Diving into the pool

The best advice someone ever gave me concerning finding that Mr Right was the following:

NEVER SETTLE, but also be accepting. Accepting others at their level doesn’t mean lowering your standards, it means loving blatantly. With signs, there are always many. Don’t ignore the signs EVER. They’re very important and are there to keep you and your heart safe.

I have ignored the signs for way too long. And I have been attracted to the wrong men when in reality I was hiding from the right man because he scared the hell out of me. Now it is time for me to stop ignoring the signs and dive in the pool. Thankfully for me, I still have a shot at HIM. He waited all this time. So I’m thinking that yes, it has to be meant to be. I won’t know unless I dive in the pool. Which is what I plan to do. And whatever happens, if I get my heart broken or whatever, I will have no regrets. Because at least, I tried. And that’s all I can do.

Life is too short and as I near 40, I cannot waste any more time being afraid. This has been 6 years in the making. Who knows? It might turn out to be something wonderful.

Just wanted to share…

My latest write-up over at MadisonPlus.com….I covered a plus size fashion show last month.

A Re/Dress Fashion Show

I’m really getting into the writing thing and plus size fashion is one of my passions. I’m going to attend Full Figured Fashion week in a few weeks and meet up with Rosie Mercado, Face of FFF Week and Miss Nevada of the Plus America Pageant. Yes, such a pageant exists!!!! I’m going to interview Rosie for Madison Plus and hopefully, meet some other cool people. Meeting all of these big beautiful women has really been inspiring and uplifting.

Style isn’t confined to a size. Love yourself first, be healthy and just be comfortable in your own skin….that’s all you need to channel your inner Audrey. Everyone has their size that they are happy with…it may be a 6 or a 26. But in the end, you have to be happy with you. If you’re not happy, it shows…it shows in your style, your fashion and most of all, in your swagger. You can’t have your shine on full blast if you don’t believe you even have swagger.

Anyway, Madison Plus is a great site run by two former co-workers of mine and I love how they have become part of the Big Girl Revolution. We need all the soldierettes we can recruit.

Shout out to my fellow big sisters! Yeah!

Vegas was amazing

I’m back and have to say Vegas was pretty amazing. I decided at the 11th hour to do a Grand Canyon day tour and was not disappointed. I did the West Rim Tour, which included the infamous Skywalk. I didn’t think the Skywalk was such a big deal but I have to say I have never seen or heard so many people throw up as I did on that day. On the tour, I also saw Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Joshua Tree Forest. Seeing the canyon made me get a little emotional. Just when you think the world has gone to shit, you see something as beautiful as the Grand Canyon and it reminds you that the world is still beautiful in its own right. Now it’s back to a NY state of mind for me. *sigh*

Vegas, Baby!

I am in Las Vegas for the week and I have to say, that despite this being my 4th time here, each visit is always different than the other. And I LOVE that. I’m staying at the Aria, which is a new hotel on the strip. Beautiful! You walk into the room and the curtains automatically open, the TV automatically goes on with music playing and the lights go on automatically as well. The bathroom has the biggest bathtub I have ever seen with the shower in a separate area and the toilet closed off in a little room within the bathroom. Lastly, the tv is a flat screen with all the channels in HD. I am in Heaven, lol!

Saw my favorite thing in Vegas last night…the water show at the Bellagio. The pic below says it all…

Sometimes you have to be quiet and just listen

My niece Savana is a talker. She talks ALL THE TIME. And I find what happens with that is she doesn’t listen enough. We were watching Yo Gabba Gabba one day and they sang a song where a line in the chorus said something to the effect of “Shhh, be quiet, just listen.” I get on her from time to time when she is talking non-stop and say that line, to which she rolls her eyes and laughs. But when you think about it, this rings true not only of children but some adults too!

I used to be a big talker but over the years, I have learned to listen more and process things before saying what I need to say. I’m not perfect and have my moments where I do put my foot in my mouth but I’m not as impulsive these days as I used to be back in the day.

It amazes me how many people are so set in their ways that they don’t want to listen. I have learned the hard way to just let it go because if you try to push your two cents on these folks, chances are you end up sounding like one of the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon, “womp, womp, womp”. LOL!

The ironic thing about this is that those people who don’t listen are usually the ones who ask for advice or ask what you think ALL THE DAMN TIME! It never ceases to amaze me. Oye. In the end, I think that we can all learn from each other. So it’s okay to be quiet and just listen. You might learn something.

Yes, this is what I thought about while in bed sick today. Cold meds make you think about weird things, lol.

I DID IT!

The 5K walk was today. I gave myself a personal finish time goal of 1 hour. I actually finished in 46 minutes and 16 seconds. Whoop whoop!!! lol

It was an awesome feeling. And I am glad I pushed through the obstacles. First obstacle was when the alarm went off at 6am this morning, lol. It poured rain during the walk but I still did it. There was a photographer there who asked to take a pic of my friend and I. He then told us he was there on behalf of Woman’s Day magazine. OMGosh! If I end up in the next issue, I will flatline, lol.

After the walk, I texted my good friend B to let him how I did and that I was so proud of myself. He responded:

You’re not the only one proud of you either. =D I knew you could do it in under an hour. You underestimate yourself, Miss.

If only he knew…I could not stop smiling after reading that. I am still smiling 4 1/2 hours later.

Conquering small goals

I have my own list of small goals I want to accomplish. One of the items on the list is doing a 5K walk. Well, the opportunity presented itself to me last week when a great friend (and former co-worker) asked me if I would be interested in walking with her in the Power Walk for Dress for Success this Sat, 5/8. I am so excited. Haven’t done a 5K in years and this is for a great cause.

I have my own personal time I want to finish by and I am just looking forward to getting out there and just doing it. Soooo excited. Everyone has their own journey and “list”. And this is one of the main ones for me.

Random Thoughts

- All the straight men in my life who are my friends all bring something amazing to the table. Oh how I wish I could form my “Mr Right” from taking each of these qualities from them and putting it into one man! A girl can dream, can’t she?

- I have a stack of books just staring at me, waiting to be read. I just have not been in the mood to read. It’s sad since I practically eat and sleep books. I anxiously am waiting for the latest Sookie Stackhouse book, which comes out next week. Maybe that will get my butt in gear to start reading. I have this huge book I need to read for my book club meeting on May 30. It’s 700-something pages, which is not daunting to me. But I don’t want to wait until the last moment to start it.

- Decided not to go to Chicago. Just not feeling it.

- I had the best conversation with a tarot reader who told me that the Ace of Wands was the card she drew before calling me. This card is all about passion and energy. It means creativity, expansion, direction and resourcefulness. This card calls the loudest to those seeking a new creative path. It represents our ability to take hold of our desires and allow that passion to fuel us up to reach our goals. Talk about on point! I’m going to see her for a reading in 2 weeks. Cannot wait.

- May is looking to be one busy month! Oye. I’m tired just thinking about it.

- I might be going to Vegas during the last week of May. Should be fun.

Simply Amazing

Toronto was amazing. Liza is amazing. Baby Mackenzie is amazing. This trip overall was simply amazing. And too short. I feel like I blinked and it was all over. But it was very needed and I am feeling so inspired all over again. Thank you, Liza! Your friendship means the world to me.

The travel revolution!

If you know me, you know I love to travel. I have a free spirit and have a tendency to live life like a gypsy. I don’t like to stay in one place for a long time. Even when I travel, I never stay in 1 city for more than a week or I get antsy. It’s weird though, because even though I like to bounce around, I always look forward to coming home. And I don’t get antsy at home. Go figure.

So I am a photo-taking lunatic when I go on my travels. I think I took like over 600 pics last month during my London/Paris/Amsterdam trip. Crazy, huh? I like to take odd pics…scenic pics…..and when I hit a museum, I take pics of everything I see. I just think photography is so interesting because you can capture a moment in time and keep it at a standstill. It is truly an amazing thing. Especially when you see something so beautiful to the eye that you don’t want to walk away and not see it anymore. I have seen so many beautiful things in my life during my travels. I have had many speechless moments. So I snap away in an effort to hold onto those speechless WOW moments. It doesn’t replace those moments but it brings me back to that moment, which I love.

Now I am not an aspiring photographer. I just like to record my travels and life’s moments. I leave all that other stuff to the truly talented professionals who know how to take a pic with effortless ease. I just happen to think photography is pretty amazing.

I post all my pics on Facebook and apparently, by inviting folks into my world through my pics and writing about my whereabouts, I have been inspiring people to travel. I had no idea! LOL. So the Marcy Travel Revolution has been born! And with that, an idea. Why should people read about my travels from their home when they can be on the journey with me??? With that notion, I have decided to organize some group trips.

First up, Amsterdam in March 2011. I have a few people who have expressed an interest in going and I say, let’s do it! I also think, this may be another way to make some money. If I can organize some trips for other groups, maybe there is something lucrative there?

I have learned that instead of just working to make money and live, you can actually tap into your true potential/talents/skills and make money that way. It’s not an original idea and there are people out there who do it. We all have talents and things we love to do. Why not make a living off of it? If everyone did this, the world would be a happy place, let me tell you. I’m tired of working 40-60 hours a week for a person who treats me like crap in a heirarchy type of setting where you have to kiss someone’s ass to ascend up the corporate latter. Later for that mess!

So add this to my list of upcoming projects I am working on. ::snoopy dance::

Ok, now I really have to get off this computer and finish packing, lol.