So, there is a marathon of The Hills on MTV alllllllll weekend. Probably to prepare us for the devastation that will be the 6th and final season. I'm sad Lauren is gone, I think she was a sweetheart who got taken advantage of and pissed on constantly. I would hate Kristen, but instead I pity her, because she obviously has a lot of baggage and not much confidence - hence why she feels the need to bitch at every one and every thing. I know some people like Kristen because they think she is who she is and doesn't apologize for it, but let's be serious, why is it cool for someone to be manipulative and not care about anyone else's feelings and scream/shout at people they barely know. I'm eager to see what's going to happen in season 6, although it's already guaranteed there will be drama, hookups, fights, cry-fests, and majorly bad decisions made.
On a happier note, yesterday, 40 of us participated in the March of Dimes: March for Babies in Rockville, MD. The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Our team got started in memory / honor / support of Kelly's devastating loss back in November... losing baby Hayden at just under 24 weeks gestation. Throughout the several month journey before the March, we all realized that we had friends and family who suffered similar losses, and it became all the more personal. The March went extremely well, with all 40 of us walking the 3 miles together, with our green shirts on and hearts open.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Today I ran an event for RAINN... a movie screening of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (a murder-mystery indie film that illustrates the effects of rape). Although we did not have the size crowd I was hoping for, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie (like really really really loved), and felt that the post-discussion went well. My mom was amazing in both helping set up for the event and participating in the discussion afterward. I am so lucky to have such a supportive family, I couldn't be happier! I HOPE that the word will continue to spread about this film, and it will truly spark throughout the U.S.
On another note, I absolutely love spending time with my boyfriend Tim's family. They are so welcoming, I feel loved and accepted, and am truly excited about the summer plans we have... weekends at the beach, weddings, vacation in NC. I am truly at ease when we are sitting around the house, everyone is smiling and happy, and I feel totally comfortable.
So, I participated in / attended 4 weddings in 2009, and it seems that 2010 will be the same. I am singing at my good friend Amy's wedding next weekend (From This Moment On, by Shania Twain)... I am travelling to Florida on Memorial Day weekend for my good friend Karen's wedding... I am joining Tim's family in NC for his cousin's wedding... and my cousin Eva is getting married in August. I wonder what 2011 will bring!
On another note, I absolutely love spending time with my boyfriend Tim's family. They are so welcoming, I feel loved and accepted, and am truly excited about the summer plans we have... weekends at the beach, weddings, vacation in NC. I am truly at ease when we are sitting around the house, everyone is smiling and happy, and I feel totally comfortable.
So, I participated in / attended 4 weddings in 2009, and it seems that 2010 will be the same. I am singing at my good friend Amy's wedding next weekend (From This Moment On, by Shania Twain)... I am travelling to Florida on Memorial Day weekend for my good friend Karen's wedding... I am joining Tim's family in NC for his cousin's wedding... and my cousin Eva is getting married in August. I wonder what 2011 will bring!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Happy Birthday Momi!
I'm so excited about this weekend because my mom is coming to stay with me for a few days. Granted, she's coming to MD for a quilting event, not to spend time with her daughter, but I'd like to think I'm a definite perk to the plan! She will arrive tonight and stay until Sunday... with many things planned in between. It is her birthday tomorrow, so I'd like to plan some sort of dinner outting at a favorite restaurant.
I feel like my life has been a whirlwind for the past few weeks, and I'm starting to pick-up the pieces again. Between 2 bridal showers, 2 bachelorette weekends, work being hectic, working out every day, spending time with boyfriend, keeping up with the goings-on of my dearest friends, and of course, watching Biggest Loser, I am just swamped on an hourly basis! I can't remember the last time I just sat around and enjoyed some peace & quiet.
In other news:
~ I started this blog after my dear friend Joe began his own journey. I thank him now for putting this idea in my head, because I do like getting my thoughts out on "paper." I'm also very happy that he's very happy with his life and all the wonderful people in it!
~ I haven't received any feedback on this blog from my wonderful best friend Chris... I hope it's because he loves it and therefore feels no need to enlarge my ego.
~ My weight loss is coming along! I have been working out almost every day (going away for two bachelorette weekends made that difficult), and I'm down 5 lbs! I'd like to slash off at least 20 more lbs... so I have my work cut out for me.
~ The March for Babies walk is this Saturday (4 miles to raise awareness about premature wee ones). I believe our team "Hayden's Loves" is up to 40 people or so, which should make for a fun group walking around Rockville! Shoutout to Kelly for organizing our participation in such a worthy cause!
~ I have yet to start reading again, which is extremely frustrating, and the list of desired books is really getting long.
~ My back pain is getting a lot better with all the working out / stretching / activity that I've been doing, so I'm very grateful for that. I have a back brace to wear at work, anti-inflammatory pills to take each day, Percoset to take when needed, and physical therapy for several weeks. I'm hoping that with the weight loss and really learning about my body, this pain will go away forever!
Happy Hump Day!
I feel like my life has been a whirlwind for the past few weeks, and I'm starting to pick-up the pieces again. Between 2 bridal showers, 2 bachelorette weekends, work being hectic, working out every day, spending time with boyfriend, keeping up with the goings-on of my dearest friends, and of course, watching Biggest Loser, I am just swamped on an hourly basis! I can't remember the last time I just sat around and enjoyed some peace & quiet.
In other news:
~ I started this blog after my dear friend Joe began his own journey. I thank him now for putting this idea in my head, because I do like getting my thoughts out on "paper." I'm also very happy that he's very happy with his life and all the wonderful people in it!
~ I haven't received any feedback on this blog from my wonderful best friend Chris... I hope it's because he loves it and therefore feels no need to enlarge my ego.
~ My weight loss is coming along! I have been working out almost every day (going away for two bachelorette weekends made that difficult), and I'm down 5 lbs! I'd like to slash off at least 20 more lbs... so I have my work cut out for me.
~ The March for Babies walk is this Saturday (4 miles to raise awareness about premature wee ones). I believe our team "Hayden's Loves" is up to 40 people or so, which should make for a fun group walking around Rockville! Shoutout to Kelly for organizing our participation in such a worthy cause!
~ I have yet to start reading again, which is extremely frustrating, and the list of desired books is really getting long.
~ My back pain is getting a lot better with all the working out / stretching / activity that I've been doing, so I'm very grateful for that. I have a back brace to wear at work, anti-inflammatory pills to take each day, Percoset to take when needed, and physical therapy for several weeks. I'm hoping that with the weight loss and really learning about my body, this pain will go away forever!
Happy Hump Day!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
April Thus Far...
A lot has happened since my last blog, but I'm only going to touch on two things.
On Easter weekend, my parents came into town and stayed with my mom's bff, Angella. Their new puppy, Mango, stayed with me and we had a blast! He is such a ball of fluff... so happy to be around people and other dogs... energetic... and oh yea, a PUPPY. As much fun as it was, and as wonderful as it was to see Jasmine have another dog around 24/7, it made me reconsider when I'll be willing and able to get another dog. I was really hoping for this summer. The new timeline is - when I have a fenced in yard for them to run around in. If that happens this summer, YAY... if not, the time will come soon enough.
Easter day was incredible! My parents and I were invited to Tim's house for lunch / egg hunt / cornhole / general hangout. It was the first time the families were meeting, and although I was nervous and unsure as to what I should expect, the entire day went swimmingly and I couldn't stop smiling! Both sets of parents have told me since then that they thought the other was delightful, terrific, and a whole bunch more adjectives that make me excited about the future of family gatherings!
On another note - April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Regardless of the fact that I work for RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), this is an important topic that ALL men, women and children should be aware of. This epidemic is all around us. Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. Almost half of all victims are under the age of 18, and 80% are under 30. The FBI ranks rape as the most violent crime, second only to murder... this means it is the MOST violent crime you have the chance of surviving. Every day I receive an email from another survivor wanting to volunteer or donate. I find these people amazing and the strongest individuals I will ever "meet." I can honestly say I have no idea what I would do if I were to experience such an incident... I hope I would fight... I hope I would survive... I hope I would speak out.
On Easter weekend, my parents came into town and stayed with my mom's bff, Angella. Their new puppy, Mango, stayed with me and we had a blast! He is such a ball of fluff... so happy to be around people and other dogs... energetic... and oh yea, a PUPPY. As much fun as it was, and as wonderful as it was to see Jasmine have another dog around 24/7, it made me reconsider when I'll be willing and able to get another dog. I was really hoping for this summer. The new timeline is - when I have a fenced in yard for them to run around in. If that happens this summer, YAY... if not, the time will come soon enough.
Easter day was incredible! My parents and I were invited to Tim's house for lunch / egg hunt / cornhole / general hangout. It was the first time the families were meeting, and although I was nervous and unsure as to what I should expect, the entire day went swimmingly and I couldn't stop smiling! Both sets of parents have told me since then that they thought the other was delightful, terrific, and a whole bunch more adjectives that make me excited about the future of family gatherings!
On another note - April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Regardless of the fact that I work for RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), this is an important topic that ALL men, women and children should be aware of. This epidemic is all around us. Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. Almost half of all victims are under the age of 18, and 80% are under 30. The FBI ranks rape as the most violent crime, second only to murder... this means it is the MOST violent crime you have the chance of surviving. Every day I receive an email from another survivor wanting to volunteer or donate. I find these people amazing and the strongest individuals I will ever "meet." I can honestly say I have no idea what I would do if I were to experience such an incident... I hope I would fight... I hope I would survive... I hope I would speak out.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Matza... YUM!
This past weekend, my immediate family, some cousins and friends celebrated Passover, the Jewish holy day and festival commemorating the Hebrews' escape from enslavement in Egypt. (If you are unfamiliar with the story, regardless of religion, watch the Prince of Egypt, haha.) For the first time since 1998, my immediate family held seder at our home (we haven't much felt up for it since my maternal grandparents were killed). It was wonderful to finally bring the tradition back and look forward to many more years of togetherness.
Although my father is the eldest in our immediate family and should have lead the seder, he asked me if I wanted to do it. I was surprised and honored that the leadership role in this special holiday (my personal favorite Jewish holiday) was being offered to me. All in all it would entail leading the story-telling / prayers / ceremony before and after dinner occurs, and I was nervous as heck to do it. As most know, I did not grow up in a religious household, nor do I consider it the end-all-be-all of life. But there is a certain heart-felt connection I have to my ancestral background, appreciating and loving my Jewish and Muslim heritage. So, yes, this was a big deal.
In true Sara fashion, I took one of the "Concise" Hagaddah's that we use and started highlighting everything I wanted to cover and what queues I needed to remember in order to stay on top of things as the leader. To keep the rest of the folks busy, I fed them 7-layer dip and they were quite content with however long it took me to prepare.
Everything went swimmingly well! I was so happy the whole time to have such incredible people surrounding me on this holiday, and of course (in true Sara fashion), was brought to happy tears during some parts of the evening. Now that I have experienced the leading of the seder, and now that the tradition is back in our immediate household to hold a seder, as opposed to just attending one, I am so excited for each year and the new faces that will sit around the table on this special night.
Although my father is the eldest in our immediate family and should have lead the seder, he asked me if I wanted to do it. I was surprised and honored that the leadership role in this special holiday (my personal favorite Jewish holiday) was being offered to me. All in all it would entail leading the story-telling / prayers / ceremony before and after dinner occurs, and I was nervous as heck to do it. As most know, I did not grow up in a religious household, nor do I consider it the end-all-be-all of life. But there is a certain heart-felt connection I have to my ancestral background, appreciating and loving my Jewish and Muslim heritage. So, yes, this was a big deal.
In true Sara fashion, I took one of the "Concise" Hagaddah's that we use and started highlighting everything I wanted to cover and what queues I needed to remember in order to stay on top of things as the leader. To keep the rest of the folks busy, I fed them 7-layer dip and they were quite content with however long it took me to prepare.
Everything went swimmingly well! I was so happy the whole time to have such incredible people surrounding me on this holiday, and of course (in true Sara fashion), was brought to happy tears during some parts of the evening. Now that I have experienced the leading of the seder, and now that the tradition is back in our immediate household to hold a seder, as opposed to just attending one, I am so excited for each year and the new faces that will sit around the table on this special night.
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