Jewel? JeWeLs...

My given name is Julie. Just Julie, it's not short for Juliette or for Juliana. It's just Julie.
Many friends call me Jewels.
I like the nickname. It suits me well.

I don't, however; ever introduce myself as Jewels or Jewel, for that matter.  You won't hear me say, "Hello, I'm Jewels."

My best friend of over 30 years has always called me Jewels, she even calls me Juliana, as well as, Dude.

Last week my four year old called me DUDE. I replied, "Honey, you can call me Mom, Mommy, Mother, Madre, Mami or Julie but never Dude." It didn't occur to me to say Jewels, it never does.

My blogs are titled Jewels Organically and Jewels, The Brainstorm. In several of my social networking
platforms I use the name Jewels. I've used the name Jewels in email addresses for the past two decades.
I am a fan of Jewels but when folks introduce me as Jewels I usually am looking around for her. Because of my email addresses and my labels in certain sites many folks call me Jewels. I must say when I get correspondence addressed to Jules, I wonder if they realize Jules is the male form.  I just shake my head and  sometimes snicker.

Slowly Jewels is becoming my true moniker.

My mom, my dad, my grandparents and my life partner, they are just a few of the folks who have never called me Jewels and I find it unlikely they ever will.

What's in a name?

What is your nickname? Who gave it to you? Do you like it?

Sharing is caring!

Namaste!

The Loss of Innocence

Imagination...

Innocence...

Creativity...

When do we loose it? Where does it go?

The following conversation took place on one of my social 

 networking platforms in response to the  photograph of my 

little SUPER IRON CAPTAIN MAN, herewith.

***  ***  ***    ***    ***    ***  ***  ***  ***    ***    ***    *** ***  ***        

Party #1: The ultimate Avenger!

My Response: Happy face emoticon.

Party #2:   Except superman wasn't an avenger or in marvel comics...still cute though...you can't tell kids no when they want to wear something.

My Response:  I love this mash up, it's the best. The imagination is an amazing gift to have...Funny thing is many adults were like, what the...confused...blah, blah, blah and blah blah blah...it made me laugh cause adults can be so limited and immature in their thinking. More of the folks enjoyed his little mash up and asked to take pictures. It was a fun day. 

***  ***  ***  ***  ***  ***  ***  ***  

This past weekend we attended the first ever Long Island Pop Culture Expo, Eternal Con. It was awesome. I had a great time. My kids had an even more awesome time. My 11 year old marveled (see what I did there) at the coolness and oddity of it all.

It was, personally, my first Cosplay experience.  My niece attends these types of expos on a regular basis and has taught me what they are about and has explained what could be expected.  I understand the premise and have seen photos of folks dressed up in full Superhero gear or Comic Personality gear or in some sort of anime attire.  It's pretty intense and lots of fun.  

I have a four year old son who is enamored by the world of Superheroes and engaged completely in his imagination.  Every day he will put on a costume or another.  One moment he is dressed up as Iron Man, the next moment he will grab a Knight's shield and be Iron Knight.  I've seen him cut up and tape together an outfit from construction paper alone. He loves getting into character and enjoying the moment.

Halloween isn't the only time it's okay for my son to dress up in costume, he dresses up as often as can,as often as he thinks of it and we celebrate and support his creativity.  

It was funny to me when I heard folks talk about the confused costume he wore. It was awesome to see others smile and enjoy the moment.  Seriously, when it comes down to it, isn't that the most important thing besides love, to ENJOY THE MOMENT. Be present and don't judge.  The comment where party #2 explains where each character originates is educational but really it isn't pertinent to the fun a four year old, his 11 year old sister and his cool mom are having.

We had a great time and next year I might just dress up too.  I am thinking I will maybe be, "Super-Cat-Wonder-Pageant-Winner-Woman, Super Iron Captain Man's Mom."

Sharing is caring.

Thank you for reading and sharing.

Namaste!

Look It's Tito Puente!?!?!

For my 25th birthday celebration I had a small group of about 135 folks come join me at the CopaCabana on 57th Street. My dear friend, MioSoty was scheduled to perform along with Jerry Rivera and I am not sure who else. We had a huge guest list, sadly many folks didn't get in because with or without a guest list you were not going in if you were not at least 21 years old (That was one of the things I LOVED about the Copa, they had, not only a strict age requirement, they had a strict dress code as well). The entire experience was a riot.


I had friends from work, friends from college, friends from high school even. It was pretty cool. Everyone was scattered all around having a wonderful time.  They had the latin dance floor, which housed the main stage for performances and the upscale VIP section and also they had the variety room where they played reggea, hip hop, freestyle and everything else. It was a memorable party.

I had a small group sitting in the VIP section which included my mom, dad, and my Grandfather, to name a few. 

Yep, EVEN my grandfather came out to party with me on my 25th birthday.  This guy has been one of my greatest emotional cheerleaders. My whole life.  He's a rockstar himself.  One thing that always stands out when I remember that awesome celebration at the Copa was everyone wanting to know why I was in the VIP and why I was dancing with and spending so much time with Tito Puente. I can see where folks thought that but it just made me laugh. Still to this day when I think of it I look like the Chesire Cat.

Sharing is caring.

Thank you for reading and sharing.

Namaste!