Smiles for Another Week {Five Little Grins}

Thank you, lord for another week. :) Here are some of the little things that made me smile.

1) Bike Riding! Me and my cousin went cruising on our bikes to the beach. It was part of our healthy exercising plan. We decided to start Insanity together, for motivation!
2) Pumpkin Patch!! My first time at the Pumpkin Patch, and we took our niece and nephew with us. The kiddies got to feed the animals and ride the horses. Read more here.

3) Crochet and Knitting. I love it because it helps me destress, and I love making things for other people. I made this cute little elephant. I call her Eva the Elephant. I made this cute little plush toy for my cousin's niece. It came out so cute!!! #handmade
4) Last Monday I went to take a Spanish Bilingual Test for a job. I speak Spanish, my parents were both born in Mexico, so I grew up speaking both Spanish and English. But I was so nervous for my test!! They tested me on Written, Reading and Speaking. The Reading part was hard because I had to translate an english paragrah and read it in Spanish. But I PASSED, I WAS sooo EXCITED!! lol.

5) CARA BOX!! I signed up to be part of the Cara Box exchange swap over at Wifessionals!! :) And this week, my Cara Box came!! Brianna at Endlessly Beloved, is the amazing partner that sent over my care package all the way from Arizona!. Read more here!! :)

Olive Kitteridge {A Book Review}

Title: Olive Kitteridge
Author: Elizabeth Strout
Publisher: Random  House
Release Date: March 25, 2008

Summary: from Goodreads
In a voice more powerful and compassionate than ever before, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Strout binds together thirteen rich, luminous narratives into a book with the heft of a novel, through the presence of one larger-than-life, unforgettable character: Olive Kitteridge.

At the edge of the continent, Crosby, Maine, may seem like nowhere, but seen through this brilliant writer’s eyes, it’s in essence the whole world, and the lives that are lived there are filled with all of the grand human drama–desire, despair, jealousy, hope, and love. 

At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance: a former student who has lost the will to live: Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse. 

As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life–sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition–its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires 

Quotes:

"Had they known at these moments to be quietly joyful? Most likely not. People mostly did not know enough when they were living life that they were living it."

My Take:

Hmm. i think I'm in the middle with this book. I love stories that are somehow interwoven, and I felt that Elizabeth Strout did a good job at interweaving all the stories together. There are thirteen different stories in this book that fit into each other. The one thing that they all have in common is Olive Kitteridge.

Olive is this "larger-than-life" woman, who has no filter. I must be honest from the very first chapter, I knew I wouldn't like Olive. She was rude, and made some rude comments. She was kind of a bitch. As the book progress, i began to warm up to her, although she wasn't my favorite character. At the end she was still a bitch. But  I felt bad for her, her son, and her husband. 

The book takes place in a small town in Maine. It seems everyone knows each other. Olive was a school teacher, and in some of the stories, they mention Olive as being their teacher. Throughout the 13 stories, we see the importance that Olive has on the people in this community. Somehow this bitchy, mean, harsh, strong woman, has taught these people something about love, has given advice, has given them some wisdom. 

The thirteen short stories  gives us a a tiny glimpse of the characters life. The stories deal with marriage, death, loneliness, suicide, eating disorders, parenthood, adultery, sickness, stealing. Everything that happens in real life, happened to this small town. I liked the fact that somehow, whether Olive was physically there, or if the characters remember something she said during class, Olive was present and helping them out in her  own way. 

So I was fifty-fifty. I didn't like the main character all that much, but I did like how not knowing she was able to play a huge influence, like save someone's life. 

My Rating: 3/5

Looking for more reviews, check out my reviews here: Book Thoughts

Have you read "Olive Kitteridge"? What are your thoughts?

"Fall" in Love with the Season {Cara Box Reveal}

In late August, as I started getting a little bit more in my blogging, I started following all these amazing blogs!! One of the blogs that I came upon was Wifessionals, Kaitlyn blogs all about her marriage, and now her new baby girl. I love her blog.

Kaitlyn has this exchange/swap called the Cara Box Exchange! Read more about it here. It's kinda like pen pals. We get paired up with two partners. We exchange emails, and get to know each other for a month and a half. I send one of my partners a Cara Box and the my other partner sends me a Cara Box.

I had a blast getting to know my partners! They are amazing, intelligent, hardworking young ladies!! I'm so happy that I was paired up with them!! Go check them out at their blogs, Brianna at Endlessly Beloved and Jessica at Leopurrd. 

This exchange's theme was "Fall" in Love with the Season!! All about fall!!

Brianna was the partner that sent me my Cara Box!! and I absolutely loved it!! If you haven't checked out her blog, go go go!!

I'm so excited to reveal what Brianna sent me!! I think she did more than she had to, and I'm extremely grateful!! Thank you, Brianna!!

She sent a pretty dark blue nail polish that didn't survive the trip. :/ but it made a cool design on the little pumpkin. lol

I think she got tired of me saying how obsessed I am with Pumpkin Spice Lattes!! lol. She hit it right on with my very own PSL coffee tumbler, and a tiny pumpkin (I still don't know if it's real or not) and a handmade Pumpkin Recipe Book (pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin cookies). Mouth water!! I was so happy when I got these Mason Jars, aren't they so cute!!! One of them is painted orange and the other has a page of Great Expectations, with a hard cut out, and a tea light!!!

What!?!? A skein of yarn!! Yes!! And the colors are amazing, a girl can never have too many balls of yarn!! The scarf is so pretty!!!! and this cute little frame is my fave, I already have it up!! :) I hope she knows that whenever she visits California, she'll have a friend here!! :)

Here are a few things I learned about Brianna:

• Brianna is this pretty, amazing girl who lives in Arizona! She has an amazing Air Force Man as a boyfriend, who she is obsessed with, and I'm sure he is obsessed with her too!! They are the cutest!! 
• She goes to school, and is scheduled to graduate a year early. She is one smart cookie!!
• Talking about cookies she loves cookies!! Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter are her fave!
• She is a country music girl at heart!! Don't believe me? Read here.
• During the fall, she loves Thanksgiving, the cooler weather, darker nail polishes, and warmer clothes!! Read her 10 favorite Things - Fall Edition blog post. 
• She does not like Pumpkin Spice Lattes!!! Instead she'll have a Chai Latte
• She is obsessed with One Tree Hill (OTH soulmates!!)
• She loves Mason Jars!!

I'm still not quite done with Jessica's box, but stay tuned, for her reveal post!!
Here's a few things I learned about Jessica visit her at leopurrd

• She's obsessed with Pretty Little Liars, like me!!! 
• She also loves to bake!!! 
• She lives in sunny Florida, but she is very much into skincare, so "sun is the enemy"
• Jessica met her boyfriend online and are very much in love <3 font="">
• She is in love with the French, and would love to travel to Paris one day. :) 
• Fall is one of her favorite seasons, and the thing she loves the most is the clothes. Boots, scarves, layers!! 
• Tennessee is the place where she wants to retire to!
• Jessica is about to graduate in December!! Good Luck girly!! You are almost finished!! :) 

If you want to participate in the next Cara Box Exchange visit Wifessionals! The next Sign-up is December 2nd.

Pumpkin Patch!!

Omg y'all its Thursday!! And my last post was on Monday!! Sorry!! It won't happen again, promise!!

But two super exciting things happened yesterday!!! ahhh!!!

1) Pumpkin Patch!!! keep reading to find out!!
2) My Cara Box came all the way from Arizona, from the amazing, beautiful, young lady named Brianna from Endlessly Beloved. (stay tuned for tomorrow's reveal post)!!! 

Pumpkin Patch!! I think ever since I was little I secretly wanted to go to a pumpkin patch, pick out a pumpkin and carve it, we never had the chance to. I've been pestering everyone about going to pumpkin patch, but no one would listen until me and my cousin Vanessa and my cousin Daisy (the kiddies' momma), decided to plan a pumpkin patch field trip with our niece and nephew.

The patch was not that big. But they did have different activities for the kiddies. They had a petting zoo, with all kinds of animals. Sheep, a calf, goats, and even a llama. My nephew was so excited to feed the animals!!! My niece on the other hand was not. There was a small goat that somehow came out from the little animal pen, the goat was chilling walking around. Well, my niece was a little scared so she was just observing from afar, then she turns her head, and the wanderer goat is there. She starts screaming, scrambling everywhere, running away. She's 2, and the little goat was as tall as her, so I can see why she got scared, I think I would be scared too. I finally picked her up, and she didn't want us to put her down. My nephew was having a ball feeding the animals. When they saw the llama, they said it looked like Cuzco from The Emperor's last Groove, which I thought was cute. :)

Momma and kids!!

Then we went to the Face Painting area. I think they were pretty good on this one. She got Hello Kitty, he got Angry Birds.

The Pony Rides was next!!! And ooohh boy. They were both excited before they got on, jumping around!! My nephew was good, he was having fun in his little black horse. But my little niece was not having it. Her mom had to walk next to her holding her, because she was crying. Eventually she stopped crying and she even started smiling towards the end.

Everyone had a blast!! :)

Tomorrow stay tuned for my Cara Box reveal!! So exciting!!

Have you visited a pumpkin patch yet?

Things That Made Me Smile {Five Little Grins}

I'm joining, Cassandra, Raewyn, and Paulina in their newly link-up. I missed the first week of FIVE LITTLE GRINS, but I'm excited to be able to share with you and remind myself of all the happy things in my life. 

1. Pumpkin Spice Lattes - Yes i'm one of those overly annoying people, obsessed with pumpkin spice lattes!! I apologize in advance.
2. This happened not this Saturday that passed, but the Saturday before, dang time flies!!! I love my friends I'm happy that I got to see them even if it was for a bit!! Follow us at Fab 5 Adventures. Friend Reunion!!

3. Bowling. I got 1 strike, I suck!!

4. Family!! They always bring a smile to my face.
5. Selena!! My all time favorite childhood idol. She was a Mexican Superstar.  She was murdered when I was like 6 or 7, but I remember I would sing her songs all the time. She was amazing. My cousin thought that we should teach my little nieces all about our idol, hoping that one day they are as much obsessed with her, as we were. Don't know who she is? You must watch the film, Selena, where Jennifer Lopez plays her and shows Selena's life up until she was killed, its in English. :)

One of my favorite Engish songs!!

What made you smile?

"I made this for you!"

After work or school, who doesn't like to come home to relax and de-stress. I love to!! I have a couple of things I like to do, catch up on TV shows, read amazing books, blog, listen to music. These are things I like to call "Me-Time." And I loved them, because I'm able to just relax.

I have recently just picked up a new hobby that I enjoy doing as much, although I might not be that great it.

Knitting/Crocheting. Two totally different things. Although I more of a crocheter, I'm on my way to learn how to knit.

I love making things!!! and I love giving things to people!! So this hobby joins two things I love!! Win, win!!

{source} 

Check out my other blog Fab 5 Adventures to see what knitting and crocheting mean to me, and some of the things I have done.

I'm still learning. But here is the one of the projects I just finished. It's so cute and handy.

Check out the video that I learned from.

I also working on this chevron/wave baby blanket for my cousin's baby boy. I got this pattern from here.

Have you ever tried knitting or crocheting? What are you favorite patterns?

Dear milk,

{source} 

Hi there. I finally decided to reconnect with you. You know, yummy, delicious, liquidy, white heaven you, you haven't been that nice to me in the last couple of years!! And I'm kinda mad that I have to buy a separate container of you, so you won't upset my tummy. That's why I haven't had a bowl or glass of you for so long.

But it wasn't always like this. I remember having a bowl of cereal with extra milk every morning before heading to school. And then for dinner, I'll have a glass of milk with some yummy chocolate chip cookies. On the weekends you were present with my plate of pancakes. Or when we were off to an early game of dad's or brother's games, I will grab a strawberry milk from the donut shop. And that mug of Chocolate Abuelita that mom and grandma made us during the winter, I can't even enjoy it to the fullest now.

You were always there to comfort me. When I couldn't sleep the remedy was always a glass of milk. When I was feeling sad, a glass of milk with a cookie, always made me feel better. Milk always made me happy.

All I ever wanted to do is love you, but all I got in return was an upset tummy.  But it's okay I'll still be coming back for more! I hope to enjoy you forever, even if it is in that special labeled carton.

Visit Bre @ Peacoats and Plaid for more prompts

Dreams, Loyalty and No Regrets

I'm really lagging behind on my posts for Bare Your Soul!! Fail!! This weekend was just so busy with the baby shower, but here is my one-paragraph (I really tried) answers.

Do you have recurring dreams? Explain.
I wish I could remember all my dreams, at least one dream. But sometimes I just can't. One time I even put a notebook by my bedside for me to jot down everything I could once I wake, but that didn't work. 

But one type of dream that I do remember is running away from someone that is chasing me. I consider this a nightmare, because I wake up from this type in the middle of the night scared out of my mind. Oh and there is different variations, sometimes the person who is chasing me has a gun, or a knife. Sometimes there is a bomb, and a group of us have to run away together. It's really scary. No one actually dies in these nightmares, but still they are pretty frightening.

"Dreaming about being chased generally means that you are "being told by your unconsciousness that you're avoiding an issue or a person," - {Source} 

{Source} 

One word that describes me and why
Loyal. 
That was harder than I thought. But I think Loyal is the best way to describe me. Roll with me and I will have your back until the day I die. I think I invest everything to my relationships, with relatives and friends, and become instantly attached to you. I will always care for you, no matter what happens.

To me loyalty means being able to tell that person the truth. It also being able to be there for the person through the good times and the bad. Being loyal is believing in the person, even when that person doesn't believe in themselves. Being able to protect your person from harm, at least trying to, whether it be physical or emotional harm. 

 I value my relationships so much, and the only think I ask in return is to be loyal to me. So if I feel like I have given you my trust, my loyalty to you, and you don't care about me the same way I do, then we have a problem. Sadly, I've lost some friends along the way because of this. 

If I could do it all again, would I?

If I could do it all over again.... hmmm. As I look back at my life, especially my high school years and my college years where things began to change, I would like to say that yes I would go back in time and do it differently. Choose different decisions, so that I wouldn't hurt myself or other people. But then I don't think I would be the same person I am today. And although I'm still far from the person I want to be, I like the person I have become. All the experiences that I have gone through in the last 10 + years have all shaped me to the person I am today. Yeah I've done some really stupid things, but I've all had some of the best moments of my life. I have no regrets. And yes I would do it all over again, the same. 

How has your childhood affected the way you raise your kids?
I don't have any kids. And although I one day wish to be a mom, children are no where in my life plan at the moment. My life is complete right now with my nieces and nephews, which I adore with all my heart.

But when it comes to my childhood, my parents raised us to be open-minded to different people, different experiences of the world. They also taught us the importance of education, by giving their lack of education as an example. They taught me to be humble and kind. And I hope that when I do have children, I could pass some of these lessons down to them. 

Visit Bre at Peacoats and Plaid for more prompts

How would you answer these questions?

Literary Junkies {October}

Another month of Literary Junkies!! :) 

Visit Taylor at Pink Heels Pink Truck or Lesley at By the Porchlight or Brighton from dear brighton!

1) What are you currently reading? Tell us a bit about it!

I just started reading this book yesterday. "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout is a book on Blogger Book Club hosted by Kay at The Best of Intentions and this month's pick.

"At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance: a former student who has lost the will to live: Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse. 

As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life–sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition–its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires." - Summary from Goodreads

2) What are your five most recent book purchases?
This year I have only bought 3 books, with my tutoring job I have been spending more time at the library, so I have fallen in love with checking out books all over again. But here are the 3 books I've recently bought and the last 2 books I've checked out.

Bought:
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Divergent by Veronica Roth - Review
Ines del Alma Mia by Isabel Allende - Book Thoughts

Checked out from the Library:
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - Review

3) Have you ever named/nicknamed anything (person, pet or thing) after a character? Who and why?
This is a great question. And I don't remember ever naming anything after a character. But the name that I'm really stuck on right now is Daenerys from the A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series!!

4) If you could live in one book, all of its characters and in the town, which would it be?
oooooh.. This one is hard. If I could live in one book.... although I love dystopian novels I don't think I would be strong enough to survive in them. Hmmm. I think I would choose The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Goodreads). Yes I would like to live in the world where The Night Circus exists. How amazing would that be, looking forward for this magical, incredible and unbelievable circus to come to your hometown, and be able to follow it around, like a rêveur. 

5) Can you think of a book you read that taught you something concrete that you've never forgotten? Tell us about it.
I think one of my favorite lessons lies in the book "Oh the places you'll go" by Dr. Seuss. I remember reading it when I was younger, but it wasn't until recently how much I relate to the words in that book. It talks about how amazing life can be and all the places you get to see with your "brain on your head... and feet your shoes." Going anywhere is possible. But it also talks about that sometimes people get stuck, or make a wrong turn, or life just sucks, but at the end we must pull through and we will succeed. I think when I was in college remembering this would've helped me realize that sometimes we take wrong turns, but somehow we come back on track. And as for right now, these words still ring true, feeling stuck and alone will happen in life, but we must always remember to believe in ourselves and everything will work out. 
Check out the full poem here.

What are you currently reading? Or how would you answer these questions?

Pink and Grey {Baby Shower}

My cousin is having a baby girl!! And she is due next month!!We are super excited to meet Baby Isabella!!

My aunt and my cousins decided to throw her a baby shower.
So this weekend was busy, busy, busy with all the baby shower stuff.

Pink and Grey Elephants was our theme.

On Friday we handled making any last minute things. My aunt got all the groceries for some yummy tacos. My cousins were busy baking some desserts for our dessert bar, I was so buys assembling the mini diaper cakes for the centerpiece and gathering all the things for the games we had planned.

Saturday morning was busy with setting up the backyard before the party. And Sunday was busy with picking up the mess, and eating leftover food. haha.

My cousin didn't have any stuff for the baby, so we all wanted her baby shower to be extra special. And we might've gone over the top, but thats what we wanted!! hehe. I know some baby showers are made to be for Ladies only, but our showers are meant for the whole family to celebrate the new bundle of joy.

Food.
For the food we had tacos, with rice and beans and salad as our side dishes. YUMMY!!!

Decorations:

Felt flowers

For the decorations we diaper cakes, with pink and grey ribbon and pink shredded paper for out centerpieces. We included there felt flowers on the top of the cake.
Our tables were covered in grey and pink tablecloths.
And we had some cute baby shower banners throughout the party.

Dessert Bar:
As we were planning the shower, we were going back and forth between a candy bar and a dessert bar, we finally decided to make a dessert bar.
We had:
Rice Krispies bars (squares and shaped like elephants)
Pretzels dipped in chocolate
Cupcakes
Cake Pops
Marshmallows on a stick with chocolate on top.

Games:
We really wanted the shower to be as fun as possible. So we came up with about 10 games, but we didn't play them all.

Don't Say Baby/Bebe: We decided to play this game with the words Baby and Bebe. Each person got a clothespin at the begging of the party, and the forbidden words were Baby and Bebe (in spanish). If you were caught saying these words you got the clothespin taken away by the person  who caught you. The person with the most clothespins at the end of the night, would get a small prize.

Safety Pins in a Rice Bowl: In this game we put some safety pins in a bowl full of rice. Each person had to grab a handful from the bowl and the person who got the most safety pins in their handful won a prize.

Memorize the Baby Items: We had a platter of about 18 baby items, ranging from lotion bottle, to nursing pads, nail clippers, a swaddle blanket, bib, etc. We went around the table by table,and the guests had 30 seconds to observe the platter and try to memorize as many items as possible. Then the platter was covered, and they had 1 minute to write down as many items as they could remember. Our winner got 13 items correct.

Guess how many?: In this game each person had to guess how many marshmallows were inside of a clear piggy bank shaped like a Baby Bottle. For this one we had 2 people get the right amount, which was 36 marshmallows.

Measuring Mommy: This is a traditional game that has made an appeareance in every shower I can remember. Its usually played with toilet paper as the measuring tape, but we played it with think ribbon. We pre-measured the momma, and the guests had to cut their own ribbon.

Feed the Baby: My favorite game. There were teams of two, and both people were blindfolded. One person was the baby,and the other person was the mom. The mom had to feed the baby (remember blindfolded) a little glass of baby food. The pair that finishes the food the fastest wins.

Dessert Bar

Dessert Bar Part 2

Gift Table

Divergent {Book Review}

Title: Divergent (Book 1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: April 25, 2011
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult

Summary: from Goodreads
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her. 

Fave Quotes:

“Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.”

 “I might be in love with you." He smiles a little. "I'm waiting until I'm sure to tell you, though.” - Four

My Take:

I'm a huge sucker for dystopian, and with the hype of the novels and the hype of the movie coming out in March, I was to determined to read the book. I must be honest I was a little skeptical, with all the hype. But nonetheless, this book was so good. 

The book takes place in the future, in the city of Chicago. Chicago is now divided into 5 factions. At sixteen, the youth must select one faction to live in for the rest of their lives, after taking an aptitude test. The aptitude test is supposed to state what faction you belong in. 

After her apitutude test she finds out that she Divergent. I person who is Divergent, is someone who doesn't belong in only one faction. Divergence means danger, and in her new faction she learns that divergent are eliminated.

I love the story line. I like that Beatrice is so torn between what she was learned to do in her home faction, Abnegation, to be selfless and following who she really is. She chooses a faction, that surprises everyone event herself. From Selflessness (abnegation) to Braveness (dauntless) her life changes. She find out who she really is in her initiation and she find out secrets from the "government" that  she feels the need to help save innocent people. 

As far as the characters, our main character, Beatrice is this powerful, strong, determined , brave and courageous but at the same time vulnerable and defenseless due to her selflessness. 

Then we also met Four. We learned that four got his nickname from his own initiation. He was once the top of his class, the next in line for power in the Dauntless, but he turned it down. I loved Four as a character, although he is the initiation master and a high power official in the Dauntless and forced to be rough, fearless and unbreakable. We find out that he is the opposite of if, he's caring and vulnerable. 

I'm excited to read the rest of the series. I couldn't put this book down, so I'm anxious to see what happens in this world. I'm excited to see what the Tris-Four team will due to save their society. I'm also excited to find more out about their romance!! :) 

I definitely recommend this book. 

My Rating: 4/5

Looking for more reviews, check out my reviews here: Book Thoughts

Birth Order and Childhood Memories!

Visit Bre at Peacoats and Plaid for her prompts.

I'm putting two posts in one today, I totally missed yesterday's post.
Where do you fall in the birth order of your family? First, middle, baby? Do you think that affected who you are today? 
When I was taking psychology classes in school I was always fascinated with this topic. We talked about how the birth order can have an impact in your personality. 

I'm the first born in the family. 

"As the leader of the pack, firstborns often tend to be:

• Reliable, Conscientious, Structured, Cautious, Controlling, Achievers

Firstborns bask in their parents' presence, which may explain why they sometimes act like mini-adults. Firstborns are diligent and want to be the best at everything they do. They excel at winning the hearts of their elders." source here.

I agree with this one hundred percent. When compared to my brother's I am very cautious and conscious of my every move, word and emotion. I admit I am a perfectionist, I want everything to be perfect, this is not always a good thing. In school, I did my homework right when I came home, and took time to make sure my answers correct. At home, you will find my room organized and clean, for the most time.

Now that I think about it, I am controlling. Although I wasn't raised to show-off or boast about anything, I must admit I am an achiever, even an over-achiever. I felt myself wanting to be the best at everything, in school, with friends, in competitions, in creativity. lol.

When it came to my brothers, I felt myself been over protective of the. Caring for them as if I was their mom. Resliable and responsibility are traits within in the first born, and according to my mother, she said this is true. She says she could always trust me to do something that she wouldn't trust anyone else to do.

Anxious was another trait that describes a first born. And I must agree. I think this comes from the fact that we like to be in control, like to be over-achievers, and when things don't go as planned, we get ansty. At least this is true, I've always felt this pressure to be perfect or do good in school, and when I slipped a little I would have a baby anxiety attack. I felt stressed all the time when I was younger, and then it carried over when I was in college.

I was shy, still am, and I always put everyone else before myself. My friends once told me that it seemed like I wanted to be friends with everyone. And I do! I'm a people-pleaser.


A day in my life I would like to re-live 

Coffee.. right up!!

How does your coffee order at Starbucks mirror your personality? 

Let me start off by saying that I was never a coffee drinker. I started drinking coffee my 4th year in college, oooohh 2 years ago. I've probably taken a sip or two, but never had a cup of coffee by myself before Fall of 2011.  With midterms coming along, and board member meetings for my org, stress was piling up fast. And what did I decide to do is to get a cup of coffee. A White Chocolate Mocha, Iced, please. My first coffee ever, at Starbucks. And I feel in love with it!!!  I was grabbing a cup of coffee every day for the like 2 weeks, until my friends had an intervention, and thank god, because a couple days letter I think I still was too jacked on coffee I couldn't function. 

I stopped for a while, and then out came the Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks, during Christmas. Yumm. 

Now I'm hooked on Pumpkin Spice Lattes!!!!

When I'm not needing the caffeine, I get a Vanilla Bean Frap.

What does this say about myself? 
Whatever coffee house it is I always choose an Iced White Chocolate Mocha. Nothing out of the ordinary. I love to stick with what I know and love! It could also be because I'm an inexperienced coffee drinker, and don't know what to order. 

When I do order outside of my White Chocolate Mochas, I choose those seasonal drinks. My adventurous decision for the year is these seasonal drinks. lol. I guess I like to spice up my order once in a while, when the holidays roll around. ;)

Boring. And Lame. Is what the Vanilla Bean Frap order says about me. Who goes to a coffee shop and orders a Vanilla Bean aka no-coffee-drink.

Visit Bre's blog for prompts and other goodness at Peacoats and Plaid

What do you like to drink? What do you think it says about your personality?