Saturday, December 27, 2014

NYC Trip

We've had to opportunity to go to New York on the back burner. I thought it would be fun to go see the Christmas decorations, so my cousin Tiffany hooked us up with JetBlue tickets and we were off on the red eye flight. JetBlue is by far my favorite airline. Upon boarding they gave us eye masks and earplugs. You also get unlimited drinks and snacks. The crew was always friendly too.


I've been wanting to try Airbnb for a place to stay, especially since I wanted this to be cheap trip and hotels in Manhattan are expensive. We got to NY around 9:30 AM. I reached out to a few hosts. One sounded really amazing, but we couldn't check in until 4 PM. We didn't want to carry our bags around so we went with another lady's place. It sucked. It was weird and the bathroom and kitchen area had 5 cats and stinky litter. Our room was dark and warm, so at least we slept okay. One good thing about the place was it was in a gret location, close to the subway and bus lines. 

We visited Times Square, Radio City, Rockefeller Center. We walked so much because we kept going in the wrong direction and had to backtrack a block or two. Our legs were throbbing; I loved it. 





We rode the subway a few times, but prefered buses so we could be above ground and see more of the city. We visited the American Museum of Natural History and watched the ice skaters in Central Park. We would've ice skated, but it was pricey, cold, and there was a long line. 








 It's interestng what people have to do to keep their bumpers from getting bumped. Parallel parking is no joke in this city. 
Every corner has dog piss on it. 









From East to West Coast we spent a night in Long Beach, CA. It was funny how we got used to public transportation and walking. We wanted to walk to our hotel, but it wasn't close enough. We missed the bus by a few minutes so we ended up taking a cab. The next morning we took a bus back to the airport. 




Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Thanksgiving '14

I'll admit I was nervous for this Thanksgiving. I was making up in my head that it would be awkward and people would be judging me. It was nothing like that, it was actually really good. 

During my yoga practice on Wednesday the instructor made it really fun by giving silly names to the poses like the crescent roll, turkey pose and stirring the mashed potatoes. During savasana she had us send energy to someone we cared about, but wouldn't be able to be at our Thanksgiving table, perhaps due to distance physically or because of family dysfunction. I could relate. She also had us send energy to a loved one who was no longer with us. I thought of my Grandpo Perea and missed him dearly. To me it seems like a weird coincidence, but during dinner everyone was laughing at memories of Chon Perea. I love that we were able to share about the man who made our family possible. 

We didn't do our traditional going around the table and saying what we're thankful for because some people ran off and didn't want to participate. It's not my favorite thing, you're vulnerable, but I do see it's value. My mom sent out a message a few days later saying what she was thankful for. I went next, "I'm thankful that you all love me. It's such a good feeling to know that I have people that really care about me. Second, I'm thankful for my yoga practice. It's easy to spend too much time being angry about the past and anxious about the future. I hope to continue learning to breathe & enjoy each present moment because that's the only moment that really matters, especially when it's spent with my family." I wish everyone else would've participated, but that's okay.

It blows mind to think of where I'm at this year compared to last year, or even compared to last week. It's hard, but good. I have to keep growing and sending out love and accepting love.












My Kind of Sunday

I could not have asked for a better Sunday. I woke up and jetted off to soulful power yoga. When I came home, Jose was still asleep so I snuck back into bed for a warm nap. Waking up hungry I reheated some barbacoa, fried up some potatoes with a side of eggs and warm hot cocoa. We ate and discussed what we wanted to do for the day. My only request was that we didn't spend all day in front of the TV. 


I got tricked into another nap. We woke up hungry again and hopped on the Pizza Hut app. My phone beeped that it was dying so we thought the charging cord had a short, but realized that the power was out and it stayed out for hours. 

To keep warm we snuggled up, ate our pizza and watched Burt's Buzz, a documentary about the Burt's Bees company. After we  exhausted the charge on the laptop and phone we showered by candlelight and headed off to wander the aisles of Walmart. 

By the time we got home the power was back, but none of our Sunday shows recorded so we busted out a puzzle we got last Christmas. The 750 pieces make up Times Square in New York. Our goal is to have it completed before our NY trip. 


To entertain myself in the dark I played with my camera to take a few shots of this new art piece I bought during Small Business Saturday. The artist is Vanessa Colunga


Sunday, November 16, 2014

Dancing

Laughter, song, and dance create emotional & spiritual connection; they remind us of the one thing that truly matters when we are searching for comfort, celebration, inspiration, or healing: We are not alone. -Brené Brown

We were raised in this religion that preaches dancing is bad, but that quote up there says it all. It brings connection between partners, friends, and even strangers. Is that really so bad? 

We did more dancing this week than usual. We went to The Black Keys Concert on Wednesday and to a Mexican dance club on Saturday. It was fun, and that's all that matters. 









Sunday, November 9, 2014

Jr's 3rd Birthday

Little Aaron Jr. turned 3. Jose and I went to visit him just in time to eat breakfast with them. We didn't do so well making it over to see Janeece on her 4th b-day this year so we did two in one. Jr. got a remote control truck that his dad and uncle were more interested in playing with it than he was. Janeece got a VTech digital camera.




Playing with his toys after getting his hair cut


Birthday Breakfast on Make A Gif
Yummy pancakes, eggs, and bacon



We all hopped in the car and headed over to nana and papi's house to visit them for a bit.


Playing with the puppies

Tickling Uncle Jose's feet.

Birthday Hat on Make A Gif

Happy birthday kids. We love you.