You can hear the trees whispering . . .

Have you ever looked at a tree and sensed its personality? If that makes me sound weird to you, then perhaps you won't be interested in the rest of this post. BUT, if you know exactly what I mean -- then I'd like you to meet my new friend (he hasn't shared his name with me yet). One look at this gorgeous tree and I knew he would talk to me.

One of my dearest friends from childhood recently came to visit me and we made our way to Wave Hill. I confess that I had almost forgotten about this peaceful getaway and had not been since Keri came to NY for my high school graduation (let's just say it was more than a couple of years ago).

In the middle of the chaos of NYC is this beautifully peaceful, serene oasis in which, if you listen closely enough, you really can hear the trees whisper.





This day inspired me to look for other ways to find quiet in the midst of the noise that surrounds my life. I drive in to work every day -- in to Times Square. I work at MTV, where there are TV's playing music anywhere you go. There's very little quiet to be found in my every day life ... to that end I have decided to start working my way through "NY's 50 best places to find peace and quiet". Some of them will have to wait until the summer time as it requires being outside, such as free kayaking on the Hudson, but others can be experienced at any time of year. As I experience each one I shall let you know.

Happiness Is ...

Today's blog is really a continuation of last week. I had too many picture to post all at once, so I've decided that this post will be the remainder of the pictures.

Happiness is family lunches at Panera. Keziah and Eric are family too!!

Happiness is Mr. Eric climbing the rock with you!!

Happiness is my brother learning to crochet so that he can help his daughter learn!!

Happiness is having a friend like Keziah that can teach him how.

Joyousness for today...

I am feeling a theme for my blogs... :-) Keep checking back to see how many different titles I can find to use for this theme.


So here's the back story to today's joy! I worked at my mom's store today and called her at the end of the day, exhausted and sharing some things on my heart -- being the wonderful, caring mama that she is, and always one to take care of me -- she said "go get yourself something nice for dinner on me". Thus began my mission.

I headed to Whole Foods more because that's the direction I started driving. I intended to drive to the A&P but always forget that it's off of Goffle Rd and not Lincoln Ave. (Sorry if you don't live in this area to follow that).

I shall now break down the pieces to this evening's joyous dinner.

I am not a big sushi fan, but I do enjoy California Rolls although I would prefer them without the crab meat ... TA DA -- I have Avocado and Cucumber rolls with brown rice -- the beginning of the meal.

After the delightful appetizer, we continue the meal with a potatoe pancake, zucchini Parmesan latke (google it), and broccoli rabbe with sauteed whole garlic. To top it all off, I am going to use some delicious salad dressing that my sis-in-law Sarah made for me -- thanks darlin.

What am I drinking with all of this deliciousness? Honest Tea... it's my new obsession - honestly!! That's why there are three that you see, "Agave Mate", "Mango Acai White Tea", and "Lori's Lemon Tea". Hope mom doesn't mind that I bought three. I also have another one in the refrigerator that she bought me earlier in the week (did I mention that she takes care of me?).

Now that I've shared my meal with you, I shall share the dessert portion of today's joyousness moment! I haven't decided if I shall eat the two separately or if I shall eat them at the same time.

My family is a big supporter of the frozen fruit industry, I am in favor of any fruit that someone else takes the effort to cut up and freeze. That being said, I've never seen Mango's be a choice before -- in Ecuador we (mostly my mom and our precious maid, Maria) used to have to do all the work of cutting up the mango and freezing them, and now you can buy a bag at Whole Foods -- life is good.

To round out the night I am eagerly anticipating my Coconut Almond Ice Cream bar made with coconut milk. You can't eat too many of these because the coconut milk makes them quite high in fat -- but man are they delicious.

Joyousness for today, brought to you by Whole Foods (and my sweet mama)!!

What brought me joy today...

Dinosaur Invasion
As I walked in to the home office tonight I almost tripped over this guy -- although he looks quite scary in this picture, he's actually much smaller. The joy of this little guy being in the middle of the office floor is what it symbolizes... it means that little Rodney was playing with it and the toys surrounding it. Little guy took a nap on Grampy's "piddow" this afternoon and then spent some time at Grammy & Grampy's house playing with the toys. Everyone knows that knows that the toys that you don't get to play with every day are better than the boring ones you can play with whenever you want. ALSO -- if I know my dad, I can pretty much guarantee that this involved Grampy down on the floor playing with little Rodney bringing endless delight to both of them. Grammy was probably close by either spoiling him with treats or hugs.

Arrival of Books

I can't think of many things that bring me more joy than new books... but new books for my babies bring with it the anticipation of the look on their faces when they realize that Nonni got them new books. Recently a friend needed some help reaching a goal of selling Children's books, so I decided to see what she had available. (See her great site here). The Shapes Jigsaw Puzzle book is for little Rodney - all the other kids LOVED any puzzle books I brought home so I am sure that Rodney will feel the same way. Sammy, on the other hand, is fascinated with "diggers" -- can you believe that I found a book called "Diggers". He's going to love the endless entertainment this brings him.

Lest you stop and think "only books for the boys, what about the girls, you cad" - have no fear, they are spoiled rotten in their own right, this time just happens to be for my beloved boys. Can't wait to give these to them on Sunday along with some stickers. Oh and I have some jewelry and stickers for the girls too. :-) Sure do love my babies!!!

Thanks for sharing in my joy today!!