Plus, whenever you see one on TV, they’re always decorated so well and always seem to be inhabited by young, hip people who have their shit together. That’s also desirable to me.

Ideally, I would love to one day live in a high-rise building in midtown Manhattan, but that’s currently so freaking far out of my budget. But luckily, I have some friends who DO currently have this lifestyle. And this weekend I stopped by my friend Matthew’s new apartment and basked in the ridiculousness of his view.

Someday, in some way, this sort of thing will also be mine.

That is the exact age my mother was when she gave birth to me, her third child. She was 31 years, 3 months, and 8 days old. She had an eleven-year-old son, a six-year-old daughter, and was on a hospital bed squeezing out what was obviously destined to become her favorite child. Me.

She would, within about a year, go through her third divorce leaving her once again as the sole provider and caregiver to three children who needed her. And, I’m not going to romanticize it and say she did it perfectly and that all three of her children turned out perfectly. That’s simple impossible for any parent or parents to ever do. But what I can say is that never once in my life have I not felt taken care of, provided for, and perhaps most importantly of all, loved.

I can’t even fathom having the maturity and responsibility to be raising three children at this point in my life. Alone, or with a partner. Hell, I can BARELY take care of myself and a cat. I am a couple days late for Thanksgiving, but I want to take this special day in my life’s calendar to say to anyone who will listen that I am so thankful I had such a strong role model and influence in my life teaching me every single day by her example how to be a decent human being.

I am who I am today because of her. Whether anything she ever does will ever mean anything to anyone else in the entire world or if nobody else ever even knows her name, she will never ever not mean the entire world to me.

I didn’t feel like taking a ton of pictures. Just felt weird posing for cameras and cheesing it up for pictures. But I did take a few nice pictures to remember my first visit. I can’t wait to go back once more of it has been completed.

I’m obsessed.

If I had to narrate it, I think it would go something like this….

“Hey you! And you! And you! And you! I ate all your cheesecake!”

Anyone else wanna take a stab at making some of these from my videos? I’d love you forever!

But the time has come for me to post those. Just a nice sampling of some of my favorites. A Cliff’s Notes, if you will.

Tomorrow I fly to Orlando with my wedding date, Lorianne:

Where we will be celebrating the nuptials of Michael and Justin:

Aboard the gorgeous Disney Dream:

Bon Voyage!

I have nothing eloquent or remotely meaningful to say about today, as I’ve never been good with words.

All I can say is that ten years ago today, I woke up to find my city, my home, in midst of terror. Today, I woke up to find my city, my home, in the midst of rebuilding and overcoming.

And while I am proud every single day of my life to be a New Yorker, it just means so much more today to know that we as a city, as a nation, and as a people can and will overcome the greatest of adversities.

Bless us all.

The things I learned this summer…

I learned that laying out can actually be fun. But apparently SPF 50 means you will never ever ever ever get a tan. Summer 2012 will be my tannest year so far!

I learned that even adults can get pink eye. And even adults act like children when they have pink eye.

I learned that I’m now allowed to get married. And that made me proud.

I learned that Sprinkles makes the most amazing Vegan Red Velvet cupcakes. I’m sorry, Babycakes. You’re cookies are amazing, but sprinkles wins the cupcake race.

I learned that just because some friends leave, doesn’t mean they are out of your life. Friendship survives.

I learned I look pretty badass in pink, bandanas, and pink bandanas.

I learned that turning 31 can be pretty damn sweet.

I learned that turning 31 doesn’t mean I can’t still act like I’m 13.

I learned a lot this past summer. Some important. Most not. But if there’s anything you can learn from this entry, it’s that while I may not blog as often as I should, I do take pictures and tweet quite a bit. So why aren’t you following me on twitter? You’re missing out on quite a bit of fun. @nickynax

Let breezes blow and turn cold as we continue growing old. Shall we all meet in the autumn?

Thirty-one years ago today I was forced against my will to come in contact with a vagina. This mortifying event, thankfully, only happened that one time.

Thirty-one years have passed, and I am proud and humbled to say that I have overcome the emotional scars that traumatic experience could have left me with and have risen above to become a better person despite such an encounter of the labia kind.

Join me in celebrating this momentous milestone.