Cheers to new beginnings!

My favorite day in the world is Dec. 31st. It's the day that everyone in the world makes a decision to change in some way once the clock strikes 12. It's a day full of joy, celebration, and remembering all the things that made the year before what it was.

 
This year a lot changed for me...for one, I finally started wearing my hair the way God made it....crazy. I mean, curly. Lol. For the LONGEST time I would spend hours and hours straightening it! Until one day I just said, forget it. This is the way my hair is...I might as well embrace it!

Believe it or not, that mindset spiraled into every area of my life. It allowed me to wear what I wanted, sing what I wanted, and be who I wanted. It made me stop caring what anyone else thought about me, and just start living! A lot of times people will try to put you into a box of who they think you should be, but don't let them! You are exactly who you are suppose to be.

What's your resolution? The most popular one is - LOSE WEIGHT! Especially after all those desserts we love to eat during the holiday season! (I'm guilty!) I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say "this year i'm cutting out carbs!" Or, "this year - I'm eating less sugar!" But we allll know once January 2nd rolls around, we're grabbing that Hershey bar!! Haha! That's when I realized my resolution should be something I can keep, something deeper....

What's my resolution?  I thought the best way to do it, would be to make a list and keep it on my wall. A little reminder....in 2011...

1. I am stronger
2. I am not afraid
3. I can do anything I put my mind to
4. With God, all things will be possible
5. I will love myself and those around me more than ever before


I think we all can be who we want to be this year. It's 2011, a new decade, a new beginning. Why can't our dreams come true this year?? Why can't we be stronger and have less fear?? Why can't we do things we've never done before?? At 12:00 I made a decision to never again, think that we can't. We can, and we will.

Whether you fill your cup with water, apple cider, or whatever it is that you enjoy. Lets CHEERS to new beginnings!! Happy New Year everyone!!!

My grandma didn't text

When I was young, I was in LOVE with Nsync...well, what I thought was "love." I remember my friends and I use to buy these magazines, so that we could rip the Justin Timberlake poster out of it, and quickly tape it to our walls! I swore back then I would marry him! Everything was so easy when it came to love, because all I knew how to do was just be myself...

As I got older...things changed. All of a sudden having a "crush" on someone ment I had to "date" them. But what the heck did that mean?? Movies always told me that dating was when you go out to dinner with a man....seemed simple enough! Then I realized it was more than that, it was having to act a certain way, look a certain way, be a certain way....what???

I remember reading Seventeen magazine trying to learn how to be like Jennifer Love Hewitt. She was the perfect girl then who could get any guy she wanted! I would read articles about how I need to be sexy and mysterious and "strut my stuff." But I was just....me. And I didn't have much stuff to strut anyway! LOL!
I have to wear high heels?? And a skirt too?? I was never the kind of girl that naturally knew how to be "that girl." I always prefered sneakers over heels, sweats over dresses! I was being thrown into a world where none of it seemed to make any sense!!

I was about 17 when this little thing that took up SO much of my time was invented....the cell phone. This brought in a WHOLE new mess of confused! Now there were even more rules about what to do when you like a guy or how to get a guy to like you! Wait 10 minutes before you text back....use wink faces if you want to flirt....dont write too many hahaha's its creepy! Wait...but what if its funny and I really am hahahaing?!! Doesn't matter...my head was hurting!

If girls weren't confused enough...they had to go see "He's Just Not That Into You." When I saw it, I remember feeling so sorry for those girls. They were sooo stressed trying to do the "right thing" when it comes to dating. Problem is, the stress of trying to do and say what they were suppose to, made it impossible for them to be themselves...or enjoy their lives for that matter. Don't get me wrong, a lot of that movie was very true! And that was the sad part about it...I thought, there has to be a better way...

I realized the love that we all want and dream about, doesn't have to be complicated. When my grandparents met, there were no "texting games" at all. They were just themselves and they were married for 70 something years until the day my grandpa passed on...dating shouldn't be a game, it should be about getting to know someone, who they are inside. If we're so focused on "the rules" how can that ever happen? My grandma respected herself and she never compromised....never tried to be someone she wasn't....and you know what, my grandpa put a ring on it! Haha! I don't think you have to read a book or watch a movie to know how to be yourself. And I don't think you have to kiss a dozen frogs before you find your prince. Love is simpler than that, life is simpler than that....and I know for a fact, my grandma didn't text. :-) Peace <3

When life gives you lemons....make lemonade.

I've been hearing the saying "when life gives you lemons...make lemonade" since I've been a little girl. I never really agreed with it though. I mean, what does that actually mean?  When life gives me a bad situation, I'm suppose to just lay down and die? Make the best and just roll with it?

Sammy Davis Jr. one of my all time favorite performers! There's nothing this man can't do! He sings, writes, acts, taps, does impersonations...but the thing I always admired about him most, is that he didn't take no for an answer. He faced the hardest battle in trying to do what he loved. He was an African American, trying to make it big in what was then, a racist society. Life gave him lemons, it gave him all his talent but with a skin color that wasn't approved. If he would've just accepted that, taken no for an answer and "made lemonade," I don't think we ever would've known his name.

50 Cent. Whether you love him or hate him, we can all agree he is a VERY successful man. Here's a man that came from virtually nothing, and with hard work and perseverance, he built himself an empire! I always love quoting him "get rich, or dying trying." Its so simple, but really amazing. Because the truth is, it's a mind set. It's saying you won't accept failure, won't accept NO, and certainly won't accept those lemons! He threw those lemons back and worked for some diamonds! Lol...to me, there is something so incredible about someone who will go after what they want in life and will turn every road block, into a stepping stone.

Life to me is like a never ending journey. Filled with surprises, some sudden corkscrews and lots of dirt along the way! However, its also filled with adventures, new discoveries, and always purpose. One thing I always promised myself was that I would never give up. Like my mama always says, "the only way you lose, is if you quit." I live by that! If you keep going and pushing and striving and don't take NO for an answer...how can you lose?! You can't! That's the beauty of it.

What if Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I had a dream....not really sure if I should say it though...it's probably best that I don't." Do you think our world would be the same today?? He chose to not accept his lemons. He chose to do something about his situation, not just watch it happen. I love that!

I friend of mine gave me a poem a couple of years back....


"If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t
If you like to win but think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost.
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are.
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win the prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can."

What do I say? I say don't take the lemons. Always reach for more! Anything you want in the world can be yours, you just can't be afraid to go get it! You deserve more than a few sour lemons...so why settle?? Besides, I prefer strawberries :-) but this is just one simple girl's blog...unfortunately, your mother, sister, brother, father, and cousin's friend's dad's neighbor will probably keep saying, "when life gives you lemons...make lemonade." Peace <3

Why is my butt so big??!

"Why is my butt so big?!" "Why are my boobs so small?!" All questions we ask ourselves, sometimes daily.  Plastic surgery is the growing trend in our world, why wouldn't it be?? You have the chance to fix any little thing on your body that you might hate about yourself. When I was young, my nose was WAY too big for my face, and let me tell you...if I could've gotten a nose job, I would've! Why not, right? Nose job here, boob job there, whats the big deal? But, how far is too far? 

When I saw all the plastic surgery Heidi Montag had done, it was very disturbing to me.  Not because she had something done, but because she felt she needed it.  Before, Heidi was a beautiful girl with unique features. Was her face perfect? Of course not, but perfect is over rated. I would rather have something a little "imperfect" that makes me stand out, then try to make myself look like everyone else.

Tonight is the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show! That's right, all the most "gorgeous" women come out and walk that runway shamelessly. While I love watching all the amazing garments and glitter of the show, I can't help but wonder who it might be affecting negatively. We see images of these fit, and what appears to be flawless women over and over. Covers of magazines, on TV, in movies...where are the real people? The world has become obsessed with the way we look so much, that we forgot what really matters...your inside. 

Some people get so obsessed with outward, that what was once a simple harmless idea to "get fit" turns into....

We see ourselves in this false light and give ourselves an unrealistic image to live up to.  The girl in that picture is WAY too skinny and yet, she sees herself as being heavier. The worst part of this picture, is that the girl in the mirror looks healthy and beautiful! But she doesn't like that image, its too big, not "fit" enough, not enough like the girls in the magazines. When will magazines start showing real people? Untouched up, raw, maybe some junk in the trunk people? 

Isn't she just soo GORGEOUS?! No wrinkles, amazing eyes, skin, everything! I wish I looked like that...actually, I bet she does too...

THATS real. Thats beautiful. But we never see that. I think she's just as gorgeous in the 2nd picture, as she is in the first. Maybe if more people saw it this way, eating disorders wouldn't be so popular, or the #1 reason of death. Everyone tries to fit into this mold of how everyone should look, but how boring would the world be if we all looked the same? 

My hair is a little too big, and my boobs are little too small, and you know what...thats great! We all could love and accept ourselves a little more and realize that the sexiest thing in the world is confidence! ;-) Work what you have! All those unique things about you...after all, you're the only one that has it! 

Everyday we can try to love ourselves the way we are, a little bit more....until then, I'll keep asking...."Why is my butt so big??!" Peace <3

Perez Hilton is cool, but being nice is cooler.

Perezhilton.com...who hasn't been on that site? I am EXTREMELY guilty of secretly reading the latest gossip, stories, and all there is to know about what's going on in Hollyweird. It's kind of like being in high school again, when you would hear the latest juicy rumor about someone you knew. You couldn't help but laugh, even if you knew it would hurt the person it was about. Because the truth is, its funny! Well, when its not about us...

Perez is notorious for pointing out celebrity flaws which makes all of us feel better about ourselves. Don't deny it, you know its true! When you see Megan Fox has a pimple, it makes you feel better! Like hey, she's not perfect just like me.  Perezhilton.com is just a mirror of what's going on in the world today. 

Kids are being bullied to the point where they're taking their own lives, no longer funny. Our culture and society is so programmed today to attack a flaw, something that makes someone different, a bad hairstyle, bad shoes, maybe a bad personality. Take Lady Gaga for example, when I first saw her I thought "this chick is WHACK!" Without listening to her or giving her the chance to change my mind. Then one day...I listened. She is SO talented, different, yes, but what's so bad about that? 

I'm sick of constantly reading about what's wrong with people, instead of what's right with them. All that does is give the rest of us permission to look at what's "wrong" with people, and ourselves the same way. It shouldn't matter if you are short, tall, black, white, caramel, gay, straight, whatever! We are all made to be unique and special, and that's God's business, not mine! I'm tired of seeing celebrities go to rehab or battle eating disorders, its sad. 

Everyone is striving to be "perfect like a celebrity" but celebrities are far from perfect! And so are we...I'm trying to figure out who decided what was "beautiful" or "perfect" and who gave Perez Hilton the power to tell people other wise. Let me say, I think he's a great dude, I really do...he seems like a sweet guy at heart and in no way am I attacking his site...i'm simply using it as an example of what's going on today...we spend more time judging lives, than living lives..."He looks ugly!" "She needs to lose weight!" You know what, I just PIGGED out on Thanksgiving the other day, and I enjoyed it! Who is Hollywood to tell me that I have to stay on some kind of diet and have celery for dinner?? I don't think so! Hate to say it but I love my burgers and fries way to much! Haha...

With that said, about a month ago, Perez Hilton said he was "making a change" and he really has. Hopefully he's the first of many to realize we need more love, and less hate...because Perez Hilton may be cool, but being nice is cooler. Just a small girls opinion in a pretty big world. Peace <3