excuse my absence....

excuse my absence.  it's been hectic.

but trust me, I've got lots to share... I still have been writing.

AND... My friend WHITNEY! arrives tomorrow.  I've had to clean up to make sure she fits in my apartment. 

(I understand that makes me sound dirty.  but I rather her not sleep in my living room and hear the noisey neighbors below)

hope you've been well :)

Paris: A Dream Come True (via Parisien Salon)

I had read this blog on the train and did everything I could not to weep:

Paris: A Dream Come True


I remember towards to end of my great grandmother's life, we had to push her around in a wheelchair.  She absolutely hated it.  She kept saying it was such heavy labor for my madre and I.  I kept insisting that I'd push her in her wheelchair around the world if she wanted.  Then she asked, "Even, in Paris?" "Yes, even in Paris!  I'd take you to any patisserie you want!"

Love

I confess that I've been blind

Open up this heart of mine

Show me how to love

Farther than this world I know

Take me where you want to go

Show me how to love

Sidewalk Prophets "Show Me How To Love"

It's hard to love everyone, let alone like everyone.  As a teenager I experienced what it was like to be unloved for who you are and had experienced conditional love.  I didn't realize how common conditional love was in my life: my dad and my nanny are (present tense) people who only know conditional love, as a teenager you only know friendship on conditional terms, and I witnessed my immediate and extended family express conditional love all the time.  I came to a conclusion one afternoon: of all these people in my life (and this took a year of therapy to conclude) my madre is the only person who has expressed unconditional love to me... I compared her actions and kindness to all the other people (minusing the whole Mother's Love thing) and she was unconditional to SO many people in her life, myself included.  No matter what I did she still expressed her unconditional love. 

Looking back, it must have been hard.  There were a lot of hurtful things I've said and things I had lied about.  I experienced a lot of pain when I realized this, because wasn't right that I did such things and she just kept loving me in return.  Upon reflecting about all of this, I had asked her for forgiveness and had apologized.  I then realized that I had to start forgiving my dad and my nanny for their actions as well.  Afterall, my madre forgave me.  I needed to forgive too (and let go of the hurt). 

Since then, I've done my best to love others.  Loving certain family members has been hard, but I just keep prayng for them.  Loving my colleagues for their best qualities, as opposed to their worst qualities has been rough.  I pray for them too.  Loving my friends despite some of their decisions has been a challenge, but I get over it.

Everyone who crosses my path, I make the genuine effort to offer my unconditional love.  There are people who I have met that have never experienced any sort of unconditional love.  They think they've made so many mistakes and have said and done too much to deserve an unconditional love.  But once I started to take my faith more seriously, I learned more about the ultimate unconditional love. 

No matter where I was in my day, I'd speak the desires of my heart, pray, confess my wrongs and ask to see the right... and this Love has never changed.  This Love is the same as it was yesterday, as it is today, and as it will be tomorrow.  I'm accepted and loved despite my wrongs. 

When I first heard this song my heart melted... I ask to be shown love everyday.  I wake up asking that I'm given what it takes to best represent His love throughout my day.

it's important to love.

more important to love unconditionally.

and to experience the ultimate love of Jesus Christ.

22.08.2010

This weekend was a great weekend.  I got to spend time with my friend Amy, who I haven't seen in two years!  We had margaritas, guacamole, and salsa from El Vez, we shopped, and had gelato from Capogiro's.  It was a delightful Saturday!  We were able to catch up on all sorts of things, but we mainly talked about our time living abroad... we're both "homesick". 

I came home to receive a lovely new addition to my kitchen:

Two Beautiful Violet Le Creuset Rectangular Dishes.  LOVE!

So, I had sliced some aubergine, wrapped some mozzerella cheese in it, chopped up some fresh tomatoes, used some jarred sauce, crushed up some seasoned crutons, and put some asiago & parmesan cheese on top:

stuck it in the oven for an hour:

and enjoyed:

Today was also a productive day of writing, laundry, and catching up on some shows online.  Upon receiving a great suggestion from Renee Johnson, I'll be incorporating some devotionals and parts of my testimony in my blog.  Whatever your beliefs may be, your comments are always welcome!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

xx r.

Avery Hope

This is Avery Hope.  She was born on July 31st, 2010 at 3:38pm (28 weeks and 4 days).  She weighed 2lbs. 12 oz.

Parents, Aubrey and Ryan, are estatic that she's here!  As well as my partner in crime, Patty, who is the god-mother.  Many prayers went towards this one, as Aubrey is unable to carry to full term.  Aubrey had spent several weeks in the hospital trying not to go into labor.  Avery is happy and healthy!  She'll still be in the NICU for more weeks to come to assure that her health is in tip top shape to go home.

Once she gets home, she'll be cuddled up in this blanket that I had made her:

"You have to get everyday and redeem that sucker!" - Pastor Paul Scanlon

do do doooooo dooo dooo dooo ddoooo

I love all songs by Brooke Fraser: her solo stuff and everything done with Hillsong United.


Her new single was posted this week on her web site and I have listened to it on repeat.. A LOT.  I just love it.  I'm super excited that I'll get to see her while she's on tour too!


GIVE IT A LISTEN:  "Something in the Water" by Brooke Fraser

My Luke Danes Dark Day/Remembering Ellie

Today was kind of a "dark day".  I wasn't sure how to think of my day this morning... there was so much that happened yesterday at work and at home.  On top of that, there's a few things I'm trying to wrap my heart and head around.

Thinking and feeling has been exhausting lately.

Really, all I could compare it to is how every year Luke Danes (from Gilmore Girls, yes, I love that show) has a Dark Day.  It's the day his dad had passed and the town labels it as his dark day because he leaves town and everyone is stuck going to the other joints to eat for the day.

This Saturday marks one year that my great grandmother has been gone.  This is the first death in my life that has had such an impact on me.  She was the first relative who really made such a huge impact on my being... it's just hard to believe it's been a year.  It's a joyful occasion, truly.  We were very joyful of her passing and knowing that she's in a beautiful place and able to walk with no pain.  I just get sad sometimes remembering the amazing moments I shared with her.  But these are moments that make me smile and laugh to myself.

I often catch myself thinking, "what would Ellie think about this?"

There are times where I'll be out shopping with my madre and I'll say, "Ellie would think that's ugly, and I agree, please don't buy it."

It just really hit me today in realizing that it's been a year since her passing.  And how much I've grown and matured because of her existence in my life.

#weddingofawesome

#WEDDINGOFAWESOME


That's the Twitter hash tag that was the top trending topic in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday 24th July, 2010!


I had the pleasure of watching Lisa-Marie Ferla and Jay Stringer get married!  It was such a beautiful and one of a kind ceremony... we sang as she walked down the aisle, they wrote out the officiant's lines, and had a buffet for the dinner!  Then, it was like an open house party for all to attend and celebrate!


I spent 4 amazing days (it felt like a week though, really) in Glasgow that revolved around Lisa Marie.  


I am SO happy for these two and wish them all the best.  



(taken by Lisa-Marie Ferla)

I'm leaving on a jet plane, but I do know when I'll be back again.

So, this time next week I'll be in Glasgow, Scotland. 

I've thought about things I'd like to pack, but haven't had the thought stick around long enough to truly think it through.  But when it crossed my mind this morning I thought, "I remember when I went to [place] I couldn't leave without... "  which made me wonder:

What do you always have to take with you on trips? (whether it's a road trip or flight)
If you have kids, what can't they leave without?

I remember when I was a kid and we did road trips I'd pack what seemed like my bedroom into 3 book bags (I'm not sure why I had three).  But then I remember when I got this huge Adidas bag for all my twirling competitions, so I'd then had that AND those book bags.  I've definitely learned how to go without since then. 

So, what's your essential thing(s) for when you go away?!

Recently I've learned that there are some people put in our lives for a season, and those who are put in our lives for life.  

Avocado Pesto

I found this recipe in the Biggest Loser Simple Swaps book.  It's SO good, but I had modified it after making it the first time.  The recipe had it used with spaghetti squash, which was extremely delicious, but I had also used it with whole wheat pasta and fresh salsa as well.


¹/2 ripe avocado, pitted & diced
¹/4 cup fresh basil or Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped chives
2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¹/2 teaspoon salt
¹/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
¹/3 cup hot water
2 tablespoons  chopped fresh basil or parsley (optional)




combined all ingredients, except for the freshly chopped basil/parsley, in a blender and blend till smooth.  


I suggest not adding hot water, it made the 'sauce' too watered down (in my opinion).  Instead of the hot water I had used fresh lime and lemon juice, it added some nice flavor and wasn't too citrus-y.  I had used fresh basil and parsley from my garden in this and about a tablespoon of garlic.  I omitted the salt and used much more than a ¹/4 teaspoon ground black pepper.  


I had made this again and ate it with some whole wheat pasta and fresh salsa mixed in, SO GOOD!  I'm really glad that I had purchased this book because it gave me some great insight on more things that I can swap to live a healthier lifestyle.

guests.

This was my first free weekend in nearly six months.  

I didn't have homework.

I didn't have a To Do List that needed to get completed by Sunday evening.

I didn't have to manage my time because of said To Do List.

It was completely up in the air with no plans, nothing that needed to get done, and no homework.  So, I committed to a weekend of hanging out with some college friends.  

Right now, I'm debating ever having guests in my apartment again.   

This week will be quiet with lots of reading and writing.  

Sweet Potato Tacos

I love all things Mexican! ALL THINGS! It's part of who I am and how I grew up (okay, well with one half of the family).

There is a food truck near where I work that serves one kind of vegetarian taco, chicken tacos, and the occasional fish taco. The vegetarian taco is a combination I never thought of, but is soo darn good! Sweet potato tacos.

I have some friends who've never had sweet potatoes before & family (sweet potatoes don't exist in their country). It's hard for me to imagine that sweet potatoes don't exist in some places, like France. I made a sweet potato dish one night for dinner when living with my French family. One glance and they were disgusted (I would have been too, because all I could get was a mailed canned version from my madre)... but they had thirds and tried to have fourths and realized that they needed to apologize for making such faces before trying the amazing sweet potato.

Back to the taco:

It's simple and delicious. Sliced sweet potato with pico de gallo and guacamole. I like to put the sliced sweet potato on the griddle and make some 'grill' marks on them with olive oil. Sometimes I'm lazy and buy pre-made guacamole and always add some chopped tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice in it. I like to make my own pico de gallo (its only chopped tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro) for this because store bought salsa just doesn't cut it with the sweet potatoes. Sometimes I add a little bit of Chipotle Ranch on the tortilla... just sometimes, it gives a little extra flavor.

And now I've shared with you the sweet potato tacos I mention on Twitter (I'm @rachellelucero) and make whenever possible because it's been adopted into my Mexican food menu.

Now... if only I can find a place that makes sopapillas! Anyone know of one in PHL? I'm jealous whenever Jackalopekid mentions he's eating sopapillas!!!

"Are you okay?"

Last night I had tweeted about how I had sat next to a girl on the subway who was crying and how I had reached out to her. The response I got was overwhelming. In all honesty, I didn't expect a response of any kind and I didn't tweet about to get a response. I was just sharing a piece of my reality.

I was reading a book and I had looked over and noticed her shoes were really cute. I decided to tell her I thought her shoes were cute and as she said thank you she was wiping away a massive tear and sniffling. I asked if she was okay, if anything had happened, if I could help her in any way. She simply responded, "I'm just having a really bad day, but thank you for asking... you were the first person to ask me if I was okay today." Wow. I wasn't sure how early she woke up today, but it was already 8pm and I was the first person to ask how she was? I couldn't believe it. She then started to talk about her shoes and I had mentioned to her a web site where I like to browse and have ordered some cute shoes from. As she rummaged through her bag that was chock full of stuff, "you must stop by the shop my mom and I own. Please, you need to!" "Unfortunately, I might need to refresh your memory with this moment when I stop by so you remember me," I responded. "That's okay! I'll remember how great it was that you asked how I was doing and that you cared."

It was a short lived conversation, we only sat next to one another for about 4 stops. But after she left it made me think of a moment I had nearly two weeks ago with a dear friend of mine:

Two Friday's ago it was the end of a very long long week, I was emotional and really tired. I was walking through the building where I work and a friend of mine stopped me, she ended her phone call, and pointed to the bench nearby to sit down. My friend reached over to wrap her arms around me and asked if I was okay. I broke down. I started crying. She said that I looked sad and as a friend she feels my sadness and you do not let your friends walk around that way. I composed myself and said, "I'm not sad, just having a rough week and it's been a bad day... you are the first person to ask me how I am!" She continued to explain to me that as friends you always feel your friends sadness and happiness, you should always be concerned about their well being.

Later that day I was reflecting on this and started to tear up (with happy tears), because I have a friend who genuinely cares and took that time to ask me how I was. It wasn't a quick passing how people say, "hi, how are ya?" and keep walking. This was a sit down asking of how I was. I just felt so blessed and fortunate to know that I have a friend like that (she's not the only one, but we crossed paths at that moment).

Last night I thought about how I took that moment for a stranger, a good friend had taken that time for me, and that we really need to make more of those moments in our lives.

Feel free to follow me @rachellelucero on twitter. Or, better yet, please take the time to ask someone every day how they're doing or if they're okay.

Easter Sunday.

When I look back on Easter (just like any other religious holiday that includes family gatherings) from the time I could start remembering to about the age of 13, it was an okay holiday. I remember going to my maternal grandmother's and finding the Easter basket (that was loaded with candy) and then hunting for plastic eggs (that were stuffed with candy or money) and feeling sick by the time we went to church. My grandmother totally believed in letting me indulge on candy on Easter!

But then, we reached a Dark Period where we didn't go to that grandmother's house anymore for Easter, instead we went to my paternal grandfather's mother's house (too many apostrophes?). I hated spending Easter there! There aren't many things I use the word 'hate' with, but I hated going there for Easter and I hate ham. My great grandmother was an extreme gossiper, very petty woman, and put ham in everything. Her house wasn't exactly kid friendly either so it was boring and full of ham. My great grandfather was a quiet man, I don't recall really having conversations with him (or his wife) like I did my other sets of great grandparents.

I made it out alive though, that's what counts!

But now, Easter is a day where I reflect on how far I've come in life, what's to come, and what has been done for me. I hope that Easter is a day for you to reflect, as well as spending time with family. But I also hope it's a time for non-believers to wonder what the heck these Church People are up to!


Okay, it's time to go not eat ham... HAPPY EASTER!

so true:

Each relationship between two persons is absolutely unique. That is why you cannot simply love two people the same. It simply is not possible. You love each person differently because of who they are and the uniqueness that they draw out of you.

William Paul Young, The Shack

One Month Later...

It's been about a month since my last post, and well, it doesn't feel like it's been a month.

We are one person short in the work place, so some of us have to share the work to make up for the lack of person. It has made my days feel like they all blend together and I've even worn the same outfit to work twice a week. When you have a fashionable boss they notice and comment. Having class three nights a week had contributed to my twice a week outfit. When this was brought to my attention I've revisited the habit of picking out clothes the night before. I used to be really OCD do about this in high school, except I don't have all the time to download music illegally like I did then... sigh.

Speaking of music... HOLE is touring the UK and Last Year's Girl has tickets. I don't know if I can say I'm jealous or not, but I definitely have a soft spot for Courtney Love. I remember when I listened to Hole in elementary school. Fifth grade, specifically. It lead me to listening a lot of Tori Amos. Those days are long gone, but I definitely can smile when I reminisce about my musical past.

Between my days blending together and my brain hurting from trying to remember words in English, I've been planning my 25th birthday celebration(!). It'll be about a 6 day celebration and I'll be at work for 2 of those 6 days. I'm starting it with a worship night with Hillsong United, then I'll do something Friday... not sure what though, and then over the weekend I'll make a dozen cupcakes for me to eat, and I'm going to eat a lovely crab dinner on the harbor! nothing fancy schmancy, but enjoyable for me because it's my long weekend! (and my only other vacation is to the UK for a wedding!)

okay, thats enough for now.

it's been beautiful here the past week and I need to enjoy the cool spring night!

love love love.

So, I'm not going to start out by defining Valentine's Day or anything. I'm sure we all understand the day and why it is what it is.

However, since Valentine's Day has to do with love, it always makes me reflect on how glad I know how to unconditionally love. That I had overcome various emotional obstacles, forgave, and learned to truly unconditionally love someone. I grew up with a conditional father (who had a very conditional mother) and a grandmother who was very conditional. It wasn't until I was about 15/16 years of age that I had realized I grew up this way. I started to evaluate how I was toward people and realized that how I treated my mother and a couple other people closest was on a conditional level. Through a lot of writing, evaluation, therapy, and reflecting out loud to my mother I was able to overcome this.

So, since today has to do with love, this is how I like to celebrate my Valentine's Day. That I can love unconditional and continually learn how to love other people unconditionally just as I am loved by Him unconditionally.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jury Duty 2010

Once before I received a summons to jury duty, however I wasn't living in the country at the time. My madre had to call them up, explain I wasn't in the country, and then after she went as far as giving them a photo copy (of a photo copy) of my visa. I received my second summons in the mail in early January and instantly exclaimed, "OH NO!" when I saw that little off white card with the green strip going across.

At first I was so disappointed, but after a few instances that took place at work I thought, "I'd like to get picked for a jury and miss a week of work. Maybe some people will have reality smack them in the face with how good they actually have it!" Yes, there was some bitterness to that, but also truth. Anyways.

After I get off the subway and make my way towards the building I need to report to I'm greeted by this friendly man selling newspapers, "Young lady you are in the right place! I see that look every morning!" I almost bought a newspaper from him just because he was so sweet! (but I couldn't. I've already caved too many times to those Girl Scouts. They have great selling tactics!). I had to make my way through various scanning machines to make sure I was safe to be in the building, talk to a bunch of ladies who wanted me to fill out surveys, and then sat between two ladies who seem bitter about being there.

I was called to participate in a jury. I sat there until I was called to see the judge with the others who were called with me... and LOTS of time passes. I go to lunch (omg, I had an awesome lunch) and came back... sat some more and then was told that the guy who was being charged (?) decided not to go before a jury. I collected my $9, got a tea from Starbucks, and tried to read some magazines. My brain couldn't function after a day of sitting around, some reading, some napping, and a rather large and delicious lunch.

The most important thing I learned today: Jef couldn't believe I got a $9 check for just showing my face... the UK receives NOTHING for jury duty.

40 Days of Water // Follow-up

My dear friend, Lisa-Marie, has opted to commit to a 40 Days of Water challenge too. She lives across the ocean in the beautiful small country of Scotland and will be participating with a more local organization: SCIAF. During these 40 days she has several celebrations that call for drinks... I'm not going to blab her information! READ IT FOR YOURSELF!. (Also, while you're at it, read her interview with David Bazan! It's equally as awesome as Relevent Magazine's interview ).

Right, so not only human's are participating in 40 Days of Water. Anne Jackson's cat is participating too !

Another place I'd like to draw attention to is LIGHT GIVES HEAT . This organisation wants to see Africa rebuilt (read their mission & vision statement) and has a really great store to buy from. I've bought various items from the store and absolutely love them! (In fact, I just bought the rice bag & didn't realise they included a necklace in the pocket until I was on my way to jury duty!).

Again, I ask that any of you who read this pray, ponder, give consideration to this cause!

xx

-b'ahavah

Water, H2O, Agua, d'eau

WATER.

Water is something that we all cannot live without. We regularly flush our toilets, can use all the water we want to wash our clothes, dishes, and other items. We toss water down the drain about using it to prepare food, some people may keep the water running while they wash their face/brush their teeth, and then there are those who love taking long hot showers and feeling of those hot water hitting their skin.

If you have these options I consider you to be privileged.

I've spent time in Mexico where these options are available, but they're conscience of this privelege and refuse to let a drop go to waste. This experience had changed my water using habits drastically.

There are two organizations that I support and love to tell other people about:

charity:water

&

blood:water mission

Last year blood:water mission created a campaign 40 Days of Water (*no ark necessary). For 40 days you drink only water. Any money that you would typically spend on a soda, coffee, or any other drink would be donated to their organization to help bring water to areas of Africa. I committed to this task last year and realized that I really do drink that much water on a daily basis and rarely purchase any other beverage. So, I decided that every time I think about wanting to drink something else or my taste buds would love to taste something else I'd donate the money that that beverage would have cost. Realizing how much water I drink made me reevaluate my usage of water even more.

I'd like to encourage you, whoever you are reading this, that you consider taking 40 days to drink only water and donate your money. I understand that times are tough and what not, but think about it this way: this was money you were intending to spend on other beverages anyways, and maybe had budgeted to spend it, so it won't hurt to donate!

I promise, you'll feel healthier!

One detail I realized I left out: this takes the 17th February to 3rd April (a.k.a. Lent).

I'm praying that you consider, ponder, pray, about taking part in this event!

Habits/Discipline/ & Haiti

The past several weeks I've been paying attention to my habits... my lazy habits. These habits tend to form because a lot of the time I opt to ignore time management. Often I mentally slap myself on the wrist for this. I've been paying attention to these habits so I can mend them better. I needed to pay attention to the amount of time I really have day to day. Some days are much longer than others.

I'm pretty sure I've found a good middle for me in keeping sane & maintaing all the things I need to do.


Aside from that, 2010 has provided to be a good year. I'm still fasting, which has been really great. There is so much I'm excited about for 2010!!! I feel lead to continue my fast into February. This will be four week of discipline and structure.

The earthquake in Haiti leaves my heart broken and just seeing the bits and pieces I have on the news leaves me speechless. When I heard about the earthquake I had thought of my professor who has family in Haiti. In class that week he held onto his phone for dear life and taught with the phone never leaving his clenched fist. Later in the week he heard from this family, who are all okay and well. My family has donated money through Joyce Meyer's ministry who has been there prior to the earthquake.

This week Anne Jackson wrote a blog about her traveling to Haiti. Please keep her, and all the others who have traveled to assist, in your prayers and thoughts.


xx
b'ahavah

My 2009.

I haven't forgot about this post, I just became consumed with holiday things & some laziness :P


2009 was the most life changing year for me.



I continued to take full time care of my great grandmother, I had some medical issues, and my brother finally went into rehab.

Taking care of my great grandmother was quite the experience. There is no comparison to when I had to help take care of my paternal grandmother when she had lung/liver cancer and I was 11/12. I spent many nights and days by my great grandmother's side and aided her in various daily tasks. I started to think about how many things that she needs help doing that I take advantage of each and every day. We had conversations about history, events, God and His involvement in such things... we watch movies, discussed books, and she loved asking how my iPod was doing. I started looking forward to the afternoons in the retirement home dining room and getting acquainted with other residents that we would eat with. As I started to get to know them, I'd bring things in that I knew they'd like, I'd ask if they needed anything/needed anything done in their apartment (afterall, they were senior citizens and I saw first hand how limited they are/were). Throughout all this time, I started really thinking about my life, what to do, things to do, how to feel about some things and not bother feeling about other things, and so on. After hearing their stories and their experiences I really reflected on how I am with things now and how I should really be carrying on. Afterall, there were some residents who shared really personal stories with me and stated how they regretted acting such a way or having habits in life that weren't worth it.

All of this made me think about my paternal grandmother who had SO much regret at the end of her life, that she wanted to avoid dying and try to make some things right. I was 12 years old when she told me dark stories, personal thoughts/regrets/mistakes/accomplishments, family stories I would never tell a 12 year old, and what she wanted before she died. It was shocking. I remembering telling my mom about all of this and she was kinda horrified about it. I didn't really think about these words she shared with me until later in life, when it all made sense and created a complete circle... then I realized how all of her actions 50 years ago had an enormous impact on my current life. It was mind boggling.

ALL OF THIS made me reevaluate my relationships, my life, my thoughts, my emotions... it had such a huge impact. 2009 is a year I'll neve forget.

My great grandmother had passed away on August 7, 2009. It was a beautiful summer day, it was hot and humid... there was a perfect breeze with the right amount of sun and clouds in the sky. It was a beautiful moment to know that she was no longer with us and in pain, but in her heavenly body.


Shortly after that a lot of drama with my brother commenced- he needed to go into rehab and get clean. He attempted suicide and was admitted into an institution. Unfortunately the amount of events that had taken place was so serious that we haven't spoken in quite awhile. It was a very emotional time (again) for me because I couldn't believe this was my brother doing these things.


Come November, I became a slug. I didn't have the energy to focus on anything that happened during the year. I put my energy into reading, school work, work, and watching films. I needed time to heal on my own and acknowledge all of these events.


Between all of this there was some fun, I always have to make things fun! My tia came to Philadelphia and we celebrated birthdays, I went to New Mexico and spent time with my tia in our family's stateside homeland... it was the first time in over 10 years we've seen one another!

What topped 2009 was my visit from Last Year's Girl. We had an awesome time & it really made me appreciate where I live!

I was reacquainted with my maternal grandmother, who is an interesting character. I spent some good quality time with my maternal grandfather who is a goofball.

I also had met, in real life and virtually, some really awesome people.

All in all, as crazy, inconvenient, emotional, and hard as 2009 was it has been my favourite.

And that the shortest summary I can give!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! BONNE ANNÉE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

BONNE ANNÉE!

I rang in the new year with a lovely little pijames party. My 2009 was a long one... which I haven't blogged about yet, I know. I just wanted to say HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am doing the The 31 Day Challenge and a fast for the month of January. There is a lot that I plan to accomplish for January that has to do with my first fruits for the year. This is something I've been doing every January for several years now, this year being a bit more intense than the last few.

Even if you may not share the same beliefs that I do, you are more than welcome to take part in the 31 Day Challenge. It's a book that can open the eyes of people no matter what faith you may participate in.

xx