. TODAY. They’re getting out of here before it gets cold again!!! I’m so happy for them. They were sleeping in various places (like ATM vestibules) that couple weeks when it was so cold. The cops [click to continue reading...]
I never get any work done when she’s home sick from school. Yesterday, ~T~ (who’s now known as "Miss ~T~" btw) stayed home from school with some sort of stomach thing. She was miserable all day, which meant I pretty much didn’t hear anything from her. Today is a different story. She’s on the mend [click to continue reading...]
When your girlfriend gives you a compliment… she’s possibly biased (and may have ulterior motives).
When your straight male friend gives you a compliment… he almost certainly has an ulterior motive.
But… when your GAY MALE FRIEND gives you a compliment, you can bank on it.
Actual conversation, earlier today:
him: What wonderfully kinky outfit!
me: Why thank you!
him: It’s [click to continue reading...]
This is ridiculous. Black Jack, Missouri has a city ordinance that prohibits more than three people from living together in the same house if they are unrelated by blood, marriage or adoption. Wait… did I read that right? I did. WTF??? From Reuters:
Olivia Shelltrack and Fondray Loving and their children moved from Minnesota to Missouri [click to continue reading...]
Uh, yeah. Six weeks. By myself.
After commenting over at Janet’s a few days ago that I’d fallen way behind on my blog reading lately, she wrote me back and just said “it’s called life ”
Well, she’s right.
Perusing my own blog tonight, I realized that I haven’t had much to say lately and when I have, it hasn’t been as [click to continue reading...]
Started this entry on January 1 and then forgot about it… It seemed fitting to complete and post it now. Now that I’m thinking of leaving.
I had New Years Day brunch with my friend Mary earlier today. Both of us spent time outside the city during the holidays. We have also both lived in other [click to continue reading...]
T and I got back from Indy last night. I put her on a plane to England tonight to see her dad. I am SSOOOO tired. I have lots of really fun plans for the upcoming long weekend! Stuff like (1) clean the apartment, (2) figure out how I’m going to pay my holiday bills, [click to continue reading...]
otherwise titled not a good daughter
I forgot my mom’s birthday yesterday.

So, I’m off tomorrow (Wednesday) on a roadtrip with ~T~ and Snick to visit my sister and her two dogs in Indianapolis. My parents will be there from down south and I’m sure a merry time will be had by all. Of course, I’ll have both my laptop AND my Palm with me, but I [click to continue reading...]
Do memories ever just wander through your consciousness unexpected?
Tonight my mind unexpectedly replayed a memory from February 2005. I went to Washington D.C. with my best friend. We visited a number of meaningful memorials, among them the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. We found the names of his 37 comrades that died on one day. [click to continue reading...]
I realized something today… and btw, my ex-husband will say “I told you so,” if he reads this. He always complained that I wanted every little thing to be “perfect” and to be “my way.”
Uh, Mr. Ex, you don’t need to comment on this post, thank you.
Well, I really screwed something up because [click to continue reading...]

It won’t be released in the states till March, but Things As They Are: Photojournalism in Context Since 1955 can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com or depending on where you are… it came out in Europe a couple months back (for a big World Press Photo shindig) and it’s available on Amazon UK right now.
How do [click to continue reading...]
I’m not blogging today, BUT… I just had to say Happy Birthday to my mini me.
I wonder what my grandmother (rest her soul) would think if she knew the only thing – well almost the only thing – that I cook in her Revereware is dog food for Snick the Dog.
My mini me is in Europe for the long weekend (with her dad) and she feels a LOT further away than when she just went uptown to spend time with him.
This isn’t QUITE the furthest we’ve ever been from each other though. According to Google Earth (which totally rocks, btw), she is 3,317.72 miles from [click to continue reading...]
I am so sad for my sister right now that I don’t know how to express myself. Last night, her 18 year old cat, Phantom, passed away from old age and today her 4 year old rescued English Setter, Quincy, unexpectedly passed too!
Mad props to my friend Beth Benzaquin who created two nifty neato new logos for me… the one you see above this post and also the new one on my business site.
Beth and I have worked – and are currently working – on several web development projects together. She also happens to be the “mom” [click to continue reading...]
This whole fake firefighter halloween rape thing has me going crazy. I usually tell my mini me about these sort of things, because I want her to be aware and be careful. With this one, I’m not sure how to approach it. I want her to be careful, but I’ve always told her she can [click to continue reading...]
A friend just called me and told me about this story. Sometimes, I want to lock my daughter in her room and never let her out. There seems to be more evil in the world than I can ever warn her about.
Hoax Caller Fools Fast Food Asst. Managers into Strip Searching Employees

My friend Pam just handed me something amazing – my favorite taste (DARK CHOCOLATE) wrapped in my favorite color (PURPLE). Wow. Gosh.
It was such a shame to unwrap them to eat them that I decided to take a picture of them first.
by nycgadgetgirl on October 6, 2005
in parenting
I meant to write about this over a week ago. Time seems to race away in front of me. I can never catch up.
T had a sleepover. I’m sure that is not an extraordinary thing for the mom of a preteen girl to write, BUT:
Our apartment is REALLY small.
I’m not great with kids in general.
There [click to continue reading...]
Wishing my Jewish friends – online and offline, around the world – a sweet year of health and prosperity.
aka The Story of How Gadget Girl Came To Be
I get some seriously weird looks when I tell people my email address. And, inevitably, if I am giving it to someone over the phone, I spell it out for them and then they ask “Gadget Girl?” My response is almost always “Yeah, it’s a long [click to continue reading...]
by nycgadgetgirl on September 20, 2005
in parenting
I recently initiated my daughter into an age old female tradition.
Ask any woman in the modern world what you do when you are (1) starting your period AND (2) angry at and/or missing a significant other. 99% of them will tell you to do what T and I did a few days ago.
(Yes, I know [click to continue reading...]
Shhh… I’ve decided what to get T for her birthday. Now, if I can
just. contain. myself.
for 3 more months, I’ll be good!
by nycgadgetgirl on August 5, 2005
in parenting
T is home! T is home! My daughter just got back from a six week vacation. I got a text from a friend as we were leaving the airport last night. It said “U r mommyrific again! Say hi for me.”
(And yes, Snickers went insane when he saw her. I think he thought she was [click to continue reading...]

It’s not like I have nothing else to say or talk about. I have a fairly interesting life… at least I think maybe I do. The dog has a way of getting me involved with people I wouldn’t otherwise know or spend time with it. It has turned out to be an GREAT side effect [click to continue reading...]

OK, my DOG has play dates. My daughter didn’t go on play dates… well, not until she was old enough to arrange them herself! I’m not sure how this happened; Snickers and his doggie pals are obviously colluding to influence our behavior. And they say Shibas aren’t social!
The picture on the left is Snickers and [click to continue reading...]

This isn’t such an amazing photo that is has to be shared, but when your ex-husband is still such a good friend that he gives you flowers when it matters… that deserves to be told somewhere, somehow.
Of course, the fact that he and his partner came screaming up the avenue in the ambulance, lights and [click to continue reading...]