Perks of Dating a Mexican

In the past almost two years of dating Pedro, I have seen that there have been many perks to dating a Mexican. In addition to him being an amazing person and confusingly patient, he is also a proud full-blooded Mexican. While Mexicans continually get a bad rap here in the States, I decided to focus on the many positive qualities that come from dating a Mexican man. 

1. Tacos.

This one is self explanatory. Tacos are delicious and because my boyfriend is Mexican, he has a genetic predisposition which causes him to crave them which basically means that tacos are a major food group in our house.

2. We know somewhere everywhere we go.

Every time we step out of our apartment, Pedro will inevitably run into someone he knows. I am convinced there is some secret newsletter that goes around to all Mexicans which is how they all know each other. In reality it is probably just because they are social and that is not something I excel at. But this is a great perk because it makes me look popular and forces me to put effort into my appearance on the rare occasion we do leave our apartment.

3. When you marry them, you will automatically gain 10,000 new family members.

10,000 is a slight exaggeration... but not really. Pedro has gone through his entire family with me at least a dozen times and I still have no idea who half of them are. It doesn't help that 98% of them have three or more names first names. And seeing as how I grew up with half my family living on another continent and the other half we politely ignored, I think it will be fun to have a new massive family/constantly available babysitters.

4. Your boyfriend speaks Spanish.

Which let's face it... super sexy.

5. You always get invited to parties. 

Well, technically it is your boyfriend who gets the invite but as the plus one you still get to go. And Mexicans have awesome blow-outs for everything: birthdays (I have decided the theme for my upcoming 25th birthday will be the quincenera that I never had complete with pink puffy dress), weddings, births, Thursdays... and the list goes on. And the best part is, you usually never even need to be officially invited. Sometimes you can just show up and nobody will kick you out. And the best best part? Sometimes the parties even have... tacos.

Any of you lucky ladies snag yourself a Mexican? Enjoy tacos? Like my quincenera dress?

Tall Tails: My Dog is a Terrorist

This week I am linking up with Adriana at Dog Hair is an Accessory and Katie at Understated Whimsy for this Tuesday's link-up:

Now I have a furbaby named Moose, or as my father affectionately calls him, "that little terrorist". Moose is a destroyer. He will eat and tear apart anything. He has chewed through our carpet, dug a hole in our mattress, eaten at least 10 pairs of shoes, destroyed three dog beds and numerous toys. Oh and some pillows, too.

Now doesn't he look cute and innocent behind bars like that? Those are lies. From the day he came home, he was our little destroyer.

Moose loves anything with stuffing and he gets endless satisfaction out of destroying it and spreading that fluffy white crap throughout the house.

I have a small collection of some of the random things Moose has destroyed throughout his (extremely) short life:

A pillow. 

Rolls of paper towels. Please note that there are three different toys in the picture and yet he chooses to chew the paper towels.

He went through a phase where he ate his puppy pee pads.

One of the worst. A puppy pee pad AND my coupon collection. I was livid. To this day, I have no idea how he even got the coupons from the counter to the floor. 

My favorite sandals. One of 6 pairs of sandals he ate this season (including THREE pairs of flip flops I kept re-purchasing). 

I have no idea why Moose is so inspired to destroy. He loves paper products and anything with stuffing. I theorize that it is just generally satisfying to tear an entire roll of toilet paper apart and strew it throughout the house. I've never tried it, so who knows? Maybe Moose is rebelling because I torture him and do stupid stuff like this in the name of "bonding":

But even though Moose is our little destroyer, we still love him and he is and always will be our little baby boy. Even if it isn't so little anymore...

Once a baby, always a baby. 

Foot Fingers: How You Know Your Parent is an Immigrant

Growing up, I did not know my father was an immigrant. 

True, I did realize he had dark skin, a funny accent and we ate a lot of cheese but I just figured that was all normal. 

Until one day at school, I stubbed my toe and went wailing to the nurse's office. 

This was a public school so naturally the nurse's office was filled with a thousand other kids with other ailments and/or coming in for their daily Ritalin. 

I enter, sobbing from the awful throbbing and life-changing pain of my toe stub and when the nurse looks at me and asks me what's wrong, I cry out "I stubbed my foot finger!"

Because when you grow up with a French Moroccan father, you grow up thinking that a toe is the literal translation from the French (doigt de pied) which translates directly into English as... foot finger. 

And when you run into a packed nurse's office crying from foot finger pain, your peers are going to mercilessly mock you. 

And when you come home crying from A) your foot finger toe pain (yes, it did hurt that badly) and B) being mercilessly mocked, your parents will sit you down and explain that you are not "different" or "weird" but "cultured" and whatnot. And that is when you learn the hardest lesson of all. That your parents may not be... Americans. 

A cruel life lesson, folks. 

So to spare you the pain of perhaps discovering this harsh life lesson on your own, I have compiled the following check list for you. If any one of these applies to you, your parent may be an immigrant. 

1. Your vocabulary has words/phrases in it that can not be located in an English dictionary.

To this day I still call shopping carts "chariot" and the thing that you use to switch the channels on the TV? That's called a chipchuck and will always be called that no matter how ridiculous it sounds. 

2. Your Summer vacations never involve camp.

Oh you want to go to a camp? Sing songs? Eat s'mores and make magical crafts with popsicle sticks? Tough luck. You are going to spend the Summer in the "motherland" which doesn't sound all that bad now but as a child was extremely traumatizing and humiliating when I had to explain that I had absolutely no idea what bug juice was. 

3. Your parents speak to you in a foreign language in public because they think no one can understand.

Surprise, mom- there's a lot of people out there who do speak French and can pretty much deduce what you are saying when you tell me to "mettez du papier sur la toilette". Not embarrassing at all, Mom. And yes, she still does it to this day whenever I go to use a public bathroom. 

4. When your parents do speak to you in a foreign language, you respond in English. 

This is AMERICA, guys. Come on, speak English.

5. When you parents pissed you off, you threatened to call INS.

Oh, I'm the only one? I'm the devil's spawn of a child? Really... nobody else did this?

I'm a horrible person. 

6. You grew up never knowing how to greet strangers. 

Do I shake hands? Kiss them on the cheek? How many kisses? This is too stressful, I'm going home. 

7. Alcohol was strongly encouraged. 

I distinctly remember being 8 years old and given Calvados on a sugar cube as a treat. It was disgusting, but I did eat like 12 more after that. 

8. Getting anything below an A was shameful. 

And if you did get anything below an A, expect to hear a lecture from your father on how he had to walk thirty miles in the snow (he grew up in Africa) to get to school where he would have to share a desk with 60 other pupils and they had no books so they had to memorize everything and yeah, yeah you get the idea....

9. Telling your parents you don't understand Math could make them disown you.

When I fell behind in Math I was immediately signed up with a private tutor and my father would sit with me for hours doing multiplication and calculus drills. It was my own little slice of hell. 

Basically my father's reaction every time I explained I had no idea how to multiply. And to this day I still use my fingers to calculate... everything. 

10. When you friends come over, your parents insist on "educating them about our culture".

This can include making them eat weird foods, participate in your holidays, pronounce words that no American can physically pronounce and insisting that they take said weird food home with them whenever they come over. You will not leave my house without some tupperware container and new knowledge about why we eat so much couscous. 

Sunday Social: Meet My Inner Fat Kid

I have an inner fat kid. Sometimes I cannot control him and he forces me to eat disgusting crap like marshmallows with peanut butter and grilled cheese with mayonnaise. My inner fat kid is basically trying to give me a heart attack for my 27th birthday. 

If I had to describe my inner fat kid, he would probably look like Kenan from his good days of Kenan and Kel. (What happened to Kel, BTW? I imagine him living in a huge secluded mansion spending his days drinking orange soda). 

1. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Grilled cheese sandwiches. I love them. French fries are a close second though!

2. What’s your guilty pleasure/comfort food?

Macaroni and cheese. It feels the void in my heart. 

3. What’s the weirdest/craziest thing you’ve ever eaten?

Bull tongue and then bull throat. I've eaten a lot of animal parts from a bull. 

4. What foods do you avoid at all costs?

I can't stand coconut. I tell people I am allergic because I am literally so disgusted with coconut and I have no idea why. I must have had some traumatic experience with coconut as a child, who knows? And I can detect coconut in anything. And coconut shavings literally make my skin crawl.

5. What meal reminds you of your childhood?

Sheperd's pie. My mom would really only make this on Halloween and I always looked forward to it. I haven't celebrated Halloween in a couple of years and I always force my Mom to still make it for me the next day.  It's delicious!

6. Share one of your favorite recipes and the story behind it.

Ha seriously? Ok I will attempt this at the very least. My recipe is for cerviche, which I make about once a week. It's super healthy, is very fresh and zesty and is super easy to make. It is also a Latin/Spanish dish so it also makes you look cultured. 

• Take a lot of limes (like 12) and squeeze the juice out of them. Put juice in a bowl. 
• Get some shrimps and take their tails off. Put them in the lime juice. 
• While the shrimp are "cooking" in the lime juice, we're gonna chop some shit up. 
• Take a tomato, an onion and a bunch of cilantro. Chop it. 
• Take a jalapeno. Chop that. Remember to not touch the jalapeno without washing your hands after! Trust me...
• Once the shrimp starts to turn pink in the juice, you know it's done. Give it 15 minutes. It doesn't take too long.
• Slice up an avocado and arrange it on the dish so it looks pretty. 
• Throw your chopped tomato, onion and cilantro into the shrimp and lime juice mix. 
• Stir that around and serve! 

It is seriously easy to make. You can eat it alone or with chips- either way, delicious! 

Happy Sunday folks!

Watch Sexy Men Touch Their Man Boobies... And Let Me Ruin It For You

Today I am sharing with you something fun and lighthearted that I will then ruin with my over-analyzation and feminist rhetoric. 

Aaaaaaannnnnd go:

I am sharing a video with you all that is A) educational and B) filled with sexy men rubbing themselves.

Go ahead. Watch it.

Oh and this is where I put the part where this might be NSFW (not safe for work). So like take your phone with you into a bathroom stall or something. Go on, we'll wait. It's worth it.

Sexy, right?

Anyways the ad is from Rethink Breast Cancer and it shows some sexy men reminding you to check yo self, which is a great message. 

Now this video has received a ton of commentary mainly from men complaining of being objectified and then women replying "Welcome to the club biyatches!"

And because I own a vagina and consider myself a feminist I feel like I should throw in my two cents as well because... why not?

This ad is tongue in cheek. It is humorous and conveys an important message. But yes, having men in the ad half dressed reminding women to check themselves for breast cancer doesn't seem very... relevant. 

And yet, is Paris Hilton dancing on a car eating a cheeseburger relevant to the ad's purpose of selling cheeseburgers?

Or for instance, these ads:

Is having a sexy women dressed as a beer can and another woman in a very controversial sexed up Dolce ad relevant to the products they are selling?

(The answer is no, not really).

So while it is fun to see this Rethink Breast Cancer ad flipped these societal norms on their head, the truth is at the end of the day this is something that women deal with on a constant basis. We are inundated with ads on how we should look, dress and act in order to be appealing to the masses. We see our female bodies contorted, abused and photoshopped in mainstream media simply to sell products. How can we find value in ourselves if we are constantly seen as walking billboards that hold no value other than as a objectified sex object?

Why I Will Never Have Weekend Shenanigans

Every Monday I log into my Bloglovin account (follow me yo!) and I see millions (slightly dramatic) of bloggers posting their "Weekend Update" or "Weekend Shenanigans" or "My Awesome Weekend Full of Fun/Glee/Mirth".

 

There is a 98.7% chance I will never write such a post.

 

I am sure you are stunned and sitting in your chair wondering, "But why, sweet Jessica? You are so young, so beautiful and so charming etc."

 

I know, I know.

 

But I am going to be honest with ya'll here.

 

I am in grad school for the next two years. I have an apartment (that for some reason I am still attempting to understand) I have to pay for every month. I also have to pay for electricity and my internet and sixteen channels of "cable".  I also eat.

 

All this costs money.

 

Which means I have to work. And while I do work during the "traditional" work week, I work for pretty much the entire weekend.

 

That means I work Fridays until 11pm, 14 hour shifts on Saturdays til 9pm and then Sundays 7am to 2pm.

 

So my weekend shenanigans basically consist of me staying up long enough to watch some Lock Up and shovel some cereal into my mouth before I have to wake up the next day at 5:30am.

 

I used to be the girl who would be dancing and drinking until 5:30am.

 

Sometimes I mourn the loss of my previous life.

 

Especially when I see all the other bloggers my age binge drinking (yes, sometimes this can be a positive thing.. right?) and bar crawling and other fun things kids do these days (Are booze cruises still a thing?)

 

And if we are going to be really honest, the last time I went on a night out with friends was almost one year ago and halfway across the world in Israel. I guess that's what happens when you live abroad and make amazing friends and then move back home where you haven't seen/talked to any high school friends for like 5 years and work/study all the time and basically have turned into a recluse who may or may not be developing compulsive hoarding tendencies.

 

I was seriously considering getting knocked up so I could at least join a Mommy & Me group. But then I realized I would then need to have the baby and that seems like a lot of work.

 

So while I do get struck with loneliness and blogger envy at times, I keep in mind that there is an end game. As I love to tell my clients, this is temporary. This will not be my entire life.

 

And from what I am learning about Mexican families, I am pretty sure the minute we do move to Mexico I will automatically have like 50 additional friends who will think I am cool and exotic because I am a freakishly pale gringa who cannot roll her r's.

 

So I am not a cool blogger, guys. I am not really hip. While in college I remember being able to split an entire bottle of tequila with my BFF, these days I drink half a beer and pass out for 17 hours. And as for my dancing days? Those have been relegated to Tuesday night Zumba.

 

I guess this is what growing up feels like? I always used to dread the days when I would be more interested in hitting up the supermarket than tha club but I don't now. I actually enjoy it.

 

Weird, right?

Prison is NOT Club Med

Guess what? It's Sunday! Which means I finally get my ass into gear and do some blogging. Yipee! This week's theme of Sunday Social is TV shows:

 

 

 

 

1. What is your favorite TV as a kid?

I am going to really age myself here. And by age myself, you will know I am 24 even though I act like I am 87. Anywho, I loved Disney shows like So Weird, Lizzie McGuire and That's So Raven. When I was even younger, I really did not watch TV. My mom was one of "those moms" so we didn't have a TV and she basically ruined my life forever and now I am partially deformed because my formative years did not include Barney or Sesame Street.

 

2. What is your current favorite TV show?

So I just came off a two day Orange is the New Black bender. That show has quickly become my number one all time favorite and I try to introduce it into every conversation I have. I also love reality TV shows- but not Housewives or Toddlers in Tiaras reality TV. I pretty much love every show on the ID network and love true-crime series. I love watching a good murder get solved or a biography on a serial killer. This is bizarre, true, but is probably due to the fact that my mom did not allow me to watch TV as a child. SEE WHAT YOU DID MOM? But seriously, let your kids watch Barney because otherwise they might turn out like this:

 

3. Which reality show would you NEVER do?

Umm any reality show. Have you seen the people on these shows? But if I had to pick, it would probably be a show that required me to be athletic in any way. Because that would be humiliating. And not in the funny way but in the sad way, like when you see a deer that got hit by a car on the side of the highway.

 

4. Which reality show would you LOVE to do?

House Hunters: International Edition because A) it means I finally got enough money to buy a house and B) it means I finally got enough money to buy a house in some exotic country. If I ever land on House Hunters, it means I finally made it. Obviously, not holding my breath here.

 

5. What is the TV personality/character that you feel is most like you?

I am going to pull out the Orange is the New Black show again because it's amazing and possibly life-changing. I love prison shows (every Saturday night is exclusively dedicated to Lock-Up) and when it involves some comedy? Win-win. Basically the premise of the show is an upper-class yuppy White girl gets thrown into federal prison for a year and needs to survive it while keeping her life outside of prison intact as well. And she is pretty self-absorbed and obviously I can totally relate to that. But the part I love is when she's talking about going to prison and she's like "Well it's a good opportunity for me to get ripped and catch up on my reading" and I was like "Oh em gee, that is how I think of prison too!" And then I watched two minutes of Oz and realized prison sucks and is not in any shape or form anything like a Club Med minus some basic amenities like all-you-can-eat buffets and oh yeah,  basic human rights.

 

 

6. Which TV character would you want to date?

This guy:

For several reasons. One being that he would whip my ass into shape and do it with his adorable smile and endless forehead wrinkles.

 

Secondly he would cook for me delicious meals of boiled chicken and steamed broccoli.

Thirdly, did you see this man's abs?

And lastly, he would whip my ass into shape.


That's it for Sunday Social!

And thanks for everyone's sweet comments on my new blog design! I downloaded a free trial of Photoshop and have been having some fun! Also my mom said my previous design looked like a little girl vomited pink all over my website so yeah, it was time for a change.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

 

 

 

An Open Letter to My Stretchy Pants

Dear Stretchy Pants,

I know I have been wearing you a lot lately. 

Like everyday. 

This is my chance to say "thank you". The last couple of months have been tough for me. A new batch of meds combined with an unquenchable hunger for French fries has made all my other pants a little... tight. 

But you? 

You stuck with me through everything. 

You stretched and pulled until I tugged you all the way up my thunder athletic thighs. 

You even were gracious enough to let me pull you up all the way to under my twins so that I could suck in my muffin top as well. 

Stretchy pants, you really went above and beyond. 

And that is why I dedicate this post to you. 

You are a true friend. 

I have been cutting back on my French fries and hitting the gym, so I may be wearing you less and less as the days pass on. But trust me, for those fat days where I feel like a bloated, gross and disgusting pile of lard after a 2AM McDonalds binge, I know you will be there to (literally) pull me together. 

Love you Stretchy Pants.

7 Things I Do That Make Me an Annoying Person

I like to think I am pretty damn perfect. As I remind Pedro on a daily basis, I am a pretty fantastic catch.

Need proof? 

I am smart. I went to a great undergrad and am getting my Masters. 

I dress pretty well. 

I have cool red hair. 

I know how to read. 

I can cook rice. 

I speak four languages. 

I regularly trim my nails. 

I'm sophisticated because I put my napkin on my lap. 

And so on and so forth... You get that idea.

But I am also insanely annoying and do have some few minor flaws. And because I am unashamed and have really no sense of pride, I have decided to share my lovely flaws with you. Enjoy!

1. I will take food off your plate but I will murder you and all your offspring if you even touch anything off of my plate. 

I know. I am an awful person. I just hate when people stick their fork and grab something off my plate. I'm possessive and weird. I will gladly share anything off my delicious looking plate, but I will need to use MY fork to retrieve said item and then I will personally, hand deliver it to your plate. Got it?

2. On a related note, I always regret what I end up ordering and want to switch it. 

As I am typing this, I am really beginning to appreciate the people in my life who put up with this shit. 

But yes, it's true. I get plate envy and always will end up giving you puppy eyes until you change plates with me. I don't do this one with strangers, so consider yourself a dear friend if I make you switch plates with me or else I'll leak those photos I took of you passed out on the toilet. 

3. I look up gross videos on YouTube and make you watch them. 

I have a weird, disgusting habit of watching people popping pimples on YouTube. It's nasty and gross and yet, I do it. It's shameful. And if it's really nasty I am going to make you watch it and then discuss it with me. 

I was going to include one here, but then I decided that was just mean. See, I am nice sometimes. 

4. I need to sit in the center at the movie theatre. 

I have a weird thing about movie theatres. I need to sit in the absolute center. And yes, I count rows to figure it out. Maybe I have OCD? Maybe I'm just obnoxious? It is a mystery. 

5. I cry and demand consolation immediately. 

If you see a tear forming or any sort of wetness in my eyes, console me godamnit! And yes, I cry at every movie we watch. And yes, I will sob whenever we go to see a Nicolas Sparks movie. And yes, I may ask you to leave the film to go and get me napkins to dry up the little puddle of tears but you will gladly go because 1) it's easier than dealing with me insanely sobbing in a movie theatre while complete strangers judge you and 2) you could use a break from the movie. Let's be real, it's a Nicolas Sparks movie. He had A Walk to Remember and The Notebook. Then it all went downhill. 

6. I will trap you into saying something so that I can get upset about it and make you apologize profusely so that I feel better about myself.

Example: "Baby, do I look fat in this?" 

"No"

"But don't you think it makes my stomach look big"

"No"

"So you think it looks good?"

"Yes"

"Even though it makes my stomach look big?"

"Yes"

"SO YOU THINK MY STOMACH LOOKS BIG?"

.... Silence followed by 10 minutes of you explaining how beautiful I am. 

7. I will tell you all the ways you can die according to the latest CSI or Law & Order: SVU episode I saw

Oh, you invited me out for a party at a friend's house you met through your job? Sounds to me like it's a set up for him to savagely rape you and then saw your body into pieces and distribute said pieces all throughout Western Massachusetts. You want to explore that cool new bar downtown? Mmm yeah, that's just a front for a human trafficking Albanian mob and they will roofie you and put you in a shipping container bound for Yugoslavia. 

I'm a buzzkill of the worst sort. 

I was going to continue this list all the way up to 10 but then I realized how awful of a person I sound at number 7 so I will give you and myself a break. I hope you all feel horrible for liking my blog in the past now that you know a slightly psychotic, emotionally unstable and mildly insecure girl/woman is the one writing it. But hey, everyone has flaws. 

Right?

Sunday Social: Accidental Racist

I have questionable taste in music. And by questionable, I mean bad. I know it's bad because every time I volunteered to play DJ at a party or a pre-game, I was either mercilessly mocked or politely asked to GTFO (depending on how much alcohol had been consumed at that point).

This week Neely at A Complete Waste of Makeup's Sunday Social theme is Music.

 

1.  What is your all-time favorite song?

This a tie between

and

 

I just like the Skee-Lo song because I know the lyrics and the Rascal Flatts one is because I have a beating heart and can feel emotions

 

2. Who is your favorite singer/band?

I'll admit it. I stalk her and check Google pics every day and even sat through E! News for a 5 minute segment they did on her.

 

 

 

3. What song reminds you of your childhood?

4. What songs put you in a good mood?


5. What is your music to rock out to in your car?

Ha please. I will rock to anything. I like to pretend I am in a music video when listening to a song and reinact said music video with elaborate facial gestures and flawless chair dancing.

BUT if I had to pick it would 100% be this diva right here. There is nothing more fun than speeding down a highway and belting out ANNNNNDDDDDD IIIIIIIIEEEEEEIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOOOOOOVEE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU"

 

ALSO on a semi related note:

 

This is 97% accurate.

6. What is the most embarrassing album or song you own?

I am not embarrassed by anything I do own. But society would probably judge me for downloading this song:

FOR THE RECORD: I think this song is idiotic but I was genuinely curious when I heard it and downloaded it so I could bring it into my Racism and Oppression class so we could discuss in further how idiotic this song was.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Week 3 of My Getting Sexy Challenge

It is officially Week 3 of the 12 Week Weight Loss Challenge and this week was fantastic for me. Much better than the previous two weeks where I was just kind of... ehh. 

One of the challenges from last week was to ditch the scale. And I think for the remainder of the 12 weeks, I will keep that scale locked up and away. I easily get obsessed by the numbers and because my scale isn't digital, so it is even more annoying trying to figure out if I lost or gained 1 pound or not. I rather check my scale at the end of the 12 weeks and see a significant change. Fingers crossed.

I have been killing it at the gym this week. I went every day except for Wednesday due to it being my last day of my summer semester! And by killing it, I mean I attack that equipment until I am dripping wet and nasty and starting to smell. I love it. 

I have also started running. I have a 5k Color Run in October and I would like to actually run it instead of my original plan to woggle (walk + jog + jiggle) it. 

My eating is better, too. The last 2 days I definitely went off my plan but I am planning to pick it up and make next week amazeballs. Especially because I am leaving for NYC in 2 weeks and want to feel my best!

Now I am off to enjoy my Lifetime movies for the next 4 hours. Have a great weekend!

Why I Suck at Being a Social Worker

Full disclosure: not a social worker yet. I am currently starting my second year in my Masters of Social Work program and have about two more years and thousands of dollars of debt until I can actually call myself a certified social worker. But whatever, minor detail. 

Today we had our last classes for our mini Summer semester and we had our term paper due which was 12 to 15 pages long and was kind of a big deal but it wasn't awful. 

I went to a pretty strenuous school for my undergrad and I learned to knock out papers and to put up and shut up. My classes were usually very large and my professors were ambassadors, government officials and DC hot-shots. They did not care if you had a personal emergency or were in the hospital. Paper is due. 

In social work school, it is so different. 

Everything is about emotions. We start off each class arranging our chairs into circles and then spend another thirty minutes talking about how stressed everyone was about finishing the paper and whatnot and so forth. 

It's usually at this time that I pull out my laptop and do my mandatory Google search of puppies kissing. 

Today I almost lost it because we spent thirty minutes discussing why our professor doesn't use red ink to mark our papers and how that contributed to our self esteem. 

Sayyyy whaaaat?

I am already noticing how snarky this post is and I almost want to edit it so I don't sound like such a bitch... But sometimes I have bitchy thoughts. Usually when I am hungry. 

As a future social worker, spending 15 minutes arranging chairs in circles, discussing red versus green pens and practicing breathing exercises before taking group tests (yes- group tests) is pretty much the job description. 

Luckily I have enough experience working with various organizations and agencies to learn that not all social workers are like this. Yes, a lot are and a lot shop exclusively at Chico's and wear lots of bangles and have like 30 bumper stickers on their car but there are some that don't and I am hoping to somehow find myself fitting in that category. 

So what is the point of this rambling bitchy noise? 

There is none. 

Enjoy!

Sunday Social

I am linking up with A Complete Waste of Makeup for this week's Sunday Social. I missed last week but I peeked at the questions for this week and I thought "what the hell. I've been a hermit all weekend, might as well try to be mildly social via the interwebs".

1. What is the best trip you’ve ever been on?
I did a backpacking trip with a girlfriend around Europe and it was the most amazing thing ever. We did Oktoberfest in Munich, got high as kites in Amsterdam, ate ourselves into obesity in Italy. It was epic and something I will never forget. Amazing time.

The only thing I remember from Oktoberfest is being deliriously happy and oh yeah, getting kicked out of a tent because we were too drunk. #typicalamericans

2. What is your best idea for a girls weekend trip?
Spa weekend where we can be social but also pass out on the beach together in complete silence.

3. What is your best idea for a couples trip?
Maybe a cabin in the woods? Except I would be worried I would get murdered by some psycho serial killer. I would also love to go backpacking with Pedro one day but also go to some super posh resort hotel and have a personal man servant to wait on me. That sounds fun.

4. What is the best vacation on the cheap?
Your parents house. Seriously- I love when my parents go on vacation. It means air conditioning, free cable and getting three months of laundry done in one shot.

5. What is the place you most want to visit?
I really want to visit Mexico so I can see where Pedro grew up and hopefully bask in and drink whatever he grew up on so I can be mellow like him. Oh and so I can meet my future in-laws so I can implement this elaborate plan I have already devised to make them love me. 

Oh hey July!

It's July? When did that happen? I feel like I just took a long nap and woke up and poof! July.

 

I definitely need to re-focus on my 12 Week Weight Loss Challenge. It's approaching the second week now and the first week went .... okay. Not great, but not awful.

 

Just for a brief catch-up, the 12 Week Weight Loss Challenge is being generously hosted by Caitlin over at Weights and Measures. She is super supportive and if you are looking to shed some extra poundage, a great ally and motivator to have!

Last week I was super pumped to be getting into a fitness/weight loss challenge. The "mini-challenge" last week was to:

1) Identify 3 weight-loss related goals

This one was easy because it required pretty much no effort. Accomplished!

 

2) Drink 2L of water/day!

I slacked a bit on this one. But I have a handy new water bottle the size of a small newborn and I am committed to getting my water in!

 

3) Get 30 min. of activity/day

Ehh... Started off strong on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday by doing the Insanity workouts (aptly named, in case you were wondering). Wednesday I had to run around with my Mom for some doctor appointments and came home around 7pm exhausted. Thursday I was also wiped and yesterday I was similarly exhausted and super depressed, hence my slightly melodramatic post yesterday. So out of a 7 day week, I so far have 2 days of workouts and 3 days of blerrrgrrghhjh (that's a word, right?) BUT the good thing is that today is Saturday. Which means I have TWO more days to sneak in some exercise and tip the balance in my favor for a 4 day workout, 3 day rest week which means next week I am totally going to rock it even more.

 

So what are our goals for next week?

 

1. Ditch the scale.

Easy. The scale depresses me and makes me ugly cry.

This was wayyy to easy to find online.

 

2. Create an inspiration Wordle! 

Never heard of it but will give it a go.

 

3. Track my food every day.

This is a great challenge and one I am eager to commit to. I have definitely turned my eating around but still need to keep my portion sizes in check. This will definitely help and I am tracking with MyFitnessPal so it literally doesn't get any easier.

Staying Positive

Staying positive is a challenge of mine. As I have been dealing with living with Lyme and understanding it may be a potentially chronic disease, it has been a little bit harder as well. 

Especially when I have days like this. 

Days which I fall asleep at 10pm too tired to watch the fireworks, wake up at 10:30am to drive my boyfriend to work, exhausted after that five minute drive so I come home and pass out and wake up at 2pm and realize that the day is almost over... And I am still exhausted. 

I definitely pushed it yesterday. And by pushed it, I mean I forced myself to keep going from 11am to 7pm and that just totally wiped me out. 

Frustrating. 

Especially considering I used to be a full-time student who would go out with friends regularly, work out, travel and knock out papers like nothing. 

I feel like a shadow of myself and on days like this, when going to the bathroom seems like climbing a mountain, it is frustrating as hell. 

So I went on Pinterest, looked at some pictures of puppies and found some quotes that I liked. I am thinking of going old school and making an "inspiration wall" in my room so I can have something to remind me to keep going and not feel defeated after days like this. 

Today I am going to cut myself some slack, take my time to get up, be thankful I do not have to work and try to make it where I at least take a little walk outside or even better, make it to the gym for a little. 

Just because it's tough doesn't mean it's impossible.