Bringing down the NY Times!

This was the hardest puzzle of the year for me. I thought I had post-yoga brain melt yesterday when I took forever to do DQ's puzzle, but now I don't know. Maybe I am in a serious slump - or I'm not eating right or sleeping enough. Whatever it is, I am off my game. This was hard to begin with, and by the time I got down to the final SE corner, it turned borderline impossible.
Rex Parker

Who is Rex Parker? He is THE NY Times authority. He blogs every puzzle and rates them, has the completed puzzle and info about each clue/answer. He signs his posts: The King of Crosswords. He's the guy you go to when you need some ... ahem... help. Hey, sometimes you need a breakthrough!!!

And he claimed that the puzzle we ripped through (Oh Yeah!!!!) was "...the hardest puzzle of the year for me". Oh Yeah.

Two years ago, I set a goal for myself: to be able to complete a NY Times Saturday Puzzle. To my surprise, a lot of work and hours of frustration have paid off. It doesn't happen every week, it actually hardly ever gets completely solved, but we (Bruno and I) give it our best and can usually get about 3/4 of the grid penciled in.
There are usually many many eraser marks, but who's looking at those?
Am I proud? Yes. Do I like to brag about it? Yes. Does that make a bad person? No.
Till next week Saturday Puzzle... I'll be waiting for you.