Halloween part dos!

After baking Halloween cookies and smashing pumpkins last night, Spanish guy and I were moseying around the hood today. He stepped on himself and his siblings a bunch of times and I got my hair caught in a few low lying tree branches. It was all good though.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2010!

Halloween

I love Halloween. You know why? Because I LOVE dressing up! I love transforming myself AND I LOVE Partying! I can party every night! This year I was rainbow bright. It was a political statement actually. In support of gay rights and acceptance...  okay okay enough of that. 

Rainbow Bright rocks! Halloween rocks! A few more gatherings/events are coming up! Cant WAIT!

we had just banged our heads together-- hence the face, lol

All of my girl friends are GORGEOUS! 

wedding plan status, NYC!

So wedding plans have been going great and things are happening so fast! The engagement party, bachelorette party and wedding have all been set in stone (still have to work out the bridal shower though). The venues have been selected along with dates and the guest list is being worked out. I have my dress, my maid of honor and flowers picked out.

All is well on the wedding front.

Its a good feeling.

hmm...

Its 7am on a Sunday morning and I've been up for 30 minutes for no particular reason. What's wrong with this picture?

To make matters worse, I got home only a few hours ago. 

IN BrooklyN

a leisurely afternoon on the Brooklyn Promenade.

walking in unity: breast cancer

IN SUPPORT OF BREAST CANCER RESEARCH

the family:

the "kids":

I participated in the breast cancer walk this past Sunday.

I walked with my fiance.

I walked with my brother

I walked with my brothers girlfriend

I walked with my moms fiance

and most important of all, I walked with my mom, a breast cancer survivor.

We walked in unity to support my mom and to show her we care and we walked for all the survivors and all the families that have lost their loved ones to cancer. We walked to try to make a small difference in the world. A small footprint.

It was a unifying moment.

me and mommy

me and spanish guy

my mom:

my bro:

I love you mommy. Stay strong and live long.

MY NYC Wedding Dress

I just bought my wedding dress

and its the most beautiful gown

that I've ever seen in my life!

I can't wait to wear it...

wedding venues

Wedding planning is fun, especially finding a venue because we get to go and try out food and wine from restaurants all around NYC!

slurp.

throwback pic

ahhh...

my heart is happy.

my soul is fulfilled.

im surrounded by love and beauty.

i work in a nurturing, rewarding atmosphere.

i make art.

i take care of my body and health.

i have the greatest relationship ever.

i have my family near me.

and my bed is like a cloud. zzzzz...

preparing our place for our cozy nyc life

After a 9-hour painting spree,

Spanish guy and I finally finished

painting our new home and

it looks so vibrant, clean and beautiful!

apple picking on a family farm, Fall in NYC

My family and I went 2 1/2 hours up the grand state of New York, past gorgeous mountains, beautiful rustic colored leaves, through the fresh air and nature to arrive at the cutest farm Ive ever seen in my life.

My mom, her fiance, my fiance and myself went apple picking. The apples were so delicious, we were eating them as we were picking them. After taking a tractor ride into the harvesting area, we moved on to the vegetables. we picked eggplants, tomatoes (although they were just ending their season), and of course, pumpkins.

Theres something so beautiful and so refreshing about picking your own veggies and fruits for consumption. I did it in Spain, and I had the same feeling. Its nice to connect to the earth. My fiance and I actually took our shoes off and picked bare foot so that we can further connect and really live the experience!

On the way out, while we were browsing the farms bakery, I started talking to the owner, and she asked me if I wanted to stay there with her and her family, they told me they can sure use my help in the fields. I would have jumped at the opportunity, but I wouldnt have had any way to get home the next day. I think Ill follow up with an email pretty soon to see if I can volunteer for a weekend. I would absolutely love to have that opportunity and learn from this family!

Below are some pictures of us picking, on the tractor, in the trees, and just being human with our environment.

Capoeira at Alvin Ailey

You know that little area, or in some peoples cases, big area of skin right below your butt cheek and about 7 inches above the back of your knee cap, yeah, that spot... well, mine hurts.

And let me tell you why, BECAUSE I CAPOEIRA-ed IT OUT LAST NIGHT!

That's right folks, I took a 2 hour Afro-Brazilian dance class, called Capoeira, at the world-famous Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre!!!

It was amazing. This dance is focused on straight lines, smooth movements and inner core strength (which I have from all the running and rollerblading that I do). It combines lots of martial arts elements with dance movements and live music. We sang, we learned movements, we used our own muscles to move our bodies in fascinating ways.

These are the live instruments they used in the class:

It was a unique experience. I love challenging myself and learning about culture, even if a slab of my body is in pain, you know the part under the butt cheek... yeah, that part, but it felt great!

nyc life

a glimpse.

burrrrrrr...

after 8 days of sitting on my fat (cake) ass (ha) I was finally able to do some non-traumatic movement so at 8am this morning I rode my bike to the cafe that I am at now. And BOY O BOY was it freezzzzing out!

Im not used to this cold. My nose was dripping, my fingers were cold, the wind was shocking.

After being in a warm climate for two years, Im not sure if Im ready for NYC´s winter.

geezzz...

Our own space!!@!#!!!

We (Spanish guy & I) FINALLY moved in to our new apartment in Brooklyn, after 4 months without a steady home!

Woo-hoo, we are one happy couple!

It's so nice to have our own space, it's really difficult to live with other people when you are trying to build a life with someone, you just constantly feel stuck and you can't do what you want when you want. We are lucky and blessed enough to be able to have the luxury of privacy. phewww...

Pictures coming soon.

booty

So... I'm the Director of a program in a small non-profit that's located in a High school Building in Manhattan. All the students in the school know me because I went to their classes to make presentations and I taught an intro to film class.

Anyway...

Today, I was walking through the halls, its Friday, so I was dressed down-- jeans, and a nice shirt-- and one of the girls says (from across the hall),

hey Ms Director lady!!

and I was like, hey girl! How's it going?

And she says:

Good, did anyone ever tell you you have a cake?

(and all her friends say, yeah she got a cake all right!

And I was like:

A cake, whats that? Like a cake to eat? haha

And she says, no, like a fatty, you know, a nice big butt.

I was so embarrassed. I said, it must be my Cuban side, and I kept it moving trying not to show how shocked and embarrassed I was.

I guess these things happen when you work with teens, they notice things, especially body parts. hahaha...