Welcome to my lil’ nook. While rebuilding, it came to my attention that you may want to hear from me… learn about me, again. Much has changed, but much hasn’t. Here’s a little list of my present faves!
Favorite book of all time: I have so many. I’ve read too many books to even begin to count since 2014, since Tracee Ellis Ross told me to read deeper books haha, since Power of Now, and The Untethered Soul. If I could only take one book with me on a plane… and I had ZERO access to my Kindle App… it would be Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God in Modern English.
Hands down. But as I sit here on my bedroom floor, which is so bare bones, I re-designed it to look like the nun’s cells I’ve stayed in on my pilgrimages (to Avila, Spain, Assisi, Italy, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, and Galilee and Cana), so there’s a Crucifix over my bed. A meditation cushion. A kneeler.
And all of that to say, the books next to my bed presently include, ‘Divine Mercy in My Soul’ by St. Faustina, My Conversations with Poor Souls by Eugenie der Leyen, The Blood Triumph by David Oyedepo, and 70 Reasons for Speaking in Tongues by Bill Hamon. There’s also a book that came just today from Alycea Adams called, My Hair is My Super Power! It’s for kiddos, and mine are too old, but I bought it to support her!
Favorite book right now: Champions of the Rosary by Donald Calloway AND The Power of the Rosary by Gabriel Castillo, AND the Secret of Mary by St. Louis De Montfort AND Divine Mercy In Our Souls (Jesus Speaks), by Fr. James Cervantes. haha! Sorry!
Favorite pilgrimage place: Assisi, Italy. Where St. Francis and St. Clare are from! I could live there. I hope to one day! I’ve been 4 times now!
Where have you felt closest to God: In India. Only because I came close to death so many times! And as the Saints say, when you’re sick, suffering, or close to death, you’re closest to God. I love my side quests to India, but it’s always unpredictable and wild, especially on those roads.
Practicing the Presence of God while on a narrow, one-lane highway up in the Himalayas, with two-way traffic and no railings or netting for the falling rocks (we drove up on some that had just fallen)… all I had was my prayer beads and Love! Kept driving and the hills were on FIRE, and coming down near the road. But I was in GoOD company and somehow felt covered and was covered! Also on Maui… while visiting Ram Dass’ home. His bedroom was VIBRATING PEACE. I felt God there. I feel God everywhere. There’s only God here.
Favorite way to spend a completely free day: With the kiddos- we are usually so busy that we don’t get time to walk to the beach and talk, or just get ice cream. Some of my favorite times in the last 6 years since we’ve been here, are our evening walks. I need to make them happen more often!
Favorite meal I could eat three nights a week and never complain: I forget to eat until the kids or my parents remind me. And even then it’s usually one main meal, but I LOVE olives, raw cashews, lots of fruit, and smoothies. I’ll have a slice of cheese pizza with Max sometimes, or some fries with Gia, and will definitely sneak some chips when they find their way into my house, even the ones that aren’t made with avocado oil (but really they aren’t made with avocado oil, we’ve just been getting played lol)…
My mom loves sweet potatoes and eats one daily. Her skin is amazing. I eat one with her sometimes, but I don’t like it haha. If I was still eating meat regularly, I could eat lamb daily. I could eat eggs daily. I could definitely eat Italian pasta of any sort, daily. I could also eat Feijoada daily! Shout out to Brazil! But alas… if we’re talking my present plant-based shenanigans, I get nervous when I run out of raw cashews or whole Castelvetrano olives.
Favorite little luxury: Taking a shower in the dark with a candle lit. And music playing (usually Victor Thompson), or my Audible… usually playing The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence to keep me right!
Favorite thing I own that cost almost nothing: My heating pad. It goes everywhere with me. I may be in austere nun quarters, but my feet will not be cold! Airplanes. Airport lounges. At the gate. At the hotel. My heating pad ROLLS. Even on overnights, it’s the first thing packed. I need temperature control. Can you tell my iron is low? haha!
Favorite presently-trendy jeans: OOOH! I’m not big on baggy, flowy, big pants anymore because, for some reason, my foot will catch a hem and I’ll be in heaven. Happened to me on a Mediterranean cruise with my sister, mom, grandma, and aunt. I had my breakfast in hand on a tray and all I remember was tripping and both feet being in the air at the same time… and then I must have jumped timelines because I was back on the floor. Both feet. Tray intact. Walking calmly, and carefully lol.
The washy-washy hand wash crew at the door saw it and was like, “how?!” Still not sure. But if you ever see me in flowy linen pants, you’ll also see me walking wide-legged lol. Like I’m riding a horse. BUT, my sis told me I can’t be in black skinnies all the time, so I found these super cute black jeans from ASOS, still ripped like us elder millennials like, but wide, and you can get the perfect hem! I got the 24/32! I’ve been wearing them every day and just bought a second pair with a length of 34 so I could be a little cooler.
I bought a pair for Gia and now we look like twins. She’s also been wearing them daily. They’re perfect, and comfortable. I’m on trend, or whatever. This is her on a regular day in her regular jeans. No pics in the black ones yet!
Favorite millennial skinny jeans I refuse to surrender: I LOVE the Mile High Super Skinny in Black – you can rarely find them, I actually found my present pair on Depop. But no other skinny jean fits like those. And I’ve tried them all! That link is to some blue ones I would not wear haha.
Favorite beauty product I’ve bought over and over again: Mad Hippie’s Vitamin A serum. Hands down. Always stocked. But I’m really liking this Arocell 3x or 7x serum that has these micro sponge spicules that act like microneedles. My skin instantly looks glossy and tight. Glass skin as they say.
Favorite hair product right now: Cecred’s Moisture Sealing Lotion and Amika’s Soul Food Deep Conditioner.
Favorite hair era of my entire life: 2012-2013 Twist-n-Curl era. My hair was so full, even though I thought it was so fine and thin. It was, but now, at 43, I can say it was full haha! Also, back then I was using henna just for the shine and thickening… now I’m leaning more on it for the color. BUT I’ve been thinking of just letting it go. If I stopped henna’ing… I’d be about 75% gray! Just like my momma! If I were sure it would grow out silver, I’d do it! And look like Storm from X-Men!
Favorite prayer when I don’t know what to pray: The Rosary. Or I simply say, ‘Your Will, God. Not mine.’
Because my will be changing on the daily lol. We honestly don’t know what’s good for our souls. I trust that God does and I trust that everything I encounter is just one thing bringing me closer in to that.
Favorite thing about being 40-something that nobody warned me about: FREEDOM. I’m in my villain era haha. No, but I do say ‘no’ a lot, without explaining and that feels… appropriate. It feels just. And it feels right. I like having a dry phone. I like having no man. I like going to bed when I want, and with books sprawled out everywhere haha!
Favorite thing my kids have introduced me to that I would never have discovered myself: HAMILTON!!!! My daughter was on it when it came out and learned out the words and would rap all day. I was like, ‘I’m not a musical girly’. But then this year Max wanted to travel to NYC for his bday in February. He wanted to see Yankee Stadium and since Gia was coming along, I booked us tickets and OMG. I get it.
I’ve been playing Non-Stop, nonstop lol and Satisfied, and Burr’s song and Hamilton‘s song and the King’s song… since February. They just roll their eyes. I get it now. Also, Max’s obsession with all things Michael Jackson has been good for the house. He’s learned to dance like him and it’s absolutely entertaining and awesome and he knows every detail about his life!
Favorite thing about my life right now: That I can talk to you here. That I’m still standing. Still praying. Still singing and dancing and writing and power walking. Still talking to YOU!
