UNDER CONSTRUCTION

So I've decided to put some life back into this blog...

I've revived my passion for photography...and it's time to stop hiding behind my alter ego, "Ryree"

Stay tuned...this is going to get exciting!

Hello There, New Furniture

I decided to take the camera out and at least attempt to capture my move. I actually unpacked most of my boxes! It's a great achievement, really. This was the key chain the gave me when I picked up my keys.

This weekend was a success! I knew I had to go to IKEA to get some starter furniture, so I made sure to search their website before going. If I didn't know that, I would have been all over the place. I knew I had to go in there with a plan of attack. I had an idea of what I wanted to buy, I knew the color wood I was looking for, and I had a list of specific items with product name and bin number (yes, they give you that information online!). I wrote it all in my handy dandy moving notebook. :)

Once at IKEA, I reach in my purse for my notebook, and realize I left it on my coffee table (a.k.a. plastic storage Tupperware thingy). But I wasn't worried because I remembered the color and somewhat remembered the items I wanted to see.

I came out a winner!! Got myself a new side table, coffee table (a real one!), and a kick-ass TV stand. I also got a few other things. You know that area after the show rooms and before the self-serve area? Where they have all the fun stuff to shop for? Yeah, I got myself a few kitchen supplies, wall decals, and a few other things.

I leave you all with a picture of these cute little chocolate truffles I scarfed down the other night. I got them as a gift for my birthday. Aren't they cute?!

I'm Home!

That's right ladies and gents, I'm officially moved in and it feels great! I wish had some pictures to share, but I didn't take any. I was too busy packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking. It's such a relief to be done with the big stuff. I still have some unpacking to do but I'm pretty much settled in.

Things I learned over the past couple days:

1. Just because you buy an HD Television, doesn't mean you have HD cable.
   
2. You'll get charged a $30.00 fee, plus $4.00 a gallon for gas IF you don't refill the U-Haul gas tank. Thank goodness for the kind employees at U-Haul for letting me take the truck back to fill it up, saving me the fee plus ridic price for a gallon!
3. Have an internet network name ready before the internet/cable guy comes. Otherwise, you'll be sitting there for tens of minutes trying to figure out a clever name and all he'll be thinking is how much of a fool you are.
4. Make sure you know where to throw the garbage and recycling.
5. Boxes make great interim tables!

Stay tuned for more lessons learned!

Break Time a.k.a. Procastinating

I've dedicated today to all things packing. I've packed a box here and there, but today everything should be done. I've been anticipating my move weekend for a while now, and now it's quickly approaching. I have a business trip to go to before my move, hence the need to pack everything now so I don't need to worry about it when I get back.

I've settled my cable/internet issue! I was so frustrated that I just made up my mind to get Comcast. I was all excited when I was filling out my information and then I ran into a problem that blew my mind. Apparently, Comcast does not service my area. What?! I couldn't believe and I had to call for a serviceability request. A day later, the confirmed that they don't service my building. Aren't they one of the biggest, if not the biggest, cable provider?! Anywho, I ended up signing up for Astound, which is a local cable provider. I'll have to get used to the channels because I'm used the Comcast channel numbers, but Astound is cheaper than Comcast and it's not like I'll get a lesser quality of the networks.

I still have to get a U-Haul. Buy a TV and buy a sofa in the next week. Ambitious of me huh? Of maybe incredibly dumb for getting all the 'big stuff' at once. That's just how I am though. I hate having to wait for things. I want everything in my new place right when I move. That's going to cause a major dent in my bank account. Probably more like a collision.

I still need to make an IKEA trip too, because, well, it's required. You always have to do an IKEA trip when moving. Regardless if you need something or not. I like looking at the showrooms for ideas. IKEA can wait a couple weeks though.

The buzzer of the dryer marks the end of my break time. My next post might be from the comfort of my new place, stay tuned!

www.internetisexpensive.com

About a month since my last post. How wonderful of me, aye? I do have a valid excuse, a few of them to be exact. I've been really busy and out of town a lot. But I won't get into that.

I'm a bit frustrated. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm moving. In preparation for this big move, I've been researching cable and internet service. Can someone please explain why it's so darn expensive? I've already decided that I don't need a telephone line since I already use my cell phone as my main number. I've come to accept the price for cable, although I do think it would be better if we can pick and choose what channels we want and pay for those only, but I digress. Internet. The service provider I've been looking at charges a monthly charge. Okay I get it. But in order to actually get internet, you need a modem AND a wireless router? They charge you a monthly charge if you decide to use their equipment or you spend hella money to buy your own. I just don't get it. You'd think that would have some easier way (cheaper way) to connect to the internet now a days.

So, thinking I was clever, I thought I could skip the whole internet service for my new place and just get a internet card, since I only have a laptop anyways. I've seen people use those to connect to the internet from airports, cafes, etc. So why couldn't I use it to connect at home? So I go home and start researching. I'm left even more confused. I guess it's easier to get one of those internet/wireless cards for PC laptops. I have a Macbook Pro and kept coming across this thing called "expresscard." Then I read that the 13" aren't equipped with an expresscard slot. Hmph! There has to be a way to get some kind of internet card/express card for the 13" now, right?!

All I want is some (cheap) way to connect to the internet. I just have one lil ol' laptop...what in the world am I going to do?!

Does anyone out there have any suggestions? I'm so lost!

I'm Moving!!

I'm just way too excited to think of a witty title for this blog. Oh well...I'm moving! This is one goal that I've had on my to-do list for some time now. One thing that hindered this was the idea of saving a certain amount of money before I move. What did I gain from that? Nothing, really. The idea seems valid and doable, but the reality is that it doesn't work for me. Yes, my rent at home should have allowed me to crank up my savings in the past few years, but instead I indulged in mini-vacations, shopping, eating out, etc. It's actually kind of sad to think about all the money that goes into entertainment and leisure. Oh well, can't turn back time, I can only look forward to what's ahead.

And ahead of me is my first apartment! It's a very exciting time. Well over-due, some may say. It definitely feels like the right decision and I couldn't be more excited. I was actually planning on a June move date. A couple of nights ago, I was browsing the apartment postings on craigslist, I actually have been doing that often. I figured that if I keep the idea of moving active in my mind, it would keep me motivated to make it happen and finally stop pushing it back. Since this is my first apartment, I really didn't know what to look for and what was considered a good deal. So, of course, I always consult my big sissie Share-Bare. She's moved enough times to be considered an expert on apartments! So as I was searching on craigslist, I found this one posting from this one particular property that I've been debating. This move-in special was one I couldn't resist, and when I ran it past Share, she agreed.

The next day I gave them a call and set up an appointment to see the unit. I brought Share with me and we spoke to the Leasing Specialist and she gave us a tour. To add on to the great move-in special, it is in an ideal location for me. On our way back to the leasing office, Share tells me to do it, which was exactly what I was thinking. So that same day, I filled out the paperwork and gave the security deposit.

I still have about a month and a half until I actually move in, which is a month earlier than I originally planned, but it feels right. My mom is totally getting into it too, which I was hoping she would. She's already planning what I need for my kitchen. I need that because I don't know where to start! I started making lists of what I already have and what I need, but if I think about it too much, I start to feel overwhelmed. Which is what happened right before I started this blog entry. I was browsing online for sofas, and then realized that I don't know what color scheme I want. So I started looking up swatches, but then the colors I want won't go with the furniture I already have. And then I went back to looking for sofas...so I stopped and went to blogger.com.

This is definitely going to be a new adventure for me and I'll be sure to keep this updated with the ups and downs of how things are going. Ahhhhh I still can't believe it's finally happening!

Random Ramble: Part 3

I've been MIA! I really don't have a good reason for it, but it happened. A week turned into two, and so on . Well that's it from me!

Just kidding...I plan to have a few good posts (or at least I hope they're good) in April, so please stay tuned. I've been neglecting my camera, so I plan to try to get back into that and share a few shots. I invested the money in that equipment, so I should use it, get more experience, and get better, right? Right.

I am currently working on a project that is pretty fun. I'm making a movie on iMovie of our family trip to the Philippines last March. Yeah, I know...I'm a year late. But hey! It's not my fault, I didn't have any way to connect my camcorder to my laptop. Don't expect any award winning short films from me, that's not my forte, but if you want a kick-ass slide show or have family videos that need to be put down on DVD, I'm your girl.

The Chronicles of The Ride Home: Volume I

My passengers: Mom, Janelle (age 5), and Tates (age 4).

Tates: You know, my mommy let me and mama go to nanay's house and I fell.
Me: Hahahaha... (i like to mess with her)
Tates: Thas not funny!
Janelle: Teachers say you shouldn't make fun of children.
Me: Well it's a good thing I'm not a teacher. Muahahahahah....
Janelle: You should make good choices.
Me: I do make good choices. That's why I don't have children. Buahahaha....
Janelle: That's not funny...

Sugarpill...you know you want try it...

The first time I heard about Sugarpill cosmetics was on YouTube while watching one of my new favorite make-up gurus, JazzieBabyCakes. Before I go on, I have to say that JazzieBabyCakes is so freaken awesome. She's so talented and I love the way she does her make-up. Check her out!

So JazzieBabyCakes did a review on Sugarpill cosmetics and I got curious. So I found the website and it appealed to me instantly. I'm a visual person, so I liked the vibrant colors and bold style. After browsing the products and reading some reviews, I was hooked. The reviews that I did read said that the colors were very pigmented, which I like! I mean, who doesn't like bright and dynamic colors?!

I really didn't need to buy more make-up, but when I saw that this cosmetic line just launched in February 2010 AND she was based in Oakland, CA, I knew I had to buy something. I mean, I have to support a fellow Bay Area resident. I placed my order on March 2nd and it showed up on my doorstep today. I packaging was cute! I loved how Amy personally signed the packaging slip and threw in a decal.



I don't own any loose eyeshadows, so that's what I decided to get. I bought Decora (the pink one) and Magpie (the blue one).
Another thing that I've been into lately is glitterly/shimmery (remember My Private Jet OPI nail color?...loved it!). I wanted to try it out right away, so I played around with Decora. I have a few pink shadows that are slightly lighter than this one. But the reason I don't really use them is because the color doesn't really show as I hoped it would. The reviews I read on Sugarpill were right, the color was way more pigmented and I was happy with how the color turned out.

I'm excited to actually put this on both eyes (HAH!) and wear it out, instead of just one eye before I go to bed. My first experience with Sugarpill and loose eyeshadow was a success. I'd definitely recommend this brand to others.

Spinning vs. Me....

Spring is just around the corner and I've got a few trips coming up. I'm a few months behind in my goal to get fit and lose weight. I just haven't been motivated, my fault, really. I've actually avoided weighing myself because I knew there would be no difference from almost two months ago.

Well, this morning as I was waiting for the shower to heat up, I saw that little sucker in the corner collecting dust. Yeah, you know, the scale. I thought, "What the heck...mind as well." I hop on and low and behold, -8 lbs. Crazy, right?! That negative number was stuck in my head the whole day. I thought,"Well, maybe I remembered my January weight wrong." So I looked back and it was just as I remembered.

EatSmart Digital Bathroom Scale

You'd think I'd be more excited about this. But I have to remember that I was really sick during the month of January and I changed my diet a bit. So that's probably where the loss came from. Regardless, it was a great wake-up call and I told myself,"Why break the streak?"

Share asked me this afternoon to go to spin class with her. I've gone before and actually enjoyed it. It's been a few months since I last stepped into the gym, so I hesitated at first and didn't give her an answer. "Why break the streak?" So, finally I told her I would. We got there and I felt so tired and sluggish (I didn't even workout yet!). There was a small percentage of me that wanted to back out because I woke up not feeling well and had a sore throat. Sign that I am probably getting sick....again! But I sucked it up and went.

Oh my goodness, let me tell you, spinning kicked my @$$! I could not keep up, even with a sick instructor who wasn't even as tough as other spin instructors. My legs, arms, and @$$ (I forgot how much those bike seats hurt!!!) were killing me not even halfway through the class.

I won't let this discourage me. Even though I did lose a couple lbs. doesn't mean I'm fit or healthy. Tonight's spin class proved to me that I am truly out of shape (like I didn't know that already). Once I got home, I plopped myself on my bed and didn't want to move for the entire episode of The Deep End and Grey's Anatomy. Let's see how Turbo Kick Boxing and Zumba treat me!

Savings!

I really just can't get enough of FRIENDS. It's one of my all time favorite shows. I love watching the re-runs, and I still find myself cracking up! They are just too funny. Tonight's episode, Ross had some important event and none of the friends were ready to go. The funniest part of the episode is when Chandler and Joey fight over the chair.

Chandler was sitting on the chair first, then gets up to go to the bathroom. When he comes back, he sees Joey sitting in the chair he just deserted. They argue about it, Chandler hides Joey's underwear, Joey wears all Chandler's clothes, Joey takes the essence of the chair (the cushions, duh!). It was just too funny.

It reminded me of my childhood. No, no one hid my underwear and no one wore all my clothes! When I was little, whenever we left a chair we intended to return to, we always said "Savings!" And that was that...no one could touch that seat. And if someone did, we argued, "But I said 'savings!" It's funny how we made that the rule that everyone had to obey. 20 and some odd years later and we still use that magic word and it works.

Random Ramble: Part 2

I actually sat down yesterday and planned to blog about....something....anything. I looked over a couple of drafts that I started, but never finished and, well, deleted them, except for one. There is one draft sitting in my Edit Posts tab that I'm still holding on to. To be honest, I don't have the balls to post it yet. Maybe soon....maybe.

So as I sat there, I just couldn't think of anything blog-worthy. I have had a couple little things in mind, but nothing that deserved its own entry. You like how seriously I take this? Haha...as you can see from my other posts, not serious at all. I guess I was just in one of those moods yesterday. So I just read some of the blogs I follow and logged out.

I sit here again thinking of what to blog about and thought I'd do another installment of a random ramble, I mean hey, that's all I've been doing on this entry so far, right? I'm all about consistency.

If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a fan of the Kardashians. I was at Sephora this past weekend with my mom and sister. When we entered the store, we all went our separate ways. I, for once, steered clear of the make-up and went to the perfume section. I've been meaning to find a new scent since I'm all out of my Juicy and L.A.M.B. perfumes. As I walked up and down the perfume aisle/wall, my mom and sister come up to me and asked if I found Kim's new perfume yet. Funny how they knew I was looking for that exact scent! I know she just launched it at the Sephora in NYC, so I was hoping it'd be there. I don't know if I would have bought it (probably though), but I am very curious to smell it.

For my fellow Catholics, yesterday marked the first day of Lent. This is the time to reflect, sacrifice, and make new resolutions. I won't go into my beliefs too much, but I did want to share one of the things I gave up this year. One thing I gave up is meat. 40 days (or 39 as of today) of no beef, chicken, pork. One question that comes to mind is, "Is seafood meat?" I mean, I've never considered it meat since we can still eat fish on Fridays. But isn't it still meat?

Finally, I was on perezhilton.com and saw this adorable video of this 3-year-old crying over Justin Bieber. haha...I feel just sorry for her future boyfriend...just kidding (kind of), she's too cute! Check her out here!

Loving My Private Jet

Of course I don't have my own flying aircraft. One of my guilty pleasures...well not even guilty because I'm not ashamed...is my love for reality television. It's great entertainment! One of the shows I follow regularly is Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Great show, right?!

How many of you remember that episode where Kim 'finds' the chihuahua on the street? Well, when she finds that pup, she walks into a nail salon and asks them if they had OPI's My Private Jet. Me and my sister were really curious to know what color that was. Who really knows why we were so intrigued. I mean, it's only nail polish right? And if you really think about it, it was probably just an advertisement plug. Regardless...it worked and we wanted to know what nail color Kim was looking for! haha!

I haven't gotten my nails done in a while. Well, lately I've just been painting them myself. Now that I'm trying to be more aware of how I spend my money, getting my nails done just seemed like a waste of money. But sometimes a girl just needs to pamper herself and the other day I had some time to kill before going out. I drove to the small, local nail place near my work that I've gone to in the past. It's your typical asian owned place where they do manicure, pedicure, haircut, and wax. Those places are usually really cheap and get the job done.

I walked in and they were pretty busy with ladies getting their nails did. So they told me to wait a little bit and pick my color. I was in the mood for a dark grey/gun metal type color. Out of the 100+ colors they had on the wall, I could not find the one that fit my mood! It was quite upsetting. So then I started looking for something dark but with a metallic or glittery flare. I had a couple colors in my hand, but then saw this brownish/greyish color that had glitter. It looked brand new, so I picked it up and looked on the bottom. Yes. I'm sure you've guessed...it was OPI's My Private Jet! It was meant to be. I love the color. She did two coats, but now I kind of wish she did three.

Here's what it looks like. It's lighter in person. Isn't it kick-ass? I am slightly disappointed because I felt like Kelly (my nail lady) was rushing, and after closer inspection from these pictures, I can see som messy spots. Oh well...life goes on...(if you know me then you know what the next line is..hehe)...

Surfing the Internet Waves

My earliest recollection of the computer is the one my family had. I believe it was an Apple computer, with the rainbow colored logo. I remember the black screen with the green images. I didn't have any use for computers back then, except to make those kick-ass dot matrix paper banners that were heavily pixelated. You better believe that every birthday party we threw had one of these banners hanging in the house. With the image of a birthday cake on either side of the "Happy Birthday" text.
Fast forward a few years to the AOL days. I was probably in middle school when we first got dial-up AOL internet. It was the best thing ever. I got to see my friends for 7-8 hours during school, talk to them on the phone when I got home, and then chat with them online for the rest of the night! AOL chat rooms started online dating! Because it was new, no one (at least not me or my friends) worried about crazy people out there, and I have to admit that I've met up with people I've met in those chat rooms. It was completely harmless, and we were just bored and met up at the mall or something. Don't tell my mom! haha...
I probably spend way too much time on the computer/internet. But it's nothing I am thinking of giving up. I'm on the computer the entire day at work, and if I'm at home, then I'll probably be online or my laptop will be on for some reason. You'd think that 8 hours would be enough, but there's always something to look up, right?

I am taking a night class this semester and I got to class a little early one night. I sat in front of the computer and it was an automatic reaction for me to open up Mozilla. Once the page loaded, I sat there thinking, "What website am I going to go to?" And a few of my usual websites popped into my head, such as Facebook, Blogger, Perezhilton, D Listed, work email (I know...).

I visited each of them briefly and nothing was updated since the last time I checked, which was maybe 2 hours prior to me getting to class. Which got me thinking, "Why do I feel so compelled to be online all the time, to check my usual websites a few times a day, waiting for something to be updated or new information to be posted?" Then I mentally put my foot down and thougt I should really just close the browser and just sit back and maybe meet some people in my class. So I did. I clicked on the red 'x' on the upper left hand corner, pushed the keyboard away and took my hand off the mouse. I looked around at the other early birds and saw that they were all in a trance in front of their own computers.

What thought came to mind next?

"Ahh, fcuk it, I'm gonna play Bejeweled." haha!

I know we live in a digital age, and I'm glad we do! I do agree that it takes over a significant amount of time that I'll never get back, but, hey, 'everyone else is doing it...' haha!

Reason #3 to Watch the Super Bowl

Before I go into the third reason to watch the Super Bowl, I thought I'd share the first two reasons just for consecutive order's sake.

Reason #1: Football players are so freaken hot! I've had a thing for football players since high school, which is the reason I became a fan of the sport. Out of all the professional athletes out there, football players are definitely the best eye candy.

Reason #2: Is a follow-up to reason #1, I'm a fan of the sport! I just find it exciting and it's fun to watch games live or on T.V. It's easy to follow, and even if you don't know all the flags or penalties mean, you can still figure out what's going on.

And now Reason #3: The commercials.

I was very unimpressed with this years commercials. There can be numerous reasons for that. I hear that Pepsi chose not to buy any airtime this year and instead will use that money to help those in need. The economy is still in the shit-hole, so that may be another reason people didn't put much of an investment into Super Bowl commercials. In any case, I do have two favorites this year.

The first one is the Google commercial. When I was actually watching it for the first time on T.V., I didn't get it because I wasn't really paying attention. But I saw all the buzz on Facebook about this, so I YouTube'd it. It's so cute! Check it out below:



The second one is the Bud Light T-Pain Auto Tune one. HAHA! Absolutely high-larious!

Random Ramble

I don't really have a specific topic for this entry, not because I don't have any ideas. I always have ideas and topics waiting in the queue. Why don't I pick one of them? Eh, another time when I'm in the zone. You know which zone...yeah, that zone. heh...

Let me officially congratulate the New Orleans Saints for their first Superbowl win in their franchise history! I was rooting for you guys, love it when the underdogs prove everyone wrong. Boo-yeah! To be honest, I'm not a Colts or Saints fan, but of the two, I, of course hoped for the Saints. Great win for this team, but...not an exciting game. I believe there was only one interception the entire game, which was by Saint's Tracy Porter. That was one of the very few times I got up and cheered. Congratulations again and now the waiting game for the next football season.

I've recently added Google Analytics to this blog and let me tell you, it's so much fun! I use Google Analytics for work to track website traffic and to get metrics. But it's simply for fun and curiosity for this blog. My sister Share uses StatCounter.com (which I've used in the past but I'm trying to get the hang of Google Analytics) and she tells me that her top search words in search engines are "match.com etiquette." Try it out on Google.com and you'll find her blog as the second search result. So in the month or so that I've had GA installed, I've had two visitors that came to my blog from a search engine. And what did they search, you may be thinking? The first one was "don't wake, when i'm dreaming, california dreams just let me lay out in the sun" and the second one was "don't wake me up california dreams blogspot." Funny, right?! I mean, how many of you guys are California Dreams fans? I'm not ashamed to admit that I watched that show. Another interesting fact is that they are both international. One of them is from Saint Kitts and Nevis (I never knew this place existed until I Googled it) and the other one is from Japan. So thank you my international California Dreams fans for stopping by! Greatly appreciate it :) Feel free to stop by again.

I dedicate this video to you both! Enjoy :)

Grammy's at its Best...and Worst

The Grammy's is probably my favorite awards show. It would either be that or the MTV Music and/or Movie awards. Celebrities just seem more laid back and are ready to have fun during those three award ceremonies. I, and over 25 million other people, tuned in to Sunday nights Grammy's and I was well entertained.

Although I missed Lady Gaga's opening performance, I was able to catch it on the ever so reliable youtube.com. She doesn't disappoint. I always to expect a great show from her, I semi-wanted to go to her concert when she was in town, but didn't. Heard it was fab though!

I'm not going to comment on every performance, but I do have a comment for a few of them.

• P!nk: I totally respect you as an artist. I wasn't a big fan of yours up until I went to the Britney Spears concert and you did your acrobatics thing. Totally cool and I was very impressed. Then you performed "Sober" at the 2009 Video Music Awards on MTV. Love that song and again, totally impressed with your acrobatic skills. Then you preformed "Have You Ever" at last night's Grammy's and tried to dazzle us with the acrobatics yet again...it's getting kind of old. We get you are flexible and strong...and you can sing at the same time as hanging from a piece of cloth. But you have to give us something new! Time to step it up!
• Beyonce: I really enjoyed your performance, it was probably my favorite of the night, but don't get why you got so nervous while accepting your award. You even say,"I'm sorry, I'm nervous." BUT...after googling, I saw that you picked up six awards last night, which is a record for a female artist. So I'm going to overlook that. Congrats, girl!
• Taylor Swift: You are still one of my faves! I'm still a fan of your Fearless album and think you're the sweetest and most humble young artist out there. I heard a lot of people saying you were way off pitch last night, and I have to agree. But! I wasn't a fan of yours because you're the greatest singer (that's not an insult, I promise), but I respect that you write your own songs, play a few instruments, and seem like a genuinely nice person who doesn't let fame get to you. I heart Taylor Swift!
  

My vote for worst dress is (drum roll please): Jennifer Hudson. The black tights are not kickin' it for me. Without it...it would've worked! Maybe I'm being too hard on her, I mean, I think it's flattering on her it's just that the tights are throwing me off. And she looks so good for just having a baby! So I'll take my vote back and give it to...

Photo courtesy of CoCoPerez.com

...Ciara. Girrrrrrl...what were you thinking?! I'm so confused by the whole thing!

Photo courtesy of americansuperstarmag.com

My vote for best dress goes to...*gasp*...it's a tie! This award goes to both Rihanna and Lea Michele of Glee!!! *applause* Both ladies look fab-u-lous! I wish I could look this good :)

Photo courtesy of CoCoPerez.com

Photo courtesy of gofugyourself.celebuzz.com

Wake-Up to Make-Up

Once upon a time, I was a morning person. I'd love waking up early, getting ready, and would always be one of the first people at school. That was a long time ago...

Now, you'd be putting yourself at risk if you try to wake me up in the morning. In the past, I'd kick myself for sleeping in until 10 am on weekends, because half the day was practically wasted! But now I just can't get enough...I do, however, avoid naps during the day, that's where I draw the line.

With the loss of 'getting ready' time in the morning, I've found some short cuts and routines that help me 'catch-up' with time. One, in particular and the reason for this entry, is my make-up routine.

Make-up is one of my favorite things, so I really try not to skip that step in the morning. I'm a sucker for Limited Edition MAC pallets, so I have quite a few of them. So going through each of them trying to figure out what colors I want to use and which brushes and how I want to wear them can take some time, believe it or not. So to save some of the few precious minutes I have in the morning, I've chosen to stick to one make-up look for weekdays. It saves me time and the more and more I do it, the faster I get.

Disclaimer: I'm in no way a professional, nor do I claim to be one. I just know what I like and like to experiment with make-up! Take this as it is...

I'm always in search of a good eyeshadow primer. What I find that works best in my morning routine is MAC's Cash Flow Paint Pot. It goes well with the eyeshadow colors I use and I like that it adds a gold shimmery hint.

And these are the four colors I use. As you can see, all neutral colors so it goes with all outfits. I put Mulch (the darkest MAC) on my lid, Mocha (Motives from Pure Blendz) on the corner, Kid (the lighter brown MAC)blended on the crease, and then finally Rose Blanc as the brow highlight.

And then I top it all off with MAC Black Track Fluidline. This is one of my favorites, I absolutely love this eyeliner. If I'm super late and I have to skip they eye shadow part of my routine, then I'll simply just slap on some black eyeliner.

As you might have noticed, all (with the exception of the Motives shadow) is MAC. I have other brands, but I just really love MAC's eye shadows. :)

Cheers to morning routines that help us save time!

Project 365: Fail!

Surprise, surprise. Although I wish I could capture memory in a photograph everyday this year, but ever since I've been on a hiatus from photography, it's just been hard to keep up with this project. Oh well...it was a nice thought but I'm completely fine with letting this goal off the hook. But never fear, I have a few BIG goals this year that I plan to share...but not right now ;-). Stay tuned...

So speaking of my hiatus from photography, I've been starting to really miss it! There isn't one reason why I took a break, it kind of just happened. One of my excuses is that I don't have a proper photo editing program on my MacBook Pro. I'm still planning to buy Photoshop CS4, but as you know and as I've mentioned in a previous blog, it's so darn expensive! As much as I love taking photos, editing is the icing on the cake for me. Graphic design is so much fun and even funner when you get to work with your own...work.

I kind of wish I realized my passion back in college. But it's never to late, I suppose. I'm still following my dream and, although it's a slow process since I work full-time, am continuing my graphic design certificate program.

Go Go Gadget...GO!

One of my cousins recently commented on my obsession with gadgets. To be exact, she said, "I never noticed that you are gadget-y(I had to add the "-[dash] y" because it just didn' t look right as "gadgety") for a girl." Apparently, the only people who can be gadget-obsessed are males! haha...I kid, I kid.

I wouldn't say I'm the most gadget-y female out there, but I do like to keep up with the times. Although, keeping up with the times can do a number on my debit card. My most recent buy was a Kindle 2. Love, love, love it! The company I work for got a sweet discount, so I just HAD to. That same cousin I mentioned just got the Nook and we compared the two. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, they are both digital readers. Kindle is through Amazon and the Nook is through Barnes and Noble. We are both happy with what we have, but I like the fact that the Nook shows the colored book covers on the bottom touch screen, as opposed to a list of book titles in the reading screen of the Kindle 2. I'm a more visual person so that appeals to me. Another more obvious difference is the Kindle 2 is WAY lighter than the Nook.

A couple months ago I made the switch from PC to Mac. I've actually worked on both, but 80% of the time on a PC. So I traded my Sony VAIO CR-Series Valentine Edition laptop for a MacBook Pro. I love it and haven't regretted the change. Except for the fact that my Adobe CS3 programs are PC versions!!!!!! I know, tragic, right?! I do plan to purchase the Adobe CS4 creative suite for the Mac, but as you know (or maybe you don't), they are so freaken expensive! I haven't been able to edit photos...I'm Photoshop deprived right now. I'm hoping in the next month or two I'll be back in action. Did you want to make a donation?!?! No? Yeah, I figured...well enjoy two photos to Project 365...
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PROJECT 365

01-07-10
I must say, this is an absolute first for me. On this day, I received my first bouquet of used flowers. That's right, I said "used." Haha...it was actually a very sweet gesture. On of my colleagues got promoted this week and she received said flowers as a 'congratulations.' Well, being it was Thursday and she was going to leave on Friday for a long weekend, no one would be around to enjoy the pretty-ness of the flowers. So she left them with me to enjoy. Told you, sweet, right?


























01-08-10
Apparently, my mother has turned me into the bad guy! She calls me to punish my nieces when they are bad (of course when their mother isn't around) instead of punishing them herself. I'm sure you all recognize Tates. She got in trouble, by me, today. What did she do? Well, in her words, she "stole my sistahs bind-a (aka binder) and punch ha (aka her) in ha back." Her punshiment was to sit in her chair and face the wall. Look at her chillin with her legs crossed like she's grown! This one...she's trouble...lol!

Project 365...and GO!

I want to thank wedding photographer Catie Ronquillo for the inspiration for this fun project!

I first read about Project 365 from her blog and thought it was such a cool idea, and left it at that. Earlier today I was on Facebook and saw that another person was participating in this project as well and figured it was a sign that I, too, should partake.

So what's my mission that I choose to accept? I shall take a picture everyday this year and post it right here on my blog! I'm a few days late, so I don't have one for all 6 days, but I'm letting myself off the hook for those. But from this day on, I will not miss a day!

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January 1, 2010
I'd like to introduce you to Time, the absolutely-best-game-ever-at-the-moment. Okay, okay, it's not called Time, it's official name is Tangram Master. Me and my family put a new spin on this classic game by racing to complete the puzzle and the first one to finish yells out, "TIME!" heh..get it?

























January 4, 2010
Sticky fingers herself! Literally, sticky fingers. No matter how many times I tell her not to touch my things, she never listens. This is her "Yeah, I'm touching your laptop and not even trying to hide it" look.
























January 5, 2010
As you might have read from my previous entry, I talked about the Kat Von D make-up I got for Christmas. I only showed the eyeshadow pallet I got, so now I'd like to present the Underage Red lipstick! Isn't it gorgeous?! I like it because it isn't wet or glossy looking and doesn't come off easily. Like a matte stain...FAB!!!



































January 6, 2010
And finally today...it's from my phone and is a bit blurry because my subject was moving. There's a story behind every picture, and this one was me being random and silly. I had to pick my mom up today from Share's apartment. So Share told me to BBM her right when mother gets in my car. I thought it was a ridiculous request, and so instead of BBMing her, I took a picture of my mom right when she got in my car and sent it to Share. Happy? She's in my car!

There you are, 2010!

Happy new year! It's been quite some time since I've blogged, hasn't it? Now, I could have my first entry be about my new years resolutions, but I haven't decided yet if I want to share those. So instead, I want to show off one of the Christmas gifts I got from my sister, Share (you can check her out at Share's Tabo List)! There is kind of a story behind it, that I'm a bit embarrassed to share, but here it goes anyways.

I like to watch make-up tutorials on youtube.com (that's not the embarrassing part!), and one night I randomly came across this one chick's channel. She's 16 years old, and after I watched one of her videos, I was just annoyed! They way she talks, her expressions, everything! But (the embarrassing part), I kept watching her videos. Like, she's so annoying that it's kind of entertaining and I actually now subscribe to her channel. So I watched a couple more and learned a thing or two! I love make-up and shopping for make-up, but there is so much out there, I never know which one to try. I watched her review on Kat Von D's make-up and I just had to have a pallet of my own! hah! So I put it on my wishlist and viola, I got it and LOVE IT.

Here's the pallet I got, Beethoven (also got the Underage Red lipstick):

Thank you JuicyStar07 a.k.a Blair.