The Happiest Place on Earth

My baby sister is turning the big 1-0 this week, I had to do a double-take because I sure didn't see those years go by. We may not always get along, but it makes me smile to see her start to find herself in the big wide world.

All sappiness aside, one thing she hasn't seen in her ten long years of life is Disneyland, so it was fitting that my parents graciously provided park hopper passes for us to take a nice mid-week vacation Wednesday. Which was convenient, because from now until April my school days are long and uninterrupted so a day off was much appreciated. And of course, we rode all the rides, wore out all the muscles and bones in our feet and ate all the cotton candy and kettle corn. I am also proud to announce that with the help of Space Mountain, California Screamin' and the Tower of Terror, I have successfully overcome my fear of rollercoasters. {Heights, spiders and zombies, you have yet to be conquered. Be very, very afraid.} OH, and one special little suprise treat we got to enjoy - we got to catch a glimpse of the cast of Modern Family that just so happened to be filming on site that day :)

When I say Disneyland was packed that night, I mean so-bloody-packed-that-the-crowds-looked-like-ants-swarming-a-picnic packed. PACKED. FULL. ABSOLUTELY STUFFED with humans. The happiest place on Earth was apparently the place to be Wednesday night. I had a lovely time, and I'm glad my sister got to enjoy it too.

On another note, despite all the stress and hard work, high school seems to be my "happy place" these days. I can always walk into the CoSA room and shrug off all the drama of the day and just have a good laugh with good friends. Eating cheap junk food after class is fun too :) I'm really proud to call myself a CoSA queer, our annual art gallery exhibit tonight went splendidly and I can't wait until I'm a junior next year.

I realize I'm blogging less often these days, do forgive me. I have early developing Alzheimer's disease and sometimes I forget I have homework to do instead of wasting time on 9GAG.

Happy end-of-week to you all, congratulations if you've made it alive this far.

love,
nat

One Last Thing

A few things, actually.

After a miserable school week, a nice day out is the best remedy for my dreary mindset. Seaside breakfast downtown with the hubby, tea on the beach and watching the Oscars together curled up under blankets eating banana cream pie... Yeah, it was kind of a perfect day. {Oh, and by "watching the Oscars together" I mean me oohing and ahhing at every dress while my ever-enthusiastic male counterpart counts down the seconds to the next commercial break.}

- Super proud of Asghar Farhadi tonight, as I'm sure the entire Iranian-American community is tonight. "A Separation" won Best Foreign Film this year!

In other media news, I've recently given in to all the hype this particular singer-songwriter has been getting, and I will say - as weird, distant and almost pretentious she can seem, Lana Del Rey's album Born To Die is pretty damn awesome. "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans" are on eternal loop on my iPod right now. I also wish I had her face. That bitch is flawless.

More news! Yay! Sometime soon, after all this hectic school business settles down, I will be doing some renovating around this here lovely blog. I'm feeling in the mood for a new font... Keep reading, deat readers - it's about to get pretty kickass up in here.


Okay, ONE last thing -
My pick for Best Dressed at the Oscars: Ellie Kemper in Armani Privé.
I would wear that in a heartbeat.

Splendid week to you all :)
love,
nat

Music & Sugar

Sometimes, you just need a lot more than eight hours of sleep and a bowl of cereal to get you through the day. {I'm growing concerned that these kind of days are happening to me a bit too often...}

I'm not a huge caffeine drinker - the most hardcore drink I order at Starbucks is a sweetened iced Chai tea. But lately, my mum's been drinking a lot of coffee herself in the mornings before she goes off to work, and of course this gives me the impression that I would look considerably badass if I showed up to first period sipping my very own French roast in a cute little thermos.

So since I have a few more minutes to stay home Tuesday mornings, I brewed myself a coffee... And an Earl Grey tea. Loaded both with sugar and honey, respectively. Chugged the brew on the car ride to school, downed the tea within the first hour of class.

I'm feeling pretty alert by now. In fact, I'm alert enough in second period to remember I had a huge stash of Hershey's mini nuggets and Gobstoppers in my lunch... Can you tell where this story is headed now? I be poppin' sugar pills til my head hurts.

I did make it out of school alive, if not a little schizophrenic and ADHD. Now I just so happen to be simmering down to a splendid little soundtrack... {Highly reccomended for those who can't stop tossing and turning in their sleep}

1. Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
2. Golden Slumbers - The Beatles
3. Caribbean Blue - Enya
4. Futile Devices - Sufijan Stevens
5. Skinny Love - Bon Iver
6. Bronte - Gotye
7. Awake My Soul - Mumford & Sons
8. Holocene - Bon Iver
9. Giving Me A Chance - Gotye
10. Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan
11. Scarborough Fair - Simon & Garfunkel
12. Hometown Glory - Adele
13. Blackout - Muse
14. Daydreamer - Adele
15. Passenger Seat - Death Cab for Cutie
16. Pale Blue Eyes - Velvet Underground

Learn from my mistake - never consume so much sugar and caffeine in such a short amount of time {I will admit though, being kindergartener-hyper was pretty fun!}

love,
nat

Theres Nothing In My Closet Except Lack of Inspiration

There are too many trendy people at my school. Seriously, people, can we not show up to class looking like we walked out of French Vogue so I can feel better about wearing jeans and a Hollister hoodie?

I'd like to say I have a closet full of Alexander Wang and sample-sale Marc Jacobs to strut around in, but until I hit the jackpot and move to Beverly Hills, Forever 21 is my best friend. You'd be surprised how many decent outfits you can squeeze out of a pair of black skinny jeans, a white tee and a few different cardis {this post was obviously geared towards the chicks out there, sorry bros.}

A little inspiration can go a long way too - there's nothing better than hitting up the fashion district of the blogging neighborhood to pick up some style tips Leandra Medine, a.k.a the lovely Man Repeller happens to have the bloody coolest wardrobe on the East Coast... Someday I shall learn to layer like a pro and throw a proper arm party like she...

You're never too old for dress-up, ladies. <3

Splendid weekend to you all

love,
nat

Little Things

Little things.

Like the rain that comes in the morning before sunrise and leaves at noon, washing the sky with clear blue.

Like brownies for breakfast before class.

Like going to the drugstore to buy him candy, and buying yourself some too.

Like walking in wet grass barefoot.

Like the feeling you get when you do your hair and makeup and feel gorgeous, sexy and strong.

Like getting roses and chocolates and giving kisses and hugs.

Like sharing dessert and a few candlelit hours together, and feeling invincible.

Like knowing you're the person he's thinking about when he falls asleep.

It's little things like this... that make me the happiest girl in the world.

Happy Valentine's Day
{share the love}

love,
nat

The Times They Are A-Changin&apos;

So far this weekend I've had three debates with some of my older family members and friends about how my generation is different from the past two or three generations, and how the Internet has affected society (makes for some interesting dinner conversation.)

The overall opinion from most of these older folk about us teenagers these days is that most of us have a mentality centered around "instant gratification"- that the speed at which we can now access all sorts of information has made us a lazy, ignorant bunch who doesn't appreciate working hard and studying hard.

I dunno if it's just the school I go to or the group of people I hang out with, but I'd beg to differ - our generation looks like it's growing up to be one of the most empowered, passionate people I've met. And the Internet {Facebook in particular} has been such an amazing platform for our ideas and opinions on so many things that it's hard to think of us as being uninvolved or ignorant on topics like politics or humanities. Now that we have access to worldwide news at the touch of an iPhone button, we can educate ourselves, and talk about our opinions, instead of growing up thinking that our parents' views are the only correct views.

All the messes our parents' generation is leaving us in - the economy, the environmental issue, the political disaster we find ourselves in - I strongly believe my generation will be the one to rise up to the challenge and solve our problems, because we're growing up with the technology and the power to influence change and bring innovative ideas to the global table.

Maybe I'm just a little too optimistic about the potential a bunch of college and high school kids have, but hey, if we're not the smartest generation, we're definitely the most exciting.

There are my deep thoughts for the day, and put as eloquently as possible for a blog post written at 11:30 on a Sunday night :)

love,
nat

Nostalgia

Long week.
Long weekend.
I can finally catch up on all the breathing amd sleeping I forgot to do during school.
A remote control for life would be extremely comvenient right now, complete with a "fast-forward to summer vacation" button...

Will be finishing up the Hunger Games series this weekend, as well as dying ma hurrs! {a dark chocolatey red}
i would also like to add a "make Peeta Mellarck marry me" function to that remote control, while we're at it!

Any ideas for Valentine's Day nails? Me and my unhealthy addiction to manicures have a date Tuesday evening with the hubby, we meed to be lookin' sharp.

The sunny weather probably won't be here for long, knowing how the climate here is a tad on the bipolar side.
It's always splendid feeling that warm, hopeful breeze in your hair and laying in the grass... Tossing a hackey sack around and slacking off during CoSA... My definition of successful Friday.

Gonna get me some R&R this weekend, I'm feeling a bout of photographical inspiration coming on... Should probably pull out the camera and act on that :)

Have a lovely weekend, littles

love,
nat

1,2,3,4

Testing, testing. Did some state standardized testing today. Piece of lemon merengue pie {it's my favorite kind of pie.}

Usually rainy, cloudy and cold weather bothers me and puts me in a cranky mood, but I had a lovely day with my 4 best friends - the hubby and my three older brothers from seperate mothers.

I've always been the rare case of female who has better guy friends than girl friends. Girls gossip and stab backs and move on, but guys don't leave you for someone who dresses cooler. If they like you, they'll tell you, and if they don't, they won't bother wasting time making everyone except you is aware of that. God, women are just too much work. I've found only one true girlfriend, and she now lives in Tennessee - funny how true friends will stand by your side from thousands of miles away, and fake ones will feel like theyre miles away when theyre standing next to you.

Anyways, I feel ever so grateful to have those three guys in my life. I will always feel loved, happy and protected with them - not to mention three feet shorter than the average human. They are my big brothers, my support system, and my source for dumb "your mom" jokes. }Because you are never too old or too mature for a dumb "your mom" joke.} Odds are only one of them is reading this - one is most likely playing Skyrim, the other is on Memebase.

Oh, men...

Lovely night to you all

love,
nat

Ça M&apos;est Egal

Ah, happy Super Bowl Sunday!

By now, you're either drinking in celebration of a Giants win, or drinking to forget the pain of a Patriots loss. I'm not a drinker, but I am pretty upset that I won't be able to wear my Patriots shirt without getting mocked tomorrow. {Because I'm such a dedicated football fan - the title of this post accurately expresses my feelings about the sport in French}

I did get to watch the game with the hubby, along with a few bags of Doritos, mini cupcakes and all the nutritious snackage that one might partake in the consumption of during a prestigious sporting event such as the Super Bowl.

We really only watched until the end of the second quarter, when I suggested we bring out the ol' XBox and play us some Skyrim {If you dont know what that is, I suggest you ask someone with some sense of popular culture to explain to you, because you really should know by now.} Needless to say, my hand-eye coordination could use a little practice. But running into walls can be just as fun as slaying dragons, so I'd call my first game a success.

... I think I ate too many chips.

love,
nat

p.s. in case you didn't catch the H&M commercial featuring David Beckham, here's what you missed.

Flower Child

I was born in the wrong decade.

This week I've been studying the Vietnam War and the hippie counter-culture movement in English class,
and it made me wonder...
Where was I when the hippies were off braiding daisies in their hair and running through fields in skirts and living in their VW buses? I wish I knew what Woodstock felt like, sounded like, smelled like. The 1960's was a decade of so much freedom and music and art, I almost feel like my soul was conceived in that time period, and later just transferred into my body in 36 years later {weird as that sounds}

As a teen, {and I hope I'm not the only one who feels this way}, I feel like freedom is what keeps me alive. I need to be given as much time as possible to spend outdoors staring up at palm trees or stars, to move about this world as I choose. There's something inside me that lives for little sparkling moments, like reading books in the park or breathing in the smell of grass... It's just something I feel like you just don't appreciate or understand as you grow older, and eventually all I'll have left of my teenage years are 4x6 pictures of memories and regrets that I didn't spend enough hours running in the streets on summer nights and getting high off each other's laughter.

Maybe it's just the poetic side of me. College is important and having a solid career is too... But there's a certain kind of happy you don't get from getting a paycheck or driving a nice car. I want to live for today, because don't we all wish we could be 16 forever?

Felt like I needed to put that out there.

love,
nat

A Day in the Life

Man oh man... So much going on. If I could tag some topics that are relevant in my life at the moment, the list would look like this :

Kitsch art.
Double major.
College applications.
Shit Girls Say.
All the dumb stuff the people running our country say.
CoSA life.
Self portrait.
Pinterest.
Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest.

I have a lot to think about this week. I've been writing a lot, as well as reading. Had a talk with the school counselors about SATs, GPAs and all those scary college words. I've had my eyes set on UC Berkeley since 5th grade, but I think it's time to start looking around and giving myself more options... Yknow, in case I somehow don't get to a 4.3 GPA and happen to run into a large inheritance that would cover my tuition.

So I see Mr. Grumpy Gills Gingrich is doing well in Florida polls... Politics these days don't do much but anger, frustrate, confuse and utterly shock me. Both left and right. The hubby is ready and registered to vote, being that he will be turning 18 a week before elections... I leave the debate-watching and poll-stalking to him. He's much less emotionally and vocally expressive of his distaste of things than I am. {This blog won't turn into my personal soapbox, cross my heart.}

Another thing, I hope y'all have caught on to my blogging pattern of posts every two days. A) I'm a busy little high schooler, and as much as I dearly wished from the bottom of my heart I had more time to spend on the marvelous Interwebz, I don't and B) All the exciting things in my life just so happen to occur on odd-numbered days :)

As for kitsch art and CoSA, well, all is well in the art school world. I feel truly comfortable and free to be myself in that classroom, and that's a feeling I hold seriously dear. It's not everyone who gets to spend two hours a day expressing themselves creatively and laughing endlessly with great friends :)

Today was kind of a long-expressive-blogpost kind of day. Feels mighty nice to get it all out of your system, dunnit?

love,
nat

The Hungry Games

Sunday lovely Sunday...
It's been a long week for me. Stayed home sicky from school on Thursday, and contrary to 99% of all mentally healthy teengers out there, I absolutely despise missing school. Make-up work is such a pain, but most of all, I miss my friends! I'm still battling out the cold with a high-caliber tissue box and endless rounds of lozenges and vapor rub.

I would like to add another bulletpoint to my list of reasons why I love SoCal -

* it's January, and it's been 80 degrees for the past five days.

Oh yes. At 11 o' clock AM, I put my shorts and tank top on, grabbed my iPad and a tall glass of iced tea and laid outside to read The Hunger Games in the splendid sunshine.

SUCH. A GOOD BOOK. {I intend on finishing the book before the movie premieres, so pumped to go see it now!} Nobody misses the Harry Potter series as much as this girl does, but Katniss and Peeta make damn good replacements. High action, intense characters and lots of talk about bread. Really. Bread's kind of a big thing in District 12. Made me crave a loaf of raisin and nut bread. I highly reccomend it for teens who are looking for a worthy post-Potter novel to get sucked into.

No better time to go tan in my backyard with a spot o' dubstep and an ice cream bar <3

Have yourselves a lovely little Sunday

love,
nat

Mid-Week Crisis

We've all had them. Your body refuses to get out from under the sheets, you're basically sleeping goldfish-style by third period, and you melodramatically exclaim to your friends, "JUST GO ON WITHOUT ME!" I guess going to bed an hour ahead of schedule still isnt enough. {At least the weather is cooperating-78 degrees today!} Id just like to take a walk down to the beach, breathe in that breeze and hold the salty air in my lungs... Sand and ocean water: the only spa treatment I'll ever need. I cannot wait for summer to come. There is no inspiration to be found in a classroom, no joy to be found in being given a death sentence of homework assignments to go home to. {This post itself is pretty melodramatic, if I may say so myself}

I'm just a little nostalgic, that's all <3

P.S. If you were my hubby and you wanted to make me happy on Valentine's Day, you'd buy me an adorable little pet chameleon (:

love,
nat

Zombie

I am half a soul today. I left one half in my warm, fluffy bed this morning at 5:30 A.M.
Back to the ol' post-finals 8-hour-CoSA day grind.
Now I know I shouldnt be complaining, I'm just a sophomore in high school and that if I were in college, sleep would be a rare occurence.
But dear gawd, I am so exhausted. There was rain and clouds and cold weather today, three things I wish would just wait until after school when I'm home on some other day that ISN'T Monday.
I shan't moan anymore, there are people in the world who work far harder than I do to support families and have more taxes and mortgages to pay than I have homework to do.

I'll just go have a cupcake with milk for dinner and call it a night <3

I pray your day went better than mine!

love,
nat

Cup of Tea

So in celebration of my great achievements during finals week {A+ in my toughest subject, Geometry!} I allowed myself the weekend off from homework, stress and blogging. Sometimes having no commitments and responsibilities is nice.

I didn't do a whole lot, apart from buying The Hunger Games on my B&N nook - my rule is that I must read the book before watching the movie, because the book is always better. I drank a lot of tea, too. There's something about brewing tea and curling up in my egg chair with a blanket and iPod that just feels so relaxing and reenergizing. It's one of those things you treat yourself to even if you don't really deserve it. Love that feeling.

Today was also a splendid day - and the adjective "splendid" is a very high honor to be bestowed in my world :) The hubby and I went out on a casual little date, nothing too romantic or extravagant - just lunch at a sports bar and bowling. So maybe its not fine dining on a dinner cruise, but sometimes it's more fun to pig out with your sweetheart and watch the football game. He brings out my feisty, competitive side, and if I couldn't beat him on the lanes, I'd have to beat him in the arcade. We came home and instinctively knew what to do... Turn the kettle on and bring out our favorite mugs. There are certain things in life that you like to do on your own, but love to share with your loved ones. <3

Have a SPLENDID week, people!

love,
nat

Is It Safe To Go Out Now?

Oh my. That was by far the longest, most stressful three days of the school year so far. My brain was just too flooded in to-do lists and to-study lists and to-finish-now lists that risking getting sucked up in the black hole that is the interwebs was just not an option. Finals are over, I can move on to the second semester of sophomore year with a clean slate. The three-day post-finals apocalypse weekend is also nice little bonus :) I spent the afternoon with my three best friends at the lovely Balboa Park; it was so great to get some vitamin D after being locked away in a grey classroom for so long. We're geeks, so we go to the art museum for fun. (The friends I surround myself with would rather spend an evening watching bad horror movies with some In 'N' Out than spend an evening partying with a bottle of vodka.) ♥

And just for kicks, I went ahead and treated myself to some cosmetic therapy - what girl doesn't love buying a new nail polish color? I think I may have an addiction... I picked up a bottle of essie's "ballet slipper" lacquer, a sweet, bridal pink - a pick-me-up for my pinkies :)

No school tomorrow...you know what that means...
15 hours of uninterrupted sleep!

love,
nat

Modern Family

Second day in desert paradise - studying up for French and Bio poolside sippin' a virgin Colada. Oh yeah, I'm totally stressing.

I'm here with my grandparents, aunt and uncle, and three not-so-baby-anymore cousins {Nick, Ryan & Sophie} - and usually I try really hard to not be a moody, anti-social teenager around them, but it's been so much fun. Dinner at Mikobu was lovely, especially the part where each of us got hit in the face by shrimp instead of catching them in our mouths like the chef instructed (: Did I mention the only way to get to that restaurant was by boat? Did I also mention I'm in the desert? I kid around, it's a fantastic little place at the Marriot Desert Springs. Anyways, I'm having a splendid time.

The Golden Globes were also tonight - there are only certain people on Hollywood I respect and admire, and they were all there tonight. Clooney, Streep, DiCaprio, Scorcese, Jolie, and the entire flipping cast of my favorite show on TV, Modern Family. So happy they won Best Comedy. Take out the gay uncles and make my spicy Latina mother the same age as my dad, and the Pritchett-Delgado-Dunphy-Tucker family is basically the Rahimzadehs. It's a brilliant show, if you dont already watch it, go watch it. Now. It's so good you should just get up out of your seat and go find it on DVD.

Seriously.

i'm quite sleepy dears, all this sunlight and delicious food is wearing me out

love,
nat

Desert Love

Why hello darlings - I do apologize for not posting last night. The school week took a huge toll on my sleepy time, and some Fridays are meant for coming straight home and getting in bed.

I was also busy packing for a spontaneous trip to Palm Springs with the fam {courtesy of my lovely aunt and uncle}, and because I'm female, "packing" means taking out ten shirts and ten pairs of jeans and ten skirts for a three-day trip, and later deciding that I don't like any of the shirts or jeans or skirts, and starting over.Not to mention spending hours at the swimwear section at Target making up my mind over which black bandeau top would look cuter. I was also a little stressed due to upcoming finals exams, and finding time to fry my brains out with geometry and history in between getting gloriously tan and playing tennis and doing nothing. {On top of that, I missed my darling friend's sixteenth birthday party - happy belated birthday, Kaitlin!}

Well, I'm here in splendid Spring of Palms now, the weather is d e l i c i o u s. Nothing more beautiful than a California desert sunset over dusty, rocky mountains.
The hotel amenities are adorable too - Sicilian Blood Orange bath scrub and body butter {totally stealing those}.

Will be posting pictures of all the majestical desert beauty - I absolutely love it out here.

happy three-day (:

love,
nat

Rock n Roll High School

So I woke up today thinking it was Friday... Oh well, not all dreams can come true.

I was feeling social and enlightened today; I studied for a history test with girls I'd never bothered to talk to but judged from afar - and I learned a lot {and not just about history}. I realized that behind the trendy boots and belly shirts, everyone else here is just trying to get through the day and go back home to the bed they rolled out of the same morning.

I love that about high school. We all think we're on the outside looking in, and we point and judge and draw invisible lines between the soccer players, the skaters, the theatre freaks - but in reality, each of us brings something different and beautiful to the community as a whole.Over the past year, my campus has come together as one to speak out against homophobia, mourned the loss of two too many fallen colleagues, and won something close to eternal glory at water polo championships {high school water polo games in Coronado are like high school football games in the Midwest} I am SO proud to call myself an Islander. I want to hug each and every one of them. The side affects may be nausea, dizziness, paranoia and insomnia, but god it's such a fun rollercoaster ride.

besides, I dont know anyone else who can say they can walk to the beach during off-campus lunch (:

love,
nat

What I Got

Wednesdays...the peanut butter part of the weekday sandwhich. They're not always great, but at least we're halfway there to Fridays.

So following my last post about staying positive, I'd like to add an amendment to my personal constitution - because it has to do with a pretty big thing in my life, as I'm sure it is in a lot of other teenagers' lives - those bloody body issues.

For 15, I'm petite. Haven't even hit 5'2" yet. Which means the rest of me is petite as well. Everybody has those mornings where you almost want to punch the mirror because nothing is right about what's looking back at you. Sometimes you want to yell "WHERE IS THE VICTORIA'S SECRET MODEL?!" (or "BRAD PITT?!") Sometimes you just give the mirror the silent treatment. Nothing looks good with those jeans, nothing will keep your hair tamed, nothing will cover up that pimple.

I know these mornings all too well.

But I really don't want to anymore. I want that mirror to be my new best friend, and every girl's out there who feels strange and unfit for her own skin. Those Victoria's Secret girls don't roll out of bed looking the way they do on the runway, love. I'm throwing out my insecurities with 2011's issues of Vogue, cuz putting myself down is so last season. (Okay, that was corny, but you get what I'm saying.)

So the First Amendment of 2012 is this -
To love myself, every last inch of small chested, clumsy footed, large nosed, messy haired me. Because honestly, this is what I've got, and I intend on making the most of it.

Hope this inspires you to love looking in the mirror ♥


(tomorrow's post won't be about me, promise) ;)

love, nat

Om

Good morning to all :)
Here's a little something for your Tuesday commute. This is a great attitude to have!


It's good to start your day off with positive thoughts - but considering how early some of us may have to get up, positive thought can be kind of a bitch. In case of a karma emergency, or emergency of any other sort, check out another fellow Coronado Islander's blog, http://www.thellielife.blogspot.com/

This girl's got some really beautiful things to say, and anyone in need of a confidence boost should listen.

Hope this helps, little ones!

positive thoughts
love,
nat

Day 1 of the Bad Karma Diet

It's not fair to say "Happy Monday", because we all know - teenagers especially - that that idea exists just as much as unicorns or low-calorie chocolate.
Don't you hate those days where it's not even second period yet and you've already forgotten 4 out of 5 things you reminded yourself to remember the night before, and you just know...today's gonna suck. Well dear readers, today was one of those days. It's finals season round here, and I'd like to think I do fairly well under pressure, but the hard truth is that I am most definitely not. I am impatient, almost always frustrated with something, and to top it all off, I'm a p-word... I said it, I'm a flipping perfectionist. Nothing I do is ever really finished or good enough; there is always somethng to scrutinize or re-adjust. Which for the great and famous journalist I plan on being, that's a good and bad quality to have. For the growing artist I currently am, it's mostly a bad thing.

Which leads me to the part where I explain the title of this entry. I have made three (3) and only three resolutions this year, all of which I have inscribed on my lovely whiteboard hanging above my bed - three of which I will carry with me every day and keep to the best of my ability. So help me Gawd.

1. To stop judging, scrutinizing, criticizing, or thinking any more bad-karma thoughts about anyone - including myself.
2. To give up and let go of fears - fears of being wrong, fears of being judged, fears of not being perfect, and fears of spiders. I have kept myself from learning so many things and missed so many opportunites because I've been too afraid to see myself fail.
3. To take each day and enjoy every minute of rain, fog or sunshine - be greatful for this moment and for everyone surrounding me I am lucky to enjoy it with. Look towards the sun, and the shadows will fall behind you.

It's on the Internet now, so I can't hide from it :) I should start feeling more beautiful, radiant and happy after about a week of this new diet - I highly reccomend it.

peace

love, nat

It's a Polka Dot Pajama Kind of Sunday

I'm working this blog from a PC, so please excuse my sub-par webcam skills

Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours

Happy Sunday to all!

Since I'm relatively new to the blogging world, and you as readers may be relatively new to me, how bout I do y'all a favor and tell you a little about myself. Fifteen little thiings you should know about me -

1. I simply cannot stress enough - I freaking love living in Southern California. There's nothing better than getting to school and smelling salt water in the air as you drive across the Coronado Bridge overlooking Downtown SD. Born and raised California girl.

2. I wish I was alive during the 1960's. I'm a complete hippie at heart - plus the music of that time is my favorite. Beatles, Byrds, Beach Boys, oh my! <3

3. I am Mexican-American-Iranian. Kind of a strange combination, but the advantages are delicious food and being trilingual :)

4. It's a dream of mine to live in New York City for at least a year when I'm older. I love that city.

5. My dream job is to write for The New York Times. (It helps that I wouldnt mind moving there at all.) If I don't make it, I can settle with writing for Rolling Stone, The New Yorker or Vogue. I just want to be in journalism.

6. I'm a Leo. Fierce, passionate, creative, sometimes bossy, sometimes vain, but über social, funny and energetic.

7. Ironically, I' m deathly allergic to cats. And basil.

8. For my 16th birthday, I don't want an Audi or a Benz. I want a VW Bus. Grooviest cars on the planet. A Prius will also do - can you tell I'm a liberal yet? ;)

9. This may sound terrible, but I never want to have more than one child. I break the stereotype that all women have a nurturing instinct - my genes must not have gotten the memo. I would like to be a mother, but one is the most I can handle.

10. I paint a lot. I doodle a lot. I laugh a lot. I daydream a lot. I write a lot, and I read a lot. I think it's important to dance often, and to sing in the shower.

11. I force myself to watch the news - and listen to everyone's opinion. Including those of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, the funniest mnen in their field.

12. My dream school would be UC Berkeley - you guessed it. They have a brilliant school of journalism. And I love San Francisco.

13. I got a guitar last Christmas - and I'm trying reallyreallyreallyreally hard not to give up on it yet. I have learned a few songs....just a few....

14. Five favorite things : steak, the beach, my watercolor paints and paper, my iPod touch, and movie nights with friends.

15. I'm pretty confident in myself that whatever it is I end up doing, I'll be happy. They say if you choose a job you love to do, you'll never work a day in your life.

You may say that Im a dreamer, but Im not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one - John Lennon, my idol and inspiration.

joyous end of week to all, enjoy it while you can!
love, nat

I'm A New Soul

why hello there stranger :)

i've just moved in! i think i'm going to love it here. i've always wanted to start a blog, but i've kept myself from doing so, in fear that no one would read or no one would care and my thoughts would be left out in the cold to dry out. but it's a new year, and with this blog i will leave my fears in the dirt. (or because i'm a california girl, in the sand. but who doesn't want to roll around on the beach?) anyways, i'll be posting often, sometimes with a journal-type entry,sometimes with music. sometimes with poetry, sometimes with prose.
2012 is going to be a beautiful year, and i'm so excited to start sharing my daily thoughts and opinions with all you lovely people of the interwebs. i do solemnly swear to be honest, open, and hold nothing back - you've been warned :)

more to come
- love, nat