Year-in-Review

Ok, so I didn't write a blog post every day this year like I said in my New Year's Resolution. But I was pretty darn close! I hope you've enjoyed reading some of my stories/tales/advice columns this year. Let's see what happened:

1. Friends/Boys/Family. Of course the people around me are the most important part of my life. I have continued having an amazing time with my sorority sisters, I've made many new friends here in DC, and I hope to make many more in 2014. I love my family very much, and I know many of my posts mention how much I appreciate them and all they have done for me. And though I may not have named names, I discreetly wrote about the boys in my life for 2013. There were good ones and bad ones; that's life. I had the guy who I was half-way in love with tell me he was back with his ex. I had the really nice, good kisser guy who turned out to be gay. There was the cute tennis player who ended up being the biggest jerk ever. And I found an amazing man to ring in the New Year with.

2. Comments. Though the comments on my blog were few and far between (and most of them were from my mother...), I did get into a Twitter war about my Ballets with a Twist post. It got over 200 views! Like they say in Hollywood: "Any press is good press." I'm just psyched that people read my blog, whether they liked it or not!

3. Events/Shows. I have no idea how much money I spent on tickets for concerts/ballets/plays/other performances, but I have been leading a very cosmopolitan life here in DC! All of these cultural activities are one of the many perks to living near a city, and I will continue to take advantage of that! Some of my favorite venues in the area include: the 9:30 Club, the Kennedy Center, the Fillmore, and the Strathmore.

4. Quotes. I have been inspired by so many words this year, from songs to random quotes I found on the internet. I hope the ones I have shared with you have motivated you in the same way, and that they reached you like they touched me.

5. I know how to fix a toilet. This is a huge lifetime achievement.

6. Fashion/Food/Movies/Exercise/Social Etiquette. I wrote a lot about these. These were usually the days I wasn't sure what else to write about...But this blog was for me to write about whatever I wanted, so there you go.

For 2014, I will continue to write blog posts, but only if I actually have something exciting to write about. No more posts about how I like my cereal in the morning or random things like that! But if I see a cultural performance or travel somewhere cool, I will write about it. So I won't be posting regularly, but you may see something from me pop up every once in a while.

Thank you again for reading! A public blog is no good unless people actually look at it!

LASIK eye surgery

So, I had LASIK (Laser-Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis) eye surgery last week, and the results are AMAZING! I cannot say enough good things about this procedure. I just keep thinking, "How come everyone doesn't do this?!" Ok, I realize it can be cost-prohibitive, but if you have the money, and you've been considering it, DO IT! Here's why:

1. Glasses and contacts are just one more thing to think about in your busy life. Wouldn't it be nice to just wake up and be able to see 20/20 (or better)?

2. There's no pain involved with this surgery. Most people assume it'll hurt, but it doesn't! During the surgery they give you numbing drops so you don't feel a thing. And during your recovery time afterwards, the worst thing you'll feel is some dryness. I can't think of any other surgery that is that painless!

3. The surgery is fast! It literally takes fewer than 5 minutes for the entire procedure. It just blows my mind that we have technology that can do that. Great vision in 5 minutes! How cool is that?

4. The health regimen afterwards is very easy. You just have to put in some eye drops several times a day for a week (including artificial tears for that dryness I was talking about), don't rub your eyes, and wear sunglasses outside for a month. Simple, right?

I was not nervous about my surgery at all (my mom got it done over 10 years ago, so I figured the technology must be even better nowadays), and you shouldn't be nervous either! Push aside those fears and go for it! You will not regret it!  

*I went to Dr. Anthony Kameen for my surgery. Check out his website here.

Christmas movie #7: The Santa Clause

Another classic favorite of mine. Tim Allen plays the busy, businessman dad Scott Calvin who doesn't have enough time for his son (Eric Lloyd). On Christmas Eve night, Santa falls off of Scott's roof, Scott puts on the Santa suit, and voilà, he is now the new Santa Claus. Although he can't believe it at first, he sees that the whole experience brings him closer to his son, and in the end, he truly loves being Santa Claus.

This movie is so funny, especially the jokes that children may not understand, but their parents would (i.e. any jokes made about the step-father psychiatrist played by Judge Reinhold). You can't help but giggle throughout the whole film. There are sequels to this movie, but the original is by far the best!

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2013

I LOVE the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. It's so much fun, with the musical guests, the great costumes, and of course the beautiful models! I'm a tough critic, but here are my thoughts from this year's runway show.

1. Themes. The show is segmented into several themes with miniature "collections" for each. I loved the finale with the "Snow Angels" theme, and the "British Invasion" and "Parisian Nights" were pretty classy, too. I never like the PINK collection (it's so childish, yet it's lingerie...creepy!), and the "Shipwrecked" theme looked like the costumes for the Pirates porno movie. That's trashy, not sexy.

Snow Angels: What's not to love about cute, sexy snowflakes come to life?

British Invasion: Love the tailoring of this mini-collection. Very sassy!

Parisian Nights: These just scream sex appeal. Plus, that Eiffel Tower on Barbara's head is adorable!

PINK: The emoticons and balloons are just awful... These models look like characters from Candy Land, not models for the most famous lingerie company in the world (next to La Perla).

Shipwrecked: The colors are just so dull, and the models look like they're wrapped in funky sheets. 

 2. Wings. Ever since Victoria's Secret came up with the idea of their models as "Angels," wings have been part of the annual fashion show. Here are some of my favorites (clearly I prefer the "traditional" look of angel wings).

3. Musical acts. I was VERY impressed this year with the musical acts. For one, I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan, so I supposed I'm biased on that front. And with her costumes, she looked like she should be one of the models! And Fall Out Boy (a band I haven't listened to since high school) was great (unlike Panic! at the Disco , who were totally spastic during the Miss Universe pageant).

All in all, a wonderful show. It's SO visually stimulating that you can't help but be mesmerized!

Christmas movie #6: Love Actually

Really, this should have been #1, because it's my favorite Christmas movie. But I wanted to re-watch it before I wrote this post so that I would be super-pumped to tell you all about it! The best part of this movie is the fact that there are so many characters and different story lines. You have:

1. The young British Colin Frissell (Kris Marshall) who heads off to America to find love (ok...sex),
2. The broken-hearted author (Colin Firth) who falls for the Portuguese maid (Lúcia Moniz) even with the language barrier,
3. The 11-year-old boy (Thomas Sangster) who feels "the total agony of love" for the popular girl at school (Olivia Olson),
4. The old rock star (Bill Nighy) who realizes his manager (Gregor Fisher) is the "love of his life," 
5. The handsome British Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) who loves the voluptuous assistant (Martine McCutcheon),
6. The baggage-ridden Sarah (Laura Linney) who's desperately in love with her co-worker hottie Karl (Rodrigo Santoro),
7. The story of love lost when Liam Neeson's character loses his wife,
8. The traditional tale of adultery between boss (Alan Rickman, also known as Professor Snape) and secretary (Heike Makatsch) with the poor wife (Emma Thompson) staying strong for the sake of the children,
9. The actor stand-ins Martin Freeman and Joanna Page who fall in love while working naked with one another,
10. The love-sick Mark (Andrew Lincoln) who obsesses over Juliet (Keira Knightley) even though she married his best friend Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor),

...and I think that's all. It's just a sweet story of all different kinds of love, how complicated or simple they are, and how love actually "is all around." So fun, so cute, I can't say enough about this movie!

Last quote from Kona Kase

http://goo.gl/QBbBnm

This is the last month I will receive an orange Kona Kase in the mail (living on a budget takes the fun out of everything!). When I opened up the December box, the monthly quote inside was amazing:

It is better to have lived one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep. - Tibetan Proverb

I absolutely adore this quote. I can't remember when I first felt this particular sentiment, but at least since college, I simply cannot stand meek people (especially women). You have one life to live, and you're going to spend it being soft-spoken (I can't HEAR you! Enunciate!), not sharing your opinions, and simply adhering to social norms, and by the time you're on your deathbed, you have lived an average life of someone following the herd. REALLY?! That's how you want your story to go?!

I don't think so. That is NOT me. I'm not exactly sure how my parents did it, but they raised me to be a confident woman who makes her own decisions. I plan on living most of my days like a tiger. I want to be admired for being smart, strong, beautiful, and everything else this majestic feline is. I never want to be known for being shy, timid, or pathetic. So get it together and ROAR!

*Ok, I'm ashamed I like that Katy Perry song. But it's so catchy!

Christmas Questions List

I saw this list from katbaroo (originally from thealwaysbeliever), so I thought I'd answer the questions myself.

Question 1: What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

Presents, of course! Oh, wait, is that where I'm supposed to say, "The time spent with my beloved family" ?

Question 2: When you were a kid, what did you leave for Santa on Christmas Eve?

I think we did cookies, maybe, but not every year...

Question 3: Do you and/or your family have any Christmas traditions?

We watch a lot of Christmas movies (as you can see from other blog posts of mine). We also open our presents on Christmas Eve, which I always thought was a great tradition. On the other hand, we eat coffee cake for breakfast Christmas morning, which takes forever to make, so that is one tradition that I don't love.

Question 4: When decorating do you go all out or just do a small amount of decorating?

In my own apartment, I simply have a tiny fake tree on my window sill (see picture below), which can hold about six ornaments without falling over. I also put out all of the Christmas cards I get from friends. But that's about it. My parents, on the other hand, go crazy with decorations! But they've had more years to collect stuff, so that's not really fair.

Question 5:  What is your favorite Christmas dinner food?

Just like Thanksgiving, the food really isn't that big of a deal. Read my Thanksgiving Rant here.

Question 6: What is your favorite Christmas movie?

How can I just pick one?! I guess I have to go with Love Actually, but honestly, there are SO many!

Question 7: What is your favorite Christmas song?

I LOVE Mariah Carey's version of "All I Want for Christmas is You". Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" is a close second; she has such a sexy voice!

Question 8: What was your favorite gift you've ever received?

There are so many!  But I'm getting Lasik eye surgery this year, which is a pretty freakin' awesome present, so that has to be it.

Question 9: What is your favorite Christmas memory?

I remember one year my parents got me a Barbie camper/van, and they had set up the van with the picnic table outside of it with one of my Ken dolls hanging out enjoying himself in the "outdoors" under the Christmas tree. I thought that was so fun!

Question 10: Does it snow where you live?

Yes, but we don't usually get a "white Christmas."

Question 11: Do you own an "ugly holiday sweater"?

I just bought a moose sweater from Urban Outfitters, but I think it's cute, not ugly! Granted, I would never wear it with a mustard yellow skirt. Ew.

Question 12: Hot chocolate or eggnog?

I like both, but I can only enjoy eggnog this time of year, so I'll go with that. And I don't mix it with anything (no alcohol, and no milk to dilute it). It's delicious just as it is!

Question 13: Have you ever been kissed under a mistletoe?

Not yet. But I do have one of those headbands with mistletoe hanging from it...I just have never worn it...

There you go! Why not answer the list yourself?