WINTER & SPRING
In January, Mom and I finally found a new church. We didn't go to church for three years and not because of the covid. Our new church is a short drive and parking is easy which makes it even better.
Light House Church is located meets in Trinity Tabernacle in Gravesend. Pastor Frank is a great preacher and everyone is super friendly.
Every Tuesday night they do a prayer meeting on Zoom and on Wednesday nights they have bible study which meets in different people's houses every week. I love that they're big into evangelism. I love my church family.
When I got back from my vacation (you can read about my vacation here -> Road Trip ) I joined a D Group which is a women's Bible study that meets on Zoom around the world. Sometimes you don't know if you're going to fall into the right group. But God definitely put me in the best group. My D Group sisters always make my day extra special. I definitely feel like I am growing closer to God.
METLIFE STADIUM - NEW JERSEY
On Saturday, May 27th, my Aunt Jena and I got to see Taylor Swift again at the Era's tour at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey. Yes, I know, I know, we are lucky dogs. My brother Brendan drove us to the concert.
We were high up and on the side of the stage but I still thought the view was good. It helped they had a TV.
The opening band wasn't my favorite, but a lot of people seemed to like them. Taylor Swift sang forty-four songs and changed her outfit a lot. Taylor is amazing.
She sang my favorite songs: Midnight Rain, Ready for It, I Knew You Were Trouble, Black Space, and Bad Blood. There were so many songs I couldn't remember the others. But those are definitely my favorites.
Here's to the end of an era!
SUMMER
The week before my birthday, I started a second job at Athleta which is a clothing store that is part of the Gap. I love this job because everyone is friendly and explains things well.
MARYLAND
On the weekend after June 22nd, my mom and I drove to Baltimore, Maryland. Don't worry we didn't stay in the city itself but in Hanover.
It took us five hours to get to Maryland which is ridiculous. You can never beat the Staten Island Expressway. It should be renamed to the local way.
When we finally arrived in Hanover, we went to the Arundel Mall. Arundel Mall is a HUGE mall full of tons of stores and a big food court. We grabbed dinner at the food court. I got my favorite which is Popeye's and Mom got Chinese.
After dinner, we did more shopping then for the last twenty minutes before the mall closed, we got a massage in the best massage chairs ever. Only five dollars for a twenty-minute full-body massage. We felt refreshed.
On Saturday, June 24th, we got lunch at TGIF. I love their soft pretzel appetizer.
After lunch, we went back to the mall and did more shopping. I got some new tops, bottoms and finally bought myself a pair of pink Crocs. The Crocs are very comfy.
Before we left the mall, we got ourselves a soft pretzel at Aunt Annie's. One of my favorite pretzel places. The main reason why I love going to the mall besides shopping of course.
After the mall, we drove to Camden Yards in Baltimore to see the Baltimore Orioles play at their home base against the Seattle Mariners. That was a great game. They won in the bottom of the tenth inning.
Here are some pictures from the game.
DELAWARE
On our way back from Maryland, we stopped at my cousin Diane and Patrick's house to visit. It had been a while since we saw them. We went to the Texas Road House for lunch which is one of my favorite restaurants. I love their butter rolls. This was the second time I ordered a steak. But the first time I ordered a steak and BBQ chicken combo. Oh my gosh, it was freaking delicious. I swear I'd order it again.
Rest in Peace Uncle Tony. You will be missed.
TUSCARORA
On July 8th Mom and I drove to Tuscarora for our 23rd year at Leisure Week 1. Every year we stay at Riverside which is more spacious than the others.
It was a very hot humid day. Thankful I got to swim most of the week. Of course, I enjoyed ice cream, milkshakes, and hot pretzels at the snack shop.
I don't usually care for the movies they offer. But this year Mom and I decided to watch Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. It was pretty good. I would rate it 7/10. It definitely had some funny scenes.
The food at Tuscarora was delicious. My favorite meals were lo mein and french fries.
Another great year. Here's to another year at Tusc.
DELAWARE
After Tuscarora, Mom and I drove to Delaware to spend the weekend at our cousins' house. On Friday we went to a Habachi restaurant. The flavors in the steak were extremely yummy. Habachi is my new favorite place to eat even though it is expensive. Later that evening we attempted to go play mini golf but it was closed. So we got ice cream instead. Which was yummy.
On Saturday, I got to ride the John Deer lawn mower and helped my cousin Patrick mow his lawn. That was a lot of fun. I could drive that thing for hours. Later that evening, we went to play mini-golf. I surprisingly won.
PRUDENTIAL CENTER - NEW JERSEY
On Thursday, July 20th, after work, my dad drove me to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. I got to see my favorite Christian rapper NF (Nathan Ferguson). It was the first rap concert that I've ever been to. It was really awesome. He sang my favorite song which is Let You Down.
THE BRONX
For my brother's belated birthday gift, I bought him front-row tickets to a Yankees Game (bleacher creatures) and paid for food.
On Saturday, July 22nd, Brendan and I took the train to Yankees Stadium. It was crowded. We sat in the front row of the bleacher creatures.
For those that don't know what the bleacher creatures are, it's basically benches with no backs. It's not very comfortable and you are sitting in the sun. However, the view is great right by the outfield.
The best part of the game was that we ended up on TV! It was on the home run replay which was really awesome. That's been one of my biggest dreams when going to baseball games.
The Yankees beat the Royals. Brendan and I had a great time. Here's to another game next year.
PRUDENTIAL CENTER - NEW JERSEY
After church on Sunday, and after we ate the delicious steak my brother Brendan made for dinner, Mom and I drove to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
We were attending a summer worship night performed by KB, Brandon Lake, and Phil Wickham. The concert itself was very good. I enjoyed worshipping with thousands of other Christians.
My favorite song sung by Brandon Lake was Graves in the Garden and Gratitude. Graves in the Garden is always stuck in my head when I'm at work.
My favorite song sung by KB is 10K. It has a nice beat and makes me want to sing along.
My favorite song sung by Phil Wickham is Battle Belongs to You.
We left the concert at ten thirty in the evening because I had to get up for work the next day.
On our way home we got to do a drive-by tour of Bayonne, New Jersey. I guess Google Maps wanted us to stand clear of traffic.
EAST ROCKAWAY - LONG ISLAND
On Thursday, August 17th, I rode the Long Island Rail Road down to Long Island to dog sit my Aunt's dog Josie with my mom.
Brendan came out to visit us since he works in Long Island. We decided to go for a swim. My mom didn't go in because it was too cold for her. But my brother and I went in. At first, the water was an ice cube then it got warmer.
On Friday, August 18th, my dad came out to visit. We went for a swim. The water was still cold. Mom asked Uncle Brian how to turn the heater on for the pool. She got it on and after a couple of hours, the water warmed up.
After the pool, my dad and I went to Lidl and got food for the house. The three of us teamed up and cooked dinner. For dessert, we got carvel ice cream. The bomb dot com. He stayed all day. At midnight Bren picked him up and he went home.
On Saturday, August 19th, Mom and I slept in and then we went to Mama Villa's pizza restaurant for lunch. She got a veggie slice and I got a pasta alfredo slice. We both shared a baked ziti. There was a lot of food but it was yummy.
After lunch, we went for a swim in the pool. It felt like a hot tub but it was perfect. A little breezy outside but it was enjoyable.
On Sunday, August 20th, Mom's friend Jen, her husband, and her daughter came over. We went swimming then mom made burgers and fries for lunch. While we digested we played a game called Banana Grams. A game similar to Scrabble but extra fun.
For the last fun day before going back to work, we had McDonald's for dinner then took a trip to Walmart. We didn't get too much but Walmart is always fun. Except this one was in the hood. But we still had fun.
