A look back at 2012...

I spend the better part of 2012 out of the blogs-phere and dealing with some crazy and amazing stuff.
However just like most things in life when I look back, I see a lot of good mixed in with some awfulness.
As life had taught me when we overcome difficulties we become a better or a worse version of ourselves. Please join me as I look back at the year that was 2012.
I'll start with:

Late November: my birthday.

My favorite Latino style cake which is extremely sweet, made with all natural ingredients and just plain yummy for a lack of a better adjective.

My dunch (in my house this means dinner/lunch) choice was Whole Foods.

The girls and I ate wraps, soups and sandwiches and talked for about an hour and half.

I wore: my old black and white shirt from SteinMart, Xhilaration $7.00 skirt from Target
(my new gift to myself), Steve Madden purse from Marshalls and a variety of costume and real silver jewelry that was bought in a period that spans the last 20 years.

November 22: Thanksgiving feast at mami's place. Home made empanadas, arroz amarillo, vegetables and deliciously seasoned turkey meat.

Younger daughter and my niece taking and afternoon stroll down Lincoln Rd.
My youngest daughter has chopped off her long hair and donated it to Locks of Love back in September.

Oldest daughter and abuela making sure than they walk-off some of the Thanksgiving feast calories

November: Me before going out, displaying my early birthday present (the yellow and green purse) from my friend Cathy.

I wore:  Liz Claiborne purse, my old Target yellow shirt, Calvin Klein cardigan purchased at Marshalls, Ellavie skirt purchased about 3 years ago and my old wedges.

 November 3rd: early voting.

The lines were long, people were nicer than in 2008 and the weather was amazing. By the way this is around 9 am on a Saturday morning in a city library parking lot.
DISCLAIMER: THE PEOPLE IN THESE PHOTOS HAVE NO RELATIONS TO ME, MY BLOG OR MY POLITICAL AFFILIATION. THEY JUST HAPPEN TO BE IN LINE WITH ME WHEN I TOOK THIS PHOTO.

I did it and now I felt ready to conquer wold peace with the help of Jimi and my voting sticker as armor.

Well just in case you didn't know; I guess now you do.

I wore: new shirt and skirt from Forever 21, my oldest daughter's green cardigan, no name bag from SteinMart from many years ago, bracelets from India and local stores, the necklaces from SteinMart and the small green earrings are from my time in NYC.

Its was a glorious day to vote and to be around here.

A view of the reason why many of us Caribbean people call this part of Florida our own.

October: visiting my mom and spending time in Lincoln Road weekend fair.

By now you should know of my love for the Brazilian artist Romero Britto and I was very excited to find out that he has his own gallery on Lincoln Road.

I wore: my old Tommy Hilfiger skirt, 4 years old Target shirt, my thrifted Lacoste cardigan, SteinMart no-name reversible purse and my Steve Madden sandals.

I wanted to buy  the two red robots until I checked how much they cost. Tourist prices!

Okay, this is Miami; please come visit us because we have shinny red penguins. 

We also sell coconut water for $5.00 and we make piraguas (a Puerto Rican a frozen drink that is made from shaving ice and fruit flavored drink that we poured it into an ice cream cone) for $4.

September: in the Old Navy dressing room before purchasing my first retail pair of jeans since 2007!

August: youngest daughter's first day of college.

August: here we are comparing bracelets during my niece's birthday.

The last week in August: this is how my PT Cruiser looked after the car accident!!!!
A few months back I couldn't even look at this and any of the others pictures that I took because I felt so overwhelmed and mad at the son of a bitch that caused it, but now I see it as a reminder of a how lucky and how loved I felt afterwards. It also makes me think of all the support I got from my family, friends and all of the amazing comments and email that I got after everyone heard about the accident.

This is how the inside of the car looked after all the air bags and seat belts and my angels protected me.
I will always have a lingering reminder of this moment because I have a 30% bone loss on my Lumbar Disk that causes me pain often and that makes appreciate my body even more and all the wonders of it functions. 

July 4th: the aftermath of fireworks.

Late June: Attention Doctor Who fans...the amazing River Song...the amazing Alex Kingston answering my youngest daughter question at a Anime Convention.

We love her! I still remember when she was in ER and when she was PBS's Moll Flanders.

Early June: high school graduation. Here she is with so many of her friends from high and middle school.

After the graduation it was cloudy and rainy.

I wore: my new Ellen Tracy dress (not made for women with large breast), thrifted bracelets, Indian earrings and Nicole Lee purse and print shoes umbrella.

June 8th:  this was our county end of the year party held at the Hard Rock Cafe. This was my last day of employment at my dream job after my position was cut due to budget issues. Early on I decided the hell with it and enjoy the night.
By the way, a week later I was recommended for a job interview and after the interview I got my new the job. Even though I was only unemployed for about 10 days; those 10 days felt like an eternity.

I wore: MSK made in the USA dress, SteinMart sandals and thrifted satin bag.

Late May: doing a bit of self-celebration and self-congratulation for making it through high school, middle schools and elementary schools years and for making through the countless driving hours, malls and movies outings, more than I can think of amounts of cash, sleepless nights, arguments and laughter. I raise my girls mostly on my own but lots of help from a large village of friends and a small but very involved village of family members.

I wore: Rafaella, made in Hong Kong cardigan, Nicole Miller dress purchased many years ago, a satin belt from India brought to me as a present from a co-worker, a thrifted Limited purse and a variety of old accessories.

My good friend Jeniffer took me out for Chinese food to continue with the celebratory mood.

May: Mothers' Day.

April: Easter at my mom's church.

Love the church high ceilings and chandeliers. It was absolutely beautiful when you are inside and the music and singing added to the relaxing atmosphere.

Mami and youngest daughter. This was a special Easter because a couple of months before my mom had two stent heart veins procedures, and even though these procedures are commonly done the first one that she had done got complicated when she develop arrhythmia and had to stay in the hospital an extra day which was freaking scary. Her second procedures went smoothly and she was home the day after.

Walking back to my mom's place after mass.

I wore: a hand-screen print cardigan from Darlene Knitwear (according to my Salvation Army lady is from the 60's), my old Signature London Style dress made in Sri Lanka and my equally old Tiannl dress.

Besos, Ofelia