My Trip to the Other Side

 

I live in California. I recently visited my cousin (pictured below on the right) in Alexandria, VA. We went to Washington D.C., saw the big house! Oh wait, wrong house, the White House! It was pretty cool to be there, you know, where real sh$t goes down, where stuff gets done, and history is made.

Well, that wasn't the only part of the trip. We made our way up to Philadelphia, PA, stayed there for 2 days, then went on to New York, New York for 3 days. In my (very) humble opinion I liked Philly the best, NYC the least, while VA and DC sit somewhere in the middle. I don't like big cities, too crowded. Yes, I live near a big city (LA) now, but I grew up in a place where horses are still a preferred mode of transportation. And that is what I prefer. But I will admit, there is no place like that city. The Big Apple. The City that never sleeps. New Yorker's love New York, well, they can keep it. That's why I live here, and they live there.

Here I am in Central Park, one of the only places in that crazy city where one can actually breathe!:)


All in all, it was a great trip. I love my cousin, and I miss her so very much. I am glad I got to see the way the East Coaster's live. So now I can say with complete conviction, that California is the place I want to be!!!:)

Mama

A year ago tomorrow, I lost the woman that gave me life. A year ago tomorrow, I lost the woman who, whether she knew it or not, shaped who I am today (for better or for worse). A year ago tomorrow I lost my friend. A year ago tomorrow I lost my mom. Here she is when she was 19.

 

 

 

What a pretty lady, huh? Yeah, I thought so too. She was always so cute! Didn't really look her age when she died last year. (She was 50, but really looked younger, not a wrinkle or gray hair to speak of!)

My mom had a small personality, that taught me, to get what I want I need to have a big personality. My mom was always nice, everybody loved her, that taught me, if you want to get farther in life and with people, you need to be polite, you need to be NICE. She had a huge heart, I have the same.

I learned a lot from that woman. I think about her EVERY DAY. And I miss her like crazy. I won't have her around on my wedding day, she won't ever meet her grandbabies. But the things that really bring me to tears is when I think about things like I won't ever get to call her when I need to know if something is still OK to eat. ("How does it smell?"  she would ask me when I called her about expired lunch meat) 



Every time I look in the mirror. I SEE HER.

 

 

See what I mean?

 

 

 

(Here we all are at a wedding of a friend of the family! Her smile is so cute!)

 

 

I miss my mom every day. She was a great woman, a great wife and a great person. Of course she wasn't perfect, but none of us are. She will be with me always, and I will make her proud, because I know, I KNOW she is in heaven watching over me, I want her to know I will be alright and HAPPY.

 

 

(That's us again!)

 

 

RIP Mama

 February 4, 1962 - June 11, 2012