The Squeeze
Things are looking new around here!
Howdy! You might notice that “The Bitter Lemon” got a bit of a facelift. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile now, but it took me a bit to find something that felt right. So, welcome! It’s still going to be the same content you’re used to, just a bit of a different […]
More
‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ Tour!
In May, I took a Bucket List trip to Denver, Colorado to see Khalid in concert at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. While I was waiting for the show to start, I saw the image above flash on a screen promoting a concert in September. “The Miseducation of Lauren Hill 20th Anniversary Tour”, the screen […]
MoreWhat a stuffed llama taught me about self-care.
Labor Day weekend, I went to the outlet mall to catch some highly-anticipated sales. After almost shopping ’til I dropped, I stopped by a store I’ve recently come to love: Five Below. It’s a place you have to be in the mood to look, but everything is $5 or below. I’ve bought some pretty cool […]
MoreFor my dad.
As many of you know, my dad passed away on February 3. This has been the most trying time of my life – and although I haven’t felt comfortable enough to share much about my dad, I’m really thankful I have this outlet, and people who read it and can related to the story of […]
MoreBathing suits + body image.
I remember the first boy/girl pool party I went to. I was in 8th grade, it was the summer of 1998, and I wore a navy blue two-piece from Limited Too. It was a halter top that had turquoise piping and the bottoms were little shorts. I don’t remember being particularly nervous or worried about […]
MoreWhat I’ve learned from John McCain.
As we head into the holiday weekend, I wanted to write a bit on John McCain. I will admit, if you asked me even a year ago my thoughts on Senator McCain, I would have rolled my eyes. I probably don’t have to say it, but I’m a die-hard liberal. I don’t agree with McCain’s […]
MoreWhat am I hungry for?
I wish I could say this post was a giant metaphor – something about me searching for my purpose in life, but no. I’m actually talking about being hungry, and food. The past few days, I’ve been feeling a little weird. My hunger is the same, but literally NOTHING sounds good to eat. In fact, […]
MoreEmbracing the ‘YOLO’ Attitude.
I’ve written a little bit (or maybe a lot) about living your dreams, reaching for your goals, and in general, living life to its fullest. I have always felt a sense of urgency in my life and, although I’m not entirely sure the reasoning for it, I have felt it even more since my dad’s […]
MoreSearching for Sue.
I’ve been practicing yoga for a long time – several years, off and on. When I say “yoga” here, I am referring to the movements you’ve probably come to know whether you’ve taken a yoga class or not. Last month, I signed up with a yoga studio for 30 days to see how I liked […]
More2018 Goals: Checking in.
We’re already a week into August, and I have been thinking a lot about the goals I set for myself this year. It’s time to check-in and see what I’ve done and what I’ve got left to do, because I refuse to let another year pass without doing these things! Raise the standard (In progress) […]
MoreSummer Meltdown… to realness.
Last night was yet another showcase for my Dance Austin Studio family. This was the Summer Meltdown, Take 2, which was a music video series. It was, of course, different from other showcases Dance Austin has hosted in the past – it was a four-week series followed by a video shoot, instead of a live […]
MoreLiving single… at 33.
You might recall a popular TV series in the mid-90’s, “Living Single”, that followed six black singletons living in Brooklyn. They were in their twenties. Because that’s when most people are single, right? I haven’t written about my (lack of) dating life in a while – in fact, when I searched through the archives of […]
MoreStaycation Diaries: That’s a wrap!
Okay… it’s almost 10pm on a Sunday night, and it’s about to be official: the end of my Staycation. I’m definitely savoring these last few moments before reality hits when my alarm goes off at 6:30 tomorrow – I cooked a meal (I’ll be taking the leftovers for lunch tomorrow), I spent three hours on […]
MoreStaycation Diaries: Day 4.
Howdy! Here we are, on the evening of Staycation Day 4 – I just got home from the Drafthouse where I saw “Tag”. But, more on that in a minute. Since I last wrote about Staycation, I’ve been a busy bee. I had an informal jazz rehearsal Tuesday night (our video shoot is Saturday morning, […]
MoreStaycation Diaries: Day 1.
If we’re not counting the weekend, today was officially my first day of Staycation! But, I did have a good weekend – I went to two places in town that I’ve never been – Counter Culture and Capital City Bakery (both vegan). I also laid out at the pool, finished reading a book (and am […]
MoreStaycation, all I ever wanted!
I am fairly certain its bad blogging etiquette to say how exhausted I am, but it’s been a crazy few weeks at work, and life has just been SERVING it to me. Lucky for me, I planned a staycation for myself months ago and have the entire week off! At first, I didn’t think I’d […]
MoreThe Road to Marfa: Reasoning.
I leave for Marfa, Texas early tomorrow morning – my bags are packed, my rental car is ready for pickup, and I’m reflecting on why I wanted to make this unique trip in the first place. I heard about Marfa for the first time on an episode of “Courtney Loves Dallas” (on Bravo), when her […]
MoreMy Bucket List Trip is here!
The chances are likely, that as you’re reading this, I’m on my way to, or have already arrived at my Bucket List Trip destination: Denver, Colorado. But why Denver for a Bucket List Trip? I’ll explain. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to take a trip to a city I’ve never been […]
MoreThe Writer’s Retreat!
On Saturday, I packed a backpack and headed about 40 minutes outside of Austin to Elgin, Texas, where New Republic Studios is located. I was going to my first ever Writer’s Retreat, and it was also the inaugural Writer’s Retreat hosted by the Austin Film Festival, where I’ve been volunteering for the last two years. […]
MorePedometer: Week 2.
So two weeks ago, I got a giant news flash when I started wearing a pedometer given to me as a part of the United Healthcare Motion program. I found out, I don’t ever walk… like at all. During week 1, I walked 18,599 steps. For week 2, I really wanted to amp things up […]
MorePedometer: Week 1.
About a month ago, the HR department at my job told us they’d be switching our healthcare provider. So when I enrolled, I saw that our new provider, United Healthcare, had a “Motion” program that involved getting a pedometer, setting fitness goals, and earning money toward our care. Sweet! I have never really tracked my […]
MoreGetting a good night’s rest…
I’ve written a solid amount about the trouble I have had sleeping over the years. As a child, I have always had very vivid, colorful dreams while sleeping – but I also have had terrible, life-like nightmares (some of them I can still remember). I can recall many nights waking up in the early hours, […]
MoreStage Five: Acceptance.
Ah, here we are, the final stage: Acceptance. This stage can come across as a giant sigh of relief, but the truth of the matter is, acceptance does not equal joy or mean that life goes back to the way it was. Instead, it simply means that we are accepting life without our person; and […]
MoreStage Four: Depression.
Stage four isn’t that shocking – it’s depression. Why wouldn’t someone going through grief suffer from depression? I have been slogging through the darkness of depression and sadness since my dad’s surgery in late September. Although depression can come in many forms for different people, for me, there was one telltale sign: things that normally […]
MoreStage Three: Bargaining.
Stage three of grief is an interesting one. Bargaining refers to promises that may have been made before the person passed away. For example, praying and asking God to please spare your loved one; or perhaps making a promise that you’ll never do anything bad again if only this person can live longer. These types […]
MoreStage Two: Anger.
Already, anger has played a pretty big part in my grieving process. Actually, anger has had a role in the relationship I’ve had with my dad for many years. As described by the experts, this stage of grief can be met with general feelings of anger, along with structured feelings of being angry at a […]
MoreStage One: Denial.
My dad was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in October of 2017. I know that typically, the five stages of grief are part of the healing process after loss; after death. But I have been coping with symptoms of grief since I heard the news about a mass in his brain. I […]
MoreListening: ‘Traveller’ by Chris Stapleton.
This album was the last one in my pile I gathered at the library last month. I was searching for new tunes to keep me distracted enough from crying every time I got into my Jeep to go somewhere. If you’ve listened to Chris Stapleton’s debut album, “Traveller”, you probably know how and why it […]
MoreThe Love Hangover: Bring painkillers.
Last night, I put performances in my 5th showcase with Dance Austin Studio to bed. After our showcase in November, I said I was coming for you, Love Hangover, and that’s exactly what happened. In the fall, my life took a turn when my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer. When I found out, we […]
MoreInvisalign: Past the halfway mark!
That’s right, I’m more than halfway done with my journey to straight teeth! Right now, I’m 50% done with my 8th tray (I have 14 trays total), so I’ve been at it for approximately 17 weeks. And I can tell a big difference in the way my teeth look – plus, it’s getting easier and […]
MoreMeditation: Day 21.
I’ve been wanting to try meditation for years, but I always assumed it was something I just couldn’t do. But I knew when I set my goals for 2018, I had to do something to practice regular meditation – I’m 100% sure my sanity depended on it. Truth be told, I could have gone without […]
More2018, I see you! #GOALS
This is IT – it’s the last day of 2017, and wow, what a year it has been! I wish I had some sort of epiphany to write here, some sort of something to be able to explain to you why I’ve been a little less open about my life since October, and why I’m […]
MoreYou guys, it’s Christmas!
Okay, so not quite yet but it’s almost here – and man, I feel like it creeped up on me this year even despite the early arrival of Thanksgiving. Oh well! Tomorrow is my LAST day of work in 2017 and I could not be more ready. Y’all, I’m exhausted. I am looking forward to […]
MoreMy top 5 beauty products.
I don’t know if you know this about me but I LOVE beauty products – skin care, makeup (!), self-tanners, cellulite creams, hair treatments… you name it, I probably have 4 bottles of it in my cabinet. It’s a bad addiction, but it’s a fun one. I’ve been trying to find a way to share […]
MoreThank you.
It’s Thanksgiving Eve, eve! Tomorrow morning, I’m hopping on a flight to get my travel on for the holiday break, and just perhaps, I’ll get my dose of freezing cold weather for a few days. I don’t want to get too cheesy here, but the approaching Thanksgiving holiday definitely makes me think about what I’m […]
MoreDining at Uchiko!
Ugh, I’m mad at myself for not posting this earlier, but a few weeks ago, I was able to cross off yet ANOTHER experience from my Austin Bucket List: dining at Uchiko! I discovered Uchiko, after seeing the original “Uchi” on an episode of “Food Porn” right when I moved to Austin and I hoped […]
MoreThriving at ‘The Aftermath’.
Over the weekend, I performed in my 4th showcase that Dance Austin Studio hosts. After each performance, I’ve written about how I’ve felt and I realize what an important place dance has in my life. This time was no different, in fact, I realized just how much I need dance and those I dance with […]
MoreMy first two months on Etsy.
At the end of August, I opened up my Etsy shop: The Bitter Lemon Shop. I have always thought about opening up an Etsy store, not because I have an abundance of things to sell, but because there are times when I really enjoy creating things and I always get really excited when they turn […]
MoreChecking off my Austin, Texas bucket list!
As of September 1, I’ve been living in Austin for two years. I came to this city with the intention of furthering my career, and really taking it as an opportunity to start fresh, leave the past behind me, and just LIVE my life. So, I made a bucket list specifically for Austin, and I’m […]
MoreHealthcare, tears, and TSA
Almost two weeks ago, I got a call from my uncle letting me know my dad had been admitted to the hospital. As I’ve mentioned here before, the relationship I have with my dad came to a halt about three and a half years ago. I haven’t heard from him since then, or really heard […]
MoreWordCamp San Antonio!
Hey there! I’m fresh off a weekend of geeking out over WordPress, so I’m pretty excited to be blogging today. I’ve had this on my calendar for a few months now, so I was pretty excited when the weekend rolled around. I wasn’t aware of this, but WordPress hold these WordCamps each year, in different […]
MoreTwo more sleeps ’till fall, y’all.
Fall officially starts FRIDAY. Let’s be real – it won’t be the least bit chilly in Austin until November 30th if we’re lucky. Instead, we’ll just crank the AC and walk around inside wearing all our fall clothes while burning fall candles, right? Loving fall is so basic, but you can’t help what you like! […]
MoreTurns out, I’m healthy.
It’s been awhile since I’ve offered an update on my health. In May and June of this year, I started the rounds on doctors’ appointments. I had checkups, exams, and even got my blood tested. At the time I wrote my last update, I was awaiting my test results. I got them back awhile ago […]
More