Hitting the ground running.

I ran this morning!! On the treadmill but it was a great run, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I'm nearly all healed. yay! A great run always makes waking up at 4:30am awesome. Really. I can't wait to try again tomorrow.

It's going to be another crazy week. Today, I am hoping to get out of work on time and head over to the Ronald McDonald House for a little bit before going home. I have a Masters program reunion on Wednesday night(tomorrow) and Thursday I am going to a Mets game for the bachlorette party. I've never been to a Mets game since my sister, Ana, is a huge Yankees fan, but I hear the new Mets stadium is uber-nice. AND, a girls night out is always fun. My kindergarten friend is getting married Saturday (so exciting!). And, Sunday is Mother's Day so I think we'll be having some family over to celebrate (and I'll get an early birthday cake. I've requested peanut butter and chocolate. Yum!) Which reminds me, I need to go shopping for my mom. :p

It's raining here. Loads. But, the rain always reminds me of Belfast. And, I love Belfast. Which is why I am planning (fingers crossed) another trip there sometime in early September. (I'll try to plan some details this week. I love planning trips!)

Yup, another crazy week full of fun things to do. But running always gives me energy and if all else fails, there's always coffee.

Here's wishing you a great week.

PS- Jennifer, I loved last night's OTH. Loved.

May

Here's wishing you all a very happy May. May is one of my very favorite months. Why, you ask?

1. It's my birthday month. I love birthdays!
2. SPRING!
3. I have A LOT of fun things planned for this month. Lots.
4. May is the 5th month of 12. Still loads of time to work on those New Years resolutions.
5. New OTH episodes. I don't care if this is lame. I am addicted to that show.
6. 90% of everything is attitude. I have decided to love my days. They are all we have, after all.

Verbing: In love with the sky. In honor of Erin.

I was inspired today. By Vickie's latest post.

So often I forget to just do things. To verb. To be in the moment, the movement, the action. To just be.

So, today, in honor of Erin, and for myself, I verbed. I got off the bus stop early and took a nice walk through my neighborhood. I noticed the trees and the budding flowers. I smelled Spring in the breeze and the scent of the warm air from this unusually hot day. I looked up at the clouds and appreciated their beauty.

I remembered that I love the sky.

I forget to remember just how much I love the sky sometimes. But I do. I love how blue it is, and how the clouds streak through it, and how the birds soar in circles and spirals to everywhere and nowhere in it. I've loved the sky for a long time now. Since Manny left. It's where I look to feel closer to him, to speak to him, to remember him. Manny flew away to the sky one day. I've looked for him there ever since. Seeing the sky everywhere helps me to remember he's everywhere too.

The sky is big and vast and beautiful and endless. Love is big and vast and beautiful and endless. And, if Manny is somewhere in that big, vast, beautiful, endless sky, I imagine he can feel my big, vast, beautiful, endless love. And, in those moments, he's not so far away. Love makes the distance shorter.

Thank you, Erin (and Vickie), for helping me to remember I love the sky. Because, I'd forgotten. My brother is up there. Give him a big bear hug for me, if you see him. He'll show you the ropes. He always was an amazing brother; I know you'll be great friends. And until we meet again, I'll keep looking for you in the sky and remembering to fill it with love.

Ylaria's Night: Update

Thank you so much to everyone for your support. Last night's fundraiser went well. We raised nearly $1000 with the cover charge and raffle tickets. It was great to be able to add that much more towards our goal, but even more amazing was seeing everyone come together for such an important cause. It was beautiful to be able to share this night with so many and to know that we were all there for one reason: Ylaria.

There's talk of doing another open bar night again. I think it would be fun. We'll see what develops over the next few months. For now, thank you. Without you, this would not have been possible.

A night for Ylaria

Tonight is the night.

It seems like it was ages ago that I first told my cousin, Sonia, about Ylaria's relapse. I was devastated and crying after hearing the news from Belen (Ylaria's mom). Sonia quickly helped me put my sadness into action. I am so thankful for that. She is an amazing person and I am blessed to have her for a cousin.

If you can come tonight to Lounge 11 (505 Madison Ave in Hoboken, NJ), we would LOVE to see you! The fundraiser is from 9-11pm. Cover charge is $40 ($20 goes to Ylaria's family). If you can't make it, but would like to make a donation, please click here. Any help you can give would be so appreciated.

Ylaria is inspiring. She makes me laugh. She makes me smile. She's magic made real. Her family is my family and I love them. I want to surround them with our love tonight. So that they know that while the battle may be hard, and sad, and scary, they are not alone. They will never be alone. And there are many hands stretched out and arms holding them close as Ylaria fights for her life.

A friend shared this quote with me recently,
" At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us" (Albert Schweitzer). Ylaria and her family have been my spark many times. Tonight, I am lighting a flame of hope for them. Please join me. Let's light the world on fire with love. Ylaria, and so many children like her, deserve at least that.

#42: List five events from 1995.

1. Manny earned his angel wings. It was the day my world changed forever. It was the first time I actually felt my heart break. It was the first day I realized love couldn't save lives.

2. We didn't decorate for Christmas. For the first time ever. Christmas has never been the same since.

3. The Oklahoma City bombing.

4. I wrote my Nations Report (a HUGE deal in 6th grade) on Denmark.

5. I read a lot of really awesome books. Among them: The Golden Goblet, The Door in the Wall, and Adam of the Road.

waking up thinking it's friday.

This is going to be a short post. This is going to be a loooong week so I need to get some sleep.

Work is getting a little intense. Working 9am-7pm is quickly getting old. And it's only been two days. *Sigh*. This may be the reason I woke up today and thought it was Friday. For a second. And then, crap(!) it's TUESDAY.

Tomorrow is our Benefit.

A HUGE, BIG, ENORMOUS deal. For those who don't know, I work for the GO Project, a small non-profit in lower Manhattan that provides academic and social services to underprivileged children in public elementary schools in the area. What do I do, you ask? I'm the Program Associate. Which tells you nothing really. I translate our Spanish-speaking families (which I love), maintain our database (which has been a headache lately), call every family that is absent on a programming day (fun!), maintain our attendance and retention records (more fun!), train/manage/recruit volunteers (it's been a learning experience), and help run our weekday tutoring program (another great learning experience). I love my job and I love the people I work with. I'm incredibly lucky and I know this. As I was saying tomorrow is our Benefit and I'll be lucky if I get home at 1am.

Friday, is the fundraiser for Ylaria. Yay! I am hoping for a great turn out. Friday will be another busy day. I'll be running from work to NJ for the event and hanging out until 11pmish. My sisters and cousins will be there so I am looking forward to some family time.

I will then run home for a few hours of sleep before getting up at 6am on Saturday. 6AM. SATURDAY. Why, you ask? I'm working this Saturday. I'll be there at 8am. (We run a tutoring program on Saturdays during the school year) and I am putting together a thank you breakfast for our volunteers. But the breakfast means I get to run around Union Square buying bagels and coffee on a Saturday. At 8am. Did I mention the commute to work from home is 1.5 hours? If I thought waking up at 5:30am this past Saturday was bad, another Saturday of the same is going to hurt. Badly. After work, I have to find whatever energy I have left for bridal shopping with my cousin and bowling with my family later in the evening.

Sunday, I am considering sleeping until I need to get up for another cousin's Sweet Sixteen party.

Don't get me wrong, I actually think all of these things are fun. Really. I just wish they didn't all have to land on the same week. I'm exhausted. And, it's TUESDAY.

Um. Yeah. I'll be living on coffee for the next few days. Someone's gotta get this economy going. I'll be doing my part at the local Starbucks.