Mi Vida - My Life

Update your bookmarks

2011-05-16T13:44:00.000-04:00

Are you looking for newer posts? Check my site www.ofelianj.com

Moving Day!

2010-03-24T22:41:00.001-04:00

Not me, just the blog.

Please go to My WordPressSite for the latest updates on my adventures.

Fit Home Team / Yankees Home Opener Book Giveaway

2010-03-20T16:36:00.003-04:00

In November of 2009, after the Yankees won their latest World Series title, my daughter and I had two outings, to the celebratory Ticker Tape Parade and Posada Book Signing. The book signing was held at the Yogi Berra Museum at Montclair State University. We checked out Yogi's baseball memorabilia - photos, world championship rings, equipment and other collectors items. We came home with an autographed copy of Fit Home Team, by Jorge Posada (#20) and Laura M. Posada. Both signatures!

After getting home and reading the book, we realized this is more focused to families with younger kids, or families that have different furniture. My teen and I have captains beds (wood frames instead of boxspring), so I can't quite picture us doing a pillow fight, or the more extreme “King of the Bed” game.

The book is divided into seasons of the year, with suggested recipes and activities for each season. I only wish the Posadas had written this book sooner, when we could have done the “Swinging Blanket with Song”. Right now my daughter is taller than me, and I'm too chicken to try this with anyone else's child.
We decided it's best to give this book away to someone who can fully enjoy ALL of the tips included for family fitness and healthy lifestyle. Do you want to be the happy new owner of this book?

Methods of Entry
Method of Entry #1 – Share a family fitness tip in a comment.
Method of Entry #2 – Share a healthy recipe in a comment.
Method of Entry #3 – Follow me on twitter, leave a comment so it counts as an entry.

Terms and Conditions
SUBMIT A SEPARATE COMMENT *listing your name and e-mail address ONLY* so that I can contact you if you win.
Winner will be selected on or about April 19, 2010.
One winner selected from all eligible entries will receive a hardcover copy of “Fit Home Team” autographed by Jorge Posada and Laura M. Posada.
Book will be shipped (with tracking fees paid) via United States Postal Service, after winner is confirmed via e-mail.
Please see Giveaway and Contest Rules for other rules which apply to this drawing.

Spring!

2010-03-19T09:45:00.013-04:00

Great time for new beginnings, fresh starts and GIVEAWAYS!

I have THREE books to give away. More details by March 20, 2010, midnight EDT. Stay tuned!

UPDATE March 20, 2010 (3:15 pm)
I have been writing rules and specifics for the first giveaway, my fingers hurt from typing up all this information.

To make things manageable, there will be ONE book giveaway starting today, the second book giveaway will start next Saturday (March 27) and the third book giveaway will start the following Saturday (April 3).

Hidden Valley Ranch - at Grand Central Station!

2010-03-16T23:40:00.007-04:00

After meeting face-to-face on Tuesday, March 9, Lisa was kind enough to invite me to Veggie Central. As soon as I read "Hidden Valley Ranch", my response was "when and where?". Like many others, my teen doesn't always jump for healthy foods. Good thing she enjoys Hidden Valley Ranch. Put it on steamed veggies and step away from the teenager. Throw in Jeanne Pinsof Nolan and Jennie Garth - well how could I miss this?Upon entering Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, it was easy to tell this is the right place. Salad dressing and vegetables EVERYWHERE!

Yes, I grabbed a skewer of veggies to poke into the ranch fountain. Yummy! As we moved past the fountain - my feet were dragging - we saw three classrooms worth of kids, I'd say 3rd to 5th graders. All the kids were sitting and listening to Jeanne Pinsof Nolan's presentation, paying attention and trying for a chance to help plant some seeds.

When Jeanne asked a question, hands and bodies flew up to answer. "What do we need to help plants grow?" Sunlight, water and soil "What is organic gardening?" We use only natural things. After Jeanne was done with the kids, she mingled with moms and media - even trying to help me with my hopeless situation. My backyard is roomy, but the neighborhood cats keep trampling through because we have no fence. Solution: countertop/windowsill garden.

Jennie Garth came out to speak to the kids, and she was also swamped with questions (the first question was answered very quickly, when Jennie said "you might recognize me from What I Like About You, which is still in reruns." Then Jennie walked around, checking in with the kids as they made veggie sandwiches. Yes, kids having fun with healthy foods. As the kids headed back to school, Jennie took questions from moms and media. The first person to get her attention was a little girl, who ran over to say "I love my mommy". Definitely an aawww moment.

Then the moms started asking questions. "Is there a veggie you don't love?" For Jennie Garth, who grew up on a farm, it's Brussels sprouts.Come to think of it, I like how Brussels sprouts look but never have tasted them. Hmm..

Dove Chocolates & Gallo Wines

2010-03-09T23:11:00.001-05:00

Do we REALLY need words?

Scholarships Available

2010-03-04T18:13:00.001-05:00

Attention parents, guardians, teachers!

Scholarships available for graduating students of Passaic High School. Please have the student pick up an application at the Guidance Office. Deadline for returning completed applications is April 1, 2010. Full disclosure: I am a member of the Committee. Decisions regarding amounts and recipients of scholarships will be made by the Committee as a group.

$300 haircut for FREE?! Well ...

2010-02-26T15:29:00.001-05:00

By now it's not news - I'm a recession statistic. Lost my job last spring. Let's get that out of the way because since that time, daily life is a combination of job hunting, volunteer activities, social networking on Facebook and Twitter, watching news on TV and keeping up with "signs of recovery". Sometime months ago I saw an item about a certain salon offering free haircuts for anyone unemployed. I submitted my information and sat back.

Earlier this month, I got a phone call from the salon receptionist. There was an opening. I was excited to get some "me" time, really looking forward to the experience. The day of the appointment, I was just a little bit late. Got to the salon five minutes after the scheduled time, instead of ten minutes early where I could sit, catch my breath and enjoy.

Suzanne (an alias because I forgot her name since then) led me to a private room where I traded my layers for a robe, then she "checked" my bag and jacket. Really though, she hung it up in a closet. She took me to the haircutting chair, where the owner and I had a two-minute consultation. "Do you want anything specific?" "No, not really, just ready for a change." Suzanne washed my hair and brought me back to the chair for the cut.

Matt stood by me, snipping and arranging my hair. He cut about three inches everywhere, lifting my bangs so they graze my eyes and nose, which made me feel instantly sexy. Then Matt started to whisper "your hair is so damaged" to which I responded "I know, these blond highlights". He moved around to snip and arrange another section, and whispered "you need a color glaze". This was distracting in the midst of such a peaceful experience, so I asked "how much would it cost for a glaze?" Matt He said "usually 70, for you 40."

My back stiffened the tiniest bit. I hadn't planned to get haircut AND color. Had planned to do other things after the cut. I said in a voice just about a whisper "I didn't bring extra money". Matt's fingers lingered for a moment in my hair. He finished snipping and arranging, grabbed some styling product and worked it into my hair, while warning me "don't touch the hair, it changes the curls". Then he called Suzanne. She walked me to a contraption that looked like connected halos, turned on the machine. It was a giant diffuser. It dried my hair so the curls were beautiful and shiny.

Suzanne smiled with me when I saw the results, then brought me to the room where my things had reappeared. Matt was sitting at the reception desk when I came out, with Suzanne sweeping up my hair. I blushed and asked "is tipping allowed?" to which Matt responded "yes, whatever you feel comfortable with". I tipped him $10 and walked to give Suzanne another $5. My pockets were now empty.

I left the salon feeling pretty, but still hearing Matt's voice "you need a glaze". So you know what I did? I went for something to eat, THEN got a glaze - ten days later. During winter break I took my teen to a beauty school. She got a haircut, I got a glaze, we were treated like royalty. (Let me know in comments if you want to read about THAT experience.)

Yankees Celebration and Posada Signing

2009-11-09T16:56:00.002-05:00

Friday, November 6 was the ticker tape parade for the World Series 2009 championship - below is a picture collage of our day.

Saturday November 7 Jorge and Laura Posada had an event for their book "Fit Home Team" at Montclair State University.

These are some pictures of the campus - we didn't really explore much, since we took the campus shuttle to/from the Yogi Berra Museum.

Love is an Adventure

2009-08-13T11:20:00.003-04:00

August 12, 2009. I woke up knowing it would be memorable. My calendar entry said "City Hall with Leti and Mauri" which is NOT an everyday event. They got engaged in October 2008; in July 2009 they set a date and asked me to be maid of honor (plus witness on the application for marriage license). Who could possibly say no?

The appointment at City Hall was for 11. I was nervous about the whole "official business" thing and even got to City Hall about 10 minutes before the lovebirds. We walked into the office at 11, and the lady behind the desk started asking for documents. Rummage, check, here ya go. She's filling out the forms ... full name, date and place of birth, wedding date? "THIS Saturday?" Her eyebrow went up, and she said something like "well, you need to go to the County courthouse for a waiver of time." Two cities away, the County courthouse.

Walking out of City Hall, Leticia called the officiant to see if he had this happen before. Thank goodness, he knows what to do. A phone call to the next level person at City Hall, who says she can get an answer. We just have to wait 2 hours - overlapping lunches and whatnot.

** Now in case you're wondering, let me tell you why Leti & Mauri are two of my favorite people on the planet. They balance and complement each other, they make me hopeful about love as an action verb. In the face of bureacracy, when told to wait, they looked at each other and said "well, everybody else is having lunch, let's go eat". Off we went for a delicious Peruvian brunch, then to find clothes for the wedding day, pretending to ignore the clock.**

Incoming call. There's a Judge at the County courthouse who will be happy to sign the waiver, as long as we get there by 2:30. Um, yeah .. it's 2:10. Leti calls for a cab, which appears almost by magic. Hold on, now the show's on the road! We speed down the highway as raindrops start to fall. We made it to the County building at 2:25, walking through security Mauricio set off the metal detector with his belt. Never expected that - Leti and I had been joking in the cab, wondering which of our underwires would beep. Quickly to the elevators, get upstairs, find the Judge's chambers. Not so fast. Leti's calling me back. The lady at the desk, as it turns out, has the form that needs to be filled out before seeing the Judge. Fill it out, call the officer, he comes out to escort us...

Into an empty courtroom. The officer has gone back to get everybody. Now here he is, then the Judge, clerk and secretary. Swear in the participants. Judge asks "so what happened here, why do you need a waiver?" Leticia explains what happened at City Hall, plus how the family is expecting something to happen Saturday night. The Judge asks Mauricio "You sure about this? Because as soon as I sign and enter this, there's no backing out for you." Giggles from the staff, Mauricio says "yes, of course". The order was signed, stamped and copied, Leticia invited 4 extra people to her wedding.

We walked a block for the bus, made it back to City Hall before they could close for the day. We tried not acting smug when Leticia gave everything to the lady. The marriage license will be ready on Friday, and the wedding is still Saturday. Leaving City Hall, each headed our own separate ways, we exchanged a look and said "see you at 7". We both knew that after such a day, it was time for mojitos and margaritas! Let's just say last night, we had enough mojitos and margaritas to lose track...

Katrina

2005-09-06T22:33:00.002-04:00

I don't know if you have family or friends in the affected locations. I don't know what it's like to experience such a thing. My closest comparison would be 9/11/01, or the power failure of August 2003. Both times I was able to go home and hide until the worst passed. Both times I saw how strangers can come together to help.

But a hurricane is different from buildings getting hit by planes, or a blackout. The news shows people stranded, with no place to call home. Women holding their babies and wondering that to do next.

It makes me sick to think what if that was me? Go to the Red Cross website www.redcross.org Habitat for Humanity www.habitat.org - if you can volunteer your time, or make a donation, these organizations will be grateful.

From Unicef website www.unicef.org :

In recognition of the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Katrina on hundreds of thousands of American children, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF will direct half of the proceeds from the 2005 Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign to help Katrina's youngest survivors. In addition to the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF is also actively encouraging direct donations to its Hurricane Katrina fund.

Hopefully soon the news stories will be more about the recovery and reconstruction!

Weekend Update

2005-08-21T15:20:00.002-04:00

Miss L and I had an outing this Friday August 19 to see the Staten Island Yankees. After rain delay of about an hour they started the game. Final score 3-0 Yankees win. After the game there was a mini-concert by Oro Solido. We were close to the stage but not close enough to get pulled up.

A couple of the players came by, did some dancing. Just before we left the stadium I asked if they would pose for a picture. We got home at 4 AM!

Hey There

2005-08-13T10:50:00.002-04:00

Frank mentioned a blog at our last outing (photos below). We may have been discussing how to coordinate schedules. Anyway, it's a great idea. So I set it up.