Baby Green Machine

So Christmas was pretty fantastic. Eric and I spent it at the casinos and had junk food for dinner. We didn't get to hang out with his dad because we got caught up in the gambling fun, but we did have a good time with each other.When I get my phone to work I'll upload some of the photos from the lobby at Bellagio. All year long that hotel always has really great decorations and Christmas is no exception. There were funky blue and lime green Christmas Trees,Penguins, and a bunch of other stuff. I like the idea of spending Thanksgiving with the family and doing Christmas somewhere far away...and warm.Next year who knows, maybe Hawaii?

Recently I've been addicted to making my own green machine smoothies in the morning. I'm not a big fan of vegetables, but I'm more than aware that I need to eat them if  I'm trying to lose weight and stay healthy.Everyone I've mentioned this smoothie to gets grossed out because my main ingredient is Spinach,but if you can't taste it, I figure what's the big deal? If you don't like the taste of veggies but need the servings I highly recommend trying it:

• 2 cups of ice
• 4 or 5 handfuls of spinach
• 1 banana (I like to use a non frozen banana)
• 1/2 a cup of shredded carrots
• 1 cup of blackberries or blueberries
• 1 cup of raspberries
• 2 packs of splenda(I add half a container of low fat strawberry yogurt to sweeten it)
• 1 cup of light silk soy milk

Once blended, it will end up fulling a 32oz cup. It's a very filling breakfast/lunch and you get around 5-6 servings of fruit and veggies in one sitting. YAY.

One of Eric's close friends as well as his brother are supposed to be coming to town tomorrow. Hopefully, I can clean up, finish up my paper that's due next week, and get a workout in before everyone gets in to town. I'm still looking for plans for New Year's Eve. Suggestions anyone?

Christmas in Vegas

Christmas is not what you immediately think of when Vegas comes to mind. For me when someone mentions Las Vegas I think of:

• Elvis
• Fear and Loathing
• Showgirls (the entertainers as well as the terribly fantastic movie"Showgirls" starring Jesse Spano from Save by the Bell)
• Drugs
• Ladies of the Night
• Gambling
• buffets
• 24 hour everything

Well this year, Eric and I decided to change it up and spend Christmas in Vegas. His father lives DOES live there, so it's not like we're totally avoiding family. Though, something does tell me that more time will be spent on the casino floor than around the dinner table at his dad's house. We went to Vegas earlier this year for my birthday and I came back with a serious kidney infection(due to me not drinking water,and way too much alcohol+carbonated beverages). Who knew drinking 3 days straight with no breaks would make a girl sick?This time around I plan to STAY hydrated, ignore the unlimited ice cream bar at the buffet,and win a million or so dollars :D

Since I'll be going crazy with work the next few days, I leave you with this:

 Whether or not Christmas is your holiday of choice, I hope you have a good holiday and enjoy the time off with someone you care about :)

Now that'll put some hair on your chest!

On Friday, Eric and I drove to Lafayette,Louisiana for his company's holiday party. Lafayette is about 225 miles away from Houston for those of you that didn't know(I didn't!). Now most people would say that's a bit too far to travel for a holiday party, but in the end, I walked out with a Jack Daniels holiday gift pack and a bottle of 18 year old single malt scotch.

The Glenmorangie18 Year Old is a single malt Scotch whisky of serious distinction. Once it has spent fifteen years maturing in American white oak casks approximately 30% is transferred into Spanish Oloroso casks to spend a further three years maturing. Then, when both elements have reached 18 years, we blend them back together to create a whisky with a rich bouquet and full, rounded flavour.

At least that's what the website says.After two, four hour drives to Lafayette and back, I'd say I made out alright!

Louisiana is a very interesting place, but I feel like I really haven't seen it yet. I'm supposed to be going there next month(New Orleans) with my girlfriends for a long weekend ,and I'm trying to make a list of things to busy myself with. Are any of you familiar with that area? If so please email me some suggestions that don't involve the usual bars/gambling.We will of course be hitting up a casino or two, but I want to make sure we see some fun little sights while we're there :D

I'm a grown up now

I just got my very first promotion at work on Friday. Go me!

My entire working career,I've always been an assistant. Customer service "assistant",administrative "assistant" or executive"assistant". On Friday afternoon, my bosses unexpectedly called me into a meeting as I was on my way out for the day. I thought I was going to get a lecture since I was beyond hungover, and I had one too many drinks at happy hour the evening before. Well, this conversation was nothing close to a lecture,it was quite the opposite. They told me that they had appreciated all my hard work over the past 10 months and wanted to move me up to a new position on one of the teams they manage.  I actually yelled "YES!"(reawakening my hangover headache that hadn't been killed by the Advil  I had taken earlier) before I could even hear the details. I'm still working out all the specifics of this deal, but they announced it to the entire group at a meeting yesterday,so it's definitely official now. I'm really excited about this new venture, and am hoping it leads to a bigger paycheck :D

Yogi

The first time I ever tried yoga, I was around 15 or 16 years old. Madonna was talking about it in some interview and showing off her super fit arms. I remember going with my stepmother, Rikki, and being completely miserable.

The next time I went was a few years later when I was around 21. I went with a friend and fell in love. This was also the first time I tried hot hatha(hot yoga). The room was 101 degrees Fahrenheit. I could barely take  breathe, but the way the sweat seeped out of my body somehow rejuvenated me. I took part in a program where if you spent 10 bucks, your first 10 classes were free. I went and took full advantage of all 10 classes. Unfortunately, after the first 10 classes, the price jumped up to this insane amount that I just could not afford :(

Fast forward to now, I have a gym membership( that I need to cancel sooner than later since I recently bought an elliptical) and I also have a few pieces of equipment at home. I have slowly been making it absolutely impossible for me not to work out at least 4 to 5 times a week. I had been trying to kill off 50 or so pounds for the last year, and for some reason,the whole drink a bunch of beer and watch 20 hours of Hulu.com diet wasn't working :)

I don't think I'm going to stick with Yoga as my main workout,being that it's SO expensive, but I do think I'm going to incorporate it into my monthly routine. I'm finally starting to feel like a work in progress :D

Is it bad that this story about Europeans being overweight made me feel a little better? You often here stories about Americans and their gluttony, it's kind of relieving to hear it about another country for once.

Check it out here

Slow...but making good time

I've been in school forever, or at least it seems like I've been in school forever.

I graduated high school in 2005, and at first, I was only able to take a small load (That's what she said-sorry I couldn't resist) every semester because I was always working full time or off somewhere singing. For the first time in my life, I'm finally in a position where I can not only afford to pay for school, but do more school since I'm not singing for any bands right now. I don't want to sound like I blame the bands, (I loved them! )but right now, my life is mine. Well, I guess it would make more sense to say that my TIME is finally mine.

I no longer have to work my schedule around rehearsals or shows. I no longer have to worry about withdrawing from school due to an upcoming tour. I've made a conscious decision to finish school and not stop until I'm done. While a degree may be another year or two away, I'm not stopping until I've walked across the stage degree in hand.


While it is a little cooky, my main interests right now include:

• Finishing School
• Working
• My boyfriend
• My friends
• My family
• working out
• Planning my first real vacation

I think I've worked really hard up to this point, and deserve to focus on finishing a few personal goals . I'm not going to stop singing completely or anything, but let's just say you won't catch me on anyone's tour anytime soon.

heart work hard work

Do you remember the first time you fell in love? Do you remember the first time you smiled so hard your face hurt? Or, do you remember the last time you got a hug that made you just feel whole?

This weekend has been a rough one, but it's never to late too remember why love is something that takes work.

nyc

This weekend I went to New York to see one of my best friends named Ryan. He lives in Manhattan, but had to work a lot while I was there and allowed me to roam the around the city by myself a little. The past few times I've been to New York, it was for business/music performances. I've never been able to shop or see the sights ,so this trip was amazing because I was allowed to do it for once. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't about to hop on a tour bus or anything, but I did go to Soho, Brooklyn, and random parts of Manhattan to shop my ass off.I did make 2 rather over the top purchases...a pair of Chanel glasses and a leather jacket that looks like something straight out of Top Gun.

(Ryan and I found a wall to entertain ourselves with)

Friday and Saturday night we hit up a lot of the gay bars. Most were pretty tame(underwear night +cheap drinks), however, there was one that might as well have been a gay stripclub. The boys clothes went missing and no one seemed to know where they or the air freshner was. I will say one highlight of my adventures through gay new york was getting to see Drag Beyonce. That girl had some serious moves, but could seriously benefit from a much stronger cup...things were um,poking out.

(Some of the awesome outfits for sale)

Saturday afternoon, I went to go see "Long Story Short" featuring Colin Quinn and directed by Jerry Seinfeld. This show was brilliant. It was a brief history of the world in 75 minutes. My clock on my blackberry failed to update when I arrived in NY, so I was like 10 minutes late for the show, but what I got to see made it all worthwhile. I also walked out with a poster signed by both the star and the director :D!



While in the city,I also got to hang out with my good friend Jesse. I met Jesse through my friend Courtney about 3 years ago while they were both attending Northwestern University. I hadn't seem him in a little over a year and it was nice to shoot the shit(not literally) with a familiar face. This guy reminds me of Jude Law(if Jude Law were way better looking and not a cheater). We walked around a bit and took in the ridiculous sights at some random flea market in Union Square. I was highly tempted to buy this fugly floor length fur coat, but Jesse wanted it instead so I let him have it (kidding).

(Jesse showing me how Wilson Pickett had mad style)

I ended my weekend in Queens at some random bar off 30th run by a bunch of fiery Irish dudes. I'm not one to stereotype, but the Irish are know for their drinking and tempers. Well, on this night they didn't fail to disappoint. It took me about 20 minutes to get my completed drink order because some guy at the bar kept fighting with the bartender about a fight they had gotten into at the bar a day before (what?!). The fight ended about 5 times before the guy was too drunk to argue anymore. At that point he decided to make me a coat rack and use my friend Amara as a chair. God bless the Irish.

Now I'm back in the work frenzy, and can't wait to plan my next NYC visit. I'm thinking sometime in Spring when the weather is more so in my favor.

I was robbed ya'll!

Well, I wasn't really ROBBED, but I did get my cell phone stolen from right in front of me yesterday. I went to Sears yesterday to try on a pair of gray suede winter boots, and wouldn't you know, in a matter of 5 minutes some sticky fingered skank stole my cell phone?!

I went to checkout and saw a phone similar to mine sitting on the counter. This woman ran up and cut me off in line to claim it. She then proceeded to walk towards the exit. Finding this rather sketchy, I proceeded to check my bag.No phone. Well, I did have my work phone. So I called my personal phone and heard my ringtone play, and then cut off really quickly.I then saw the woman book it to her car. I ran towards the exit, but by the time I got outside she was speeding away. FUCK. I don't think I have been as livid as I was last night in quite a while. I felt like one of the guys in that movie 300.

I was ready to take a large sword and slice that bitch's head off!I'm not going to lie, I went through my own little klepto phase during high school where I stole endless amounts of lip gloss from an unnamed corporate pharmacy, but come the hell on! Maybe it's Karma just now getting back to me 5 years later or something. I couldn't do anything, so I just had to accept that the phone was forever lost. I called it a few times but of course no one answered. In the end, I ended up getting the boots in both gray and black to you know, heal my wound.That, topped off with a glass of American Honey on the rocks at The Mink made it a good ending to a mind fuck day.

Happy Friday! Kam

Patience

I've never been a patient person. I am one of those people who get mad at the internet when it takes longer than 3 seconds to load, I honk at people when they wait more than 10 seconds after a light has been green, and I get mad at the microwave when it says :55 seconds remaining instead :10 for my Pop Secret light butter popcorn. When I think about how impatient I can beat times, I can only imagine how many years it's chopping off my life by creating unnecessary amounts of stress.

Take the recent chop off of my hair. Originally, I was going to transition out of my relaxed hair into the natural hair by just gradually trimming off the chemically treated ends. Well, I went to a stylist about 2 weeks back, paid 70 dollars to get the worst haircut of my life( not intentional by anyway I asked for a trim!), and ended up chopping it all of a week later. While I love the look now...what will probably happen later(when the awkward new gro starts to come back) is me with a quick weave of some sort.

In an effort to try an chill the hell off for my own sanity and that of those around me, I've decided to get back into a regular workout regimen. Eric is out of town until Friday, so that leaves me with 3 uninterrupted nights to get my ass into gear and back into a workout routine. I think I can do it easy, no problem. My friend V,from work, invited me over to use the machines at her super swank apartment tonight, so I have no excuse to skip out right?

Recently, I've been addicted to this woman's fitness blog. She went through the same weight issues I'm going through now, but managed to succeed at it all. I'm not entirely too sure if I can do it all on my own, but I'm sure as hell gonna try.

Hopefully, my lifelong tendency to get impatient at the worst times won't interfere with my long term success.I resuscribed to weight watchers, and I may even rejoing a gym. The shitstorm winter weather will be here soon and the last thing I'll want to do is go outside.

Wish me luck ya'll.

baby afro Tuesday

So I did the big reveal of my new hair at work yesterday. What I thought would be a day filled with mockery and questions like "Why did you do that to yourself?", turned out to be a day filled with new confidence and more compliments on my hair than I have ever gotten in my life.

How weird! Maybe this isn't very strange to any of the many women (black,white,etc.) who roam this Earth with a mini afro, but it is to me. I can't remember the last time my hair was above my ear. I'm rocking half an inch right of hair right now! I'm going to do one more big chop before I start letting it grow out completely to make sure that the relaxed hair is completely gone. Right now, I'm using African Royale Hot Six Oil as my main source of daily moisture. I'm not very educated on the best products for natural black hair yet, so I'm going with natural products until I figure it all out.

Last night I went into an attempt to cook a Chicken Jambalaya recipe I found on the Weight Watchers site. Normally, the recipes on the site are fairly easy, but my problem is that I always seem to cook for a family of 6 instead of a couple of 2. I made it halfway through the recipe before I realized that the recipe called for cooked rice and not uncooked rice(as most recipes do).Well needless to say I f'ed that one up and we ended up having a preprepped frozen meal, as I watched my jambalaya attempt go out in the trash. I'm thinking I'll make another attempt at it on Thursday, but this time I'll be sure to follow the directions.

2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion(s), sweet, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium green pepper(s), chopped (about 1 cup)
8 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
29 oz canned stewed tomatoes, undrained
12 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp Italian seasoning, dried
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
4 cup(s) cooked brown rice

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper; cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in chicken; cook, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
Stir in remaining ingredients, except rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Stir in rice; continue cooking until liquid is almost absorbed and rice is thoroughly heated, about 2 minutes. Yields about 2 cups per serving.9 weight watchers points!

This weekend, Eric and I will be heading off to Austin where he will be Kermit the Frog and I will be Miss Piggy( If our costumes arrive on time ).This will be the first halloween I've spent in Austin since 2006. This will also be the first year I've ever done a couples costume. I know it's cheesy but I don't care. Being mushy everynow and then is just one of the things that comes along with being in a couple right? Hope everyone is having a great week :)

big chop

So I decided to go natural. Eric helped me out and cut it all off for me with his clippers.I can't say that I was a little freaked out to part with the hair,but it feels good!I don't think the relaxer is completely out yet so I will need to do another big chop within the next 2-3 weeks.

Here's the 1st photo with no makeup or very much hair...all natural!

Did you know that if you have a full-time job, (8-5,5-5,9-5, whatever) you spend more time at work than you do with your own family?

I spend most of my time , at work, prepping for work, or hanging out with coworkers. I have friends outside of the workplace(great ones!),but it seems like the Friday night “What are you doing tonight, wanna hang out?”pressure always seems to get to me. Even though I have every week I go into the weekend with the intention of turning off the crackberry and wasting the day in bed with my boyfriend it never seems to turn out that way.

Now let me be clear about a few things before any of my whining gets confused with being ungrateful.

• Number one, I love my job. I work with great people, and my boss is amazing.
• Number two, we are a very spoiled office. There are about 400-500 of us and there is free breakfast+lunch provided most days.
• Number three, I work downtown. While Houston is not New York, LA, or Chicago, it is my town and I LOVE this town. Downtown is filled with tons of beautiful buildings, interesting people and I feel like there is always something to see. Not to mention, the surrounding restaurants/artists in the Montrose,Midtown,and Heights areas have started bringing their business here. I’m not a food snob or anything, but until 2 years ago, the food selection in the tunnels was nothing above mediocre.
• Number 4, I get paid well.I’m not making hoverboard money or anything, but I’m living comfortable.

The only thing that really bugs me is the excess of coworkers. I like them and all,but like the saying goes, “too much of anything is a bad thing”.

So, with all of that said,I have decided that this weekend will be free of the people I work with**. While my plans may not be all that spectacular yet, I can absolutely guarantee that it will be better than not spending time with people I love.

Weekend possibilities include:

• A visit to the renaissance festival
• Boozing/people-watching with the boyfriend
• A long overdue bike ride through the city
• Cleaning
• Studying for my upcoming history exam(this should probably be mandatory)
• Continuing my quest to become a culinary goddess(shout out to me for not burning/undercooking last nights Chipoltle Turkey Burgers)
• Cleaning my boyfriend’s house(that I made dirty)
• Relaxing

**Ceremonies will commence on Friday night starting with a pat on my own back if I am able to ignore the party pressure of my coworkers tomorrow afternoon.

So...I bought a new car. White 2010 Acura TSX. I've never had a new car and was excited to finally own one plus or minus 10,000 miles.






















So what happened to my old car? Well, my brother was sharing my dad+ stepmom's car for a while and got into an accident a few months back. Being that they only had liability insurance, they were then down to only one car(since the accident was ruled my brother's fault). The past few months have been really hard for them and I just wanted to do something nice since I was finally in a good place, financially, to do so. So, my Ford Focus is now with my brother and parents and I'm enjoying my new car.The past few weeks have been nothing short of a blessing to me, and I cannot express how grateful I am right now. I have a lot of friends who are going through some really tough times and all I can do is say thank you lord over and over for taking all of the weight off my shoulders.To all my friends out there in the struggle, I'm sending prayers, good vibes, and whatever else your way so that things get a little easier for all of us.

I forgot to mention that I participated in the Susan B. Komen 5k almost two weeks ago in Houston. It was a blast,and itwas really inspirational seeing all the survivors and supporters out there.I have never seen so much PINK in my life! I ran most of the race...had to walk for about 5-10 minutes but I'm proud of myself for making it through!

23 and debt free

This past year has been a blessing. This time last year I was heavy in debt, walking funny from my ankle surgery last year( I still do :p),and looking for a job.

Now,I've been blessed with a great job, an awesome boyfriend, and the ability to pay my student loans off!I can truly say for the first time that I am DEBT FREE.
I've been meeting with a few advisors to see what the next step is. An emergency fund? A wedding fund? A personal trainer fund?

I dunno.All I know is that right now...everything is going good and I'm just enjoying my life.

Ooo I look good!

Today, I woke up feeling like Beyonce. Minus the millions,Jay-Z, record deal,and ridiculous body, if you would have put me and Beyonce next to each other this morning I would have argued we were twins. Why may you ask? I'm finally starting to see serious results from my weight loss program.

I've been doing weight watchers online for about 2 months now and have lost about 10 lbs. While my appearance hasn't really changed, my clothing size and my confidence has. I'm finally starting to feel like my old self again..and some of my old dresses are actually starting to fit again and it feels amazing. I just wanted to get this out because I feel like if I went around telling people I am Beyonce, I'd probably get some mixed responses...though I know the real truth.

This past weekend was Labor Day. Eric went out of town with his buddies on a hunting trip which left me a few days to myself to run about town. The highlights were:

• Finding not one,but 2 dresses for under 10 bucks!


• 4 strings concert at Riches(didn't realize Trance wasn't that bad)


• Dirty Honey at Boondocks


• watching people bust their ass on the moonwalk/slip&slide flip cup battle at Firkin and Phoenix


• Showing Virginia(my new Aussie friend from work) around Houston


• bar hopping on Sunday night with Eric


• Nidda Thai Cuisine on Montrose


• excessive rain
  

The low lights were:

• Arguing with some crazy man about "how black I'm not" (which is always a fun conversation)


• waiting 3 hours for my brother's brakes on his car to be changed


• not getting a workout in at all this weekend


• excessive rain

We missed you Ms.Hill

Being a big Lauryn Hill fan, I was extremely happy to here that she was headlining this years Rock the Bells concert series. Unfortunately, since Houston is one of those cities that tend to not buy up tickets(with the exception of Lady Gaga) in advance, the tour no longer comes here. I, like many, have been lost the last few years in this quasi "R&B spiral" waiting on that next Lauryn Hill release, but to no surprise, we are still swarming around empty handed. I was happy however to come upon a video of Ms. Hill's performance at the awards killing it.





The quality pretty much sucks but it so good,so good to hear her voice hasn't changed(even though she is still rocking hobo garb).Lauryn's "Peace of Mind"remains at the top of my list as one my favorite songs ever.See below.



I have to fight not to bawl every time I hear it.

This weekend is supposed to be pretty slow, in comparison to last weekend, that ended with both Eric and I begging for alcohol forgiveness Saturday morning after the bar we had consumed Friday night. It won't be too bad though because some the best weekends are the ones spent doing nothing at all.


I didn't forget...I was busy jamming to her on the radio yesterday

RIP Aaliyah



This is my jam.

Baby girl's new shoes

So I bought my first pair of real running shoes. I realized as I was purchasing them that every pair of running/tennis shoes I've ever owned were pre-owned. All of my previous running shoes either belonged to my mom or my Aunt Dale first. Both of them have always been pretty health concious,with my mom being physically fit all her life, and my aunt dale being more like me (up and down). Before signing up for this race, I never looked into running or the appropriate footware. I didn't know certain shoes were meant for certain feet,certain weights,or certain terrains.

I realized that if I had any chance of truly training and finishing this race,I needed to get my own pair of shoes! I ended up selecting the Nike Jana Star Waffle lll in blue.





















Not really my preffered color of choice(I'm a green girl), but supposedly it will get the job done. I went for a run on the treadmill this morning in one of my mom's old pair of shoes,and my lower back was freaking killing me after only a mile and a half. Seriously?!

My shoes won't be here for another week or so,but until they arrive, I'm gonna have to come up with some creative cardio workouts.

In other news, I just had to make a mention of the CIA having a need for Ebonics Translators...no lie! It's very hard for me to express how baffled I am by this, but I guess if they need them, they need them right?

eesh.

Run Kam Run

"I was running"

I recently signed up to run my first 5k on October 2nd.

For those of you who don't know, a 5K is 3.1 mile race.I had the option to sign up for the fun walk,non-competitive run, or the competitive run. Well, I signed up for the 5k non competitive run. The longest I've ever been able to run without stopping in my life is 1 and a half miles.
I used to walk EVERYWHERE. My senior year of high school I lost about 50 lbs from walking along with a musical theatre class. I know my training will result in some type of weight loss,but I'm much more excited about pushing myself to some kind of limit for the first time since before I broke my ankle.

After my surgery, I gained about 40 lbs. I've slowly been getting rid of it, but had a few speed bumps here in there( cough cough cookies/candy table at work that I have to fight to ignore everyday). I'm looking forward to this race,and while I know I won't win or come close to it, my goal will be to complete the full 3 miles without stopping.

Here we go!

If you would like to donate to my goal towards the run please click here.

Last night consisted of girlfriends,liquor,and fancy dresses. It had been so long since I'd been out on a weeknight that I nearly forgot how much fun I used to have at all the weekly events I used to go to.
We went and visited the homies in Umbrella Man (which I left in February if I hadn't mentioned) at the Continental. It was really weird watching them without me up there next to them, but my sentiments haven't really changed and I know that The Continental and that band is no longer for me.

I have been contemplating starting another music project.Small, simple, weekends.
We'll see, I'm still quite irritated with the music scene in general.

Shout out to Gritsy!

So it's been a while since I shouted out to an event. I just wanted to send an early shout out to Gritsy going down August 28th,2010 at Sterolive on Richmond(the Old Bar-rio).

I rarely sing with any of my old bands but my love for Gritsy has yet to fade :D

Boomba is going on tonight. It's thrown by the same crew but features more touring acts. Should be poppin.

Eagle Pass!

So I came back from Eagle Pass bullet hole free and hangover ridden. It's a very small town,but the people watching at the casino alone could keep a girl busy for days. Here's a photo of the girls from the party.As evidenced by the face I'm making in this photo...far left, I had a good time.

Eagle Pass

Whenever I find myself going to a city I've never been to, I like to read up on a bit.
This weekend Eric and I are going to be driving to Eagle Pass,Texas for a friend's birthday party.

I've never been there before but it's home to the only Texas casino(on a small Native American Reservation).I don't know what to expect,but I know that if you're in the company of good people you're always bound to have a good time.

My only hesitation this weekend is what the heck I'm going to eat. Parties=mad calories and my ass is currently doing Weight Watchers. So far I've lost about 6lbs and counting.Can someone just hide the queso and cerveza from me por favor? Thanks.

Random Eagle Pass Facts:

• Eagle Pass is home to the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino, the only land-based casino in the state of Texas.
• The Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras Metropolitan Area (EG-PN) is one of six bi-national metropolitan areas along the United States-Mexican border.
• New businesses, such as this Chili's Grill and Bar, have sprung up on Texas State Highway 375 in Eagle Pass.(Chili's ahhh man they're moving on up!)
• Eagle Pass has been sued by the U.S. government for access to land to construct a border fence between the United States and Mexico.

In other news, summer school is finally over and I made it through with a B in my English Lit class which required little to know effort and a C in Algebra which I only earned by the grace of God. I really wish my math skills weren't so below par. Tutoring here I come. And I'm business major ? :(I have 2 weeks off until the fall semester starts again...here's to better preparation in the new school year!

I finally made a return to the stage last Saturday with the Sideshow Tramps. I hadn't sang in public really since March and it was really nice to see some of those familiar faces again. Sometimes I really miss performing every night, but the life I'm living now compared to a year ago is truly a blessing and I don't see myself changing anytime soon.

Thank you Craigslist

This weekend, a year ago, I met a boy at the Aurora Picture Show who changed my life. This weekend,we will be returning to the place we first met (in person), The Aurora Picture Show Extremely Shorts Short Film Festival. Oddly enough,the person to thank for this is Craig and his list. Craigslist is not a place I would suggest anyone go to meet anybody. There are some serious creepsters and whack jobs on there.This was a mere coincidence that resulted in neither of us turning out to be a crazy(yet). It's kinda funny sometimes when I go out with him. You would think that most people would be quite used to the whole interracial dating thing by now. However, we occasionally get the "How the heck did a black girl end up with an Asian guy" question.I like to say that he ended up with me :) We typically just say we met online,and when people ask about what dating site(Match,eharmony etc.), we say none of them.


To anyone looking for a new idea for date night I highly recommend everything the Aurora Picture Show puts on.



http://aurorapictureshow.org

my new baby

early bday present :)

I never realized how awesome riding around the town with your favorite person could be. I need to get some new brake handles added onto it because the frame is a little too small. I am,however, excited about having another exercise to do besides the normal gym stuff.The road bike ride is much more enjoyable for biking around the city. The past few months I'd been strolling around on my old Bianchi (the bike I broke my ankle on) and just couldn't figure out why the ride was so unenjoyable....ding!Mountain bikes aren't very comfortable on flat roads....just as road bikes aren't very fun on bumpy ones. I also learned that just because some people ride bikes all the time,doesn't mean they know everything about bikes.

I look forward to doing more and more bike rides and seeing just how far I can go.

My mother(s) are awesome

Well I guess it would be nice...

As you train your body to think breakfast burritos=good and fresh fruit for breakfast=bad, it becomes very easy to not understand why you feel like crap constantly.Since I changed my habits,my morning grumps have, for the most part, disappeared. I'm staying on the excersise machines longer and my morning walks with Eric are showing me more things in Houston to fall in love with.

I ever so often get a little discouraged when a pair of pants don't fit quite just yet or a zipper won't go all the way up,but then I tell myself...its all good, slowly but surely,right?

I'm nearing the -15 mark...its exciting. I think the scale is playing tricks on me though.I would like to be at -18 by my birthday...I would like to be at -20 but -18 just seems a bit more reachable.34 days...far more challenging things have been done in less time.

Have a little faith....


I am pleased to say that my coworkers have left the cupcakes,pies,and kolaches at home this week....though then again it's only Tuesday.

I'm excited about returning to the stage soon. I still sing...I just don't share it as much.

Happy 30th birthday Eric!

I just joined the YMCA. It's a much different enviroment then all the muscle heads and husband hunters I encountered at 24 hour fitness. It's a little smaller but I like it. I think I'm gonna do much better without the added distractions.

2 more weeks left of school. It will all be over one day :)

get it gurllll

So in the midst of finishing up the semester at school, and getting acquainted with my new job at work I have been successfully completing my workout regimen. I found out today that I can get a ridiculously cheap gym membership at the YMCA downtown for 20 bucks a month. I was going to 24 hour fitness for a while,but it gets way too busy and the Y is closer to home. Plus, they are building this brand new+insanely nice one downtown a few blocks away that my new membership will transfer to once it is opened. So far I've lost 10 lbs. since starting this workout plan a few weeks ago and it feels good.

I've been singing a lot more/practicing techniques to try and get back in the swing of things,but I just haven't been very inspired to sing in public recently. I am hoping to make a comeback to singing regularly with the Sideshow Tramps sometime in late June or July but only time will tell. I can however, guarantee that I will be killing their mic at their cd release show later on this year.

I never realized how many things could change in a year until I broke my ankle. Since last July,my life has gone in a completely different direction as far as goals andsocial relationships.I can honestly say though that even though I'm not on stage as much as I used to be I'm still being productive and I'm extremely proud of where I am right now. Right now my main focus is graduating,excelling at my new job,and getting my old body back.

Hello sweet Friday.
I love you.

Bye bye muffin top

So I went to the doctor on Monday and received some really scary news. If I don't lose at least 50 lbs. within the next year,I will be dangerously close to getting diabetes. When you look at me, you would never think I weigh as much as I do. I stood on the scale at the doctor's office and was informed that I weigh 215 lbs. I haven't been this big since my junior year of highschool.Back then it seemed easy to lose the weight. I was walking 5 miles a day and I was in a musical theatre class where we would dance and move constantly. I've been doing moderate excersise since November here and there on and off,but the freeze of December thwarted my efforts and kept me inside under blankets instead of outside doing my normal routine.

The first thing the doctor told me was that I needed to seriously cut down my drinking,and if I had to drink, I needed to try and stick to wine.Before, my weight loss goals were always for the wrong reasons:

-An attempt to get guys to notice me
-A way to sell more tickets to my show by having a more attractive self image
-A way to get a former ex flame to fall back in love with me(I lost 30lbs. for him!)
-To fit into a prom dress that wasn't from Torrid

All these reasons, and not one was ever just because I wanted to be healthy and feel healthy.Well, I refuse to allow myself to slowly die because I have a lack of self control. I can no longer use my ankle injury as an excuse. There are many alternatives to the half ass excersises I have been doing.

My boyfriend Eric offered to start walking with me in the mornings to get me started on making morning excersise a habit.I thought he was full of shit because he had a few beers in him,but he was up with me this morning at 6am walking up around midtown.This morning I learned that sunrises aren't as pretty when you have drops of sweat dripping into your eyes.

My goal is to lose the 50lbs. within the next year. I'm giving myself a realistic goal of aiming to lose 1-2lbs. a week. If I lose more,that's fantastic,but I want these changes I'm making to turn into a lifestyle,not just another quick weight loss plan :/.

Wish me luck.

I used to think that I needed to be everything to everybody.
Prove how cool I was.
Show how cultured I was.
blah blah blah

The day I started living for me was the best day of my life.

To all my friends that wonder where I've gone or where I've been I love you,and I've been away living my life.

<3Kamerra prounded Camera

So I'm excited to announce that I will be playing SXSW and that my friends from RX Bandits will be playing Coachella!

Check out this new interview I just did with the guys fro GUX TV:



Also check out the freshly released video from my homies in Peekaboo Theory:

<

Makes me happy to see my friends doing great things

Has anyone seen this kid?



I just had my mind blown a little.

Going to the Rockets vs. Heat tonight! Excited!

Houston is full of some crazies. That's all I have to say today