The Sweetest Note

Life sometimes gets boring.  Life sometimes gets tough.  Life is complicated. 

I had a very tough week last week.  Trying to find encouragement when things are spiraling downward is hard.  Other times, we don’t have to look very hard.  The little boost you need to lift you back on your feet comes to you… 

In my case, it came in the shape of a note… by a 7 yr old:

That's Shayla in the middle :)

Shayla left the note with my mom (Abuelita).  Mom told me that Shayla whispered to her ear – “Abuelita, can you give this letter to Tia Rocio”

Tough times will come and go.  Bad situations happen to all of us.  I know I will have more tough times coming my way, that’s just life.  But at least now, I have a reminder on my refrigerator about what is really important in life.

Life is Good!

Ro-

It’s a Party

Hello everyone.  It’s been a really long time since I’ve posted anything.  After the passing of my beautiful cat, I needed to take a break, crawl under the covers and heal.  Thankfully, my life is full of amazing family and friends who helped me pull through this difficult time.  Also, I still have Miss Olivia, and someone needs to take care of her.  She has been such a good companion these past 5 months.

To sum up the past 5 months: There have been three races, two haircuts and a major move!

I moved to my new apt. in December and decided that the best way to celebrate was to throw a Stella & Dot party for my friends.  And boooy, did we have fun! I have the best friends when it comes to partying… We kept it classy, we kept it chic… well at least what I can remember… The party was officially over by 11PM, so anything that happened after that doesn't count! J

Here are highlights of the celebration:

 

Oli has picked up my addiction… yiakes!

Being a hostess is exhausting.  It took me 24 hours to recuperate… if you don’t believe me, just ask this little one:

Here is to the rest of 2014 and all the trouble that will come with it....

Life is good!

Ro-

A Cat Named Enrique

Last week I had one of those moments that every pet owner dreads...  When the vet tells you “It’s time to let him go” Not fair!!  Life is not fair! – There I said it!

I had to let go of my baby boy last week.  It came so sudden.  He suffered from FATE (feline aortic thromboembolism).  There was not much the vet could do to help him.  He was in pain, so whether I wanted to or not, I had to let him go.  He died in my arms.  I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

He will forever be remember as the big cat with the big personality.  He changed my life the moment I got him. BTW, he was sooo not what I thought he would be.  I always had wanted a kitty, a small kitty. So, a friend told me she had a ‘kitty’ for me… yeah right… I got a 17lb cat!! I felt totally duped!!  I saw him and I thought…. “hmmm maybe I didn’t explain myself when I said a ‘kitty’”.  Needless to say, he took over the apartment and my heart instantly. Sometimes we think we want something, but it’s a good thing God always knows that most of the time, what we want, is not what we need.  God gave me exactly what I needed.  He was such a joy to have for 12 years.  I will miss him immensely…

His favorite spot... looking out the window

After a very busy day

Who's da?!

Momma's boy

17lb Cat!!

February 14, 2001 - November 15, 2013

Enrique you made my life good!!

Ro-

I Believe in Miracles

Summer is almost over (Thank-God).  That means running season is starting Yay! I have a few races I’m looking forward to running this fall and winter.  I have been running every Saturday with a group of fun runners at Starkey Park in New Port Richey, getting up at 5:45AM on Saturdays and starting my runs at 6:45AM. (Well, most of the time I’m late and I start at 7AM… but who’s keeping track!)

Autumn is my favorite season. I am looking forward to wearing boots, sweaters, scarfs and turtlenecks! I get to sleep an extra hour. And, of course, the holidays are fast approaching…. My favorite time of the year.

I’ve been soo busy lately, not much time to play (or write).  My office relocated and that took most of my time these past 2 months.

In disconcerting news, my pretty boy Enrique has been sick, so after a few runs to the vet and a few changes in his diet, the vet has concluded that he suffers a rare form of Crohn's disease for kitties.  He is on medicine for the rest of his life.  It breaks my heart to see him soo sick.  But he is such a trooper, and as long as his mama is with him, he is happy! :)

And here is a picture of Olivia, because I seem to be posting more pics of Enrique lately.  She is doing well :)

I decided to take a small trip to Miami for a couple of days… that was fun! It’s always good to break from the routine and do something fun, see other places, other people… in this case, I saw lots of cows!! We have lots of those in FL.

So needless to say, the last few weeks have been busy, stressful, and sometimes disconcerting for me.  I saw this quote at a friend’s business:

....and I thought to myself… Truly, happy girls are the prettiest girls, and tomorrow is another day, and another chance to start all over again, if I have to.

Life is good

Ro-

A Night to Remember

It seems that my birthday celebration lasted the entire month of June.  This weekend, I headed to one of the most prestigious restaurants in the Tampa bay area with a couple of my favorite people: Jim and Viktoria.  The night started as a nightmare actually… weather was absolutely crazy and unpredictable. There was a mix of rain, thunders, sun, cloudiness, wind, and heat. My ‘beautiful’ sister decided to turn the A/C off in our apt. and open all our windows to let the hot air in.... Really??  At least the cats were happy.

I was going to leave by 6:15pm so I started getting ready by 5:00PM. “Plenty of time to get ready” I thought.  The moment I started blow-drying my hair, I realized that I was in trouble.  It was 90 degrees outside, and I had no A/C in the house. The heat from the blow-dryer made my bathroom feel like a sauna.  I decided to continue in hopes it would get better.  But it didn’t…. By the time I finished blow-drying my hair, I needed to shower again.  Hairspray and all, I jumped in the shower and took a very cold shower this time. I also turned the A/C back on and started all over again at 5:45PM… Definitely was not going to be ready by 6:15PM.  Because of the heat, I had to change my outfit.  I was planning on a long dress, instead went with the short one.

Finally, we made it to the restaurant by 7:10PM. Our reservation was for 8:00PM. However, we wanted to hit the bar for some drinks and appetizers before dinner.

The night was young! (and so were we ;)

Here are the first orders: Cucumber Gimlet and Black Orchid… and yes I broke my diet that night… :)

There was an actual orchid in this drink.  Very cute!

Then we order the Colossal Shrimp Cocktail:

Holy Smokes!

As a tradition, the three of us try to go out every year for each of our birthdays; however, this year we didn’t have time to go for each of our birthdays, so we did one big celebration, instead.  

Dinner was amazing!!

Our server noticed the gift Viks was holding and asked if it was her birthday. We told him that we were celebrating the three of our birthdays, and after dinner he came out with this plate:

After dinner, we hit the bar again for another round of drinks.  I was singing along to all the Elton John’s songs the piano man was paying… unfortunately for you, no pictures or videos were taken of me at that time :)

By 11:00PM we went outside to wait for our ride.  Our driver (my brother) got lost on the way to pick us up, and since there wasn’t much to do, we decided to take pictures… lots of pictures.  There is nothing funnier than goofy pictures taken the night that you go out drinking with friends.

Sometimes I prefer to see things in black and white :)

Lady Viktoria and her Cookie

From the front  -------   From the back

The shoes are my Bday present from Viks. ----- Jim was really tickling me  ;)

It was a fun night. As always, when the three of us go out, the world needs to watch out!

Life is good!

Ro-