Sixty!

My dad and Retep (pete!) visited this weekend to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. The time spent together was too short, but so sweet.

Tep is so serious...most of Saturday looked like this...video-game bonding

we visited "eataly" which is like a GIANT zingermans run by mario batalli (spelling?) peter and dad relished in the fine meat and cheeses. yum.

Tep admitted he is finally starting to appreciate mushrooms.. here we are, in front of some delicious mushrooms :)

happy 60th birthday to my daddio! jeff and i took them to our favorite local place: chez oskar... we enjoyed spicy lamburgers, duck confit and monkfish.

thanks for coming out, dad and pete!

much love.

Forced Extended Sabbath: Relishing in being a [temporary] stay-at-home-wife

I mentioned in my previous post that I had a chaotic week. The New York City Department of Health just instituted a new law that bands me from working for the 2-6 week time period after I complete my Clinical Fellowship Year until my Licensure is actually issued. Whoa. This law is ONLY for Early Intervention Speech Therapists working in New York City limits. It doesn't affect Speech Therapists who work with anyone older than 3 or speech therapists who do early intervention outside of New York City limits. So, if I worked in a school or hospital, this new law would not affect me. OR if I worked on Long Island, Westchester or ANYWHERE ELSE IN NEW YORK, I would not be affected.

For those who read and are familiar with the field of Speech Language Pathology probably agree that this is utterly bogus. I can't start working somewhere else because I am not licensed (Speech Therapists are licensed in the state of New York, something I was previously unfamiliar with because Michigan recently received licensure and it had not been implemented by the time I completed graduate school.)

My company just informed me of this new law last Tuesday. For someone who gets paid per session, this could be completely devastating to my lifestyle. Gratefully, Jeff has taught me about savings, and we will make it through this season of unemployment. In addition, 2-6 weeks without speech therapy can be devastating to children who THRIVE on routine (ie., children with PDD or Autism.) The NYC Department of Health is only putting these children and families at a disadvantage.

I feverishly researched other options - but there are none. I'm starting to think that the Lord is FORCING me to take a break and rest until my licensure goes through. Jeff has encouraged me to look at this 2-6 weeks as an "extended sabbath." I've decided to commit to learning how to cook a few more dishes, amp up my running and do some pleasure reading.

Today was Day 1 of my extended Sabbath, and I won't lie - I loved it. I woke up at the same time as usual, hit the gym, did some grocery shopping, cleaned up the apartment, took a short nap, video-chatted with my sweet Ashley and tried out a new recipe: Chicken Tetrazzini (cooking light!) The chicken was delicious.

topped with delicious, crispy, home-made bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese

please note the tulips in the background - gifted to me by a family of one of my babies with a "I MISS YOU" painted card.. so sweet!

As a side dish, I sauteed up some green beans - Chinese style (garlic, soy sauce and crushed red pepper flakes.) The two dishes didn't necessarily compliment each other, but Jeff and I aren't picky - and they still were quite tasty!

So, I'm relishing in some unexpected time off... but still praying my licensure is approved swiftly!

Much Love.

Sweet Lovin'

I know this post is a little delayed, but I've had another chaotic week.

Jeff swooned me (per usual) and took me to "The Painted Pot" - a ceramic painting place - for Valentines day. We decided to paint a dog bowl in anticipation of our puppy :) I picked it up yesterday, and THIS is our work of art:

our dog will be a nature-lovin' fool - as illustrated by the dirt and grass....

typical laura: including poop into artwork - i am so immature

After tapping into our artistic side, we enjoyed a delectable and romantic dinner at Scopello. Scopello is another Fort Greene gem - delicious italian food. I'm sure we will be enjoying it again with my family (whenever they visit.)

After stuffing our faces with carbolicious italian cuisine, we took a stroll down the brooklyn heights promenade (a sidewalk that runs parallel with the east river, overlooking manhattan) and reveled in this spectacular view of manhattan:

The Brooklyn Bridge

Jeff and I feel a transition coming.. We're not really sure what this looks like, but I'm not really ready to write about it.. To be continued :)

Much Love.