Tweet Tweet, B**ches!

hat's Twitter? Why tweet? That's basically what I say when people ask me if I am on it. This is not a list item but it is 2013 so, it should be.   My friends David and Brian, have made fun of me for my absolute REFUSAL to join twitter. I just never saw the point, I did not get it or saw the purpose in it and remained firm in my stance on not joining...UNTIL TONIGHT!

West Virginia White Water

ea I love alliteration

Another adventurous me moment, I got to go with my friend Allison also known as boss lady, she was my program manager way back when I was just a little corps member. I also lovingly call her my life coach/guru. We got a living social deal and headed to Oak Hill, WV which SURPRISE was FIVE + hours away (Note when buying any kind of deal check the location FIRST..oops!)

Wuddup Zoo Lights!

This is now my 4th Holiday season here in the nation's cap and I can finally say that I have attended Zoo Lights.I am not sure why I was so pressed maybe it is the child like wonder that is trapped inside of me or the simple fact that I am basically part cat in that I love sparkly things. Which ever the answer maybe hitting up the zoo at Christmas time is something that I've been meaning to do.

I attended this festivus of lights with my regular. H.B.I.C Ms. Marge and we had a glorious time. We drank hot chocolate,took in the scenes and best of all watched small children basically combust with excitement, similar to a scene from Shrek.

Check out the obligatory sparkle pics below.

For the Love of Monograms

f you know me you know that I love all things monogram, not really sure why I just think it looks pretty. Well today my beloved monogrammed silver ring broke, I was in the middle of being all boss lady and I looked down and all that was left was a silver band! My heart sank and my finger feels a bit lighter without it...le sigh. In the same breath though, my good friend shared with me in the early morning of this day that he is madly in love with an awesome lady and that made me smile. To know him the way I do, makes that proclamation even more special. I am going to put some good karma out there for them, and maybe he will share a bit of his monogram with her.

Was that 2012 that Just Went By?

o you know what time it is?! Year in review time! I cannot believe another year has come and is almost gone; I literally sneezed and 2012 was over. I have to say I am not dropping tears over here about it coming to an end. In fact the first part of 2k12 suuuucked boots but it redeemed itself in the 2nd half, so slap on the back '12' for that. I usually do a best/worst of "said year" list but since I decided to go MIA on this piece I will just do a year end review to get updated and move on forward!

My Love/Hate..Mostly Hate Relationship

es, I know I swore I would not sing about love again....especially if it does not exist but I can't help it, I had to take a moment to share some deep feelings that I have been having lately.

I am in a deep struggle right now, I am currently going back and forth, falling in and out of love. I look at pictures of how it used to be and how happy I was with you and I think how easily it could be to go back, except it wont be. That part of my life is over and I have to accept it; things can never be the same. 

I keep pretending that I am okay, I've moved on and that I am so much better now. I tell myself that I am just doing what is natural, but the truth of the matter is every time I get a glimpse of myself in the mirror I feel as though I look a little different, a little off. It is obvious that I am not the same and this relationship has changed me for life. I know I will learn to love this relationship again but today is not that day, in fact instead of lamenting about my loving feelings toward you I find myself just saying...

Oops I Did It Again

his blog is so typically me.... see what I did there ;)

Anyway once again I have gotten bored with something and thus lagged in it. I am pretty sure I owe this blog a dozen posts. A few from the most amazing road trip, a white water rafting trip in New River Gorge and some other cool stuff that happened some time this year. I have to be honest life got busy and I guess that is good but I also got tired of reading my own blog. Whatever that saying is about being your own worst critic is true and similar to the conversation that goes on about my tree stump like structure, I soon beat this blog to a bloody pulp.Recently I remembered though how much fun I had writing this thing, and though I share it with all of the interwebs, it really is for me. With that realization I pulled my bruised and battered blogging ego up and decided to just let my fingers do some tapping.

so here is how it is going to work, I am gonna do a fast update of things I've  done and share some pretty awesome news!!! Finally, talk about what I hope to do with my time in 2013.  

So, yea, I'm back...at this moment in my head, I just cued 2 Chainz. :/

First Unofficial Stop: RVA

ART ONE

My friends and I had planed, changed, re-planned this trip for months, so when it finally came to game day the plan was for us to leave DC, them to pick me up in Tyson's and drive all the way to Atlanta; things did not go according to plan...

East to West and Back Again: A Roadtrip Story

have to say that this was one of the things on my list that I thought wouldn't happen. It takes quite the effort to get four people on the same page and in one car for eight-ten days. 

This entire hair brain idea came from watching the food network, yea you read that right. Marge and I were hungry watching some show about ribs and I yelled out "I want to eat my way across the country".  Marge being the awesome friend she is said "LET'S do it!" and the rest my friends is history. We soon added two more X alums Daniel and Shajena and the journey began.  We went from DC all the way to California with stops all along the South. I saw amazing sites and met amazing people and my life is so much better for it.

 Because this road trip is such a huge part of my life and this summer I have decided to break this post up into a couple of smaller posts instead of an Odyssey of a story. The next couple of days will be dedicated to a portion of the trip where I can chronicle the journey in great detail. If I do not get to do anything else on my list this year I am beyond thrilled that I got to do this with my best friends. 

Nice Day for a White Wedding

y bestie got Married! .... three weeks ago :/ I'm late with this post. Once again, I haven't been moved to write. I need to work that out. Anyway on to the goods

After a year of planning, dress fittings, and lengthy emails about bridesmaid's duties,  the big day was here!  The weather was absolutely beautiful and it could not have been a more perfect day. I am so happy for Meredith she found a wonderful guy in Brady and I know he will take such good care of her. It was wonderful getting to see some old friends and being engulfed in Mer's family who I love and enjoy immensely. I felt great and looked great (hey Wedding hair) and just overall had a blast! Going with out a date was fantastic! I was running around way too much and having someone there to entertain would not have been fun for me or them!

The whole thing was so surreal just because Meredith and I have been friends since we were 14 and honestly did not talk much about our wedding days. We DID talk about how we thought we'd be single forever living in adjoining houses with dogs.  Her engagement was bittersweet because it meant an end of an era for me and now I have to share her with a new love lol! I have to say she did good and I can't wait to be aunt Char to some little bossy child of hers.

Now I am just working on getting myself together for this epic road trip that I am taking with some of my CY family as well as starting a new job, AND preparing myself for the Peace Corps!I leave next Summer Yikes!

Bridesmaids!

What Should We Call Me...an ALUM!

Greetings! It has been awhile since I have posted ANYTHING...to be honest I just have not been in the mood to write and I also got caught up in other people's blogs (all happen to be way better than mine). Anyhoo you will be glad to know that I have been busy doing things and I can cross some stuff off my list. I finished more books, checked out some awesome museums that I haven't seen and ohh yea I FINALLY GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE!!!!!

This past weekend I traveled up to my beloved happy valley and participated in a right of passage that has been coming for way too long (I graduated from high school in 2003, you do that math). I haven't been the most excited about celebrating just because I felt like it was kind of silly. I thought celebrating was for those who graduated in an appropriate amount of time. However, I can say when I put on that cap and gown on Saturday and got to hear my name being called it was amazing. My journey to graduation may have been long but I am a much more complex person because of it. I like the person I am now and that happened because of the experiences I have had.

My amazing family and my 2nd family (City Year teammates) made the trek down to support me and I have to say that I am so lucky! It was great spending that much time with them, I cannot wait to come back as an alum with them and show them a REAL Penn State weekend...monkey boys included! 

There is a lot happening in the next few weeks, including but not limited to: a move, a wedding, and 10 days in a car driving across country! Stay tuned! 

                                          WE ARE!
 

Flying Solo..Bridesmaid Edition

eddings and babies seem to come in waves.. last summer it was babies the summer before that I had 4 weddings in 6 weeks; it was nuts. Because I am perpetually single and have friends getting married at a rate faster than the speed of light I often  find myself doing the wedding date hustle; this is where I go through a list of guy friends that would be acceptable to take to a wedding. These men have to be able to handle themselves, be fun and willing to take many pictures. The last wedding I went to I took a friend and he did really well actually, I will thank my days of prepping him about the family and what to expect. I also prepped the family to clarify that this dude was NOT my boyfriend so please don't hound him with questions. I have to give it to him he was stoked about it and was more gung ho than most dates I've taken to weddings... go figure

A Special Valentine for a Special Lady

Happy Valentine's Day! 

I am sending this out without the least bit of bitterness or condescending tone. I get that this day can be a bit morose for those of us who are of the single persuasion but I like to think of it as a day to tell all the ones you love that you love them. I invite you to take the time to send some love to everyone in your life that is special to you and don't dwell on the fact that you maybe minus a mate. If you have a mate remember that you should be loving them all year round. I hope you all are spending this day with at least one person you care for, I decided to write to the person I care for the most in this entire world!

One Foot in Front of the Other

oday I took my first steps {literally} to hit my goal of running in a 5k, that's 3.2 miles people {for this chubby girl that might as well be a million}. I do not know why I have this deep want to complete something that I detest more than girls with straight bangs and curly hair but I do. I feel like running races and shit is on the list of things white people like right between gentrification and wearing those weird toe shoes...and definitely not made for people with my melanin count {unless you're Kenyan}. Personally I think that I haven't got on board with the idea of running because it seems so cliché of people my age and I hate doing things because others are doing them. It is the same reason why I refuse to be sent to Africa if I get into the Peace Corps..I don't want to be ANOTHER person that wants to save the poor African children {I realize that sounds worse than I mean it}. What it means is that I want to do things because I have a connection to it and I want to run because I am concurring a long arch nemesis of mine and I want to go to a country that needs me just as much as those countries in Africa.

Product Overload

urrently I am on the natural girl struggle;  I am falling into the trap of buying every product that any YouTuber/blogger suggests.What I have found is that trying a few things here and there is good and then just going with what works best for me. I think I have found some things I really like and that has been great. I am trying not to buy anymore products of things I already have but I am on the hunt for a great styling/holding product.

So far I am 6 months post relaxer and I have to say I am not missing the relaxers. I checked out the new growth the other day and I absolutely loved seeing my natural curls and waves comes through {it's so pretty when it's wet}. Another bonus is that I get to wear wigs tee hee; I like to consider them fashionable hats! Wigs are so functional, they are instant hair, style and mood changer,  AND keep your head warm!

It has been fun playing with things to do with my hair and I have already tried a couple on my own! One thing about going natural, it is ALOT of work! For 27 years my mom has done my hair {or paid to have it done} for anything more than a flat iron or ponytail but going natural {and living away from mama dukes} has made me become dependable on myself. I did my first roller set over break and that wasn't half bad, the only problem was that it was a little frizzy and didn't last. I got some great advice from some friends and copious amounts of YouTubing! I tried my very first flexi rod set recently and I LOVED it! I was sure it was going to be super jank but as I took out the rods the curls were so cute. My friend Barbara suggested that I try bantu knots as well; so that is up next of things to try.  I have learned so much new lingo in the last couple of months!

With my best-friend's wedding approaching I am trying to figure out what I am going to do... wig, weave, other??? I think I will just cross that bridge when I get to it in May. Check out my completed flexi rod set  beeeelow!

Step 1. Flexi rods are in!

2. Fully dry and remove rods

3. Pulled and stretched and styled.

If I Looked Like Cee-Lo, You Would Tell Me Right?

While typing I realized I have abnormally small bird hands in relation to my body, then I looked at my arms and gasped I'm pretty sure I have T-Rex arms; those tiny miniscule little things for such an enormous being poor T-Rex how did you become so fierce. If you have seen Cee-Lo you know exactly what I am talking about.

Anyway on to the post for the outfit I rocked....

ICE! and Blue Parkas

 olller! {b-dawg that is for you} so this post is NOT about Zoo Lights because it is wack...

Alright, I am sure Zoo Lights was awesome and I am just bitter that I didn't get a chance to go {it was pooring down rain the night I was supposed to go} BUT I did do something else similar but WAY BETTER! I finally got to go see ICE! at the Gaylord National Hotel; it was pretty spectacular. The best part of the experience was getting to spend some time with friends that I haven't seen since Thanksgiving and really hung out with in even more time than that.The coolest thing about this exhibit is that they ship is tons and tons of ice along with 200 Chinese men to sculpt it {no joke, they are from China}. The inspiration for Ice! comes from a spectacular ice sculpture festival that happens in China every year. The space that we were in was 5 degrees and remains that at all times {hence the blue parkas, and the little blue cap on my H}. It was almost too cold to really enjoy, I wish I had spent a little more time admiring the work.

How Can One Blog, Have So Much Power

being a "blogger" has given me more power than I thought. I think that is saying a lot because I just don't have the follower base that real bloggers have {so in reality this blog should have no power}. Simply putting my business out there has given me some kind of cred because it has given me a voice and the ability to reach people I would never have reached before. I think that is absolutely amazing. If my struggles, happiness, joys, sorrows, fuck ups, can help someone else then I have done something great.

I have gotten some really great feedback and praise and have been so humbled. I like that people are feeling some kind of way about what I have to say; my words have even inspired people to create their own lists! I have gotten critiques on it too which has also been good. Although this is basically my baby so it stings a little when someone calls it ugly {no one did but you get what I mean}. With the good comes the bad and I have to realize that a part of sharing your writing is exposing it to criticism. I never set out to move people with this...I just wanted a way to stick to my goals and if I was accountable to an entire cyber world than I couldn’t back out.

WTF, Lolita

irst and foremost I want to say HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone had a great time and are still sticking to their resolutions. I decided to not make any resolutions this year but rather set goals. So far I am making strides and hitting my goals. Let's just say I've been drinking water like a fish {I think water is gross}. 

This is a short post, I finished more books! Yay reading! I read Lolita and I have to say that I wasn't particularly moved just oddly disturbed. At first by Humbert and then by Lolita herself. It is this weird twisted love story that had me feeling oddly sad for Humbert. He has serious issues which becomes clear to the reader after he talks about his lust for nymphets. However perverse you get the sense that he really fell in love with Lolita and she played his face. I think if anything Lolita reminds me of the power of women, no matter the age. She really has power over Humbert and knows what she is doing and controls the situation like a weird sex puppet.It may have to do with the lack of control she has in her life due to her horribly selfish mother. I have to say it wasn't one of my favorites but I am glad I read it. If any of you all have read the book and I missed something please clue me in; I would love to discuss it.

School has started again so I will be finishing books at a much slower rate but I have almost finished The Last Lecture. I will probably be starting Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close this week { I will probably blaze through that} and then start on Sybil. Although I feel like I need something more uplifting because all these books are kind of depressing as hell. So If you have suggestions throw them my way. 

Also I promise more list post are on the way! My road trip has been set into motion, bridesmaid dress purchased!, and intent to graduate FILED! I am hoping that Groupon or Living Social get some gunshooting, white water rafting, sky-diving deals soon! I am not trying to go broke here!

2011: A Retrospective View

ast post of the year! I can't believe that 2011 is just about done; where does the time go. Usually every year I do a best and worst list of that year. The list usually contains things from pop culture instead of my actual life. This year I decided to reflect on this year in regards to me and talk about a couple of things from the year. I took the idea from my friend Ashley and her blog Rich in Smiles and Miles. Reflection is always important and this blog has allowed me to do a lot of it. Thank you for letting me share my thoughts with you all!