May 31st will always be a marked day for me. It is the day that my grandmother, a major mother figure in my life, passed away after a 9 month battle with cancer. She was only 66 years old. I was 11. The loss of my grandmother was the first loss I had ever experienced in my life up until this point – and tragically, my grandmother was also the person whom I had felt closest to. Grief has many…
Every few years I “rediscover” this band called Dinosaur Jr. that I enjoyed listening to during my high school years. One song, in particular, that was in heavy rotation on my mp3 player back then was this gem called Get Me. To this day if I listen to that song I can almost remember what it felt like to be a love-struck teenage girl. High school me basically came across to people one of two ways. Either you knew me as a…
March is Women’s History Month and I thought what better time to talk about some outstanding women who have inspired me throughout my life. Women’s History Month focuses on the impacts women have had in history and society as well as the barriers we have broken through for equality, a path, that we are still on today in many different areas. I decided to make a two-part series because while there are so many women whom I admire for their talent,…
The other day I was reminded of something my grandfather used to do as a hobby. I don’t remember ever actually witnessing my grandfather work on this hobby while I was around, I think it must’ve been something he did when we kids went home for the night (my grandparents took care of my brother, cousin and I while our parents worked). They were paper houses, like mini house models if you will. He didn’t need to buy any special…
I had something else planned for today’s post but life had other plans. I am not in the spirit to write the cheerful Christmas related post I had in mind for today. My family suffered a huge loss yesterday morning when our first family dog, Dexter, passed away. Dexter had been ill for a short time and never quite recovered after a surgery to remove a mass on his neck. It was determined he had cancer and the vet was…
guard·i·an an·gel noun a spirit that is believed to watch over and protect a person or place. As I’m writing this post, it is currently 9:30pm on August 16th 2019. Two years ago around this very time of day I was able to hold Julia for the very first time since her birth four days prior. The reason I was not able to hold Julia sooner as most of you know, is because she suffered an HIE (hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy…
For Portuguese people, Kale Soup is a staple, a cultural meal. (My kale soup recipe) It’s something most, if not all of us enjoy eating. For me Kale Soup is familiar and comforting, it makes me proud that my people are such damn good cooks haha, but mostly, it reminds me of my grandparents. My grandfather, specifically. When my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and knew that her time was coming to a close, she wanted to make…
I want to share a memory with you about my grandmother. Her name was Norbina. I think I am comfortable saying she had the biggest influence on me in my formative years. To this day I still look up to her. She and my grandfather helped in raising myself, my older brother and older cousin while our parents were at work. I’ll never forget when my cousin started school. He was a year ahead of me so It was…