Day 88: Working At Night Overlooking the Ocean

As I write this, I'm sitting in the Audi A8 at one of the Sunset Cliffs lookout points here in San Diego. I've been here doing some writing and just enjoying the sounds of the ocean. The sunroof is open and the stars are twinkling. I think it's pretty cool that I get a Google Earth view of the ocean and the waves on the car's monitor.

The homes here overlooking the ocean are absolutely beautiful. I definitely must have one!

Day 87: Arcade Games

I feel like it's been eons since I've played an arcade game. It might have been in my 20's or even younger.

My friend's dad and cousin were celebrating their birthdays, and they wanted to go bowling, but Cory and I arrived a little late to the gathering. We all ended up playing pool and arcade games. If I wasn't playing pool, I was playing one of two arcade games: Ms. Pacman and 18 Wheeler.

It took awhile to get used to playing arcade games again. I'm not usually a germaphobe, but all I could think of was all the people that had touched the knob on the game, so it took a minute for me to really focus on the game.

However, once I got really into the game, I then started reminiscing about the good ole days playing arcade games whenever we went to Chuck E. Cheese. I remember being so happy when my dad gave me $5 to play games. I thought that was so much money!

Day 86: Lucha Libre Taco Shop

I love quirky and creative places, and in a city with a sea of just average taco shops, Lucha Libre Taco Shop definitely stands out. Everything from the decor to the food is outstanding. I was reminded of that funny movie "Nacho Libre" with Jack Black.

Day 85: The All New Audi A8L TDI

For my Audi blog I've test driven the A8L models before, but this is my first time with the TDI diesel version of this model. With all the bells and whistles, it's easily a $100K car, but I would get it only for the massaging seats. I will never doubt that The Universe is conspiring with you because the car came at the perfect time. It was delivered on a day that I was feeling very tense and stressed, so I just drove around and around while the seat gave me a massage.

Day 84: Early Bookworm Gets the Bird

That may be the weirdest title I ever wrote for a blog post but maybe it will make sense in a minute...

Cory's aunt Marilyn recently hired me to help her use social media to promote her newly launched books, so in order for me to thoroughly understand what I'm marketing, I started reading one of her books titled, "Chasing Danger". I typically don't read drama-type books, but after chapter 1 I was hooked.

Day 83: Photograph Something New

I've taken alot of photographs over the years. From flowers to food, jewelry to baseballs, and everything in between - it seems that I've covered it all. Whenever I take out the camera, Cory will sometimes roll his eyes because he knows it may end up being a long photo shoot.

Today I challenged myself to find something I've never photographed before. On my way home from Starbucks, I saw a bottle cap on the ground...

Day 82: Early To Bed, Early To Rise...

With only 5.5 hours of sleep the previous night and then running for about a mile, I was pooped out at 7:00 pm. I crawled into bed at around 7:30 pm, which is the earliest I've been to bed since....forever. If you know me, you know that I'm a night owl and I love to sleep in. 

Day 81: Selling and Publishing Photography Ecourse

I signed up for a week trial of Lynda.com, a site full of online courses. Whatever you want to learn, Lynda probably has a course for you. I want to learn how to create a iPhone app, but I don't have the software that I need to create these apps yet.

Day 80: No Phone

This is what my first cell phone looked like

It's amazing how technology has changed so much in the past 20 years. Exactly how did we survive without the Internet and cell phones?

In the 80's if you wanted to get in touch with someone, you would just keep calling them hoping to catch them at home. In the early 90's people walked around with beepers. Someone would beep you and then you would have to find a pay phone to call them back. We also had answering machines with caller ID devices, which was a big thing because now you knew who was calling and could screen your calls.

Day 79: Moody, Funky Day

“Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That's its balance.” ― Osho

For a long time now I have worked to maintain a very positive, creative mindset. Thanks to Wayne Dyer I've learned that there is a spiritual solution to every problem, so I always turn within when something is troubling me. My brain is now wired to look at the good in everything and everyone, and I understand that my current "reality" is a reflection of what is going on in my mind.

Day 78: Baked Chicken With Paprika

Lately I've been watching alot of Food Channel and learning new dishes to cook or how to spice up regular dishes. Up until recently the only spices I used when cooking was salt and pepper. I'm learning, though, that herbs and spices can make a huge difference in food.

Day 77: Inside the U.S. Grant Hotel

I lived in downtown San Diego for four years and passed the U.S. Grant Hotel so many times on my way to Horton Plaza mall or walking around. The outside of the hotel has a very commanding presence about it. You just know the inside will be luxurious.

Day 76: Abundance of Birds

I am very grateful to have this beautiful view to look at every day. I sometimes take this view for granted when I get caught up in the busy-ness of life, but The Universe will often deliver something to remind me of this beauty. On this day it was an abundance of birds on the lake, specifically the gorgeous white egrets. Since I've moved in here I've seen maybe 2 or at the most 3 egrets together at once. More often I'll see them flying around solo. This time I saw 10 or more at the same time, plus there were other big white birds (maybe seagulls or pelicans?) and a ton of ducks as well. 

Day 75: Walked a Mile With a Gallon of Water

It was another beautiful day here in San Diego, and I wanted to get some exercise so I walked to the store to pick up a couple things. When I got to the store, I remembered that we needed some water too. I thought, Well, I'll just drive back later and get the water. But I didn't really want to come back to the store later, so I grabbed a jug thinking it wouldn't be that bad carrying it back to the house. In hindsight, it actually wasn't, but it did start to feel heavy the longer I walked.

I was reminded of a picture in Starbucks of these women carrying jugs of water on their heads. They probably had to walk miles to get the water from a river. I am grateful that I don't have to do that every day.

Day 74: Watched a Video By Drake

I used to like rap music. Actually, I'll just say that I like rap music by only a handful of artists like Common and Mos Def. I don't know if the music has changed or I'm just getting older and can't tolerate rap artists who say the same thing over and over again.

One of my friends likes Drake, but I never really paid that much attention to him. I know he's won many awards and he's from Canada, but that's about it. There is a song he recently came out with that I do like titled, "Hold On, We're Going Home". Drake has another song, "Started From the Bottom" that's been really popular, but it is one of those songs that say the same thing over and over. I was curious to see what the video would be like...


I don't know what made me think rap videos have changed! I couldn't even finish watching the whole thing I was so annoyed with it. I really tried to keep an open mind. I don't like to criticize an artist who is just expressing himself, but he can do so much better than this.

Day 73: Going Back to Artistic Roots

I was feeling the need to work on something artsy today, so I dug into a box that is filled with old drawings I've done, art tools, sketchbooks, and all kinds of papers. I even came across artwork from when I was a preschool teacher 13 years ago. The drawing below was done by one of my favorite students, Rachel. I wonder what she looks like now!

Day 72: Emotional Intelligence For Business Leaders Workshop

After attending the Emotional Intelligence For Business Leaders workshop today, I truly believe that Emotional Intelligence, otherwise known as "EQ", is something that every business person should learn more about. In fact, they should make it a mandatory class for all business students.

EQ is the ability to manage our emotions and our relationships with others. If you think about it, emotions play a huge part in whether or not a business is successful. We have to deal with people regardless of what our title or position is, so being able to manage those relationships and how you react to other people's actions or how you interact with people is key. This ties in with communication as well.

Day 71: No Coffee or Tea

I really had to prepare my mind for this challenge of no coffee or tea. I meditated on it in the morning, which really helped because I didn't get a headache like I usually do if I haven't had my coffee yet.

Awhile ago I attempted to stop drinking coffee because I thought being caffeine-free would help with my fertility. Life-long addictions are hard to break, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to let go of coffee just yet. I've read so many conflicting things about how coffee - how it's bad for you...how it's good for you... I think if I just focus on it being good for me and believe it (and I do believe!), then maybe my body will react accordingly.

Day 70: The Heart

It's been so beautiful here in San Diego for the past few days, so I decided to walk to Starbucks, which is a little over a mile away and get some work done.

The neighborhood kids had told me of a "secret" shortcut that goes through the parking lot of the swap meet, and I'll sometimes take that shortcut instead of going the long way, which would save me about 10 minutes of walking time. I have to go through this hole in the fence of the parking lot because the swap meet is surrounded by wire fencing with bob wires.

Day 69: Burning the Midnight Oil Redesigning My Website

I created my "Salon de Maria" website just a little over 10 years ago, and I'm finally redesigning it for the first time. Finally, right? I've been so busy helping other people with their websites that I seemed to have neglected mine.

This website is more like a hub that links out to everything I'm doing such as art, jewelry, photography, and writing.

Day 68: Salsa Class

One of my best friends loves to go dancing, and she found out about these salsa classes that are taught at a place called Queen Bee's Art & Cultural Center.  A long, long time ago we used to go to this club in downtown San Diego called Cafe Sevilla where they play Latin music. I love to watch people salsa dancing, and would sometimes make it to the dance floor only dancing the basic steps. If I had a really good partner who could lead me, I was able to pull off turns.

This was my first formal salsa class where we learned basic steps. I was a little rusty, but got the hang of it pretty quick. Learning the turn that happens before the dip at the end was where I stumbled a little. We were in a big circle and changed partners every few minutes, so I danced with people who had different levels of experience and skill. 

Afterwards was open dancing, so I was able to practice even more. There were so many people and I really enjoyed watching the more experienced couples. All their moves look so fluid!

Day 67: No Email

It's a miracle! I actually survived one day without checking email. Granted, it is the weekend, so I wasn't expecting anything important to come into my inbox, but even on weekends I tend to check my email at least a few times.

Because I have already gone a day with only checking email two times, I figured I could go the distance with this challenge.

I will usually check email after I have breakfast on the weekend, but today I immediately started the kitchen painting project I set for myself. When I took a break to get a coffee at Starbucks, I was so, so tempted to check email while I was waiting in line. At around 9 pm I was tempted again, but I distracted myself by browsing Pinterest for kitchen decorating ideas.

As I'm writing this, it's 6 more minutes until midnight. Although I was tired tonight, I'm staying up so I can check email at 12:01 am! lol

Day 66: "New" Outfit

Whenever Cory and I go out to the movies, I make an effort to dress up because he always sees me in jeans or leggings. For this date I challenged myself to put together an outfit with pieces that I haven't worn together before.

I've had this grey dress, but haven't worn it in about a year because it used to be small around the waist. The Adidas jacket I've had for at least 8 years, but rarely wear it, and when I do, it's usually paired with jeans or sweats. To complete the outfit, I wore black leggings and black ankle boots.

I'm inspired now to do a series of posts on my beauty and fashion blog where I put "new" outfits together. I recently reorganized my closet, so I've come across many pieces I haven't worn in awhile.

Day 65: Enchiladas Southwest/Asian Style

I've made chicken enchiladas a few times before, but I wanted to create something totally different and unique. I pretty much worked with what was in the refrigerator, which was about 10 shrimp, half a bell pepper, half an onion, half a cup of corn, about a half cup of mushrooms, and about 1.5 cups of shredded Mexican style cheese. You'll also need one can of enchilada sauce and a package of medium-sized tortillas. This concoction resulted in about 6 enchiladas - enough for two people.

Day 64: Kiddie Ride

I went to Babies R' Us to pick up a rocking chair for my friend. As her daughter and I waited for someone to bring out the box and load it into car, I noticed a kiddie ride by the exit. I needed a pick-me-up after a long day of working on projects, so I decided to go for a ride. I know I looked silly, but there were only a few people in the store because it was near closing time. Sometimes you just have to do silly things...Elmo didn't seem to mind!

Day 63: Parking Outside the Rut

I really believe that doing these firsts has created new neural pathways for me to get out of my daily ruts. When I go to the grocery store by my house, I usually park in the main parking lot, but there are two other parking areas on each side of the grocery store too.

Well, I had to go the store again yesterday evening to pick up a couple things, but I kept thinking about how everyone is getting off work and the parking lot gets busy during that time. Then it dawned on me.... Why not just park in the side lot? Duh! Why have I not ever thought of that before?

Day 62: Grocery Shopping For a Friend

Yesterday was a very busy day work-wise, and I was exhausted from the weekend. I have so much respect for single moms who raise kids by themselves because being with a boisterous 10-year-old for the past few days really opened my eyes to how much energy it takes to take care of them.

I went grocery shopping for my friend who just had her baby, and her 10-year-old wanted to come with. Although her mom lectured her about asking for unnecessary items, she still proceeded to show me everything in the store that she wanted. Lesson: If I ever have kids, I will probably never take them grocery shopping. They can stay home with Dad.

Day 61: Holding a Preemie Infant

Holding a newborn baby is pretty intimidating, and holding a preemie infant is even more nerve wracking. I can't even remember the last time I held a newborn. When my best friend's daughter had her youngest child 10 years ago, I think I was too afraid to hold her.

Little Alexander Jacob (AJ) fussed for two seconds before he fell asleep again in my arms. I can't get over how small and adorable he is.

Day 60: Baby Aisle

It's funny, but I've been shopping at the Albertson's by my house for the past 6 years and have never been down the baby aisle. I've never actually had a reason to. Maybe it's because I've been around a lot of baby energy lately, but today I just found myself walking down this aisle on my way to the wine section. I guess The Universe knew I needed a "first" for today and guided me into the aisle. LOL