Blessings of the 28th Year

I recently had a birthday. We all have them of course, but as I was perusing through my pictures I thought: I need to do a recap of my 28th year. Holy cow was it full of blessings, adventures, and an exploration into the mysteries of life like one cannot fully describe.

Now (take a deep breath)...here's the short play-by-play:

I was in a movie about one year ago.. (okay I was just an extra). I saw Phillip Glass in concert on the summer solstice accompanied with my sweet angel "formally" asking me to marry him. I visited my brother and sister in law in Finland, accompanied with traveling around the country of Finland, then going to Sweden and Denmark. I traveled back and forth from NYC to the Yoga Ranch quite a bit where I stayed for extended periods in a tent. We went to Canada, Maine, and Vermont. I finished up an MBA at Baruch in Entrepreneurship & Sustainable Business, and I loved every minute of it. We had one wedding which we decided upon the date seven days before its occurrence which meant me running around Curry Hill gathering Indian food ingredients and going to M&J trims to buy random strings, ribbons, and other various decorations. I tried on lots of wedding dresses for our more traditional ceremony that was held in Texas on New Year's Eve. A kitten came into our lives and became number 3 in this new family. We waited out a hurricane in an airstream as trees crashed down all around us. I had one last hurah with a bachelorette party where, afterwards, I swore off drinking and smoking forever more. Christmas in Houston - Wedding in Austin - New York goodbye - then INDIA for 7 weeks. Back to New York where I battled vertigo but had some deep spiritual insights (in India too). I housesat at the most magical home in the catskills where we had to nurse a sweet little pup to her last days on earth. I experienced blizzards. My brother Jeff had his first sweet baby, Magnus. We packed up the Rav and a UHAUL and put the kitten in her travel house and drove from New York to Houston. Along the way we stopped first in Nyack to say bye to Cassy and to eat gluten free sweets. We celebrated Dennis' 60th birthday in Arlington. We spent the night in Gatlinburg and dropped in at Dollywood. We stopped at "The Farm" then drove onto New Orleans where we visited our friend Joe for lunch. Then Houston. We packed up and got rid of most of my entire life's belongings. Now my parents can move into their new home and not need to sort through 29 years of their princess-daughter's life. Then. We boarded a plane with Kitten, stopped overnight in San Juan. And alas, Dominica. Whew.

Thank you Lord for this year. My heart is filled with gratitude. The people, the places, the spaces. Wow. How can one girl afford such a wealth of experience? My heart is overflowing.


And now for the pictorial recap:

Movie Set in Parksville, NY

Phillip Glass at Battery Park

July 4th at Battery Park over the Hudson River

Trying on dresses, this was my favorite

with Jeff in Helsinki at the Hyatt by the airport

in Helsinki with Alex, Jeff & Molly 

Picnic on a hike

In Turku Castle, Jeff put on full metal chain-male 

Stockholm with Alex

Mom as a Finnish maiden

Coppenhagen Sand Castle Exhibition

With Mom at a cafe somewhere in Scandanavia

At the Subramanya temple in Canada

In some caves in Vermont nearing New York state border

In Maine sailing a boat

Near Woodbourne, NY doing some yoga exercises

Trying on "the dress" at Kleinfeld's

Ma making our malas for our Indian style wedding

Kitty relaxin' out the storm in the airstream

Trying not to freak out at the stripper ordered for the bachelorette

My lovies in Austin at Karaoke before the wedding

Stevie outside a Ganesha temple in Goa

In a hidden treasure nook on the grounds of a Rajasthani Castle

The Taj

Lighting our unity candle

Bathing in the tirtum in Kanyakumari

Babysitting Oscar in the snowy New York Catskills

Loving Magnus from afar

our favorite Annopji at the Yoga Ranch

Visiting my childhood first idol: Dolly

At The Farm in an octagonal stain glass dome

Mom with her Bluebonnet-wildflower bouquet in Mexia, TX

Kitty traveling in the Miami airport

Our first meal in Dominica!

Thank you for sharing the memories and the journey. Love and Peace to all!