i slept in this morning. Acoording to liz, i was laughing in my sleep. i faintly recall laughing, but i dont know what i was laughing about. 

i have had a lot of dreams involving my immediate family with the new addition of a new baby. must look up what that means. 

i had some yougurt, OJ, 4 strawberries, some garlic rosemary bread, and parrano cheese for breakfast. 

i must remember to drink a lot of water. its filling + good for the mind, body and soul.

Monday i am restarting weight watchers. it worked before although i am not a fan of math. i have already realized that just trying to lose weight doesnt work without a plan. this is my plan until i find a better one. 

DO NOT TREAT MYSELF UNTIL I LOSE 10 LBS!!!!! once i do. i deserve a new haircut.

HEALTH THINGS 

________________

FOOD SHIT: 

stop treating myself/celebrating with food. 

no more late meals after 8 pm. 

Big breakfasts not big dinners. 

Less take out/ eating out-limit 2x per week. 

start tokin again-not drinkin. 

weight watchers

less carbs/ dairy

GO-MOVE:

 10 min. a day on the elliptical machine before and after school

walk the dog longer and more often 

attempt to ride my bike in this city.

local HIKING!!!!!

 

in the dog house.

I had a VERY difficult time getting dressed yesterday. Not just in the morning, but also when I tried to get ready to go for drinks with my partner. Nothing was fitting me the way I remember it fitting before and I felt ugly in every single thing I tried on.

Since I’ve started teaching, my professional (dressy) clothes are reserved for those days I’m in the classroom.  Ideally I like to wear the stuff I can’t wear to school on my days off aka jeans. I have never really looked good in just jeans and a t-shirt. But I don’t like looking dressed up all the time either. People interpret a dress as dressed up, I think of it as a WIN-WIN one piece, an outfit with little coordination required.

Usually on nights like these (when I cant get dressed) I usually give up after an hour and a half and stay in. Then I become really depressed for a few reasons: because I feel like shit, my house now looks like shit, I wasted so much time, and mostly because I am missing out on fun.

None- the less, after settling on a mediocre outfit, we went out. Chicago has been great to us so far. The people are nice and friendly. People will actually strike up nice conversations with you at bars (without being sleazy).  One friendly female told us about a fab lez dance party that happens there on the first Thursdays of the month. (sooooo good to know) The music was great, the crowd was fun, there were John waters movies in the background, and there was no line to the women’s bathroom.  I enjoyed the cute, clean, spacious, private ladies bathroom located near the dance floor. I did not enjoy someone opening the door to get in as I was sitting there completely exposed. Whoops!!! I guess hadn’t actually locked the door correctly. I quickly reached out to hold onto the handle for dear life and tried to lock it a second time, a different way. But it happened again!!! This really pissed me off. Where was my girlfriend? Why wasn’t she standing in front of the door guarding it like a good female friend should? I did it for her! This in combo with the 3X 3.00 lienekugels brought me back to that terrible place I was before I left the house. I was fucking pissed- at the situation and by default, at my girlfriend.  She quickly asked if I wanted to go home, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to, but I was upset and since she gave me the option, I agreed. We slept in the same bed that night, but she was clearly in the dog house.

adventure awaits

9-10-10

I had tomato basil quiche for breakfast today. Mmm. Was totally craving quiche

My girlfriend and I both have the day off. ADVENTURE AWAITS!

I need to write my art curriculum ASAP.  Where do I want my students to be and how will we get there? 

Julia

these are two amazing quotes from a close friend of mine. they were also her voicemail messages for a while.

"When faced with the process of transition do not be afraid, although entering the unknown may be frightening, it is the willingness to be stagnant that is truly detrimental. "- Julia Arredondo

" hi this is julia, and i am so excited about the future"-Julia Arredondo

 We have both recently departed from Baltimore MD, the city where we met digging through trash for furniture (5 years ago).  We have been through some crazy shit together, and have definitely had some laughs. 

She has moved back to her hometown in texas, to reconnect with her roots. ironically her last name "Arredondo" means to" turnaround/ go around"  in spanish. 

 Although i understand and admire her decision, it hurts my heart to have someone i love so much,  very far away.  

i truly wish her all the happiness on life's adventure and treasure the gift of her friendship. 

Today. NOW

i have been meaning to start a blog for a while. I woke up everyday this week wondering if this was the day. if this was in fact. TODAY. 

 i have been meaning to do many things...i should just be doing them. i feel as though putting these words out there will make me more accountable for doing these things.

What are these things? The goals of this blog/ the point of all this. 

to remember, record,  reflect and yes to rant.

to prove my love for myself by making healthy decisions.  

to live each day artfully. 

to inspire someone, somewhere. 

WHY???

basic reasons-

this is my first year living in a new city. ( i have been in chicago for 2.5 months)

i have recently started my first teaching position. 

i want to use this a way to record my daily attempt to make healthier decisions. 

i love fashion. simply-->. i hope to inspire other people to create identities through fashion rather than consume identities. 

as a teacher/ researcher/ collector/ worrier i have too many thoughts swimming around. i need to put them somewhere. 

I cant remember the details of various periods of my life, mostly those moments/thoughts/feelings that are recorded in sketchbooks or photographs or sparked by experiences. 

Lately i have been noticing the little things and making endless connections between my seemingly disconnected thoughts/experiences. this feels like art to me. 

 

Who am i?

i am an artist. a queer. an educator.  a beautiful plus sized woman with a sense of style. an american born woman of puerto rican dessent. a big sister (of 4), an owner of a rescue dog,  really poor, but now educated.