Who's that chick posing as me?

Ohhhhhh what a week!

Have you ever seen the Lifelock commercial’s and thought, “Hmmmm, I wonder if that could ever happen to me? Naaaaaa.” and then have the thought leave your mind? Well friends, think again! After an already rushed week and  procrastinating till the last minute with the gathering of my tax information, I sent it out to The Man. You know, THAT man, the one that you hope can do magic and show the I.R.S. that they don’t need more money from you. Yes, that one. Well, after receiving the good call that I’d paid enough AND that I was getting a small refund, I was happy, happy, happy. That lasted about 15 minutes and then he called again to say that the I.R.S. said that I’ve already filed.

WHAT?!?!?!?!?

My journey began. I must say that dealing with the I.R.S. was not a bad experience. Within 20 minutes it was confirmed that there was indeed another me running around with my identity and she even had the nerve to file taxes on my behalf.  Within 3 hours I had to pull and place a fraud alert on my credit and call Lifelock to sign up and try to cover all basis. The nerve of this chick to do this to me. It’s not fun but at least the Ms. Me #2 did not try to take out a credit card in my name.....YET. I wish the I.R.S. had released the address that she used to file. Ohhhhhhh boy do I.

The bad side of all of this? It’s a very intrusive feeling as well as a lot of work that one has to do. Suddenly I don't want to give out my information to ANYONE anymore. The good thing about this? After seeing my credit score which I NEVER check...... I smiled.

At the end of the day I could get angry and let this ruin my day, week, month or I could say what I always say.  It could be worse. GO ONLINE AND CHECK YOUR CREDIT! Be proactive and stay on top of it. Don't do as I did.

Hola Puerto Ricooooooo

I finally did it! I finally just got up and took a vacation.

I'm enjoying the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, La Isla del Encanto! I came here as a child with my family back in 1976 and remember beautiful beaches and having a great time but I was a kid then and saw everything through the eyes of a child. Today I'm seeing through the eyes of an adult and I must say, I'm liking what I see. I always joke around telling my friends that I have island genes which is why I am naturally drawn to the ocean and an ocean way of life.

My flight here was great if I don't comment about the TWO dogs that were in the cabin. Now listen I like dogs, I just don't like hearing them bark uncontrollably especially on my flight. I mean seriously! I get that we live in an era where animals have become family and to go and have a coffee at Starbucks and find myself sitting outside surrounded by dogs that either want to bite me or won't shut up is politically correct but on a flight where I don't have the option to get up and leave is a bit much for me. Well, I don't know about you guys but I've not gotten that far in political correctness. Anyway.....

Day one of my stay here was one where I vowed that while in Puerto Rico I will do as the Puerto Ricans do so I taxied it up to Old San Juan to spend the day there and take in the culture, the food and the ambiance. Oh, did I mention that I rented a car? Yes I did rent one which has been a complete waste of money since it's been sitting in the parking garage of the Marriott and will probably stay there till I muster up enough courage to actually drive here. Though I was warned before coming here, I truly did not believe that in Puerto Rico they make up their own rules while on the highway. As my friend said "Just drive 90 miles an hour like they do and you'll be fine." Uhhhhh I don't think so. Old San Juan or as I like to call it El Viejo San Juan (EVSJ) is a fantastic place to visit. Get ready to walk and walk and walk some more. It's really the only way to experience it to the fullest. Thank God I listened to my daughter when she told me to wear sneakers because of the walking.  She knows I'm not a sneaker type of girl. Heck while most are comfortable in their jeans, I prefer a dress. I don't wear sneakers unless I'm going to the gym and lately, well let's just say I've not worn them and leave it at that but I am so thankful that I listened. EVSJ is made up of old, vibrant, colorful buildings lining up on both sides of cobblestone, narrow streets. I was in my element of choice. You see, secretly I have this desire to one day retire near the ocean while writing my book, painting and selling my paintings at the local art fairs so this place was a perfect fit for me. 

I had lunch at a local joint called El Jibarito. The food was OK but their Piña Coladas with a shot of rum were absolutely heavenly and made up for my Mofongo (look it up) lacking all taste. There were plenty of local artisans selling their work at amazingly inexpensive prices. Of course I picked up some wall art for myself and for my kids and for me again ;) I was able to mingle with the natives, walk in and out of several art stores and even hear my share of whistles as I walked by. Hey, don't laugh. After a long day of walking up streets that have holes bigger than my foot, getting caught in two rain showers and it being HOT, I was quite flattered thank you very much :)

Views of San Cristobal and the magnificent ocean.

 Typical EVSJ streets. So cute and colorful!

All in all, this is definitely a place to visit and don't forget your camera because at the turn of every corner there is an opportunity for you to take a picture of a memory that you will fall back on in the years to come. Today I'm taking it easy because the weather is not cooperating so soon I'll walk down to the beach and either put some color on this body when the sun comes out or just lounge by the pool with my Piña Colada enjoying the view.  Ahhhh is that not what everyone does while on vacation in paradise? My next adventure? I think I'll hit El Yunque (the rain forest) and of course I'll share my journey via this blog and my pictures. Cheers!

IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILY!

Last month we celebrated the graduation of my oldest daughter, Natalie from Florida Atlantic University. I was very proud at her accomplishment because after all, it's not easy working full time, attending the university full time while raising a 5 year old daughter but it is the path she must take to get ahead in life.

Today we celebrated an equally important graduation. It was my granddaughter, Iliana's graduation from Pre-K. Some of you reading this may laugh since it is not the normal graduation to make a big deal about but I disagree. We live in a society where family has become a minority in home life. Children raise themselves, some parents put their needs before the needs of the kids etc. and in many homes accomplishments are not celebrated. I happen to be one who has vowed to make sure that as long as I am living, my granddaughter will have a sense of belonging, love and the knowledge that no matter what happens in life, she can reach the stars.  She is surrounded by her aunts and uncle who adore her, grandparents, great grandmother and her extended family. She is bathed in love day in and day out by all of us but what she does not know is that she gives us soooooo much more than we give her.

During her ceremony, she stood proud as they gave her the diploma with a huge smile. No doubt that she was mimicking her mommy's "big people's graduation" she had attended just a few weeks back. Afterwards, her grandfather took us to Little Havana's Cuban Restaurant where we laughed as she opened her gifts and we all enjoyed the moment while drinking Mojitos and dining on the foods we grew up with creating memories for her to last a lifetime. 

Please don't forget that life is a gift, a gift that we don't know how long we will be able to enjoy so make everyday, every opportunity, every special occasion count and be the reason that someone smiles. It's all about family and I thank Jehovah for blessing me with the opportunity to enjoy mine.

I love you my Princess :) 

'Tis the Season......

Hello my fellow internet users. ‘Tis the season of giving. That’s how it’s always been. This year I started thinking about how people are stampeding to the stores trying to buy the best Flat Screen T.V. or the latest gadget, the newest toy etc. While we all love to receive gifts I believe that there are far more lucrative gifts that we can give that won’t cost us much and maybe not even a cent. I’m talking about charity. I’ve been thinking about it for many months now. Sure, I can just write a check, and I do, and say that I did my part but really have I? While it’s true that the monetary donations are EXTREMELY important, the hands on donation of our time, our skills or maybe our hugs to children who don’t have parents to hug them is equally as important.

The other night I went to a gathering at my friend’s house in Miami Lakes, Florida. It was a Christmas celebration for the children that she knows and she invited my granddaughter. Her invite also invited those attending to take a 10.00 gift to later be given to an orphanage. An orphanage in Miami? While I realize that there are many needy children, I’d never really thought of there being an actual orphanage in Miami. Sure, I see the commercials on T.V. asking for money, letting me know that my 10.00 donation will feed a child for a month etc., but those are children in other countries not Miami.......right?

The evening was beautiful. A home filled with many friends and family, business partners, co-workers and children. Later, while I as well as a couple of other ladies gathered around the kitchen, my friend began to tell us about “His House Children's Home” and the founder, Jean Gonzalez. The more she described the situation, the grounds, the need, the more I kept taking mental notes as the conversation continued.

 Some of the gifts donated the other night.

The truth is that many of us are struggling to keep afloat but if we were to stop for a minute and take an account of all the times that we buy things that are not truly needed, we’d have some extra cash and maybe even find some extra time that we can donate. Let’s see, how many times do we spend 4.50 on a cup of Starbucks coffee (guilty) or going out to dinner or lunch several times a week (guilty) or the purchase of that oh so needed pair of shoes that we MUST buy if not the clothes in our closets can't be worn (guilty again?). I’m sure we could find some extra cash to give to someone who needs it to feed their children or an organization that helps fight diseases or pay for an elderly persons electric bill that is about to be shut off. You get the picture. 

Back to the other evening at my friends house. Many gifts were donated and today they will be taken to the orphanage. What struck me is that I was told the orphanage has a closet or a room where they keep gifts year round and on a child’s birthday, they get to go in and choose a gift. Think about that for a minute. These are children who don't have a regular home and family that they can call their own. To them, that room full of toys must be such a highlight in their life. It all seems so simple to those of us who have the ability of giving our children gifts throughout the year without it being a holiday or special occasion.

As for me and my daughters, I’ve told them that in the next coming weeks, we are going to make a family day at the orphanage to tour it and to see where we can give of ourselves. I believe that all children as well as adults should not turn the other way but be part of the solution. It’s very easy to live in our own little world and not see out of our front door. The bottom line is that whether it is money, time or skill, we can all find something within our reach to give to someone in need.

I hope that all of you who read this blog will find it within yourselves to help whatever charity is close to your heart and however you are able to. The world is full of need. I know you won’t regret it.

For further information on His House Children's Home please visit: http://www.hhch.org

Give or take Thirty Years...

Lourdes R., Lourdes A., Isabel and Yours truly....

Who says that you can't pick up where you left off?

This week I joined three of my high school friends for lunch here in S. Florida. This will make the fourth time this year that I have met up with girlfriends from my past and it's all thanks to that wonderful social networking site, Facebook.

It's been approximately 30 years since I last had contact with these fine ladies. These are the same girls that once upon a time shared all the craziness, the amazing feeling of falling in love for the first time, the "Quinces" (Sweet 15 for those of you that don't know) and so much of life's lessons that most 14 - 17 year olds share when you have a strong circle of friends and we did. You see, we were all products of immigrant families. We did not blend in with the customs of our wonderful country because as most immigrants and 1st generation kids, you are still either assimilating into not only a new land but also a very different culture than your own or that of your parents. We went to an all girls Catholic high school. We were not allowed to date without a chaperon and before that, the boy had to come and speak to our fathers. Good grief can you imagine??. Sleep overs NEVER happened unless our parents were good friends and the list goes on but our group had all of those things and then some in common.

One would think that with everything that goes on in life and with so many years that have passed between us we'd not have anything in common. Au-contraire my friends. Meeting up with these girls was as if no time had gone by. They are all still as beautiful as they were when we first met. The openness, honesty of what's gone on in our lives without hesitation and in a manner that only true friends share, the appreciation and acknowledgment that not everyone gets a second chance to reunite was all there. We are all very different yet we are all very much the same. The memory is a funny thing. I can't remember where I put my glasses an hour ago yet sitting with my girlfriends brought back memories that I had not thought of since my days back at St. Matthias  High School.

Who can forget Isabel and I being the tallest girls and when you are 14 or 15 and all the boys have not even begun to grow to their potential height, being the tall girl is not so cool, TRUST ME on that one. Of course the minute that any of the local boys who'd been blessed (for our sake of course) with a hight of over 5'10 appeared, we'd be watching and circling them like sharks although they all thought they were the ones circling us...lol.

Lourdes R. was always happy and always together talking about all the dances she'd been involved in all the friends that she had etc. She was a social butterfly.  I remember her being very carefree but very focused.

Then there was Lourdes A.  Ahhhh my Lourdes A. She was not only my friend but she was my confident and even played the role of my older sister. Out of everyone, she shared many of my life's happy times and not so happy times. She's in my memories of family vacations because she was family and of being at a point in life where the decisions that we made back then formed much of WHO we became today. I have memories of Lake Havasu, San Felipe, Redondo Beach just to name a few with her. In years past, even before I had the fortune or ever thinking of meeting up with her again, when I'd think back to my life and those formative years, she was right there in all of my memories.  When she and I got together a few months back we talked for hours, laughing hysterically like school girls once again. We shed tears of happiness and tears of sadness but we mainly were thankful to God for allowing us to once again share as good friends do.

My friends have evolved into wonderful women and exceptional mothers. Isabel is involved in Broadcast/Media sales and killing it I might add.  Lourdes R. is doing the job that only people who truly want to make a difference in a child's life do. She is a teacher and that says it all and just hearing her speak, I know she puts in more than her share because she truly is a kind hearted and caring woman. Then there is big sis Lourdes A. I can't even begin to tell you all of her accomplishments. From being a Developer, Realtor, mom, wife, politician....the list goes on. . She is a fine example of what you can accomplish while never forgetting about your God. She not only is a successful business woman in every sense of the word but she is successful in her Ministry. I should say that her Ministry comes first and her business is second in line yet with all of her success, she still makes time to be very encouraging to us all. I guess she never got rid of the "Big Sis" title :)

In the end, those four women pictured above who used to giggle and had no cares in the world other than worrying about their hair, make up and the silliness of it all began life as friends. Now they've picked up where they left off 30 years ago only this time around they are mature, seasoned women with families, careers, a sense of accomplishment, independence and the blessing of living out the second phase of their lives, once again as friends making more memories for the next 30 or so years.

Ladies.....I thank you ♥

Viva Las Vegas!!!

I was in Sin City!

I spent a week there at Planet Hollywood. I love that place. I went there with my sister Angie and our other sister, Diana, flew in from California to join us. It's rare that the three of us are ever in the same state so it was a treat. The main reason for this trip is to visit a family member who is quite ill and won't be with us for very much longer but at the same time, we wanted to make it as much a positive trip as possible so we had a sister get together :)


My sisters, Diana and Angie

We ate, drank, played the slots, won money and lost money. We had some deep discussions, humorous events and were able to bond a bit.  All in all it was a good trip but the reality is that Vegas is OK for 3 or 4 days, anything after that is overkill, for me anyways. Care to ask what the weather was like? Our first day there it was 114 degrees!! I know that I live in S. Florida and it is always hot and humid but 114 degrees in Las Vegas feels like having your face and body in front of the muffler of an old car while it's running. It was HOT and the desert scenery matched. I missed my beautiful beach :) I guess that in the end I can't deny my islander genes :)

Las Vegas, you were fun but I'm glad that I am home.....♥ ♥ ♥ 

When you become your parent's parent.

When growing up I never really stopped to think about my parents getting old and not being able to do for themselves.  When you are young you see the world as a place that you can conquer and ready to make your own. You see your parents as examples and anchors in your world. My parents were always self sufficient, business owners, very, very hard working and always moving forward. They immigrated from Cuba during the Castro Communist revolution. My sister and I would always say that our parents achieved more in the first 12 years of coming to America than she and I have our whole lives combined. Unlike us, they knew what it was like to have your home taken from you, your land confiscated with no payment in return, friends killed because of their political views, your freedom ripped from your very existence and your own government being the culprit. When you come from a system like that you find yourself incredibly blessed to go to a new Country and have a job, any job and to be able to have that second chance despite many humiliations, demeaning encounters and trying to fit in where even your native tongue is not understood.  Think about it.  It's not easy to assimilate yourself in a new Country where even the language is different but they did.

As I got older, I married, had children and still never gave my parents getting sick much thought until this last year.  My father died unexpectedly of cancer last summer.  It happened very fast.  He went into the hospital, called me that day, three days later I was on a plane to California and ten days after that he was dead.  There was no time to analyze, think, plan, it just happened.  From one moment to the next I went from being the mother of three daughters to now also being my mother's mother. What I mean by that is that for the first time, she was completely helpless and I had to take over. I brought her home with me and am trying to get her to move on with her own life. That has proven to be a bit more difficult than expected. The last few months have consisted of one doctor appointment after another for her, showing her how to get from here to there, taking over every aspect of her life financially and beyond. Many times I feel like I have no time for me but then I feel so bad for her knowing that she is lost at the moment so I keep moving forward.  I feel as if she is a child and in many areas she is. She was never an independent woman.  You can thank my dad for that.  He was very old school.  He took care of her needs and she was content.  The only problem with that is that the same way I never thought of becoming her parent, she never thought she'd ever be without him and I am not him. I worry about her even when I get mad at her and I do, I admit it but I try to force her to do things on her own, to think on her own.  I worry like a parent worries about their child on the first day of school. Unbelievable. I see that her mind is not there.  She repeats the same stories over and over and asks the same questions several times.  She says her mind is not right since my father died but I wonder if it is more than that.   She now has a new home and it's time to move forward. 

Now I find myself thinking about my own age, my own illnesses and the realization that the circle of life continues with or without us.  How do I feel about this new found reality?  I've always been a "cup half full" kind of woman so I am thankful for what I do have and for waking up every morning being able to function and appreciate life. On the other hand, I find myself adding on to my bucket list faster than I can write, that list that I never felt a need to make before all of this. :)  Then there is the thought that I too will be my mother one day and my daughters will have to deal with what I am dealing with now. The independence issue that I have with my mom is not one that they will have to worry about, old age is old age. It reminds me of a bumper sticker that I used to laugh with my father when we'd see it. It read: "Be good to your kids, they pick out your nursing home."  We used to laugh and make jokes about it.  Somehow that bumper sticker is not so funny anymore.

And life goes on................