My Weekend Excursion

          I know, I know a little late in the week to post my shenanigans from last week, but better late than never!  So at this point I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've been to NYC, especially now that my friend Yetti has moved there.  However, this past weekend I became a full fledged tourist.  I went up for the weekend to visit a relative who lived in Manhattan directly across from the Museum of Natural History (aka where Night at the Museum was filmed).  The place was immaculate.  I felt as though I was staying in a Museum myself. 

          It was a fun time in spite of my initial reserves filled with tons of laughs, great sites, lots of encounters with NYC's infamous critters, and even better company.  Some of my stops on the trip included the City Sight Tours (AKA the double decker tourist buses), Highline Park (thanks Yetti!), World Trade Center Construction site, Central Park and the Museum of Natural History.

          I'm beginning to like NYC a little more every time I visit.  Still would never live there (the Boston Pride in me wouldn't allow it, along with the price of living), but visiting is turning out to be more enjoyable than I had imagined.

          So before I go I will leave you with a fun fact that I learned on the trip.  Mayor Bloomberg who is currently the richest New Yorker valued at $12 Billion, is actually a Boston Native.

Boom! Gotta love my City.

Birthday Weekend = Major Success!

          Its Tuesday, and ever since yesterday I've been kind of in a funk.  Could be a number of things, but I just have to remind myself that I have soooooo much to be thankful for.  I was reminded of that when I read this in my email this morning...

"To allow the Universe to move you in your life to happier and better things, you are going to need to look around you and appreciate the good things here and now. Seek the beautiful things and count the blessings of where you are. Dissatisfaction will not bring the happier and the better into your life. Dissatisfaction roots you to the spot where you currently are, but appreciation for what you have attracts the happier and better to you.  Remember that you are a magnet! Appreciation attracts appreciation!"

                                                       -Rhonda Byrne of The Secret

          So with that being said I will let the memories from this past AMAZING birthday weekend bring me joy on this gloomy Tuesday morning.

          Yea that is only a little taste of all the awesomeness that ensued this weekend.  My friends did THE MOST for me and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. For all the love that I received from my friends and loved ones this past week and on a daily basis I thank you so much.  I'm deeply honored to have you all in my life. 

My Good Karma: Amazing Friends

         They say there is family that you are born with and family that you choose.  Well my chosen family are my friends.  This weekend was full of laughs, revelations, tears of both love and sadness, but most importantly tons of support. 

"IDK my BFF Rose": Yeah she's the twin I never had.  To say she's been a good friend would be the understatement of the year.  She's more like a sister who's been there through it all and help me in more ways than I can even describe.  I only hope I can give her half of what she's given me.  Though we may not talk everyday or see each other often, no matter how much time has passed we always pick up right where we left off.

My Worcester Team:  These are my go-to girls who always come through for me when I need to vent and let my hair down.  There's Shanice the best roomie/ friend I ever had.  Too many good times our Senior year to count and many more to come.  Then there's Yetti my positive motivation/business partner/ fitness inspiration.  I could go on and on but read her blog and you'll see why she's so amazing. Mik, probably the most carefree of them all and always comes through for me (and my little one) when I need her too.  And last but not least, Diva.  My love who gives the most honest and heartfelt advice when I'm down and reminds me so much of myself being sooooo ambitious with all the things she's involved in.

    

 

          I could go on about the many other amazing people in my life but I'll save them for later. 

LESSON OF THE DAY

Surround yourself with amazing people who uplift and make you better.  Their positivity is contagious.

I Vow to Make the Most out of My Weekends

          And that is exactly what I did.  I hung out with great people, did a little shopping, worked on some awesome stuff (stay tuned!), organized, cleaned and finished off the weekend with a little me time at the movies. 

          What did I see?  Well you may have gotten a hint from the title but I went and saw "The Vow".  Sappy love story it was indeed but it taught me a lot.  For one, when I do decide to get back into a relationship, I WILL NOT drag my boyfriend to see sad chic flicks with me.  There were a few solos in there with me but a lot of poor men were sitting there bored out of their minds while their girlfriends ooohed and awwwed with the rest of us.  Take something your man likes to watch that you can't stand, now imagine being forced to sit through it for 2 hours?  Yeah I didn't think you'd like it either.

          Second thing I learned was to go to an earlier show.  Disclaimer: I'm usually NOT a crier for movies unless an animal dies.  But since "The Notebook", I haven't been as tough when it comes to love stories.  That combined with my already vulnerable state, I became a ball of tears.  As soon as the credits started rolling I beelined to the exit.  Since I went to a 5:30 showing on Sunday, I had to cut through the crowded lobby trying to hide my running nose and bloodshot eyes.  Solution? Next time go to a early matinee so I don't have to do the walk of shame through a crowd.

LESSON OF THE DAY

          And the last thing I learned was from the movie itself.  It was a great reiteration of if its meant to be, it will find its way...on its own.  Don't force it, no matter how bad you want it because it just doesn't work out that way.  I won't spoil the movie for you but this probably made my top list of favorite movies because it was a realistic romance.  Definitely a must see in my book. 

Happy Wednesday People!

Retail Therapy

          Happy Tuesday Everyone.  Yea I know its Tuesday, but look at it like this, its only 3 days from the weekend...Superbowl weekend I might add :).  But anyways this past Friday I finally got my Huetiful Hair Steamer in the mail! (review coming soon..) and did some serious retail therapy.  Unfortunately since I've been in CT, whenever I'm bored I go poke around the mall and that usually ends in a dent in my bank account :/.

          So when I went to Brass Mills Shopping Center this week, it was no different.  Even though I didn't need any shea butter, I couldn't turn down the little Indian man's offer of $7 for a 16 oz tub (normally I would get a tiny little 4oz jar from Whole foods for the same price).  Anywho, I then made my way to H&M where I did some serious damage but luckily got a lot of stuff for cheap.  Frugalista at her best :)

          If your wondering how the shirt was free, they had a bogo deal on clearence items so when I bought the shoes I got the shirt free AND because my purchase was over $70, I got After H&M, I began my search to find a Patriots hoodie or Superbowl weekend.  Unfortunately CT thinks they are NY so there were only Giants stuff to be found.  I had to resort to getting one custom made at a little booth at another mall after searching every sporting good store in what felt like the entire state.  I actually really like it though :). 

          After my therapy session, my roommate and I hit the town and went to Hartford for the first time.  Great night filled with great new people and a perfect end to what was a very boring but opportunity filled week.  I ended the weekend off by going to Church.  It was my first time at a church outside of my family's and it was an experience, a good one though. 

          Maybe CT isn't as bad as I initially thought...

        

A Fresh Start...Again

          Random fact about me, I'm a big fan of fresh starts.  So to try and change my funk around I'm starting anew. My friends have been amazing in trying to lift my spirits and get my mind off of the negative and its about time I listen to them.  To be honest I don't know if I'm ready to fully get over everything that has been going on but I got to at least try and put forth a valiant effort. 

          So today marks the start of it.  I'm doing a mind, body, and soul detox of all the negative shit in my life.  It includes...

1.  Keeping up with my workouts, which have been very relaxing mentally

2.  Drinking half my body weight in ounces of water each day to help clean out my body

3.  Taking my vitamins, to help put the good stuff back in

4.  Sticking to a good eating plan free from red meats, processed meats, and making a conscious effort to reduce and eventually eliminate ALL artificial ingredients (sugars, flavors, colors, etc)

5.  Getting on a weekly schedule and keeping productive
6.  Setting at least 2 hours every week to just sit, breathe, reflect, and think. 

          All of Saturday I spent cleaning out my apt of all the junk.  I relaxed, reorganized my room and took in where I am in life right now.  Cleaning and reorganizing are definitely stress relievers for me.  Sunday I just sat.  Nothing special just sat, watched TV and waited until I became a cursing sailor as I watched the AFC and NFC championship games.  All went well after nearly collapsing from multiple heart attacks from the close game between the Ravens and my beloved Patriots.

           But I digress.  Here is my fresh start, and here is my plan to a "Happy, Healthier, more Positive" Q  :)

The Weekend

          And no I'm not talking about the Canadian Artist :), but my actual weekend.  Where do I even begin?  I guess I'll start with leaving work early Friday due to a major meltdown.  With everything going on in my life I just couldn't deal at that moment.  So I texted my friends (who have been amazing in keeping me distracted and great supports systems) and scheduled an emergency girls night and off I went to Worcester.  This time it was a success.  A night filled with bad eating and tons of youtube shenanigans which included learning how to twerk from the Twerk Team and hip hop routines from one of Diddy's choreographers lol.  It was just what I needed to take my mind off of things.

          But Saturday was the star of it all.  What started off as a quick trip to Lush with Yetti to pick up my first supply of henna for my hair (updates to come next week) ended as a mini spa/shopping spree.  While bad for my wallet, it was good for my spirit :).  But the main event of the day was putting my body through hell as I welcomed a few new permanent additions.

         On my hip a bull that symbolizes the Taurus I am, and "Writing is my Therapy" on the inside of my arm.  I've been wanting to get both these tattoos for a while and just went for it this weekend.  Those who have tattoos know how addicting it can be even in spite of the pain and while I thought I felt the worse when I got one my ribs, it was nothing compared to the one on the inside of my arm. 

            The night ended off with a house party for my friend's 21st Birthday.  After all was said and done, I continued onward to Boston to spend the next 2 days relaxing with the fam.  All in all it was a good weekend. 

         

A Weekend of Calm

          Introducing two new labels "Weekend Run-Down" and "Recipe of the Week".  The first label will be dedicated to all my exciting (and not so exciting) weekend escapades.  An ode to my weekend if you will.  As you might notice I do most of my writing during the week so this will be to fill in those gaps.  The second label is for my new pursuit of making a new legit home cooked meal every week.  My aim is to cook on Sunday so I have actual food for the week and not just some hot dogs and beans I warmed up.

          So to get into it, this weekend was real low key.  I wanted to go out and do something to get my mind off of things but unfortunately my roomie went to NY and I gave into the temptation from my bed and the back of my eyelids. 

          Friday was filled with some grocery shopping at Walmart (supercenter) where I discovered how amazing their price match guarantee is.  In my weekly flyer hunting I saw a few things cheaper at other stores but I like my one stop shopping at Walmart so I decided to give it a go and see if they would match the prices on some produce without the flyer and they did.  BAM! Frugalista at her best :).  Any who I decided to treat myself to some new nail colors when I saw that they had some new O.P.I colors.  Unfortunately they were from the Kardashian's new line and as much as I don't like to contribute to their empire, I liked the colors more.

          I wound down the night withsome baking and pampering, eyebrows, nails and facial included (all done myself).  Saturday I lounged and watch Boy Meets World (one of my favorite shows).  No coincidence that the episodes were all pertaining to my current situation which made me feel a lot better... NOT.  So I finally got off my ass and went to visit my friends for a much needed girls night which was kinda of a fail because we all fell asleep.  Nonetheless it was nice to get out and chill with the girls. 

         Sunday was pretty much filled with the same chillness but I finally started by resolution of making a new meal every week.  On the menu this week, a Weight Watchers recipe of Chicken and Shrimp gumbo. Hmmmm :).

 

          So to end off a much needed calm weekend, dinner and a movie with the softest blanket known to man.