in HER shoes

movie review: 35 and ticking

2012-02-13T00:05:00.000-08:00

aside from going to the theaters and netflix, i also watch a lot of my movies on cable tv. i grew with cable tv. i don't know what life is like without it. i probably will eat top ramen all year if i have to just to keep my cable, thankfully, that is not the case. we had cable service because my mom was a sports fan so we had every sports channel that existed, like we had coverage for WGN chicago (that's how my dad and i watched our bulls), my dad enjoyed the food and history channel, and i, of course, loved MTV, BET, TBS and TNT. now that's out of the way, let's get on with the review, shall we? i tell you, this vday month is showing all sorts of movies like this.

the movie centers around four friends, victoria, zenobia, clevon and phil. they are approaching or just past the age of 35 and struggling to build and maintain relationships they have always hoped for. zenobia is single, but a successful newscaster, victoria is married to a man who doesn't want children (nor is he sure how long he is going to be married to her), clevon is a nice, funny, nerdy, sperm-donating man who falls head-over-heels for a woman he met at a club and phil is married to a wife who doesn't act like one and leaves him for an athlete and tries back to him a year later when she got dumped (we all knew that was coming). long story short, they try to figure out life, love and marriage as they feel their biological clocks ticking.

i cannot even begin to tell you how much i can relate to this movie. okay, i'm not married and no husband of mine has left me for another woman, but my life right now is nowhere near how i planned it when i was 19. at one point i said i'd be married by 25, my friends bet i'd be the first to get hitched. that was (still is) never the case. with my "chichays" (it's a filipino term i use for my filipino bff's), i'm the only one who's not married. with my other L.A. homies, we're all sorts of on the same boat, but not really. what i really like about this movie (and any movie that pertains to relationships) is the realness of it. it's like, not because you're a successful person, you have it all good or not because you're a good person all things will come your way as planned. the lines also feel real (i watch too much tv, huh?), just like the scene where victoria asks her husband why he's still not ready to have kids after 3 years of marriage, and he tells her: "first, i feel like you're setting me up. you always wanna do it right around when you ovulate. second, i hate coming home because of that, i work late so i don't have to come home for that and third, i'm not sure how long i'm gonna be married to you." damn, what person says that to someone?! oh, the scene where a year later after the divorce she sees her ex-husband with a new woman who is preggers. AND, when phil's wife tells him she is in love with an athlete who can provide her with the lifestyle she deserves and tells him she is going to let him have the kids cause he is the better parent. WOW. oh wait, there's one more, when zenobia does this online dating thing and ends up with a former gangster who was locked up and brought her to a crips (my L.A. hood peeps should know this!) house party! whew, chile! all i can say is, i liked this movie, not the happiest movie but just like forrest gump said, "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."

f.i.t.b.f.

2012-02-11T00:05:00.000-08:00

[via]

it's fill in the blanks friday on a saturday. a day late and dollar short, but here it is anyway. if you'd like to join, link up at lauren's. today (or should i say, yesterday's) f.i.t.b.f. is all about blogging so, why not, right?!

i started my blog because i was inspired by my friends lauren (yes, she's the host of f.i.t.b.f.) and tina. i also love to write about anything that matters to me, whether be something thought-provoking or as meaningless like khloe kardashian reality tv (i really do love her).

one thing i love seeing about other blogs sounds cliche, but reading other people's perspectives, i also like to see great photography (mostly travel and street life, okay food photos, too!) and i do love seeing some aesthetic abilities (i.e. blog design, etc). okay, that's more than one. sue me.

something i love about blogging is the plain fact that i can write. meet new people and realize that we are all sorts of sisters, homies and have this family-like connections. then you talk to them on twitter, as if they lived next door.

a favorite blog post of mine is probably my "lessons my mother taught me" series and "things i learned from my dad" series. oh, and also, my first ever guest posting series, "what are you thankful for?". i can never stick to one thing, so those are again, more than one.

something my friends in real life know about me that i've never mentioned before on my blog is if i haven't mentioned it, most likely, it's not for anyone to know. hahaha!

my new favorite blogs to read are i just trimmed the fat on the blogs that i follow so, i don't really have any new ones. to be honest, i've been behind on reading and commenting, unless you are on twitter, then i connect that way.

some things i tend to avoid on my blog are too much complaining and pity parties. i'm not a debbie downer in real life anyway, so there.

happy saturday y'all!

travel with me: san pedro, belize

2012-02-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

i'm pretty sure many of you have heard madonna's song, "la isla bonita", right? this is the island the song is talking about ... "last night i dreamt of san pedro ..."

i don't even know where to start about this beach town, it was all sorts of down-to-earth goodness and cocktails. the last leg of the trip was spent in san pedro, pure relaxation after all of the outdoor adventures in san ignacio, caracol and tikal. this isn't your typical beach town like miami beach or santa monica in california. despite the large amount of tourists and ex-pats living in this town, it is nowhere near the gaudy and pretentious stereotypes of beach towns. it is pure and simple. one of my favorite things in san pedro (and the trip itself) is not wearing makeup. aside from new year's eve and a couple of night outs, moisturizer, sunscreen and lip balm were all i needed. no one cared if i had my hair in a bun like an old lady. i wore flip flops all the time and walked on the white sand. the water was nice and warm. the breeze, while sitting under the sun, writing on my travel journal, listening to my ipod, writing post cards and tweeting - it was simple life at its best.

i bought a bunch of souvenirs, the prices were pretty cheap, in my opinion. every time i go to a different place, if i see a church, i always make a point to go in. not necessarily to go to mass or anything like that, i just like to say a prayer and count my blessings. those things are important to me. ramon's village was an amazing place. the cabanas were perfect representation of beach life. beware, there are no tv's in the room, so if you like the boob tube a lot, you might not like this place. however, why would you wanna be stuck with the tv anyway on this wonderful island? also, san pedro belize has the second largest barrier reef in the world and world class scuba diving. if you want to get scuba certified, this is the place to do it.

okay, so it was mandatory that i take malaria pills and use deet (bug spray with 40% or higher deet content) during my stay in the inland area. so, the day i left for san pedro, i didn't use deet because i figured i didn't need it. well, gosh darn it, there may not be mosquitoes that carry malaria in the coastal areas but they never said there weren't any mosquitoes either. the damn bugs feasted on my legs. no kidding. it was a feast alright. up to now, there's still spots on my legs, so i'm kinda bummed about it. not as red as it used to but damn, i used to have spotless legs. okay, i'm over it. food, drinks, walks on the beach, chillaxing. repeat. thank you san pedro, until next time. yes, there will be a frickin' next time.

P.S.

check out more photos here.
click here for belizean food and drinks. don't hate and no tears, please.

travel with me: iguana project (san pedro, belize)

2012-02-09T00:05:00.000-08:00

okay, so i can only be sappy for three consecutive posts. let's get back to regularly scheduled programming.

believe or not, one of the things i enjoyed in belize was the iguana project at san ignacio resort hotel, where i stayed. i've never been in close contact with iguanas, except for the ones in costa rica and they were inside a cage. they just looked mean, ugly and did i say mean and ugly? i knew nothing about them, they weren't the animals that i would google and read about. ECM dared me to go to the iguana project, and of course, i can be competitive so i said yes. of course, i observed first, then when given the chance, i had a big iguana on my shoulder and managed to have 8 little baby ones all over me at one point. the guide/project speaker, juan (or maybe it was pablo or ramon, but he looks like a juan to me) was super nice and knowledgeable. he made it easy and comfortable for me (and everyone) in handling the iguanas.

the iguana project was started by mariam robertson and danny velasquez 14 years ago. iguanas in belize are also known as green iguana, bamboo chicken (creole) guana and iguana (spanish). there are two types of iguanas in belize, black iguana and green iguana. the black iguanas have spiny tails and are insectivore/carnivore. these are the ones you want to avoid. the green iguanas eat fruits and veggies. iguanas run when they sense danger. if their tail hits you, your skin will break. they release their tail as a protective tool, so when someone bites their tail, one would think you have it, but not really. female iguanas are being restored as they are the most hunted.

after their time at the conservation project (2-14 years), the iguanas are released back to the wild. there were three characters in the conservation project that stood out the most: gomez, bradford and roxy (yes, they named the iguanas). gomez is the highlight of the conservation project. he is cool, calm and relaxed around people. he is an alpha-male. bradford is only second to gomez and roxy is the female that bears baby iguanas. three-fourths of the project goes to scholarships and the rest of the money to maintain the project.

P.S.

check out more photos here.

a letter from f. scott fitzgerald

2012-02-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

ever since i read the book the great gatsby in my american literature class by f. scott fitzgerald, he's always made a mark. the book was well written (the movie had mia farrow and robert redford in it) and i was impressed by it. in 1933, he wrote a letter to his 11-year old daughter scottie with the following words of wisdom:

Things to worry about:

Worry about courage
Worry about cleanliness
Worry about efficiency
Worry about horsemanship

Things not to worry about:

Don’t worry about popular opinion
Don’t worry about dolls
Don’t worry about the past
Don’t worry about the future
Don’t worry about growing up
Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you
Don’t worry about triumph
Don’t worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault
Don’t worry about mosquitoes
Don’t worry about flies
Don’t worry about insects in general
Don’t worry about parents
Don’t worry about boys
Don’t worry about disappointments
Don’t worry about pleasures
Don’t worry about satisfactions

Things to think about:

What am I really aiming at?
How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:

(a) Scholarship
(b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them?
(c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?

With dearest love,

Daddy

these are the things that come to mind as continue my journey in this thing called life. what a beautiful letter, if only we take it to heart and realize the potential each of us have.

soulmates

2012-02-07T00:05:00.000-08:00

oh what the heck, it's february, valentine's day is coming up (but really, st. valentine's day is not a love story, but the memory of it all is really a massacre. don't wanna burst anyone's bubble, i'm just sayin'.) plus, it's a good segway post from my "500 days of summer" movie review. also, i have a slew of friends who have ended their relationships within the past couple of months that the concept of soulmate has come up a lot in many of our conversations.

according to wikipedia, "soulmate is defined as the belief by some to be the person with whom one was a feeling of deep or natural affinity, similarity, love, sex, intimacy, sexuality, spirituality or compatibility. a related concept is that of the twin flame or twin soul, which is thought to be the ultimate soulmate." whew! but it really isn't that deep, right? i mean really, what caught my eye was the word compatibility.

i think the concept of soulmate is what one person defines it to be. this is not going to be a post on proving a point that soulmates exists or not. i remember watching an episode of "friends" with a bunch of friends from back home. i believe it was season 8, when monica and that one chef named don totally hit it off (in a wholesome way) while she was dating chandler. of course, chandler thinks monica and don are soulmates and should live in a house made of cheese. then monica tells chandler, "i don't believe in soulmates. i don't think you and i were destined to end up together. i think we fell in love and work hard at our relationship. some days we really work hard." then a friend of mine said out loud, "damn, she stole your line!" of course, everyone was in agreement. and yes, i do believe she stole my line.

let's get back to the word compatibility, to me that really is what matters. now, let's not take it out of context and translate it to perfection. i personally wouldn't want to be with someone who is a clone of myself, that would be boring. i think that people's differences, whatever they may be, should enhance the relationship. it sounds like it's defeating its purpose, but in my opinion, it's really knowing how to work around those differences and bringing in another sister/brother word to compatibility, compromise. when i also talk about differences, i also mean realistic ones. if you absolutely want kids and your partner doesn't, those are the exceptions. you know what i mean?

soulmates to me doesn't also mean doing everything together, being together 24/7. i believe that there should be you. him/her. you and him/her together. i know people who still believe even years later that they have let "the one" go or those who are "in love" with other people but they can't be together because even if he/she is single, the other one is in a relationship or those who are in love with a friend but afraid to damage the friendship. i could go on and on with all sorts of scenarios and there still won't be a single one that fits the bill because we are all different. there will always be those people who you'll have amazing connections with, but you still don't end up together. personally, i think there are a few people i can say i have "connections" with, but reality is, i don't run off with every person i'm connected with.

do you ever wonder why certain people are with others? ever know someone who has this list of criteria and end up with someone who doesn't possess all of those things but is happy and in love with this person? things like these seem to fit the definition of a soulmate. it's not about the perfect fit of the puzzle. it's how you adapt to those imperfections. when the new year hit, all those chinese zodiac appeared everywhere and i was looking at the compatibility years (cheesy, i know). apparently, those who were born during the year of the snake, horse, rabbit and there were a couple of more which i don't remember are my compatible mates. so, unless the "book of life" says reni and ECM or reni and enrique iglesias or reni and matt damon (the list goes on...believe me), it's really a free for all game. you and only you get to pick and choose the person you want to be with for whatever reason. so don't give your christmas wish list to santa claus, cause he can't make that decision for you. nor does the psychic network.

(i do have this t-shirt. did you know that bacon and pepperoni are the only pork products i can eat? otherwise, i get sick. my doctor thinks it's because it's processed so it loses all the natural stuff that makes me sick. now, the fact that i can eat bacon and get sick of other pork products, that my friends is a good representation of soulmates.)

so, soulmates anyone?

thoughts? do share.

movie review: 500 days of summer

2012-02-06T00:05:00.000-08:00

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i've seen this movie when it came out in 2009, but it seems like i've seen it more recently on cable tv. it's february and this valentine's day commercialism is all over the place. anyway, as the post title says, it's a movie review.

so it is a love story, but it isn't a happy one. it's the story of tom and summer. he's from new jersey, working in L.A., she's from the mid-west. he's a hopeless romantic and she on the other hand, not so much. she doesn't believe in love, she thinks it's a fantasy and she lets him know that even before they get into their so-called relationship. he believes she's his soulmate. they have fun together, they have disagreements, like most couples do. only they are not. summer insists they are friends and tom doesn't think that way. so it doesn't work out. they find themselves at a wedding together as day 500 approaches. will the past rekindle an old flame? does destiny really controls love? or is the concept of soulmate a fictitious human creation?

if you've ever seen this movie, you'll know it doesn't have a happy ending for tom and summer. it is a love story though. the realistic portrayal of relationships and people's varying perspective on life and love are a few things i loved about this movie. also, the fact that i can relate to many aspects of this movie hits too close to home. plus, zoey deschanel is adorable. the real cool thing about this movie is that tom's little sister, rachel, actually becomes his true voice of reason. she tells tom that she doesn't think summer is the one for him even though his brother believes otherwise. i think even though you love and care for someone, it doesn't always mean you're going to be together. i'm sure somehow, summer cared for tom, maybe even loved him more than she'd like to admit. however, that's not where she's at in life. does that make her a bad person? no. for whatever reason, she's choosing to live the life she is comfortable with while remaining honest with tom on how she feels. she told him more than once, she just wanted to have fun. i'm not going to try to convince anyone what true love is about or how do you know about finding "the one", i don't think there is an answer to that. i really think that love and relationships is what you make out of it. but most importantly, it's what you make out of it in whatever stage of your life you are in and making sure that whatever it is that you decide, you are happy. you don't always have to be sure of things, but you know when you take that risk, that you'll feel differently about yourself, in a good way of course. and if things don't work out, that you will learn something about yourself and trust that the next time around will be even better.

i certainly can identify with tom in the earlier parts of my love life. what woman hasn't treated love and relationships like a fantasy and that finding "the one" is the most important thing in this world? now that i'm older (hopefully wiser), after watching this movie (the first time and the last three times in the past week or so), i am like summer, more on the realistic side of things - being okay with who they are with or without someone. one thing i can always say for sure is that i am in love with life.

i believe that not because someone is a good person it doesn't mean that they are good for you, however, i cannot guarantee that no matter how honest one is with another person that no one is going to get hurt. true story.

the weekend

2012-02-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

believe or not, the past week has been gorgeous out here on my side of the country. it was all sorts of sunny. of course, it's also superbowl weekend. i don't follow the teams who played at the superbowl, so i didn't have any strong pick on who's going to win it, but didn't realize i was gonna be so involved in cheering for the patriots. i've always liked the manning brothers (peyton & eli) but a girl's gotta do, what a girl's gotta do. i chose for tom brady to win the superbowl because he is one vanilla hot mess (if i ever end up moving to boston in this lifetime, i'd have to be a patriots fan). he doesn't need to do a thing, no need to show off his skills - all he has to do is look pretty. sigh. however, things would've been different if my teams (49ers, saints and packers) were in the superbowl. on that note, i will leave you with some yummy goodness i encountered this weekend. and tom brady counts as yummy. btw, congrats to the new york giants, superbowl XLVI champs.

did you watch the superbowl?

which team did you cheer for?

travel with me: caracol, belize

2012-02-03T00:05:00.000-08:00

caracol in belize houses one of the famous mayan ruins in this country. it is nowhere near the size of tikal in guatemala, and the pyramids are not as tall. however, history is just as strong. let me tell you, it is easier to climb the ruins, but going down is a lot more difficult only because the steps are frickin' thin, some are half a foot wide and there are no railings! i mean, of course, there wouldn't be any railings. so at one point i had to go down on my butt, you know, sitting down, one step at a time. it was all part of the adventure! we also had military escort to go to caracol. the place is so far from civilization that military escort was necessary in case anything happened to you. oh yea, the big ceiba tree is the tree of life in the mayan culture. the last photo, i was leaning on the post not because i was posing, i was really tired. it was back to back days of climbing and hiking the ruins. my short legs were tired. true story.

travel with me: barton creek and green hills (belize)

2012-02-02T00:05:00.001-08:00

just outside of san ignacio in the cayo district are barton creek cave and green hills butterfly farm. barton creek is an underwater cave that can be explored by the use of a canoe. to the mayan culture, caves are the gateway to the underworld as the temple of ruins are the gateway to the gods. i own the planet earth series dvd and those things are amazing to watch. there was a series about caves and i always thought they were fascinating so to be in one and say to myself, "oh, that's what they were talking about!" was pretty cool. if you are claustrophobic, this isn't for you. as we got further down the cave, it got pretty low and narrow. at one point, the guide told us he will turn off the halogen light just so we can experience what it was like to be in complete darkness. holy smokes batman! he was not kidding. this is the reason why bats and other insects in a cave are basically blind, they use their sense of touch and smell to maneuver through the caves. the funny thing is that we went to the creek on new year's day and the owner arrived late (our amazing tour guides worked those canoes and made sure our time was well spent). after the cave exploration, he offered us free drinks, he made the base and basically had us pour the vodka. of course, ECM was more than happy to bartend.

green hills butterfly farm is not far away from the creek. it's owned and managed by a deutsch couple. the tour was very thorough (even though i can't remember most of the things she said) but i also think it was because it was a much smaller butterfly farm than the one i saw in costa rica last year. nonetheless, the butterflies were beautiful.

p.s.

click here to see more photos.

guatemala anyone? shall we? we shall!

2012-02-01T00:05:00.000-08:00

(the great/grand plaza)

it's about darn time.

wow. eight posts in january. that's an all-time low. moving right along, as promised (better late than never, right?), i'll be sharing highlights of my trip. i'm going to start with tikal, guatemala.

what's the draw to tikal, guatemala? history. tikal national park was declared a world heritage site in 1979. tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient maya. tikal is the best understood of any of the large lowland maya cities, with a long dynasty ruler list, the discovery of the tombs of many rulers on this list and the investigation of their monuments, temples and palaces. tikal has been partially restored by the university of pennsylvania and the government of guatemala. the architecture of the ancient city is built from limestone and includes the remains of temples that tower over 70 meters, large royal palaces, in addition to a number of smaller pyramids, palaces, residences, etc. There are also seven courts for playing the mesoamerican ballgame, including a set of 3 in the seven temples plaza, a unique feature in mesoamerica. (source)

the day trip to tikal consisted of crossing the border with a private driver and a tour guide. this was actually a risky trip to take because of the many robberies that have happened in the past to tourists. however, when you are under the influence of wanderlust, you have to trust that everything happens for a reason. that no matter what, you will be seeing a great part of world history. with a leap of faith, prayer and spanish speaking abilities, there was no turning back. the road to tikal happened as planned. of course, precaution was taken. a copy of my passport was scanned via e-mail in case anything happened, i'd still have something to prove my identity. i only brought $80 with me which $60 was wrapped on my foot, left my cards at the hotel. i brought my pacsafe bag with my point and shoot camera and a small screwdriver. taking risks also means traveling smart. of course, none of my closest friends or family knew about the possible dangers of crossing the border, otherwise, they would freak out.

anyway, long story short, it was an amazing trip. hiking the trails and climbing the tall ruins was an experience i will never forget. i also saw howler and spider monkeys. i kid you not, those howler monkeys sounded like roaring bears. the weather was beautiful, the tour guide sammuel, was a brilliant and funny old soul. he was very knowledgeable and inspiring because of his guatemalan pride. he also worked in pennsylvania for nine years, got sick of the cold and went back home to the motherland. we stopped at a souvenir store and guatemala pottery/ceramics are gorgeous (i bought one of the small masks), so as their liquor items.

p.s.

you can check out the rest of tikal photos here.

and i travel back down this road ...

2012-01-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

(via)

i am headed down to southern california next month, san diego to be exact. the last time i was in san diego was the summer before i left los angeles (oh wait, i interviewed for a job at SDSU in 2008 but declined it). i went with a bunch of my homies and it was downhill from there. we saw people we avoided in l.a. and it was full of drama. however, i will always remember the good times with the homies. i have a feeling this trip will be eventful, but in a chillax way. the way it should always be. i will enjoy the sun, the city, food and drinks (like i could forget that, right?) and hang out with a friend. i am lame. i already have another travel destination, i haven't even shared anything about belize and guatemala yet. i will get there. i promise.

"the important thing is this: to be able to at any moment sacrifice what we are for what we could become." -charles du bos

on another note, my friend B posted this quote on his FB wall the other day and i was struck by it. i joked on FB (yes, i'm sort of back) that it was too deep for FB, even for me, and one of my best friends from college said it was actually right up my alley. he was right. in most cases, i make my decisions by it, without even knowing it. selfish as it may seem, in many cases, i have consciously chosen myself first. why? i can't be of good service to anyone if i don't meet my own needs first. end of story.

how is everyone?

(i know, i haven't been around much.)

guatemala and belize: reflections

2012-01-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

"a traveler without observation is a bird without wings."

- moslih eddin saadi

you might ask, "why belize and guatemala?" well, ECM and i have a long list of places to go and see before we leave this world, they're not all the same so at some point he will be traveling with others and so will i. let's start with two basic reasons: why not and warm weather. the other reasons are: belize has the second larger barrier reef in the world after the great one in australia (yea, that's on our list, too!), history/culture (the mayan ruins, latin american culture), balance of beach and inland experience (we like outdoor adventure, we're not sedentary people) and did i already say warm weather? i love history. i get oogly-googly eyes when people talk about history (whatever kind, except chess). history was my favorite class all throughout my school life. in my opinion, anyone who is not fascinated by history is like not wanting to read.

okay, so let's get to the point. belize and guatemala: simplicity. i thought costa rica was simple, belize and guatemala took that to another level. i did not venture out to any of the major cities on this vacation instead it was spent doing some active explorations of the jungle, mayan ruins, caves, butterfly gardens and of course, water. don't get me wrong, i did some r&r on the beach front but i'm not one of those vacationers who can sit and do nothing for weeks and weeks. i need some type of activity, especially the outdoors.

(up top of a mayan ruin temple in tikal, guatemala. this thing is solid. can't push it.)

while the culture is the same between costa rica, belize and guatemala, the later two countries are not as developed. arriving at belize international airport was a bit of a shock, it looked like a small town airport, not an international one. it lacked the bling bling advertisements that most international airports have along with powerhouse equipments. one thing i noticed, they were very proud of natural resources because it's always on their billboards. while in belize i went to san ignacio and caracol, which were the jungle or more outdoorsy part and san pedro, which was beach town. i must say that i enjoyed san ignacio and caracol a little bit more because i had more interactions with the locals, especially with the tour guides. don't get me wrong, everyone in san pedro, locals and tourists alike were all extremely friendly. there was not a day that had gone by where no one smiled or said hello to me, like all the time. i think many americans lack that kind of attitude and outlook. everyone is so busy getting to the next place, everyone gets cranky because they didn't make it before the light turned red. tikal, guatemala exudes the same vibe. when you look around, you start to wonder how these people can keep up their positive outlook when you can see they're probably barely making it. or maybe they have more than what the eyes can see, but they don't feel the need to show it.

(the iguana project at san ignacio, belize)

something struck me in the town of san pedro, it reminded me of NOLA and the french quarter without the beach and neon signs on bourbon street. it's an old town, very dressed down, even the tourists seemed to be out of their own element. i did not see anyone who strutted their stuff as if they walked out of a beverly hills salon. none of those high heels and louis vuitton (or whatever other brand name). belize and guatemala do not have amazing roads unlike costa rica (unless you're going to monteverde or anywhere in the rainforest). the road to tikal was rough, but nothing anyone can't handle, in my opinion. unless you are that whiny person who annoys me. the service people are genuinely nice. i love fine dining and to be honest, not all servers are genuine. i think they are nice because they have to and yea, they need my tip. it is the other way around in belize and guatemala: they are nice because it is the way it should be. pretty plain and simple, right? i thought so, too. i stayed at two different luxury resort hotels (here and here - guatemala is not the safest country so we stayed in san ignacio so we can do day trips and cross the border with a private driver) but none of them had the uptight attitude you'd find in most places. everyone was treated the same, genuine kindness. if you like to be seen, this is not the town or country for you.

(san pedro, belize)

just as i said on my costa rica reflections, i would invite any american parent to travel to belize and guatemala with their young children. there's a lot to learn about life, simplicity, being content (something that i struggle with sometimes) and not worrying too much about material things. at the end of the water cave exploration, an american woman said, "it's so simple out here. there's a lot of us american can learn from here." amen to that. once again, thank you LAUSD (los angeles unified school district) for all of those 3 years in spanish class (and two years in college). i used to be fluent in spanish when i lived in l.a. because i used it more due to its demographics. however, i must not underestimate myself. i understand more than i think i do. i could do more in the speaking part, but that all comes with practice. one more thing, every time i am back traveling from somewhere, those close to me will always ask (even my boss), "so, do you have any plans on moving to (insert place here)?" it never fails. they know my history.

"traveling forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comforts of home and friends. you are constantly off balance. nothing is yours except the essential things - air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky - all things tending towards the eternal or what we can imagine of it." - cesare pavese

p.s.

i will try to share my trip in segments, according to activities/events and places.

in the mean time, you can check out what i packed for this trip on you tube (apparel and girl stuff).

i used to be one of those people

2012-01-17T00:05:00.000-08:00

a day or two before i went on vacation last december, i got an e-mail from my sweet friend, mara. as i read her mail, i was happy that she was going to start 2012 with a healthier lifestyle. however, towards the end of the mail, i had myself saying, "what the heck is she thinking?!" she wanted me to be her healthy living coach. that had me rolling on the floor laughing. really? i ain't no jeanette jenkins, boo. and you know that! so i responded that she can take my advice at her own risk. actually, i didn't really give her any advice. i mostly gave her some thoughts to ponder and shared that there's a major difference between losing weight and being healthy. mara is one smart lady and she's choosing to live healthier, *high five*.

you've all seen this before, every january the number one new year's resolution for most people is weight loss (not necessarily healthy living). i hate the fact the every gym, including mine, offers this 3-month special deal which has everyone crowding the cardio area at my gym and making me wait for an equipment only to find out they're all gonna flake by march.

even though i never had any weight issues, when i was living back home in l.a. i secretly wanted to be a skinny mini. living in l.a., life was always in the fast lane and i ~~never had~~ (made) time to exercise. i was in college, working and had like five million extracurricular activities. then when i graduated, i was working, going to graduate school and trying to balance a dysfunctional relationship, family and friends. yea. no bueno. i always went through the quick way of losing weight which was exercise-crashing. it's like crash-dieting, only in a form of exercise. so basically, i'd exercise for a week straight then stop. everyone, well, most of you who exercise on a regular basis know that you have to mix and match your exercise routine. if you do hardcore cardio every day, you'll be prone to injury. i didn't know that before. also, if you lift weights, you need to give your muscles time to relax, so every other day is a good way to do lifts. i didn't know that either. i was also on of those people who exercise to the max after eating a huge meal. not right after, but sometime after. because of that bad habbit, i never really lost any weight, probably gained some. bottom line, what i was doing was nothing near healthy.

i don't drink coffee. i don't smoke. yes, i am that boring. i also stopped eating fast food (unless i'm at the airport) and drinking soda nine years ago. that made a huge difference not necessarily about my weight, but with my health in general. like i've said time and time again, i will always be one of those people who will always go to the gym and watch what they eat because of my dad's genetics. i will never forget what the doctor's told him during his first heart attack: exercise and eating healthy could've prevented everything. i'm no way a health freak or guru, as you have seen on my food posts. however, i believe in moderation and balance. if i drink alcohol, somehow all the toxins in my body has to come out and sweating it out by exercising is the best way to do so and drinking lots of water. i eat a lot of tofu during the week and vegetables so indulging on meat products during the weekend balances it out. i drink a lot of natural fruit juices like grapefruit and cranberry, which helps cleanse your system. most of all, i stay active. whether be it going to the gym, taking long walks, or climbing mayan ruins when i'm traveling. just keeping my body moving helps me a lot.

am i size 2? hell to the no. do i have flat abs? uh, mother effin no. but, i like the way i am now than i did when i was younger. listening to my body was probably the best thing i've ever done for myself. so whatever that means to any of you, that's what you should do. also, being kind to my body was important, along with measuring any improvements based on how i feel versus the number on the scale. to be able to do and live what i love, i need to be healthy, otherwise, it defeats the whole purpose. healthy living is a mind set, not a gym routine.

what are you doing to stay healthy?

($h!t, did i really just ask that question?)

here's what's on tap for 2012

2012-01-16T00:05:00.000-08:00

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what a perfect time to formally write down my thoughts about 2012, a day of remembrance for dr. martin luther king, jr. dr. king has always been an inspirational figure to me. even though i wasn't alive yet when he gave his "i have a dream" speech, when i first watched it on video tape in history class, it gave me shivers. i hadn't heard someone speak with so much passion and commitment before. here's to you dr. king for allowing us to always have a dream and doing something about it.

2012 resolutions? nah. i don't do those. like i said before, they're so 1980's. resolutions to me are like things you want to accomplish when you get to them at some point - like recycled unfinished business. goals and plans on the other hand for me seem to have a lot more commitment and organization attached to it. that's just my opinion.

for sure, it'll be another busy professional year for me, as always. not in a bad way. the first half of the year is going to be all kinds of movement on my part, doing this and doing that. there's not going to be a lot of traveling this year because i am saving up for my trip to eastern africa for 2013. safari time, baby! for sure, i'll be traveling with my girls for AS 2012, a trip back home and then some. nothing too hectic like this past year. i'll probably use most of my four weeks of vacation as staycation.

while i was answering some questions from blogger tags this past week, i talked about not reading enough books the previous year. i am going to bring back my love of reading this year. i love reading and i'm a fast reader, too. i can read five books in a week. true story.

i am going to explore other geographic locations during the first part of the year and learn to accept the results of that search, whether i'm successful or not. i have a lot going for me out here. so it's not a change that i am forced to do, it's a change i want to do.

i will go to church more often this year. i consider myself spiritual than religious even though i strongly believe in my faith. i am one of those mostly go to church on the big holidays, but i pray on the daily. this year i want to tap into my spiritual side more, especially that i know i'm about to embark on this journey mentioned above.

no more makeup for me this year. i think i have enough stashed for the next two years, thank you to my amazing non-blogging friends back home who gifted me tons of glam stuff. after coming back from belize and guatemala and not wearing makeup almost most of the days except for NYE and then some, i realized makeup and i are just friends. we're not in love with each other. it's always been the case. skin care is one thing, but cosmetics is not what i spend my money on. i work so i can travel, buy electronics and enjoy fine dining. don't worry, since i have so much gifted makeup this past christmas i'll have a lot to review so i'll still be doing vids on the tube.

i've been reading a few blogs writing about their word of the year. i've never been into that concept because i never really narrowed down my focus into a single word. i think this year my word will be movement - in all forms: the mind, the body, spirituality, professionally and hopefully geographically.

that's all i have for now. it's a short list but i'm pretty sure it'll exhaust most of my time and test my faith and perseverance. i will leave you with this quote from dr. king, which is going to be a good reminder for me this year:

"the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

photography contest - please vote.

2012-01-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

hey everyone! just a quick real time blog to promote the ECM's photo submissions for a photography contest sponsored by pro photo supply. out of 1,600 entries, they picked top ten entries and three of those are his! awesome, right?! so, i'm taking this time to ask each of you to help out and vote! below are the photos that you will be voting for, you can pick whichever is your favorite to vote for since you can only vote once. click here to vote (last day to vote is tomorrow). you can also take a peek at his flickr site which has tons of other amazing photos. did i tell you that photography is only his hobby?! he has a day job! thanks again you guys! (as you can tell, all photos are copyrighted and are from ECM's photography collection).

(this is my personal favorite)

first blog award of 2012

2012-01-14T00:05:00.000-08:00

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i've been awarded the "kreativ blogger" award before but i don't really post any type of awards i've gotten on my sidebar or anywhere else. i'm also bad at passing these awards. however, i'm still grateful that i've been given this award from two awesome women, ashley and amanda. the drill is i have to answer the following below and share 7 random things about me. here goes:

name your favorite song

come with me by flo rida, i've got more but that's what's on my top 10 on my ipod

name your favorite dessert

creme brulee or anything custard. i also like froyo's a lot.

what ticks me off ...

people who are late, disorganized and flake out the last minute.

when i'm upset, i...

go to the gym or take long walks, listen to music.

what's your favorite pet

large dogs like st. bernard's and labradors. i hate those "purse" dogs.

black or white

black.

biggest fear

losing my parents/loved ones, being in an accident (i.e. fire, plane crash, car, etc.)

everyday attitude

a smile goes a long way

what is perfection?

perfection is being comfortable in your own skin.

guilty pleasure

fine dining, electronic gadgets and coach purses

7 random things about me

i have a blue belt in aikido.

i still have a dvd from netflix that i haven't watched. i've had it since june 2011.

i am picky about cheese. i don't eat kraft or velveeta or any supermarket brand.

i only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when i'm hiking.

if am too full and can't finish my burger, i will eat the burger but not the bun and fixings.

you won't see me with a chipped nail polish.

i like playing rock band. i don't play the instruments. i only sing.

new year's blogger tags

2012-01-13T00:05:00.000-08:00

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while i was away on vacation, i found out that i was tagged by a couple of my ladies, abby and miss dre. then, on wednesday my friend kasey also tagged me. must be the "in" thing in 2012! hahaha!!! thank you ladies for thinking of me. below are their questions and sorry if this is a long post or way too much information you want to know about me in one sitting. also, i'm a bad tagger, so if you'd like to do this tag, please feel free to do so.

q's from abby's tag:

what's the best thing that happened to you this (past) year?
i guess it depends on how you define best, but i had one of the best birthdays last year during our AS 2011 weekend.

who's the number 1 person in your life and why?
if you've been reading my blog for a minute now, you'll know that my momma means the world to me. for many but simple reasons and one of them is this: her strength is the solid ground i stand on.

what are you hoping for the following year (this year)?
to be honest, i haven't really thought about 2012, but i am actively looking for something.

who's your favorite band/musician and why? post a music video or a song you enjoy.
i have so many, but i will put down lifehouse because they are from los angeles. "hanging by a moment" is probably my favorite song they ever produced.

what's your favorite meal or dish?
i am a foodie. by that, i don't mean an expert, i just love to eat. seafood is my favorite, but really, i'll eat anything that's not pork. sushi = love.

what's a goal you'd like to have for your blog?
wow, i never really thought of a blog goal so i don't have one.

what's the craziest/funniest thing you've ever done?
oh lord. maybe i'll write something that cannot incriminate me that much. well, when i was little, i was so sick and tired of my brother bossing me around (he's 7 years older) so i wrapped his cat in a newspaper and threw it across the room. actually, i didn't intend to throw it, i just wanted to threaten him then when he yelled "what are you doing?" it startled me so the cat went ba-bye. oopss. sorry. the cat lived, no broken bones or anything. it never went to therapy either. so all is good in the hood.

what's your favorite color and why?
neutrals. black, white, beige, etc. you know, colors that are easy to pair things with because they are timeless. i don't mind a pop of color from time to time.

are you a better cook or baker? what's your favorite thing to make?
i have baking and cooking skills but choose not to use them as much. does my food taste good? yes, and i haven't killed anyone yet with my cooking. when i was younger my dad really made a big deal of stereotyping women in my culture that they NEED to and HAVE to cook for the males in our lives. um, i don't think so. if you got hands and feet, y'all can do the cooking in the kitchen, too. i make a good shrimp or chicken panang curry. i can also bake bread pudding with custard. i got skills.

have you had any serious medical issues in the past?
i have been fortunate to have a good health (knock on wood). the only thing i can really remember going to the hospital was when i severely bruised my tailbone (falling on ice). i had some minor visits to the doctor when i sprained my elbow during aikido class and then my left foot because i must've done something to it while i was hiking.

what do you think of gadgets/technology?

i am a gadget/tech girl. aside from travel and food, it is another interest of mine. i think they're fascinating. while it takes a long time, i enjoy hacking html codes so i can make them work for my blog, such as layouts, etc.

q's from dre's tag:

what makes you happy?
call it cliche, the little things in life make me happy. i'm a simple person. buy me an ice cream and i'll thank you non-stop. travel, sunshine, food, friends, my career, blogging, change, taking risks, meeting people, learning about another culture, local markets - stuff like that makes me happy. oh, and a st. bernard dog. uhmm. that's right.

what do you love most about yourself?
had to think about this one. i think my independent nature and i smile a lot.

what is the best thing anyone has ever done for you?
anything my mother does for me will always be the best thing because i can tell that she truly put me (and the fam) first before anything.

how would you describe love?
to love and be loved is to feel the sun on both sides.

do you pick your friends like you pick your fruit? lol
while i am extremely social and personable, i do pick my friends with a fine tooth comb. i have a lot of acquaintances, like people i go clubbing with, do activities with. when it comes to people i call friends, i have expectations. they are simple, but mind you, many find them hard to achieve. trust. honesty. communication. and yea, don't drift off to la-la land for months and years just because you're in a relationship. i don't wait by the phone for phone calls. that is so 1970's.

are you missing someone right now? if so, who?
i'm missing my mom and dad and my friends back home in los angeles.

what is the most influential book you've read?
i love reading, wish i had more time. maybe that's my goal for this year. get back into reading more books! i have a lot of books that come to mind, but i really liked the alchemist by paolo coehlo. i actually have written down a favorite quote from the book:

"I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.”

what is the most influential movie you've watched?
most recent one would be the blind side.

who is your favorite reality tv star?
khloe kardashian. hands down. funny as hell and boy she has some major cojones. my kind of girl.

what's your current favorite music video?
none.

what's your favorite song?
flo rida's in the ayer is on repeat on my ipod so i guess that must be my favorite song of the moment. lol.

q's from kasey's tag

if you could suggest ONE book for someone to read, what would it be?
this is a tough one. probably the alchemist OR i know how the caged bird sings.

name one song that would get you out on the dance floor.
anything from flo rida and "club can't handle me" should do it.

what is your favorite dessert? (please share a recipe)
creme brulee. i don't make it, i only eat it but here's a recipe from the food network.

what is one item you MUST have in your purse at all times?
my wallet. can't do much without the dough, right?

if you could meet one person from your favorite sports team, who would it be?
the question should be, which sports team? hahah as far as the lakers, he's already retired but i'd love to meet kareem abdul-jabbar. i guess the black mamba, too. i also want to meet former usc trojan QB john david booty.

if you could pick two actors/actresses to be in a movie together, who would you choose?
khloe kardashian and will smith, definitely a funny movie. OR matt damon and robert de niro, for some action flick.

if you could take cooking lessons from one well known chef, who would it be? what would you choose to learn how to cook?
does rachael ray count? i really like her no-nonesense style. perfect for a career woman who does not want to be a slave in the kitchen. i'd probably want to learn how to cook more with tofu. i love tofu as much as i love beef. true story.

create your own cupcake flavor.
something with a hint of bailey's irish cream, cream of coconut, vanilla and mango to balance the rich flavors.

what is your favorite item of clothing?
dark denim jeans from american eagle, hands down. only jeans i wear.

are you a coffee person or hot chocolate person?
hot chocolate. i don't drink coffee.

what would be your favorite thing to do on a date?
take me out to a ball game. or a picnic/concert at the park. at least i can be distracted and mask the misery if he was absolutely a turd.

better late than never, happy 2012.

2012-01-11T00:05:00.000-08:00

i'm baaaccckkk!!!

yes, i know. while everyone has piles of new year's post already done, i'm barely getting mine up. i hope you all had a wonderful holidays and new year's. but first things first, my sweet friend kasey just got engaged and i couldn't be any happier! of course, i found out about it before the news was all over her blog. anyway, just a quick recap: i went to guatemala and belize. i traveled in style, yes, first class seats, baby!! i imbibed with outdoors stuff by hiking up mayan ruins in tikal, guatemala, san ignacio and caracol, belize along with mayan caves exploring, butterfly gardens and learning about the iguana project. then off to san pedro, belize for some amazing beach time. last year, my new year's post was far better than 2012's but that is all i have for now as my mind is still muddled with great seafood, sunshine and mixed drinks. i'll do a reflections post and then divide each review per event and place. also, thanks for all the blogger tags and awards, i will get to them as well. i've missed you all. thank goodness for wi-fi and twitter.

2011: year in review

2011-12-31T00:05:00.000-08:00

2011 was a pretty even keel year for me. there were some challenges, decision making pressures, but nonetheless a good year. so, here's 2011 - in no particular order:

1. i spent the last few days of december 2010 and early january 2011 in costa rica, the land of pura vida. it was one of the most humbling places i have ever been. i could totally see myself relocating to this beautiful country.

2. my mom had some health challenges earlier this spring, which forced me to go home for a few days in june to make sure she was okay. she had pneumonia but her brilliant doctors (insert sarcasm here) couldn't figure it out. she was coughing up blood, getting dehydrated and had some spots on her lungs. at first they thought it was cancer. thank goodness it wasn't. part of that visit was catching up with my co-workers and some families from the previous school i worked at. i always keep in touch with people from back home, even if it means once a year visits, etc. it's good to be connected.

former co-workers in L.A. and families i worked with

3. the lakers bowed out early this year after being swept by the much better team, the dallas mavericks. lakers nation is a big part of our (mine and moms) relationship. it's more than just sports to us. it's one of the things we enjoy together. i wasn't really into the playoffs this year because it was around the time my mom was not doing well (see #2 above). playoffs and the lakers aren't the same without my mom's enthusiasm. HOWEVER, after years and years of living in portland, i finally decided to show some portland trailblazer pride. i watched two playoff games against the mavericks and cheered my hardest for my home team, well, my second home team :)

from my shirt to my glasses, i'm all decked with blazers red, black & white.

go blazers, but my phone bleeds purple and gold - lakers for life.

4. this year marked 9 years of service. six as a teacher, three as a program coordinator. i've had a good run with my career with children and families, as a coach, mentor and as a curriculum developer.

5. this year also made me question #4 above. many may not know, but when i turned something-something-ish for my birthday, it was a hard one for me. not because of the number, but i knew i'd have to make a decision. the question is always, "what's next?"

6. i celebrated my birthday in las vegas with five other bloggers i've never met in real life. we called ourselves "asian sensation" because we're uh, well, asians. as many of my friends said, "who does that?! what if it doesn't turn out good? it's your birthday, for crying out loud." yea, well, i've always been a risk taker. we've all been friends for a while and the only thing that was missing was meeting in person. we did it and it was one of the best birthdays i've ever had.

marquee las vegas with maur, kat, leesh, steph & elisse - hammer time!!!

7. at the beginning of the year, i always write down some goals (not resolutions, those things are so 1980's), especially travel destinations. new orleans was one of them. there were other places that i was interested in the south, but new orleans stood out because of katrina. a few months after the devastation brought by hurricane katrina, i joined project katrina to help raise funds for the victims and donated some money that i originally saved for a trip. it was important for me to see how new orleans has revived itself. i was more than pleased with what i saw, but still disheartening at the same time.

8. christmas time really nails it for me: i have amazing friends in this town. i have a variety of friends, not all of them know each other. but the friends i stay with over the holidays are the ones i've made through the ECM.

9. on the note of friends, i'm realizing that some of my blogging friends make more of an effort to tweet, message, e-mail, etc. than my out of town IRL friends. just an observation. i also am realizing that the friends that i got reconnected with at the end of last year even though we haven't seen nor talked to each in five or seven year prior to 2010 - all of them have made such an amazing effort in keeping in touch. they don't blog, but they read the blog. they're anti-twitter (and most social media) but joined so we can all get the scoop on each other's lives.

10. on the note of blogging, it was so much fun to meet up with courtney from charmed in pdx and christianna from the girl with the blue bow. courtney and i hung out at the saturday market this summer and enjoyed our vibrant town. christianna and i hung out a few weeks ago, she's a cali girl and cali girls always have a special place in my heart. it was like meeting an old friend, we pretty much laughed the whole time. i've also added a few more awesome ladies to my blogging friends, a couple of them are my little sisters, another is my traveling sister and everyone else are just awesome. we are family, that's right! oh and my other long lost sister in oklahoma, yea heather, i'm talking about you. i've missed you! she's been a busy bee making her life even better and coaching basketball. so, i'm gonna digress here for a bit - you see, anyone i call "sister" is someone who i get a long with whether we have differences or not, you know, just like family and love them just the same. so a few weeks ago or so, i got an e-mail from a random reader who found my link as a "blog sister" from ashley's blog. the e-mail goes, "i don't understand. blog sister? but she's black." in my head, i knew how that went. i stayed classy and kept movin'.

11. this year, for mother's and father's day, i did a week long (or so) tribute to my mom and dad. no matter what i thought about them when i was a teenager (y'all know how that goes), there is no doubt, i wouldn't be who i am and where i am in life without them. in my younger years, i never really talked about my parents, at least not in a sense on the lessons i learned and they taught me. as an adult, i can honestly say my parents knew best. okay, there were some hits and misses, but they've given everything they could to raise me - and my two other siblings. they gave up a lot, sacrificed a lot - to make sure i was comfortable. my past visit in june, i was able to thank them in person for everything - for all the lessons, the values they instilled in me and most of all the life they gave me.

with the fam bam in june 2011

12. i moved this year. nothing big, still in the same city. i needed a change because i've lived in the same place for the last four years. i needed some thing to motivate me, so i packed my stuff. this year though, i hired movers to do it. yea, of course, there were things i had to lift on my own, but none of the heavy things. no way with those flight of stairs. the funny things is that i thought my application fell through because somebody beat me to the place i wanted. after coming back from vegas i got an e-mail saying that there's another vacancy in the same place i was looking at. i didn't even blink and i said yes. yep, what that means is i also didn't look at the place until i paid for everything. i mean, the manager said it was the same layout. yes, risks, risks, risks. sometimes, you just gotta do it. sometimes, waiting for the perfect time, the perfect place, the blah, blah, blah - i think we cheat ourselves when we keep using those excuses, then it doesn't happen, and we're back to square one. this is why i always liked nike's slogan: just do it. amen.

13. this holiday season, ECM and i created gift boxes for less fortunate children/teens. a couple of years ago, we served meals to the homeless. i really want to get back into volunteering again, it's been so busy with work, so every time i find an opportunity to give back, i try to, even if it's donating or doing the gift boxes. i know that even though i don't have an overwhelming amount of money attached to my name, i am fortunate than most. i will never forget that.

14. most of you know that i've explored makeup this fall more than i have the last ten years (yes, true story), trying out a few brands that worked out for my super sensitive skin. because of my allergy issues to many cosmetic brands, i don't venture out very much. okay, i really don't venture out at all. on christmas eve, i logged back on to facebook after months and months of a deactivated account (i promise, there is a connection to all this stuff i'm rambling about). i came across a photo i posted on which closet area i organized first when i moved this summer. it was my makeup/skin care shelf. the first photo will show you how much stuff (or less) beauty things i had. the second one, well, obviously has grown into a big fat santa (it really hasn't, it looks more but if you get see it in person it's average amount). it doesn't help when 75% of it were gifted for christmas by my beauty-loving friends. my skin care and hair care stuff had to be stored somewhere else, which meant i had to buy a bathroom storage shelf.

15. i believe in self-care and rejuvination. ECM and i would like to thank belize and guatemala. mostly, i am grateful to be employed so i can do and live what i love.

cheers to 2012!!
happy new year to each of you!!
(meet you back here sometime in january!)

last christmas ...

2011-12-28T00:05:00.000-08:00

i ~~gave you my heart~~ ate a lot!

this is delayed but i really hope everyone had a great christmas or whatever holiday it is that you celebrate. so, i got a little over ambitious and said that i would do another giveaway this month, you've probably noticed that it hasn't happened yet. that's right. the woman who bought her significant other's present on christmas eve did not have a lot of time to organize other things in life. i have cards and other presents that never made it on time. sigh. this is probably one of the first, in a long time, where i just felt like i wasn't where i needed to be this time of the year. the perfectionista in me is struggling to let go of many things that might need to be finished in january. ugh. anyway, instead of doing my own giveway, i decided that i would donate giveaway products to my L.A. homie, leeann @ join the gossip, who is hosting her 4-year blogiversary. i feel better about that decision and congrats to leeann for an amazing four-years of blogging!

now, onto christmas day. our friend T always hosts christmas dinner and mind you, he makes the 95% of the food by himself - for 15+ people. the rest, we bring, but that's mostly desserts and a few side dishes. even though ECM and i want him to find "the one", we're kinda afraid that he might stop cooking dinners if he finds "the one", especially if he has to travel for christmas to be with his future wife's family. whew chile! i know, so selfish but he is one of the ECM's bff and i feel like he's taken both of us in as his younger crazy siblings! this year's theme was a southern-fried christmas! amen! he is from the south and he got his mom's special chicken recipe and everything else and i'm telling you, there is no better than a good home cooked meal, better yet, a southern-style home cooked meal. mmmm goodness!!! i wore my stretchy pants aka leggings for this event, i'm not kidding. i only managed to take photos of the food and a photo with my beautiful friend, A and M who snuck behind us! once the food and drink consumption began, memory failed to remember to take more photos and manipulating electronics became a little difficult than usual. LOL enjoy the photos!

my friend N, helping out with the cooking. our host is the one to the right with a white shirt.

the table was set by yours truly with two other friends. we used mason jars for glasses to complete the theme!

there was another table to the side since there's so many of us!

T owns my most favorite dog in the world, douglas. he is the love of my life. douglas was my very first blog post! he "rinses" the plates before we put it in the dishwasher. he was a very happy camper on christmas day and stole a piece of brownie. not good for you dog.

p.s.

welcome to new readers of this blog. i hope you enjoy your stay here.

also, thank you for all of your comments. as you already noticed, i haven't
gotten around to responding to most of them. i'll be better next year.
or you can always just twitter bomb me. it is better and faster that way.
or so i think it is. :)

happy holidays from my blog to yours

2011-12-25T00:05:00.000-08:00

gift of sisterhood

2011-12-24T12:16:00.000-08:00

i will say happy christmas eve to everyone because i do celebrate christmas and if you don't, happy saturday to you all! this is the last installment of the gift swap videos and today's gift package is from my lovely sista, tamara (aka mara). she and i met through her blog post on sorority rush and she actually let me revisit this event in my life that i don't usually talk about, but all is good in the hood now.

the card that she sent with her gift. that is legit.

p.s.

at some point, she will be posting/filming her gift opening.

you can check it out here or here. enjoy!

gift of friendship

2011-12-23T18:36:00.000-08:00

even before i started blogging, i've been surrounded with great people in my life, many of them i call friends. through the blogging community, i have met so many wonderful people (in person, too!) and of course, those that i "talk" on the daily via twitter. my awesome sista ashdiggity and i swapped gift boxes this holiday season. she originally filmed her gift opening and i decided i'd do the same. enjoy!

p.s.

check out ashley's gift box opening here

he could've been on my match.com profile

2011-12-22T00:05:00.000-08:00

obviously, mine would be pertaining to men. if match.com allowed videos on my profile page a few years ago, i could've saved myself some time by posting his vid than writing my own profile. i realized that not all men can read (LOL) and when your profile headline reads "sharp as toast", y'all know how that goes.

(the dancing thing - if you can't even slow dance now that's a problem. but if you don't like to dance but you wanna hang at the club, you shouldn't be buggin' if i dance with others.)

P.S.

a while ago i wrote about my online dating adventure. here is the post on my profile.

from a brown skinned woman

2011-12-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

i've been wanting to write about a post on this since reading it from the uptown influence. i don't think i was ever racially discriminated because of my skin color, or at least not that i've paid attention to (oh wait, aside from that time when UCLA and the university of california school system had quotas on incoming freshmen asian students, yea, that's right. i remember. i couldn't go cause i was asian. i'm not a bruin fan, sue me). i don't deal with other people's ignorance. growing up in suburban los angeles, west san fernando valley to be exact (wassup woodland hills?!), as much as we take pride calling ourselves a melting pot - the school that i went to was still predominantly white. this post is NOT about racism - i have amazing friends from all skin tones, ethnicities, shapes and sizes - it's about societal influence and pressures. i'm not bi-racial but i do have a lot of spanish influence in my blood as true to most filipinos. my mom is light skinned and my dad has dark skin. my sister is exactly like my mom, my brother is exactly as my dad - and i am the blend of both worlds: medium brown.

my dad and i (this was in 2003/2004, i think)

my mom and i (yea, she wears red/bright lipsticks - 2008 photo, i think)

when i was younger, i noticed how much people always liked my sister's lighter complexion. no one really said anything about my brother cause you know the drill, tall(ish), dark & handsome - yea that's him. then there was me. clearly, if my sister and i stood next to each other, you'd know the difference and if you haven't seen our parents, you may not exactly see how we're related. my brother and i was a clear shot, yea, we're related alright. i always wished if i only had a tad bit lighter skin then it'll be alright. most of my brother's girlfriends (or at least those i knew about, hahaha) had lighter skin tone, not necessarily someone out of our race either, they were just light skinned. as an adult, i've dated dark and light skinned men, those had very little influence on why i chose to be with them. now, if they cheer for the boston celtics and not for the lakers on an NBA game, that is a problem!

(my brother clearly wore the wrong shirt on this photo! LOL, but seriously.)

me with the sibs - this was taken at a professional studio so we all look polished here but you can still notice my sister's lighter complexion.

growing up in L.A. was hard enough, a city so obsessed with beauty and weight - and image of hollywood is on corner of every street. i never really measured my liking for the opposite sex because of their skin color, but in my school, somehow i always thought a white boy would never date me. no one has ever said that they wouldn't, i just assumed, so i never gave it a chance. all of my crushes were white boys but my relationships were with boys of color. i don't usually name names on this blog, but i will this time since this person has a very common name, plus it was a valuable lesson. i learned from a boy named john ritchie that dark skin was beautiful. john had blonde hair, blue eyes and was an upper middle class boy from SFV (the valley). we went to the same school but we never really talked until we went to enrichment summer school together at a different school. our school offered summer school every other year so we had to go somewhere else. the school that we went to, even though it was not very far from our home school had very different demographics. there were more people of color. the difference was, interracial dating seem more prominent at this other school. maybe because there weren't a lot of whites or what not, but it didn't have to be black and white. it was asians and blacks, indians and whites, latinos and asians, i mean - it was beautiful like the united nations. john was the one who noticed this distinct difference and i explained to him my assumption, based on our home school's demographics. he didn't say much, all he had to say was, "you're trippin', right? dark skin is beautiful."

fast forward to 2006. one of my friends back home said that she had a surprise for me when i come for my visit. of course, i was like, "oh i'm ready and bring it!" little did i know that she was going for some skin lightening procedure (okay, nothing like surgery, but some cream and other cosmetic stuff involved) and she wanted to do it together. SAAYYY WWHHHAATTT??? i wanted to slap her back and forth and five times on a sunday! where did she get this idea? i was a little offended, but it took me back to high school and as a young child admiring my sister's complexion. i stepped back and undid my karate chop position. i understood her, i really did. however, i declined to do it for myself. i was there to support her. knowing what i know, i would never trade my skin color for anything.

let me watch the game WOMAN!

2011-12-20T00:05:00.002-08:00

i feel ya brother, i really do.

i don't know about you, but i love sports - watching them on tv or live, especially if it involves my favorite teams. don't even mention the playoffs, arch rival games, and stuff like that. if you must know, i'm known to be late on dates if my teams are playing (don't worry, i am courteous and will let the person know what's going on) or maybe cancel them (not last minute though cause i have an espn app so i know the schedule). the only thing that can come between me and my love for sports is travel. other than that, uh-uh. i didn't buy an HDTV for nothing.

i love some of my girls, but just like the brother on this video, it's not the time to talk about your boyfriend's facebook status when you come to my crib as i host a sports party. there should be none of that happening, at least not during the game. commercials, sure, i can deal. but when the game is on, there's only one rule: shut it (unless you're talking about the game). that is all.

gatherings, holiday swaps and birthdays

2011-12-19T00:05:00.000-08:00

such a long title, i know. this past saturday was beautiful, sun and all. to be quite honest, i don't think i've ever had a much beautiful fall and winter'ish weather since i've been in this town. seriously, it's been mostly dry and the sun's been out quite a bit. i'm enjoying it a lot. this past weekend was spent celebrating T & G's birthday at trader vic's. it used to be a restaurant that the ECM and i go to (first it was manzana, then palomino). the ambience was good so was the crowd and of course, let's not forget the food and drinks. the theme was sort of like hawaiian and asian'ish but the live mariachi band confused the heck out of me. don't get me wrong, i handle all kinds of cultural songs and serenades well, but this one was just out of place. the usual suspects were at the gathering, all 13 of us, we were missing a few (all 17 were at my birthday, oh wait, minus one). i haven't seen some of them in a while cause we're just so busy and have different schedules but we all catch up and call it good on times like these. T, as pictured above, is responsible for all christmas dinners and such. the man can cook up a storm in his kitchen. this year's christmas dinner theme is southern style. woot woot! T is the ECM's bff and he also owns my favorite four-legged friend, douglas. oh, did i mention he is single? yes, all the single ladies ... all the single ladies ... fyi, ECM and i's opinions matter on who he dates so y'all better recognize. LOL

the holidays are coming up pretty fast and i still haven't had that holiday wind in me. gift-giving to me is a year-round deal, i always get excited getting people presents so that's not new. i mailed out two of my holiday gift boxes this year and boy, the post office has long lines. you know how i do (well, i don't do!!) on long lines. whew chile! my favorite was the postal clerk asking me which rate i wanted so she said, "christmas 13.80 or don't care 9.70". of course, i picked christmas! rates are expensive and those are domestic packages! speaking of exchanges, my friends in L.A. sent me a package since i won't be home for the holidays. originally, we picked a name (through randomizer online stuff since i don't live in L.A. anymore) and you know the drill after that. what i didn't know is they all picked something out and included it in my gift box. here are some of the goodies i got, i don't have photos of all of them.

my friend TJ was my gift exchange partner. he got me a trio of iphone 4 cases. the one pictured here is the "spoof" bling case because he knows i make fun of bling cases. now i have to use this until christmas before i can use the other "normal looking" cases he sent me.

this one is from my friend, R. she is my twin skin (the only person i know who has the same exact skin sensitivity issues as i do) and a member of my glam squad. i've been wanting one of this leopard print scarves since, well, september! LOL it also came with a pair of double knitted mustard yellow and gray gloves along with a variety of makeup stuff that works for our skin. needless to say, thank you TJ, R, D, A, J and G (that sounds and looks funny!) for all the stuff you sent! me loves it!

how was your weekend?

did you get any gift boxes from someone?

purse party friday: what's in your purse?

2011-12-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

glad you can make it to the purse party!

(if this is your first time here and don't know what i'm talking about, read this post!)

go ahead, grab a drink or two, sit down & relax.

let's get this party started and chill with our favorite bloggers.

alright my beautiful guests,
go ahead and link up on the comment section below!

thanks for coming!

P.S. you can watch the live purse crap unloading here

you're invited: purse party

2011-12-13T00:05:00.000-08:00

save the date: friday, december 16th

[from coach.com]

i've been watching a lot of youtube vids lately, as if i was watching movies from netflix. the "what's in the bag?" or "what in your purse?" videos seem to be a staple in many beauty gurus on the 'tube. i do a couple of this kind of posts a year, but this year, my girls ashley, ronesha and i decided to do a "what's in your purse?" video. since not all readers of this blog are on youtube, i thought it would be fun to do a purse party! i mean really, is it creepy or more fun to know what's inside your blogger friend's purse?! um, definitely fun. it's really easy, no obligation, only if you want to. all you have to do is write a "what's in your purse?" post on your blog for friday, december 16th. on friday, go back to this blog and leave a link on the comment section so i (and the rest of us) can see what's in your purse. you can also let me know via twitter. can i just insert a disclaimer here? if you are not a regular reader, please do not leave a link to your blog that does not involve the purse party. thank you.

hope to see you at the purse party.
if not, i wish you a great and healthy week!

FITBF: love

2011-12-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

[photo source]

i need to get back on to things i used to enjoy doing, like this fill in the blank friday hosted by lauren. in case you all don't know, lauren is one of the reasons why i have a blog. i also know her in real life. if you follow me on twitter, i said that the christmas spirit hasn't really hit me. i mean, i'm excited to buy gifts for people and the less fortunate, but aside from that, i'm pretty indifferent. i'm doing okay, nothing is wrong, i think it's just that this time of the year is sooo busy for me, year-end staff evaluations (all 34 of them) and other deadlines. i guess my perfectionist side is having a hard time that some of 2011 might bleed a little in 2012. i just need to let it go. anyway, i liked today's edition of FITBF.

love is ... i'm going to steal a couple of lines from lauren's answer, because i agree with it. love is a choice. feelings come and go, love is something you choose, with another person.

being in love feels like ... having a st. bernard dog! (HA! i know you read the blog!)

my favorite quote about love is ... to love and be loved is to feel the sun on both sides.

the most important thing in a relationship is .... the balance between being with each other without losing yourself. i also think that trust, communication and agreeing to disagree are very important.

a "deal breaker" for me in a relationship is ... someone who is needy (who constantly needs reassurance), someone who smokes, has kids (or wants kids), has ex-wife/wives (i don't do baby mama drama), believe it or not, if you don't like sushi (yes i know, i can live eating sushi every day) it is a problem - shallow but i'm honest - if you have no sense of adventure - trying new things, travel, etc. ANNDD, if you text, facebook, twitter while we're having dinner and if i ask you what you're doing you tell me, "nothing." (i got eyes, i see you).

the way i show love in my relationships is ... giving you freedom in pursuing other things you love to do in life (ECM will vouch for this! so, can you let me pursue my dog? you can buy it, wrap it and hand deliver it to me!).

christmas came early in L.A.

2011-12-09T00:05:00.001-08:00

eeerrr ... the other league.

if you've been following my blog for a minute now, you'll know that my favorite nba team is the los angeles lakers. well of course, i grew up there so i bleed purple and gold. if you also follow the nba, you already know that this post was meant for the chris paul trade to become a laker only to be denied by the NBA, really? who does that?! is that even possible? i guess so. BBBBUUUTTT ...

on the other christmas present to angeleno baseball fans, 2011 world series winner, albert pujols and 2011 world series not-so-winner, c.j. wilson are both officially in the los angeles angels baseball roster. OH YEAAA!! they say the dodgers and angels are rivals, i don't really see it that way. i'm a dodger blue fan but i also swing to the other team, i do love the angels and was lucky enough to watch games at edison international field. ANNDDD ... my gal pal kasey loves the angels and we are sooo happy with this trade!

P.S.

maybe another day i can still write about the lakers and chris paul. maybe dwight howard.

have a great weekend!

christmas loves tag

2011-12-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

[source]

i've been tagged by an aussie beauty blogger, jordy for her "christmas loves". while christmas isn't my favorite holiday (it's thanksgiving), there are still a lot of things that i love about it. i wish i had time to do certain things like i used to. anyway, on to my five things.

1. lights. i love holiday lights. one of my favorite streets in town is lined with led lights all year long, it feels so festive. rain or shine. there is also a street in my city similar to candy cane lane in suburban los angeles where i grew up. only the one we have here in town is a lot more low key. one year the ECM (the east coast man) and i decided to get a tree and the first thing we did was make sure we had enough lights for it.

2. christmas songs. yes, i do like them quite a bit as long as i don't hear them before december 1st. i just don't like it when it gets mixed with my favorite holiday, thanksgiving. when i'm in town for the holidays, my friend T always invites me for a christmas eve mass/concert at his church. i'm not presbyterian but for one night, i am cause i go to his church for the christmas carols concert. this is my favorite christmas song. what's yours?

3. christmas cards. i've always loved sending and receiving christmas cards in the mail. i used to do it more often (this year is not the year for it). by november, i would've placed my personalized cards to i can mail them by the first week of december. yes, i'm hard core like that. hopefully next year, i won't let the busy-ness of life get to me and make myself go back to this tradition that i've always loved.

4. gift-giving. regardless of how anti-mall crowds and long lines i am, i still like getting people gifts. i love having secret santa events at work. some of my friends and i back home still exchange gifts and i love that they take the time to do so to send me packages. this year, ECM and i are doing gift boxes for less fortunate children/teens.

5. coming home to L.A. home is where the heart is, especially during the holidays. however, this year i won't be going home but that's okay. i saw my parents in june for a brief time plus, i've had quite a few trips this year and a few more to go. next year, i definitely will be spending the holidays in L.A. also, home cooked meals by my mama is the best thing!

what do you love about christmas?

if you'd like, feel free to do jordy's tag. just link it back to her blog.

friends through all seasons

2011-12-07T00:05:00.000-08:00

since bowing out of facebook this past summer, i haven't been kept abreast of how my other friends are doing. i mean, you always have those people that you talk to, whether they're (or you're) on facebook or not. you know what i mean? after chatting with TJ this week, the subject of fair-weather friends came up. you've all heard of those, right? i don't want to dwell on who these people are but i am curious what your thoughts are on this subject. at what point do you consider people as fair weather friends? also, is it really worth falling off the face of the earth when you're in a relationship? this is always a hard one for me because i know some people might think i'm cold-hearted, but i don't have time for this kind of lifestyle, you know, fair-weathering. is that even a word? you can ask people close to me and they will say that i am pretty much the same as a single woman and when i'm in a relationship. of course, when i'm in a relationship i have date nights, out of towners and other plans with the boy - but i will make time for my friends. that's a given. i'm more likely to be MIA because of my busy career than a relationship. how do you deal with your fair-weather friends? do you have fair-weather friends? are you still friends with them? why or why not? i prefer my friends to be friends through all seasons. how about you?

photo source

this is why i earn a living.

2011-12-06T00:05:00.000-08:00

to see, hear, smell, taste and touch the rest of the world.

photo source

belize and guatemala. my feet will finally touch its grounds.
i am fortunate. last year, i was here and here.

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights, it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in ideas of living.” -Miriam Beard

why do you earn a living?
(aside from the basic needs, you know, house, food, clothes, etc.)

P.S.

check out christianna's version of our meet up this weekend.

california girls are unforgettable

2011-12-05T00:05:00.000-08:00

... so is the statue at the end of this post.

it started with a tweet that said, "on my way to portland", on friday. then i tweeted back, "portland, maine?" why would i do that, you might ask. every time people say portland, they always seem to be heading to the east direction, which is maine. finally, someone said, "oregon." then a tweet came that said, "let's try to meet up". of course, my response was "yes, yes, yes!" we kinda played it by ear, we didn't really set up a day or time just yet, plus i know how it is to visit family and i didn't want to intrude on that. this lovely cali girl is the blogger behind the girl with the blue bow, christianna. her older brother just moved to the city this summer (i met him, too, and boy was he a hoot! lots of jokes and laughs!). the funny thing is the week before, she invited me to guest post on her series called, "any friend of mine" and said if she could have my responses early because she's going out of town for weekend. back then, i didn't know that she was heading my way.

we met at starbucks downtown, ate pizza for lunch and took the sky tram to see the birds eye view of the city. our conversations just flowed like we've known each other (must be a california thing) and we just laughed our way through the afternoon. on our sky tram detour by the corner of OHSU, we spotted an odd statue: a man-rabbit carrying a dog. REALLY??? WTF is that?! if you ever visit my city, you'll see signs that says, "keep portland weird." yep, that's one good example of that alright. on our way in to OHSU, we saw the mod squad coming out (they were just a group of people in suits looking so serious and of course that's when i said, "oh, here comes the mod squad") and we overheard some funny comments about a girl named rachel. oh, and the pick up line of the day: "your name is google? omg, you're the one i've been searching for!!"

anyway, i was so glad the we got to meet each other in person. like myself, she loves to travel, she is funny, easy-going and heck, she is a california girl. awesomeness.

so, i am over at christianna's blog today for her "any friend of mine" series.

the glam squad

2011-12-02T00:05:00.000-08:00

to those near and dear to me know very well that glam and fab are two things i don't always aim for, but comfort and decent, yes please and thank you. let's clarify this for a second, though glam and fab aren't always my goal when it comes to makeup and personal style, that doesn't mean i go out looking like a sack of potato (except the last few weeks when i wore fleece, lounging pants, uggs and never even bothered to tuck in my boots). no thanks, if there was one thing that my dad taught me about self image, it's that you never leave home looking like that. yep, the man has spoken, THAT. you know, it includes the tone and the look as if you're going crazy looking like that, yes, that's THAT.

enter the glam squad. i don't know about you, but i have a glam squad. they might not know it yet, but yea, they've been recruited. what's this glam squad that i'm babbling about? well, they are a group of amazing females who have ~~pushed~~, ~~bitch-slapped~~ (okay that one's a wee bit of an exaggeration) inspired me to add some color in my everyday tones. they hard working females, careers, family and school but they definitely know when to put the glam and fab on. only few have tried and accomplished this feat, i'm an old dog and old dogs have their own ways that's hard to change.

meet leesh. she is my color advisor, the voice of reason when it comes to adding more color, whether its lipstick or outfits. heck, she got me to leave my LBD's behind for our vegas weekend. i even wore a copper tone jewelry one night (i prefer silver tones). she is also the reason i tried out bangs (soft ones, not blunt) around this time last year. i haven't had bangs since when? like college or something. leesh rocks the bangs and red lipstick like no other. oh yea, i purchased my very first red lipstick in october.

this glama-mama is my friend, kat. don't under estimate this mom who keeps up with her toddler, runs errands with her sweat pants, crocs but always with her gucci bag in tow. oh you know it, she's got diva blood in her veins. she's got great jewelry choices, most recent from stella & dot. she sent me a magenta colored infinity scarf in october that added some pop to my every day tones. check out this post she wrote, this is totally an undercover glam girl confession. oh wait, if you look at her blog banner, notice the bling? and i don't mean the festive holiday lights either. uhm-hmm. glam.

here's my little sis, jill scott, i mean, mara. doesn't she look like jill scott in this photo? lord, please tell me y'all have heard of jill scott. if not, just rent one of tyler perry's movie. the girl can sport red, curly and a natural 'fro any given day. she is also a natural talent when it comes to makeup, not just every day makeup, but makeup as an art. although i'm not quite there to where she's at, makeup wise, there are still some colors that she uses, whether it's blush, eyeshadows or lipsticks that i get inspired to try or just express curiosity. i recently won a giveaway from her site, a set of three neon nail polish. you see, in a lot of ways, she adds color to my life, too! from DIY makeup storage, to lip glosses this glam southern girl, it's exactly who she is! btw, she celebrated her birthday yesterday!

hey girl, hey!! if you've been reading my blog for a while now and still don't know this woman, you betta recognize! this is elisse. i was tempted to not write anything else but her name because the photo says it all, doesn't it? i asked for a fab and glam shot, and here she is, always delivers! no doubt. elisse gave me a subtle but colorful leopard print'ish scarf for my birthday. it was so pretty i didn't know how to use it (it was also july back then so scarves were no where near my thoughts during the summer) but she'd already given me tips on how to incorporate it with my basics. you see, elisse and i have been branching out lately, yes, she also did the red lip stick and tapped into her inner cougar with the leopard prints. anyway - we were roomies in vegas and i saw this woman glam up, anyone who owns a little hot pink dress number is a part of a glam squad.

this is my sister from another mister, ashdiggity. who says nurses only wear scrubs? i don't think so. as down to earth as she is, don't mistake her for being a common person. she's got royal diva in her blood and the proof is in the puddin'. ooohhh, she made her first vlog (she claims i threatened her, oh please, it was sisterly encouragement). she's already made the statement that she's gonna open me up to color. who's threatening now?! for reals yo, i love her ability to just try out new FOTD (face of the day) styles and tutorials. i also love her product reviews and taste in shoes (i still vote for the leopard print one, but the blacks ones were cool, too). did you know that she did her bestie's makeup and bestie won ms. 'bama?! uuhhmmm. now, that's legit.

last but not least, this last glam squad pro is a white chick (inside joke) and i don't discriminate. we go way back. like college way back. she tweets only to five other people who don't have unlimited text messaging. anyway, she refuses to join the blogging world, i told her she could be a beauty blogger because even though she and i share the most annoying and bratty sensitive skin - she loves makeup and color like i love enrique iglesias, okay, maybe not the same level, but something like that. we both have used the same brands of cosmetics and skin care for years, but this year, she decided to take the plunge and try E.L.F., NYX and pop beauty. low and behold, it all worked for her and guess what she did? she recommended them to me and gifted me some, as if she was mrs. claus. so here i am with five different color of blushes, seriously, i haven't used a blush in years. i've been using bronzers forever! when i told her about my natural glow look, she had balls to say, "natural glow my (bleep), you're gonna get blushes in the mail!" damn. because of her, i've bought more makeup than i have within the past year, seriously, i had to buy an acrylic case storage for them. i used to be able to fit them all in one bag. GGAAHHH.

thank you glam squad. you are the best.

anyway, below are the my new wedge boots. i saw them at my local shoe store but they didn't have my size. i didn't know they can ship them to me because they are a small retail shop. i totally love them. they are comfortable and are the perfect height. i had a hard time with the gold zippers at first (i'm more of a silver tone person), but it's growing on me. leesh also bought some wedge booties, check it out here.

do you have a glam squad?
i love my glam squad, just like queen latifah loves hers. remember the AMA's?
(oh, and speaking of the AMA's - i didn't watch it, but i love Luda)

holiday gifts: we could all use some help

2011-12-01T00:05:00.000-08:00

sometime in october, jess e-mailed me sending some blog love and spreading the word about stylesays.com. i don't usually endorse sites or products that i haven't personally used, the first time i did it was last year, with the clothing menu. i saw jess' e-mail address, okay, a california school graduate - as a cali woman educated in a cali school, i decided to look it over. i had the chance to snoop around the site and it's actually pretty neat. if you're an iphone 4s user, it's like siri in a fashionable, non-monotone and awesome way! okay, so stylesays.com is nothing like siri. you can online shop, create lists, chat with your friends, get alerts on free shipping on stores, etc. i will stop babbling and let jess tell you all about this cool site. enjoy! (fyi - this is not a paid advertising).

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The Smart Santa: Holiday Shopping with StyleSays

Starbucks did it, they broke out the red cups. The momentum is building towards the holiday shopping season at our favorite stores. But online it started weeks ago.

My name is Jess and I’m recent college grad who has always been neurotic when it comes to Holiday gift giving. My family is a little into competitive gift giving so I’ve picked up a few tips+tricks along the way that I’d like to share.

Full disclosure: this strange behavior eventually turned into a fashion site that I run with a couple friends. Originally I’m from a small farming town in Oklahoma. Lots of corn and cows but not much couture. So I’m somewhat fresh on the fashion scene but am starting to get a feel for everything. Right now I’m definitely loving the explosion of mustard colors though it’s probably fading away as winter is almost in full force. Now for the tips!

5. Start Now

Alright so we can be real, some people started weeks ago and there are others that won’t start until Christmas Eve. It’s important to give yourself plenty of time to shop around when buying for your loved ones. We all know the feeling of opening a present and it was obviously one of the last items left at a department store.

If you don’t know where to start and are overwhelmed by the thought of navigating tons of confusing online stores, try out StyleSays. The best items from the top online stores are organized in an easy to use one-stop-shop. www.stylesays.com

4. Be Bold, Be Unique

It’s not just enough to start early though. With so many options you should be bold, be unique and really make your friends+fam feel special. There are 100s of amazing online stores with endless gift ideas so you’re sure to find theperfect gift everyone. And if you really want to be unique give a handmade item from one of the many online marketplaces like Etsy.

No one wants to show up to work after new years with the same boots as everyone else in the office. Don’t even get me started on NYE outfits.

3. Wishlists

Wish hard enough and it may come true. Almost every site has a wishlist that makes organizing gift ideas a lot easier. But you need to have all of your wishlists in one place. StyleSays makes it easy to save your favorite items from all of your favorite sites so you can compare gifts and prices side-by-side. Shopping should be easy, right?

2. Free Returns

When you’re doing all your holiday shopping at the mall this isn’t a problem but if you’re buying online it’s mega important to find stores with friendly return policies. Sending clothing back through the mail is already a pain but having to pay for the shipping on something you bought is outrageous.

You can find out which stores have free returns (and shipping) on StyleSays. To help you get started these stores are extra friendly for returns: ASOS, ModCloth, Free People, and ShopBop.

1. Treat yo ‘self!

Don’t end up with another robe or candle. Let people know what you want. We’ve talked about finding the perfect gifts for everyone else but what about the perfect gift for you? Make a collection of all the things you want to see under the tree and then send that link around to all the Santas in your life. You’ll save them the stress of buying the right thing and you’ll look damn good rocking your 2012 wardrobe.

Bonus

StyleSays is always doing giveaways for friends that shop together on our site. It’s super easy to enter. Just 1) visit our our giveaway page 2) and choose the friend you want to win with.

Thank you to the readers of In Her Shoes for taking the time to learn about StyleSays!

Happy Holidays!

much love,

Jess

say hello to jess everyone!

the end of the month post.

2011-11-30T00:05:00.000-08:00

where did time go? it's the last day of november, sooner or later, i'll wake up and it's new year's day. i don't really have a particular topic for today, instead i have a random list. here we go ...

*normally i send out christmas/holiday cards every year, but this is not the year for that.

*i always get excited buying presents for other people, even though i hate the mall, the crowd and long lines. i never thought i'd be that girl who didn't like shopping for hours (unless i'm with the girls, but if i'm on my own, no thanks).

*i have bought more cosmetics the last two months than i have the past year. this cannot happen again.

*i grew up going to church every sunday. however, i didn't really know what i was there for aside from it was a tradition my mother wanted us to do. i mean, i prayed and all, but i wasn't sure what purposed it served for me. i don't go to church as often as i should (or used to), but i definitely know that my random visits has been more meaningful than before.

*note to future rush week attendees: we, as women, should support each other. regardless of our skin color. this whole gossip and "i'm better than you" gig is no longer in style. there is a reason why it's called sisterhood, not singlehood.

*now i can finally appreciate christmas songs. i really like them, my mom used to play them a lot when i was little. but christmas songs before thanksgiving, is not just cutting it for me. the same goes for christmas movie marathons on thanksgiving day. that is just wrong. "oh come all ye faithful" is a favorite, especially faith hill's version.

*i haven't had a lot of time to catch up with some blogs, thank goodness for twitter. facebook sent me a message the other day. apparently, they miss me and reminded me that i could always activate my account by logging in. uuhhmmm.

*i've been missing amelia lately. twitter doesn't even cut it anymore. after she graduated from university this past spring, she's been busy with her new found working woman life. but lately, i was so glad she posted something i needed this time of my life. it's like mental telepathy.

*i have few friends going through break-ups and of course, it's rough on them with the holidays and all. ladies and gents, all i have to say is be honest. the truth hurts but it's not fair to string someone along when you know it's not going anywhere. telling them that god showed up to your front door and told you to call it quits doesn't make you a saint, it makes you a moron.

*i don't know what happened but i've been listening to "the edge of glory" quite a bit lately. i'm not even a lady gaga fan, and "get low" is on repeat (have you seen "the proposal" where sandra bullocks does the chant? yep, that's the song).

*sometimes i wish i could be content, i mean i am, but i seem to always want something more. when i say that it means, i'm always on the hunt for the next best thing, the next step, always wanting change and looking for opportunities.

*i am happy that i have my bloggy little sisters, ash and mara. i call them little sisters because they're not even 25 yet! in real life i'm sure they're all taller than me! LOL

the extra long weekend

2011-11-28T00:05:00.000-08:00

time flies when you're having fun! you cannot even believe how ready i was for my four-day break from work. you know when you've haven't been at work for sometime and you don't even know what day it is anymore? yep, that's right. as i caught up with some blog reading & tweeting, i'm glad everyone had a great thanksgiving. while my family celebrates thanksgiving back home with an all-day spread of food, from filipino, italian and mexican dishes - the big ol bird doesn't appear until dinner time. mind you, dad is the only one allowed to touch the damn bird. dad uses stouffer's boxed stuffing and adds a little bit of his own thing but i think it's still the best stuffing. it's not even anything fancy, as i just said, it's stouffer's. i read this post by the lovely claire, check out the pics, that's how my fam bam hits turkey day. now, fast forward to the present. living life away from home for nine years has changed all of that. i like thanksgiving, it's my favorite holiday but i don't make a big deal out of it. whether i eat at someone's house, at a restaurant or a potluck i organized - to me it's mostly another day to hang out with people i care about. basically, i feel like every day should be thanksgiving. this year is no exception - with a last minute reminder due to overhearing one of my staff calling for restaurant reservations for thanksgiving, a delayed light bulb flickered in my brain. opppss. yea, we have no plans. so, i decided to go online to see what's cooking at my favorite brunch place by the columbia river. of course, it never fails. they have a thanksgiving brunch special. i told the ECM (east coast man) if he could take care of the deets, and in a snap of a finger, we snagged the last available reservation - ummm, table for five please. four hours later, our bellies were full. operation thanksgiving brunch was a success.

while the rest of the world is on the hunt for sales getting ready for black friday (i did buy 5 blu-day dvd's for $50 at best buy, but not on black friday), my crew goes wine tasting or throws a wine tasting party. we also watch football. college football was at its prime this past weekend, lots of division championships and arch rival games. if you and i are twitter friends, you probably noticed my twitter blasting moments during the ducks (oregon) and beavers (oregon state) civil war game, trojans (usc) and bruins (ucla) battle for los angeles game and of course, the iron bowl between the crimson tides (alabama) and tigers (auburn).

you probably know which teams i support from the photos below, and look at my boy snoop - yea, we cheer for the same college football team and nba team. why i cheer for usc is obvious, but let me tell you why for the other teams. not until last year that i decided i should support some home teams, after all i live in oregon. half of the people i chill with went to oregon state, so there you go. now - ohio state and auburn. back in the hay day, the ex, he had a friend who went to ohio state and my goodness he was school spirit at its best. he was dressed in red and gray with beads and all for every game. one time we traveled to san francisco and since the game was not televised, he wore his buckeyes gear from head to toe while we were out and about in town. he was a pretty cool dude so since then, "go bucks!" his shirt says, "born to play" with the nike logo inside a football. on the back (not shown) it says ohio state.

my friend C is from alabama, didn't go to u of 'bama or auburn but he is an auburn fan. he's dating one of my good friends, so heck yea, go tigers! plus, my sissy ashdiggitty is an auburn fan so there's my story. LSU is a recent discovery, i can't say i'm a fan but when i was in new orleans i saw that they had the same colors as my l.a. lakers so i bought a t-shirt that says "lsu football". well, it looks like 'bama and LSU are meeting on the college BCS championship bowl so if none of my teams are going to be in it and the fact that 'bama beat auburn, i sure do hope another tigers team shows 'bama out the door.

[via]

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do you celebrate a traditional thanksgiving?
what are your black friday sale finds?
what's your favorite college football team?

inspired and grateful: yours truly

2011-11-24T00:05:00.000-08:00

What/Who inspires you?

i was obviously tempted to write about my mother, but today i am going on a different route. back around father's day, i decided to challenge a friend of mine to write a post for my blog to help him process his life without having his biological parents around, along with his pending divorce. he sent me a wonderful piece, but decided against it the last minute. no harm, no foul.

so this piece that he wrote, despite the sadness of it all, somehow i found inspiration. why is that, you might ask. of course, i have more background knowledge about TJ than you all do. one thing i've always admired about him even though he's pretty much known what hate and anger is like his whole life - he's always jumped on the chance for love. some may criticize him for being too trusting, and i have told him that upfront, but somehow, whether his heart gets broken or he gets tired of giving i know that once he's ready, he will always welcome love in his life. he is a man who knows how to keep his promises, especially to his grandma. most of us, life happens and we get sidetracked, no matter how forgivable it is, TJ will never break his promises to his grandma. over his dead body. i found inspiration in this post because not all men have the capacity to summarize their life and feelings into this narrative. it takes guts, it takes risks, it takes courage. most of all, it takes a real man to do it.

All Out of Love

It sounds like a hit song from Air Supply, but it isn't. I'm a grown man, almost in my mid-thirties. I'm armed with higher education. I bought my first home at the age of 27. I have a good-paying job and in the company of good friends. However, many times I feel alone. Did I mention I'm all out of love? How does a man, who describes himself as such become all out of love and alone at the same time? Let me tell you why.

I was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but spent my younger years in Columbia and St. Louis with my grandmother, the only blood family I choose to recognize. I was a product of an unplanned pregnancy from two people who barely knew each other. Did I say that my mother is White and my father is Black? Oh, and get this, the grandmother who raised me is White, and heck yeah, this was in Missouri. The story goes like this, I don't really know what to believe so I just repeat what I've heard: my mother and father met at the party, not very original, I think. So they got drunk and one thing led to another. Back in the day, segregation (you know, it's that Black and White thing, think Rosa Parks) was rampant in Missouri so to be seen with another Black person was almost like a crime, having a disease like leprosy so this was the main reason that my biological parents could not be together. My mother lived away from home when she got pregnant. My Grams never knew I existed until she saw me outside of her front door, bundled with a note from my mother saying that "she was not in a place to care for me and that when she gets her life together she will come back for me." With no contact information left, my Grams did the only thing she knew: take me in. Over the years, my Grams proclaimed my mother dead because she never heard from her. Oh yeah, she never came back as she said she would. What mother does that to her child? I guess mine did it. To me.

My whole childhood I waited for my mother and father to finally come back to me. I had rehearsed it in my mind on how I would receive them when that time came. Birthdays, graduations and holidays came and went, but not my parents. I remember a fight I had with my best friend in high school. He said, "I don't understand why you keep sittin' on that porch. I get it, you want your mom and pop, but ya know, they ain't coming back for you. They don't want you that's why they left you with your Moms (referring to my Grams)." I charged at him and punched him as hard as I could. I ran and cried and as always, it was my Grams who was there to comfort me. Since that day, I vowed that I would leave Missouri even if it meant leaving the only family I've ever known. With my Grams blessing, I moved out to L.A. for college. I've lived here ever since. Every Holiday or Grams birthday, I make it a point to come back home. I learned that promises should be kept, not broken, especially to the woman who loved me the most when no one else did.

On my 21st birthday, my parents decided to see if I was still breathing. They came to my Grams house and I was no longer living in Missouri. Grams protected me the way she always did, she told them to write me a letter and she'd mail it to me. That she did, with hesitation. What do you do when you open a letter from the parents who left you at birth only to find out that they have families of their own and it took them 21 years to remember? You start to hate, you start to hold on to anger. They were never there when judging eyes stared at me and my Grams everyday because she was White and I was Black. They weren't there when the kids at school called me a nigger without a mother, no shit, it rhymed, too! They were the reason why family nights at school were events I detested but my Grams loved them. They gave Mother's Day and Father's Day no meaning to me. They made me stare at the kids who played with their parents at the park for years and years. They gave me the reason to not want my own children because I have no fucking clue what's like to have parents. I've feared that I will do the same to my children and I'm not about to take that risk. It's why every relationship I've had has been an epic fail because I don't get this whole family gathering thing and I've tended to stay away from it. I hated every fucking question about my family, all the what happened, oh, how sad, and all the genuine but really heart fucking breaking comments that I never want to deal with.

I'm grateful to have supportive friends who understand, who let me be, allow me to take things at my own time. I'm not going to sit here and listen to people's "forgive and forget" speech. I just can't. I know it's the right thing to do, but it's not the right thing for me. My Grams understands, and right now, that's all I need to know. I'm tired of being the one left behind, my parents did it, my previous relationships, I don't want to keep giving and forgiving because I have nothing left. At some point, a man's got to preserve himself to keep going. That's where I'm at right now. I'm going to do me and no one else. A couple of years ago, I found out that my father had passed away. I wanted to cry but I couldn't. I wanted to feel like I've lost something, but it wasn't there. Then I realized, you can't really cry over something you never really had. Do I regret my decision of not forgiving him? No. But I regret all the times in my life I never learned how to say, "Happy Father's Day."

Name five things that you think of when you're inspired? mom. travel. change. sunshine. hope.

Your favorite inspirational quote.

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” - Helen Keller

******

word to the wise: TJ is one of my good friends back home in L.A. like any friend of mine, i am protective of them. his post was written as his own self-reflection, like he said, he is not in it for some "learn to forgive" preaching kind of thing. that's not what his post was intended for. SSSOOO, if you're gonna leave some negative comments about my home boy's post, i say you think twice or just keep it moving (and i mean that in the nicest way possible).

i couldn't be more inspired, grateful and thankful to all of you who participated in this series. i know some couldn't because of their hectic schedules and other reasons. i will always be inspired and grateful for all the people i have met through blogging and have become good friends with - from our similarities and differences, from new life lessons and discoveries through reading each other's posts, comments, e-mails, tweets - i think that is the beauty of it all. whether i've met you in person or not, i hope that one way or another, i can give back something to each of you in exchange for the inspiration, new perspective, new friendships and other things you have brought to my life. until next year, but for now, sending you all thanksgiving hugs from my home to yours (and i can finally listen to some christmas music, well, on december 1st! hahaha).

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inspired guest post: abby

2011-11-23T00:05:00.000-08:00

Finding Myself

First off I wanted I want to say Thank you to Reni for giving me the opportunity to Guest post on her site. You’re a wonderful woman Reni!

Hi everyone! My name is Abby and I’m the blogger behind Dirtontherocks.com where I write about my personal life and being a parent. I also own two other blogs that talks about fashion, makeup, and of course my absolute favorite food. However, my post here on Reni’s blog is mainly about what I’m thankful for.

Being a blogger for more than five years straight I’ve got to say that I’m ultimately thankful for all the wonderful experiences that my blog has brought me. I’ve had tons of ups and downs with blogging, but in the end it’s been an amazing moment for me to share my life with the internet. I’ve met a lot of amazing people who I’ve confided in that’s given me the strength and ability to learn more about myself as a person. With blogging it’s also brought me to terms finding myself and loving me for who I am.

Over the past couple of years I’ve always had issues figuring myself out. I’ve bounced from one idea to another and I’ve always failed figuring out what I truly want to do with my site. I’ve got a love/hate relationship with writing as do many people, but I’ve persevered through this past year to become a better writer, a better entrepreneur, and overall a better person. Sharing your stories and personal thoughts to anyone is hard to do, but what I’ve come to realize is that by writing it came to me a lot easier to express how I truly felt.

When I received an email from Reni she asked me what inspires me the most?

The only answer I have for that is my son. Having documented my life from my pregnancy, rough relationships, and friendships I’ve come to realize that my writing was mainly based on my life; my son. My son inspires me the most because he drives me to become a better person for him and mainly for myself. Through writing I’ve been able to express myself without being judged the very moment that I’m jotting down my thoughts and feelings. Writing has given me an outlet to express myself honestly without being judged that very moment. Of course I don’t get too personal with what I’m writing either. I like to keep a certain boundary for myself and for my imagination.

What are five things that I think of when I’m inspired?

Let’s break this down with bullets. If you follow my blog you’d know that I absolutely love bullets! This keeps my thoughts organized, ha. I’m not a very organized person and by doing this I feel some sort of consistency. Now if only life was that easy.

*My son keeps me inspired. My son is the only person that I know keeps me 100% grounded. With my past I’ve never really cared for much nor have I ever loved anyone as much I love my son. My main inspiration comes from him. When I think of a new project to do I think of how it’s going to help me and my child. For example, learning how to crochet. It’s a new project that I’m tackling and I figure that the moment I get the hang of it I can crochet him a scarf or a beanie, maybe even a cardigan to keep him warm. Most importantly how can I take that skill I’ve learned to make money to support me and my son. You’re probably thinking, money? Really? Is that the only thing you think of? Of course not. Although, let’s face it I’m going through a really rough financial situation at the moment and being a single parent I’ve got to do what I can to make it through and give the best for my son.

*The second thing I think of when I’m inspired is my boyfriend. My boyfriend has been my support system through so much within the last year and let me tell you it’s been a really rough road. I’ve had to deal with so many personal issues with family, friends, and myself but at the end of it all he’s still there standing next to me holding my hand. He’s been my rock through everything and I can’t think of any other person besides him and my son that helps me with being inspired. My boyfriend keeps my drive going. I learned so much from him that it’s also allowed me to learn so much about myself that I never knew before.

*When I’m inspired I instantly think to blog. I want to write what I am inspired by at the moment and by blogging it also helps me remember what I was thinking of days before. I think of blogging because I use it as my outlet to write my daily thoughts. I mean nothing too crazy or anything like that, but sometimes I get my ideas while I’m writing.

*When I’m inspired I think of how to push myself even further so that I can fully succeed in what I’m doing. I want to give my all to my projects and it deserves to have the best of me. I know that most of the time I come off lazy, but that’s because I lose motivation. I lose the passion I had for that moment. I then realize later on, and I mean way later on that I actually am still inspired by what I last wanted to do.

*Last but not least what I think of when I’m inspired is myself. I think of how I’m going to tackle on the project that I’m planning to do. I think of the possibilities of me actually learning a new skill. I think of how this will make me a better person.

I used to live my life uninspired by anything. I lived my life negatively and full of stress. When I finally decided to take the initiative and turn my life around I found myself more inspired than ever. I’ve never felt so good about my life and myself in such a long time. Of course with that said it doesn’t mean that I don’t go through a lot of issues with my life. No one’s life is perfect. I know that I’m going to continue having problems, but it’s learning how to channel my issues in a positive way to get a positive feedback.

A quote that I recently have learned to love is one that Reni herself has all over her website. The quote is

“Live what you love”

For a long time I never felt like I loved what I lived for. I felt that there was nothing I really woke up for or inspired by. I then soon realized that I needed to make a change. I needed to do what was best for me and my family. I needed to love my life! I needed to live and breathe what I am passionate for. The moment I realized that this is what I needed to do I started to wake up feeling better. Each day that passes me by pushed me to feel more motivated about my days. I felt inspired everyday by something new. I have new ideas daily that I’m tackling which will get me places one day. I’m absolutely excited to see where I get from here.

If you feel motivated or inspired by something (something purely positive of course) go for it. Don’t let someone otherwise discourage you with what you’re capable of learning and doing. Push yourself further than you ever have and you’ll see that with hard work and perseverance you’ll succeed.

*****

such a very introspective writing here and i believe in self-reflection. either i have bad memory or i am just old, but you've probably noticed that i can't remember how i met a lot of my inspiring and favorite blogging buddies. i've been reading abby's blog for a while now and the "realness" or "rawness" of how she depicts her feelings, struggles, desires and hopes definitely caught my eye. some may find a few of her posts sad, but if you read between the lines, underneath the sadness is hope and goodness trying to breakthrough. resilience, it's a good quality, my mother always told me. that's what i see in you, abby. life is tough, you already know that, but your desire to keep on standing while others try to pull you down is what makes you a mother your son will look up to. i know that in time it'll get easier, it won't come without challenges, but you'll get there. i remember commenting on and writing, "i cannot wait to see you in your 30's. i think years will be great for you", or something like that. i wrote that because i can totally see you becoming the person you've always wanted to be, living what you love. many times i've said, living what you love is not about having a lot of money. i am so glad that you are your own advocate for wanting a better life, turning away from the negative (i know it's hard at times) and most of all, slowly, but surely, learning to love yourself. it's the best gift you can give to you, your son and those around you.

inspired guest post: elisse

2011-11-22T00:05:00.000-08:00

What/Who inspires you?

I’m instantly moved by people who are passionate about what they do or something they like. Cooking? Do you love singing? Are you enamoured with sewing? Do you do backflips over being a mother? If someone feels wholly and deeply about something, it really shows. And I like being around that kind of energy, because it reminds to be grounded in my own passions.

Taking the off-beaten path - physically and spiritually. Whenever we travel, hubby and I try to find the random places that aren’t “touristy.” I also admire people who take “the long way around” or non-traditional path to reaching their goals. Both make for a great adventure and amazing stories!

People that don’t care what others think of them. I really believe this is easier said than done!

People who aren’t afraid to cry. Why do we always have to put up a strong front for everyone else? And why does crying elicit judgments and beliefs about weakness?

Name 5 things you think of when you’re inspired:

My journal – I gotta write this inspiration down somewhere!
Share it! I feel I need to share my inspiration with others.
The end product – following my inspiration and seeing where it takes me
My supporters – the friends and family who believe in me and who I know always cheer me on for following my heart
Holding on to this feeling of inspiration because it is so motivating!

Quote:

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me". - Erma Bombeck

*****

oh lordy, where and how do i even start! elisse, i cannot even begin to tell you how much i love the photo you sent with this post as i have seen that look in person! social worker or not, i think you have a big heart to those near and dear to you because it is just who you are. passionate people and those who often choose the road not taken (feeling a little robert frost poetry here) are always inspiring. i definitely believe in being surrounded with people who have positive energy and exudes the robustness of life, regardless of the challenges. i agree that it is easier said than done not to be think of what people are saying, but i know for me that usually goes for people close to me. of course, if i don't have any ties to someone, i'll just keep it moving. the funny thing is that my dad taught me not to cry. he said there is a difference between crying and admitting defeat. he always said, "you can tell people how you're doing and feeling, but never let them see it." it's kind of a hard concept, isn't it. but then again, everything is hard when you're a teen. i love the things you think of when you are inspired, i don't think i've really thought about those things, at least not the way you have. sharing and holding on to that feeling, i think i need to keep that in mind. i don't even know what to say about that quote. it's really a great way to look at how blessed we all are. speaking of blessed, i am pretty sure all the people you work with, especially your patients/clients - they're blessed with witnessing your compassionate heart! well roomie, we were (and still are) a match made in vegas! so many similarities yet we have our differences, but that's what makes our friendship awesome and low maintenance! till our next girls weekend!

inspired guest post: kat

2011-11-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

what/who inspires you?

i have to say, as cheesy as this sounds, my daughter inspires me. i’m in no way a soccer mom but just the innocence and excitement for the world that children experience is refreshing. i find that as we get older, we become desensitized of the daily things that happen around us; we become fuelled to get as many things done in the day and we’re often so busy with the daily grind that we don’t stop to take a breather and enjoy the world around us.

have you ever taken a walk with a child actually tried to look at the world through their eyes? adults tend to speed through a walk; it’s just a means for getting to your destination but children will stop at every rock, flower or grass they see on the ground. they will analyze a dead worm on the sidewalk and ask questions about where it came from, why it’s not moving and what other worms are like. each thing, regardless of the number of times they’ve seen it before is a new experience. children actually stop to smell the roses which is something that adults forget to do.

so my child inspires me to revert back to the simple things in life and enjoy life; enjoy a life that wasn’t governed by smart phones or technological advancements. i enjoy my walks with my daughter; i enjoy sitting on the porch and looking up at the sky, talking to her about the birds and where we think they’re going.

name five things that you think of when you're inspired?

my father

my family

my friends

to me, that’s all that matters

your favorite inspirational quote?

unfortunately, i don’t have one. i’m not a very good candidate for your inspiration theme, aren’t i? :)

*******

first of all, you probably know that i stole that photo from your blog! i totally forgot to remind you to send me a photo, so i picked my favorite among the many! i was tempted to put up our vegas pictures although that doesn't seem very inspiring! i totally ROTFL when you said you are no way a soccer mom. children are very inspiring indeed, even though i don't want any of my own, i've always found children to be great teachers especially after working with them for years and years. i remember when we were in vegas, i asked kat quite a few questions about her little monkey. what really hit close to home was when she shared how she wanted kayla to learn good manners, valuing what she has (in terms of toys and not always buying new ones), etc. i work with so many families, some affluent, others are middle class, some not so much. i've seen those with money but don't even value their children and have them raised by nannies. kat would do anything for her daughter, for her family. maybe it's because we're around the same age, but i really dig her old school values. that is important to me. also, kat loves gadgets, blog design and other geeky techie stuff - i do, too!! who says you can't be a career woman and an awesome mom? oh, don't worry about an inspirational quote, actions mean more than words. well girl friend, we will see each other again next year on our annual girls weekend! hammer time!

a long time coming.

2011-11-20T15:51:00.000-08:00

church. most of you who have been following my blog for a minute now know that i am a recovering catholic. it's not as bad as it sounds, simply put, i just took many things from my religion as it best fits my life. when i turned bleep-somthing years old in july, that was a hard one for me. not because of looking older or anything superficial like that. i just knew that at some point, i'd have to make some life decisions. i go to church randomly, sometimes when i feel like it, no particular reason. then there are those times like now, where i turn to my faith for reassurance, some perspective and most of all, peace of mind. it was the perfect day to go visit a place i once knew so well. i am picky where i go to church. not because it's near my house, it doesn't mean that's where i go. i still go to one of the two churches i've been going to since the first year i moved out here. i like a priest who can share words that relates to life today, one that would challenge my current thoughts and offer new perspectives, not just someone who reads the bible verbatim and speaks about what happened in 1500 BC. it felt good going to church today. i'm glad that i did.

it was a perfect day to walk around town due to the gorgeous fall day. colorful leaves on the ground, blue skies along with the perfect balance of sun and fall chill. i got to see my favorite dog, douglas. ate brunch at my favorite deli, kornblatt's, which in my opinion is a true style (and atmosphere) new york deli. i got the usual, a smaller plate of french toast made with homemade hallah bread and a side of pastrami. i also got a hazelnut chai tea, but vanilla chai is my new favorite.

how's your sunday?