coffeeisgreen

expanding family

2011-11-19T15:20:00.008-05:00

This post should have been about day 7 through the rest of the trip. I should do it justice and finish the story - since it was one of the best vacations I've ever had!! Instead, it's more of an "oops, sorry I've been AWOL since September on here" kind of entry!

Life seemed to have caught up with me. So you'd think I'd have PLENTY to write about, right? Of course! I just can't think of a single thing at the

moment except...

....this gal is gonna be a big sister!!

Isn't that nuts? Not too crazy...plenty of siblings are close in age. Robyn and I are only 15 months apart. But Ayla and her new sibling will be 14 months apart. Our full house just got more full!! The little one will make their debut in May of 2012.

Ayla is growing up so fast and it's been a real pleasure getting to know her. She loves Elmo and anything Sesame Street. She doesn't watch much TV but those furry creatures sure get her moving. She also babbles a lot - you can tell she really wants to talk! She'll say "dada" and "yeah yeah yeah yeah". Also, she barely crawls but she attempts to walk all the time! Her favorite thing is if you walk her around. She eats like a champ. Very healthy, too. Opa cooks for her (then again, he cooks for everyone! He just loves to cook). Her appetite is endless (like her cousins hehe.) She's just an all around doll.

And speaking of babies, Jonathan's sister is due to give birth to a girl in three weeks. Ayla will have a new playmate :D. I'm surrounded by kids...and I love it!!

I gotta document the story of how I found out about the new addition though, in case I forget one day. Two days ago, I stopped by my parents' house in the afternoon. My mom happened to be home, thanks to a slow day at work with no appointments, so she beckoned me into her bedroom saying she had something to tell (or show, I forget now) me. I followed her in and she held up a plastic bag of something, which I quickly realized were a bunch of sanitary napkins. She said "I won't be needing these anymore." I immediately assumed menopause, even though she's only in her late 40s. She then held up a long string of sonogram photos. My heart dropped. For a split second I thought, no f'ing way. Another sibling?! Well, before I could fall over, I squinted and realized the name "Alexandra..." was above the photo. I was so confused. Why are they showing me Ayla's old sonogram photos? What kind of joke is this? Then it hit me. ANOTHER one! "Yes!!" they confirmed. We started jumping up and down like a couple of loons.

Gotta love moments like that.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

2011-09-09T14:36:00.005-04:00

Day 5

August 17

Waking up in Anaheim felt good...because for the first time in 25 years, I got to spend the day in Disneyland!!

I mean, don't get me wrong, I was very happy to be there but I definitely could have slept in a couple of more hours that morning. Took me awhile to perk up. But, once I saw the entrance to the park, I was sold.

First ride of the trip honor goes to....

Space Mountain!

Guess which original ride this was on?

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride! I have always wanted to experience it, especially when I learned they took it down at Disney World, when it was deemed "too scary for children." Which is why I find it highly amusing that as I was waiting on line, a woman got on the ride with her two infant children, one that was not even a year old!

But we survived it! (Although by the look on Chris's face, just barely.)

Scene's from Snow White's Scary Adventure

I can't remember what we were on line for here...Splash Mountain I think...but I looooved the lighting in this! (And the guy is pretty awesome, too)

Lunch was at Carnation Cafe, thanks to reservations Wilfredo had for us. The food was DELICIOUS. I ordered half a soup/sandwich combo so that I wouldn't be too full come dinner. It was the perfect amount to leave room for an iced mocha, which they made quite well :)

Never a dull photo with Robyn in it.

One of my favorite things about Disney: the detail. Check out Walt and his brother Roy's initials on this!

Group shot in front of the castle :-)

Was going to put a cheesy caption about posing with Prince Charming but decided against it...oh wait...too late.

Walt's figure can be seen through the castle...love love love it.

See this bench?

Pretty neat, right?

Club 33. (Click the link for more info about what makes this the most sought out place in Disneyland)

The rest of the day was rides rides rides. My brother went back to the hotel when we hopped over to California Adventure because he was understandably tired. We didn't go on much at California Adventure because we would be spending more time there another day. Later that night, the group met up again for dinner.

LOL, look at our fake smiles. We were sooo tired, haha.

As the sun set, everything was illuminated by a pretty glow.

The end of a very satisfying day. :D

Day 4

2011-09-05T17:58:00.004-04:00

Day 4

Tuesday, August 16: a day of traveling

A sad sad day it was indeed for me...as it was our final morning in San Diego and we had to get a relatively early (but not too early) start to our day.

So we did it the right way, at Golden Bagel. Seriously...some of the best bagels I've ever had!!

After saying our goodbyes (for now...we'd be seeing Chrissy and Andrew later in the week!), we waited about an hour for our train to Los Angeles at the Santa Fe Depot.

(Palm) tree hugger

And before we knew it, it was time to board the train and bid adieu to San Diego.

This was seriously my view on the way up.

Wish we could have caught a game at Angels Stadium! Next trip, for sure.

Picked up our rental car at LAX. Was missing our other gorgeous red car already, LOL.

So after taking a car to the train to the bus to another bus to the car, some 7 hours later we had finally arrived at our destination: Desert Palm Hotel & Suites.

We were able to hang out in the hotel for a little bit...

Wilfredo, a friend of ours from home, had already been in Anaheim the entire time we were in San Diego. It was nice to catch up for a little bit.

But not for long because it was off to Downtown Disney!

What I liked about Disneyland is that both parks (DL and California Adventure) are adjacent to each other. And the downtown Disney shopping area is right there too. As much as I love World, it is a bit more spaced out.

Of course we stopped at World of Disney. Robyn made fun of us (rightfully so) because she said every time we went there, we looked at the same things as if we hadn't seen it before. LOL! I can't help it. I love that store.

We had dinner at Rainforest Cafe. I highly recommend the guacamole burger!!

After dinner, it was time to call it a night. I don't even think exhausted was a good word to explain how we felt. I was falling asleep at the dinner table!

Day 4, check!

Day 2 & 3

2011-08-30T15:47:00.011-04:00

Day 2

Sunday, August 14th

The jet lag had kicked in but that didn't stop us from getting up somewhat early. We had a loooong day ahead of us - but a fun one!

We parted ways with Robyn and Chris, who went for a jog. Or as Chris put it, "She jogged. I walked." Haha....Chrissy and Andrew had a baptism to attend that morning. My aunt would be the godmother to a friend's daughter :-)

We found a Denny's nearby. Fuel for the road was needed.

A preview for the next day's activity...

On the way out, I saw a pretty sweet looking car. If that were mine, I wouldn't feel safe leaving it in the lot!

And we were back on the road...

There was a heavy fog at one point heading up to L.A

And the usual traffic.

There was a line to get into Staples Center by the time we got there. It looked like it would go on forever but luckily, it moved quickly. Still, that took us by surprise. Thought it would be a little like Madison Square Garden, where you walk right in.

First glimpse of a packed Staples Center for SummerSlam 2011!

We were in for a treat: Adam Jones from Tool performs The National Anthem via electric guitar.

The Miz's entrance really is rather awesome.

John Morrison can do no wrong.

Cee-Lo Green performed SummerSlam '11s theme song Bright Lights, Bigger City followed by Forget You. He definitely knew how to work the crowd! He was great live.

Punk did his thing...

...and Cena did his...

But ultimately, Alberto Del Rio came out with his Money in the Bank suitcase and swiped the title. Whoops. Sorry, fellas.

With the lights on and the crowd emptying out, Staples Center looked like a shell of what it was just minutes before!

It's too bad we didn't have more time to check out what the area had to offer but we had a 2 hour drive back to San Diego and we couldn't risk getting home too late.

The drive back was definitely tough, because unfortunately I don't have my license so Jonathan was the only driver at hand. He started to feel sleepy halfway so we stopped at a rest stop to wake up a bit. Despite that stop and then missing our exit right as we entered SD, we still got back before everyone else! They were having a blast at SeaWorld. Next year, I will definitely make time to do that.

The boys passed out early but Robyn, Chrissy and I stayed up late to catch up. We filled each other in on the events of the past few years, including things that had happened right before she got married and left New York. It was a much needed heart-to-heart that I thank God we had the opportunity to have on this trip! Despite the late bed time, we all managed to wake up at a decent time because it was off to the San Diego Zoo for all of us.

Day 3

Monday, August 15

The outside of their place was cute, with the decorations.

It was hard to make this photo less overexposed because I only have the iPhoto editing program not Photoshop. I do love it though :)

We stopped for lunch first but the parking lot was not what we were used to. Each car space got a number and you had to put $5 into whatever # your car was parked in.

We were in for a real treat with this place.

The detail in this place was ridiculous! Sidenote: we have that photograph "American Girl in Italy" at home in the room we share. That was a nice surprise, since I never see that photo anywhere!

What a great nod to all things Yankees!

We were greeted by this tough guy when we entered the zoo. Would you believe he's only a baby? Apparently he has much more growing to do. Yowza.

It was intimidating when he looked right at you!

That day we saw many different animals...

Rob & JD gave us a glimpse of what we were about to see...

Monkeys!!

This shy koala stole my heart.

Baby giraffe!

Beautiful artwork.

Not sure why I thought this was a face a butterfly makes...

Haha...

They even had some non animal things to see...

We pretty much spent all afternoon and evening there. I can see why Andrew & Chrissy are members of the zoo...so much to see & do.

We ended the day with a visit to Claim Jumper and by the end of night, I was in a serious food coma. We crashed pretty hard once we got home, on which would be our final night in San Diego :'(

Day 1 - Saturday, August 13th

2011-08-28T13:32:00.008-04:00

Saturday, the 13th started off like every other morning. Shower, coffee, prayer...

...but unlike every other morning, we would be ending the day on the West Coast! Oh yeah!

Chris and Robyn met Jonathan & I at his house at 6. At least Chris did. Robyn came running down the block at 6:20, when the cab was waiting to take us to the airport! That made for some early morning amusement.

Our 8:45am flight was right on time.

I am happy to report barely any turbulence during the almost 6 hour flight. Even more so, because this was Chris' first ever plane ride!

I got a kick out of the fact that Jersey Shore was playing so early in the morning. Hey, I had 6 hours to kill! No judgment right? =P

Chrissy and Andrew met us at the airport when we arrived, although Andrew was driving around trying to find a spot for the car. We were thrilled to finally be there!!

Beautiful airport.

Reunited!!

We had a little mishap at the car rental place when Hertz couldn't pull up our reservation. "Impossible," I said. It's definitely for today!" Indeed it was...just not for Hertz. We actually had a reservation at Avis. OOPS. We went over to the right place, only to accidentally walk into the preferred customer area. The lady took us, taking pity on us I assume, and corrected us for where to go next time. At least we didn't have to wait on a long line! I was already 0-3 at this point. Forgot to mention in the morning, I tipped the wrong guy for handling our bags. Oops, again. Mornings are not really my forte, even if I do love them.

Once we were all in our respective cars, we decided to go to Seaport Village by the San Diego Bay. I absolutely love the rental car we had.

...and the guy in it.

Driving to Seaport Village, we got into a little scare because the car would make a funny noise every time we tried to go over 40mph. Considering this was a) Jonathan's first time driving a rental car and b) first time driving in California, he and I got a little nervous. We had Andrew come in the car and try to work it out. Turns out, we had it in the wrong shift. 0-4 here...

Our first meal did not disappoint.

Too sweet! They had live music as we ate.

The ultimate irony...considering Robyn is the biggest cupcake lover you'll ever meet.

San Diego Bay

I was smitten.

First Coffee Bean visit!!

Robyn tried my blended mocha....DELICIOUS!

Big fans!

After Coffee Bean we drove to the house to drop off our luggage so we could attend Mass that evening, since the next day, there really wouldn't be any time.

The sights were oh so pretty.

Robyn and I got settled into the guest room while Chris and Jonathan camped out in the living room. The couch for Chris and the big air mattress for JD. That pig (Toffee, we named her years ago) came from NY! There was one incident back in, I want to say 2005, where Chrissy spilled a toffee nut frappuccino on it and we spent a good long while cleaning the pig in the bathtub. Since my grandma's eyesight is not the best, she walked in on us and gasped, asking what that thing was in the tub. She thought it was a real animal. Hysterical!

Time to head out to Mass...

Our Lady of Grace was beautiful. It had the most realistic crucifix I'd ever seen. Even Jonathan said the same.

It looked even prettier in the sunlight, LOL.

After Mass we had our first In-N-Out experience! The food looked a lot like Shake Shack when I first ordered. I had really hoped it didn't taste like it. Although I love Shake Shack, I wanted something different! And it definitely had it's own flavor to it.

Day One, you exceeded our expectations! The next day would have Jonathan and I driving up to Los Angeles...a much anticipated road trip.

I'm back!

2011-08-28T02:55:00.005-04:00

The day I came back from California, August 23rd, parts of the east coast (including New York) were hit with a 5.8 earthquake. Four days later, we are hit with a hurricane. (Thanks, Irene). And now we are under a tornado watch until 5am.

No big deal.

!!!!!!!!!!

If there's anything to be learned here, it's that God has complete control over the world. He's sending us a flurry of warnings for a reason. So yes, God, I am listening. Even when I'm being a stubborn or lazy or an abundant of other things...I am always listening & waiting!

On a more positive note, California was one of those life-changing experiences.

I can't decide if what made it so special was seeing my aunt again or if it was just California itself but to be honest, as wonderful as Disneyland/San Diego/Los Angeles/SummerSlam was, getting to hang out with Chrissy again was a breath of fresh air! I miss that girl terribly and can't wait until the next trip out there. The lifestyle down in San Diego just seems much more relaxed. Jonathan and I had been joking since the trip that we'd like to move there. And by joking I mean contemplating it, LOL. Ya never know...

Seaport Village by the San Diego Bay

L-R: Jonathan, myself, Chrissy, Andrew, Chris and Robyn

Chrissy and Andrew were the perfect hosts. They welcomed all four of us into their home and enjoyed having us as much as we enjoyed staying there. They went out of their way to show us a good time and their generosity was not gone unnoticed. God bless both of them for their kindness! Chrissy has always been that kind of person and it makes me happy that she found someone just like her to spend her life with. They hit their 4 year wedding anniversary a few days ago too, so that was cool, being able to get them a little something while we were out there. In fact, when we spent our last full day in California, at Disneyland, they joined us and made that their anniversary celebration. Cool!

I will definitely update about each day and what we saw...but seeing as how it's waaay past my "bed time", I should probably hit the sheets before Irene hits us.

2011-06-30T10:39:00.003-04:00

What's the worst part about making your big summer vacation at the end of summer? Spending the next two months counting down the days! That drives Jonathan nuts, LOL. But, that doesn't mean I won't be enjoying these next 44 days....it just means I'm aware of what day it is! :D

Some things that have happened since my last post, which now feels like eons ago.

Like this little miss getting so damn big! (and long)

In the beginning of June, my Opa's niece from Switzerland and her friend came in for 10 days. I had a blast with them and wished they could have stayed longer! In fact, coming to visit THEM was a hot topic! I'm pretty sure there's a whole army of us waiting to go visit that beautiful country....it's never too soon to start another count down, right? ;-)

Some pictures from Milena and Morena's visit:

This bar in South Seaport, Jeremy's, had bras hanging all over the ceiling. Really. I think it's actually an honor to get your bra up there or something. I don't plan to test that theory though, haha.

The final group shot :(

I have to say, those girls were absolute sweethearts. Maybe it's a European thing and everyone there is just friendlier? But they were so warm and friendly. It was fun to see the city through their eyes.

Mid June, we had something called ParkerMania XXVIII to celebrate one of Jonathan's oldest friend's birthdays. Parker threw it together at Manor Oktoberfest, one of my favorite local German restaurants. There were a bunch of musical acts, one wrestling match, and stand up comedy set. All together, I'd say the night was a complete success and give Parker a lot of credit for throwing something like that together!

Parker (center) with co-hosts, Pete & Kyle.

Joshua Smithson

Ted McAdams

YOUR BOY FOR LIFE.

Maximus Sex Power vs Yolanda

Not sure of this band's name.

There were a lot of special events too, these past few months: weddings, graduations, baptisms....

Remember that beautiful baby I went to visit the day after she was born in January? Alexandria is an absolute doll. Congrats to Matt & Christy on her Christening. God bless.

Towards the end of May I attended a gorgeous wedding for someone in Jonathan's family. My second to last wedding of the year, and third overall this year I think)

I loved the inside of the cathedral Joe & Lil were married in.

The reception hall was gorgeous too.

Speaking of weddings, two couples I know are engaged to be married next summer. These weddings never end! (Don't worry - I love it!)

My youngest brother Michael graduated (at long last!) from H.S on June 27. Although he is 19, he stayed two extra years in school to finish up because he was behind. He attended a public school for the deaf and his classmates were all so cute together! It was a class of 21 or so graduating and they all seemed like such a close community. I already had some glimpse of that when I tagged along on his class trip to Yankee Stadium back in March. They're all a great group of kids. I have to say, I was surprised to find myself getting teary watching Mikey walk down the aisle! It's either a girl thing or a big sister thing, LOL.

And what celebration is complete without grabbing a bite to eat.

Highly recommend that place!

I did manage to sneak in a beach visit earlier in the month too and completely BURNED the back of my legs. Let's just say the marks from the burn are still there :(

I will leave you with this adorable picture...

hi ho hi ho, it's off to disney we go.

2011-04-19T20:05:00.004-04:00

Completely forgot to make a post about this but guess where I am headed this summer?

Yup!!

Jonathan and I spoke earlier this year (actually late last year) about making our summer trip to Disney World a trip to Land instead. We really liked the idea of checking out where it all began. What can we say, we just really love Disney. The itinerary became longer when I brought up visiting my aunt & uncle in San Diego. I have not seen Chrissy in TWO years. But even then that was very brief. So, this trip is taking on a whole new meaning. That's how we're starting off the vacation: with them in SD for three days and then the rest of the stay in Anaheim, checking out not only Disneyland but other parts of CA nearby. If all goes well, we'll even be attending SummerSlam at Staples Center!

And it's not just us two going, like the last two trips. Robyn and Chris (brother) will be coming, as well as two other friends. Although we've only booked the flights (the most important part in my opinion) we will be getting the hotel really soon.

Excited is putting it lightly.

2011-04-18T10:43:00.003-04:00

Oh spring break...please don't disappoint me. Bring forth glorious weather and tons of fun activities to do!

Fortunately for me, I have some things to do this week besides study for that awful History of Photo midterm the Friday after we start up again. The idea of memorizing pictures & facts on a pretty day is nothing short of horrifying. The kind of horror I rather deal with is Scream 4. Which reminds me, I must see that ASAP! Jonathan and I made tentative plans to see that tomorrow but our schedules may not mesh. I just want to see it before someone spoils it for me. In this internet day and age, that could happen at any second.

Yesterday I got to see the little princess for the first time in a week (which felt more like eternity). She's much more alert now and really seems to grasp who we are...kind of. She'll look at us like she's studying our faces but then of course, you know babies have the attention span of a guppy LOL. So, Ayla will quickly revert to looking up into corners. Sometimes I think she can see things we can't... !

She's getting so long too.

My latest must have: the cocoa cappuccino at Starbucks.

One of my favorite things about spring....

...beauty everywhere.

2011-04-12T22:06:00.005-04:00

April showers bring....more weddings?

Yup! This past Saturday, Jonathan's brother-in-law's sister got married and it was a great! Most weddings are, but sometimes it feels like the same thing over and over. But this one was genuinely a lot of fun and beautiful, from start to finish.

How cute are they?!

Johnny walked down the aisle so well!

During the ceremony, Johnny sat with myself, Jonathan and his mother. It was hard to keep him entertained so we had to take him outside and around the back of the church for awhile.

Little model!

Very sweet.

The reception was held at Marina Del Rey in the Bronx. Gorgeous place and amazing food!

Too cute!

Father/daughter dance

Mother/son dance.

I was very pleased with how my new flash worked. Well worth the price. Definitely want to use it again...and with another wedding next month, I'll get my chance!

2011-03-30T00:10:00.003-04:00

Two Sundays ago, I finally had a chance to take some pictures for Anthony and Gina, who will be married the day before Halloween of this year. Even though they became engaged last May, we never got around to shooting engagement photos. When Gina decided on what to do for their table numbers (think something like this) she reached out to me for help.

We ended up with shots like this:

This restaurant out on Rockaway Beach, is a place that is special to them...not to mention he proposed in the gazebo outside of it!

It was a really fun day (and huge thanks to John for helping out)....I cannot wait to do it again. We didn't get a chance to finish all the table numbers.

Keeping up with the theme, I had a bridal shower to attend this past Sunday.

The interior was stunning (outside was pretty too).

The bride-to-be's sister did such a great job with everything.

The bride & groom to be :-)

This little girl at my table was precious!

A very nice start to spring...little Ayla is almost one month old (WOW!) but the weather leaves little to be desired. I'm missing those temperates above 60...this picture makes me think of the quote, "Spring, where are you?"

2011-03-14T13:31:00.006-04:00

Ayla is getting real big, real fast. Just yesterday she turned 1 week old!

She went from this:

to this...

...to this!

She has long legs & fingers - Ayla's already wearing 3-6 months (depending on the brand). I can't keep up with her LOL.

In short, she is just the sweetest thing.

I've definitely been over a lot more this past week or so, especially since school started the day after she was born. Speaking of school, so far so good - but the problem is, I chose three of the busiest humanities classes (think lots of picture taking, history of photo, Photoshopping, and traveling) possible into one semester so that first week, I was sinking in my fourth class, the math one. I have a fifth class but it's a 1 hour new student seminar that is like a walk in the park. Because the work load of those 3 classes, I had to drop the math one. There was no way around it. When it comes to math, I have to give it 100% attention or else I can't keep up. Sometimes I think there's a wall inside my brain in which when I look at a math equation, it just hits the wall. The information doesn't seem to get past it to process it like everyone else seems to. While that is a fate I accepted long ago, I know that when I really try, I can do it - as long as you teach it to me like you would break it down to a really dumb person haha. That sounds terrible...but I swear that subject has been my mortal enemy since day 1!

Overall, I can't complain with the school or curriculum.

By the way, my new favorite thing:

2011-03-06T23:09:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the world, Ayla Mae !

March 6, 2011

7:01AM

7lbs, 8 & 1/2 oz.

20 & 1/2 inches

And a nice dark set of hair!

I woke up this morning to Jonathan telling me that Alex had the baby and it was a girl. My first reaction: HUH?!

Alex wasn't due until the 10th so I didn't expect any big news this weekend. That combined with that being the first thing I heard when I woke up was definitely something. I remember just sitting there and thinking "How could she have had the baby?" It was so surreal! My mom had contacted Jonathan's sister and asked her to call the house to wake me up. Well, it worked! LOL. I went to my parents' house around 10 and we left for the hospital shortly after to meet the newest addition to the family.

Ayla is the sweetest thing. Those pictures don't do her justice. She is a tiny thing now but there is one thing I've learned since knowing Johnny: babies grow FAST. So, I want to be around the house more to enjoy her growing up. Between work, school and my new baby cousin, things are going to be nuts for awhile!

We got a real kick out of this. (My mom's name is Jackie.)

This was taken while trying to find the room - my mom was clearly very excited!

Aw, Oma! She started crying before she went in.

2011-03-02T20:27:00.006-05:00

I am feeling like a lazy blogger lately. So much stuff is happening...that seems to be when I have the least motivation to keep track of what's going on.

Last weekend was a busy one. Saturday night, we (my sister, Tiffany, Keiko, her boyfriend and myself) went out with Natali. Her boys took care of us and we had a great night...that is, until we left the club. My sister, who can barely handle one drink, had had probably 4 or 5. So needless to say she was gone. I had been drinking myself, though I wasn't very drunk, but tired and tipsy and in short, I just wanted to go home. Not to mention, it was freezing out! So I started to hail a cab but Robyn refused to get in. I had to keep letting the cabs go. Finally, I was so fed up, I got the nearest cab, Tiffany and I hopping in...without Robyn. I thought maybe if she saw us in there, she would finally get in. We kept calling my sister's name to no avail. Even the taxi driver started yelling her name but Robyn still didn't get in! So we sped off to the train station (I sound like such a horrible sister I know) and waited for her to stumble our way. After awhile, we realized she wasn't coming and the worst part is her phone was dead.

We made up our minds to go home anyway and I said a quick prayer Robyn would make it home okay. I knew she could take care of herself...but I couldn't help but worry. It was 3 o'clock in the morning after all!

I did eventually hear from Robyn, even though she was locked in her hallway until 6am when her roommate let her in (but that's another story) so I felt relieved. The loon had walked all the way to Times Square and caught the 7 train from there! No wonder we didn't see her at the train station we were at. Also, because she was locked out, I got a flurry of (laugh-out-loud-'til-you-cry-funny) pictures of her in the hallway. Tiffany and I parted ways at a train stop since I had to transfer and she stayed on. Jonathan had been out for Billy's birthday with my brother and had just dropped him off, so he decided to pick me up halfway home. When we had just pulled into the driveway, I got a call from Tiffany saying she suspected someone was following her. She wanted me to keep her company on the phone - no problem.

Only, there was a problem. This guy really WAS following her. All of a sudden, I hear shouting which grows louder and louder. Tiffany was yelling something like "Stop! Stop!" over and over. It was just....horrific. Since she wasn't responding, I got very scared and thought maybe this guy was doing something terrible to her. Jonathan grabbed the phone and started yelling her name too. We kept repeating "Tiffany, where are you, just tell us and we'll come get you!" What we didn't realize was that when she was fighting off this creep (who unfortunately ended up touching her very inappropriately) she didn't have the phone up to her ear. But she did have it in her hands and thank God the line didn't disconnect! We eventually found her in a not so safe part of Flushing (well it was dark so nothing looked safe). Not one of us mentioned going to the police. I think if it hadn't been so late and we hadn't been shaken up and maybe thinking more clearly, we would have gone to the police station. But as it was, we took her home. I regret letting her go off by herself at that hour. I guess I thought we were invincible - in our teens, we stayed out even later and got into even crazier situations - without any trouble! Go figure.

But the next afternoon, Tiff did go to the police and the search for this guy has been going very successfully I like to think. The detectives found the video in which the guy was approaching her! Thank God for heightened security in NYC. It's just a shame no officers were patrolling the neighborhood. Maybe now they'll have one or two cars going around.

Waking up that morning was rough. I think all of us who had gone out that night got a total of 3 hours of sleep. Jonathan and I had our 2 year anniversary that day (27th) so we exchanged gifts.

He did pretty good, huh?!

He also added a little extra stuff too. I really lucked out - because he puts thought into everything.

And I like to think I did ok too! ;-)

The next day, my sister turned 24. I met up with her early in the afternoon for a belated breakfast at IHOP. Ever since she moved, she's been hooked on that place! (She lives within walking distance of one.)

Later that night, we had a cake for her.

Jonathan and (a just-pulled-out-of-bed) Oma joined too.

A very pregnant Alex was there as well!

I will end this blog here - but more to post soon - with a very silly group shot!

countdown to baby...

2011-02-21T20:39:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we had a baby shower for my aunt that was, dare I say, a success! It was your usual baby shower complete with food, cake, games, gift opening...but something about it felt different. Probably because it was for an immediate family member. Plus, I must give a giant shout out to my mom who organized pretty much everything (with help from Alex's sister-in-law). This was the first shower my mom has ever thrown and she did a fantastic job. Check out some pictures...

It was rush to decorate before the guests arrived.

My mom made the diaper cakes - amazing.

This was only a portion of the gifts - with the 32 guests there, Alex really received everything she needed :D

Favors - baby scented candles

One of my oldest friends made it out to the shower too :D Speaking of which, Tiffany wasn't able to make it to the shower - sucked BIG time. But on the flip side, she is officially living in NYC again. *thumbs up*

Grandma & Mom

One of the games was to have an ice cube in a cup...with a baby inside. Whoever's baby melted out of the ice cube first would win, and they would have to shout "My water broke!" Haha. My cousin Amanda won and the baby in the cup was a boy. A sign for Alex? We'll find out soon...(It's a surprise baby).

Trying to guess the gender? LOL

This was the diaper changing game. It was hilarious. We had 3 groups of six and whoever dressed the "baby" fastest won.

The "baby" we used. At one point, the tail was sticking out of the diaper. The visual had us all laughing our rear ends off.

Well...she does have to eat for two!

Love this! This was part of my sister's gift for Alex and even though the baby won't be Irish, it will grow up in a part Irish household :D

I took a picture of pretty much everything she got, which would be too much to post, so I wanted to just show the stuff I got her LOL

The bouncy thing...monkey themed of course!

Burt's Bees baby care stuff.

A boppy pillow + crib stuff.

This outfit I found while shopping at Century 21. It just so happened to be near the checkout and I grabbed it because the giraffe on the shirt reminded me of the one on the baby photo album I also got for her.

I found these @ KMart (a place I rarely ever go to) but it was right near the closest Babies R Us so I was like, why not take a look? Boy, am I glad!

My grandma (dad's mom) came to the shower too, even though Alex is from my mom's side but my grandma was always around when Alex was growing up (we are six years apart) and she was kind of like a grandma to Alex too. And let me tell you - my grandma gives the best cards. The envelopes are always adorned with the cutest stickers appropriate to the occasion.

One of the standouts of the shower was the guessing game - each guest had to fill out a brief survey of sorts. It consisted of the birthdate, gender, height, weight and time. Whoever's guesses are the closest wins a gift certificate for a manicure/pedicure at a spa. Not a bad prize, huh? Each guest put their address at the bottom to make it easy to contact the winner. Nearly everyone put boy but I know I am hoping it's a girl. Either way, I can't wait!

2011-02-16T18:09:00.002-05:00

When it comes to book signings, I love Q & A's. It's a great way to pick the writer's mind and to hear them talk about the book a little more in depth. I've only ever been to Jodi Picoult's book signings because I don't really have that many favorite authors. And Picoult tours every March! (Very excited for her new book). I also find that Barnes and Noble is a fan of the Q&A before a signing session and Borders just has the signing/pictures.

I mention this because it's something I realized today after attending Chris Jericho's book signing with Jonathan and Parker, all the way downtown on Wall Street. Besides being a great wrestler, he's hilarious! And he can write (that is, if it is him writing. It sure sounds like his voice).

I'm mad I didn't zoom in a bit before giving the employee my camera. Oh well!

Cupid's Day

2011-02-14T15:56:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovers out there...and if you're not in a loving mood, hope you have a good day anyway ;-)

Speaking of this day and whatnot, I woke up to this....

Ok so the flowers I saw last night, hence the vase...but the chocolates were a real treat, especially because the box cover reminded me of Magic Kingdom. He knows how to torture me, huh? ;-)

Speaking of the flowers, this is a classic story of how it's hard to hide things when you live with someone. Last night, Jonathan and I both got back to Forest Hills around a similar time and as I was walking out of the station, I see him buying flowers at the nearby stand. Now, I figured right away it would be for his mother since he knew I would be arriving around the same time. I approached him, saying "hey!" and his eyes flew open in surprise. Before I had time to register what was going on, he pushes me saying "No no no! Get away!" I was hysterical! We had a good laugh later about it. Definitely one of the funnier moments of the new year.

Our plans for tonight are a surprise to me. I know it entails dinner but the location is a secret. He says he's never been to this place, which is a real mystery, since a place he hasn't dined at is rare LOL.

Yesterday I went to visit both grandparents to hand out plenty of XOXOs and chocolates, and also saw my parents: Mom surprised me with a Starbucks gift card and my dad purchased me a hoodie from Margaritaville. This is a first for Valentine's Day...I normally don't get anything (not that I expect anything!) but it was so nice...any excuse for Starbucks gift cards usually is! :D

SmackDown @ Nassau Coliseum

2011-02-07T20:24:00.003-05:00

I'm a fan of live sporting events and wrestling is no exception. A bunch of us went to Nassau Coliseum on February 1st for a taping of SmackDown but we also sat through NXT and Superstars. I've really grown to appreciate pro wrestling for what it is and not just for John Morrison's abs, LOL. John and I both brought our cameras (we have the same one) including the 55-250mm lens (we both have that too) but the security guards turned us away, saying we couldn't bring those in. Apparently they've enforced a stricter photography rule. I was pissed, to say the least. That's the lens Jonathan bought me for my birthday and I was looking forward to using it for the first time, plus I knew I would get better photos that way of the wrestlers in action. Good thing both of us brought our point and shoots. John and I agreed...it wasn't the same :(

Daniel Bryan during NXT.

Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler confront Kelly Kelly.

Rey Mysterio...one of my favorites.

The ring is set up for the 2011 Royal Rumble winner, Alberto Del Rio.

Haha, love this. Jason looks like a little kid.

My final shot in the arena. The winners of that night's main event: Edge and Kelly Kelly against LayCool and Dolph Ziggler.

Chris actually watched the entire thing with the mask!

All in all, a fun night and a pleasant start to the month.

January recap

2011-02-02T19:51:00.003-05:00

This month was one giant case of cabin fever. Mother Nature has been unleashing havoc all across the world and our punishment was snow...and LOTS of it. Today it was more like the entire city became an ice rink. Too bad I don't own a pair of skates. Would have been useful for the walk to the train station this morning!

The month started off with Dorothy's wedding on the 1st, which I blogged about. Great way to kick off the new year. We got a visit from this cutie that day too.

Family time is always a plus.

There was dinners with my goofball sister...

And as always, trips to Brooklyn.

You can tell how cold it is based on the window.

But as cold as it is, there is still beauty everywhere.

I got to hang out with this cutie.

Even though the poor monkey wasn't feeling too well :(

On another visit to Brooklyn, Stephen joined us. "Uncle Stephen! Uncle Stephen!" Johnny yelled when he came in,

He keeps all his train cars in there.

And of course, no Brooklyn visit is complete without a trip to Roll N Roaster!

On the 23rd, I went to the bridal shower for John's sister, Diana. I was seated with a group of the funniest ladies, including an almost 3 year old, who is really just the most hilarious little girl I've ever met! So there definitely was entertainment to go around (i.e they were joking they could have a stripper there in 20 minutes if they pooled all their money together! Even funnier because of their age.) Here are some pictures of this affair. The details were so thought out too.

Yes, this was seriously the cake!

How adorable is she! I feel like she's giving me attitude here. Gotta love her!

Soon to be Mr & Mrs with their mothers.

How to keep Johnny quiet...stick an iPod in front of him.

Those flowers in the background are actually pens!

We had a toilet paper bride contest. One woman represented each table. Ours was the redhead! Isn't her dress fabulous?

Our table had worked very hard on her.

Although she didn't win, she kept hers on long after everyone else tore theirs off!

The bridal party.

If this shower was a preview of the wedding, April 9th is certainly a date to look forward to! :)

We also celebrate two big birthdays this month: my mom's (the 14th) and my Oma's (the 19th).

My mom looks SO thrilled to be having a birthday, haha.

And Alex was looking huge!

For Oma's 69th birthday, we had another gathering. Alex was under the weather so she sat this one out but we had two cakes for Oma. Hey, it's her last year in the 60s!

Oma & Opa <3

All you have to do is stick scratch offs in her card and she's a happy camper!

Speaking of births, a big congratulations to my friends Matt & Christy on the birth of their daughter Alexandria! She was born on January 11 and Stephen, Joe, Jonathan and I went to visit them the following day.

She was a little peanut!

What a beauty.

Lots of great moments this month. Some documented, some not. February promises to be just as great.

birthday boy!

2011-02-02T14:50:00.003-05:00

Guess which adorable little boy turns 2 today?

THIS GUY!

Ringing in the New Year

2011-01-08T12:58:00.006-05:00

Isn't there an expression out there, that how you spend your New Years is how you spend the rest of the year? Well, in my case, it's certainly true because while I may have spent NYE at home, I did spend New Year's Day at a wedding. And this coming year there are three more weddings so far....so in a way...it does predict the rest of my year :D

My cousin Dorothy married her long time boyfriend, Willie. It's an interesting story too because they dated as teens but parted ways. He married and had two children while she never married but lived her life...many years later, a divorced Willie reunited with Dorothy. Sweet, huh? Love stories like that!

The ceremony was held in the city, which consisted of only the immediate families. Everyone else gathered at a Knights of Columbus upstate. I wasn't sure what to expect but the reception area was gorgeous! My dad (who is first cousins with Dorothy) couldn't make it so my mom took my youngest brother as her date, my brother Chris took Tiffany as his date, Robyn took Stephen (Jonathan's best friend) as her date and of course, I took Jonathan. It was also a good opportunity for Jonathan to meet some family members that he hasn't before.

We tried to get a group shot with Johnny before the wedding. Wasn't happening, LOL.

Robyn and Stephen

Tiffany and Chris

Michael and Mom

Jonathan & I

Photo credit: Tiffany

Bride & groom :)

Haha, love this photo. Tiffany wanted to take a picture of the champagne glass by having Chris hold it. He looks...confused LOL

Tiffany models the delicious appetizers for me, LOL

Haha my mom is a riot.

With my aunt Joanie, my grandpa's twin sister. Love this photo of all of us.

This photo cracks me up. Check out Tiff next to me, laughing and trying not to fall over. (She was squating for the photo)

ROFL. Never a dull moment with those two.

Dancing with Father Duffell. The look on his face is one of joy...love it!

My little cousin can MOVE!

Beautiful and touching. A father's dance with his daughters.

The cake!

I like this touch. Do they normally personalize the knives? I might have to steal that idea for myself one day ;-)

Too sweet.

Haha, my cousin Charlie is a riot.

Everything from the food to the decor to the company was great. There was even a surprise guest, as a young actor from that show Wizards of Waverly place was there. Turns out, my cousin Dorothy is his godmother. Small world! My brother pointed him out to me but we all thought he was a lookalike, until another cousin confirmed that was him. And a honorary mention goes to Calabria, the pizza place we visited before the wedding (hey, we were hungry!) It was so good, in fact, that Jonathan, Tiffany and I are planning another excursion out there soon.

Top 10 Moments of 2010

2011-01-04T11:46:00.017-05:00

When I first sat down to think about my "top 10 moments", something I've never even done before, I couldn't think of anything. After awhile, all these moments came flooding back. In fact, quite a bit had happened! I wasn't even going to put it in any order but after some consideration, I realized I could number it. So here it is. My lame first attempt at a Top 10 List :D

10. Getting accepted into LaGuardia Community College.

In October I received a letter saying I was was accepted into the school of my choice. Anyone can get accepted into a community college, I didn't feel that was an achievement. But that letter solidified my choice to switch, which was the accomplishment. Finally switching to a school that wasn't QC or QCC really was a breath of fresh air. My entire college career was spent bouncing between the two of them, all for a major/degree I wasn't entirely satisfied with. So when I discovered the commercial photography program over at LAGCC, I was intrigued. After doing some research, I determined this was the place to be. That also leads me to...#9.

9. Getting a DSLR camera.

In the beginning of the year, my mom generously purchased a Canon Rebel XSi for me. It took some time getting used to but it was exactly the kind of camera I dreamed about. I enjoy taking pictures, I enjoy looking at them and mostly I love what they represent: capturing a moment of time we can never get back to. For the same reason I love to write (telling a story) that is what I love about pictures.

8. We have a tie...

a. The wrestling related events.

On the 1st of November, a group of us attended Monday Night Raw at Nassau Coliseum. Kind of a nice way to kick off my birthday month! Pee Wee Herman was the guest host and he absolutely nailed it! His segment was hilarious too, with Big Show playing Pee Wee's cousin. They were both dressed in matching outfits and took on The Miz. That wasn't my first live event though. That honor goes to Fatal 4Way in June. It was just Jonathan and I, because we were comped the tickets thanks to Vinnie, Kim's boyfriend. We even were allowed in the VIP backstage pass to meet some of the pro wrestling stars! (Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne, Kelly Kelly and Santino to name some). The live events weren't the only wrestling highlights of the year.

Two of the pay-per-view events that stand out are Royal Rumble and the ever mighty Wrestlemania XXVI. With the Royal Rumble we had about 18 people over Jonathan's house. Each person betting picked two wrestlers out of a hat (30 wrestlers competed in the match). One of the wrestlers I picked, Shawn Michaels, made me confident I might have a shot of winning. But Edge came in and won it all. Win or lose, it was so much fun to watch and have such a big group betting on the match. Even if you aren't a fan of wrestling, it's an easy show to get into! Then there was Wrestlemania, where it was career vs. streak. Would Shawn Michaels be retiring or would the Heartbreak Kid be the one to finally end Undertaker's 17-0 streak? Again, a group of friends gathered at Jonathan's house to watch the 4 h0ur event (yes, I said four hours LOL). In the end, the streak remained intact and Shawn Michael's left the ring for the final time.

b. The Yankees games I attended.

Last year marked my first time at the new Yankee Stadium. The house that George built didn't disappoint. It's a gorgeous ballpark, spacious with a bit of history lining the walls when you come in. The faces of Yankee players past....it's a good feeling as a Yankees fan! It all started on May 17th, when Jonathan's Aunt Connie asked if we wanted to attend that night's game with her and Uncle John. Why not?! I couldn't believe the seats either. 19 rows behind home plate. It was also one of the best games I've ever witnessed, with these two (1, 2) moments. We (and everyone else in the stadium) were going absolutely nuts! Going to that game seemed to set off a trend because over the course of the summer, I went to three or four more games. Not to leave the other NY team out but in April, I did attend a Mets game (vs. the Nationals) and that was actually a spectacular game in which the Mets rallied to win big time. Of course, I got a few boos and "Yankees suck!" since I was wearing my Yankees bomber jacket LOL. This was the year I got back into attending games, not just watching them on TV. To quote Larry King, "There is still nothing in life as constant and as changing at the same time as an afternoon at a ballpark."

7. The week of Christmas

That whole week, I reverted back to a child. It was 1990 again and all three of my siblings are sleeping under the tree. My youngest brother isn't born yet and we are enjoying looking at the tiny lights and ornaments from down below before passing out. Those were the days...the magic of the next morning when we can open the presents. Well, Jonathan and I didn't sleep under the tree but in the wee hours of the morning, when Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day, we sat in the living room facing the tree and soaking in that feeling that just hangs in air. It's the one you can't describe but the one I hope everyone has felt at some point in their life.

All week something different was happening, whether it was last minute shopping and wrapping, fixing things in the house, preparing for the guests, stocking up on drinks and food, seeing friends to exchange gifts....you really can't beat everything that goes along with Christmas and the holidays. Everyone seems nicer somehow, despite the occasional grumpy person pushing their way past you as the city booms with seasonal tourists. (Seriously, stay away from Times Square around Christmas if you can LOL).

I spent Christmas Eve with my family in Long Island. I got to meet my cousin's baby, which was a memorable experience and everyone talked excitedly about Alex's soon-to-make-an-appearance baby. It added a little something to that night for me, and I'm sure others in attendance could agree. When I got back home that night, everyone at Jonathan's was awake and I was able to say hi to one of his cousins and her husband before they left. Jonathan and I stayed up a little bit later to get some wrapping done as per his tradition. We didn't make it to midnight Mass unfortunately but the next morning, after opening presents and greeting more family, we made our way over to the church for a few minutes to light a candle and to stay for part of the Mass. I regret not making more of an effort to get there on time but I'm happy I did get to step foot into a church that day. Jonathan finally opened up my gift to him, which I had been so excited to give and had been sitting wrapped under the tree for weeks. A Playstation 3! He had already suspected it, by the look of the box and just a general gut feeling, but it was still funny to see his reaction. Not to sound like a cheeseball, but those are the best kinds of gifts you can get! Just seeing how happy people are with their gifts. The rest of the day flew by and before I knew it, I was home from the theatre and back in Queens, signaling the end of the day and the end of Christmas. But, you know what they say, Christmas is also a state of mind. Not only did this make a top moment but it was one of my favorite Christmases to date.

6. Boston for SuperMegafest

I don't remember when or how but Jonathan discovered Christopher Lloyd would be making an appearance at Boston Super Megafest in November. Now I had never heard of this event before but it was apparently like ComicCon, just smaller. And had been going on for the past 10 years or something. A weekend in Boston? Why not! When planned the trip, we realized the actual event was about 30 minutes outside of Boston. Not a problem we thought. We'd do two nights in Framingham and then spend the last night actually in Boston. The convention itself was worthwhile. We did indeed meet Mr. Lloyd (something I'm sure neither of us ever thought we'd do) and enjoyed seeing other people there, most notably Howard Finkel, WWE Hall of Famer. The day we had to get into Boston, we missed our train, bummed a free shuttle ride to a bus stop and from there trekked into Boston. It was a crazy one, one that really didn't allow us to see the city, but with dinner and a movie (HP7, which I loved), we made the best of it. It was overall a fun, memorable weekend.

5. Disney World and Universal Trip

Disney Disney Disney...one of the best vacations you could take for yourself is to Disney World. Like Christmas, there's a certain magic in the air there that you can't really explain but it's like a nonstop excitement. Even if you've experienced the attractions there a million times, when you step foot in the park, you feel that "anything is possible here!" feeling. What Walt Disney did for theme parks really can't be matched. This was our second trip to WDW together and of course, that also entailed a trip to Universal Studios. It's always a funny thing that the two are so intertwined, even though there's supposed to be some "rivalry" between the two of them. Jonathan and I spent an extra day in Florida this year, compared to last year, and even with that extra day, we still wished we could have stayed for one more day! This time we took advantage of those magic hours more and hands down, Magic Kingdom at night is my favorite place to be. We even got to celebrate 16 months together that June, with dinner in France. Epcot's version of France at least. So cheesy if you think about it...or cliched...but absolutely wonderful.

4. My 25th Birthday/Surprise Party

I enjoy birthdays...I mean who doesn't? But I've never been one for throwing a party for myself. And most people know this, LOL. However, Jonathan and my mom used that to their advantage. Even though I swore them not to throw anything, it fell on deaf ears haha. The funny thing is, I forgot all about the fact that over the summer I had caught them discussing a potential party for me. My actual birthday and came and went in November (the 8th) and Jonathan, as always, made my day special. He took the day off and we had dinner at one of my favorite Thai restaurants in Brooklyn and later visited my parents' for cake. Jonathan's gift was PERFECT. He got me this lens for my camera that I've been wanting. So very generous too, as he always is when it comes to gifts. Then Wednesday came around, and my birthday gift to myself had been tickets to see Elf the Musical. We both really enjoyed it and I later heard it broke records in the box office and for the theatre itself. Well deserved! Then Friday came around....and Jonathan and I had plans for an intimate dinner for four with Anthony and Gina.

Or so I thought.

I walk into the backroom of this pub, Danny Boy's, and see a sea of faces that I don't quite make out.

"SURPRISE!"

About 40 people were gathered there!! I walked around in a daze all night. Even though I was coming down with the flu that night, it still was one of the most memorable nights. Even Natali, one of my oldest buddies was there. So that was a real treat as well. Tiffany, my mom and Jonathan all worked hard on that night and I am very thankful for that, plus all the people who came. I still can't believe I didn't figure it out. There were so many close calls too, looking back on it.

3. Alex getting married...and pregnant!

On April 16, my aunt married her long time (and by long time I mean almost 10 years) boyfriend, Moe. The ceremony was performed in what I believe was supposed to be like the city hall of a small town upstate New York. Seeing them finally tie the knot was something. I was thrilled for Alex. Before heading to dinner, we stopped somewhere in Pennsylvania for pictures and then appetizer like snacks at their house. We then dined at a cozy restaurant called Apple Valley. It was without a doubt the most chill wedding I've ever been too -- and that's what made it so great! It really sums up Alex's personality well. She's a low key person but she likes a bit of tradition too. After dinner, it was getting late and space in the cars were limited so Jonathan and I opted to stay overnight at their house with them. It was unexpected so we had to borrow clothing to sleep in...but still a treat. I love that house.

Then, on August 24th, Alex revealed big news...they were expecting!! The baby would be due on March 10. We still don't know the gender, as they wanted to keep it a surprise. It's tough not knowing but I admire the patience. If it's a boy, he will be Timothy and if a girl, she will be Ayla.

2. Jonathan and I turning 1/Johnny turning 1

It's always easy to keep tracking of how far along in the relationship Jonathan and I are because Johnny was born in the beginning of the month and we became official at the end of the month. Needless to say, between those two and Valentine's Day, February is not short of celebrations.

Johnny turned 1 on the 2nd and we had a big party for him at Gargiulio's in Brooklyn. A woman named Lolly Flop came in to entertain the children (and even the adults, to be honest, or at least I was!). I have grown to love that kid like he is my own nephew so watching him grow up has been an honor.

When we hit the one year mark of dating on the 27th, we celebrated by having dinner at Vincent's in Little Italy, one of our favorite restaurants. We exchanged gifts (we really do love any excuse to exchange gifts LOL) and I don't remember if I stayed the night or not (a prelude to moment #1), but it was a low-key but memorable day. Especially because marking that day was a real treat as our road to dating wasn't always a smooth one. Though we got along extremely well as friends, trying to break into something more isn't always as easy as it seems. But everything all so very worth it.

1. Moving in

Somehow, we went from sleepovers to me just...not leaving. LOL. It sounds strange at first but it was a very natural process. The first year of dating (2009) we had sleepovers but they were a few times a week. As 2010 progressed, I slept less at my apartment and more at his place. Pretty soon, I was only going home 1 night a week and sleeping over there all the other nights. I can't even remember what point this was (it was warm out so perhaps over the summer) but I do remember my sister thought she might have bedbugs and advised me not to come back to the apartment. Well, that was enough for me! I enjoyed staying with Jonathan much more than I did at the apartment my sister and I shared with a roommate. To momentarily pause from this top moment, I would like to say that after three and a half years, my sister and I finally gave up that apartment and she found a bigger, better room elsewhere. It felt like the end of a chapter. So many things happened in that room. Not to mention, before we started hanging out regularly, Jonathan and I would talk to each other online in that room. So it does hold a bit of nostalgia and memories.

But making that transition to full time residency with Jonathan is obviously a huge move but one that (and we've discussed this) never really seemed like a big deal to us. I mean...it is a big deal in terms of how far the relationship is developing...but it's something that just felt was the obvious choice. I think if I had lived with my parents up to that point, it would have been a bigger deal. But as it was, I already had that big "hooray! you're on your own!" period of my life.

Jonathan and his family have always been nothing short of warm and welcoming so for that, many thanks to them.

post-Christmas blizzard

2010-12-31T11:29:00.005-05:00

Part of the east coast was hit with a massive snow storm (hi, blizzard!) that left New York City crippled. Seriously, all 5 boroughs were a mess though Manhattan was attended to pretty quickly.

Believe it or not, that night (the 26th) I had to go in to work. I work in Times Square and while I knew it wouldn't be so bad (they send in plows quick there) the walk to the train station from Jonathan's house was AWFUL. But very comical, because as soon as I stepped foot outside, my scarf flew off and I could hear Jonathan laughing from the doorway, LOL.

This was the scene back in Queens...

Trying to show how deep the snow was at that point.

Even Starbucks closed shop early. I personally, would love a hot cup of coffee during a blizzard ;-)

I backtracked to get this photo because it reminded me of some eerie scene in a movie where the whole town is empty and you have that one thing blowing hard in the wind.

Two other crazy souls walking in the distance.

At this point, the wind had stopped momentarily and it was a real moment I wanted to capture.

This photo does not capture the frenzy of walking home.

....but this one does.

No joke, that is how hard the wind was blowing. I was not moving the phone at all!

I didn't leave the house until the next afternoon. If I had it my way, I probably wouldn't have left at all but once I was out there, I got to see how, dare I say, nice everything looked with a coat of snow.

The sidewalk and street were completely buried.

My destination for this trek outdoors? My parents' house. That street was definitely more shoveled than back in Forest Hills.

In the midst of this snowstorm, our process of moving out of the apartment my sister and I shared for 3 and a half years was delayed by a few days. That story and picture to come...but the snow definitely paralyzed the city for a bit! And now I hear there is 6 inches coming our way again this weekend?! I'll believe it when I see it.

Sidenote: this post is dated December 31st because that is when I began the entry and saved it in my drafts. When I say this weekend there is a snowstorm coming, I mean the week of January 3rd.

Christmas -- the most magical time of the year

2010-12-29T17:43:00.006-05:00

Christmas felt like a 3 day special this year. On the eve of Christmas Eve, Robyn and Chris joined me for a visit to grandma & grandpa's. As usual, their set up at the house was lovely. When we were growing up, holidays at their house was the best because they went all out. Obviously, as the years went by, the decorations decreased. But, there's always a little bit of that magic there that I felt as a kid. (This is the same apartment my dad grew up in! He is the oldest of my grandparents' 4 children).

Later that night, I went back to Jonathan's as his Aunt Ro & Uncle Dom were coming in from Florida, as they do every Christmas.

Haha...goofy Grinch like face.

Christmas Eve was quickly upon us and I parted ways with Jonathan for the day/evening as I would be going to Long Island with my family. It's a Christmas Eve tradition for us and last year was the first time we didn't go so this year was extra special, with the return of the usual plans and Alexandra being pregnant and Amanda (my cousin) having a 5 month old. It was also the first time we'd be meeting Kaeleigh, the baby. Excitement all around!

Sleeping angel!

Haha...whose got the bigger belly?! ;-)

Kaeleigh is awake! She is gorgeous.

Kaeleigh with her Aunt Morgan.

I'm pretty sure my mom missed holding babies...after having 4 of them LOL

Kaeleigh was the star of the show.

Baby's first Christmas!

I wanted a good photo with her but this was the best we got because she was squiggling around LOL.

The evening wrapped around 9pm so I headed back to Queens via the LIRR with my mom and sister. The trains weren't running too well so by the time I got back to Jonathan's it was 11pm and everyone was pooped. But, it's common knowledge around these parts that I'm dating an elf (LOL) so we stayed up to 2am, wrapping presents for the next day. Needless to say, waking up the next morning, not even coffee could make me feel human. But presents? Oh yeah! Jonathan surprised me with a point and shoot camera (this one) that I've been wanting, among other things. He always knows exactly what to get me :D And I think it's safe to say he LOVED his Playstation 3, because he's been wanting that for...forever. Once we opened the gifts, we popped into the nearby church for awhile. I am very disappointed that I didn't go to the midnight Mass because the next morning, I knew we'd be pressed for time but I stupidly thought I'd wake up early enough LOL. But oh well, that's another story for another time. It was a lovely morning anyway. That afternoon we went to White Plains, to Jonathan's other aunt and uncle's house and had a delicious dinner with great company.

Johnny is the next Beethoven, don't ya think?

More gift opening when we got to Aunt Connie's. It's not pictured but she was generous enough to get me a small Coach bag -- I was floored!

The table was beautifully set.

Johnny sat long enough to watch an episode of his favorite character ever, Thomas the Tank Engine.

Jonathan's dad is clearly ready to eat! =P

It was easy to get him into his chair since he seemed to be in some sort of daze. Hehe.

The Ambrose Christmas tree was gorgeous! Photo credit goes to Jonathan.

I hung out with Jonathan's cousin Danielle in her room. She has the coolest set up -- any Disney fan would love it!

Look how neatly she lines up her cards!

A sweet shot of Jonathan and his cuz.

When we got back to Queens, Jonathan and I hit up my parents' house to see them before the night was over.

Haha...the things I make him pose for.

My reaction to Alex's gift LOL. It was a scrapbook + scrapbook accessories! Perfect for me -- especially because I wanted something to commemorate 2010. She knows me too well.

Much much later that night, after Robyn and I both got out of our respective theatres, we went back to Jonathan's house to open the remaining presents we had for each other. Plus Robyn and Jonathan had a little something for each other as well.

And the magical day was thus over.

I really have to thank everyone for their generous gifts this year. My parents, Jonathan's parents, his sister, his family, my family and friends (like Tiffany, John, Stephen, Wilfredo & Jenn) really made my day with their generosity (and company.)

movies & shows galore

2010-12-13T18:51:00.005-05:00

This month, I have seen so many different movies and shows, I thought I'd post about them before I forget.

Love & Other Drugs pleasantly surprised me. Robyn and I have taken to watching movies with closed captioning in theaters so when she told me she and Tiffany had plans to see it, I jumped on board. It was more than just 'the-movie-where-Jake-Gyllenhaal-and-Anne-Hathaway-were-naked'. It was surprisingly moving. The first half played off like a comedy but the second half took a serious turn. Anne's Maggie the artist has early onset Parkinson's and Jake's Jamie the pharmaceutical rep falls for her, much to his (but not our) surprise. They both gave great performances, in which my sister bawled like a baby in the second half, LOL.

Tangled became my favorite movie of the year. One, I am a sucker for Disney movies and two, Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi (although in cartoon) have great chemistry. You all know the beloved tale of Rapunzel. Goldie-loooooong-locks stuck in a tower by the evil mother....I felt Disney put a fresh spin on a familiar tale. You have to see it for yourself to know what I mean but I will say, the end credits song is now my most played on my iTunes list!

I'm not sure why I agreed to see Burlesque when my sister suggested coming with her but I did. And boy...am I glad. It IS a cliched movie. I mean, small town girl makes it big, little girl with big voice...it's been done before. However, maybe it's because of a solid cast or because of Christina's pipes, whatever it was...I was sold. Great musical numbers (Express is a personal favorite) and great acting by everyone (cast also includes Cher, Stanley Tucci, Cam Gigandet, Kristen Bell). If campy movies involving music are your thing, by all means, see it! One website I read argues this movie isn't really campy enough to be a guilty pleasure but I disagree.

On the 5th, a group of us (thanks to John's coordinating) went to see Wintuk, a stunning display of "acrobatics amid flakes" as one website puts it, to tell the story of a boy's quest for snow. You really have to see it yourself to get how insanely talented these performers are!! Some of the stunts are truly mind boggling. I would have seriously injured myself doing any of them. Major props to John for suggesting we see this. Very sad Winktuk isn't coming back around for another run at Madison Square Garden.

Here comes St. Nick...

2010-12-13T13:33:00.005-05:00

My favorite time of the year...

...when the houses are lit

...and the yard is ablaze

...and the wreath is hung with care.

The living room always seems to look better with this ol' thing in it, doesn't it?

It really is a time of reflection.

But of course, the gift giving isn't so bad either. I only have TWO more left to get on Wednesday and then I'm finished!! I might get a few extra little things to add but all in all, I'd say this is my most successful Christmas shopping experience yet.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas though, is seeing the Advent candles lit each week at Mass. It represents the period of waiting for Christ's birth. For other details, check out this great site here.

Jonathan was great about decorating the house for the season.

On the 10th, Stephen put together a Christmas dinner for a few friends and we had a nice turnout. The choice of locale was Portofino's. Jonathan and his family know the owner so he (as he does everyone) welcomed us with open arms. Very warm and accommodating man. Food was delicious, company was great...in short, great job done by Stephen!

Our host for the evening. I'm mad this photo came out so blurry but I didn't want to delete because Stephen still came out great LOL

That Saturday, Jonathan and I spent the majority of the day helping his sister and brother-in-law move stuff into their new home. It's a gorgeous house, the kind that makes you want one for yourself, haha. Neat fact about the place: former Brooklyn Dodger, Pee Wee Reese, used to live there!! We had fun putting up the tree and such. They were nice enough to treat us to dinner at the end of the day (I was so hungry, I think I ate like 3 helpings of Chinese food). And of course, seeing Johnny was one of the best parts of the day! The little guy is getting SO big and he looks so grown up with his hair cut. He's not even two and he knows all these words and such...whatever teacher gets him once he starts school is in for a real treat, hehe.

This month is like a whirlwind. Before we know it, 2011 will be here and this past year will be nothing but a memory.

SCARY.

And exciting.

extra thanks

2010-11-29T12:03:00.002-05:00

In making a post about things I am thankful for (of course, it was only a partial list) I forgot to include my parents, who really should have been somewhere at the top because they are, and always will be, two of my favorite people in the world. From Day 1 (way back in the fall of 1985) they have made sacrifices for me and continue to do so. When I become a parent one day, I will have learned almost everything I know from them. And while I'm on the topic of parents, I have to give a big thank you to Jonathan's parents who are really one of a kind. They are very welcoming about the fact that I have made a nest for myself in their home. I lucked out on both spectrums of parental units LOL.

I'm also thankful for Cyber Monday for making my gift shopping bearable! I only bought Jonathan and Tiffany's gifts online but that was the two main ones I've been meaning to get. Feels good to knock those off the list. I may have to cut back on little things, like going to Starbucks every day for the next three weeks in order to afford all of this though haha. Starting to feel like Mrs. Claus....no complaints though.

How cute is this photo? Tiffany took it while I was taking care of Parker & Moka Thanksgiving night. I find it to be hilarious. Those two are fascinated by everything. So naturally blowing my nose was very interesting. Cuties.

thankful...

2010-11-28T15:19:00.003-05:00

Thank you Jesus, for giving Your life for us so that we may know your love. Thank you God, for putting me here on this earth. Every high and low, happiness and suffering I experience is a part of this journey. I look forward to seeing You at the end of this life and starting the next one :D

For these three siblings and what they individually bring to my life with their unique personalities. Robyn is not afraid to voice her opinion and is one of the most generous people you will ever meet. Chris loves all things media and can kick your butt in video games. Michael is a clever kid, don't let that smile (or his disability) fool you. He is just big teddy bear you want to hug.

For new life coming into this world. That baby is already loved so so much.

For coffee, the one of few things guaranteed to perk me up.

For this dude, who goes above and beyond even after 3 years of knowing each other. Not only does he know himself well but he knows ME well...sometimes even better than I know myself, I think. He is my best bud (and love) for life.

For friends of all kind, who make life interesting.

For the surprise party given to me for my 25th birthday.

...And for having one of the best birthdays in recent memory.

For the places I've been this year: Boston, Yankee Stadium, Universal Studios and Disney World, to name a few.

This is just a part of what made 2010 so wonderful.

Beantown or bust

2010-11-23T12:10:00.009-05:00

I'm sure it's very unusual for a Yankee fan to say they love Boston but when you're talking about the city and not the baseball team....I think it's allowed ;-)

Jonathan & I "shipped" ourselves up to Boston, as the song goes, this past weekend for something called Boston Megafest. It took place on Saturday and Sunday but we spent all of Friday getting up there. We opted to take the train instead of driving (which we should have done, we later admitted to ourselves). Our train departed from Penn Station at 11:33am and we BARELY made it. Just barely. I felt like I was a part of the airport scene in Home Alone. Once on the train, we had about 3 hours to breathe before getting off in Springfield, MA. When we got there, a three hour wait awaited us. I really wish we hadn't had a delay but it was the only option for a late morning ride. Anyway, we really did make the best of it. Walked aimlessly for five minutes and found a mall (if you even want to call it that) to eat.

At ten to six we boarded the second train to Framingham, MA. We stayed at the Sheraton (where Megafest was being held) and the outside was like a castle. The hotel was HUGE! Our room was pretty sweet too. We had dinner at Molly Malone's, one of two restaurants inside the hotel. Also at the restaurant was Tony Atlas (WWE Hall of Famer), Frank Stallone, Seka, and Norman Reedus.

The next morning, the festivities began. We got a late start thanks to being so tired from the previous days travels so the ballroom where the Megafest was being held was already busy busy busy. We immediately got on line to meet Christopher Lloyd. When I was there, I totally forgot the man is 72 years old but he looks good for his age. By the time we got a chance to meet him (two hours later thanks to a serious delay), he seemed tired but when Jonathan spoke about being a big fan, he had a very kind smile on his face. And he gave me a warm smile when I shook his hand. Pleasant meeting all around.

The only other people we paid to meet (well, Jonathan did) was James Tolkan (best known as the principal from Back to the Future). Jonathan got him to utter the line "You're a slacker, Jonathan" on camera which was amazing! The man sounded and looked just like he did in the movie! -geek moment- Then we made a beeline to meet Howard Finkel, who was a very nice guy and I know Jonathan was THRILLED to meet him, as a life long wrestling fan. Fortunately for me, Monday Night Raw had an "old school night" the Monday of that week so I got be familiar with him prior to the meeting.

Other people who were in attendance (very random selection) were Kristin Bauer from True Blood, Marina Sirtis of Star Trek fame, Cathy St. George, a former playmate (and whom we were on the Amtrak train with going to MA, though I didn't know it at the time), Caroll Spinney, the voice of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch and Sean Patrick Flanery, to name a few. Besides the "celebrities", there were also memorabilia galore. Seriously. For all you Queens natives, it was like a massive Royal Collectibles. The only thing I bought (besides the autograph/pictures) that day was a $4 original copy of Freaky Friday. Once a bookworm, always a bookworm.

But we were feeling restless after all that (not to mention hungry) so we got the hotel shuttle to take us to the nearest mall which ended up being in a town called Natick. The Natick Collection was about a 10 minute drive and we quickly found a Friendly's inside there to eat. Shopped around a bit and ended up taking a cab back to the hotel since the shuttle service had ended by the time we left the mall. In budgeting this trip, we seriously forgot to think about how far things were from the hotel. (This is where thoughts of "damn, we should have driven to Boston" started). The next morning we had to check out of the hotel but we decided (after a nice big breakfast of course) to give the convention one more look-see.

That's where things went downhill. Our train from Framingham to Boston, where we were to check into another hotel, was leaving at 11:40. At 11:11, I texted Jonathan, who was still downstairs checking out stuff, to hurry back to the room so we could get our stuff and get the next shuttle to the Amtrak station. We rushed and got downstairs in time but to our horror, the shuttle wasn't able to get back on time. The next train didn't leave until 3pm and there was NO way we were waiting that long. The concierge called a cab for us but even that took long! The shuttle driver came back before the cab driver did! Needless to say, when the cab finally came, we told him the dilemma and he got us there right in time to see the train in the station. However, to even more horror, we saw we had to access the platform via an overpass from the side we were dropped on. We RAN. Ran with our backpacks and suitcases. Ran like a knife wielding murderer was at our backs!! As we're running over the overpass, the bells start to ring, signaling the train was about to leave. At this point our limbs were about to fall off but we still kept running. As we're leaping down the stairs....the train pulls out of the station. In a fit of rage, Jonathan threw his suitcase in front of him and flipped the departing train the finger. It was incredibly comical but really frustrating.

We tried to call various bus companies and even a passing police officer tried to help us. We found out that we could go to the closest airport via "nearby" bus stop. From the airport, we could take the Silver Line into Boston. But...how to get to the bus stop? After standing in the middle of nowhere for about 20 minutes, at loss for words, who comes pulling up but the shuttle driver from the Sheraton Hotel?! The very one who took us to the mall the night before. (The man upstairs is a clever one). By the time we checked into the Best Western Roundhouse Suites, it was close to 3pm. A whole afternoon wasted. We unpacked, rested for a bit and headed downtown to where we would be seeing Harry Potter 7, Part 1. We walked around to find a place to eat and found Vapiano's, which I absolutely loved. Very laid back place. You place your own order at the bar and watch as they cook your food in front of you. Next stop was the AMC Loews by Boston Commons. Gorgeous movie theater! Seriously, puts our AMC's in Manhattan to shame. The movie itself was perfection. I wasn't sure how they were going to split the movie but they did it so well. By the time we left, it was creeping towards midnight. It was too cold to walk around aimlessly (not to mention dark) so we waited forever and a day for a cab to take us back to the hotel. Seriously, the cab service we were provided with blew hardcore. Fortunately we found a cab driver in the parking lot of a Dunkin Donuts who was willing to take us back to our hotel.

Since we were leaving the next afternoon, we knew the chances of seeing the places we wanted to see were slim to none. The incident with missing our train on Sunday morning really screwed us over but luckily we were able to walk around Prudential Center for an hour before we headed back home.

All in all, the trip was worth it. Yes, our main goal was to attend Boston Megafest but we also really had wanted to explore the city a bit. We already spoke about going back early next year or at least when it's warmer out. I know my sister wants to go. Time to gather up a group!

For all photos, check out my Flickr. I didn't get to take any of the photos I hoped for but, there's always next time.

My 25th Birthday

2010-11-17T20:47:00.008-05:00

I thought I was going to have a quiet little birthday celebration...

...boy was I wrong!

Last Monday, the 8th, I turned 25. Quarter of a century, if you may. One step closer to growing old. It was a good day. I woke up to birthday streamers and lots of love. I had lunch with my sister and Jonathan at a local bagel place (yeah, Robyn couldn't believe I had chosen that either LOL) and she gave me a very generous gift. My mom came shortly after to shop around a bit and she bought me a beautiful red jacket from Eddie Bauer. I was feeling the love that afternoon. That evening, Jonathan and I had dinner at Sea in Brooklyn, followed by cake at my parents' house. Alex, my glowing pregnant aunt who is almost 6 months now, joined in the festivities and that added to the fun. The cake (strawberry banana) was from Martha's Bakery and it was an instant pleaser. Anything from Martha's is, really.

Yay, baby!

Family shot <3

Jonathan's gift to me this year! I didn't know how he would top last year's Coach bag...but he did :D

That Wednesday, I had two tickets to see Elf the Musical, as mentioned in the last post. It was wonderful in every way -- set, acting, choreography, music, etc. It just had a feeling good vibe about it. A little bit of Christmas in my birthday week? Yes please!

Here is Jonathan and I with Sebastian Arcelus, who played Buddy the Elf.

That Friday started off ordinary enough. I don't remember a thing except that it involved coffee but I do remember the main event that day was Jonathan and I would be having dinner with Anthony and Gina. We did this last year because Gina's is two days before mine so it's the perfect joint birthday celebration. Small, cozy...just the way I like it.

We get to Danny Boy's, a local pub with a great restaurant in the back. It offers typical pub food but their burgers were SO good. This was my first time there so walking in, I didn't know just how good it was, of course. Anyway, the four of us walk through the pub to get to the back. Anthony shows me a few pictures on his camera of a beautiful butterfly or something like that. I'm completely into it but I look up as I enter the room, to see a sea of faces looking at me.

Faces: "SURPRISE!!!!"

Me: *looks from left to right* OH MY GOD!

Oh my dear God is right. Roughly 40 people were gathered there to celebrate with me. 40! I was so shocked that all night...literally all night...I was in a state of disbelief. I had missed all the signs over the past few months (even though, ahem, I swore Jonathan and my mother not to throw a surprise party for me). In the end though, after all was said and done, it was one of the best nights of my life.

One of the best gifts I received for my birthday though, besides the wonderful material gifts (Tiffany gave me the "Accidental Billionaires" book about the founding of Facebook that I had been wanting PLUS Marc Jacobs' Daisy perfume, only my second favorite perfume I would ever wear) and gift cards...was Jonathan taking off from work on my actual birthday to spend the day with me. He treated it like a real celebration and that is perhaps one of my favorite things about him, that all of life is a celebration. That attitude has certainly rubbed off on me. I should also mentioned my aunt Chrissy's gift to me, this book that I highly highly recommend, a journal with bible verses on each page and other odds and ends that I adored. Her card made me teary and touched me in a way that reminds me how blessed I am to have her in my life.

I didn't have my camera that night because well, I wasn't expecting that big of an event! I also wasn't even dressed up that much! I still rib Jonathan about that. He should have lied and said it was a fancy restaurant haha. Here is a phone photo a friend of mine took that night.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=596141171590&comments&ref=mf

That above link is the video of the surprise via Jonathan's posting on Facebook. I never tire of watching this!

A memorable day, week and now hopefully, year :D

Halloween

2010-11-05T11:26:00.006-04:00

Halloween was very low-key this year. Last year, we couldn't do much of anything as for as Halloween activities, because Jonathan's cousin got married that day. But if there's a good excuse to "miss" Halloween, it's that! So we still had those costumes ready to wear....

When we got to Yer Man's, a local bar hosting a Halloween party, we see Giacomo dressed as this...

Scary bartender, eh?

Popeye doing "Thriller".

The next day we went over to Brooklyn. Here is Johnny enjoying his Halloween Oreo. By the way, his black eye is part of his costume LOL. He was a boxer for the day.

Doesn't it look like he's going off to a fight here? So cute!

I didn't feel like dressing up again so that sticker was the extent of my holiday cheer.

This house in Erica & John's new neighborhood was decked out nicely.

Remember that picture over the summer of Johnny sniffing flowers? No? Here's a refresher.

Here he was...still sniffing flowers...

Hehe. I find it to be so adorable that he remembers to sniff the flowers. Now that's a charmer! Even his mommy is most amused.

How cute was this Frankenbaby?

That concludes Halloween for the year. It may not have had the high excitement of last year's wedding but it was just the right kind of fun I was looking for :-)

Anthony & Gina's Engagement Party

2010-11-03T22:21:00.005-04:00

If an engagement party is a glimpse into a wedding then it is safe to say, Anthony & Gina's wedding is going to be SO nice. First of all, I am a sucker for fall weddings. You really can't go wrong with autumn themes, the mild weather and subtle Halloween hints (i.e lots of candy!). They had the party at Pop Diner, which at first you wouldn't think would be a good place to host an engagement party but it was actually (like I said before) so nice. I had a great time. I've never been so excited for a wedding before! And I'm not just saying that because I'm in it ;-)

Anthony & Gina

Gina with Elisa and Delina

Anthony and his adorable niece, Kayla.

Anthony with John and his future brother-in-law, Victor.

Our table.

Eggs benedict!

One of my favorite candids from the afternoon.

The cake was so good...but the spelling left little to be desired. Anlhony 8 Gina?

LOL! Leave it to David. (One of the groomsmen).

So sweet! Love this picture of them with their moms.

With their maid-of-honor and best man.

Five on Friday

2010-10-29T14:36:00.005-04:00

1. I got my tickets to see Elf the Musical for November 10. This is my birthday present to myself so I purposely made it my birthday week. I hope this doesn't disappoint! Besides that, Jonathan and I are headed to Boston for a weekend next month. It's a good time to turn 25! :-)

2. CUNY said their decision will be sent out to me within two weeks...and that was last week. Excited to know if I will be spending the next year studying something I love to do for fun.

3. I have already started my Christmas shopping. This year, I have a set idea of what everyone in my family (and a few others) are getting. I made sure it's something specific for each person to enjoy. Trying not to get too many gift cards this year, even though it's an instant pleaser!

4. The weather here has been zany. Seriously, high 70s (almost 80s) the past few days and then wham, today, it's back to being cold/chilly. Don't you just love bipolar weather? I hope the day I shoot Anthony & Gina's engagement photos, we have perfect fall weather. Their engagement party is tomorrow (they'll be married a year from the 30th!) and I am really looking forward to all of it. It's my first time being involved in a wedding party :-)

5. Speaking of Boston, this is why I'll be heading to New England for a nerd-tastic weekend. Harry Potter 7 Part 1 also comes out the day we arrive. Oh yes....nerdtastic indeed!!!

Catching up with October

2010-10-22T12:03:00.005-04:00

Paranormal Activity 2 was SICK! I went in expecting not to be scared at all (nor very impressed) like I left after seeing the first one last year. But Tiffany, Jared and I all agreed this one was much better. It's a prequel to the first film and explains what happens in the 60 days before the events from the first movie. I'm still a little creeped out as I type this because I'm using the computer in the basement and on top of that, I'm all alone in the house, at the moment. Needless to say, I'm ready to get out of here, LOL. The kicker from last night was that the only available screen left at midnight was in IMAX. Talk about super sized frights. I have to say, because it's paranormal activity and you don't actually see anything or anyone (well, except a shadow at some points), it just amps up the chills. Just earlier I thought I heard the TV call my name, haha. I need to get my mind off this movie!

Here are some things that have happened lately.

One night, a week or so ago, Jonathan, John and I decided to go to the piers in Long Island City to shoot some pictures. There's a GREAT view of the Manhattan skyline there and it's a nice place to just kind of chill or walk around.

It was a very cold night. Poor John got sick as a result of it (never go there without extra layers).

But earlier that night we had a chance to fill up our bellies with exceptionally delicious German food at Manor Oktoberfest.

How pretty does my sister look with her new haircut? :)

From another day before the piers visit, I was at an outdoor marketplace in Madison Square Park where I had a neat glimpse at the Empire State Building.

The city is alive with all things Halloween.

Just a bit too creepy.

A stroll in the city with the girls usually results in some camera shyness.

She's so pleasant.

I like to think this photo sums up Tiffany and Robyn's relationship, LOL

I laugh every single time I see this picture.

And of course, there's been plenty of Johnny time this past month.

The Girl Who Blogged

2010-10-04T13:33:00.007-04:00

Lately I have been engrossed in Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy. It started off with stumbling upon a copy of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and being hooked within the first few pages. I wanted to give the book a chance, whether I liked it at first or not, because of the hoopla surrounding it. That and I was curious about the movie because of all the casting buzz. And now that I've finished The Girl Who Played With Fire and am halfway through The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, I can say that it's one of the most intriguing storylines I've ever read. The first one doesn't have much to do with the second and third (the latter two are more alike in storylines) but most of the characters are the same and in the first book you come to understand the bond between Blomkvist and Salander. Casting Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist was a great choice. He fits the image I have of him. And I'm really curious to see what Rooney Mara does for the character of Lisbeth Salander. Out of all the books I've ever read in my life, Salander is probably the most interesting character of them all. Even though she's kind of crazy (but not the kind of crazy people think she is), you really root for her. You want her to kick butt all the way until the end. Well, at least I do. But it's characters like her and Blomkvist and several others I've encountered in this trilogy that inspired me to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and start writing again. I also love that all three books were translated into English. I would love to see what the books look like in Swedish. I wonder if I could get a copy through Amazon? (Maybe I'm the crazy one).

My parents celebrated 25 years of marriage yesterday, which is amazing. 25 years...can you imagine? I wonder what this world will be like when I hit that milestone. Will blogs still be around to write about it? Maybe everything will be electronic by then and paper will cease to exist. Maybe we'll finally get those flying cars they've talked about since Back to the Future made it cool ;-)

Speaking of 25...I am about to turn a quarter of a century in a matter of weeks. Talk about SCARY. Not scary as in "5 more years until I'm 30!?!?" but more like, did I do everything I wanted to do by then?

Maybe not but I did, however, get a lens I had my eye on for months now. It's a basic macro lens, the 50mm but it takes GREAT pictures. Here are a few test shots I started with.

Twister!

2010-09-20T12:51:00.004-04:00

We had a tornado last Thursday.

I think if I lived in Kansas or Iowa, this might not be very interesting. However, I live in a borough of New York City. Whether or not it was an actual tornado remains to be seen but that's what the news keeps saying. And well, take a look at the pictures and judge for yourself. By the grace of God, only one person died as a result of that evening but, still, what a shame nonetheless. In Queens, the areas hit the most would probably be Forest Hills, Middle Village and Flushing. Although I stay in Forest Hills, where Jonathan lives, I had been in Woodside that evening, for my brother Michael's 19th birthday. Thank God I left early in the afternoon and not later that evening because around 5:20pm, it hit. In Woodside, heavy rain and flickering lights were the extent of it. But when I got back to Forest Hills after work...oh boy...

Back of Jonathan's deck/yard.

Amazingly enough, these wind chimes didn't move from it's spot!

So the wind chimes don't move but this flies across the yard from deck to the ground?! (In this position, too!)

Screw Leukemia

2010-09-13T11:58:00.006-04:00

On Saturday, September 11, not only did we, as a whole, mourn the events that happened 9 years ago, but we also mourned & celebrated the life of Jenn Esposito. Kim and the family orchestrated a benefit at CJ Sullivan's. Kim & co. worked their butts off for this and with a turn out of 193 (!!), I'd say it was a major success! They also raised $5,442! Amazing, isn't it? On top of an entrance donation, there were prizes to win via a raffle later that night. The prizes (all donations, by the way) were top notch! Yankees, Mets, Giants, Six Flags tickets to name a few, a "tourist for the day" package including tickets to see Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a Starbucks gift basket (and no I did not win that, much to everyone's surprise haha) and SO much more.

This isn't the end of Jenn's teams' efforts to well, screw Leukemia. On October 14, we are walking in Jenn's memory. For more information, please check out Jenn's team page: http://pages.lightthenight.org/nyc/Manhattn10/JennsTeam

Yankee tickets! Six Flags tickets!

The Esposito girls :-)

I won the prize that I wanted! And threw most of the my raffle tickets in LOL.

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-07T12:19:00.003-04:00

Labor Day weekend came and went, much like the summer did. But surprisingly, I am okay with this because I am ready for fall! The pumpkin spice, the Halloween activities, the crunch of the leaves, and then soon, Christmas (too early to type that?) and all it's trimmings. Yes, I am okay with this :)

But first, summer ended with a BBQ. Very appropriate if you ask me. Jonathan and I, along with his parents, headed to the Mauros' Saturday evening. I'll let the pictures speak for itself.

Sam loved seeing if the frog would "disappear". (When he wasn't looking, one of us would hide it somewhere for him to find.)

2010-08-31T11:43:00.002-04:00

Every August for the past few years, I go to Central Park and try to photograph things. This year (as in yesterday) I managd to get a few shots but I went solo so the novelty of walking around kind of wore off quick. It was a very hot sort of day but thanks to the long trails and shaded areas, it was a lovely walk. Here are a few pictures:

This past Saturday, Jonathan's dad had a get together with some family members. He wanted to show the documentary he worked all summer on to them. This documentary showed the family history from his mother's side. It was so well done and everyone loved it. The sad part is, the family name (his mother's maiden name) was never carried on. Like he said, all the boys had girls and all the girls had boys. Maybe that's what made the documentary all the more touching.

pink or blue...

2010-08-25T11:55:00.004-04:00

From start to finish, minus an incident at Starbucks, yesterday was a great day. Late in the afternoon, Jonathan and I picked up my mom from work for a mall trip out to Roosevelt Field. We had to stop at Best Buy and Target first which resulted in never actually making it to Roosevelt Field Mall. However, we got the stuff we needed (both my mom and Jonathan had to get season 6 of Lost, LOL) and I picked up Sister Act 1 & 2. Been meaning to get that for a good long while. Especially in the mood to watch it as of late. Got through half of it last night, laughing my ass off at parts I completely forgot about (remember Whoopi's prayer at her first meal with the sisters? ROFL moment!) but ended up falling asleep because we put the movie on late. Looking forward to watching the rest today!

But the best news of all yesterday? I stopped by my parents' after the mall trip since Jonathan was dropping my mom off and I had to head to work shortly after. Alex came upstairs when we got in to say hello. Been awhile since I had seen her! (She is the one who got married in April). I stepped out of the living room for a minute but when I came back, she was showing my mom a small photo album. I saw a glimpse of what the pictures were....a SONOGRAM! I said "No way!" and my mom and I started yelling and carrying on, LOL. My dad came in shortly after, wanting to know what all the commotion was about. My mom, who was holding the photo album at the time, showed my dad the picture. Upon putting on his reading glasses, he looked from the picture to me and my mother, his eyes wide and face frozen. I was near hysterics at that point. He thought it was from one of us! I quickly said, "No dad, Alex!" and pointed to her. I've never seen my dad so relieved in his life LOL!!!!! We asked a million and then some questions. She's due March 10th. To say we are excited is a huge understatement!

2011 is already shaping up to be a huge year, event wise. Three (with a possible four) weddings are taking place. Two baby arrivals...and some other news on my part is, for the first time ever, I will be a bridesmaid! Remember I mentioned Anthony & Gina, two good friends of mine are getting married next year? They've asked me to be a bridesmaid and of course, I was all for it. I've been to a dozen weddings but was never IN one. Minus the time I was a flower girl at my uncle's wedding...at the age of 20...and it was a last minute thing, LOL. This will take place on October 30, 2011. Something to look forward to all year! :-)

splish splash...

2010-08-23T16:37:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite things about the summer is the inevitable pool parties. And when the Hoffmann brothers are throwing one, you make sure you're there! This was my first one there and we had a pretty darn good time that night. I think I'll let the pictures tell the story itself.

eat pray love

2010-08-19T11:29:00.003-04:00

I happened to catch Eat Pray Love on opening day with Tiffany and Robyn and I pretty much loved every minute. I must warn you though, eat before you see the movie because it will leave you feeling hungry. Those close ups of Julia Roberts twirling and devouring her pasta left Tiffany and I giggling for some reason. But also craving some good old Italian food. Regardless of the delicious looking meals featured, the movie left you feeling like you could do anything. Liz, the main character (and also the author, who wrote the book about her experiences traveling to Italy, India and Indonesia) left her husband after a moment of clarity, took up a younger boyfriend, experienced heartbreak and then found love overseas. Not that I desire to do any of that (except the travel overseas part) but anything about "finding yourself" and "experiencing the world" gets an A+ in my book.

Atlantic City

2010-08-17T12:34:00.003-04:00

Early last week, I took a trip to Atlantic City with Jonathan and his family for two days. It was a nice birthday getaway for Jonathan, I'm sure, since he came back $50 richer, haha. The slot machines weren't too generous with me but I did win $15. Guess something is better than nothing. Or $1, if you're Robyn. (Who joined us later in the trip.)

Oddly enough, I didn't take any photos the next morning before we left. But then again, we didn't do much. Instead of taking the bus back (which is how we arrived), we were able to ride home with Jonathan's parents. Which means we had to beat traffic, aka get the heck out of the room at standard check out time. After a quick breakfast at Starbucks (hey, the Tropicana had TWO!) we were on the road and back home in a matter of hours. The Tropicana is easily one of my favorite hotels and I recommend staying there if you ever want to hit up A.C.

August: birthday filled fun

2010-08-14T12:02:00.005-04:00

Chris (my brother) & Jonathan had back to back birthdays, Chris being the 11th and Jonathan the 12th so it was a festive week for sure. For Chris, my parents, Jonathan, Michael and I went to Applebee's for dinner. Robyn, the workaholic, was, where else. Mom & I had Skinny Bee margaritas that were just the right amount/taste to give you a nice buzz without getting you sloppy. The food was really good too, as it usually is over there. I could go for some wonton tacos right about now... Chris's gift from my parents was pretty kick ass though: the iPhone 4!

The next day, I had to get up early but made sure to leave Jonathan's gifts from Robyn & I on the table. He wouldn't open it until after the dinner his parents made him that evening though. It was well worth the wait. He loved his new camera! Back in March, his old one was stolen. So many pictures/memories left with it and I knew right away, a camera would be what I'd get him for his birthday. A month or so after that spring incident, we had been watching a commercial for the new Samsung TL220 DualView point & shoot. He expressed interest in that and I stored that to memory, haha. Needless to say, he loooved it and it was right on time for a meet & greet with Jake the Snake, which was yesterday.

Speaking of which, Jonathan left "26" with a bang by being hired by NBC's Experience Store. He has been searching for a new job for many years (since graduating in '07) and I know it's the one thing he really really wanted. While it may not be the career he is hoping for, money is money and at least he'll be surrounded by things he loves. Plus, he will be working with a good friend of his (the reason he was able to know about this position!) He had an interview with a media related company that never went through, due to reason we'll never know since they didn't contact him back with an answer (lame). However, at least it showed that his resume, which is definitely a good one, is being noticed. It's a tough field. I don't recommend getting into it unless it's your passion.

And I am spending the last few weeks of summer praying that my application to a nearby college's photography program was accepted! *crosses fingers*

But on the theme of birthdays, Johnny turned 1 & a 1/2 earlier in the month! And he got his first hair cut today! :)

Pictures from Jonathan's birthday.

Kevin & Dana's wedding: an affair to remember

2010-08-12T08:47:00.004-04:00

Last Friday, Jonathan and I attended the wedding of a friend of his that he's known since high school. I love those two and together, they are destined for nothing but happiness. It was different group of friends than from Matt and Christy's wedding but I knew enough people that I didn't have to stick to Jonathan's side for the night, haha. Not that I don't love being dragged out to the dance floor by him....

Just kidding! He's actually the reason I learned to let loose a bit. We've been to seven weddings together in the time we've known each other! (One even before we started dating.) By the time we end up getting married, we'll be like, "Oh, another wedding? Whatever." :-P

Traffic was awful, to say the least (and based on Jonathan's cursing & ranting, it was) and we didn't get on the highway until 3:15. The wedding was to begin at 4. Instead of panicking, I felt a sense of calm, as prayed to Jesus, "whatever You do, please don't let us be late!" There wouldn't have been so much pressure in ordinary cases but Jonathan was the second reader so being a no show for that would have been no bueno.

By the grace of God, we arrived at 4 on the dot. Does God listen? He sure does. :-D

Here are some pictures from the day

A wonderful day/evening.

Independence Day

2010-08-01T12:56:00.004-04:00

I spent the 4th of July at the Hoffmann home. They were perfect hosts. Huge pool, plenty of food to go around, good company, fireworks galore...in short, perfect 4th!

With Stephen & Alex (cousins).

Is that a gorgeous pool or what?

Alex took to throwing Marcella in the air, successfully, each time, haha.

Jonathan has known the Hoffmann's for many many years, thanks to his life long friendship with Stephen.

A unknowing Joe strikes a pose, haha :)

Mhmm, jumbo shrimp.

LOL...remember those Super Soakers?

Some water basketball took place.

I was all nice and relaxed....

...until I saw a gigantic dragonfly, LOL.

Alex is the BBQ King.

Alex also started up the fire pit.

We had a surprise guest.

Just a bit too big, huh?

The sky was something.

The night grew darker so we brought out the desserts: red velvet cheesecake from Junior's, donuts courtesy of Jonathan and homemade icecream! A sweet tooth's dream. Too bad I didn't get a picture of any. I was too busy eating them, LOL.

The first of the fireworks.

The Randy Orton pose.

My favorite shot of the night.