//  My Travels and Adventures  //
My page where I can share all (or at least some) of my daily life and travels and muse on the latest world happenings.
A bit about me; all you need to know and even what you may not care about.	My family and my friends; without them my travels and dreams would never be possible.	What is new in New York, where I am residing. Also a bit of insight into my next adventure.
My name is Mandy Mecionis and I am 28 years old. I have a degree in journalism and I am self employed as a freelance writer. My writing has taken me to places I never would have thought of visiting on my own. My primary focus is children's books, but I have also written books on the topic of women's travel. I grew up on beautiful Long Island, New York, but I have also lived in Texas, Bali, Germany and France. When I am working on a new book, I will move to a new city or country to immerse myself in the culture, so my writing can reflect an understand of the people who live there. This is my first blog and my story...	My Mom and Dad have had their share of rough times, and although they are not together anymore, they are always my biggest supporters. My dad lives out in Oklahoma and my mom is here in Queens. My three youngest siblings live with her in a really cute townhome with a yard. They recently got a little Shih Tzu they named Pebbles. He is the most adorable little guy! Before moving to the city, my mom lived on Long Island, but she just finished school and wanted to be near Manhattan,where her work is. When I am in New York we love to shop in the stores just south of Central Park. We both love the specialty shops there, even if we are just looking. My dad is in the oil and gas industry and needs to stay out west to work in the oil fields there.	Last weekend I got to see one of my favorite groups of all time, Bon Jovi. They are one of my mom's favorite bands also; so we went to the concert together. The Great Lawn was so crowded, but we got there a few hours earlier and had a great spot. The concert was wonderful as you would expect! I have spent a lot of time in Central Park lately, just people watching while working on my next book. This one is going to be about children growing up in New York city. It is a comparison of children's from families of different cultural backgrounds; all growing up within a few miles of each other. My family and I also visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What an amazing museum. The collections are so beautifully put together. My favorite was the Egyptian area, wiith its vast collection of heiroglypics and other artifacts.
Share Your Writing with Other Readers I am inviting all the readers of this blog to sumbit their favorite writings. As a writer I love to share ideas and inspiration with fellow writers. This month I would like to focus on children growing up in New York, as that is the topic of the latest children's book I am working on. Please email me with a link to your site or blog so I can post several new stories or musings each week.
My very favorite sites (besides the links shown on this page...) Wow, this could be a very long column, but I will try to keep to the most helpful and inspirational sites. My first choice would have to be sites dedicated to women traveling alone throughout the world. (Okay, okay, I know that is not an individual site, but I had to put that in). All kiddding aside, here is my list: http://www.Poets.org http://www.ritagoldengelman.com http://www.copyblogger.com http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com http://www.moma.com http://www.metmuseum.org http://www.photography.com	My interests are varied and maybe a little odd! I have been a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism ever since I was a kid, and my parents took me to all the historial reinactments we could get to.I don't have as much time as I did before I began school here, but on vacations I try to attend as many of the reinactments as I can. The Renissance Faire which comes around every spring is especially fun. My friends and I all dress in full Medieval attire and have the best time! I would love to fly in a hot air balloon, ski in Aspen, skydive, scuba dive, learn to fly an airplane, travel, travel, travel, learn the violin, play the guitar, belly dance, do yoga, and so much more. At least I am young and I have a lot of time to get these things done. I just want to treasure every day!
	Okay, I know this blog is all about me, but my sweet little dog, Pebbles, is definitely worth bragging about! He is a Lhasa Apso; the cuttest ball of fur I have ever seen. I was thinking about getting a dog for a long time, but I has been difficult with all the traveling that I do. Thankfully, my mom has voluntered to watch him while I am out of town. He loves her dog too, so it works out well. I found him running around our neighborhood, filthy and shabby. After a nice long bath, he settled right down on my couch and went to sleep. I bet he was so happy to have a nice loving home!
	one in the middle
all the way across