Leap Year

Let me start off by saying that my February was as mundane, lackluster, unmotivated and uninspired as my January. 

I had every intent to work out, eat better, create, write and a long list of other blah blah blahs and to-dos ready to go at the beginning of the month, but after I got back from New Orleans I retreated to my chaise lounge armed with the comfy-est blanket, my nook & my Netflix and just said nah. I didn't feel like being bothered with people, parking, paying, driving, or even getting dressed for that matter. I just wasn't feeling it. At all.....

There were some moments of getting myself together. A museum trip, brunch day, some book club discussions, a few lunch/dinner dates with some near & dears to me, but outside of those few moments of elation, my month has been meh. 

But thankfully, February has decided to give me an extra day to get over whatever rut that's been plaguing my existence and get myself ready to fully recover for March. 

I know it's normal to be in a funk. Life has been pretty busy on the work front, and just in general. But still, at some point I know I have to get over myself and just make some moves in the right direction. I always feel better when I have something to look forward to and thankfully there are some things on the horizon that should motivate me to roll over and get my life. 

March is always filled with sunshine, patios, birthdays and daylight savings time. I'm thinking the sun may hold the key to my mood doing a turnaround.....

I randomly bought a ticket to Puerto Rico for April a couple of weeks ago, and that alone is motivation enough for me to push the queso aside and downward dog or something! I mean, I would like to rock a two piece in paradise. With no shame, of course. 

Moving along.....

With that being said, today is my last day of whatever it is I've been going through. I'm changing my outlook to something more positive and I'm definitely looking forward to March! 

New Orleans.

Let me start off by saying that New Orleans is most arguably one of my favorite U.S. cities. It's just something about the city, the culture, the food, the music, the people.... I just cannot even begin to explain my love affair for this city. 

I'm fortunate enough to have lived less than an hour away from New Orleans during my time in college, so the visits were more than frequent. As an adult, it still feels like I find myself drawn to the city atleast once or twice a year and this year will be no different. 

 

This past weekend, my friends and I made our 2nd annual (as it appears to be becoming a tradition) trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and the Zulu Ball. I had to cut my trip short due to other obligations, but that Thursday and Friday in the city were enough for me to get my fix for the weekend. 

I flew into New Orleans that Thursday afternoon, and after getting settled into my hotel walked over to Harrah's Casino to partake in a few complimentary beverages with my friends sister before the rest of our group arrived. 

Sadly, I did not hit it big. I did however partake in some slots & enjoyed a beverage or four from Harrah's. After we had our fill, we headed down the street to catch the tail end of the Krewe of Muses parade. 

It was cold out there, so we sobered right up as we managed to catch a few beads from the floats. 

We finally reached our stopping point and headed back to our hotel to meet up with our friends who had just arrived shortly after midnight. 

Everyone was pretty tired, so it was an early night for me....

Friday morning I was up bright and early. We went out and picked up our tickets for the ball, then headed back to pick up our other friends for breakfast before we checked into our other hotel and ran errands. 

The Trolley Stop is worth a trip on any New Orleans visit. I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy eating. 

After we ate, we made a Costco run to get our liquor for the ball (the Zulu Ball is a BYOB event) and a few other pit stops before we finally made our way back to hotel number two for some rest before we were scheduled to get our makeup done. 

I napped a bit. Then we walked a few blocked to meet up with our make up artist who came from Texas to set up shop to do makeup for all of his Zulu ball going clients. 

Steven Coleman is a miracle worker. Makeup was perfection. 

We waited a long while, and then eventually it was time to go to Zulu!

The Zulu Ball is the equivalent of a party with 20,000 of your closest friends, with unlimited food, drink and a concert featuring Charlie Wilson, and Juvenile that lasts till about 4:30 in the morning. 

There aren't many pictures because we were too busy dancing, but take my word for it, an excellent time was had by all. 

I probably slept for like two good hours that night before I was up and headed to the airport to catch my flight back to Houston. I was exhausted but satisfied. 

I got to see a lot of my old friends from college and make even more memories with my Zulu crew. 

Overall I enjoyed my 36 hours in New Orleans, and I can't wait till my next visit. I'm still recovering from the weekend, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. But that's New Orleans for you. 

Let's Just Say.......

Let's just say that I failed miserably at Januarying. My January was just too cold, too dark, too mundane and it ended with me being sick. The funny thing is, it wasn't even cold everyday in January. It just had a chill about it that I did not like. So February. 

Let's just say that I'm metaphorically pressing restart on the year and using this month as a do over. The plans, the to do's, the lists. I'm actually going to do something off one of them. I'm going to leave the excuse and strife that was January, in January. I'm going to get over myself and move forward. 

Rolling with the punches. Let's just say that I had a one punch, to completely knocked out spirit about me these last couple of weeks. It's like I had so much momentum and just like that life changed and I had to regroup. I didn't approach that change optimistically and kind of retreated into myself versus working around it or altering my plans to fit the current situation. I'm a work in progress, but I'm trying to relinquish my strong desire to control everything in my life. I'm trying. Work. In. Progress.... But I'm okay now. Life doesn't stop with one minor wrinkle in the fold. Just saying.....

February will be better. January wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I wanted it to be. February will. 

Next stop New Orleans......

Currently....

Linking up on this cold & sickly Thursday.....

Feeling: Like crap. I started feeling sick Monday, left work early Tuesday and went to the doctor, and still on Thursday feeling sub-par. I have court this afternoon, so I feel as if I will be crashing once I'm done with my hearings. 

Reading: Prescription labels? Does that count? No. Oh... I did however start this book, but fell asleep on like page 1. See above as to how I'm feeling right now. 

Watching: The puppy enjoy his late night tv binges. I just haven't been feeling any shows at the moment. He on the other hand has.... 

Thinking about: My trip next weekend to New Orleans for Mardi Gras & the Zulu Ball. 

Plans. Life. Evaluating. Observing. 

A lot is on my mind actually. 

Hoping: That I feel better soon. And that I can get some of the thoughts running through my mind to chill so I can get back on track sans any stress or worrying. 

Needing: A trip to the beach. A break. 

This Will Be....

This will be a rant...

Or maybe, bitch session is a better description of how I'm feeling. Either way, I just feel like complaining, and whining, and discussing everything I'd rather be doing right now than at work in my office. Blame Mother Nature, or me. Or both....

Maybe I'm not a fan of January's. Too many expectations, not enough sunlight. This January has been so slow that it's starting to piss me off. It feels and looks disgusting outside. Everyone is in hibernation mode and doesn't want to do anything. All of my friends are on self-proclaimed diets so there goes the random midday lunch dates, happy hours & brunch outings. It's too cold to be fashionable, but then it's still Houston so it could be hot the next day, which leads to more clothing frustration. Going to court everyday in January is no good. Suits. Wind. Skirts. Just no. 

My brain has been in a fog. I don't feel productive which leads to guilt. I feel guilty for not doing more. I want to do more but then I hit a mental road block and just end up crashing when I get home. I should be doing so many things, but my motivation is at a minimum. I went out and bought fresh flowers for my apartment just because I needed some life in my space. 

Flowers helped a little. Then, I got the bright idea that I needed a wreath as well. I went to Michael's and opted to get the supplies to make my own, because you know I create things. I'm creative. I went to start working on my creation after work yesterday and then was like nah. I'll be heading back to Michaels today to return said purchase & will just buy the one I saw that I liked, because I just can't. My mind is too out of sorts. 

Mercury in retrograde? Or just me needing to get my shit together. I'm not sure. 

I need to see things everyday and focus on visualization. I wrote power words on my chalkboard so I can leave everyday with them on my mind. 

Seeing is believing apparently. 

I'm praying for some sunshine this weekend. Tomorrow I'm taking a mental health day, so hopefully a break from the day to day will get me back centered and refocused. I'm not unhappy or anything like that. I'm just antsy. Things need to get moving. I need something better than good to happen. I need some new life breathed into me. I need a get-away, some new scenery, a drive down a different street, a taste of a new dish, a frolic in the park. Something. Just not this same old, same old routine. I need some newness. 

End rant. 

Five Days In......

I completely missed the mark on having a 2015/Christmas/NYE recap ready to go.... 

Because in all honesty, fuck sorry not sorry 2015.....

Although a lot of monumental things occurred last year, like a lot of travel (New York, Austin, New Orleans, Chicago, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, Agra, Dubai, Baton Rouge) a lot of changes & transitions (moved into my new place, lost my grandmother, dealt with the on-going after math of having a parent with a degenerative disease) and a lot of prove your strength moments, and so on and so forth.... this year was almost too much. 

When the clock struck midnight, I literally had to take a moment and step outside because tears were streaming down my face. This was definitely my first time ever crying with not only relief but realization that I had made it through the year. I feel like every hard year is met with disbelief and recognition that you made it through once the new year rolls around, but at some point something has got to give right? With that being said, I have decided to skip the recap and just focus solely on what lies ahead. I would be lying if I said it were easy to just look beyond everything that occurred last year, but what I do want to focus on is taking everything that did happen last year and using it as a testament and attribute to everything I will accomplish & live through gracefully this new year.

As it stands, we are five days in to the new year and I can wholeheartedly say that I do not have any resolutions.... I actually kind of prefer the term "intentions" over resolutions.

Of my various intentions, I plan to focus on creativity, love, compassion, freedom & planning......

Being an attorney, legit monopolizes one side of my brain, while holding the other side hostage. I want to write. I want to create. I want to be surrounded by beautiful words, and people, characters & energy. It is my intention to do just that this year. Every event, moment, opportunity, space & avenue available I want to take advantage of. I welcome all creative (caveat: must be positive) souls & energies I come into contact with as long as their purpose is to inspire me to do my work.....

Love. I said it in my last post. Still feel the exact same way about it. I am open, and finally ready to welcome it into my life.

I started out as a legal aid attorney. I miss pro bono work. I miss volunteerism. I miss helping. It is my intent to become more involved in my passion. I lost sight of it along the way, but my heart yearns to get back to my roots. This year I need to get more active in the community & doing things that benefit not only myself....


Freedom & planning. Sounds contradictory, but to me they make perfect sense. I'm happy when I have things to do. I have the freedom and ability to do whatever it is I want to do.... I must plan on doing something. This year, I retreated so far into myself that I lost time & missed opportunities to experience so many things. I don't want life to pass me by. Although I love my peaceful in the house moments, there is so much more to life than that. I live in a major city, yet know hardly anything about what is going on in the city. I need to do better. While I have the freedom & autonomy to do things, I must also make an effort to make plans and actually do stuff. Once I have a child and other responsibilities, I won't have as much freedom as I do now. I need to utilize this time wisely so I will not be left with any regrets when I enter into the next stage of my existence.

2016 is going to be more purposeful than 2015.....

I have set my intentions & and am ready to truly live and enjoy my year.

And since my friends and I were cute on NYE, I'll go ahead and make a shameless plug and post a few pictures below:

Fin. 

Ready.

I'm ready for 2015 to be over. 

I'm ready for new beginnings,

New adventures, 

New lessons,

Love and laughter. 

I'm ready for fresh moments, 

Memories, 

Embraces, 

Growth. 

I'm ready to heal, and to move past the hurt of this year. I'm ready for the voids to be filled & for me to figure out what it was all for. 

I'm ready for new ideas,

Rejuvenation, 

Fulfillment. 

Next steps, 

Journeys, 

And self-discovery. 

This year has proven so much, and prepared me for so much, but I'm just ready. 

Ready to start anew. 

Ready to make changes for the better. 

Ready to continue towards my destiny. 

Take steps closer to my fate. 

I'm just ready.