Nowhere! That’s where!
Hey Everyone! Hope you are all doing smashing! I have been MIA from here for a bit. Sorry! I’ve been meaning to update, but stuff, or sheer happy laziness, got ahead of me. I have been taking a lot of advantage of some free time to do absolutely NOTHING. Which has been exactly what I needed.
I mean, I have been busy, just not with the out of my control things to do for other people, but starting this Sunday, we are back at being busy for most of the Summer every weekend. Seems like we get a lull for such a short period of time nowadays. I mean, I am not complaining, it is great because I love being busy as you know..and I LOVE SUMMER FUN, I just really love doing nothing, too! It forces me to live in reality and soak up life as I am living it.
So where do I start catching you guys up? Well, the Friday following my last recipe post the girls had their big school float parade; the one I talked about on FB and InstaGram. They had a great time showing off all their hard work and sharing the moment with their friends. It was a treat to see all the children with their creations..some kids are super talented!
That day was also my 14 year anniversary without a cigarette. Still shocks me that I haven’t smoked a cigarette for this long. Seems like yesterday I was shelling out $3 for a pack of Parli Lights. What are they now like $8?!?! YEESH, so steep. I can get two Starbuck’s grande skim latte’s for that! ;)~
Memorial Day weekend was awesome! Memorial Day started off with our tradition of the local Memorial Day parade. I always love this parade. Something about seeing all the veterans saluting from the parade to each other in the crowd makes me love it more. Then, we broke tradition and hung out in town alllll day just the four of us. We have never done this as long as I have been born. No family BBQ? Say what? But it was great. We pretended to be tourists hanging out on the Commons and Gardens. We played at Tadpole Park, rode the Swan Boats, then went to the Museum of Science for an Omni movie (cause it looked like it was going to rain, but didn’t) then we had dinner down the seaport. I was in my glory with a cute outfit on, sunshine, coffee and Boston at my heels, but so were our girls. They had an absolute blast.
Then. Lemme think. Last Thursday night after work, I trekked up to Amesbury for the grand opening of the new Nest; the second to open in this area. I mentioned a while back that I had become friendly with the owner of the Nest in Andover over the past year+; she is a super sweet and vibrant woman. The main reason I went was to support her, of course, but also because my husband helped her revamp the Nest logo and design/attached the vinyl display to her store’s windows. This grand opening seemed a HUGE hit. I had a real nice time; brought my Mom and the girls since my husand was working late. There were so many people there and so much stuff to look at -both design wise and products she displayed! The store looked amazing and I wish her so much luck with this store.
That following Saturday, all our guys went to the Sox game. This night was set up for our good buddy who was home from NY. It was a MUCH needed night out for them together. Which means they ripped it the eff up! The updates were hilarious from us girls point of view..it was full of play by-play photos and messages of all the silliness (and mess) they were getting into.
My 2nd fav photo sent to me of the night. This was right when they got to their seats.. after they had been pregaming for three hours: 
haha I LOVE HIMZ! This face is classic.
Well, what did us girls do with all the guys out? We PRE and POST gamed, too! Ended up having a last-minute girls night at my house. We made lots of sangria, guacamole, salsa, and my favorite..tacos! It ended up being a real fun late night in catching up, and ALL the kids were champs staying up so late. (Jess- if you are reading this send me some pics you took this night! This is all I have..aside from the Barbie makeup shots that I am not sharing! lol)
Then Sunday after the hangover ceased. Not mine.. HIS! We went to support my parents at the Festa della Repubblica in the North End. This is an Italian holiday celebrating the day when Italy became a republic. My parents are a part of this Italian Federation club, where my Mom is the secretary, and they throw a lot of fun events through the year..this was one. I never go to any, but I promised her I would be there..so there I was with my whole family in tow. It was an all day festival down at Christopher Columbus Park on the Waterfront with free food, gelato, espresso and music. They had it wonderfully set up with each Italian state’s flag surrounding the event and a big stage set up at the edge of the grass overlooking Boston Harbor. Gorgeous day celebrating.
Great job Mamma n Papa!
Well, that’s all the updating I have for now.
Oh wait, one more thing! 😛
This Monday was the eight month mark maintaining my weight from my last official blog weigh in last year. I had blogged, I think October 2nd with my last weigh in, I could be off, but somewhere close if not exact. I did give myself a lot of time in this department to figure out how to keep my weight in check. My greatest challenges were being mindful during family or holiday events and keeping my mind on healthful choices. It is real easy to get carried away drinking and pigging out when you are social like me. Now, I am not an expert at weight loss or managing it, and I am sure learning a whole lot about my body these past few years, but realize that maintaining is key! I haven’t been able to do this since before having kids..and even before that!
Ok, now that is all I have to update on! It did sound like I was busier than I had said, and it has been a lot of fun around here, but I have had a lot of free time to do what I love to do most- hang out in the sun, caffeinate, vino-einate?, meditate, and garden..ate? heh.
Now bring on SUMMAH!
I hope you guys had a wonderful couple of weeks and a great upcoming weekend!
xoxoxox
Valeria Out Loud 