There were so many events, celebrations, and changes in my life during 2013, both as "
The Naked Cowgirl" and in my personal life, that I couldn't put it all into one blog. This is a continuation of my "Naked Cowgirl Updates - Reflecting on 2013 Part 1" blog picking up where I left off in the month of May. Being that I am a mother above all else, I want to start this with
Mother's Day.
Mother's Day - May 12th
I had a relaxing morning but only had two of my children home. My oldest son has been in Germany with the
U.S. Air Force, stationed at
Ramstein Air Force Base, and it was my first Mother's Day without all of my children, although I know he's doing something good with his life so I'm happy. When the doorbell rang and I received flowers from him, I got so choked up; it totally made my day!
I went to
Park and Orchid in
Rutherford, NJ with my daughter and younger son and had an amazing Polenta with spinach, non-dairy cheese, and tomato sauce, totally
Vegan and delicious! We brought home
Vegan Cupcakes from
Sweet Avenue Bake Shop, also in Rutherford...yummy!
Times Square Appearances: 5/17, 5/25, 5/26, 5, 27, 5/31
Memorial Day Weekend - I was wearing my camouflage bikini showing support to our Servicemen/women who serve our country. I wanted something different from last year's red, white, and blue
Patriotic bikini. Had the opportunity of getting a photo in
Times Square with some of
New York City's best photographers, although my favorite
NYC Photographer,
Dez Santana Photography, was taking this shot.
Times Square wouldn't be the same without all the
tourists, photographers, the workers, and yes...the many
characters & street performers out there such as the
"Naked Cowboy" and his franchisees,
Rob Coffman of "Haircutter In The Meadow" and
"The Black Naked Cowboy" Titus Gandy! On
Memorial Day I went with Dez Santana to
Brooklyn Bridge Park to take some more photos, enjoy the sun, and relax after
playing guitar in Times Square.
May 31 - I had a photo shoot from the top of a high rise building in
New York City with
Dez Santana Photography...
and then went to my first
professional baseball game since I was about 9 years old. We went to
Yankee Stadium to watch the
NY Yankees play the Boston Red Sox,
and I even drank a
Beer and ate garlic fries wearing my
Yankee T-shirt to make it feel authentic!
June - Events and Times Square appearances 6/5, 6/15, 6/22, 6/30
June 1st & 2nd I had my
Fitness Conference to renew all of my
Fitness Certifications from
AAAI/ISMA which I've been going to since the
Atlantic City Convention Center was still on the Boardwalk.
It is now several blocks from the beach in a newer, cleaner, more upscale area and is attached to the
Atlantic City Sheraton Hotel, home of the
Miss America Pageant and
Miss America Protest of 1968 where feminists were protesting against the
objectification of women and the "impossible standards of beauty the pageant" represented. Once I've taken classes by
Fitness Gurus Shaun T.,
Pepper Von, and
Janis Saffell it's time to hit the beach for some sun,
the
Bally's Tiki Bar for some fun, and then
Atlantic City Buddakan for some awesome
Vegan food! I must add here that I left my suitcase home and nothing but my handbag and the clothes on me! Luckily for me, my boyfriend was very generous and took me shopping to buy a few things to get through weekend, such as this striped bathing suit, my awesome
camouflage pants, and the matching Atlantic City long-sleeved shirts we both had for the night time on the boardwalk.
June 22nd - The
Coney Island Mermaid Parade
First let me start by saying I've had a "
Mermaid Obsession" since I was a little girl and have quite the
collection of Mermaids all around my home...and of course they're all
VEGAN!
This was the first year I got to see and participate in the
Coney Island Mermaid Parade. I didn't plan early enough to make a
Mermaid Costume, plus I figured everyone there would be wearing one, so I figured I'd go as "
The Naked Cowgirl" but with little "
Seashore" flair to my costume.
I kept my signature "
Naked Cowgirl Cindy Fox" Bikini but had a gold one with
Seahorses, Seashells, and Fish attached to it as well as my
Cowgirl Hat, Boots, and guitar.
Even the famous
NYC Body Painter Andy Golub was there...painting Mermaids of course!
June 23rd -
NYC Gay Pride Parade
What else can I say but WOW...Such a FUN Parade! I believe in "
Equality for All" and to me that means all living creatures. I am Vegan and am a big
animal rights activist and have walked in the
NYC Pride Parade for 2 years in a row with the "
Mercy For Animals" group.
I love these people!
It seems that I have gone to Times Square more in the colder weather than I did during the summer. I guess it's partly because of the over-abundance of characters flooding Times Square in the summer, most of who leave when it gets colder. Too many out there at the same time make the whole act less original and less exciting for me and the tourists. Once it's cold out, many of them disappear and it's worth it again for me to be out to be there.
July 4th - Independence Day for us Americans
It's always very busy in Times Square on the 4th of July and there is Patriotic Spirit surrounding everyone, whether they are American or not...carrying American Flags, wearing Red, White, and Blue, etc...
I seemed to have traded in
Times Square during the month of August for some
fun with family and friends. After all, you only live once and I intend on living it to the fullest!
August 3rd -
Warrior Dash with
VIP Fitness Members
I participated in the "
Warrior Dash" in
Morristown, NJ, an
obstacle course to raise money for
St. Jude's Children's Hospital, with some members from
VIP Fitness Studio in which I teach classes and train clients at. Being that it was raining on the way there, I was cursing myself out for signing up for this, especially since I have a fear of snakes and worms (YES, Worms too!) and we all know they come out when it rains...ughh! Luckily the sun came out 20 minutes into the race and it turned out the be a great day!
August 14th - 21st - Visited my
U.S. Air Force Son in Germany
This was my first time in
Germany and the also the first time seeing my son in 15 months since he left. I went alone and got to spend the best quality time with him that I have since he was an only child (my first born). We visited different parts of Germany and also stayed a few days in
Prague. NO Cowgirl stuff during that trip!
Our first night was in
Landstahl at the Zum Storchennest Landhotel which was close to the air base...beautiful scenery. In
Prague there are so many
street performers doing amazing acts, playing instruments, and really trying to WOW the crowd.
This is the closest thing to Times Square's "
Naked" anything! These guys were AMAZING! The last night in Prague we went on our own
Pub Crawl and ended up in a bar called "
Coyotes"...sound familiar?
The closet thing I got to being a cowgirl on this trip was watching other
cowgirls get up on the bar and dance! People are the same in most parts of the world. We happened to stumble upon the
Prague's Gay Pride Parade while we were there. So much for "
Don't Ask, Don't Tell"...lol!
September - 9/2, 9/7
There was a
Protest to the War in Syria in
Times Square on Labor Day that I stumbled upon. This woman has been doing this since the
Vietnam War. She asked me if I knew any "
Peace" songs and I told her I wasn't that good, but I'd try...lol She liked me after that and decided to do a
Palm Reading on me.
October - 10/11, 10/31
Halloween is always a fun night whether you're going to a party, going "
Trick or Treating", or just dressing up for the
Festivities. I decided that since my daughter (also my
makeup artist "Makeup By Tiffany Aiello") just turned 21 this summer, she might like to come into
New York City and have some fun with me. She dressed up as a "
Naked Cowgirl" and totally
ROCKED IT!! We started in Times Square to take
photos with tourists who clearly thought she was a "
Mini Me".
We took the
subway to Greenwich Village for the
NYC Village Halloween Parade to walk in it. There were so many photographers,
parade watchers, and press taking photos of u. I pulled her next to me so she'd be in most of them.
After the
Village Parade we headed over to
Keith Collin's Royalton Hotel Halloween Party where many of the cast from
Gravedigger Movie (which I had a small role in) was attending such as
Photographer/actor Steve Mack,
Actor Keith Collins, Ex-baseball player/actor
Billy Sample, as well as a performance from
Side FX & Kim Cameron.
November I had a bad case of Bronchitis, which is ironic since most people ask me if I get sick from standing out in the cold, and the truth is, I hadn't gone out one time in the cold yet and got sick anyway!
December was a great month in Times Square as always! There is so much
Christmas Spirit in NYC no matter what your
religion or nationality...everyone is joyful...well, almost everyone! After wearing my little "
Ms. Santa Claus" Red Satin skirt and top with the cotton trim, I figured it was time for a change, plus I figured there would be other people out there now following my lead and wearing that adorable outfit this year. I decided to stick to my
"Naked Cowgirl Cindy Fox Signature Bikini" but change the colors and add
Christmas decorations to make it more festive.
I had to add the photo in front of "
Toys R Us" since it is the most popular store at
Christmas time, but the
VERY BEST photo in Times Square on Christmas Eve was the one where "
Naked Cowgirl Cindy Fox" found the REAL "Santa Claus"! He already knew if I had been "
naughty or nice" so I just gave him a hug and hoped for the best...lol!
December 31st -
New Year's Eve
Although New Year's Eve fell on a Tuesday and it was my regular day to work at the hospital (yes, I have other jobs!), I drove into
Times Square around 11am at which time it was already getting busy and the sidewalks had barricades getting prepared for the "
Times Square Ball Drop" with
Ryan Seacrest and a performance by
Miley Cyrus who was being promoted as being a "Naked Cowgirl in Times Square" for New Year's Eve, except she had a
FUR Coat on!
It was only 25 degrees but I was hoping to last 30 minutes. I ran into
NY Daily News photographer David Handschuh during this time who has photographed me after my
Music Video Release Party for my
song on iTunes "Ride It Like A Cowgirl".
I got a photo with him right before
Telemundo TV came by. Luckily Telemundo TV came by and filmed me
singing and playing the guitar when they did while I could still feel my fingers.
After about 17 or 18 minutes, my fingers got numb and I couldn't feel the chords I was pressing so I basically had to just keep posing for photos until I couldn't take the pain in my fingers any longer. By far, the
BEST photo of the day in Times Square was captured by
Dez Santana Photography when the
NYPD just happened to be crossing
Broadway in my direction and he told me to stand still and smile...awesome shot!
I went back to the
Icon Parking Garage after about 23 minutes, changed into my scrubs, and drove to
Hackensack Hospital in
New Jersey. My little toes on my right foot was still numb when I got to work! 2013 was a year of change and transition
...
2014 is a year to
EXCEL and
break all boundaries!
