The Past Few Months

Okay, so I kind of disappeared again. But I have a good excuse. LIFE. I know, I know, everyone gets busy. It just seems like it's getting more difficult to do everything that I need to do and everything that I want to do. Instead of go, go, go, it's more like go, kind of move along, nap, and go again.

The past three months or so have been a bit of a blur, but a good blur. I have been in a relationship with a wonderful man for the past three months, I have been getting ready for all of the holidays and festivities, my job has been super busy and family stuff has been, well, interesting.

Though it has been difficult to keep up, I am going to try because this is one of the things that I love. I can't tell you how much I miss writing.

That's all for now. I really shouldn't be up this late. Good night!

I'm Back

Hello World!

I know I've been MIA for the past few months, but I've been a bit busy. My sister was in town, I had a birthday, work got crazy and I have a boyfriend. My days are consumed with work, my nights with family time and my weekends with spending time with my guy. But I miss writing. I miss typing for pleasure and not for work. This post isn't earth shattering or terribly exciting, but a bit of a blurb about recent happenings in my life.

Note to Self...

Don't go on a three hour hike when you haven't hiked in so long that you can't remember the last time you put your tennis shoes on for the express purpose of exercising. I'm exaggerating a little, but not much. For some reason I had a ton of energy Saturday morning and I called my dad to ask him if he'd like to go on a hike. He said yes and we were off to Eaton Canyon.

If you've never been to Eaton Canyon, I recommend you go. The main trails are wide, well marked and the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. But make sure you're up for the hike. I'm sure that someone is going to read this and laugh because it's not that big of a deal, but to a novice like myself, it's huge. We spent a good 45 minutes hiking to a shady spot almost to the waterfall in the park and then sat to enjoy our lunch. It was so much fun to sit on the rocks, dip my feet in the cool water and enjoy my fresh egg white salad from Trader Joe's. After about a half hour we decided to head back to the parking lot and leave. On the way down the trail, we stopped to stretch, which I thought would be enough, and then we got in the car.

I was fine on Sunday, but by Monday morning I was seriously hurting. That's when I realized that I really do need to jump on the exercising-regularly bandwagon. I want to be able to go on hikes and not feel like I'm going to die two days later. Lesson learned. Less couch and more walking.

Redhead Review: Boots Brand at Target

Dark circles under my eyes, a massive pimple that resembles a third eye and an uneven skin tone. Normally those would be huge problems. But with some Boots beauty and skin care products, they're barely a blip on my beauty radar.

When my mom and I were walking through the cosmetics section at Target a few weeks ago, there was a Boots representative offering free advice and she told us what she thought we should try. I have spent a lot of money on beauty creams, masks, lotions and potions that were supposed to have been perfect for my skin type, but that didn't work. And I'll admit that I was more than a tad skeptical about the makeup and skin care line found at Target, but after trying three of its products, I'm sold.

The first product that I bought and fell in love with was the Boots Expert Anti-Blemish Toner. This is by far the best toner I have used. Most of the other more expensive toners I have tried, sting when applied and make my skin feel so dry and tight that it feels as if it will crack. Instead of strong chemicals and alcohol, the Boots brand is made with willow bark extract to help ward off unwanted blemishes and treat existing inflammation.

Next on my list was the face scrub. I've never really had a terrible problem with acne, but lately I have been breaking out more than usual and I came across this scrub, which doubles as a weekly mask. Instead of spending oodles of cash on ten different skin care products, I only had to buy one. The Anti-Blemish 2-in-1 Scrub and Mask cleanses, exfoliates and cleans deep down to leave my skin feeling clean and fresh. My skin started clearing up one day after using this as a mask. It is amazing.

My third and perhaps my favorite Boots product so far is the Complexion Refining liquid foundation, which is part of the Botanics line. Not only does the foundation go on smoothly, it stays on the skin and does exactly what the label promises. My complexion looks fantastic, my skin looks smoother and my face doesn't look like it's caked with layers of makeup. Another great thing about this liquid foundation is the stick that's attached to the lid. I don't have to shake the bottle to get product. All I have to do is pull the lid off and use the makeup that's already on the stick. Genius. My favorite thing about this foundation is the way that it works into my skin to mask the red areas of my face.

Boots Botanics foundation and anti-blemish products are by far the best I have used. And the bonus––you won't be broke or have buyer's remorse after purchasing.

For less than $20 I have a more even skin tone, cleaner skin and fewer blemishes. What more could a girl want from a cosmetic and skin care line?

Guest Poster Extraordinaire

I've never been a guest poster--until now. Paul Angone of All Groan Up, has posted my article, "Just Get Your Degree." After a long day at my day job, I was at home surfing the Internet when I found his site. Let's just say that I fell in love with the idea. He's creating a community for those of us who grew up, went to college, graduated and then said, "what the heck!" A college degree hasn't automatically opened up doors to the perfect career and the meaning of adulthood. Instead, it has left many with tons of debt, disappointment and questions. One question that I used to ask all the time was, "what was the point?"

A huge thank you to Paul for recognizing that those of us who worked really hard to get to this point in life and find ourselves lost, need a voice.

And don't forget to read about his new book, "Are You My Life?: Searching for Self, Faith and a Freaking Job,"to be released in spring 2012.

Southern California Father's Day

Releasing frogs, eating seafood, sitting on the beach and watching a pendulum swing. Now that's an awesome Father's Day if I do say so myself. Saturdays are my days to go out and do stuff so I decided to celebrate the day with my dad a bit early. He and his girlfriend and I spent Saturday just enjoying the the weather and our time together.


It all started with my brilliant idea of releasing some frogs and tadpoles that I had caught about a month ago. They were all tadpoles when I caught them and all but three had morphed into frogs. We spent the late morning sitting on rocks near a stream, releasing my frogs and tadpoles and then watching them in the stream.

    

   

After releasing the frogs and tadpoles, we decided to stick our feet in the water and cool off before heading off to our next destination. It was amazing to stand in the stream and look one direction and see nothing but the mountains and look the opposite and see cars driving by on an overpass. It was a little piece of nature in the big city.

With growling stomachs and great anticipation, we drove to Malibu Seafood, in beautiful Malibu California. According to my dad I've been going there since I was in a bucket. It seemed fitting to enjoy a Father's Day lunch at the seafood shack that's responsible for dozens of happy family memories. After finishing off our meal of fish and chips, clam chowder and fried scallops, it was off to the water. We crossed Pacific Coast Highway, found a spot on the sand and put our towels down.

We made sure we brought crackers for our seagull friends and they were very pleased. One seagull decided that he was the boss and he perched on the remnants of a sand castle waiting for his share. It wasn't long before the rest of his buddies caught on and flocked toward our towels, waiting patiently for their turn to try and catch the next cracker that flew toward them. When they decided that we were really out of treats and that we weren't hold out on them, they flew off in search of their next meal. Soon after we decided to pack up our beach gear and drive toward Los Angeles. Canter's Deli was our next stop where we enjoyed coffee and dessert before ending up at the Griffith Observatory.

One of my favorite places to go is the Griffith Observatory, which sits high above L.A. in Griffith Park. The top of the observatory is a great place to go to look out over the city. At night everything seems to glow. One of the best things about it is that admission is free. We wandered around outside and made our way to the Tesla Coil for the last demonstration of the night. Finally we watched the pendulum that demonstrates how the earth moves. All in all, Saturday was a pretty busy day, but it was one of the best days that I've had in a long time. I love Southern California. Happy Father's Day Dad.

Mean Girls Never Grow Up

You know that one girl in high school who was really popular, often pretty and really, really mean? Yes you do. You can picture her. Perhaps you were that girl.

"Who me?" you ask.

"Yes you!" I exclaim.

I've concluded that mean girls never change. They remain the same and they never ever grow up. Some of you might be thinking that I need to grow up because I'm harping on a subject that is so overplayed and so old, that it's well old. But I just need to vent. I'd like to get it out before my glorious three day mini-vacation weekend.

A mean girl is like a hawk. She can smell weakness and blood, and she circles and waits for the opportunity to swoop down and snatch up her defenseless prey with her razor-sharp talons. She's been trained to prey on the weak. And when she's done with the carcass of her prey she moves on to the next helpless creature unlucky enough to be in her view.

What's really sad is that this doesn't just happen in high school. This pattern of seek and destroy, follows the mean girl throughout adulthood. I'm sure that there is some repentance and that some mean girls do change, but many grow up to be seasoned master-manipulators and well something else that I'm just too polite to say.

I'm done with my rant. I'm not bitter, just irritated. There are times that I wish I could be mean right back, but that's just not my nature. Instead I'm going to work on getting better at standing up to the mean girls and moving on with my life. Who wants to be the same person they were in high school? Not I.

Green

Green, green, green. Did I mention green? I absolutely love the color green. I'm not sure why, but I have always gravitated to some shade of the color of the eco-friendly. It's not that I'm an eco freak or an extremist tree hugger. I have nothing against them. Eco freaks and tree huggers need love too. I just love most things that are green. There are certain shades like the split-pea-baby-puke green and the neon-so-bright-it's-blinding green that are not really my cup of tea, but overall, it's my favorite color. And it really makes me happy.

When I envision my perfect house, I picture clean lines and simple white furniture and green accents throughout. I also imagine a garden filled with luscious green foliage and a lot of bright cheerful flowers. Green is more than just a color to me. It makes me happy. When I think about green I can't help but smile. I know it sounds a bit wacky, but green truly lifts my spirits.

It's Just a Name Right?

Have you ever really thought about names and how you associate them with certain types of people or certain people in your life? Perhaps I'm the only one whose weird enough to think about names as much as I have. I've mostly thought about names regarding children. I'm nowhere near the point of having children, but I have thought about what names I would choose.

For the longest time I wanted to have a daughter and name her Lola Rose. Why Lola? I'm not quite sure, I just really liked it. Then someone so kindly pointed out that it sounded like a stripper name. Thanks. Then I thought Ava or Elle, but now those are becoming really popular with the yuppy set. Okay three down. I then had the brilliant idea of naming my future daughter after her paternal grandmother. Her name was quickly shot down by several people in my life because it "sounds too old fashioned." And then there are the names that I could never choose because I would just associate my kid with a horrible memory. For instance, I've never known a sane Marilyn. I'm sure that there are many wonderful Marilyn's out there somewhere, I just haven't had the luck of meeting one. 

What about boy names? That's a whole other can of worms. I love names such as Warren and Phillip and yes, I will admit it Huckleberry. Yes, Huckleberry sounds like a joke, but Mark Twain is one of my favorite authors and I just loved reading about Huckleberry Finn and I love the name. The jury is still out on Warren, but Phillip is a lost cause for me because of one of my least favorite television personalities. All of this name association could really drive a person nuts. I don't know what I'm going to do when I actually do start to have children. 

Maybe that will be my husband's job. He can name the kids. I'll take care of naming the animals. No one's going to care if I name my cat Lola Rose, right? And I can name my great dane Huckleberry. Oh good, I'm so glad it's settled. Now all I have to do is find a man and get married. 

Garden Phase One

Taking walks during lunch breaks, going to the gym regularly, gardening after work. Who is this person? I haven't had this much energy for years. It's absolutely incredible. I feel like getting out and actually doing stuff. And looking forward to working in the garden is something totally new. My front garden has turned into my latest project. My plan is to turn it into a mostly native plant garden. I started a couple of weeks ago by ripping out an old ficus tree and ended up cutting back spider plants, decorating with rocks, planting succulents and finding a new home for the hose. This is what I have done so far.

 After I cleared out the weeds and a lot of the dead plants, I made a place for the pot that now holds the hose. With a little effort the hose decided to cooperate and stay in the pot. Instead of being piled up in a tangled mess on top of the plants, the hose is now tucked away and out of view. When I finished with the hose I was able to figure out where the plants should be placed.

Now I'm no landscaper, but the designing was my favorite part. One of the best features of my new garden, is the design that I created with the rocks. I couldn't believe it when I found them, but the rocks were on sale for less that $2.00 a bag. I bought two, which is more than enough for the entire garden.

With the border complete, I got a little creative and poured the rocks out in two wavy lines. My garden isn't quite finished, but it's getting there. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Now I just have to decide what to do with all of the spider plants and how to make those look pretty. So many ideas. Time to go back to the nursery. I think I need a bigger garden.

Blogging Overload

My head is swimming with ideas for my blog. My highest hopes are that I start to write the most amazing blog ever written by a 20 something single woman and that it draws the attention of millions and I make enough money to retire by the time I am 30. Okay, a little farfetched, but anything is possible right? What to write? I read a few posts about blogging and anonymity and they were all good. One blogger said to go for it without any hesitation and just lay it all out there for everyone to see. The second said to hide everything, even photos. Then there was the third who said that there is a happy medium. Throw a bone here and there, but don't give it all away because mystery keeps the reader's attention. With my first blog, which was my senior project, I displayed everything. It was a professional example of my work. This blog is a bit more personal. I am writing about my weight loss for heaven's sake. I don't know how much more personal I can get. I suppose that I could share my "before" photos that a dear friend was kind enough to take so that I can look back and see how far I came, but that might just scare everyone. Heck, they scared me.

I'm going to have to think about this. I don't want to hide because I'm tired of being afraid. I'm so sick of all of the negative what ifs that constantly run through my head. I need to just take some advice that I recently received. If I am going to entertain the negative what ifs then I also need to entertain the positive what ifs. What if I get some followers? What if my blog is good? What if I'm able to become a full time writer? I like those what ifs. This might be a bumpy ride, but I'm going to give blogging about my life a shot.

Facing My Fears

Blogging, or writing for that matter, is an extremely personal experience. Will readers like what I write? Will they think it's stupid? Will they think I'm stupid? Questions like that constantly plague me when i write. But I've come to a point in my life where I'm tired of worrying about what people are going to think about me or say about me. I'm tired of being afraid. And I'm tired of doubting myself. This blog is going to be about my life and about what I think. If you've read my blog, you kind of have an idea of who I am as a writer. I would like to introduce to another part of myself.

Growing up I would look at myself in the mirror or hear myself talk and think, "Oh, I got this from Mom," or "Oh, I got that from Dad." Well I sure missed out on some of what makes my dad my dad. The man could eat an elephant and lose two pounds. I can look at a piece of chocolate cake from across the room and gain five. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's almost that bad. And for years I have blamed it on different things from medication, to genes, to you name it. But blaming ultimately doesn't do me any good. It's time for things to change. So here I go. I'm starting a journey. I am a new member of Weight Watchers.

Am I intimidated? Yes. Am I afraid? Yes. But so what if I've tried dieting and losing weight countless times? So what if I make a few mistakes along the way? If I don't start now, I might never start. I'm not going to continue to put myself down and tell myself that I'm going to fail. Here's to putting one foot in front of the other and taking one small step at a time. And here's to faith that I am going to see this through by the grace of God.

A Little Gardening Inspiration

Its roots had broken through the bottom of the pot and had started to make their way under the front porch and the foundation. Godzilla, the seven foot tall ficus tree, was really getting on my nerves, so about a week ago I went outside, ripped its roots out of the ground, trimmed it and transferred it into a new pot. Four hours, a few bruises and a sore back later, the sucker was in a new pot and all of the ground where Godzilla had resided, was clear. I felt relieved, but then I realized that the garden in front of the porch needed a complete overhaul. The gardening bug really bit me.

I've done a lot of planning since last weekend. Different themes and plans have been racing through my head and I have finally decided to plant a garden filled with native plants. My inspiration came from the 8th Annual Theodore Payne Foundation Native Plant Garden Tour that I took with my mom this morning. All of the gardens that we visited on this self-guided home garden tour were colorful and full of plant life, but my favorite was a garden that featured a bright yellow flannel brush, a variety of succulents and delicate peach-colored blossoms that looked to be made of tissue paper.

I fell in love with the plants and the overall design as we walked through the front and back yards. Until today I had always thought of native plant gardens as gardens that were filled with cacti or succulents and little color. But I discovered that native gardens can be vibrant and fascinating. Watching the way that bees flitted from one blossom to another and the bugs that walked along the leaves of some of the most beautiful plants I have seen, was fascinating.

Now it's my turn to turn my ideas in to a reality using my new inspiration. I can't wait to see how my garden turns out. And I'm looking forward to sharing it.

*I would love to share the photos that I took, however, I feel that I cannot ethically do so. Photos for personal use were the only photos allowed.

Who I Am

As soon as my hands grasped the handlebars and my feet touched the pedals, it was as if I had never stopped riding. When you haven't done something for a while and you are able to pick it up again, you might say that it's like riding a bicycle. I never understood that saying when I was a child, until I rode my bicycle after not having ridden for quite some time. It wasn't something that I had to completely relearn. Everything seemed to just come back.

That's how it is with writing. No matter how long it's been, picking up a pen or touching the keys on my keyboard just feels right. My brain knows that it's time to write and the words just come. Now this doesn't mean that I have some super ability to write perfectly or that what I write is anything spectacular. It's just my way of knowing that writing is something that I was made to do.

Growing up I used to envy my younger sister's ability to pick up on mathematical equations and learn foreign languages, because I thought that would make my life easier. But acing chemistry and speaking three languages fluently just wasn't in the cards for me. Instead I was dissecting the words of Shakespeare and F. Scott Fitzgerald and spending free time filling up pages of journals and notebooks.

And though writing classes and journalism classes in particular taught me to avoid cliches like the plague, hindsight truly is 20/20. Looking back at my time in high school and college and all of the pivotal moments when choosing a major and a path were considered, I'm thankful for the way that my path was laid out. Step by step and turn by turn writing became clearer and clearer as my destination.

There have been times, many times, when doubt has plagued me; times when money was tight and when obtaining a writing position seemed impossible. But through it all one truth has stuck with me. I am a writer.

Coffee Shop Art

You don't have to go to an upscale contemporary art gallery in Los Angeles or New York to enjoy some fine art. Take a trip to The Coffee Klatch in San Dimas, and you will be pleasantly surprised with what you will find. 

Enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee and take a gander at the fine work of Janice Sullivan, owner of Sullivan J Photography. Janice has turned her passion for viewing things up close into a passion for macro photography. Flowers, everyday objects and more take on a whole new light when Janice photographs them and brings out the tiniest details.

Coffee Klatch

806 West Arrow Highway Ste. A, San Dimas

(909) 599-0452 

www.klatchroasting.com

Secretary by Day, Writer by Night

Looking through old photographs, school projects and childhood drawings always brings back memories, laughs and embarrassment. Last weekend I decided that I was going to clean and organize. That usually translates to pulling the trash can out and throwing away everything that I no longer need. I usually have some sense of remorse following these episodes of de-cluttering, but it quickly fades when I forget what I threw away.

As I was digging through an old box, that I was just about to toss, I came across several stories that I had written as a child. There were several stories about cats and princesses and most of them began with the story time classic, "once upon a time." They were filled with half sentences, misspelled words and crayon drawings. After reading my hilarious attempts at story-writing, it dawned on me that I have always written. There has not been a time, since I learned to write, that I have not put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Writing has allowed me to get all of the thoughts that are running through my head, down on paper. Writing has been a great outlet for me and because of it, I have learned and grown more than I ever thought possible. After trying out many majors in college, I finally decided on journalism, which allowed me to develop my writing and my thinking skills. And most importantly, journalism made me happy.

Journalism was what finally fit. During my last three years of college, I told myself that I wanted to do something in journalism after graduation. But after graduation I had to face the real world and the real world story is that I am a secretary by day and a writer by night. For the past year and eight months I have mostly written in my journals, but I am proud to announce that I will be writing in a professional capacity starting in February. I will be writing a monthly newsletter for Janice Sullivan, an amazingly talented and creative photographer. Welcome to my blog, my story and my life as a writer. Here is to another one of life's crazy adventures.