Digging this tumblr.... especially since all of my cousins are on facebook and have been uploading old pictures from when we were kids. I love having such a huge family and I love that my dad was so cool when we were young :) my dad was a total hipster who dressed cool and had all kinds of awesome jobs growing up. I am very lucky to have such a cool guy in my life.
-- top to bottom --
my dad when he used to work as a cameraman sometime in the late 70s, early 80s /
most of my mom's side of the fam including some pretty cool/hipster pops including my grandpa :) /
a snap of my cousins and I celebrating a birthday, look at my dress! these pix are priceless to me
New addition to the fam... :) we lost our family pup in January... it was a really rough and sad time. We attempted one trip to look at rescues but it was really hard. We decided that we knew we could never replace Pedro, but the right pet would find us in time. Well, the night we decided that we came home to find my uncle at the door with a little surprise...
Meet Bella Blue :)
She's really sweet, energetic and curious. She loves to play, cuddle, run... she is the perfect work out partner! She is so smart. She is just under a year old, so we're going to have fun learning about her and going on adventures. I love her already and I am happy to have her. I know her brother would have loved her too.
What's up?? Just popping in to say hi. Much to say, lots going on but trying to stay busy and doing lots of work. Most of the last few weeks has been spent going to boot camp, eating well and being well. Lots of times with the girls, many many shows, good things. I tried the Michael Jackson wii game and holy cow it's a fun little work out. Had a really fun Super Bowl Sunday, all my girls showed up for the KROQ party. Hung out with my sis and saw her boys the Dirty Heads. I picked the winning team!
the gals playing MJ --- me & my sis outside the Key Club with some of the guys
Sunday morn hike with mom :)
wanna know the best way to get in shape? Go on vacay with a bunch of friends. Everytime I call one of my gals,
they're at the gym. Pretty easy to stay motivated when it's really a group effort! LOVE IT! We set sail March 3 :)
I am used to talking about my girls, my travels, my music obsessions.... but today, truly, what I am grateful for every day of my life is the fact that I am truly blessed with a HUGE family. My childhood was awesome. I had so many built in play buddies, we had the best holidays and vacations. And now we're spread across the country with jobs, kids and lives of our own but I always think of them. I will always treasure them. This year was especially awesome because it was a milestone year. The matriarch on my mom's side turned 75, and even better, my mom's dad's mom turned 90 (!!!) how's that for good genes? I feel like the last couple of months have been a blessing, spent a lot of family time with my cousins and I know that I am lucky to have them all in my life. Bittersweet to head down to San Diego instead of staying local with my mom's side, but dad's side needs love too. It's been a long time since we all got to spend the day together.
So today (and everyday!) don't forget to remember and appreciate those that you were blessed to be born with. I especially want to say that I love my sister. I am thankful for her every day of my life. I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Now go eat, drink and watch football! ;)
sister & mom and dad..... I love you guys with everything I've got!
great gram in the middle, my grandparents on each side of her :)
mom's side seeeveral years ago....
.....and to relieve the serious note, here's a little Dexter clip that is completely appropriate and inappropriate at the same time :)
ps EFF YOU blogger, i can never get my pictures where i want them...... took FOR FUCKING EVER. gaaaaaaah :pullshairout:
There'd be no distance that could hold us back......
Times are bittersweet. It's definitely been a rollercoaster these last few weeks but today I have to say goodbye to a good friend who is moving north. It never really hit me how it feels to have family leave and I've done it. So today we're saying bye to my sister's boyfriend's sister. We have gotten pretty close and had a lot of fun together. A confidant and partner in crime is a hard thing to come by, and Melissa has always been there for me. I'm sad and been avoiding thinking about it. So that's all I'm going to say on that note.....
As far as the REST of the weeekend, I am excited. RX Bandits acoustic show in my part of LA :) a lot of my buddies are trekking down for it, and tomorrow I'm heading to Vegas to celebrate Rich's 30th with my other Melissa. I wish it wasn't going to rain so we could relax by the pool but hopefully I win some monies. I need it, send me your positive energy!
I am a sucker for Halloween. Fall is def one of my favorite times of year. I don't usually ever mind the end of summer especially since I am a socal resident. The weather stays beautiful and it means college football, Oktoberfest and my birthday! I love all the scary stuff and the decor. My birthday is in early November and my latin roots fuel my love of the Day of the Dead and all the beautiful art that accompanies the holiday.
I found these charms too late to add them to my etsy store...maybe next year! I did scoop some up for me though:)
Halloween is very special because I come from a really big family and we've always done big holidays. It was always fun times with my cousins when I was younger and now it's an excuse to get dressed up and glammed up and go out with the girls. I've done the West Hollywood Parade and last year got to see the madness of a NYC parade. This year I had a low weekend. Went to grab a couple drinks with my girlfriend last night and tonight I cooked turkey chili and cornbread and handed out candy at my parent's house. Saw some fun costumes but this year I didn't really feel like putting much time/effort into a costume and crazy plans. Maybe next year!
verrrrry easy indian DIY costume...basically just cut up a sheet and shredded the edges & tied them together.
^^^with Carlos from the Hangover :) laughs with Melissa // my Dad & Pedro handing out candy to kiddos
Glad I took this weekend easy.... now it's time to get ready for the month of November.... my best friend is moving back to LA and she'll be here this week. Going away for the weekend with my girlfriends for my bday. Either Vegas or Palm Springs and both will be in the upper 80s. Very excited to hit the pool! There are a lot of November babies in my group of friends so it's going to be a month of celebration. I also have a $450 jetblue credit to use by the end of the month. Where should I go?! I can't decide.
Hope everyone had a good holiday. Have a good work week! Excited, I already have Friday off. yay!
This month was my birthday month. My birth DAY is November 9 but it was 11/9 all month :) it was an insane whirlwind of fun and madness and emotion. I was fired on the 3rd day of the month and proceeded to have 2 days of depression, until my best friend flew in from North Carolina and I was forced to put it aside in my mind.
the coolest bar in brooklyn, where you win tickets for free beers!
Then, my old job asked me to fly home to LA to help them with a huge, crazy Neiman Marcus order. So the day after my birthday Eric dropped me off at JFK at 5AM and I had a day to hang out with my dog, lunch with my parents, and trek 2 hours with Melissa to see 311 on their fall tour opener. I saw a lot of old friends at that show, celebrated Mel and I's mutual birthday week... just had a ridiculous amount of fun.
The next day it was back to work and I crammed in long days and got tons and tons of stuff done. I finished my work load and didn't have to work Saturday so Friday night I went to see my Lojic boys. It was a great show, great bar, great night. The next night we went out in Long Beach for my sister's boyfriend's sister's birthday (a grand family affair) that ended with a late night stop at Wockano.
Sunday was my cousin's baby shower, which I was very happy to be in town for. Got to hang with the family and the kids and eat some crazy good food and play the rice, tp and all the other random games.
That rounded out the middle of November... I didn't do much the other days I was in town other than work. Flew back to NYC on the 20th and I'll blog about that week tomorrow :)
I am very excited. Right now, he is doing his part to heal and get back on track, and I am also taking steps and doing my part. I've been going to Al-anon for a few weeks and I really am responding well to it. I feel bad because I am not going as much as I would like to. I make excuses and make plans but at least I know I am doing what I can. I have to do that for us, but I also have to take care of me. I have to keep living my life.
The last meeting I went to really hit me hard, in a positive way. The theme was Slogans. You know them, "let go and let god," "one day at a time," "first things first," "live and let live," "this too shall pass." Some of them are cheesy as hell, but when someone said the last one out loud, it hit me like bricks.
No secret that I am a super-311 fan. They have a song called This Too Shall Pass and their entire message is based around being positive and simple similar slogans. "Stay positive and love your life," "do what thou wilt," "from chaos comes clarity" and longer quotes, "if there's a shadow in your life than there's sunshine," etc.
I realized this all starts with me. I need to change my outlook, I am doing my best. I already have some good stepping stones, but I have a lot to do. It was someone's 20th Al-anon birthday that week and everything she said meant a lot to me. It's healing to hear that this helps and this works for other people. I carry a lot of anger and negativity and react a lot. I need to find peace with myself and change the way that I respond. People hold a lot of negativity and anger in their hearts and that's something I really honestly try to steer away from, but it's really hard for me to just ignore it when it's constantly in my face.
So, here's to doing my best. Meetings are good but I am also happy to have 311 such a huge role in my life, the positivity, my friends who are like family... "I've got a clique but it's more like a family" I mean, there's not much else I could ask for. The rest has to come from me :)
It's also meant a lot to me to share what I am going through and have friends and acquaintances reach out to me. That's what the program is all about and that means so much to me. It's really a blessing.
I have a great family. A great bigfamily. They are the big part of what makes it hard when I think of picking up and moving away from here. (again...) But distance only makes the heart grow fonder, right?
My grandma is a cutie pie. I adore her. She is so sweet and innocent. My mom always says she is like a little girl, because she is easily excitable and she talks too much. (which I don't really mind...) But I just love her so much, I love being around her and listening to her tell stories and saying "Hi" to her over and over (which is something annoying Eric and I also do).
Well, my precious grandma is spending the night at the hospital tonight :( I am hoping/praying it is nothing serious. I went to see her at the ER and she was just herself... chatting up a storm and joking as usual. They made her drink this huge jug of water and she joked with the nurse (which was lost in translation but my mom and I still grinned.) For example, she had 4 hours to drink this huge jug and she asked if she could drink 4 cups instead. And then she asked me and my mom to help her finish it... I would do any of those things to help her if it would make her feel better. I really wish I'd stayed with her tonight. I just know going to work early and hopefully leaving early was a wiser choice. I can't say better, because what is better than being there for my loving beautiful lady? I hope she knows she is all I am thinking about.
These are the moments I need my man the most. I just want to lay here and be comforted and loved and held... it hurt so terribly to see my gma in pain when we left. I am praying that tonight is not too awful for her. I am going to try to sleep so I can head in early, finish my work and hopefully head back to her as soon as I can. No pictures, maybe I'll edit and share one later but I don't want to start crying again. Send your positivity and loving thoughts to my lady, plz.
California girl, born and raised. Making a career in making jewelry inspired by anything and everything, and completely devoted to music. Being at a show is my happy place :)
