More New York, coupled with a needy poodle, and kids who think Facebook is more important than studying for finals

Bleccch.

That about sums it up.

It seems that studying biology 10 hours a day, in between driving Em to and from school, making dinner, and doing laundry is more than I can handle, especially when it's coupled with a migraine that just won't go away. Kind of like a spouse. Or a needy poodle. Same difference.

This post should have been out yesterday, but I couldn't do it. I spent the morning driving Em to school, drinking coffee and studying. And then by noon I had to take too many Tylenol and a codeine to try and block out the intense head pain that was knocking me to the ground, and I gave up studying and went to lie down in bed. Then I had to get up again and get Em from school. By that point, I had decided I wasn't making dinner because the only thing I'd be able to manage was making it back up to my bed and crawling under the covers, which I did, and there I stayed until 8 p.m., only waking up to turn over and cover my head up again. I then came downstairs, ate three pieces of pizza that Dee had made for dinner, sat around for an hour to be part of the whole "family thing", told Em to get off Facebook and study for her math exam, was given the Evil Eye by Em, who then proceeded to start a screaming match with yours truly, which continued as a screaming match for 10 more minutes because she really should be studying for her finals despite her great marks, and ended with Em going to bed, me going back to bed, and the world was once again quiet.

You wish you could have this much fun, guys.

So ... Day 2 of New York City.

Part of our bus tour included a four-hour tour of the city, and I had decided early on that I was going to go because it was a good way to see the best of the city, and was also the perfect way to sleep a little longer. I was tired, man.

And getting sick, as it happens.

One of the first stops we made, where we got off and walked, was Central Park, not far from where John Lennon was shot, which sent shivers down my spine, just thinking about it.

I almost got bitten by a snarly, rat-like dog while I was totally minding my own business in the Park, which kind of ruined the whole moment for me, but it's par for the course in Mary's World.

Then I saw this:

and I have no idea what this is, but it was awesome cool. Does anyone know what this is??? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?

And I also stopped in my tracks when I saw this:

I think this is honeysuckle. Please correct me if I'm wrong, which I probably am, because I'm apparently rarely right, according to my kids, my husband, and anyone else who knows me even remotely.

Then we stopped again in the Flatiron district, and before I saw the famous flatiron building, I saw this:

which is a naked person, but not really. It's just a statue of a naked person, guys. You can stop the heavy breathing now. What this naked statue was doing in the middle of the sidewalk is beyond me. I asked the tour guide, but he ignored me.

The Flatiron Building, named the Flatiron Building because its shape resembles -- you guessed it! -- a flat iron! Guys, I've always wanted to see this building, and now I have. If I die tomorrow, I will die a happy person.

And, of course, I snapped a quick shot of this

as we passed by on the bus. Wall Street and Broadway.

Apologies for the rather high crappiness factor of this photo. You try taking a picture of an intersection as your bus speeds past. Not only that, but its windows were tinted, so taking photos through them was an Olympian event in itself.

I think I've sufficiently bored you all to a semi-comatose state by now, so I'll continue with the second half of my city tour next time we get together. Until then, I'm back to the books, cleaning the kitchen, and doing the same load of laundry for the tenth time because I keep forgetting it's in the washing machine and then when I remember, I open it up and am greeted by a waft of undescribable odour -- also known as rotting clothing.