Icing on the Cake: Carson Alan Robbins

*Editor's Note: This blog post was actually written on Friday, July 16, 2010*

First off, let me apologize for my absence this past few weeks, I have been super busy. Me, busy? Imagine that, right!? Busy is the story of my life, especially lately, but I must say, for the most part I enjoy being busy. When it comes to my personal life anyways, I’m not too thrilled about being super busy with work all the time, but that has only been part of my business lately. I’ll back up to the end of June since that is where I left off.

June turned out exactly the way I predicted, fabulous! Like I mentioned in my first June post, I was determined to make June a good month and most of you reading this know that when I really want something, I usually do anything to make it happen. I can honestly say that the month of June was the beginning of something really good, not sure how else to explain it other than saying that I became a little more positive than I usually am. I think because I had a pretty rough April/May, June seemed like the first time in a while that I was genuinely happy. I mean don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t depressed or anything, I was just sad/worried about my abuelo and felt guilty for not being in Kansas City. But I slowly put a smile back on my face and had a great first month of summer.

Now let me tell you the best part of June, it was the very last day of the month, June 30. My nephew Carson Alan Robbins was born at 11:39am! He weighed in at 6 lbs, 8 oz. And measured 19 inches long. My sister Kim called me on Tuesday night, June 29 to tell me that Carson was going to make his debut a little bit early and to my surprise, Kim informed me that she was going to the hospital that very night and would have him the following day. I couldn’t believe it. Her due date wasn’t supposed to be until July 9 and I had already planned a trip home for the following week to spend time with her and my new nephew. I was a little sad because I was hoping that if anything, she would have him late so I could be there for it, but at the same time I was ecstatic. Just the thought of her having her first child and me becoming an aunt for the third time made me smile from ear to ear. Yes I wish I could have been there, but I realized that this wasn’t about me so I quickly got over being sad. The guilt I felt, however, that I couldn’t get over. I know that Kim wasn’t mad at me for not being there as she is and always has been super understanding, but I know she was disappointed and for me disappointing someone is worse than upsetting them. It was this feeling of guilt combined with my utter excitement to see Kim & Michael and meet my new baby nephew that led me to book another trip home. Waiting almost 3 weeks to visit KC just wasn’t an option so I booked a short weekend trip home to spend time with Baby Carson and spend the 4th of July with my family.

My flight didn’t get into Kansas City until 10:30pm on a Friday night, but I just couldn’t wait to meet Carson and see Kim so I went straight to their house. When I arrived Carson was up eating and I didn’t waste a second before I held him. Holding his tiny little self in my arms was such an amazing feeling. He is absolute perfection. I sat there and stared at him for what seemed like forever and at that moment I knew my life had changed forever. Isn’t that insane? I mean I have felt that way 3 times now and it’s SO true that my life really has changed with each new niece and nephew that has arrived. I can’t even imagine how I will feel when I have my own kids considering I feel so impacted at the birth of my sisters’ kids. Needless to say, I absolutely love being an Aunt. It’s the best job in the world and I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful sisters who married such wonderful men who helped make such beautiful babies! I spent the rest of the weekend spending time with Kim and Baby Carson as well as Andrea, George, Jaxson and Audrina. I did of course spend time with my parents too, but I was mostly occupied with my niece and nephews (love the “s” that makes it plural). Those 3 kiddos put a smile on my face like no one else can!

A little tribute to my sister Kim:

Kim and Michael are both amazing people who deserve nothing but the best in life and I couldn’t be happier for them at this point in their lives. They have wanted to have a child for some time now and after a little bit of difficulty, they were able to bring an amazing little boy into this world. My sister Andrea said it better than I (The Elmers), but one thing is for sure, Carson will never ever doubt the love his parents have for him.

Kim, you are an unbelievable woman. I still can’t believe you had a baby naturally without any drugs! I am so lucky to have such a great role model, sister, and friend in my life. I am sorry I wasn’t there the minute baby Carson arrived, but know that I don’t physically have to be present to be an important part of your or his life. Aunt Wesa is ALWAYS here no matter what! I love you!

Carson Alan Robbins was definitely the icing on the cake to a wonderful month!

Enjoying June

I’m on a roll…June is still going really well! I told you guys, didn’t I! I said June was going to be a great month and it truly has been. Here are a few notables:

This past Friday I got a new tattoo that I absolutely love! For those of you who didn’t know, I already had 2 and they are both super meaningful to me, but this third one is even more special. I got the word “Fuerza” on my left wrist which means Strength and Power in Spanish. I got it for a couple of different reasons, but the deciding factor was the recent passing of my Abuelo. If you read my May 31st “There is no place like home” post, you already know the story of my grandfather and what an amazing person he was. You know that he was a strong and courageous man who sacrificed a lot for his family. Although he will never be forgotten tattoo or not, every time I look at it, I will think of him and what a wonderful man he was and how lucky I am to be a part of such an amazing family. As far as the placing of the tattoo, that has meaning as well. Many people have asked me why I choose to put a tattoo on my wrist of all places. While I do understand that it is a very showy or obvious place for a tattoo, I don’t really care. Here is a little anecdote to explain my reasoning: I spent many days/nights in April and May crying myself to sleep. My Abuelo had been in and out of the hospital and nursing homes since March and every time I received an update regarding his health, it didn’t seem like he was getting better. I was well aware of the fact that he wouldn’t be with us for much longer and it absolutely broke my heart that I wasn’t there during the little time he had left. I felt selfish for going on with my life in New York, while he and the rest of my family were going through so much back home in Kansas. Once he actually passed, I spent hours, many of which were on a plane, with my head in my hands crying. I had to tell myself many of times to just be strong and that I would get through this. So when I decided to get this tattoo I wanted to get it in a place where when I’m sad or upset and crying about something and my head is in my hands, I would see it and remember to have strength. So really, my tattoo has a double meaning. The word “Fuerza” is a description of my grandfather, but it’s also a reminder to myself, the emotional person that I am, to be strong because no matter what happens in life, I can and will get through it.

Fuerza, aka Strength

This past weekend was fabulous. Friday night after I got my tattoo I headed to Happy Hour at XES. As always, we enjoyed the 2 for 1 drink special. After HH we headed to Pongsri for dinner. Pongsri is a Thai restaurant that many of our friends work at. It is absolutely delicious! We had a great meal and then headed to Limmerick’s, which is a bar we frequent on Friday nights after HH. After 2 rounds of Irish Car Bombs we decided to call it a night! It was a super fun night with a diverse group of people. There were 7 of us, all from different places around the world: Australia, Germany, USA (me), Scotland, Switzerland, Thailand, and Mexico (Martin). Isn’t that bizarre? Like I mentioned before, the diversity in NYC is one of the many reasons I love it here. Saturday morning was a struggle for both my Tio and me. We were regretting those car bombs the night before, that’s for sure. We managed to get up and get ready for a BBQ at a park in Brooklyn. It was a friend of ours’ birthday so we had no choice but to deal with our hangovers the best way we know how, so we got to the park and drank more, lol. By mid-afternoon we were both doing great and enjoying a beautiful Saturday at East River State Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was a nice park with awesome views of the Manhattan skyline. We were with many Asian people from Japan, China, Korea, and Thailand so this was no hotdog and hamburger barbeque. Instead we grilled fish, shrimp, chicken heart, Korean steak, and a variety of other things. Although I was skeptical of a few things, I tried everything and everything was delish! Overall, it was a great weekend in the city! :)

From left: Australia, Germany, USA, Scotland, Switzerland, Mexico, Thailand

German friend, Gernot & Me

Manhattan Skyline from East River Park in Brooklyn

Yummy BBQ

Enjoying June!

Ayako, me, and Rin

Beautiful sunset

One last thing, yesterday was my dad’s 51st birthday so Happy Birthday Dad! Also, with today being Father’s Day I would like to say Happy Father’s Day to all Dads, especially the greatest of all, mi Padre! In addition to all that today is my parents’ 29th wedding anniversary so Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. You guys are wonderful role models and the reason I believe in happily ever after. And last, but not least, tomorrow, Monday, June 21 is my best friend Val’s 22nd birthday so Happy Birthday Val! I hope you have the wonderful birthday celebration that you deserve! I am sorry to all of you that I can’t be there to help celebrate all these great occasions, but just know that I’m constantly thinking about you guys. I love you all very much!

Happy Birthday and Father's Day to the best Dad

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

Happy Birthday Val!

Sports Weekend

It turns out I was right, June has been a great month, well so far anyways. I have done a pretty good job with my pacts. This past work week, I was off work by 6:30 4 out of 5 days. The thing that sucks is the 1 day that I didn’t leave by 6:30; I didn’t end up leaving until 10:45pm. I know that sounds insane, and it is, but there is an explanation. The 10th of every month is our billing close/end of the month (even though it’s not really the end of the month) which means that all of our expenses have to be reconciled by midnight. I started working on this reconciliation on Monday, but was pulled away due to other projects that required my immediate attention. So come Thursday, it was crunch time and I had to stay late to get our expenses allocated to the correct costcenters and to the right accounts. The good news is I made the deadline and we did pretty good budget wise this month. As far as my other pact goes, I didn’t do so well, but I have a good excuse. You see, I worked out only 2 days this week instead of 4, but it was because it was rainy all this week. I would have toughed it out and walked or jogged in the rain, but this was no light sprinkle, this was heavy rain that was impossible to work out in. I am hoping this next week goes a little bit better, but I’m not too sure how that will go considering it’s supposed to storm pretty much all week long. We shall see how Mother Nature complies.

My weekend was fabulous; in fact, it was one of the best I’ve had in a while. Friday day was the Mexico v. South Africa World Cup game and although I wasn’t able to watch it at work, I did follow it online. It ended up in a tie, which is better than a loss so I can’t complain. Friday evening I got off work at 5:30 to head to Yankees Stadium in the Bronx. I was super excited about this because I have always wanted to go to a Yankees game and the time had finally come. It was only about a 30 minute train ride from our apartment to the stadium which isn’t bad at all. It was the first time I had ever been to the Bronx so I was pretty excited to take the train that far Uptown. Now I can officially say that I have been to ALL 5 boroughs in New York City (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx)…I’m turning into a New Yorker! :) Have I ever mentioned how much I love how convenient things are in the city? Public transportation is absolutely amazing. The train literally took us right to the stadium. It was awesome. For you Kansans, just imagine walking out your front door, getting on the train, and arriving at the Royals/Chiefs stadium 30 minutes later. It’s especially nice when you’ve been drinking because your DD is the train conductor! My Tio and I met up with 3 friends at the stadium and the 5 of us ending up having a great time. The new stadium itself was pretty awesome. It was really cool to see this huge stadium smack dab in the middle of a city. The Yankees beat the Houston Astros 4 to 3 in a pretty exciting/close game. Although I will always be a Royals fan because they are my home team, I did get Yankee fever and bought a new NY hat that I love. It is one of those teams that you just can’t help but want to be a part of. It’s kind of like people that go to Lawrence, Kansas can’t help but want to be a Jayhawk! Overall, it was an awesome Friday night of beer, hotdogs, and fun!

Statue of Yankees Liberty

Sporting my new NY hat

Enjoying the game

#2 Derek Jeter up to bat

Yankee Stadium interior

Yankee Stadium exterior

Saturday was another sports day with the US playing England in its first round World Cup game. My Tio and I met up with 2 friends at a pub in Chelsea that had a buy 1 drink, get the 2nd one free special so I am sure you can imagine the fun we had. It was cool to see tons of people cheer the US on and although it ended in a tie, people celebrated like it was a win. I am excited to see how Mexico and the US do in their upcoming games. It’s pretty awesome to have 2 teams to cheer for. Like I have always said, being Mexican-American is the best of both worlds!

Sundays are always my lazy days and this one is no different, especially because it is rainy and gloomy outside. I watched some of the Germany v. Australia game and spent some time online apartment hunting. Yes, you read correctly, I am apartment hunting. I am crossing my fingers that my BFF Val finds a job and moves to the city come August/September so we can become roomies. With high hopes, I have spent a decent amount of time searching for apartments and will continue to look throughout the summer. The rest of my Sunday evening will consist of laundry and writing thank you notes. I still haven’t sent thank yous and my graduation party was last month, terrible, I know.

Overall, it was a great sports weekend in the city!
Until next time.

Back to the Daily Grind

This past week was my first full week back at…life. With graduation and the passing of my grandfather, May was a crazy, exhausting, and difficult month to say the very least. When I woke up Tuesday morning after a long and relaxing Memorial Day weekend and realized it was June 1, I told myself, “June is going to be a good month.” I said it, and I am determined to make it true.

When I returned to New York the last week in May, I felt nothing but sadness and a bit of loneliness. Here I was, still grieving in an apartment all by myself thousands of miles away from the only people that could make me feel better. And to make matters worse, when Memorial Day weekend came along, I had nothing to do and we all know that when you are sad and have nothing to keep your mind occupied, you can’t help but to continue sulking in your sadness. It was really difficult because I had 3 days to do absolutely nothing, which in most circumstances is nice and relaxing, but in mine, was a bit depressing. All of my NY friends went home for the long weekend, my Tio was still in Kansas City, and I was going out of my mind bored. I ended up doing a whole lot of nothing. After 3 days of living out of my suitcase still, I unpacked and did laundry, I cleaned the apartment, I went shopping and I laid outside in the courtyard on a blanket and read. Believe it or not, by the time Tuesday came and it was time to go back to work, I was ready. It was such a beautiful day outside and as I was walking the pugs in the morning, that’s when I told myself, “June is going to be a good month.” I think this is the point when I realized that it was time to stop being sad and as much as I hated to say it, it was time to move on. I know that sounds like a terrible thing to say after someone you love dies, but what else can you do, stay sad forever? I will obviously never forget my abuelo, period. And every day since Tuesday morning has been a little bit better and gotten a little bit easier. So like I said, with the end of May filled with sadness and a bit of loneliness I am SO ready to feel happy again in June!

This past work week was a long one, even after Monday being a Holiday. I was definitely back to the daily grind and I hate to admit it, but I think the earliest I got home from work was 8:30pm. I am very well aware of the fact that this is ridiculous. In fact, as I was speaking to my oldest sister Kim about it the other day, I decided that I am NOT going to be aware of it and NOT do anything about it. I don’t want to be that girl who gets consumed with work all the time and doesn’t make time to enjoy other things. With this being said, I made a summer pact with myself – Out of the 5 work days of the week, I will leave work by 6:30pm on at least 4 of them, if not all of them. I know this still seems late, but it’s not. It’s normal considering the typical work day in New York is 9:30-6:30. Especially with it being summer, I just CAN’T allow myself to not get off work and enjoy the nice weather no matter how much work I have left to do at the end of the day. This pact led me to make yet another pact with myself. Considering I will be leaving work by 6:30, I have plenty of time to exercise more regularly. I made a pact with myself that 4/5 days a week; I would either go for a jog or take the pugs on an extra long walk, or…something, anything! It’s a win-win situation because I love being outside in the evening when the sun is just starting to set and it’s nice outside without being too hot and I really want to start getting healthy in every sense of the word so I can spend my evenings working out, outside. I told ya, win-win! ;) I have to tell you, the main reason I am mentioning these pacts on here is because I want each and every one of my “followers” to hold me to them. I feel like saying it out loud or rather writing about it for the public to read, makes me more motivated to actually follow through.

Speaking of getting back to the daily grind, Friday night was the first time in a long time that I went to Happy Hour at XES. It was nice to get back to my normal Friday night routine! I know this may sound a little contradicting considering I just told you that I want to work on becoming healthier, but I will have you know that instead of ordering my normal beer or vodka and sugary juice, I switched my drink to rum and diet coke. Although I know drinking alcohol in general is not very healthy, at least I chose a low-cal drink, right? I mean come on; you have to give me some credit for trying! It was nice to see all the “regulars” again and catch up on the last couple of weeks of our lives. After HH we headed to Monster for dinner where we ate fabulous sushi! Have I ever mentioned how much I love sushi? Friday night was the first time that I really got adventurous and tried your non-typical rolls. The most notable thing I tried was eel, and boy am I glad I did, it was delicious!

Saturday I slept in and then spent most of the afternoon online doing various things. Saturday night I went to see Sex and the City 2! I have been dying to see it since its release last week and I just couldn’t wait another day. It of course like most sequels was not as good as the first one, but was still amazing! Considering it is about 4 women’s journeys through life, it’s one of those movies that any woman at any age can appreciate, and I am no exception. I loved it for the simple fact that it made me laugh out loud AND because it’s about 4 amazing New York women which obviously couldn’t be more appealing to me at this point in my life. Before the movie started I saw a trailer for Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts and it got me so excited to finish the book. My goal is to finish it before the movie comes out later this summer so I have a lot of reading to do as I am only about a third of the way finished. With that being said, I am going to put this lap top down and pick up my book.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! :)

There’s no place like HOME

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posts lately, a lot has been going on and I just haven’t found the time or the motivation to write. Thanks to the long weekend, I finally have the time and energy to catch up on things, including updating this blog. So here it goes.

On Friday May, 14 I left work early and headed home to pack my suitcase and head to the airport. I couldn’t have been more excited to go home. Not only was it a chance to spend time with my family, but it was the weekend of KU’s Graduation Ceremony. I arrived late Friday night and the festivities began early Saturday morning. The day started off with my mom making breakfast for me and my sisters before we headed to the nail salon to get pedicures. After the pedicures, I headed to my sister Kim’s house to check out the new baby nursery. It looks amazing, of course. It was so nice to see Baby R’s room put together and it made me really excited to have a new nephew this July! Afternoon hit and my family and I headed downtown to attend my cousin Michaela’s college graduation from Rockhurst University. Shortly after, my parents and I headed to Lawrence to attend the Multicultural Scholarship Graduation Banquet held at the Kansas Union. I was a part of the KU MSP Scholars Program during my 3 1/2 year college career so it was nice to go back and attend a banquet honoring myself and my fellow senior scholars. Just to give you an idea of what the scholarship program is all about, here is our mission: The mission of the MSP is to recruit undergraduate students from under-represented backgrounds into various academic majors as a means of increasing the diversity of the student body at the University of Kansas and to provide supports and opportunities that will assist them in their academic success. Needless to say, we enjoyed the banquet and it was a proud moment for my parents and me. After the banquet, I headed to Linwood for my best friend Val’s Graduation Party. It was SO NICE to see Val, especially because I hadn’t seen her in a while. Have I ever mentioned that living thousands of miles away from your best friend isn’t easy? I am SO proud of her accomplishments and have no doubt in my mind that she is going to do great things with her career! After a VERY long and eventful Saturday, I headed home to get a good night’s sleep before Sunday’s Commencement Ceremony.

Sunday came and I headed to Lawrence for graduation. Although I technically graduated in December, it was really nice to “walk the hill” as it gave me a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment! The tradition of walking through the campanile and down the hill symbolizes a student’s journey through life. We might all have taken different paths, but in the end, we are at the bottom of the hill with the achievement of a college degree from one of the greatest universities in the nation. I am so glad I decided to come home to participate in graduation as I finally and completely felt done. Even though I already finished classes and started my first job, I still feel like graduation was the final end to a wonderful chapter in my life. Not to mention that after 3 1/2 years of working my butt off to maintain good grades and further my education, a celebration was much deserved. It was also a proud moment for the Zarate family as I am the 3rd and last daughter to have graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism: Strategic Communication. As both Kim and Andrea pointed out in their blogs, it’s pretty damn awesome to be a trio of Jayhawk sisters! :)

Sunday evening after graduation, my parents and sisters threw me a little graduation party complete with food, drinks, friends and family. It was so unbelievably nice to celebrate with the people I care about the most, especially because I don’t see those people as frequently as I would like. Just about every one of my best friends came which whether they are aware of it or not, made my day!

Val and me about to walk through the Campanile

Proud Parents

Jayhawk Sisters

Zarate Family of Jayhawks

Robbins family and me

The Elmer family and me

Me and the kiddos

Grandma Starks and me

My girls!

Sunday night came to an end with a sleepover. I have been promising Jaxson since I was home in March that the next time I came home to visit we could have a sleepover together. Considering the busy weekend we had, by Sunday night we were both beat. We popped in a DVD and were both out in no time! Before Jax fell asleep we had this conversation:

“Wesa, I love when we have sleepovers when you’re not in New York.” – Jaxson
“I know buddy, me too because I love you sooo much.” – Me
“Wesa, when are you going to come back forever and not ever go back to New York?” – Jaxson
“I don’t know buddy, maybe in a couple of years, but no matter what I will always come visit you when I can because I love you.” – Me
“I know, I love you too.” – Jaxson

It was so adorable! Monday morning came all too soon and I woke up to spend a little bit of time with Jaxson and Audrina before I had to go. I seriously love those kids like they are my own! Being an aunt is one of the best jobs in the world and I can’t wait to have another nephew to adore.

Before I headed to the airport, I went with my dad to visit my abuelo (grandfather) who was just moved home from the hospital after being in and out of the hospital and a nursing home since March. It was a very difficult visit as my abuelo wasn’t doing too well and I was very aware that this might be the last time I would ever see him. It was unbelievably hard to say good bye. As I sat there sobbing watching him sleep I told my dad that I didn’t want to leave to go back to New York because I just had a feeling that as soon as I left, I would have to come right back and unfortunately, I was right. I did indeed fly back to New York Monday night on one of the longest and most difficult flights of my life. I cried from the moment I got to the airport to the time the plane landed 3 1/2 hours later. I just knew in my gut that I would never see my abuelo again and it broke my heart. I managed to gather myself, get my luggage, and take a taxi cab home. I went to bed that night with a heavy heart and it only got worse Tuesday morning when I received a phone call from my mother that my abuelo had past away. My Tio and I booked the next flight out and before I knew it, I was right back there in Kansas City at my abuela’s house crying all over again because my abuelo was gone. Standing there crying in the presence of just about my entire family was one of the worst moments in my entire life as everyone was so heartbroken and so sad about losing such an important person in their lives.

I know that most of you reading this understand how unbelievably difficult it is to lose someone who impacted your life so greatly, and for the Zarate family, it was harder than words can explain. You see, my abuelo was nothing short of an extraordinary man with unending compassion and a heart of gold. He made sacrifices that you and I have never even thought of. He left his wife and 8 kids in Mexico in order to take a cabinet making job in the United States and pave the way for a better life for him and his family. It took 3 long years before he was reunited with his family who were all legally accepted into the United States. He made the sacrifice of not being with his wife and all his kids who he loved so dearly because he didn’t want his family to have to live in poverty like he did. He wanted to come to the land of opportunity and live the American dream so that all his kids and grandkids, and great grandkids could have a better life and a better education to make something of themselves. Thanks to him, I was able to go to college and graduate with a degree. Thanks to him, I have never been poor. Thanks to him, I have endless opportunities to do something great with my life. He is the reason I am so proud to be a Mexican-American and the reason I have spent so much time trying to learn Spanish. All I wanted was for him to be proud of me and thankfully, I can say that when I returned from Spain, I had a great conversation with my abuelo ALL in Spanish. That, along with so many others, is a moment I will never forget. Both of my sisters have said it better than I (Andrea's Blog & Kim's Blog). Sadly, even all 3 of our descriptions combined can’t describe how wonderful of a man my abuelo truly was, but one thing is clear, he will forever be loved and dearly missed!

And so as I conclude on this Memorial Day weekend, I want to say thank you to both of my grandfathers for impacting my life in such a positive way. You both are loved and missed by so many!

Te amo y te extraño abuelo, que en paz descanse

M-I-A in MAY

Can you believe it’s already May? I can’t believe how fast spring is going by, before you know it, it’s going to be summer. Here in the city it already feels like summer with temperatures in the 80s. It has been gorgeous out, which like I’ve mentioned before, puts me in a good mood. I love nice weather, especially when it means backyard barbecues. The sad thing is it’s really making me miss home. Being a true Midwesterner, I absolutely love BBQs and picnics and the thought of not being home for these events makes me sad. I want to be in KS sitting on the porch while my dad is grilling, my mom is making some margaritas, and my sisters and brother-in-laws are socializing and playing with my niece and nephew. The good news is I am heading home in 1 week for my college graduation. I technically graduated in December 09, but because it was a semester early, I never had a graduation celebration. This Friday, May 14 after work I am heading to the airport for a flight to Kansas City! I can’t wait to spend the weekend with my family and friends. Saturday is my cousin’s college grad from Rockhurst College, Saturday night is my Multicultural Scholarship Graduation Banquet, then my best friend Val’s graduation party. Sunday is KU’s Commencement Ceremony, then my Grad Party at my parents’ house in Bonner. Sunday night my nephew Jaxson is having a sleepover downstairs in my room. (Side Note: Jaxson loves having sleepovers and last time I was in KC I had a sleepover at his house and I have been promising him that the next time I’m home, he can have a sleepover at my house.) Monday I will spend the day with my mom, my niece and nephew, and then head back to NYC Monday night. It is going to be a jam packed weekend and I am really looking forward to it!

One of the reasons I have really been missing home lately is because I am missing some important occasions going on in KC. For instance, Saturday, May 1 was my oldest sister Kim’s baby shower and I wasn’t there. Having to miss such a joyous occasion broke (still breaks) my heart. My sisters and I are REALLY close and not being there for Kim on such an important day makes me feel so guilty, like I really let her down. I guess it’s just one of the consequences of moving thousands of miles away from your family. I would love to attend every family function, but with such a big and growing family, it’s impossible. For one thing, it’s not economical for me to fly home all the time, and secondly, it’s just part of moving away. Living in NYC has its pros and cons and although I love the city life, I have to admit, it’s hard to experience the cons like missing important events. I am thankful that my family took lots of pictures of the shower and posted them on Facebook because at least I got to feel like I was there while looking at them, which I definitely was in spirit. I am so happy for my sister and her husband as this is such an amazing time in their lives, I’m just sad that I am not there to experience every minute of it with them. I will most definitely be on the first plane home when I get the call that Kim is in labor, you can count on that sister! ;) I love you and I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for your shower, but I’ll be home soon enough to see the hundreds of things Baby Robbins received. I can’t wait to see how the nursery looks with everything in it!!

Kim and Michael before her baby shower

Another important event I am missing is TODAY, Mother’s Day. This is the first Mother’s Day ever that I haven’t spent with my mom. Again, I feel guilty that I am not there for the people I love the most, it breaks my heart. Mom, I’m sorry I’m not there to celebrate Mother’s Day with you, but please know that every time I am with you is Mother’s Day to me. You are an amazing woman and mother and I love you for helping me and my sisters become the women that we are today. I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day as you deserve that and more. I can’t wait to see you next week, love you and miss you!

My beautiful mother

And yet another important day I am missing is tomorrow, May 10, my sister Andrea’s 24th Birthday! Again, this is the first of Drea’s Bdays that I have ever missed so it’s hard not being there to help her celebrate. Dre, Happy Birthday, I hope you have a fabulous day, you deserve it! I’m sorry I’m not there, but I’ll be home next week to give you a belated birthday hug! Love you!

The birthday girl

Well, now that I have paid tribute to the most important women in my life, I think I’ll wrap up. Stay tuned for next week’s Kansas City post, it should be a good one! :)

P.S. Val, you didn’t think I forgot you, did you? I’m sorry I missed your Campaigns presentation; I would have loved to be there for you just as you were for me! I’m sure you did fantastic. I can’t wait to watch the video Basow will give you soon! ;) Congrats on graduating, we’ll have celebratory drinks soon enough!

KU's most recent Graduate

Visitors!

Last weekend my Tio Martin and I had 2 visitors, my Tia Patty and her boyfriend Taco (more or less my Tio too). It was SO nice to have family in town, especially because they were the first visitors I’ve had since I moved to NY in February. They arrived Friday night, but unfortunately I had a work thing so I had to miss their welcome dinner, but I made up for it on Saturday. All 4 of us spent the entire day together. We started out with a shopping trip in China Town, then had lunch in Little Italy, then headed out to celebrate Taco’s 41st birthday. Now, those of you who know Taco know that his birthday celebrations are never insignificant, and this one was no exception. We went to the bar Seven to have a few cocktails then we headed to Park, a huge 3 story restaurant/bar/club. This place was huge, not even for Manhattan, but by Kansas City standards. It used to be an old Taxi Garage which explains the name Park and it offered a great atmosphere. We had some apps, then headed to the lounge area for some drinks and dancing, then headed upstairs to the club area where we danced the night away. About 4:30am rolled around and we decided we should probably head home, not only because we were about to close the place down, but because we had tickets to a Broadway show on Sunday afternoon. By the time we cabbed it home, it was past 5 and let’s just say none of us were feeling any pain! With that being said, you can imagine how much we were struggling come Sunday late morning when we had to wake up and get ready for the show.

Lunch in Little Italy

Waiting on our calzones!

At Park

Birthday shots!

Dancing the night away

We made it through the morning and headed to Times Square for a 3:00pm showing of West Side Story. It was amazing, I mean truly entertaining! It had a little bit of everything to keep your attention, great singing, awesome dancing, humor, drama, everything you could possibly want in a show. For those of you who don’t know about West Side Story, it’s set in New York City’s Upper West Side in the mid-1950s. It’s about a rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The members of the Sharks are first-generation Americans from Puerto Rico taunted by the Jets, a working-class white group who consider themselves the true Americans. Tony, one of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks and the drama unveils. With dialogue and songs in both English and Spanish, it was really a great show that someone like me, a Mexican-American could appreciate. The focus on social problems and the non acceptance of Hispanics in America made the show not only entertaining, but educational and eye opening. For people who are a bit closed minded, it provides an alternate perspective and I would hope those type of people walk out of the show with a new point of view. Needless to say, we all loved it! My Tia Patty and I even almost bought shirts that said Sharks on it because we are obviously not Jets, aka white girls! ;)

Times Square for West Side Story

Following the show, we headed to Arriba Arriba for dinner and margaritas. I know what you’re thinking, we all finally got rid of our hangovers and then we go and drink more? Well, if you knew anything about Arriba you’d know it’s impossible not to order a marg as they are delicious, and a Zarate tradition. As Taco said, it wouldn’t be a trip to NYC without dinner and margs at Arriba Arriba.

By the time we left Arriba it was already 8ish so we called it a Sunday and Taco and Patty headed back to their hotel to pack their things and get ready for their flight Monday morning while my Tio and I headed back to the apartment to do laundry and get ready for work on Monday. Overall, it was a great weekend in the city! Thanks Taco and Patty, I had a blast! :)