QOTD (Quote of the Day)

OK, so I know that I don't have a quote every day (really, I've tried to post something as often as possible, but I keep forgetting or run out of time)...but I came across this one today and thought it was great.

"Live from your heart, it will never steer you wrong."

When I saw this quote, I thought about my life and realized that this is so true. The times in my life when I wavered and didn't follow my heart or my gut instinct were times when things did not turn out the best that they could have. As we get older, we so easily try and make sense out of things, try to reason with things instead of just letting things happen. We start to second guess, overthink, and distrust. It's so much easier to believe in everything when you're young because no one has told you otherwise yet and it's so easy to trust when you haven't been deceived. I try to remind myself of that feeling and every day, I try to follow my heart and believe in the unbelievable. Even if someone proves you wrong, at least you believed in something.

So my advice for today is follow your heart. Go with your gut. Believe in the unbelievable. That's when the unthinkable happens. It's when I followed my heart that I truly fell in love and it's when I believed in good that I saw miracles happen.


(image from weheartit.com)

Eclipse

I usually try and think of an intriguing title for each blog entry, but the basic title of "Eclipse" just says it all.

So, it happened. IT finally happened....Eclipse finally came out in movie theaters last night at midnight (12:01 a.m. to be exact) and I was able to watch it with one of my best friends and fellow Twilight addict, Ann.

I honestly don't really even know where to start...there is so much to say, but at the same time I'm speechless. It was definitely my favorite of the three movies so far, they just seem to get better and better! I will admit there were some moments that were disappointing, but they were few and far between. And really, the only reason they were disappointing to me was because they weren't done exactly like the book (meaning same conversations, but different setting) or the scene/moment didn't last long enough for me. If it were up to me, each movie would be 6 hours long lol. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that pretty much every favorite moment of mine from the book made it into the movie, which was so satisfying! My favorite song from the soundtrack was even in the part of the book that I pictured it in (I have a strange obsession with matching songs to events/moments, don't ask me why). Kudos to David Slade! THAT is how you turn a book into a movie! I can't imagine that any of the fans of the books will be disappointed by this one. And of course, Edward (Rob Pattinson) looks HOT in it. And ok, ok, Jacob (Taylor Lautner) doesn't look so bad himself lol.

So now that I've finally seen Eclipse, it's time for me to see it again...and again...lol. AND now I have to wait for Breaking Dawn...ugh...the wait is going to be so long and excruciating. But at least I'll have the books to tie me over for now.

Here are some pictures of me getting ready for Eclipse night, hehehe. Sorry for the poor quality of my camera phone, but they were taken right before I left and luckily my husband humored me and took the pictures. I also added on a couple more from the past week that were Eclipse-crazed related.

Stopping at BK for the Eclipse cups, which I will say was disappointing lol. They didn't even have any crowns like they did for New Moon. And yes, I asked the lady if they had crowns lol.



Look! I sparkle in the sunlight! Ok, I don't. It's what was left over from swatches of lipgloss that I wiped off, but still....



Eclipse Premiere Night!!! Me in my Eclipse gear...

My t-shirt...



my bracelet....





and don't forget the tickets!



Here's a pic of my Eclipse countown...I was 2 seconds too late after midnight, lol



Since I love great quotes, I'll end this entry with one of my favorite quotes from the Eclipse book. Surprisingly, it was said by Jacob. Don't get me wrong though, I'm still Team Edward ;)

"It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like...gravity moves. When you see her; suddenly it's not the earth holding you here anymore. She does. And nothing matters more than her. And you would do anything for her, be anything for her..."

GO SEE ECLIPSE!

Juniors?

So...I know that I've already established that I am a crazed Twilight fan. I've really restrained a lot of my excitement, not because of embarrassment, but mostly because I would not get anything else accomplished and people would be even more sick of me talking about Twilight related things than they already are, particularly my poor husband, who, bless his heart, humors me every day.

Today I'm going to make an exception because EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! I already received a package in the mail that I just ordered a few days ago. Over the past few weeks, I've been on a hunt for a t-shirt to wear to the Eclipse premiere on 6/30 (to the movie, not just out in public on a random day lol...not that I haven't done that with some past Twilight related shirts...). I was very disappointed in the selections online and with what was at the mall. The one shirt I had seen online that I thought would've been at the mall wasn't even there when I checked, so I ended up ordering it online a few days ago (along with something else that I'm very excited about).

So here they are...drum roll please...

A very bad picture of my official Eclipse t-shirt that I will be wearing on 6/30/2010. I got it from hottopic.com and it says "Marry Me"/"Change Me" on it. I will say I wasn't ecstatic about it, but it was slim pickings lol. I also was worried about the sizes because apparently the sizes only came in Juniors (Juniors??). I mean, I know most fans are probably younger, but still..lol. I ordered a size bigger than usual, but when I got the package it was so small I cringed at the thought of the juniors baby T that was inside. I prayed when I opened the package that the t-shirt would fit me and luckily it does...barely...but it does lol. AND the other item I was so excited about and randomly saw when I was ordering the t-shirt is the charm bracelet from Eclipse (breathe, breathe...). For those of you who don't know, Bella wears a charm bracelet with a heart shaped diamond and a wooden wolf in Eclipse. I won't say anything more on how or why, but I've wanted a bracelet like this ever since I saw one when I went to Forks. I didn't buy it there because it was more money than I wanted to spend, but now I regret it because it was great quality. The one I ordered obviously is just mass produced and not the best quality, but it will do for now :)

Ok, NOW here is the picture, lol. Sorry about the rambling. I am just SO excited. I would even have taken a picture of myself wearing both, but honestly I am not looking the best right now lol. The charm bracelet is on top of the t-shirt on the right side. The picture on the t-shirt is of Edward putting a ring on Bella's finger from the movie. I'm not a fan of movie t-shirts, but like I said, slim pickings, lol.

Fish Tales

I've really been slacking on my blog posts lately, so I decided to post something about my latest adventure -- Fishing!

Ok, for some people, fishing may not be such an "adventure", but being that I am not an outdoor girl, I think of it more as an adventure than a day at the spa.

Ryan and I headed up north a couple weekends ago to spend some time with his grandparents and go fishing. His mom, step-dad, brother, and future sister-in-law were also up there too, so it was a wonderful time!

I must say that I am actually very proud of myself. This wasn't my first time fishing, but I definitely don't consider myself an expert quite yet (due to Ryan's family, I was initiated into fishing long ago when I received my first fishing pole from his grandparents for Christmas...one of the best Christmas presents I've ever received to date). I'm so proud of myself because I caught lots of fish (largemouth bass particularly seemed to like me lol) and even helped out getting the boat ready, like cleaning off the anchor before we started the boat again, helping put out and bring in the buoys, etc. I even put my own bait on my hook (ok, only if it was a worm...no leeches for me!). I am really enjoying fishing and am in the making of becoming a fisherwoman! :) Now, don't get me wrong, I also asked Ryan if I had a tick on me most of the time too...some things will just never change.

The thing I loved most about the trip was spending time with Ryan's family. Words can't describe how much I love them. From chatting on the boat, going for walks, having fish fry's, getting ice cream, campfires, and lots of laughing, I can't help but think about how lucky I am to not only marry the man of my dreams, but to now also have another family that I love just as much. It's truly a wonderful thing.

Here are some pictures from the fishing trip...can't wait for the next one :)

My first catch!



Ryan's first catch, hehehe



One of the many largemouth bass I caught (ok, by "many", I mean 7...I don't really know that's "many", but it is to me lol). Ahh..my "delicious bass"...that was a reference to Napoleon Dynamite in case you missed it...



My favorite fisherman <3

Girlfriends and Makeup...

...Need I say more? Girlfriends + Makeup = good times

Last night, a couple of my best girlfriends and I went to the MAC cosmetics store to get our makeup done. Ann made the appointments a while ago and she, Shirley May, and I were all looking forward to it.

Being that I personally don't enjoy "too much" makeup, I was definitely nervous about it. Let's just say I like a more natural look and don't wear that much makeup everyday. I basically wear mascara (granted, lots of mascara, lol I love the look of long lashes!) and carmex on my lips most days, and on weekends I'll add eye shadow, maybe eye liner, and powder. I will admit that when the makeup artist was done with my makeup, I did think it was way too much eye makeup, but that is my opinion lol. I'm sure Ann and Shirley May had their own opinions.

I wish I had pictures of Ann and S. May's makeup up close because their makeup turned out beautifully! Their eye makeup was definitely full of color and ready for summer.

The only pics I have are of the 3 of us at Mall of America afterwards and my "haul". They're not the best quality since they were taken on my phone, but you'll get the point....we all bought a lot of stuff. Yet somehow, I feel like I need to go back to get more...uh oh....

Last night definitely reinforced one of my oldest beliefs...nothing is better than having great girlfriends...

Here are a couple pics of the girls and I with our MAC bags:




Some pictures of the "To The Beach" collection:








And now...drum roll please...my MAC haul and thoughts so far:

Products shown still in boxed packaging:



Products shown with packaging closed (so that you can see how cute this collection's packaging is!). The name of this collection is "To The Beach" and you can see the theme of it from the seashells, starfish, coral, and sea-horses throughout the line of products:



Products open to show color:



What I bought and my thoughts so far:

1) MAC Cleanse Off Oil
- this is an oil based (but mineral oil free, yay!) makeup remover. I saw great reviews on it on youtube, so I thought I'd give it a try. It was very gentle and not greasy at all (I have oily skin). It also didn't irritate my eyes like some other eye makeup removers have done in the past. You put it on dry and massage the oil on the areas where you want to remove your makeup and then add water to emulsify it into a milky-type cleanser and then rinse off. I'm so glad I bought this because I love it so far. Granted, last night was the first time I used it, but with all the makeup I had on my face (especially eye makeup), it took off EVERYTHING! Never in my quest for makeup removers has this happened. My hope is that it doesn't break me out. So far, so good, and by the way, my skin felt SO soft and not greasy at all afterwards. I still used my usual cleanser after this.

2) Powder Blush in Hipness
- one of the things I really wanted to get was a bright, summery blush that would give my face a pop of color. This blush was it. I liked the look of it so much yesterday that I used it today even though I didn't need to get ready. I was just excited to put the blush on again, and that, for me, is a great sign.

3) Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Medium Dark
- I hate the feel of liquid foundation on my face, which is why I have barely ever used it. When I've wanted some coverage on my face or have zits I want to cover up, I've turned to Bare Escentuals for years. The makeup artist put this on my face and it felt even lighter than the Bare Escentuals powder foundation, which I didn't think was possible. I love this because it gives the coverage I want, while at the same time giving me a natural, glowy look. It feels like I have nothing on and maybe it's just me, but it seems like my skin is softer too after I put this on.

4) MAC 109 brush
- I still need to wash this brush and use it with the MSF (Mineralize Skin Finish), but when the makeup artist used it last night I just fell in love with it. It's a different brush with shorter, compact bristles, and so soft. I was told that it's a great brush for powder, blush, and contouring (not that I know how to contour). For some reason I have an obsession with makeup brushes, which is weird since I probably only need 2 or 3 brushes. I think it's because I like the way they feel on my face, lol. I am washing this brush later tonight and am looking forward to using it tomorrow!

5) Eye Shadows in Sand & Sun (matte, light peachy color) and Firecracker (veluxe pearl, deep hot pink color)
- I don't have much to say about these except that I really like the colors. They're different from anything else I have and I feel like I'll be able to use them with other more neutral colors too, hehe.

6) Lipglass Lip Gloss in Easy Lounger
- this one I'm not so sure about. I really liked it last night, but I used this again today and I didn't realize it had so many glitters in it! I stepped out into the sun, looked at my face, and my lips looked like a disco ball. It also left little pieces of glitter around my mouth where it must've rubbed off and I think it's so annoying when you have that one piece of glitter on your face just sitting there. I'm sad to say it, but this might be going back to MAC. On the bright side, maybe I will exchange it for something else?...

I wanted to end this entry with a quote I found (if you can't tell already, I'm a sucker for good quotes). Basically, like I've mentioned before, I believe so much that a great girlfriend is better than any medicine, any money, and dare I say, any makeup on a bad day. And even better on a good day. So to all my wonderful girlfriends who make me smile, laugh, and snort, this one's for you.

"We didn't realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun."

Ma

Mother's Day is coming up tomorrow, so I thought I'd dedicate this post to all the moms, mommies, and mamas out there.

Especially my Ma :)

Since I'm not a mother myself yet, I obviously don't know what it's like to be one. I don't have any amazing revelations to speak of either. Unfortunately, I'd be lying if I said that my mom is my best friend. It just didn't turn out that way, and there's no rhyme or reason to it, it just is what it is. Despite that though, I will say I have so much respect for her and love her SO much, more than I would ever be able to verbalize. The older I get, the more I realize what she, as a woman, has gone through in her life.

I love my mom and hope that as I get older, we get closer. She has done a lot for me and my brothers. She raised three amazing kids (I, of course, am the most amazing, haha) and to this day she still has a goofy, girly way about her. I love that the most about her. She also is somehow in her (ahem) mid-50s and still could pass for someone in her late 30s/early 40s. Soon we will really look like sisters (something she has always told me since I was in high school, lol).

I remember when I was a little girl she tried to do everything she could for us kids. At one point she was working 2 jobs trying to put us all through private school and she would still manage to give us great gifts on our birthdays and Christmas and say goodnight before she went to her night job. I can't say that she was the best cook, but she has definitely gotten better over the years ;)

I remember she always wanted me to be a "girly" girl, especially since I am the only daughter. She loved getting dressed up, fixing up her hair, and wearing makeup, and I guess she was hoping that those genes would pass onto me. What she got was a girl that never wanted to start wearing a training bra and cried to the point of almost puking when she tried to put makeup on me. A girl that voluntarily wore lip-gloss for the first time at the age of 17. To this day, I'm convinced that she got me to start dance classes just so she could cake makeup on my face for the dance recitals and I would have no choice but to oblige. Now, I actually like makeup and fixing my hair, so we get along so much better, lol. I actually remember a couple years ago when I bought her a Bare Escentuals mineral makeup kit and she wanted me to show her how to use it. There we were, in the bathroom of the home I grew up in, and I was putting makeup on my mom and my dad walked by and said, "Oh, so now the daughter is showing her mom how to do makeup" and walked away chuckling. I remember we just looked at each other and smiled. It is actually bringing tears to my eyes right now thinking about it. It's times like that when I get a glimpse of my mom unaltered that I cherish the most. She's this woman that came to the U.S. from the Philippines hoping to raise her children in a place and in an environment different from how she grew up. Like any mother I'm sure, one of her dreams was to have happy, healthy, thriving children. I believe she has succeeded, and will continue to do so.

The older I get,
the more I see
the power of that young woman,
my mother.
~ Sharon Olds

I'd Rather Be In Forks

Today is a very gloomy, rainy day...makes me think of Forks :)

I guess I'll make this my official coming out of the closet for being a crazy Twilight fan. TEAM EDWARD all the way! Period. I am a 12 year old trapped in a 30 year olds body when it comes to anything Twilight. I've read all of the books (more than once) and own both of the Twilight and New Moon movies...I guess I could go on and on, but just believe me when I say I'm crazy about anything Twilight related! I'm sure I will have more posts that mention Twilight, so don't think this is the last you've seen of my obsessed rants. Judge me if you want to, I'm not ashamed! :)

My husband luckily humors my obsession and OK'd my request to go to Forks when we took a trip to Seattle last year. Let me tell you, Forks is a beautiful area and it was great as a fan of the books to go there and see what Stephenie Meyer was writing about. The movies weren't filmed there, but if you've read the books, all the places are there. We went to Port Angeles and La Push too. It was almost surreal how spot on she was. I will say, I wanted to go to Forks because of the Twilight books, but I want to return again because of the town itself. It's so cute and everyone was so friendly. The Pacific Northwest area is just beautiful.

So here I am on this gloomy day with my sweatshirt on (that ironically says "Bitten and Smitten" lol) and thinking of a little town called Forks. Can't wait to go back.

I guess my main point of this post is that age is really just a number. Take any grown woman and put something in front of her that she is obsessed and in love with and she immediately becomes a little girl in heaven.

"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." ~Samuel Ullman

Here are some pictures from our trip and some Twilight points of interest, hehehe.

Bella Italia, Port Angeles



Lincoln Movie Theatre, Port Angeles



Could this be the alley? hmm...




Edward? Bella? Are you in there?



FORKS!!!!! This is a much more subdued version of the picture I wanted to take at first sight of the sign lol



The main street in Forks, I think they only had a few stoplights...



Running to "Bella's truck" (yes, I know it's not REALLY her truck, but still)



"Ryan! Take a picture of me on this side too please..."



The Swan Residence



The Cullen Residence





CLIFF! La Push, WA
I think we all know what happens here...ok, well, I for sure know lol



La Push, WA
This log is where I pictured Bella and Jacob sitting (yes, when I saw this, I really did picture "them" sitting there...as in fictional characters sitting there, ok, sue me).



I am not kidding when I tell you that the Pacific Northwest is absolutely BEAUTIFUL...