summertime.

this will always be the summer jam.

afternoon naps

Sundays have been my favorite day of the week. It's been the most peaceful and relaxing day for me because both sofia and her dad take their afternoon naps and I steal away to do my own thing. Sometimes I go shopping or run some errands. Last Sunday I set out to get a manicure and pedicure. On my way to the nail salon, I passed by a Chinese massage parlor which looked a bit shady from the outside, but I figured I should scope it out anyway. It turned out to be the best thing I've ever done for myself, better than a manicure or a pedicure. It was like a vacation and I only had my legs massaged. This was no ordinary massage, it's Chinese acupressure, which has a lot to do with unclogging trapped energy (chi). It goes hand in hand with qi gong and tai chi which I used to do, and should start doing again. Basically I sprained my ankle a few years ago and it has not been better since. I even got physical therapy for it, which unfortunately was a complete waste of my time and money. However, the magic this man performed my legs and ankle is truly remarkable. I am in awe that my legs feels this good at the end of the day, when usually after so much walking in the city I am miserable and want to chop my legs off. I am already thinking of other persistent aches that bother me so I can go back. Also the lovely thing about this place is that it's not trying to be "fancy". It's just is, massage tables next to each other with curtains separating them. The lights were off, but there was ample daylight coming in. It's very quiet and all you can hear is water falling. You close your eyes and just let him do his thing on whatever pains you and it's instant serenity.

cinema with the kiddo

We love watching films, but since Sofia was born it has been a bit difficult to sit through a whole movie. She'd get bored and start crying for attention so I usually just pause the movie or give up watching the rest of it. However, when we watched Paper Moon (3 weeks ago), Sofia paid attention and sat through the whole movie! This was a first. I recommend watching this on a Saturday afternoon because it adds to the feel of the movie. I am still over the moon about the precocious Addy (who became the youngest girl to win an Oscar because of her role) , the stunning cinematography, and mostly the relationship between Addy and Moze. The story begins with Addy's mom's funeral. She doesn't know who her dad is and a man (Moze) shows up and ends up having the task of driving Addy to her Aunt who lives in Missouri. As with all road trip movies, the journey is filled with adventures that changes both their lives and their relationship with one another. It is just absolutely funny and wonderful and it still makes me happy thinking about it.


Last night I decided to put on The Red Balloon, knowing how much Sofia loves balloons I knew she would love it. It has been a while (probably 20 years) since I saw this movie, so naturally my memory was fuzzy about what happens in the end. So we sat down to watch the movie and as soon as Sofia saw the balloon she stood up from the chair and was drawn in. I tried to sit her down, but she got up again and was completely focused on the film. Eventually she laid down and I gave her a bottle.

When we got to the part where to balloon gets deflated, Sofia had a sad look on her face. It didn't help that I said, "aww no more balloon. bye-bye balloon." After I said that she started crying. She was so sad and I tried to cheer her up when the boy flies away with all the balloons, but that only made her cry louder! I had to stop the movie to calm her down. I took her to the bedroom and played with her, but she still wouldn't stop crying. I realized that this may have triggered a memory of hers. I month ago, she found a balloon by the ice cream shop and she was playing with it and it popped. She cried a lot too and when we tried to give her a new one, she didn't want it and held on to the deflated balloon. She wouldn't let go of it until after we got home and gave her a bath. lol She was so cute. I couldn't believe how sentimental she is, but I'm not surprised. She's just like me.

nap time.

freedom