Song of the day...

Movies of the Summer!

So thanks to Netflix I have been watching some pretty amazing movies this summer. I think I never realized how powerful good movies can be. I have been deeply moved by many of the movies I have watched so far. They are touching, depressing, inspiring, bittersweet---they evoke every emotion within me. I have yet to watch one on my list that I haven't liked so I guess I'm on a role so far.

I began my summer movie watching with the movie Up in the Air starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. The story followed the life of Ryan Bingham, a suave, always dressed to the T, business man who has made a life for himself traveling to workplaces around the United States and breaking the news to workers that they have been let go from the jobs. He basically does the dirty work, that most cowardly employers are unwilling to do themselves. He also believes strongly that we shouldn't be held back in life by burdensome relationships with people as well as material items, and in his many motivational speeches, argues that the best way to live is to travel light, and free yourself of all things and people who may hold you back from living the life you wish to lead.

Of course through the course of the movie Clooney's character goes through many experiences and meets various people who change his views on how to live his life. Two in particular: Alex Goran, a fellow businesswoman who finds solace in non stop travel as well, and Natalie Keener, a very intelligent and ambitious college graduate who found interest in Bingham's career choice. These two women have a huge affect on him as a person and push him to go against all the beliefs he constantly preaches. 

I would definitely recommend watching this movie, it makes you think, especially about the power of and need for intimate relationships in our lives. Yes it is important to experience at least a period of your life alone. There is power and freedom in living your life for yourself, and experiencing things on your own, but I find so much more fulfillment in sharing my life with another person. I feel we as humans are programmed to desire love and intimate relationships. We find happiness in being able to share our life experiences with others. And I do have people in my life who I love and adore: I have some of the best friends a girl could ever ask for, and my family, they are the people who I live for, and they love me endlessly. But I think you all understand how different a loving relationship between two people is in comparison to the relationships we share with our family and friends. This past year has been quite the learning experience, and it has forever changed me. Now I can finally say that I again want that special and deep connection that two people feel when they are in love and have let each other into their lives completely. It can be one of the scariest, most vulnerable experiences, but I would rather say I allowed myself to love fully than be left knowing I only let myself love half way. 

Another movie that left me feeling and thinking the same things was Into the Wild. This movie is a biographical drama directed by Sean Penn. It's script was adapted from Jon Krakauer's 1996 non-fiction book chronicling the life and travels of Christopher McCandless. If you don't already know in May of 1990 Christopher, having just graduated from Emory University, is determined by a rough childhood and an unstable relationship with his parents, to reject a materialistic, conventional life. He destroys any sources of money, identification, and material items of no use to him, and sets out for a cross-country adventue into the wild. 

The cinematography of this movie was stunning, and many of the scenes depicting the different places he traveled were breath-taking. It was overall a very moving, inspiring, bittersweet movie, that if you haven't already seen, is worth the watch! It left me lost in thought over how much I depend on material items to "better" my life. I wish I had the courage to pick up and travel around the world without a plan, without money, and without any care in the world. But my logical brain would take some serious convincing to do anything like that, anytime soon. 

But if I learned anything from these two movies I know that I must continue exploring and learning about who I am and who I want to be. I will continue exploring the world and doing those things that bring me joy and better me as a person. I will do everything I can to love who I am, and find peace in being with just myself, yet I will also work to let my walls down and allow those people who deeply love and appreciate me into my life. 

Happy summer :)

Song of the day...

I know I talked about my favorite men, Mumford and Sons, so it was only approriate that I featured them as my song of the day...enjoy!

The perfect day for a beach day!

Since #1 on the list of summer to do's is go to the beach as much as humanly possibly I thought it most important that I follow through with that wish! So Casey and I ventured off to Newport Beach and spent the beautiful, sunny day tanning and playing on the beach. It was the perfect weather for a day spent outside and trust me guys all this sun sure is bringing out my mexican color, I am working one nice tan these days, if I do say so myself...SO BELIEVE IT PEOPLE I'M HALF MEXICAN, I know quite the shocker, but I speak the truth. 

                                                      

To go along with our day of fun in the sun, we bought ourselves some tasty drinks from, if you can believe it...McDonalds. It pains me to even type the name, but surprisingly enough they have some really great fruit smoothies, and frozen lemonades. So after finding a perfect parking place, and with our tasty drinks in hand, Casey and I made our way to this beautiful beach. Newport is a cute, quaint, little town with lots of yummy restaurants, local stores, and some pretty amazing beach houses. One in particular raised the bar, when I walked past and heard they were playing some good ol' Mumford and Sons. I am officially obsessed with this band, I honestly could listen to their cd on repeat, every hour of every day. It doesn't hurt that the lead singer is drop dead gorgeous. But yes their album is definitely a summer favorite. 

Every beach day must be paired with something to cool you off, and for the first time in my life I actually like something from McDonalds! After a couple hours of some much needed sleep and tanning, our tummies were grumbling for some food, so Casey and I hit the road and headed home. I can't believe that I don't spend more time at the beach. I mean I moved from Tucson, AZ to get away from the insane heat, and right to the beach, yet I don't even make use of all the beautiful beaches I live so close to. Of course it would be much easier had I picked a place to live that had a beach in walking distance, but a quick freeway drive is easy enough! There is something so serene and relaxing about laying out on the beach. We had pandora on playing all our favorite jams, paired with the sound of the waves crashing up against the sand, and the breeze keeping us cool under the hot sun---all that made for a pretty awesome day at the beach. I will definitely be making a habit of going to the beach, hopefully I can live up to my #1 summer to do and go as much as humany possible. Either way I am making a point to start hanging out at the beach much more often! 

Song of the day...

This song suits my fishy post perfectly, enjoy!

Meet Andres the betta fish!

To continue my quest to complete all my summer to do's I decided today would be the perfect day to purchase my long awaited betta fish! Our household has been denied the rights to have a cat or dog, which I can tell you right now, was a huge dissapointment for us girls. So instead of moping about our lack of animal, I went out and purchased Andres, a beautiful double-finned male betta fish :)

Meet Andres, the warrior betta fish. I decided to name him Andres because, one it means warrior and this guy is quite the fiesty fish, and two Rachael told me that it was imperative that I name him a name that goes after my mexican heritage. 

Of course I originally walked into Petco with the goal of just browsing and taking a look at their betta's. I had no intent of actually buying one, or so I thought. But soon my basket starting to fill itself with all the betta essentials and I knew that there was no turning back. I've been wanting a pet for the longest time, of course I would rather a pet who I can cuddle with, but a fish will do, especially one as fiery as Andres. 

This is going to be quite the adventure taking care of this fish. I made sure to ask the general manager as many questions as I could about how to best take care of my cutie. As a kid, my mom agreed to further fuel my love for animals and buy me betta fish after betta fish. However with such an amazing mom, I never had to clean the tank, or at least clean it on my own. So that's going to be an interesting experience, wow I'm all grown up now cleaning tanks on my own...mom would be so proud :) 

I am thrilled to be able to check off #34 on my list of summer to do's and even more excited to have a new betta friend, the firey, fiesty, Andres. Welcome to your new family :)

Song of the day...

Oh how I love my Norah Jones. I think this song goes perfectly with my artsy post, enjoy!

Color Me Mine

I have made it my goal to check off at least one of my summer to do's a day, so for yesterday Casey and I decided to check off #17 and paint plates at Color Me Mine! Since we are starting a cooking blog we thought how fun would it be to have our own plates to display our cooking creations on, so to Color Me Mine we went...

Once inside we took a look around hoping to find the perfect plate; once found we sat down and began sketching out our masterpieces. Casey went for the spring time garden look, with the inspirational quote, "Live, Laugh, Love, Eat." Good words to live by I must say! And I went for the fruity, fun look with my own words of wisdom, "There is no love sincerer than love for food." That quote definitely speaks the truth.

                  

With the sun shining in, an awesome playlist of music playing, and an array of families, couples, and friends surrounding us, I felt so very content and happy. Casey and I were very focused on our creations as well, because we pretty much went completely silent for a good two hours. I am no artist, so I wanted to make sure I gave myself the time I needed to make my plate exactly the way I imagined. I made sure to also follow through with my #8 to do, which was to take pictures everywhere I go, so we were whipping out our phones at every possible moment. I felt like a mom trying to document every second of her child's childhood, ha maybe there's a little foreshadowing there...I am so going to be that mom. But I know when I look back on this summer I will be able to appreciate it so much more because I took the time to document all my amazing experiences. This one definitely topped the charts, and I will be going back again, that's for sure. You MUST go, it was such a relaxing, fun and memorable experience! Now I can't wait to see the final products, all glazed, pretty, and ready to be eaten off of! I know this little plate will continue to fuel my desire to become a cooking goddess ;) 

              

SUCCESS!!! 

This day was everything I hoped it would be, and I am looking forward to making each day as fun-filled as possible. I am feeling over joyed with the way this summer is going, and I am so very thankful for my beautiful friends, especially my little Shashmeaner (that's Casey's nick name...don't even try to understand its roots), who keeps me strong and smiling each and every day. I can't wait to continue checking off my summer to do's with you :)

Song of the day...

This beautiful duet definitely represents how I am feeling today...enjoy :)

A Summer to Remember

Well this summer definitely started off with a bang! I have a pretty good feeling that this summer will be one to remember. I am making memories that will last me a lifetime and I am having the time of my life!

After school was over, I got myself home to Tucson as fast as humanly possibly. This past year was one of the most exhausting years of my life and I was feeling pretty drained by the end of it. Going home breathed life back into me, and made me feel like myself again. Being with my family and friends always brings me so much happiness and love and I am forever thankful for all the special people that are a part of my life. I realized a lot of things in that week I spent in Tucson. I found that during the year I often forget how important it is to do things for myself; things that make me feel content, and happy with my life. It is so easy to get completely caught up in the madness of school, and this past year I definitely let it get the best of me. Losing yourself in your work and the people you are around is not always a good thing, in fact it can be very unhealthy and exhausting. So now I am making every effort I can to do things that bring me joy and better me as a person. This realization, however, did not come to me without a little help from a special someone. 

A friend from high school and I reunited over my visit home, and he opened my eyes to how important it is to express your true, inner feelings. He allowed me to completely let my guard down and confront many of the issues I had packed away deep inside me. I realized through the experience that I preach to all my friends and family how important it is to express yourself and your feelings, yet I was taking all my insecurities and turning a blind eye to them. I was too afraid to admit that I may be weak in any way, I wanted people to see me as a strong woman, who had it all under control. But it is okay to not be perfect, in fact nothing in life can ever be perfect, and I can't keep striving for a goal that is ultimately unattainable. With that in mind, my goal for this summer is to do things that make me appreciate what an amazing and blessed life I have, and top it off with being happy with who I am and all the beautiful things that I have to offer to this big world. 

So I have made myself a list of 50 summer to do's:

1. Go to the beach as much as humanly possible

2. Run in some sort of marathon 

3. Road trip to San Francisco

4. Go home with Casey to Lake Tahoe/Take Casey home to Tucson with me---if you haven't already caught on Casey and I are attached at the hip, in fact Rach called us MicCasey the other day, thought that was pretty clever and a good representation of our relationship :)

5. Cooking with the girls! I have to learn how to cook, the time has come.

6. Balboa Park

7. Hiking 

8. Take photos everywhere I go 

9. Positive journaling

10. Write at least 5 new songs (Check out my music at http://www.myspace.com/micaelamartinez5890) 

11. Read every book on my summer reading list---I am currently reading The Color of Water  By James McBride, it's a must read!

12. Watch every documentary I can on Netflix 

13. Watch movies---I am tired of being that person who never knows what movie people are referencing, I'm going to be a movie expert by the end of this summer, you just watch! 

14. Go to Six Flags Magic Mountain and Raging Waters with my favorite family of girls 

15. Surprise my family again with an unexpected trip home!

16. Learn how to play guitar, and write a song

17. Paint ceramics at Color Me Mine

18. Go to a jazz bar

19. Play at an open mic

20. Go out with the girls for a crazy night of karaoke

21. Eat slower, really enjoy my food
22. Volunteer at the Huntington Humane Society
23. See Sara Bareilles in concert
24. Wine tasting in Santa Barbara
25. Go on a picnic at the park near my house
26. Have a summer bbq at the house
27. Water balloon fight!!
28. Beading
29. Go dancing in LA
30. GO TO VEGAS!!
31. Plan a getaway trip with the girls that involves eating, sun bathing, sipping drinks poolside, and partying!!
32. See a beautiful garden of flowers
33. Plant flowers in our back yard, AND actually take care of them
34. Since we can't have a dog or a cat :( I will settle for a fish
35. Take a visit to Michael's and make some cool crafts
34. Take dance classes
36. Go to zumba, pilates, BIKRAM YOGA (Gotta try that, I've put it off for way too long), and meditation
37. Take an acting class
38. Write and record a duet
39. Horseback riding
40. Camping
41. Water skiing, wake boarding, and jetskiing all in Tahoe with the Caninos, duh!
42. Bike riding on the beach
43. Watch a sunrise and a sunset
44. Go to a museum, and find a piece of art that I truly connect to
45. Face my fear of guns and go to a shooting range
46. Go fishing
47.
48.
49.
50.

It's my goal to do one of these a day, so I'll obviously have to add to this budding list. Suggestions are more than welcome :) Well here I go...onto an amazing summer!