First Thanksgiving

                This is the first Thanksgiving in our new house and it feels really special. It feels nice to give mama break and let the kids cook. Yes, the kids are cooking and you might think it is going to be disastrous but we are going to do our best. Last year was the first time we made Thanksgiving food but it was out of boxes. This year we decided to make some foods from scratch. Hopefully the food turns out to be okay but  if it doesn't I am still going to be grateful for all that I have.
              I am grateful for a lot of things this year. I am grateful for a good family who loves and cares for me. I am thankful for all of my friends who support me. I am grateful for all the people who take me for who I am. I am blessed to have another breath.I am simply grateful today.
              I hope you all have a good Thanksgiving and remember that it is not about a tradition but a reminder of how we should be grateful for what we have. What are you thankful for this year?

           

" Hold on tight"

              This post might be a little bit embarrassing for you, Deni but as an older sister it is my job to brag about you :)
              The other day I was checking my email and I got a message from my sister with the subject " Hold on Tight". I opened up the email and it said,  "School my be hard, but it wont be long till you get your diploma, hold on tight.... and everything will work out.... :D" and there was a picture of Agnes from " Despicable Me" hugging a monster- looking animal. It was a cute email that was uplifting and funny:) 
             I feel bad for my little sister sometimes because I get so caught up with my studies that I forget to listen to her. I don't listen to her as well as I should and that makes me a bad sister. I can get so irritable sometimes that I take it on her but somehow she still deals with it. She takes the time to listen to me even though I don't. Deni  has these qualities that are so unique. She is bold, strong, and fearless. She enjoys life and doesn't carry a heavy load on her back. I am not saying that she has it easy. She is one of those optimistic people who can face life's challenges eye-to-eye. I can see it in her. I can see that she has potential to change things in life. Although she seems a little hard on the outside, she truly cares about people in her life. She is a brave young lady who will hunt a person down if they hurt one of her dear ones. She is truly a unique person.
            At times it takes me by surprise when she says these kind of things. I forget sometimes that she is growing up into an adolescence. I still picture her being 4' 9" with her short haircut and carrying around "Sophie", her baby doll. It is crazy to stop and realize at all the changes that is going around. It saddens me sometimes to know that people are growing and changing, but I know it is for the best. 
           I am grateful for my little sister and couldn't be more proud of her. Despite the negative influence that is going around her, she always make the right decisions. I am happy to have a little sister like her and couldn't have traded for another one:)

Cracked Under Pressure

    When it comes to tests and quizzes, I literally cracked under pressure. Today in Math, I had a quiz that wasn't too long and not too hard. As I was taking the quiz I could feel myself panicking and freaking out. My hands were shaking and I couldn't focus. The thing was  I knew how to do everything but I was scared that I was going  to run out of time. I have a feeling that I did bad but it is so frustrating and upsetting because it was an easy quiz. Maybe this happens because I stress out too much and think that my studies are my life when it is actually not. My studies are a part of my life and these little failures are not the things that define me and who I am. I know that this is something that I need to work on and it is going to take a while. So for people out there who is in the same boat as I am, just know that you are going to be ok. You are going to learn how to deal with  these issues as time goes by.

Mamacita

            I am so grateful for my mom. She is the best mother I could ask for. She is the backbone of this family and she is the one who keeps this family together.
           Ever since school opened I haven't spent a lot of time with her because we are both busy. I think almost every teenage girl thinks that their mom doesn't know what they are going through. Unfortunately, I am one of those girls. No matter how many stories that my mom tells me or my family I still think that she can't relate to me.  Time to time though, I realize how much wisdom she has. I am amazed at some of the things that she had to go through alone. And because of that I have seen grace and faith in her. I haven't met anyone who has the amount of faith that my mom has. Her life is based on faith. She has fought and prayed hard to God for every provision in her life. Almost everyday I could hear her behind closed doors crying in prayer. She has a passion for God like no other. She is a woman of inspiration and enncouragement. I am not saying that she is perfect but she is the best spiritual role model that I could ask for. I am not trying to boast but I am grateful for a mom like her. I hope my eyes would be completely open to appreciate for all that she has done. I hope one day I could be the same way for my kids. So for all the girls out there be grateful for your moms, grandmas or for any spiritual woman in your life. Listen to their advice, plant it in your life, and get wisdom from them because that is what will keep you going in life.

Random

This is so random but I just realized that my last post was on 8/27 at 8: 27 AM. What were the chances of that happening:)

Mushrooms in Our Backyard?

  The other day my mom was cleaning out in the backyard. My mom told me to come outside with her  to hang out. As I was walking around the backyard I spotted these round curvy looking things on the grass. I am thinking   it might be just dried up leaves and I am also thinking that those things like mushrooms. So out of curiosity I asked my mom what they were and my mom in a matter-of-fact way said those were mushrooms. I was so shocked because it is not meant to be there and also because I didn't know mushrooms could grow randomly in a person's backyard. Then I was grossed out for some what reason. And no my parents did not plant it there if you were wondering about that. I later asked my mom why she can't use it. She said that it might be poisonous.It is amazing how it can look like a regular mushroom but it is actually poisonous.
  My point of the story is to say that our heart is like a backyard where you can grow anything that you want but sometimes in our hearts there could be poisonous mushrooms - things that we didn't know were there. Things that we discover later in life and realize that they were never supposed to be there. It can be bitterness, unforgiveness, or jealousy. It can look alright but you really have to dig out and see if it really good and useful. Do you have those poisonous mushrooms in your life? I know I do - a lot actually.Clean out your backyard (not the real one unless it is really messy )today and look for those things that are not supposed to be there because we all have things that aren't meant to be there.

The "S" word

    I currently have 4 classes this semester. World History, PreCalculus, English 2 Honors, and Spanish 1. These classes are hard and I am wondering how hard a college will get if this class is hard.
    A lot of people who knows me know that I tend to stress over the little things.  My innumerous gray hair can explain that.I have been stressing for the past couple of days and I was telling my friend that I am so scared that I will get an ulcer by the end of the summer. Obviously I won't because people face bigger stress than I do but it feels like at times things are going over my head. Yesterday right before I went to school I opened up my bible and this verse came up: Isaiah 41 : 13 : "For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." This verse was an encouragement for me because I realized that I have someone by my side who will help me. I hope you realize that too. Don't let stress take a toll on you. Enjoy life and always know that  there Someone beside you.

Awkardness

Couple of days ago my teacher asked us to say what we are good at and what we are not good at. When my turn came up I said that I am not good at explaining things.
   I can be the type of person who can make people who are around me so awkward. At times it seems as though people don't really understand me especially now because I bit my tongue really hard the other day.
  I can tell a story and go nowhere with it. At times I wonder if people wished that they could take back the past two minutes instead of listening to a pointless story told by someone. I bet there are also people in your life.......people in your life that no matter how pointless your story is they still sit and listen. They have heard you say many stories but they still take time to listen. Time that they wish will last forever- not because of your story but because of you. So for all those people out there who feels a bit awkward like me know that there is always a true person in your life who will have an open ear because they love and care for you.

Goals

Today school is starting and part of me is excited but the other part of me is nervous thinking " Can I do all of this?" It also seems like a fresh start this year and I can start with a clean slate. So I decide to make a list of goals that I want to achieve this school year.

Goal 1- Do my best : I am going to do my best and not compare myself with others.

Goal 2 - Pass most of my classes with an "A".

Goal 3 - Be more kind to people.

Goal 4 - Lose some weight ( That has been there for a long time) - I want to lose a little bit of weight and fit into jeans without having my leg stuck in it.

Goal 5 - Make all of my school lunches ( That is going to be a hard one ).

Goal 6 - Eat breakfast : I tend to skip my breakfast and I realized that it is a bad thing.

These are some of my goals and hopefully I can achieve most of them. How about you?

Thoughts of Regrets

     I believe regret is a strong feeling and it either break you or help you make better decisions in life. I believe that regret can be a good thing sometimes because it can shape up how a person make decisions in  their life. There are also disadvantages to it too and I am sorry if I sound like a downer but I feel like it has been on my mind for a while. I think regret can make you feel stuck as if you can't go on until you go back and change what happened. I wish that I could go back and change some things in my life. I wish I could go back and apologize to those people that I have hurt. I wish I could go back and change the person I was then instead of using hurtful words and actions to hurt a person. I am scared that my actions might have made them feel bad about themselves or create thoughts that should not even go through their mind. I could go on and on about all the things I want to change but I know I can't. I can't beat myself over and over again for did or didn't happen. So I am going to do the only thing I can possibly do which is to apologize for what I did or didn't do. I think it is a lesson that I have learned - to be careful of my words, actions, and thoughts. I am also learning that I can't change the past and that I need to somehow forgive myself of what I did to move on. To all those who feel the same way, forgive yourself and ask for God's help. Also, if you see that person again take the time to truly apologize with your heart. Take the time to admit of your failures and your short comings because at the end of the day we are all humans.

Vacation.....Where Art Thou?

   It is summer vacation. This usually means swimming, going to the beach, getting a sun tan, or watching endless movies.... uhm no. First of all I can't swim. I freak out when I am in water and can potentially put other people's life in danger as well. Tan is unfortunately not an option because my skin is tan enough.
  It feels like summer has come and gone but new and interesting things have happened in the past two months. For one I started volunteering at the hospital and I am enjoying that. I like helping people and seeing a smile on their faces. I also learned all these new words such as venous cannulation and nosocomial infection that I thought didn't even know existed. I think the most fun part of this summer is spending time with my family. It is amazing how even when things are going so wrong that your family is there for you and supporting you. We had good times laughing with each other or at each other. We had fun attempting to do cardio exercises that gave soreness to our bodies. We also had times that we couldn't handle it anymore and needed to do something. However, this summer has been fun and somehow peaceful. I guess vacation is not necessarily going somewhere and doing fun things. I guess it is about resting and enjoying time with the people that you love because those are the moments that last.

How I Started Baking

   My family and friends know that I love to bake especially desserts and that I get excited to try new things. I actually got into baking after taking a class called Life FACS. I had a lot of fun in that class because many of things were made from scratch. Before that class, I used to bake brownies or muffins from a mix but then one day I wanted to try making something from scratch.
   It was a Friday night and I didn't have a lot to do. There were a lot of apples in our house so I decided that I should look up a recipe on how to make Apple cake. My mom and my dad were working that day so I thought " why not try". I decided to go with it and I was actually surprised by the end result: It was edible.
  From there on I started baking different things and using whatever is available in the kitchen. Now I have a real passion for baking and that is how my Friday nights or weekends are: baking. There has been couple of disasters but I am proud all of that I have done.

Joy of Sisterhood.

   I have two sisters: one older and one younger. Each of them are unique and has sense of humor. When you put both of them together.... it gets interesting. Like any siblings, we have our problems and I believe that is the key to every relationship between siblings: looking past each other's flaws and accepting each other.
   I believe that no matter how much you fight with your sister(s), at the end of the day you care about them. The bond between sisters is somehow different from other relationships: you watch each other's backs and you are there for them.
  I remember walking inside the hallways of the school with my little sister. As we were walking by this guy said or did something to her. When I saw what he did I looked at him with this you-better-not-mess-with-my-sista look and I was surprised to know that I had a protective side.That is what I think the best thing about having sisters: you learn a lot about yourself and you realize that no one else knows you like the way your sister know about you.
  I have the privilege of being in the middle and knowing the best of both sides. One is always going to be there to back me up and the other is there to keep me in company when I am having a bad day. I am grateful to have both of you and couldn't have done a lot without you. and as cheesy as this sounds I couldn't have asked for better sisters:)
 

The Inspiration and the Blog Name

 Blog Name:
   I chose the blog name because it sounded so elegant and it defines my life. I am an ordinary girl who try to get through the ups and downs of this life and I couldn't think of a better way to share my problems and experience than by blogging about it.


 The Inspiration:
  There are many reasons why I started this blog...First of,  I used to love reading blogs but I never thought that I would start one on my own. The very first blog that I read was about a father writing about his son who passed away due to a genetic disorder. I didn't read a lot of it but I enjoyed reading through it. Eventually, I found myself following a lot of other blogs that included stories that changed their outlook and perception about life.
 Earlier this year, I had an English class where I had to do an assignment  in which I had to list my short and long term goals. I couldn't think of anything out of the top of my mind for one of my short term goals so for the sake of the assignment I added " Start a blog by 2011".
I also was inspired by a movie that i watched very recently called " Julie & Julia", in which a woman took on a challenge of cooking all 365 days and she started to blog about it. True story by the way.


At first I was a bit scared about starting this blog because I didn't want to give my personal information but I thought it wouldn't hurt to look into it. Then I did and I am very excited to see what happens with my blog.

Try

When I was 11 or 12 I used to enjoy reading blogs. Recently I have been thinking about doing a blog and even some of my friends supported the idea. So I here I am and I think I am going to give it a try. ( I can also develop my writing this way :) )