My first link ups!!

Hi guys,

So I know I just posted like five minutes ago, but I wanted to participate in my first link ups!!

So first I linked up with #WildcardWednesday - I love it because I can make more blogfriends!!

Then I took some from my Carabox friend Laura. She usually does such fun ones!

What I'm Loving Wednesday seems particularly fun!! 

• Finding a "good" schedule to work 60 hours a week
• Getting to relax at home today!!
• How freaking cute my fiance was this morning when he had a bad dream
• Having a chance to blog
• Somehow keeping my floor clean since Sunday! HOPEFULLY IT STICKS THIS TIME! 
• Getting to cook dinner once a week
• Tomorrow's Parachute concert with my best friend!
• Social Media love at La Habra Collision
• Fun wedding planning stuff eeeeee
• LASTLY, Owl City's new Oreo song and what happened in NYC :) (I AM OBSESSED WITH OWL CITY)

Maybe I will do more tomorrow or next week <3 nbsp="" p="">
Happy Wednesday!

Raewyn

Warrior Queen Things

My oh my!

Yesterday was a day filled with Warrior Queen things in my inbox. I love when that happens. I noticed them all while I was at work and had to keep telling myself to write about it today!!

First, I wanted to share Angelina Jolie's article about her double mastectomy. I think it is beautiful that she shared the story and what she has done for her family by sacrificing in this way. I've read that we shouldn't be applauding her for this courage, but that we should be applauding the courage of women who suffer silently. Why can't we applaud both of them?

Angelina Jolie made an educated opinion - which she highlights the need to educate lower and middle class women about preventive measures - and instead of keeping it private - something she does have the right to do - she decided to use her celebrity for good. 

The second email I received yesterday that I want to share is a new crowdfunding site for women. 




From the website:

Because equality for girls and women makes a better planet for everyone.
To some people — it’s about rights. To others — it’s about smart economics. Either way — we cannot see progress in our world without addressing gender equality.
There are so many organizations already doing brilliant work for girls and women. They have the expertise, the cultural understanding, and they’ve scoped solutions for big changes.They just need funding.

Let's start a team? :)

Raewyn

P.S. Bonus Warrior Queen thing. This guy who made this video. #FitchTheHomeless

Embracing Chaos and A Jumble of Everything

Things are chaotic. But when aren't they in my life?

Last week I started a new job - which so far I am absolutely loving!! I will only be at about 32 hours a week there and then my shifts serving too. Last week I worked roughly 63 hours. This week it will probably come in closer to 50-55, which is totally do-able and what I'm used to. But I am going to try to salvage time for wedding planning and blogging and reconnecting with friends (I feel so out of touch).

Iman got a promotion this week too, so the reconnecting with friends part is especially difficult. Add on to that, the fact that a lot of my friends have not been answering my texts or calls (I'm assuming because they are equally busy). So I am going to embark on an easy, rekindle our friendship type of thing.

I need to get back on the wedding planning train...granted it is still 11 months away and we have all of the big money stuff done. But I want to do the fun crafting stuff!

I feel like I am constantly working on bettering myself and getting nowhere. I think I need an attitude adjustment and to celebrate the little things that I am doing. Do you ever feel that way?

This week's celebrations are - a more professional look! (Hair change) and style change! As well as a conscious effort to eat better again and watch my budget. YAY I'm making habits.

New Hair by Amanda at Rockin Locks in Long Beach

First day of work outfit!

Just to show off our Sunday adventures

First day at work!

The next round of habit changes are going to include keeping my room clean and exercising. Maybe if I do it in twos it will stick this time.

I've been using my new planner from Amanda @ Pixies and Periwinkles religiously. I LOVE IT.

Another thing I am completely loving is all of my social media ideas flowing and the canvas of my new job. I really want to focus on building their social media, my social media, and maybe one day even do consulting with social media (like I did for Kymberly Marciano, but more clients!

I've realized that social media is the dream job, along with my beautiful WQ magazine that I still can't seem to narrow down the concept. We will get there some day WQs!

What's been happening in your lives?


Raewyn

More Carabox Love

I thought I should share with you what I got Laura @ Simply Me, the Way I see It for her Carabox!! We were matched up and I had so much fun talking to her about sports and baseball this past month!!

In addition to her Carabox I picked up a belated birthday gift for her dog Riesling and am sending it in the mail tomorrow! Riesling posted a birthday blog, so I thought she deserved a fantastic gift ;)

Of course my dog, Crash, is insanely jealous. But he'll live. He got like three different treat types the other day, and a new bed! Things are going so great over here right now, although hectic again. I started my new job on Saturday and I'm "part full time" aka I'm not sure which I will be yet. They said part time but this week I am full time. I am just loving it so far! #ILoveCars

I've got to run though - I'm making dinner tonight for the first time in forever <3 nbsp="" p="">

My Carabox Reveal!!!

Yesterday I came home from a job interview to this. 

OMG. I was so excited. I opened the door and dropped my stuff on the floor and began to open the package from Amanda!

I love absolutely everything she got me in my Go Green Carabox. First, I saw the Gud bodywash - which I saw at Target last week and really wanted to buy. I wasn't out of bodywash yet so I thought I could wait. Now I don't have to! Then the Burt's Bees - always my favorite. The Ecotool dual loofah is so cool, I used it in the shower this morning.

 Then. Oh. My. Goodness. I died. A new planner!!! From May 2013-June 2014. I misplaced my planner in my messy room and I haven't been able to justify buying a new one. This one is super super cool because it gives me a month and week view, tabs, note space and even an "important dates" section - so I can put all of my wedding planning dates and magazine stuff on one page!!!

I also recieved a busy girl on the go eye makeup kit which I've stuck in my car. I always do my makeup in the car and attempt to use my rearview mirror so this will be much better. 

The most green thing I got though - a planter's almanac WITH sunflower, green bean and carrot seeds! I don't know how Amanda knew that sunflowers are my favorite flower and those are my two favorite veggies but I am so excited! I told my mom we have to plant them in her garden this weekend. They're organic, too. We have a compost bin and don't use any chemicals so I know that these veggies will grow strong and stay chemical free as well. 

The best part of my package, though, was my card from Amanda. She was so encouraging and I love the breakdown / reminder she left me. I am so excited to have made a blogfriend. Of course, she lives in Ohio! Which would be the second state I visit the most besides home in Cali. (Nevada doesn't count because it's just Vegas!) 

 

Thank you so much for the wonderful package, Amanda. I am so excited for our friendship to grow. 

Raewyn

Yogi Tea Wisdom

I've been sick and have a horrible cough. To combat it, I've upped my daily tea consumption and have been drinking Yogi's echinecea tea
(YUM!)

This morning my tea bag had someof thw wisest WQ words: "May your mind learn to love with compassion."

It got me thinking about girl cruelty and judging and all of that fun stuff that I often write about. Maybe the reason we have it so wrong is because society believes that we are born judgmental and with innate feelings of superiority.

As an educated person, many of us know that this is not true. We learn our judgments and prejudices socially. Beyond that, we learn HOW to judge in the same way. Which means we can unlearn judgment. We can break the bad habit. It may be the hardest habit to ever break...but we can do it!

New life goal :)

Coupled with the goal to try to educate and protect my future children to live without judgment.

#wordstothinkabout,

Raewyn

The Gratitude List

I'm going to try this blogging from my phone thing. Please excuse any typos from this grammar nazi! It isn't even that this technology is so advanced. It is just that I hate touch screens. My mind moves at a very fast pace (seeing as I have an incredibly high wpm and my brain is still thinking faster than that). Which means my fingers son't always hit the touch screen letters or I move too fast for my phone to put them in or something.

Anyway, I have felt a lot better emotionally since I decided to make this more personal and excited to write but still faced with the dilemma of when. Lol. I always do my best blogging at 2am and as an adult (ew I can't believe I have finally embraced a normal sleep cycle) I am asleep at 2am.

I think everyone at work views me as a grandma. When did I become the old one? I guess it is the curse of working at a restaurant after graduating college. But I am still on the hunt for a full time job, and convinced it will happen soon.

Making this more personal means for awhile this might be a dump of random things. That is how my mind works (read my beginning posts in the archives! Hahaha) so today I wanted to make a list. (DUH)

My Gratitude List (in no particular order)

1. Iman treats me so right. That kid. He is seriously just fantastic for me. Like every part that I'm missing and then everything in between.

2. Southern California drives. NOT my commute time or freeway time but my drives through the canyon or by the beach or even down the toll road. SERENE. I love when Iman and I carpool home and take the canyon over the traffic.

3. My momma! This lady. She always knows exactly what to say when I am having a breakdown. Even if it's her bday and we don't even see each other.

4. Daddy! Even when he's being a butthead and trying to push my buttons, he always has my interest at heart and love love loves me!! Oh and he and Iman hang out and love each other  sooo what more could a daughter want?

5. All of the comfort things that I have. I.e. anything beyond food, shelter and water. I need to appreciate my comforts MORE. Aka, take care of my things ans living space. And donate those that I am not using!

6. Health insurance, a place to live, all of my jobs, the choice of food available to me...all of my 1st world privileges!! Oh thank you for this.

7. Postive reinforcement and love. I. Can. Not. Live. Without. It. Seriously. To this I owe my friends and family.

8. My freedom from any addictions or true ailments.

9. My empathy. I am forever and ever grateful for this.

10. My new blog family. Thanks to Kaitlyn at Wifessionals, I have made two new blogging friends that I hope to keep (Amanda at Pixies and Periwinkles and Laura at Simply Me, As I See It). They inspire me to write! I am so excited to be getting to know Shannon at The Life of Poole for Bigs and Littles as well. I can't wait to truly connect with more people.

I thought some gratitude was in order after everything going on last week and this week (in the US, world, and just my family life.)

What are you thankful for?

P.s. I'm also thankful for my little bother, we can fight about the stupidest things but when I'm sick or sad he always knows how to take care of me

Making this more personal

I think one of my biggest problems with blogging is that I get bogged down in making this representative of what I want the magazine to be, instead of making it completely personal. When it was completely personal in 2009 and 2010, I had a much easier time writing posts and thus wrote more frequently.

Don't get me wrong, I love researching and writing article like posts, that is after all what I went to school for. However, I just get so bogged down and don't always have a ton of time. You know me. I'm always running around a hot mess [especially when my challenges to myself don't work]/ 

I'm hoping that by making this more personal it helps me reach my goal quicker, stay true to myself more and help me to write more often instead of overly worrying about how my blogs are going to be received. I want to make this more like my old Xanga. So my writing might not be full posts, it might be a jumble of thoughts but these are my thoughts and my journey on staying true to my warrior queen self. Of course sometimes there will be guest posts and I welcome any and all posts on becoming more true to you and more of a warrior queen. 

In my attempt to become more warrior queen, I am always looking for ways to better myself. This month I have decided to take part in two different blog things to do that and to create a stronger blogging community [also in hopes of helping me write more. Let's face it, I'm much more centered and focused when I'm writing.] I have joined both the Carabox Exchange on Wifessionals, and also the Bigs and Littles that she hosts along with Mallory. They have been my inspiration to make my blog more true to me and less magazine like. :)

A Carabox is a way to meet more friends in the blogging community and to offer encouragement to others. It is very warrior queen!! I was matched with Amanda at Pixies and Periwinkles and Laura at Simply Me, As I See It. I was so excited to see that the three of us are all baseball fans!! Anyway, Amanda's other match had her do an about me quiz and post it on her blog. If you ever felt like exploring my high school xanga, you would see that I am OBSESSED with this type of thing. So I decided to do it, too :)

You'll Find in My Bag:

1. Phone

2. Wallet

3. The medicine cabinet

4. Straw Wrappers (the curse of being a server)

5. Pens

You'll Find in My Bedroom:

1. Clothes all over the floor [most days]

2. Books

3. A hilariously huge canvas closeup of mine and Iman's faces

4. A  cat or four

5. Lots of blankets!!

I've always wanted to:

1. Finish my Never list

2. Start my own magazine

3. Learn to ride my dirtbike

4. Be Organized

5. Be more confident in my crafting

I'm Currently Loving:

1. All my new jeans from Krystal

2. Hazelnut Machiattos at Starbucks

3. Wedding Planning

4. Our morning oatmeal smoothies

5. Fresh and Easy

Quirks I Have:

1.Sometimes I say really morbid things in a happy tone

2. I talk A LOT and often it doesn't make sense

3. When I tell a story it is similar to the way a newspaper is written

4. I cannot finish the last bite for the life of me

5. My socks have to be just perfect or my day is ruined

And that's just a little bit about me!  Tell me something about you!

Well, I've been sick + Half The Sky Organization

I haven't been deathly sick or anything, although since I continued to work I felt like I might die (I hate serving when I'm not on top of my game). Needless to say, every aspect of my "From Hot Mess to Organized Challenge" has fallen apart and I need the motivation to jump back on my organized / not hot mess life. Anyone want to give me some extra hours in the day to do this??

I hope you've all done better than I have. Did I mention that in the midst of my sickness and still working delerium I went to a job interview and I have a second one today for the same company. At least my blog hiatus wasn't out of laziness [which it has been in the past]. But blogging makes me feel better, I need to remember that. 

Today's going to be a short one, and a rambling one, like my blogs of the past. 

I stumbled across this image in an email this morning and had to share it and the link to its movement - Half The Sky. 

Happy thinking, Warrior Queens! 

P.s. Ariana is going to be partaking in Live Below the Line again and will be guest blogging! Keep your eye out :)

I don’t think I can express how truly thankful I am that I can marry the person I love and receive full medical benefits and full legal rights. I could not imagine being denied my love by society or judged for loving the person that I love.

But that’s the case for a lot of people. It’s not fair.

Iman and I at LACMA Valentine's Day 2012