About Amanda
I’m a disgruntled LIRR commuter by morning, real estate journalist by day, insomniac by night, and cancer butt-kicker for life.
Where To Find Me
The Road Less Traveled
Published January 11, 2012 | A Writer’s Book of Days (01/11) – You Are In A Motel Room
Mom, my sister Alyse, and I watched from the window as a freight train rumbled on in the distance. Ten, 25, 50, 80 cars – we lost count after 100. The motel we stayed in was in the Mohonk Valley of upstate New York. My friend Erin was having her Sweet Sixteen party at her new home in Edmeston, a town that falls in the middle of the Schenectady-Syracuse-Binghamton triangle. We decided to take a road trip up from Long Island.
It’s hard to believe that this was the same New York we live in. We saw green valleys for miles and miles from the hotel room. We’d gone horseback riding, explored Howe Caverns, ate lunch in a town with only one traffic light, tried sulfuric spring water in Saratoga, and passed many, many cows. It was a far cry from the ocean beaches, Long Island Railroad, and miles and miles of strip malls I was used to.
That road trip wasn’t as glitzy as many of the vacations my friends had taken – weeks at Martha’s Vineyard, transcontinental flights to California, resort stays in Mexico. We didn’t have that kind of money.
But I didn’t know that. Mom always made sure our trips – this was our first multiple-day jaunt since I’d gone to Disney World at five – were full of fun, unique, and memorable experiences, even if they didn’t cost a lot of money.
Even though our money situation has improved drastically since then, we still don’t go for the glitz. Vacations are spent meandering and exploring, sometimes throwing the map to the wind. Luckily, my fiance Lexcie shares the same traveling philosophy. Our house is full of treasures from those trips – rocks, seashells, little trinkets picked up at a small town gift store.
It’s finding a stone with the words “THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES” painted on while horseback riding in the Mohonk Valley. Eating stinky tofu in a little mining town in Taiwan. Finding a free pair of roller blades on the side of the road while taking a different route than originally planned. Buying the most comfortable hammocks ever from a seaside shack on Prince Edward Island. Visiting Islip, England just because it has the same name of your hometown.
You never know what you’ll find along the road less traveled.
Splish, Splash, I Love Taking A Bath
Published January 6, 2012 | A Writer’s Book of Days (01/06) – Write About Bathing
512 square feet. A California king bed. A separate seating area. One person.
And that’s just a hotel room (I think there are plenty of Manhattan apartments smaller than that). Yet it’s the one I booked for my upcoming trip to Las Vegas. I certainly could have gone for the twin bed, but that room (more appropriate and affordable for a woman traveling on her own) didn’t have a Jacuzzi. That bubbly tub of wonder stole my credit card number the first time I laid eyes on the room description.
I love baths. A hotel’s glass shower stall would not do.
It’s not a luxury I have at home. I do have a tub, but a small one. Not exactly one you can sink into without splashing bubbles and water all over the place. My arm, which doesn’t fit, has to hang cold and limply over the side. When I buy my own house, you bet it’s going to be one of those claw-foot giants.
So hotels will just have to do for now. Accommodations get bonus points (or that extra star on Yelp.com) if they have deep soak tubs like the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Fla., The Jefferson Hotel in DC, and The Wynn in Sin City. There’s nothing like covering your entire body with a warm, giant quilt of bubbles. It’s akin to putting the first flannels on your bed for winter.
But a Jacuzzi? Movin’ on up, girl.
I never stayed in a hotel room with a Jacuzzi before. In fact, if you asked me which ones have them, I can only think of seedy themed motels with giant heart-shaped or champagne glass tubs. (I presume the reputation of this Vegas casino-hotel means it will be properly cleaned and disinfected.)
You can be sure I’ll be in that tub at least once or twice, and that my toiletry bag (three-ounce bottles and under, since I only pack a carry-on) will have more bubbles, powders, and bath oil than cosmetics. I particularly like those scented fizzing balls with shea butter. That little complimentary bottle of hotel body wash doesn’t have the same effect.
So if you don’t find me at the roulette table, you know where to find me.
The 31st Day of Christmas – For Auld Lang Syne
Published December 31, 2011 | I can’t believe 2011 is nearly over. It seems like only yesterday we were sitting in my best friends’ living room watching Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and waiting to see if Y2K would make the world blow up. Even worse, I remember when Prince’s (the artist formerly known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince?) “1999″ was so far into the future.
Overall, 2011 was a decent year.
- Although January saw our car Zephyr’s first accident, it was repaired to even better condition that when Lexcie and I first purchased it. We traveled to many places in that car, including New England and down the East Coast to Virginia to see my friends Chris and Nicole get married. We then traveled to West Virginia, a state I’ve never been to before. I wish I knew how many miles we put on the car this year. Over 3,000, at least.
- Our travels also took us to Great Britain, Scotland, and Wales for 10 days in October, the first time I’ve ever been to Europe. It was a fantastic trip.
- I was promoted to an editorial position at my job.
- Healthwise, I reached my sixth year of being cancer free – each day is a celebration! But additional celebrating at the I’m Too Young for This! Cancer Foundation‘s (i[2]y) OMG Summit in NYC in April sent me in for a battery of tests after I discovered I had a strange reaction to drinking alcohol (so my memories of the booze cruise weren’t exactly as fun as everyone else’s). After eight months or so, arrows are pointing to a potential gallbladder issue, but I don’t find out until January 2. My body really needs to give me a break!
- I met a whole bunch of new friends this year, particularly through i[2]y, my lymphoma support group on Facebook, Long Island Tweetup, and 140ConfLI.
- I accomplished plenty of items from my 101 in 1,001 list.
Asian-spiration
Published February 1, 2011 | As Lexcie helped himself to a heap of some Mandarin cole slaw I made yesterday, he commented how I’ve been cooking a lot more Asian-inspired foods lately. He thinks it’s particularly funny because I’m Italian. But it’s true. I’ve been on an Asian food kick ever since we visited Taiwan last year, which was quite the gastronomic adventure (see Day Two, which includes jellyfish, sea cucumber, shark fin, and quail eggs, among other culinary delights). Even the new restaurants I’ve visited as part of my 101 in 1001 challenge have been overwhelmingly Asian in nature (next stop: the new Koreatown food court).
I even just purchased a Taiwanese cook book I found on Amazon.com, which is going to be quite an adventure, since I’ve never used half the ingredients the recipes call for, like sweet potato powder.
In the meantime, I’ve been playing with my own Asian-inspired recipes with foods I normally have on hand. A few of you have asked for the recipes, so here they are. Continue reading
Taiwan Days Eleven and Twelve (Lost in Taipei/Eating from Toilets)
Published February 8, 2010 | My biggest pre-trip fear was being separated from Lexcie in Taiwan – understandable, since I would be in a foreign country with no grasp of its language. Eleven days went by without incident – that is, until Sunday, when my fear came true. Lexcie and I ran for a subway train; he made it onto the train, the doors shut behind him, and I was left on the platform, watching the train leave the station. Continue reading