I'm trying to get into the habit of blogging daily and I'm hoping these memes assist me with doing so!



This week is a Heads week and the topic is TOOL.



I'm no carpenter of sorts, but I do love music, hence the obvious choice is going to be TOOL, the band.

I was a wide eyed pre-teen in middle school when all of a sudden I decided I was going to broaden my musical horizons and venture into the world of rock. I had a passion of music of all genres (except for country. That love developed much, much later in life) and I became really fascinated with the grunge movement. Bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden were just a few that you could catch me listening to any given afternoon. MTV wasn't the reality show deathpit that it currently is, and I actually would look dearly upon it to provide me with the latest and greatest bands to watch.

And that's when it happened.

I saw this insanely bizarre video that I just could not peel my eyes away from. It was creepy. It reminded me of a morphed version of 'Puppetmaster.' Words like "I am just a worthless liar. I am just an imbecile" and " I want, what I want"resonated in my brain. That's it. I was sucked in and TOOL soon became an addition to my afternoon musical orgy.



To be lame and borrow a quote from 'Grey's Anatomy', Tool is "dark and twisty." The songs of Tool can quickly adapt to my ever changing mood-and today, my favorite TOOL song is Parabola. It reminds me to not let go. Keep holding on and be thankful for what I have. TOOL, thank you.

"Twirling round with this familiar parable.

Spinning, weaving round each new experience.
Recognize this as a holy gift and celebrate this chance to be alive and breathing."

I remember this so vividly. It was a hot summer evening in L.A and my Abuelita and I were visiting her friend, Blanca. Blanca's daughter, Vanessa, was a few years older than I and uber cool in my eyes. She had mentioned to me she was going to go over to her nextdoor neighbors house to watch the WORLD PREMIERE video from Michael Jackson called "Thriller." My eyes lit up like Christmas morning and together we begged my Abuelita to allow me to go over so I too could partake in the fantabulous event. Thank my lucky stars, she gave in. Later that evening I was hypnotized by this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtyJbIOZjS8



What better encarnation of my two loves-music and all things horror?!!

I'm no longer that little girl, but the memory remains, lives and rejoices inside my heart to this very day.

We've all lost a piece of our youth today. Hold on to those precious memories, they are what keep us alive.



May your soul Rest in Peace, King of Pop.

I'm as happy as a pig in mud and so uber proud of my munchkin! I almost didn't post it because I didn't want to jynx myself, but after waiting almost 3 months I felt like yelling from a mountain top. No mountain top in sight, so blog yelling it is.



My munchkin slept from 9:30 last night until 715 this morning...in his basinet! Sure, now because I let all you in on our little secret he won't do it again. BUT! But, even if it is just a rare occasion, he STILL did it and I am over the luna with joy!



Other things to note:

He loves Sesame Street.

He is reaching for his toes and can grasp his right foot with his right hand.

He now inserts his fingers into his mouth and grasps his bottom gum/lip.

He loves Brazilian Girls' "About Us"

He is such a morning baby and coos like a songbird.



Oh, my munchkarino, you are the bestest!

If that is the case, then my macho is a floppy eared bunny. Ulysses slept close to 6 hours last night. UNBELIEVABLE! This little man usually wakes up every 3-4hrs for food. The past few nights he'd done incredible five hour stretches and holding true to form, last night he slept in a little longer. I'm loving this. I had already imagined my life as I knew it doomed to living like a zombie. There is a saying in spanish that goes "Dios aprieta pero no ahorca." Or in English, "God squeezes but does not strangle/suffocate." I don't know, I like the Spanish version better. Moving right along, this couldn't come at a better time because I go back to work on Wednesday. It's already been two months and I can barely believe where the time went. Could be due to the fact that every week feels like one. long. day.

This is actually one of my favorite things to blog about- 10 things you might not know about me, as every year this becomes more of a challenge. So, without further ado...dies cosas:





I had a unicameral bone cyst in my right humerus as a child. Because of this, I was in Red Cross pamphlets, the evening news and on a show that was called "Cara a Cara."

I still fantasize about being a kick ass professional dancer.

I have slight OCD tendencies, mainly rituals that I hide from everyone.

I was a stagehand for a burlesque troupe for a year of my life.

I've gotten so much better, but I still am the stereotypical latina when it comes to jealousy, possessiveness and a hot temper.

I believe in clairvoyancy, clairaudience,the paranormal/supernatural and yes, even el cuco.



I always wanted to teach Secondary, but since having my baby, I'm leaning towards Elementary education.

For over a year, I submitted weekly submissions to Dyingdays.com. The irony? I never felt so alive thanks to the outlet it provided me.

For as optomistic as I am, I have just as much cynism harbored deep down.

I have six tattoos and will have a new addition by my birthday.

these are a few of my favorite things:



OPI Got the Blues for Red-



All things retro be it fashion, lifestyle or art.

Tattoos

Fresh -out -of- the -dryer clothes.

Music, mainly these dudes-





Anything Horror.

Tulips.

Cuban food.

Frosted animal crackers-





Rainy days.

Crosses.

High heels, of course.

Blue jeans.

Flirty dresses.

Lazy Sunday afternoons.

Road trips.

New Orleans-Vodka

The scent of vanilla

Lingerie

Cows

Puppies

My Husband, our love and our handsome munchkin-

I'm a recipe cook. I admit, I'm the ONE and ONLY Cuban/Puerto Rican mother you will find that cannot cook worth a damn. There. I feel better now. That being said, you hand me a recipe and I'll do a mighty fine job. There is a rule I like to follow while trying my hand at a flavorful meal-clean up as you go. Heck, if I were to apply this to all other aspects of my life I wouldn't go crazy doing the inlaw-is-coming-over- clean- frenzy dance. As I was making my chicken w/onion and tomate I realized that I have pretty much relied on my kitchen helper for a few years now. When pressed, he makes a really good bathroom helper also.



Meet my helper, Clorox Wipes.




So today, here is to you Clorox Wipes. You truly make life sparkle.

What a week:



*I left my little man for the first time to go back to work on Wednesday. It was hard but even harder when I got home and was able to spend about 20minutes with him before he was ready for bed. Needless to say, Mommy was a sad panda.

*Get back to work and realize that we have been given even MORE responsibility but pay remains the same.

*Speaking of pay, I also got jipped out of my annual bonus. Yeah...

*Thursday morning, my hair dryer decided it wanted to try to electrocute me. Fun tingling feeling through my left arm that morning.



Friday totally cemented my want to be what I never thought I would see myself as: A stay at home Mom.omorrow, I will follow my heart and take the first step into what will be my most challenging yet fulfilling role ever.

I was driving back home today from my first alone shopping trip with my two month old when I suddenly began thinking about pain. Why, I'm not sure, but I did. I was thinking of how high a pain tolerance I have. I have had pretty much every known dental procedure EVER, surgery , tattoos, piercings and most recently I had a child via c-section and handled my recovery without any pain medication. I'm pretty darn proud of myself. However, as I was on that last thought, I caught a glimpse of the humongous pimples I have under my chin and fear crept in. You see, my husband is a popper. Yes, he cannot stand any type of pimple or boil and he will go to town with those fuckers if you let him. Since I am not a popper I figure I'll let him do it. Why deny him one of the simple pleasure of life?

Back to what I was saying...fear. It crept in. As I mentioned above I have a pretty high pain tolerance, EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO PIMPLE POPPING! Goodness, gracious. The pain. The misery. A root canal feels sweeter than the pop of a pimple. Three, even.



So my thought for today is: How in the world can a pimple cause me so much pain? Proactive, you best work your magic, or ELSE!

Lloyd Dobler, Say Anything

This post is brought to you by the letter H for HORMONES.

I was reading someone's blog yesterday where they mentioned the bathtub scene from "Big Fish" and it got me 1.) super emotional, tears rolling down my face thankful for Love and 2.) Remembering movie moments that made me feel that way. I love movies almost as much as I love music and that makes it extremely difficult for me to choose top five, ten, howevermany magical-romantic-feel good/heart wrenching-moments. Instead, I will try to list a few on a weekly basis.

First one, of course is that magical boombox moment from "Say Anything" where Lloyd is standing outside Diane's window and blasts Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes (Which also happens to be OUR song). Sweet, sweet sighage. I just want to teleport into my televesion screen, run up to Lloyd and makeout furiously with him. I'd give him more than my pen.

Next up, we have "Vanilla Sky." Such an incredible movie, I can't sell it enough to everyone I know. There are so many moments but the one sticking out the most to me at this moment is the ending. "I'll see you in another life, when we are both cats." That coupled with the knowledge that their love was fabricated in his mind made me weap like a little girl. I don't know about you, but I would much rather have experienced a fabricated love of my life and having a purpose to get me through life, than to have never have even come close to what love is.

Speaking of love that never was, can we take a minute to remember Clementine and Joel from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind", cause they sure as heck can't. "Come back and make up a good-bye at least. Let's pretend we had one." I have hopes they met each other in Montauk.

Last but not least for today is the "Why didn't you write me?" scene from "The Notebook." What part of that scene DOES NOT give you the butterflies? Seriously-there is rain, a Gorgeous hunk of man meat and passionate kisses and lovemaking. This scene is tied with the one at the end where she figures out Joel has been reading their life story to her.

Closing thought: There IS hope for Love, afterall.