Work, Dinner, Baseball

Work has been so uncharacteristically busy lately. It usually slows down a bit around May and stays like that until September but it really hasn't happened yet (knock on wood). I'm not sure what's going to happen this year. Last year we noticed a slight increase over the summer so I'm assuming it will be the same this year. I wish it would slow down every so often, though. I know I shouldn't say that - being busy is good and I'm really enjoying being able to support my family, but for the sake of my mental health I do need a little bit of a rest now and then. I noticed it this weekend, I could really use two days off per week. At around 7pm on Sunday I had JUST started winding down from the work week. I could have definitely stayed in bed a little longer this morning and I would have loved to take care of some chores. I didn't get much done this weekend in the way of chores, as soon as the summer comes I just want to have fun on the weekends!

Speaking of fun and weekends, I, well, had a fun weekend. Saturday after work we drove to Staten Island for Brian's cousin Courtney's graduation party. I love his family. My family is so small so being around his big, loud, fun family is so great. The food was awesome, I got to have Ralph's (2nd best ices ever) and overall it was a nice day. Then we went to meet up with Danny and Naomi who also live on Staten Island. We hadn't seen them in at least a year or two so it was cool to catch up and see what they've been up to. They brought us to this place Palo Santo in Park Slope. We'd never been there before and didn't know what to expect. I was ridiculously impressed! First, it's a complete "hole-in-the-wall" place, but without being a hole-in-the-wall place. The restaurant itself is the first floor of a brownstone on a completely residential block. The decor is awesome. There's a garden in the back with a ton of stonework, a fountain and a banana tree (among other plant life). The bar and tables are awesome, they're made of solid wood with all different things imbedded in the surfaces.

For appetizers we ordered fresh tortillas and an avocado salad. Even though the salad is just sliced avocado with red onions, jalapenos and a vinegarette it was so fresh and delicious. I also ordered a cauliflower soup (absolutely amazing) and everyone else ordered the tilefish entree. I tried Brian's and I LOVED it. It is also a wine bar so Danny and Naomi ordered a bottle of wine and I had white wine sangria. Instead of the typical fruits there was zucchini and something that resembled pineapple but was firmer (I couldn't tell what it was, maybe lychee?). It had such a great and earthy flavor. Food-wise the chef (Jacques Gautier) focuses on fresh, locally grown and seasonal ingredients which I love. For dessert I ordered vanilla ice cream with strawberries, blueberries and local honey. The menu changes constantly so I will definitely be going back there again to try more of his food. Here is a promotional video for the restaurant.

Sunday started out awful. I got in a fight with my dad because he and I had conflicting ideas of what our plans were for the morning/afternoon. He wanted to go on the boat, yet he knew we had to go to Brooklyn in the afternoon to pick up Brian's cousin John before the baseball game. After going to their house and hearing him complain non-stop about how he didn't want to be there and how he's not happy unless he's on the boat (note: he had been on his boat for 10 straight months and claimed to have come home because he missed me) I left in a huff and went home and sat in the back. Just being able to sit by the water and spend time with my little garden calmed me down and alleviated some of my stress. I was still cranky, though, and couldn't really snap myself out of it for a few hours. Sean came over, I got ready and we left for Brooklyn. I forgot that the Gay Pride Parade was going on in the city. We got stuck in SO MUCH traffic. Driving down the west side by the village was cool, though (despite the traffic). It was nice to see so many people coming together and celebrating a lifestyle that is so often looked down upon. I'm very lucky that my mom raised me to be open-minded and accepting of everyone. I feel bad for people who are so angry and negative that they can't see past their own hate to realize that, underneath it all, we're all human and deserve to live freely any way we choose to.

We finally got to Brooklyn, picked up John, sat in a ridiculous amount of Belt/Van Wyck traffic. Here is B in traffic:

The game was SO good. It was such a close game the whole time and the Yankees won! We watched Mariano Rivera get his 500th career save which was awesome. We've witnessed a few Yankees milestones. Derek Jeter's first grand slam, Tino's comeback, Bernie William's last game at Yankee Stadium. I'm sure there have been more. Robinson Cano's first major league game (not a milestone but I love him so it was cool for me). Sean wasn't happy (he's a Mets fan) but he still had fun. This was my second game at Citi Field, now I need to go to the new Yankee Stadium!