Saturday, December 31, 2022

December 2022 // A List



After the disaster that November was, December was a much-welcomed month.

December was the month of mixed feelings but mostly joy and hope.

December was a month full of magic.

December showed signs of major changes that will arrive shortly.

December was a busy month.

I found myself embracing winter and enjoying the transition from fall to winter.

I didn't feel as creative as I usually do during the fall, but that was to be expected.

Some things never change.

Instead, I found myself resting and thinking about many things.

December was a month of trying new things and making new traditions.

Some of these changes were strange.

But most of them were welcomed with open arms.

December...the month of reflection.

I found myself thinking back on the past year.

For the most part, 2022 was a great year.

It was only the last part of the year, November to be exact, that was incredibly difficult.

I know that when I look back on November 2022, it won't be pleasant, but I'm grateful for how much I grew during that month.

When I look back on December 2022, I'll remember how strong I was. I'll remember that it could have been worse, but I'm grateful it wasn't.

December is a strange month.

It's the last month of the year.

The time when the year is coming to an end.

December, you were a better month than November, and for that, I am grateful.

So with that said, thank you, December, and goodbye. 

What a wild wide 2022 turned out to be.

Hello January. I hope it's a good month and an amazing start to the new year.

Friday, December 30, 2022

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly grateful and happy list linkup. It's been a couple of weeks since I shared my last happy list, so I'll be combining things from the past few weeks.

1. Celebrating Gabriel's birthday


2. Watching Wednesday with John (This is a great series.)


3. Carvel Strawberry Crunchie Ice Cream Cake


4. Cozy Christmas pajamas and warm, fuzzy socks


5. Sleeping in


6. New Valentine's treats at Target


7. After Ever Happy (Surprisingly, I have enjoyed the After film series.) 


8. The Invitation (I absolutely love horror movies and loved that the film was inspired by Dracula.)


9. Reading so many great books (I highly recommend You Had Your Chance, Lee Burrows by Piper Rayne. I'll share a review on the blog soon.)


10. Conversations with Mami and Jaileny


What made you happy this week?


Thanks for visiting!


Until next time...

Friday, December 16, 2022

Christmas Joy: Then And Now



Oh, Christmas...this time of year always brings me a full blast of nostalgia, especially now that I have children. A couple of weeks ago, while we were visiting Mami, and I was admiring one of Mami's ornaments on her Christmas tree, one of my sons asked me what Christmas was like when I was growing up. I was immediately hit with a good dose of nostalgia and joy. To answer my son's question, I told him...

Christmas was a day full of joy, laughter, and love when I was a kid. We always wore fancy clothes even though it was just going to be us and we were not going anywhere. We celebrated it at home. Instead of listening to classic Christmas songs on repeat, we listened and danced to bachata and merengue. Mami always went all out with Christmas dinner. It was truly a Dominican Christmas.  We ate delicious food and treats. Also, Christmas Eve was our Christmas Day. I can't recall making cookies for Santa, but I remember staying up late with my sisters and brother until midnight. Once it was midnight, we were allowed to open our gifts. I would try to fight my sleep and stay up all night, but of course, I would lose the battle. Christmas Day was just a day for us to rest and play with our new gifts. We'd eat leftovers and watch cartoons together. It was simply a low-key day.

Now that I'm an adult with my own children, Christmas is slightly different for us. We still spend Christmas Eve with Mami, but I've added a few traditions for my own family. We pick out an ornament every year and have bought matching pajamas for the past couple of years, two of my favorite things to do during the holiday season. We go to our city's Christmas tree lighting, and I am always hit with the memory of going to Rockefeller Center as a child and watching the massive tree with its beautiful lights. We go out to watch Christmas lights displays. I make an insane amount of hot chocolate and am always trying new flavors. We have stockings and watch holiday movies together. One of our favorite movies to watch is The Nightmare Before Christmas. I blast classic Christmas songs as well as merengue and bachata music. I bake as much as possible. I display my kids' Christmas arts and crafts. Most importantly, I get to watch the magic and joy of Christmas through my children's eyes. That is the greatest gift of all and my all-time favorite Christmas joy. 

There may be a few differences between the Christmas of my past and present, but one thing remains the same, the joy is still there. 


This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale - an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Then and Now."

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

If You And I Had Coffee

If you and I had coffee...

We'd meet at one of our favorite local, small-business coffee shops. I'd probably order a seasonal hot chocolate, most likely a peppermint hot chocolate. I've been on a peppermint kick which is weird because I'm not a big peppermint fan. I'd order some type of pastry with chocolate because that's another thing I'm currently obsessed with. And no, I'm not pregnant. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I recently received an arc of Timothy Goodman's upcoming graphic memoir, I Always Think It's Forever, and I absolutely loved it. I bookmarked so many pages, which I rarely do with ebooks or physical books. I'm currently reading I Gave Myself the World by Catarine Hancock and enjoying it. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm still a little anxious, but things are looking up. I got some great news, and I'm looking forward to the new year. It looks like 2023 will be a big year, and I'm hoping it will be a really amazing year. I'll probably share more about my news soon, but I want to keep it to myself. I want to keep the news to myself because I don't want to jinx it. Is that strange?

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm so over this weather. I love rainy days, but it's been so gloomy and ugly outside for the past week. I don't even mind if it's a bit cold, but the constant rain and fog have been annoying. I need some sunshine. And oh my God, I feel so old now because I'm talking (well writing) about the weather. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm glad that we were able to meet up again. I love these little chats, which are always a favorite part of my month. I hope you enjoy the holidays and spend time with your loved ones.


What would you tell me?


Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...


Photo by Ruth Georgiev on Unsplash

Friday, December 9, 2022

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly grateful and happy list linkup. 


1. John's new work schedule


2. This hot cocoa topper idea


3. All the Christmas romance novellas


4. Rainy and foggy mornings


5. These words by Amy Turn Sharp


6. Making a batch of my chicken tortilla soup


7. The laundry basket is finally empty...for now.


8. Deep dish pepperoni pizza 


9. Christmas music, especially Sleigh Ride by the Ronettes


10. Warm blankets and Christmas pajamas


What made you happy this week?


Thanks for visiting!


Until next time...

Monday, December 5, 2022

December Goals

Happy Monday! I'm so glad it's finally December because November was absolutely the worst month for me. It was an absolute dumpster fire, and I can assure you that if I ever have to reflect on November 2022, I will not look back at those memories with joy. 

We had something significant happen to us in November, but things are returning to normal, and I am incredibly grateful for that. Although November was mostly a scary month, a few moments were great. We celebrated Thanksgiving at mami's house. I got a lot of stuff done way in advance, so I didn't have to worry too much about things on my to-do list. We finished Christmas shopping. I took an important test and got a near-perfect score! Hooray for that because so many opportunities can open up for me because I passed the exam. 

November was a brutal month, but it taught me many things. I still tried to focus on being grateful, although I will admit that there were times when it was hard to focus on gratitude. Now November took an unexpected turn for me, and although I didn't focus too much on my goals, I did try to work on a few things here and there.

Since it's a new month, and I'm trying to get things back to normal, now is a good time to share my December goals and recap how I did with my November goals.

Recap of November Goals

  • Read 5 books: I read 20 books in November. I usually read many more books than that, but as I've mentioned, November was just an absolute dumpster fire. However, I made sure to read because reading is a comfort for me. One of my favorite reads was Galatea by Madeline Miller. Galatea is a short story retelling with a unique spin on the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. I loved that the story was told from the perspective of the statue, Galatea. Another favorite read was Golden by Wilder. This collection was a bit happier than Wilder's previous collection of poetry, Nocturnal. 
  • Complete 2 half-finished memory-keeping projects: I didn't work on my creative projects in November. I was not in a good place or mood to work on memory-keeping projects. 
  • Publish 1 personal piece on the blog: I did publish a personal piece about five things that bring me comfort (especially while I was going through a rough time). You can read it here. I also shared my monthly If You and I Had Coffee post.
  • Participate in Exhale's November blog hop: I'm disappointed that I didn't participate in Exhale's November blog hop, but I still plan to publish my piece on the blog. 


December Goals
  • Read 5 books
  • Read and review 2 books I received from Netgalley
  • Complete 1 half-finished memory-keeping project
  • Publish 2 personal pieces on the blog
  • Participate in Exhale's December blog hop
  • Try 1 new recipe


What are your goals for December? How did you do in November?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...


Saturday, December 3, 2022

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Saturday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link-up.


1. Resting Scrooge Face by Meghan Quinn


2. Much-needed encouraging words


3. Writing and creating again after a couple of weeks of feeling down


4. Things are starting to look up 


5. These words by Megan Minutillo


6. Poetry Prompts by @theconstantpoet and @hazel.poetry


7. Finding really great deals


8. Passing a really important assessment (I'll share more news on that...eventually.)


9. Comfort food


10. Quiet moments throughout the day


What made you happy this week?


Thanks for visiting!


Until next time...