September 2, 2010: HOW TO: Be Happy On A Random Night Alone

In bed, with fresh coats of OPI's Melon of Troy on my fingers, catching up on my Vanity Fair reading, whilst being bathed in the honey drips that is Zooey Deschanel's voice from She&Him on Pandora radio.

I've got my peppermint foot lotion from The Body Shop on underneath my argyle knee high socks from JCrew.

Now if some invisible fairy could just bring me a crispy glass of Pinot Grigio...

 Cover of the September 2010 Issue

MAJOR shoe lust! (Photo from September 2010 Issue) 

I've a newly found girl crush on Zoe Saldana (should have got on the bandwagon a while ago, I know), but am especially loving this outfit. The pic is a bit blurry, but she absolutely rocks this ensemble. (Photo from September 2010 Issue)

The Chu is back

Life had gotten to be quite hectic around our home in San Diego and so one thing I gave up was blogging. After a few months I have decided that I want my blog back. I am the Chu and its healthy for me to keep it up. Simply put, I love it, so why deprive myself.

About ChuChulainn: Over time boyfriend gave me the nickname "Chu" and after a while he decided to google it. Turns out that there's an old folklore tale about an Irish Warrior they called Chulainn. Boyfriend also says I must have Viking blood running through my veins, and so the fact that Chulainn was a warrior made the nickname stick even more. That, and I'm a little part Irish. 
Its true though, there's no getting around it, I am a perfect match for my loving nickname bestowed by the love of my life. I am The Chu, ChuChu, ChuChulainn and I have taken back my blog.

Rough Day

Some days I hate my job situation. But on those days, I remember how much I am loved and a hug from my boyfriend washes the bad day away.

How To: Combat the Mean Reds

Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my favorite movies. I can't tell you how many times I've watched it while tucked into bed. One of my favorite scenes is when Holly (Audrey Hepburn) explains the ''Mean Reds".

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?

Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
Paul Varjak: Sure.
Holly Golightly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!

Holly's way to combat the Mean Reds is to go to the Tiffany's flagship store in Manhattan, NYC. Mine is as follows:

• Put my earbuds in my ears, pick my favorite iPod playlist, then turn it up loud enough to drown out all other sounds
• Get your favorite warm drink. Mine is a Starbucks Americano w/ white mocha syrup, out of a green straw of course
• Flip through your favorite girly magazine. Mine is Vogue, I just love love the photos and colors
• Put on your favorite scent, either perfume or a candle or home oil. My best feel good smell is The Body Shop home oils, usually Exotic or Satsuma. Light that baby up and put it right near you so its potent
• Open the curtains/blinds/shutters to let in as much natural light as possible
• Keep your notebook and pen handy to write down whatever pops in your head. You can vent, be inspired, remember something you'd forgotten. Be prepared because you never know what will happen.

Does anyone else do something like this? How do you combat your Mean Reds? Or blues for that matter?

First Day of 2010

Yesterday boyfriend and I had the best day. A little laziness, a little productivity, and lots of kisses. It's so easy to make me happy haha. Here's what we did:

• Slept in a bit
• Made coffee - Starbucks French Roast (my fav)
  
• Good breakfast of hard boiled egg and fruit
• Played some Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (boyfriend's brothers bought him a PS3 for Christmas & he bought this game for me-I love racing cars)
• Ordered a new couch - We've had our eye on this one for a year or so, but since the futon recently broke, we went to replace it asap
• Got more Starbucks :^)
  
• Bought a couple things at Ruehl - they're closing our store, actually all the stores (going out of business), so everything is super on sale
• Chipotle for lunch!
• Watched a movie on Xbox/Netflix - Romancing the Stone (I loved this movie when I was a kid & haven't seen it in forever - now its a bit cheesy)
• I took an hour nap
• Watched an episode of Friday Night Lights on Xbox/Netflix
• Finished our bottle of wine from Jessup Cellars in Napa Valley (there wasn't much left)
• Had a snack of bbq popchips & i had a cup of strawberries
  
• Found an extra power cord for my bro to have & made plans for him to come over Sunday
• In bed by 1030pm

Here's a picture of our couch, from the website. We ordered the color 'cream' in a twill material and plan on buying a slipcover to keep it safe and fresh. And actually, when we put the new flooring in our condo, it will be a similar shade to what's shown here.

 Super simple day & so relaxing. Those are my best days. What about you, what did you do yesterday?

I have 10 Followers

This just blows me away. I started this blog as a way for me to journal my thoughts, to grow internally, and to really start opening up (even if its with the WorldWideWeb alone and never read). So when I got 5 followers...well, you should have seen me. I was freiking out. Boyfriend can attest to this. I was super excited, amazed, and panicked. It was hilarious, looking back. I got over that in about a day and just kept blogging, trying not to think of the fact that someone out there might actually read what I write.

Took a wee holiday break, and by holiday break I mean I had the holiday/winter blues and didn't feel like doing anything. Last week I logged onto Blogger again and saw that I now have TEN followers. TEN! It makes me giggle. I love it. Ten chicks, all to myself haha. Know that you will always be My First Ten and this means more to me than I can express. Thank you.

• ALu
• FemmeFlaca
• MegsCamaren
• j_alaina
• RedMissMitchell
• KariElizabethPrincess
• Kerry
• Ondine
• Wendy
• Rogue

xoxoxo

Daisy Let it Go

Daisy by Switchfoot

Daisy, give yourself away
Lookup at the rain
The beautiful display
Of power and surrender
Giving us today
And she gives herself away

Rain, another rainy day
Comes up from the ocean
Give herself away
She comes down easy
On rich and debt the same
And she gives herself away


Let it go
Daisy, Let it go
Open up your fist
This fallen world
Doesn't hold your interest
It doesn't hold your soul
Daisy, let it go

Pain, give yourself a name
Call yourself contrition
Avarice of blame
Giving isn't easy
Neither is the rain
When she gives herself away


Daisy, why another day?
Why another sunrise
Who will take the blame
For all redemptive motion
And every rainy day
When he gives himself away

Let it go
Daisy, let it go
Open up your fist
This fallen world
It doesn't hold your interest
It doesn't hold your soul
Daisy, let it go

Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
And you let it go, go
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go, go
Let it go
Let it go

Some days I feel like Daisy and they’re speaking to me, urging me to just let it go. Let go of all the stress, the worry, the tiny things I agonize over. I need to learn to just let some things go. I know its woman-nature to add extra worry to things, but I really wish it wasn't. Does anyone else have these problems?

You Never Know

Some mornings you just need a good song to be there for you. This is one of my favorites, I just love her voice! I’ve listened to it 3 times already on my iPod mini I bring to work with me.


Here are the lyrics, but you really should hear it – try googling it (I can’t do it for you b/c I’m at work right now, sorry).

You Never Know
Rachael Lampa

I'm following the lines looking for the answers to a prayer
I'm looking for the signs waiting for the signal that ur there
If you ask why I believe - the only thing that I could ever say

You never know when life will turn around
One day your faith's strong the next it can't be found
And you're not looking
And all I know it's outta my control
And you never know

I try to figure in the time
When miracles should happen to appear
And when it comes down to it
There's nothing more that I can do down here
I wanna place it in your hands
Even though I wanna understand


You never know when life will turn around
One day your faith's strong the next it can't be found
And you're not looking
And all I know it's outta my control
And you never know

If you wanna spend your life
In your design, you're only wasting time

You never know when life will turn around
One day your faith's strong the next it can't be found
And you're not looking
And all I know it's outta my control
And you never know


PS "I Like Big Butts" came on after and totally popped my zen bubble LOL

You have green grass

You know that saying 'the grass is always greener on the other side'? Well it bothers me. And I think mostly because its true. We're always striving for something better, which sometimes I think can be good, but some days I just want to appreciate what I have.

I've had a terrible morning - drama with work, broken things at home, one frustration after another - and the whole time I kept thinking "I just want to be happy today, please Kim make yourself happy". But amidst all the drama I hadn't quite made a game plan on how to do that. 

So as I'm catching up on my blog reading (I was 2 weeks behind, happily caught up now) I read one of Kandee's posts about this adorable wife/mother/amazing woman named Stephanie. So naturally I go to Stephanie's blog (http://nieniedialogues.com/) and start reading from the beginning post. She's been blogging for several years, so I skipped up to 2009 and started reading about her near fatal accident and the things she has suffered and the people that have taken care of her and her husband and children.

Her story touched my heart and I am just so proud of her for staying positive during everything she's gone through and is still going through. And in a little miracle, my heart was lifted and I realized something. Grass might be greener on another side, but my grass is still green. Sometimes you need the help of others to see the beauty and joy in your own life. Today Kandee and Stephanie helped me do that and I thank them immensely.

Automatic Pick-Me-Up

Having a bummer of a day so I decided to treat myself to an on-a-whim $20 Mani. Asked the girl to chop off all my nails and paint them a deep, dark red.

“Sure you no want French?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Dark red please.”
“Sure you no want long nail?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Chop them off please.”

She does her thing, and then reminds me to pay now before we paint (so it doesn’t get chipped). After a quick goodbye to my hard earned $20 bill I hand it over to her. And she comes back with $10! Oh happy day, things are looking up.

“Sure you no want lighter color?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Dark red please.”

She paints a swatch on her nail then shows it to me, as if to prove what a terrible color choice I’ve made. Ugh. She’s right. Damn her! I wrinkle my nose, shake my head, and give her the puppy dog apologetic eyes. She nods her head in silent understanding as I get up to go pick a new color.

Not wanting to disappoint again, I spend a little longer looking at my choices. It doesn’t help. Now I’m stuck at indecision point and can feel the eyes boring into the back of my head. Then I have a sudden epiphany, smile to myself, make a grab, and essentially skip back to my seat.

I hand over the nail polish bottle and she paints a swatch on her nail again, with a slight nod of approval this time. I giggle and stick out both my hands, ready to go.

Turns out that if you choose your nail color as if you were 5 years old again, it can bring a smile to your face. This one reminds me of Watermelon Bubblicious and it makes me happy. Super impractical and I love it!