The Journey that is Life!!!

The first thing I'd like to do is share a post from Facebook posted by an incredibly AMAZING special man who holds a special spot in my life. This is sooooooooooo BEAUTIFULLY written and I was so touched, moved and inspired by the post that I thought I should share it and give my spin on the whole thing! Enjoy!

PURPOSE BUILT...

I felt a posting would be necessary after what had just happened with the fight on Saturday.

Some friends of mine from school came to watch what would be my first fight of 2012 since a couple of injuries and my last bout ...

in 2011. They were endearingly supportive of all my efforts and presence at the event. They knew what this could possibly mean for my inner being. So they came a crowd-full, in t-shirts, graphics and whole load of full-hearted screaming.

This really was endearing. But what i choose to share with you here and now, are some shots from before and after the event. As it truly is a measure of results. How you have grown. The journey is what gets us there. And it is not what everybody sees.

So I will also share what no one usually gets to hear.

On my journey there, I have taken some workshops about passions, about purpose and about self. You ever hear how when someone tells you the man who looks out is wise but the man who looks IN is enlightened. its true. Self knowledge is the one true path to enlightenment. Living with true self. Knowing what that is. Knowing what that wants. What it wants from you, for the world. I was put in to some very strong corners and asked why I HAD to live. What was my reason for surviving? What was it the World needed me For? It was strong and very imposing. It asked of purpose. And it was the clarity of that purpose that made a channel for passion. It was that channel that gave way to unlimited energy and discovery of true self.

I have jumped on this boat now. If it was a rescue boat that had room only for people of purpose, those would be our survivors, those would be our saviors. That is what i chose I would be. I would leave those without clarity behind and board the boat FOR those left behind. To show them they can, that everyone has purpose and a saviour boat to fill. That everyone has wings to be limitless and passionate about their purpose.

One of the things my soul told me was that I needed to continue full heartedly, and what I was doing was preparing. Part in for this fight and for many more to come. This is but another platform to show that limitlessness. How borders and blocks can be surpassed. And I needed to show it to myself.

BOY WAS THIS A TEST.
The day before i was on fire. At the party I had no reservations, this was ongoing, this was relentless, what I had, what I had to give, this was boundless, this was flow and it was infinite. You can be on such a high. it was so hot my hands at times were burning. I was an oven baking for movement!

And the next day...hello Stagnation. Here comes the initiation. Today was the day. What do you do with sparing time and space. And what do you let happen???
There is plenty out there that can seep into your mind; un-needingly, unnecessarily and un-endingly. Alot can be let happen to you. Well this is where you re-introduce your soul. You have to be feeding yourself that right spiritual information. How you are strong, why you are doing this, how you are brilliant, how you are resilient, how your soul knows purpose, how you are never ending, how you are brave. Its the biggest promotion piece of your life. And you have ONE audience member! YOURSELF.

AND ITS A TOUGH CROWD OUT THERE. IT IS.

Your emotions can be a track set for a roller coaster of ups and downs as your thought as well. You have to watch those. And what you notice. is that they pass. they pass like water underneath the bridge. What remains is the bridge. the bridge of growth, the bridge of purpose the bridge for your soul. And guess what with all that water running under it, that bridge needs maintenance. Its not going to help itself. THAT IS ON YOU!!! You need new bricks, you need new cement, you need new hands, new glue and nothing but the BEST! PROTECT THIS BRIDGE GUARD IT FOR ALL YOU KNOW YOU ARE GOOD FOR - FOR THIS WORLD. Or all is lost. you can be the bridge guiding for others. And you have to be strong for yourself for others.

THERE IS NOT STOPPING THIS. Soon enough all that stagnant energy had to go. And so I move.
BE FIRST
No one is going to lift you out of this but yourself. And you cant wait on anybody to lift you out of this. And so YOU DO!
Don't eliminate what bad there is - its not helping - grow and introduce what good you can bring, and have the bad overflow, leave no room for it.

LIVE WITH THAT TRUE SELF AND LISTEN TO IT. AND so i did. i did inch by inch what it told me to do. when i striked i striked, when stretched i stretched, when i dressed i dressed, and when i stood i stood, and when i watched i watched. it was myself - TRUE self leading the show, there was NO compromise. I trusted it

If I'm on this journey of growth, i had to give it a chance! I had to let it happen. i had to to give it a chance! And i had to choose that. YES CHOOSE THAT. CHOOSE TO LET IT HAPPEN.

AND SO I DID. TIME drew close. 1 bout over, 2nd on its way. 3rd bout finished quick. and we are already on number five. I'm getting queasy and its mine after the next and break.

Don't ride that emotional roller coaster. It isn't your ride!
You have already set your ride. You know whats to happen. You know what you are here for. You know how strong your soul is. You know how confident it is. It knows. it knows. IT KNOOOOOWWWSSSS. AND WHAT YOU DO. I WILL .I WILL. I WILL... AND I WILL COMPLETE. I WILL COMPLETE . I WILL COMPLETE. !!!!

ON WE GO. THE ROBE GOES ON. its a tunnel. and at the end, my destination...the ring. the decider. And it wasn't the judges doing the deciding. it was my true self. My one purpose here is to live with my true self - for when i connect with that do i connect with that channel of infinite capacity, of infinite energy, that no matter the real world result, i keyed in and left it all in that ring! I DO MY BEST. AND YOU DO YOURS. That is all i can really ask on any one. my opponent, my judges, my coaches and my fellow man to act with an open and sincere heart with nothing in reserve, or fixation.

The crowd is timid, but they are easily swayed. and easily changing. just like your emotions it seems. so they are irrelevant to you. to what you do. your soul is the only measure here. no compromise. only the best. LISTEN.

Round 1 and getting over the surreal fact that I'm in the ring again with someone opposing me throwing some hard blows, i fight back. My body begins to feel it all to but I'm not here to listen to that. So i get busy, i work and just as soon as a thought enters my mind i act, and with every blow it is displaced with movement. Just as in life.

Round 2 comes up and here i chance it. I gave room. i was not first. i allowed the opponent to be, and gave him his room. and he landed. and as soon as i stopped listening something else started getting my attention. IT GOT ME SOOOO MAAAD!!!! Upset, fraught with pain, fraught with despair, with fear, with angst, with dismay. "i should just quit now." "round 2, can we make it stop now?" "why is this happening" "why am i here" "can i look over to my corner, let them know" "is it my place" "I'm letting it happen" "how much more left"....i was mad watching those thoughts cross me.

And i made it through the second round with some help and a little patience.

The assistant coach tells me, this is my last round "this is YOUR Round", "you GOT this", "BE FIRST" "ALL YOU GOT, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!!!" "100%"

Now isn't that what I've been trying to tell myself all along!
My soul is always first
My soul knows - its GOT it
Do my best - 100%
my purpose - my round - MINE

AND SO I MADE IT. It WAS THE QUICKEST ROUND. I kept punching. If he struck, it didn't matter whether he kicked, punched, struck kneed. i struck. and i struck. and i struck. and it didn't matter what i threw. i threw i threw i threw. my heart was not letting down. it was not giving in on me. I WAS THEEEEERRRREEEE
I HAD KEYED!!! THIS WAS IT. DON'T STOP. THIS IS IT!!!! DON'T STOP KEEP GOING. THIS IS IT THIS IS IT THIS IS IT
KEEP GOING. WHEN DIDN'T MATTER WE WERE IN IT NOW. IN IT FOR IT TO BE IT. THIS WAS KEYING IN. I WAS THERE. WHERE I WAS LAST NIGHT. I GOT THERE. DING DING DING. ROUND OVER.

In my mind i was awaiting 4. 5. 6. in these rules there were three.

the assistant coach said you dominated third round, you were a different person out there, that was ALL Heart. He didn't want nothing to do with you....My coach said 'you did good...you did real good."

The other fighters saw it too. they saw heart. "Yo bro, i seen you move in the warm ups, i said this guy had vicious kicks - i made sure i was out there to see it - great fight bro"and the others along with the judges
"great fight bro"
"great fight"
"you did great"
"it was that third round"..."third round made the difference"...
And so it wasn't in their words but their tone and how they said what they said. EVEN THE AUDIENCE. i KNOW they saw something. they saw IT
They saw HEART. They saw ENERGY!. THEY SAW MY SOUL COME OUT WITH ME ON THAT THIRD ROUND. AND NON SPARINGLY SO. THEY ALL FELT IT. AND FOR THAT I AM GRATEFUL
FOR THAT I AM HAPPY
FOR THAT I AM HERE
FOR THAT MY GUIDANCE
FOR THAT WHAT I WANTED TO SEE OF MYSELF AND WHAT I WANTED OTHERS TO SEE OF ME.
THIS IS WHAT I CAME TO DO.

AND WHAT I PRAY IN GROWTH. IS THAT ITS NOT THERE ON THE THIRD. BUT THE SECOND. AND THE FIRST. AND BEFORE AND AFTER. THAT I LIVE TRUE AND SINCERE WITH MY SOUL AND TRUE SELF IN ALL I DO AND EVERYTHING I DO WITH OTHERS.

THIS IS WHAT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU. AND I HOPE IF YOU DIDN' SEE IT HERE. YOU SEE IT IN YOURSELF READING THIS. OR IN YOURSELF BEFORE AND AFTER. BRING IT HERE BRING IT NOW. BE THERE.
BE THERE.

 

Now for my take on this journey that is LIFE...

 

"Life isn't a destination-its a journey. It's also fragile and unpredictable, so handle with care!"

 

 

 

Everything that was written in the above post resonated me to the core. As a fellow warrior in the martial arts world and life I've had some similar struggles and trials in my life. Being a woman in two very male dominated worlds has never been easy. In the culinary world you're always trying to prove that you have what it takes and that your desire and drive along with your skills are enough to get you ahead. You HAVE to develop a thick skin and learn to take the criticism. I've heard "You'll never be good enough", "You should be working the makeup counter at Dillard's" more times than I'd like. But you know what that does? It pisses me off so much that it makes me want everything more! I've been blessed in my culinary career to have some amazing successes but with that came a lot of failures and more times than I'd like to count of being knocked down but getting right back up again! Kind of like that Aaliyah (may she RIP) song that goes, "Dust yourself off and try again, you can dust it off and try again!" But if it weren't for those so-called "haters" or the ones who pushed me to my limits I wouldn't be the strong, no nonsense chef that I am today.

 

 

 

I've had similar experiences in the martial arts world as well. I have a very rare, not your average type of training story. I started when I was 6 and I was terrible. Having my Dad as my instructor was so difficult. Separating the difference between Dad and instructor/Sensei was something that haunted me for years. When I was corrected or told to do something I ALWAYS got emotional because I thought it was my Dad yelling at me or criticizing me. Alligator tears formed in my eyes almost every night for a good 2 or 3 years until one day the light bulb went *DING DING*!!! For some reason something clicked and I finally figured IT out! Not sure if it was divine martial arts intervention, but the martial gods were definitely looking out for me that day. I have been trained by the best, taught by the best, and beat up by the best. My Dad was harder on me than he was on anyone else. Now was that because I'm the baby of the family? MOST LIKELY! Was that because I am his daughter and he wanted me to be the best that I can be? ABSOLUTELY! Was it because I was to be the 1st black belt out of Yume Dojo? FOR SURE! If he wouldn't have pushed me so hard I don't think I would have had the same experiences in the dojo and on the mat and in life in general.

 

 

 

It has taken me awhile to wrap my head around what I want out of life, who I want to become, how I want to approach the journey and the path to self discovery. I am slowly starting to unravel the things that I need to do and the people that I need to associate myself with to get there. Obviously this has been a tough road to travel and I feel like there's constant road blocks and obstacles in my way, but instead of going around them and evading them like I might have done in the past, I just push right through them. Every day I'm slowly figuring out the Cliff Notes on life, and I'm taking it one day at a time.

 

 

 

I know for a fact that within the last year or two I've slowly starting becoming the woman that I want to become. The path to this self-discovery is not an overnight process and I'm not going to magically wake up one day and BOOM, instantaneously be the woman that I want to be, but I'm slowly chipping away at it. I'm enjoying the process and I'm learning something and discovering something about myself every single day, whether it's something I'm embracing about myself or something that I want to change.

 

 

 

It's imperative that I keep the negativity at bay, that I don't let the "negators" in my life and only surround myself with people that I know are in this for the long haul with me. It's a waste of my time to associate myself with people who bring me down. With that said this is a solo journey to try to achieve the best for ME! It has taken me sooooooooooooooooooo long to figure out that 90% of the time it is about everyone else, but a good 10% is left for me. I need to focus on the journey, not the destination and I'm happy to accept people into my life that embrace my approach and want to be beside me on the long, uphill battle to the top.

 

 

 

I believe my purpose in life has yet to be fulfilled. All I can hope for is that people in life see what I've set out to do: And that is to share my love, passion, and devotion to just LIFE! I can only hope that people feel my love and devotion to not only them but to LIFE! I want to embrace everyone and show them the love and passion I have so they can go on and share it with the world! So the journey is still a little rocky and wrought with trials and tribulations, but the more I keep walking uphill, the more clear it becomes. It's like walking through a fog or seeing a mirage, you know it's there but you just haven't reached it yet.

 

 

 

I just want to thank everyone for being on this journey with me and I'm so humbled and grateful to have such amazing people to be a part of the trek with me! I'm incredibly blessed to have had someone share such heartfelt, soulful experiences with me and been given the opportunity to share in his journey as well. To me that's what life is all about: sharing in the journey together. For that I will be forever grateful and forever evolving to become the person that I want to become!!!

 

 

Not Your Average Female...

BABE, BITCH, BARONESS, BROAD, DAME, DOLL, EMPRESS, GAL, MISSUS, PRINCESS, QUEEN, DAMSEL, LASSIE, CHICK, LADY...And many many more words used to describe the female species!!! Want to know the one that resonates with me??? B-I-T-C-H!!! Now most of you out there things it's a derogatory comment. I, however, know the real meaning behind it and accept it as a term of endearment: Babe In Total Control of Herself!!!

Here are some things I've learned about myself which puts me into the category of: Not Your Average Female...

I'm just as comfortable wearing a white one shoulder BCBG dress with Colin Stuart multi-color stilettos as I am wearing an all black gi (martial arts uniform) with bare feet!

There's nothing better than carrying that blue sequined Coach bag on a night out, but nothing compares to the feeling of carrying my Everlast shoulder bag to the gym!

I'm just as comfortable applying my Chanel Mirrorfique smoky eyeshadow with a layer of glitter on top as I am applying a rear naked choke to an opponent on the ground!

I sometimes long for the "high" adrenaline-induced pain that comes from getting a tattoo, but I do still whine about that tiny paper cut that I feel I need to go to the ER for!

I know exactly what size undergarments conform to my body at Victoria's Secret and I know what colors and styles I love, but I also know that my Tapout 12 oz. boxing gloves and my MMA (mixed martial arts gloves) from Japan fit my hands like a glove! (Even if I secretly wish they came in pink or purple!)

I know the difference between a rear naked choke and a can opener, I know what a balk is, I know the difference between a defensive and reflexive boxer, and I know the different line changes in hockey, but that doesn't mean that I don't secretly root for the team who has the "cutest" uniforms, the "brightest" colors, or the "hottest" quarterback!

I have no problem with fabricating a whole pig or breaking a chickens neck to make chicken noodle soup, but the show Criminal Minds scares the crap out of me!

I enjoy a nice GINORMOUS salad filled with tons of veggies but I'm totally content eating pizza and wings! (Every now and then!)

Pictures of fitness models and motivational "fitspiration" photos fill my Pinterest page right alongside pictures of Victoria's Secret models, "fashgasm" photos, and how-to's on updos and smoky eye makeup applications!

Shellac manicures and pedicures in funky, glittery, sparkly colors are a must but they always seem to chip when I'm flipping a tire or dropping the sledgehammer!

I'm just as content watching Teen Mom, Mob Wives, The Hills as I am Real Sports, Boxing After Dark, and Hard Knocks!

I can watch GSP (George St. Pierre) or Andersen Silva ground and pound or KTFO their opponents in the UFC, but Silence of the Lambs and horror movies still frighten me like a wuss! ("It puts the lotion on the skin" has haunted me for years!)

A girls day might include hours of shopping and pampering, but could also include some target practice at Shooter's World!

You'll find the Victoria's Secret Fall Lookbook and Glamour on my nightstand along with Sports Illustrated and MMA magazine!

"Obviously you're not a golfer" a quote from the Big Lebowski resonates with me just as much as "So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me everyday!" from The Notebook!

Songs like Enter Sandman by Metallica, Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins, Stronger by Kanye West fill my I-Pizzle along with Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen, Love Is A Battlefield by Pat Benatar and Single Ladies by Beyonce!

I've got 12 tattoos, two of which are 3/4 sleeves and spent hundreds of hours sitting in the tattoo chair, but that tetanus shot and the drawing of my blood almost makes me pass out or cry like a little girl!

The calcium deposits and permanent bruises on my shins mixed with the bruises on
my upper ribs, the pain in my shoulder from the Kimura lock, mixed with the daze I'm in from a succession of 3 chokes in a row are NBD (No Big Deal), but the blisters on the back of my ankles from those ridiculously high Colin Stuart wedges that I wore all in the name of fashion are making me a "Cry Baby Sally!"

Squats, dead lifts, planks, triangle chokes, bent arm bars, roundhouse kicks, and spinning back fists are all words in my vocabulary as are Louboutins, pencil skirts, rompers, BB cream, Shellac nail polish, and volumizing mascara!

BLISS, Sephora, Victoria's Secret, Zethina Cosmetics and Forever 21 are beauty/fashion "holy" meccas' that you'll see me at often, but you might also find me perusing the workout apparel at the Under Armour outlet or trying to find the perfect pair of Nike's at the Nike store or even trying on different Everlast boxing gloves to find the right weight at Sports Authority!

The beautiful quote "dolce far niente" or the "sweetness of doing nothing" touches me to the deepest depths of my soul while "eat clean, train dirty" resonates just as much!

Pan-searing a fillet of opakapaka (pink snapper) in a lime butter sauce, delicately removing the pin bones from salmon with needle nose pliers, creating the perfect rosette of whipped cream on a cheesecake is just as easy for me as grilling hamburgers, throwing a slab of ribs on the BBQ and smothering it with BBQ sauce, and smoking my own pork belly to make homemade bacon!

I know that it takes less than 2 pounds of pressure to break someones elbow, I know that ripping someones ear off takes less work than ripping a page out of a phone book, I know that if applied correctly and at the right angle a straight arm bar can easily become a spiral break. But I also know that curling your lashes before mascara and after mascara gives them more volume, I know that if you hold your curling iron vertical that you'll get the perfect spiral curl, and I know that if you layer your eyelid with liquid eyeliner and then apply glitter you'll have the perfect sparkly eye makeup!

I know I need to sit with legs crossed while wearing a skirt or dress, I know that I'm supposed to leave my pinkie out when drinking tea, I know there are no elbows on the tables at a restaurant and I know which fork I need to use when eating a salad, but I do curse like a sailor and I do burp when I eat spicy food or drink too much carbonation!

I'm a giver (sometimes to a fault), I pour my heart out, when I do love, I love deeply, and I would do anything for the people I love and care about but I will not let you walk over me, or take advantage of me and I fight for what I believe and I'm definitely not too shy to tell you how I feel about you! (We can call that word vomit!) ;-)

I'm also the girl that believes in fairy tales, roots for the couple to get together at the end and live happily ever after, imagines romantic getaways and a perfect marriage with the one guy who changed it all, but I'm also the girl who hates labels, genuinely enjoys a males company w/o there being strings attached, is quick to point out douche-bagginess when I see it, hates game playing, arrogance and cheating and is not shy with saying that not every girl wants to be in a relationship!

So I guess what I'm trying to say is: That's me in a nutshell! A fierce, sassy, bad-assy, girly, loyal, tough, responsible, fighter with spunk, class, tattoos, a genuine passion for food and cooking, an eye and impeccable taste for fashion topped off with shine and sparkle all together in one tight, tiny little package!!!

"Fitspo" and "Fitspiration"

"Working out is a reward not a punishment!" I feel like some people might've missed the mark on the whole fitness craze! Not everyone who works out does it because they NEED to or because they HAVE to fit in those skinny jeans. Some of us work out because we like to, because we want to be healthy, or because it's a total way of life!

Glamour magazine just recently had an article about "Fitspiration" or "Fitspo": Is It Bad For You? According to Urban Dictionary, "fitspiration" is fit+inspiration and uses examples of good fitness as inspiration to attain a fitness goal. There are a couple sides of the story. Some think the images portray dangerously thin and overly sexualized women with bodies that are impossible to achieve. Some say that the images promote the same obsessive tendencies as an eating disorder. There are some in the middle who think that there are horrible images that can sabotage a woman's self-esteem, and make you end up comparing yourself to other women, but they believe that the goal is realistically your own milestone to achieve. Team "Fitspo" feels that when you're trying to develop an active and healthy lifestyle inspiring pictures can be great motivators, not detractors.

From the time I was 6 until today I have been active. I started doing martial arts when I was 6 and it has been a WAY OF LIFE for the last 22 years. I consider myself to be in good shape, but I'm honestly tired of the people a.k.a. the "haters" who look at you and say, "It must be nice to be able to eat whatever you want", "Geez, you're so skinny!" Well guess what I don't eat whatever I want, and I'm fit because I work damn hard at it! My body is a reflection of the hard work that I put into it. I don't think I should be judged by how much dedication I have to that vision.

Do I think society has an askew vision of what beauty or fit is? Yes, absolutely! I don't like using the words thin, or skinny, I like the words healthy, fit, active! Do pictures of fit women inspire me? ABSOLUTELY! Do I have illusions that I'm going to be a female body builder? NO! I'm a smart enough female to know that if "you put good in, you get good out!" There will always be people who take it to the extreme, but I have no problem with seeing pictures of fit women or men for that matter. It's motivation, and it inspires me! If something that I do in my everyday life can inspire someone else to make a change, or to continue with a certain lifestyle, then I have succeeded!

I'm not here to preach that my way is the only way, I'm just here to live a healthy, fit lifestyle filled with workouts that make me feel healthy, and with food that I enjoy! Yes, I juice almost everyday! Yes I workout everyday, sometimes twice a day! But I do have days where I take a break, and I do have days where I pig out! That's life! I just want to be a healthy, strong, confident woman! And to me I'm succeeding with the goals I've set for myself because I set them, and I'm not living someone else's ideals!

Ladies (and gentleman for that matter) do it for you! Not for anyone else! Look at "fitspiration" pics, don't look at them. Don't compare yourself to anyone else! The key to succeeding in your goals is making your own realistic milestones and hitting them!!! Be strong, be confident, strive for progress not perfection!

"Il Dolce Far Niente"

"Il Dolce Far Niente"...The Sweetness of Doing Nothing!!!

I first heard those words while I was reading the book Eat, Pray, Love and actually heard the correct pronunciation of that phrase in the movie made popular by Julia Roberts. I have to say that the part in the book and the movie that takes place in Italy is by far my most favorite part. Although I'm really "Jones-ing" for a trip to Italy and have been drooling over friends pictures and straight-up stalking Pinterest photos of Italy, I have adapted this phrase into my everyday life!

In a nation where we're constantly on the go and feel like we ALWAYS have to be doing SOMETHING, I think sometimes we fail to appreciate the finer things in life a.k.a. "the sweetness of doing nothing!" I have definitely learned that in the fast paced culinary world you have to have some kind of vice be it smoking like a chimney, drinking like a fish, or enjoying some "herbs!" Well since I don't do any of those I've had to find other ways to "unwind" at the end of a crazy day/night. If working out 2 times a day isn't enough, then it's inflicting pain on my students or throwing 500 various boxing strikes in 2 minutes. But I've also discovered it's the little things that I appreciate: long invigorating bubble baths, ending the night with a cup of hibiscus tea, or honestly sitting in front of the TV and "vegging out" to mind-numbing television.

That's why one of my fave places to visit (and hopefully live soon) is Hawaii because I think they've really embraced that philosophy. How can you not do anything but enjoy "the sweetness of doing nothing" when you're smack dab in paradise? I L-O-V-E being able to wake up to the smell of the ocean, the sound of the trade winds, and the feel of the subtle humidity on your sun-kissed skin from your lanai!!!

Another way I've applied this whole philosophy is to my cooking! I've realized that some of the best food I've ever had, were made from the freshest of ingredients and involved so little cooking preparation. That's the true "sweetness of doing nothing" to me is when you can take local ingredients and just utilize their natural flavors and not have to involve harsh cooking preparations to destroy their flavors. To me that is the PASSION of cooking!!! We have a cute little acronym in martial arts called K.I.S.S.-Keep It Simple Stupid, meaning that you don't have to complicate things, just keep them in their purest form.

I don't have all the answers, I don't know what the future will hold, but I know that right now in this life, we damn well better appreciate the small things in life and the simplistic philosophy of "the sweetness of doing nothing!" Remember it's okay to enjoy that sunset, to lounge by the pool, to sing Call Me Maybe a dozen times, to order takeout when you don't feel like cooking, to not want to go out and just have a movie night in, to not wear any makeup! (Okay that's never okay! J/k!)

The moral of the story followers, fans and groupies: Remember the "sweetness of doing nothing!"

Until next time,

<3 Cheffie <3