Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday

Marriage.Is. Hard. That is the stuff that they don't tell you when they are talking about the "happily ever after." It is hard work. Every day you have to wake up and make the decision that you want to be married and you are willing to work at it. Now, I love the Haitian Sensation and I cannot imagine my life without him...but there are times when I just want to shake him. Today is one of those days. I love him dearly, but we are in two different rooms and I have MJB in heavy rotation. Tomorrow will be a better day.

She's BAAAACK!

Hello beautiful people!

I have returned. It has been about two years since I have blogged and wow, what a two years it has been! I got engaged, got a part time job, planned a wedding, got married to the Haitian Sensation on April 25, 2009, quit the part time job and have recently gotten a new (and improved) full-time job. Now that my life has calmed down a bit, I have really started to think about what I want the rest of my life to look like. Lately, I've been thinking about self-worth.

I really love Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club. I've probably read the book 4 or 5 times and I've seen the movie a few times as well. I always reread/rewatch the part where An-Mei is talking about how a person needs to know her worth. In the past few weeks, I have been talking to various friends about this concept. It seems as though so many of us don't know our worth. Because we aren't a certain size or a certain man doesn't find us attractive or our boss is overly critical or our skin is a shade too light or dark, we immediately devalue ourselves. We have to stop this! We are smart, funny, witty, educated people. We deserve to be happy and healthy and reap all of the wonderful benefits that are in store for us. This starts with knowing your self-worth and what you will and will not stand for. Love yourself, because if you don't, no one else will.

Please Hang Up and Dial Again...

Lately, I have not really felt like answering the phone. It is not a good look, I know. The phone rings and I don't really care. Maybe it is because I'm just not really pressed to get to the phone and if folks can't leave a message, I guess whatever they have to say isn't that important. I know that just sounds horrible but I have been trying to make a lot of phone calls when I'm in the car, but once I talk to my parents I'm home and the phone gets turned off. I'm usually just so tired when I walk through the door that don't feel like talking to anyone. Once I get on the phone (if I get on the phone) I have great conversations. It is just picking up the phone. I have a ton of people that I need to call, but...I'm just tired. I will do try to do better.

Hello Again

Well hello there! Okay, yes I've been gone for a lot time but I'm back! A lot has happened in these past few months. I'll start with the big news. I got engaged! Yes, the Haitian Sensation popped the question on the Spirit of Washington on February 15th (I'm very happy that he wasn't all cliche and waited for the day after Valentine's Day). We have no clue what kind of wedding we want, but I'm hoping we can hash all of that out in the next month so we can get this planning party started. Along with stressing about the wedding, I'm also stressing a little bit about the fact that in a year I am going to have to be in somebody's wedding dress. Which means unless I want to be wearing a dress with sleeves (you know those sleeves that I'm talking about- the ugly itchy lace ones that they always put the big girls in), I'm going to have to hit he gym and hit it hard and often, but I will freak out about that in another post. Other than the engagement and my extreme excitement about the fact that Spring is coming, nothing big has really happened. Oh wait, I lied. I got a new car. The B3 is being picked up by Melwood on Monday and I am zipping around in a very cute and gas efficient Toyota Corolla. I bought it from my sister, who was very good to it, and I am over the moon. No more spending 60+ dollars to fill up my gas tank. Okay, that is all from here. I am off to figure out a plan to get The Sensation roped into wedding planning. More on that later.

My Neck, My Back

No, I'm not alluding to that horrible song by Khia, I'm talking about the fact that my WHOLE BODY hurts. Okay, first let me extend my apologies for not posting in ages. I've been busy and sleepy. I hope everyone had a good holiday season and 2008 is treating everyone well. Now, back to my aching body. This year my goal is to take care of me and go to the gym more and eat right. (Notice I didn't say lose weight, if I do that in the process ((which I know I will)), I'm happy). So, to that end I've dedicated myself to going to the gym at least 5 times a week. I've also added some weight-lifting to the mix and I am quite sore. I'm seeing more definition in my legs and my body feels stronger, but the pain is still constant. I guess they say no pain no gain, but damn, when will it stop hurting??

Hmmm, what else to recap? The new job is great, my boss is great and all of my co-workers ROCK! The Sensation is good and the weight loss journey continues. I have some questions though. Why do I keep seeing albinos? I've seen 3 in the past two days. How can I win the lottery so I can work because I like my job, not because I'm broke? How do you say, "you have the wrong numbers, stop calling me" in Spanish. Someone in California keeps calling my cell phone and they don't speak English so telling them that they have the wrong number hasn't bee working. Thoughts?

Thanksgiving at Home

Last week I decided that I needed to go home for Thanksgiving. I realized I hadn't been home for almost a year. That is really odd for me because usually I go home every couple of months. My salary didn't really allow for plan tickets home and I was trying really hard not to just put things on my credit cards. Anyway, as I mentioned in my earlier post, I had been having a really rough time and I just needed to go home and see my parents and be on their couch. I charged my ticket, and I don't even feel bad about it because I had such a great time and I just needed that family time. It was so great to see my parents and just be with them. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and spent it with family and friends.

Incog

Okay, so I've been flying under the radar for a while. The past three weeks have been really tiring, really emotional and just really extra. I feel like I have been through the ringer and back but I'm happy to say that things are looking up. First, the Sensation and I have had a bit of a rough patch. Don't really want to talk about it but we have made it through. Second, I got a new job. It all started when I went to a board meeting a couple of months ago and when some of the staff started bringing up the salary (we are the lowest paid legal services program in Virginia, yet we live in the area with the highest cost of living) one of the board members said something to the effect of,"no one told you to take this job." It was at that point I realized that I needed to find a job where the board members actually appreciated the staff. I was kind of scared. I had only been at my current job for a year and I wasn't sure if I knew enough. I mean the last time I was job searching I kept getting told that I didn't have enough experience so I wasn't sure how things would go, but I knew I couldn't stay at a place where the people in charge don't care. I did that once already and I don't want to do it again. So, the search began. The first job I found was for a nonprofit in DC. It looked great so I applied. I applied on a Sunday before I went to brunch, when I got back from brunch there was an email asking me to interview on Tuesday. I went in for the interview and LOVED the people. I loved the offices, I loved the location, I loved the pay increase that I would be getting and the work sounded great. A bit challenging but really worthwhile and an opportunity to grow as an attorney. They asked for references and writing samples and then the waiting game started. The next Sunday, I got the phone call. They offered, I accepted and I start mid-December. I am a bit scared because I'll be doing things that are new to me, but I am so proud of myself. I think that I am really excited about the fact that I have become someone who has experience and who gets hired in a week!! These past few weeks have been rough, but they were totally worth it for the new beginning.

I *heart* Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder is 57, he has a serious receding hairline,insists on holding on to his dreadlocks and he has gained some weight since he was in his prime but I LOVE him. I went to go see him last night at the Verizon Center and I feel in love all over again. He gave a great show and he did all of his old favorites plus some new ones. This was definitely good use of money that I didn't have, because I *heart* Stevie Wonder.