So I decided to go back and continue answering the questions I'd set up in the blogging challenge that I started forever ago. I can't even remember what's on there, so it'll be like a surprise question for me and a fun answer for you! I'll also update the reading challenge, I think, to see if I can get some of those done.
Anyways, on with the challenge!
9. Discuss your first love and first kiss.
Wow, okay, this takes me waaay back. So my first kiss was when I was 12. It was after my first date, where I went to a movie with my date and a few friends. After the movie, while we were waiting to be picked up, he kissed me. It really wasn't all that great, because, you know, we were 12. It really wasn't anything crazy or super special, but I do still remember it.
As for my first love, well, I'd have to say that depends on what you mean by love. I was head over heels in what I believed to be love when I was about 14. He was a friend, and I always regretted that there was nothing more, even when he tried to initiate it. I was too shy and afraid that it would all go wrong, as most things seemed to go in my life. But even now, I still remember the warm, fuzzy feeling I got for him and remember spending time with him fondly.
My first actual love was when I was 19. I dated someone for four years, and I most definitely loved him. Obviously, that didn't last forever, but it's been a long time since it ended, so it's not something I've thought about in a while. Either way, I'm pretty sure that technically, this would be my first love. The one at 14 was like, puppy love or infatuation or something like that.
Hallo all!! I know, it's crazy to see an update, isn't it?? It's been almost 5 years since the last one!!
So I figured I'd do a quick update of my life for those of you who follow me on here. I moved to Burlington just over two years ago, in 2017. I live with Gaby and Smush in a comfy little townhouse with a small backyard. I work in Oakville, at a pharmaceutical company that runs patient support programs. I currently work for an awesome drug that helps people breathe better.
I'm also volunteering with Girl Guides, as a Guider to my niece's Sparks unit. That means that I get to spend every Tuesday evening, as well as some weekends, with 22 girls aged 5-6 that are ridiculously excited. Also, three other adults.
I've also started to write again. It's been a while since I felt the need to be creative. I've also been playing with Illustrator, creating some prints that I have up on my Etsy store. My news site is no longer up, mainly because it took way too much time and still I wasn't able to get as many stories, or even many high quality stories, as I wanted to. I'll have to think of something else I can blog about. Books? TV shows? I don't know. If you have ideas, please feel free to let me know. I'm open to any suggestions!!
Also, I've discovered podcasts. Since I'm not on a patient phone line and I have no patient contact, I get to have headphones in all day and podcasts became my new thing. Let me tell you, Crime Junkie is definitely my favourite. There's a few other good ones, but I'm still definitely addicted to True Crime.
What else?? Ooooh, I have a kitty!! Her name is Peppermint, and I love her so, so, so much. She just wants to be loved an cuddled. She seriously is the best cat. She doesn't fight you, she doesn't scratch, she doesn't climb or destroy things....she really just wants to sit on your lap so you can pet her. I wasn't soo sure about her when I got her, but it was supposed to be a temporary relocation for her. But now, there's no way in hell I'm letting her leave. She's my baby and with me she'll stay.
Hmmm...family update. Let's see....we're good. Gaby's in McMaster, doing her second year. Smush is in grade one, in French Immersion, and seems to like it. Nelson is living in a condo with Nakisha and they've both got good jobs and a ridiculous puppy. Jose is living in Toronto, doing pretty good for himself. Kienan is in his third year at Guelph and in the army. Mom and Aidan just bought a boat (yay!!) and are still happy together. Overall, I think the family's doing pretty good.
Okay, so that's my update. Maybe I'll try and get one here to update again. I still have that list thing I was doing, the blogging challenge. Maybe I'll finish it? Or maybe I'll talk to you guys again in a few years. Who knows, right!!
I know I haven't been on here in FOREVER, but I promise, I plan to be back with slightly more regular updates soon!! I've started updating both Since You Asked and Girls Love Soccer Too, so you should def check those out for now!!
In the meantime, I thought I'd leave you with this picture that's been making the rounds on Facebook. Honestly, I love it. I'm happy with the election results, and I'm happy with the cabinet. I know, I know, we still have to see if they can actually do any good, but I'm not gonna lie, it looks promising!! Let's hope we didn't just give Justin Trudeau our trust and a huge show of faith just to get majorly screwed!!
Anyways, I'll be back with an actual update sometime in the next week. Maybe this weekend?? We'll see. I'll try, but I'm also gonna attempt to write two blog posts for each of the other sites as well as clean my room and do my laundry and maybe organize some shit....or I'll prolly just end up reading and doing nothing productive. Either way, I'll try!!
So it's been two weeks since I started working out, and I wanted to give you all a quick update.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I've been doing Insanity. Unfortunately, I had to stop. I got to day 9, but it was too much, and I am way too out of shape. I was just hurting my back and my knee (which is new...and sucked) and it didn't feel like I was actually helping myself in the long run.
So I stopped, last Thursday being the last day. I then gave myself a four-day weekend to recover and as of today am back on it. I'm not doing Insanity this time, though, I'm doing Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred. It's way less jumping, which is what I feel was hurting me the most. So I'll do this one for the recommended 90 days, and then we'll see what shape I'm in, and I'll either do another cycle or start Insanity.
Thankfully, 30-Day Shred is much easier for me to keep up with, although to be honest, I still feel like I'm gonna drop dead by the end.
I'm not gonna post pictures, 'cause I don't think enough's changed for that yet. Maybe once I've lost a bit more and can actually see a difference. Or maybe I can't see it since I see me every day?? Fine, I'll think about it at a month. Anyways, I'll give you a rundown of the changes so far:
Weight: -5 lbs Arms: -1 inch Neck: -1 inch Chest: -1 inch Waist: -2.5 inches Hips: -2 inches Thighs: -1 inch Calves: -1 inch
Not a crazy amount of actual pounds lost, but enough lost in inches to make me happy. Keep in mind, this was all in nine days, and I still ate badly (yes, I know I need to change that too).
I think in order to lose more pounds, I need to work much harder to change how I eat. In the last two weeks I still had chicken fingers with fries and gravy (twice!!), Chinese food, McDonald's, and lots of cookies. So all those need to go!! Only home-cooked meals for the next two weeks!! Actually, that's a lie, 'cause my bday dinner is during these two weeks, so for at least one day I'll be having margaritas and Mexican food. But other than that, home-cooked meals, damn it!!
Or okay, fine, I'll concede that I'll prolly go out at some point, so if I go out I'll eat something healthy. Maybe a salad, maybe a sandwich, maybe something like grilled chicken and veggies. I must cut out the grease and fast food and junk!!
In the meantime, I'll leave you with Jillian Michael's 90-Day Shred, Level 1. Feel free to join me in doing it!! There's two more videos to this one, which I'm pretty sure you can find on YouTube.
I'll update you all again in two weeks to see how I've
done with my new food challenge, and to see if there's been more awesome
losses in pounds or inches.
Hallo my favourite peeps!! I guess it's time for that update, huh??
I know, I know, I suck at this. Whatever. I'm sure you're used to it by now.
So for starters, in the last post I mentioned I was gonna be an aunt, so I should prolly let you know that my beautiful niece was born July 28th. She was a preemie, but she was healthy and whole and the most precious thing I've ever seen. This is my fave picture of Gaby and Aiyana:
She's already gotten so big!! She'll be six months in a few days, and honestly, I have no idea where time's going. Soon she'll be all grown and in school and doing stuff for herself. Gaby's pretty good with her, and I love spending time with her!! She's all smushie and huggy and smiley. She's already eating regular foods (pureed, of course) and apple juice. She's got mad love for pears!! Not so much for green beans, though.
Also, I stole this picture off Gaby's Instagram. Isn't it awesome, though?? She's so freaking ADORABLE!!
Anyways, adorable. And her smile is the sweetest thing. Yeah, can you tell that maybe I like kids?? Maybe I should get on that!!
Moving on, I've decided that this is the year that I slim down and look awesome. I realized in December that I hit the heaviest I've ever been, and that's just shitty. It was tiring (and left me totally out of breath) to go up two flights of stairs. Two flights!! That's kinda pathetic, I think, especially for someone who once loved cross-country running.
So first thing I did was quit smoking. It's only been about three weeks, but I'm good with it. Sometimes I really want one, but for the most part, I'm happier this way. I've also started doing Insanity. Like, actually doing it, not just talking about it. I'm only at the end of the first week, but I've already lost an inch off my chest, an inch off my waist, off my hips, and my neck, and half an inch off each arm, thigh, and calf. Isn't that freaking AWESOME?? I think it is!!
Now, I don't know if you guys have ever heard of Insanity, but it is exactly what it sound like. Absolutely insane. It's freaking nuts!! Take a look at this video so you have an idea:
So far, I both love it and hate it. I love what it's doing and how it's helping, but i definitely hate having to do it. Mainly cause I'm so out of shape that it's hard, but I'm sure in the long run, I'll be glad I did it!! I've also been doing some yoga, although seriously, it hurts to try and do yoga after Insanity. Maybe I'll wait until I'm about two or three weeks in.
I've also been eating better, and I've been making more home-cooked meals instead of take-out or ready-made, throw-in-the-oven-or-microwave meals.
It's also coming up on my birthday, for which I'm doing a Treintañera Latin Fiesta. So I'll have lots of Latin music and tons of Latin food. It's gonna be soooooo good!! I plan to have carnitas tacos with pico de gallo, guacamole, bean dip, Salvadoran quesadillas, and churro bites. Sounds pretty good, right?? I though so!! As for music, I'll just make a playlist of songs I like, both in English and Spanish, and people can't complain, both 'cause it's my bday and it fits the theme. Pretty good plan, right?? I'm looking forward to it, even if it means I'll actually be 30.
I'm off to sleep now, since I've gotta get up early to do Insanity. Sadly, it's six days a week, so no rest on Saturday mornings!! I'm so looking forward to sleeping in on Sunday.
And don't worry, as soon as I'm done the 60-day cycle for it, I'll post pictures to show you all how awesome I'm looking!!
8. What is the hardest thing you have ever experiences?
I don't know that I could pick just one thing that has been the hardest. At the time they were happening, there are many things that I felt were incredibly hard and would never end or get better, but looking back, they weren't really all that bad.
I guess if I were to pick a one of these experiences, I'd have to say my parents' divorce was probably the hardest. Not just because they were splitting up, but because my dad was pretty manipulative with our feelings and picked favourites between my siblings and I to play us off each other, but also because my mom, in an effort to move on, jumped into a relationship with a man I absolutely hated.
Of course, there were other things involved in this terrible time in my life, and it led to me being an angry and depressed teen that tried to end it all, and honestly, I'm still an angry (although less so) and emotional adult. But thankfully the anger and resentment doesn't rule my life as much as it used to.
Recently, I'd have to say that my dog's death hit me hard. I loved him more than I love some of the people in my life, and I honestly thought he'd be around for years and years to come. I've been lucky most of my life, never having really lost anyone. The last funeral I remember was my grandpa, and I was 6 at the time. So death wasn't something that touched me, and this felt like it came out of nowhere. Even now, a year and a half later, I can remember what it was like to hug him and sometimes I stare at the places he used to sit and picture him there. I miss him so, so much.
Bucket lists have always interested me. I’ve never really understood
why they were called bucket lists, though. I guess it’s because it’s
things you wanna do before you kick the bucket??
Seems a little weird to me, but you know, English is pretty weird that
way. I’ve taken to calling them bucket lists now, though, because it’s
what everyone else seems to know them as, and it’s just easier than
explaining why you hate the name every time you use it.
Anyways, so I’ve had one made long before I knew what they were
called, and even now, I continue to add to it. I think I was nine years
old when I first started writing down the list I’d been keeping in my
head for as long as I could remember. Some items have never changed
(hug a panda, see the northern lights, learn to surf), while others have
been added as soon as I discovered it was possible to do them or that
they existed (swim with sharks, write a book, walk the Skywalk at the Grand Canyon).
Thankfully, I’ve crossed a few off my list: I’ve climbed a volcano, visited Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, camped at Bruce Peninsula National Park, climbed a pyramid (well, technically a ziggurat, but I’m not gonna be picky).
I figured I’d list a few here for you all, in case you need some
inspiration. Of course, there’s other, less photo-friendly items on my
list, like write a novel, learn a new language, see a broadway play,
spend the night in a haunted house, learn to drive standard, and visit
all 50 states. Plus, you know, ride a hot air balloon, swim with dolphins, go horseback riding, go paragliding, see the Sphinx…. you get the point, I’m sure.
I would love to see the Cristo Redentor and Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. The animals aren't afraid of people!!
Galapagos islands, Ecuador. I’d love to go and interact with the animals there. They’re not afraid of people!!
Galapagos islands, Ecuador. I’d love to go and interact with the animals there. They’re not afraid of people!!
J.K. Rowling is my idol, and I'd love to meet her.
Machu Picchu has always been at the top of my list.
Hadrian's Wall, Northern England.
Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.
The Festival of Lanterns in Thailand. It looks like it'd be so beautiful to watch!!
Kid Cudi. His lyrics are incredible, and I'd love to tell him how much I admire him and his honesty.
African Safari. I think it'd be amazing!! Hopefully one day it'll happen for me.
Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I'd love to watch the sunrise.
Party in Rio de Janeiro for the Carnival.
The Great Wall of China.
Own a pair of Louboutins. They're just so pretty!!
See the Northern Lights (aka Aurora Borealis).
Hug a panda!!
Skydive
So there you go. I’m sure I’ll come up with others as time goes by,
and hopefully I’ll get to knock some off my list soon. I’m hoping that
within the next year I can go horseback riding and maybe ziplining
or skydiving. I wanted to get cliff jumping out the of the way, but
instead I jumped off a high ledge inside a cave, which I’m not sure
counts as a cliff. And next year, a trip for sure. Maybe Machu Picchu
and the Inca Trail?? Maybe Comic Con in San Diego?? Or maybe I’ll just
buy a pair of Louboutin leather boots (and/or sparkly stilettos). I’d
so love that!!
What’s on your bucket list??
Well, this one is kinda boring, since I have Windows 8, which means that nothing really needs to be on my desktop. I'll screenshot it anyways, though.
Okay, so as you can tell, I have two monitors, both of which are widescreen. My background pictures change every five minutes from a folder where I've put in pictures of places I think are super pretty (which are labelled at the top) and pictures that have quotes that I like.
As for what's on there, well, there's two quotes in the sticky notes that I've heard recently, which are "Write every day. Not every other day. Not tomorrow. Not after the party. But before. The more you write, the more comes out of you. If you don't give inspiration an opportunity, it will never arrive," which Ethan Hawke said (wwll, wrote) in an answer during a Reddit AMA, and "It's better to write for yourself and have no audience and have no public than write for the public and have no self," which was said by Cyril Connolly.
There aren't too many programs, just a few shortcuts: Photoshop, Calibre (to read ebooks), Handbrake (to convert movies to iTunes format), iTunes, the LotR game I haven't played yet, Mozilla Thunderbird (for some volunteer work I was doing), and a few random folders.
This seems like a boring post, so I'll add a few of my favourite pictures out of all the backgrounds. The two ink ones came as part of a theme I downloaded from Microsoft. The other pictures I find mostly of Reddit's The SFW Porn Network, mainly the EarthPorn and CityPorn subreddits, as well as Trey Ratcliff's work, which he shares on his site here. Then I add the location using Photoshop (I don't change anything else, I just got tired of having pics come up and wondering where it was) and add it to my Themes folder. I've added the sources as best I can, but I wasn't able to find them all. If anyone knows, please let me know so I can credit the photographer!!
Although I prefer face-to-face, I'd have to say that texts and chat (Facebook or Gmail) are probably the way I communicate the most. I'm not sure when texting became the thing to do, but somehow, it did. I have friends who I don't think I've EVER called, although I talk to them often.
I used to love being on the phone, at least with close friends and boyfriends. I loved talking for hours about everything and nothing. When I was younger, I'd even enjoy watching TV or playing a computer game while on the phone with someone, because it was almost like they were watching it or playing with you.
And then, somehow, that stopped. It became easier to text people instead of talking to them. Even with my last boyfriend, who I dated for three years, I only texted or talked over Gchat with. Seriously, I think I talked to him on the phone only a handful of times. In three years!!
Craziness.
But nothing beats going out for dinner or coffee and catching up, venting, or plotting your world takeover. I miss my epic coffee dates with Jess!! Maybe I should do more to keep in touch and not lose contact with people. And not just a message here and there that doesn't mean anything, but actual, meaningful contact.
I'll get on that. And if you read this, feel free to call me (or text/message me, whatevs). We'll do coffee, catch up!!
This one is fairly similar to the last blog challenge question, but I'll answer it anyways.
Well,
considering I spend most of my life stressed out and in a somewhat
freaking out mode, de-stressing doesn't come all that easy. There are a
few things I can do, however, that help me to calm down and just take a
breath.
1. The beach and swimming. Sadly, seeing as I
live in Toronto, there is no ocean beach or even really nice, clean,
swimable area nearby, so my favourite place is Sauble Beach. At about 2
1/2 - 3 hours away (depending on traffic and how you drive), it's a
beautiful place to go.
Panorama of Sauble Beach.
2. Organizing and decorating and
cleaning. Yes, I know it seems weird, but when I'm really stressed,
cleaning my space helps. It's like I'm metaphorically cleaning my head
as I throw out garbage and make space around me and place everything
where it should go in a neat and orderly fashion. Usually, this is
followed by me re-decorating or moving stuff around and putting new
stuff up.
3. Reading. Unfortunately, this has been
loosing its calming factor lately. I get agitated and distracted much
easier than I used to. Although I did just start a new book (well, new to me) called The Baghdad Blogger by Salam Pax, which is pretty freaking interesting. I've also started to read World War Z by Max Brooks, and I've got a copy of The Cuckoo's Calling by Roberth Galbraith (a.k.a. JK Rowling) waiting for me.
4. Driving. Preferably by
myself and for a fair distance, with music blasting and singing as loud
as I can possibly sing. Even better if this ends at a beach. I also like driving adventures with friends, where we just go, without thought to where. It leads to some pretty interesting places!!
5. Tobermory. I definitely de-stress there. It's my favourite place in the world, and I'd go there any time, for however long, with whoever wants to see it. Just hike to a nice spot and sit down and stare out at the lake. It's a good feeling, especially if you've worked hard to hike to that spot. And the water, regardless of how cold it is, is amazing. Clear blue, it looks like you could be in the Caribbean. Here's a few pics I took on the latest trip there for your viewing pleasure:
The view at Pebble Beach.
The view on the way to Cave Point, the highest point in the park.
Tom and Kacper enjoying the rocks (and waves) and Half Dump Log.
Kacper walking into the water at Half Dump Log.
That's
all I can really think of. Nothing lately has really been helping me
calm down, as money and work and life have become an incredible weight
on my shoulders. The week in Tobermory helped, but now it's back to applying for jobs and getting my life back on track.
So I'm not sure how many of you are aware that my sister is having a baby, but come August, I'll be the proud aunt of one Reina Fae Oppenheimer. Well, at least that's the name they've chosen for now.
Gaby's ultrasound from a few days ago. She's at 20 weeks.
I'm so excited!! You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to smushing and cuddling and hugging that baby. I also get to buy it a lot of cute outfits, and help dress her to look adorable. And the shoes!! Baby shoes are freaking cute!! I may or may not already have a (secret) Pinterest board for stuff I plan to get.
I can't help it, there are just so many adorable things out there for little girls!! Like these:
And I also get to instill in her a love of all things Hello Kitty. I will buy the shit out of everything Hello Kitty offers.
I'm also really looking forward to, hopefully, teaching her how to love reading. I love it, and I did everything I could (and succeeded!!) to make sure Gaby also loved it. Now I get to make sure her daughter is the same. Somehow, I will also make her love camping and going places. Not right away, of course, but in time. Maybe it'll finally be time for that Disney family vacation we never took, right??
I also get to plan the baby shower. Nothing crazy, but it'll be nice. We're thinking a jungle theme, and my mom's friend Elsa is going to be making lots and lots of Mexican food, along with the snacks and appetizers I make. And Gaby's asked me to make a cake, which hopefully will turn out nicely.
And, on the last bit of exciting news, guess who's the godmother?? That's right, ME!! I'm happy Gaby's asked me to be, as I plan to be there for her daughter through anything and everything, good times and bad. I'll make sure that no matter what kind of life she has, or what kind of world we live in, there will always be a safe have for her to go to and someone to talk to. Because that's my job as aunt, as godmother, and really, as someone who loves her already.
Anyways, this is super exciting!! If you see or talk to Gaby, feel free to congratulate her. I know she'd love to hear it.
