Fangirl Fridays

Did you forget about Fangirl Fridays?

I haven't. I'm still on serious fangirl mode. Let's get crackin'.

I am loving The Band Wife blog.

I'm a natural-born sucker for lives that seem much more glamorous than my own.

That and stylized photos.

Those are my swan dive.

Check out this blog for insight on tour life, cool ootds and sweet diy's.

Again with the stylized DIY. I can't help myself but Boat People Vintage is everything.

Awesome ideas.
Awesome photos.
Cool tutorials with an edge.

You can have your online fantasy shoe shopping, your gossip sites, your celebrity sites, etc--I have my creative blogs. Sigh.

When I grow up, I wanna be like Boat People Vintage people.

That's all. <==in my best Miranda Priestly voice.

I adore Sincerely Kinsey.

I love the humble feel to it.

The projects are creative and easy to do and she contributes to A Beautiful Mess so you know she's fab.

DIY.
Natural stuff.
Cute fashion restyle.
I can do this all day, people.

It's common knowledge that I've been fangirling plus size bloggers since day one.

Gabi Fresh has been one of my faves. It was quite revolutionary to see a plus size women on my computer screen, dressed beautifully and feeling confident. If I can look at a "fat" body and think they're beautiful, why can't I extend that same sentiment to my own body?

I love to see what she wears and how fearless she is. That galaxy "fatkini"?

Perfection.

Hope you enjoyed this week's Fangirl Friday.

K, bye.

5 Packing Tips for a Family Camping Trip

Summer is here.

I have a love/hate relationship with summer.

I love the idea of barbeques with family, the 4th of July, swimming, fire pits at the beach and cool evenings sitting under the moon with my husband after the kids are all asleep.

That is what I love about summer.

That tangible feeling of school's out for summer and you can do whatever you want. Funny how it's been 15 long years since I've been in college but I still have the same feeling come over me every June.

Now, for the unpleasant part of summer. The hot, sweaty, I-want-to-throw-myself-of-a-cliff part of summer. Extremely hot weather kills me.

Fat girls can't cope with the heat. I mean, maybe other fat girls can. But not me. Not me. Not me.

But the good times of summer outweigh the ugh parts. For my family, summer is kicked off by our annual camping trip. A large part of my extended family gets together and we spend four days hanging out at Campland on the Bay in San Diego, where it's cool and breezy but the sun is shining bright.

Our kids spend most of their days swimming in the pool or the bay. There are a bunch of fun things they get to do--crab hunting, paddle boats, skateboarding, bike riding, volleyball and dancing under the stars by the bandstand.

I have five useful packing tips for your next camping trip with a family. I think I've got it down to a science now, ya'll.

Pop-up laundry hampers. I have two just like these and they save my sanity! I usually pack all of our towels and beach towels in them. Once we’re all set up at camp, they become the catch-all for our dirty laundry. So much nicer than the kids stuffing their dirty clothes into their backpacks along with their clean clothes and it keeps the tent tidy.

Swim cover-ups. My little ladies aren't comfortable hanging out in their swimsuits if they're not swimming. The minute they get back at camp they want to change. Meanwhile, their cousins are playing with their little buttcheeks hanging out. It drives me nuts because when it’s time to head back out to the beach, they tear off their clothes again and put their suits back on! To remedy that, I bought them a swimsuit that came with a little skirt/sarong so they can stay in their swimsuit and still preserve their seven and nine year old modesty. Board shorts work great, too!

Arts & crafts. I bring a small bin filled with paper, crayons, markers, and books--anything that will entertain the kids during those in-between times when you are busy preparing dinner, cleaning up or just relaxing. If all else fails, let them relax in the tent with your smart phone. Thank you, Netflix app.

Individual toiletry kits. Instead of packing all our of toiletries into one bag, I wised up and bought small travel containers and filled them up with the essentials and gave them to each child. It is so much more convenient than wanting to spit nails because someone took the conditioner and didn't put it back--let's face it, if you're not going to bathe at the same time each day--and we're not--everyone needs their own stuff. Some of the kids used their toiletry kits faithfully. The other more natural and earthy types (coughDiegocough) didn't even bother to use them at all and I still have full bottles to prove it.

Ew.

Pack light. Of course, this is dependent upon your destination. Here in Cali, we don't need much beyond a pair of shorts and a tee. In the past, I’ve packed way too much clothing for my kids when in reality they spend the entire day in swim trunks and flip flops. I always pack a warm hooded sweater because even So Cal can get a little nippy at night. When vacation is over and I'm washing laundry, I thank my lucky stars I decided to pack light.

Me on my last day of camping wearing my camp uniform--breezy maxi dress, sunnies and a hat.

Have fun and enjoy your summer.

The Night Stalker is dead: Should we be rejoicing?

Twitter has been buzzing about the death of serial killer Richard Ramirez today. He died of liver failure on death row in San Quentin prison at the age of 53. If you were a child in the 80's, then the "Night Stalker" will be forever burned into your consciousness. Here are a few tweets that stood out to me this morning:

Tell us how you really feel, Gustavo.

Apparently I'm not the only person who will never forget Richard Ramirez.

Image source: Flickr

It was the summer of 1985 and I was 13 years old. I distinctly remember the fear I felt every time we watched the news. It scared me to think of a person evil enough to do all of those unspeakable things to another human being. It still does. As a young girl, it would keep me up at night. This was much scarier than Jason, Michael Myers, and Freddy combined.

Richard Ramirez was real.

Our summers in the valley are unbearably hot, so sleeping under an open window is our custom. Not that summer. Every night, my mother made us lock all of the doors and windows. I laid in bed, sweating, uncomfortable, vulnerable...afraid. What if he headed east and stopped in my town? There were lots of mountains and dairy farms--perfect places for him to hide. The evil in the darkness felt palpable.

All I wanted to do was slide my window open and feel the cool night air on my face but I couldn't. I was afraid to. The Night Stalker could be outside.

Our summer visit to East L.A to visit my Nana wasn't our usual visit. We didn't sit on the porch and wait for the palatero. We didn't play hide and seek with the neighbors on the street. We didn't ride bikes around the neighborhood. We holed up inside, breathing in second-hand smoke from my Nana chain-smoking her Pall Malls.

I remember the newscast when they caught him in East L.A. His mug shot was plastered everywhere. The evil now had a face with chiseled cheekbones and slanted eyes, and people were on the lookout. He was trying to jack someone's car and they weren't having it. The neighborhood came pouring out of their homes with metal bats. Wrong hood, man.

What a huge sense of relief to know he was caught. L.A could sleep at peace that night. No more sweating in our beds, scared and afraid of every sound and shadow at night.

Strangely enough, hearing the news of his death made me feel the same sense of relief I had in 1985.  Still, I can't help but wonder what eternity means for a person who committed all of those horrible crimes.

Part of me wants to rejoice that he's dead and heading to Hell on greased wheels and no brakes. It's what he deserves. The other part of me wonders if he asked for forgiveness. And why should he be any different from the rest of us in terms of God's grace? I don't know the answer. But I do know it's not for me to decide where Richard Ramirez is for eternity.

Blogger Basics from The Craft of Blogging #recap

I had the chance to sit on a panel and share the basics of blogging at the Craft of Blogging workshop with Xenia from Raised by Culture and Ruby from Growing Up Blackxican last month. It was such a cool experience. I'm so glad I was able to participate in this--it felt awesome to share what I've learned over the past seven years of blogging.

There was so much information to share--things I wish I knew when I started my blogging journey. I know it was a lot to take in and I know the feeling of attending a conference and your head is swimming with information. But the great thing is you're left feeling so inspired and ready to get to work.

We had such a great turn out of eager bloggers. I was nervous for about 3.5 seconds--everyone was so friendly and the atmosphere was casual so it completely calmed my nerves.

The Craft of Blogging took place in The Makery at Community in Orange County, "a grassroots effort" by locals to bring a space for mom and pop shops, handmade items and sustainably fashioned goods.

I loved the personal touches everywhere. There was even a chalkboard wall in the restroom for people to write encouraging messages!

Jarritos was one of our sponsors and they provided us with bottles of their tasty soda. Piña is my fave! Strawberry is a close second.

These were our awesome swag bags! Look at Ruby's smile, it says it all.

Some of the brands that provided the goodies in our swag bags:

• McDonalds (omg have you tried the Egg White Delight McMuffin? So good.)
• Crav On Fries
• Neutrogena
• Lowe's
• iLoveToCreate
• Crafty Chica
• Skinned Knees

Thank you!

Our workshop took place inside The Makery and they were definitely speaking my love language with all of the craft supplies.

Attendees arriving and having a light lunch. I see you, Becky Buckwild!

Yummy pan dulce from El Giro Gallo that we enjoyed while on a quick break between topics. So good.

There was lots of live tweeting during the event, of course.

Much love and props go to Xenia and Ruby, who hustled to make this event happen. You chicas ROCK!

One thing I shared at the workshop was this: find your guiding light.

Does that sound cheesy? Well, all cheddar aside, it's the truth.

Figure out what your main motivation for blogging is and then head toward the light. For me, that means to continue writing and creating art because I want to write a book and create the illustrations, too. Along with that goal is my art--I need to continue creating it and selling it. My eyes are on the prize--focused on my long-term goal and being mindful when choosing campaigns and brands to work with. There are lots of brands I'd love to have a working relationship with because they are amazing but if they aren't advancing me toward my goals, I have to think twice.

That said, if you are a blogger or you're aspiring to be one, you are in luck. Xenia just announced she is putting together a mini-workshop this month. Yeah!

Connect with The Craft of Blogging on Facebook for all the details.

Happy 54th Birthday, Morrissey

Today is Stephen Patrick Morrissey's birthday.

If you were a child of the 80's and 90's or you just have a love of moody, hipster music...than you should know who Stephen Patrick Morrissey is.

Morrissey.

Once the lead singer for The Smiths, Morrissey went on to have a solo career and I think that's when I really fell in love with his music. I listened to Bona Drag on constant repeat my first year of college. It was just me, my babydoll dresses, my black Doc Martens, my burgundy hair (that looked very much like Raggedy Anne) and my Morrissey CD's.

Gawd, I loved that music.

It was everything I needed during that rough child-to-adulthood, I'm in college and I have no friends and no boyfriend, #foreveralone transition I was experiencing. I would turn up Yes, I'm Blind, November Spawned a Monster, The Last Famous International Playboys and the always classic Suedehead.

I still love Morrissey's music and I've tried to get my boys into it but they're uncultured swine and if it isn't Dub Step, Reggae or Metal, they aren't having it.

Sad face.

I still have hope for my daughters. Hopefully I can pass on my love for Morrissey to them. I can see them now, sketching in their drawing books, black combat boots, hair hanging over one eye, listening to Morrissey and it sounding as fresh and relevant as it did when their mama was a lovelorn college student.

Artwork by Rio Yañez..

Happy 54th birthday, Morrissey!