Think the thoughts, feel the feels...write it down

Growing up, I wasn't too trendy.  I wasn't allowed to be!  Both my parents, especially my mom, grew up in pretty Conservative Christian homes.  Dad: Pentecostal Baptist (yes, they exist); Mom: Pentecostal Holiness.  There were a lot of things I wasn't allowed to experience: secular music, gel pens, name brand clothing, A LOT OF TV SHOWS, etc.  Although there were times when I really wanted something 'all the other kids had' (OH!  But the day I got a TrapperKeeper?  Couldn't touch me!), I was typically pretty content with what I had. Now, I'm an adult and I choose what I wear, listen to, consume.  It took me a long time to actually care about how I dressed, because I was out of control of that for so long (my parents controlled that and were resistant to a lot of the fads).  Here's a list of trends/fashions I'd like to be able to wear all the time without feeling like I look like I'm "trying".  Any suggestions on how to pull ...

I think the world would be a better place if everyone did these things. I realize not everyone has the same resources/accessibility, but still. 1) Flossing/good dental hygiene. Honestly, how could this be a bad thing? Teeth are important, everything that goes on in our mouths is important, so we might as well treat them well. 2) Work in retail and/or food service industry. Once you've done that, you'll 1)like people less (a minor side effect) 2) treat people who work in those positions with more respect. Every person deserves to be treated like a person, like an equal. 3) Figure out your biggest dream and go for it. There's a saying, " Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."(C.S. Lewis), I've been thinking of a lot lately. I think it applies to most anything. If you aim to just get by, to survive, then you'll live a life that can be called, at best, mediocre. No thrill, no stories, no legacy. If you a...

It's fascinating how different my face looks to me when I don't wear make-up (foundation) for a few days.  I was doing my nightly skin regimen and noticed how much I like my skin on my face.  Typically, I wear make-up (foundation, mascara, eye shadow, eye liner, blush, and sometimes bronzer) most of the week, but I haven't worn foundation since Sunday and have worn no make-up at all a couple times this week. At first, I think "Ick, my eyes look so tired, there are so many imperfections on my skin, I'm definitely better off with the full gambit on."  But just after a few days of wearing little to no make-up I begin to see my face with a more positive attitude.  My eyes don't look quite so tired and my skin seems to magically clear up, I start seeing my natural beauty again. I think we are often too critical of our physical selves.  We compare ourselves to these unobtainable airbrushed bodies and faces seen in the media.  We compare our bodies to those o...

I've been seeing this fad in which one paints all their fingernails the same color except for their ring fingers.  The ring finger will be a different color, have a design, or both.  Theoretically, I like it.  I have enough polish colors to do this and it's a subtle enough thing where I don't feel foolish, or like I'm "trying", for simply testing it out.  I used to always try new stuff with my nails, like every other nail a certain color or different color dots on each nail, but then my mom made me stop because it was 'pagan' (seriously mom?) and tacky, so I figured it was just unacceptable and out of the question. So far, I have not been smote so I think I'm good.  I tried it and I don't get it.  It looks so much better on the blogs.  It's not that I don't like it or that it looks ugly, it's just not as great as I had hoped.  Not every fad/trend looks good on everyone, so perhaps this one is just not meant for me.  What a silly f...

Today was the last Teacher Workday of the school year for me, so I've had Summer Break on the brain ALL DAY!  I've been compiling a list of things I'm anticipating for this Summer, activities and such.  Here you go: 1) Work.   I need a job.  Since my paycheck from teaching was so low, I wasn't able to really save money to survive for the summer, so I've gotta pick up a another job or two to be able to pay my bills. 2) Play music.  Sadly, I have become one of those music teachers who doesn't really play music for their own enjoyment.  I do like making music, but I haven't played an instrument since last year sometime.  I want to play bass clarinet, my principle instrument, and work on guitar. 3) Spanish. I'm taking an online Spanish course and loving it.  I am in love with the language and the Latin American world, so I'm always happy to sit and work on improving my Spanish.  Necesito a practicar por qué cuando vivo en un otro pais puedo c...

Today, I'm not even feeling mediocre, so I've decided to think about something that makes me happy: Summer.  Summer is my favorite season, this is a list of things I love about Summer.  Hopefully, this list will cheer me up. 1) No school .  I have always (with the exception of a few times) loved school as a student and as a teacher, but I always love the break that comes with school.  It's just nice to be in a different mindset for a couple months. 2) The heat.   I'm someone who is always cold, like wearing-sweatshirts-in-front-of-a-heater cold.  It's nice to walk outside and not feel so unwelcome. 3) The clothes.   While I'm not advocating showing too much skin, I do enjoy a lot of Summer fashions.  I like summer dresses and tops and I love sandals.  The bright colors and lightweight material/fabric make me so happy. 4) The food.   Fresh fruit, refreshing sandwiches, ice cream and frozen yogurt, juice, water, and even salads ...

I don't know if I'm doing it right, but I'm really into the returned fad of long, ankle/floor length skirts.  At first I bought a couple because I wanted a way to get on the floor, criss-cross-apple-sauce (in my day, it was called Indian Styled, but now, and rightfully so, it's more politically correct) with my students without being forced to sit in that uncomfortable side-saddle position when wearing a skirt.  So it was purely functional for work.  Now, I have to force myself not wear one;  I'm up to seven and I obsessively look for more anytime I'm in a clothing store.  I got it bad. I just really enjoy the versatility of these skirts and I'll often wear them in lieu of pants, more specifically, jeans.  Don't get me wrong, I still am an advocate for jeans, but I'm just not always comfortable in jeans.  The truth is jeans touch me way more than skirts do; jeans have an outside AND inside to the leg area and they provide no grac...

Sometime last year I got lousy at blogging and I've been trying to pick up momentum ever since.  I really like it, and I'm not so busy that I can't sit for 20 minutes once a week to write my thoughts, serious or otherwise...so there's really no excuse.  A friend, who's super good at blogging, suggested that I have a weekly entry of the same type/format.  For example she does a photo of the week which you can check out < << >> ; she said this keeps people reading your blog.  While it's not my goal to be a famous blogger, although I do think famous bloggers are some of the raddest people on the planet, it does feel nice to know that people read your blog. With all that being said, I have decided to work (really hard) to blog, at the very least, once a week, around midweek.  I think that's a reasonable task for me to ask of myself.  I'm going to start with something very simple: lists.  I don't know if I'm a list person, but I do tr...