Category Archives: Neighborhood

Lini’s Treats Cakes and Sweets

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

I wanted to share Lini’s Treats with you, especially with local readers (Brooklyn) or bloggers.  I was gifted some DELICIOUS cupcakes by Dominican cake specialist Arlene Morel.  She’s one of my neighbors and if you check out her Facebook page (Lini’s Treats), you can definitely see that she’s very talented.  You can also email her at linistreats@gmail.com.

Here’s what I got:

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My daughter and I ate the pecan one and it was so delicious.  Seriously, I had to put them away for fear of eating every single one.  Must control myself!!  So, if you need any sweets, check out Lini’s Treats.  Let’s support our neighbors, especially when they’re good at what they do.  Thanks Arlene!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

I’m not mad at you snow…

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

A snowy day can make you second guess whether or not you should take your child to school (in my area the school is ALWAYS open) or keep her at home (she doesn’t want to stay home, she wants to go to school),

a snowy day can make going to school on foot a little bit harder and wetter,

a snowy day can be majestic until you realize you have to shovel the walkway,

but that’s ok with me because after reaching the school safely and shoveling the snow, this is my reward:

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Pure joy captured: my youngest tasting the snow and giggling away as the snow tickled her face

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She even helped me shovel the sidewalk until…

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…she attacked me with huge snowballs! 🙂

I’m not mad at you snow ’cause you made my little one very happy.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Dads Take Your Child To School Day

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Today was a special day at my daughter’s school.  It was their annual “Dads Take Your Child To School Day” (A project of the NYS Office of Children and Family Services and NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance).  It’s special in my household because I’m normally the one that takes my daughter to school while my husband goes to work early, but today Olivia got to walk hand in hand with her daddy all the way to school.  Just them, and the smile on her face as I waved goodbye from my window was priceless.  It’s very important for children to have a male figure they can count on in their lives.  The flier that was sent home with my child inviting dads to this event also stated that “If dads are unavailable to attend the event, invite grandfathers, foster fathers, step-fathers, uncles, cousins, big brothers, significant male caregivers or male friends of the family.”

I applaud this project and their efforts to promote awareness that everyone in the family plays a very important part in a child’s life.  My husband absolutely loved taking part in this event because he’s a devoted father and he’s always curious to see how things run, especially his child’s school.  He was able to see Olivia in her class first hand and she was able to introduce him to her classmates.  It was a win, win situation that’s worth it in the long run.

Start building a great relationship with your child and their school today.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Queens Botanical Garden

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Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

One can live in a certain place for a long time without ever visiting certain tourist attractions or landmarks.  In my case, I regrettably never visited the Twin Towers here in New York City, which is why I’ve decided to venture out more with my family and see what this great city has to offer.  I’m done with taking advantage of it.  It’s time to explore and make memories.  Plus, we have a COOL Culture Family Pass (http://www.coolculture.org/programs/cool-culture-family-pass), which is a pass that offers families free admission to 90 cultural institutions if they have children enrolled in Pre-K or Kindergarten.

This past Saturday, we visited, for the first time, the Queens Botanical Garden at 43-50 Main Street, Flushing, New York.  We went around mid-morning and this place can be easily described as beautiful and absolutely peaceful or as my husband put it, “completely Zen.”

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As you can see my daughters had a blast.  My youngest, Sophia, loved running around the grass while my oldest, Olivia, loved throwing herself and laying down on the grass.

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I had fun taking pictures of all the flowers and…

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…this little fella.   I got close enough to zoom my camera in and take a great pic of him or her!

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At the Wedding Garden everything is set up so you can get married there.  Isn’t it wonderful?

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My husband enjoyed the Herb Garden and I greatly enjoyed visiting the Queens Botanical Garden with my family.  We will definitely be visiting again soon.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Never falter

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Never Falter

Can’t look away

from the images

that display

smoke rising,

pure chaos,

people dying,

sidewalks splattered

angrily in red.

The moment captured.

Press play

and watch as lives are forever changed.

Look away,

We can’t.

Three people gone,

So many wounded.

What’s going on?

Evil has to be stopped.

And it will be

because even among the disarray

heroes emerged.

We’ll never falter.

We’re Americans.

And everyone, in the world,

knows that.

– Angelica Mercado

Hello everybody.  I hope you guys are well.  I penned this poem yesterday (I’ve been on a non-stop news reading frenzy) and it’s dedicated to the people of Boston.  The above picture is dedicated to my daughter, Olivia.  We walk under this gorgeous tree every day on our way to school.  It’s her favorite and she marvels at its beauty and stature.  I’m planning on having it printed big, framing, and placing it on her wall for her birthday so she can delight in its glory every day!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Spring is finally here…but I’m not ready to venture out!

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.

Spring finally made an appearance yesterday, but in my opinion, it felt more like Summer.  It was hot.  I don’t like hot and my body and mind are not ready for this weather.  At least not yet.  My husband made a comment the other day that we don’t get to experience days that stay in the 60’s or 70’s weather wise.  No, it goes from 35 degrees one day to 80 degrees the next.  What the freak?  I haven’t even started packing away the winter clothes and looking for the summer ones.

It takes me awhile to adjust to the warmer weather because I’m an introvert, but my children prefer to be outside so I start negotiating with myself.  Take them outside for a little while because it’s nice.  At least 45 minutes, that’s not too bad.  You can handle that.  Repeat a couple of more times throughout the week until you’re ready to venture out more.  This is how my mind works.  This is how I convince myself to go outside, even though every fiber in my body wants to stay indoors, but I do it for my daughters because they do need some fresh air, sun, and outside playtime fun/exercise.  And I guess I need some of that as well, but don’t quote me, please.

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Speeding down the block

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Scooting and three wheeling

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Water station

As parents we sacrifice a lot and going outside your comfort zone may not seem like a big sacrifice (or deal) to some people, but it is to me.  I’m working on myself and trying to evolve for my little family.  I have a lot of quirks a.k.a. fears that I’m trying to conquer little by little, at my own pace, and I know it can be frustrating to some of my family members and friends, but in the famous words of Popeye (remember him?) “I yam what I yam.”

Please take it and don’t leave it.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Welcome Spring!

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.

Some mornings are very hectic in my household even when I try to have things laid out already.  Time is a sneaky little monster that jumps out horribly at you when you’re trying to put shoes on, zip up sweaters, wrap scarves around, and place hats on two little girls with ants in their pants.  Oh, and don’t forget bundling yourself up.  Today was a good day.  I was able to leave the house on time and actually walk my daughter to school instead of jogging/running with her there before they slam close the doors.  She doesn’t mind the fast pace though because in her case she BOUNCES her way to school with excitement practically every day.  My kid doesn’t do walking, unless there’s three feet of snow in which then she wants to drag her feet and bask in the glory of snow heaven.  Other than that, it’s all running everywhere.

This morning my daughter was EXTRA excited because they were going to dye eggs in her classroom.  Her teacher asked that the kids bring in two hard-boiled eggs and I was brainstorming yesterday night on how I was going to transport these eggs without them cracking in her bag.  I thought, “Why not use the egg carton itself?” so I cut off one of the ends of the styrofoam carton and placed the eggs like this:

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Then I put it into a food storage container that fit perfectly and off to school she went with her eggs safely in her backpack.  I don’t really remember if I ever dyed Easter eggs with my mom or even in school, but this year we’re definitely going to be dyeing some eggs come Easter week-end.  I just have to remember to be patient and have fun, no matter what messes occur.  Let the cracked eggs and spilled paint fall where they may.  That’s what brooms and paper towels are made for, but just in case I will repeat silently this little mantra, “Just let go and make sweet memories.  That’s all that matters!”

Today is the start of Spring so lets welcome it with open arms even if we’re still bundled up over here in Brooklyn.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

It wasn’t hard to find Nemo!

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Hello everybody!  I hope you guys are well.  We woke up to another snow day here in Brooklyn, NY, a blizzard named Nemo, and this time there was a lot more snow to play with.  You can already imagine the joy in my daughter’s heart when she looked outside and saw everything covered in glorious snow.

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Miss Cool Shades

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Happy Clam

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Making it snow

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Here’s my mini snowman!

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Here’s what I did to my mini snowman using the app Doodle Buddy on my ipad.  Hilarious!!

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Time to build a bigger snowman!

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Yup, this snowman likes his beer cold!

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A family who plays in the snow together, stays together!  We had a lot of fun.

Bundle up and take good care all.

Until next time…

Sing along with me: “Oh, the weather outside is baffling!”

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Hello everybody.  I hope you guys are well.  Yesterday, schools were closed in observance of Veterans Day and the weather was absolutely beautiful.  Since my husband had the day off as well, we couldn’t waste the opportunity to go to the park and bask in this rare weather.  Off we went and I made sure to have my camera in my bag.

Olivia was ecstatic to find this giant leaf.  It came home with us.

 Sophia kept picking up different sticks and swiping at all the leaves on the ground.

I suddenly realized, hey we can take a pic of ourselves as well. What a concept! 🙂

Here’s my attempt at a shot of nature.

Some days I wish I was a professional photographer with a great camera, but then I see those cameras and think 1. They’re expensive 2. They’re heavy/bulky (that won’t fit in my bag!) 3. Why are there so many buttons on that expensive, bulky camera? and 4. I really don’t want to get mugged.

I’m not too fond of my current camera, but I’m stuck with it, for now.  For me, my perfect camera, and I’m searching, is one that’s small, takes pictures fast and they don’t come out blurry.  I HATE blurry pictures, especially when you get a perfect shot, but oh wait, it’s not perfect because it’s BLURRY!  It drives me nuts!  If anyone out there has any recommendations on a great small camera, oh please let me know.  I would appreciate it.

Stay alert, stay alive.

Until next time…