Chronicles of Sampson.

         Sampson is something else. I feel like one of those moms who says their kid is just the best, smartest, most athletic- meanwhile  everyone else is smiling along acting as if they agree, when they want to call bullshit. But I am serious when I say Sammy is the best. He isn’t the smartest- he actually is pretty dopey, but it is part of his charm. He is obsessed with people… but mostly me. Like, to the point where he can’t be without me or he will have a panic attack. Privacy while you are showering? HA, yeah right. He guards the door like someone is going to try to barge in. Going to the bathroom… I forget what it was like being alone during that time. I feel like I have a child. I sort of do. He yells at me… I mean literally its a barking/screech telling me I haven’t been as attentive to his needs. I lay on the bed… he jumps up and sits on my face. He also thinks he is a lap dog and lays on top of me, not understanding that he is going to one day be massive… like 120lbs.

        It’s kinda endearing. Today, Adam and Sampson walked me to our car so we had some more time together before we both went to work (I work from 9-5 and A works from 10-10 so are time is very limited). I arrived to the car, said my good-byes and headed to work. I heard sam barking a bit when I got in the car, but that was usually what he did whenever I left his side, so I plugged my phone in, turned the music on, and left. I pulled out of the lot and noticed Adam on the side walk with Sampson, Sampson was having a melt down. I waved to A, but he didn’t wave back. He called me later on in my drive to inform me that he had such a bad panic attack that I left, he refused to walk, was barking like a maniac, and tried chasing after cars thinking I was in them- so, Adam didn’t want to wave and attract his attention towards me or he would have went a little more crazy. 

       But can you imagine the people walking by him during his meltdown? Good lord. 

I read that German Shepherds were a one person dog, but I didn’t realize to this extent. I love him so, so much regardless of his clingyness. He is just too cute. You should follow his instagram (yes, he has an instagram) because its awesome @SampsonTheShepherd 

Here is a lil preview….

Hello There!

      Alright my blogging consistency is terrible. But I have a full time job, I moved to a new place, and have also had some traumatic things occur … but all in all, I am okay with not blogging. Life is moving, and instead of apologizing to the blogging community- I am happy with where life is moving, and where I am at this moment. 

      Buttttt, regardless of the happiness I have missed this little nook I have to vent/talk/bitch (vent and bitch are two different things)… so here I am, back at it.

And where do I begin? My job is great! I love the people I work with… and have become incredibly close with some of them. My pup pup- he is 5 months now!!! Yes… that little beeb in the post below is 5 months, crazy right? Speaking of 5 months… he gets his balls chopped (gruesome, I know) next month! Which he is not excited about (he only has one ball though, ask me about that for another post), but I am! He will become less cray cray. 

      My Boyfriend… ahhh where do I begin? It is weird for me to even explain this. I remember a year ago I was sitting in my room upset about past relationships, thinking I was destined to never meet a man again, nor did I have any desire to. I even posted an entire post related to ‘WHY I AM SINGLE’. During that time I tested out dating sites- nothing ever came from it, but I didn’t care. I was okay being alone. Some people don’t meet someone that they are with for the rest of their lives and they are okay…I thought I would be okay. But then I met Adam (while I was working as a hostess.. funny story that can be told in another blog post), and things changed. I pushed him away as much as I possibly could- helloooo I am a boss, a bad ass single female who needs NO man- but yet I wanted to be around him at every single moment possible. When I had a funny story- he was the one I needed to tell, when things got difficult… I just needed him to comfort me. This relationship was different, he was kind and gentle, yet put me in my place and motivated me to work harder for what I wanted. He was supportive, a best friend, the kindest man I’ve ever known, and someone who has shown my unconditional love- a love I have never experienced aside from family members. So that is where we are. 

     I am starring at the prettiest view of Boston, and Adam is passed out so peacefully…let me tell you about that in another blog post too! I am sorry I am leaving so much blank, but seriously I don’t want to having nada to blog about and go MIA again, so I am leaving some things open ended. 

     Also, I need to make a special mention for my auntie Madeline who passed away on mothers day. She was the hardest, toughest, and at the same time, the kindest woman I have ever known- and she has a sea of people up in heaven waiting for her. I know that Ashley will be waiting with open arms. 

    Thank you everyone for sticking with me during this long hiatus- life is great aside from a few hiccups…And I will make sure to keep updating! 

I am a mother.

I am a mother. You read that right, I am now a mom.. my child is of the animal form, but puppies can’t be that much different from babies (aliens). And if they are, well my son is the best form of the birth control from having an actual human child. I suck at introductions… meet my son Sampson.

Yup.. that is him, that isn’t just a doll, that thing of perfection above is all mine. He is a pure bred German Shephard, and those paws- hellllllo 120lb dog to be.
My boyfriend bought him for me as a valentines day/ birthday gift. Have I told you how much I love Adam? I swear I am not just saying this because he gave me my child (ha, sounds weird), but seriously he is the best!!!
I will leave you with a million more pictures because … what else could be better?

 

 WOW CRYING FROM MISSING HIM SO MUCH NOW…. 

To all you in the ‘no vaccination’ clan….

        

 *This is all my personal opinion, and it touches in a personal subject, feel free to X out if you don’t like what I write. 

          ‘Fads’, we just gotta get use to them because they will always be around. Every few years or so we start seeing something that just sticks, whether it be a style, word, group, whatever it is, it is something that more and more people want to be apart of because of the hype. Examples? Sure, gluten free foods- only eating organic foods- the all green lifestyle- love for bell-bottom jeans- the hate for bell-bottom jeans, the list goes on, and on. Granted, these things are perfectly acceptable for people to live by; that’s the thing about our society, we make the rules of how we live. Although many people swear these choices are made based on their own decisions and research, it seems they become more and more common with the level of ‘in’ they have in society, celebrities ranting and raving about the hot topic, people are bound to jump on the bandwagon, am I right? Hell, if Jennifer Lawrence is saying it’s the right thing to do, a sista just might do it. 

            Now, the list of ‘in’ things I just stated is something that I don’t mind people becoming a part of. To each there own, if you want to avoid anything with gluten- hell, you may miss out on some tasty foods, but again, that’s a choice YOU make.. And that’s the best part; it only affects YOU. Fad’s that only affect you- more POWER to you. But that’s the problem, sitting right by all these ‘no harm fads’, there are harmful ones, a particular one causes a rush of anger to flush through my body just from thinking about it.  This fad doesn’t just affect the person involved; no this impacts the world around them. This is the ‘anti vaccine’ fad of parents. I just really can’t wrap my head around this ridiculous decision, and it personally makes me sick. Lets lay down a few facts for you before I dive into why this makes me so angry- first,  

“A vast minority of parents across the country, around 1.8 percent, opt out of vaccines by citing either religious or philosophical reasons. THIS [stupid] decision has had 16 states report cases of measles, making 2013 the second worst year for the disease since 2000. In August, the illness struck 21 people linked to a single Texas megachurch that eschewed vaccinations. And just last week, a new study concluded that vaccine refusals were largely to blame for a 2010 outbreak of whooping cough in California.”  There is evidence of outbreaks and more illness due to the lack of vaccination.

               These statistics should be proof enough for parents to smarten up? Wrong. You have people like Jenny McCarthy and Kristin Cavallari continuing to promote this nonsense (equating autism to vaccination, with no scientific proof… when did people stop listening to science?)

These parents don’t understand the harm they are putting into our world- causing outbreaks for a disease that was eliminated by the US, ‘measles,’ doesn’t that say something to them? Doesn’t that prove this whole idea of no vaccinations is only hurting our population.

But what pushes my buttons the most in regards to this ridiculous issue; it proves how selfish the human race truly is. It proves that these parents couldn’t care less about the well being of the child sitting across from theirs at lunch. It proves that stubbornness outweighs intelligence, and that the saying ‘ignorance is bliss’ shines all too bright for some.

             But why, instead of just rolling my eyes at the uneducated individuals that announce their stance, do I let it hit home? Well, I was born into a family with two immunosuppressed sisters. My sisters were born with Cystic Fibrosis- their immune systems were shot from the beginning of their lives. Pneumonia was going around? You knew they had to endure a hospital stint. As all the rest of the kids were running around the playground, my sisters were missing from that fun excursion. Missing from things became frequent for them, birthday parties, field trips, rehearsals… all because the flu that your child also got- affected them with much more intensity, it reeked havoc inside their bodies. They had to be hooked up to all sorts of IVs as they were contained to a hospital room to stare at the bare walls, pretending the sterile whiteness was a colorful jungle gym so that their imaginations could join the fun events that they were physically unable to.But, when flu season had passed, and their wasn’t a 24 hour bug floating around- my sisters jumped back into all of the things young kids should be involved with. Their lives transitioned from being bed ridden, to now active. They even had moments where they forgot about this devastating, incurable disease that lived inside them.

            Think about all the other kids who are immunosuppressed, think about the kids who have incurable diseases, or the ones who can’t get vaccinated because the vaccination will only cause more suppression towards their already suppressed system- these kids don’t want to be locked away in their bedroom once they’ve been released from the hospital, they want to enjoy their lives with as much freedom as possible. They want to go to school, walk around the hallway as if the word disease had never been invented. Unfortunately, because of the ignorance we live with, they can’t be so worry free. Now they must worry about the children who walk by them, because of the parents who still let there unvaccinated child roam freely around the same hallways as the child with cancer. The selfish decision made by these parents is devastating.

I just read a story of a young cancer patient who contracted the measles while at Disney World due to an unvaccinated child. THIS- I don’t even have to write this blog post, I don’t have to bitch and moan and call these parents selfish, that one little story says enough. But after reading it, I was so angry I just needed to add my two cents.

         Now let me touch on the celebrity ‘anti vaccine’ movement that has caused more and more everyday people to join in on this stupidity.  Without scientific proof, these people have jumped on the delusion that vaccinations cause autism… besides going into the, THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC PROOF YOU JUST SOUND DUMB, raid, I want to touch on something that didn’t sit well with me, what these parents are saying, in a roundabout way is- “we so badly don’t want our kids to have autism that we are willing to put them in harms way by keeping them from vaccinations- we are willing to introduce them to devastating illnesses, some with fatal side effects…because autism is worse” And if you want to argue that its unlikely they could die without vaccinations (unlikely being the key word there because you are leaving that up to chance), then let me lay down another thought, just so you are aware of how terrible your decision is- you so badly don’t want your child to have autism you are risking another child’s life. A CHILDS LIFE IS WORTH LESS THEN YOUR CHILD HAVING AUTISM. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING? Okay. I can’t even say anything else or I may toss my laptop out the window. 
 

The daily questions.

Do you ever go through a day asking yourself a million and one questions? You never actually ask these questions aloud, nor would you know whom to even ask, they just pass through your mind. Okay maybe I am the only one but I have a litany of questions- so here goes.

• This one relates to Boston. WHY IS IT THAT DRIVING IN THE NORTH SHORE AND SOUTH SHORE is like driving in two different countries?  My boyfriend lives on the South Shore, I barely ever drove around here before dating him, and I swear, once you cross over the Zakim bridge your speedometer automatically DROPS 20 MPH. Its like our cars are programmed to automatically slow down in the South Shore. You would NEVER see someone driving in the fast lane at 65 MPH in the North Shore, but that is like speeding in the South Shore. I can only talk for I-93. But. It. Boggles. My. Mind.

• I like rap, I really love me some ghetto rap too. But sometimes I listen to songs (and I have skills at knowing every lyric to every song… I turn straight Busta Rhymes and can speed through lyrics) and wonder how they are okay singing these degrading lyrics towards woman, knowing they have young daughters. Cough Lil Wayne cough.

• Is the girl on the Bachelor really a virgin? (Actually, from the looks of how she was kissing Chris- that is a yes) but why is she? And don’t get me wrong, if you are choosing to stay abstinent more power to you- but this girl clearly doesn’t want to be a virgin, so why at 26, is she? 

• Why do so many actors become singers?

• Why does Chris Soules kiss everyone?

• Where is Juan Pablo today?

• Why the heck DOES anyone say “you are still hungry!?” as you are putting a piece of food in your mouth, or “didn’t you just eat?” *with those judges eyes. Hmm, no I am not still hungry I just enjoy the motion of putting food in my mouth you twat.

• If someone asks me “are you feeling okay?” and I reply “yes.” then why do they then open their mouths and say, “oh because you look really pale…” if I said I am fine- you should probably have just kept your mouth shut. Just a thought.

• Why do people tell me to ‘smile’ when I am walking by myself down the street?

• Why do people like cats?

• How is it the year 2015 and there are no cars driving in the sky?

Okay well, that’s it for today… there will undoubtedly be more questions to come.

Week Update.

          A long weekend. A much needed long weekend. Full of uneventful, yet much needed… moments. I slept. Caught up on sleeping, really. Getting up at 6 AM every morning tends to take a toll. I am not talking the 1.50$ toll… I am talking, someone please pour a bucket of ice water on my head because I think I am falling asleep while walking, type of toll. 
Lets see. You know when you get in your head and start feeling like you just aren’t good enough, or aren’t pleasing the people you should be- I think it is partly my anxiety, but I had those thoughts when I started my new job. I was so eager (still am) to make sure I am doing my part..so this consumed my mind throughout the work week. I just want to do the best I possibly can, and I hate when my mind makes me feel I am not doing enough.I am thankful though, that I am starting to feel more accustomed/helpful. Mind you, I have only been working at my new job for two weeks so I think my feelings are normal.
         Getting up at 6AM everyday doesn’t really leave you wanting to make plans for week-day outings. I remember when the weekdays and weekends were one in the same- I wasn’t eager for lazy Saturdays because I found that I could get at least one hour of lazy in everyday. That is not the case anymore. And even though sometimes I would rather just come home from work, throw on my pajamas and sleep- I do realize that the work load is only going to get heavier as I age, so therefore I need to still live and make memories in my 20s. I have posted this before, yeah there may be some mornings where I am miserable and tired because I decided to go out the night before, but years down the road I am going to remember the night out and not that morning of exhaustion. Especially with my sister passing away, I make sure to live by this logic. 
        So, Thursday night I had a night out with a close friend of mine, Taylor. My boyfriend started as a GM at a new restaurant, so we decided to go have dinner there. It’s such a great spot with delicious food- (Bel Ari) you guys need to try it out! I actually went there last Saturday with a bunch of my cousins! This is making me sound like a groupie, ha. So, Thursday night was a blast. Taylor and I could talk for hours. She was actually my first roommate in college (we met via Facebook… and those old conversations are the most brutally awkward thing… we love to look back on those and remember how awkward of human beings we were… and prob still are).
         Friday night I spent in Andover. My new job is in Andover… how ironic, I moved to Boston and started working back in my hometown. It would probably make sense for me to move back…but hellll naw. Ha. I can visit, but I will stick with the commute. I went out a little shopping after work, had dinner with some family, and then drove to my boyfriends apartment… it was perfect because we arrived at the same time.
         Saturday I went out to dinner at the Four Seasons. Did you know that they have a dessert buffet set up (it is literally the cutest thing ever, Instagram worthy if I wasn’t so embarrassed to take a picture… I didn’t want to be that girl….) It was chocolate covered everything, cake pops, ice cream with a whole bar of toppings… and for 18 dollars! For my drink I got a ‘Back Bay Bubbly’ which was some sort of gin cocktail. I haven’t had a cocktail in so long since I usually opp for a glass of wine (old age, GTFO). So I felt all giddy when my cute little cocktail arrived. After dinner, we headed towards another bar to grab another drink. Two drinks, and that is my limit. Which is great for me and my wallet. 
        Sunday didn’t feel quite like Sunday because… I had off Monday!! I slept in until 9… my body is so accustomed to getting up early.. I HATE THAT. I got up, had some coffee, talked with my boyfriend… then laid back down. I fell back asleep until about 12:00. We decided to go grab some lunch. We went to ‘Fat Cats‘ in Quincy. It is seriously one of my new favorite restaurants. If you are ever in the area… you gotttttaaa check it out. Go look at yelp too (I am obsessed with yelp) it has great reviews… 4 out of 5 stars and 750 reviews! We sat and watched some of the NFC championship game between Green Bay and the Sea Hawks. Oh, but I FORGOT TO ADD… I am pretty sure his cat ate me contact case. I don’t like cats, never have, never will… and I swear his cat is out to get me. Girl looks at me like she wants to kill me. WHY DOES IT ALWAYS LOOK LIKE CATS ARE STARING INTO YOUR SOUL? I digress… my point was, ‘watching the game’ was really just me squinting at the TV as if I was giving it dirty looks. In high-school I didn’t have contacts, and I am blind (like seriously, legally blind) so I was labeled the bitch for giving everyone dirty looks… thanks mom and dad for giving me shitty vision and a lot of enemies.
        Then we went to the bar and watched the pats kick ass. SO EXCITING! I cannot wait for the Super Bowl! I wish it was next weekend and not two weeks away.
        Now it is Monday. I caught up with some blogging, sipped on a lot of coffee, got some work done… emailed a lot of people, watched some Bob’s Burgers (MY FAVORITE SHOW EVER) and here I am. This wasn’t the most eventful weekend of my life… but goood lawwwd was it relaxing! 
Did you guys have a long weekend? What did you do?

My life through instagram….

          I swear I use to be clinically dependent on Instagram to cure my boredom or curiosity… again, with old age, it seems I have broken that dependence- I guess that’s one good thing that comes with becoming an old hag. Though I don’t use it nearly as much, I thought this post would be entertaining since most of the ‘cool’ events (sitting on my couch chugging back wine) are usually published on Instagram…. so here goes:

• My most recent post was a throwback! My good friend Nicks birthday is on the 15th, he now lives in San Francisco so I can’t celebrate with him unfortunately! But I uploaded a #tbt in honor of his day! 

• On January 7th it was a year since I donated my kidney to my sister! I was surprised with an edible arrangement by my sweetie bear boyfriend. Seriously, you should’ve seen my face. It was cute! Now I have the teddy bear and vase as my desk decor. Side note: I am still kickin’ after donating my kidney… so you should all sign up to be organ donors. 

•  The next picture is from New Years Eve (see, I have been slackin’ with these Instagram posts!) But this is the obligatory, cutesy picture! 

• The next picture was a selfie snap-chat picture of me making fun of my lack of color in my wardrobe. It was date night, but I looked like I was going to a funeral. 

• My friends came into town and we had a nice night out. I hadn’t seen them in awhile (or we haven’t all been together in awhile) so it was fun to hit up some of our old spots in the city!

• Then, the following night, we all went to dinner at the Liquid Art House (not my favorite place at all- no worries, I yelp’d my thoughts. I wanted them to meet my boyfriend while they were all around! It was a fun night. 

• Then, this is the farthest I’ll go back since it was before Christmas… me my mom and my roommate all had a nice steak dinner at ‘Grill 23’ before she went away for Christmas break. The decor was so cute… it actually won one of the best decorated restaurants in Boston! 

• So, as you can see.. I haven’t been uploading on Instagram as much… but I am going to blame that on the fact that my life went from super exciting to… work and wanting to sleep more than anything. But I still use Instagram to post any “big events” or fun nights out… it would be boring if I uploaded pictures of me taking a nap… 
• How do you use Instagram? I have been loving the ‘foodie’ Instagram’s I follow… except they actually make me incredibly hungry… and wishing I knew how to cook, new hobby maybe? probs not.

 

Whirlwind

             Life has been a whirlwind… (First of all, that needs to be every Bloggersone-liner after they have slacked on blogging), but really it has been!!… okay seriously, stop rolling your eyes I am being honest! Although I am sure most of you can relate to the busy schedule, I am allowed to use it as an excuse because I just happen to blog about my life. 

Where do I even begin???? So some of my best friends came and visited Boston, and we had a mini reunion and hit up some of our old spots! And it was nice to have them visit because I was beginning to get a tad bit nostalgic!

Christmas was fine. I would do and in-depth post about the things I got or what I did, but it’s long gone- and lets be honest, it’s probably close to the same thing I did last year. My lovely, wonderful boyfriend did however get me ‘vlogging’ camera because he knew how much I wanted to start making vlogs! How sweet? Gosh, I should do a whole post on him, but REALLY, I sure as hell would roll my eyes so hard (basically looking at the back of my skull) at any blog I read gushing over a significant other- just know that he rocks, is the best, better than any other boyfriend in the world (that was subtle right?)… and you will meet him soon!   But anyway, he bought me this camera and though I have vlogged a bit, my promise to vlog everyday of January kinda didn’t happen. Sowwwwy. But I will be posting more vlogs! (vlog underlines in red, and now that I look I said that word a lot in one paragraph).

         And then New Years… well, I can add some pictures, but again, nothing too exciting. I went to my boyfriend’s restaurant and celebrated there with some close friends/family. It is interesting how much my New Years Eve’s have changed so much throughout the years! I use to barely remember those nights… now I have to be careful not to fall asleep before the clock hits midnight. And though the night was pretty low key- I did feel a good buzz after two glasses of champagne (saving money go me… who am I kidding, I wouldn’t have paid for my drinks anyway). 

After New Year’s I started my 9-5… 9 toooooo 5…. how long? How many hours? LIFE WHEN DID I SIGN UP FOR THIS? PEOPLE ACTUALLY DO THIS? So as you can see, that has pretty much taken up lots of my time. I have also been busy with some side work, and some exciting things that I don’t know when I can talk about- but hopefully soon!

I am busy, yet content with life! Being content is such a good feeling. 

Here are some pictures for all you nosey people! 😉

 

 

French Fry Connoisseur?

         
         There are a few foods that.. no matter what diet I am on, I just can’t give up. They are deemed ‘unhealthy’ by society, but the way I see it, they make me happy and forget all the problems of the world… so therefore.. they should be considered the healthiest, emotionally at least? (or is that the exact definition of unhealthy?) Regardless, these two beauties are bread and french fries. For real, I am that girl who will go to Bertuccis solely for the starter roles and oil- when I think of meal before I die, those roles and oil pop up immediately. But, my true love of life, the food that brings me the most joy- french fries (this is actually making me think my life currently, must really lack excitement). And for those of you who claim “I just don’t like french fries or bread…” I can’t trust you.
           Okay, but the cool thing is Mai loves french fries just as much as me- so we sort of make it our goal to find the best in Boston. We definitely haven’t hit every spot, but there has been some places that I need to jot done for my fellow french fry connoisseur. And this list will only increase in size, I am sure… so keep your eye out for new places!

Here are my current top five, starting from five all the way up to my top choice! (this list will not include fast food joints, but you must go try tasty burgers fries!!!)


5. Hillstone, 60 State Street. 
I was surprised by how delicious these french fries were, see, this place is one of those restaurants where you don’t expect a lot- and are immediately hit with the real meaning behind, “assuming makes an ass out of U and Me…” because you are pleasantly surprised by how delicious the food actually is. So, when we got a side of fries- my hand couldn’t stop dipping into that large mountain. They are thin, crunchy, and seasoned perfectly. 

4. The Oceanaire, 40 Court Street. 
This was surprising as well. Mai and I had seen this restaurant a bunch of times and were eager to stop in. The service was weird, and the food was just okay… but gatttt dayum those fries. They were in one of those spiral baskets- and just so delicious/addictive. Mai thought they were too salty, so if you aren’t a huge fan of salt I would steer clear of these bad boys, but I could take salt through an IV so the more the merrier. And ANYTHING with TRUFFLE OIL IS SOMETHING FROM THE GODS. 

 
3. Neptune Oyster, 63 Salem Street.
I am seeing some weird pattern here.. seafood and good fries? But Neptune’s Oyster is pretty much a must go regardless of the fries… but I am not here to talk about that, so let me tell you these fries are simply delicious. They aren’t matchstick either- so that made me happy. Don’t get me wrong, Matchstick are good fries (obviously the two above) but come on, give me some thick, greasy fries (with a bit of a crunch)! Not to add they are VERY generous with their portion sizes… 

2. Yard House, Fenway/Kenmore. 
These. what can I even say? You.must.try them. This menu is seriously endless, but it could be the smallest menu in the world with only the french fries- and I would spend the uber money to go eat them. They are truffle fries with parmesan and herb… and although they are matchstick, they still are a powerhouse with flavor burst with every crunch. 

1. Drink, 348 Congress Street. 
THESE. ARE THE BEST FRIES I HAVE EVER TASTED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. The whole ‘I literally can’t even’ seriously had to have come from someone eating these fries. They are unlike any fries I have ever tasted (like huge thick sticks… which sounds weird….) and the dipping aoili is just, ahhhh. The concept of the restaurant is pretty awesome in general, and if that doesn’t intrigue enough to go in- just go for the damn fries!!! HOW MANY MORE EXCLAMATIONS DO I NEED TO ADD?!

Okay, now that I am re-evaluating my life because of this post… I hope you enjoyed. 
 

Blogmas day… I am so late.

       

      I was reading some ‘blogmas,’ blog posts recently, which made me upset that I didn’t get myself involved in this from the start (you know,16 days ago… I have always been one to be late to jump on a bandwagon) First of all, participating in this would have allowed for me to blog on a more consistent basis….which I hope would have pleased my readers…unless you are getting sick of me?!, and second, these are some pretty fun/nostalgic type questions! So win-win, accept I lose-lose because I am 17 days late.
      Also, before I hop into the questions, I just opened up some of my ‘Ask’ box, and I feel like an asshole, a few of you had asked that I do ‘vlogmas’ where I film my life, everyday in the month of December- so, to make up for it, I am going to make up ‘vlogsolution’ (so dumb, I know) and film everyday in the month of January as my resolution (screw trying to lose weight, or do better in life- this sounds like a more reasonable resolution)! Mind you, my life probably will lack a lot of excitement, and I am not sure why you guys want me to film it… BUT, for you sistas and brothas, I will. 
       Now, before I digress anymore than I already have, let me introduce to you my very, super, like why am I even doing this?, late contribution to ‘Blogmas 2014’!
      WAIT, one more thing, I was thinking since I reached my 100th post, I could possibly do a giveaway? What do y’all think? Silly question, that is like asking a child if they want a big bowl of ice-cream, ok, let me re phrase- I am going to do a give-away.. so keep your eyes peeled!

Here are the questions: (and, since I am already out of the loop and doing this my own way, I am just going to start at day 17) 

Question: Christmas in my home country, traditions, pictures…

So, I must be honest, the holidays have definitely become a lot more difficult to bare ever since Ashley passed away. The first year after her death, we pretty much avoided doing anything that brought back the memory of her- it was just too hard to cope, slowly, but surely we have gotten back to our traditional ways. This, like Thanksgiving, will be the first time in 3 years I am not celebrating the holidays in the hospital… 
My favorite thing about this holiday season, goes out to my home city rather than country… which is, living right next to Faneuil Hall, it is so, so beautiful. I can’t help but be mezmorized by the absolutely breathtaking decor… it is so christmasy (is that a word? if not, it should be) and I think I may have about 912390 pictures of the decorations on my phone at this point- it never gets old! 

It is so festive around Boston during this time, makes me happy. Also, I have been craving snow! Anyone else?! I feel like that is the cherry on top of Christmas Decor, everything looks that much more beautiful with a little snow flurry, am I wrong? My mom definitely is shaking her head ‘yes, yes you are.’ 

For traditions, things have stayed pretty consistent for my fam, except I hope hospitals haven’t become party of that tradition?! Yikes. 
We usually always spend Christmas Eve together with immediate family, and my sisters and I will exchange gifts that night, and give our gifts to our mother. When I was younger I loved this part of Christmas- getting gifts a day in advance was the best! 
Then, for Christmas Day, we usually have a big breakfast- and then head over to one of my relatives houses for Christmas dinner (which is really lunch because for some reason its a holiday requirement that you must have ‘dinner’ at 3pm…) We use to have a schedule when I was growing up, one relative would have Thanksgiving, we would have Christmas and another would have Easter, when things in my family got a little chaotic, we backed out of having the gathering. 

This year, I had the cutest pre-xmas dinner! My sistaaa, and roommate, Mai, put together a Christmas dinner! Girl went all out, and it was amazing! We had decorated the apartment a week in advance with lights and such, so for the party she decorated the table, made an immaculate dinner, all the fixings included, and it was so much fun! She also made this punch that was un-real, dangerously good. 
This is what our apartment looked like after our decorating, (I never said I was Martha Stewart, ok..) 

And this is the amazing dinner party decor:

 I unfortunately can’t find any pictures from past Christmas’s, but I can show you some of the cute decorations my mom does every year!

So, that about sums up my holiday traditions! What are some of your traditions? Are you doing ‘Blogmas’? If so, leave your link below so I can check it out!