I don't cry a lot, and if I do, I try to cry privately. However, there are certain scenes in tv shows and movies that get me.....no matter how hard I try to fight the tears.
Here are some of the tv/movie moments that have made me cry:
This movie makes me cry...especially the scene that is shown in the trailer at 2:12
During this dock scene from Dawson's Creek, I bawled my eyes out. I remember it clearly...where I was when I saw it for the first time and what was going on in my life that made this scene so intense for me. (The scene starts at 2:00)
I Am Sam - I LOVE THIS MOVIE AND ALWAYS CRY WATCHING IT!
Beautiful Boy from Mr. Holland's Opus always makes me teary-eyed.
And then there is this right here from Life is Beautiful.
/
And now that we are all thoroughly depressed, I will end this post. :D
What upsets me? That really depends on the day. If I am realllllly tired, which seems to be often, lately, then I seem to get irritated by little things. I usually won't voice my annoyance, but I will definitely make a face. I definitely have a very distinct "annoyed" face.
I feel it does take a lot to get me upset. I think feeling misunderstood can upset me, but it is more of a hurt, than an anger.
Selfish, egotistical and close-minded people upset me.
Most of the time, it is complete strangers who succeed at upsetting me, and other than a split second glare their way, I don't approach them about it.
Although, last week, I was driving down my neighborhood and two kids chucked rocks at my blazer. So I did a u-turn.....drove up to them and in my sternest voice, I said..."You really shouldn't throw rocks at cars. Vehicles cost a lot of money and you can do a lot of damage by throwing a rock and then your parents would have to pay for it, which means you would be in A LOT of trouble." - I know, I know...so very intimidating. I'm sure they really cared.
Yes, kids destroying property, upsets me.
You know what else upsets me? Jack In The Box ruined the Ultimate Cheeseburger by adding ketchup to it. It used to ONLY have MAYO! Ridiculous!
So I broke out the old photo albums tonight to find a picture of a moment to share with you all.
I laughed when I came across the one from my high school graduation. The picture itself isn't funny, it's the fact that it is THE only photo I have from the evening. THE ONLY ONE! I think it was the only one that was taken....seriously.
This was taken in the master bedroom/bathroom. I always got ready in the master bedroom. I remember I was annoyed with my mom when this photo was taken, because I was on the phone, and she kept calling me..."look over here for a picture, Erica, Erica." Honestly, I think she just wanted to capture me in all of my attitudey (my new word) essence. :D
I loved that dress that I wore. It was one of my favorite dresses. I wore it quite often. I had a thing for lavender back then. I really should have thought twice about the shoes though. Those things are hideous and make me look like I have gigantic feet.
I still am not quite sure why my mom was so insistent on picking that moment of my graduation night to capture...I mean I didn't even have my gown on yet.
Oh well. :D There you have it, a moment....17-year-old Erica on graduation night 1997.
Are you sure that you want to hear about the month of August? It was busy and exhausting, but if you insist. ;)
The month started off with FUN! I headed to New York City to attend blogher10. Basically I raced around the streets of New York, attending events with the lovely gals over at 5 Minutes for Mom.
I also spoke with various PR reps, including a lovely lady at the Toys "R" Us in Times Square. I toured the location and was also introduced to some of the hottest toys that will soon hit store shelves.
I stayed at a gorgeous hotel called The Royalton, where there was also a special event held in the Penthouse with all sorts of pampering sessions and food sampling. It was a blast.
Oh, and I also had the 5 Minutes for Mom camera turned on me. :D Oh and that gal doing my hair, she will be doing Sofia Vergara's hair for the Emmy's. Sofia plays Gloria in Modern Family.
I shared the room at the Royalton with our camera gal, Molly, who is a doll. I love her. We had such a great time together in NY.
Okay, so also this month, Audrey started school, first grade, annnnd we also had our first Girl Scout meeting. I lead her Daisy Troop....and I LOVE IT!
I also attended a birthday party for a good friend and a baby shower. I feel like my calendar was jam packed this month...but boy did time fly!
I am happy that the month is almost over, but I have a feeling that next month is going to be just as hectic. I will be flying to Phoenix for a weekend, to spend time with my family and friends. Also, my Daisy Troop is going to take part in their first event, a lemonade stand for Alex's Lemonade Stand, an organization that raises money for childhood cancer. Did you know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month?
I think the girls will have a blast. Plus Strawberry Shortcake has teamed up with Alex's Lemonade stand for the month of September, which means her darling face will adorn our decor, posters and banners. Annnnd we will serve strawberry lemonade. YUM!
Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. - Sydney J. Harris
I used to say that there was nothing in my life that I regretted, because every hurdle, tear and smile has made me who I am today.
But there actually is something that I regret and I have mentioned it here on this blog a few times. So for you few regular readers, I apologize for the redundancy.
When I was in my tween/teen years, I was your typical adolescent. I was caught up in my own little world and I didn't really want my parents a part of it. My life revolved around my friends. My parents were just around to annoy me and make my life difficult. Yes, your typical teen. What I didn't realize at the time, was that while I spent hours alone in my room, ignoring my parents....while I yelled and screamed during fights with my mom and then stomped away, slamming my bedroom door behind me, I was wasting valuable minutes, hours, days, months and years with my mom.
I didn't take the time to have deep heart to heart chats with my mom. I didn't take the time to find out what she was like as a teenager. I never heard stories of her adventuresome twenties. I knew a bit about how she and my dad met, but I never took the time to talk about their early years of marriage.
What was it like for her when she was a new mom? What was the craziest thing that she ever did? What were the boys like that she dated? How many times did she have her heart broken? How many times had she been in love?
I do remember, when I was around 15, having a conversation with her about a boy she had once been pretty serious about. He joined the army, went off to Vietnam and was killed. It was very traumatic for her. She always associates the Beach Boys song, Surfer Girl, with that boy. That is probably the only conversation I had with her in those tween/teen years, that gave me a glimpse into my mom's early years.
My mom has had Multiple Sclerosis for over 20 years. The myelin in her body is being destroyed by the disease. One of the effects of demyelination is memory loss.
My mom doesn't remember much of her past. Her short term memory is pretty much shot as well. As I have said before, many times when we talk on the phone, she doesn't know who I am. She doesn't even remember having a daughter. Other times she knows who I am, but has no idea that I have children. Most of the time, I have to remind her repeatedly what my name is.
So all of those questions I wonder about now, about her heartbreaks, her favorite high school memories, her funny new mom stories, will remain unanswered, because I didn't take the time back then to get to know my own mother.
Thankfully I do have today! She may not be anywhere near the person she was then, but she is still here on this earth. So, I am trying now to make the most of the time that I have left with her. I do still have minutes, hours, days, months and perhaps even years with her, and for that I am so very grateful!
Well this is EASY! My 30th has so far been my FAVORITE BIRTHDAY. Two friends joined me in NEW YORK CITY and we painted the town red!
We had the yummiest cheesecake EVER at Junior's!!! I ordered the Devil's Food Cheesecake and it is amazing..there are no words to describe how incredible it is. The best part is that you can actually order their cheesecakes online to be delivered to your door....so I can have Junior's whenever I want. :D
But of course it is always better when you get to have it in NEW YORK CITY!
Since my birthday is in December, we were able to ice skate at Rockefeller......
We also hit up a Broadway show, Burn The Floor, at the GORGEOUS Longacre Theatre. Burn The Floor was HOT!
When I first saw the movie, Serendipity, with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, I vowed to eat at Serendipity III and indulge in a frozen hot chocolate. So, we did just that.
I also had the yummiest sundae EVER!!!!!!
Of course we also took in the sights of Times Square and visited the Mac store, F.A.O. Schwartz, and Dylan's Candy Bar, just to name a few. Everything was also decorated for the holiday season, so it made it even more exciting and beautiful.
The only disappointment was that we didn't get to use the standby dress rehearsal tickets for SNL, that we had waited in line for, in the wee hours of the chilly morning. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HOT...SEE...
All in all, it was the most amazing birthday EVER!
If you had the opportunity to read my below post for Day 17, this video gives a detailed account on the events, including The Rescue, that brought the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act into law. It shows that if enough of us work toward a goal and believe that our voices can be heard, anything is possible!
This is a long post, but I truly hope that you make it all the way to the end and watch the video I placed at the very, VERY end. Today I saw the video for the first time and it brought tears to my eyes!
Today I am supposed to share my favorite moment. I find that extremely difficult. How does one pick their absolute favorite moment? I have lived for 30 years, I have had great family moments, I have birthed three children, I have been on several fabulous vacations. How do I select one moment that outshines all of the others? I believe it is impossible.
So, I am not going to do it. BUT I will share with you A moment. A moment in time...a movement that I was a part of that actually made a huge difference in thousands of lives.
It's a day in my life that I will always, always remember, that is a part of history and that I am proud that I was able to take part in.
In Denver, on Saturday, April, 25th, 2009, I took part in The Rescue event for Invisible Children.
Invisible Children is an organization determined to help the thousands and thousands of abducted children in Northern Uganda and The Congo, who are taken from their homes at young ages, desensitized to violence by witnessing horrendous beatings and killings, and then forced to fight as child soldiers for a terrorist, Joseph Kony.
Invisible Children decided that Joseph Kony needed to be captured and arrested, so that his child soldiers could be freed. They organized an event called The RESCUE. 80,000 people gathered in over 90 cities all over the world to abduct themselves to bring media, political and cultural attention to the longest running war in Africa and to the situation affecting the 30,000 abducted child soldiers.
Can you find me? I'll give you a hint...bottom right corner, front row, in off-white hoodie...There I am! :D
We gathered at the state capitol and then walked for a couple of miles in a single file line, holding a rope, just as the abducted children are forced to do. Finally arriving at a nearby park, we set up our sleeping bags and blankets, wrote letters to our senators asking them to rescue the child soldiers in Africa, and waited for a political or cultural figure to come out and rescue us by pledging their support to do something about the situation in Northern Uganda and The Congo.
Here is a little video montage I made of the event in Denver. 1500 people showed up in Denver, for the RESCUE! 1500!!!!
RESCUE group in L.A. (5,000 showed up and were rescued by a host of celebrities including Kristen Bell, Ben McKenzie, Kirsten Dunst and Tom Arnold)
RESCUE group in D.C.
RESCUE in New York
THE MOST AMAZING PART OF THIS ENTIRE THING, IS THAT WHAT I DID, WHAT WE DID THAT DAY, ACTUALLY MADE A HUGE LIFE CHANGING DIFFERENCE!!!
WATCH THIS!!!
To be honest, for some reason, TODAY was the first day that I saw this video and it brought tears to my eyes. I am so very proud of every person who supported this cause. :D
Oh and to add to the fun of this post, I am including my 7th grade yearbook picture. BE NICE!
7th grade yearbook pic
So my first kiss took place in 6th grade with the first boy I was "going out" with. He was my first "boyfriend" and we dated from the end of 6th grade through the middle of 7th grade. My first kiss wasn't like a kiss kiss, if you catch my drift. But it was close enough.
I am fairly certain that I was the biggest female nerd in 6th grade and I was "going out" with the other biggest nerd in the school. It was quite fun for the bullies I dealt with on a daily basis.
So on this particular day, recess was just finishing up and students were starting to make their way from the field, to line up by classroom.
My boyfriend and I were under a ramada on the playground and had been contemplating kissing. We decided to go for it.
One of his friends, who had been around for most of the indecisive conversation, decided to spread the word to all of the 6th grade.
And as we started to kiss, most of the 6th grade class had started to gather around the ramada. Our kiss was welcomed with laughter and lots of "ewwwwww, gross" comments.
We were embarrassed and just headed to our separate classroom lines, while listening to snickers about how gross it was that we kissed and how we would have nerd babies.
So this topic is left pretty open. I can share with you my goals and hopes for the future, or I can talk a bit about those crazy dreams I have while sleeping.
I think the latter would be more fun. So let's do that, shall we?
I have very vivid dreams, that I usually remember very well in the morning. I also have MANY deja vu moments, when I swear that I am experiencing something in real life, that I had previously dreamt about. It freaks me out each time.
I remember once in high school, dreaming that I was in some other school's cafeteria and there were balloons on all of the tables. My best friend was with me, and there were tons of other teens around that I knew I had never met before. When I woke up, I had such an image in my head of the cafeteria tables, the white and blue painted walls and the dozens of red of balloons.
A few months later, I attended a speech tournament at a nearby high school. For a portion of it, our school's team had to meet in the cafeteria. My best friend was on the team with me, and was also my duo-acting partner for our selection we performed at the tournament.
Lo and behold....the cafeteria was blue and white and there were red balloons on the tables, exactly how it was in my dream. I remember even telling my best friend that I had dreamt that exact moment. I think she thought that I was weird...or maybe she just figured, "oh it's Erica being Erica."
Sometimes, if there is an unresolved conflict in my life, I dream about it every single night, until it is resolved. I hate these recurring dreams. They eat at me. I remember once an old co-worker of mine stole my car on her lunch break. I am not kidding. I wish that I was.
I barely knew the girl, but she had hated me since my first day of working with her. On that particular day, she went to lunch with her boyfriend. Upon her return, she mentioned something to me about my car. I think she complimented my license plate holder. I found that to be quite odd, since she had never really talked to me before. That evening, when I left work, my car was NOT in the parking lot.
It was found a few days later, completely intact. The only thing taken was a pair of jeans that had been in the back seat. It was suggested to me that my car was most likely stolen by somebody that I knew.
For months, I had recurring dreams in which I confronted my co-worker about stealing my car. It was funny, because I had actually started a new job, and wasn't even working with the gal anymore. I was in the same office building, however.
After about four months of the recurring dreams, I ran into my ex co-worker in the ladies room and confronted her about the car. I really can't remember if she admitted to it or not, but what I do know, is I never dreamt about it again.
These recurring conflict type dreams have occurred NUMEROUS times. I HATE THEM!
I do have crazy dreams too. Just last week, I dreamt that I was hanging out all night long with Britney Spears. We were in some abandoned warehouse singing karaoke tunes and doing tons of somersaults. It was odd.
I also have those crazy dreams every now and then where I am falling. You know the ones....when you wake up from your body jolting? So bizarre.
So I want to know, what is the craziest dream that you have ever had?
Once again it's another scandalous post, as I am supposed to share with you lovely readers what it is that I wore today.
I didn't take a picture today, so sorry. You will all have to use your imaginations.
Today I wore a dark purple shirt that has faint black branches all over the front of it. I also wore dark denim designer jeans that I purchased at Plato's Closet for half off. I only went outside to pick up Audrey from school and when I went for that little walk, I threw on some flip flops.
I have a scout night on Tuesday at Audrey's school. I am not prepared for it at all...not even a tiny bit. AND my first meeting for my new troop is supposed to be this upcoming Saturday....sooo not ready for that either.
So, it is going to be a busy week.
Glad I took the time today to escape my everyday life and enjoy some of God's gorgeous creation.
I am happy today to have an easy post to write up. It isn't too hard to empty out my purse and take a quick picture. So, here goes:
So there is my lovely purple purse with bright pink nail polish splattered around its silver buckle. Yeah, I dropped a bottle of polish at the salon, while sitting down in the massaging chair for a pedicure. I felt horrible.
So the contents of my purse, pretty boring I think. We have the pouch that I sewed for myself a couple of years ago. It holds all of my cards and receipts. It usually gets way too filled up with receipts, and I end up at the store with the cashier and all of the people in line behind me, waiting for me, as I dig through my little pouch thing desperately hoping to find my credit/debit card. I really should invest in an actual wallet.
There is also my pretty phone and iPod. I try to never leave the house without either of those two things. The radio stations out here in the springs STINK...so I NEED my good music.
We've got a diaper and wipes (always in my purse). And we have one white sock. I have absolutely no idea why there is a white sock in my purse...sad thing is...I put it back into my purse when I put everything away. LOL. So if you are ever out and about with me and you need a child's white sock, I'm your girl.
I have a box of band-aids that Isaiah did not let me leave the house today without. He burned his finger early today, and as long as I put a new band-aid on it every hour or so, he seems to be okay. :D
We have quite a collection of trash - wrappers, receipts and so forth. The pile did not join the white sock. I threw the trash away after the picture was taken.
We have an epi-pen jr. ALWAYS IN MY PURSE and a black sharpie, which I actually need to remove from my purse, because Christian digs through it constantly...and a black sharpie in his hands, would be BAD!
Finally, we have a bottle of water and a small collection of cards and flashdrives from Blogher...that I hadn't yet put with my larger collection of cards and flashdrives from Blogher. There is also a New York Fire Department pin and a hair pin.
So there you go. THAT my friends is what was in my purse.
My brother is five years younger than me, and I don't think we have ever had a really good relationship. However, when he was very young, he loved to play with his big sister...and I loved that he was pretty much a life-sized doll that I could dress up.
I would constantly dress him in my old clothes and dance recital costumes and make him put on shows with me. I believe in this picture, we were reenacting Goldilocks and the three bears. He doesn't look too thrilled, does he?
It is day 10 and as part of the 30 day challenge, today I am supposed to post about what I am wearing. So exciting, I know.
Today was Audrey's second day of school. We have done pretty well getting into the swing of things....but over the summer, I stayed in my pj's until at least 11:00 A.M....so this whole rolling out of bed and getting everyone dressed deal, stinks...not going to lie.
So today, I am wearing the first clean and comfy thing that I found.
It is a Jason Mraz concert tee that I bought at Goodwill because it has a sparrow on the back.
Cute, right? It's totally me. I have a thing for birds, if you couldn't already tell.
I do like Jason Mraz, but I didn't go to his concert. It's all a facade.
I also threw on a pair of shorts and some sparkly gray flip flops.
I took my baby girl to school this morning - her first day of 1st grade. Gosh she is getting so big.
I just love her little knee highs
Her first Bento lunch....it was fun to make
When I took her to her classroom, she grabbed my arm for dear life and quietly asked me to walk in with her. She admitted that she was a bit scared and kind of shy. It was really sweet. Her desk is between two other little girls. I am quite sure they will be socializing in no time. :D
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