Alifrisnotmyname

Project B is underway

2012-03-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have to just push my reading goals back again...I just cannot get into it! I still have not picked up my TFIOS since my last post, I suppose too much has happened lately.

Regardless, it will be read this week but until then, I would like to share my other goals in progress. Project B, aka Project Battlefield, is going to be kicked off (again) since my drawing is sitting there sadly.

my arm is missing

My goal is to create a larger poster mixed medium drawing of Jimmy's favorite video game characters all meshed together. I am going to finish this sketch, ink it, and move onto creating the rest of the crew. =)

Ok, now we start

2012-03-05T00:07:00.000-08:00

Oops, got caught up in the weekend of healingness. I might be making up words but since I no longer feel like breathing is a terrible punishment, I decided to venture out and see what the rest of the world was doing.

Turns out, people were still...doing stuff!

So in honor of my Trying To Culture Myself month, Jimmy and I had our make up date and cooked as a couple for the first time!

We headed to the supermarket, bought seafood and veggies and mmm...

One goal done and now...onto that first thing I mentioned a few days ago...hehe?

March Goals

2012-03-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Oh, I'm only a few days late... Eep!

Pardon my tardiness, I was extremely sick these past few days and had to rush home for some TLC...only to find the internet had completely shut down *perfect timing* so I could not update my monthly goals list.

Let's move onto the important part.

MARCH

This month I would like to put more effort into culturing myself. I want to try new foods, learn new customs, read more, and just having more of an open mind.

Big goal list but it just takes a little step at a time. Enriching your palette is another step towards growth in my opinion.

I'm going to try to break this month's progress down into steps. As I accomplish one, I will share one and I cannot say that this will be very cohesive as I am making it up as I go but here's step one starting on March 3rd!

Step One: Read more.

Starting with A Fault In Our Stars by John Green.

See you after I'm done.

Leap Year

2012-02-29T21:08:00.000-08:00

It's that time again! Tricky Feb 29th has snuck up on us. Apparently there are some people freaking out with confusion on the reason for having an extra day every four years. Calm down, crazies, it's a scientific adjustment to make up for the extra hours per year that are not counted in our regular calendars.

Confused? Apparently there are not 365 days in a year, technically it is 365 days and "x" amount of hours. So to even our the count, an extra day is added every four years. Google it if you're still interested!

With an extra day in the year I suppose we all would want to have taken advantage and do something meaningful but guess what? I spent the entire day being sick sick and staying in my pjs and abusing my tissue boxes. I did manage to do major cleaning around the house in order to sanitize everything. Don't want to spread my adorable germs!

March is tomorrow! If you can remember, my February goal was to eat healthier, exercise more, and just make healthier choices. Well, I did somewhat accomplish my goal by exercising a bit more for the first two weeks of the month and then it dwindled down to just once during the third week and now I'm sitting here not wanting to move.

Diet-wise I incorporated a lot more veggies but then last week the entire process went down the drain. Since I had a birthday and anniversary, my willingness to eat healthy went away and while I was not awful, I definitely felt guilty - hence my junk food ban this week. Eep!

March. What should my next goal be? I'm going to continue trying to make healthier decisions and I do want to blog more...hmm

I think a good point of doing these monthly goals and documenting them is that I gain something. Whether it's health consciousness or mental enrichment, I want to make every step count. I'll think of a March goal and report on it tomorrow. See you all then!

Ick I am sIck

2012-02-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

Achooooooo

Sniffle

Puffs vs Kleenex

A ban on junk food

-----------------------------

Q: Which of those four items do not belong?

A: I WANT A CHOCOLATE RIGHT NOW

-----------------------------

Hehe, I'm exaggerating. Hello healthy folk, I am not one of you today. I woke up with a sniffly nose and a lack of tissues. Eep!

Four hours later and I'm back at home with a work laptop. Oh world, how you humor me. It's only Tuesday so three more days to go!

So yes, I've given up junk food for a week. Junk food meaning sugary candies, chips, excessive cheese, sweet coffee/tea drinks, etc... I've given up sodas for over a year now and have not really felt any desire to turn back. I shared my one week challenge with coworkers and one asked, "what are you doing this for?"

Silly to hear this but I understand what he means. We all glance at our 'American diet' without a second thought, our heavily sauced meals are topped off with sugary drinks and giant desserts. I am not a diet freak and am not obsessed with calorie counts or anything to lose weight. This is not about the number.

I feel like we should all try to better our lifestyles as we age- be it exercise, diet, or anything else. Life is always about bettering yourself for your future self. Confused yet? Perfect.

Bottom line - I am going to continue on my one week hiatus to cut out junk food. It is really a test to see what foods I crave and what I want or do not want in my diet. I do kind of miss my after dinner chocolate though.

Feeling spoiled, the good kind of spoiled

2012-02-24T22:46:00.000-08:00

So I celebrated yet another birthday earlier this week. I believe I am one of the minority that really enjoys birthdays and really appreciates getting older. Yes, I did just say (type) that.

But yes now I am officially 26 and depending on which end of the spectrum you are, this age may either seem really old or really young. Regardless, I love aging another year - learning new lessons and living new experiences whilst putting old memories into the ole memory safe. Locked and safe but never lost.

Even as I age another year, I still feel that slight joy in seeing loving messages/texts/skywriting from friends and family on "my" little day. Which brings me to an important point for today's bloggy blog.

Life is short, life is significant, and life is worth celebrating. Every second of it. I don't think you can ever be too old to be celebrated. To be spoiled by loved ones is 100% just as wonderful and exciting as spoiling others.

I just had a fantastical night, feeling like the ultimate spoiled brat and I absolutely cherished every moment of it. I say, spoil your friends and family and then allow them to spoil you once in a while. It's important to take a break from stinginess, it's worth that splurge.

I am so blessed to be living the life that I live. And as I record it here - I never want to forget how fortunate I am. Thank you all.

A week of no junky junk junk

2012-02-23T18:21:00.001-08:00

What? What did I just type on the title above?

Yes, I have decided to try to give up an entire week of junk food. And let me be honest.

I'm scared.

delicious creation from Frodona!

In other news, work has been uneventful. I celebrated a fantastical anniversary in good ole beautiful Catalina where we ziplined from station to station. I also had a lovely birthday with family and friends swinging from restaurant to restaurant.

I guess all the extra events have made me lazy to update so I'm sorry. I'll try to get back into the swing of things soon!

Presidents Day

2012-02-20T02:38:00.000-08:00

Ok pop quiz - why are we celebrating Presidents Day? Which presidents exactly? How did this originate? Why don't we ALL get this day off?

No, I'm not exactly going to sit here and research all the facts behind this 'Nationally Observed' Holiday but I will say this - why things are the way they are should have a significance in our lives. We should take the time to question what we are doing and how we are doing it.

All I knew as a child was that this was a holiday that allowed me to stay home from school. Now I know. What do I know?

I know that I still know nothing...

I'm going to Google it asap! In the meantime, I just rewatched Aliens (second part of the series) and holy crap my heart was beating faster and faster as the scenes progressed. I've watched it before but sheeshhh - as Jimmy says, "that is the marker of a good movie" and yes, James Cameron has never quite lost his stride.

I've watched quite a few movies ever since my personal discovery of RedBox and am contemplating on doing short reviews. Let me think about it... Trial time:

***Spoiler Alert***

---------------------------------

Movie: Aliens

Date Released: 1986

Recap: Woman escapes from alien attack. Big corporation sends her back with marines. Marines go boom boom on planet and most go bye bye. Team finds little girl. Girl looks like blonde mess. Aliens go "rawr" while humans continue to boom boom pow. Aliens go splat but more keep coming. Woman saves little girl and one solider. Surprise! Big Momma Bertha Alien comes and woman has to kah-pow for B.M.B.A. to go away. All good, good night in hyper sleep.

Review: Good movie!

-------------------------------------------------

Hmm... maybe I won't be doing movie reviews. What are you all watching these days? I cannot stand sappy movies like The Vow or Notebook or Noteow or Votebook...ok, good night.

A day to remember

2012-02-16T00:36:00.000-08:00

I know technically it is February 16th at this early hour of the morning but since I have not gone to sleep yet, it's still February 15th to me.

Guess what today officially is? You guessed it!

It's Wednesday!

Wee? Oh yes, and it is my nine year anniversary with a certain weirdo.

If you're thinking, "which weirdo?" shaddup, Yua/Frodo/May/Mom/Dad/whoever else is reading this.

Nine years ago today this weirdo took me out on my first day-after-Valentines date in my life. It was meant for Valentines but let's keep this story short. We sat and drew the night away whilst our singing waiters walked circles around us. The night felt short and soon after, I awkwardly looked away while he "secretly" paid the bill (I should have offered! Too shy I suppose and now ... too late! tee hee) and we were off.

The next portion of the story is too ooey gooey for me to type out here but it was one of the most beautiful nights and many many years later, here we are.

circa...long time ago heheh

It's a small celebration in our hearts because despite the number, we know it is small in comparison to the number of years to come.

I have a terrible memory at times, specifically when each event took place as they have mostly blurred into my memory. But all I know is this:

It's Daddy Long Legs, dummy.

This update is great. At least that rhymes

2012-02-14T00:51:00.000-08:00

So it's about mid-February and my goal to make healthier decisions has been quite inconsistent.

First off is the focus on healthier eating.

Diet (one of my most hated words) as in how you eat and what you eat, is very important to our well-being. In terms of my eating habits? Well, I'm definitely eating healthier overall. Over the course of a year but for two weeks, it's a mediocre effort.

I need to do better! The only improvement thus far is more home cooked meals, more veggies, and less meats. I shall continue to improve.

Secondly, exercise.

I've been okay in this department. Not great but still considerably better than the last six to eight months.

What's helped most is that I set a steady schedule to fit at least an hour of exercise twice a week. I want to get back to three/four times a week as I did for ten years plus prior to Studio classes. I will try to boost my workouts another level and try to be more active on weekends. It's doable! As long as you try to try, you can succeed. =)

Last, mental well-being.

I have made a great effcrt to taking care of my mental health by taking necessary breaks throughout work, trying to go outside to enjoy the fresh air and sun at least once a day, smiling more, letting things go that bother me, resolving feelings early in the situation. Loving myself more is crucial in my growth.

Loving myself never seems to be a problem though.

BTWxyz, I'm going to try to figure out a more consistent schedule for blogging - say every Monday through Thursday or every other day or...we'll figure it out. Just know that I will not let go of this blog any time soon!

The much anticipated blog post

2012-02-07T21:52:00.000-08:00

Yes fine, I will finally do it. I've never felt so conflicted of whether or not to celebrate this...well, this.

And what better way to do it than to do in a poem form. Ahem.

Conflicted - with the feeling of joy yet at the same time, despair.
Am I to be ashamed or not even try to care?

Day in, day out, it never seems to stop.
Each time I hear a new version I feel my heart drop.

It started off innocently with a letter or two.
"Ophilia" "Opelia" Ofelia" "Ohelia" well, what can I do?

But then people got creative and here's what makes me cry,
"Alifr"? "Offy"?? "Gchelia" ??? Oh My.

I guess I feel special to find misspellings of this magnitude,
It always makes me laugh when I'm in quite the mood.

What is next, I'm not sure if I want to know.
But what ever it is, you will be the first I'll show.

Because names that defy the English language lacking grammar, vowels, and sense,
Are the best and easiest for me to take offense.

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Why I believe in ocassional junk food

2012-02-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read that correctly. I believe in junk food - where is my "I Love JF" badge? Although I suppose that could be mistaken for John F Kennedy or even Justin Fever...neither. I'm talking about Junk Food, homies!

I feel that it is very important to maintain a healthy diet of fruit, vegetables, meat/poultry/fish, and carbs (I love carbs! That's my next badge idea...or maybe even a license plate...) but to completely cut sweets and slight junky snacks from my diet forever? Gasp. How I can I exist without dessert? (desSert not desert)

Here is one of my all time favorites: Ferrero Rocher

So pretty in its gold wrapping and classic packaging. It's like holding a tiny chocolate ball of memories. And they are so versatile too!

They are good to decorate yourself with.

Great to hide blemishes with.

Opening each is like a surprise - completely similar to the Willy Wonka experience. Minus the actual golden ticket...

And such a fantastic sleeping companion!

Healthy is good and yet snacking on chocolate/chips/cake is good too! Just in moderation =)

Hello February!

2012-02-02T23:38:00.000-08:00

Oh my knee caps (??) it is already February 2012. I know exactly where January went. It went to Disneyland and said, "Screw you New Years Resolution Hypocrites!" Maybe a tad dramatic but whatever, let's welcome the new month with a new goal.

This month I have decided not to do any daily blogging because the main goal is to make healthier choices. This extends from diet to lifestyle, eating better (less sugar soon!) and sleeping earlier (ohmygoshit'salready11:30pm!) and exercising more. So far I've done pretty well since the middle of January but I want to go at this with full force this month. I will definitely give updates and share what experiences I have.

I will be honest and say that I won't be giving up all my junk food any time soon. I do not believe in diets and cutting certain foods completely out of my diet. Instead, I just want to control the amount of junk food and introduce more vegetables and fruits into my daily routine. Sugary desserts will be the most difficult to control. Get a grip, woman!

What are your new monthly goals?

Kiwi be friends?

Last Day of Gratitude

2012-01-31T22:00:00.000-08:00

Day 31st! We made it! I cannot believe I managed 31 things I am grateful for, albiet some were sort of repeats/similar while some were tangible items while some were intangible feelings.

So dear blog and dear blog readers, I dedicate my last post of gratitude to you all. I know my little blog deserves little attention, some days sharing deep emotions and other days sharing different moustache stickers. And while I realize there are more important things in life, I cannot help but feel incredibly flattered that anyone takes time out of his/her day to come here. Thank you thank you.

I read back on some of my previous January entries and no matter how serious or silly they are, I feel happy. Happy that so many things make me happy. *weirdo

Sitting down to recollect your day, current emotions, thoughts and lessons, etc is very important to your mental well-being. It lets you release that tension and helps you move on. There have been times where I look back and think I could have handled a situation better if I had thought it through. Well, writing it down helps me resolve my true feelings and it helps me think through my emotions.

I tried to think back on my post from yesterday. Scattered thoughts = scattered post. I knew that while writing it but I could not piece it together enough to make it flow. I'm not trying to write a literary masterpiece - I'm trying to sort through and piece together my life while hopefully offering another view for others to consider.

Life is too short not to record. I can't risk sitting alone in my home with my sixteen cats while sowing my sad lonely blanket thinking where it all went wrong...that might be an exaggeration.

Maybe fifteen cats.

I thank you so much for reading this! I feel a great surge of joy when I see that someone has visited my blog. Thank you thank you, gracias, xie xie, doh je, danke, merci, arigato, twinkie. BTW did you know Twinkies manufacturers, Hostess have declared bankruptcy? But apparently will still continue production so fear not junk food lovers! Your cream filled box of calories will still be around.

Anyway, I love you all. Whether it's one person or ten people reading this, you are all a part my journey through life and I am so honored to have shared it with you.

Gratuity caps it

2012-01-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

January 30. One more day so let me make this post count.

Today, Monday Le Suck Day, I am grateful for my teeth.

You, as the reader, are probably reacting in one of two ways. Either one, you are not a close personal friend and do not know about my insecurities and terrible experiences. OR you are a close friend and you are screaming at the computer, "Why?!?!"

Well, my friends - at this point in my life (a good 25 years) I am constantly discovering new things about myself and my surroundings. Some good, some bad, all important. I realize (and have shared countless times) that life is all about learning. You take one path in life, make mistakes, and then learn from the mistakes and take another path. Trial and error.

Off on a tangent already, back on point. For the past few years, I have been a big proponent of the statement: "Everything happens for a reason." I cannot extend this thought to losing someone special in life, but in terms of my personal life experiences I do believe in fate.

Nothing in my life could be the same if specific circumstances did not take place the way they had taken place. Am I losing anyone?

Anyway, the reason I prefaced this entire post with so much blah blah blah is because I never ever thought I would spend my second to last post for my Gratuity series by saying that I am grateful for my teeth.

Why did I hate my teeth? I believe I have an iron deficiency that is a bit more than the usual person, resulting in a lot of cavities and root canals. At age 13, my dentist deemed my teeth too fragile to handle all these cavities and suggested replacing my six front teeth with six dental crowns...eep. Long story short, I spent most of my adolescence insecurely smiling with my mouth shut.

Unfortunately the crowns are larger than my original teeth so the stuck out more and resulted in me creating a very "donkey-like" pose when relaxing.

It goes without saying that I am incredibly sensitive about this issue as it was a bit out of my control, but little in life happens without a reason. I believe that this amount of discomfort and unhappiness has contributed greatly in the confidence I have today.

Sure, my teeth are still incredibly large in my eyes. Sure, my relaxed profile results in "donkey" teeth. Sure, I did have confidence issues but ...which teenager/young adult/adult/mature adult doesn't?

I can look at myself now and realize that life is too short to worry about the little things. I am beautiful just the way I am. I am confident, I am strong, and I am happy. Today I can smile the biggest toothy smile that my face will physically allow.

And if you don't like it then...

Too freaking bad.

Grateful for heart-to-hearts

2012-01-30T00:57:00.000-08:00

Late again, mate!

January 29 - Today's whirlwind of activities reminded me that I am very grateful for heart-to-hearts, those who are fearless enough to share their personal quandaries and achievements.

We began the day with a small reunion of tkd members, sitting around in a circle, sharing our lives. It's odd to sit down with people you've grown with, those who you have spent so many years with but have never really had the opportunity to have a true heart-to-heart chat with. Today we had that opportunity and I must say I am touched.

It's not that I never take the time to stop and reflect on my life. I mean, look at this blog and its long life span (in internet terms of course) I could not justify spending so much time and energy sharing personal views and experiences on the internet where friends and family AND strangers could potentially read if this were not such a positive outlet for myself. I spend time sitting in front of my laptop thinking about my life, dissecting experiences, and formatting opinions from reflections. It's pretty much my personal therapy.

But then take me out of my element and place me with people sitting in around me, awaiting to see if my thoughts could be shared coherently. They couldn't by the way.

My day was filled with a flurry of familiar faces but as I sit here trying to type a blog post to redeem my previous lame one, I realize that 1am is a terrible time to reflect and share.

So sorry, this series is going to end in a few days and I just want to say thank you for reading! I'm grateful for being able to always share my heart-to-heart with you all. =)

Grateful for my iTouch

2012-01-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

Today I want to thank my stars for my iTouch. It has been an asset to my daily work life. Without it, I would be at a loss for ... apps...

Here are some of my favs!

And of course, what I had gotten this for.

Sorry today's a short entry! I'm off to a par-tay so I'll try to add more later tonight! Happy Saturday!

Grateful for being thought of

2012-01-28T02:37:00.000-08:00

Hi friends, the month is quickly ending. Have you enjoyed your first few weeks of 2012 yet? I have quite enjoyed this series, but more on that for my last post =)

Today I am grateful for all the acts of kindness and love given to me from loved ones. Actually it could be from loved family members to close friends to just acquaintances or maybe even complete strangers. These acts of kindness make everyone feel loved and today I felt the love, yo.

First off, I am late again. It is quite difficult to do these Friday posts in time because I am not able to get to my computer till way after midnight. I just got back a little bit ago and showered my dirt-astic self (no Orbit needed har-har)

I know, how can one person obtain THIS much beauty?

Anyway back to the point:

It was Friday and I had a tough day at work. It was a bit high stress (er...coworker's high stress) that leaked onto me. I try hard not to let others affect me but when it's constantly thrown it my face, it's a bit more difficult to avoid.

So after the long day, I was left with a throbbing headache and a feeling of dread that there would be incredible traffic to help end the night. ***Which there was terrible traffic and no I did not scream.

I came home to find this!

My two dear roommates (family/friends/frimily) had gone to Forever21 and found this high-larious and fun ring for me!

Oh the night suddenly feels more joyous when you remember that others remember you. I couldn't shake the headache but my frown definitely disappeared and I want to remind everyone to remind those you love that you love them! Just a simple act of kindness, be it a smile or opening the door for a complete stranger - you never know what it could do to someone's mood!

By the way, look what I can do with my new mustache ring!

All hail the weekend!

Grateful for my height. Or lack of...

2012-01-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

January 26! It's almost Friday and then the weekend! Woot woooot...wait what am I doing? Oh yes, January 26, today I am grateful for my small sized body.

Yes yes, bring on the jokes! I know I am fun sized, compact, Small Fry, Petite Pony, Little Liar, Tiny Toon, Mini Tini, Shorty McPorty.

Ok, some/most of those nicknames are not real but I have had many different nicknames over the years based on my height and guess what? It doesn't bother me one bit. In fact, I am quite glad to be my size.

Yes, it's odd. I know most people's dreams are to be thin, tall, and beautiful but let me tell you - I'm a small gal with big dreams. Hehehe

I used to be the second tallest girl in my class (back in 5th grade) and all the little boys would look up with jealousy. And then everyone else grew and started look down with pity. Mind you, (almost) 5'2" is not really as small as they come but I suppose it is still small enough to be considered short.

Well, all petite gals unite! We will never allow our limited size to limit our abilities!\

Like my socks?

Gratuity bares it all

2012-01-25T23:31:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone...Ahh, it's January 25th! This month has progressed quite quickly for me, is that a good thing or bad? Well, today I looked around my haphazard room and scourged around for something to share today. You would not think it is that difficult to share 31 things you are grateful for but apparently - not as easy as it seems!

Anyway, I turned on my Photobooth webcam on my MacBook Pro and stared blankly at the screen. And then it hit me.

...not literally.

I am grateful for a bare face. I love the feeling of washing my face at night and apply my night creams and eye creams and cream creams on my cleany clean face.

Of course I know I do not have to wear makeup everyday all day, I only wore a little bit through high school and went completely bare my first three years of college...but it is something I genuinely enjoy doing almost every morning. Call me crazy (don't) but it's that bit of the day that gets me started.

Still, at the end of the day, the cleanest face is the most comfortable face. This is how I look and I'm proud of it!

Gratuity takes it slow

2012-01-24T23:38:00.000-08:00

January 24 - I am grateful to take things slow.

...Er... I do not really mean physically slow motion of course..or do I?

.
.
.

No no, what I'm trying to get to is that sometimes life moves too fast. And all we can do is to run behind to catch it.

From the time we were too small to see over the counter

Till the time we surpass the counter

We hope and dream for time to progress so that we can anxiously move onto the next step.

But life goes on and soon you realize that taking it one step at a time will really allow you to experience it and enjoy it.

Life is too short to rush. Slow down and live it.

Gratuity posts it

2012-01-23T20:16:00.000-08:00

January 23rd already! Oye vey! This gratuity series is quickly coming to an end and I am going to have to figure out what type of theme I want to progress with in February. Hmm...

Anyway, today I am grateful for the invention of Post-Its!

Anytime I am in a rush to remember something, I grab a sticky note and jot down simple reminders.

Turn off heater before you leave, stupid.

I often add a bit of an insult at the end to really get the point through.

It's super helpful when I need to pinpoint a question or issue at work by utilizing color coordination capabilities, easy removal, and multiple reminders without damaging the original product. Genius!

I like to leave little notes around friends and family sometimes to remind them I am insulting/thinking of them. So yes, definitely a necessity on my desk!

Grateful for traditions

2012-01-22T20:27:00.000-08:00

January 22nd, it's close to Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year! Since we will be away from home during the actual new year celebrations, we're doing what we can today so yay for traditions!

It's not something I appreciated as a youngster. These sort of cultural traditions were obligatory and frustrating to have to give up free weekends to see those you had not seen in a while.

As you grow older, you begin to understand why you do what you do, why your family values performing the same traditions every year. It's a practice that you pass down from generations and holds weight to your culture.

These are red envelopes that married couples pass down to the young and unmarried as a means to help support their future. It used to be exciting to get free money for your savings account...yes, we were boring like that! Other kids in school took that money and excitedly decided what fun things they wanted to purchase.

Anyway, what used to be a chore is now an honor - I'm just proud to be a part of something special.

Grateful for occasional solitude

2012-01-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

January 21st - Today I am grateful for occasional alone time. Time dedicated to myself for reflection, meditation, and development.

I get most of that reflection when I am writing on this blog, spending a good twenty minutes trying to dig deep about silly things like lip balm to more personal decisions and choices. Having to share my outlook forces me to discover what that outlook really is and why I feel the way I feel.

Having time away from others is almost an emotional relief at times. Don't take me wrong, I love my friends and I love my family, but when you are amongst people you usually have the tendency to cater to their needs and wants. Everyone does this - this is why people try to spark conversations or find activities where both parties can participate. It is human nature's need to please but never forget the first and most important person's needs you need to cater to are your own.

My dad decided today was one of those Let's Finally Fix What's Broken Day so up to the roof we went and he started to replace each shingle that had weathered poorly through the year. As he was up on the top deck, I stood on the secondary roof in case he needed more supplies or help. Of course the process took forever and I found myself just staring at the open land around me with no one but myself.

So I brought the computer over and took these-

After my fourth attempt to get the perfect jumping picture without falling through the skylight, I took a moment to sit and think about how life has changed. What has changed, how I have changed, and how I could make it more worthwhile.

We grow through the years: mentally, physically, and emotionally and whether each life experience is bad or good it is those exact experiences that shape us to be who we are today. I realize how much my personal values and focuses shifted through the years and after the guilt subsided I realized it was only natural to move on. You spend your youth yearning for growth, then you hit your teens and all you crave is the attention you believe only the special/popular are granted, then you are in college and life suddenly fills with uncertainty and doubt, then you are working and you realize that the entire time you were doing what you were put on this Earth to do. You were living your life and learning through those you encounter, through experiences you lived through, through the passage of time.

I cannot say life was ever perfect. But as I sit alone outside my window I realize my life was as perfect as it could be - full of mistakes, insecurities, pain, and at the same time success, achievements, support.

I hope you had a wonderful Saturday.

Grateful for date nights

2012-01-21T03:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, yes...I'm late on this post =(

I was on a super roll with 19 days of consecutive blogging and I am officially late late today. Bugger! But it's okay because the reason I am late today is also the reason I have something to share today.

January 20 - I am grateful for having date nights.

If you are unfamiliar with my personal life, you may not know I have a boyfriend.

You may not know that we've been together for quite a while.

1 month shy from 9 years now and would you believe we just barely started doing actual date nights until less than a year ago?

We're the type of people who love being with good friends and family, often times going out in groups of three to five. Time spent between just the two of us became more celebratory, ie. anniversaries, birthdays, personal achievements...

Then life changed. I graduated and started working and my prior routine changed - therefore time was made to hang out and suddenly we realized, hey! It's quite fun just to hang out as a couple.

I know most of you reading this will think we are ridiculous because most other couples have this experience in reverse. But hey, everyone is different.

Now every Friday night is dedicated to just hanging out and doing something fun as a couple. Some days it involves trying new restaurants, playing pool, bowling, window shopping and then days like today we take it easy with take out dinners and a movie.

Transformers 3 to be exact. Not bad, I actually liked it - I would like to have a Transformer car so that once traffic builds up, my super Bot would transform and just skip over it all. Frustrations be gone!

What was I saying again? Oh yes, I am late on my post but I am not regretful. =)

I am the type of person who learns from others. Not all the time every time, but I do truthfully take all advice and suggestions before deciding what to absorb. One thing many couples have attested the demise of their relationships to is not having enough time just to be together. It's easy to be distracted with life and your comfort level with each other may end up in accidental neglect. Don't forget appreciate who you love and show them! A simple hug or "thank you" makes a world of difference.

A nice cake wouldn't hurt either.