Dear Heat Index

Dear Heat Index,

You were INSANE today! Thanks for the toastiness lately, but really- this heat is a little intense. I mean, I may be 1/2 Filipino (and you know how we Filipino's love our heat), but is the humidity necessary? However, thanks for providing a great breeze today to provide some relief.

People in general do not need to see sweat pouring down my legs and and face, and one shower a day is good enough for me, but is it really necessary to provide enough heat in order for me to take 2 showers today? I also really like the smell of my deodorant but when it runs out an hour after I apply it is a little much.

All in all I like having you around, however can you just cool it for a while?

Much love,
Becky

Hoarding. Buried Alive.

Has anyone watched that Hoarding: Buried Alive show? Or how about just Hoarders? One is on TLC and the other on A&E. Tyler and I love to watch this show, mainly because it's so addicting (haha get it- hoarding, addicting....) and really interesting. It also strikes a note in my own heart for a certain reason...Friends, those shows terrify me for one reason and one reason only:

I have hoarding tendencies.

 (cue dramatic music)

Gosh, that was hard to admit out loud. But it's true! Well, before you let your imagination run rampant and try to imagine what all I could hoard, I can assure you that there are only 3 things that I hoard.

Pens

Magazines

Shopping bags

I can throw literally every other thing out, but you make me get rid of a pen or a magazine or a shopping bag- watch out! I realize that my previous statement sounded a bit melodramatic, so I will rephrase that:

Even though I have pens, markers, and Sharpies up to my eye brows, I continue to purchase more- i.e my little shopping trip today to Staples. I got this fantastic pack of 12 Paper Mate colorful pens:

Now I didn't really need them per say- but they were on sale at Staples and, just look at the pretty colors! These can now be added to my plethora of sparkly pens, sharpies, permanent markers and mechanical pencils. Husband just rolls his eyes at me. 

Next thing, I can not throw away magazines. A few months ago I purged all of my fashion magazines I have saved up for years (just in case I need some sort of inspiration one day). I literally had 3 full shopping bags of magazines that I recycled or gave out to friends. I'm really working hard at breaking this one, but it's just so hard to get rid of them because that voice in the back of my head is saying- some day you will need to get inspired AND you can save the planet by not throwing these away. Darn that voice.

(And yes these are three issues of these magazines I have hoarded...)

And finally, the shopping bags.

It's true, I hoard store bags. Not grocery store bags (although we do have plenty of those too), but bags from shopping trips like Gap, H&M, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Mango, etc. Some of the bags I have kept are from foreign countries (i.e Switzerland and Cannes, Fr) so those happen to have memories. But the others...there really is no excuse, and I digress.

So there you have it- I'm a closet hoarder...and I'm not proud of it. And since you are reading this, that means that I have been avoiding studying AGAIN for the math Praxis. I digress again. (Husband is once again rolling his eyes at me...)

Happy Hoarding!

I know it's late...

Today has just been one of those days...

• Hot, sunny summer day
• Rowdy first graders (gotta love 'em though- well some of them)
• School in the evening
• Studying for math Praxis after class

So needless to say I am currently sitting in my pj's watching the Phillies game with husband, as my super teased out hair (courtesy of the high bun today) hits him in the face (gosh I love that man).

So for all my lady readers, check out Ruche's fabulous new late summer line. Their look book is amazing and the clothes give me a California-meets Barcelona-meets anywhere-but-here kind-a feel. I LOVE it. AND the beautiful thing is, it's like the affordable Anthropology. Check it out. Now. 

K Thanks.

Ruche's Amazing Summer Resort Line (psst- click on the link!)

And for you fella's...

Yep, thats a Lemur eating a watermelon- courtesy of 22 Words.

Heres to a beautiful Tuesday!

Days like today...

If you are anywhere near the North Eastern coast of the States right now you are enjoying some amazing summer weather. Highs have been in the mid 80's, low humidity with a slight breeze. These are the days we dream about when the roads are icy, face freezes off when you stick your head out the door, and you are forced to wear some flat footed shoe because heels don't get much traction on ice.

These are the days we live for.

And as I sit inside studying for my math Praxis test (read my feelings on this test in previous blog entry) on this gorgeous evening, waiting for husband to come home from softball, I am not dreaming about the beautiful weather in Pennsylvania, but rather the beautiful weather in Nice, France.

It is days like today where I dream about the perfect weather, perfect humidity, perfect sea smell, perfect food and gelato, perfect cobble stone streets, perfect European style, and perfect sounds, like the pebbles rolling on the beach as the waves hit them. Just flipping through the honeymoon pictures has made me ache to be in the Riviera again. 

So how do I cure this ache?? Considering that the final Harry Potter has finally come out (!!!!!!!!) and I will be seeing it in IMAX 3D(!!!!!!!!!!!) I will safely not be jet setting across the Atlantic this weekend (priorities you know...).

And considering that the husband and I are currently on a super fun budget right now, we will not be reliving our honeymoon a la France.

Sooo until that next time when I will be seeing the great Riviera again (or until I get over my current pining for it....) I am going to read French-y blogs, go through my stuff collected from the trip, wear my jewelry I got there, set my desktop background to a picture of our honeymoon, and watch Harry Potter.

Happy Weekend Friends!

Miss Smiley Face

Well friends,

I had this brilliantly amazing blog post (okay that is a slight exaggeration, but I was a bit excited about it)....until I started studying for the Math Praxis.

P-R-A-X-I-S

I HATE that word and I hate that test. I missed passing the first one by 6 points. 6 lousy points, people. So, in 1 week and 1 day I will embark on yet another Praxis adventure.

And you know what else makes me grumpy? The lady smiling up at me from the Praxis study book. Why is she so smiley anyway?? I mean, if she really spent 3 hours of her early Saturday morning life bent over a test that will determine her future career as a teacher, she would NOT be smiling. At least it is just an hour this time around.

So, as you can see, I am not Miss Smiley Face on the cover of the Praxis book.

And thanks to Miss Smiley Face, I am now Miss Grumpy Pants and have quit studying for the evening and am now watching a lame-o Lifetime Movie and planning a birthday weekend in New York.

So faithful readers, you will have to wait to read my fabulous post until tomorrow....

Happy Thursday Evening!

Indiana Jones

As I sit here wondering what to write for my blog post, I am watching White Collar with Tyler on USA.  If you are unfamiliar with the TV show White Collar, a con-artist has partnered with the FBI to help solve crime in NYC. It's a smart drama-dy with great style (and Tiffany Amber Thiesen aka. Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell! She's actually aged in TV years!). Neil, the main character wears various types of fedoras- it's his thing...his MO. 

So as I sit here I realize more and more how much I love fedoras. LOVE them. They are the perfect hide away for a bad hair day, unwashed hair (let's be real those days happen), a straight hair day, a curly hair day...anything! They're great for spring, summer, fall AND winter

So what about for Y_O_U? Different story right? Super easy- just throw one on!

So where to get one of these beauties? I found mine at Target and the other at Francesca's....affordable and definitely worth the purchase.

Love this beauty!

and of course, you can't mess with Indie...him and  his little fedora are classic right?

Happy Wednesday!

Burn Notice

When the weather man gives the local forecast in the morning when you are at the beach, he should probably warn you of three things:

1. The sand is like walking on a bed of molten lava- your feet will be very unhappy.

2. The sun is HOT. Reapply sunscreen every 10 minutes.

3. If you are planning on laying out in the sun, make sure you rotate from laying on your back to your stomach every hour on the hour....if not you will look like a lobster with a nice tan line down your side.


Well, unfortunately the weather man in Rehobeth Beach failed to mention any of the above three weather warnings. So, I'm sure you can all guess what happened this weekend.

BURN, baby BURN.

And you know what? Whenever you are on the beach, for some reason the burn is never noticeable. It's true hue only appears when you step in doors and are illuminated by light bulbs. Why is that? Is it because of the poor, natural lighting that the sun gives?? Or is it because the mixture of sun and sand blind you from anything red on your body? 

Here is the outcome of my impromptu beach trip with Sara, Kelsey and Tyler:

Husband fell asleep laying on his stomach. No big deal right? You reapply multiple layers of sunscreen you are sure to be protected. WRONG. The minute we walked in doors and turned on the bathroom light, Tyler's back lit up like a crab and continued to get redder and redder as the evening progressed.

Sara, got out of the sun to find that her face had a lovely rosey tint to it....ouch.

And then Kels- well, Kels has skin like fine porcelain, so you can only imagine her outcome (love you, girl).
And me, I've got a nice little tan going on (thanks to my Asian skin tone), but am even feeling a little tenderness around my shoulders...tolerable.

All in all, it was a fantastic, impromptu weekend at the beach. Wouldn't it be lovely if you could just uproot your house and plant it right by the ocean and you were forced to live there? I think I would be willing to make that sacrifice.

Happy Monday!

Dont'cha just love?

Well lookee here... 3 blog posts in a row!! I could get used to this!


You know what one of my favorite things about being married to Tyler is? The fact that even though he is SO busy at work doing his fun little math equations and designing important tanks and nuclear power plants (yes that's right- NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS), he is willing to take the time out of his busy day to listen to me complain about my awful summer cold. He is also amazing because he tells me to stay home from work and rest, although I keep pushing myself to go hang out with the kiddos. Dont'cha just love him?

I realized that I never filled you in on whether or not I found my perfect shade of lipstick and if I ever mastered the high bun. Well (drum roll please) I achieved both!

After searching high and low for an affordable nude lipstick, I finally stumbled over this amazing stuff:

I found this beauty at Sephora- it is the Sephora brand and its called Lip Attitude G19. Its not only the shade I was looking for, but it also stays on for quite a long time too, and doesn't leave my lips dry and pasty (I think I found a new word to hate). Pretty fantastic stuff! Now if only it wouldn't attempt to melt in my bag on these hot summer days....


Now for the bun.....

Ta da!

It was super easy to do, and with just the right amount of grease in your hair (yup, it is recommended to not wash your hair the day that you want to do it), the right amount of tease, the right amount of bobby pins, the right amount of hair spray, and the right amount of pizazz you've got yourself a pretty little bun. 

Now grant it, my pretty little bun doesn't always look this pretty- usually it's too high or too low or too small or too big- but it usually depends on my attitude for the day! Hey it's your bun- you can do whatever you want with it!

Wanna learn how to do it? Check out Sydney's tutorial here!

And while we're talking about buns.....is your dad a baker, because you've got nice buns! (couldn't help myself).

Well thats the good word for today. Time to take me and my sick, stuffy-nosed self to the couch for some Lifetime Movie watching.

Happy Friday!

Compromise

What do you think about the word compromise?

com·pro·mise/ˈkämprəˌmīz/

Noun: An agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions.

To me compromise means choosing between the $17.95 dress and the $24.95 gorgeous pair of shorts. 

Compromise means choosing the cheaper dinner entree versus the more expensive one.

It means purchasing a $5.00 bike at a yard sale versus purchasing a $150 schwinn.

It means not buying a house or a dog until life settles, I finish school and get a job. 

It means watching White Collar on Wednesday nights and Ben 10 on Saturday mornings, instead of other shows of my choosing. 

It means picking up after the male that I share a roof with, and wash his baseball pants.

It means not going to California for our one year anniversary and instead spending the weekend in Chincotequea, Va.

It means husband and I sacrificing financially for 2 years while I pursue God's plan for me.

Compromise is not confined to just the above examples in my life, but on other major issues as well. Compromise is an amazing thing that can strengthen a marriage, friendship or any relationship for that matter. It is a selfish person laying down his or her pride, wants, hopes and sometimes even dreams for the other persons comfort.

What confuses me about compromise is when those "easy" issues (like the ones above) are resolved and you are faced with the harder, relational issues- like when husband is annoyed with you (for like the first time ever), voices his opinion, and you are truly at fault. Do you compromise and concede that he was right (when he really was, and you are just too stubborn to admit it), or do you get upset, annoyed back at him and shut down- which is what I tend to do. 

*sigh* Friends, compromise on the easy stuff is good, but compromise on the hard stuff is even better....although it doesn't make it any easier. Compromising on the hard stuff is the stuff they don't tell you about while you are dating, or in marriage counseling. That is where the real learning begins.

 I'm stubborn, prideful and have a bit of the only-child syndrome in me, but this time I am choosing to back down and let the husband win this battle. I think that (hopefully) it will get easier and easier as time moves on.

Just some thoughts that have been rolling around my head lately...

Happy Thursday!

Welcome Summer!

Here I sit, on my couch watching a Lifetime Movie and enjoying a summer afternoon thunderstorm.

Friends, summer is officially here for me.

Yup, it's taken me almost two months to get there, but I am finally there.

No more summer classes (at least for 2 weeks).

No more homework (at least for 2 weeks).

No more working 8:45-4:30 and then going to class from 5:30-8:30 Mon-Thurs.

Officially welcoming summer means...

It means more time to spend blogging...woot.

It means dinner with my husband.

It means watching the Nightly News with Brian Williams.

It means being able to catch up with friends over dinner.

It means being able to talk and see my best friend.

It means seeing my family and in-laws more often.

It means watching Lifetime Movie Network.

It means staying up late and enjoying the summer evenings.

It is a glorious day.

So welcome summer! I'm raisin' the roof in celebration.