wobbling wobbling

Why you shouldn't kick things. 

Don't kick doors. Don't kick tables. Don't kick chairs. 

You WILL fracture your foot and jack up your toe.

trust me.

wanna be a baller?

Maybe you could end up on CNN.com

DIY-Moon Manicure

Let me begin by apologizing about the pictures. They are pictures from my phone.

So the concept of the moon mani is that there is a moon at the base of your nail peeking out. You can really do any color combo but i wanted my moon to be bright.

    

I did them myself, when i asked the nail shop.... (yeah i know)

if they could do it and she said it was only possible with a full set. So after a little research and you can see my results above.

Its pretty easy!

1. Paint your entire nail the color you want your half moon to be. Or you could leave it unpainted with just a clear base coat

2. Allow the nail to completely dry. Its important because if its not fully dry. You'll see. Use hole reinforcement stickers ( you know those little circle stickers that you use when your paper punched hole rips and no longer stays in the binder? yeah, those.) and place them on the base of your nails.
3. With the next color paint only above the sticker. Again. Wait for the polish to dry again. 
4. Remove the sticker. 
5.Apply a top coat and Voila! 

DIY- Favor bags

My sister, Gaby had a baby! 2 months ago. Remember? I made the gender reveal cake for her? Well i was also very happy to co host her baby shower back in February. I'll tell you more about her shower later- but meanwhile i wanted to show you a few ways i personalized her shower for her and my then soon to be born monkey.

I decided on a jungle them for her shower and i wanted to incorporate it as much as i could. Everyone loves shower games (sorta) and prizes so i decided to decorate the gift bags. 

I  bought paper bags with ribbon handles- and yes i know that was sorta girly but they didnt have any blue. Baby wouldn't remember =-)

I purchased jungle animal stamps at Michaels, along with a few colors. I only did a few colors because i didn't want to 'bite off more than i could chew' and end up with ink everywhere.

I had acrylic blocks at home that i used for my wedding. You can see it in the lower left hand corner, its pretty neat the gummy stamp sticks to the acrylic block, the block is see through and has guiding lines

 I then stamped on green vines along with a variety of animals. Note that the monkey appears twice... sure im a little biased. Once that was dry i went through and free handed the word BABY across the 4 bags.

 Its nothing extremely difficult (or fancy)... but its the little details that make any event special.

Plus i like to test my Martha gene out every once and a while. Sometimes i crash and burn... but others, not so bad.

i dont want ice cream

I want a flat belly. That's what i want. I went to the doctor on friday and their scale was a bit more forgiving than ours at home. Which is always nice. I mean theirs could be wrong- but i'm just gonna go with that. I wish carbs were the 'new' thing and it was recommended to drink six to eight 8-ounce glasses of wine and walking in heels was all the exercise you need. 


But it's not.


So i have to dig deep. and find some self restraint, some will power, some self control. I seriously just need to say no. No to chips and snacks and regular soda. 


We might head to the dells for Juju's birthday and there is NO way i would get into a swim suit. Matter of fact i've actually been looking at one piece suits. How sad. Seriously, how old am i? a one piece? Though i did find some very sexy one piece, but i digress, you're missing the point here.


Im making it a point to be more active. I didn't say exercise, i said more active. 

.....I'll let you know.

Amen to that!

Since i have recently DRASTICALLY curved my shopping habits i have learned to be a little bit more savvy with my money, but sometimes- just SOMEtimes....

couldn't have said it better myself.

now.... if only someone could please kindly explain this concept to juju.

Hello? ANYone there?

I'm supposed to be working on a speech that i have to give tomorrow. What am i doing blogging then, right? Well these last few weeks  months I've felt as if may (end of) would never get here. I was/am taking 4 classes, working (duh!) and not only doing my work- but also training a new hire and covering an office for the last 4 weeks- which has been no walk in the park i tell you. My days run 5:30a ish to midnight ish. And i am beyond stupid tired exhausted. I was I'm-crying-because-I'm-so-tired-but-I'm-doing-this-for-us-and-it-WILL-get-better-soon,-i-hope tired. 

Last night I had my Fin. Accounting final. Last week was my final week of Non-western Religions. In 2 weeks my speech and theater class will be over. Oh and btw (as you kids say now a days) I got an A in both class. Today i can almost sorta see a speckle of light at the end of the tunnel. And it feels DAMN good.

It feels good to know that my life will return to normalcy, what ever that is. I feel terrible because i have been a bad wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, furmom, etc etc. Not to mention that Ive really let myself go these past few months- eating dinner at 10 just about every night, guzzling more coffee than H1 guzzles gas,  and living off whatever the change at the bottom of my purse could buy me at the vending machine. But soon- it will all be over. And it feels DAMN good.

So instead of working on this impending speech- i just wanted to share this DAMN good feelin'

I'm Back!!

I'm finally home. I had to extend my trip an additional 2.5 days due to inclement weather in Texas and O'Hare. Honestly, i was devastated when i learned that our flights had been canceled. I was beyond ready to come home. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but i love them in little increments- I had spent all the time i wanted to with them already, i missed juju and i missed cookie, and i missed my bed, and i missed my toilet, and i missed having hot water at the turn of the faucet. I was just missing HOME. I'm sorta bummed that i missed the snow days, i had been looking forward to one all winter long. I really hope we get another storm, thought i highly doubt it.

I feel guilty to say that I'm tired, i know, i know, I just came home from 'vacation', how could i be tired? Well, I'll tell you how. Our flight left from Leon at 6:45 am on Thursday, so that means we were up pretty early to allow enough time for travel to the airport and those pesky mandatory waiting hours prior to your flight departing. Its impossible to sleep on an airplane, i don't care what anyone says. We landed in O'Hare, which was nose hair freezin' cold, shortly before 2 pm. I got home, tried (using that term loosely) to tidy up, but all i wanted to do was be attached to Juju's hip. After eating, we settled in front of the T.V were i dozed off for about an hr. Went to bed around 11 or so. I was up the next day by 6. Worked 10 hours, had a school group meeting at 7:30, ate dinner at 10 and was knocked out by midnight. The next day i was up by 8, went up to work for a few hours, seeing that i missed an additional 2 days of work. Juju and i spent our entire Saturday being couch potatoes. AND I LOVED IT. Sunday was all about homework, except for the few times i felt asleep on my business law book, a little Superbowl, and then back to homework. Out like a lamp after midnight. Beep, Beep, Beep. Stupid Monday morning. Back to the grind. Work and now I'm in class. Ive had 3 cups of coffee in the last 3 hours (& a headache to make matters worse), and I'm pretty sure I'll be out as soon as my head hits the pillow- why? well because i have to be up at 5:30 tomorrow.

I'm starting to think that these grocery bags under my eyes will never go away.

I have yet to download the pictured off my moms camera, once i do, i will start recapping my pilgrimage to San Juan

Pilgrimage to San Juan

So its taken me 4 separate attempts to write this post. Why? I'm not sure- I think its because its hard for me to convey what I'm feeling. I usually manage, you know, italicize here and there, bold/CAPITALIZE when i want to get loud, you know- the usual. So if you can, try to understand.

On Wednesday I'm leaving to Mexico with one purpose. I am going on a religious pilgrimage.

Kinda out of the blue huh? Let me explain- Every year, at the end of January, there is a pilgrimage to the church of the virgin of San Juan de Los Lagos, in Jalisco, Mexico. People make promises to take the pilgrimage to San Juan to visit the Virgin of San Juan in exchange for a miracle. Sounds like a deal right? Well, technically yes. I know i make it sound like a physical exchange- like you are trading baseball cards, but its more like a test of faith. You have to have faith that what your praying for will come to fruition. And you have to really pray. You cant assume that you can pray once and all your worries will disappear- or you can leave it all up to God, without you doing everything you can before leaving the rest up to the Big Guy.

People make promises, or mandas, to make the 100+ kilometer pilgrimage (depending on what part of town you are coming from) to San Juan on foot, and depending on the magnitude of the persons faith or miracle, people complete their mandas barefoot, or carrying a child, or even on their knees. Let me explain. Some people pray for smaller things, or miracles, such as a mother praying for The Virgin to help her rebellious child finish high school, or for an estranged relationship to mend, Others pray for bigger things like a desperate couple trying to conceive after several miscarriages, or a husband praying for his wife to become cancer free. You see, you can pray for anything, you can pray for the simplest of things to the most impossible of things- Yet if you have faith that it will come to fruition, it will. Like i said, it may be hard for some of you to understand what I'm saying, or where I'm coming from, but please- try to understand.

Now that you know a little bit of the background. I can explain what my involvement in this. My mom has a manda to complete. So as soon as what she prayed for came to be, she wanted to complete her end of the promise. My sister Gaby, was supposed to travel with her to Mexico- since she doesn't like traveling on her own. But my sister is all knocked up now, she'd be about 33 weeks at the time when they were suppose to travel. So my mom asked me to accompany her in her travels- not in the manda.

Never did she expect me to complete the pilgrimage with her, nor did she ask me to do it. But I immediately started to think about it. I actually couldn't stop thinking about it. Gaby asked me right away- She wanted to know if i was doing the pilgrimage with ma or not. And i thought about. and i thought about it. and thought about it some more. I really didn't have a reason per say, to do it. But i couldn't stop thinking about it. I really wanted to do it- but i was scared. I was nervous. I got butterflies in my stomach every time i gave long thought to it. But along with the nervousness and butterflies, there was something inside of me that said, go ahead! Do it! C'mon! Do it! I started to think of what it would be like to experience such a pilgrimage with people, who in essence, had been saved by their faith. Even though i had no reason to do it, i felt like i was given this opportunity for a reason. I felt as if at the end of this pilgrimage something, i didn't know what, was going to be revealed to me (like an epiphany of sorts)- Like I was being called to do this- and by God's will, the sequence of events happened as they did, for my benefit.

So on Wednesday morning, around 3 am, my mom and i will make our way to Chicago to catch out 6 am flight to Mexico. As of now, we are scheduled to begin our pilgrimage on Thursday before dawn. Depending on how long we rest for, it will take us about 29 hours to complete our 52+ mile pilgrimage.

I know it wont be a walk in the park- pun intended- as it will be open terrain, gravel and dirt roads, mountains, hills and plenty of sloops, and some paved roads. I am confident that i will make it- many people don't on their first attempt. But i can say that i am, cowardly, afraid of the physical pain i will go through. But i am confident that i will make it.

If you pray, keep my mom and i in your prayers.

And in case you were wondering, I later found the purpose of my pilgrimage. And no honey- its not for the packers to win the Superbowl. I hope to be able to document my pilgrimage. As i write this... this butterfly in my stomach have eased, and now I'm onto a feeling of excitement.

I will be back in a week.

Sit tight boys and girls- when i come back, I'll walk you through my journey

Speaking of B's

On Thursday, NYEeve, i took a spanish CLEP exam. The CLEP exams are meant to help students save time and money by granting college credit for high scoring test results. Scores range from 20-80. In order to earn 6 credits you need a minimum score of 50, to earn 12 credits you need a minimum score of 63. Well ladies and gent(s)[<---maybe]....

I made that test my BITCH.

Yeah, i said it. my bitch.

I got a 78 on that bad boy!! Hold your applause.

I was thrilled to pieces when i found out i earned 12 credits, I was only expecting to earn 6 credits so i was floored when i saw 12 credits on the results page. TWELVE credits. 4 classes worth. Do you know what that means?  I am saving a couple of thousand dollars and my precious precious time. This doesn't change the number of classes I'm taking next semester.... as i still need those classes, but I'm dropping a class I'm waitlisted on and not taking another class all together, and ill end up having an extra credit or two by the time i graduate.

Okay, go ahead. Now you can clap.

Things i Hear

sniff sniff. "You smell like chicken"

"No i don't."

"ah. Yeah. ya do"

"No i don't. You smell like chicken"

"No, its you, it didn't smell like chicken until you got in the car. Its you"

silence

Location: Red light next to a KFC

Don't worry, we figured it out.

Mi Vida Loca

My crazy life. Not that gangta'. But indeed it will be crazy.

Yesterday, i had a lot going on in my life.

As of today, i have a butt load going on in my life. Times 2.

With the intent of graduating in December next year, I am taking additional classes next "semester". I use " " because i don't really have semesters, i sorta go to school year round, which is why I constantly feel like im on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Anyhow. I'm considered a full time student due semester hour technicalities, even thought i only have classes on Mondays. Well... technicalities no more i tell you. I will be taking 2 additional 16 week classes at MATC and 2 additional 6/7 week courses at Stritch (not simultaneously, but consecutively).... to accompany my regular Monday night class.

Lets recap shall we?

Monday- Regularly scheduled class at Stritch 6-10... my next (Business Law) class starts on Monday.
Tuesday- Mequon campus MATC 5:30-7:00pm Intro to Nutritional Science... say whaa?? yeah. Its an elective. I need so many electives since I'm am already scheduled for all my required courses. And when i transfer ed my credits from MATC to Stritch, my earlier (non business degree oriented) credits didn't transfer... damn you early childhood education credits. damn you.
Wednesday- West Allis campus MATC 6:30-9:30pm Elements of Speech. Oddly enough i need a speech class, who would have thought? And allll these years no one told me. hmmm.
Thursday- Stritch (2/10-3/17) 6-10pm Managing Cultural Diversity (meh) Another elective class.
Thursday-Stritch (3/24-4/28) 6-10pm Study of Non-Western Religions <--- I'm looking forward to this one the most... diversity shmiversity
Friday- you will most likely find me drowning in a bottle of wine. maybe two.

Oh... and for $hits and Giggles (<--- one of my new favorite sayings) I successfully completed a "History of Wisconsin" course at MATC.

AND I have a CLEP Exam scheduled for Thursday. (NYE eve) Might as well finish the year off with a bang right?

I know what your thinking.... are you nuts? Its up to debate, but no. I'm not. I'm determined. This extreme overload in school will only be for a few months. Sure, I'll be stressed. Sure, I'll get some grays. Sure, I'll be the biggest B word for those few months. But it'll be worth it. I know its a lot. But thankfully, i have an amazing husband and an amazing family and amazing friends, in a nutshell, an amazing support system. And at the end of the day, I'm doing this for him, for them, for me.

In fact, it might not seem like it, but I'm actually being precautious. See, I'm scheduled to graduate... December... let me check the calendar.... December 10/11 ish of 2011. All the extra classes on my schedule end by May 18th. I chose to take all the classes in the first half of the year, didn't want to leave anything to chance, ya know?

Ok, so now that you think I've completely lost it. I plan on doing all this.... WHILE trying to get promoted at work. Come January i will be on a personal developmental plan to get to the next step in my career. Lovely.

Can we negotiate?

Santa-

I didn't want you to think i was being unreasonable. So I did a little research and found a comparable item, that is less than half the price and i like 3/4ths as much (you follow me?) as the Michael Kors one.

And i guess i could do with out the DB Florentine Vaccheta.

Santa, baby....

All i want under our MIA tree is this:

Please?

Maybe not for Saturday.

Maybe not for Sunday.

I can do Monday.

Please take into consideration how good I've been this year. And i only want this.
and maybe a DB Florentine Vaccheta (med east/west in natural)

Thank you.

I love you.

Aficionado

I would like to defer from calling my self a shoe addict. Because im not. If i were an addict i would have countless number of (useless) shoes in my closet, just collecting dust, for the hell of it. And i don't. All my shoes comfortably reside in their original respective homes. And if my chance, in translation, one of my pairs lost its home, they were given temporary (but very permanent) sterallite homes.

I label myself a shoe aficionado because i find great joy in all shoes, not just women's shoes. I also would like to think of myself more in terms of a shoe connoisseur, if you will. Very few things bring me the joy a well made shoe brings me. I think this is why, i don't like a pair of shoes. I fall in LOVE with a pair of shoes. if there is anything i loathe is a crappy pair of shoes. i mean... if your in the shoe business, you have to keep up with the Jones's (a.k.a trends). No one wants to rock parrot key nose pumps....

Its not all aesthetics people, its the fit, the comfort, the shoe run. I mean sure, i shoe can look pretty... but can you stand to" walk the walk" in them?  I recently added another staple, but non the less important, pair of shoes to my family. I am pleased to introduce the Nine West Rocha in black leather.

 Yes, if your wondering, i DID take off my shoe at work, planted that bad boy on my desk and took a picture of it. I just had to, these shoes are amazingly comfortable. Plus they look great with dress pants and skirts. They have a perfect almond toe and although 41/4 inch heel sounds a little high, the 1/2 inch platform gives them a p.e.r.f.e.c.t balance.

Disclaimer, i do not have kanckles. Its just a weird angle. i swear.

And another angle.

And to prove I'm not an addict.... i threw these in there as well.  I just wish i had a baby girl to gift these to. They are just so perfect...The color is fabulous. Every girl, even at the ripe age of 6 months, should own a  pair of red shoes. (The correct shade of red though, never bright and tacky) Velcro Mary Janes? A must for the toddler on the go! And the elastic back ensure all day comfort.

Find these here!

Mending Signs

Its funny how God sends you signs. All.The.Time. Whether or not you choose to see them is a completely different story. As for me, i feel like Truman, everything is a clear sign... though I'm smarter, I recognize them.

I know a lot of people who have a lot of anger, pain and sadness in their hearts. And specially during the holidays, it fills me with a tremendous amount of sadness, when i realize how many people are O.K with living their lives this way. Maybe its me. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe its the fact that can (am) viewing things differently.

Forgive & Forget. Possibly the 2 hardest words in the English language. Some argue that you cant have one with out the other. Some people feel they can forget but never forgive. Or they say they have forgiven but cant let it go, forget. But why is it so hard? What is it in our nature that makes it impossible for us to do both?

Can you forgive someone with out them asking for forgiveness? Or do we feel cheated? Can people genuinely forgive someone? and at the same time forget or let go?

Sometimes i feel like people cant do both. Mainly, because people have the misconception that Forgiving is Forgetting. It is not. Forgetting is dismissing something from your mind; to stop remembering. Forgetting is being unable to remember, to forget to do something or leave behind unintentionally. Forgetting isn't Forgiving either. Forgetting is denial.

When i say forgive and forget i don't mean forget that it happened. Or forget the feelings or emotions that were felt. I mean forget it... let it go. I know it sounds hard, but by not letting go, you simply harm yourself. Many times, the person who hurt you... is no longer "there" emotionally, meaning this doesn't affect them anymore, they've moved past it. And you, well you, you are still living in the aftermath of whatever happened, you are still being eaten alive with pain, anger, sadness.

Forgiving some one is as important for yourself, as it is for the person you are forgiving. Can you forgive someone with out them asking for forgiveness? I have. But that is up for debate. Some people need acknowledgement or closure to their problems, which is an understandable request. But have you ever thought that perhaps the person who hurt, offended or sinned against you has such a tremendous amount of guilt that they are unable to face the problem? Or they sit on the other end of this problem/issue that came between you two, feeling the same way, looking for the courage to say the first word? Looking to mend your relationship. Just saying.


I leave you with this....

For if you forgive men when they sin against you,

 your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

 But if you do not forgive men their sins,

 your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew 6:14-15                             

I may have gotten the sign, But i hope you see the message.

Im a sucka'

Yes, That's right. I am a sucka' for infomercials. Self diagnosed Infomercial-aholic

Seriously. Ask my family.When i was younger i was able to convince my mom to buy just about anything. I seriously could not watch an infomercial with out rushing to get my moms credit card from my her purse. We eventually became the shameful owners of multiple "Ronco" line products, endless exercise dvd's (back then tapes) , anything that began with AB-roller, rocker, machine, twister etc. etc.

Whats that? Order in the next 10 minutes and you will knock off a payment?

But wait! There's more? Be one of the first 200 callers and get a travel bag, a travel size product and double the warranty? A $90 value???

And then of course i'd ask about the upgrade to expedite shipping. Which for some reason always seemed to take as long as regular shipping.

I eventually learned ... "paid actors, dramatization, results may vary, results not typical, paid audience, not real testimony" ..... were never a good sign of a good product.

UNTIL last weekend.... (my birthday in fact)

Juju and i were heading out the door and caught a few minutes of the an infomercial for the "Top Styler" (i think its from the makers of the InStyler)

I watched in awe... as clam after clam came off the models hair revealing perfectly, bouncy, healthy, shinny curls.  

And THEN ... the girl sitting in the chair did it herself. with OUT a mirror. (*warning* Infomercial-aholic speaking) And the results were perfect, and if she could do it, i could do it. 

Whats that? your telling me it wasn't her first time doing it? Preposterous!!

Anyhow.... Im not sure i'll be too quick to pull out my debit card to purchase them, if i remember correctly, they were about $100 ( plus s+h). Oddly enough, i cant seem to find them on the internet. I read a few places that they are so brand spankin' new they're not avaible.

But i actually think these things work.

** sigh **

I'll keep you posted.



A whole latte budget

To know me is to love me. Seriously. I am many things, funny, smart, strong, (in)&dependent, beeutiful, loud, animated, polite, spontaneous, goofy and a little ghetto. But in FABULOUS way.

I am an avid coffee drinker. I like all sorts of coffee, lattes, any kind of "ccinos", you name it- I'll drink it.

At work, the people at Starbucks were gracious enough to pass on the recipes for all their signature drinks. Thankfully they are not as expensive as they are at the real Starbucks, though they are the real deal, taste the same. Still it can get costly.

Grab a pencil:

A.M : Grande Verona - $1.50

Mid day Tazo tea- .75c

P.M Grande Latte ( mocha, chai, americano, etc)- $2.75 ish

TOTAL: $5.00

X 5 days a week- $25.00

Remember kids this is just on your daily fuel (coffee in case you were following along) and if you don't brown paper bag it for lunch, you will spend a minimum of $5 a day.... again $25.00/ week

grand total $50.00 week!! That's over $2,500 a year!! {gulp} Truth be told.

That was me.

So what does someone, who's a little ghetto fabulous, and on a budget do?

My friends I give you- Lolos 'faux'ocha

Colombian Instant Coffee

Ghirardelli Ground Chocolate w/ cocoa

Marshmallows ( of course )

This set me back about 12 dollars. Half a weeks worth of coffee, 3x's as much coffee. =-)

Look at that marshmallowee froth!!

Oh SN: I also have 3 different boxes of tazo teas at my desk. And i seldomly buy lunch at work now. This means im saving tons and tons of money... I think someone deserves a new pair of shoes as a reward. Just saying.

Why thank you, Flo!

Though I do think you're rather annoying.

i {heart} Target

I absolutely love target. I do. I was forced stopped going to walmart years ago. I know walmart has better prices all around, but you cant beat Target's friendly team members, their clean stores, starbucks, and great selections in their clothing line, plus they also have awesome guest designers.

(you like the makeshift photo shopping?...)

While Juj was in Michigan for his uncle's funeral i went to target to pick up a copy of Toy Story 3 ( which i adore!) As i was checking out, the cashier asked me if i wanted to apply for the Target REDcard or Visa. I politely said no. She then asked me if wanted to apply for a Target REDcard DEBIT card. Before i had a chance to speak, she began rambling on how great the target debit card was and how convenient, and no annual fee, and how its like using your regular debit card and how you save 5% every time you shop and how you can choose a charity to get that xx% cash back.... i jumped in as soon as she took a breath. I asked her to let me see the terms and conditions.

 I read the fine print.

She was right, no fee, no charges, no nothing. Just drafts directly from your checking account and you get 5% off. I know 5% isn't much, but its something.

 So far, just by using the card we've saved about 18 dollars and on a separate shopping earned a $5 gift card. $23 big ones. I strongly recommend the card if you're an avid target shopper like we are.