Playing with colors

I recently decided to get a new 'do and play with some colors. And why not? I don't work during the summer and I won't have any parents looking at me weird for having crazy hair. I haven't colored my hair in over a decade, so I figured, it's time to try something new. And so I went a little wild and followed these pins for inspiration.

I really wanted to go for blue streaks, rather than purple, but I couldn't really find any blue streaks on Pinterest for me to show my stylist. She finally told me, that the blue would end up fading into green and she suggested to go for purple instead. Despite her suggestion, I still pushed blue streaks for my hair. Therefore, we compromised and she added both fashion colors to the blonde streaks she had to create on my hair in order to strip it of color.

She and I couldn't be any more happy with the results as she even took me outside to take pics to add to her Instagram!

And below, are my selfies. It's hard to appear inconspicuous when the neighborhood gardeners keep driving by.

Alhough I probably should've listened to her because two weeks later, my blue streaks are now beginning to fade into green. C'est la vie!

I totally love my new 'do and can't wait to wear it out and about....as long as its not hot, humid, nor raining. Then the color will bleed, I will begin to sweat, and the locks will turn into poof balls. 

Have you tried anything new lately?

New Look! New Space!

I am extremely excited to officially introduce to you my new space!

Thank you to Kristen from WTF Designs to help me spruce up my widdle blog!

I also wanted to wish Happy Birthday to THE most important man in my life...my dad!

So here we are....the Addams Family!

Happy Birthday pops, without you....I would have given up on math, algebra, geometry, and the worst of the worst....STATISTICS!

Love you!

This hair makes me ROARRRRR

This was my lovely mane yesterday morning...

How does this lovely mane [or bed head] look happen?

It was wild I tell you! It happens when I go to bed right after washing my hair. And then *poof* this occurred!

But right after some brushing, combing, ironing, and blow drying...

My mane is a little more like the me that goes to work now. 

Someday I'll make sure to wear my mane appropriately to work. 

Does your bed hair ever surprise you when you least expect it?

 

Sounds of Silence - Thankful Thursday

One of the schools I work at, signed a few of us teachers to a Mindfulness Based Stress Relief (MBSR) course. What a great idea! Taking care of your teachers!!!

I've been going doing this course now for the past 7 Saturdays. But this, was one of the most resilient meetings for me.

Let me just describe the location first...every week I make the trek towards the teacher's home. After you park your car, you take a 3 minute walk on a quiet neighborhood street. When you finally reach this Key West style home, you take a few seconds to admire it. On the side of the house, there is a narrow walkway leading you to the back of her house and her beautiful pool deck surrounded by a lush, gorgeous, and green garden. If you listen...you could hear the sounds of the birds chirping. Every so often, you'd see a parrot or a blue jay, or a robin. It really was amazing! And after observing nature, you walk into her peaceful and serene classroom. Here we usually talked and described our experiences with feelings, pains, thoughts, and emotions.

But this saturday was different, she asked us to be silent. She invited all of us in the room, to be silent, to practice not speaking, to avoid talking.

It was crazy! This lady thought I'd be silent for 6 hours? How in the world was I going to accomplish this in a group of 20 people? But for the most part, we did it. I did it. We did some yoga, some walking meditation, some feeling exercises...as for me, the best part, was eating in silence.

At lunch, I chose to sit by myself. In a little corner of the deck where the large palm trees gave shade to my area. I began eating what seemed to be the most delicious PB&J sandwich I've ever had. I smelled the air around me and then I put my nose close to my bread, my sandwich. I gave it a good whiff and then I took a bite of it. And I slowly chewed it and I chewed and I chewed. Then I paused and looked at it and back up at the bamboo and palm trees, the bushes, the beautiful roses and bouganvilias. And it sounds so crazy and weird but really...it was surreal.

Aaahhhhh but it was just amazing. Try it...try to be silent. Just smile, nod, and shrug to let others know you will not be talking.

But even more important, try the slow eating...savor your food, your meal. Not just your breakfast, your lunch, or your dinner. Every food or drink that touches your lips and your mouth. Savor everything you do. Everything you take in. From what you see, what you smell, what you do, what you feel, and you will find what you love in life. You will find about those little things that are so good and that you should be thankful for. 


What type of meditation have you tried?

Where in the world??

As I sit here wondering where will my traveling pants take me next...I have come to the realization, that I've been to quite a few cities and places in my life already! Thought I'd share some of my pit stops around the world with you:

United States
Florida
New Jersey
New York
Texas
Oklahoma
Tennessee
South Carolina
Nevada
Virginia
Maryland
Washington, DC

Peru
Lima
Iquitos
Cuzco
Canete

Mexico
Cancun
Veracruz
Tlacotalpan

Italy
Rome
Florence
Venice
Milan
Verona
Naples
Sorrento
Amalfi
Bellagio
Pisa

San Marino
San Marino

Switzerland
Lugano

What pit stops have you made around the world?

Happy Birthday and SOBWFF Weekend to me!!

This past weekend was just amazeballss!! 

Andrew Zimmern just being Asian!

First a little birthday celebration with all my cousins who also had a February birthday...(5 out of the 15 cousins!!)

Then a little fun with my drunken buds...

But then...the best thing happened...surprise tickets to South Beach Wine and Food Festival's Best of the Munchies!!

Where for there was food, wine, beer, and liquor until you decide to pass out!!

What are you planning to do for YOUR birthday?

Enough Said...

I am a certified introvert

There was that time...a few years back, when I was forced  asked   to complete the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality questionnaire as a part of a Leadership Workshop for my job.

Yep...as the horrible decision maker that I am, I had much difficulty completing the questionnaire which seemed to be about 1 zillion questions long! It only took as many hours to finish it.

To make it even more annoying, I had to wait at least 2 weeks so that I could receive my results at the workshop. 

Can you tell I am super impulsive and impatient?

Adding to all of the "I"s, I apparently scored as an ISFJ 

Now you may ask, what in the world does that mean? It means I AM

Introverted.  Sensing.  Feeling.  Judging.

On the other hand, the opposite of the ISFJ would be the ENTP which translates to:

Extroverted.  iNtuitive.  Thinking.  Perceiving.

Although I fall right smack in the middle between J. and P. traits, I definitely see myself as I.S. and F.


Now you want the 16 personality traits explained? Well, see below...
  

Extraverted (E)

Expressive, outgoing, prefer group activities, eager to speak their minds, more comfortable when around other people than when alone, get energized by social interaction

Introverted (I)

Reserved, listen carefully, prefer solitary activities, more comfortable when alone than when around other people, get exhausted by social interaction

Intuitive (N)

Introspective, rely on their imagination, absorbed in ideas, focus on what might happen

Sensing (S)

Observant, rely on their senses, absorbed in practical matters, focus on what has happened

Thinking (T)

Tough, follow their minds, suppress feelings, focus on objectivity and rationality

Feeling (F)

Sensitive, follow their hearts, keep feelings close to the surface, focus on harmony and cooperation

Judging (J)

Decisive, prefer clear rules and guidelines, eager to commit, see deadlines as sacred, seek closure

 Perceiving (P)

Probing, prefer keeping their options open, reluctant to commit, relaxed about their work, seek freedom

If you really want to take a similar test to the MBTI, you can give it a go for free here or here.
BUT if you don't have time, and if you think you have it all figured out, then you can look at the image below to try to figure out which of the Harry Potter characters MBTI personalities best describe you?

Therefore, this means I am your Neville Longbottom.
Not your best and most exciting character, but I hear he saves the day at the very end, ha!

Have you figured out which letters belong in your alphabet soup?

just me...

My Bucket List

I thought it was about time I let you see my own Bucket List.
This is a growing list so feel free to share yours and take some of my ideas!

via

1.  Go to a drive-in movie
2.  Run a Half-Marathon: See it here!
3.  Walk and sleep on the Great Wall of China
4.  Go camping with my friends
5.  Eat a lobster in Maine
6.  Take a picture at the Bean in Chicago
7. Visit Yankee Stadium
8.  Watch a Red Sox game at Fenway Park
9.  Take hubby to Machu Picchu
10. Eat at Le Jules Verne restaurant atop the Eiffel Tower
11. Take a photography class
12. Pick up tulips in Holland
13. Hike through Cinque Terre
14. Drink from the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, FL
15. Ski and snowboard in Vail, Colorado
16. Go Jet Skiing
17. Ride in a hot air balloon
18. Be an extra in a movie: See it here!
19. Stand on the Skywalk at the Grand Canyon
20. Learn to dance ballet en pointe
21. Eat Greek Yogurt at the Parthenon
22. Stay in a log cabin. See it here!
23. Live on campus while in college
24. Get a tattoo
25. Ride a gondola in Venice, Italy: See some pics here!
26. Go to the airport and purchase a ticket to a random destination
27. Welcome the New Year on the beach
28. Party in Ibiza
29. Watch the ball drop on Times Square
30. Meet my favorite band: Read about it here and here!
31. Visit the lands of my ancestors in the Basque Country
32. Watch the sunset from Santorini and Mykonos in Greece
33. Become passionate about a cause
34. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge: See it here!
35. Learn to surf
36. Take a trip cross country
37. Eat sushi in Japan
38. Have my fortune told
39. Jump in the Amazon river
40. Build a real snowman

What is on your Bucket List??