14| THANKFUL TUESDAYS

Long time no speak! If you’re an inhabitant of Planet Earth, then you know the deal. We have been Quarantining and Social distancing since March 12th and just last Friday our community went from being in the yellow to the green with the cases of the Covid-19.

I personally had an uncle and cousin live through the virus. My father lost two of his cousins, a friend of mine lost her mother due to the complications due to prior medical history, a neighbor of mine lost his life weeks after his own brother succumbed to sickness. My father in law lost two of his siblings and an in law. If you or anyone you know have been affected by the virus and the shut down of businesses (loss of work etc) I send you my love.

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Home schooling kicked my ass those first weeks. Teaching a 6 year old boy (an Aquarius!) was rough. We had arguments, we fought, and tears were shed from both of us lol. But we made it through! He made it through the rest of the weeks and has become such a good reader. He’s also very bright with Math. I am thankful to his teachers and his school district for the support and help. Now that those days are behind us… Its been nicer these days though because now people can actually be around each other. Still maintaining the precautions of washing our hands, not touching our faces, keeping fingers out of our eyes and mouths… Noses too for others lol. And he can go back to playing with children his age. He’s been getting to know the neighbor’s kids. The ones across from us have 4 and there are others that come over. Its cute because many of the adults from the block (grandparent age range, parents, late 20s) take turns watching the street and making sure the cars slow down when they drive through. Children really do bring people together, and add such a beautiful je ne se pais to their surroundings. He’s an only child so it makes my heart smile.

Here are some pictures. They’re not in any special order. But these are a few of the many things I’ve enjoyed & am thankful for so welcome to ‘Thankful Tuesdays’:

Nature has been refreshing and welcoming to us all during this time, Adrian has outgrown his bicycle and his new one arrived this afternoon, and that’s my boy in his small floatee lol hey, it still works, but it was an impromptu pool day at Joe’s supervisor’s house. We had it alllllll to ourselves. The water was 72 degrees and yeah I didn’t fully submerge lol.

13| SELENA ‘LA REINA’

The first time that I saw Selena performing was on a variety show that aired on a Spanish language broadcasting network known as Univision. I remember thinking “Wow!” I was captivated by the way that she danced and twirled on stage, her full red lips, her beautifully groomed baby hairs (now known as edges), how curvy and confident she seemed, and her voice! How I fell in love with her voice and the cherry on top? her smile. I still marvel at how her eyes seemed closed when she smiled. Contagious energy.

I was lucky enough that she came on TV often thanks to the shows that Univision and Telemundo would air. There were a lot of televised Festivals, Carnivals, Calle Ocho, Padrisimo, Sabado Gigante, Siempre En Domingo, etc… Just to name a few. Many celebrities would perform, interview and play games and such. And that’s how I got my Selena on. Remember this was early 90s and we didn’t have all of this tech and internet. Unfortunately I was never able to see her perform Live. She was taken from those that love/loved her at the young age of 23 in 1995. Thanks to her biopic Selena released in 1997, many that didn’t know her prior to her death, or those that had heard about her but didn’t understand the love and sadness many of us were feeling since her passing, were now able to see and understand why its “Anything for Selenas!” And together we have all kept her alive even after all these years. Because of that love is why companies like MAC are paying attention reached out to her family, and now working with her sister Suzette we have a second MAC Selena ‘La Reina’ collection!

I hopped on during the Pre Sale and was only able to purchase these two products. Although I was sad about that, I was happy because we did the damn thing! Sold out of her products at fast rates. This release was better than the last in my honest opinion. But, okay okay let’s see the goods!

* I will say, don’t expect swatches because that’s not what this Blog is for. I am sharing this because she’s been an influence in my life. Damn it, I’ll say it—She’s one of the few that I hope to meet when I crossover.

Notice anything? The packaging of the eyeshadow palette is inspired by her famous Boustiers that she would bead and bedazzle by hand. Its the same one that she’s wearing in the picture above.

The. Attention. To. Detail. Is everything with this collection. Yes, I will be framing this and keeping it in my office.

I’ll be honest that the colors are similar to the ones in other MAC collections. This reminds me of the Aaliyah one.

The lipstick is one of her signature reds. I believe her sister still has Selena’s beauty collection and her reds were a must have! There are mics of hers with the lipstick on it after her performances. This was something I always noticed and liked during her performances lol.

I believe that Selena has not reincarnated* I think shes loving, and working for her family from beyond. And possibly even waiting for the love of her life, Chris. I wholeheartedly do. Continue to rest peacefully in Heaven.

Love & Light, Cin.