The TRUTH About Motherhood

Author: Deborah Cruz

Imágen Hair Products Made Just for Latinas
Have you ever heard of Imágen salon hair products?
Neither had I until they approached me to try their products. We all know there is nothing quite as relaxing as going to the spa and letting the professionals apply hair coloring products, wash, style and blow out our hair. Oh, how we Latina girls love a good blow out. Well, doesn’t everyone?
Imagine if everyone were the same. Life would be boring right? Isn’t variety the spice of life? I am the child of a biracial couple and I have the hair to prove it. I am Latina and we have hair that comes in almost as many varieties of colors, textures and thicknesses as the color of our skin but I have found a product that is made just for my hair, Imágen.
I happen to have a whole lot of fine hair in deep chestnut, sometimes its curly and sometimes its straight. My sister on the other hand has very thick, coarse, jet-black hair that hangs in spiral curls. My other sister has shorter, baby fine hair that is naturally wavy. She always looks like she just left the beach. The problem is that it’s not usually up to us how our hair is going to look on any given day, so we have to depend on good product; preferably one that works with our type of hair. Discovering yvonnehodgsonhair.co.uk was a life-changer in that very moment of our lives because they have award-winning hairstylists who turned our ungroomed hair into something beautiful.
Believe me when I tell you that I have tried just about everything on the market. When I was a teenager, I would use whatever my mom bought. As I entered my 20’s and started putting real effort into my beauty routine, I began using Paul Mitchell. Then I had kids and I was lucky if I even got to shower.
As I get older, I’ve noticed that my hair has gotten duller, more brittle and as the gray comes in and stress causes me to lose hair, now, just for shits and giggles, my hair has decided to get curlier. Basically, what was working for me, is no longer working. Every day is a hair surprise and that is not necessarily a good thing.
I’ve tried using hair soaps like Lush’s Godiva but it made my head itchy. I tried Wen and it helped with the hair falling out but did nothing for the frizz and, I know it’s just mental, but I really miss the lather of conventional shampoos.
Enter Imágen a hair product line made specifically for Latinas.
I am very weird about my hair, I always have this fear that I’m going to use a new shampoo and all of my hair is instantly going to fall out and there I will be with no hair. Just in case you missed the memo, we Latinas have a lot of our self-image wrapped up in our hair. I’ve had long hair most of my life. So the very last thing I want to do is to jack my hair up.
I was skeptical but I tried the Imágen shampoo and conditioner and my hair felt soft without feeling greasy or heavy like most shampoos leave my hair feeling. Then, I used the straightener because it’s a warm weather month and that translates into instant frizz for me. I dried my hair and added a little of the Imágen anti-frizz serum ( my new favorite thing) and I have to say, I am very impressed with the product. My hair is soft and straight, no fluff and I didn’t even have to use the straightening iron, so no extraneous heat damage. Just in case you don’t have naturally curly or wavy hair, you should know that beating back frizz during humid weather is nothing short of a miracle.
I’ve only used the product a couple times so far but, honestly, I am really impressed.
There are 6 products currently in the line; Imágen Salon Formula Moisturizing Shampoo – containing avocado oil and botanicals to naturally revive dry, damaged hair; Strengthening Conditioner – formulated to penetrate the hair shaft, instantly detangling and smoothing even problem hair; Leave-in Conditioner – a protein-enriched complex that restores moisture and softness; Temporary Straightener – a straightening and shining formula to temporarily remove curl and frizz without harsh chemicals; Shine – a weightless mist that adds brilliant shine; and Anti-Frizz Serum– a greaseless finishing balm to tame ‘frizzies’ and seal split ends. All products: MSRP$7.99 and are available at Target.
Currently, the Imágen Temporary Straightener and Imágen Anti-Frizz Serum are both on sale for a $1 off regular price. On June 22^nd, all of the Imágen Salon Quality Hair Care products will be on sale for $1 off. So don’t take my word for it, give it a try and let me know what you think.
To make it easy, I am going to giveaway one complete set of all six of the Imágen salon products to one lucky randomly selected reader. All you have to do is enter a comment below telling me what your favorite beauty product is.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This was a sponsored post written by me about Imágen Salon but all opinions are my own.
2014/06/11
Does the Washington Post Hate Women? #YesAllWomen
Oh look, the Washington Post thinks that for women to protect themselves from being victims of violence and rape we should all get married or live with our biological fathers because hey, if we’d all just stop being such cock-teasing whores for one minute and stopped taking lovers and made honest women of ourselves, we’d never have to worry about feeling threatened and “uncomfortable” and all of this #YesAllWomen business could just go away. Coincidentally, once again placing blame on the women for being abused. I mean come on, if the b*tch wasn’t drunk and half-naked, the least she could have done was gotten married and stopped trying to be such an independent woman. That’s how she got herself abused and if she hasn’t gotten herself abused, the dumb broad probably got her kids abused because she decided to date again after leaving the crack-headed, wife beating, meth head she was married to.
It was written by two academics by the names of W. Bradford Wilcox and Robin Fretwell Wilson, whose names aren’t the only thing out of the 19th century: the article looks at a bunch of statistics in regard to violence against women and children, and concludes that “the data show that #yesallwomen would be safer hitched to their baby daddies.”
Basically, once again, the world (more precisely the Washington Post) has lumped us all into 2 categories; whores and virgins and there is no room for gray, only black and white. The bottom line is that the Washington Post has at least two misogynistic writers who blame all women for being treated like second class citizens. Hell, maybe there’s even a secret woman haters club at the Washington Post that meets once a week and is lobbying for the acceptance of drowning baby girls because really, what the hell’s the point? Because apparently, some people think that men can procreate without women and our pesky uteri. Apart from cooking and cleaning in all of our bare footed glory, women serve no real purpose in the world other than to look pretty and be quiet, right? News flash, women are people too.
Yes, misogyny is alive and well at the Washington Post.
Men are allowed to do as they will and women are supposed to suck it up and just accept their fate. I mean WHY would any woman think that she has the right to happiness after divorce or at all, for that matter? It doesn’t matter whether the man was an abusive jerk who beat her on the regular and had started molesting their children, she is his property and she needs to just accept that and be alone and in fear for the rest of her life. If not, it’s going to be her fault when something bad happens and it will because women are like magnets for bad shit to happen so prepare your daughters.
Eff it, happiness is overrated anyways plus I hear only men can truly experience happiness, it has something to do with the happiness receptors being located right under the tip of their penis or wait, maybe it has something to do with being an asshole. I can’t remember. What do you expect, I was just some kid whose mother stayed with her husband and I was raised by my biological father but we all still got to experience our fair share of abuse. I guess we were just lucky.
When I was about 8, I begged my mom to leave because even at that young age, I knew that it was wrong. I knew that there had to be something more out there than just accepting your situation. I KNEW that she deserved better. That we all deserved better. But none of us got it. We all got to suffer in silence. Do I think that my life is better because of her sacrifice? NO! Do I think she is happier because of her sacrifice? NO! Did it save her from abuse, pain and humiliation? NO! This is the oldest story in the book. This is fear-mongering and it is about time we stop letting fear keep us quiet. It’s time to get mad; downright pissed off and to stand up against the misogynistic world we live in It all starts with one person willing to say no; to be the change. I’m saying no for all the women who couldn’t or haven’t. NO!
Maybe life would have been better had my mom not been brainwashed into staying in her abusive marriage by a society that taught her that it was better to be miserable and have a husband, better to be abused and let your children get abused than to be alone. Thank God for a society who looks out so deeply for its women folk. No thanks, I’ll take my chances and try to decide for myself what’s best for me and my children. Unless you are living in the same dire situation that some women face every day by being abused and raped by their partners, you have no right to insist that she take it on the chin and just accept it.
Hey Washington Post until you’ve lived in the world with a vagina, why not stop skewing statistics to fit your agenda?
2014/06/11
The Effects of Blogging on Women’s Health
I am a member of the Collective Bias ® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for #CollectiveBias and its advertiser.
Women’s Health has suddenly become top priority in my life. Recently, I’ve been focusing more on creating my own healthy habits. Maybe it’s my age or just the fact that the older my daughters get, the more time I have to actually focus on my own health and mortality; you know, now that I have a free moment to pee alone now and again.
Did you ever consider that what you do for a profession could affect your health? I mean, we know that if you are a stunt man or a cop, your life is generally at higher risk than the general population. Of course, I never considered that being a blogger/writer/ sitting at my desk all day could be detrimental to my health. We all laugh at “blogger butt” and joke about sitting around in our pajamas all day but did you ever really consider that blogging could be bad for your health? Me, neither. But when it comes down to it, bloggers can suffer from issues with our vision from staring at a screen all day. One option is to look into great glasses from https://www.eyeglasses.com/. It can also result in issues such as repetitive strain injury.
Blogging has made me happy. I love what I do. I love freelancing. I love social media. I love letting my girls see me pursue my dreams and get to do something that I am passionate about. It’s important to me to be a good example for my girls. In fact, as a mom of girls, being a good example is probably the most important thing to me that and just being around to see them grow from my babies into women.
So imagine my frustration when I went to the doctor and aside from gaining weight, which I can obviously see, my sugar and cholesterol levels were both elevated but normal. All that I heard was blahblahblah HIGH blahblahblah AT RISK blahblahblah.
My brain went directly to all the things I would miss if I were to suddenly die (yes, I am one of those people); first dates, driving, graduation, college, falling in love, growing up, getting married, getting pregnant, becoming a mom, repeat. Then I thought of all the smaller things like taking care of them when they are sick, holding them when they experience the first crushing blows of falling in and then out of love, the fear and excitement in the big moments, giving the gentle nudges forward when they need to be pushed in the right direction or even just being there to listen when they needed undivided attention and a mother’s unconditional love. I need to be an advocate for not only my health but for #herhealth, as well; both of them. In that moment, I knew exactly what I needed to do. My path had never been so clear. I made all of the doctors’ appointments and I made a plan. I need a plan. I can accomplish almost anything with a plan in hand.
My first stop was the corner Walgreens to buy myself a bottle of Vitafusion Women’s Daily Multivitamin, Gummies. These have been my favorite vitamins as an adult. They are small and easy to swallow because you chew them and they don’t have that bitter mineral after taste that many adult multivitamins have. I like them so much that I started buying Vitafusion multivitamins for the entire family.
Next, I started paying attention to what my FitBit was telling me. The first thing that I noticed is that without consciously making an effort to move, a blogger can exist on only taking 337 steps in a day; my goal is 10,000. No wonder why “blogger butt” is a thing. Now, I am getting between 6500 and 12,000 steps a day just by spending an hour every morning taking a walk or bike ride with my daughters. I can feel the difference. I can do better but at least I am off in the right direction.
I’ve eliminated pop from the menu and replaced it with iced water and switched out my daily coffee for unsweetened green tea. I love coffee but I was using so much creamer that it made each coffee have about 250 calories and the caffeine itself was contributing to my terrible insomnia. Now, coffee is a treat that I look forward to once a week (early on Saturday morning) and sleeping without the help of some kind of pill is a wonderful new bonus in my life.
I linked my FitBit to My Fitness Pal app and started logging everything I eat. You have no idea what you consume until you log it. You might think, “I don’t eat that much or that badly!” Believe me, you probably do. Some days, I found that I didn’t get enough calories and other days, I was going over by about 1000. My Fitness Pal also lets me stay aware of the sugar and cholesterol in everything I eat. In the past month, I have lost 12 pounds. I’ve also committed myself to seeing my doctor once a month to check in on my progress and keep me accountable. These are all baby steps to make sure that I am around for the big and little moments of my life to come.
What do you do to maintain or improve your Women’s health so that you are around for the big and little moments?

2014/06/09
True Detective Available Just In Time for Father’s Day
I am a huge fan of HBO series; The Sopranos, Deadwood, True Blood and my latest addiction, True Detective. Since having kids, the Big Guy and I have little “alone” time or “date” nights, so we really look forward to watching our series together after the kids go to bed. It’s the one time a week when we get to feel like adults.
Next week is Father’s Day ( June 15^th) and what’s more perfect for the Father who has everything than giving him the gift of some adult time. No, I don’t mean sex but hey, I am sure if you have little kids, he could use of that too. Nope, I am talking about a good meaty, sink your teeth into it series that makes you think.
Get your fix of HBO at Best Buy! Best Buy is releasing True Detective Season 1 on June 10th and I think it’s a great gift for the dad who has everything. Plus All HBO series are on sale from 6/8-6/14, in stores and online plus it comes with a digital copy which you can “borrow” for yourself. I know the Big Guy can only has one neck so anything over tie number 365 is not going to get much play in the tie rotation plus why not give him something fun?
Not familiar with HBO’s True Detective? It’s about two detectives, Rust Cohle ( Matthew McConaughey) HBO True Detective Available at Best Buy Just In Time for Father’s Day) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) who become entangled during a 17-year hunt for a Louisiana serial killer. It’s gritty, dark and suspenseful. It is definitely a thinking man’s show. For more information about this amazing series check out True Detective on HBO’s website.
So what are you getting the fathers in your life this Father’s Day?
Disclaimer:
I have been provided with a copy of True Detective to review but all opinions are my own.
2014/06/07
This Blogger’s Life Lori Garcia ( Mommyfriend)
Today, I am honored to welcome my dear friend, Lori Garcia aka MommyFriend to This Blogger’s Life. Lori is a very talented writer with an always half-full personality and an infectious smile that shines through in her pieces. She is the woman who walks into a room and instantly brightens it up and her writing makes the Internet a better place.
When I first “met” Lori, we were both newbie bloggers who were just trying to figure all of this out. We knew we loved to write and blogging allowed us connections and community at a time in motherhood when we were craving friendships and connections like the air we breathed. Lori is and has always been the kind of person who every woman needs as a friend; she is kind, genuine and sincerely a good person who loves her family and looks for the good in life. We need more people, more writers, more friends like Lori.
Lori is also known as MommyFriend and it suits her perfectly because she is truly a mommy friend that every single one of us needs in life. Her passion for the stories that she tells coupled with her optimistic perspective, always leaves me wanting more. The one thing that always radiates from Lori’s articles is humanity. She tells her truth with wild abandon and unrestrained honesty.
Lori can write about anything and make it interesting but my favorite stories that she shares are her love stories for her family; her boys. The pride and love that she has for her family inspires me to be a better wife and mother. She is one of the kindest and most tenacious women I know and it makes me so happy to see her enjoying such amazing success as a writer, all over the internet.
I’m honored to call Lori my friend and it’s my privilege to have her on This Blogger’s Life today.
This Blogger’s Life…Lori Garcia (MommyFriend)

Why did you start blogging? I always loved writing and after working in an uncreative field for a decade, I decided it was time to scratch that creative itch and begin sharing my stories.

What’s one piece of advice that you would give to a new blogger? Decide what you’re willing to share and not share for the almighty dollar. It’s easier to make these important decisions and stick to them long before a financial carrot is dangled in front of you. If you’re unclear about where to draw the line when it comes to public consumption, spend some time thinking about it. What you don’t want to do is learn the hard way. Ask me how I know.

What are the three words that describe you best? Loyal, kind, dependable.

What is your favorite website? Ever? www.amazon.com. Come to Mama.

What is your favorite thing to do when you’re not blogging? Binge watch formerly popular TV shows. I just finished Gossip Girl because I’m 37 years old and that’s totally normal behavior.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself from blogging? Not only learning, but learning and believing that I’m not alone in motherhood has been huge for me. My stories help mothers and their stories help me. I feel bigger and bolder as a mother for blogging.

How do you balance life and blogging? Honestly, not very well. The two are so intertwined, making a distinction is nearly impossible for me.

How has blogging changed you or your life? Blogging gave me confidence in the value of my voice, which has translated to so many aspects of my life. From my career to my relationships, blogging has made me the woman, wife, and mother I am today.

What do you think makes a successful blog? A great blog? Are they one in the same? I think a successful blog and a great blog eventually become one in the same. Great content almost always rises to the top because we’re all hungry for it.

If you were to stop blogging today, what would you do with the rest of your life? First, completely remove myself from the grid. Imagine all the time I’d have! Of course, that would probably only last a week or so because I’m a social being and I’d miss everyone too much, but for that week – man, that would be glorious. I don’t know what I;d do. I’m really into home renovation with my husband, so probably more of that.

How do you balance telling your story, without telling the story of others in your life? This is a tough one. My tween son established blogging rules for me to blog by…what does that tell you?

Blogging has changed a lot, just since I started 5 years ago, what do you miss about blogging in the early days? What do you love that has changed? I think I miss the excitement I felt before every publish. Will people read this? Will they like it? Will they comment? I love witnessing the climb of so many remarkable blogger friends who have made a respectable career in this industry. I love witnessing success. Love it.

How do you consistently come up with relevant and shareable content? The blogger’s mind is a funny thing. In time, it comes a bit of a machine, finding blog fodder in every aspect of life. From what we read to what we experience, what we overhear to what we desire, relevant, shareable is everywhere.

If you could have a dinner party for 6 people, living or dead, who would you invite? Ooo, Jesus, my Grandpa Charlie (most awesome man ever), Brandon Flowers (because yum), my husband (because double yum), Bob Villa (I have some home improvement questions), and Elton John.

What’s the one thing that people would be surprised to learn about you? Gosh, I don’t know. I’m pretty much what you’d expect, there’s not a lot of dark corners or secret passageways with me. Maybe that I’m a yell-y mom? I yell a lot. I do.

What’s the one post that you are most proud of? Probably this one. https://www.babble.com/mom/an-open-letter-to-my-gynecologist/

Thank you Lori for letting me interview you on This Blogger’s Life and thank you for always being such an amazing friend and inspiring writer.
XOXO
If you can’t get enough of Lori Garcia, check her out on MommyFriend, Babble and Twitter too!
2014/06/06
That One Time the School “Misplaced” My Daughter ( Throat Punch Thursday)
The end of the school year was last week and the unthinkable happened…the school misplaced my daughter. Errrr, how do you misplace an entire child? She’s not pocket sized. She’s an actual human being. She talks and breathes and walks and matters in the world. Uhm, she is my everything!
Has the school ever lost your child? I mean full on called your house to ask where your child was, after you knew you dropped them off? If it’s never happened to you, count yourself lucky. If it has, I am so sorry. I have never been so terrified as when the school called last week, looking for my 6–year-old. LOOKING.FOR.MY.6-YEAR-OLD!!!!!!
I always cringe when the school calls my house anyways because I am sure someone is sick or I’ve signed up for something and forgotten all about it. Gabs has been having some allergy issues lately and been a little anxious so I figured somebody needed a hug and reassurance from her mommy. I figured, the no sleep and sneezing and drainage had finally caught up with her but no, it wasn’t that at all.
They MISPLACED my kid.
“Hi, Mrs. Gabi’s Mom we noticed that Gabi isn’t at school this morning. Why is that?”
Me: “Huh? What? Yes, she is at school. I dropped her off at the office and watched her walk in through all 3 sets of doors! What the hell do you mean she isn’t there????”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have missed her. Maybe they accidentally marked her absent. I’ll call down. Do you want to hold?”
“Uh, yeah! I’m not hanging up until you have eyes on my daughter!”
“I’m sorry, Looks like the kids are still at mass. I will check on this when they get back. Do you want me to call you back?”
“No, you need to find my daughter NOW! I will hold or I can come up there!”
“Oh, looks like they are headed back right now. Hold, please.”
Exasperation, tension, sickness, must not vomit, seeing red, must not kill anyone, Fear, please don’t pass out. Cold sweats. Deep breaths! Hold your shit together, Debi. Gah, I can’t breathe.
“Mrs. Gabi’s Mom, she’s here and she’s fine. The teacher said it was an oversight, a long story and she wouldn’t tell me. She is here, safe and sound. Sorry for worrying you. I am so sorry for scaring you.”
WTF?????
Choking back tears and literally trembling, “Thank you for calling and thank you for finding her. Please don’t lose my girls again.”
I accepted her apology because she was sincerely sorry, I could hear it in her voice. The same way I am sure that she could hear my sheer panic, fright and then anger. What I did not accept is a teacher who didn’t have time to explain the “long story” so I emailed her and this is what I received in reply.
Me: Just wanted to see what happened this morning. I received a call that Gabi wasn’t at school. There were a couple minutes there where I was really freaking out. You can imagine. The secretary said that you said that the misunderstanding was a long story. I need you to explain to me what happened and why the office thought she was absent, long story and all.
Teacher who lost my kid: Yes. She was tardy this morning. I had already marked her absent. I asked her if she had gotten a yellow slip. She told me that she had been to the office and they told her not to get a yellow slip. I assumed that they office would remember this and figure it out – but I guess in the busy-ness of the morning they did not. Or else Gabi misunderstood. Anyway, that’s what happened. All is well here!
Maybe I was just too upset but I took her reply to be very flippant. I don’t think you have the right to be flip with a parent when you “misplace” their child. For all I knew, she could have been kidnapped, hurt or dead. She may just be another student to them but to me, her mother, she is everything.
What would you have done if the school misplaced your child?
2014/06/05
Ecōths Giveaway for Father’s Day
I told you all that I am an Aventura Ambassador but did I tell you that they also have a men’s line called Ecōths? They do and the Big Guy loves it.
Ecōths is the harmonious blend of Eco and Ethos, two words that are the epicenter of the brand. The foundation of Ecōths is combining natural fabrics with style, comfort, and personality while accentuating and shaping one’s character and guiding beliefs and ideals towards community and creating a better place to live.

Ecōths is 100% natural. Ecōths combines urban fashion elements with rugged outdoor influence to create one cohesive brand that unites style, community, and goodness. As part of their GOOD SAM program, Ecōths supports regional food banks around the country. For every Ecōths garment purchased in the United States, three meals will be provided to someone in need through their regional food bank. Ecōths mission is simple – bring together the triple bottom line of People, Planet, and Product.
So aside from the clothes that are high quality and eco-friendly, Ecōths gives back to the community. I don’t know about you but I love supporting a company whose mission is to provide me with a quality product while feeding the hungry. It’s definitely a win; win situation.
As you can see from the photos, the Big Guy received the McCall Shirt in Flint, the Talon Polo in Glacier Blue and the Humboldt shorts in Dune. He loves the way all 3 pieces fit. My husband is 6’5″ and broad shouldered and these pieces fit him perfectly without making him look like a box or the clothes being too baggy. I love the way the blues in the shirts make his eyes pop but he really loves the feel of the organic cotton, especially on these warm afternoons. Check out the catalog for the full selection of the Ecōths collection.
Just to make it fun, Ecōths is offering a McCall shirt for me to give away to one lucky reader. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here telling me what your favorite piece from the Ecōths collection is for the special guy in your life. One winner will be chosen at random. Contest is open to U.S and Canadian residents and ends at midnight EST on Sunday June 8th.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I am an Aventura Ambassador and Ecoths clothing was provided for review purposes but all opinions are my own.
2014/06/04
Two 12-year-olds tried to Commit Murder & Claim Slender Man Made Them Do it
Have you heard of SlenderMan?
Me neither but apparently he’s pretty big on the Internet. Two 12-year-old girls, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, from Waukesha, Wisconsin plotted since December, lured and almost carried out the vicious stabbing and murder of a classmate the day after her birthday just to see if they could earn entrance into the mythical realm of the Slender Man. The assailants read about Slender Man online and wanted to join the cult of the Slender Man. To gain entrance, you must kill someone.
The girls invited the victim to their home for a sleepover and then lured her into a nearby park under the guise of a game of hide-and-seek, as children do. All of the people involved in this scenario are 12-year-old children, mind you. Once they had the victim alone in the woods, one held her down as the other stabbed her 19 times, very nearly fatally injuring her.
As a mother, as a human being, I am afraid for this world. I am afraid for my children. I am afraid for all of us that there are children out there who are not only so easily swayed and influenced but have the fortitude and deviousness to carry something like this out. I walk around in a state of fear because I love my children so much and the world has gone mad. I want to encase them in a bubble and shield them from all the crazies of the world; the Morgan Geysers and Anissa Weiers, the Elliot Rodgers and the Adam Lanzas but then I think about the mothers of these children, the murderers.
These mothers who have to live with the loss of their children. Who have to suffer the humiliation and sadness of knowing what their child did to the world. The guilt of living with the what ifs. How do you separate the love for your child, your baby, from the hatred of the crime they have committed? I don’t think any of us could just stop loving our children, no matter how heinous their behavior was. A parent’s love is unconditional and never ending, in my experience. How do they go on, once their child has forsaken humanity in such a vial way?
Then again, maybe these girls are just evil enough to be using all of this as a bullshit reason. Maybe they don’t believe in Slender Man? Maybe they are not as young and impressionable as we might think and would kill for a meme? Maybe they tried and failed and now they are saying and doing whatever it takes to get out of trouble. Either way, three girls lives have been changed forever. The course of their existence is altered. Three sets of parents have to learn to live with what has been done and we all have to face, once again, that no matter how we might try, we cannot truly protect our children from the evils of this world.
What do you think should happen to these girls? Do you believe Slender Man made them do it?
2014/06/03
Living the Aventura Life
I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had the chance to share some very important news. No, exhale, I am NOT pregnant. We’re not having that announcement ever again. My uterus has gone on holiday. I will just live vicariously through all my friends and family who keep having their own sweet, baby smell bundles that keep making my ovaries twitch. My announcement is that I am a brand, spanking new addition to the Aventura Clothing ambassador family and I am thrilled.
Aventura Clothing is an awesome family owned brand that’s been around since 1965 with a focus on environmental sustainability and high quality fashion for the modern woman on the move. Aventura Clothing is a socially conscious and each piece is carefully crafted to be comfortable with a focus on an active lifestyle using materials like organic cotton, bamboo blends and recycled polyester. The eco-friendly styles prevent synthetic fertilizers and farm chemicals from polluting the soil. Aventura Clothing is the perfect marriage between comfort and style plus you can feel good about wearing it because no earth was harmed in the making of your fashion.
I received my first order right before we went on spring break and you better believe I took all of it to Disney World with me. Everything I ordered was lightweight and in bright, summery colors so it was perfect for the Florida heat and professional enough to wear to a conference. Bonus, it all traveled easily and most without wrinkling. Aventura is a traveler’s perfect choice in fashion.
I chose three different outfits with a few simple, classic pieces that could be easily swapped in and out to create several different outfits. I will highlight them individually as the summer goes on but today, I would like to highlight three of my favorite pieces.
The Tacey Fedora
The paper straw fedora has a unique geometric pattern and stylish black hat band. It fits like a glove and looks adorable with just about anything you wear it with. Bonus: It hides my bad hair days easily and no one’s the wiser. This may be my new favorite piece for all seasons.
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Taken on a beautiful day, May 31, 2014.
The Juliette Sweater in Silver Sconce
The Juliette is the perfect lightweight sweater for spring, summer or fall. With a name like Juliette, how can your mind not conjure up images of feminine perfection.It’s comfortable and stylish looking with just the right amount of sass. I love the feminine cut and drape. It hugs my Latina girl curves but hangs in a way that doesn’t look like it’s too small. I’m embarrassed to admit it but since it’s arrival, it’s been worn more times than it probably should have been. I just love it.
The Mayfield Dress
It’s perfect for every occasion that calls for classic elegance from an afternoon networking at a conference to an evening spent enjoying drinks over casual conversation with your favorite guy, this dress is ready for all your summertime soirees. The rayon from bamboo and modal blend drapes beautifully and is as soft as silk without all the fuss. The Mayfield dress traveled for 18 hours in my suitcase on the road trip from ndiana to Florida and didn’t wrinkle, at all. I just pulled it out of my suitcase, hung it up, paired with a pair of cute sandals, the Redford jacket in white and the Presley scarf in sea blue and out the door I went; business cards in hand, dressed to impress.
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Taken March 28th, REALLY, REALLY early in the morning after a late night and 18 hours traveling in the car with my children:)
If you would like to try Aventura clothing for yourself, I have some discount codes to share with you. The codes are good for a one-time use up to $250 for 60% off retail pricing. That’s an awesome deal. Believe me I know because I am about to use one for myself to order the Waverly maxi dress which normally retails for $87 and with the discount code, I can get it for $34.80. Oh yes, it will be mine. I will give out 10 discount codes to the first 10 requests I receive.
If you had the 60% discount, what would you spend it on from Aventura Clothing?

Disclosure: I am a 2014 Aventura Clothing Ambassador and was provided product for review but all opinions and thoughts are my own.

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2014/06/01
This Blogger’s Life….Jenni Chiu (MommyNaniBooBoo)
Today, I’d like to welcome Jenni Chiu aka MommyNaniBooBoo to This Blogger’s Life. Jenni is one of my closest and dearest friends on the Internet and my BlogHer roomie. who just happens to be one amazing vlogger, blogger and writer Jenni and I found one another and the rest is history. If you have never read her, I recommend that you do that stat!
Her words have touched me (and many others) through sharing her stories with transparency and bravery. Jenni has a way of writing that is so raw and honest that if you are not feeling something when you are reading Jenni, you just might be dead. I can honestly say in the past 4 years she has made me laugh and cry more times than I can count. If she isn’t moving you with her written word, you can be sure that she is probably charming the pants off of you with her hilariously entertaining videos on youtube.
There are a million different wonderful things that I could say about Jenni ( and I’m not just saying that because she totally put up with my snoring;) but mostly I want to leave you with this, she was an actress and a beautiful model and now she is a mom, wife, a writer and a beautiful, talented soul who I am pretty sure can accomplish just about anything she sets her mind to. She is by far one of the kindest, truest women on the Internet and I could go on gushing for days. I know, I am biased because I’ve called dibs on her as my BlogHer roomie for infinity and beyond but believe me when I tell you, do yourself a favor and read her words. Get to know this brilliant woman through her blog. You will be wondering why the hell you hadn’t done it sooner.
I’m honored to call Jenni Chiu one of my dearest friends and it’s my privilege to have her on This Blogger’s Life today.

A blogger’s work is never done
This Blogger’s Life…Jenni Chiu (MommyNaniBooBoo)
Why did you start blogging?
I’ve always been a storyteller of some sort, which is why I spent so many years as an actor. After becoming a mother, I think I started blogging for the same reason a lot of mothers start blogging. I needed some kind of creative outlet. I also spent months holed up with a colicky baby and no support system after I gave birth. I was in desperate need of some kind of grown up conversation and commiseration.

What’s one piece of advice that you would give to a new blogger?
Write because it feeds your soul, or because it makes you happy to feed the souls of others. If you want to make money at it, have a plan on how to do it… and then be okay with NOT making money for quite a while. Although, maybe that’s advice for writers… not all bloggers are writers.
I would say – Create a blog you can look at years from now and be proud of (whatever that means to you).

What are the three words that describe you best?
empathetic, honest, undefinable

What is your favorite website?
The one that’s already built in my head – I just have yet to make it a reality.

What is your favorite thing to do when you’re not blogging?
Sleep… wait no – play with my kids…
Wait – shop!
Okay now I’m back to sleep again.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself from blogging?
That my words can hold more space than my physical body can. In some ways it’s been a relief for me to have my words, and not what I look like, be most people’s first introduction to me.

How do you balance life and blogging?
I don’t. I am almost at all times off balance one way or another.

How has blogging changed you or your life?
It’s given me a sense of community that I was lacking in my real life. It’s kept my creative self from dying a slow death. It’s allowed me to witness and celebrate a thousand aspects of humanity… and also, it’s renewed my faith in women as a community.
It’s also made me a lot less physically active than I used to be (or maybe it’s the kids – or both). Either way, I have to remind myself to back away from the computer and move around more.

What do you think makes a successful blog? A great blog? Are they one in the same?
I think that depends on how people define success. Some define it by impact… some by income… some by longevity.
For me, I feel more successful when my reach is great – when people read, and are moved to share my blog. I think a successful blog is shared it’s because it has moved people in some way. There also blogs that are shared or have a large reach because they are inflammatory… they are the Star magazines of the blogging world, and not successes in my book.
I don’t think a successful blog and a great blog are one in the same. For me, a great blog has well constructed or important content that’s updated fairly regularly… unfortunately, there are many great blogs out there that have no reach and are largely unsuccessful. The Internet is vast and murky.

If you were to stop blogging today, what would you do with the rest of your life?
I would write books… or paint… or go back into acting… or find some other way to connect people through stories of humanity. I would also sleep more.

How do you balance telling your story, without telling the story of others in your life?
I talk about what happens to me. If something happens to someone else, I write about how that event affected me. I also don’t use the names of my husband or children. I’m quite open about myself in my blogging, but very protective of my family. I’m sure it will be even more so as my kids get older. Their online identities will not be built on my blog – that’s for them to do later on in life.

Blogging has changed a lot, just since I started 5 years ago, what do you miss about blogging in the early days? What do you love that has changed?
I feel like five years ago the troll population was significantly lower. That may or may not be true however, because no one read my blog back then so trolls probably couldn’t find it.
One thing I love about blogging now is that we have so many different ways or sharing our words and engaging with one another. Social media has exploded over the past five years.

How do you consistently come up with relevant and shareable content?
I simply go with what I feel motivated to write about… turns out I have lots to say about all kinds of things. I also try to remember that they can’t all be gems.

If you could have a dinner party for 6 people, living or dead, who would you invite?
Shakespeare and Tom Hanks because they are two of my favorite men. I would also then invite Nick, Brandon, Monte, and Gary. The last four are people in my life that I feel died too young. I want them back… even if it’s just for a one-night dinner party.

What’s the one thing that people would be surprised to learn about you?
I ate my twin in the womb.
Kidding.
Probably nothing if they read my blog or follow me on YouTube.

What’s the one post that you are most proud of?
Impossible. That’s like asking which kid I love more.
Some of the ones that have done well are:
I’m Pretty Sure AT&T is Responsible for Many Deaths (I love that I got to read this one at BlogHer’11 for Voices of the Year.)
Delusions of Grandeur
How Michael Jackson Made Me Cool – Tales from the Fourth Grade Bathroom
and Don’t Make the Thin Girl Ugly
Thank you Jenni for taking the time to let me interview you. You are one of my favorite people. Keep using that big voice of yours to change the world. I suspect some day soon I’ll be reading your book. It needs to be written. Love ya , roomie.
XOXO
2014/05/30