Eat. Pray. Love

I just finished reading this incredible book. I was not expecting it, but it turned into being one of the best books I've ever read. Definitely in my top 10 favorites. Don't you just love it when you connect with an author or story or character on a deeper, more personal level? That's what this book did for me. I really could relate to this woman as I accompanied her in my mind on her incredible journey. I found myself glued to her story and captivated, eagerly anticipating what I would find in the following chapter. This woman set out on a journey of self-discovery seeking peace, balance and healing for herself and I find myself longing for the first two desperately. With no plan, she heads to Italy, India and then Bali on her personal quest. I so admire this adventurous spirit of hers with much respect in throwing caution to the wind and challenging herself and taking a risk for the sake of peace and happiness in her life. I mean, although I find the idea tremendously exciting, I am a plan-every-move-I-make kind of person and would be overwhelmed with worry of the unknown too much to enjoy and appreciate such a unique opportunity. As I read her story, I learned about the culture and history of each place she went. She pursued her passions and mastered them as best she could. I secretly desire a self-discovery voyage of my own. A personal quest. Some days I feel I am just living my life going through the motions that I'm programmed to do as a housewife and mother. That somewhere deep inside is a part of me I know nothing about because it has not been explored or developed. We, as humans, are the most complex beings that I would think take a lifetime to figure out our complete depth. There are times I feel incomplete, like something is missing from my life. There is more to me than this I just know it. It's funny, ever since I accepted Jesus Christ into my life I always thought I had a greater purpose. God was going to use me to do something great. I always wanted to make a difference, even in some sort of small way. To help someone, to show someone kindness or compassion in a unique way. I have found myself recently praying for God to reveal His path for me and I am excited to say I am starting to narrow it down. I am getting closer. I have a lot of myself to give and I want to do that. Anyway, reading this book made me look within myself. I would definitely recommend it, this is a great read. :)

NY Trip - Day 8 - Driving Home (last day of trip)

Time to go home. I'm ready. I miss Eric and I actually miss my boring old mundane daily routine. It is familiar and comforting. But I had a great trip and staying a few extra days was definitely worth it.
I got up early and packed the car up. Went out to breakfast with Larry (my mom's boyfriend), my mom and my brother Joey before I had to get on the road. The route I took to get home was awesome! Simple and easy to follow. I didn't get lost and made decent time. Although Rebecca was a handful to say the least. She was a gem the first three hours, but that was it. After that, she had decided she was fed up with sitting in the carseat for so long and just had a complete meltdown for two hours straight-screaming and crying. This of course made it very difficult to focus on driving. I even pulled over and took her out of the car seat and held her but it did no good, she continued to meltdown. I was getting very overwhelmed and then I, myself, had a small meltdown of my own. I sat next to her and just cried. I put her back in the car seat and continued to drive, not long after that she fell asleep...finally. We arrived home a little after dinner time. I was so happy to see Eric. He helped me unpack. I could've kissed the floor I was so glad to be home. :)

NY Trip - Day 7 - Good Friends

I was supposed to leave this morning to go back home, but there were a few more people I really wanted to see while I was here but didn't have enough time, so I decided to stay one more day, and I'm so glad I did. I talked it over with Eric beforehand, of course, and he was fine with it. My close friend, Erin, and her daughter came over for lunch to visit. Her daughter is 6 months older than Becca. We had a great time together. Later on after my friends left, my mom watched Becca while I had a girl's night out with my best friend from high school, Vanessa. It was one of the best times I've had all year. It was nice for both of us to get away and have time to ourselves minus kids and husbands :) We have a very special friendship, in that, I probably only see her once a year, but when we do finally get together, it's as if we've been hanging out every day since high school. It's so comfortable and natural. It's wonderful spending time with her. It's a friendship I always wanted and hoped for. I just wish we lived closer so we could do these times of things more often. We went to dinner and then we got starbucks and walked along the canal and just talked. It was so relaxing and peaceful and we just enjoyed the moment and weren't worried about our kids or housework or anything else but the here and now :)
I came home in time to put Becca down for bed and then I did some packing before going to bed myself :)

NY Trip - Day 6 - Family Time

This morning Becca and I visited my best friend, Christy, and her kids. They are family to us and we try to make time for them every time we come to New York. It's always great to see them. They have three young girls, who I call my nieces. Christy's sister, who I am also good friends with, Traci, also came over with her two young kids. Unfortunately I don't get many opportunities to see her, so I called her and asked her to come over for a visit. It was great to see them as well :) We had lunch together and then Traci had to go home with her kids and soon after that, all the kids were down for a nap at the same time. It was nice because it gave Christy and I some one-on-one alone time. We had a great talk. She's like a sister to me. After the kids woke up we let them play a bit longer then me and Becca had to leave. We went back to my mom's house where my stepsister and my two nephews were waiting to see us. We don't get to see them much either. Kids change so much so fast. It makes me sad that I am missing out on so much of their lives :( Anyway, we had a nice quick visit and then me, Becca, mom, Larry (my mom's boyfriend) and my brother Joey took off to my Aunt's house for a big family gathering. About 1/4 of our extended family was there. They met Larry for the first time and I think he fit in quite nicely. I found out later that everyone approves :) It was nice to visit with family I don't normally get to see and have Becca warm up to them. We were there way past Becca's bedtime so she went right to sleep when we got back to my mom's house. :) It did make me miss Eric though, having everyone ask where he was and then seemed disappointed that they didn't get a chance to visit with him because he left so early. It's really hard traveling without Eric and having to do everything myself. It can be done, but it's much more exhausting and not as easygoing.

NY Trip - Day 5 - Visiting Friends

This morning my mom made us a delicious breakfast...eggs, sausage, toast. There is something comforting being back in my mom's house with her cooking. When Becca woke up, me, my mom and Becca went in the pool again. It's been beautiful weather here. I was on the phone all morning making plans for the remainder of my visits, filling as much time as I could with friends and family. After lunch I put Becca down for her nap and my cousin came over shortly after. It was nice to visit with her and catch up. You know, when you live far away from the people who mean the most to you, you make the best of it. You talk on the phone, you send emails, maybe even an occasional letter. But nothing can come close to sitting with them face to face in person. There's nothing like it. We had a lovely chat and it meant a lot that she made the time to visit with me. Becca woke up and my cousin left. Becca and I had plans to have dinner with some high school friends of mine that I am still very close to. They had moved since I last visited, so it was nice to see their new place and for Becca to get to know their two young kids. We stayed late and we left right at Becca's bedtime. We headed home to my mom's and went right to sleep.

NY Trip - Day 4 - Relax and Leisure

Today was a much-needed relaxation day. We all slept in this morning, which was really nice. I got some great sleep finally. Eric left early this morning to head back home because he had a class to teach later tonight. He didn't complain though; he never does. Becca and I and my mom went in the pool this morning. It was so nice and peaceful and quiet and just beautiful out. My mom's boyfriend, Larry, came out and sat by the pool with us and chatted. He's really nice, and easy to talk to. We went inside for lunch and then Becca took her nap. Larry and I watched the finals of the soccer world cup. What an intense game that was. Later on around dinner time my friend Shannon came over after work to visit. We had dinner together....my mom's homemade sauce and meatballs....yummy! Then my brother joined us and we all went to the nearby canal so Becca could feed the ducks. She loved it! It was a real nice time. Then we came back and put Becca to bed at my mom's and all of us watched the movie The Proposal, which I've never seen. It was a cute movie :) Then it was bedtime. So nice to have a relaxing, low-key day :)

NY Trip - Day 3 - Becca's Party

Today was a great day. It turned out like I had hoped it would. Eric arrived at my mom's at about 6am after driving 8 hours straight. He went straight to bed to get some sleep before the party. Becca and I headed over to my MIL's (mother-in-law's) house to start setting up. My mom came over at 11am to watch Becca so my MIL and I could run some errands. We picked up the balloons at Party City...there were 3 Dora balloons, 2 pink star balloons, and 4 different colored latex balloons with the number 2 on them. Then we went to Wegmans to pick up the cake...chocolate and vanilla with custard filling with a picture of Dora and Boots on the top with multi-colored flowers. They did a beautiful job, as usual :) We got back to the house and Eric had arrived and then soon left with my FIL (father-in-law) to get the tables, chairs and tent we were borrowing from family members. Becca went down for her nap at 1pm and we began to set up. We put up the balloons, streamers and banners. We had 2 canopies with toys and games for the kids to play with...bat and balls, coloring books, dolls, bubbles, etc. Since Dora is Spanish, we did a Dora the Explorer fiesta theme. So there was chips and salsa on all the tables as well as animal crackers for little ones. We also had jello and a big fresh fruit platter. My cousin had to work during the party so she came early to help set up and see us. And my friend Shannon came early after work to help as well. I was grateful for their help. Becca woke up from her nap at 4:30pm and the party was set to start at 5pm. We had a lot of people turn up. I was so glad.

 Me and Eric

Becca and her Nana (my mom) 

We had a taco bar for dinner and hot dogs for the kids who didn't want tacos.

 Becca and Daddy

 After dinner, we opened presents. 

Becca got lots of great gifts...most of them Dora-themed, which she loved.

After presents we had cake.

People started to head home after cake. There were several small kids who needed to go to bed. My mom showed up with her new boyfriend from Florida. She just picked him up from the airport. We all met him for the first time. I was very appreciative to the fact that he went through so much trouble to get there for the party. I didn't get a chance to talk to him much because I was busy cleaning up after the party, but so far so good :) Eric packed up the truck to take home all the presents which wouldn't fit into my car. He had to head home early tomorrow morning to get back to work. But I'm glad he was there for the party, even though it was inconvenient with his work schedule. He always makes time for our daughter. It was a great party and I am thankful for everyone who played a part in it :)