Day 119 – Mother’s Day Perfection

This was an amazing Mother’s Day!

Brunch with my bestie, her kiddos and mom started my day off amazing. Then the rest of the day was spent with 3 of the best kids in the world – my boys. We hung out all day talking and laughing and just enjoying each other and our day together. They took me out to lunch which was awesome and delish. Then to my surprise, my sons best friend (practically another son to me) came to wish me a Happy Mothers Day in person which really touched my heart. Heathers husband sent me Happy Mothers Day wishes and that also just filled my heart with joy.

Then we went back to the house to hang out. We played Wii Mario Cart together for a while which I have never played and it was so much fun. Afterwards we had an amazing dinner together. Just spending our day together with so much laughter and happiness was so wonderful. I am beaming with pride and truly grateful for my amazing, bright, talented, intelligent and caring children. My intention was to make this the best Mothers Day yet and may I say….Mission Accomplished!!

#HappyMothersDaytomyreaders #HGALforever

 

Day 118 – Prep: Fight Night

Well, today is the big event! My son Micah is in a MMA fight scheduled for tonight. He has been a MMA fighter since he was 4 years old. I started him in karate initially and he instantly loved it and he progressed very rapidly. He mastered Tae Kwon Do, Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and more. He has never given up on his dream of fighting in the UFC. This fight in particular advances him one step closer to living his dream.

I am so excited – I can hardly stand it! Obviously as a mom I am a bit nervous but I know he is capable, prepared and ready for this opportunity. I am so very proud of him- his dedication and commitment, his talent and his courage.

For my intention today, it was all about the prep. I was up a little after 6am… getting myself together. After going out for coffee, I made it to the spa for hair and nails. Everyone there was so happy to see me – hugs all around and catching up. I went there for so many years and so often- it was like my home away from home lol. It felt good to be so well received.

After, Brian and I went out for lunch and dessert than hung out a bit. After Micah’s weigh in this afternoon he came over with a couple other fighters in his club. We hung out a bit and I did everything I could to pump him up and positively reinforce his mental strength. I had him visualize his win and his future in the UFC. I reminded him of his true greatness and just did all I could do to pump him up. Tonight we have a VIP table reserved to be front and center for all of the action.

Pics will follow but I’m writing this now because I’m sure I won’t be back to my computer by midnight. So, here’s to a lovely intention on a proud, exciting and pivotal day!! #HGAL

Day 117 – No Place Like Home

Yes. It’s true there’s NO PLACE LIKE HOME. RI is beautiful and living on the ocean has its perks. But coming home to my boys and bestie is the best feeling in the world. We flew in this afternoon and it’s been a whirlwind. My hubby and my boys are my life and to have all three of my boys at my side is going to make this the best Mother’s Day ever!!

My intention today was to give thanks. When we were landing in NC I was all smiles and I found myself eyes closed for a moment just giving thanks for being home. I am thankful for safe travels. I am thankful for the hugs, kisses and love from my sons. I am thankful for the abundance of laughter my bestie and I had when we were in the car and out to eat. I am thankful for seeing Elijah with a group of his buddies at a bonfire and watching them celebrate his return. I am thankful for the familiarity and feeling of “home sweet home” flowing through me now.

So now, I’m off. I’m off to enjoy my family and friends. I want to pause to give thanks to those that faithfully read this blog. I want to also express my gratitude for the supportive emails and feedback I receive so often from you all. Thank you!

(pics will follow)

Day 116 – Extending a Hand

In the midst of a hectic day, Elijah and I attended the wake of his friends’ mother. There were multiple rooms of many people there, friends and family of the mom who passed all too soon. The father was in a side room surrounded by many people. The kids (three girls ages 12, 15 and 16) who lost their mother were surrounded by kids of all ages- friends from school and whatnot. I found myself talking for a bit to one of the mothers who was quite choked up about the situation. She told me she recently lost her father and this was tough for her.

After she left, I found myself looking at the screens above with a slideshow of the years of memories in pictures of this woman and her family. I stood there saddened for a few moments that she will miss out on so much of her daughters’ lives as they grow into women. I was sad for the daughters that will be growing up without their mother. Then, I found myself thinking of Heather. Thinking of her children and husband.

Then a wave of appreciation came over me. I found myself feeling blessed to be able to have had my mother with me all these years. I felt blessed that I have been able to see my boys growing into men.

I went over to Elijah’s friend and gave her a big hug. I introduced myself to her sisters and told them that if they ever needed anything to please just call us. Then I told Elijah and his friend that I would be happy to cook them dinner or whatever I can do to assist them as they grieve. I didn’t really know what more to say than that. What I do know is that I sincerely hope they take me up on my offer because extending a hand is really all I can do. #HGAL

Day 115 – Twinkle Twinkle

So, with the good weather here now- we are definitely spending more time outside on our decks enjoy the ocean air and the view. Just across the harbor we have been watching the construction of the Volvo Village they are making at Fort Adams for the International Volvo Ocean Race. Apparently it’s a really big deal around here. It is all lit up and looks really exciting. As we were out on the deck tonight I was looking all around... the bridge all lit up in the distance, the Volvo Village brightly shimmering ahead and a beautiful church steeple that is brilliantly illuminated every night on the side of us.

As I was taking this all in, I paused to simply look up in the night’s sky and admire the many stars. I thought back to when we were kids and used to say the nursery rhyme “Twinkle Twinkle little star, how I wonder where you are. Up above the clouds so high, like a diamond in the sky”. I love that rhyme- it’s beautiful. Between the night diamonds in the sky and the daytime sunlit diamonds on the water, I just love what I am surrounded by. Beauty. (insert deep breath)

I found myself saying a little wish on one of the stars hovering above. It’s refreshing to find that somewhere inside of me, there is still a little girl who believes in the power of a wish.   #HGAL

Day 114 – Cinco de Mayo

I think back to my AZ days and realize how completely different this holiday is on this side (East Coast) of the country. Obviously, with AZ being just next door to Mexico it is a major celebration and most years I went out for Mexican food, Margaritas and sometimes dancing. I don’t have specific memories of Cinco de Mayo with Heather but I am sure we took part in the festivities together. The entire time she was out there with me we did so much, always having such a blast.

Well, tonight my husband surprised me with flowers and made me dinner- (he is so sweet like that). We didn’t have Mexican food -we aren’t going out dancing either. So… what’s left to celebrate this holiday for my intention?? MARGARITAS (naturally) lol!

Instead of making the same ‘ol hum drum Margaritas using mix and whatever, we went for a nice twist. I pulled up Pinterest and found an amazing cocktail recipe for Pomegranate Margaritas. (yummy) There is no sour mix, just tequila (and of course I got Patron)- limeade- POM and a lime wedge. After dinner was over and Elijah was home from practice, we mixed it all up and poured ourselves a drink. One word… Delish! Happy Cinco de Mayo #HGAL

 

 

 

 

Day 113 – Nighttime Ocean

Tonight when I went to pick up Elijah from practice, I asked him if he minded if we went to the beach for a bit for my intention. The weather was so nice and I haven’t been to the beach at night in quite a while. Right when we were pulling up we noticed the moon was large and extremely orange. It was so beautiful.

Elijah thought it might be a blood moon. I looked it up online and it isn’t calling for one tonight but it looked exactly like that. We could see all kinds of detail on the moon – dark spots, various shades of orange and red as well as a bright halo. It was reflecting off the water as well -which further magnified its brilliance. We each started snapping pictures. But none of the pictures we took came close to capturing what our bare eyes were seeing. (Pictures below do it NO justice!) So I told him- whatever… let’s just sit here and enjoy it for a bit. It was high tide and the waves were swishing against the shore.  The air was moist, cool and refreshing.

We sat there and just talked a bit. Elijah’s friend just lost her mother to cancer and he is pretty shaken up about it. He knew her mom pretty well from the time he spent at her house and he said she was a super nice lady. The wake is later this week and he is trying to mentally prepare for what comes with that. We spoke a bit about the stages of grief and I encouraged him to allow himself to feel and speak about his feelings whenever he needed to. I reminded him that where there is life, there is death and it is sad and so very unfortunate but the pain his friend is going through must be almost unbearable and that we must be here for her first and foremost.

That is such a true lesson in life- grieving and dealing with our pain but making sure we are there for each other to support and uplift one another in our times of need. For this intention today, I am thankful for the beautiful setting that my son and I were able to take solace in while speaking of such a sad and sensitive subject. #missingHGALtodayandalways

Day 112 – Unwind the mind

We spent our day in Massachusetts with family for Anthony’s (our grandson through Vinny’s daughter) first baseball game of the season. We didn’t realize until we got there that it was a double header. It was a beautiful day out for sure- bright and sunny for most of the day. The game was going on and everyone was socializing. At one point we put on some music and the kids played together on the grassy area beside the field. Baby Sophia truly stole the show with her unbelievably advanced nature - she’s talking up a storm, super independent and so full of personality. She stayed happy and content the entire time (over 5 hrs), which was simply amazing to me. Today I showed her how to put her sunglasses on her head and she caught right on and kept them there most of the day. If they fell down, she made sure to put them right back up- it was a crack up!

At first, as I was watching the game – I found myself thinking of all kind of random things, my mind was just wandering. So I decided my intention for the day was to simply unwind my mind. Not think about my upcoming week and impending travel plans. I wanted to be mindful of not consuming myself with the details of the projects I have going on or anything else. I just wanted to disconnect, unwind and be in the moment. And that is exactly what I did.

I enjoyed the family, the kids and the afternoon in the fresh air. And as for our evening, instead of trying to catch up on all the things that could be getting done…I decided to follow suit with my lovely day and simply remain relaxed and enjoy the end of my weekend with my amazing family. #HGAL365  

Day 111 – Life in Bloom

Today is Elijah’s birthday so our day was busy and awesome. We woke up and hung out together talking and relaxing- just the three of us. I brought out a bunch of his baby pictures and we reminisced as I told him some of my favorite stories of him as a baby. As I made us all a nice breakfast, the sun was shining, our sliders were open, the ocean air was refreshing and the town was buzzing with people everywhere.

Elijah decided for his birthday he wanted to go get some new shoes and clothes, see the Avengers and wanted to see the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight tonight here at the house and asked me if I would make nachos and quesadillas to snack on. So that is just what we did. We took him shopping, out to lunch, saw the movie and went to the market to get supplies for his snacking request and we just ordered the fight and our evening begins when I am done writing this entry.

Anyhow, in the midst of our shopping trip I saw the most beautiful trees in bloom. I said “Sweetie, I want to take pictures of us under those trees if that’s cool with you.” I wanted to do it as my intention. These trees were just so amazingly beautiful! They looked like cherry blossoms but I’m not sure that they were. As we turned the corner to find parking, the entire way was lined with them and it was practically breathtaking. Both Elijah and Vinny obliged my request and we took the pictures. Normally, I would have admired the trees in bloom and move on but am happy this blog made me intentionally stop and embrace this beautiful nature and what I see as life truly in bloom. #HGAL

Day 110 – May Day

Earlier today I was chattin with a couple of friends. One of them was talking about the fact that today was “May Day”. I asked her what that was and she said when she was in school – the first day of May was highly celebrated as May Day. The tradition was to give flowers on that day to a neighbor or friend. There were other festivities that went along with that as well. I looked it up and it is actually an international holiday lol – who knew??

I instantly said to them, “Awesome, I know what my intention for my blog will be today then”. After I left I ran some errands and took a brief beach break then went to the store to look for some pretty flowers that I felt best represented May. I decided on a bouquet of pink mini roses. They were so fresh, clean and happy looking – I just love pink flowers!!

So I went to Michaels to look for a cute way to present them to my friends, Jen and Lena. For Jen, I got a super cute vase shaped like a milk bottle with the inscription “Dream” on it. For Lena, I got a really cute mug with an L on it. I went home and prepared their May Day gifts. With the leftover flowers, I created a bouquet for my home and placed it in a small mason jar that I painted a while back.

Then, the craziest thing happened. Vinny came home from work and had bought me a pink rose bush that was planted in the cutest pot. I just stood there a little stunned. I asked him, did you know it was May Day? He was like “What? No, I just saw these and wanted to get them for you cause I love you”. When he saw the pink roses I bought we just started laughing…. So connected…. What are the chances?

Anyhow, so I had my gifts ready to deliver but guess what? Lena wasn’t home and Jen had company at her home (I didn’t want to interrupt) so they will have to both be delivered tomorrow. It’s fine though, they are beautiful and ready to go and were prepared today as my May Day intention. Happy Friday!!