Single at 31

Every year that passes and I am still single, I learn exactly why. Every year I learn more and more about myself and my true purpose in this world. Every year I am happier, more complete. I truly believe the universe has kept me single for this reason. I am so incredibly grateful for these years to get to know my true authentic self. I will never be done growing and evolving. When I am where I need to be the right man, whom is also in the right time in his life will come along. Than together we will continue to grow. Until than all I can do is enjoy all life has to offer and learn life's lessons as they come up. Thank you universe for knowing what's truly best for me and teaching me all I have learned.

LOVE

Love, without it the universe would cease to exist. In the NICU I see babies who are loved do so much better than those whose parents are absent. In my blog entry about religion and spirituality I forgot to mention the power of love. Maybe its love that cures disease and makes miracles possible. When you believe in god you love god. Is it true that all you need is love? The common dominator of all of mankind. When I was told that death was emanate for my 14 year old dog, all I could do for her is love her. Simply love her unconditionally. So many emotions but mostly just love. I know dogs don't go to heaven and cant get feeding tubes. praying for her recovery and her soul was not an option, just love. Love is all I have to offer in this would to her and everyone I come in contact with. And love is all I could ever want in return.

35 Things to do before turning the Big 35!

I decided I needed a timeline for my epic "bucket list". so here it is.... 35 things to do before I turn 35. As I write this I am 31.5 years old giving me 3.5 years to complete. As I cross items off the list I will write about them one by one of course. Lets get started! 1. Visit Greece. 2. Get certified in scuba diving. 3. Start Grad school for Neonatal ARNP. 4. Write and publish a children's book. 5.Visit Washington DC monuments. 6. Bake a cake from scratch using fondant. 7. Fall in love. 8. Learn to read music. 9. Ice skate in Rockefeller center at Christmas time. 10. Meet my 1/2 sister. 11. Do nursing mission work overseas. 12. Catch a fish in the ocean. 13. Meet someone famous. 14. Donate my hair to charity for kids with hair loss. 15. Go to a country music concert. 16. Ring in the new year in Times Square, NY. 17. Train to be a pediatric nurse. 18. Learn how to play Texas Holdem & Play in a table game at a casino in Vegas. 19. Get my dogs certified as therapy dogs. 20. Ride in a helicopter. 21. Learn to surf. 22. Scuba dive The Great Barrier Reef. 23. Make a message in a bottle and throw it in the ocean. 24. Ride a horse. 25. Take a Great American road trip with my dogs. 26. Compete and finish the Ironman 70.3. 27. Swim with dolphins. 28. Become a foster parent. 29. Learn to paddleboard. 30. Visit a nude beach. 31. Bottle feed a wild animal. 32. Get my first tattoo. 33. Take cooking classes. 34. Learn to sew and sew a quilt with my old race shirts. 35. Walk the El Camino De Santiago Pilgrimage in Spain

The best time of year to travel

Without a doubt the best time of year to travel is October. The weather is beautiful everywhere, college kids are in school, air and hotels are cheaper and places are less clouded. Leave summer travel to those with kids and college students. Popular travel destinations are hot, crowded and expensive summer time and winter time may be to cold. All tourist attritions are still open in October but may not be in winter. Every year around January I put in my vacation request at work for October and start saving, giving me 10 months to save. A light jacket & light scarf at night is all you need. My tour of Italy was last October and my Greek island hopping tour is this October. Weather in the 70's in Italy and, expecting slightly warmer weather in Greece. After mid October most tours of the Greek Island stop and attractions are closed.

My favorite time of year to travel

My favorite time of year to travel is Christmas time. Living in south Florida where it is never cold, it puts you in the Christmas spirit to be somewhere cold. I love white Christmas lights and cold weather fashion. As a kid my Mom and I would drive around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights for hours. As an adult I have been lucky enough to see some really beautiful places at Christmas time. A few years ago my mother and I went to new York city the weekend before Christmas to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. It was a beautiful site to see. We also visited Macys on 34th st, Tiffany's, 911 memorial, status of liberty. The temperature was in the low 30's making it a perfect "cold weather" experience for two Floridians. The only down side was that it was extremely busy everywhere we went. Apparently other people had the same idea. I visited Paris in January hoping to catch the Christmas decorations but didn't see any. Paris itself is beautifully light up with white lights from the Eiffel Tower and street lamps year round. In January it was especially beautiful because it had snowed a few days before, so there was still some un melted snow on the ground and the weather was still cold. The ambiance was of old 1950's Paris with the gray sky and melting snow. This was the first time I have ever seen snow. The prettiest and coldest place I visited for Christmas might surprise you. It was New Orleans, LA The white Christmas lights on the balcony's was breathtaking. It was freezing, temps in the 20's with wind from the water making it feel so much colder. Hotels are cheap in New Orleans. The one I stayed in was decorated for Christmas and had Carolers singing. Don't forget hot coffee and beignets at Café Du Monde to warm you up. New Orleans in the winter is also the scariest place I have ever visited. Homeless everywhere trying to corner you. The only time on American soil I have been afraid for my life. I would only recommend going in a large group or just wait for it to warm up. Not sure where my search for the prettiest Christmas lights will take me next. You will know when I know. Would love to see Rhode Island and Ma, but that may be to cold for this Floridian.

Whole Foods Juice Cleanse

A few weeks ago I did something I have never done before. I did a "fad" juice cleanse. I have never been one to cave to peer pressure and do fad diets but this time I figured what the hell. Cant get any easier than this particular one. You simply drink 6 of these bottled juices from Whole Foods and you detox your body from chemicals. or in my case processed foods and 6-10 espresso shots per day. The diet is great if you like juice and like being poor. the juices were about $9.00 each times 6 per day. For at least 3 days. You have to use organic juice otherwise you are drinking large quantities of pesticides with nothing else in your body. The original plan was to follow the cleanse for 3 days. just long enough to detox and cleanse but not enough to burn muscle. The first day wasn't so bad. I would choke down the juiced slowly, taking my whole lunch break to finish a bottle. Not because they are so good that I wanted to savor the taste. The flavors were all pretty disgusting. Ingredients like cucumber, kale and way to much ginger. I was surprisingly not hungry and had lots of energy, didn't cheat at all the first day. I was feeling great. By day number two I was telling everyone over and over again about my cleanse. By the end of day two I would find myself watching people eat like a total weirdo, mouth watering and all. The night of day two I caved and went to a drive through for a chicken sandwich. It tasted so damn good and was totally worth it. By this time I ran out of juice and money anyway. Therefor the cleanse only lasted two full days. I lost eight pounds in those two days than proceeded to gain it all back within 2 weeks. The cleanse did the job and got me off caffeine and down to only one cup of coffee in the morning and one espresso shot at that 4:00pm wall. This cleanse tough me that I can do anything I put my mind to even a diet.

A letter

The darkness and rain outside represents my tears, because this time I cant cry. I wont cry. I need to be strong and step up for the family. Something you know well. What it must be like to live in constant uncertainty and fear. Society says you brought it on yourself, statistics say its because we never had a father. Mom did her best, her mind not demon free. Our childhood was tough but out adult lives has been tougher. So many things we have no control over. I cant cry, I cant cry. I have learned to let go of things that I have no control over, to save my own sanity. You the only man whom has ever loved me, the only constant in my life. As kids you dedicated your life to protecting me. As adults you are the one who needs the protecting, and I am useless. The only thing I have control over is my own life. I hope that one day my life's work, good deeds and standing in society will someday help you. In some way. Now I am crying like a baby. Please don't tell mom, I have to be strong.