High Heels & Movie Reels

I finally decided on a blog idea!

I created a movie review blog. I'm actually loving it! I might just stick around with it after the project is due. ;)

Check it out! Leave comments! Bookmark it! :)

Help!

For my Visual Design for Media class, we need to create a blog. (I know, big stretch). It has to be on a professional topic, i.e. journalism, photography, artwork, poetry, recipes, etc. It can't be a personal blog like this one.

I was gonna go with a journalism blog, but will anyone really read it? I'm not a photographer, and I'm not a cook. I even thought of creating some sort of LOST analysis blog. A little too obsessed? What do I do?? Help!

Give me an idea for some kind of blog that has journalistic qualities, which I can incorporate a lot of images and visuals, and that people like you would like to read. Your help is greatly appreciated! :)

Valentine's/Anniversary Weekend!

This past weekend was Gabby's and my anniversary (as previously mentioned in my last post). We had an adventurous, fun-filled day together; literally, though. The entire day.

First off, we went to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. It's so peaceful there, and it was the perfect day for a walk in the park. And it also helped that we were able to burn off the hundreds of calories we consumed at Merari's birthday party the night before! ;) We actually went at the perfect time, because they are displaying sculptures by different artists, such as Botero and Chihuly, in different areas of the park. It was great.






After Fairchild, we went back to my house. I made Gabby and my mom a yummy Mediterranean pizza recipe that I found online. Deelish!


(Sorry the picture is terrible. My camera was acting up!)

The rest of the afternoon was spent being bums and watching movies. Later on, we got ready for our big dinner date. We had reservations at Tuscan Steak on South Beach at 9:45, so we had plenty of time to kill. We went to the Lincoln Road movie theaters to watch Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I know, sooo romantic. But it was that or Taken, and while I would love to see that movie, I preferred comedy over dark action thrillers.

Dinner was awesome. The place seemed pretty packed, but it was to be expected on a busy day like Valentine's Day. Our hostess was hilariously ditzy and seemed lost. It was awesome. Other than that, the place was so cute! It's very chic and modern, and the food is amazing, but comes in humongous portions. Plan to share. Gabby ordered a filet mignon; I went for the snapper. I named him Joe.





All in all, we had the perfect day. It was a great way to spend time with my hunny and celebrate five years of happiness. :)

Five Years!

Today (well, technically tomorrow) is me & Gabby's fifth anniversary!

Half a decade! Wow.

I can't believe it's been so long! Time flies I guess. God has truly blessed us with an amazing love (and lots and lots of patience). We have been through so much these past years... from high school band to college, fun times and some awful times as well. We have learned to be patient with one another, and I think we've got the art of communication down pat.

Gabby is my best friend. He is the one person I can talk to about anything and everything, and I am so proud of the person he has become in these past 5 years. I have seen him grow in his relationship with Christ, and I could not be more proud to call him my boyfriend. :)

I love you hunny!

Leap of Faith

This week has been an interesting week for me. Spring semester began, and I've been focused on getting some paperwork in order for a GPA waiver to go through. The FIU School of Journalism requires its students to have a 3.0 GPA and have passed the CLAST exam, as well as take certain classes that they require. I've passed all the required classes, but even after my awesome fall semester, my GPA is just under the required GPA, at 2.96. In December, I took the CLAST and missed the passing score by one point (I know-- I wanted to cry). Anyway, on Tuesday I went to Miami Dade College to register for the next date, which I was told would be January 16 or 23 (the waiver application is due February 1). Unfortunately, when I got there, both dates were filled up, leaving only January 30 for me to take the test.

I was so frustrated, to say the least. This meant that I would have to wait until fall semester to be admitted to the school of journalism! I felt terrible. After some much needed prayer, I woke up the next day feeling content. Yes, bad things happen, but sometimes the worst situations turn into the best.

I've been wanting to go to UF for a long time now- at first I wanted to go straight out of high school, but my grades just weren't good enough at the time. Then I thought of going for grad school, but let's be honest, journalism isn't something you get a practical Masters' degree with. The other day, I decided to give it another shot. The deadline for fall admission to UF is March 1, which would give me plenty of time to submit my application, send my transcripts and finally pass the CLAST. Plus, I would have to wait until fall semester to be admitted to FIU, so why not apply to the school I prefer?


So today I started working on my application for UF. I'm excited. I don't know what the outcome will be, but I know that if it's meant to be, it'll happen. Your prayer and support is greatly appreciated! I need it.

But I have a good feeling about this. :)

Happy 2009!

It's been a while since I last wrote, and what a crazy month it has been! I was so happy to finish fall semester (finally). And I am very proud to say that I surprised even myself and earned straight A's! I wasn't expecting that result at all; I knew I was going to at least get two A's, and two B's. What a pleasant surprise! This is the first time I've received such good grades, and all the glory goes to God for helping me to focus and prioritize my studies. He showed me my potential in a time when I doubted my abilities and proved to me that I can really do anything through Christ who gives me strength.

I was, and am, so humbled by this, and I am so grateful for His faithfulness. :)

After school ended, I started looking for a part time job so that I could make some extra money over the holiday break. I ended up getting a job at Michael's through a friend of mine, Grace. And as much as I may moan and complain about my terrible hours, I realize that I'm lucky to even have a job, especially in these tough economic times. Besides, one of the bonuses at working at an arts & crafts store is that it's really inspired me to be more creative. Every night as I walk through the aisles I get another cute idea. I love it. :)

The holidays this year were especially enjoyable. For Christmas, I participated in MBC's annual Christmas Eve service, singing in the choir with Paula. After two months of rehearsals, I was happy to finally perform for my family and loved ones, and celebrate the birth of Christ. After the service, I made my way home, where we had some family over for Noche Buena. Later on, I went with Gabby to his church's Christmas Eve service.

Christmas morning was exhilarating! I felt like a little kid again. This year, I went to Gabby's house first, because my mom and brother wanted to sleep in a little, since we had gone to bed late the night before. I wanted to get to Gabby's house early, because all of us (his siblings, sister in law, and myself) had a surprise for his mom, and I wanted to be there for the big reveal. Early in December, we took some group pictures with Janet's cousin, Monica, who owns her own photography company. We took some pictures of all of us, put them in a collage frame, and presented it to Gabby's mom, who was caught totally off guard. She started crying, and was so happy that she finally had a professional picture of all her kids. I was glad to be a part of it. :)
Here's one of the pictures from that session:



After Christmas at the Medinas', I returned home and eagerly woke my mom and brother so we could open presents. I was pleased with my gifts this year, not that any of it is really that important or anything. My favorite gift of all though, is my new iPod Touch! My mom bought it because of my good grades. I was so surprised; if you know my mom, you know why. She is notorious for giving typical "mom" gifts, like socks, clothes, and other practical items. Never gadgets. She placed the iPod box in a Nine West shoebox, so I was already excited when I unwrapped it. New shoes! Yay! I opened the box, and I see this bag with an apple on it, and I was so stunned I didn't even know what to say! I thanked my mom a million times over. I was really grateful for all of my gifts, and I was grateful for spending time with family later on that day at my cousin's annual Christmas Day brunch. Her sister in law's son, Rocco, stole my heart. He has these huge grey eyes that are just going to break so many hearts someday. He was teething, so he put almost anything in his mouth. I think I'm in love with him. :)






The holiday break brought a new, albeit temporary, addition to my family: my uncle's
dog, Pisa, came to visit while he was out of town for 10 days. She's a trip. It was great to dogsit, and my uncle just came back and took her home. I told him he could leave her with us whenever he wants.




Finally, for New Years, we went to a party hosted by a family friend of Gabby's family. They have a humongous home, and went all out with the party. The theme was black and white, and I have to admit, I really wasn't looking forward to the party until the day of the event. I bought a white blouse and googled some cute hairstyles and makeup ideas. We had a wonderful time. I was so happy to be rid of 2008! It was a pretty bad year for me and my family overall. Hopefully, 2009 brings much more laughs and fun times than tears and grief. Also, I'm returning to Quick Weight Loss Centers tomorrow! I'm looking forward to what this year has to offer. I can't wait to see what God has in store! :)






Also, I must make this shameless plug for my new favorite show, LOST. Season 5 starts on January 21st! If you haven't watched it, watch it! It's amazing.

Casa Valentina

Every year at Christmas, my family gets together for a family "project" of sorts. Since my cousins have their children, and buying a gift for each cousin,her corresponding husband, and the kids would be pretty expensive, we collectively decided that, in lieu of buying gifts for each adult, we would contribute a certain amount to a charity of our choice, in order to help those in need.

This year, we decided on Casa Valentina , which is a non-profit organization that helps girls who age out of foster care gain independence. As you may or may not know, once a child turns 18, they "age out" of the foster care system, and are typically left to fend for themselves. Most of them, however, have never really learned how to live an independent life: they are not familiar with budgeting money, buying groceries, and the like. Casa Valentina offers young women the chance to gain independence and to make that transition from foster care to the real world. At the end of the holiday season, after the family has contributed their monies, my cousins go and buy gift cards from Publix and Target/Bed Bath & Beyond for the girls to use towards their new homes.

If you have any extra cash lying around this holiday season, or want to donate to a charity, give back to these young girls here.