Welp. Pip is a teenager. I trimmed her hair yesterday and decided it would be funny to give her a toddler-pageant queen blow out…but immediately regretted it when I realized it made her so much older. I am amazed at what beautiful hair she has, so that was fun to see it all smooth and styled, but again, shock..total shock at how big she is. She has lost all of her front teeth. The final one came out on Saturday afternoon. I keep all the teeth in a cute little box like all psycho moms obsessed with their children do. I remember when I was a little girl and finding locks of my own hair, my teeth and even my dried up umbilical cord in a keepsake drawer my mom had and thinking to myself “ewwwww. my mom’s basically a stalker..”. Which brings us to today! I do it too! I don’t have her crusty old umbilical cord, but I have hair, teeth, etc.

Anway, that’s it. And some cute pics. Miss you guys!

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I feel like writing!

I’m cat sitting right now. I cat-sat a little kitty named Poe recently for two weeks, and now I’m sitting for Petit Minou, who’s mama moved to Miami. Between the two of them, I’m considering getting my own little kitty. Truthfully, I’ve been considering a kitty for a long while now. I want an orange one. (PS I pronounce “orange” like “Oreenge”.). I have a name picked out and everything. Also I have found a store that sells people leashes for cats so I can take it on walks. I plan to stage him getting stuck up in a tree so I can call the fire department. I probably wont end up doing that, but if I did I bet they would have heard way sillier reasons for calling FDNY just in that very hour.

One of my besties is getting married in a few months. I’m a bridesmaid and couldn’t be more excited if I tried. I love this friend as much as Piperjane loves destroying Christmas. Also, a wedding in October in Upstate New York that will come up quicker than you know it. Can’t wait.

Today I tried out Barry’s Bootcamp. The treadmill part was easy (I’m a decent runner so I was like “I got this!”) but the weights portion killed me dead. I have an exercise club with a few friends where’s we try out different fitness classes together. We’ll be trying out more things like areal yoga and hopefully classes that teach us flips as well. Working out with girlfriends can be a bond enhancer. I mean, these two friends have seen me at my ugliest and smelliest. That’s got to count for something!

Piperjane keeps loosing teeth. She wont let me look on purpose, so I just stare at her mouth obsessively for hours until she accidentally opens up wide enough for me to catch a glimpse in. I freak out and laugh and point and call for the nurses and she is like “get a life right now or at least try your best to pretend to”. We are cooking up a serious super secret handshake. On top of the greatest fist bump (my dad always called them bumpsies) known to mankind, and the single most moving high five of your lifetime, pip now does the “pinky swear”. All this AND she’s a trustworthy friend? Yep, tell her your darkest and she wont say nothin’ about nothin’ to no one. (but might I mention that enjoying free presents and a beautifully decorated bedroom on Christmas is way out of the question)

My little brother got married last month in Utah! So many weddings! So many marital status changes (wink!) where to begin?!

I bought a juicer! I was spending a fortune on juices so I finally invested in my own. I have the Breville Juice Fountain. I don’t follow any recipes and I swear my juices are better than any I’ve every bought. When I’m making them, my body is literally freaking out about all the nutrients that are about to be consumed.

Have you seen Jeff, Who Lives At Home? I’ve seen it three times.

Have you seen Les Miserables? I’ve seen it twice. I sang along quietly.

Where to end this list? I guess by saying that I’m so happy. Happy and peaceful. Man alive-the peace that I always knew I would have again, I have it. And I will forever, mark my words.

<3

I had a great idea to transform Pip’s room into a Christmas wonderland. I slept over with her and waited anxiously all night for her to wake up and enjoy all the hard work I put in….10 hours of paper snowflake making, wrapping each present carefully and thoughtfully, lugging all the presents and decorations to her house..

Here’s how it all went down. By the way, I can’t stop watching this video.

Pip’s Punk Rock Christmas from reagan on Vimeo.

Hi everyone! Happy Friday!

I wanted to pop in and ask you to please head over to my good friend Miggy’s blog where she is spotlighting a very special boy named Raphael today. Raphael is a beautiful little boy in Eastern Europe who needs a family to love him. Even if you aren’t in a position to adopt, there are other ways you can help.

If there is one thing I can say that I love most about blogging, it’s that it provides opportunities to help people all over the world. Stories like Raphael’s can reach people like me and you. Please take a few moments to see how you might be able to help Raphael today.

Much love,

Reagan

(ps, i had a rough day yesterday. i put myself to bed early because i was feeling sorry for myself over what now seems like the most mundane of problems. waking up early and reading about Raphael (and Molly) really touched me. i consider myself very lucky to be friends with someone like miggy, who has created such a wonderful place for people to connect.)

<3

In the last six days, I haven’t gone a single minute without thinking about the disaster that happened here. Even though I’ve had to start taking care of other parts of my life, for instance-the laundry I’ve got in the dryer at the mat right now, the weight of Sandy is always with me. The images are there in my mind, my thoughts are constantly with the victims in the city and outside of the city that were so badly effected.

We have all been effected here even if it wasn’t catastrophic for everyone. I still have my apartment and my car, I even still have my power, but I don’t have my transportation and I don’t have work. My salon has been closed for a week because of the power loss. For several days I wasn’t able to see Piperjane, because the bridge to get to her was closed. Thankfully, she was safe and happy. The only apparent change in her facility was that the phones weren’t taking incoming calls properly. I don’t take for granted how lucky I am to live in such a safe part of the city. I’m on a hill, which had me never really worrying about flooding. I was moreso worried about falling trees and breaking windows, which was the worst it got around here. When I look at the homes that burned down or flooded to the point of ruins, specifically in Rockaway and the Jersey Shore, I feel guilty for my unbelievably good fortune. I love my city so much. It’s my home. I came here as an adventurous 20 year old hoping to chase my dreams. This city has given me so many gifts. I feel like it’s a real person sometimes…a family member or something. It’s made me smart and scrappy and strong. It’s provided me with tools for a future that would have never been possible otherwise.

The marathon needed to be canceled from the start. Staten Island is without water and power and that being where the race starts, it felt horribly wrong to have a pre-race party when a few blocks away people are sorting through the rubble of what was their home. I hoped and hoped they’d cancel the race, but when they did I cried. The marathon is one of this city’s main events. Canceling the marathon for the first time in it’s 43 year history was more proof of how bad things really are here.

Again, I’m grateful. Everyone I love is safe. Even if they’ve been effected badly, they’re all safe. And I’m grateful for the wonderful company I had all week while cooped inside. There were times that were even pretty fun, which feels a little wrong to say. My friends and I all work so much and have such busy schedules, I feel a new and special bond after spending so much time together throughout this.

Pre-storm on the Hudson River (New Jersey behind me)

Fort building during the lockdown.

Baking like crazy because I had the time.

A very special reunion with this girl who lost her first tooth the day of the storm! My little gapped-tooth cutie!

Thank you so much for sending me the very sweet emails and comments. I’m sorry for my delay in posting. I hope you are all safe and happy and well. We’re in this together.

News:

Piper Jane had ANOTHER awesome thing named after her.

It’s like the never-ending golden hour here on the East Coast.

Halloween costumes are going to be sweet.

Getting chubby from seasonal goodies.

A Morrissey concert with Sarah.

Friends havin’ babies.

Getting severely robbed for the 3rd time this year. A**holes!

Speaking of, “Edison was an a**hole!”

Another family wedding in December.

Emoji obsession. I can’t stop myself.

(Me with the brides and my sister Erin and friend Jenny)

I’m full of all kinds of sister wedding stories. When I’m with my family, my story jar fills to the brim. We are some of the silliest jokesters you ever knew. I met my little brother’s girlfriend for the first time and I’m certain she thinks we’re all a bunch of lunatics.

Anyway, on to the lounge singin’.

I love to sing. I love karaoke and singing around my apartment and most of the time I feel like I’m pretty good at it. I totally wanted to grow up and be a real singer for money, until I moved to New York and met people who could sing better than I ever knew you could. Like, everyone I ever heard here can sing better than a brownie tastes. A. La. Mode.

Alright, back to my story. After my sister’s fabulous wedding, there was an after party at this place next door. There was an upstairs with a balcony overlooking the lower half of the bar. After sitting around for a few minutes and mingling, I decided to look over the edge of the balcony. I looked across the way and saw the musical guest of the night, singing away on his guitar. He looked up at me, and we made eye contact. Next thing I knew, he motioned for me to come down there, and without thinking I just did it. Yeah, I just did it, not even knowing what he wanted. When I got down there, he asked me if I wanted to sing a song with him and he handed me a mic. I was all “well I don’t see why not.” and got to singing.

Remember, I was also in an evening gown. In my head, I was super sultry and sat like a lady on the edge of a Grand Piano. Really, the sultriness was probably my nasal congestion from the cold I’ve been battling and there was absolutely no Grand Piano. Maybe a Casio, but definitely no Grand. Or baby grand neither.

Then I sang another song. I remember looking up at my family and their faces were saying “What in the hell, Reagan? How in the hell, Reagan? How do you always do this, Reagan?”.

After the second song was over, I felt so comfortable that I considered switching careers. I even said “Welp, I guess I’m a lounge singer now!”, which was a real crowd pleaser and had them all snickering into their drinks.

It was kind of a mini dream come true and I have my back up career all ready to go.

If there was a video you know I’d show yas.

My big sis got married over the weekend. It was a big fabulous and glamorous occasion with show girls, formal guests in 1930s attire, family dance numbers and not one-but two blushing brides. I’d say the wedding had nearly everything, but it was missing just one little tiny Piperjane. My two nieces ran around and danced in their pretty dresses until their dogs barked, and I imagined Pip joining them and smiling ear to ear like her little Katie-cousin. It was one of those events that just never gets easier without her.

My sister sent up a flower girl dress for Pip to wear so that I could get some photos of her in it. They were displayed at the wedding on a table dedicated to that little Pippy. It meant the world to me to have her be included in the wedding, even though she couldn’t be there in person. My family adores Piper Jane. If you could see us all together, you would see that Pip is definitely our kind. She would have loved the wedding and all the silly-ing around Atlanta we did. Ah, family.

I know..she killed it with that lace. It’s like, I never want to wear the stuff again for fear of being compared to girlfriend in the pics.

Oh hey there! Would you look at the time? It’s already September! It’s as if 2012 was the biggest, busiest and shortest year of Reagan’s life. In the blink of an eye it’s my favorite months again. Me gusta Septiembre, remember?

What’s new? I actually really do want to know. Leave me a comment with your news because I miss connecting with my blob friends. I’m really enjoying my hiatus, which in my opinion is a rad word but used annoyingly most times. But anyway, because of the hiatus I spend more time doing things like taking morning walks and catching up on the people I love.

Life in general is sweet. I have lots of family events coming up. With Piper, and with my siblings/parents. They’re all the best.

Work, it’s busy but I’m blessed. Sometimes I think to myself ‘how is this a real career?’. It’s way too fun to be a real career. It’s long hours and hard work, but it is too much ghastly fun to complain about something like tired feet.

Piper, girlfriend is the best. She is high-fiving up a storm. Smiles galore and the prettiest curls you’ve ever seen. She’s grown so tall and is prettier every day. I’ll have to post a photo for you all. I’m so proud of her I can hardly contain myself.

I’ve changed my diet drastically. I cut out gluten and dairy (I’m about 90% GF and DF) after ignoring stomach problems for as long as I can remember. I had a moment of hoping cutting out those things wouldn’t have any kind of an effect on me, because I love bread and fancy cheese so much, but the difference was undeniable…and immediate. I feel like a new person. Don’t worry, living in NYC allows for lots of gluten/dairy free indulging. I have found cooking at home and bringing my lunch to work is the new black. It’s been about 6 weeks and I hardly miss the stuff!

I have a busy fall ahead of me, but New York in the fall is my jam. I don’t let the little details like ordering my tea hot for the first time since April go un-noticed. I’m so fortunate, but I’ve also worked hard. I’m so happy and I love knowing that I’ve earned this happiness.

From the cool September mornings to the positive changes in Piper Jane’s life, smaller scale to bigger scale, this life is beautiful.

Kisses. Loads of them.