#16: A Photo of Me and My Family

I love this pic, my mom and my 2 siblings Alex and Sam. 

Extended family on my mom's side. This was my grandparents 50th Wedding anniversary a few years ago. 

#15: Something I Never Leave My House Without

This one is easy....MY SMART PHONE! 

I swear, sometimes I feel like it's an attached limb. The few times I have left without it, I have literally turned around and gone back home to get it. I feel totally lost without it. It's like my connection to the outside world LOL. It's so pathetic, I hate that I'm so attached to it and have a mini panic attack when I don't know where it's at exactly.

I have an "outdated" phone by today's standards LOL! I have a Droid, HTC Incredible with a pink gel hard case on it. 

#14: A TV Show I'm Currently Addicted To

I would say I'm totally addicted to Tosh.0. It's a ridiculous show, but dammit it's so funny, I just can't help it.

#13: My Favorite Musician and Why

I love a lot of musicians, so it's difficult for me to just pin point one as a "favorite". It's also a challenge because I like so many different music genres, usually to have a favorite you also have to have a favorite genre of music. In any case, I'll just do a quick pick out of the hat and go with one of the musicians that I like the most. 

Mary J. Blige

She's an R&B singer and I feel a very inspirational woman. It has been said of Mary that her "music has been the voice of inspiration to women worldwide in both struggle and triumph" and I whole heartedly agree. She has shown that although she has experienced success in her musical career, she is still a woman who experiences all the same highs and lows of life that we all do.  What is to be admired about her I believe is not only her strength to triumph, but her ability to remain a classy woman through it all and always exude a strong sense of self and confidence in the beautiful person she is inside and out. She was also blessed with a beautiful voice that allows her to share her life experiences with all of us through her music. 

 

#12: A Photograph of the Town I Live In

NATIONAL CITY, CA - This place is much better than people give it credit. It's not the hood, I like living here.

Known well for its Mile of Cars Way

#11: What's in My Makeup Bag

Well, I should start by saying I don't have a makeup "bag". I have a makeup toolkit more like it LOL. It's a large pink metallic box that literally opens up like a tool box and I carry that thing everywhere I can. When I travel for short work trips I might just take the essentials in a small makeup bag, but if I can I take my box. I don't know that I can actually put everything I have in there, there's lots LOL, but here's an idea: 

This is a good representation of the eye shadows I have. I love Bare Escentuals eye shadows, I have probably about 10 of them or so.

I also swear by Bare Escentuals makeup. I've used it for years and I'll never use anything else. 

One product that is fantastic and I recommend to all is Urban Decay Eye Primer Potion

I just bought this not too long ago and so far I totally love it, it gives just the right amount of color and shimmer

I am totally addicted to MAC Plushglass. I have several colors and I go through them often. At $15 a pop I should probably try to find an alternative, but I've tried many lipglosses and none are like MAC!

I have several different types of brushes, but some of my favorites include ecoTools, they are great! And no animal hair :)

Mascara I do play a lot with, I try all different types, but so far of the ones I've tried these are my all time favorites!

This Clinique mascara is totally cool, the brush is very comb like and it gets every single lash and makes them super long. 

This one by Lancome is UBER cool, it has a vibrating brush! So it does the job of separating very well 

I have a lot more makeup in my toolbox, so these are just some of my favorites.

#10: A Photo of My Favorite Place to Eat

This one is totally easy....SIPZ! This place is an awesome vegetarian fusion cafe. It was first introduced to me by my brother Alex. He told me one time about this place that he ate orange chicken with his friend, but it wasn't really chicken. After that I decided to check it out and I was hooked. The place is in Clairemont Mesa and I would drive as far as I needed to in order to go eat there, but thankfully they finally opened another restaurant in North Park! I could seriously eat at this place every day, if I didn't have to worry about a budget LOL

Some of my favorite dishes: 

#9: A Photo of the Item I Purchased Last

This one isn't too fun I suppose. My last purchase was at Sprouts after Zumba, there were a few staple items I needed at home. So here are the last few things I just bought at Sprouts: 

#8: A Song and Photo to Match My Mood

Even though I'm not literally in a fight, I would say Eye of the Tiger is a good song to how my mood is recently. Life in general is a battle, and there are ups and down. Sometimes we just seems to be treading waters, other times it feels like we are unsuccessfully trying to climb a muddy hill. But there are always those moments where you just see your hard work paying off, and I would say that's one of those moments for me. Although it's not huge accomplishments, its my small accomplishments in my career and my life that make me feel like I had the guts and I got the glory. 

 

Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger Lyrics

Risin’ up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive
So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive
It’s the, eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the fight
Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he’s watchin’ us all with the eye of the tiger…
Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin’ tough, stayin’ hungry
They stack the odds still we take to the street
For the kill with the skill to survive
It’s the eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the fight
Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he’s watchin’ us all with the eye of the tiger…
Risin’ up, straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I’m not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive
It’s the, eye of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the fight
Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he’s watchin’ us all with the eye of the tiger…
The eye of the tiger…
The eye of the tiger…
The eye of the tiger…
The eye of the tiger…

#7: My Dream Wedding

Hmm, to be totally honest I never really thought about my dream wedding. I've never been one to fantasize about a big fancy wedding, if anything, anytime I see shows or books and stuff on weddings, it kind of gives me a headache to think of all the stress that comes along with planning one. The only way I would actually try to plan a big "dream" wedding for myself would be if I 1. Had a Wedding Planner and 2. Had an unlimited budget LOL. If I had those 2 things, then maybe it would be kinda fun to put some fun wedding together. My own wedding was pretty simple and plain, it was a city hall wedding with a small dinner at my mom's house after. I was perfectly fine with that. 

So, assuming I had those 2 things I talked about above, I'm just going to give maybe a quick picture list of some things that might be cool to have in a "dream" wedding.....some of these are also based on what I've seen in weddings of people I know which I found to be really cool, so it's kinda of biting off of them a little and other ideas. 

The Venue: I wouldn't do a church wedding, I would want a big beautiful wedding hall, something like The Plaza Hotel in New York

The Menu: It would be a vegetarian menu. I understand people say, well what about your guests. Well I'm sorry, if its MY wedding, I'm going to have what I want not what other people want. They should be happy it would be vegetarian and not vegan LOL.

The Dress: If it's my day, I want to feel like a princess! But doesn't need to be over the top. I LOVE the idea of this dress where it has a removable bottom! You can be nice and comfortable to dance in and don't have to buy a separate dress for the reception =). 

Wedding Theme: I like the idea of a Spring wedding, it has a nice undertone of new things to come, like blooming. And LOTS of flowers, I love flowers.

The Cake: Something delicious of course! I want a nice big cake that will feed everyone and will have enough left over for us LOL


The Extras: So my friend Vanessa has this super cool idea, at her wedding for her guest list she had a polaroid camera. People took pictures and wrote something on the polaroid and inserted it into the guest book. It was totally cool!

My friend Nanette also had this photo booth at her wedding, people would go in to take pics and would get a couple copies. I can't remember if there was a book that we could put the extra copy in, but that's what I would for people to put a copy of their pics in a book. It was just so fun, it added a great element of whimsy and youth to the wedding I think.

Obviously this isn't that well thought out, but that's the jist of something I'd probably like in a dream wedding.

#6: Photo of an Animal I'd Like to Keep as a Pet

This one is very hard, because there's lot of animals I'd love to have as pets! So I am completely a city girl, I love the fast paced life style, the bright lights, the nightlife and all the activity. But, the funny thing is that I LOVE farm animals! If there was some way that I could live in the middle of the city with a little farm, I'd be super happy LOL. 

Here are the pets I'd love to have =)

A piglet, OMG, how could anyone look at a face like this and want to eat him. Pigs are such intelligent animals, It's been shown that pigs are actually smarter than dogs and have the mental capability of a 3-year old child. They feel tremendous pain, joy, suffering, happiness, fear, satisfaction....LOVE!

Goats are so fun, they are super playful and such charismatic creatures. I could imagine running around the yard chasing the little goat around like a little kid LOL. 

Much like pigs, cows are so incredibly intelligent and loving animals. They care deeply for their offspring and their little families. They can sense the fear from their fellow cows and can grieve the loss of their friends. They are big creatures, but can be affectionate. 

Those are just a few of the farm animals I would love to have =)

#5: A Picture of Myself 2 Years Ago

This is me a couple years ago after I cut my hair. My hair is usually fairly long, so this was quite a bit shorter than I usually rock my hair. The hair stylist had "done" my hair after the cut, that's why it still looks cute in the pic, haha!

#4: My Favorite Picture of my Best Friend

So I think this one is fairly easy. I want to give a little history here. I met this girl when I was in 7th grade. I was friends with another girl and she mentioned that it was this girl Vanessa's birthday coming up and if I wanted to pitch in for a gift. Now we were 12 years old, so how much could a 12 year old pitch in right? I don't remember what I did, but for some reason I said ok. We bought her a teddy bear I think and then I finally "officially" met this girl Vanessa. Amazingly I got along with her much better than the first girl and by our 8th grade year me and Vanessa were inseparable. That was the first time in my life that I had a real "best friend" where we had sleep overs and all that fun stuff. Although we never really had the same circles of friends, we remained good friends through Jr. High. In high school we were forced to attend separate high schools, yet we still remained best friends through those years and into our adult years. And even though she is now living on a separate coast and we don't talk as often as we'd like, I think we both know no matter what we'll always be each other's BFF for life =). 

This is my favorite picture of her, on her wedding day a few  years ago, she looked absolutely gorgeous and I was so incredibly happy for her, I think our smiles definitely show that: 

And just for fun, a picture of us from our young carefree years in the early 90's =)

#3: My Favorite Store

OK so now THIS one is tough, come on, you are asking a shopaholic what their favorite store is?? 

This isn't gonna be just one I'm telling you now. There's at the minimum a top list. 

Grocery shopping: 

1. Sprouts

2. Trader Joe's 

3. Whole Foods

Shoe Shopping: 

1. DSW

2. Marshalls/Ross

3. Macy's

Clothes Shopping: 

1. San Ysidro Outlets (I know copout, it's like a million stores)

2. Marshalls/Ross

3. Nordstrom Rack

Makeup/Beauty Supplies Shopping: 

1. Ulta

2. Sephora

3. Nordstrom Makeup Counters

I'm bored and I just wanna shop for the hell of it and just wanna buy something cheap and guilt-free, shopping: 

1. Target

2. Goodwill

3. Buffalo Exchange

Where to get beauty routines done: 

1. Hair - Salon Ink in Mission Hills

2. Nails - C & L Nails in National City

3. Massage - Asian Foot Spa in Chula Vista

4. Exercise - Lotus Fitness (Zumba) in Chula Vista

#2: A Photo of Something I Ate Today

I got these chocolate Mochi ice creams balls at Trader Joes.....they are HEAVENLY! So awesome, it's so hard to eat just one. Yes, my child minded friends, get your good laughs....I like little chocolate balls.....

They also have them in Strawberry, Green Tea and Mango. I've tried the strawberry too, but have yet to try the other 2, those will be next =).   

I just LOVE Trader Joes!

#1: Photo of Myself and How My Day Was

I decided to start with #1 on the new challenge today since today is my birthday. The big 34 today, not really a spectacular number, but something to celebrate nonetheless. 

So here is me today, the original picture wasn't too great, a little too much under eyes circles and blemishes for my liking...but a little instagram editing and voila! A good pic, hehe. 

Don't mind Mr. Bear in the background, he was a Valentines Day gift, so now he gets to sit on my couch and watch TV everyday, lucky bear. 

Today was a pretty easy going day. Yea it's my birthday and all, but it was rather uneventful, it's a Tuesday, so meh. Started off by getting ready for work, worked all day and was a little stressful. I had been out for 4 days so I had a lot of catching up to do. I left at 4:30pm and then had dinner with Josh, my sister and my mom at PF Changs at 5:30pm. It was nice, some good food, my mommy brought me a yummy cake and we chit chatted. Then off to Trader Joes to buy a few essentials that were missing at home, and that was pretty much all folks, not much to tell. Got home, put away groceries and plopped down to relax for the evening because I had a MONDO headache. Thankfully it has subsided a bit. Now I'm writing this blog. Time to wind down, and get ready for bed. 

That was pretty much all for my uneventful 34th birthday, but all is well. I am healthy, alive, good job, good car, good food, roof over my head and surrounded by people I love and that love me back, what else could a girl ask for?

New 30-day Blog Challenge

I'm starting a new challenge today, but I'm not going to go by days since that didn't quite work out for me last time, so this time I'll just go in order by numbers, here it is: 

Day 30: The High and Lows of the Past Month

So I will use today as a marker and go back 1 month from today. 

The lows: 

1. I had to say goodbye to my beloved bunny Dori. I was blessed to have had her in my life for 5 years, she made me smile everyday and I miss her constantly. 

2. I found out that the company would be cutting my position and if nothing else panned out I would be saying goodbye to the company on December 31st. 

3. My temporary departure from Zumba due to financial issues has left me feeling sluggish and heavy. 

The highs: 

1. I got an opportunity to interview for a new position within the company and the feedback I've gotten in my work has left me feeling accomplished and like the hard work has been paying off. 

2. My Enkei bun has been doing well since the loss of his partner Dori, he was sad for about a week but he's bounced back and is just as active as ever, makes me happy to see my bunnykens happily jumping around the living room. 

3. I was able to get away temporarily during one of my work trips to visit some family in NY. 

Nothing super exciting I suppose, lol.

Day 29: My Goals for the Next 30 Days

My first goal is to lose the 10-15lbs I gained in the last 5 months! It's REALLY bothering me and feel like it's literally weighing me down, so it's time to buckle down and change a couple things. 

Pay off, or come very close to paying off one of my credit cards, and continue on my Dave Ramsey snowball "get out of debt" journey. 

Those are really my only 2 big goals for the next 30 days, that seems pretty lame LOL. 

Day 28: Something That I Miss

I'm not sure there is anything hugely substantial in my life that I miss. I mean, there are little things here and there I miss a little....

For example, I miss how bouncy my hair used to be naturally when I was younger, now when it dries it just becomes a frizzy mess if I don't put any effort into it. 

I also slightly miss eating meat. I did used to like the taste of beef and pork and chicken. However, whenever I do get any urges, I really try to remind myself of why I became vegetarian to begin with. I remind myself of the pain and suffering of helpless living creatures for my own personal desires. 

I miss the more fun and carefree type of life I used to live in my college years. My only real big concern was to get good grades in school and make enough money to pay my rent and minimal bills to get by. Otherwise it was all about fun, socializing, school groups, friends. The late rapper had it right "mo money mo problems", for real. 

And mostly I miss my grandparents. I miss going to their house and having family get togethers, just lounging on their couch, watching old Mexican movies with my grandpa while grandma made tortillas in the kitchen and aunts and uncles were bbq'ing in the yard. 

Day 27: A Problem That I Have Had

So this is Day 27 topic....although it's not technically day 27 because I'm just a tad behind.....but in keeping with the pattern here we go....

So a problem that I have had is a pretty deep personal one. It's a problem I've had ever since I can remember from childhood. The problem has always been my weight. The fact that my nickname growing up from my family was "Gorda" pretty much all my life you might be able to gather how deep seeded into my head this problem has been for me.

I was always a chubby kid, I don't like to put blame on much more than my family genes, but I gather that probably growing up in a Mexican household where beans and tortillas made with lard were a daily staple probably didn't help the situation. But again, I had food on the table and a mother that cared enough for us to make a hot meal for us every day, so I try not to harbor hard feelings about all that. Sadly, those bad eating habits just followed me beyond high school and through college. 

In remember in high school being pretty much sedentary when it came to sports, I was definitely miss social, I was all about clubs and ASB and being all over the place....except out in a field. It was the norm for me to buy nice big gooey cinnamon rolls from the food carts that were available to us in the morning before class and during lunch. I had fun and had friends, but I always had that nagging voice in the back of my head "you will never been that pretty skinny blonde girl all the guys like, so you better be smart and friendly at least". In my senior year I discovered Weight Training because I chose to take that for PE and it's when I started getting a glimmer of what my body could possibly do. I discovered I had it in my to bench press and squat just as much and in some cases more than the guys. That felt good. But wasn't quite enough to get me into the real "fitness and health" mode. 

In college fitness and health was the last thing on my mind. Partying, drinking, going to class and trying to get good grades. participating in oncampus organizations, socializing.....that was my life. I had this really good way of tricking my mind into thinking "I'm not fat, I look fine". However, in the back of my head I still had that little "Gorda" telling me, you know why you are really alone. You know that the reason you don't have a boyfriend isn't because you are "too busy" but because no guy will look at you twice the way you look now. But I still did my best to try and quiet that voice. In reality, I was pretty overweight, and it was only a matter of time before I was metaphorically slapped in the face with reality. It was one night when I was out with a friend at a bar and club in downtown, thinking we were the hot shit, and at the end of the night I closed my tab and got my receipt back from the bartender and on the side of it he had scribbled "fatty"....most likely to recognize who the receipt belonged to...it was definitely a stab to the heart and psyche.

Eventually in my early 20's when I hit over 200lbs is when I realized something had to give. I was reminded of how rampant diabetes ran in both sides of my family and how much it could destroy and end lives, including my own. I began to learn about "healthy" eating and the importance of exercise and my last year of college I decided to join the college gym and my journey of health began. 

However, even 12 years later, the journey still continues. An no matter how much confidence I gain in myself, that little "Gorda" voice is still in the back of my head.  When I'm able to triumph and get into a pattern of good health and exercise I'm able to shut her up. But there are those moments, when I start gaining some of those pounds again and things seem to start getting a little out of control that she starts to get a little louder again. 

Sadly just because of my genes and the way my body is built and how my insides are made up, I will always struggle with this "Problem" of mine. I just wasn't meant to be a little petite 120lb flower, and that's a fact. It's just a matter of my continued efforts to shut up that "Gorda" inside me and remind myself I am worth it, no matter what shape or size I might happen to be sporting at the time.

Day 26: What Kind of Person Attracts me and Why

There are a few things that I find incredibly attractive in a person, particularly someone of the opposite sex. 

Me myself being a very outgoing friendly person, I'm not particularly attracted to assholes. I mean, being a little tough and having a strong personality I don't mind, being a straight up asshole I do. 

Generally one of the first things I notice about a person is their smile and laugh. I find sense of humor incredibly attractive. I'm a goofball and I tend to have a weird, off and twisted sense of humor at times. I try not to take life so seriously and I don't take offense to every little thing. Honestly, I don't get easily offended in general, I know the world doesn't revolve around me and not ever pun or joke is about me. In any case, if someone has a great sense of humor and knows how to laugh and laugh at themselves as well, I see that as a very attractive quality. 

Second, I find a strong presence attractive. Someone who exudes a good sense of self, who is pretty confident in themselves. Self deprecation is definitely not something I find attractive. And someone who is not afraid to speak up, have a real conversation and likes to have a good time.

Of course there are also some general physical attributes I find attractive. Pretty eyes are a big plus, if a person has nice eyes I find that attractive, the color is not really a factor. And from my blog post a couple days ago, I thinks it's fair to say I find the tall, dark and muscular man pretty damn attractive haha. But that's just the initial pure "hotness" lust kind of attractiveness. A guy that looks like that could just as easily be an asshole who has no sense of humor and is very dry....which in turn would turn him into an unattractive person. 

I also find ambition very attractive. I don't find loathing, lazyness and zero ambition attractive at all. When someone has life goals, aspirations and strives to better themselves as a person in their life and their career and for themselves, I find that incredibly attractive. I myself am a very ambitious goal oriented person, so complete apathy is not something I like in a person. 

And finally general kindness for others and all life forms. I find people who are kind, not just to humans but to animals, an incredibly attractive trait. Someone who is mean and has complete disrespect for other life forms I find a very ugly person in general. 

Day 25: Someone Who Fascinates me and Why

I can't say there is one single person that truly fascinates me so much that I feel the need to talk about them. There are some people I guess I find interesting, but I can't really say there is a strong fascination with one single individual. 

I guess in general I would say I am a little bit fascinated with celebrities in general. Not in the "oh I'm so jealous I want their life" kind of way. But more like in a curious sort of way. I wonder, what must it feel like to be so incredibly famous that you cannot live a normal life. I mean, so famous that you can't even just walk out of your house and go to the nearby mall and have a personal day of shopping without being bothered, like I mean, people like Angelina Jolie or Scarlet Johanssen or George Clooney, that would just be impossible. They would need to have their own mall build just for them. They can never go anywhere in the world probably without being recognized. I mean unless they wore a costume that covers their entire face, their life will never be "normal". I don't know how I could live a life like that. But then I guess people like Jolie who was exposed to the "celebrity" life since birth because of her parents wouldn't be as foreign. But lets say someone like Jennifer Hudson, who at one point in life was just the girl from the neighborhood who no one even knew her name except her local friends and family. The suddenly like within months she has worldwide fame, within a couple years she wins an Oscar, I mean, that's just nuts! Just unimaginable. That's why celebrities fascinate me in general, I don't think I could handle that kind of life.

Day 24: My Favorite Movie and What It's About

This one is really tough because there are many movies that I really love. I don't know that I can actually say I have a favorite. So I'm just going to take a stab in the dark and pick the first one I can think of that I love........

FOOTLOOSE....the original! Not that piece of crap new one that they re-made, ugh. 

It's about this kid (Kevin Bacon), his mom and him moved to a new town with his mom's sister and her family (husband and a couple little girls). 

But this is no normal town, it's an UBER religious time which seems to have this weird thing where their pastor or bishop or whatever you call it is like the town "leader" (cult much?).

So Kevin Bacon being the rebel he was, got to his first day of high school blasting his music and all the other kids were looking at him like he was an alien. Then after school he was driving on this dirt road in some side street and blasting his rock music in his old ass yellow beetle and he got stopped by a cop. The cop then informed him that music was Banned from this town and Kevin Bacon got in trouble for getting "snippy" with the cop, LOL.

He then found out that because of the death of this kid, who happened to be the son of the town "leader" died in a car accident while coming back from a concert and listening to that devil music.

He was also the brother of his love interest, the girl he wanted and couldn't have but eventually won over, and happened to be the daughter of said town leader too. So now dancing and rock music were banned all together from the town, you could just listen to classical music and live like you are in a convent LOL. 

So of course pretty much the entire movie is about Kevin Bacon getting cozy with this chick, he teaches a dude how to dance, there's a crazy tractor race scene, he does a super solo dance in an empty warehouse and he works on finding a way to win over the religious dude and convincing them to let them have a prom. Of course there's drama, a crazy ex boyfriend, town people crying foul at this rebel kid etc....

Then the final scene ends with "LET'S DANCE!!" and Kevin Bacon gets all the high school kids to finally open up and get their Footloose on!

.....yes I love this movie hehe.

Day 23: Pictures of 5 Guys that are Famous and I Find Attractive

Yea yea, a couple of these will be cliche, but I don't care, these men are insanely and brutally hot, they can kidnap me any day!

5. Benjamin Bratt....those eyes, and that smile, goodness

4. Dwayne Johnson....aka: The Rock.....whose fantasy Isn't he in?

3. Vin Diesel....yummy is all I can say, I'll jump on...I mean, in his ride any day

2. Common....most recently I fell in love with this man, he's so damn sexy!

1. DON OMAR....my fantasy obsession....I would seriously have this man's babies....drooooolllll

Do we notice any sort of pattern here? LOL