World Cup Fever! Go USA!

The last World Cup USA vs Ghana game was during the week so we didn't get to enjoy it like we should have. I was working that day so I only caught the tail end of the game. The best part though was that I started watching it right when USA scored the second winning goal. Even my 90 year old dad sat down to watch this game and was impressed with that awesome play.

The next game, USA vs Portugal is tomorrow and this time we're ready! We are getting the house ready for a World Cup watching party! Since World Cup only comes around every 4 years the kids were younger last time and they didn't really get into the excitement or keep up with the games like they are this year. At thirteen and ten they definitely have team spirit!

What are you doing for World Cup? Share your family traditions or what you are doing to make this World Cup experience special.

Orgullosa is celebrating World Cup with a #MyHouseIsMyStadium sweepstakes on their Facebook page, and we know you are definitely going to want to enter! Some lucky fútbol fans will win a TV, XBOX1, sound system and lots of P & G products!

Go to the Orgullosa page now and enter to win!

 

(Sponsored Post)

20 Days Into Changing My Eating & 20 Questions to Ask

Fifteen days ago I was only five days into what I was calling a "detox" at the time. Twenty days into this I'm calling it a change of lifestyle. Twelve pounds less and I'm a believer. I'm not going to say it's easy but at the same time all I've really cut out of my life is refined sugar, junk food, packaged foods, dairy, and I'm trying to eat organic. I've also gone back to drinking Arbonne protein shakes for breakfast but I've now added extra fiber and a digestion booster this time. Not to sound like a commercial for Arbonne but this is what I was drinking last time I had a big weight loss.

I'm not going to lie. I have cheated a couple of times. My nephew's graduation from law school was last weekend and I had cake. I came home from my trip and having been off of Advil for my back for a couple of days I had a much needed margarita. When I lost 10 pounds I had another margarita. I know that's bad cheating but I was so happy I had to celebrate.

Now here I am 12 pounds down and it's hard to believe. Especially since my back has been out and I haven't exercised. Now I'm sick with this wicked cough and congestion. I keep promising myself that as soon as I am better I will not take my usual good health for granted and I am getting back up on my bike. That combined with my change in eating should make an even bigger difference. Updates to come as soon as I'm better.

I blogged last time about an article that I read in O Magazine that was really great and thought-provoking. It's in the April issue, "20 Questions Every Woman Should Ask Herself." Some of these questions really made me think and self-examine. I used them to reflect on me and my life and they are questions I should re-visit again and again because life brings changes. Definitely an article to keep.

I won't list all of the questions, just my top 11 favorites. I'll assign them the number given in the article so you can reference them and see the commentary written about each one by a different writer.

1. Do I examine my life enough. - Sometimes too much and sometimes not enough.
2. Do I care too much about what people think? - Yes, one of my biggest problems.
4. What's your deal breaker? - A few things I know for sure. Prejudice and bigotry.
5. What do I really want to do all day? - Read, write and self-educate.
6. How do I want to be remembered? - Good person w/ a great sense of humor & good mom.
11. What am I afraid of? - Failing my children.
12. Am I paying enough attention to the incredible things around me? - Not enough.
13. Have I accepted my body?- Yes and no
14. Am I strong enough? - Still need to work on this but I do think I'm strong for my children.
17. Does what I wear reflect who I am? -This is a whole other blog topic & the answer is No.
19. Do I let myself fail enough? - Yes! That's what I've been doing this whole year. It's a re-birthing experience.

So there you go, 11 of the 20 questions. You may have other questions that mean something to you that I didn't list, so go read the O magazine article. It's a really good one. Next blog may just be about #17.

Changing Blogs, Trying to Eat Healthy, Injuries of an Old Woman and Misc Musings

Time flies when you're having fun. I've said that a hundred times at least and it does. Especially after you have kids. It's the secret nobody tells you.

Very soon I'll be changing blogs. Yes, I know... it's been a long time that I've been blogging here about all kinds of miscellaneous things. But that's just it. This blog has so much potential to be so much more. So very soon it will become what it was destined to become all along - a true shoe blog. A blog about all things shoes, shoe reviews, etc...

(My very favorite shoe by Nine West)

So where will my personal musings go? I'm thinking that it's time to resuscitate Hips 'n Salsa. I can't believe it's been almost FOUR years since I blogged there! I said I was going to take a short break but come on! Four years later! I know the layout needs a serious face lift and I'm on it.

But that still hasn't happened so we're here and I have to tell you I am on DAY FIVE of one of the hardest things for me to do. I'm doing a detox!! I've been eating clean all week, no processed foods, nothing out of a bag. I cooked some chicken early in the week that I continued to eat in different ways the rest of the week. What makes it so hard for me is that I don't really cook. This is forcing me to prepare my meals thoughtfully and that's good. I'm also not drinking alcohol and I'm limiting myself on the caffeine. I went a couple of days with no caffeine at all and I didn't slap anyone.

On the 5th day I've already lost 5 lbs and that's considering I haven't been able to exercise because my back is out of wack and other things that usually make a woman weigh more once a month. So considering those things I bet that I lost more than 5 lbs. The other thought is this, if I stick it out the whole 28 days, will I drop 28 lbs? Or at least 25??

Regarding the injury. I have NO IDEA what happened to my back. The only thing I can think may have happened is that I was at a lacrosse tournament all day Saturday and the chairs I sat in or the way I stood up. It could have also been when I lifted the ice chest out of my car. Maybe I did it wrong. No idea, but my back has been KILLING me all week. It's been extreme pain at some points, especially at night or early in the morning.

First I had a hurt Achilles heel and I had therapy on that. Next I had a bike accident and I smashed my foot with my bike.  I had therapy on that foot. Right when I was feeling better from my foot and thinking that maybe now I could get back up on my bike, my back went out. I don't know, maybe I'm just getting old.

I've made some notes when I think of some really good blog ideas but I haven't had a chance to write any of them.

So coming up: O Magazine had a great article recently entitled, "20 Questions Every Woman Should Ask Herself." I want to write about that.

There's also the question my son asked me one night regarding how many years do I have left to live and my attitude about death. Also about my dad being there now and seeing the Red Moon eclipse with him recently.

And finally a blog about clothes and why I don't wear clothes I really like, the same way I don't blog as openly as I'd like. I wish I was a true free agent, self-employed writer that said whatever she wanted to say and dressed as wacky as she wanted. But I'm not.

Claiming Ownership of that Freed Self

“Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” -Toni Morrison

 

I am working so hard to claim ownership of my freed self in so many areas of my life. I still don't feel completely free, but last week I took one step I really needed to take.

Image borrowed from Wikimedia Commons

One of my biggest pet peeves are unsolicited visits. I do not like to be caught off guard. I do not subscribe to the belief that your house should always be clean and ready for any spontaneous visitor. I think that belief is rude, antiquated and it enslaves us to live our lives for other people. Something I am working very hard on not doing any more.

I've been receiving periodic visits, phone messages and sometimes text messages from a certain group of people, but last week they went overboard.

The kids were at their dad's and I was struggling with getting sick so I was sleeping in. Suddenly I was startled awake by some loud knocking on my wall. It literally scared me awake and in turn made me angry. The person who had knocked on my wall left me a note slipped in my back door so I knew exactly who it was. It wasn't one of the usual visitors. I don't think one of them would have over-stepped my boundaries in this way.

It's one thing for someone to knock on my door like a normal person, but for someone to walk into my back yard and knock on my bedroom wall was way more intrusive than I could take. I felt like I had to take drastic measures and most importantly, I had to put my foot down and let them know how I felt.

I sent a text asking one of the representatives of this group to please ask everyone to please refrain from visiting me without an invitation. Just a nice, short note to make my point. She didn't reply to acknowledge that she had received my message but I really hope she did. I didn't call because I didn't want for her to try to engage me in any conversation and that would have definitely led to more drama.

Up to this point I was like Billy Crystal's character Harry in "When Harry Met Sally." I was being NICE! I wasn't being rude and I was trying to avoid any drama. This group means well. They want to know that I'm doing okay and the genuinely believe that they need to "save me." The thing is, I have learned in these two years away from them that I don't want that. I want to be free of their visits and their concern.

Sending that text message told them that and however small it may seem, it was huge. It was setting my foot down and telling them, "Please don't visit me any more. Please don't knock on my door."

The same day that this all happened I was listening to The Moth radio hour on NPR and I heard a piece by Jen Lee, "a publisher, producer and a performer in New York City's storytelling scene." She spoke about her experience going home to visit her religious family and her daughter's experience with Sunday School. You have to listen to this piece to truly appreciate the story, but I could completely relate to it and it was funny that it was playing on this particular day.

I knew what she meant when she said that her daughter had felt singled out by the kids because she didn't go to church back home. And I could understand the struggle that Jen Lee was referring to when she said that when she was comforting and reassuring her daughter, she was also comforting her child self. I could relate because it's also part of the reason why I am still being vague while I write this and I question myself as to why I can't be completely open.

I'm still working on freeing myself and claiming ownership of that freed self. I realize I have a long way to go, but I'm trying.

The Cat Dress that Led Me to the Shoes

A few weeks ago I was minding my own business and one of those little ads on my Facebook page caught my attention. It was for this very cool site called ModCloth. The dresses are inspired by vintage designs and they're very cute. I got really excited when I saw a dress with a newspaper print design all over it, since newspapers are kind of my thing. I bought it on the spot!

When I first saw it I thought it said "Spreading the News."  THEN when I received my confirmation email I realized that it actually said "Start spreading the MEWS." I zoomed in closer to the picture and that's when I found out it was full of CATS. Yes, as in a cat lady dress.

I had such a good laugh at myself and when the dress arrived I posted a picture of it on Facebook and tagged all my Houston Chronicle friends. What was funny was how many people actually loved it and asked me to keep it!

I went back to look at the dresses for an exchange but I couldn't find one that I really liked. I did find one but then I saw the warning that it ran small in "some areas" and when I saw the pics of real women wearing it I saw that one woman who was busty like me had it open and was wearing a tank top underneath. Story of my life. So then I knew exactly where the dress runs small and I wasn't so sure that I wanted to wear it unbuttoned.

I always think that I want really unique and artsy looking clothes and then when it comes down to it I don't. That's something very weird about me and I wonder what it says about my personality and my struggle to be my own true self. (Okay, that's a topic for another blog!)

This is how I came across the shoe area. Oh my goodness! No one told me that ModCloth carried such beautiful shoes, and for such affordable prices! There are too many amazing shoes that I couldn't possibly post them all so I will just post a couple of pairs and you will have to trust me and go see for yourself.

Worth It Wedge

By Seychelles At ModCloth.com

I was only looking at the wedges and I saw shoe after shoe that I would totally buy. I ended up buying a really cute pair of black wedge sandals because I don't have any so of course I need a pair.

Step Out in the City Sandal

Also from ModCloth.com

 

So the lesson learned here is that even a cat lady dress can lead you to great shoes. If it hadn't been for me buying that dress from ModCloth I would have never discovered these fabulous shoes. You will definitely be hearing more about them on here as I launch this into a full blown shoe blog about great affordable shoes for real women.