Easter 2010

I found out I'd be working Easter earlier that week, but that was no fault but my own, since I hadn't checked the schedule. Oops. Looks like I wouldn't be spending Easter with Jonathan's family after all. He was going to Westchester to his aunt's house. I was sad to have missed it but happy to have an excuse to spend it with my family. Fortunately work for me wouldn't start til late afternoon.

Spring time in Woodside.

I had a strange Dora the Explorer sighting on my walk home.

Me & Mom before our traditional walk to Mass. On further reflection, I feel like my outfit could have been more appropriate for where I was going. Lesson learned.

Mom, Dad and Michael in the background. Chris, Robyn & Alex were unable to make it :(

Ah, spring. The lone flower blooming.

This was at my grandparents' house later that day. They had a beyond beautiful display for the Blessed Mother.

Our version of colored eggs, haha. We got lazy this year.

The usual Easter feast upstairs was about to begin.

Mhmm. Easter treats!

Even my mom is an iPhone nut now! (She joined the club a few months ago)

My handsome dad :)

Michael is always the goof ball!

My beautiful Oma :)

But later that day, I ended up seeing Tiffany & Robyn in the city!

All in all, a very pleasant day :)

So there I am this morning, waiting for the Canon Rebel XSi to arrive in the mail, sipping my coffee, when the doorbell rings! Rejoice! I lept out of the seat and ran to the door, all excited. But...

No one was there. Confused, I called out to Jonathan. He took awhile to come down the stairs, which I thought was odd. What was going on?

Turns out. HE rang it! LOL! SO cruel! Of course, he felt awful and kept apologizing. Talk about a prank backfiring! Hahaha. It's funny now but boy, was I pissed!

Besides the arrival of the camera, today proves to be a good day. I am taking care of two dog clients this week, every afternoon, so I have to get my butt out to the Upper East Side. Then Tiffany and I are going to grab dinner at Da Andrea followed by a photo gallery exhibit.

As promised, here's a few pictures from the past few weeks.

The next Billy Joel, perhaps?

Little gangster in his backwards hat :-P

We also had the handsome Ryan over so that his mommy (Lauren) & Jonathan's sister (Erica) could film their part for The Insiders.

I kept Ryan busy outside while they filmed.

Johnny played inside.

He does the best funny faces!

We had desserts galore since Easter was soon arriving.

The following day, we went to Brooklyn. And took Johnny to the park.

Proud uncle.

We went back to the house to play around for a bit.

He's a curious little monkey.

Always a joy being around that kid and his buddy, Ry-Ry :)

spring has come!

How about them Yankees?! Yes, baseball season is back and it is sweeter than ever! They won the series in Boston and I am glad to see Curtis Granderson is doing well. See last night as proof! And speaking of the team, I just ordered this shirt.

My beautiful baby cousin Sierra turns one years old today!

Happy 1st Birthday Sierra!!

So many things have been going on since I last updated. Robyn and I went to see Wicked and I LOVED it. First of all, we were fortunate enough to win lotto, which means we only had to pay $26 for a front row seat. The only downside was we were in left orchestra in the front row so the view was a pain in the neck (literally) but worth it! I wasn't disappointed with anything in the show and would love to see it again. Mandy Gonzalez will blow you away as Elphaba.

We had a few birthday celebrations recently, one for Wilfredo and one for Richie. Jen (Wil's girlfriend) did a great job in setting up a surprise birthday gathering last Monday, the 29th, for him. A group of us got together at Red, a Mexican eatery in Seaport.

And a tribute to Wilfredo's love for Disney World.

On the third (of April), we celebrated Richie's birthday. A small gathering happened over at Connelly's.

Billy, myself and the birthday boy

Matt & Christy, the soon to be married couple!

Then there was Christy's Bridal Shower (which including an adventurous trek to the Bronx), a trip to Brooklyn, a few film shoots, long treks around Manhattan and of course, Easter! Another update to follow! For now, Mother Nature is calling me. What beeeeautiful weather we are having! Can April always be like this?! This makes me even more excited for Monday. What is Monday you ask? The arrival of the Canon Rebel XSi! Yes! My mother was generous enough to order it for me last night. I still cannot believe it.

monthly recap

Here's what I've been up to lately.

We had dinner for Robyn at TGIFridays on her actual birthday. It was just myself, Robyn, Jonathan and my mom in attendance, as we went really late on the 28th (Sunday).

Jonathan was treated to double the kisses. Are we sure it wasn't his birthday?

Then on Monday we did a family dinner. Jonathan (not pictured) also came. We went to the Family Restaurant in Forest Hills. Fantastic Italian food!

And of course made time for the boyfriend...

On the 4th (Kimmie's actual birthday and the day after Tiffany's) my mom, Tiff, Robyn & I went to a bar near my job for a drink. We ended up get a free round of shots because there was a leak in the ceiling and it just so happened to leak into my mom's drink, haha.

Earlier that day though, I surprised Robyn with her gift: the Jodi Picoult book and the book signing. Robyn chickened out on going up to get it signed so I went up for her. I told Jodi that it was a birthday gift for my sister, who was the reason I was a fan of her in the first place! When Robyn was in high school, she asked me to read Jodi's book The Pact since she didn't have time to. I did, and fell in love! Been a huge fan ever since! Jodi was more than happy to wish her a happy birthday. House Rules is a story of a teen with Asperger's Syndrome. When his tutor is murdered, Jacob is accused. Since people with Asperger's usually have one hobby they focus on to extremes, in Jacob's case, crime scenes, his knowledge of one (and also his autistic habits like lack of eye contact) lead police to believe he could be the murderer. It's a great story from start to finish and anyone who is familiar with Jodi's work knows that the woman can WRITE!

On the 7th, Wilfredo had an Oscar viewing party. The kicker? It was held at Jonathan's, since SO many people wanted to attend and Wilfredo's apartment couldn't accomodate that many. Luckily, the Dano Dome (as J.D's basement is called) is the perfect size to host a party.

The winners of the Oscar pool.

My sister is the only person I know who'd watch Full House right before a party began!

But the day before the Oscar party, a group of us went to dinner at New Ashiya for Kim's birthday. We had all-you-can-eat sushi with sake bombs galore. Personally, I think we were ripped off a bit because it was supposed to last two hours and we definitely were there for less. Nevertheless, it was a GREAT time and I'd do it all over again! Except this time, I would cut myself off after two sake bombs LOL. Six sent me over the edge.

Birthday girl.

Me & Tiff.

Kim & Vinnie are going to have children one day with the bluest eyes you ever did see!

After dinner, the dinner gang + more went to Hi-Fi, a bar/lounge within walking distance for more drinks and fun. Let me tell you, drinking after all those sake bombs was the worst.mistake.ever. I paid for it dearly the next day. I don't think half of us remember this picture, LOL.

Besides all this, I have been taking it easy and just working. As I've blogged about for the past few entries, my main goal is saving up for the Canon Rebel DSLR. It definitely is the main motivator when I go to work and when I do side jobs. Because there are so many events coming up, it gets harder and harder to save but luckily I am almost halfway to my goal.

I still want to write about an interesting conversation Jonathan and I had last night. It was more of an argument (which makes it our second one since we started dating, LOL) but we both had valid points that I thought would make for a good entry. So, that's to come. At the moment, a slice of pizza is calling my name :)