Sprinkles

As I sat eating some ice cream one night, I had a thought. Ice cream is so much better with sprinkles. Well, so is life.

I may not currently enjoy my job, or spend a lot of time with my friends or family but it's the special moments in life that make it worth living. Taking my Mom wedding dress shopping with my Sister. Going to dinner with my boyfriend and then strolling down the street hand in hand. Seeing my Niece and Nephew run around my apartment with smiles on their faces. Spending a Saturday afternoon painting pottery with an old friend.

I think that as we all grow older, life becomes a bit of a routine. We have rent and bills to pay so we get full time jobs that only allow us two days off in the week and a handful of days for a vacation. Then on the days we have off we have to clean, run errands, buy groceries. Where is the off-time? The moments to cherish? They are sprinkled into our lives. They're the colorful memories we look back on. The pictures we spread around and share on our physical and internet walls. We need these moments to brighten up our lives. I love to travel and experience a new place. I like going to concerts and feeling the energy of live music. I enjoy sitting back and losing myself in a book. Those are just some of the little sprinkles I like to pour over my life. Everyone should have some.

Life is always better with sprinkles.

Time For A New Look

I finally did it! I cut it all off!

I know it seems very soon after my last post where I wrote about wanting to cut my hair, but when I set my mind on things like these I really try to do it as soon as possible. After days of debating going through with it and then doing research on hair salons, I decided that a salon would be the wrong choice for this kind of cut. A barber was the perfect choice. Luckily for me, I know one of the best barbers in NY.

I'm not sure why I didn't think of this sooner, but my journey led me to The Hustle Barbershop in (my hometown) Queens. It was a bit of an odd feeling for me to be at a Barbershop for myself but as they say "There's a first time for everything." The owner, Charly Hustle, is the one who I entrusted with my new 'do. I've known him for ages and he's like family to me so I trusted him completely to make me look beautiful. I will admit that when he started shaping it I was a little nervous and wondered if I made the right decision. Once he was finished, I was really thrilled and I can't wait to keep experimenting with the length.

The funniest thing to me is the initial reaction I have gotten. Most people haven't noticed until I turn my head since I still have a little length up top. But I have gotten plenty of compliments, which are greatly appreciated.

Pixie Dust

Back when I was a teenager, I used to say that when I turned 18 I would shave my head. I never did go through with it, but the thoughts have been coming back. Not necessarily of shaving it off but at least of going Pixie.

The thing is, I have never been hair-obsessed. I never wanted super long hair. I never cried when it was being cut. And once when I was about 12-13 years old, I actually lost some hair at a salon. A chunk from the right side of my head broke off during a relaxer. The stylist - who also happened to be the owner - was freaking out, while I just sat in her chair and told her it was no big deal. My philosophy has always been "Hair grows back."

So i've been skimming pictures of girls with Pixie cuts and hoping I get up the courage to actually do it one of these days. It kind of helps that there has been this surge of celebrities chopping off their long locks - Miley Cyrus, Anne Hathaway, Katie Holmes. And of course we can't forget that Halle Berry has been rocking her Pixie forever, and does so beautifully. Of course, if I looked like any of those women and could afford a personal stylist I would've done it a long time ago. But really my hesitation comes primarily from having curly hair. The last stylist I went to was afraid to even cut it to my shoulders, and it's pretty difficult to find anyone who would do it for me unless I have a lot of money to spend at a salon specializing in curly hair. Right now, I only go to salons when there's a deal online. I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.

Stick around with me on my hair journey..Pixie may make an appearance soon ;)

This is my cut right now..looks pretty short but when it's straight it falls at my shoulders.

Building a Foundation

I went to a wedding recently and some thing that one of the guest's said has stuck with me. I can't say it's something I didn't know about love and relationships already but it was reaffirmed for me. Basically, the guest was talking about the Bride and Groom and how much they have changed each other's lives through support for each other. Before they met they were each in a funk of their own and maybe a little lost. But since being together their friends and family have noticed that they build each other up, and through this they have already started to build a foundation for their life together.

I absolutely believe that to be in a successful relationship with someone there has to be understanding, respect and honesty. You have to have a partner who will support you and be a positive force in your life. Some days ago, I spoke with a friend who told me that when they expressed their dreams to their partner they kind of scoffed at them and pretty much told them they weren't going to make anything of themselves. That was deeply disturbing to me because it breeds an unhealthy relationship. It's definitely not the way I would want to start one.

I'm glad to be with someone who is first and foremost my friend. He believes in me and I believe in him. It's important to have someone that is going to bring you up and not push you down. Someone who belittles you and projects their negative views of the world onto you has problems of their own that they need to overcome before they can be in a healthy relationship. I am by far not an expert on relationships and I know it isn't right to judge one that you aren't in but I've witnessed and comforted friends who were in these types of relationships. People have their reasons for staying but I don't believe anyone should be unhappy at the hands of the person they are choosing to spend their lives with.

Any thoughts?

Ideally Speaking

We all have these ideas of who we want to fall in love with. The ideal partner. Or maybe just a "type." Some of us want someone who is funny. Someone who is caring. Maybe someone who is family oriented. But how many of us really end up with someone who embodies everything we want to find? How many of us find someone with half of what we want to find?

Personally, I'd like to be with someone who is more outgoing than me. Someone who wants to take walks with me to go get ice cream. Someone who likes outdoor concerts - well concerts in general. And traveling. I would love to travel more, even if it's just to a neighboring state. Someone who can dance and actually wants to go out dancing from time to time would be great. Of course this has to be someone who I am physically attracted to which is a list all on it's own.. and I am a bit of a romantic, so I like little out-of-nowhere gifts. I'm not talking jewelry and other expensive things, I mean tickets to a comedy show or even a surprise chocolate cupcake could make me happy. I like to flirt and show that I am still interested so I want someone who I can still flirt with after we've been seeing each other for some time. Since I'm not a big drinker, it would be ideal for me to find someone who also doesn't drink a lot. I like to go to bars and lounges and have a few drinks, or even at home but getting buzzed on a Tuesday when you have work the next day is not very fun to me.

Then of course there's the more typical stuff. I mean, I definitely want someone who makes me laugh. Someone who has a job and doesn't live at home with his parents would be good. Someone who is caring and tells me they miss me and most importantly kisses me like they do. Honesty ranks pretty high with me too. And conversational skills are a definite must.

I can't think of any guy I have dated that possessed even most of those qualities. Sure at first they mostly do but that changes soon enough. For me, attraction usually starts off the same way - similar musical tastes. A similar sense of humor can also be a starting point. That usually involves a sarcastic vibe, enough that it's still fun and flirtatious. I have a problem of getting bored in relationships so I need to do new things. As much as I love to sit back and watch a movie, I like to get out too. And I just feel like it's easier to get to know someone when you are actually doing things together not just sitting at home.

I actually read something today that said love was accepting and cherishing the traits that someone has that we don't exactly find ideal. Because of course ideal would mean that we found someone who is perfect right? And well we know perfect is pretty much just a feeling, it doesn't exist physically or literally. For some reason though, my heart still believes I can find someone with all these qualities. Time will tell.