Life, According To Her.

Shaniya Davis

2012-02-15T01:11:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, February 14th, the beautiful Shaniya Davis would have turned seven years old. Ever since I found out about her story back in 2009, I couldn't forget about her. I have previously wrote about her back in this entry in 2010. Obviously I didn't know her, but just being the mother of a little girl... it really hurt me emotionally. God bless her little innocent soul, and may justice be served.

I pray every single night that He watch over my daughter when she is not in my presence. That He keep her away from evil and danger, and continue to bless her. Being a parent is so scary, so many sick bastards out there. I really hope there's a special place in hell for them.

Fitness Goals

2012-01-20T01:28:00.001-05:00

One of my goals for 2012 is to be healthier. Fitness wise & also eating wise. I know that's a cliche goal/new years resolution but it's the truth. I reached my goal weight back in the Summer of 2010 and became complacent after that... I continued eating well but I stopped working out consistently. 2011 was full of ups and downs, and those downs affected a lot of stuff around me — including my eating habits & fitness. Anyway, I ~~want to~~ am going to get back into the groove of things because before we know it, Summer will be here and God knows the little one & I are faithfully at the beach or pool! It's not just that though, I am trying to prepare for something bigger that is another 2012 goal of mine.

One major thing that messes me up eating-wise is the fact that I don't have time to make my own breakfast or lunch. Most days I only eat one (big) meal, which I happen to get to when I'm already starving. I need to do what I used to do before, which is make a meal plan for the week, prepare my lunch the night before, drink mostly water & tea, and have some kind of shake/smoothie for breakfast to keep me full until lunch time.

Starting to work out & letting go of poor habits are the hardest parts, but I've done it before and can definitely do it again. I have a free membership to the gym at my school, and I'm literally there Monday through Friday so I have no excuse not to workout!

Some of my inspirations/motivators are Jordan, Nic, and Alba ♥. Alba recently made a really good post with ideas for healthy meals here which I think anyone will find helpful :).

Manicure Mondays

2012-01-16T23:56:00.001-05:00

ESSIE - PINK PARKA

This is my go-to pink polish. Can't ever go wrong with a hot pink :). I'll make a real post soon, I've just been super busy.

Take care,

Manicure Mondays

2012-01-09T18:59:00.000-05:00

I totally meant to post this last Monday but with the holidays and everything, I completely forgot. This is hands down one of my favorite manicures I've ever gotten. I usually go with shades of pinks or pastels for my nail polishes, but I wanted to try something new & different for New Years Eve.

OPI Roadhouse Blues x Crown Me Already

I currently still have this manicure & it's holding up pretty well :). I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas & New Years Eve! Hope 2012 treats us all kindly ♥

Manicure Mondays

2011-12-26T02:31:00.001-05:00

Mod Squad by Essie. Perfect electric pink!

Thankful Thursdays

2011-12-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

I haven't participated in #ThankfulThursdays in a very long time on here! And it's not that I haven't been thankful for anything... I just haven't been blogging as regularly as I was before. But I'm definitely trying to update more often.

This week, I'm thankful to spend yet another Christmas with my family. I'm thankful to have such close-knit, family-oriented folks in my life ♥. I'm thankful for all the yummy food I'll be eating this weekend lol :). I'm thankful for my mother & also for the father of my child who are always there for me, especially now more than ever when I need them the most. I'm thankful for something* pulling through, when I had really lost hope. And I'm thankful for receiving my daughters very first report card & her earning amazing grades this week!

What are you thankful for this week?

Take care,

Manicure Mondays

2011-12-19T02:28:00.001-05:00

Knockout Pout by Essie is my new favorite pink polish!

Product Review: Urban Decay Makeup Palette (Updated)

2011-12-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

Two months ago I gave into the hype and bought the Urban Decay Naked palette. I did my initial review on it basically right after I purchased it and played around with it a little bit. Like I said in that post, I did like it and thought it was nice... but I wasn't really sure why it was so hyped up. I also mentioned that I'm far from a makeup professional, I rarely ever wear any unless I'm going out to an event or a night out, etc so my opinion is probably void anyway lol. But... I've been playing around with it more & more and it's slowly become my favorite/go-to palette. Although it's a tad pricey, I am leaning towards it being worthy of the price tag.

Thanks to this lovely fellow Dominican girly on YouTube, I've been playing around with more looks with the palette. Subscribe to her, she does amazing looks & it's super gorgeous ♥. You can also find her blog here :).

Take care,

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T19:34:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving 2011 was lovely. Ever since my great-grandmother passed away in 2008, the new tradition is to celebrate it at my grandmothers house. It's crazy to see how much our family has expanded since then, there are so many little kids now! The food was bomb as usual! After that, we went to my daughters side of the familys Thanksgiving dinner and spent time with them. I absolutely love the holidays.

At midnight I went to Target to start my Black Friday shopping. I wanted to go to Best Buy to get that 40" HDTV but the line was... outrageous. I didn't think it was going to be that crazy. I thought we were in a recession!? It sure didn't look like it last night LOL. I bought Bella a bunch of Christmas toys and movies. And I bought myself these pair of loafers I've been eying for a while, and these black below-the-knee boots. I got some awesome deals! I'm satisfied.

But I think it's weird it was damn near 70 degrees outside today. Didn't feel very Holiday-ish for Boston. Next up: Christmas Eve! Yes :D

I really regretted not buying this for Bella last year
so I made sure I grabbed it this year!

Bought these, love them ♥ I debated w/ the purchase because I already have similar ones that I got for Valentine's Day (here) that I've only worn like twice :x. But IDK, it was such a steal I couldn't pass it up. They were originally $120 and I got them for $55!

This wasn't even a third of the line. It was zoo out there last night! Next time I'll have to get there earlier, I guess!?

Manicure Mondays

2011-11-21T12:00:00.001-05:00

It's official, I love gel polish manicures. I've been experimenting with them for a few weeks now, I started off by trying out OPI Axxium Gel. I wasn't completely sold, mostly because the technician who did the OPI gel was either new at it or lazy. But my friend took me to get a mani/pedi last weekend at a different place, and I opted for a different type of gel polish. It wasn't Shellac though, I believe the brand is called Gellish? It stays shiny, doesn't chip, and my nails don't snag. I just wish they had more of a color selection, and that I knew how to do it myself!

22.

2011-11-14T02:23:00.001-05:00

It doesn't feel like my birthday at all. Usually, my grandmother cooks my favorite dishes (yellow rice, maduros [sweet plantains], potato salad, eggplant lasagna, & cheese pastelitos) and of course bakes her famous cake! But she left to Santo Domingo, so it just didn't feel the same without my usual birthday dinner :'(. But other than that, it was a pretty decent weekend.

Mister Man made us reservations at The Melting Pot. At the end of our meal the hostess came out and took a picture of us & then framed it. The staff also gave me/signed a birthday card, I thought that was soo cute ♥! It was a cute experience, and a cute concept, but the food was just okay. I'm not a fan of gimmicky restaurants, so I highly doubt I'd ever go back here. This is coming from a person who hates The Cheesecake Factory, Fire & Ice, Uno's, Friday's, Applebees, etc — so don't take my advice if you are into any of those restaurants.

I hope 22 treats me well.

Halloween 2011!

2011-11-06T17:37:00.000-05:00

I'm kind of late on this post, but better late than never! We went trick-or-treating with L's auntie, uncle, and cousins around Hyde Park, Dorchester, and Roslindale (neighborhoods in Boston). She had a blast even though it was freezing out, she's finally at that age where she can really enjoy these types of things.

Looking back at all of her Halloweens, I realize how quickly time passes & how big she's gotten ♥.

2008

2009

2010

2011

Vitamins & Makeup

2011-10-16T11:19:00.000-04:00

I went to CVS the other day to buy a daily multivitamin, there were way too many options — I get easily overwhelmed when I have too many options. I knew I wanted something that was natural (no preservatives, parabens, or ingredients from animals) but there weren't many options there for those (I probably should've went to Whole Foods). I noticed the prenatal vitamins and thought back to when I was pregnant with my daughter; my hair was healthy, my skin was glowing, my nails were long and strong. And I'm pretty sure a lot of that had to do with the daily prenatal I was taking. So I looked around and actually found a 100% natural prenatal vitamin. I'm not pregnant nor do I plan on being pregnant any time soon, but they have way more benefits than regular multivitamins so hey why not!?

I've been using it for the past couple of days and so far I like it. They're not huge horse pills like the prescription prenatals, and they're easy on the stomach — they don't make me nauseous when I take them. I definitely was in need of a multivitamin so I hope this one is effective.

Anyway, moving along. I finally went ahead and bought the ever so famous Naked Palette by Urban Decay. I'm far from a makeup professional, so don't take my review too seriously. I think it's just nice. But I don't really get the hype? I mean then again, I don't really know much about makeup so I'm probably not that good at doing all the fab looks these YouTubers do LOL. *shrug. I do like it though!

Giveaway Winner :) & Pictures

2011-09-27T20:29:00.000-04:00

First of all, I just want to say thank you to Alex over at The Good Hair Blog for hosting a thank you giveaway for her followers! & I won, woohoo ♥ lol. I absolutely adore her, her blog, & her hair! Please follow her, especially if you're into the whole hair care thing — you won't be disappointed.

In the package was a Springy banana clip, Scunci Wingless Clips,
& a Goody Headband in peach.

Love it! I'll definitely be making use out of these :). Anyhow, school is great, work is cool, & Bella is loving her new elementary school life. I actually had a decent post to write but I actually have some homework to do & a paper to write so maybe this weekend? I'll leave you with some pictures.

Mission: Time Management & Procrastination

2011-09-05T03:38:00.004-04:00

One of my biggest flaws ever is lack of effective time management. I have the tendency to take on too many projects at once & then I end up getting overwhelmed which leads to stress. & Sometimes I'll leave important things for the last minute, I'll leave my house five minute too late which ends up having a domino effect on everything else, I'll promise someone I'll pick them up at 8PM and arrive at 9PM, I'll respond to a text way too late, etc — you get the point. I have good intentions but honestly, I can be a procrastinator sometimes — my second biggest flaw.

I need to be more organized & need do well in everything that I put effort/energy into; I need to be more balanced. I don't like half-assing on things. Effective time management will help me reduce unnecessary stress & be more productive & possibly eliminate my tendency to procrastinate.

My questions are: 1). What are some things (articles, blogs, tips, quotes, tricks, reminders, apps, etc) that help you manage your time effectively?

2). What meals & snacks do you pack for school/work, etc? I'm trying to plan out my meals for the week so that I can compile a grocery list for tomorrow. I'll be in school full-time & I don't want to be tempted by the cafeteria food (unhealthy & expensive)... so I'm trying to bring in lunch at least 3-4x a week.

In case anyone has the same issue/concern as I do, here are some tips I found that seem helpful:

1. Plan each day. Planning your day can help you accomplish more and feel more in control of your life. Write a to-do list, putting the most important tasks at the top. Keep a schedule of your daily activities to minimize conflicts and last-minute rushes.

2. Prioritize your tasks. Time-consuming but relatively unimportant tasks can consume a lot of your day. Prioritizing tasks will ensure that you spend your time and energy on those that are truly important to you.

3. Say no to nonessential tasks. Consider your goals and schedule before agreeing to take on additional work. [This is my biggest issue!]

4. Delegate. Take a look at your to-do list and consider what you can pass on to someone else.

5. Take the time you need to do a quality job. Doing work right the first time may take more time upfront, but errors usually result in time spent making corrections, which takes more time overall.

6. Break large, time-consuming tasks into smaller tasks. Work on them a few minutes at a time until you get them all done.

7. Practice the 10-minute rule. Work on a dreaded task for 10 minutes each day. Once you get started, you may find you can finish it.

8. Evaluate how you're spending your time. Keep a diary of everything you do for three days to determine how you're spending your time. Look for time that can be used more wisely. For example, could you take a bus or train to work and use the commute to catch up on reading? If so, you could free up some time to exercise or spend with family or friends.

9. Limit distractions. Block out time on your calendar for big projects. During that time, close your door and turn off your phone.

10. Get plenty of sleep, have a healthy diet and exercise regularly. A healthy lifestyle can improve your focus and concentration, which will help improve your efficiency so that you can complete your work in less time. [I slack in this department big time. It's 3:48AM right now!]

11. Take a break when needed. Too much stress can derail your attempts at getting organized. When you need a break, take one. Take a walk. Do some quick stretches at your workstation. Take a day of vacation to rest and re-energize.

Bee Mine Products

2011-09-04T19:06:00.003-04:00

Back in June I tried a few of Bee Mine's hair products and reviewed them in this post. I really, really loved them on my hair & on my daughters hair -- I just thought they were a bit pricey.

Well, I noticed that tomorrow they are having a Labor Day sale. You get 15% off of your purchase (minimum $15) if you used the code BBB9511. I've been meaning to purchase the 8 oz sizes of Bee Hold Curly Butter & Deja's Hair Milk because daughters hair absolutely loved these products -- especially the hair milk for detangling. I'll definitely be taking advantage of the sale tomorrow :-).

If you want to try Bee Mine out, I suggest grabbing at least $15 worth of stuff in the sample sizes (I believe each item is about $5 or less) so you can take advantage of the 15% off.

2011-09-04T01:31:00.003-04:00

So I ended up buying Shea Moistures shampoo that I mentioned in this post. I absolutely LOVE the Thickening Shampoo. This stuff actually has biotin in it, which everyone knows is great for hair (& also skin and nails) -- which is an ingredient I've never personally found in a shampoo before. Anyway, before I even washed my hair I saturated it in Vatika Coconut Oil and let it sit for a few hours. When I shampoo'd my hair & rinsed it out, my hair actually felt moisturized. It didn't have that icky, stripped feeling shampoo usually gives. I don't know if that's because of the coconut oil though. Hmm.Anyway but I did my usual avocado deep conditioner afterwards, roller set, and wrapped my hair to flatten the crinkles/bumps from the rollers. I was pleased with the results. This is definitely going into my staple hair care products collection :).P.S. excuse me for the crappy quality of my pictures lately, I've been taking pictures on my phone because I need to purchase a new memory card for my DSLR.Toodles,

September!

2011-09-04T00:23:00.002-04:00

Hello September :). This month is already off to a good start. I woke up on Friday morning to a phone call that made my day — I got the job at my university that I interviewed for on Wednesday! Even though I basically just got a new job back in June, this is the one I've had my heart set on so I'm super excited about it. I almost didn't show up to my interview on Wednesday because for whatever reason I felt discouraged... but a little voice told me to just go for it. Thank God I did.

Today was feeling super down. Don't you hate those convos with certain people that just ruin the rest of your day? Ugh. Bella went on an out-of-state day trip with my mother & siblings, so I took advantage of the me time and went to the mall for some good old fashioned retail therapy.

I've had my eye on this watch since around February. I went back & forth about purchasing it, but today I finally went ahead & bought it. (Nice, quality) Watches make an outfit look so much better - especially w/ a blazer. I'm in love ♥. I definitely want to go back & purchase the white ceramic one... but I'll wait until my birthday or Christmas.

I also went to Macy's to buy Bella the North Face Denali fleece, because 1). I've been meaning to get her one since last year 2). I had a $50 Macy's gift card that one of her uncles bought her for her 2nd birthday LOL and 3). I had a 25% coupon at Macy's anyway. So all in all, I only paid like $24 out of pocket for the fleece, not bad :-). I also bought the Denali fleece for myself. I love them, they are seriously the comfiest & warmest things ever.

I also bought that tribal print sun dress at Forever 21, even though it's about to be Fall — I'm sure I'll be able to wear it before the cool weather kicks in. If not, I could always wear it with a cardigan. Or save it for next Summer. *shrug

I haven't even gone Fall shopping for myself yet, SMH! I need some jeans, leggings, t-shirts, cardigans, and a few pair of boots. I guess I'll start sometime next week. I seriously HATE shopping for multiple outfits. I get overwhelmed w/ too many options and end up leaving with two irrelevant things lol :(.

I have my eyes on a few things already:

(If I get this, I plan on cutting it & making it off-the-shoulder.)

What are your favorite places to shop? I usually do H&M, Zara, Forever 21, Express, Delia's, 344, Karma Loop etc. Any other places besides these?

Fall 2011

2011-08-27T12:00:00.004-04:00

I can't believe next week is the official last week of Summer — and then school is back in session! & I can't believe my daughter officially begins elementary school. They sent me a letter a few days ago, welcoming us to the school, and attached was a long list of school supplies that she's required to bring in. Does she really need five glue sticks!? *Sigh* I'll definitely be hitting up Dollar Tree sometime next week to buy everything.

I'm really excited to see her development between now and June 2012. I'm also interested in seeing the difference — if any — in private education. & Most importantly, I pray that it's a good experience for all of us.

As for myself, Fall semester begins on the same exact day as my baby's first day of school LOL. So after we bring her to school, take a million pictures, and shed a few tears... I'll be rushing to campus in attempts to secure a locker. I honestly only want a locker so I can throw my gym clothes & food in there LOL :x.

Speaking of the gym: I really slacked this Summer as far as fitness goes. But since now I have a free membership at my schools gym, I'll definitely be making use of it — no excuses. I have a little something something up my sleeve for next Summer & it's going to require me to take this seriously. I just need to figure out a schedule for school/work/gym so that I'm consistent with it.

It's going to be a very busy & hectic academic year. Let's see how it goes!

Everyone stay safe this weekend. I really hope Hurricane Irene isn't as serious as everyone is making it out to be.

Geovanni

2011-08-27T00:51:00.002-04:00

Today I went to my baby nephews wake and it was definitely top two saddest things I've ever experienced. The last time I stepped foot into that funeral home was May 2008 when my great-grandmother, who I was extremely close to, passed away. I cried almost the entire time. A family friend sang Boyz II Men's Hard To Say Goodbye and everyone started crying even harder. I feel a bit of comfort knowing he's at peace; even though he did not deserve to die — especially at the tender age of two — at least he doesn't have to be in this cold & ugly world. It's still not fair though. My poor baby Geo :(. I pray to the Heavenly Father that he please watch over & protect my loved ones, especially my baby girl.

Take care,

Target!

2011-08-25T20:07:00.001-04:00

I absolutely LOVE Target. No lie, I'm in there at least 3x a week SMH. Target > Walmart, just saying. Anyway, I went in there today for absolutely no good reason at all & starting drooling when I walked into the hair product section.

I've never tried Miss Jessie's hair products so I can't say anything about those. But I absolutely love Curls, OMG their stuff smells amazing. And of course everyone knows I co-sign Shea Moisture's stuff LOL.

So I really want to try the two following products:

Shea Moisture's Organic Yucca & Baobab Thickening Shampoo

Curls Passion Fruit Curl Control Paste

Anyone ever try either of these? I'm honestly not a fan of shampoo, it gives my hair that icky stripped feeling so I usually just co-wash -- but this Thickening Shampoo doesn't have the typical icky ingredients. It actually has some super good stuff in it such as shea oil, aloe vera juice, biotin, coconut oil, bamboo extract & a bunch of other good stuff.

I'll try these soon & review it :).

Take care,

Bittersweet

2011-08-24T00:35:00.000-04:00

This weekend my good friend B came to visit me from New Jersey to my close friends J&M's baby shower. I haven't seen B since she came down for my birthday last November, so it was definitely nice seeing her :). We went to Target & Marshalls to look for a baby shower gift. I didn't want to get anything that they'd get a million of, so I got the boppy pillow J wanted & decided that once I saw what everyone else's gifts, I can get her something else (once the baby is born). I seriously cannot wait for Baby J to be born! I've never been this excited for a baby to be born LOL ♥.

She got so many gifts!

Diaper cake came out too cute!

Unfortunately this weekend I also got some horrible news. My nephew, who is six months younger than my daughter, passed away. I really don't want to elaborate about that. But he was a beautiful, smart, hilarious little boy who will surely be missed by everyone. It's sad that his life was cut short... very unfair. My daughter swore that was her brother LOL ♥. God bless his innocent soul.

Take care & God bless,

Curls!

2011-08-20T10:38:00.000-04:00

As you all know from this older post, I am love with Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie. About two weeks ago I was in Target and found this new (at least new to me cause I've never seen it before) product from Garnier Fructis called Rough It Putty. This putty REALLY compliments the curl enhancing smoothie; these two products used together are definitely my staples when I want to wear my curls out.

When I wake up in the morning, I simply spritz my hair with water just to dampen it. I put some curl enhancing smoothie in it to detangle & moisturize, and then I add some of the rough it putty and just run my fingers through my hair. I let it air dry and voila, big soft curls! I'm personally not a fan of wet-looking, flat, crispy curls that gel/hairspray gives. I prefer mine to be soft & voluminous!

The awesome thing about the putty is that it's third ingredient is glycerin. For those that are not family, curly hair loves glycerin! Especially in hot weather. So... two thumbs up for GARNIER FRUCTIS' ROUGH IT PUTTY!

(* FYI my hair type is 3A/3B)

Take care,

Networking

2011-08-20T10:19:00.000-04:00

So continuing from this entry, this past Wednesday was the orientation/ceremony for my scholarship. We have to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, have to participate in certain community events, attend mandatory meetings, and there are a bunch of other requirements. It was great meeting all of the other recipients, and I'm just looking forward to starting the semester.

The orientation was from 11A-3P, and once it was over I starting speaking to these two women who work for a financial planning/coaching organization in Boston. One of those women ended up being the director of the company, and couldn't believe that I am a Finance/Economics major that is mostly interested in the not-for-profit industry. Like she was beyond excited LOL. She told me that she'd love to have me intern for them, because they're in need at the office. Yesterday I sent her an e-mail telling her it was a pleasure meeting her and her colleague, and sent along my resume. She wants to set up a meeting sometime in early September, I'm so excited! I am really looking forward to this, because it is exactly what I want to do career-wise. Networking really is an awesome tool :-).

I'm not sure how I'm going to juggle full-time school, work and an internship (and all of my other priorities). If the internship is paid, which I REALLY hope it is... I will just only do that and school. If it's unpaid, I'll definitely still do it because the opportunity is way too good to pass up — but I'd probably only come in like once a week.

Take care & god bless,

Help!?

2011-08-09T13:42:00.002-04:00

Some people have reached out to me saying that even though they're subscribed to me/following me on here, they can't see my posts unless they come directly to my page. All this weird stuff didn't start happening until I changed my URL name a few months ago. Does anyone know how I can go about fixing it? If I can't figure out how to fix it, I'm probably going to just go ahead & create an entirely new blog and move over there :(. I really hate coming up with blog names & don't feel like starting from scratch with zero followers, but what's the point of having followers if they don't get my updates!? LOL. If anyone knows, leave me a comment or just e-mail me directly at » stephany.lani@gmail.com pretty please!

Shopping!

2011-08-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

I've been doing some shopping lately, maybe a little too much but my favorite purchase are these two shoes.

I'm the type of person who buys stuff and doesn't end up wearing them for MONTHS! One of my closest friends' baby shower is at the end of this month, so maybe I'll wear the wedges then!? Considering I live in Boston, I need to wear them ASAP cause Lord knows it will be leather boots, scarf & cardigan season very soon.

We're definitely enjoying the last of the Summer weeks.

XOXO,

& Another One

2011-08-08T21:50:00.007-04:00

I received the best news ever today; this officially made my 2011! Well, there's one last thing missing to make my year — I'm currently working towards that so we'll see — but yeah I'm so happy right now. I was just told I have been accepted to a full scholarship program, & not just any scholarship, but one that I have been consistently applying to since 2009. I was rejected numerous times, and even though it would really disappoint me — I NEVER gave up cause I continued to remind myself that I am more than qualified, deserving, and that I'd take full advantage of it & make them proud they selected me.

I was finally called in for an interview a few weeks ago, and mid-interview a man (who I was told was the director of career services there) walked in and said, So YOU'RE Stephany huh!? and started cracking up, cause they've seen my name in their e-mail inboxes, on envelopes, essays, and in letters etc for the past two years LOL. I already won another scholarship earlier this year — I feel sooooo blessed. But at the same time, besides my prayers... I know that I worked hard & earned these blessings.

So the moral of the story is please do not ever give up on anything, especially something that is worth fighting for & something you know you are deserving of. Also, don't think you have to be a slave to Sallie Mae just to go to/finish college. There are so many scholarships out there, I couldn't tell you how many I applied to this year; how many essays I've written!

I'm really excited for the Fall semester to begin! Also, my daughter was accepted into private school and her first day of elementary school starts the same day as well. How cute :-).

God is so good! Take care & many blessings,

Day 05: Goals in life

2011-08-08T20:17:00.005-04:00

I have A LOT of goals in life; short-term, long-term, travel goals, personal growth goals, educational goals, financial goals, etc. But my ultimate life goal is to make sure my daughter & future children live a happy, comfortable life & grow up to be educated and successful individuals. Although we had our daughter when we were very young & unprepared — I have never let that be an excuse to be lazy. If anything, I bust my ass even MORE because I have a lot more to work towards than the average person my age. I know one day everything I do now will pay off. So right now my main goal is finishing college. It's not easy having to work, go to college, be a mother, still handle all of my other responsibilities & priorities, try to fit in a social life every now & then, and still be up early enough to make sure her peanut butter, jelly & fluff sandwich is cut into a heart, just how my Bella likes it. But it must be done! ♥

Take care,

Day 04: Why you have a blog

2011-08-05T00:00:00.003-04:00

Hmm, I have a blog for many reasons. But mainly because it's my form of expression. I'm not the type to vent to people or ask for advice; I keep my super personal & private life to myself.

Like I said in a previous entry, I've owned a diary since the fifth grade (& I was only nine years old in the fifth grade, I was writing about nonsense probably LOL). In 2002 when I was in middle school, I created an Xanga account, and that was my very first internet blog! Way before it was the cool thing to do, like it is now. Til this day I'm close to many of my veteran blogger friends from Xanga lol :) ♥.

Blogging has been very useful for me - whether I am writing about my day, venting, making lists, future plans, sharing remedies/tips/recipes etc. I also love reading about others peoples lives; I prefer those types of blogs rather than the new cliche of beauty and fashion blogs.

Day 03: Best Friends

2011-08-04T01:32:00.000-04:00

A list of all of the best friends you’ve had through the years:

I hate the term best friend. I feel like the title is used way too loosely. However, I'm happy to say I am still close to my childhood best friends; K of ten years, and A of almost fifteen years. We've had our ups & downs (individually & as a group of friends), but the ups definitely outweigh the downs by a million.

I'm lucky enough to have associates that I hang out with occasionally, my original childhood best friends, and a few new friendships and acquaintance that I've made in recent years that I cherish & know aren't going anywhere (for the most part). I love that I have a different & unique relationship with every single person in my life. Some are substantial, and some aren't. And that's fine. Everyone serves there purpose, one way or another.

Day 02: Ten facts about yourself.

2011-08-03T15:30:00.002-04:00

1. My name is Stephany, my blog name Miss Esspi comes from my initials S.P.
2. I'm a vegetarian (have been since March 2010)
3. I delivered my daughter via water birth tub (absolutely no pain killers, not even an aspirin) and was in labor for thirty hours
4. I am only half hispanic (Dominican) but since I do not have a relationship or contact with my father or his side of the family, I do not claim my other race whatsoever
5. I'm obsessed with astrology, I can tell a persons sign within minutes of meeting them
6. I was in a beauty pageant when I was in middle school & won second place (Queen)
7. I've been a diary owner since the 5th grade, I'm a very private person so it's the best therapy for me
8. I've been to every state in New England, all of the states of the Tri-State area, North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Dominican Republic, & Mexico
9. I love waking up & looking up my dream meaning
10. When I was a young girl, I wanted to be Michelle Tanner (from Full House) SO BAD!

30 Day Challenge

2011-08-02T11:29:00.003-04:00

I feel like I'm always starting challenges but never follow through with any of them. I'm horrible at answering questions that require specific answers. But Jenny is doing a 30 Day Personal Challenge that actually seems like questions I wouldn't mind elaborating on. Let's try this again LOL.

01: Your favorite lyrics and why:

One of my top most favorite lyrics are from the song Virgen by Los Adolescentes, it's such a beautifully written love song, makes me super happy, lovey dovey & smile every time I hear it. But for the sake of this entry, I'll pick an English song LOL. The following is one of my favorite R&B/sad love songs. Funny thing is, this song has absolutely no relevance to me, but I remember being a little girl and feeling sad when I listened to this song. The lyrics are so well-written, it really makes you feel her emotions. Especially cause it's something that many females go through, it's just a very realistic song.

Well I guess I'm trying to be nonchalant about it
And I'm going to extremes to prove I'm fine without you
But in reality I'm slowly losing my my mind
Underneath the guise of a smile gradually I'm dying inside
Friends ask me how I feel and I lie convincingly
'Cause I don't want to reveal the fact that I'm suffering
So I wear my disguise 'til I go home at night
And turn down all the lights and then break down and cry

So what do you do when somebody you're devoted to
Suddenly just stops loving you and it seems they haven't got a clue
Of the pain that rejection is putting you through
Do you cling to your pride and sing "I will survive"
Do you lash out and say "How dare you leave this way"
Do you hold on in vain as they just slip away

If I were to ever be heartbroken, I'd stay as far away as possible from this song. It already brings tears to my eyes LOL. Can't imagine if it actually pertained to me.

Product Review: Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

2011-07-26T19:47:00.007-04:00

I came across Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie at Target over the weekend, and since I like the other products Ive tried from them, I figured I'd give this one a try as well.

It has shea butter, mango seed butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, and a bunch of other awesome ingredients that my hair absolutely loves. The texture is... it's almost like a paste, but it's not gooey.

I wet my hair, added some conditioner, detangled it, rinsed out the conditioner and put the Curl Enhancing Smoothie in my hair from root to tip. Then, I put my hair in a high bun. I wrapped my hair with a cotton shirt (I did this right before bed, so I didn't want to soak my pillows with my wet hair LOL) and when I woke up this morning, I simply put water on my hands & ran my fingers through my hair. I added just a little bit more of the Curl Enhancing Smoothie, and a tad of my Beautiful Curls, Shea Butter Curl Activating Cream, and let my hair air dry.

Before washing my hair

As you can see, the curls were very loose & undefined. The ends weren't looking very cute, either LOL.

And this is how my curls looked once it dried. I really love the results! It did exactly what it's called, enhanced my curls. My hair was very full, the curls were nice & spirally, and my hair was soft—not crunchy or wet-looking like some other products for curly-heads do.

I definitely recommend this! I bought it for $10 at Target. It's a decent sized container and it seems like it will last a while, so I don't think it's over-priced at all.

Anyone else like Shea Moisture's products?

Take care,

Thankful Thursday.

2011-07-14T16:30:00.007-04:00

I've been told by several people that they were unable to comment on my posts. I'm not exactly sure what was wrong, but thank you Hell Notes For Beauty for helping me correct the issue! You all should be able to comment now! :)

Moving along... I noticed I’m already at eighty five followers! That’s so cool considering I barely had twenty not too long ago. I was thinking about doing a mini-giveaway once I reach a hundred, just to show some love & appreciation :). Or is that corny? Lol. If you’re following me but I am not following you back, just let me know. Blogger is kind of disorganized as far as that goes.

Anyway, it’s Thankful Thursday: This week I’m super thankful for being presented with three very amazing opportunities, and I am especially thankful that my Summer class is finally over!

I’m seriously exhausted; thank God it’s over LOL. I’m anxious to see what grade I earned. I decided not to take another class for the second part of the summer since I’m going to have SUCH a busy academic year ahead of me – I want to enjoy the rest of the summer before the chaos.

One of the opportunities I was presented with is a youth mentoring program through my school, which is partnered with the Big Brother Big Sister program. It’s a brand new project, so I’m excited to possibly be one of the pioneers. When I was younger, my cousin had a Big Sister and I was so jealous! In retrospect, I definitely could have used one; I’m not sure why I didn’t mention it to my mom.

I was beginning to question whether this would be something I could actually commit to, being that I’m already super busy. However, I attended the info session yesterday and it doesn’t sound as overwhelming as I thought. The program doesn’t start until the Fall – so I’ll elaborate more then. I’m super excited about this though :D.

The other two opportunities, hmm… I don’t want to go there yet. I’ll wait those out a bit more before I speak about them (if I end up deciding to).

What are you most thankful for this week? Leave it in a comment or leave a link to your post if you decide to blog about it :D. I hope everyone’s having an amazing, productive week!

God bless,

Last Weekend.

2011-07-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

Well this past weekend I got to cross another thing off of my June to-do list: Celebrate Tee's birthday. I rarely go out to clubs & all that, it's honestly just not my thing, you know? But obviously for my friends birthday celebrations I wouldn't miss it, unless I absolutely couldn't go for whatever reason.

Anyhow, the night was super fun. It was about eight of us in total. Funny, I actually made a friend that night too... in the bathroom? Lmao. Some random girl, we started talking out of nowehere and for some reason we clicked and decided to hang out soon. Yeah, super random lmao. Anyway here are some pictures:

The birthday girl and I.

Mirror shots ;P

I absolutely LOVED my shoes. I bought them a while ago and was just waiting on the right event to wear them too. ♥

The next day was very ugly out. My daughter and I were supposed to attend this reunion event, which included a boat cruise - but we didn't attend because like I said it was beyond hideous out! So instead we went to the mall and I bought her a few things from the GAP, and I bought some stuff from Vicky's semi-annual sale :-). Love throwing new bra's and pantie's in my drawer.

Thankful Thursdays.

2011-06-30T15:00:00.004-04:00

Sorry for those who I already told, this is redundant to you lol. Anyhow, I'm super thankful for all of the people in my life, being healthy, and for all of the other blessings God has given me of course. But this week I'm especially thankful for:

Being invited to the ceremony by the Mayor of Boston, for the scholarship winners - which was held last Thursday. Out of over 350+ applicants, only 70 of us were finalists/interviewed in May. Out of those 70, only fourteen of us were selected to win an award. And to my surprise, I recieved a very specfic & special award, the Jeffrey Dunipace Rosen Scholarship. It was 100% merit-based, meaning it was my academic excellence and performance that made me win 1st place. So I'm super, duper proud of myself & just very thankful for being selected.

I'm also thankful for the family members of Jeffrey Dunipace Rosen who sponsor that scholarship in his name, may God rest his soul. ❤

(I'm the first name, my names Stephany in case you didn't know lol :P)

This helps me SO much. I can't thank God enough for giving me this blessing. I'm telling you guys, for those who are in college » apply for scholarships! Your only options are not loans and grants. There is literally a scholarship for almost everyone out there. I applied for dozens and thankfully got one. I'll definitely keep applying for more.

What are you especially thankful for this week?

Take care,

Product Review

2011-06-29T21:48:00.002-04:00

I was in Ulta about two weeks ago and saw that they finally had China Glaze's Electric Pineapple polish. I almost purchased it but it was $8.75 plus tax, but instead I just ordered it off of Amazon for like $6 instead (yes I'm that cheap lol). I also saw that the ever so hyped up Shatter Polish was finally on sale, so I decided to buy that as well.

Now, keep in mind that this swatch was done over one coat of White On White polish. I didn't like how the color looked by itself, it was more like an olive green color.

The shatter polish is cool. I don't think it's worth the hype, I'm glad I didn't buy it when it was at full price. But it definitely spices up a plain manicure, I did it for my friends birthday celebration last weekend and everyone loved it. My advice: Only do one very thin layer of the shatter polish, over dry nails. Otherwise, it won't look right.

Baking With Bella

2011-06-29T21:40:00.001-04:00

My daughter and I absolutely love the Summertime! On the weekends we are either at the park, at the beach, at the lake, at the pool, at the zoo, at a BBQ, or enjoying a stroll somewhere. But when the weather doesn't permit outdoor activities (*cough* RAIN!), one of our favorite indoor past-times is cooking! She loves helping me in the kitchen.

It tasted so good, too. ♥

Day One: Goals

2011-06-28T10:20:00.007-04:00

The lovely miss Jenny over at What a Beautiful Mind inspired me to participate in this 365 Questions/Answers Challenge she's been doing. I highly doubt I'll do this daily, so I won't even go there LOL... but I figured I'd start off my entries with one of the questions. This question had lengthy answer so I decided to just make it a post of it's own:

Day 1: Hopes, dreams, and plans for the next 365 days with a picture of yourself

Hmm, in this next year I want to start/accomplish a lot. By June 2012 I'd like to have earned atleast an additional 30 credits in school... but I'm aiming for 33. I want to get at least one more scholarship, I want to run my first 5K, I want to take my daughter to Disney World for her 4th birthday, I want to pay off a certain credit card. I want to have visited my family in Atlanta, friends/family in Miami, and friends/family in Dominican Republic... Just to name a few. I'm horrible with making up lists on the spot, LOL. But you can say a good majority of my goals are educational and financial ones, and a couple of personal ones.

What are some of the things you want to accomplish by Summer 2012?

Take care,

Fathers Day Weekend

2011-06-20T06:46:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone! I had a super good week/weekend, I hope everyone did as well :). I completed my very first week at work, and I definitely enjoyed it. Everyone I work with is super nice and helpful! I work at a federal bank, in the Housing & Community Development department — they are the ones who approve of government funding to build subsidized homes in New England. Interesting work, even though I'm just an administrative assistant. What I especially love is the location. I love the Copley/Back Bay area, it's so pretty.

Saturday I went to do my eyebrows and also went to the salon to cut my hair. It's cute... but nothing special at all, it's not the cut I was looking for. I'm actually going to go shorter, probably after this weekend. Later on that night was my friend T's birthday celebration at Kings (a bowling alley/bar/lounge/restaurant type of spot). I bought this cute color-block skirt during the Winter and finally had a reason to pop the tags on it, LOL. I paired it with some sexy nude pumps, I wish I got a picture of the whole outfit. It was super fun though, I went with my girls J and best friend K and met up with everyone else there. I also met a bunch of new people, which was cool. Fun times ♥.

The birthday boy & I.

Trina and I.

Sunday was Father's Day of course. Mister man, Bella and I went to this cute little restaurant in Davis Square. They have the best veggie burgers, ever! Lani got him the cutest little Minnie Mouse card ♥. Later on in the day my friend A randomly texted me about a BBQ his aunt was having. We're super cool, like I'm pretty much in the family... I'm always at their events LOL. Plus Bella loves playing with his daughters, so I headed over there. It was a beautiful Sunday, the weather was perfect for being outdoors.

She had the fakest smile ever, LMAO.

At the BBQ

This week is going to be very busy for me! The good, progressive type of busy though... so I'm not even complaining. I have school, work, my orientation at school (for new transfer students), my scholarship award ceremony, T's birthday celebration, my brother-in-law's surprise party, a boat cruise re-union event... I think I'm even missing something else. So yeah. After I submit this entry, I'll be finishing up my homework that's due tomorrow and going to sleep.

Hope everyone has an amazing week!

Thankful Thursday's

2011-06-16T00:00:00.003-04:00

I got the idea of Thankful Thursdays from YUMMommy's lovely blog. I thought it was a cute idea, and I'm all for positivity :-). I'm thankful for many things in my life — people, opportunities, experiences, etc — but this week I'm especially thankful for:

* Starting my new job and working for an amazing department with great people
* Being in the third week of my Summer I class, and being on top of my work
* Randomly stumbling upon a private school for my daughter, applying, & her being accepted! She'll be starting in the Fall! (Words cannot express how excited and happy I am, I almost cried LOL.)
* Getting awesome news regarding money to fund my college education

What are you thankful for this week?

Take care,

Molasses Experiment

2011-06-11T15:11:00.001-04:00

This is how my hair looked prior to doing any experimenting on it.

PROTEIN TREATMENT

"

I added a quick video to show you all how to mix up the protein treatment. Sorry for the crappy quality from my iPhone, but I don't have a point and shoot at the moment :'(.

Please Note:
- I actually used two tablespoons of castor oil, not one
- This mixture made for two people, so if you decide to do it... split the measurements in half
- I realized that could double up as both a protein & a conditioning treatment
- Molasses is rather sticky, so don't do apply this with you favorite shirt on LOL.
- I used Vegan Mayo... you can use regular mayo or vegan, it doesn't matter honestly because the ingredients are very similar. Just add an egg to the mixture if you're going to make it with vegan mayo, since your hair will need the protein :).
- Blackstrap Molasses (which is the syrup from sugar cane) is not only a sweetener... it actually works wonders for your hair and skin. It adds softness and sheen and strengthens weak/thinning hair; so it should be a staple in your hair care regimen if you're concerned about breakage.

I left the protein treatment in my hair for about an hour or so. It wasn't too difficult washing it out, but it definitely got messy! My hair actually felt soft and moisturized, I thought it was going to feel stiff/hard. I honestly didn't have to follow up with a deep conditioning treatment, but since this was my first time experimenting with all of this... it was a learning experience.

DEEP CONDITIONING TREATMENT

After I washed out the protein treatment & followed up with the deep conditioning treatment. I used about a 1/3 of a cup of Crece Pelo, 1/3 of Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose, two avocados, and a bit of Afro Veda's Hibiscus Hair Infusion Herbal Oil (which has so many good ingredients such as amla powder, need leaf extract, almond & jojoba oil, sunflower seed oil, and many more...). I let it sit in my hair for about an hour, washed it out, & did a rollerset.

This is how my hair looked immediately after I removed the rollers. As you can see my hair overly moisturized, yet it wasn't greasy. Next time I won't do both of these treatments in the same day.

If you have super dry hair, this will probably be really good for you. Anyhow, I put my hair up in a doobie/wrap to stretch out my hair without using direct heat (flat iron, blowdryer, etc) and went to sleep.

The next day I woke up to my hair looking like this. All in all, it was definitely a very moisturizing treatment, but like I said I wouldn't do both of the treatments at the same time because I can tell my hair is going to feel greasy soon.

Take care,

Avocados!

2011-06-03T12:31:00.010-04:00

The avocado isn't only delicious, it is also an amazing little vegetable to incorporate into your hair/skin care regimen :-). As I was saying last entry, I can't seem to find the avocados I prefer for my deep conditioning treatments anywhere! I've only found the ones from Mexico, which are the smaller/wrinkly ones. I prefer to buy are the ones from Dominican Republic (like the one I used in this entry), which I think are called the Bacon avocados (pictured below):

Apparently the ones I like are out of season, so I had to settle for two of the smaller Mexican ones (pictured below). I hope that there isn't a major difference... other than the size, because this was by far the best deep conditioning treatment I've used/made! (You can find the RESULTS » here.)

I've noticed some shedding lately... it's most likely from the fact that I've been leaving my hair out curly everyday, which means that I don't comb it out every single day. Our heads naturally shed about 50-100 hairs a day, so multiply that by a few days of not combing out my hair = what appears to be a lot hair falling out. Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to do a protein treatment (aka strengthening treatment) on my hair before I deep condition it.

I plan on making my protein treatment out of mayonnaise, an egg, black-strap molasses, and a bit of castor oil. I'm going to follow-up my treatments with roller-setting my hair since it has been in the lower 70's, therefore I won't be swimming this weekend. I'll definitely post pictures of the results :-).

Take care,

June Goals

2011-06-03T11:53:00.006-04:00

I've been updating my monthly goals on a consistent basis, but I was so busy in May that I completely forgot to do one for that month! Anyway, my June goals are pretty very do-able. Goals are super important (whether they are long-term or short-term ) because they map out our days, weeks, months, whatever! Without our map, we'd be pretty lost so it's super helpful to write things down just to keep us on the right path. Plus, crossing things out/checking things off our lists is soothing. At least for me it is, lol #nerdy :).

I have it stored in my THIS IS NOTE app in my phone to keep me on track

~~Start new job:~~ My aunt randomly told me about two weeks ago about a position that was opening up at her job (which is a government-owned bank for banks - if that makes sense?), in a different department than her own. I sent her my resume and found out last week that I got the job. For now I'm just waiting for my security clearance and I'll find out my exact start date next week :-). Super happy about that!
~~Start Summer Session I class~~: I'm only taking two classes in total this Summer, one per session. Last week was Memorial Day on what was supposed to be my first day of class... but I start this Monday instead. Not exactly thrilled about it but I'm happy that I'm doing what I'm supposed to.
~~Donate Old Clothes~~: My daughter is starting to outgrow things extremely fast and we have to keep buying her a bunch of new stuff all of the time. Her stuff is taking up way too much space so I'll be putting most of the stuff she outgrew in the donation bin not too far from my house. All of her Summery clothes that no longer fit I'll be bringing to my grandmothers house to ship to my cousin in Dominican Republic who had a baby girl & does not have much money for clothes.
Lose 4LBS. Over the Winter I ate a lot of junk & did not do many activities. The constant snowstorms we dealt with kept me indoors the majority of the time. Now that the warm weather is finally back, I'll be getting more active again & losing the pounds I gained over the colder months. I'm trying to walk/jog consistently, go to the gym even if it's only a few times a week, drink more water & less juice (at least 70 OZ a day), and overall eat less junk cause I'm a sucker for sweets & breads >:-).
Celebrate T's Birthday One of my closest friends will be turning 22 at the end of this month and I plan to celebrate with her, of course. I'm not even sure what she is doing, but I know I want to be there for her! Can't wait to dress up, do my hair/nails/makeup, etc lol ♥.
Limit Shopping. I've been spending too much money lately. Way too much, when I need to focus more on saving and pay off certain bills. I'm going to try my hardest at this one lol :-/

This was more for me than anyone else, so sorry if it was boring. What are some of your 'month goals'? If you decide to blog about them, leave me the link to the entry :-).

Take care,

Hair Type & Product Review

2011-06-01T21:29:00.013-04:00

I haven't posted hair care type of entries lately because I haven't really done any protein or conditioning treatments to my hair. I actually wanted to do a treatment last week, but I've yet to find avocados ANYWHERE - I prefer the Dominican ones versus the Mexican ones (which are the only ones that seem to be available around me). Anyway, I've been wearing my hair out curly instead of roller setting it because 1). I like to give my hair a break from the rollers/indirect heat (I do not use any type of irons), and 2). It's been way too hot to even attempt to sit under a dryer, LOL. I did pick up a few products from Bee Mine only to try something different from my usual routine for curls, and to see what all the hype is about.

I fall between the 3A-3B category. My curl pattern is very similar to that of Jennifer Freeman and Mya, for example.

Properly maintaining your hair, regardless of which hair-type category you may fall into, is very important in order to keep your hair nice & healthy. Try out different products, techniques and find out exactly what does/doesn't work for YOU. With that being said, my review is based on what I personally look for in the hair products I purchase, and the look I am trying to achieve.

From Bee Mine, I purchased Deja's Hair Milk, Bee Hold Curly Butter, Luscious Balanced Cream Moisturizer (pictured from left to right). I purchased the sample sizes because I wanted to try them out before I purchased the full size bottles.

Hair Milk: I absolutely love the Hair Milk! I use it more on my daughter than on myself, but it smells amazing & is an excellent detangler/leave-in. I like to go to sleep with my hair in a bun, so when I wake up I just take out the bun, spritz my water/aloe vera juice mix into my hair to dampen it, and add some of this stuff and it definitely takes out any tangles & makes my curls super soft & moisturized & doesn't weigh it down.

Curly Butter: I personally like butters that actually have the consistency of a butter. This product felt like more of a gel? The texture reminds me of Garnier's Fiber Gum Putty (except it works NOTHING like it). This honestly did nothing for me. It made no difference when I put it in, so I won't be purchasing the full size container.

Luscious Balanced Cream Moisturizer: Absolutely love this stuff! It smells beyond amazing, and it feels almost like whipped cream? This feels more buttery than the Curly Butter LOL. After I spritz my water/aloe vera juice mix in my hair and detangle it with the Hair Milk, I add some of this in my hair to moisturize and define/hold my curls. My hair looks amazingly moisturized and pretty all day long. I also love using this on my daughters hair, she actually comes back from preschool with her pigtails in tact!

So except for the fact that the products are a little on the expensive side, I do like two out of the three things I tried... so I'll be purchasing the full-sized Hair Milk and Moisturizer from Bee Mine. Hope this helped for anyone else who has been curious about some of their products.

Skating & Walking

2011-05-24T20:56:00.011-04:00

After a miserable, ugly two weeks of consistent rain, the sun finally decided to show her pretty little face and I definitely took advantage of it. Bella and I roller-bladed/skated for a bit, then we went to the park, and finally I decided to take a walk to the next city over (because I just wasn't ready to go back indoors yet).

I ended up walking five miles in total! That's crazy to me because it definitely didn't feel like that much. Anyway, it's supposed to be nice all week so I'm definitely going to continue my order fitness :-).

This weekend is Mother's Day (Dominican Republic, as well as many other countries around the world, celebrate it the last Sunday in May), Memorial Day Weekend, AND my grandmother's 61st birthday. Can you imagine all of the food that will be cooked, lol!? I've been eating extremely lightly all week so I can pig-out on Sunday, haha. I'm just waiting on news from two difference sources, I hope they're both GOOD.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the week. Take care,

2011-05-24T20:29:00.007-04:00

I recently became a member of Blogs By Latina's, which is a site dedicated to promoting blogs ran by ladies in the Latin community. I don't know about anyone else, but for me it's very rare that I come across Hispanic bloggers. I randomly came across the site, I don't even remember how... but I was way too excited and quickly joined. If any of my followers want to join as well, you definitely should. There are a lot of awesome bloggers I have discovered on there... ♥. And if you came across my blog through the site, welcome to my world & thank you for following me!

Protective Style Challenge 2011

2011-05-15T20:04:00.006-04:00

Bella and I are participating in Beads Braids Beyond's One Month Protective Styling Challenge. The purpose of the challenge is hair health: No usage of heat (I do not use heat on her hair anyway), rubberbands, tight pony tails, barrettes, etc. It'll be interesting to see all of the creative protective styles the mommies come up with.

Her hair after I washed and detangled it, without any products whatsoever. Her curly fro', au natural.

Eight single braids in the back.

Two cornrows in the front.

She liked it because she said it reminded her of someone in her class, LOL.

I washed her hair with Kinky Curly's Come Clean Shampoo, conditioned with Suave's Almond & Shea Butter Conditioner and also added some Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner in the mix as well. I massaged her scalp with Afro Veda's Hibiscus Hair Infusion Herbal Oil, and then moisturized her hair with Hair Veda's Vatika Frosting and avocado butter.

I told her she had to wear this bonnet to sleep to protect her hair, she wasn't too thrilled.

I did two cornrows in the front, but I did not do them very tightly because 1). I do not want to pull at her scalp, it would defeat the purpose of protective styling, and 2). She was moving around too much LOL. As you can see, her braids curl up at the ends without anything to secure it so I'm probably going to have to re-braid her ends daily. Next Sunday we'll be switching up her hair style, I'm not sure what to do yet though.

Bella's Third Birthday

2011-05-15T19:31:00.005-04:00

So the past two weeks have been very busy for us over here. On Friday, May 6th I surprised my Bella at school with a cake and loot bags for the kids. She was so happy, she loves being the center of attention LOL. On Sunday, the day of her birthday, we woke up early & daddy and I took her to the movies to see Rio 3D. I loved this movie so much! It definitely brought tears to my eyes, I love those feel good animated family movies. This was her first movie theater experience and she LOVED it. After that, we headed over to my grandmothers house to cut a cake for her and sing happy birthday.

Cake made by my grandmother & decorated by my great-aunt.

And then to finish her birthday festivities, we went to an indoor water park Coco Key with family. The kids loved it, especially miss Bella. This little girl has no fear when it comes to water/swimming (which is also a scary thing...).

Anyhow, I hope that everyone else enjoyed their weekend. It is supposed to rain for this entire week, how miserable right? Funny enough, it's going to be a really good week for me.

Take care,

All The Time.

2011-05-12T14:07:00.002-04:00

Love Chase N. Cashe, I've been listening to his mixtape Gumbeaux a lot lately. Definitely feeling his vibe. This song in particular sampled a Mint Condition song called Forever In Your Eyes - I absolutely LOVE Mint Condition ♥. I'm absolutely in love with this song! And the original, of course ;).

All About Bella.

2011-05-08T07:01:00.061-04:00

Guess who is officially a three year old little lady? Miss Leilani aka LaniBella, but most commonly known as Bella. I seriously cannot believe three whole years have passed since the day she came into this world. May 8th, 2008 will always be a bittersweet day. At the same moment that I was delivering my seven pound daughter, my great-grandmother had a stroke that paralyzed her... and took her precious life away only eleven days later. Nonetheless, I love them both very much and believe that the strong connection between the beginning/ending of their lives is very significant, and that Mama is constantly watching over her ♥.

As you can see she was born via waterbirth (all natural, not even a tylenol LOL!)
Sorry, I had to blur out my fugly, just-pushed-out-a-baby face.

She's SO intelligent, talkative, independent, opinionated (LOL), athletic yet super girly, daring/courageous, and has such an imagination. She's such an amazing little girl and has changed and developed so much, every single year. I wonder what's in store for age three... !? I'm excited to find out! We're cutting a cake for her later on today so I'll post the pictures sometime this week.

All the mommies on here, I hope you have a Happy Mothers Day! and received some gifts ;) Take care.

2011-04-29T22:49:00.001-04:00

Finally, Boston is seeing some beautiful & warm weather! We've had such a cold, ugly, snowy Winter so it felt like forever since I've been able to go outside in a tank top. But Lanibella was definitely feeling it, she was finally able to ride her new scooter which was an early birthday present from daddy.

Speaking of her birthday, it's next Sunday! My little princess will be turning three on Mother's Day. I'm simply cutting a cake and having some food over at my grandmothers house, and the week after we will be going to an indoor water resort. Her birthday dress and bows came in today so she's super excited, lol ♥. She swears she's like five.

I started back up on my workout routine this week. I joined a new gym that's much closer (gas is no joke) and cheaper than the one I used to go to. I've went twice this week so far. Last night, I was reading my new book while on the bike and before I knew it, I had done FIVE miles on the bike (I usually can barely due a quarter mile cause I hate the bike LOL). I'm definitely going to keep that routine up (bike + book) as my warm up because it made me go way harder on the rest of my exercises. I'll be blogging about the results as soon as I start seeing them, LOL.

XOXO, Esspi. ♥

Tornados & Lake Trips.

2011-04-19T03:02:00.000-04:00

On Saturday night while in North Carolina, the power randomly went out at my uncles house during a storm. We grew up in Santo Domingo so honestly, the lights going out does not stop us from anything. We just had a bunch of candles lit & continued BBQing (yes, in the rain LMAO my uncle from Atlanta was out there with a freaking umbrella and a flashlight), eating, listening to music (via iPhone speaker LOL), and just laughing & enjoying each others company. My little sister ran into the kitchen saying, There's a tornado warning! (I guess her dad called & told her) but nobody payed mind to her because she freaks out about EVERYTHING and she's really dramatic. But wow, she was not playing. We lucked out big time - only a few streets away, houses and businesses were literally DAMAGED and throughout the state, many people were killed because of all the tornados. I cannot believe how lucky we are to not have been a victim of such a thing. The power did not come back until Sunday afternoon, the weather was beyond beautiful too. It's crazy how bipolar mother nature is.

Today was lovely, we woke up and my cousins and uncle were grilling on the BBQ. After everyone ate, we headed over to the lake and enjoyed the amazing weather. I can't wait 'til the hot weather makes an appearance in Boston! Afterwards we went to pack and headed to the airport for our departure back home - except our flight back to Boston was cancelled due to engine failure. As much as I want to be in my very own bed right now, I'd rather be here one last night than to be on a plane with a failing engine.

Our last day in North Carolina, in pictures.

XOXO, Esspi.

via North Carolina.

2011-04-16T02:06:00.002-04:00

I'm currently in North Carolina. Yesterday morning my grandparents, aunts, cousins, mother, siblings & of course my princess and I, all arrived here from Boston and Florida. We're expecting more family to arrive soon from Georgia as well in a few hours. My uncle is deploying to Iraq next month, and it's also his birthday so we're basically celebrating his birthday/throwing a farewell party/visiting their new home that was just built... all in one trip.

XOXO, Esspi ♥.

Results *

2011-04-05T03:05:00.006-04:00

So tonight I deep conditioned with the avocado concoction I made yesterday as planned and I'm super satisfied. I shampooed with Kerastase, then I co-washed it with some regular Suave conditioner just to detangle it. I drowned my hair with the avocado mix and sat under the steamer for about forty five minutes. My hair felt a little bit stiff/starchy once I rinsed the stuff out (I think due to the banana puree?), so I put some Crece Pelo conditioner in it and steamed for about ten more minutes and then did rollers.

These are pictures after immediately removing the rollers. It left my hair very shiny, soft & full/bouncy. It's now in a wrap/doobie so the waves can relax a bit though. (I do this in place of flat-ironing it.)

Do I recommend this as a deep treatment? YES. Avocado is great for strengthening/fortifying your hair and will leave it shiny and very soft. But I suggest that you mix it it very well, preferably with a hand mixer to make sure it isn't chunky or else it's probably going to be hard to get it out of your hair AND leave a nice mess in the bath tub lol. Softening it over the stove is also a good technique in getting the chunks out as well.

xoxo, Esspi ♥.

Beauty Sundays

2011-04-04T01:43:00.012-04:00

Sundays are my days to deep condition & steam my hair, give myself a mani/pedi, a facial, do laundry, organize and tidy everything up. You'd think I'd do all of that on Saturday's so I can just relax on Sunday!? The other day when I was at the bodega I picked up an avocado to deep condition with (inspired by none other than Hell Notes for Beauty lol) and I totally forgot about it until this morning when I happen to see it in the kitchen.

I used the entire avocado because ... well I didn't want to throw it away and I wasn't in the mood to eat any. Oh and P.S. this coconut shell/bowl is my favorite to eat my cereal out of :).

I added some castor oil, baby banana puree, water, and a bit of Baba De Caracol deep conditioner. Then I put it inside of a pan with boiling water to let it all melt and mix nicely, especially the avocado since it's VERY chunky and that could get messy when washing it out of your hair.

I put it in a bigger bowl so that I could puree it with the hand mixer, my Bella decided to help me mix it manually as well, LOL ♥.

The finished product was such a smooth texture. I can't wait to put it in my hair tomorrow and sit under the steamer. For now it's in the fridge :/ I couldn't do it today because I had to run to the mall and do some returns and start shopping for our trip that's in less than two weeks.

I bought my Bella a Disney Princess suitcase and she was so in love with it that she was walking around the mall with it the rest of the time we were there! Oh Lord lol. I bought myself a romper and some shorts. Love, love, LOVE. Well I have to exchange the shorts for a bigger size because they were exposing the cheeks and unfortunately I am not going for the delicate hooker look .

So far, I have good vibes about April (despite it snowing on April Fool's day!) I'm waiting to hear back about a couple of different things. This upcoming weekend we're attending my Uncle's wedding (my greedy self is already looking forward to the food.) The weekend after that is our trip, and the weekend after that is Easter which means... more yummy FOOD! Anyway, I am crossing my fingers for actual Spring weather soon.

Toodles.
xoxo, Esspi ♥.

That's that good stuff.

2011-03-27T11:02:00.002-04:00

I don't get very personal on here since this is a public blog (even though many people don't know about it, I'm paranoid like that LOL.) But I'm just going through a tough point in my life right now. Just too many major & unexpected changes all at once, and I haven't had a chance to really adjust. On top of that, being a parent and having to wear so many different hats for all the people in my life make it much more difficult. I'm doing what I can do and leaving everything else in Gods hands, what else can I really do? *shrug.

I actually made that for my private live journal account - so some things I say may not make sense, plus this is the second video I've ever made so I'm still new to recording & editing, - but I figured I'll throw it on here too because I really have nothing else to say, ha.

XOXO, Esspi. ♥

Spring!?

2011-03-21T16:02:00.001-04:00

I won my first Blogspot giveaway, from one of my favorite ladies of Blogspot Cindia! Woohoo. Follow her, she's a very interesting read ♥.

I love my prize too. The palette on the left is my favorite, it can be worn in the day or night without looking too over the top. The one on the right makes a sexy smokey eye, perfect for a night out. I'm going to paint my nails that shade of purple next, I'll post a picture when I do :).

Bamboo Earrings

2011-03-15T14:22:00.000-04:00

I somehow came across this fabulous earring designer, Sistargirl while browsing for home made earrings on Etsy. I actually had saw similar print earrings on Tumblr so I was ecstatic to find the designers shop! They're so cute, definitely one of a kind, and I love supporting peoples businesses. They are huge though LOL. Bigger than I thought. But I will be wearing them in the Summer with a very simple outfit, can't wait ♥.

If you buy anything from her, tell her I sent ya. She's a very sweet girl!
xoxo, Esspi ♥

2011-03-12T11:20:00.000-05:00

I actually did pretty good on my February goals.

~~Pay off two cards (Express & Chase)~~
~~Buy car~~
~~Baby Banana Food Deep Condition (inspired by Hell Notes for Beauty)~~
~~Update resume~~
Order prints from Shutterfly
Go to NY (possibly)
~~Find a gym to call my new home~~
~~Do well in school~~

Only thing I didn't do was go to New York or order prints from Shutterfly. I've been doing good, some things have changed since the last time I blogged but I'm doing alright. I've been slowly racking up on Spring/Summer stuff, it's my favorite season so it's hard for me to resist when I see any cute clothes or sandals. Here are some pictures I've taken over the last few weeks:

March 2011 Goals
Go to the gym 3x a week
Increase my water intake
No soda
Do backstrap molasses hair treatment
Receive an answer from OFS
Volunteer at my old school

xoxo, Esspi.

Grudges are useless.

2011-02-18T10:15:00.001-05:00

This morning I woke up in a lovely mood. I'm sure it has everything to do with the fact that - after being abused dozens of times by mother nature, it's finally sixty degrees outside! I'm not going to get too ahead of myself, it's still February and Boston still has many cold days ahead. But I am still super happy, it puts me in a wonderful mood ♥

I went into my e-mail inbox as usual, only to find an e-mail from my ex friend. I've been thinking about her a lot lately, so I was happy to see her reach out to me and attempt to squash the petty 2010 crap. I don't hold grudges, especially not over people who didn't do any harm to me. I hope we can continue a normal friendship. I'll have my guards up for a while though but as long as we're at least on cool terms, I'm satisfied.

Valentine's Weekend

2011-02-16T20:49:00.001-05:00

My Valentine's weekend had it's ups and downs. I went out to an Italian restaurant with the Mister, and he surprised me by decorating the inside of his trunk with all types of balloons, gifts, candy, flowers, a teddy bear, and an I Love You poster he made. He asked me to go get something in the trunk and all of that stuff just popped out at me! I was a very happy girl indeed :).

I wasn't surprised at these. I've been hinting about it since before Christmas lol. ♥

I'm not sure how I lived without this thing so long.

I love the coral-ly one ♥.

He's an awesome gift-giver/surpriser obviously. I am definitely not, I suck at both of those things.

Baby Banana Food Deep Condish

2011-02-16T20:23:00.002-05:00

On Thursday I did the baby banana food deep conditioner. I used almost the exact products that Hell Notes For Beauty used except I added in some castor oil because my main focus right now is thickness. I already had everything in the cabinets except for the actually banana so it was simple to make.

Honey, castor oil, baby banana puree, and ylang ylang oil.

Before washing it. I have layers, hence what appears to be uneven-ness.

I went under the steamer and left it in my hair for a while, I honestly don't remember how long but I would say for maybe about an hour and a half? I washed it out and it was a bit sticky & starchy (I never put castor oil in my hair before, so I had no idea how thick/sticky it is until then). I put some leave-in in conditioner, moisturized with shea butter, and did about four braids & went to sleep. The next day I wore it out curly, which came out amazing actually (I should've taken a picure!) Then I washed my hair once again to try make sure it was all out, did a roller set, wrapped my hair in a doobie and the next day I unwrapped it and it was looking, smelling & feeling great :).

Would I recommend trying this? Yes. But don't use too much castor oil or honey or you'll have to wait a day to be able to roller set it like I had to. I'll definitely try this again in two weeks.

Moms Birthday

2011-02-10T00:28:00.002-05:00

My mothers birthday was on the 2nd and celebrated last Saturday. Even though I was in a horrible mood thanks to two lovely people (one being her) I went anyway, I'm not vindictive like that. It was like Thanksgiving all over again with the surplus of food and family, good times ♥.

My princess and I.

My Bella. Who's soon to be three in less than three months.

My moms birthday cake - my Aunt decorated it and made the flowers & butterflies by hand, and my grandmother baked it from scratch. (You can tell the person who wrote on it doesn't know English though LMAO!)

These go by quick, so I always hide three in the microwave to take home :).

I bought the baby banana food on Sunday at Whole Foods, and I already have ylang ylang oil and honey so I'll be trying the deep conditioning treatment I posted about last entry, very soon. I've been busy this week with work, school, and other obligations. I hope to do it tomorrow evening. I'll definitely take before and after pictures.

February

2011-02-03T12:51:00.002-05:00

We're already in February! New Years Eve felt like it was so long ago, actually LOL. I'm just over here waiting on my tax refund. I'm planning on stashing a certain amount in my savings, paying off some bills/cards with some, and I budgeted some so I can treat myself to a little shopping :). Anyway here are my February goals:

~~Pay off two cards (Express & Chase)~~
Buy car
Baby Banana Food Deep Condition (inspired by Hell Notes for Beauty)
~~Update resume~~
Order prints from Shutterfly
Go to NY (possibly)
Find a gym to call my new home
Do well in school

Seems doable enough. Let's see how it goes :)

xoxo, Esspi.

Back / New Name.

2011-02-03T12:28:00.000-05:00

Changed my blogspot name to Miss Esspi (“SP” — my initials). I wanted Esspee but it was taken. Between starting the Spring 2011 semester, working full-time, raising an almost three year old, and everything else in between — I've been pretty busy, and neglectful to my little bloggie. Sorry ;(.

Last weekend was lovely. Went to Chuck E. Cheese with my Bella and Mister Man ♥, and then we stopped by my besties house to hang out and let the kids play. The rest of the week we've been getting slapped by the snow storm, and now I'm finally at working playing catch-up.

Yesterday was my mothers 40th Birthday and this weekend is her party ♥. I'll whip out my DSLR, it's probably dusty by now... I haven't used it since Halloween! Next weekend is Valentine's weekend, and is also be my best friends going away party :'(. She's moving to Hawaii for a while. At least I have the opportunity to visit... that's if I feel like dropping $1600 and being on a fifteen hour flight with a three year old. Ha.

My Bella at Chuck E. Cheese ♥.

Driving to work on Tuesday. You'd think I lived in Alaska.

This one is from a few weeks ago but I had wanted to post it.

xoxo, Esspi. ♥.

2011-01-05T10:29:00.005-05:00

On Sunday I had to go to the mall to return a few items, and as I was getting dressed I received a call from a male friend—whom I haven't spoken to in a WHILE. I answered the phone super excited to hear from him, only to recieve a sad voice from the other end. He works at a mall (different from the one I planned to go to) so I decided to head over there instead to do my returns & then visit him to talk. We went to lunch at California Pizza Kitchen (my first time, it's overrated) and had some drinks as well.

I was happy to know that my advice, and just letting him vent to me, made him feel A LOT BETTER. At least one of us left the table feeling better...

Vision Board

2011-01-04T11:37:00.001-05:00

So I've been saying this for a WHILE but I'm dedicated this time, this month I'll be starting & completing my vision board. I was inspired by a friends vision board. I just need to find the time "/.

Isn't it the cutest? & Inspiring? A constant visual reminder of your goals and what is to come to ones life ♥. That's my biggest project for January. The second is to sell all of my Bellas 2T clothes (except for the Summer stuff that I'll be sending to Dominican Republic.) And the third is to buy a cute girly photo album, put all of Bella's loose photos in them, & update her timeline babybook. Well, I guess that's three more? LOL *shrug. I have other goals for the month but I'll leave this here.

xoxo, Esspee ♥.

NYE 2010.

2011-01-02T23:11:00.004-05:00

This week had it's shares of ups & downs. I only had to work three days, five hour shifts, went sledding for the first time with the Mister, had an awesome workout session with the Mister & his friends (one's a marine and made us do intense ab workouts, I'm still in pain!), went bowling with my friend A and our daughters, hung out with L and my Bella on New Years night while we jammed to some music & ate Burger King.

But my New Years Eve/Day was pretty much horrible. I didn't even get to countdown, ugh it was just a really bad night/morning. I hope it somehow means that this will be the most amazing year ever? LOL.

Motherhood & the Worrying *

2010-12-22T15:10:00.001-05:00

Random but, lately I've realized how SCARY it is having a child, especially a girl. There are just so many creeps & careless people in the world. At night, all I can do is constantly pray and ask God to please always keep his eyes on my daughter while she's away from me & to keep her away from the Evil of this world. When I'm at work I find myself wondering if her classmates are playing nice, if she's eating enough, if her teachers are treating her fairly, etc. I know she's fine, cause she would definitely tell me if she wasn't LOL but I guess it's just in a mothers nature to always worry about her child(ren). I don't know how people can raise so many children, I think I'd have a heart attack from the worrying (I give major kudos to the mommies of multiple children). I seriously don't even trust ANYONE when it comes to my L. Bella. To this very day the only people I've ever let watch her for me are her two grandmothers. That's it. If they can't do it for me, she stays with me — end of story.

This story really saddened me. Honest to God, I was depressed for like three days after watching this video and couldn't stop crying :'(. How can someone be so cruel!? Poor little girl. I'm telling you, some people DO NOT deserve to be parents. On top of that it just made me even more worried as a mother. *sigh.

Karma.

2010-12-16T10:54:00.001-05:00

Karma or coincidence? As much as I'd like to believe life just happens, I honestly do believe that in our everyday lives we choose to do good or evil, and that there are results and consequences to our actions & reactions.

& That kind of scares me cause I'm definitely not a perfect person... I've had my share of being selfish, self-centered, dishonest, etc. I've also done plenty of good things as well, I'm far from EVIL! But something I did 12/5/09 seriously haunts me and I wonder if I'll ever be forgived for it. As if guilt and regret aren't enough. *deep sigh.

In other news - but on a similar note - yesterday my mother received a call from her job saying that someone returned her phone, which was found on the train. She was surprised cause she just took it as a loss, it had been gone for nearly a month. When I really thought about it, karma came to mind. Back in the Summer time my mom found a cell phone, on that very same train, and called the owner and even went as far as MAILING IT OUT to the owner (a teenager) so that they didn't have to come get it. She forgot all about that good & honest deed. Funny how she got her Blackberry back from losing it on that very same train. I don't think that's a coincidence at all.

I don't want to continue living with regret cause of my past actions, and with the fear of bad things coming back to me for that. So I'm going to make a conscience effort to think about the future before I do anything. With that being said, I have a serious life decision I need to make immediately cause it's slowly killing me inside.

Quinceañera & To Do's

2010-12-13T14:23:00.001-05:00

This weekend was pretty decent, despite the crappy weather. On Saturday I went to my daughters cousins quinceañera. It was beautiful! We didn't get to even eat though, because the food was catered and we got there after they served the guests. I thought it was going to be your typical buffet style food :x. Oh well. Anyhow, after that we all (that were legal, LOL) went out to some lounge and danced the night away to bachata, merengue, reggaeton, etc.

There are more pictures, but these are the ones I took on my BB - the rest are on my camera which is at home.

December To Do's:
- Update resume
- Apply for TMC
- Christmas shop (tsk, tsk)
- Put car on craigslist
- Sell car
- Buy NYE dress (AA)
- Buy NYE shoes
- Return H&M dress and JC Penny jeans
- Christmas party 12/18
- Eye doctor appt 12/21
- Make appt for child care stuff

Simple things I need to do before the month is over. I'm attempting to kick my tendency to procrastinate and leave everything for the last minute. We'll see how that goes.

2011

2010-11-30T15:46:00.030-05:00

I know I just said I'd stop talking about the year to come but, I came across this (based on my birthday) and thought it was funny. Because this is what I had been saying all along.

2011 will be a Number One year for you. Ruled by the Sun. This is a year of action. The seeds you plant now, you will reap later. Others might find you less sociable, as you are busier than ever and you focus on your activities and your needs. Still, you are outgoing and your initiative is stronger than ever. Advice - Stand alone, take action, start fresh, express independence.

This is from a person who is very passionate about astrology, numerology, symbolism, etc. I don't believe in horoscopes though.

A New Beginning In Your Life
The current year is the beginning of a new nine year cycle for you. It holds the promise of being an exciting new adventure, with life taking on new challenges that pave the way for the next cycle of nine years in your life. This is a time to clarify your goals and it is a time to act on them. Hard work may be necessary to get a new venture moving. Your physical strength will be up during this year, perhaps higher than it has been for some time, as you have some special needs for this extra energy. If you are unable or unwilling to answer the call to change and make the move in your life the appears necessary now, your prospects may be delayed until the next cycle begins in nine years. New goals should be clearly set and worked toward, as this is really a new beginning of a nine year cycle and it is best not to dwell on the past at this time. This will be fairly easy for you to do because most of the problems and disappointments of the past will tend to disappear, leaving the way open for these new challenges. This is a great time; use it to its full advantage.

I just think it's very on point, I've been saying for a while now but this only confirms it. I didn't have a clear set of goals for 2010 so it's no surprise I didn't accomplish much. It was a really good year though, just not very productive.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T15:00:00.002-05:00

I had a great Thanksgiving! It's always nice for all of us to gather, eat, drink, laugh, & dance. Thankfully we don't only do it on Thanksgiving, but for many other occasions throughout the year. Unfortunately, my DSLR died after one picture and I didn't have a point and shoot at the time (I ordered one on Black Friday though!) so no pictures :'(.

Salsa is lovely, I look forward to Monday evenings with Mister Man. It's our little own guaranteed day of quality time ♥.

Lately I've been anti-social in general, but moreso with certain people. Some things just turn me off from friends and I can't deal with the negativity, even if it's just minor/petty.

I'm glad that it's already December tomorrow. That means 2011 is almost here, and I will just be waiting for the Spring/Summer to arrive. My Bella will be turning THREE in May (time flies) ♥. I can't wait to see what 2011 has to bring but I won't get too ahead of myself... let me see how the remainder of 2010 plays out.

xoxo, Esspee.

Hair Cut & Thanksgiving

2010-11-22T20:48:00.002-05:00

On Saturday I went to the salon and trimmed my hair as planned. I didn't do a big drastic cut, I really didn't have to - I just wanted the fried ends OFF because it was making the rest of my hair look like crap. Before hitting the salon I went to the beauty supply to get a deep conditioner to use, but ended up buying three since they had a special.

Wheat germ. Baba de Caracol. Crece Pelo.

The final result. I used wheat germ to deep condition.

Ordered this last week on Amazon. Peachy Keen by China Glaze ♥.

I'm definitely satisfied with the results. I recommend using the wheat germ deep conditioner - it left my hair feeling silky, shiny, and it smells pretty good. My hair actually has body again and it doesn't feel weighed down like before. I'm going to be taking much better care of it this time around, and I hope it's long and healthy by Summer.

Now I'm just waiting for Thanksgiving to arrive. Mmmm, moro de guandules, potato salad, pastelitos, I can taste it all now :). My uncle, aunt and cousins from North Carolina are coming up and I'm anxious to meet my new baby cousin Samantha. We might be going to New York to visit family out there as well. On Friday we're taking family portraits (the grandchildren on my gma's) can't wait :). Well I hope they come out nice anyway.

xoxo, esspee ♥.

Blazers & Jackets

2010-11-19T13:04:00.001-05:00

I'm completely obsessed with blazers. I feel like they make an outfit look so much more sexier & sophisticated. I stumbled upon these online, and I'm definitely planning on getting them. Even if it's only one at a time, LOL.

I've been searching EVERYWHERE for a red blazer.

This mustard colored one is definitely calling my name.

This is more of a jacket, which I need... so I'll probably order this one first.

I gave my last seasons leather bomber jacket to my mother (LMAO don't ask - she just wanted it so I let her have it) and I've been searching for a cute fitted one with a hoodie. (:

Black Friday

2010-11-15T16:06:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is next week! And next Friday is every shopping addicts favorite holiday, BLACK FRIDAY! My mission is to find some boots, blazers, belts and jeans for myself. A few outfits and sneakers for my Bella ♥. And also some of her Christmas toys. And my mother and boyfriends gift, if possible. Me and my daughter come first though, so as long as I get our stuff I'll be extremely satisfied.

We'll be at the outlets at midnight ready to shop :).

My Birthday

2010-11-15T15:59:00.002-05:00

I still can't believe how quickly this year flew by. I mean... time is really something you can do nothing about. Except make the best of the time you have. Getting older is inevitable. I celebrated my twenty first birthday this weekend with my friends and loved ones. I had a good time from what I actually can remember, woke up with a hangover, and many stories from friends LOL.

Myself and one of my closest friends ♥.

November To Do List

2010-11-09T12:06:00.006-05:00

I was inspired to do this, thanks to Bri Unscripted. I think I'll do this in the beginning of every month :).

~~Start salsa class~~
~~Celebrate my birthday~~
Get this sexy navy blazer from Bloomingdale's
Possibly go to New York Thanksgiving week
Sell my car
~~Start Christmas shopping on Black Friday~~
Lose the five pounds I gained in cancun :x
Pay off two of my credit cards

That's all I can think of for now. I'll add more as I go along. Moving along... isn't that navy blazer just perfect? My boyfriend has a friend that works at Bloomingdales so I'm hoping that 1). They have my size in stores (cause they don't have it online "/) and that 2). I can get a discount lmao. Call me cheap if you must. A navy blazer is a must, I've been looking everywhere for the perfect one and I think that one just may be it.

Anyhow, I started my salsa class last night! That's one of the things I've been wanting to do for a LONG time now... for years. Salsa is my FAVORITE genre of music, and I know the basic steps but I admire (and lowkey envy) the professional salseras that do all the intricate turns and styles. I would love to be a professional salsera and enter in competitions in the future. Anyway, I was originally supposed to do it with one of my girls in the Summer but our schedules never allowed it. I didn't want to try it alone cause I was scared and shy but like I said an entry or two ago... I'm letting go of my fear of trying new things on my own.

Toodles, xoxo.

Dreams

2010-11-04T11:54:00.000-04:00

To dream that you are riding a bicycle means you are feeling confused and unsteady. It signifies your desires to attain a balance in your life; you should achieve harmony between ALL aspects of your life if you want to reach your goals. If you have difficulties riding the bicycle, then it implies that you doubt your ability to achieve success without assistance.

To see a highway in your dream, represents your sense of direction and your life's path. Consider the conditions of the highway which will reveal how much you feel in charge of your life.

This was my dream last night. I was riding a bike on the highway, and I know exactly where I was cause it was the roads of Boston. There was more to it but that's all I can remember right now, and the analysis is so ON POINT. It's funny cause I was actually going to blog about this yesterday but I wanted to keep that post short.

I feel like, in many aspects of my life, I wrap myself around something so much that I neglect other things because of it. This also goes along with prioritizing, and also procrastination. At times I can be a bit irresponsible; neglecting certain priorities because I'm too focused on the others. I have so many goals that I want to accomplish but I feel overwhelmed. I don't know where to start. And I even find myself not doing certain things because I don't want to do them alone, or I'm too shy or anxious. Well I was born alone and I'm most likely going to die alone... so I'm going to take control of things from this point on and do things for myself/by myself if need be.

Let's see how this goes...

Hair Stuff

2010-11-04T10:54:00.004-04:00

I'm glad I didn't chop my hair off back in August as planned, I just decided to restore it back to health instead. Since then, I've only straightened my hair TWICE (rollers and flat iron by my mother, not a salon) and they were for events. I never used to rock my curly hair, it was rare that you caught me with them. IDK, I just didn't embrace my natural hair... I didn't feel pretty. Anyway, I can say that ever since I've stopped doing rollers and flat ironing regularly , my curls are much prettier & healthier. I deep condition it with Mirta De Perales Deep Conditioning Hair Masque, my favorite ♥. I'm not against rollers at all, I think they're great actually and a much better alternative to a blow dryer but I've just been staying away from heat altogether, because I was way too dependent on it.

I definitely recommend this deep conditioner. It's amazing and smells wonderful. I want to try her other products as well.

This is my hair now, much healthier, thicker & stronger. I still have a long way to go though.

Twenty One

2010-11-03T14:32:00.000-04:00

So my birthday is next Saturday, and I don't care. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to make it to twenty one years alive & healthy... but I'm not satisfied with where I am in life right now. I feel like I was doing so much better at nineteen years old, than now. I literally accomplished all of my 2009 Goals which included buying a car, saving a certain amount of money, getting straight A's, go on a trip, throw my daughter a big successful first birthday, make new friends, etc. I feel like I've wasted a lot of time this year honestly. Wasted time on people, wasted time on negative energy/being angry or upset, wasted time on NOTHING (procrastination/laziness). Not that I didn't do anything productive, cause I was in school Spring and Summer semesters but IDK. I expect more of myself and I'm disappointed. I feel like I should be doing much better at twenty one in many areas. Anyway, I'm not going to be a negative nancy about it... I'm going to celebrate my birthday with my friends, family, and work on my 2011 Goals which I will be accomplishing every single last one of them.

I'm Back!

2010-11-01T15:48:00.004-04:00

I've been gone for just about three months! Some things have changed since I last updated, and some things are still the same. I went to Cancun in September (my first time there, definitely won't be my LAST), I got a new job, , I didn't end up cutting my hair (I decided to restore it back to health, which I believe is working), celebrated a few of my friends birthdays, and now I'm just waiting for my own - which is in twelve days. I definitely want to be consistent on here again, so today is the day I start. Eventually I want to make this an INVITE ONLY blog but I'll wait until I have more followers.

Possible Hair Styles

2010-08-03T19:37:00.000-04:00

So I've been reading into hair care forums, blogs, & have asked around and it seems like restoring my hair back to health is definitely a possibility if I take the right steps. So now the debate is whether I want to do that, or just cut it and sorta start from scratch. I honestly kind of want to try it, but then again I know when I see people with long hair I'm going to get sad & miss it, LOL. Also, that means my hair will be short on my birthday which sucks :/. I have until next weekend to decide though, so we'll see.

So far, here are the hair styles I'm thinking about trying:

I like this style Jessica Simpson has going on, but I definitely
don't want highlights; never mind red ones.

This is a blunt wavy bob on Zoe Saldana. I absolutely love it.
If I did this, I'd want it a bit asymmetrical, longer in the front.

I love this hair style as well, & it looks like it would be easy to manage. IDK.

& This is currently the length of my hair now, except this picture was
taken earlier in July before the hairdresser fucked it up & now it's thin and broken :(

Opinions? Ideas? Any other pictures of similar styles that you know of? As you can see, I'm thinking of going to about shoulder length and I'd pretty much like a blunt bob hairstyle but I want it a bit asymmetrical so that it's longer at the front.

Hair Drama

2010-08-01T22:30:00.002-04:00

So about a week ago I got my hair done at the salon (wash/set), before that I hadn't done that since April because my mom does my hair (for free, of course lol). And it was the worst experience ever, like I've never gone through anything like that; I have very manageable/soft curly hair but these ladies (yes, two) were pulling so hard when they were blow drying my hair. This was when I first noticed my hair looked thinner, which wasn't an issue prior to going to the salon last week. This weekend I had two different events and my mom just left for Orlando, so I went to the salon again yesterday (a different one) cause obviously she wasn't able to do my hair. I can't believe that I had yet another bad experience! She didn't pull my hair though, instead I got burned by that fucking blowdryer so bad that when I touched my scalp where she burned me, my finger got burned too! And I heard a fucking sizzle. Yes, a sizzle from my finger touching my scalp! OMG. That's when I knew I was fucked. When my hair was done it just didn't look like how it usually does. Keep in mind I have long hair, it was almost waist length last week but I cut about two inches cause my ends were dead. I looked closely and noticed so much breakage in my hair. It's crazy. I want to cry. I don't know for sure if it's from the salon (although it seems likely), or if it's from my flat ironing it? I almost never wear my hair curly, so I'm wondering if I generally just have heat damage.

So from this point on until further notice, I'm going to limit (if not totally cancel) any use of heat on my head. Which means I'll be leaving my hair in protective styles most of the time (except for events). I'm going to have to do a bunch of treatments and all types of shit to get my hair back to normal. I don't know if I should cut a lot off and start fresh, or just try to restore it with the length that I have now (about bra strap length). Regardless, I'm going to order some Amla powder online so that I can do that treatment once a week.

Amla is Indian gooseberry, and Hesh sells it in powder form. The paste of this powder helps promote black and luxuriant hair. Even as it controls hair loss, it stimulates roots and promotes hair growth. This apart, it prevents scalp infection and controls premature greying of hair.

I have a little concoction that I'm going to try that includes Amla powder, some other Indian powder, and a bunch of other products. I'll specify, show pics & let you know how it goes when I do it.

Day 01—Best Friend

2010-07-28T08:10:00.003-04:00

Dear you,

I don't have a best friend. Not anymore at least. Ever since the drama that occurred in November 2006, I've never looked at the term best friend the same & I doubt I ever will. We were ~~friends~~ more like sisters for ten years, you never saw one of us without the other. We shared so many inside jokes & memories, I mean you were even a bridesmaid at my moms wedding lmao. I can't believe you really stopped being cool with me over something so ridiculous, but thankfully I decided to swallow my pride, even though our split was probably only 50% my fault; & hit you up in December of 2009 after three years of not speaking a single word to each other. I'm glad we squashed everything & at least talk all the time and hang out when we can. I'm not gonna lie, we'll probably never be how we used to be and that kind of makes me sad. Because in the three years that we stopped being friends, I was so lonely :/. I moved, I had a baby, I had to grow up so quickly within that time period and we are just two completely different people. I'm glad that we can at least reminisce though, because I'll always cherish all of our fun times and it would've sucked to not have you there to laugh about them with. Love you.

xoxo, esspee.

New York

2010-07-12T01:14:00.000-04:00

I was in NY this past weekend and overall, it was a good trip. I'm especially glad I went because it made me realize that I definitely need to distance myself from a friend, the one that I went there with. I'm just really good on people who are either hot or cold. It makes me extremely uncomfortable when someone constantly repeats how it's the worst day ever when I'm pretty sure the things she was upset about weren't the worst things she has ever been through in her life. But hey, that's what happens when you're a dramatic person I guess.

Anyway no love lost :-*.

A Better Day

2010-07-07T14:38:00.006-04:00

It's crazy how something as simple as just deactivating facebook, deleting ubertwitter from my phone, & changing my phone number made SO much of a difference. I have too many important things that I need to take care of (especially things I've been procrastinating on) that needed to be tackled; and those distractions were not helping AT ALL. And then on top of that, add in people that I no longer want to associate with constantly contacting me... I guess it was just too much. IDK, maybe that's a bit dramatic but I just feel way better. Not saying I won't ever use those social networking sites again but I just need a little break so I can focus on the important things.

This morning I:

Changed my princesa's primary care & made a check-up for Friday at 10AM.
Made an appt for myself for tomorrow
Made some changes to my Fall 2010 school schedule
Sent over some necessary paperwork to my princesa's daycare

So far it has been a productive day :). Plus, I feel a lot better because I'm satisfied with my new decision regarding school. Now I need to go to the mall and bring my macbook into the Apple store so they can replace the defective battery. When I get back home I'm going to start dinner, put away the laundry & organize our stuff.

xoxo, esspee.

A Little Better

2010-07-06T22:02:00.004-04:00

I went ahead & just changed my cell phone number. A very limited amount of people have it right now and I plan to keep it that way. I pretty much... cut some people off without having to announce it. I deactivated my facebook; I usually make fun of people who do that cause it seems dramatic, but for me it's just a distraction from what I need to be worried about. & Also because I don't want certain people trying to reach me via facebook once they realize I changed my phone number. *Deep sigh*. Anyway I feel a bit better... I'm currently just doing laundry and going to head to bed pretty soon.

I Don't Even Know

2010-07-06T20:35:00.006-04:00

I'm down in the dumps :/. I'm usually optimistic and overall pretty happy/content but IDK, today I just feel overwhelmed with some kind of sadness. It has to do with a few different things going on right now. I had an amazing weekend, one of the best weekends in a long time. Filled with family, friends, loved ones, amazing food, good music, pools, beaches, games, and other things. But just... the underlying issues still remain and I need to acknowledge them & find out how to deal with them so this can pass already. I honestly feel like there's a little dark cloud of negativity hanging over my head. Blah. I feel like I need to just disconnect from certain people/things and just focus 100% on myself (& my family of course). This weekend I'm going to New York to celebrate my friends 21st birthday; I honestly don't want to go (nothing to do with her, I just feel down) but we already booked our bus tickets & she's excited so I don't want to let her down. After this, I'm honestly keeping to myself for the most part. I plan to just deal with the main important people in my life but otherwise I'm laying low. :/

Organizing My Thoughts

2010-06-29T10:34:00.007-04:00

I'm currently in class; supposed to be writing an essay but I feel so disengaged. I have a lot to do this week & my mind is going a million miles a minute trying to organize all of my thoughts, plans, to-do's & wants. There is especially one thing I am focusing & praying on. We will see...

After class I need to go to Chinatown and fill out some papers for my Bella's daycare. Then I need to pack up a few things at home and load them in the car. Pick her up from daycare & go to my mothers house. I'm expecting a very important call at 4PM. Then I would like to run to the mall and try to find this monokini I've been eyeing for a while; I need it for this weekend. I also need to clean up at my mothers before I pick her up tomorrow morning at the airport. I honestly did not even stay there the entire time she has been gone, so there is not even a single dirty dish in the sink, but I did re-organize my sisters room so there is a pile of clothes, toys & crap on the floor I need to clean up. She gets in tomorrow at 6AM, and that is also the very first day my Bella starts school, I have class myself, and she has a doctors appointment in the evening. So today & tomorrow are pretty hectic days.

Thursday is the first of the month! A fresh new start with new goals to accomplish. This weekend I'm going to some beach with friends... I don't know the name but I guess it's in the outskirts of Boston. Sunday is Fourth of July and also my baby cousins 1st birthday celebration; so it's definitely going to be a fun weekend indeed :). Then next weekend we will be celebrating my girls birthday in New York.

July Goals: Go to the gym at least 2x a week. Limit my spending (eat out less frequently, limit my shopping, DIY vs paying for certain services, etc). Take my Bella to the pool a few times; get her two year portraits done. Go to church with my family as often as possible. Make a list of affirmations to say in the morning. Get good grades for my Session I semester. Complete my volunteer forms. Start roller blading. Take a belly dancing class. Keep practicing on my salsa skills... I'll keep adding as I remember/think of some.

Anyhow, today is my girls actual birthday and even though it's obviously hers & not mine, I feel a sense of renewal. For the both of us. We're a lot alike, yet very different. But one thing about her is that I can almost feel things for her. I even have dreams that I think are meant for her, but come through me because 1). I actually remember them lmao & 2). I am pretty good about analyzing dreams and relating them to current events. She needs to stop creeping up on my dreams lmao.

xoxo, esspee.

Nails

2010-06-27T19:13:00.003-04:00

I need the pink, coral, & orange shades from this collection in my life, right now.

Nails & Brows.

2010-06-16T08:51:00.001-04:00

I suck at painting my own nails but I'm gonna attempt at doing them on Friday. *Nervous gulp* I bought this bright prettiful shade of green called Four Leaf Clover back in March in spirit of St. Patty's Day; but I never used cause I didn't want to paint my own nails :x. I'm gonna do that, and do my toes nude like I usually do. Hope it comes out okay!

I did my eyebrows about maybe a week or two before I went to New York and the lady did them too thin (for my liking). I like them as full as possible, just defined. I've been letting them grow out ever since then. I hate this transition, I feel so fugs mc uggs "/. Freshly done eyebrows really make such a huge difference on the face! So the goal is to stay away from the threading lady until I go to New York again for my besties birthday (July 10th) and from then on just stick to tweezing them myself. Vamos a ver...

I'm currently on the train on the way to school. Almost there. Toodles.

Xoxo, Esspee.

July 2010 Goals

2010-06-12T12:31:00.005-04:00

So my girly and I have many plans for ourselves ; I love having a friend who's actually willing to try new fun things ♥. Spontaneity at it's best :). The goal is to start belly dancing at the end of this month/early July. It just looks so cute & fun & girly. There is a bunch of stuff that we're gonna do but before I begin to list everything, I'll let us starting accomplishing stuff. I'm weird like that ;).

As for personal goals, I definitely want to get into roller blading. I've been wanting to do it for a while now actually but I guess I felt kind of... embarrassed? But I'm saying OH WELL, & doing what I want to do. I asked hubbs about it & he said not only will he buy my roller blades but he's also gonna buy himself a pair and go skating with me! Nobody understands how happy this makes me because 1). I didn't want to go by myself & 2). I thought he was going to say my idea was silly. So for him to want to do it with me makes me feel soo happy ♥. He said he'll get them for us in early July. Supposedly it's great exercise as well. I can't wait! We have a bike path near my mothers house that we'll be going on.

Summer only lasts but so long up here. Gotta enjoy every hot sunny moment that God gives us :).

xoxo, esspee.

New Goals

2010-06-12T12:03:00.004-04:00

I made it to my goal weight and I'm happy & proud of myself :). But now it's time to get fit, toned & overall just be healthier. I was reading somewhere how beneficial soy protein is for women and after doing some research, I bought Genisoy Soy Protein Vanilla Shake at Vitamin Shoppe last Tuesday. I'm trying to just focus on burning fat & gaining more muscle. Not like in a bulky kind of way though, I don't wanna look like a meat head lmfao. The more muscle you build, the faster your body burns fat :). Plus, ain't nothing wrong with sexy defined toned legs, tummy, booty and back ;).

I already tried some on Thursday, I put some of the mix into the milk I was boiling to make cream of wheat. It tastes pretty yummy. I'm going to try this out for a month and see what types of results I get before I recommend it to anyone. I'm combining this with the gym 2-3x a week, multivitamins daily, drinking plenty of water, rice dream milk instead of cows milk, and overall less junk/fast food.

xoxo, esspee.

Happy June!

2010-06-07T23:20:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted in a little while, I kind of forgot. Everything has been great though - enjoying my Summer (even though technically the Season hasn't started, but the weather sure feels like it), spending time with my loved ones, & everything else.

This past weekend I went to New York with my really close friend J, her friend Bre (which I had never met until that day) & B's friend who was a total bitch. It was an okay experience, I've definitely had better. We vowed to never again allow people that we don't know on long trips with us because B's friend was a straight up obnoxious, snobby, self-centered, nagging, wanna-be high-saditty broad. I absolutely hate negative people & don't like them around me. I was stuck with one for over 24 hours. Regardless, me and my girl made the best of it. At night we met up with my girl Bee from NJ & went to some club called D'or. It was enjoyable considering the conditions, but definitely wasn't worth the $20 to get in & it was too hot for a club that had brick walls. *Shrug.

This weekends goal: clean/organize this room from top to bottom. Put away/donate my Bella's clothes from last season, re-organize my jewelry on this new stand I bought, do laundry, & get some scented candles for a nice little touch. I also have a family members birthday party to attend. Oh, and I'm going to the gym. That's all I'm doing. I'm tired.

xoxo.

Visual Board

2010-05-20T14:22:00.008-04:00

I'm definitely a believer in the Law of Attraction/The Secret. I've seen results in my own life as well as those that I know who also use it in their lives I really want to make a visual board. I've been wanting to make one for a while but I always find something else to do with my time. I'm definitely going to have mine done at some point in June.

A visual board is a constant reminder of the things that you want to have manifested in your life. Visual boards serve as a powerful motivational tool. It is a constant reminder that there are things out there that will be in your life and it motivates you to go out there and do the things that you have to do to bring them into your life.

When your visualizing these things, you are putting positive thoughts in your mind. These thoughts lead to action, action gets result.

Here's an example of one:

From looking at that persons vision board, I guess they want financial abundance, to travel, relax & get in tune with their spiritual side. Just a wild guess? I could be wrong.

To name a few, these some things I'll include in mine:
Home Decor Inspirations
College Degree
Encouraging/motivational words
Places I'll visit

I should probably start looking through magazines and clip stuff out in the meantime. Want to make one of your own? Ask yourself... where do you want to travel? Where do you want to live? What car do you want to drive? What goals do you have for your education/career? What are your favorite quotes? What types of physical goals are you trying to achieve (hair/body/etc)? What types of events would you like to participate in? Once you realize what it is you want, it's just a matter of finding the visuals, putting it together on your board, & then looking at it every morning to remind you of what is coming into your life :). ♥.

xoxo.

Summer 2010

2010-05-20T13:43:00.003-04:00

I was trying to take a nap, but I just couldn't fall asleep. I have too many thoughts running through my mind. & It doesn't help that this room is so bright during the day time! I need to get some dark curtains or something.

The weather is finally beautiful & warm again :) I'm happy. I'm such a Summer person, I'm clearly living in the wrong side of the country, *Shrug. Anyway, I plan to take my princesa out to enjoy the lovely day, I need to go to Whole Foods maybe I'll walk over with there?

My hair is a pretty good length, it's about bra strap length now (I cut a few inches of dead ends off last month). I've been reading a lot of haircare blogs (my moms a haircare addict and I'm trying to help my friend out with her haircare) & I'm feeling inspired to take better care of my hair & as well as my princesa's. I'm going to do coconut oil treatments on our hair once a week. I'm going to limit putting any heat on my hair (roller set & flat iron the roots) to once every two weeks instead of every week. & Once my mom buys some Amla, I'll try to do those treatments at least twice a month, too. & Of course I'll be deep conditioning once a week and doing protective styles more often. Let's see where this leads me...

I really want to go back to New York this Summer. I want to do a lot of things this Summer. I have a whole list of to do's lol, maybe I'll post it one of these days :). But yeah, I'd like to go back to NY at least twice this Summer, but three would be lovely ♥. I want to go once with my mom (baby-free) to shop, eat, walk around & have some motherly daughterly time & go to see In The Heights with her. Just a one day thing, most likely. Then I want to go back with my friends and do the same thing, minus the broadway show, & add in some clubbing ;).

Once the Fall semester starts I'm going to dedicate the majority of my focus on my school work so I won't be really going out, so I'm def trying to live it up before then, lol. I've kind of been hibernating for the past few weeks. I go through this phase all of the time, I have my reasons. But I want to be around my girlies this weekend so I guess my hibernation has come to an end (for now).

Hmph, this is boring. I guess I'll end this here...

xoxo.

I'm Back *.

2010-05-14T01:07:00.005-04:00

It's been a while! Over a year actually. These past few days have been really good to me. I've been feeling more inspired, intuitive, spiritual, closer to my loved ones, and I've had more time to think & observe my thoughts, surroundings, goals, relationships, achievements, actions, and so on. As I was laying in bed putting my princess to sleep, I was hugging her and whispering in her ear how much I love her & how beautiful she is. I gave her dozens of kisses on her soft baby cheeks & she fell asleep... just like that. Right before that, I had encountered a some-what negative convo with someone. It don't think it was deliberate though. But it was just a reminder that I need to continue keeping the majority of my thoughts & feelings private because it's too much for people to handle directly. But most importantly, I was reminded how blessed I am. No matter the negativity around me, I smile because those bad vibes from others easily bounces right off of me. It must seriously suck to be a person consumed in negative energy! Oh well, God is great ♥.