[birthday weekend]

Yesterday was my birthday and I'm starting to realize that the older you get, the less exciting it is to turn old. I remember in my early 20's, I would consider the 1st of February the start of my "birthday month." Birthday celebrations in my early 20's were fun-filled weekends filled with limo rides to South Beach and VIP status at my club of choice. Soon those became played out and as my late 20's started creeping up on me; my birthday celebrations became more low key and the past few were more of weekend trips to Disney to drink around the world at Epcot. It's not the same as having VIP status but still fun nonetheless.

Someone once told me that it's in your 30's when you'll have the time of your life and I'm beginning to think he's right about that. Your 20's is when you're still "finding" yourself and getting situated in life. Your 30's is when you're able to actually enjoy things more. Last year on my birthday, I actually worked and made money. Yesterday, I ran errands and relaxed with my pups. Friday night J took me out to this really romantic Italian restaurant which is "off the beaten path." Our table had a waterfront view and while the food was just "okay," the ambiance was pretty great.

We actually found a cute tea place next to it that we plan on going back to visit. The next morning, I woke up to a super sweet card right next to my ipad:

Not sure how many of you know who the Lumineers are, but "Ho Hey" is our song and I thought it was awesome that he actually referenced that song in the card. It definitely put a smile on my face!! Today the plan was to go kayaking but unfortunately, due to low tides and not being able to find parking, things didn't go as planned but I was still happy to be the company of good friends. Plus, there's always another time for kayaking!

 && before I sign off, I'll leave you with the video of mine & J's song ^_^

[no filter friday: traveling with other couples]

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!
I've decided to designate every Friday as "No Filter Friday" which basically means anything & everything goes. So I apologize in advance if I offend you in someway due to the fact I'm not sugar-coating how I feel about certain issues or situations.

And with that being said: the first topic for No Filter Friday will be about traveling with other couples. J and I currently in the process of planning and booking our vacations for the near future. We're also learning about the type of people we are inviting (if we do invite) on these trips. I've decided to post a few requirements in order to get an invitation to come on vacation with us. These requirements will also have an explanation, along with examples from the previous vacation J & I had taken on New Year's Eve this past year.

1) Do not travel with cheap people.
While this may seem harsh and I'm sure MANY people will not agree with this. BUT if you are given 6+ months in advance about taking a vacation somewhere, I believe that this is ENOUGH time to budget accordingly in order to have a great time on your vacation. The couple that was on our previous trip KNEW that the agenda was to go skiing/snowboarding along with the fact that ski/snowboard rentals and snow-lift tickets were not cheap. YET when the day came to purchase the rentals & snow-lift ticket; we encountered lame excuses as to why they decided to sit around the cabin/ski resort while the rest of us were out on the slopes. LAME-O. My favorite comment about #1 is when J said to me, "they can afford to go out & eat and get fat but when it comes to doing something different that requires physical activity and being fit apparently they can't afford it." HA.

2) Don't invite couples that are fun sponges.
I believe that #2 could also correlate with #1 considering fun sponges & being cheap usually go hand in hand.  J & I have never been the type of couple that would sit around with other people & just whisper to each other. Seriously, if you're going to do that then WTF are you even hanging out with everyone else!? Just stay home if you want to whisper with your S/O. The SAME couple that I spoke about in #1 basically just whispered to each other the entire time. Why would you spend 14 hours in a car to drive to another state if all you plan on doing is whispering and being sketchy with others around you. Not only is this just being a waste of space but they could have done that back home.

3. Don't invite guys where they are just pushovers and never speak their minds to their girlfriends.
Seriously, if you're in a relationship & you just let your S/O run your life (even when you want to have fun) it just looks pretty pathetic. Sure, you can blame this on being "in love" with your girlfriend and you don't want to "upset" her but if you want to do something fun such as skiing/snowboarding.. then GROW SOME BALLS. The bf of the couple that I'm speaking about , J & I even asked him about why they didn't want to go skiing/snowboarding. And once we even told him how much it was per person ($168.00, which is a pretty good price for a ski resort) he actually seemed like he wanted to go & said he was going to talk to his gf about it. I guess she didn't really want to go (surprise/surprise) and instead they sat around for 4 hours the first day (oh how fun!) and the 2nd day sat around the cabin while the rest of us had a blast. GUYS: if you want to do something fun and your gf is just being a huge debbie downer about it then SPEAK UP. If J wanted to go snowboarding and I didn't want to, I would have just stayed behind but I would have never forced J to do the same. When you're on vacation you want to have a good time, not be restricted to do things just b/c your S/O is a huge lame-o and wants to stay inside and sleep.

I actually remember that morning when I confronted the guy about it & asked him why would you pay for the ski jacket, ski clothes and SKI GOOGLES if you weren't planning on using them?! then I said to him that I knew it wasn't him that didn't want to go and I know it was his girlfriend. He actually kept silent and looked at J (as if J would even stop me from speaking my mind). Then he went downstairs (I'm sure to go tell her what I said).  Maybe he had a nice time just doing nothing all day in the cabin.. or maybe not. I pick the latter.

So, lesson learned about not ever bringing that couple on another trip with us again. Of course, J & I had an awesome time & I'm already wanting to plan my next snowboarding trip. While J would rather not invite other couples AT ALL, I think that if you're in the company of others that enjoy the same things and aren't super cheap then you can have a great time. We obviously had an amazing time with the other 2 friends that came along, of course. So I think if you're going to invite a couple on a trip with you, just limit it to 1 more couple. This will lessen any chance of drama or stupid situations (such as not wanting to do certain activities.) On our ski/snowboarding trip it was 1 couple and 2 of our other friends and thank goodness the other 2 people wanted to actually have a good time. Otherwise it would have just been J & I out there on the slopes.

Do you have any rules or requirements that you go by when traveling with others? 

[do you know that your love is the sweetest sin]

One of my favorite music videos performed by one of my favorite bands. This video is so intense and filled with passion that whenever I watch it, I get chills. Happy Monday everyone!

[valentine's day]

I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day. I've always felt that it's very commercialized. Why do you need to spend money on chocolates, stuffed animals, and flowers in order to show your love for your S/O? Shouldn't expressing your love and appreciation for your bf/gf be shown every day? Not to mention it seems the many single people get so depressed over this dumb holiday. If you're that sad and lonely about not having a bf/gf than perhaps you should reconsider certain things in your life. Such as: why are you so dependent on having a S/O in your life? If you want companionship THAT bad maybe you should go to your local animal shelter or the humane society and rescue a cat or dog. At least a new pet will be more loyal to you than the douche-bag or slut you're currently crying over. Yes, I do understand that Valentine's Day is basically "single awareness day" but there are so many OTHER days that is quite worse for others. For example: Father's Day or Mother's Day. Let's consider the children wouldn't be able to celebrate these holidays. So stop w/the pity party about being "single" and appreciate the fact that you're surrounded by friends and family who do love and care about you.

IN FACT: 
the history about St. Valentine's is quite a violent one.

"According to History.com, one legend claims that Valentine was a priest during the third century. At the time, Emperor Claudius II, a Roman leader, decided to outlaw marriage for young men, alleging that single males made for more viable soldiers. The leader believed that he was having a hard time getting men to join the ranks, because they were tied down to their wives and children — so his solution was to simply do away with matrimonial bliss. Rather than complying with this wedding ban, Valentine allegedly continued to marry young people in secret. According to legend, Claudius found out and Valentine was subsequently put to death; he was purportedly beheaded on Feb. 14 278 A.D."
Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/14/do-you-know-the-violent-history-behind-valentines-day/

I did surprise J with a cute little present b/c it was too perfect to pass up! 

Hope that everyone who DID celebrate February 14th have a wonderful day with your loved ones.

[adopt a pet this weekend]

For anyone in the South Florida area: the Broward Humane Society will have $14.00 adoptions this weekend!! these adoptions include the vaccinations, along with a spay or neuter!

[weddings]

Lately, it seems as if everyone & their moms have been getting engaged/married. Every other week there's a new engagement on facebook and of course, the bride has to start planning her "dream wedding." If you have pinterest; I'm sure you've seen all these females pinning to her new "wedding board" every 5 minutes. I've come the conclusion that once you're in your late 20's - early 30's that this is the norm. It also seems once you've arrived to your late 20's - early 30's that hearing or seeing about wedding plans is also unavoidable. TLC has all these bridal shows such as Four Weddings, Say Yes To The Dress, Bridezillas, etc. I'm not even engaged yet and I already know the type of dress, decor, and whether or not a buffet or sit down dinner will gather me the top points in order to win my "dream honeymoon vacation."

Luckily, for J and my parents: I've never been the traditional kind and wanted some sort of "dream wedding". I believe that it's such a waste of money to have some sort of big celebration for just ONE DAY. It's amazing how much prices get jacked up when you mention that it's a wedding. Why wouldn't you just say it's a party considering that's basically what it is. You spend all this money for venue, food, decorations, a big cake, DJ's, and entertainment for 100 or so guests which basically correlates into a party. The average wedding is $35,000. That's more than a teacher's salary! I've also said I would rather take that money and buy a bigger engagement ring, along with putting the money aside for a nice vacation. That way you're able to enjoy it more with your future spouse instead of being stressed out on your "wedding day" (and we've all seen how stressed out these brides tend to get!). A wedding is one day, a ring is something you'll be wearing forever!

If I have it my way (and I'm sure that won't take much convincing) I'll fly my closest friends & family to Vegas and spend around $8,000.00 for a nice wedding at the Bellagio. Now as cliche as it sounds, I've always told J that I would rather do that considering how the $8,000 includes EVERYTHING. A limo ride to and from the airport, 3 nights in a huge suit, ceremony, photographer, and even a reception after the ceremony. PLUS for anyone that isn't attending the wedding: the Bellagio will even webcast the ceremony LIVE. I think that's AMAZING due to the fact most venues will charge you $50 - $200 per person to be at the reception. The Bellagio isn't the only resort casino that has these sorts of wedding packages. In fact, most of the casinos in Vegas have some sort of wedding package since there's basically a chapel at every place.

While many young ladies have been planning their dream wedding since they were teenagers, that wasn't the case for me. But for everyone else out there that's engaged and stressed out over your one big day, just remember to take a breather and don't stress yourself out TOO MUCH. This is YOUR day, not anyone else's.

&& on that note: I'll leave you with this funny E-card:

[first post]

It's been quite some time since I've actually had an online blog. And by "some time" it's been about 4-5 years. It's amazing to think next week I'll be 31. Where did my teens go? My 20's flew by in a blink of an eye. But as I look back, it's amazing to see how much things have changed since over the past decade. So many new chapters have opened and closed in my life. But I definitely plan to make my 30's very memorable.