Is It Weird That...

 

 

I've been doing A LOT of link-ups for my blog lately, time for me to actually blog about me. Don't get me wrong, I love linking up and meeting new friends, but I owe it to myself and my followers to blog about more.

 

I come across A LOT of blogs about DIY projects, cooking, fashion, fitness, etc. and I absolutely love it. I learn so much from reading other people's posts and what they're up to. And that got me thinking - what can other people learn from me? As I stated in my earlier posts, my main reason for starting my blog was to bring awareness about Endometriosis (what I have). However, it can get quite repetitive and depressing. I mean, who really wants to blog about their disease on a daily basis? I sure as hell don't. All of these other blogs that I come across are almost like an escape for me. I know that everyone out there has their own problem/problems that they deal with, but I think it's such a beautiful thing how we can still manage to write about what we love and how we deal with life's little obstacles. 

 

 Now that I got that out of the way...

 

A lot of the blogs I come across are very girly and feminine. I almost feel like I get to live vicariously through other people's "girly" posts. I say that because ever since I can remember, I never did do or like the typical "girly" things.

 

Is it weird that...

 

I've never dyed my hair. Never. Not once. I absolutely hate the idea of having to sit through the process, the maintenace, the money, the roots, the damage. I just dont' have the patience. Plus, my natural hair color is a mixture of three colors - brown with bits of red & blonde (thanks to my Spanish & Italian great-grandparents), so how would I even go about dying it back to my natural hair color?! So many questions for something I've never done.

 

Is is weird that...

 

I absolutely hate getting my nails done. The weird part is I ALWAYS have them painted and/or done...but I hate it. I hate waiting for them to dry. I hate sitting at the nail salon listening to other women talking about me in another language. I hate how even after I've waited long enough for them to dry, I still manage to mess them up. Gah!

 

Is it weird that...

 

I hate spas. You're probably thinking, "whaaaattt?!." Yeah, I know. I just can't handle them. The waiting around for having x amount of treatments done and their "promise" of how they're going to do wonderful things for your skin, mind & soul? No thanks. I'll do it myself.

 

Is it weird that...

 

I prefer horror movies over romantic ones ANY day. Don't get me wrong, I love my chick flicks and having a good cry. But I love a good scare and having a cuddle buddy to be scared with.

 

Is it weird that...

 

 I am obsessed with cars. Fast cars. I grew up in a family of car lovers. My dad and brother taught me everything I needed to know. I have always been "that girl" that all of my friends came to for car advice. Show me a car and I can name the year, make & model, horse power, engine size, etc. You can find me at car shows on certain weekends with my dad :)

Here's MY baby:

 

 

My pride and joy...and why I work my ass off. And why I hate seeing my car note every month. Bahaha.

 

 

Is it weird that...

 

I went from wanting to be a teacher, to a psychiatrist, to a lawyer, and now a police office (my actual dream). I cannot picture the rest of my life sitting behind a desk and being someone's bitch assistant. No gracias. This girl has bigger plans for herself.

 

However, this girl loves to shop and cook! So I'm guessing my momma's genes found their way somehow ;) My mom is the BEST cook ever. Hands down. I invite everyone to have dinner with my family and I can guarantee that you will all agree. This woman is known in my town for her cooking skills. Ever since I can remember, my mom has always been quite the fashionista -always well put together with her fancy shoes and to die for purses. She always taught me to look my best so I can feel my best. But...she still yells at me when I sometimes show up to her house in jeans and a hoodie. Oops.

 

I guess all of us have our own likes and dislikes. That's why I love my group of friends because of the diversity amongst all of us. I don't like plain and bland anything -colors, food, friends, or life. Give me spice and some fun.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Milk & Cookies

 

Hello all! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. I will admit that I was so excited to blog about my weekend only because I wanted to reveal to all of you what my halloween costume was.

 

Annnddd here it is:

 

 

 

 

Karla (milk carton) Me (Oreo)

 

 

Me, Karla, Mel, Maria & Lauriel

 

 

Some of the crew

 

 

We had SO MUCH fun wearing our costumes!! I cannot even begin to tell you all just how many people approached us wanting pictures and asking how we made them. As I mentioned on Friday's post, we were going to enter a costume contest and were super confident that we were going to win. Well...we didn't. Some guy dressed as Edward Scissorhands won. I mean, c'mon! Not to be a hater and all, but his costume had no originality or creativity. The winner was determined by applause and this guy had a HUGE group of friends at the club, so of course, he won. Oh well. There's always next year. Ew, now I sound like a Chicago Cubs fan saying that. (Sox fan, baby!).

 

Anyways, it was great seeing all of my friends and their costumes. We danced the night away and my knees are killing me today. I obviously can't bust a move as hard as I could when I was 20. The joys of getting older. Not.

 

Sunday was spent recuperating from the night before. I didn't even drink and I woke up with the biggest headache. Not sure if the extremely loud music and fog smoke contributed to said headache but I may as well have been hungover.

 

In other news, I received some phenomenal news in the mail from one of the police departments I tested with! I will keep everyone updated as my journey progresses, but let's just say I'm REALLLLY excited!

 

Me and Karla plan on wearing our costumes to work this Wednesday. I can't wait! Bahaha.

 

<3 Steph

 

 

 

 



TGIF

 

Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy FRIDAY!

 

Dear Chicago Weather: It was 76 degrees yesterday and 43 degrees today. Make up your mind. Don't tease me with warm weather and then drop almost 40 degrees in less than a day. I can't handle knowing that I will not experience 70+ degree weather for at least another 8 months.

 

Dear Asshole: You'll get what's coming to you. Just remember that there's someone out there who is always smarter & one step ahead of you.  

 

Dear Whole Foods: I will be invading your aisles today after work. You and my credit card are going to have a love/hate relationship.

 

Dear Costume Contest That I Will Be Entering Tomorrow: I'm going to win. Everyone else just sit back and let me bask in my glory of awesome costume making skills.

 

Dear Left Knee: Stop acting up. I need you to be in working order for at least the next two months. I don't have time to be feeling like I'm 55 with arthritis.

 

Dear Tory Burch Boots: I am in love with you but WHY do you have to be so expensive!? You will be mine...after I sell one of my kidney's.  

 

Dear Girl Who Works at McDonald's: Thank you for always having my coffee ready when I come in and not making me wait 79 years to get it. You make my mornings so much better.

 

Dear Neighbors Who Live Above Me: Your constant noise is driving me insane. I have a feeling we're going to be entering a war of shouting matches. Bring out the guns.

 

Dear Obama: As much as I love you, your unexpected visit to Chicago yesterday made driving 899556 times worse than what it already is on a daily basis. Give your city a heads up when you're coming so I don't make dinner plans and spend my life in traffic. P.S. I am in complete love with your smile.

 

__________________________________________________________________

 

So glad this week is almost over. As I have stated all week, I am super excited for Halloween weekend and all its festivities. I'm even more excited to be seeing all of my friends who I haven't seen in almost 3 months! Crazy, right? After testing with police departments, filling out applications, studying & training at the gym, I haven't had much time for a social life. This week was my last "free" week until mid December and best believe I took advanatge of it.

 

My roommate and I went to go see Paranormal Activity 4 on Wednesday night. I LOVE scary movies but I don't feel as though this one was as scary as the other ones. Oh well. The couple sitting next to us were arguing from the moment they sat down. Midway through the movie, we see the girl slap her boyfriend in the face. I couldn't help but laugh - perhaps that took away the scare factor from the movie. Bahahaha.

 

I hope everyone has a fabulous & safe Halloween weekend! Check back next week to see what my costume is ;)

 

<3 Steph

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Woo, Thursday!

  Weekend is almost here!!! You guys don't understand, Halloween is like Christmas for me. I cannot wait to celebrate this weekend!!! :)   Linking up with Amber for It's Ok Thursday's:   It's Ok...   That I have only gone to the gym once this past week...and once last week...oops. I'll get back on my grind next week!   That I might have to kick some ass in the upcoming weeks. No one messes with my best friend. No one.   That I absolutely smell at work right now (lol). I came straight from the gym and didn't have time to shower and/or get ready before I got into the office. Oh well. Classy, I know.   That I am beyond the moon excited for my reunion tonight with 2 of my friends that studied abroad with me in London. I haven't seen them in 4 years!   That I will more than likely be the only sober one out of my friends this weekend while celebrating Halloween, which I am ok with. Someone has to be on the lookout. I rarely drink anymore after my diagnosis with Endometriosis. But that won't stop me from having my fun :)   That I am not being very productive at work today. The weather in Chicago is absolutely amazing today. It's 76...in October...THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN. However, it's supposed to be 45 this weekend, so I am definitely going to enjoy the last bit of warm weather we get.   Hope everyone is having a great week!   <3 Steph        

Very Pinteresting Wednesday's

  Happy Hump Day! I'm so glad the week is almost over since it's been a rough one.Saturday cannot come any faster, I'm ready to put on my awesome costume and have an awesome time with my friends!   Linking up with Michelle this morning for Pinteresting Wednesday's, let the pinning begin:     So adorable! My roommate was a flamingo for Halloween 2 years ago, this little one has her beat ;)     Must try     :)     Hehehe   Want, want , want     So feminine and pretty     For real     Has to be!!!     I will one day have my beach house.  

The Most Hated Week

 

 

 

 

 

As I've mentioned before in my previous posts, I am an Endometriosis sufferer. For any of you ladies who have it, you can understand just how excrutitating that one horrific week of every month is. I seriously want to curl up in a ball and cry. I'm sure all my ladies can agree with me that periods have to be one of the worst things ever, especially if you have Endometriosis. To make matters worse, I have to stay late at work & then go to my physical therapy appointment at 6:30 (hurt my back a while ago), which means I won't get home until 8ish. Big sigh.

 

 

Enough about period talk. Let's look at hot men:

 

 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - my recent obsession. Lust

 

 

Enrique Iglesias - my number one obsession since I was 8 years old. I will marry this man one day. I have also gotten to meet him :)

 

 

James Franco

 

Gerard Butler - I'm in complete love with this man.

 

 

Ok, that's enough. I feel like junior high girl posting pics of all her crushes. Ha. I apparently have a thing for brunettes.

 

Hope everyone has had a great Tuesday!

 

<3 Steph



Look Ma, No Hands.

 



 

Happy Monday to all in bloggerland! For once, I can say that and mean the "happy" part.

 

Linking up with Sami this morning for Weekend Update, let's recap my phenomenal weekend:

 

Saturday: I had another police exam and that's all I'll say about that. I don't want to talk about it.

 

Saturday night, I met up with one of my best friends, Sara, and decided to go to a haunted house. I had never been to one before so I was SUPER excited to go. We went to the Abyss Haunted House in Channahon, IL, which was pretty much in the middle of nowhere tucked away in a forest. We got there and I was literally scared out of my mind and was reconsidering even going. But after waiting in line for two and a half hours, the fear subsided and I just wanted to get into the haunted house to get warm since we were out in the cold. For being my first haunted house ever, I'd have to say it was a lot of fun, especially when a 10 year old is grabbing on to you for dear life the entire time. And of course, I was the one who got chased by the guy with the chainsaw at the very end. Ha.

 

 

                                                                                     

 

 

 

Sunday: Words cannot even describe how absolutely amazing Sunday was. My girlfriends and I went to go see Waka Flocka in concert. A little thing about me, I am an absolute concert junkie. I love, love, love, love, LOVE going to concerts and music festivals. I love all types of music, I have never discrimated against any genre of music. However, I LOVE rap. Rap concerts have to be one of my favorites to go to only because the atmosphere is crazy intense and the energy is always the best. I will also admit that I am a groupie and have no shame in admitting it and have been VERY successful at meeting many celebrities :) This concert proved to be no different. My girls and I got to meet Waka and took pictures with him. He was soooo nice to us and let us take numerous pictures with him and I also may have said some risqué things to him but we won't talk about that ;)

 

 

 

 

Maria, me and Karla before the concer 

 

 

Maria and Me

 

 

 Karla and me

 

 

Us & Waka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Great Weekend.

 

 

Waking up today was pretty difficlult. I'm sitting at work beyond tired and wishing I was back in bed. Luckily, my boss is on vacation and won't be back until tomorrow so that gives me some time to catch up on some things at the office.

 

Hope all had a fabulous weekend. I hope this week flies by because I am SO ready for halloween weekend!

 

<3 Steph

 

 





Very Pinteresting...

 

  Linking up with Michelle for Pinteresting Wednesday's. Here are some of my favorite pins  this week:   Want  

  (I'm obsessed with dinosaurs)   Love.     Must do this for Halloween one year.     BATMAN!     Lmao! Baby Got Back.     Hahaha, this is me.     LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Must remember this       <3 Steph  

Ask And I Shall Answer

  Good morning to all! I had the hardest time getting out of bed this morning and eventhough I slept pretty well, I still woke up beyond tired. I did, however, have an awesome dream that me and all of my friends and family were back in Jamaica. I'm guessing I had the dream because exactly a year ago, I was in Jamaica for my brother's wedding. Oh, how I wish I could go back.   Anyway, enough ranting. Linking up with Breanna & Co. today:   1. What is your favorite season? SUMMER! I love, love, love, LOVE summer. For one, my birthday is in August and the weather is always fabulous for doing something. Secondly, living in Chicago means about 8 months of pure cold. I hate it. Fall is whatever to me, winter is brutal, spring may as well be winter with less snow, and let's not even talk about the blizzard of 2011:  

    Yes, summer in Chicago can also be brutal with temperatures reaching 100+ and the humidity being out of control, but I absolutely love summertime Chi. Throw me some sunscreen and a bikini and I am one very, very happy girl.     

 

2.  Talk about a moment that changed your life.

I have 2 for this.

 

1. Living and studying abroad in London for 5 weeks. It gave me the freedom and independence that I needed and wanted at just 20 years old. The entire experience also toughened me up A LOT. Nothing like being thousands of miles away from your friends and family to put your life in perspective.

 

2. Being diagnosed with Endometriosis and having surgery because of it. I had surgery on June 4, 2012 and was officially diagnosed with the terrible disease that day. While it changed my life, I finally got the answers as to why I had been in excrutiating pain for so long. Testing with police departments has been my way of not letting this disease get to me. Having Endometriosis can significantly effect physical activity and doing strenous jobs - instead of moping around for having Endo, I chose to pursue my dream and got off the couch and began to train (physically and mentally) as hard as I could to achieve what I want the most. A big middle finger to Endometriosis.

 

 

3. If you could be any crayola crayon color, what would you be and why?

 

 

Fire Engine Red because it's loud, bright and fesity just like me ;)

 

4. Describe yourself as a superhero: Superpower? Name? Sidekick

 

I would be the legit female equivelant to Batman swearing revenge on criminals. The only superpower I would want would be to fly. Batgirl needs to get around fast! As far as my sidekick goes, I'd have to rely on my girls, Karla & Vanessa, because both of them are some badass females always ready to kick some ass.

 



5. If you had all the money in the world and could only shop at 3 stores, where would you shop!?

 

1. H&M

 

2. Lululemon

 

3. Nordstrom 

 

 

 

<3 Steph

 

Come back, Weekend!

Hi, Monday. You suck.

 

 

This weekend went by TOO fast, but then again, when doesn't it?

 

 

Linking up with Sami  this morning, here is a weekend recap:



 

Friday: Consisted of nearly 2 hours in traffic while on my way to my parent's house. The drive is usually about 40 minutes, but add in Friday rush hour, ridiculously slow, dumb drivers, 3 accidents ON the highway, 2 accidents OFF the highway, and you have one pissed off (and very hungry) Stephanie. I won't lie, I have the worst road rage ever. I scream, yell, and curse at people while on the road. My patience is very low for Chicagoland drivers. I'll also admit that I am that asshole driver that cuts people off, speeds, and will not tolerate anyone going under 75 mph. I grew up in a family of car lovers and fast driving - so as nicely as I can put it, get out of my way :)

 

 

 

 

What I looked like on Friday.

 

Once I did make it home, I had dinner with my parents and studied for my police exam. I was in bed by 10:30. Exciting, I know.

 

Saturday: I had my police exam at 8 am. I did quite well on the first portion, was allowed to take the second portion, and will now have to wait to receive my final score. Only the top 20 will be called back for interviews and only 1 will be hired. Crazy, I know. I will be keeping my fingers crossed and anxiously waiting to receive my letter in the mail.

 

Saturday evening was spent having dinner with my best friend, Maria, where we stuffed our faces and washed everything down with a big piece of cheesecake. Yum. After dinner, we went to the movies to see Sinister.

 

I WAS PETRIFIED THE ENTIRE TIME. Horror movies are my favorite but I am such a baby when it comes to watching them. I was literally curled up in a ball and hiding behind my jacket the ENTIRE time. All in all, I liked the movie. It was so twisted and messed up on so many levels but I still enjoyed it. However, I didn't enjoy driving home at 12:30 in the morning with the thought of something hiding in the back seat of my car.

 

Sunday: Karla and I spent majority of our afternoon/evening working on our Halloween costumes. I am proud to report that they are 90% done and we cannot wait for the finsished product. We are going to look phenomenally ridiculous. After our many hours spent working on the costumes, we stuffed our faces with Chinese food and watched the season premier of The Walking Dead. Karla was the one that paid more attention to it than I did. I just sat on the couch in la-la land, slowly digesting the pounds of grease I had just consumed.

This morning was spent waking up at the butt crack of dawn to drive out to a police department to pick up their application. This particular department was only handing out 250 applications so it was on a first-come, first-served basis. Luckily, I got there 15 minutes after they released them and I was number 44 in line. Pheeew. Now majority of my time will be spent filling out their application, which is the size of a small magazine. Fun.

 Here's to hoping this week zooms by. Peace and chicken grease.

<3 Steph



 

 



Heyyy Friday, What's Up?

 

 

Friday, you took forever to get here, but I'm glad you finally decided to show your face. Be good to me today, thanks.

 

Now, linking up with Leslie for Confessional Friday:

 

|| I confess that although I love Friday's, I don't enjoy Friday's at work. Crazy, right? Friday's are my second Monday's and I'm usually much crankier by the end of the work day. Good thing I'm leaving early today. ||

 

|| I confess that I was thoroughly embarrassed this morning after only being in the office for less than 20 minutes. I was having issues with my desk phone earlier this week and a phone technician was called out to look at the "problem" - turns out I reconnected the phone cord to the wrong jack. Eeek. Complete blonde moment. || 

 

 

|| I confess that I am nervous, yet very excited, to be taking my second police test tomorrow. I've studied as much as this cold has allowed me to this week, so here's to hoping I kick some ass on it. ||

 

 

|| I confess that I am in dire need of a vacation. I went from taking 3-4 vacations a year to taking none this year. My passport is itching to be stamped. ||

 

|| I confess that I am already over this cold weather. While I am a big fan of fall/winter fashion, I am not a fan of the cold, frigid weather that does horrible things to my hair & skin. Hurry up, summer. ||

 

|| I confess that I watched last night's episode of Jersey Shore. I love trashy reality TV and have no shame admitting it. Even though the show itself has fizzled for me, I feel slighlty obligated to watch since it's the last season. I still have the BIGGEST crush on Vinny ||

 

|| I confess that I am excited for my movie date tomorrow night with my best friend, Maria. Taken 2 is calling our name.||

 

|| I confess that I am that person who takes pictures of people in ridiculous outfits/situations while on the train (pictures from my morning commute below)||

 

 

 



 

 

 

Happy Friday to all and I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

 

<3 Steph

Let's Take It Back A Little

 

 

 

 

For a while now, I have been reminiscing about my time spent studying abroad in London. Tesco chocolate croissant's, Pims, Pret A Manger, Trafalgar Square, Camden Markets, are all things England that I miss. I studied abroad in the summer of 2008. I had just finished my junior year of college and was ready to embark on a new adventure. It took me a while to actually grow some balls and sign up for a study abroad program, but once I did, it was all fun and excitement from there on.

 

I lived in the Chelsea district of London (one of the most affluent areas) and was nearby all of the must-sees of the city. I went not knowing a single person, which uped my anxiety level beyond belief, but I ended up leaving with 15 amazing friends. While there, I went to "school" (more like hour long lectures followed by hours of free time) and worked on a project that focused on the criminal justice system of London. I definitely learned a lot and even convinced myself that I one day would be a Londoner (I still plan on it).

 

While I was there, I was fortunate enough to go to Barcelona, Spain for 2 days and Belgium for 4 days. BEST TIME EVER. Words cannot express how much I love Europe. The people, culture, art, and architecture captivated me.

 

Ugh, just writing this makes me want to hop on a plane and go back.

 

 

My time spent studying abroad is by far my favorite experience of my college career. I would do anything to go back and relive those 5 amazing weeks. I was 20 years old, naive as can be, trecking Europe like I was some type of explorer, and spending every (literally) penny I had. I wish I had signed up for a longer program to really get to see more of Europe and all its glory. I was worried that 5 weeks would be too much time spent away from my friends and family [and boyfriend at the time...which didn't end up working out. We actually broke up the day I got back from London] and that I would be a home sick mess. The complete opposite happened - I was free. I had a new country to call my home with new people to meet and share stories. It was the best time a 20 year old girl could have.

 

I recently got in contact with my friends, Neha & Ivy, who were also part of my study abroad program, and we have made plans to see each other and catch up. I am ecstatic about our upcoming reunion since I have not seen them in about 3 years!

 

Here are some pictures from that time:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belgium