Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

It is so easy to get caught up in the commercial aspect of Christmas. The true meaning is often forgotten. During this time of year it is a time to enjoy your family, embrace family traditions-or start new ones, and to show appreciation to those around you for all they do. For me, my family's Christmas tradition was to watch movies while laying in the living room on a big comfy blanket eating yummy food waiting for midnight to open our gifts. Of course, we'd always fall asleep somewhere between the 11pm hour and wake up after midnight. We'd open presents then go back to bed. Rey's family has a different tradition. They celebrate with music, food and with family. They have a much bigger family then I do. It was always just me, my mom and sister and sometimes our grandma. One year, we took a road trip to surprise Rey's sister in Florida. It was the first time I had spent Christmas away from my family. I did not expect to miss my mom, sis and Christmas eve tradition so much. Each time I would speak to them on the phone I would start crying. Each time I was around Rey's family, watching their traditions and being a part of it, I started crying. Rey's family is great with making the moments count. They are always grateful for your presence and always share that. I think that was the Christmas I cried the most. It was not about the gifts but the people and love around you. Although I was not with my mom and sister I still felt loved and realized how much I loved my family.

Today, it's Christmas Eve. My mother is in Florida with my sister. This is the 2nd Christmas we are apart. I didn't think I would be sad. This morning Rey shows me this link: http://news.wgcu.org/post/latino-christmas-traditions#.Urmj1MZjveg.facebook.  It is Rey's sister describing her reaction to our visit that Christmas. Guess what? It made me cry. That year I cried for my family and this year I cried for his. I promise, I don't enjoy crying all the time. :) If you have a minute, click the link above. She narrates the story. It was amazing to hear her thoughts and made us get the warm and fuzzys all over again. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! Especially all of you great people who check out my blog and fb page and support me in various ways! xoxo

16 year old wisdom

Tonight, as usual, I was bothering my stepson about his ever growing hair. "You look like Edward Cullen." He responds, "Nah, I kind of have the Bill Clinton hair going on now." That's not what I expect to hear from a 16 year old. We then get into a conversation about Clinton and his impeachment. Of course he didn't believe me and had to do some pretty intense research aka google. This leads to Obama and how he has aged during his presidency. We both agreed it's due to the stress of the job. His solution to the political stress (democratic president, republicans everywhere else) is this: if he were running for presidency he would simply run as opposite of his beliefs. He would run as a republican, get elected then be the most liberal republican or vice versa. 

As we talk about Democrats and Republicans he compares it to Xbox and Play Station, also known as the console wars. Yes, he managed to compare politics to war raging from xbox and ps lovers worldwide. This then leads to an hour long conversation about his "theories." Apparently, when he takes a 15 minute shower not only is he using up all the hot water in the tank he is pondering the mysteries of the world. This includes religion, beliefs and human interest. My plan for the evening was to write 2 reviews and start reading a book. That plan didn't work so well for me. Instead, I realized how proud I was that this kid that I nag at all the time (SAT"s, College applications, laundry, trash removal) who plays xbox as if it were his full time job and answers most questions with "uh huh, ut uh" or a one word answers was sharing so much information with me. He has always had an expansive vocabulary since he was a child. It's nice to know there is still a working brain in there despite all of the Family Guy episodes and countless hours spent on some sort of video game console. 

My Fav Spices and Color Changing Nail Polish

So lately I have noticed that no matter what I'm cooking I'm adding these 2 ingredients. 1) Bay leaves 2) Basil & Garlic Seasoning.  I have been raving about Basil garlic to anyone who would listen to me for the last two years! (maybe longer...) At one point I kept some in my purse...yes I would shamelessly add this to my breakfast sandwich from Jo Jo's... I no longer keep a bottle on my but do add some to everything... sweet potatoes, eggs, all types of meat, you can even add it to rice. As for the bay leaves my mom has been adding them to baked chicken with onions and I love the flavor. When I tried to make the same dish it didn't come out the same that's when she told me about the bay leaves. Similarly now I add them to everything too! Although I recommend for you to remove them before eating your meal since it is a leaf after all and no one wants to eat a leaf with their meal...unless it's salad.

OK, next item on the agenda is color changing gel nail polish. My friend Veronica told me about this and I was super excited. It is like mood nail polish.  When your fingers are hot the polish is one color, when they are cold it turns another. Pretty impressive. The best thing that since it is gel polish the polish will stay on for at least 2 weeks. The photo on the left is when my fingers are hot, baby blue nail polish. (She did a design on one finger from each hand...) The picture on the right is when my fingers are freezing, gray nail polish. Pretty cool huh! I think I will try another of the color changing polish next time I go back. My mom got her nails polished too but wasn't as adventurous as I was. She just got a french manicure.  :)

Yay! I'm 30 and Engaged!

One week ago today I became one of the luckiest people on the planet! What started out as a simple lunch date with my boyfriend and my stepson ended up as a surprise birthday party. The surprise birthday party was at my favorite restaurant in Downtown Hartford, Salute. All of my closest friends were there, sister, aunt from Florida, Dad, brothers and grandma from NYC and NJ were there too. It was a big surprise for me as I had no clue there was a party for me and this party was 4 days after my birthday. The party quickly shifted gears and turned into an engagement party during the time I had to open gifts. When I got to Rey's gift there was a big beautiful white and black box which inside held another similar box. When I finished opening the boxes inside was a jewelery box. I tried to remain calm as I did not want to assume there was an engagement ring inside it. But when I look up Rey was on his knees. He asked "Will you marry me?" I was in such shock I closed the box that the beautiful ring was in and put it on the ground. I could not think straight or clearly. All of a sudden I felt like I had the flu. I was in extreme shock. Luckily I held the tears until after the party. Of course I said YES! We have been together almost 11 years. I have waited for this moment my entire life. I was so obsessed with being engaged that I never realized how much time and energy it consumed. If I were to plan the day of my engagement myself I would not have been able to come up with a more appropriate and perfect day. From my Twilight collage cake, elegant centerpieces, renting my favorite restaurant, balloons, family, friends, and the perfect ring I could not ask for more. The love and appreciation I felt that day was indescribable. A big THANK YOU to everyone who helped make my day so special and to everyone for sharing this special occasion with me!

Cooper

Cooper, Wybie and Me

In 2 days it will make 3 months that I had to put my beloved dog/baby Cooper down. I know things will get easier with time and somedays it seems almost normal. This morning I woke up with a deep sadness. I called Wybie Cooper and got all teary eyed just by thinking of Cooper. He was such a great dog. I miss him every day. Maybe sharing this will help.

Water hot dog stand

I just wanted to share these photos of a hot dog stand on the CT River. It was super cool! You just drive your boat or jet ski up and it is like a drive thru on the water! This is how we spent father's day this year.