Best Nine Memories from July

What can I say? July was full of ups and downs. Still though, since I write these as the new month starts I can tell you progress has been made.

One

We’re just a month away from hitting our one year mark in our home and since we’ve been here we’ve very much dedicated our time to the first floor. It’s gotten the most love as it’s where we mostly hang out and where we entertain, but over the past little while, I have been lacking in a peaceful feeling when going to bed. Organization is key, but let’s be honest, we don’t put our clothes away right after it comes out of the dryer, it may linger around for a couple days until we have a giant pile that we sort through. But during those in between days we’re in this constant movement of objects on and off the bed, a lack of order and a place for things made me feel like we’d never make progress. The colours were also so dark that it was hard to feel light and airy. Without thinking much more about it we sold the bed frame, moved out unnecessary furniture, and added a couple new fresh wooden pieces that immediately lifted the place up from its darkness. Now we feel so calm going to bed, draped in white and surrounded by so much less. Also, we’ve been very good about folding the laundry right away!

Two

Our wedding anniversary always stretches into July because of Canada Day and there always being a long weekend which we love. We starting the weekend with hitting some softballs at the range! Catching a midday movie and eating so much sushi. The rest of the weekend had us going to the beach and sleeping under the sun. Playing in the water and then sleeping some more. Some board games to close off the long week with mom and Kike was the perfect way to get back into regular life and back to another work week.

Three

I’ve been a workout from home type of girl for many years now. I found that I wanted to switch things up a bit. My mental health beat me down this month and those home workouts were not getting done, adding to the guilt and horrible feelings I was going through. I figured getting out of the house and making a monetary commitment would push me to break away from this lack of activity and it sure has. I just bought 10 one hour sessions with a martial arts trainer who has been kicking my ass. She leaves me breathless and sprawled on the floor in disbelief it’s over but also feeling so energized, strong, and proud of what I just accomplished. After seeing her for a couple weeks I started working out at home, and slowly my motivation has been coming back.

Four

It’s kind of cool how organically and easily your family grows. For many immigrants with little to no blood family around you create this wonderful chosen family. Sure, some of it comes through marriages and children, but it’s kind of wonderful how easily close friends become part of the ‘family club’. Our Latin roots pull us close and the shared pain and history of leaving our loved ones behind keep us leaning on one another. We had a wonderful day at the park with lots of our family. It was a huge event with the typical mountains of food and adorable babies, though this time they featured cute swimming suits to play at the splash pad! Lawn games, good chats and sharing together was a great reminder how many great people we have close.

Five

So, have you heard of Zombies Run? It’s an award winning app that has an incredible story line and incredible voice actors. As you run you get to hear parts of the story, where you’re a key part! You collect items to help the township continue to survive the Zombie outbreak. It’s actually quite entertaining, and a huge motivator to get out there running, jogging or walking, but boy can it be creepy. The sounds of zombies in your ears means you have to run faster or they’ll catch you, and if you manage to hold them off you’ll evade them. I was so motivated I went on two runs on the same day! When you’re having a rough month when it comes to motivation you have to use it up as soon as you get it!

Six

Camping. We thought we’d give it another try. Happy we did, because now we really know we don’t enjoy it 🙂 We had an amazing time hanging out with my closest girls and their husbands, but we had another guest… mosquitos. Hundreds of them. And I’m not exaggerating because Azra had like over 80 bites so… The beach times were great, and talking and sharing with them was wonderful, it always is, no matter where we are. Though sadly, this time we were outside haha. It’s actually quite shocking that we dislike camping that much, so we got right down to it and realized it’s not the sleeping in tents, that part is so nice, and it’s not the fact you have to cook things over a fire, it forces you to slow down which is a great thing to be forced to do. It’s the damn bugs! Who knows… Maybe a fall time camping experience is still in the books and who knows, we may love it! I have my doubts though… The best part of the trip was celebrating some wonderful news we got from our friends, so if there was something to highlight from that trip it was how happy we all were!

Seven

When Sofia, my niece, was a few days old we spent the night with her. (This is also why we pushed off having kids… hahah) but in all seriousness, looking at that tiny human being, it would have been impossible to realize how much more you could love her. As she has gotten older and talks about everything and anything we’ve been able to get to know the special little girl we love so much. Stealing her away to go for ice cream was a nice treat but it also made me think about all the future moments I can’t even imagine that we’ll get to share together. What a joy it is to be an aunt.

Eight

We had a wonderful day visiting Grandma Carmen. Christian’s grandma has Alzheimer’s, the same disease that eventually took the life of my paternal grandmother. I never got to be with my grandma during her illness as she lived in Colombia and soon grew nervous and scared when video skyping with people as she couldn’t recognize us or understand how we were inside a little metal box. I’m grateful for the memories I made with Grandma Carmen. I know how funny she was and she still manages to be! We loved hugging her and getting her to dance and clap along with her childhood tunes. So much love for this old lady.

Nine

This is supposed to be a ‘best memories’ recap. And I will say, this month it was hard to see anything as the best of anything. Days blurred together. My motivation hit the lowest of lows. I struggled with feelings of worthlessness, failure and an overwhelming cloud of sadness. With how much I have learned and read about these things I thought I could fight it off, I thought it would be like a bad cold. I’d be down for a few days and then bounce back up after some long naps. But those naps became all I wanted to do. It’s been an incredibly challenging mental month. I’ve got a road of work ahead of me, I know it. It’s not going to be easy, and right now, everything seems very dark. I felt like I needed to write this blurb to keep this as a part of my history for the month. The goal of these recaps is to be able to have them to look back on and remind myself of how many wonderful moments I was able to experience. Although this is a hard moment, it’s something I hope future me can look back on and feel like a whole new person.

In July I was grateful for…

  • Having a long weekend to celebrate our anniversary, every year haha.
  • Dressing up our room to make it feel very relaxed and calm.
  • Apples and cinnamon. All day every day.
  • Meeting with a nutritionist to figure out why I get bloated so often.
  • Seeing my body get toned.
  • Softball. A work in progress.
  • Being surprised with another day off and going on two runs that same day.
  • Starting with a personal trainer to help push me beyond my comfort level.
  • Although I struggled a lot with my mental health this month, many friends and family were there to support me, I’m grateful for them and the impact they have in my life.
  • Packing up for vacation with friends.
  • Friends who are fun and silly and love having a good time.
  • Bug Spray.
  • Sweaters.
  • Costco food shopping.
  • Grateful kike got to go visit Daniel and Michelle in BC.
  • Making crafty things to help keep my motivation up.
  • Christian for his endless support and his help during a very hard month mentally.
  • Having the fitbit to keep me accountable and competitive even on days I didn’t want to move.
  • Sofia being adorable and old enough to take out to ice cream dates.
  • Visiting Christian’s grandma and seeing her light up at the sounds of her childhood music.
  • Pool day at a friend’s house and fun times with board game people.
  • Wearing a headband and not hating it.
  • Finding a positive way to look at my constant failures at hitting the ball with a bat.
  • Spikes in motivation that help pull me from moments of inexplicable sadness and defeat.
  • Congo being super photogenic.
  • Homecooked meals.
  • Beautiful views as we drive home and to work.
  • Surviving an Insanity workout.
  • Mango and Ice.

Look out for another Best Nine next month to hear all about August!

Mariangelica

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Best nine memories in June

June was such a whirlwind. It’s my month. The month that signifies love, and commitment. We got married in June, we started dating in June. So many wonderful things happened in June!

One

How wonderful is it to see people in love? This month we celebrated with a wonderful couple that hold a dear place in our hearts, Danielle and Sean! These two are undoubtedly made for each other and weddings just make me happy all over! I was actually incredibly sick the day of their wedding (and a few days before and after) My mind, being the strongest part of me, was too happy about the idea of seeing them walk down the aisle and party and dance that I pushed my sickness away, held it off and danced the night away with the hottest groomsmen in sight (my hubby) and then went home and felt the sickness return with a vengeance haha. Honestly, so much love for those two. I wish them the greatest fun and the best experiences in their life as a married couple, because I think marriage is da bomb.

Two

So, I’m not entirely sure when this obsession with pineapples began, but as I thought about a theme for a house party I wanted to throw for my work friends it seemed to be what kept popping in my brain! I achieved a huge milestone in my career this month and I wanted to thank some of the people that have been most important in my work life with a house party full of tropical goodness. I went slightly overboard. But really, it wouldn’t be my party if I hadn’t. Helium balloons filled the ceiling, hand cut pineapple print outs were everywhere in my house and a ridiculous amount of tropical decorations adorned the place. Including a ginormous pineapple balloon. It was such a wonderful time and a great reminder how important it is to have friends where you work. People you like and people that like you! Others you can have a laugh with or share in intelligent conversations! Tropical Party was a success!

Three

This month, my beautiful niece Sofia had her very first Dance Recital. I’d never attended a dance recital of any kind, and at first thought I’d have to endure 20 other classes of 4 year olds shy-ly dancing the macarena. But to my great surprise, this was quite the production!! Dancers all the way up to the highschool level performed some insanely beautiful and stunning performances that broke up the classes of the youngest students, making them actually really adorable to watch and see how each kid performed their 30 second dance. Other performances were award winning dances previously performed at the national level! The theatre, the lights, the costumes, it was breathtaking. Needless to say when my niece walked out in her costume and did her teapot dance i could barely watch through the tears that filled my eyes. This munchkin is one of a kind.

Four

One morning while getting ready to go to work I thought I’d check my calendar, just something told me to check it, and lo and behold, I had booked a day off for that very same day and had completely forgotten about it!! What a wonderful surprise! Days off are amazing, and only a little better when they get you by surprise. I actually didn’t do anything productive which is a hard thing for me to do! I played video games, watched tv, bummed around in my comfy clothes, played some guitar, played with Congo and enjoyed just being home.

Five

Christian and I treated our family to a Blue Jays game! Sadly the blue jays lost, but the experience was really great! We love being able to be there and be a part of some of their first experiences in Canada. And this, was their first baseball game here! They cheered loudly and actually enjoyed the game regardless of our final score. Loved our time together.

Six

Cam and CJ are some very wonderful human beings and I met them in my early years in highschool, online in some writing forums. Who knew you could make long lasting friendships through forums? But we managed to, and through the years of social media have kept in touch through skype video chats, myspace, facebook and instagram! They took a long train to see us a couple years ago when we visited New York on our long roadtrip, but we only had a few hours back then (And we spent them at a sex museum, haha) This time, they stayed with us as we explored Niagara Falls, brewery tours in KW and learned a few new board games, our mutual love and interest! They also bought their future baby’s first outfit while they were here! It was a super special experience and a memory I’m grateful we now have. They are just as adorable in person as they are online and we can’t wait for the next time our real lives cross paths.

Seven

We had another house guest stay with us for a whole week, Bailey, my furry nephew. This little ball of fluff came to stay with us while my sister and brother in law went camping and at first we were nervous to how Congo would handle having another male dog in the house. Well, let me tell you, they became the best of buds. Short of sleeping together they played like I’ve never seen Congo play and they went on a bajillion walks together. Walking together like totals pros. I think it was a great experience and it actually encouraged us to walk Congo more than we used to (since he’s potty trained to go in his indoor bathroom, he used to get less walks!) Now we’re well balanced with taking him outside or inside and it’s been a positive shift!

Eight

Christian and I got ourselves these little gadgets this month. It has been quite fun to compete with each other and many of our friends in step challenges throughout the weeks. Quite often we do things just because we know it will get us many steps and we’ve gone on more walks than we have in a long time! Now there’s no excuse to be bored! You can always be walking!

Nine

June 29th is our special day. This year we celebrated 4 years since the day we said ‘I do’. We have so many fond memories of our wedding day and all the years before and after. It’s becoming difficult to remember which year we did what but what’s important is that we have grown to love each other more and more as the days go by. There’s no one else I could ever dream of sharing forever with. It’s such an incredible feeling to be so raw and open and vulnerable with another person and feel safe and challenged and pushed to be your very best. We’re each other’s cheerleaders and coaches and although we have grown as a couple and in our marriage we have individually grown too. In our careers, in our personal development, in our beliefs and in what we will accept and refuse. It’s been incredible to discover who we have become. We will continue to dream and create and aspire to be, but also to thank, be grateful for and keep each other grounded in what really matters, family. We celebrated in the way that best suits what makes us happy which is the sun and the water. Lots of beach and sushi.

In June I was grateful for…

 

  • People getting married and love being in the air.
  • A thrifted dress for $14 to wear to said wedding. Score!
  • Christian getting to have some fun as a groomsman.
  • Dancing the night away with Christian, because no flu was going to get me down.
  • Mom, taking care of me when I was sick.
  • Playing softball and consistently playing in the outfield.
  • Homemade sorbets of mango and berries.
  • DIY decor fun times for an awesome tropical party we planned.
  • My friends crushing their goals in out wellness group.
  • Finding a foil pineapple balloon!!
  • Having so many awesome co workers over at our place.
  • Potluck foods and eating Christian’s heaven sent paella!
  • Seeing babies that were just too cute for words.
  • Crying with pride and emotion at seeing Sofia step on the stage during her first dance recital.
  • Being surprised with a day off!
  • Getting my workouts IN.
  • Taking the family to a baseball game for the first time in Canada and having them cheer for our Jays.
  • Being able to take Congo to work.
  • Receiving Cam and CJ from New York and showing them around our side of the world.
  • Exploring Niagra Falls like a tourist.
  • Winning some $$ at the casino.
  • Playing so many new and sweeeeeet board games.
  • Christian’s company hosting us for a brewery tour!
  • Reminders that kids will be kids.
  • Getting a fitbit and being inspired to step up my game because of the competition
  • Seeign Congo interact with Bailey and having two dogs for a week.
  • Realizing two dogs is a lot of work.
  • Homemade cashew butter. What else do I need to say.
  • Massages.
  • Mom getting to visit Meli in Montreal.
  • Christian getting news there’s a way to fix his restless sleep!
  • Watching an awesome asian drama. My guilty pleasure.
  • Celebrating our 4TH wedding anniversary. HOW. HOW?
  • Enjoying our week off to the max and spending so much time together.
  • The beach and the sun.
  • The water and the waves.
  • Sushi.

Look out for another Best Nine to hear all about July!

Mariangelica

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best nine memories: friends visit
best nine memories: shakeology 
best nine memories: harry potter puzzle
best nine memories: succulent growth
best nine memories: congo
best nine memories: baseball 

best nine memories: mom and daughter trip

best nine memories: novel 
best nine memories: stag and doe 

Best Nine Memories from April

The best nine memories. Honestly so many good things happened this month, it’s hard to nail it down to the ‘best nine’. Why nine? Well, it looks good in a grid, so why not nine? Here’s a bit about all the photos above and the memories attached to them. In trying to live a more mindful life I want to document all the things I’m grateful throughout the year so that when I ask myself as I undoubtubly will, “Where the heck did this year go?” I have a place to look back on and remember.

One

It’s nice when you don’t have to say much for your friends to realize you need them. April had my emotions going all whacky, and I made a few drastic changes in my life. I was feeling unsure and my confidence was pretty low. When Karen messaged me about making the time (and that’s a lot of time because she lives so far!) to come see me simply because she knew I needed a friend, it really touched my heart. Not only that but then Beth was available the same day even though it was so last minute! It was wonderful to see them, because it doesn’t happen often, and to talk and have them be there was a big deal for me this month. We even did our daily workout together and pushed each other to get it done! Thanks girls!

Two

Shakeology. My breakfast of choice. I’d dropped the routine and had been having it as a snack, then with dinner, sometimes after my workouts, sometimes before bed. This photo was in the morning when I had now for a couple of days gotten my routine in order again and was happy to check in for a week of having it in the morning!

Three

Sometimes it’s nice to just relax and do something chill. Like a puzzle! Better yet, make it a Harry Potter puzzle! We got this bad boy at Universal Studios when we went on our East coast Roadtrip. Surprisingly though, we had yet to put it together! I knew I wanted to frame it and put it up in the home office, which is the room full of all fandom trinkets. But not having the frame kept us from opening it, until this month when we were like, what the heck, let’s do it, it’ll be fun!

Four

This is a Pinterest attempt, and let me tell you, it’s working! I followed these instructions and at first, I thought I killed the poor succulent. Stripping it of all its leaves seemed harsh and then expecting leaves to grow new plants seemed impossible! Especially knowing how great I was at taking care of green things in the past…(hint, I killed all green things) For a few weeks, it looked as if nothing happened. The leaves looked exactly the same! No shriveling up, but also no blooming going on. Then, right when I was about to give up on them, we woke up one day to notice roots and small baby succulents growing from the end of the leaves! It still blows my mind. We’re well on our way to growing a little succulent forest!

Five

This little furball is the cutest little companion. I love that I am able to take him to work with me every day. He mostly sleeps and gets some love when people come talk to me at my desk. Our little family has our routine down, Congo included! He comes down to eat while we make our morning shake and gets so happy when he sees his collar. He walks with me from the parking lot and he settles in place as soon as we get to my desk. When I hurt my back a while back and had to work from home often he lay like this by my legs as I worked.

Six

We had some beautiful warm sunny days. With baseball season here Christian and I have been getting outside and throwing the baseball around. At first, I told him to call his dad to throw the ball with him because last year I had tried to play catch and just couldn’t for the life of me catch a ball. He encouraged me to try again and we went out to our backyard and threw the ball a few times and guess what? I caught them! I’m actually half decent! Anytime it was sunny after getting home from work meant going outside with Congo and Christian and throwing the baseball around! It made me wonder if there were any adult leagues in this new city of ours. We’ve both never been a part of an organized adult sports team. We played sports and were in teams in grade school and high school, but I always thought you had to be really good to be in an adult league. Who knew there were co-ed recreational leagues? Apparently everyone but us! Luck have it we found a team with two last spots remaining and signed up, not only that but it was a fully funded team and there was no cost for it! We’re so excited to start.

Seven

In April, Christian was away for a few days to Halifax for work, and while he was gone I moved in with my mom (because I am not accustomed to sleeping on my own, and because why not move in with mom?). We had lots of fun together, and I successfully got her hooked on one of my favourite shows Once Upon A Time. I have a thing for Hook like, I can’t even describe it. He just does things to me. Since there was a holiday there we toyed with the idea of going on a drive someplace, anywhere. Just hitting the road and going nowhere in particular. As the day of this destinationless road trip came I remembered one of my favourite places! I learned about it a couple years ago. And that’s the Grotto at the Bruce Peninsula National Park. It’s about four hours away but mom was up for an adventure. We made some delicious snacks at home and packed a backpack with our water bottles, my copy of You Are A Badass, because I love that book (and so did she!) our food and some sweaters. We drove north and it was so nice to just drive and not have a certain time we needed to arrive by. Along the way we stopped at a garage sale we found in a little town and happened upon some super cheap and super beautiful treasures. Then, we found the coolest and dirtiest haha, store that sold antiques. There were some beautiful old signs there. We arrived at our location and mom LOVED it. It made me so happy to see her so happy. It’s actually a miracle we didn’t die because we’re huge clutzes and the Grotto is made of slippery smooth rocks and cliffs and just, many ways to die. So that was a huge success. We drove back home after sitting for a while and just watching the water hit the rocks, we ate our snacks and wore our sweaters. On the ride home, we read the book for the full four hours and shared stories and were badasses. Overall it was a wonderful day. Love you, mom!

Eight

These are the names of the characters of my novel. I started writing it about a year and a half ago. It’s something that brings me so much joy. It’s quite magical, the writing process. These characters are so real to me. I wish they were, I want them all in my life. Except maybe one of them. I write because I have to, it’s such a part of who I am. Communicating, with words is what I’m good at, and I also happen to have a creative mind that dislikes sleep. It’s constantly running and coming up with new things for me to do. I’ve been writing stories consistently since I was 13. Always fiction, and for the early years, a lot of it was fanfiction material. I wanted to be a part of my favorite books, so why not write myself into them? When I started high school I had a website recommended to me, GaiaOnline. I met many important people in my life on that site. And two remained friends to this day, I actually get to see them again in June and I’m super stoked about it. Who would have thought these kids I met on this writer’s forum would become friends for life? It happens. I learned so much on this website. I wrote with some incredible writers whom I learned pacing, character development, plotting and how to really embody my characters. I learned so much more than I ever did in school about storytelling and collaborating with other writers. We wrote stories together, we developed characters together and I give so much credit to this site and the people I wrote with for over a decade. Today I write on my own. Sharing chapters as they are ready with my bestie because she enjoys my style and I enjoy her commentary. Also, she’s super supportive of everything I do and I love her for it.

Nine

We had the pleasure of celebrating our friends Sean and Danielle at their stag and doe. It was actually pretty sweet as it was in the very same location we hosted our stag and doe. It’s wonderful to see friends that love and respect each other get married and I am looking forward to their wedding! I know it’s going to be stunning. Christian is in Montreal in May for the bachelor party and I know they’re going to make some memories and have a blast. We were the first of our friends to get married, and it’s been wonderful to see them all through their weddings and be a part of many of the weddings. Christian and I are celebrating our 4th fourth year of marriage this June, and our 9th year together. It’s quite fascinating how time works, and how much time you can spend with your soulmate yet still miss them when they’re away for a day.

In April I was grateful for…

  • Great weather, sun, and warmth on my skin
  • Plants that thrived and grew beyond my expectations, so much so that I needed to repot them and give them more breathing room!
  • Working from bed when my back pain was too unbearable
  • Friends who drove long distances because they knew I needed their support and hugs, I love and appreciate you.
  • Christian coming back safe and sound from his work related flights!
  • Netflix and amazing shows with spectacular storytelling
  • Work benefits, chiropractors, physiotherapists and massages to help my injured back
  • Acupressure and its working!
  • A vehicle that allows me to travel to see friends when I want to
  • The time to be able to take my mom on a random road trip and for having her near me to be able to make memories together.
  • Canada and its beautiful sights.
  • Congo’s good health and the fact that he doesn’t shed
  • Late night campfires to celebrate birthdays.
  • Another year of life for both my dad and my father in law. Grateful that they are still around and close to me.
  • Trips alone to chapters to roam the aisles aimlessly and have the time to do so.
  • Work for allowing me to organize with the help of others a road trip to see the Blue Jays.
  • Rice Paper because it’s the easiest wrap to hold all my spare veggies
  • Christian for being supportive every moment I need him
  • My cousins for keeping my spirits high, for brightening my day, for chatting daily, for being inspirational and strong beautiful women that I can learn from.
  • My home, for making me feel grounded and safe and grateful every day.
  • For Azra and how much she knows me and knows when I need her and how much I need her.
  • My makeup skills getting slightly better.
  • Kike finishing his school for the summer and doing well in school
  • Daniel being a superstar at work and allowing him and Michelle to travel the world together and make so many memories!
  • Courage to step out of my comfort zone and do something risky

Look out for another Best Nine next month to hear all about May!

Mariangelica

 

 

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