Christmas 2009

This year went by so fast; Christmas has already come and gone. This year, we celebrated Christmas at my sister Alma’s house. It was a ton of people! We took lots of pictures, of course! And we had lots of presents, of course! I was in two gift exchanges, one with my extended maternal family and one with my immediate family. From my extended family I got a blouse and a coat… which I am exchanging, LOL. From my immediate family I got a coat, which I’m also exchanging, but only because it’s too big on me! My parents also gave me a coat… so pretty, dark gray!

Here are some photos from Christmas 2009…

Blast From The Past!

I just had to post this…

Here is a picture of me and a great friend of mine (Silvia Lopez), with a classmate. This is when we were in 6th grade, so when we were about 11-12 years old. This is too funny! Look at my crazy hair! The bangs! OMG!! Look at those dark bushy eyebrows!! Hahaha. This is so hilarious!!

Tristan, Me, Silvia



Thank you, Silvia, for the photo!!

Nasty Flu Season!

As we all know, this year’s flu season hit hard! It was very devastating, to say the least. Many people became sick, hospitalized and even killed by the flu. I hope you all took and are still taking preventive measures against the flu. But even then, the flu may still hit hard. I am one that likes to be clean, wash and sanitize my hands, cover my mouth when I cough and sneeze. I never cough or sneeze in the direction of anyone else, because frankly, I hate when others do it! But even then, I was directly hit very hard with the flu this year. I have in the past gotten a slight fever, body aches and chills, but never anything like this year. It was late September, a Sunday evening. I remember telling my husband and my mother that I felt like I was coming down with something, like I was getting sick. And sure enough, the next morning I couldn’t get out of bed for work. I felt so weak and the body aches were starting to take over. As Monday progressed, I felt worse and worse. I was so tired, so weak, and had lost all sense of appetite. The fever would come and go, causing me to break out in chills and hot flashes. One minute I was hot and sweating, wanting to take off everything, the next minute I was freezing, shivering, looking for something to cover myself with, and so it went on. Then the worse started to happen. It was late Monday evening and I started to vomit. Anything and everything was making me puke till it hurt. I had nothing in my system and yet, I was still puking. It was the worst feeling ever! And it only got worse. I couldn’t sleep that night, from the fever sweats and chills, mixed with the vomiting and the body aches. It was the worst flu I had ever gotten! Tuesday was horrible, lying on the couch all day, vomiting anytime I tried to reposition myself. Any type of movement made me sick. Fever, body aches, vomit, weight loss… and sadness all overpowered me. I was a mess! Wednesday was worse, again. Thursday morning I somehow got the strength to take a hot shower. It felt so good! I thought, maybe this is what I needed. Suddenly I had to get out of the shower, quick. I had not eaten anything since Sunday evening, so I was as weak as you can get! I felt like I was going to pass out in the shower and no one would hear me because of the noise of the running water. I was so scared. I wrapped my towel around me, got out into the living room and just sat on the couch. I was trembling, shaking of weakness. I was so scared. My mother walked into the living room and told me I looked so bad, it was time to go to the hospital. I put on some pajamas and my brother and my mother drove me to urgent care. My fever was very high, I was very dehydrated, I was very tired with little to no sleep in the last 4 days and I had nothing to eat in those 4 days either. They weighed me, I had lost 8 pounds. Right away, they took me into another room where they hooked me up to an IV machine to replenish the vitamins, minerals, electrolytes and hydration I had lost. I was there, hooked up to the machine with a fast drip for over an hour. They gave me pain medicine because my stomach was hurting so bad from all the vomiting. I also got medicine to coat my stomach from any acidity that was causing the vomiting. All was intravenous. I was given a few prescription medicines that would help calm the fever, the vomiting, the pain and help me get some sleep. I was ordered off of work until the following week. I was finally able to walk on my own, and did not vomit once after that! I was well on my way to getting better! FINALLY!! I was able to get some sleep as well!! I was starting to feel better, though still a little weak. But a few days later, I felt healthier than I had ever felt! Every ounce of sickness was gone, out of my system. It was like a system flush. I felt so good, so healthy. But I do not wish what I went through to anyone. I don’t care if people say that it’s a fast way to lose weight, it was horrible! I pray that I never become that sick again! It was the worst time of my life! I’m so glad it’s over… and I’m feeling much better now. Be careful out there, and don’t get too close to anyone who is sick! :)

Coming up...

I have been so busy and so out of it lately, that I just noticed that I have not blogged recently. Bummer.

Here are a few blogs I'm working on:

-My New Year's Resolutions list

-Christmas

-Shopping

-Reading update

Until then.... :)

Guilty Pleasure: Television! Fall Schedule

Today is the first official day of Fall!! And with that in mind, I decided to put my list together of the Fall television prime-time lineup that I am so looking forward to! I have listed my favorite shows that I have watched year after year, some that I have recently become a fan of, and new shows that I look forward to watching. Now keep in mind that just because I have listed them does not mean that I have all this free time and I just sit around watching TV... sometimes I miss an episode here or there, or I catch the rerun or the full online episode. Also, some nights have more than one show on at the same time which means I either switch back and forth between the two or decide on one and catch the rerun or online episode of the other at a later time. With that said, here we go...

Monday:
Dancing With The Stars, ABC 8pm
The Rachel Zoe Project, BRAVO 10pm

Tuesday:
The Biggest Loser, NBC 8pm
Dancing With The Stars Results, ABC 8pm
90210, CW 8pm
Melrose Place (new), CW 9pm

Wednesday:
America's Next Top Model, CW 8pm
Cougar Town (new), ABC 9:30

Thursday:
The Office, NBC 9pm
Grey's Anatomy, ABC 9pm
Real Housewives of Atlanta, BRAVO 10pm
Project Runway, LIFETIME 10pm
Ace of Cakes, FOOD 10pm

Friday:
Ugly Betty, ABC 8pm

Saturday:
nothing specific except maybe reruns if I happen to catch them on the TV guide

Sunday:
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ABC 8pm
Desperate Housewives, ABC 9pm
Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami, E! 10pm

Other shows that I like to watch:
The Jay Leno Show (new), NBC Monday-Friday 10pm
Chelsea Lately, E! Monday-Friday 11pm
House Hunters, HGTV Monday-Friday 8pm

What are your favorite television shows?

Hair Essentials

I recently walked into a beauty supply shop, that was right next door to where I was having lunch that day. I was browsing around, simply to kill time during my lunch hour, with no intention of purchasing anything. Well, the sales person knows how to sell because I walked out with a new curling iron... the Hot Tools Pink Titanium curling iron.... which I love! ... and I also purchased this hair oil that I had never even heard of, but was totally pushed to buy, by the sales rep... it's called MoroccanOil. I got home later that evening and put both items in my hair tools bin, not even thinking about them. A few days later I remembered that I had purchased a new hair oil that I had not yet used... so I decided to wash my hair that day and try it on for size! The directions are to apply a small amount to the palm of your hand and work into your damp hair, then style as usual. I did just that. And I fell in love! I could not believe how wonderful this oil was! It not only smells great, it also seemed to have cut my blow-drying time by a few minutes, and my straightener (CHI) seems to be doing a much better job now as well! My hair now feels so much smoother, silkier, shinier, glossier... everything I love my hair to be! I am so glad I bought this MoroccanOil and I know that it will be something that I continue to use and buy for years to come! Go to their website and check out all of their products. I know you will love them! And as for the curling iron, I have been using Hot Tools for years, so I knew it was going to be a great curling iron! And I just love the color!! =) I love finding new hair products... my hair is something I love to take care of and help it look its best... it is a woman's glory!! :)

CG LashBlast & Basis Face Wash

I usually don't write about this kind of thing... but I just have to share it with everyone! I recently gave in and purchased a new mascara, I had been using Maybelline for years! I bought Cover Girl LashBlast... and I love it!! My lashes look longer and more curled with just one coat of this mascara! I guess it's the new application brush... it's made out of some type of plastic... so different from the application brush I had been using all these past years! And this is the first time I actually like a mascara that is not waterproof! I love it!! I had been using waterproof mascara for ever... and my lashes would fall out when I would use my make-up remover! No more! This mascara stays put all day long, yet it's so easy to take off at night without having to use some fancy eye make-up remover! And speaking of which, I just discovered this inexpensive face wash that I fell in love with the first time I used it! I recently stayed at a co-workers house and when I showered I forgot to take in my face-wash with me, so I used the one that was in the shower... and I loved it! I loved it so much that I went out looking for it and bought it right away! It's called basis cleaner clean face wash... it is so easy to use! Just wet your face, apply a small amount on your hand and apply it to your face, all over. It removes all make-up, oil, dirt, build-up, and leaves your face/skin feeling super clean! Honestly, I would not be telling you about a product if I did not honestly use it and love it!! =)

I hope you have a chance to try these products. And if you do, share what you thought about them with me. Are there any new products you have tried and want to share about them? Let me know!!