Our 364 days that have passed

Today is December 30, 2008.
Today, 1 year ago, our baby daughter was 25 days old. Today, 1 year later, she is walking, babbling like she's carrying out multiple conversations with different people at once, crawling up the stairs "without telling us" and giving us homeopathic doses of heart attacks, and already showing us a little hint of a strong personality (maybe her Italian genes...or her Cuban genes?..you know, the Latin blood!) when she throws a tiny temper tantrum when you try to take away the house phone from her hands (or mouth...).

This year we have been blessed in so many ways. While we managed to stay somewhat afloat during the worldwide financial meltdown, we actually encountered great opportunities to better ourselves as human beings, hence, living a better life.

As for me, Denise, I learned that, while our living room "library/office" is not the tidiest room in the house, it doesn't bother me that much, because I know that at the same time Gabi's kitchen cabinet is fully stocked, the dogs and cats and our sweet, senile guinea-pig have food for the next 7 days, our laundry is washed (and neatly folded on the dining room table - which is a great location, I must say, right between the laundry room and our Master bedroom), and I know exactly what needs to be bought the next day at the groceries store. I managed to organize my closet many, many times during the year. This is a great accomplishment, believe me. The worst was when my parents were here visiting in December, because you could not walk into my closet, period. But, Mami, I'm proud to tell you that the closet is once again, a walk-in closet and that it looks quite decent!

Motherhood has brought new sense to my life as a woman and a wife (wife = strongly means taking care of everything that goes on in the house, no matter what it is related to). While I have become much more organized in many ways that I cannot even believe, my greatest accomplishment being the drastically reduced rate of procrastination in my life, there is simply less time for playing "couch potato", sitting back watching girly DVDs and letting the day go by, getting our nails done, or doing these little things that we all love doing once in a while just to unwind. There is less time to "take our time to decide". This means, I've learned to make decisions faster because of my baby. Really! If she has pooped a gigantic poop at the restaurant....what do you do? What do you do???!! Getting rid of the stinker is #1 priority, and oops, the poop decided to go up her back too, because it's so huge! Thank goodness I brought that extra change of clothes, huh? So....change her in the bathroom? Drive home like a maniac to change her and immediately throw her in the bathtub/shower?...maybe change her in the car? Yes...all these thoughts cross my mind in a matter of 1 second, and I have another second to decide, and another second to act. By the way, no, I would not drive home like a maniac to change her! At the house, I've been learning how to live and work with 1 hand. It's not that bad. I hold Gabi in my left arm, and sit her on my hips (thank goodness I have some good, womanly hips, let me tell you!). I then do all kinds of stuff with my right hand! I even pick up things that fall on the floor with my toes! Imagine that! I have developed great biceps and a strong back! Now that she is walking, she does not want to be in my arms thaaaat often, but still, many times she still does. People ask me what type of post-pregnancy diet and exercise routine I have adopted. Uhm,... I wish I had time to exercise (no, we are currently not going to the gym anymore...) and to plan and cook a healthy diet everyday...I have lost my pregnancy weight by the time Gabi turned 6 months, and I am about 3Kg (7lbs.) lighter right now than when I became pregnant in 2007. The secret, I realize now, is the following: No magic diet. No magic exercise routine. Instead, get up early, have breakfast (I cannot live if I don't have a good breakfast), have a morning snack (mine is tea and chocolate), have a good lunch with dessert and have a miserable dinner. Really. My evenings are so busy, many, many times, that sometimes all I eat for dinner is a banana or a slice of toast with guava jam. I drink a lot of tea, and I don't stop. From the minute I wake up, I'm on the move because of Gabi and all the pets and my own necessities. So, there you go. No time to think about losing the weight has led me to succeed in it...I just left it for my sub-conscious mind to work on it. Also, sleep a lot. With Gabi, I've been sleeping (even though I wake up several times still), an average of 10h per night. However, the greatest boost though, has to be the fact that I am still (!) breatsfeeding her! She eats all kinds of foo now, but little Gabi still wants her daily and nightly booby-milk!

I took Spring 2008 off from my Master's program at UCF. I returned in the Fall, taking 1 class (Research Methodology in the Hospitality Industry) and did very well. Next Spring I will take another class (Advanced Training and Development) and hope to do as well. I'm quite excited about that class! I've also been dedicating some great amount of time to the creation of my consulting business "International Etiquette Solutions Inc.". While I wished all was set up and I had many clients already, I understand that I should be happy with the current accomplishments first. My little frustration of "let's get it done, already" is silly, and there is no need for any rush at this point. I'm still learning how to balance being a Mother, Wife Myself and an ambitious business owner, so, for now, I'm very happy. When you check out the web site, though, please note that the picture of the friendly, pretty lady is not mine!

This year was special in so many ways, and one very special example is the fact that Brittany, Richard's daughter, has chosen to live with us, possibly until she finishes high-school, which will be in June 2010. Brittany has been a great help around the house, and it's a great joy having her with us. Moreover, though, she's proven us that she is a good girl, with a good head on her shoulders, and while she may resist our suggestions first, a bit later she choses the right way. She had her 1st seasonal job, at JC Penney, and is now applying for a part-time job. I feel blessed to have her in my life. I'm so excited that next year, we'll get to go on college tours here in Florida! Brittany wants to study Criminal Investigation, and maybe one day, her and her Daddy will even work together!...the cute thing: Gabriella loves her, and many times it seems like she's saying "Sister!" to Brittany!

In August, we had the chance of being present at my sister's wedding in Rio de Janeiro. That was an amazing trip. It was Gabriella's first international trip, and all went well. We also took little Richie with us. He had an amazing time, and we were all so surprised to see how much fun he had at the wedding! He made some good friends, especially Stephan, from Austria, and got along well with my cousins! The wedding was out of this world, and was the most beautiful wedding I've ever attended (we should never compare any wedding to our own...that would be weird!). My sister was a stunning bride and we were all impressed by the mega production that went on to bring alive this amazing wedding ceremony and celebration! Here, you can find their wedding site, and many pictures taken by friends and family. I believe, they still want to add ore content to the site.
In December, my parents came to visit. We celebrated Gabi's 1st birthday with a nice tweety-bird party, and had our friends and family over to share. It was so much fun, especially the face paiting and bounce house to jump around. While my parents were here, they helped us around the house a lot, and we are so greatful for that. We got to go to the Magic Kingdom (a Disney park), and had a great time, even though it was so packed! We ate out a lot, took Gabi to take a picture with Santa-Claus, went to the movies (not with Gabi), visited friends who had just had their beautiful baby girl, and played with Gabi a whole lot! They were also here in May, when my sister came along as well. That was such a fun time, but Gabi was only 5.5 months old at that time. Now, she's a big girl!

Richard has been doing very well. He did find out that his heart beats an extra heartbeat every now and then, and while this bothers him a lot, it is not life threatening. He just needs to live a healthy life in general, and reduce his anxiety levels. That might sometimes be a bit challenging, as the nature of his work is quite "stressful" for your mind and body at times. He has completed his mandatory internship in private investigation about half a year ago, but had been employed as the chief investigator for the agency he's been working for, for over 1.5 years. From January 01 on, the agency "Brown & Depp, LLC" will become "Brown & Divar, Inc.", and will belong to us, Richard and myself. Pete Depp (yes, by the way he is Johnny Depp's cousin but Johnny never really took time to come out and visit Pete here in Orlando! I have not given up any hopes yet!), decided to sell the agency and stay as a consultant for criminal cases, which Richard does not do, and we decided it was a great opportunity to make this very important move that will change our lives from night to day, literally speaking. We are very, very excited. Richard will continue taking on all the cases and talking to the clients etc, while I will not have any interaction with the clients (I cannot, as I am not licensed), but will oversee all office operations. We have a great secretary who has been with the agency for 14 years, and who has tremendous knowledge about everything that goes on there.

This coming year will be a different year. We will have responsibilities that we have not yet experienced and will need each other for support, for celebrating, for guidance and for motivation. We are also counting on our parents, family and friends for that!

A year from today, I hope to be able to report many amazing accomplishments we have achieved during 2009, and also to express how happy and greatful we are.

I hope you have some great goals set for 2009. What is it that you really, really want to accomplish? I hope to stay in touch more often with all of you, hoping to see many of you much more often!!

On behalf of my family here, I wish you all a great jump into the new year. May the new year be better than this one that has passed, and may your life be filled with much more joy and love. I wish you success in your daily endeavors and motivation to never give up.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined" (Thoureau)

Many hugs to all of you and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Yours,
Denise