May 14, 2017 - Mother's Day Marks 3rd Anniversary to Travelin' Cousins!!

We've Come a Long Way Baby!!
I don't think either Tanya or myself would have ever guessed that the other cousin (who we hadn't seen in decades) would have had as much in common as we did! Least of all the love of travel.

But, if you look at our heritage, it makes sense... Tanya's material grandmother, who also happens to be my dad's sister - was a huge travel lover!  So much so, that she became a travel agent after her children had grown!!

I can still remember, as a young girl, the first time, my "Aunt Sarah" and "Uncle Michael" first visited London for the first time!  They loved it!  And could not stop talking about all of its wonderful characteristics.  In fact, Uncle Mike had a replica double decker bus which he could not stop playing with!!

So, it really is no wonder that both Tanya and I inherited the travel bug.  Having said that, it clearly did not infect many other family members!! As you have gathered through the years, if you are a veteran follower, we are virtually the only two in the family who thrive on packing our schedules with things to do, see and experience, near and far! 

Today, our site is filled with oh so many stories, fun facts, travel itineraries and play by play travel adventures from three wonderful years worth of trips near and far. Whether its local museums or festivals or visiting far-off places, Tanya and I are forever in love and obsessed with travelin!  Here's to the next year together, with you, sharing our day to day activities and travel adventures!
E & T

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Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 12 DAYS

An Ode to Moms!

Hiya friends, family and just about everyone else out there!

Today marks a very special day for us here at Travelin' Cousins and for all of us around the world it's Mother's Day and on this day is how we mark the anniversary of our little blog!

So first off let me wish all of the mom's out there a very HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

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Whether you birthed your child, adopted, raised someone else's, have a fur baby, or none of the above but are a true mom at heart.

Just one day out 365 is certainly not enough to show and give you the appreciation that you so deserve. 

Being a mom is a job with no holidays or day offs, yet she has won't complain about a thing.
Her profession portrays unconditional love, selflessness and sacrifice. She wears many caps and plays many roles.
And quiet honestly being a mom is the most difficult job in the world and luckily it is also the most rewarding! 

And here on the second Sunday of May we've all landed on Mother's Day...

Well a single day is simply not enough to honor my mom, your mom, any mom out there - now or ever!

*And please do note that I did not use "Mother" and I am saying mom - because there is a HUGE difference and quite honestly not all mothers are moms and on the the same token not all moms are mothers.             I'll leave it at that.

While although I'm not much like my mom, without my mom and without becoming a mom myself - I would not know the LOVE that fills my life each and every single day, makes my world go around and that makes life worth living! 

Me and my Mum (c) travelincousins.com

In Las Vegas with Mummy (c) travelincousins.com

3 generations (c) travelincousins.com

At our friend's wedding 2016 (c) travelincousins.com

​"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." – Sophia Loren

Now let's move on to what else is being celebrated here today - it is our blogs 3rd Anniversary!!

And we want to Thank You! 
Our loyal followers and readers for sticking with us and all of the fun we have around the globe as well as all the shenanigans we share with you at home :)

In case you are noticing something that is slightly different but can't quite place your finger on it....
Each year Elisa and I switch column positions to mark the year and this year I'll be here on the left.

So many wonderful things both near and far to share with you for the upcoming year - I can hardly wait!

And as the Daily Scoop goes - let's take a looksie at the events of yesterday:

We started out our day in LA with a lovely Brunch at Crossroads Kitchen - this visit had marked the first time that the kids had come to Crossroads!

Brunch at Crossroads (c)travelincousins.com

Our brunch (c)travelincousins.com

Related reading: 
Crossroads is LA's newest swank Hot Spot

After brunch and filling our tanks we had drove through Los Angeles - passing MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles) on our way to Agoura Hills.

MOCA (c) travelincousins.com

MOCA (c)traveincousins.com

Heading to Agoura Hills only means one thing - visiting Dave's mom...

Dominic and Cosette hadn't come along on a visit in a few years, so Dave's mom couldn't believe the huge difference in the size of these kiddos! 

After a few hours and a few repeated stories, it was time to get back into traffic and on the road again.

​By the time we had got to Los Angeles our bellies were rumbling again and this time we headed to Sumo Dog in Koreatown - which happened to be on my list of places to try...

Cool sign (c)travelincousins.com

It's a Sumo! (c)travelincousins.com

Gourmet Japanese style Hot Dogs and tater tots - who knew?!

My and my kiddos! (c)travelincousins.com

Hot dog and tots! (c)travelincousins.com

It was homeward bound after that for a wee break before heading out to do some Saturday Shopping Therapy - I found a few lovely items for myself while on the hunt and you'll never believe what else I managed to pick up...

On vacation (c)travelincousins.com

NOPE - not that hat...     But isn't it perfect?!

I bought my first Christmas gift for 2017!!!
Christmas shopping in May! This might be a record breaker even for me :)

​And lastly we did a Whole Foods run then came back home and celebrated Dave's birthday for the 3rd-4th time singing Happy Birthday to him with a cake that was made just for him (and quite delish if I may say so myself)!

Happy Birthday Birdwald Ponypants (c)travelincousins.com

Not quite sure what he is doing here...(c)travelincousins.com

That about sums it up! Time for us to go eat Brunch...

I'll fill ya in on Mother's Day here in SoCal tomorrow :)
​-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 8 DAYS

Three Years Strong!!

Hey Folks!! Have a great deal of catching up to do with you as I've been MIA for the past few days. 

A Big Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there - regardless of what kind of "baby" you have and care for - human or other!!

Today is a really a happy day for Tanya and Me!!  It marks the third anniversary for our "little blog."

We launched it three years ago, on a Sunday in May, which also happened to be Mother's Day!

Travelin' Cousins First Blog Post

The Cousins VERY FIRST Trip together Ever! (July 2013) (c) travelincousins.com

As many of you may or may not know, Tanya and I were estranged for nearly 35 years due to a rift in our family!  We reconnected in the Spring of 2013 via FaceBook and then reunited in person in July 2013.

You may want to check out OUR STORY, if you haven't already, for the backstory to
"The Cousins."

Cousins NY visit - July 2014 (c) travelincousins.com

You might also get a kick out of our WELCOME page as well!!

After three years, we have amassed tremendous resources, first-hand travel accounts, fun facts about a plethora of worldwide destinations and sites and pictures galore!

I'm thrilled to be able to share my daily events with you as well and having virtual friends out there that read and follow us daily.

Here's to the next year, that it may be more fun and enjoyable for you to read. 

Also, please LIKE, SHARE and COMMENT!!

I couldn't agree more with Willie Nelson - I've missed chatting with you over the past few days, but life just got so hectic that I literally was unable to write everything for the day in time to post.

As most of you know, I've been going through a divorce over the past 20 months.  Some weeks just get more busy than others with the time it takes for meetings, phone calls, reviewing letters and responding through attorneys.

I wont lie - the process is worse than horrible.  It's draining, exhausting and just plain disgusting.

So, when I combine that with the demands of being a single mom, who does 100% of the daily "to do's" and care-taking for my two beautiful daughters, this old girl (me!) cannot materialize more hours in the day.  This past week was one of those such weeks.

May is a tough month on this end.  Lots of Spring events happening with the girls' school as well as birthdays celebratory stuff.

So, here's what else I've been up to...

Kelsey had the social studies fair this past week for which she wrote all about the state of Tennessee. We followed up the fair with some yummy fro-yo with her best buds!

Kelsey in front of her project about Tennessee (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

With her school mates (c) travelincousins.com

Alittle TCYB after the fair (c)travelincousins.com

Gianna celebrates teenager-hood with the milestone birthday of 13, this coming Tuesday, May 16th and we had an "Afternoon Tea" Birthday Party to plan all week!

In addition to a trip to the orthodontist on this past Thursday as well as the physical therapist, I had some work to do for Gianna's Afternoon Tea Party, to which she hosted over 10 of her friends.

Mom had to get the house in order (which is a wreck these days!!) and get the necessary supplies for a proper tea party.  Things like iced tea brew infuser, two hot tea infuser pots, getting out the tea multitude of tea cups and saucers...and the food!

Yes, I made finger sandwiches - four different kind - chicken salad, egg salad, cream cheese & cucumber and mozzarella & tomato.  Additionally, we took a trip to the bakery for the "sweets" for our afternoon tea - linzer tart cookies, mini cupcakes, mini brownies, cream puffs, and of course, fruit tarts.

And last but not least -- the TEA!! We made a trip to the mall Friday afternoon to Teavana to select the focal point of this event. 

I let Gianna make the choices - we settled on two types - Green and Berry.  Each "grouping" had a variety of flavors with which to choose. So, we made two teas hot - a green mint, and a berry; and one cold (berry variety).

The Table is set for the Afternoon Tea Party (c) travelincousins.com

(oops - didn't bring the camera adapter with me to upload the pics from last night)

I will say, my world-traveled daughter, Gianna may have been a bit too enthusiastic about her theme, since most of the kids did not really seem to enjoy the food options.

She doesn't realize that all these worldly cultural experiences have broadened her view of what is "customary" but, for her friends, she needed to explain the etiquette and process.  

It was very cute how she set up the dining room to accommodate the event and listening to her give 'STRICT" instructions on how to partake in the Afternoon experience. 

I started off snapping away, but then because I was serving, I didn't manage to get pics "during" the eating and drinking.

As her mom, I cannot tell you how it warmed my heart to see how sophisticated and international my baby has evolved into because of our world-travels!

What I can say is that regardless of the food or the theme, get a bunch of 13 year olds together and you have lots of chatting and laughing!  And mind you, the three boys that wound up attending seemed to have a really nice time too!!

Horse Back Riding
Oh, yeah - did I mention that in the midst of all this, I made a two-hour trip (there and back) to the barn yesterday morning for Kelsey to ride?

Yup - and it was awful out - raining and windy. But, last week she missed her riding because I was just plain tired. So, I didn't want to disappoint my girl this weekend. With Punkin in tow (she loves going to the barn!), we headed there and back prior to Gianna's birthday activities.

Mother's Day
If all this wasn't enough for one week, today is Mother's Day, lest anyone forget!

We'll be joining my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews along with my parents and brother-in-law's mom, Nancy for a dee-lish brunch at a restaurant in Rockville Center.  Thanks to Danielle, my sis, for making the arrangements!

Will post more of  the pics tomorrow!!!

WHEW - now as far as this week goes - I have Gianna's band concert tomorrow night; Tuesday is Gianna's actual birthday, as well as it also being my Dad's so there will be a double celebration Tuesday night; Wednesday is Field Day for both kids, for which I'll be there to help. Physical therapy for Gianna (for her back) on Monday and Wednesday and then Gianna's 7th & 8th Grade Dance on Friday.

Yes, mommy is ready for her 3 days in Las Vegas next week!!
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Just a note to the hater I had the displeasure of being in the company of this week who has a comment each time I give myself or me and my girls a trip...which also happens to be very apropos on Mother's Day:

Being a stay at home mom, on call 24-7, with no hands-on daily help from family or nannies is a job! It may not come with a big, fancy title or a degree, but I challenge my little hater to stay home all day and see how "easy" it is rather than leave her "baby daddy" or live-in boyfriend to do the work and see if she needs a vacation or a break here and there.

​Giving birth to a child is the first step - launching motivated, happy, independent, kind and successful adults is the part that takes the day-to-day effort.

I think this is why women do not run the world - because there are too many women trying to tear down other women.  Just sayin,' if  you are stalking my blog yet again.

On a happier and positive note - here is a special shout out to all the moms who love and admire their other women and are supportive!

I love you all and hope it's a fantabulous day!!!

- E
xoxo