A - Z: 26 Things About Me Tag

Hello everyone!

My friend had posted this "26 Things About Me" on Facebook. I love these little personal fun fact bits because they are so interested to read and do myself.

Let's get to it!

Twenty six thing about me...
A - Age: 29 going on 30 (in less than a month! AH!)
B - Biggest Fear: Dying alone and unhappy
C - Current time: 12:50pm
D - Drink you last had: McDonalds iced coffee, vanilla flavor
E - Every day starts with: an eye rub and a "Damn. Morning already?"
F - Favorite song: Probably "Too Close" by Next. Lol. It just reminds me of my childhood when I didn't know what the words actually meant. 
G - Ghosts, are they real: I hope not!!
H - Hometown: Los Angeles
I - In love with: Ben
J - Jealous of: Not sure if I would call this jealousy, but it annoys me when I see people "living the life" off of welfare and not working, though they have the potential to. I'm a social worker. I see this happen more often than not
K - Killed someone?: I could never unless I was being brutally attacked or something
L - Last time your cried?: Today when I saw this YouTube Video "My Dad is a Liar"
M - Middle name: Diaz
N - Number of siblings: 2
O - One wish: Idealistically, we can all be happy and get along. Realistically, as my parents grow older, I wish they continue to be strong, healthy, happy and not have a hard time
P - Person you last called: An intake worker at a psych hospital. Lol. I was at work, people!
Q - Question you're always asked: "When are you getting married?"
R - Reason to smile: I am alive and as healthy as as I can be
S - Song last sang: Probably Post Malone's "White Iverson". It' catchy!
T - Time you woke up: 9:30ish am
U - Underwear color: Black with pink branded writing
V - Vacation destination: I'm an island girl, but I also want to go to Ireland
W - Worst habit: Overanalyzing, overstressing, overworrying 
X - X-rays you've had: Teeth and foot
Y - Your favorite food: Sushi!
Z - Zodiac sign: Proudly Gemini

Hope you had fun learning a little more about me.

If you do this tag yourself, please let me know! I would love to read it.


Xoxoxo

RIP: Shine Bright, Star light

Last Monday 4/25/16, I received heart wrenching, stomach-turning, I-almost-fainted news.

One of my sorority sisters had taken her life the night before.

My heart sank.

My first thoughts, "What. Oh my gosh. Oh Jamie. Oh no, Jamie."

I asked my friend if there was anything that she knew of that Jamie was going through. She told me Jamie was struggling with bipolar disorder.

A flood of memories just kept going through my heart, through my head, through my soul.

Sadness - a beautiful soul gone from this world.

Anger - how could you do this to yourself? Be so selfish.

Anger - at the system. The mental health system continues to fail the people we love

Empathy - I shouldn't be angry. Jamie was clearly going through an inner turmoil that no one can ever truly understand. This was her peace.

Sadness - that this happened. That I wasn't there to know or even help her.

She was a beautiful soul. We were close in college but soon after graduation, she moved to Kansas and then different places throughout the Midwest. We all moved on with our lives, but stayed in contact. She came every 1 - 2 years since she moved away and every time she came back, it was as though nothing has changed.

She smiled a lot. She laughed a lot. She was supportive. She challenged you. She was a burst of energy. She brought out the best in you because she always saw the best in you. She was my dance partner, my thiz face, hyphy sistahhh.

I loved her voice. It was unique, but it was Jamie and it was beautiful. She was beautiful. She was gigantically tall and worked it. She had the fairest complexion that she shone so bright. She was proudly "ghetto" and often said, "I'm the most ghetto white girl you've ever met."

Her life growing up was not easy. She is the true epitome of working hard. She went from living in a trailer to UCLA graduate to pre-med student. She worked her ass off, always working multiple jobs to support herself, did so ever since she was a young teenager.

No one had anything bad to say about her. Nothing.

Rest in paradise my beautiful friend.

I am too lucky and so grateful to have met you.

You forever hold a dear place in my heart and in my memories.

Shine bright, star light

I know you're watching over us

xoxoxox 

"I will never understand that out of all the people in this world, you thought you had to be the one to go"

Mini Sephora VIB Sale

Happy Wednesday everyone!

We are at the middle of the week, half way to the weekend! YAAAASSS!!!!

I'm sure you have been seeing Sephora VIB hauls lately as Sephora had their VIB sale about two weeks ago. VIB-ers get 15% all purchases. Sephora does not typically have sales so people definitely go buck wild and take advantage.Who wouldn't?!

I'm kind of broke and trying to not hoard much makeup like I used to so I did not buy much.

This haul might actually be pretty boring, LOL. But a haul is a haul and I love sharing :)

Sorry for the poor, unblog like picture quality. I still haven't quite figured out how to take beautiful pictures of products. Bear with me!

Tada!!! LOL. Only four products (one not pictured) that I purchased

Benefit Hoola Zero Tanlines

I can't wait to try this. Quick backstory: I tan easily, but because I have Lupus, I can no longer be in the sun for too long. Thus, I am pasty and ghostly! I used to use tanners, but got over it because it was really smelly and took forever to dry. I will definitely post an update on this product!

Please see my review on the Lorac Island TANtalizer if you're interested on my thoughts on that.

Chloe by Chloe Eau De Parfum

I am happy to add this beauty to my collection. This is my second perfume ever! My first perfume ever was Burberry Brit Sheer. I felt like such a grown up! How beautiful is this packaging though??

(If you're curious, the fourth product I purchased was for my mom. It was also perfume: Prada Candy Kiss)

Clinique Scrub Cream + Moisturizer in travel size. 

I bought this for my upcoming trip to Las Vegas to see JLo :D I never bring proper face wash - only face wipes - so I figured this would be a great, practical buy. It was only $10 pre-15% discount.

First Aid Beauty Flawlessy Fab Skin 

This was a points perk. I have heard such great things and decided to give it a try. I also included the many samples I received. I am most excited to try the dr. brandt oxygen facial mask as well as the Caviar CC leave-in perfecter. 

That's it for my mini Sephora VIB sale haul. I hope you enjoyed :)

Xoxoxox

Pop Quiz: Which One Is It?

Why hello there!

Are you ready to put your thinking caps on?! Today, I have a pop quiz in store for you!

But first, here's a little background...

On March 31st, I took part one of my state licensure exam for my clinical social work license. And I passed! Woot woot!

As a reward to myself, I got my nails done after my exam. I even splurged and got a design. And oh my dang, did that design bump up the price hella much!!

Two weeks later, two of my gel nails lifted and I removed them. I wasn't quite ready to give up all my nails, especially since this was my first time getting a design. And I paid good money for that!

I decided to experiment and try to "repair" the missing nails myself by mixing a few of my colors. I made two batches. The first batch was a near exact dupe, but of course, clumsy me dropped it on the floor making a mess. Whomp.

Can you guess which two are the "repaired" nails?!

Here are some up close shots that will help may it more obvious.

Hope you enjoyed this little silly post :)

Xoxox

Monday Sayings: Take Care of Yourself

Hello everyone!

Happy Monday!

Now, I'm not going to front and say that I'm the healthiest eater ever or that I'm the most fittest, but I try.
I have been working in the healthcare/medical field since 2008, mostly with the geriatric population. I've seen seniors who for whom age was nothing but a number. And of course, I saw seniors who lived with challenges due to medical and physical conditions.

As I get older, my experiences and I suppose, wisdom collection, has inspired me to make better choices now because my choices now have an impact on my life later on.

I contract with a major hospital in Los Angeles. In the stairwell are inspirational quotes that you find walking up. I try to take the stairs as much as possible for exercise and for feel-goodness (lol, I'm so articulate). I love cheesy quotes of all kinds! The quotes help make the steps bearable. At the same time, they motivate me to eat well and to stay active.

This last quote is actually my favorite and, to me, the most powerful of the three. I think it speaks volumes in terms of what we do to our bodies now has a big impact later in life.

For someone like me, a person with Lupus, I have to work 10x harder at being healthy because my body is already working against me without me having to try.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease which means Lupus patients have an immune system that is overactive. For a healthy, "normal" individual, the immune system is able to distinguish between the good and bad cells and fights the bad. For an individual with Lupus, the immune system cannot distinguish between the good and the bad cells so it destroys both. When your body is attacking the good cells, you get sick. Sick can mean different things for a Lupus patient - arthritic problems, kidney failure, skin issues, etc. To read more about my Lupus story, click here.

I walk the stairs of this hospital as motivation and a reminder that I need to take care of myself now because my actions now, or lack there of, will catch up with me later.

Take care of yourselves, friends! 

Our now is the future.


Xoxoxox

Throwback Thursday: Holiday 2015 Nails

Happy Thursday everyone!

I have a quickie throwback for you.

Here are my holiday nails from Christmas 2015.

On one hand, I have a snowman chilling in the snow.

And on the other hand, Santa's belt. This is definitely my favorite of the two and something I would repeat in the future.

I know it's way past the holidays, but I hope you had a wonderful time with the people you share your life with.

Much love,

Xoxox

Food Adventures: Sweet + Savory

WARNING: You may get hungry...and a little jelly

I wanted to share with you some of the places that I've been drooling to try and finally did! AHHH! I love food so much I am just so excited to talk about, revisit my experience and be reminded of the deliciousness that has went to my hips and thighs. LOL.

1. Halal Guys - Combo beef and chicken plate

 

East coasts meets the best coast! I waited 2 hours and 10 minutes for this New York delight when a chain opened up in Costa Mesa,CA. Months later, they are opening up one 1.5 miles from home. YAY!

2. Cookie Good - Pancake maple bacon cookie

Tastes just like breakfast. I thought this was going to be too much going on and too sweet, but OH MY DANG!! This is amazing.I crave this weekly. 

3. Honeymee - Honey affogato

On that day, I tasted heaven. Pure milk ice cream topped with honey and coffee....who would have thought honey would go SO WELL with ice cream...and then coffee on top. Foodaliciously orgasmic. Oyyyy...drooling. 

4. CottonHi - Tiramisu

When your ice cream is as frizzy as your hair...Growing out my brows..relax

Organic cotton candy + fresh soft serve. I got the tiramisu. My cotton candy was coffee flavored. 

5. Georgetown Cupcakes - Lavender Earl Grey Teacake

Sadly, this is only a seasonal flavor, but dang is it delicious!! Not too sweet. It's delicious, light, and just heaven. There's no other way to describe it.

Even though I just ate dinner, I somehow feel hungry again...HMMMM. 

Please let me know of any must-try places in the Los Angeles area!! 

Xoxoxo

Monday Sayings: Plot Twists, Stress and Dogs

Happy Monday everyone!

Just wanted to share some quotes I found online.

May they make you think, smile and make your day a little brighter.

Xoxoxox

When You Try To Look Cute

The past few months have been hectic. I work 2 jobs, work 6 days a week, and had been studying for part one of my state board exam.

I've had NO time to really socialize, get dolled up and go out because I'm always tired or always studying. Boo.

Today, I had some free time after dinner and decided to bust out my lipsticks that I haven't touched in ages. Since no one was home, I took the opportunity to take multiple selfies. Oh come on, you know you do it too. Hehe ;)

I put on the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Blackberry Sorbet, one of my favorite colors.

In my attempt to look cute and mysterious, I ended up looking scary! LOL

Well, I tried. 

HA!

Til next time...

xoxoxo

My 7 Month Blog Dry Spell

Why hello there!

I've had quite the dry spell in the blogging world!! I haven't blogged since September of last year, about 7 months ago. Dang, that's almost a full term pregnancy.

When I last left off, a lot was going on in my life. 

The job that I love lost its funding so my team of 12 became dismantled. Many were placed in other programs within the agency, few were laid off. I was placed in a position where I had to take someone else's job due to seniority (union policy). It was awful! It was a difficult transition into my new job as my new colleagues had dearly loved the employee whose job I took over. I was not welcomed and had to give 200% to prove myself. And 7 months later, I am still trying to do so.

Not only was I starting this new job, I also had started a second per diem job at an emergency room on Saturdays from 3:30pm to midnight.

I, in a nutshell, started two jobs at the same time, trying to juggle both training schedules. 

Now that it's mid-April, I am finally [somewhat] settled. 

Throughout my blogging career, I've had many dry spells. As much as I love it, I am very bad at keeping up with it. It's just really hard to do so with two jobs and studying for my state board exam. I give props to those who can juggle all of life + blogging. 

I will try to keep up as much as possible. My following may not be large, and I'm probably the only one reading my blog (LOL), but I hope to find time to blog anyway. This is a form self-care and my own personal diary. It is quite therapeutic. 

Xoxoxo