The Undomestic Goddess

Another book that I read in the month of April was another Sophie Kinsella book, The Undomestic Goddess. This story was about a young lawyer that just ran away from a problem at the law firm and ended up in a parallel world. She was now living so differently than before. But she found something she did not have before... LOVE.

Honestly, love just happens to come when we least expect it, doesn't it?! Love changes you, it changes your life, your plans and your future. So do you try to go back to the comfortable life you had before and risk losing that love that you finally found, or do you go with it and make all of the life-changes that come with it? It's up to you, but if you want to know what happens in this book, you're going to have to read it, lol!!

For My Mom, I LOVE YOU

I love taking a look at the Kardashian sisters' blogs. Today I was on Khloe Kardashian's blog and she had posted this one great blog about the 5 traits she got from her mommy, so I decided to do one as well!... In the spirit of Mother's Day I have listed the top 5 traits I inherited from my mom, here they are:

1. My beautiful dark brown eyes! I love them! And my husband loves them, too. He always tells me I have the most beautiful eyes... thank you Mommy!
2. To compliment my dark brown eyes, I also inherited long full eyelashes from my momma. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love my eyes, and it's all because of my great mother!
3. I love shopping! And I KNOW I inherited that from my mom! It's crazy how much she likes to shop! Don't believe me? My mom has her closet jam-packed of clothes, she also has clothes in my sister Maria's closet and in my brother's closet. And I have so much clothes, shoes and handbags that I had to take down a wall in one of my spare bedrooms and make it a walk-in closet! Thanks mommy for passing down the "love to shop" trait!! lol
4. I think my strong character also comes from my mom. Is that a good thing or a bad thing, I don't know, but it's true! I am very persistent to prove my point. My husband often tells me that I am just like my mother in arguments. lol Thanks, mom! lol
5. Faith! My mother has such a strong faith in the Lord!! My father does too, of course, but I have always noticed my mother's faith. No matter the situation, she has faith! And I know that my faith has been strengthened by knowing that my mother has had faith no matter what it was that she was going through. My mom has helped me so much, especially in strengthening and solidifying my faith! I want to think of myself as a faith-full woman, just like my mommy!

My mother and I did not have the best of relationships when I was growing up, all because I was trying to be very rebellious. But she knew how to have patience with me and faith in me. And it all turned out a lot better. Now we have a great, strong bond. I love my mother to the maximum and can not imagine myself without her, ever! She has always been there for me, whether I wanted her to be or not, and I always ended up turning to her for words of wisdom, encouragement, faith and comfort. Mommy, I love you! Happy Mother's Day to the BEST mother ever!!!!!!!!!! :)

My beautiful mother with my beautiful sisters and I!!!

Skinny B*tch

I read Skinny Bitch late last month and it totally has changed me! I have been eating no meat, none! It has helped me make better eating choices, anywhere I go! For example, I love Chipotle! I would always get the Burrito Bowl with their delicious rice, pinto beans, chicken, cheese, sour cream, lettuce and guacamole. Totally fattening and unhealthy! Now I still get the Burrito Bowl, but now I get the vegetarian option with their delicious rice, black beans, salsa, bell peppers, lettuce and guacamole. (No meat, black beans instead of pinto beans because they put bacon in their pinto beans, no cheese or sour cream). And you know, it still tastes very delicious, you don't even realize what you "left out" and you still satisfy your hunger. It really does fill you up! Of course I have found other eating options at other places, but the reason I mention Chipotle is because that is what I am eating right no! LOL. Craving McDonald's? I get a salad! Wendy's? Salad!! There are good choices everywhere you go, you just have to be willing to try, and actually want to make those changes! I have also found great websites and resources and vegetarian meal plans. All in all, I am loving this change! I really do hope that this isn't just a "fad diet" for me, but instead a real, committed, life-long change. If you feel up to it, I say you read the book. But be warned, it might just scar you even if you think this is not something you want to do. But, I have met a few people that have read the book and it did nothing to their eating habits. For me, it was a personal choice I was willing and looking forward to making, even before reading the book. I had been thinking about this for a long time, but reading the book just helped me take that step and make it a serious committment. It's not just about losing weight & eating better, but also about the treatment of the sweet animals. :(

To learn more, visit PETA.
(I don't want to go into details because I don't want to "preach" this to you. To each its own.)

Easter 2009

Okay, so my younger sister, Maria, posted this blog on her site and I stole it and just changed a few words. I'm one of the teachers at our church (I teach the older kids) and this year we held an Easter egg hunt and pizza party for them. Maria was the photographer and we all had a blast...

This year, for Easter, we had an Egg Hunt with the kids at church!
It was so much fun, especially since there was so many kids!

We let the kids scope out the yard before they were allowed to hunt for the eggs.

And they're off! I love how they're all running in completely different directions!

Vicky just found one and started to relax! Isn't she adorable!?!?
Check out her heart glasses!!

And this is Star (me) with the older ones.

We have LOTS of kids at church! :)

After the egg hunt, we had pizza for them to enjoy.

This little one enjoyed her chocolate quite a bit after the pizza!

Look at all of those wrappers and chocolate marks on her face!

Vicky, eating pizza.

She didn't stop eating the whole time!

Easter with the church kids was such a success!

I had a blast just watching them and taking their pictures!

Hope your Easter was as blessed as ours!

Baby Proof

I just finished reading Baby Proof by Emily Giffin... it was a great read! I picked up this book after being at Borders, browsing the book aisles, and this book kept appearing everywhere... so I finally picked it up and read the back of it. The story line is that this couple fall in love and get married, with a deal that neither want kids and won't be having any. But a few years into their happily married life, one of them changes from loving their "child-free" life to hating their "child-less" marriage. There is a difference in those two terms! One of them suddenly wants kids. One of them feels empty, something is missing! The other pretty much says to decide between "me or a baby" and the response was... "don't ask me, because you know what I am going to decide"! So, what was it, the marriage or the baby, or did was that person able to change the mind & heart of the partner? You have to read it to find out! I have to admit, I shed a few tears!! :-)
I'm going to look into reading her other books... "Something Borrowed", "Something Blue" and "Love The One You're With". But this book was a good read. I enjoyed it.

Can You Keep A Secret? lol

My March reading was "Can You keep A Secret?" also by Sophie Kinsella. It was great; I liked it. It was very funny at times. I felt for her, all her secrets blurted out the way they were... talk about humiliation!! But it ends well...

My April reading, so far, has been "Remember Me?" also by Kinsella. This one was also a good read. I felt for her in this one... everything she went through. Amnesia is not fun, but she made the best of it and her friends really came through for her! And she ended up with a happily ever after... What else can we ask for?

Now I just have one more Sophie Kinsella book to read, "Undomestic Goddess".... I bought it already, on amazon.com marketplace, but it has not yet arrived. I look forward to reading it. But in the meanwhile, I am reading other non-Kinsella books, lol.

I wish she would write one last Shopaholic book and tell us how Becky's life ended after their ordeal with the house, the company and the addition of the baby! We'll see... :)

I am really ejoying reading... for pleasure, not because I have to! It really relaxes me. There are days when I just want to go home so I can continue reading!! lol Really!!

So, join me in reading... I said I would read one book per month, but so far I have read more than that! But I have really enjoyed it! :)

25 Random Things About Me!

1- I love LOVE ;) You really can love someone more than you thought possible… really! It’s so great to share your life with someone you truly love and loves you back. It’s great, wonderful, beautiful… even with the ups and downs that come in every relationship. Where there is love, there is perseverance. I love LOVE! XOXOXO
2- I love going to the beach. When the weather is too hot (all summer long in Arvin) I just want to get in the car and just drive to the beach. I will stop at any beach, even if it's a little cold out, and walk along the shoreline, each time it's possible.
3- I love to give myself pedicures. I love scrubbing my feet with a foot scrub and pumice stone, lathering them with softening cream, clipping the nails and polishing them! I love how soft my feet are! I love wearing open-toe shoes and showing them off! 

4- I daydream a lot of having my own business. I have a few great ideas flowing and have actually written them down and have started writing a business plan. One day… one day it will all come true!!
5- I love celebrity gossip! I visit celebrity gossip websites daily! My favorites are TMZ.com & People.com. I love knowing of all of their drama and scandals… and knowing that they are not these perfect creatures that we see on the covers of magazine’s or on television and movies.
6- My favorite all-time movie actress is Julia Roberts. I love her! I have tried to watch all of her movies. My dad loves her, too! But my favorite, favorite actress is Jennifer Aniston. I don’t know why, but I just love her! She is awesome.
7- I watched Friends every Thursday night when it was on in primetime. I fell in love with that show. I later bought the entire Friends series collection with the episode book. I watched the entire series over the period of a few evenings… and it was like watching it for the first time. You can never get enough of it!!
8- I am a pack rat. At work and in public I am very clean and organized. But in private, I hate throwing things out. I have to force myself to sort through everything every few months. That’s when I realize I have so much crap that I could have gotten rid of a long time ago! lol

9- I love shopping, but since I am not currently happy with my weight, I have turned to shopping for shoes, handbags, accessories, etc. I know that once I am down to my goal weight I will resume my clothes shopping extravaganza! lol

10- I am very comfortable living in Arvin, but if I could have my way, I would move back to Southern California; perhaps Ventura County, somewhere nice and thriving, not too far from the beach. Maria, do you have any room there with you?! lol

11- I dream of winning the lottery… like at least 2 million dollars! (after taxes!) I would first and foremost buy a great piece of land and build my dad his own church. It would be my way of giving my tithe to the Lord. I would then pay-off anything I owed… house, cars, etc. Set aside a great chunk in investment accounts, and pay-off anything my parents owed… I want to give them back a little of what they have given to me and my siblings!


12- I know that there is NOTHING impossible for the Lord. Yet, I am very scared of going to the doctor and hearing that I may not be able to have children of my own. I pray for that day to never come, ever, ever! I dream of one day having children of my own. Whether or not I have children of my own, I want to adopt at least one child. Give him/her the love that everyone deserves to have in their life: a mother’s love. Give that child a happy life, full of everything that he/she might have thought of possibly never having. Bring happiness and a smile to that child. That, in itself, is a gift!

13- I love to read! I want to read at least one book per month this year, and build up my book collection. I love going in to Borders, time seems to fly by when I am in there, just looking through all the books! But I have also bought books through Amazon.com marketplace… very nice prices!!

14 – I love the Lord and praise Him. April 4th is my 10-year anniversary of the date I was baptized in the name of the Lord! I cannot imagine my life without Him. I see people that I know and love around me, living without the Lord as a daily presence in their lives and I just think “wow, I am glad I know the Lord, believe in Him and serve Him.” Can’t imagine any other way!


15- I have heart disease. Though I am not currently “sick” it is a part of me and always will be. I had open-heart surgery at about 2 years old and take medication to help my heart. I have learned to love the scars on my chest!

16- I enjoy some time alone to myself. Not too much time, though. lol I use that time to read, relax or sometimes to clean. I think everyone deserves a morning or afternoon alone every once in a while. One of two things happens: you have time to relax, or you actually get things done during that time!

17- I love my skin. It has its imperfections but I love how soft it is! It may not be perfect, but it’s soft and I love it!!

18- I love listening to my friends and giving advice. I really do think I would have made a great counselor or therapist. I enjoy listening to others and helping them out.
19- I have many great, wonderful friends. And many of these friends have told me that when they first met me I seemed conceited. So I admit, I am somewhat conceited. I do think of myself as a little vain at times. I do care how I look, and there are certain things I will not do. I do spend a lot of time in front of the mirror… doing my hair, coloring my hair, doing my makeup, etc. So what? I don’t think it’s wrong to be a little conceited or vain. Of course, there are limits and boundaries.

20- I enjoy driving. But I get irritated by all of the dumb drivers out there. If you are not going at least at speed limit, you better not be driving in front of me!

21- I do have regrets. One big, huge regret is not having gone to college straight out of high school. I mean, what was I thinking?! I wish I could have thought that through a little better!

22- I am afraid to fly, though I have never even been near an airplane. But I need to get over that fear because I do plan on traveling. Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, France, Spain, Mexico… here I come!

23- I enjoy singing. I sing all the time; in my car, in the shower, at home… all the time! I would love to take singing lessons and actually learn to sing in the right key! lol
24- I love taking pictures. I guess this goes back to #19… me admitting to being a little conceited and vain. But I’m being honest here… I have been told I am very photogenic, and I admit, I am! lol You know what, many in my family are very photogenic. I guess we are just beautiful people that take beautiful photos! But seriously, I love taking pictures… of me, me with my loved ones, family and friends, things that I see… I have tons of pictures in a photo box and many, many more saved on my computer! SMILE =D
25- I have a Facebook, blog, twitter account, email, cell phone, text messaging… so if you ever want to get a hold of me, don’t try finding any excuses ‘cause there are none!