Feb 28th, 2005

Eight years ago today was my due date.

I had no idea how awesome this little dude would be.

Turns out, I totally won the kid lotto!

My New Friend

A couple of months ago I read several blogs where ladies were putting EVOO-that's extra virgin olive oil for you people not familiar with Rachel Ray- on their face. 

What? Gross. 

After the first blog post about EVOO on your face, I wrote it off. Then I read another and another and another- all claiming to love the stuff. "My face is as smooth as butter" they said. "My skin is so clear and soft!" they'd brag.

So,  I googled it and found this:

Moisturizer

Extra virgin olive oil penetrates deep into the skin on your face, providing needed moisture as well as a shield to protect your skin, keeping it smooth, according to the Olive Oil Source website.

Olive oil's antioxidants--vitamins A and E--can help repair skin damage from sun exposure, cigarette smoke and pollutants.

Olive Oil Source recommends that, when you use olive oil as a moisturizer, you massage it into skin that's still slightly damp so that the remaining water on your skin can help keep your skin from feeling greasy.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/article/122517-benefits-using-extra-virgin-olive/#ixzz2MD3d0eIy

...But I just could bring myself to put something I cook with on my face. I couldn't risk turning my face into a grease ball.

Fast forward a month when I am at Walgreen's looking for Evening Primrose Oil  when I spot Vitamin E-Oil. The bottle states it can be used as a moisturizer, and it's on sale, so I purchase it.

Fast forward another month and I have been using Vitamin E-Oil for the last four weeks and I'm in love! Oh, how I wish I had taken before and after photos!My skin is clearer, my wrinkles are less noticeable, and my face is soft and smooth. I usually suffer from horribly dry skin in the winter...not now!This product is great- it's like a miracle in a bottle.

I use Vitamin E-oil just once a day, in the shower. After I wash my face, I put 2-3 drops in my hand, rub my hands together and then apply to my face. I make sure to really rub it in, covering my face a good two or three times. After I am done, I turn off the shower and pat my face dry, lightly. I let my face dry for about 5 minutes before I start applying makeup. 

No grease. Just a beautifully moisturized face with noticeably less wrinkles.

Music Monday + San Diego fun

Oh, the Lumineers! I love them. This song is slowly making its way to radio play and I that makes me both happy and sad. I hate when the radio ruins one of my favorites (thank God, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros don't appeal to the masses). 

Speaking of Edward... Here's this adorable video...

Saturday, Katie and I  drove down to San Diego to celebrate Kristi's birthday. 

She's the gal in the blue.

And, what happens when three girls from the Inland Empire find out the bar is doing free drinks until 10:30?

This. 

...And these are just the drinks we could hold at one time. What you can't see in this picture is the stash of free drinks we had collected over the course of a half hour.

 Hey, we're not ones to let a  good deal go to waste...free is free, people!

Happy birthday Kristi! 

My Anam Cara (soul friend)

“Love allows understanding to dawn, and understanding is precious. Where you are understood, you are at home. Understanding nourishes belonging. When you really feel understood, you feel free to release yourself into the trust and shelter of the other person's soul.” 
― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

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We saw a psychic once, she told us we'd grow old together.

People always  tell us we look alike. We don't. 

 Katie once won a dance contest by doing the running man. It was epic.

More often than not, we show up to events wearing similar outfits.

We dress up every Halloween. I think we have more fun than the kids.

If I'm invited somewhere, it's understood Katie is invited too. 

One time I cut my bangs. She told me she liked them. She lied.

She taught me the "I'm really surprised my picture is being taken" face. Nailed it.

We got forced into going to Ruth's Chris steak house once with a group of girlfriends. We were broke so we split the cheapest thing on the menu-A side of broccoli. 

She's beautiful, inside and out. Even when her "out" looks like this.

I've been incredibly blessed to have this gal in my life. She is funny, smart, beautiful and thoughtful. She's been there for me during my  happiest, scariest and saddest times. She understands me, encourages me and entertains me. I love her like a sister. She is my sister. my soul sister. 

Thanks for being my bestest best friend Kathleen!

The things I learned last week

Last week I learned someone  had a grudge against me for something I said, and had been holding on to that grudge for nearly two months.

That's a tough pill to swallow. Especially when it's revealed to you at a dinner party in front of  guests.

And it's really hard to choke down when you find out its a family member who is nice to your face, but after every interaction with you, has a conversation with  their significant other about how awful of a person you are- and has been doing this for well over a year.

The way this news was presented, it felt as though the person delivering the news was also mad at me and was trying to attack my character. So I ended that conversation with some very hurtful words. Words I knew would hurt.

I learned a lot  after that moment.

1) When I feel attacked, I attack back. And I attack hard.

2) Immediately after hurting someones feelings, I want to shout "I didn't mean it, I'm sorry" but those words have never ever come out immediately afterwards. Most of the time, they never come out at all.

3) I can't apologize when I still feel hurt and  it takes a lot for me to apologize. I have to give myself a pep talk before, during and after. I will say an apology in my head over and over, write it down, scribble it out, write it again, until I feel like I can clearly express myself (written or verbally) sincerely.

4)  Sometimes people don't want to accept your apology and they have every right not to.

5) I can take a lot of  "Here is what I don't like about you" and keep my cool at the same time. Have you ever had someone sit down with a list of things they don't like about you? Things that  they've been mentally storing for years? It was hard. But I did it.

6) In order to stay cool while someone is letting you know what it is they don't like about you, you have to be willing to acknowledge your faults and be mentally prepared to work on them and  make you a better you.

7) If someone doesn't take the time to get to know you or  fully understand you- they may not like you. That's okay. There are plenty of people who will love your for the exact reasons that person doesn't.

8) Just because it doesn't offend you, or hurt your feelings doesn't mean it wont hurt others. Try your best to be as empathetic as possible when you interact with different personalities. You should always try your best to be understanding of the situation and act accordingly.

9) Sometimes the ones that profess the loudest  about loving the Lord and living  good lives as Christians, have a hard time showing you God's love and acting "christ-like". This can come across as hypocritical, and it is, but you need to forgive them for it. Use this opportunity to recognize what that looks like to others, and improve yourself  the next time you're given a similar situation to deal with.

10) I am a strong, loving, kind, funny, stubborn, dramatic, loud, sensitive, caring, awesome person. A person who uses curse words and can be inappropriate when she ought not to be. A woman who messes up on a daily basis. Someone who sees humor in things others cant. I am never perfect, rarely proper, but mostly fun. And I am okay with all of it. If you aren't, those are your issues; they are not mine.

Music Monday (or...um, Tuesday) + Color Run Los Angeles

I get this song stuck in my head a lot, which is unfortunate because other than "Sleepyhead" I have no idea what the words are to this song.

Sleepyhead by Passion Pit

 Color Run. Have you ever done one? Their slogan is "The happiest 5k on the planet" but a more appropriate slogan would be "The most photographed 5k on the planet".

There's not much to say about this, other than you run a 5k (or walk. Like most people did). You get color thrown at you. You throw color at other people. You take pictures of  all the color throwing business. It's  fun.

Before

After