HappyNewYear Y'all

Another year draws to a close and I once again sit alone on New Years Eve, which seems to be a tragic reoccurrence these past few years. Working in retail never allows me to thoroughly enjoy the holidays at the level I would normally wish to (if it were up to me I would be sipping bubbly with some friends right now…just sayin). Also the element of being totally single makes this holiday, like Valentines Day, a day that I actually avoid going out on, since I would be the only one among my friends kiss-less at midnight.

My 60 year old something parents even decided to spend the night out on this joyous day everyone celebrates. They invited me to attend dinner at my grandparent’s retirement home, but I thought cooking frozen chicken nuggets, drinking two beers, and watching a movie with my dog sounded like the less depressing option for my end to 2012.

On this day people tend to reflect on the year that just passed. People post novels about their year on Facebook and generally talk about how this year sucked the big one and hopefully next year will remain less tragic. I read about 20 New Years resolutions, which most included losing 10-20 pounds that more than likely were added to people’s waistlines during the holidays.

My year in a nutshell involved heartbreak, stress, working, spending good times and bad times with friends, being forced out of my childhood home, dealing with family drama that generally remained secretly concealed from the public, the start of a blog (which suffered due to some of these travesties on my life), and the crazy notion of deciding to move to another state to gain independence and start living life for myself.

Throughout my hectic emotional year though, I learned a lot about the characteristics of my family and friends, love, dreams, reality and most of all the importance of change. Most of all, I learned a lot about myself and I am proud that even when I face defeat, I am able to wake up the next day, find humor in every experience, and create strength with in myself to eventually turn each situation into a positive lesson learned.

My new years resolution does not involve losing weight, I am chubby and enjoy food too much for any of that nonsense, but it involves a cheers to change and a cheers to myself. I look forward to my new journey that’s about to take place, I welcome all the change that it entails, I hope to become even stronger at the end of next year, and I openly welcome all the wisdom and insight I will gain while exploring my dreams. I also plan to blog daily for a year straight. Happy New Year to all and to all a good night... literally I am about to fall asleep at 8 o’clock.

P.S. What change will you embrace next year? I hope you decide on a change that is not superficial and rather one that includes an impact on yourself that helps inspire others.

Styna Just Sayin'...#Change

 

The decision to move to a completely different state did not come easy. Along the way many emotions confronted my soul and tried to stop me from making this major step towards change. Fear, anger, sadness, WTF am I doing, and holy hell I’m going to be broke, topped the list of reasons why a change for my life of this magnitude made me feel uneasy. As the time to moving draws closer though, I know deep in my soul that this extreme catapult into the unknown will most definitely be worth it in the long run.

As I drove down Pacific Coast Highway today, I felt sad that the beach would no longer be a quick drive from my house. Driving down PCH in Orange County and listening to music became something that soothed my soul on a bad day throughout my 13 years of driving. I grew up hitting the beach for field trips and roasting marshmallows at bonfires on a Friday night in high school. Moving away from the ocean and my bubble for the past 29 years did not equal an easy decision.

I always wanted to write for a living and ideas for books continue to pile up inside my little brain. I never thought a year ago that I would become a cliché. Uproot myself, like most writers, to the middle of no where Phoenix, and seclude myself from the people I love, so that I finally start making my dream a reality (which with my writing I hope to inspire others to do so as well… “Dreams won’t always take you on a straight path to destiny, but they’re related to what your soul wants for you. They’ll force you to ask yourself hard questions, they’ll kick you’re a@#, and more importantly they’ll turn you on.” #KellyCutron).

The only thing I’m hoping that separates me from a total writers cliché (knock on wood), would be the killer at the end of the 27 bad scary movies I've viewed about writers that go to the woods to write a novel and wind up murdered (this would be an example of fear and uneasiness, I’m a writer, I think of all scenarios bad and good). I feel that my ideas and talent make this crazy move to the desert worth the thousands of emotions that make this decision not easy, but like the quote above I know for my soul’s sake, this pursuit of my dream will be worth attempting and it definitely won’t lack delicious ambiguity… I’m just sayin’.

P.S. What dream does your soul keep asking you to follow?

Sharing Is Caring...#KellyCutrone

Just a few of my favorite quotes from the books of Kelly Cutrone. Love how she, like me, wants to help inspire people to follow their dreams and to leave an impression on society and the people around them. Good stuff...just sayin'.

"Believe that your inner voice is the voice of your soul...and it knows and wants what's best for you and will lead you to your individual purpose and destiny."

"It's important that no matter what your position, you savor and make the best of it- that you take from each reality what it has to offer you (and they all have something, trust me)."

"Life is like a bank account. Random acts of kindness, telling the truth, being loving, showing up for yourself and others - these are all deposits. Getting f@#$ed up, f@#$ing other people over, letting your ego lead your choices - the things we think are fun after eleven at night but don't seem so entertaining at eleven in the morning - are withdrawals. If we give more than we take, we progress. If we take more than we give, we regress."

"All of us are sparks and the whole global universe is a fireworks show. How does your spark manifest in the world? Is it progressive or effective? And what will it leave on this earth when it has moved on?"

DaBomb.com List...#Instagram

Instagram belongs on my dabomb.com list. My love for this amazing app for my phone grows stronger everyday. I love pictures and so do most people. I frequent Instagram more than Facebook nowadays, because I feel this website exudes positivity. Facebook at times allows people to share negative thoughts, but will always hold a place in my heart for connecting with friends.

Now my favorite app for my i-Phone went live as a website and I could not be more thrilled about this situation that the peeps of Instagram delivered to me yesterday when I opened the new love of my social networking life. This seriously became the most exciting news of my day yesterday! The website appears to be pretty legit. My favorite part of my Instagram page would be the top of the page, which flashes past photos I shared with people.

The past week, I unfortunately became MIA on my blog, because our old friends from Florida payed us a visit and I truly enjoyed the time I spent with them. The beautiful thing about Instagram is its resemblance to a moble photo album of our everyday lives. I posted pictures of the good times and great places I experienced with my life long friends. Wine tasting, eating at fabulous restaurants, and even the experience of witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets in Huntington Beach with them.

Not only am I "just sayin'" things on my blog, I welcome people to follow me on Instagram and experience what Styna's "just sayin" through photography. I share quotes, food and my life experiences on my favorite thing on earth, Instagram. Follow this link, instagram.com/styna_just_sayin, and add me on one of the best things since sliced bread...just sayin'.

Dance As If No One Is Watching...#Muse

 

HOLY S@#$! “Madness” by Muse, hands down might be the best song created recently. I think majority of songs enhance a fun time, but the quality of music these days for the most part lacks brilliance (60’s-70’s=amazeball musical talent). Certain musicians though continue to write songs worth listening to over and over again.

 I listened to this song in its entirety the other day on my way to Kohl’s (that’s right I heart Kohl’s). I started this post saying “holy s@#$”, because those were the exact words that came to my mind after hearing this jam. My good homie called right after and we discussed the greatness of this song for about 20 minutes. She told me she made her boyfriend listen to this song 600 times the other day after a night of bar hoping (her and I remain notorious for “drunken song listening” i.e. #DashboardConfessionals).

Seriously, every aspect of this song from the lyrics, to the beat, to the guitar solo, and even the “Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Madness” part showcase a unique sound with a hint of a #Queen influence. Musically I think this amazeball song could appeal to all music lovers. This new move towards electronic DJ music really does not appeal to me, but Muse infuses “what’s hot now”, rock, and a crazy love song all into one. I also relate to the songs lyrics about the “madness” that follows when you fall in love. This song deserves a #Grammy for sure in my opinion.

Muse’s music became apart of my collection years ago and I always felt they created a unique sound. “Madness” though, I believe deserves to be played over and over again on the radio, unlike Taylor Swift’s, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”…just sayin’.

Snobs-R-Us (Orange County)...Smoking

I smoke cigarettes, the day I started this nasty habit might be the only thing I regret in my life. I try to quit and fail, so alas I continue to smoke. I attempt to keep my dirty habit to myself. I pay attention to no smoking signs and keep away from the kiddies. Smoking in Orange County places a person on a naughty list.

People that live here fight death daily. If Dr. Oz told them that cutting water from their diet would help them live a longer life, I bet everyone would believe him, dehydrate, and die. When Orange County dwellers feel a certain way about an issue they expect that everyone around them to feel the same. When it comes to smoking outdoors I think people in OC need to calm the f@#$ down. I believe that years of exposure to second-hand smoke causes risk of disease, but if someone walks past me for three seconds on the way to the parking lot, I’m guessing they won’t die. The polluted air people breath regularly in Cali probably causes more damage to their lungs than my smoke.

Recently I went to the farthest table from a public establishment to smoke a quick cigarette. A woman walked by me and said, “I believe this area is smoke-free, it states that on the building.” And I as calmly as possible said, “It states no smoking with-in 10 feet of the building and I am clearly 10 feet away.” And she replied, “No I don’t think you are.”

First thought that came across my mind included slapping a biznatch, but I refrain from practicing violence. Second thought, maybe someone should return to grade school and learn how many inches make a foot, 12, and after relearning the proper unit of length for a foot she may retract her statement about my distance from the building. Third thought, I guess her opinion on smoking made her compelled to expect everyone around her to feel the same way. I don’t feel the same Mrs. Orange County Housewife. I actually find it irritating that most public places confine me to a four-by-four square in a dark ally, where I must smoke in hiding.

This lady should feel lucky that she does not live during the time when people smoked at their desks at work, on airplanes, and in grocery stores. If I choose to poison myself let me be. I stay as far away from people as possible while smoking, so please keep your opinion to yourself. I did not feel it necessary to share my opinion about her outfit purchased at Forever21, which matched her sixteen-year-old daughter, and made her look ridiculous at the age of 50-something, but just sayin’ it now.

Shout Out To My Peeps...#AlexanderPeuchot

I met with a wonderful man named Alex Peuchot today. He graced me with his presence a few years ago through a mutual friend. We enjoyed a lot of good times together over the years and I find myself inspired by his artistic abilities. As a creative person myself, the existence of other creative people in my life helps me to continue to pursue my creative dreams as I follow the careers of my friends like Alex. Alex lives life to the fullest in my opinion and he sees the beauty in everyone and everything (he always tells me I look gorgeous and compliments me when I see him, which always helps create positive energy). 

Alex's artistic side led him to start a clothing line that I feel promotes a positive message for people. Through color, art and fashion he wants people to embrace their differences. The picture above hangs in his home and remains to be my personal favorite of his amazing collection of art. We met today to discuss how I could help him with writing and the public relations aspect of his new clothing line inspired by his eclectic artwork. I look forward to helping him and witnessing his future success. His vision and message truly inspire me and I hope they inspire you. Alex deserves a shout out...just sayin'. 

P.S. Please visit his online store www.alexanderpeuchot.bigcartel.com and “like” him on Facebook Alexander Peuchot.

Sexless In The Suburbs...Ladera Ranch, CA...Population: Families

I watched my cousin’s house in Ladera Ranch, CA this past weekend. Her place resembles a model home and I love staying there to watch Simon the pup. The only problem with her place may be the location.

Ladera Ranch resembles Pleasant-ville and reminds me of how totally single I remain. When I pulled up from work one day, I saw a gorgeous man, so I left my cousin a voice mail, “Hi. Everything is fine, but who is the gorgeous man across the street? Possibly married? Maybe even gay?”…My Cousin responded via text message, “I’m pretty sure the answer would be gay, because two men live there and the house is a one bedroom like mine. If he’s not gay, then definitely married!”

            Families reside everywhere. As we continue down the path of the adventures of me remaining sexless in the suburbs, you may realize that most events and places make me feel bad about being single at my age. In Ladera Ranch though the “ hey-you’re-freaking-old-and-single” dagger cuts deeper. The families that invaded the premises of this cookie cutter town in Orange County, CA, appear to be in their late 20’s and early 30’s.

As I smoked a cigarette on my cousin’s patio this weekend, I looked around and wondered if these parts of the American dream, (family, picket fence, Mercedes Benz) should be the path I begin to travel down, as I approach my thirties. I daydreamed of my life as a Botox Bitch, married to an OC firefighter, raising two children, because apparently that’s what everyone in Ladera Ranch decided to do at my age. Then I started to daydream about the hot gay guy across the street and became sad that all the good men seemed to be gay or married these days (well at least in Ladera Ranch that’s for sure).

 This place screams, “YOU ARE SINGLE” to me, especially when my cousin tells me not to sleep with anyone in her bed (Thought to self: “LOL, don’t worry cous, your dog probably holds a better chance of getting humped on a morning walk then I do in your bed). As the weekend came to a close, I observed more of these young lovebirds walking around Ladera Ranch, CA, with their screaming kids and their yappy Maltese’s. I decided 1) like a Saturday at Target, this city became a good form of birth control and 2) I’m happy that I don’t need to hire a babysitter in order to attend my BFF’s beer-crawl-29^th-birthday extravaganza this year. The perks of being single...just sayin’.

           

Hater's Gonna Hate...Writing Ain't Easy

The pursuit of a creative career might be the most complicated choice to make. Writing ain’t easy. I mean for me it comes pretty easy. All throughout my days in English class, I would spend at the most an hour on an essay and receive an “A”. I fought the idea of writing my whole life, because it came so easy to me. By high school I felt bored by how easy the writing process came to me. During college I fell in love with my creative ability when I met Dr. Baker-Schena who pushed me to do my best.

Writing as a career takes heart and dedication. I would compare pursuing writing similar to chasing a singing career. Thousands of people might be capable of singing a Mariah Carey ballad, but what makes him or her special compared to the rest of the Beyonce-wanna-be’s? Thousands of writers also believe they stand out and in order to be successful a person needs to be excellent. Find a target audience and write for a purpose not for a paycheck, and hopefully the money will eventually start flowing.

Unfortunately, everyone starts a blog these days. Facebook doubles as a giant community blog. The Internet allows people to proclaim his or her opinions on everything, so a pursuit of opinion/advice writing as a career becomes a million times harder these days. People hate on my blog to my face, luckily I reached a point in my life where I could give two s@#$ what anyone thinks about me. (I feel like I rock at life these days and that’s all that matters.) The people that make fun of me (“LOL are you going to blog?”) just drive me to prove to the Internet world my writing and blogging serves a purpose. I decided to write to help people figure out life through my experiences past, present and future.

I decided to invite people to follow my journey towards a creative career. Blogging helps me practice my writing and allows the book inside my head to reach perfection. I hope my book appears on people’s Nooks in the future (I promote the buying of books and CD’s, but I’m not naive to fact that the screen junkies of America put Tower Records and Borders out of business (two places I loved) …support the arts yo. Creative people keep you entertained and it ain’t easy).

I thought if people realized that this blog means something to me they might take it more serious, start “liking” it, and stop hating on me…just sayin’. (The “like” button now controls our world and if you “like” what you read please help me build an audience by sharing the articles you enjoy with your friends…Please and Thanks)

Sharing Is Caring...#JohnLennon

The beautiful thing about John Lennon and The Beatles, in my opinion, would be their ability as a group to bring people together. Even the most gangsta of rappers would admit to being inspired by The Beatles and their success over the years. The Beatles represent a universal love of music; the way music inspires our lives, and a way life use to be. Extreme hippies like The Beatles, took peace, love and happiness to a whole other level, but I think the message of happiness brought by The Beatles and the people of the 60’s and 70’s may be one to easily forgotten.

The quote above pops up on my Facebook news feed every couple of weeks. I saved these words delivered by Mr. Lennon. I read this quote often, “like” it once a week (translation for my Facebook addicts), and started looking at my life. The pursuit of happiness for myself consumed my thoughts. The elimination of people and situations clouding my happy bubble started to transpire. I merely existed in this world and I wanted to be an avid part of it. I decided to live more like a hippie, but a responsible hippie.

I think people see life as a giant complicated puzzle. Life might be a lot simpler than we believe.  “I wrote down happy. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life,” said John Lennon. Always staying true to what makes you happy helps keep you at peace. Maintaining relationships that allow you to experience love keep you happy. Understanding the importance of peace, love, and happiness unlocks the door to figuring out life. I decided to live my life as a modern day hippie to find happiness.

Sharing Is Caring...#DeliciousAmbiguity

 

As you start to approach your 30’s life becomes slightly crazy as you start realizing what’s important. You wake up one day and think, “Sh@#, age 0-28 flew by pretty quick!” I think this happens to all people in their 20’s, the realization that life is passing you by and your bucket list still needs a whole lot of check marks. I think number one realization might be the ability to finally know what makes you happy and what keeps you unhappy.

Things in life constantly change. During my younger years change scared me and it took longer to recover from. As 30 approaches you realize life changes everyday and you better just roll with it or you will remain miserable. Change shows an ability to learn and grow. Taking risks makes life exciting. Packing up and moving to somewhere new, bungee jumping, writing, starting college later in life, whatever it may be, this quote helped me realize during a major time of change that all will be good.

Stay tuned, because I plan to make some major changes in my life. I now know what makes me unhappy and I am making a major effort to change from a Negative Nancy to a Positive Styna.  As you age gracefully, its exciting to finally start making crazy life changes in order to pursue happiness and even if these things don’t work out in the end at least you can die saying you tried to experience delicious ambiguity…just sayin’.

Shout Out To My Peeps...#BeMoreHeroic

 

I consider myself to be pretty lucky with the life handed to me. My parents worked hard to provide me with everything I needed and wanted. My personality and acceptance for others differences (instilled in me by my parents) allowed me to gain many friends in my short 28 years. I also feel lucky that no one outwardly bullied me growing up. I bet many people over the years formed negative opinions of me, but I always tried to pretend that everyone around me liked me, and then cut negative people out of my life that made me feel insecure or “bullied”.

Growing up in Orange County and not fitting the ideal mold of what a woman should be and look like, made me feel indirectly bullied even though no one ever outwardly bullied me. I constantly tried to fit in by changing myself physically or doing things I didn’t necessarily want to do, but I did anyways to try to fit in. I work hard every day now to not let outside forces affect me (I think it is a daily battle in our society unfortunately), by telling myself every day that I’m amazing and one day I will find where I fit in this world. No person or their opinion of me will stop me from pursuing my goals.  My writing and blog is my personal attempt to help younger generations to realize that the lame things you worry about in high school don’t matter in adulthood and society needs to relieve us of the pressures of perfection (better realize it sooner rather than later).

I went to college with two great girls who helped start a non-profit organization called “Be More Heroic”. The video for “Be More Heroic”, explains more about this amazing organization's message that deserves a shout out. This organization strives for social change and acceptance. Ignoring negative feedback from peers is key to accepting yourself for who you were made to be. Bullying should be stopped and proactive groups such as “Be More Heroic”, show a great effort to inspire people to change their negative behaviors and for those being bullied to turn negative energy into something that drives them to become more positive instead of letting it hold them back in life.

“Be More Heroic” needs help receiving votes (you must at least 21 years old to vote) for a $50,000 grant to help fund its school tour. Please take the time to go to this website, http://www.cultivatewines.com/cause/49269/, and vote for this amazing effort for change in America, that I truly think is a remarkable thing for two girls I went to college with to be apart of. This organization even belongs on the dabomb.com list…just sayin’.

Living Life One Laugh @ A Time

During my lunch break at work today I scrolled through my Facebook news-feed, you know just the usual act of boredom, and found this e-card. This made me literally laugh out loud. I honestly 1) love these e-cards that I see daily (tons of these appear in my I-Photo library) and 2) love Emojis (they enhance every message).  I truthfully become mildly annoyed when I text someone without an I-Phone, because Emojis can not be used to enhance my conversation. Some of my funniest conversations via text message involve Emojis. I also find Jay-z's song "I Got 99 Problems" to be absolutely hilarious, so whenever I see something making fun of that jam I laugh (example: I got 99 cookies cause a bitch ate one, with a picture of Cookie Monster from Sesame Street). Overall this e-card, Emojis and Jay-z all helped me live life one laugh @ a time today and I hope this made you laugh too.

DaBomb.com List...#SouthOfNicks

   

 South of Nick's Restaurant in San Clemente, California brings absolute food joy to my life and belongs on my DaBomb.com List! Luckily it takes me 20-30 minutes to drive to South of Nick's, because if this restaurant were conveniently located down the street from my house I would weigh 300 pounds.

The atmosphere and decor of this Orange County gem, reminds me of a place you might find in Hollywood. The menu allows restaurateurs to experience Mexican fine dining or in my words, gourmet amazingness.

The pictures (via my I-phone) to the left display all my favorite items on the South of Nick's menu. Shrimp Taquitos by far the best shrimp dish ever put in my belly. The second picture shows the restaurants chips and the best-made fresh daily salsa accompanied by the amazing margaritas (the local Cadillac, my personal fave). Third you will see the most scrumptious desserts known as butter cake, which basically consists of butter and sugar, which performs food orgasms in my mouth...just sayin'. Lastly the bar holds a beer tap filled with ice, which makes the house Honey Blonde the perfect ice-cold glass of beer.

The pictures showcase my favorite items, but nothing purchased at South of Nick's will disappoint you. I discovered this place when my friend started working there and I could not imagine my life without eating this bomb food regularly. #South of Nick's is dabomb.com and you should tell all your friends...just sayin'.

Sharing Is Caring...#7LovelyLogics

7 Lovely Logic's

1. Make Peace with your Past so it doesn't spoil your Present.

2. What others Think of you is None Of your Business.

3. Time Heals Almost Everything, Give the Time, Some Time.

4. No one is the Reason of your Happiness Except You yourself.

5. Don't compare your Life with others, You have No idea what their journey is all about.

6. Stop Thinking too much, Its Alright not to know all the Answers.

7. Smile, you don't own all the Problems in the World.

(Truth Beckons aka Jacked from Facebook)

I really enjoyed reading this and wanted to share. Numbers 1, 2 and 3 I already practice. I would be lying if i said I did not need to work on the other numbers. I am working on them and try to remind myself of these "7 Lovely Logic's", when something I believe to be unmanageable occurs in my life. You should do the same...just sayin'.

Straight Ser?...#TeenMom/ #AWKWARD

 

I watched the season finale of “AWKWARD.” on MTV last night. I admit the humor of this show entertains me and I enjoyed both season one and two (I probably shouldn’t admit this to the world at my age, but whatever). “Teen Mom 1”, I viewed every episode, not going to lie about it. Sometimes I would watch “Teen Mom” and then right after start watching “AWKWARD.” and I found this to an ironic combination.

“Teen Mom”, follows real teenage moms. The purpose of the show, according to Dr. Drew, is to promote to MTV’s young audience to either wait to become sexually active or to always use protection. By watching a bunch a dramatic 18-year-olds raise their children, I feel the shows purpose may also be a scare tactic of how life might possibly suck to raise a kid so young. I mean I love my friend’s kids, but if you decide to perform the act of sex do it responsibly and be aware of the consequences.

“AWKWARD”, a fake sitcom on MTV, chronicles the life of an average girl who sleeps with a jock at her high school and their secret sexual relations. Then she involves herself in a love triangle with the jocks BFF. I believe the show probably depicts an average high school in America. Even the sarcastic humor and the shortening of words and abbreviations of phrases remind me of stuff I see on Facebook daily (to my age people it reminds me of a modern day “Clueless”, watch it if you want to know how growing up in the 90’s appeared).

I guess observing these two show concepts back-to-back, makes me wonder which message MTV really wants to promote.  “Teen Mom” attempts to stop the teen pregnancy epidemic in America. While the other promotes the sex sells concept and tells 16-year-olds that sleeping around in high school should be considered cool. Isn’t it ironic…don’t you think? As much as I love both shows (as an adult), I’m just sayin’ that MTV may be sending American teens mixed messages and I bet they may be adding to the list of applicants for the next season of “16 and Pregnant”.

Dance As If No One Is Watching...#CeeLoGreen

Our hotel bar provided karaoke at night. I mean some of the singers failed, while others actually legitimately could sing. As the alcohol flowed through the night the whole bar would be singing and dancing to every jam. My best friend and I found "F#$@ You", by Cee Lo Green, to be the best tune of the night. We sang and danced through the whole song as if no one was watching. Probably one of the highlights of my weekend included singing this song and many others with my bestie and her new family! Every time I hear this song from now on I will remember one of the most enjoyable weekends of my life.

Sexless In The Suburbs...#Weddings

 

I believe everyone searches for love daily. People say you shouldn’t look for love. Love will eventually find you, but the pursuit for love, I believe, might be deeply implanted into our souls. Americans truly remain incomplete until they find their best friend for life.

While in Las Vegas this past weekend, I experienced the joy of my best friend marrying her best friend and I felt overwhelmed by a million emotions. Weddings bring people and families together for an amazing time where love between to people is celebrated. All cultures share the dream for love and happiness.

I would be lying if one of the emotions I felt might be sadness, as a single almost 30-something female, weddings depress my life just a tad. Inside I wished that one day I would be as happy as my two friends appeared this past weekend. Just happy to say those two words…I do. As your friends slowly marry off, you start realizing how much you want the same thing out of life. To find someone that makes you so happy that you would actually commit to him or her for the rest of your life.

I remain single, because for the past 10-15 years my life in love falls into the epic fail category. Either I love them or they don’t love me. They love me and I don’t love them. Oh, you like me, what would your girlfriend think about this situation? The best might be mutual love between someone that ends and you wonder why you didn’t leave the unhealthy situation sooner, because you feel like you wasted time and lost out on possible opportunities for true love. Not to mention multiple times of dating random people that end with no love at all…fail.

Weddings make single people wonder when their number for love will be called out. The dancing, drinking and celebration of love leaves a single person wishing they could exit the epic fail building and fall madly in love…just sayin’.

Shout To My Peeps....#Stranger

 

I met the most amazing woman this weekend. I experienced a “Where am I?” moment, as my best friend, her fiancé, his best friend, and I roamed the streets of DLV (downtown Las Vegas). Our search for the building that holds the legal certificate of marriage suddenly turned into an epic fail. With the temperature outside at 100 degrees, my crankiness factor began to rise and the OC bitch in me demanded that we ask a local for directions, because roaming aimlessly no longer seemed like an option for my life.

We stumbled into a post office, because we felt it looked “governmenty” and found an amazing lady. “Excuse me, do you know where the Clark County building is located,” we asked the stranger. “No I don’t, but my husband might or if not I will find it on my phone,” she said. 

She literally helped us find our location and it took her a good 20 minutes. As we waited for her help I asked her, “My friends about to marry her best friend, any advice for her?” The lady looked up from her I-phone and said, “Laugh, love and let it go!”  Best advice ever. I felt that this little peace of advice not only applies to remaining faithful to someone for 20 plus years, but also should be applied to daily life struggles. 

I fell in love with a stranger, because she took 20 minutes to help my friend and left an impression on me by sharing great words of wisdom. We all should laugh, love and just let all the bulls@#$ go…just sayin’.

Shout Out To My Peeps...Sara/ #VegasWedding

   

"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same. "- Elbert Hubbard

 My status this week thus far: MIA. Tomorrow I will be leaving on a jet plane to Las Vegas for my best friends wedding. Sara entered my life at the age of three and our friendship continued for the past 25 years. Today the excitement of my best friends wedding hit me and I look forward to celebrating her happy day.

The two of us may be an unlikely pair to most people. She moved to Arizona a few years ago. Rodeos, country music, cowgirl boots, guns, snow; she completely adopted a different way of life. She loves small town life and I rock more in a hustle and bustle type of flow. I like designer purses and sunglasses and would rather shoot off my left hand, then try to survive in a town where snow falls. On the outside we appear very different, but as the quote above says, we accept our differences and support each other no matter what. We will remain soul sisters forever (or BFF aka Best Friend Forever).

When I travel to Vegas I stay on the main strip (MGM, Monte Carlo, Treasure Island). I’ve made cameos at every popular Vegas nightclub. One of my friends from Orange County said she might attend the wedding, but only if she stayed separate on Las Vegas Blvd.'s main strip. Sara on the other hand enjoys old school Vegas. Downtown (better known as Fremont Street and where middle America ventures for sins-r-us) generally never lands on my list of things to do while I sin freely in one of my favorite towns.

So this weekend you will join me on an adventure to a land no OC biznatch travels to regularly. I probably will stick out like a sore thumb with my wardrobe alone. But I look at this experience as something new and interesting to add to my list of life happenings. 

Most of all, I'm totally stoked to experience Las Vegas for the first time with my best girl friend and to witness her marry her soul mate, Ben. My first Vegas wedding adventure begins when I land at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow. Stay tuned, it will be entertaining…just sayin’.

Dance As If No One Is Watching...#BrunoMars

 

I consider myself an independent person. I generally travel around solo hanging with different groups of people around Southern California. I definitely do not find it frightening to drive alone (I drove a 6-hour drive to Arizona by myself). This past weekend I traveled solo and my favorite thing about driving an hour or two alone would probably be listening to music. I sing jams out loud and forget that people may be watching me from their car in the next lane. While driving home today I decided to pop in my Bruno Mars CD and sang the whole playlist.

One of my favorite jams “Just The Way You Are”, blared from my speakers, and as I sang the song I thought about the lyrics. The only problem with this amazing song by the beautiful Bruno Mars may be that girls believe they need a man to sing this melody to them. After my last serious boyfriend, this song came out and I decided to sing the words to myself, “You are amazing just the way you are.”  I sang this to myself daily for a month and then once a week for about a year, I slowly began to believe the words that Bruno delivered to me at that right moment in my life when my self-confidence hit an all time low. One of the best things I ever did for myself and I highly recommend all girls practice this exercise at home. Once you believe the words of this classic song about yourself, the sooner everyone around you will begin to see you the same way. 

Don’t listen to “Just The Way You Are”, so much that you suddenly become a cocky biznatch. A happy medium between confident and humble should suffice. The general population accepts me, because I chose to finally accept myself and agree with Mr. Mars. Damn right I am amazing just the way I am. When you eventually realize all that’s great about you, most people around you start to think the same way and if they disagree with you’re outlook then f-them…just sayin’.

Saturday At #Target...Best Birth Control Ever

 

I may blog a lot about Target experiences. I honestly feel that Target may possibly be the best place on Earth, besides Starbucks, but now a Starbucks conveniently appears in a Target near you, so my love for Target continues. The best thing about Target might be the fact that after a trip there recently, I questioned if I ever want to give birth to a child. I love my friend’s kids, but I still might not see children as a necessity to my life.

One Saturday, I ran into Target for a Starbucks and to grab a few things. I looked around and all that appeared before me were 20 to 30 something year old couples with children.  And none of them seemed to be enjoying their Target experience and truthfully my normal trip to target was tainted. Kids crying as you walk through the doors, because their mom refused to buy them a freaking slurpee. Moms angrily yelling at Dads for purchasing the wrong brand of laundry detergent. Dads yelling at kids who are wrestling in the aisles. I seriously looked around and thought, “Target might be the best birth control ever…glad my life does not involve childhood chaos.”

Instead of making your kids watch a bunch of 16-year-old chicks, from the South, trying to raise babies on MTV, all parents should force their children to sit in a Target for 8 hours on a Saturday. I’m telling you legs would remain closed. Once teenagers realize that their life would be a day at Target for the next 18 years, I bet they might think twice about sex and its consequences. I mean if a trip to Target worked for me at 28, it more than likely will work as a form of birth control on a horny teenager near you…just sayin’.

Dance As If No One Is Watching...#JessieJ

This song shuffled it's way onto my i-Tune playlist, while I wrote tonight. When this song first came out I would play it at work and dance as if no one was watching (even though my coworkers observed). The song appears cheesy, but I think the message makes it pretty cool. I love dancing to this jam on Just Dance for Wii as well. Love, love this fun melody by Jessie J, it brings joy to my life. B.O.B. brings a little extra goodness to this track as well. Enjoy.

Sharing Is Caring...#MarilynMonroe

 

Marilyn Monroe, like my friend Tupac (refer to my first blog entry), still influences people with quotes she said when she graced the world with her presence. I jacked this picture from someone on Facebook and decided to make it my laptop background. It reminds me daily to embrace change. Life constantly throws us curve balls, but these things all happen for a reason to bring us to a better place eventually. People come and go from your life, but remembering what they taught you while they made a cameo in your life is all that matters. "You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself..." This part of the quote I do not agree with fully. I believe a select few people in our lives remain trustworthy, but you must always look out for yourself and be weary of certain people who tend to feed you bullshit. Otherwise, this quote helps me and I enjoy reminding myself that every event in my life happens to help make me a better version of myself for the future.

Sexless In The Suburbs...#OkCupid

 

I recently ventured back online to find Mr. Right. Ok Cupid, a free “dating app” for my I-Phone, displays a large selection of eligible bachelors for me to choose from. In the past year, I experienced three dates and text one guy a few times that never went anywhere. The text man ended, because before I even met the dude he began referring to me as “babe” (I rarely ever referred to my ex-boyfriend as babe, unless I tell you you’re my man, please don’t call me babe…thanks). One guy claimed to be 5’8” (shorter than me at 5’4”) and thought that growing up in Napa, partying with winery kids, and name-dropping made him cool. One guy actually showed some potential, but he clearly could not handle my blunt, sarcastic personality.

Many people attempt to message me, but I rarely reply. If the only picture on your profile displays you kneeled down next to a mini-frig filled with Coors Light, I may not reply. If your special interests include regular pub-crawls with your “homies”, I may not reply. If you cannot even hold a decent conversation through messaging, I may stop replying. 40-50 age group, sorry replying is not even an option, do not try to “hit” this, there is no interest in my life to be your young pretty girlfriend…good luck with that mid-life crisis. If you display pictures with half naked girls, I already imagined you cheating on me with a stripper, thanks for applying, but no thanks.

My online dating attempt apparently falls into the “epic fail” category. I honestly just do not see the point of sifting through a email box full of guys who actually chose to name themselves “goodkisser69” on a dating website. I would rather be single. I know at 28, the imaginary time clock may be a ticking time bomb for most people, but really I think I’m good.  Although I want to find someone to love, I think I would rather just wait for love to find me one day randomly on a trip to Starbucks or at a friend’s ugly Christmas sweater party…just sayin’.

Sexless In The Suburbs...Single Reminders: #SayYesToTheDress

 

Singleness haunts me on Friday nights, as I watch Say Yes To The Dress marathons on TLC and eat ice cream. I always work early Saturdays, so Friday nights I decide to torture myself.  I watch super annoying women spend thousands of dollars on a wedding dress (some of these gold diggers buy two $10,000 dresses for a one night event… that s@#$ cray). When my luck runs really high on a Friday night, I might actually witness a marathon of “Say Yes To The Dress: Bridesmaid Edition”, where I witness a bunch of spoiled bridesmaids fight over what dress they would purchase to wear in their best friend’s wedding.

The episodes where the girl shops with her father and he cries when she discovers she found “the dress” make me cry every time. I say to myself, “Why are you crying, it’s not like Oprah Winfrey just surprised 600 African kids with college educations (Oprah shows use to always make me cry).” I definitely become a sappy chick and I hate when I enter fairytale land, as a jaded realist, it cramps my style.

I pretty much commit single suicide every Friday night. Every other day of the week I try to accept my total singleness at almost 30, but Friday nights I become so engulfed in romance land, that I begin to feel sorry for myself. Generally I just let my friends and family express these sentiments of sorrow for me.

Last Friday night I sat down for my usual ritual and turned off the TV ten minutes into my guilty pleasure, that slightly depresses my life, and decided to no longer torment myself. I receive enough single reminders on Facebook daily. As I slowly watch every one I went to high school with end their single days, with notifications of default picture changes, which showcase them kissing their hubby while wearing the dress they said, “yes” to. I do not recommend that all the single ladies watch this show…just sayin’.