Happy Mother’s Day!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend with all of the mothers in your life.
I had a lovely weekend celebrating two special moms in my life.
On Saturday, #TeamJudy completed our third Miles for Moffitt in honor and memory of my mom Judy. It was a beautiful day with friends and family and we raised an AMAZING $1,400 for Moffitt Cancer Center! Continue reading
Guess who’s birthday is today…… 
YUP! It’s BRIAN’S Birthday!!!!!! (and his brother’s too! Remember.. he’s a twin!) 😉 Continue reading
Something special arrived this week in my classroom…
The 2nd semester curriculum of 6th grade science in Florida starts with units on cells and how they divide, grow and eventually form living organisms. Continue reading
If you knew my mom Judy, you know about her obsession with all things Disney.
Disney Cruises and Disney World, among her favorite destinations. Continue reading
What an amazing year it’s been! Check out my favorite moments from 2013!
In January, Brian and I ran our first 5k of 2013: The Glow Run! (I still swoon over my glow in the dark medal!) Continue reading
“To express gratitude is to put into words a beautiful sense of wholeness. Recognizing the people, the experiences, and the extraordinary gifts of life which feed our souls.”
Life is empty when there is no purpose. Everyday I ask myself what I’d like to accomplish that day to improve some aspect of life.
Whether it’s a small task, like routine chores to help make our house a home, or a significant task, like giving my time to improve the lives of others, I try to assign meaning to everything I do. It may not make sense to you, but it’s how I live.
I know that life can be cut short. Therefore I will continue to live a meaningful life. These day to day experiences make me who I am. They fill my mind with memories and moments that I will cherish until I can no longer remember them, and hopefully make a difference in the lives of those I interact with.
For the week of Thanksgiving, I got an opportunity to give back to my community in two ways. On Saturday, I rounded my chicas together for an afternoon preparing and cooking dinner for the families currently residing at the Ronald McDonald House. Read more about our experiences volunteering at the House here.
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I was invited by Denise, the organizer of The Tampa Bay Bloggers, for a day of giving back at the Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent in Tampa. I had never volunteered for MM before, so I was excited to see what it was all about. I was able to bring some guests with me to help out for the 4 hour shift. Volunteering is always, ALWAYS better with friends 😉
The Metropolitan Ministries tent is located at 400 West. Palm Avenue in Tampa (behind Blake High School near the Hillsborough River). It is set up seasonally, to aide families during the holiday season. Additionally, there are donation tents set up in Largo and Holiday. However, MM accepts donations and assists families and individuals in need all throughout the year, not just during the holiday season! Read more about their mission and services here.
We spent our shift directly working with the clients receiving services at MM. When clients qualify for assistance, they are able to come directly to the holiday tent to “shop”. We acted as personal shoppers for the clients, and it was such a rewarding experience getting to interact with them on a one-to-one level, instead of behind the scenes. Metropolitan Ministries is extremely organized, and has a seamless system paying attention to even the smallest details. The shopping area was divided into about 10 identical aisles and the volunteer would stand at the end of the aisle with a cart and a box, waiting for the client to be sent down to us. When they arrived, we’d guide them through their shopping experience, directing them to the different sections and telling them how many of each item they could choose. The quantity of the items they could choose depended on the size of their family.
The shelves of each aisle were divided into sections: cereals, starches (rice, pasta, potatoes), stuffing, yams/pumpkin, canned vegetables, beans (dry and canned), canned fruit (including applesauce), cranberry, sweets and miscellaneous items. As they chose their items, we would bag them, then walk them to the area in the front of the tent to pickup either their turkey or chicken (individuals and couples received a whole chicken). Then we would return to our assigned aisle to meet another client and help them shop once again! 
I helped close to 20 clients during my shift. Some quietly shopped along, while others engaged in conversation with me. Some were nervous, some were teary, claiming they had always given before, but they just couldn’t this year. Some were embarrassed, hoping to not be seen by someone they knew. Some were pregnant, some were immigrants experiencing their first Thanksgiving. Although they were all very different, the one thing they had in common was the fact that they were grateful for the help they were receiving this year from Metropolitan Ministries. They were grateful for the kindness of the volunteers, and the generosity of their community.
My experience at Metropolitan Ministries was such a rewarding one. I’ll be returning to volunteer some shifts before Christmas. If you’d like join me, please let me know! The tent will also be open for donations throughout the remaining holiday season. For more information on the drop off locations in the Bay area, click here.
In addition, here is a list to refer to regarding the items that are needed the most for the holiday season.
This year I’m thankful for so many things. I’m thankful for the experiences that mold and shape my own life. I’m thankful for my family and friends who are always there for me to lend an ear or provide a laugh. I’m thankful for my career, and my education, for it has given me a way to make a difference in the lives of students and teachers each and every day. I’m thankful for my health and my strength. I’m thankful for our home and yes, even our cats. 😉 I’m thankful for my parents, for they never let my brother and I do without; even when times were tough. I’m thankful to have 32 years of memories of my mother that forever live in my mind. And most of all, I’m thankful for Brian; my love and my best friend. The first person I see when I wake up in the morning and hear “I love you” from.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday and a happy Thanksgiving!
How do you make life meaningful? What are you most thankful for this year?
Steph
PS- Read all about Christy’s experience volunteering at Metropolitan Ministries. 🙂
When my mom first passed away, it was all I could think about.
I could barely say her name, or look at her picture. It was too devastating.
As you learn to live life after the loss of a parent, difficult thoughts don’t consume your life as much. You learn to replace constant grief with events, activities and memories. You return to work, revert to normal daily habits, and just, well, go on.
Not a day goes by that I don’t think about or speak of my mother. But since her passing I have learned to deal in ways I never imagined I would be able to a year ago. Life doesn’t seem as hard as it once did because you’ve accepted the fact that you have no other choice than to continue living. No matter how much you cry, scream, yell, mope, or blame, it won’t change what happened. And so your brain learns to deal. And it does a surprisingly good job at it.
I have my moments though. Those quiet moments of sheer solitude where you think about your loved one and freak the fuck out when you realize that yup, they’re gone, and it’s quite unbelievable. I still get those moments of deep panic where I feel like my body has forgotten how to breathe. And then you begin to cry and can’t even pinpoint the cause of the tears. Do you miss them? Are you scared? Are they tears of anger? Disbelief? Guilt? Utter sadness?
Tears came out tonight as I shut the television off and prepared to head to bed. I just sat on the sofa and reflected on things for a moment. Staring up at my wooden plank ceiling I thought about how happy I am to live here with Brian, and how much he loves me. Those feelings and thoughts made me miss my mother desperately. She only came to visit us once, when we had just moved in. She was weak, and could barely climb up the stairs to the porch. She sat in our front living room. I can still see her there. I had cooked crab legs for us, but my mom insisted on having ice cream for dinner, so when we finished, we loaded up in the car and headed over to Bo’s; the local ice cream shop.
We ordered chocolate dipped cones and sat on picnic tables outside the shoppe enjoying our treats on that cold January evening, waving to my mom who remained in the Green Suzuki, eating her cone from inside the warm car. I can still picture her sitting in the passenger seat, bundled up with her jacket, with her bald head and glasses on. Chocolate dipped cones were always her favorite.
Although I don’t like to keep memories of my mother during her illness in the forefront of my mind, I don’t mind keeping this one in my pocket. It’s the only memory I have of my mom at this house, and its comforting to know she was here.
Today was awesome.
That’s me representing Team Judy on Fox13’s Good Day Tampa Bay!
Like my face? Yeah, apparently I make a lot of weird faces on live TV.
I’ve been working with the people over at Dirty Girl 5k Mud Run since last year. I blogged as a Dirty Girl Ambassador, completed the muddy 5k in February, was interviewed for an article in the St. Pete Times, wrote an article for the Dirty Girl 5k mud run blog and now, this ambassadorship has given me an opportunity to talk all about my efforts with Team Judy on the local news!
I arrived about 30 minutes before I was to go on air, checked in and sat in the green room for a while until the producers came to take me to the studio. They gave me a rundown of what questions they’d be asking during the interview, so as I waited, I looked it over and prepped.
When it was time, the producer walked me into the main studio and into the area where I’d be doing the interview in. I was amazed at how quiet it was throughout the studio. While I waited for my segment to start, the producer let me snoop around. I even got to watch the anchors deliver the news!
I had such a blast at Fox13 this morning talking all about Dirty Girl and Team Judy! Click on the link below to check out my interview!
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9465621
Want to join us at this year’s Dirty Girl 5k in the Tampa Bay Area? Read all the details here!
Have you ever been on television? I must say this was a first for me, and I was in awe the entire time!
Steph 🙂
A few weeks ago, my friend Monica and I got together for coffee one Friday after work. She needed to vent (desperately) and I was happy to lend an ear. Monica’s life is full of adventures, so it’s always interesting to hear her stories. 😉
By the end of the evening, two other friends had joined us, turning a quick after work coffee visit into a 6 hour long girl’s night out.
A few hours into our coffees we realized we all had food on the brain.
We decided to forgo pastries from the Starbucks counter and head to dinner somewhere. Living in Seminole Heights there are always amazing places right around the corner to try out. Sarah and Liz had never been to Ella’s, so before we could think twice, we were there, putting our names down.
By this point it was close to ten. We were hungry and frustrated by the hour and a half wait for a spot. Ella’s has this awesome outdoor patio area and it was suggested that we sit out there and order from the bar. It was a perfect evening, a little cool from after the rain, so we all agreed that would be the plan.
What happened next, no one could predict. No one.
I had known Liz for a few years. But it’s true what they say: You really don’t know someone, until you realllllly know them.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love Liz. She’s become one of my best friends. She’s extremely smart, funny, kind, and there for her friends no matter what. However, Liz was withholding a little secret from us all this time. And until that fateful evening at Ella’s, we were totally in the dark.
I didn’t realize it at first. I mean, I noticed she had decided to pull up a chair to the outdoor booth, but I didn’t think twice about it. I figured she just didn’t want to take a chance of her pants getting wet from the wooden booth. As we ordered beers and munched on appetizers, I started to see her get a bit fidgety, but again, no big deal. Nothing terribly out of the ordinary. But then. Suddenly. Out of the blue. Appeared this uncontrollable, irrational, blood-curdling screech making me think there was a Walker behind me ready to tear my face off. Then, we all watched as Liz did this:
Like a frantic crab running along the shore, Liz left our table, ran over to a nearby barstool and began to climb on top of it. It appeared as though she was escaping some unknown force, but we didn’t see a thing! With panic in her voice she screamed “OVER THERE! OVER THERE! ABOVE YOUR HEAD STEPHANIE! OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH IT’S HUGE!”
Well, you can imagine my own fear as I envisioned massive blood thirsty bats hovering over my head, waiting to suck my brains out. I looked around, listening to the laughs of Monica and Sarah, assuring me it was nothing more than a small spider, trapezing through the trees above me, minding her own business in the night. Unfortunately, for Liz, this was doom. Apparently, her biggest, most spine chilling fears are driven by those of the smallest kind: bugs. Here’s a picture of the horrid little creature. It’s blurry, mostly because we were laughing too much to stay still and get a good shot.
Well, after much coaxing, and convincing that little Charlotte wasn’t going to end any lives tonight, Liz came back to the table, just in time to calmly enjoy Ella’s famous bacon and egg pizza.
But then. Just when we thought the rest of the evening would be smooth sailing. They appeared.
By the hundreds.
Creeping and squeezing their little shiny, winged bodies through the cracks in the deck underneath Liz’s feet.
Sorry. I couldn’t bring myself to putting a closeup photograph of a cockroach on my blog. Nope, not gonna happen. We’ve all seen them, so at this point, go ahead and create a mental picture of thousands hundreds about 10 roaches crawling around a wooden deck taunting Liz with their creepy little antennae flailing in the wind as they peeked through the separations in the deck.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Liz developed a bad case of indigestion from trying to eat and Riverdance the roaches away from her feet.
Monica, the logical one, attempted to calm Liz with words of wisdom that just went in one ear and out the other.
I spilled pizza all over my work polo, but the spilled pizza toppings came in handy, as I threw them away from our table in an attempt to distract the roaches.
And Sarah? Well who do you think was brilliant enough to capture this all on film for me to blog about? Genius.
Oh and because I’ve thoroughly disgusted you by this point, here’s a yummy recipe for Pumpkin Spice Crinkle Cookies.
There, now the image of a roach eating an egg is out of your head.
Have you ever been to Ella’s? Be careful if you dine outside! It’s wild kingdom, apparently. 😉
Love you Liz!!! <3 Steph
I do the most thinking about my mom while I’m in the kitchen.
Like on lazy Sundays when the TV is off, the guy is hanging out with his brother and the only sound heard is the sharp edge of my knife slicing and chop chop chopping against a smooth bamboo cutting board.
I love that sound. Sometimes I will just chop, dice and slice every bit of produce I’ll need for a week all in the same day just so that I can practice the art. You know, just in case I’m ever on Food Network Star or something. 😉
Those moments of solitude and silence are when I relive stories of my mom. Never a day goes by that I don’t try my hardest to remember things. Sometimes I feel as if I don’t make a conscious effort to go through those 32 years of life, year by year, I’ll forget something important that I want to be able to remember and share with my own children.
My mom loved to be in the kitchen, just like I do. She was in her element entertaining, cooking up comfort foods (like her scrumptious chicken parmigiana!), baking for a crowd, or prepping a Thanksgiving feast.
I’ve mentioned before what a picky eater my mom was. My dad was the complete opposite. He’d eat just about anything (and anywhere!). He’s dined at some sketchy establishments that my mother wouldn’t even drive by. Somehow my palette fell somewhere in between.
As I was prepping ingredients for fruit smoothies the other day, I was reminded of something I had forgotten about my mother. As much of a finicky eater that she was, she did possess some very strange eating habits! One of her favorite foods of all time was ropa vieja (old clothes). It’s a Cuban staple of stewed flank steak in a rich tomato sauce cooked for hours until it’s fork tender and served over rice. My grandmother would make it for her all the time, and after she passed, my godmother Laurie took over and made it for my mom.
The strange part about my mom’s love affair with this dish was in the way she ate it. She would start with a base of white or yellow rice, top it with a scoop of the saucy ropa vieja, then top the beef with sliced bananas.
No, not plantains. Bananas. You know, regular bananas that you would make smoothies with? Yup, those. Bright yellow bananas slices right on top. She would then proceed to fork all three into one bite and add more slices if she ran out.
I would have to ask my uncles or my mom’s cousins when and how my mother conjured up this crazy creation. But as far as I can remember, this is how she ate her ropa vieja. It didn’t stop there though. Mom would also add banana slices to her yellow rice and chicken!
I couldn’t help but laugh at loud when I was thinking of this story. I think I’ll have to whip out Clarita’s Cocina next week and try my hand at making ropa vieja. Maybe I’ll through a few banana slices in honor of my mom so that I can taste what all the fuss was about!
Do you have any strange eating habits?
Steph 🙂
PS- Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!
