Blubbles, Bubbles Everywhere

My children are the inspiration for many things in my life including party ideas. We've had many pool parties, carnival games in our backyard, a Pony Party at the Lakewood Equestrian Center, a Choo-Choo Train Party at Travel Town USA, and a Carousel Party at the Santa Monica Pier.
Right now I am working on a very special family event coming up this month. We are finally baptising Brandon and having a luncheon following the ceremony. Usually, Catholic baptism celebrations are for young children/infants and usually consist of store bought generic baptism decorations. Well, Brandon is four years old. He is far from being a baby and I hope his celebration will be far from generic.
Brandon is very energetic, sociable and has a very bubbly personality. Inspired by his personality, his baptism theme is Bubbles (dots). I've decided to use festive round paper lanterns to decorate and give the illusion of colorful floating bubbles in the sky.
These paper lanterns have become a popular trend in party and wedding decor. They are available in an array of colors and sizes that are accompanied with different prices.
I had been on-line looking and looking for round paper lanterns in turquoise, lime green and white. It was difficult to find those colors and find them at a good price. I'm always trying to bargain shop, don't like over paying and certainly don't like the outrageous shipping charges that are added on when purchasing on-line.
Bling! The light bulb went on and I had a brilliant idea! Then thought, "Why didn't I think of this before?" It really is too simple. The perfect place to find paper lanterns is Chinatown in Los Angeles. I found the right colors at the right prices. There are many colors, sizes and prices to chose from. Of course, there isn't a huge selection like you would find at on-line party supply store, but I found exactly what I was looking for. Plus, my husband, my boys and I had a great dinner there in Chinatown following our shopping. As always, Brandon talked and talked, making friends with everyone.

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A Mother's Love

A valuable skill I learned from my mom is the power of unconditional love, a mother's love. She exemplified the true meaning of love and wasn't stingy with her affection. She dispersed it to everyone she knew: her friends, siblings, family members, children and most especially to her grandchildren. Now that I am mom, I strive to be as loving and affectionate as she modeled it. I have much to improve but always keep in mind all her comforting words of encouragement as they echo in my heart. She is always in my thoughts and there isn't a day that goes by in which I don't appreciate and remember her love.
Well, why shouldn't mothers be appreciated and celebrated daily or at least more than one day a year? Let's all take cue from other cultures who celebrate their mothers on the traditional American Mother's Day and then again on Mother's Day from their respective countries.
Thanks to my friend Johanna, who I have reconnected with through the wonderful and exciting world of Facebook, I was reminded that all it takes is a simple gesture to show our love and appreciation to the mothers in our lives. Johanna's life has taken her on a venture and is now living out of the country, yet she demonstrates her love and affection through flowers. That's where I come in! I delivered a bouquet for Johanna's mom on May 10th and more bouquets on May 30th (Nicaragua's Mother's Day) to her aunts. Having a personal relationship with Johanna, I am able to message her with a picture of the flowers I delivered and a synopsis of the reactions of the recipient. Johanna is miles away, yet she gets the whole rundown; the hot pink flowers matched her mom's hot pink blouse, her cousin thought I was a peddler and was sending me away, her dad was looking on as I delivered to her aunt across the street and then we had a nice conversation. Johanna feels like she is back home in Los Angeles and I feel like I'm part of her family (cheesy right?). I am thrilled to know that flowers and the work that I passionately create have the power to do so much. Most rewarding, Johanna made me an honorary "Nica." I am most definitely HONORED!