This new year for me has been so jam packed, I'm just now updating my blog. Sorry about that! haha. January for me started off on a great note! Got a promotion and a raise, then went off to Paris with my mom. I was only there for the weekend, but it was so worth it. I will have a blog post about my Paris trip soon. I've been trying to find a flash gallery I could use so that way I don't have to post them one by one on my blogpost. I took about 135 pictures!
I changed the layout of my blog.. It's been awhile since I've changed it so I went with a darker look.
I got a haircut this past week {finally}--
I think February will treat me just as good, hopefully even better. I bought Dear John this weekend, and my book club is gonna read this book by Diana Gabaldon, it's called Outlander. I worked out at the gym yesterday and I am determined to keep it up because I'm going to Miami in March for the Winter Music Conference. It's gonna be a blast! I can't wait and I am happy to see my family since I'll be staying with them and I will be there for a whole 9 days :)
Hope everyone is having a great week & Happy February!
Were you named after anyone? If not, how did you get your name?
I was named after my mother's grandmother (my great grandmother). For the longest time everyone thought her name was Laura, & when she died on her death certificate they found out her name was Lourdes. But, my mom always liked the name Laura, so she named me after her grandmother. I wish she would've named me Lourdes, it sounds so much more erotic & romantic, LOL. My middle name is Melanie & I'm not sure where she got that one from.. it's original because it wasn't after anyone.
LOL @ my subject title .. I'm gonna be perfectly honest with you & I know I probably sound like a broken record because I've said this in my recent posts, but dating really does suck! LOL. I don't know what other words to use to describe it, but it does. I've decided I'm not going to date anyone for awhile. I think the reason why things didn't work out with Edward was because it's just not meant to be. I know I did everything right & I certainly didn't deserve how he treated me, but sometimes circumstances like this have to happen to get you to where you need to be. I think that this is right where I need to be; on my own. Being on your own is not necessarily a bad thing, because you have the freedom to do things that you'd never thought of doing being tied down in a relationship. You get to explore things about life, yourself & others that you wouldn't have had the opportunity of doing so before.
I've decided to do the project 365, where I take one picture everyday for a year. I think this will be a nice resolution to keep me on my toes & see where my year went. I feel like I used to take a lot of pictures before & then it dwindled down, but no more! Today is day 6, so I'm gonna take a pic of my book club friends tonight since we're meeting up for the first time this year.
Here are the first 5 pictures I took this year {they each have a little story so check them out}:
I can't believe this is my last post of 2009! 2009 comes to an end tonight & I can't wait for the New Year to get here already. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to blog much, so I guess that's a good thing because it means I have a life? who knows. I had a very wonderful Christmas with my family last week. I was off for 4 days & I definitely enjoyed it, especially since my little brother came from San Diego to visit us. Went to see Avatar! on 3D.. you have to see that movie on 3D, it's amazing! I think it's the best movie of the year & it came as a treat because the year is almost over. I've never seen a movie on 3D, so this was mind blowing for me. I especially loved the love story, sigh.
So finally New Year's eve is here & I'm working. I'm glad to be off for 3 days & then in 2 weeks, PARIS! I'm not sure exactly where I'll be tonight but I'll be partying it up somewhere & of course I'll be safe. There's lots of crazies out there & I rather stay clear from all that. I'm so anxious I can't even focus at work, haha.
Here's one of my favorite pics I recently took of myself & friends:
I hope to see some more movies this weekend.. I wanna see Sherlock Holmes & Up In The Air.
Well, it's been one hell of a year & I hope you guys have the best year yet for 2010. Love ya lots, xoxo Melani
I am SO excited Christmas is only a week away.. December sure did go by pretty quickly. I'm a little sad that this year I am really struggling w/my finances to where I can't buy anyone a gift, not even myself. I hope next year will be better, for me & for everyone else who is also in my shoes. Thank God it's only temporary.. things will look up in due time, it's just a matter of being patient to get through it because WE WILL.. we always do. We had our work Christmas party yesterday afternoon & let me tell you we had FUN! It was held at this place where they had billiards, dart tables & a lot of room for us to have our party. They had good food, our white elephant gift exchange & KARAOKE! I was really pumped up about it because it's been awhile since I got to do karaoke. I did 2 songs, Lady Gaga Paparazzi & Mariah's Obsessed, haha.. good times. I didn't know I was being recorded on video when I did Mariah's song so here's a clip of what they sent me.
I bought candy for my white elephant gift, & I felt bad but I am honestly so broke that that's all I could afford :( I ended up getting a cute photo album though & I thought it was ironic because one of my New Year's resolutions is to print all my photos I have stacked inside my digital camera & put them inside an album. We did a raffle & I won a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card, which was SUPERB because I need to get a good book that I can read on the plane to Paris. So last night I went with Selena & I bought this book called Sarah's Key. It has French history & the novel is fictionalized within it.. it's about a girl who puts her little brother in a bedroom cupboard to protect him because they are Jewish & the police were making arrests in the middle of the night. Then 60 years later, a journalist investigates what happened back in the 40's which linked her to Sarah's story.. so it has a little suspense there. This book has been rated 4 out of 5 stars, so we'll see how it goes, I'm excited to read it. You can see the Eiffel tower very faintly in the background, love it!
I started working out again this week.. so far I worked out 3 times this week & I'm gonna go again tonight. It feels good to get back into my workout routine & I wanna shed at least 20 more lbs. I've been able to keep the weight I lost off, so now it's just a matter of keep going to the gym & watching my diet. I hope everyone has a very fabulous weekend ? XOXO, me ;)
I can't believe I will be in Paris in 30 days from yesterday.. I will be there for 4 days for the Martin Luther King holiday with my mom. I need to desperately shop for a warm coat because it's gonna be super cold over there. I need some gloves too. I just know I'm gonna take tons of pictures & I hope that my little camera can handle it.. I've had that camera for awhile. I asked Santa for a new one, but not sure I'm gonna get it. I need a
new book
to read while I'm on the plane! Any ideas? I don't want any of the ones I have on my shelf, bleh.
So I've been pondering on what my New Year's resolutions will be & one of them that I can't just get out of my head is how I wanna do a marathon. My friend Leona is doing one next month & she's inspired me to do one because I've been wanting to do it for the longest time. I think now it's the right time & I'm gonna start training in the coming weeks. There's this place by my apartments that specializes in training people for marathons. You pay like $50 & they help you design the right shoe for you, see the way you run & they go on runs so that I can run with them. How neat is that? My friend Selena told me about it & I may just do that so that I can get motivated & get help so that I won't mess myself up during this marathon. I use to run cross country/track in highschool & I truly miss running outside, alone with my thoughts. I wanna get back to that, so I'm excited.
I have a few more resolutions brewing, but that will have to wait on another post.
I know I've neglected my blog a little.. I've been having an affair with Vox & LiveJournal, LOL. All my online friends have been slowly creeping back into the blogging sites there so it's like a big giant reunion! I love it. I think blogging is so therapeutic & it's good to know what's going on in other people's lives.. so as long as there's no drama of course.
Going to lunch now, hope you guys are having a fabulous Tuesday!
P.S. I ran 4 miles yesterday on the elliptical, go me!
1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Went to visit my friend Melissa in Houston & I hadn't gone to Houston in 4 years or so.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I kept some & will make more & see them through.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, but she's not that close to me.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5. What countries did you visit?
None.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Be happy with myself.
7. What date(s) from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Aug 1, 2009, the day Sid & I broke up, Oct 17th my car accident
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Got promoted at work & in transition of being promoted again. Oh & I got my passport :D
9. What was your biggest failure?
Staying in a dead relationship for most of the year
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Illness
11. What was the best thing you bought?
My new iPhone 3G
14. Where did most of your money go?
Starbucks, clothes
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Found out I'm going to Paris France with my mom.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
"I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or sadder? Happier.
Thinner or fatter? Thinner.
Richer or poorer? About the same, in between.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Work out more regularly
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Shopping, & save money instead
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
At home with my parents.
22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
No, fell out of it more like it.
23. How many one-night stands?
1, but I've known this guy for years
24. What was your favorite TV program?
Glee, Fringe, Dollhouse, Keeping Up w/the Kardashians, Real Housewives of O.C., Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Grey's Anatomy.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, I don't hate, I congratulate
26. What was the best book you read?
It's Called A Breakup Because It's Broken - it came in very handy
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Veronicas
28. What did you want and get?
I got a hot guy that was the hottest guy I've ever been with, but emotionally he was crap, so I didn't really get him, but kinda. LOL
29. What did you want and not get?
To be loved unconditionally and passionately from my ex Sid
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
NEW MOON!!!!!!!
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I spent time with friends & family, I'm 27 now!
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More vacation time
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Boots & tight jeans, classy & sassy.
34. What kept you sane?
My friends, my family, tv shows, Northside events at my apartments, my book club
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Katy Perry
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Guantanamo Bay
37. Who did you miss?
My ex Sidney
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Judy, we started hanging out more lately & she's a great friend
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
You can't change people, or how they should do certain things. All you can do is change yourself & hope that your example will inspire them, take the high road even when it's hard to be the better person.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"And I'm the blame,
Should've went away.
But yet I stayed,
With a part time lover.
See, somedays you will love me.
Then you don't, then you do, then you won't.
Then you're here, then you're gone.
I'm alone.
Now you got me stressing out
On the phone.
But it's the last time, I'm movin' on,
I'm throwing on my Louboutins."
So I caved & got on Cafe World last night.. I'm sure my kitchen is a huge mess right now but since it took a long time to load each time I would do a command, I'm not so sure about this game anymore.
