Life Lately Since The Year Began...

 

Is this it, am I done? Is this the end of my blog? I certainly hope not but here we are in the middle of June and I haven’t shared or written anything in the last six months.   

For the past 15 years I’ve always looked at my blog as a journal of my life. I haven’t written major long stories in a while. All I have done in the last few years is pretty much shared the same thing that I post on my Instagram and snippets of what we’ve done on a weekend and sometimes that can get monotonous for those of you who follow me and read.

I would love to go into depth with my writing. I would like to share more about my life and be even more vulnerable in detail like how I used to be when I first started this blog. Especially with everything that has been going on the world and with me up until now at 54 years of age.

I also want to bring light and joy into this writing space. I always don’t want to be a Debbie downer but sometimes I have to be because, well-that’s life in todays world.  

So since the beginning of this year, I have to say that life has literally been bittersweet- both happy and sad. 

Currently-The one good thing that is going on in my life has been becoming a grandma and my granddaughter is growing up so fast! She’s 7 months old now and because of all the A. I. crap that’s on the Internet and out of respect of my daughter I will not be sharing any photos of her on the internet. But we are sooooo happy to say we are proud grandparents of a beautiful granddaughter. 

Then Nutcracker at Lincoln Center.

Jon and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary two weeks ago and for the first time I finally got to see the Nutcracker. It was very beautiful and loved every second of it. Apparently there are two versions of the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center and we saw the one with the little children which was George Balanchine's version. We hope to see the original adult version in 2026. Anyway, it was a crazy, beautiful snowy day in the city. Who knew we'd have snow the day of the show! We all had a grand time including Noah. Yes, he tagged along and we all saw the nutcracker together. But in all honesty, Noah is not really into the ballet, but he thought it was pretty cool nonetheless. Going to the city is always fun and it was a very low-key anniversary date...with our son. 

Waiting For Godot!

One of my birthday wishes was to see Keanu on Broadway and we did! We saw the legendary Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Waiting for Godot and it was interesting in many ways. I love that in many ways the writing behind it was referring to God and I loved that about this show. Keanu and Alex need to do more broadway shows. They were all brilliant and amazing in this and I recommend watching it before it closes next year in January! 

Merry Christmas!

 

Even with one kid in the house the Christmas magic still thrives. It thrives slightly different, but as a much older mom I do my best to make it special. I still hang stockings but instead of them being filled with candy and trinkets they literally just hang for decoration. See, not all my kids come home every Christmas. Once they get married, graduate from college and have real jobs, they come home less and less. However, I still manage to put up a tree and have a few gifts under the tree. They may not be material things, but they are little things that they can use. 

Oh Christmas Tree.

After going tree hunting for 15 years I did not buy a real tree this year. I don't know, I just wasn't into it. So we decided to buy an artificial one and I think it looks pretty good. We've had it up now for a while now and put on ornaments a few days ago. In spite of the feelings I have toward the holidays now that my mom is gone I somehow manage to keep the spirit alive for the sake of the kids, my sanity, and also because Christmas was my mom's favorite holiday. 

December is Here and Flying by Fast!

 

Second week of December and time is already flying. Took our traditional photo at the plaza earlier last month to beat the crowds and Noah continues get taller and towers me. It is such a bittersweet time knowing these moments are going to completely become obsolete once he leaves the nest. I have two more years with him and will take advantage of these moments every chance I get! Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season without the hustle! 

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

 

Thanksgiving came late this year and even thought it was just the three of us this year we kept the tradition of going to the Macy's parade. We always have fun and although it didn't rain like it did last year it was pretty cold. We were bundled up and with being in my menopausal state didn't mind the cold. LOL. We had a fun time and enjoyed watching this year's "90's themed" parade. I swear millennials were behind organizing it! They had 90's bands as well as Gen X music such as "Only in my Dreams" by Debbie Gibson playing on a serta mattress float. It was crazy good and although we miss the performances in the beginning because we are watching the parade we can always see it on tv later. I captured a few photos but this year wanted to enjoy watching it instead of recording so I didn't record videos or do a reel but I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. Now we kick in the Christmas season! 

Fall's Final Stretch In Central Park.

While Noah was at a scout camp Jon and I had the whole weekend to ourselves and we decided to spend time in the city. We are so so fortunate to live close by and that it's only an hour drive for us. We didn't get a chance to catch the fall foliage when it peaked earlier in the month or when my sister was here. Not enough time. I swear there is never enough time in the day to do all things one would want to do in NYC when they visit! So luckily we caught fall's final stretch inside the park and it was nice to see the last of the fall foliage. We also decided to capture moments of us (a little photo shoot if you will) and the beauty that Central Park brings....

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is this Thursday and that November is almost over!! Last weekend we went to the city and saw the holiday decor at Macy's. It always looks so magical every time we go and it never gets old looking at it every year. We have been coming here sine Noah was three years old. He may no longer sit on Santa's lap but he always obliges when I want to take pictures. He's so fun and at times a bit silly but I can tell the he loves the city just as much as I do even though he doesn't say it enough. 

Dia De Los Muertos.

Dia De Los Muertos is becoming easier for me to celebrate. I love that I can remember our loved ones on this day. Particularly my mom and Joe. Including those who I was closest to growing up. My ofrenda isn't big at all and I don't go all out on making one. And that's okay. It's probably a good thing because that shows how many deceased people I know. I miss my mom everyday and think of her all the time. I cry for her at random times and sometimes they are happy tears and sometimes they are sad. But at the end of the day I want to celebrate her life and not be in mourning all the time. It's still hard though. Especially when her birthday creeps up and mothers day comes. Those are the hardest days. Not to mention the holidays. She LOVED Christmas and it is almost here. But I will remember her as the woman who did her best in making our Christmases special. We didn't have many, but the two I remember I will always cherish them and keep them etched in my mind for always. 

Liberation, Jersey Shore, and Time Spent With My Sis.

My sister made yet another trip to see me recently and it was so nice to have spent time with her. I hadn't seen her since our mom passed away last summer so having her here reminded me of her and it was nice catching up and reminiscing about mom. We spent most of our time relaxing in my little house which she loves so much. She finds it very cozy. I personally do love spending time at home especially when it's in my tiny living room talking or watching Netflix. I love small spaces which makes a place more welcoming and personal. She was only here for a few days so I made sure that we planned a day in the city.