Sharing Hope

It's three months today since I chopped off all my hair and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. I went shorter than I wanted to go simply because I wanted to make sure with my layers that I would be meeting the required length  needed in order for it to be acceptable. Three months later and I am loving the length that it is. Sometimes I really miss my long hair, but overall I'm so glad that I did it. I told myself that if I was ever in the position to donate my hair again, that I would. It can't be colored (and it took a LOOONG time to grow it out from that) and you have to be able to donate a minimum of 8 inches. (It also can't be more than 5% gray - which luckily I don't have to worry about just yet.)

I know a lot of people usually think about Locks for Love but I chose PBL because they deal specifically with cancer patients.

Here is a statement taken directly off their website page:

Beautiful Lengths is a partnership between Pantene® and the American Cancer Society®, the largest nonprofit health organization committed to saving lives from every cancer and improving the quality of life for people facing the disease. The role of Pantene is to help women grow long, strong, beautiful hair and to provide the funds to turn this hair into free, real-hair wigs for women with cancer. So far, Pantene has donated 24,000 free real-hair wigs to the American Cancer Society’s wig banks, which distribute wigs to cancer patients across the country. To see if you are eligible to receive a free wig or if there are wigs available in your area, please call the American Cancer Society’s Wig Bank Line at 1-877-227-1596.

It's hard enough going through cancer treatment without having to deal with losing your hair. I figure people always tell me how healthy and pretty my hair is, so why not help others by donating it? So that's what I've done. Both donations were made in memory of my Nana. And since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month I figured it was as good of a time as any to write about it. I wish I could've donated throughout my life, but I don't even know if such an organization existed back then. I'm hoping I'll be able to do it one more time, but I suppose time will tell with that. Meanwhile I'll share the idea with others.

Time marches on

This week I was on staycation. Great, right? Not when you're sick the whole time. Sunday took an hour and a half nap after laying on the couch and watching tv for a few hours because I was so tired. And that was after sleeping for 12 hours the night before. Anyways, needless to say I didn't go out and do anything. I was too tired to read, too tired to try and do any beading project, so I watched tv and movies and layed on the couch. Finally I was starting to feel better on Wednesday. Well, well enough to drive out to see my mom for about an hour and then drive home. Thursday I drove out and had lunch with my sister. Yep. Those were the highlights of my vacation. Mmm hmm.

Ironically the point of this blog wasn't to tell you that I was sick. The point is this:

When I drove out to see my mom on Wednesday, I went past one of my old stomping grounds.... a coffee shop. It's an independently owned one, not a chain. While it wasn't a place a frequented in high school, it was most certainly one that I frequented in my early adult years. When I moved out and into an apartment for the first time, this coffee shop was within walking distance for me. It was maybe three blocks away? Sometimes I walked there, but most of my visits to it were at night time so I'd drive. I never ordered an actual coffee drink from there. I usually got hot chocolate or a lime Italian soda. I would go there often after Thursday night bible study, or on a Friday night when I had no other place to be. Sometimes I would go there and just sit at a table and write in my notebook. Other times I'd run into people and we'd all sit together and just talk. It was the one place where you knew you'd see an eclectic group of people. And it was a popular site... so popular that in order to prevent straight up loitering, you'd have to order something every two hours. They'd give you a stamped ticket every time you ordered and on busy nights they'd go around and check. You'd have the goths and skaters outside for the most part. They'd be outside in the patio just hanging out and smoking or just chillin with their cups of java. I can say I've sat outside with my friends from that clique. I've sat inside with my bible study buddies. I've met strangers there whom I still occasionally talk to (or used to up until the last few years). So many memories remain in those walls of that building, and as I drove by it the other day a bit of melancholy fell over me as I saw that the name had changed. I didn't bother stopping to go inside and see the place. Perhaps I'll do that another day. It just made me realize that with that name change, so went another change in life. 10-13 years later and the place is different and so am I. I suppose in some regards I'm still doing the same thing - working, putting a roof over my head, talking with friends. I'm still living my life. But I'm in such another space as far as how now I'm REALLY an adult. Technically I was back then, but I was still trying to figure out who I was as a person. I was learning to broaden my horizons and think about the big picture of life and wonder how I was going to fall into my place. Now I'm in my place and I (for the most part) know who I am and what I stand for. Time moves on, people move on, names change. I'm so grateful for the wonderful memories though.

Feckless

Recently I watched At Middleton and there is one scene where the man and woman end up in a film room where there is a student playing a film reel up on the big screen. The moment the movie cuts to the movie being shown I instantly said "That's The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg!" What are the odds that anyone would have even heard of that movie? I mean, I know some movie enthusiasts might. But it's certainly not your run-of-the-mill film. It's French. Subtitled. And it's a musical. Oh yes. A 1964 French musical with subtitles. Do you need to me to say that one more time? lol. Anyway, I thought it was cool since I've actually seen the movie. Of course when I rented it I and no inclination as what it was about, let alone the style of it. But once you got past the singing in French, it was quite enjoyable. Just a little something I got a kick out of.

As for At Middleton - it was good.

 

Clones

Can I just say how excited I am that Orphan Black is back on again?! Today I watched the second episode of Season 2 and man on man was it good! The writers hit the ground running on it. And for those of you who have never watched it, it's an amazing show which stars Tatiana Maslany - and boy does she do an incredible job. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you watch Season 1 NOW before you start watching Season 2. It's a BBC show, it's a bit sci-fi, but it's not about aliens and outerspace. Seriously, watch it. You'll get hooked. And you kind of owe it to yourself to watch something fantastic.

Free Advertising

More than likely you haven't noticed that I didn't post an entry about my march Birchbox. That was intentional. I doubt I'll blog about them each month. I might, however, decide to share the items I receive in them that make me super happy. Items or product that I am excited about... whether discovered through Birchbox or tv, or people I know.

Now let me tell you about a few items.




Snapea Crisps -  My sister bought a bag at Costco. Or maybe my mom did. It doesn't really matter WHO bought the bag so much as it does that there was an open bag when I was over there around the time of my birthday. I decided to try them. Oh man are they delicious! Before you get excited about them being super healthy for you, they aren't. I mean, they are better than potato chips, but it's not like you're eating a straight snap pea. Talk about a wonderful snack though. And if you know me at all, you know I like snacks. I don't have a Costco card so I've placed an order for the next trip, for their big bag. Meanwhile when I want some I get them at Safeway in the veggie/fruit area. Usually they are on display below a display of fruit or veggies. The bags are a lot smaller, but that's okay.







Tea Forte Minteas - Lemongrass Yuzu. These were found in my March Birchbox. They are so refreshing. I don't eat them all the time, but when I do, it's a nice little treat.








Julep Tada Quick Dry Drops - I received these drops a while back as part of a mystery box I purchased through Julep.  I think I mentioned in a previous post that I have a monthly Julep subscription. I have an array of their nail polishes and this has become a favorite product of mine. I even got my mom a bottle of it for her birthday because she mentioned how she liked it so much. It does have a strong smell, but it's not a bad smell. And it certainly helps with the drying process.








O'Keeffe's Working Hands Hand Cream - You may have seen the commercials for this stuff. In my case it was a co-worker who told me about it. I went through a spell back in the fall/winter where my hands were so dry that they were starting to crack and I just couldn't find anything that would help with it. And then I was told about this. If you go online you can find places that carry it. I bought it at Home Depot. It was in the paint department. It's supposedly known to people who work with their hands or wash their hands a lot - mechanics and nurses alike. I bought some and boy did it work. Once you get passed the waxy feeling on your hands, you realize that your hands feel so protected! I would apply it once in the morning before I left for work, and once before I went to bed. Within a week or two my hands felt back to normal. It has no scent, and a little bit goes a long way. It will sting a lot if your skin is cracked open, but boy does it heal!

Jolt

It has been 3 months since I've had any caffeine. No wait, that's not completely true. I should say it's been 3 months since I've consumed any large amount of caffeine. I have had chocolate (which has small traces) and I've had a decaf fancy latte (which has a small amount of it, too) and I did partake in about 3 sips of a Dr Pepper one day last month when I had a headache that just would not go away. I was desperate and thought a jolt of caffeine might just do the trick. But otherwise, I haven't had my regular weekend Starbucks drink. I haven't had my usual morning tea at work. I generally don't drink enough soda to worry about caffeine, but the few times I did, it was ginger ale or rootbeer... oh, and I did splurge with some grape soda (delish, btw). I've done this before. I've just stopped cold turkey. This last time I had the help of getting sick though. And when I get really sick, I avoid caffeine like the plague. Personally I don't think it's good for your body when it's already doing it's best to fight off germs as it is, to try and give it a boost like that. I have done no medical research on it, it's just a personal opinion. It's like how I don't believe mixing Red Bulls with alcohol is smart. One revs you up and the other calms you down. Why confuse your body like that? Anyway, I'm off subject now. So yea, it's been three months. I can't remember how long I went last time I did this. Probably not for this long. But now? Now I'm doing it because it makes me feel better. I like not feeling the need to rely on caffeine to get me going in the morning. I do miss drinking my green tea though... for other beneficial reasons. I know it's a matter of when, not if, that I go back to indulging. But I have to say, for now, it just feels good to say no to it.

Hidden Blessings

This month I went in for my eye exam. It's been a year since I've had one. Normally I can go two years without needing to go in and get glasses. Not this time around. I've been noticing that I can't see as far away and things just aren't as crisp. I was hoping it was a figment of my imagination. I was hoping I just had a couple of hard days on my eyes. Nope. Turns on my astigmatism in my right eye got a little worse and my left eye didn't feel like working as hard as my right eye. Go figure. My old arrangement with work was that they would reimburse me $200 every two years towards new lenses/an exam. But last year I was lucky enough to get VSP. That means the new glasses I have to get right now - are free. I don't have to pay a thing for them. But, if you wear glasses full time then you also know that you also need to redo your sunglasses too. These aren't free. I do get 20% off the final total of them when I get the lenses and frames all at once so it saves me a tiny bit. I wasn't expecting to fork out almost $400 dollars for new sunglasses with a new prescription, but that's what I'm doing. Thank you very much small tax return. The funny part is when I was talking to the sales person helping me, I was telling her how I was grateful for my insurance but I had been wanting to put that money into savings for a rainy day. She looked at me and said "I know you might  not want to hear this, but it IS a rainy day." Yes, it had been literally raining all day. It also made me think though. She's right. That's the whole point of saving money. You save for important things that come up so that when they do you can be better prepared. I'm fortunate in the fact that I had the money to cover the cost of this. Hidden blessing.

Of course when it rains, it pours. Or in this case the water pump in my car blows and I also have to change the timing belt. Who knew the timing belt should be changed at 60k, and 120k miles. I am at 153k miles and I hadn't changed it once. Go MAZDA! And while I first thought I'd be car shopping this week (what was originally thought to be a problem with the connecting rod - which would mean a new engine which would essentially mean I'd be buying a new car instead) it turned out it was the pump. Fixable. It's still more than anyone would like to spend at one time, but in the grand scheme of things, if it buys me time to save more money for a new car... well, I'm in. I also asked very nicely if he'd be willing to match the price of the place I was going to be taking my car into that weekend for an oil change and tire rotation - you know, since they have to keep my car throughout the weekend and thus causing me to cancel that appt - and surprisingly he said he would. Woohoo!  Hidden blessing #2.  Then I went to pay for it all and it was cheaper than the quote he had originally given me... like 600 less. YES! Hidden blessing #3.

Next, though bittersweet - my sister and I were supposed to plan another trip to Palm Springs for later in the year. Because she just got a new job (GO HER!!!) she won't be able to take a vacation quite so soon. So the money I was planning on using to pay for my share of the trip... was now to be applied to the aforementioned items. Hidden blessing #4.

And finally, I still have a bit of $ left from my tax return to put towards a purchase for myself. One that isn't so much a need as it is a want. After all that, I still get to treat myself to something without having the resounding guilt it could have brought me. Hidden blessing #5.

Spice Cake with Vanilla Frosting

As childish as the idea to make a wish is, it struck me as odd when I realized the following day that this year is the first year I didn't make a wish when I blew out the candles on my birthday cake. It didn't even cross my mind. Weird.

It's already my birthday month?!

My how time flies by. I have yet another birthday right around the corner. And if it weren't for the fact that every day I have to enter my age on the elliptical machine I use, well, I might not remember. But just like last year, as the date gets closer, I realize that soon that number I enter is going to change. Not only that, but in a couple more months my leetle seester will be another year older. I suppose if she has a birthday, I should have one too. It only seems right. So here I am. I'm officially in my birthday month. I don't know what I'm going to do for the day, but I will say this. I took the day off from work. Yep. I have for the last 6 or 7 years. It just makes the day a little bit better for me. But if you know me then you know I tend to get a bit reclusive around this time. I always think that I want to do something big with all my friends, but then I don't. It's just not me. I think if I had a significant other that I would simply be content spending that time with him. I don't need presents. I don't need to do anything over the top. Maybe a birthday dinner and cake afterwards. Ya know? And that's what I normally do with my family, so it works. Heck, even if my family and I skipped the dinner part and just did cake, I'd be okay with that. Luckily I have time to figure out what my actual birthday day plans will be. It could end up being a day trip somewhere, or doing things around town. It could end up just spending the day at home. I just don't know. In the grand scheme of things though... it's just another day.

Birchbox: February 2014

OPI Sheer Tints Color-Tinted Top Coat

I received the pinkish-red color in my box and was excited to try it because I love OPI. Unfortunately I wasn't thrilled with it. I tried it directly on my nails without nail polish under it. The color was hardly noticeable and it went on really goopy. It wasn't a smooth application. I can definitely live without it.


Benefit Fakeup

I don't even own concealer. It's just not something I find I need often. However if I do decide to buy some, this will be it. I loved how smooth it went on (probably the moisturizing side of it) and the color was a good match. It blended nicely. I'm sure I'll buy this in the future, though it might take a while for me to go through my sample one first. If you wear concealer regularly, I think you'd be happy with this product.

dr. brandt® pores no more® pore refiner

I have used this kind of product but it was a different brand. I thought this one worked quite nicely and I look forward to finishing up the sample of it before I consider buying it (It's quite pricy and I don't know if it's worth it). I've used it over makeup, under makeup, and just fresh faced with no makeup and I've been happy with the results every time.

Agave Healing Oil Treatment

I haven't used this and don't plan on it.

Benefit Big Easy

Wish the sample was larger. I'd like to be able to use this all over my face in order to determine if it's something worth buying. I've gone this long without it though so I think it'll be okay.

"Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down"

You would think that after living here for almost 4 years, that I'd be totally settled in. And by totally settled in I mean that everything I own would have it's own place where it was supposed to be. But that's just not the case. Over the last couple years I've hauled of A LOT of stuff to donate so I've definitely made a lot of progress. I'm almost there but my second bedroom is constantly stuck in a struggle. I'd like to think that for the most part my place is very nice and put together. But sometimes all I see is chaos. Sometimes all I want to do is get rid of things, just to get rid of them. Not because I don't need them or want them... just to get rid of them and make more space. For instance, as crazy as this sounds, sometimes I wish my second bedroom closet was just completely empty. Empty. How nice would that be?! But it isn't. It's the home of my wrapping paper, photo albums, scrapbooks, scrapbook paper, art supplies, random supplies, all my big jackets that take up a lot of room, and all my summer dresses. What can I say. I'm a girl with a lot of interests/hobbies and a lot of those interests require items, and those items require space.

I'm in one of my moods again where I just want to get rid of things. The sad part is that most of these things are things I've been wanting to take care of for a long time but require more energy than I care to use up. I know I'll be able to breathe a little easier when it's all done though.

TO DO

1. Sell my wedding gown. As beautiful as it is, clearly I don't need it. I might as well sell it.

2. Sell my wedding veil. Just like my dress, I don't need it and have no desire to keep it.

3. Sell my Kawasaki leather riding jacket. I've only worn it a few times in the 12 years that I've had it. I might as well get rid of it. Or at least *try* to sell it. Since it is old, there might not be any takers.

4. Sell the 4 Mary Kay mini compacts that I still have in leftover inventory.

5. Sell the Tinkerbell scrapbook with all the Disney scrapbooking stickers. It was supposed to be for my honeymoon scrapbook since we went to Disneyworld, but since that relationship was a bust, might as well let someone else use it to preserve memories.

6. Copy all my vinyl albums and then only keep up to one crate worth (right now I have 4 crates). This will be hard because the albums are my dad's. I plan on keeping the ones that I love to listen to and mean the most to me and then figure out what to do with the rest after. I figure by getting rid of most of them though, it'll clear up floor room in my second bedroom and help it feel less cluttered.

7. Find out a wonderful solution for my jewelry storage. Most of what I own is just fashion jewelry, but it'd be nice to keep it all in one place instead of in three separate places all sitting on the ground. I doubt this will happen anytime soon because it more than likely involves buying furniture. But if I start thinking about it now.... okay. fine. I need to just figure out a cheap alternative for the time being. Even if it's buying a very short and thin table to set my small jewelry trunk on top of and another jewelry container beside it.

8. Get rid of my extra jewelry box that currently houses random bits and pieces. I need to just empty it and do it. I can just put the items in a baggy in the box in my closet with the rest of my random stuff. At least then I can donate it and get if off the floor of my second bedroom.

9. Read the 14 remaining books on my bookcase so that I can donate them.  I'm not sure why I'm in such a hurry to do this because all it will do is clear off the last two of my shelves. I have items on the middle shelves and books I want to keep on the bottom two. Somehow I know it will help though.

10. Get rid of more clothes! I can't tell you how much clothing I've already gotten rid of. Partly because I've lost enough weight that I didn't need the larger items anymore. And partly because I just didn't wear the clothes. But I'd love to just have the items I'm in love with. I'm not even sure if there is much more to donate. It's time to go through closets and dressers one more time though. I'd love to not need as much room as I do, for my clothing. Not that I don't want to have options. But do I really need to keep the business suit that I wore 8 yrs ago to get the job I now have? I'll never wear it again. Do I really need to keep the dress I wore as maid of honor at my friend's wedding? I keep saying I'm going to wear it again, but let's be realistic. Even though I can fit in it... what are the odds I'd wear it again? It's just taking up room along with other things in my closet. It's time to put my closet on a diet.

11. Get rid of anything unnecessary. This is the hard part. A good portion of that are items that for one dumb reason or another, I might have stupid sentimental attachment to. But if I want to continue to declutter, I need to do it. It's not like I'm holding on to old movie ticket stubs or anything, but I know there are plenty of items that just sit in a box because I don't want to get rid of them for whatever stupid reason. I need to just get over it and get rid of them... whatever they may be.

12. Donate my old running shoes to the local store that collects them. This part is easy, I just need to do it.

13. Transfer photos in old photo albums to scrapbooks in the hopes of taking up less pages or just take them out and put all the photos in a box. I'm just trying to come up with ways to regain space on my closet shelf. Maybe if I consolidate in a more efficient manner, I can get rid of a little bit of room. I dunno. I might have to sit on this one and really give it some thought.

Fortunately I've been really good about not buying a lot of unnecessary things. And I've been doing good about keeping my closets organized with what's in them. It'd still be nice to downsize just a little bit more... and on my own terms and timeline.

January Birchbox Review

 

January's box consisted of:

Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk - I was actually eager to try this. I generally wash my hair every night since I go to the gym and sweat my butt (and head) off. And I think we've all had one of those days when we don't plan on taking a shower one day and thus our hair doesn't look it's best. This would be a nice alternative for the times. I followed the directions and sprayed in it, brushed it out. And I did not like the results. It left white film in my hair and where it soaked up the oil, it just looked dirtier. I'd rather suffer with non-washed hair for the day than use that stuff. I gave it to my sister to try. Maybe she'll like it. It got a lot of great reviews, which actually surprised me. When I was 15 I was in the hospital for 12 days and wasn't allowed to shower during that time. I had my hair washed with dry shampoo and I can honestly say that it felt clean afterwards. This stuff though.. not so.

Juicy Couture Couture La La - It's no secret that I'm sensitive to scents. So while this perfume wasn't for me, it doesn't mean it wouldn't be nice for someone else. It wasn't horrible. I just couldn't tolerate it. This sample also went to my sister.

Coastal Scents Revealed Palette Set - I rarely wear eye makeup. IF I do, I only wear it on the weekends. I was eager to try this sample though. The sample was of four colors, and while they might not be my first pick of shades, there was one that caught my eye. I decided to wear it to church one Sunday. After church I went to my parent's house and asked my sister what she thought of it. Then my mom saw and she instantly LOVED it. I liked how it went on. It lasted all day. And while I wasn't interested just yet in purchasing the palette it was for, I DID end up purchasing a larger color palette of eye shadows by them. I just got it in the mail this week and I can't wait to play around with colors!

Nail Rock - I received the navy velvet nail polish in my box. The concept was nice, but the execution wasn't. The polish went on streaky, and the velvet didn't have full coverage. It simply looked like fuzz was growing on my nails - not a look I'm trying to achieve in my early 30's. This might be perfect for someone in jr high when you don't care about quality and you want something very unique. Just make sure you're careful - the fuzz gets messy when applying. For now I'll stick with my regular brands of Julep, OPI, and Sally Hansen.

And as an extra special bonus it also included a sample of:

Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Day Lotion with Clary Sage - I love Burt's Bees. I use the lip balm and the body butter, so I was happy to see this small sample in my box. As expected, the product is nice. The lotion smells fresh, though I wish the Clary Sage was a bit lighter in scent because I actually prefer unscented lotions. (I'd much rather smell like the perfume I choose to wear.) I'll definitely use up the rest of the sample, but I'm not sure I'll go out and buy it. Maybe one day. Who knows.

 

                                                  

Sister, Sister

I have talked about memories I have with my mom. I have talked about memories I have with my dad. I have not yet talked about my sister, who I commonly refer to as my Leetle Seester. And often times when I'm not calling her that, I'm calling her Brat. Don't worry. I'm the one person who can get away with it because I've been lovingly calling her that for so long. Granted there is some truth behind it, but I think she's fully aware of that too.

I'm lucky to tell you that even though there is a five year difference between us, there are many good memories we have shared.

The one that will always come to mind first is of us pretending to be on a camping trip while in the family room. We'd take out our sleeping bags and pillows and lay them out on the floor. Then we'd eat string cheese and pretend it was fish we caught for dinner. I don't think our camping trips consisted of much more except for maybe walking on the couch cushions and pillows on the ground pretending that was the only safe land from the carpet otherwise known as water. But what that has to do with camping is beyond me. So I might be combining two thoughts right there.

We played school. A LOT. Of course since I was the oldest, I was always the teacher. She often wrote me reports on the Aardvark (as it was the first animal listed in the animal encyclopedia set I had). And I usually taught her what I was learning in school at the time. Don't forget that we are five years apart. So when she was in kindergarten, I was teaching her what I was learning in the fourth grade. She is smarter because of me. No really, she is. True story.

I hated that she always wanted to be in my room. Actually, I don't even think it was that she wanted to be IN my room. The problem was that she always wanted to TOUCH and PICK UP everything in my room. There was a constant phrase spoken to her - "You look with your eyes, not with your hands". It wasn't uncommon for me to quickly kick her out of my room... at which point the war of the doors would begin. As luck would have it, her room was directly across from mine. So I could easily shove her out of my room and slam the door very quickly. She would open it, I'd shove her out again, and repeat. Then I'd slam the door and wedge my foot against it so that when she tried to open it only the top would budge. I'm actually really surprised my door never broke because of this. I'm also shocked that her fingers never got trapped between.

When we weren't arguing or bickering, there actually was a lot of happy times. We'd play barbies in her room - with HER barbies, of course. C'mon. I wasn't about to let her play with MINE! haha. But we'd take turn choosing outfits and furniture so that it really was evened out. And we'd continue on.

Lots of summer days were spent outside on our swing set. The tanbark was commonly "hot lava" and we would attempt to get from one side to the next in multiple ways. Another frequent game was pretending to be Mighty Mouse. Of course this really just consisted of us saying over and over "here I come to save the day... Mighty Mouse is on his way!" (We learned not to jokingly say loudly "help, help" after our neighbor heard us and scorned us from the other side of the fence one day. Yep. Lesson learned!)

And let's not forgot the copious amount of crab soccer we played in the hallway.

I even convinced my sister to let me do her hair. I was always about doing really wacky hairstyles but she usually let me. I even did her best friend's hair too when they'd play dress up or just dress up as twins. She always wanted to do my hair but I learned that if I let her do mine first, she wouldn't let me do hers. Yep. I usually did hers first.

We had many a baths together... which was fine until I got too old for it. I think the sign was when I refused to take a bath with her unless I was in my bathing suit. I can't recall if I made her wear hers too or not. She also wasn't allowed to cross the invisible line in the tub. She knew to stay on her side or I'd hurt her. (Sorry Mom, it's true.) Of course if you know my Leetle Seester and you want to hear a funny story, ask her why her veins are so blue in her chest and arms. TeeHee.

I really could go on and on about all the amazing times we had together as kids (or all the not so amazing times we had). But what's truly wonderful is that as adults, we still are friends. First of all, not everyone is fortunate to be able to have a sister. A sister's love can be a powerful thing. I am very fortunate, and very grateful to be able to call her my friend. I am so lucky to be able to say that even now when I'm 33, I am still making memories with her.

Just this past year alone we've shared some amazing times. We've gone to Carmel and San Francisco for the day. We've gone to an A's game together. We went on a trip with our mom to Simi Valley and also took in a Dodgers game while we were there. We went to BFD where my sister surprised me with a-mazing seats. (Try like second row!). And I was the one who encouraged her to go up on stage with 30 Seconds to Mars. I was the one who took out my camera and actually took video of the whole thing (and let me tell you, I almost never take video of anything!) I new it would be important to her though so I wanted to do that for her. We spend the entire day together in the hot, HOT sun and still went home laughing and smiling over the wonderful day we had. In October we took a road trip to Palm Springs where we vacationed - just the two of us. How many people can say they even LIKE their sister enough to do a trip like that. We shared a room and we spent the majority of our time together, every day, for an entire week. At the end of the week we weren't even sick of each other. Pinky promise! And then this Sunday we were fortunate enough to get tickets and see Shen Yun in San Francisco. Again, we spent most of the day together and it was great. What's better? We actually still want to do more things together!

I know there will come a time when I won't have the opportunity to do things like that with her. I know one day she'll be living far away (it's just inevitable). But for now I'm enjoying all the fun we have together. We might not always see eye-to-eye. We might be complete opposites when it comes to some things, but that's okay. I love my Leetle Seester and I'm grateful that I can truly call her my friend. (Have I already mentioned that? Oops.)

Issues

There are two recent events that I need to blog about... that I need to get off my chest. I know people may not agree with me, and that's fine. We are all entitled to our own opinions.

#1. There is a young girl who has been declared brain dead. Her parents are fighting to keep her hooked up to machines. Have I mentioned she's been declared brain dead? With the exception of the cause of death (autopsy is needed), the coroner's office has the death certificate filled out. I understand that death of your child (or anyone) is a hard thing to accept. But why are they putting their family and everyone else through this? I feel bad for the family that they can't come to grips and accept the fact that their little girl is dead. I feel bad they can't accept the fact that they need to let go. I feel bad for the doctors and nurses and anyone else that has to continue to give care to someone who is brain dead. That little girl, if she truly makes it to another place where people will be willing to allow to stay hooked up to the machines... I feel bad for them. They are going to start to see a little girl deteriorate and continue to watch her body die from the inside out. How can this be good for anyone? There comes a time when you need to just stop. Now is that time. Let her go. Let her go in peace.

#2. If you want to practice law, regardless of if it can't be for a law firm (yet) and you've gone through the schooling and you've passed the tests, then by all means practice law. But if you are here as an undocumented immigrant, who was practically raised here, who CHOSE to continue to go to school here, who WANTS to continue to live here in the U.S. then do one thing for me. BECOME A LEGAL CITIZEN!!! You want everything America has to offer and yet you don't want to be formally known as a citizen... that's just wrong. While I'm at it, I disagree with being able to get driver's licenses and everything else. IF you want to be here, become a citizen. Don't stay here and mooch off of everything our system (so stupidly) offers you. Don't try and cheat the system. Do something about it. Prove to me you want to be here, that you want to stay. Become an American citizen. I have nothing against people immigrating here. What I have a problem with is the immigrants who want to stay but don't go about it the right way. What I have a problem with is our government allowing them to come here and not do anything about it. It's irritating to say the least.