February 19

My sister made me this shrug.







She also made this one:

As a matter of fact I wore it last night. I wore that exact outfit. My cousin, V, just got out of the military last weekend. She's been enlisted since we graduated in 2000. Her birthday was yesterday, 2 1/2 weeks before mine. Every year, my mom asks me if I am going to cry because it is not my birthday. She always reminds me that when we were turning 5, I cried because she turned 5 before me. Mom gave me my birthday party a week early. She says she didn't have the heart to tell me that it wasn't my birthday, yet.

So we went to a belly dance show to celebrate V's 24th birthday. I heard about the show from my belly dance teacher. The dancers were really good. Going to the show made me more motivated to go to my class on Monday nights.

Every class, my friend and I complain about how dumb the class is. The teacher is trying to teach us dance moves that we either a) already know how to do, or b) don't know and it will take more than an hour to teach.

Fortunately, my 'ghetto-booty-shaking dancing' experience allows me to catch on pretty quickly. However, most of the girls do not have a similar background, so she spends the whole class period trying to teach them the technicalities of the move.

Maybe in the next class: intermediate belly dancing, I will learn how to do cool (new) stuff like use finger cymbals!

So maybe I am not the healthiest person...

I need to go on a diet (I say that as I munch on cookies). I mean, really. This is getting ridiculous. The problem is, I am not the dieting type. I don’t have enough discipline to diet. I want to eat what I want to eat, when I want to eat it. Especially bread... Mmmm I love bread. Especially the kind you get at resturants with butter. And of course I always put the butter on it.

However lately, I have been feeling unhealthy. I went to a wholistic/holistic doctor my dad has been trying to get the family to go to. I finally went last week.

When I first came in, I noticed a book on the table with the title "Your toothbrush may be hurting you." Looking through it I saw some articles on how flouride is really poisonous to us.

When it was finally my turn, this lady that seemed a little wacko came to get me. She started ranting about the effects of flouride. She said that flouride makes us susceptible to brainwashing. She also told me that flouride is the reason 'everybody' believes there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Furthermore, flouride is the reason 'everybody' believes that Princess Diana was killed by a drunk driver. According to the wholistic lady, the queen was behind it.

So she took me back to the doctor, Dr. H. He is a chiropractor, as well as a holistic doctor. I told him that I have a sweet tooth and that I LOVE bread. He asked me a series of questions like how often do I go to the bathroom (to do #2), how long does my menstrual cycle last, ect, ect. When I told him that I don't go everyday, he reacted like I am super uhealthy. He accused me of eating too many burgers at McDonalds and Burger King. Excuse me? I have you know I never eat Mc Donalds OR Burger King. AND I don't even eat beef! Thank you very much!

Then he took me into the other room where he cracked my neck and realigned my spine. Apparently, he is also a chiropractor. Then he used a method called kinesiology to determine if I need water. He placed a small bottle of water in my left hand and tested the strength of my right hand while he asked me a series of questions. If my right hand got weak, then that meant the answer is no. He 'tested' my strength by holding my arm a certain way and asking me to push the back of my hand into his. Freakishly, my arm did get weak after he asked me some questions.

So he told me to drink a lot more water. Actually, he gave me a formula to figure out how much water to drink. You have to take your body weight in pounds, divide it by 2. The answer is the amount of ounces of water you should drink. So, I have to drink 72 ounces, that is about 5 bottles of Dasani.

Do you know how many times you have to go to the bathroom if you drink that much water? A lot. I hate going ever, by the way. I usually wait till the last minute and have to go dancing to the bathroom to prevent an accident. That may be why I don't (do #2) very often. However drinking that much water forces me to go - sometimes twice an hour! I hate that.

He also told me to that I have a yeast throughout my body. Not a yeast infection but a yeast. The yeast is making me crave sugar and that is why I feel like I NEED it. See, it's not even my fault. He then prescribed that I take flax oil - 4 capsuls every morning. I also do not enjoy taking those huge capsuls. I feel like I have a sore throat after I take them.

So last week, I was dancing to the bathroom and forcing horse pills down my throat.

I am still using my flouride, though. My dad had some toothpaste that didn't have fluoride one time and I didn't like it. It doesn't tingle like regular toothpaste. I love the tingle. Makes my teeth feel fresh and clean.

Sister!

I have a sister!

I actually have two, but one (Nikki) moved in with me in January. I grew up being an only girl because my sisters have different moms. I cannot complain. It seems like guys tend to need way less attention than girls. And I know I need my fair share. Being an only girl allowed me to suck it all up. Actually, I still do. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t want attention from EVERYBODY – just my parents... and current boyfriend/fiancé. Good thing E doesn’t mind. In fact, he seems to enjoy my bratty-ness. He gives me plenty with no complaints….

But back to my sister. She is a fashion designer. How cool is that? I design purses – and she designs…well, EVERYTHING. She actually got a 4-year degree in Fashion Design and Marketing. So sometimes we are up all night designing, sewing, or taking pictures of what we made. She even gives me tips on how to do fancy things – like add piping to the handles of my purses.

I met her a long time ago when I was 4 or 5. I remember always wanting to be like her. She knew how to tie her shoe, so I wanted to learn how to tie mine. She stayed with my parents for a little while and went back to her mom afterwards. I didn’t see or talk to her again until I was about 14. She and my other sister, J came to visit our dad. Unfortunately, I did not bond with either of them at this time. However, Nikki and J got to be really close (they had more in common), while leaving me out. Apparently, my dad was not so good a father to them but was a terrific father to me. (In his defense, I lived in the same city as him.) They were also closer in age and were as they called it ‘bad’. I was ‘good’. I don’t remember that, though. The only thing I remember is feeling left out. So of course we didn’t keep in contact.

Well, 9 years later (this past October) my mom and I decided we should find them. My dad didn’t have a clue where they were. People who did kept brushing me off. But we were determined. We looked in the phonebook, online (I even used a service where I had to pay to get an address). We went knocking on doors, everything. Finally, we just called 411 and got J. It turned out she knew where Nikki was. They had been hanging out all this time.

So J called Nikki and we hung out in a bar where Nikki worked. It was completely different than the last time we hung out. Maybe it was because we were older. Maybe it was the alcohol. In any case, it was great. They kept calling me little sister and ‘protecting’ me from the guys that tried to hit on me. We took a lot of pictures. I felt like real relative.

When I found out about Nikki being a fashion designer, I invited her to stay with me. There are a lot more opportunities here than there. She took me up on my offer and moved here January. Although it has only been a month, I feel like we’ve been sisters for life. I know – literally we have been – but you know what I mean. We are so similar in some ways and are completely different in other ways. Even in the way that we look. I kinda I feel like I cheated. Because we didn’t grow up together, we don’t have the sibling rivalry that a lot of sisters have. I got the sister without all the competition.

Actually, though we are having a little competition going. We are competing for who can make the best cheesecake. I think the best kinds are the ones you bake – they taste like real cheesecake. The no-bake kind tastes and feels like whipped cream to me. She claims that hers don’t. We’ll see.

The only sad thing is, I am moving out soon (getting married and all). E and I are planning to move into a house really close to work which will be about 40 minutes from where Nikki and I currently live. So I will probably only see her on the weekends, instead of everyday. :(

But I am so glad she is here! :)