Somewhere in the Middle

Greetings from Jersey

Arrived in Jersey this afternoon to spend some time with my girlfriend & her family. The second I parked the car C practically jumped out. He was so excited to see Lil' E. We've been here for over4 hours and I've only seen C once.. for dinner. Now it's back to playing. With 3 kids and tons of toys to play with my girlfriends house is Party Central! lol!

Right now it's thundering and pouring outside and my friend just went to have her son fitted for a football helmet. So I'm staying with Lil' C & E and catching up on e-mail and blogging until she gets back. I've seen quite a bit of rain since I was in New York. I wonder if it's Mother Nature's way of easing me back into my life in Belgium.

Yesterday it didn't rain which worked out great since I took C & my cousin S to the New York Botanical Gardens. It's such a peaceful & gorgeous park. You'd never know it's in the middle of the Bronx. That area of the Bronx is really pretty with Fordham University right across the street and the Bronx Zoo next door.

The NY Botanical Gardens had a wonderful exhibit for children. C & S had so much fun and at the same time they learned a lot about flowers, gardening, and ways to help the earth. The Children's Adventure Garden had some wonderful activities. At the first station, the kids created field journals and ever time they completed an activity they received a stamp.

They made puppets at the first station. Both C & S chose to make butterfly puppets. We were at the Activity Center for quite a while decorating these butterflies which was perfect for me because it was so incredibly hot & humid outside. Ugh! It was one of those days where you feel like your make-up is going to just melt off your face. Which explains why there are no photos of me. So being in A/C felt wonderful.

At the second station the kids learned about the different parts of the flower and how flowers can produce fruits. At the end they both received a fruit roll up from Fresh Field. C ate his right up!

C & S planted beans at the third station which I think is such a great idea. Gardening is such a fun activity for kids and great for the environment. I know in the past C has really enjoyed planting flowers and bulbs. We left C's bean plant with my grandparents since we're not allowed to bring plants or soil into Belgium. I'm sure the plant will thrive in Papi's garden.

The first station the kids made flowers using Mold Magic and markers. C made a buttercup with his mold.

At the last station, C & S learned all about ponds and thing that grow and live in water. It was really interesting. We had fun pulling out the various plants that grew in the water and looking at the roots.

After the Adventure Garden we took the tram to the Children's Family Garden. The NY Botanical Garden encourages people in the local community to create their own gardens. They also have a global garden and each plot is filled with different vegetables and herbs that you'd traditionally find in those countries. C & S made flowers from tissue paper and also created little recipe booklets.

Afterwards, they learned about planting vegetables and they planted purple carrots seeds. Later they had fun digging up dirt to find worms.

The last activity C & S did was learn about composting. The guy that worked the area was fantastic and really got the kids excited about compost. C & S were working hard... turning, shoveling, and sifting the compost. They were even playing with the worms. At first C wanted nothing to do with the worms and told S he would scream if he touch them but within 10 minutes he was playing with them too. They were each giving the worms names and watching them wiggle around their hands. S even brought one back onto the tram and they each took turns playing with the worm. lol!

We ended our visit at the garden shop where I let the kids buy a little something to remember their trip to the Botanical Garden. C chose a chocolate sunflower seeds & S picked out a rainbow drawing book and I bought some beautiful little pewter leaf spreaders.

Once we got back to my grandparents house we had dinner. Nana made me Bacalitos which I LOVE! I must have eaten at least a dozen!

My girlfriends back and dinner is almost done. So I'm off to enjoy a glass of red wine and talk the night away. See you in Belgium. ;)

P.S. I'll add photos of our day at the Botanical Gardens and of our time in NYC once I return home.

Fun in NYC

We're having a great time in NYC. The weather is beautiful too. Warm, sunny and not too much humidity. The train ride into the city was a breeze but right when we left my grandmother's and got into the subway I realized I forgot my camera battery charging at the house. ;( But F has been a let me borrow his camera so I can have some memories of our trip.

Friday night we went to an AMAZING Puerto Rican restaurant in Soho called Sazon. The food was absolutely fabulous and so authentic. I about wanted to order everything on the menu. So many things reminded me of the foods my grandmother & Mom would make when I was younger. My favorite was the cod fish fritters or as I call them Bacalitos. For dinner I had the fried Chuletas with the sweet plantains. A few of my friends had the pernil which was huge ; it definitely could have feed at least three people. C did great at the restaurant too. And what was wonderful was that he wasn't the only child eating there. Puerto Ricans love kids so the fact that children were dining at what I consider more of an adult restaurant didn't seem to bother anyone in the least.

Yesterday we spent the day at the Central Park Zoo. It's a rather small zoo but perfect for kids. We had a great time seeing the snow monkeys, penguins, and the polar bears. C enjoyed seeing the snow leopard as well.

After the zoo, we went to the petting zoo. C had fun playing on this spider web.

We went back to R & F's place and had a bite to eat before getting ready to go see "The Little Mermaid".

When we arrived at Times Square Lil' C said, "Mommy, why are there SO MANY people here?" It was really cute. The cab driver starting laughing and said, "Because this is Times Square and everyone wants to come here."

After finding the theatre we went back to Times Square and took a few photos. C told me, "Mommy, there are a lot of TV's here!" lol! The Little Mermaid was absolutely fantastic! Lil' C was mesmerized the entire time. He loved every minute of it. The sets were phenomenal and really created the illusion that you were underwater. I especially enjoyed when the prince fell overboard; it really looked like he was drowning or when Ariel made her transformation from mermaid to human. The talent that goes into creating these sets is amazing.

C had several favorite parts. When I asked him what they were this is what he said, "My favorite part was when she turned into a human, and when she was wearing the pink dress and when she got married, and when she took the shell."

The performance itself was wonderful. My favorite singing part had to be when Flounders (played by a young boy) sang this song about Ariel falling in love. It was a fun and upbeat song! Loved it!

It's another gorgeous day in New York today. Not sure what our plans are for the day but I'm hoping to have dinner at a restaurant called "Tree" that was featured Food Network called "The Best Thing I Ever Ate". It's sure to be a good day!

Photos to go along with this blog coming soon!

The Big Apple

We leave for NYC today. I'm looking forward to spending time with my grandparents & our friends in the city. We have an exciting weekend planned with dinner at a Puerto Rican restaurant in Soho with C's godfather and his partner. It seems that Special Agent B will also be in NY visiting with some of his friends from city & New Zealand. It'll be great seeing him again. He's actually the one who chose the restaurant. This man loves Puerto Rican food! C & I also have plans to see "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway which I hear is really good. I'm sure C is going to enjoy it!

We're going to try and do a bit of site-seeing near my grandparents house too. I just hope the weather isn't too hot. Then it's off to New Jersey to visit our friends and my future daughter in law. ;) Right now going to see Lil' E is the highlight of C's upcoming week. He's super excited to seeing her.

Nature Walks + Pool Time

 

Our time here in Florida has been really easy going and fun. We’ve been spending a lot of quality time with my parents. Most of our days are spent at the pool and we’ve definitely been taking advantage of all the great shopping.

 

 

I absolutely love hanging out at the pool where my parents live. Not very many people use the pool so we pretty much have it all to ourselves most days. Unfortunately, since there aren’t very many kids I tend to be Lil’ C’s main playmate which means I’m always in the pool. A few weeks ago we met two boys & Lil’C really enjoys playing with them. One of the boys is 10 years old while his brother is 8. They’re the sweetest boys and are so nice to C. Once they found out we were from Belgium they asked us a ton of questions. It was great to see how interested they were in hearing about how our lifestyle is different from theirs. The second time we saw them at the pool Lil’C told them we were having a party (this is the first my parents & I heard about this) and he invited them over. C also asked them for their phone number too. lol! It was really cute.

 

On our way to the pool one day Lil’ C & I spotted a huge lizard that actually changed colors right before our eyes. It was amazing how subtle the change occurred. Lil’C wanted to take a picture of the chameleon but unfortunately I didn’t have my camera. So now every time we walk to the pool we’re on the lookout for this lizard. We’ve also spotted ducks, birds, frogs, and a mouse during our nature walks.

 

 

Leopard also accompanied us on our nature walk.

 

 

 

One morning or I should say early afternoon (we’ve been in total slow mode since we’ve arrived in Florida) my Dad & I took C to the lake to catch some tadpoles. C had a great time trying to catch these little guys.

 

 

 

 

He caught about 20 of them and put them into a tiny plastic container that came with his net. C was also very careful to put sand into the jar; he was convinced the tadpoles were eating the sand. He was so concerned with the tadpoles C even made my Dad promise to watch over the tadpoles once he went back home.

 

All throughout the day C kept a close watch on the tadpoles. He was constantly going out on the patio to see how they were doing. So the next morning when I found all twenty tadpoles dead I was a bit concerned how he would take this news. But he did great. We explained to him that the tadpoles probably didn’t have enough space to move around and they miss their old environment. He seem to understand but was still very curious as to why they died since he put the same water & sand that the tadpoles were used to.

 

Yesterday C & I got our hair cut. I absolutely love a stylist here in FL and definitely make it a point to get my hair cut before going back to Belgium. It was so nice to have someone you trust cut your hair.

 

Afterwards we went to the post office to drop off a few packages filled with things that are difficult or impossible to find in Belgium. And of course we made one last stop at Sephora. My Mom & I tried on so many different eye shadows & lipsticks we thought for sure the people at Sephora were going to kick us out! I kept doing my eye make up over and over again trying to find just the right color chocolate brown. Plus, C kept asking the salesgirls, "Could I have a perfume sample for my Mommy". lol!

 

 

Last night we also went to the beach to have dinner. C had fun playing in the sand, collecting sea shells, and enjoying some raspberry sorbet. We also listened to some live music and at the end of the show my Mom was begging me to buy a copy of the guy's cd. wink. wink! lol! She kept joking about it so much she had me laughing so hard!

 

 

I can't believe today is our last full day in Florida. ;( I spent the morning getting my hair trimmed again and running a couple of errands at the mall. The rest of our day was spent playing at the pool. We took full advantage of the gorgeous day and spent a good 5 hours swimming, searching for C’s little squids or as he likes to call them squidy, and playing in the water with my Mom. It was a great day but I’m definitely sad to be leaving.

BEWARE :: The All Purpose Knife

Notice anything odd about this photo? Umm... how about that 10" knife sticking straight up in the air ready to stab you! lol! Or if that doesn't injury you enough what about the two steak knives that will poke a nice little hole in your arm. Yes, and the butter knife is also waiting for you but then again after getting stabbed with the other two knives how much damage can it really do. lol! Yeah, this is totally typical for my family. I'm sure I used to do it too but S has rearranged the utensils in our dishwasher so many times that I now can remember to point the sharp edges of the butter knives down and our regular knives cost so much that I tend to handle them with more care or at least that's what I think. I'm sure S thinks differently. ;)

In my family, a knife is a knife and regardless of size or cost it is handled the same way. I think the women in my family must learn this treatment from my grandmother. In her house there is one multi purpose knife. This carving knife is about 8" long and it does everything. It cuts meats, vegetables, and fruits. These fruits can be small, large, or even difficult ones like coconuts. The size of what is being cut does not matter in the least. This same carving knife will be used to cut and butter your bread. And my favorite is when my grandmother cuts cheese and points the knife at you with the cheese at the tip for you to taste a bite. lol!

In Between Pool Time

Since we’ve been in Florida we’ve seen quite a bit of rain. My Mom thinks we brought the rain over from Belgium. lol! What I find so crazy is how it can be an absolutely gorgeous day and then all of a sudden a few gray, dark clouds roll in and it will begin to thunder and once that starts the lightening begins what turns out to be an awesome show. Then it pours for about 20-30 minutes and then the clouds, thunder, and lightening disappear and out comes the sun with blue skies and white puffy clouds like the storm never happened.

 

 

C & I love to watch these storms. Even leopard has become a storm watcher. We enjoy going out into the patio & watching the lightening. Sometimes the thunder is so loud it can be quite scary especially for C who immediately puts his hands over his ears. Once night we must have seen two dozen lightening bolts. It was awesome. I remember when we first moved to Germany I would turn all the lights off in my house just to watch the storms. California just doesn’t experience these thunder storms so when you live in a place that does it’s really impressive to watch. I joke with S that when we retire I’m going to become a storm chaser. lol!

When these storms roll in or if it’s an incredibly hot day we tend to stay in. And C is taking full advantage of this time to watch cartoons and movies on regular & “on demand” tv. He’s completely spoiled. He’s going cold turkey once we get back to Belgium. lol!

 

Another fun activity we've been doing is decorate birdhouses. It’s become such a fun project and my parents have really gotten hooked too. It's funny because I didn't think my Mom would really be interested in painting so we gave her the tiny house to decorate but she surprised us all and was really into it. In fact, she painted 3 houses and helped C add details to his second house. The table was covered for about a week because we kept painting more houses and adding more details. Between the four of us we’ve painted 8 birdhouses so far and each time we paint one we get fancier and fancier with the home designs.

 

It’s a great rainy day project. In fact I bought a couple of houses and mailed them to myself. I thought it would be really fun to paint some holiday theme birdhouses over the winter months when the weather is cold.

 

 

 

Here’s a photo of the first set of birdhouses we finished. I love the little details my Mom and C added to their houses. And the bottom of my Dad’s house is very cool.

 

 

Look who else likes to shop?

One of the things I promised Lil' C we would do while in the US is visit the Build A Bear Workshop. He has two Build A Bear animals,a leopared and a bear. C absolutely loves them both but he definitely prefers one over the other. Leopard sleeps with C & she goes everywhere with us.

The minute we walked into the shop Lil' C went crazy. He was picking out clothes left & right like they were free! lol! C insisted that leopard have a summer wardrobe which of course included a bathing suit and sandals. He wanted to buy her a cell phone too but I convinced him it wouldn't work once we got back to Belgium. The store also sells passports for the animals and everytime you go to a store they stamp the book. It's an adorable idea. I wonder if customs would actually stamp leopards passport once we get back to Belgium? lol!

Since we've been in Florida C has visited the store three times and each time Leopard gets new clothes. His poor little Bear at home only got one new outfit. lol! Leopard is completely spoiled. ;)

On our 1st trip to the Build A Bear Workshop C wanted to buy a unicorn too but changed his mind when he saw the tiny little kitten & puppy they had at the back of the store. Although during our second visit C saw how the children help to put their stuffed animals together and now he's decided he wants another animal. But he loves Leopard so much I'm not sure a Unicorn can compete. But I'm okay with spoiling Lil' C. I mean how often does he get to visit the actual Build A Bear Workshop. Shopping online just isn't as much fun.

Why workout when you can get a Spanx instead!

My Mom completelyamazes me. She may be retired but she is having the time of her life here in Florida. My parents go out dancing once or twice EVERY week! That's right... EVERY week they go salsa dancing. How awesome is that. They've actually slowed down a bit while Lil' C & I are visiting and have only gone out dancing twice. lol!

When you go out as much as my parents do you need going out clothes right? Every time I come to visit my Mom she'll say to me, "Come in my bedroom and let me show you what I bought."  It maybe a new dress, blouse, shoes, earrings or necklace. My Mom has the cutest wardrobe ever. There are tons of things I'd wear! In fact, she gave me this adorable dress that I'm so excited to wear to one of the International luncheons once I get back to Belgium. It's a shame we don't share the same shoe size. lol!

My Mom is also the queen of accessories. So being around my Mom for a few weeks means I've picked up my fair share of accessories. I now have a ton of new earrings to dress up my wardrobe. Lil' C spent about a good hour organizing some of her costume jewelry. She absolutely loves wearing earrings and I'm not talking about little studs. Her favorites are beautiful chandelier earrings. My Mom also loves necklaces and hair accessories and always seems to find just the perfect little something to pull an entire outfit together so that it looks really special.

When I spend a lot of time with my Mom some of her shopping habits seem to wear off on me. lol! It can be a bit dangerous though. I mean we live in completely different parts of the world. She's living the Miami lifestyle where women are always in pretty colorful summer clothes and fabulous sandals, preferably high heeled ones. And that's just for going grocery shopping. lol! And me? Well, I live in a world of drabby colors and an endless supply of turtlenecks. lol! But I'm having the most fun shopping! So many gorgeous clothes! And I'm picking up all sorts of tips from the show "What Not To Wear". Love that show. Stacy  & Clinton are the best. I really miss the shopping here and the sales. Oh, how I miss those sales.

A few weeks ago I walked into Banana and found so many things I asked my Mom if she could just come back to the store and pick me up in a few hours. I spent about 2 hours just in the dressing room trying on clothes! But I walked out with some incredible deals. And not only did I feel great about the deals I found but I was also so happy that most of  the clothes actually fit me. It's a great feeling when that happens. I just wish they had winter clothes. My winter wardrobe is so boring and is in serious need of a makeover. Sure Europe is known for their fabulous clothes but I'm not buying high fashion couture clothes. And the regular clothing shops in Belgium don't carry Petites nor are the prices as good. So I'm taking advantage and buying all sorts of fun stuff. So if you see me in some cute gold Miami style sandals and a sleeveless dress in the winter you'll understand why. lol!

Now with all this shopping we've been doing I've learned a lot from my Mom about shapewear. Sure I've knew about girdles but this collection of shapewear is so much more sophisticated and modern. And the things it can do for a girl! Wow! It's a real eye opener. And here I thought you had to work out at the gym and do a million sit ups to get a slimmer look. Of course you can still work on getting that flat stomach but in the mean time there are Spanxs that can help.

 

My Mom introduced me to all sorts of shapewear for slimming your tummy, waist, thighs, and arms. You name it and it's out there. Need a little lift in the rear? Try a rear lifting shaper. You could be the next J. Lo. There are also these little contraptions to make your bra into a racer back bra.

Now I have to admit I was really curious about this Booty shapewear. So when I saw the Booty bottoms at Dillard's lingerie dept I decided I just had to try one on. My Mom & I were laughing when we looked at the box and it said, "Because sometimes you just need a Booty." Of course Lil' C picked up on this right away. Nothing slips by that kid. lol! He wanted to see it so I showed it to him and told him why women wear them. Several minutes later while we were looking at the bras and underwears, Lil' C yelled out, "Mommy, when are you going to put your booty on!" lol! There was a woman standing close by and she started to laugh. It was really funny. My Mom & I couldn't stop laughing about it. Now all joking aside I did try on this booty underwear and I must say I had one big booty. lol! Not quite Kim Kardasian but I was impressed by the results. But I didn't buy it. I mean how's that going to look one day I'm absolutely bootylicious and the next day I'm not! lol! I don't mind a subtle difference but this was too much of a drastic change. But then I ask myself...what makes this booty so much more different than a padded bra that adds a whole cup size?

Now my Mom may have introduced me to shapewear but I have her seriously hooked on make-up. lol! After getting my make-up done professionally I'm completely all about primers & illuminators. The difference is amazing. Needless to say we've been spending way too much time at Sephora and trying out various samples. lol! We keep joking about how we need to go paint our canvas. ;)

The Wedding :: Behind the Scene

The morning of the wedding my sister's friends kept asking her, "So what are you doing today? And G would laugh and say, "Oh, yeah. I'm getting MARRIED today!" lol!

Everyone woke up early to shower and get ready for our hair & make-up appointments. The day was finally here! We were all pretty excited. That morning Carol showed up with a cooler full of pastries, yogurt, and champagne to take to the hair salon. My sister's friends, Carol & Geraldine are so thoughtful.

It wasn't even 9am and my sister was already receiving phone calls and text messages and she started to get a little stressed out.  So Carol & I decided to take her phone away. We refused to let anyone talk to her. It was the best thing we did epecially when the wedding coordinator called to say one of the engraved champagne glasses was broken. My sister didn't need to hear this news so between all the bridesmaids we tried our best to handle any situation that came up. We wanted G to savor this day and be able to enjoy every moment without any worries.

We arrived at the hair salon pretty early. Since the salon hadn't open yet we went to a coffee shop across the street & the girls grabbed some coffee and we ordered some breakfast to go. It was nice to sit and relax a bit.

I love the following photo. It reminds me of "Sex & the City" when Carrie & her friends would get together for breakfast.

The salon we went to in L.A. was pretty edgy and cool. I liked it straight away. G's friend Erin, from Philly was already at the salon getting her hair done when we arrived. It was great seeing Erin; I've known her for a few years. G & her studied abroad together. Everytime my sister has come to see me on the East Coast Erin has always managed to visit us. So it was nice to catch up with her.

Geraldine & my sister were the first to get their hair done and once the make-up artist arrived she started to do my make-up. Initially, I wasn't going to have my make-up done but I'm so glad I did. I absolutely loved what she did. Now, I just wish I could do my own make-up like the way the artist did it! It really helped to bring photos from magazine so she could see the look I was going for. After Geraldine was done, I got my hair done. Loved the way it came out too. It felt wonderful to be pampered; I enjoyed every minute of it. Imagine this is what celebrities go through all the time.

We were at the salon for about three hours. Giselle's hair and make-up came out absolutely beautiful!

Once everyone was all done up we left to go back to the hotel. When we arrived the photographer was already there waiting for us. So us girls quickly got dressed and started to help G with her dress.

Giselle looked absolutely gorgeous. Her wedding gown was so beautiful and completely her. I loved the ruffles and flowers on the side of her gown. It reminded me a bit of a flamenco dress. And the sweetheart neckline was so flattering. I've included some black & white photos courtesy of the wedding photographer, Jason Q Tran.

Before we got into the limo Jason took some photos of my sister on the streets of Los Angeles. They were really cool shots. Just seeing G all dressed up I got a bit emotional.

The hotel was really close to the LA River Center so we were there in no time. Shortly after we arrived, my parents, grandmother, and Lil' C got to the venue. I had planned to bring a blow dryer to the room so I could style C's hair but I completely forgot. And when I saw him his hair was an absolute mess. ;( I tried wetting it and styling it as best as I could with some hair spray but it still looked pretty crazy. There is a picture the photographer took of my sister putting on Lil' C's bow tie and his hair looks so wild I cringe when I see it. Total bed head.

Since Giselle & Ted wanted to spend as much time with their guests as possible they decided to take photos before the ceremony. It turned out to be a great day for photos. It wasn't super sunny or hot which was perfect.

I handed my camera to my Dad & one of T's friends and told them to go crazy. For some reason I think people feel intimidated by SLR cameras. At the end of the day I was a bit saddened that I didn't have many photos. Not one photo of me & C together or one of my sister & I. ;( I know the photographer took photos but he didn't really take any with C & I. In between the major events of the evening I could have taken more photos as well but I wanted to really experience the day instead of seeing it behind my lens which happens so often.

Anyway... where was I. All the tables looked really beautiful and they were each named after a place my sister & the Gypsy have vacationed. I loved the idea.

The ceremony was beautiful. And just like at my wedding my Dad sounded really cute when he gave his rehearsed response about who gives the bride away.

It was also really funny because normally the groom's parents sit on the opposite side of the brides. T's parents wanted to sit with my parents but there wasn't enough room so everyone was getting up and trying to figure out where they were going to sit. It was like musical chairs. lol! Everyone was just waiting for them to get themselves seated. So there was really no where for C to sit since he didn't want to sit on the opposite side which was absolutely empty. So he stayed with me throughout the entire ceremony. The whole scene was pretty funny.

Throughout the ceremony there were some really special moments. Like when one of Ted's family members read a poem she had written and the lovely song a woman from G's work sang while her husband played the guitar.

Instead of doing a unity candle, my sister & T poured sand into a glass container. The idea being that once the sand is poured there is nothing that can separate them. Love the idea. And what's great is that you can use this decoration in your home as a constant reminder of your special day. I loved the idea so much I want to do it with S and Lil' C.

Now there were some funny moments too like towards the end of the ceremony the minister got a bit frazzeled and said my sister's name incorrectly. He said, "Gazelle" instead of "Giselle". So my sister corrected him. A few seconds later he did it a second time. Once again my sister corrected him and he apologized. And then he said it wrong a THIRD time and when this happened everyone at the wedding yelled out my sister's name. It was pretty funny and everyone laughed including my sister.

After the ceremony I knew the toughest part of the day was approaching for me... the speech. The appetizers were amazing and the open bar was fantastic. I had the best mojitos all night long! And the bartender was so awesome to Lil' C. He kept making him these delicious lemonades and when C wanted something a bit different he mixed up a yummy cranberry concoction.

Once everyone was seated they introduced the wedding party and the new Mr. & Mrs. E. My sister chose this totally upbeat Brazilian song to walk to. It was very unique.  

Soon after they announced it was speech time and T's brother & I walked up to the dancing area. I was up first. As I walked to the area the DJ started to play, "We are Family" by Sister Sledge. My sister knows how much I love that song. I made it through the first sentence of my speech fine but by the end of the third sentence I started to lose it. And of course it didn't help when I looked out into the audience and saw everyone looking at me. I got so nervous and for a second I thought, "Oh, my god.. I'm not going to be able to pull this off." But there was no way I couldn't say my entire speech. So I took a deep breathe and a very long pause and finished it. There were parts of my speech that were funny and everyone including me started to laugh which helped me get through it. Here is what I said:

"For those of you who don't know me my name is T and I'm Giselle's sister. I have to say I'm so excited to be part of this day. I love seeing two people that truly love each other come together and share their happiness with close friends and family. But this wedding means so much more because it's my sister's special day.

Before Giselle met Ted we would have those late night girl talks and discuss the qualities she was looking for in "the one". You know that one person you want to share your life with. For many women that list may include qualities like having a great sense of humor, intelligent, or being good looking. Now these things are important to Giselle too but the two things that were at the top of her list was that this person speak Spanish and of course dance Salsa. Because you know my sister LOVES salsa! Now I have to tell you my family and I weren't sure if a person with this mix of qualities actually existed. But now I see he does and his name is Ted. Giselle, I'm so incredibly happy that you've found "the one". The one you can share your life with.

Now Ted I'm not sure what was on your list but what I can tell you is that I think you're a perfect match for my sister. I have never seen Giselle happier. So today I'd like to officially welcome you into our family. I'd also like to thank your wonderful family for being so loving and kind. Not only am I gaining a brother-in-law but a second family as well. I wish you & Giselle a world of happiness."

Now I thought the Gypsy's brother's speech was pretty funny. It was a list of things Ted should know about married life. But what made the speech really funny was when Ted's brother said something about him not being the best person to give advice considering he was going through his 2nd divorce and how he's a single Dad now.

After the speeches, G & T had their first dance. They chose a beautiful song by Alex Cuba. It was so perfect too because towards the end of the song it became a slow salsa.

Once the 1st dance ended Cory, the best man & Carol gave their speeches. Carol's speech was so touching. She talked about meeting G in college and how they bonded due to their love of dancing salsa and traveling the world. She spoke about seeing G transition from single life to married life. It was a beautiful speech... one that really brought tears to my eyes.

Now Cory's speech was totally funny. It was this really great poem. It had everyone laughing. Loved every word but what was really funny was towards the end when he said my sister was now a full fledge Gypsy. lol!

After all the speeches it was time to eat and have fun. The dinner was fabulous. And because the whole wedding party along with their dates/spouses were all seating together on one long table it made for great dinner conversation.

The wedding cake was absolutely delicious too. My sister's not a big sweet tooth but the girl LOVES "Tres Leches" cake. It was perfectly done... moist and just the right touch of sweetness.

One of the best parts of being the bride's sister is that you can pretty much walk up to anyone at the wedding and start up a conversation with, "Hi, I'm G's sister." lol! I met so many wonderful people that night. I had a great time! I even invited a few to come and visit us in Belgium! I especially loved two of the Gypsy's friends, Cory and his wife Tif. She & I hit it off straight away at the rehearsal dinner. Love her! I also loved T's friend Daniel who happens to be an artist from Mexico along with his wife who is so warm and friendly. G & T have some of Daniel's work in their house and I've fallen in love with one piece in particular. At the wedding they shared with me that they were giving G & T one of his 1st pieces from his newest collection.

Now the dancing part of the evening was super fun! Great music! And Lil' C turned into quite the dancer that night. In fact, he was on the dance floor almost the entire evening. He had anywhere from 2 to 5 girls dancing with him at once. It was so freakin' cute! He was breaking out moves I have never seen before. All night everyone kept commenting about what a great dancer he was and how he was utterly charming.

The day turned out wonderfully. I'm so happy C & I had the opportunity to be a part of my sister's wedding and to share in their love & happiness. It will be a day I will always remember.

Here is a photo of Lil C and M that I just love. So happy Brandon was able to capture this moment.

If you'd like to see more photos check out Jason Q's blog along with Brandon Wong who helped Jason photograph the event.

Leading up to the Wedding

As soon as we arrived in California it was non-stop... dinners, shopping, spa & hair appointments and running a ton of errands. It was crazy but fun.

Our flight to Philly went smoothly and C did a great job. I had a ton of games and activities prepared but what really saved the day was the DSi game S & I bought him about a month before the trip along. The DSi was a life saver. C must have played "Gardening Mama" & "Night at the Museum II" for about four to five hours off & on until the battery went dead. Not much sleeping on this flight since it was during the day but even so the eight hours flew by.

Now I was a bit stressed about our second flight. The custom lines were incredibly long and it seem to take forever to pick up our luggage only to recheck them and go through security all over again. We made it to our gate and I set up a docking station by the nearest outlet to recharge my phone & the DSi. By this time I was exhausted which may explain why we almost missed our 2nd flight. The sign by the gate we were sitting near said Dulles, Washington so I thought we had plenty of time to relax. Yeah, not really. And if I was a person who actually wore a watch I would have known this but I don't and clocks at the Philly airport are non-existant! lol! So when I saw the section we were sitting in clear out I didn't think anything. I mean the sign said Dulles. Then I saw a group of women scrambling to get their things together as they were saying, "See I told you this is our flight to LA." LA!! So I asked them if they were going to Los Angeles and they said yes. Like a crazed women I started to pull out all of our chargers and gathered all of our bags and C & I ran to the gate. We had 5 minutes to get on the plane and I couldn't find our boarding passes! But we made it. We were the last ones to board.

We got to Los Angeles on time but my parents flight was delayed. Our flights were supposed to come in about the same time which would have worked out perfectly. We had planned to meet at the car rental to do the paperwork. But it didn't work out that way. My family's flight was delayed over 2 hours and because my grandmother needs wheel chair assistance it took them even longer to meet us. C & I were waiting for THREE hours at the car rental place. You know what 3 hours feels like after a 14 hour flight! We were so tired or I should say I was tired. There was a huge play area so C played the entire time. I tell you if it wasn't for that play area I would have wanted to stick pins in my eyes! lol!

We met my sister and her fiance at the condo we rented which was incredibly comfy. So much easier than staying at a hotel.

After a few hours of sleep, I was off to the mall to alter my dress for the rehearsal dinner and to find shoes and jewelry for the wedding. I saw soooo many pretty clothes but there was no time to look. I was on a mission. I did well too... completely focused. I was in and out within two hours ...ok maybe it was three. I have to say Nordstom is fabulous. They were able to alter my dress within a day. Love their service. I found some beautiful chandelier earrings along with a matching bracelet that looked great with my dress. Plus I found some pretty strappy heels with little rhinestones for the wedding day too. I brought a backup pair of shoes with me but these strappy heels were so much more comfortable.

Once I got back to the condo everyone was set and ready to go. My sister brought her little Poo-Chi, Brooke, so C was in heaven. If only I could find a Poo-Chi like hers. I would definitely consider having a dog. She is such a cutie.

Before heading to my sister's in laws' house we went to the tuxedo shop. Lil' C look so cute in his tuxedo. He looked like such a little man. ;) After we were done, we took C to get his hair trimmed.

My sister's future in laws are so wonderful! They made a wonderful dinner for us. It was relaxing evening... eating great food and getting to know everyone better. C had a fantastic time. He played with Brooke non-stop. The poor dog was worn out!

The next day was the rehearsal dinner. That morning I had an appointment to get my hair blown out. My girlfriend, Gio has curly hair and advised me to try her stylist who is fabulous with curly hair. And I've seen her hair and it looks great. But my hair is much curlier than Gio's. So I had my reservations. I've never had anyone blow my hair as straight as I can get it with the flat iron. But let me tell you this guy was incredible! He was a magician! I walked in the salon with curly hair and walked out with gorgeous, shiny, straight hair. I didn't think it was possible but I walked out of that salon feeling incredibly glamorous. Next was a quick visit to Nordstrom to pick up my dress. I couldn't resist looking at the make-up counters... Bobby Brown, Laura Mercier, MAC. Love it all. I had my make-up done at the MAC counter in Nordstoms. I miss going make-up shopping. It's not the same in Belgium. You don't want any miscommunication when buying make-up. It could be a recipe for disaster. lol!

By the time I got back to the condo there was just enough time to get dressed and pack for the next two nights. My girlfriend, Gio was going to watch Lil' C while we went to dinner. But she got lost finding the condo so we left much later than we originally planned. 

It was hectic to say the lest and the GPS could not locate the name of the street where the rehearsal was taking place. And because it's L.A. we got stuck in some major traffic. To make things even more stressful I realized an hour into our drive that I FORGOT my dress for the wedding! 

We arrived at the LA River Center with just enough time to practice a couple of times. Once we were done we drove to The Farm of Beverly Hills for the rehearsal dinner. 

Secret Agent B just so happen to be on his way to Australia so he stayed in L.A. to make it to the dinner. It was really fun seeing him. I was happy the Gypsy (my sister's fiance) finally met Secret Agent B. He always jokes that my friend & S are really secret spies and are on these crazy secretive missions. lol! Everyone loved B.

The food at the restaurant was incredible. I got to meet some of the Gypsy's friends and they were all so fun! After dinner, we went to the Conga Room for some latin dancing. We had a fantastic night!

We spent the night at the Westin. Now I'm not usually a big hotel person but this place may have changed my mind. The bed was so comfy! When you're away from home sleeping on silky, soft sheets is such a nice treat. Since I wasn't completely adjusted to the time zone I woke up after 5:00am and decided to practice my speech. I practiced so much I had that baby memorized and I was able to say it without crying.

My sister & I had a relaxing morning talking, watching a little tv, and ordering room service for breakfast. Later we met up with Carol and drove to Old Town Pasadena for our day of spa treatments at Burke Williams. I was really looking forward to my massage. We got there right on time so we had little time to change so it was a little stressful. Not a great way to start a relaxing massage but I was fine. Then I met my masseuse... a young guy. Hmm... I've never had a professional male masseuse before so I thought I'd give it a try. Things were going good until he started to take in these really long breaths and blow out really hard. It was very distracting. The first time it happened (yes, he did this several times) I thought, "What the heck is he doing?" I'd like to think he was inhaling & exhaling deeply to get rid of the bad energy. But wasn't I the one who was supposed to do this? I asked that he not massage my scalp for fear of ruining my gorgeous straight hair but he put so much oil on my body that I was worried he was going to get oil near my hairline when he was massaging my neck. lol! Let's just say this was not the relaxing massage I was hoping for. After my massage I met up with the girls and I told them about my massage. We had a good laugh. Next was my pedicure. Which I have to say was the most fabulous pedicure I've ever had! I loved the fact that there were three other women getting pedicures & manicures but there was absolute silence...no one was talking. It was so relaxing and peaceful. Loved every minute of it!

After our treatments my sister and I along with her friends Carol and Salina had a nice lunch at the Cheese Cake Factory. Old Town Pasadena is so pretty. I would have loved to stay longer and walk around and visit some of the cute shops. We originally had plans to go out for dinner but we were so full from our late lunch that we changed plans. My sister didn't want to deal with traffic so we stayed at the hotel and ordered room service. It was really nice. Two of my sisters friends spent the night with us so we stayed up talking and snacking. G even tried on her dress for us. She looked beautiful. And Carol & I took out our little notes with our speeches and we read them. I loved what Carol wrote. It was so moving .. she wrote about things I wish I could have said but I knew it would have been too much for me. Just reading her speech made me cry. Hearing positive feedback from Carol  & Geraldine made me feel much better about my speech.

We went to bed around 11pm; we had a full day ahead of us and we wanted to be completely rested.

More to come. It's 10:50am here in Florida and my Mom just woke up. I want to spend as much time with my parents as I can. I'll edit and add photos later tonight.