Holiday Glitter Madness for Eyes, Lips and Nails...

Photo from Glitter Bug Cosmetics. Check them out!

...or if you are me, you probably find excuses to do it year round. My love for glitz and glam started in my childhood and in high school you'd often find me carrying a black patent leather tote sprinkled in a rainbow of glitter colors. Inside, you would find a furry leopard print date book and a pink feather pen with an iridescent glitter print (among other Lisa-ish things). I remember showing up at my aunts house one day with all of my accessories, getting a raised eyebrow, followed by a warm smile with the statement, "You are SO Latina". Boy did I feel proud. I totally owned my love for glitz, glam, feathers, being Latina and, well, pink. Years later, I can confidently say, not much has changed!

This months Latina Magazine features a beautiful make-up spread titled "Glitter Goddess", with an array of sparkly styles that I am no stranger to! With Latina Mag, I'm either learning muy mucho or relating; in this case it's the latter. Starting back in July, I have taken photos of my glitter nails, eyes and lips to share on a blog post and coming across this article put a smile on my face. The "I did that" smile on my face. Though I can't credit Latina Magazine for the glitter inspiration I can credit my favorite magazine for finally writing this post (they always have my back!). 


Check out my pics and read more inside!

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Happy Thanksgiving! Coexistance And Living In The Now On My Mind

That's Me Above :p

Happy Thanksgiving! I wish you all a blessed holiday! I've spent some time on a holiday message on the Nifty Thrifty Stylist Closet today, so please visit me there and read my post Happy Thanksgiving! What I Would Have Worn If I Were A Pilgrim. Yes, there is a picture of what I would have worn, but there is a deeper message of simply one of the things that I am grateful for and hope and intend  to always be grateful for!

Much Love,

Lisa xo

And as a cute little end note, let peace and love be our religion, regardless of race, culture, religion, sexual orientation...you get my drift. May be controversial to some, but hey, here we have a depiction of an interracial lesbian couple at a time period where that definitely would have been taboo; more than that even. We've come a long way. Let's pray, hope and continue to choose the path of coexisting in peace and respect, at least within our own personal lives.

Yum Shaker Recipe Share: Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate Drizzled Pumpkin Pie by Chocolate Covered Katie

It's that time of year when pumpkin pie gets its "15 Minutes" of fame through out the fall season. It starts to grace tables and counter tops across the country from the start of pumpkin picking season and struts its stuff around at Autumn festivities showing all the other desserts who's the boss. Yet somehow, it can't fool me! I'm a chocolate lover, married to that cocoa bean...ok, I'm a sometimes mistress to créme brulee, shhh-sometimes it's based with chocolate anyway, pfft! Though, when I saw this post from Chocolate Covered Katie in my inbox this morning, a taste bud (or two or three or more) poked at my finger tips and I clicked the button that opened the e-mail to this CHOCOLATE gluten-free pumpkin pie that I would SO harass my mom and sisters to bake (they love to bake, I love to cook, that's just how it works in this family); but I don't need to. It's an easy shmeezy hassle free No-Bake Chocolate Pumpkin Pie! Is this Katie girl a genius? She must have taken a class in Dessert Making Wizardry at Hogwarts because her recipes always manage  to make me want to try something I normally wouldn't! I will be making this no later than tomorrow, yippee!

Chocolate Covered Katie is a blog that is primarily dedicated to healthy desserts or in the least, much healthier versions of our favorite treats...and I don't need to tell you what her favorite flavor is (please, I really hope I don't need to tell you!). All of Katie's recipes support a vegan lifestyle, that are a treat to vegans and non-vegans alike, and are created with love by Katie. Her posts are charming, fun and informative, so make sure you stop by and check her out! She was referred to me by my dear friend at Fun.Fit.Chic, who is my go to source for fitness inspiration and news and just all around cuteness and fun stuff. I get introduced to such fabulous and informative things on that site, so check that out too!

For Chocolate Covered Katie's No-Bake Chocolate Pumpkin Pie recipe, just click on the pic below, get your shopping list in order, throw on an apron and some holiday music (my dad's been since Halloween) and enjoy yourself some homemade goodness! 

Thank you for reading!

Besos, Beijos, Filakia, MUAH!

Love,

Lisa xo

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Where My Words Are Hanging Out Today and Heloz Art & Photography Promo For Facebook Fans

Artist and Photographer Hector Lopez

Good day my buddies ole' pals! Just wanted to let you all know that today I'm at (well, my writing is at) Circle of Art Movement with an interview on body paint artist,  photographer, painter, artist (like, drawing homies), actor and dancer Hector Lopez (the pneumonia just made my mind run out of breath typing all of that, phew!). If you don't remember (I'm just saying that to say that, of course you do!), let me refresh your memory; he's the talent responsible for this:

If you missed the Kim Kardashian Inspired Body Paint article, just click on the pic!

And I'm responsible for the makeup (just had to throw that in there because I wanted to feel as cool as Hector for just a second). Please check out my interview with him here-->Hi, I'm Hector, Click Me!<--click that! Thanks :)

Also, in case you haven't heard, or aren't a fan of his Facebook Page yet (shame on you), Hector is running a special promotion for his Facebook Fans ONLY! So get on over there and "like" his page already my people!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy my interview on Hector! Comments would be LOVED and deeply appreciated at the end of the interview post :)

Besos, Beijos, Filakia, MUAH!

Lisa xo

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P.S. I know I promised to share my experience with prolactinoma with you all today, and my love for Derek Santiago Art, but there is a possibility that I will not have laptop/computer access for at least today, maybe more depending on my current health status. Thank you for reading guys and I look forward to being back sooner than later :) xo

I went to the ER and the verdict is...

Woe is Me

Hey all!

So, by now some of you already know that I have been at home sick for some time now. I don’t have health insurance and it seemed like I just had a common cold, so I didn’t go to the doctor’s. While I felt as if I were getting better (my voice came back much to the chagrin of others), I was still having sleepless nights and coughing up phlegm in a shade of green that doesn’t compliment my skin tone (tmi?). I consulted my dear friend Google, who’s a big fat “know it all”, and was informed that the shade of phlegm bestowed upon my tissues meant I had an infection. So, the next morning I hauled my bootie over to the emergency room hoping that I’d have a simple diagnosis of say, I don’t know, bronchitis, get given some antibiotics and be told that I’m clear to get my broke a$$ back to work the following day.

I had a great time at the ER I’ll admit, I didn’t want to leave. Aside from the constant coughing that had the 5 year old behind the curtain in the "room" next to me being more concerned about me dying as opposed to her mother’s car accident (so sweet,“Hey, are you okay in there Miss?”), I’d say I was all smiles, bursting with stars and sugarplums, and confident that I’d have medication and clearance to go back to normal living by the next day. I even thought I’d be better by 7:15 that evening to take a dance class I prepaid for (you know, because the magic cough medicine that I imagined they would give me would be that effective!). Well, the doctor’s attending me pissed in my cheerios when they came in with the news. They were so sweet, funny and smiley faced. So much, that when they told me I had pneumonia I laughed and said “Really, so even with that phlegm and coughing there’s nothing wrong with…wait, what?” So that’s why I felt like I ran a marathon each time I went down stairs to get something to eat and stock up on bedside fluids? 

Then the nurse came in, bearer of worse news. Discharge paper in hands, she says something about me (remember, broke and no health insurance) needing to go to a doctor in 5 days for a follow up and then I ask her: 

Me: “So, when can I go back to work?”

The nurse gives me a blank stare. 

Me: “Tomorrow? Day after? It takes like 24 hours for antibiotics to kick in, right?” 

Insert 5 seconds of silence that painstakingly feels like 5 minutes. 

Nurse: “Girl...you got pneumonia what do you mean when can you go back to work? People die from this, you got an infection in your lungs, you need to stay in bed for like 10 days.”

First of all, whoooooa mama. Second of all, 10 days?!?! I don’t get paid when I don’t go to work! I can’t stay in bed, who’s going to feed me?! Will I ever get better? 10 days?! Yes, 10 days. Maybe a little less, but still, what am I going to do, like, financially?

So, when can I go back to work again? Photo compliments of Zazzle.com

The stress over this little very big detail which looms over my head definitely isn’t conducive to the recovery process, so I need to try and let it go for now, but I can’t help but wonder why, at one of the few times in my life that I don’t have sick days or health insurance, would this happen? I’ve already made a few moves such as post a few easy things on Ebay and call my local Avon Representative to inquire about becoming a salesperson too. I mean, it's about all I can do for now to try and make money from bed and I’m even somewhat limited on the Ebay thing since I can’t walk around too much before I start having a cough attack.

I also need to find a way to keep productive and since I don’t have a TV in my room I’ve been wasting away online and I’m kind of bored of it. So, I thought, now is a better time than ever to focus on sharing with you all the issues I’ve had with my health and what I have learned about my conditions and ailments. I promised to do so in the past, but I get more excited about writing about the exciting people and food in my life. Since I am sick  and not at my best,  now is the time to write a little less about the totally awesome people and artists and food in my life since I most likely will not be writing at my best while my mind is all on my health. However, before I got really sick, I pulled together a photo album of some of my favorite works by one of my absolute favorite artists, Derek Santiago, and only haven’t posted because I promised to take a picture of an awesome book I bought from him to post on FB. Oh, yeah, and I have to write something too! The pics of me and the book will have to come later, but I can’t wait any longer to share my love of Derek Santiago’s work with you all! There will be plenty of time in the future for me to get all dolled up and look cute posing with Derek’s artwork, which will house the words I pen for my long lost love of writing poetry. Perhaps, I can do it for a Circle of Art Movement photo shoot and article.

Soooo, back on topic, now more than ever I realize how precious our health is, priceless actually. Our health is our wealth so take care of yourself! Pause. Ok, so I have prolactinoma. Prolactinowhat? Yup, prolactinoma. I’m not going to tell you all about it now, it will be the topic of conversation in tomorrow’s post so you’re not reading an essay today, but I’ll leave you with this: I at times easily overlook it. We should never overlook not one single detail of our health, no matter how mundane it seems, it can be linked to or contribute to greater issues with something else. When I checked into the hospital and they asked me if I had any health conditions I immediately said “no” and then followed by and “Oh yeah, I’m not sure if this is relevant but I have prolactinoma.” Prolactiwhat? Yeah, that’s usually the response I get. Anyway, I hope the information I type up while I’m home with pneumonia is of some interest to you and helpful for some and that I am able to be interesting enough to keep you engaged long enough to learn something new based on my experiences.

Well, for today, that’s all folks! Hope to see you here tomorrow!

Besos, Beijos, Filkia, MUAH!

Love,

Lisa xo

Got Time Management? Let's Start With Keeping Sane

Close to a month ago I put myself in the dunce cap, which I am still in by the way if anyone cares to know, because I was doing so horribly at balancing all the gajillion things I need to do. Well, one of my readers read my rant and has offered up some tips to share with me and the rest of you fab people who pay me some mind (thanks my love doves). I'm so excited, because I'm still a certified "Hot Mess" and could use all the help I can get (preferably a personal assistant, but that's not an option right now). I'm thrilled to introduce you to my first guest blogger EVER, Katia Suero, and her excellent article "Juggling Life".

Juggling Life
by Katia Suero

While scarfing down my lunch (this time, a very healthy salad and a not so healthy creamy chicken chowder), I pulled out my handy dandy notebook and jotted down all of the things I had “pending” for the weekend- YES! For the W.E.E.K.E.N.D! You may say, “but the weekend?” Long gone are the days when the weekends were used to relax, to watch movies, spend time with friends, SLEEP, get your nails did…and so on. The weekends have become (to most of us) the “catch up” series of our lives, where we try to fit in everything we couldn’t do during the week.  We squeeze in the laundry, the food shopping, the cleaning, the tedious bill payments, the rushed hour with our DVR’s, the time when we do our text catching up with mom or dad…yes TEXTING…we can no longer afford to call and hold a conversation as time is too scarce; it escapes from our hands and before we realize it Sunday night is before us and it is time to do it all over again.

I sat back and thought about my dear friend’s blog post about her journey back to wellness. I remembered how much those words resonated with me as I thought of the many challenges, I, she and the rest of us face when making an effort to live healthy lives; to eat the “right” things, to exercise, to simply live well. I can tell she struggles just as much as I do to maintain a balanced life style and if for me it means jotting down my pending businesses during my lunch hour on a Friday afternoon while to her it meant getting up every time after an injury and making sure she squeezed in the time to get moving and to remind herself how important it was to make the time for those fruit smoothies and 1 hour DVD’s.

It is an evident factor that in today’s society, we live in a constant rush to accomplish as much as we can in the shortest amount of time. If you, as I did, sit down and take one moment to think, you will realize your heart beats as if speeding in a race…a race against time. We want to make it all happen for ourselves and for others. We want to feel accomplished. We want to show our kids and spouse’s that YES WE CAN…but how much could we truly make happen in a day’s span that would truly make us feel good at the end of the day? Why, instead of feeling this huge sense of accomplishment, do I feel completely exhausted and without the energy to be able to think by the time my head hits the pillow? We are completely overly exerting ourselves and all we do about it is keep going just like the energizer bunny.  It’s like a vicious cycle we keep feeding and we keep hoping it will blossom into something someday soon. In the meantime, we down the java on the way to work, we carry around our daily planners, berries, nooks, and droids…we power up with energy drinks and we pretend to be unbeatable at the face of delayed LIRRS, PATHS and subway, grab a snickers bar on the way to the afternoon meeting, we try some green tea for sake of health, we overdose on vitamin C and Zinc at the sign of a sneeze…all we can do, to simply keep moving.

I am no expert.  I am another New Yorker trying to make it through the noise of the city that never sleeps. One that has often become one of its zombies. I try to remind myself to stop and breath. I use my writing as my time of meditation, as MY time to slow down and take a moment to look around me as life rapidly flashes before my eyes like lightening.

 I have gathered a few tips that I feel have helped me on some days, not ALWAYS, and want to share with the rest of you hardworking people trying to simply make it before the Friday night crash.


They are as follows:

• Take a moment to BREATH. Truly it works

• Disconnect your brain. As non-ethical as this sounds in the work place, it works wonders for me to think about that date on Saturday night or that take out I have waiting for me in the fridge while the CFO talks about revenue expectations (hehehe)

• If possible, disconnect from the net. We think of it as a tool always, but the web can very much be a source of tension and stress. Step away from the laptop. Practice this by 5 minute increments daily, you will see, it’s not as difficult as it seems.

• Give yourself something to look forward to. A yummy treat at the end of the day, a ½ hour with your favorite reality TV show, a Pinkaberry moment…anything that makes you smile!

These are simple enough, and you may say, “How can they help me balance my day?” BUT: The idea is that you have a moment to recharge, a moment to seize and re-program yourself, and an opportunity to prioritize… and for the sake of keeping your sanity, enjoy some of what the day can bring!

Stay well, smiling, and healthy,

Katia

Katia Suero is a Bilingual Freelance Online Content Writer. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Katia arrived in NYC at the age of 11 and has grown to become an energetic, multifaceted, and motivated professional who considers freelance writing one of her biggest outlets in life. In addition to writing, Katia has spent her professional career working for communities in need of support and help through organizations like The Partnership at DrugFree.org, Tiny Stars, American Red Cross, and others. Among many of her passions, writing and traveling are on the top of her list.

She enjoys staying active by practicing yoga and exercising.  Her inspirations include her family and desire to become an active participant in her community every day. She is strongly involved in spreading knowledge regarding Women’s Issues and Rights and educating the public about Human Trafficking campaigns. She has also used some of her time in between jobs to travel to places like England, Italy, France and The Czech Republic where she taught English and Spanish to children at the elementary level.

Before gaining all of her experience in the world of non-profits, Katia acquired a Master’s Degree from Pace University focusing on Public Administration for Non-Profits and a Bachelor’s Degree on Language Culture and World Trade also from Pace University. 

I'm baaaaaack, missed me? I'm sure you didn't with all this interesting info! I just want to close this off by thanking you all for reading and I hope this inspires you to take the steps necessary to lead a balanced life. Don't be hard on yourself, remember, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson wasn't built overnight, so neither will be rebuilding our lives into such a masterpiece. That baby took nine months to bake in the oven boys and girls, so maybe, juuuust maybe, you can try and set yourself up on a monthly goal plan for the next nine months and see what you got in the end! And let's be original, start now, NOT January 2, 2012!

Now that you all are hopefully inspired and on a time management kick, you'll need to read Listen to Your Body, on Fun.Fit.Chic.

Besos, Beijos, Filakia, MUAH!

Lisa xo

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And last but not least, PLEASE support artists featured on Circle of Art Movement by following the  site, retweeting the articles and checking out some phenomenal talent! 

Cheers to Giveaways & Great Sales On Great Sites This Schizophrenic Winter!

Summer, Fall, Winter, whatever the weather may feel like to you, the calender is still running on it's own time and no matter which way you slice the pumpkin pie, time says: 'Tis the season to be giving (don't look at me, I didn't make up that rule, I say do it year round. Shooooot!). Great blogs such as Adventures of Modern Mom (in collaboration with the ever so talented Louise Cazley) & Kimberly Snyder, all year round bloggin' givers I should add, are kicking off the season by hosting giveaways on their fab blogs!

In addition to the great giveaways are great deals from independent designers and artisans. I LOVE handcrafted things and they make the most meaningful and one of a kind gifts! One of my favorite artisans, Olga Ayala, is giving 20% off in her Etsy Shop with the promo code: PROMO1313. Olga creates a plethora of Latin and African inspired functional art, jewelry, accessories, ornaments, home decor and other wearables. Check her out for some very unique Holiday gifts or jump start the winter season by treating you or your loved ones with one of her hand made neck warmers which are finished off with one of her fabulous polymer clay designs. Please scroll on down and clickety click on the pics to redirect yourself to where you want to go!

To win this gorgeous red infinity scarf made by Louise Cazley, author of Falling Into Place & Undies in a Bunch, please click on the image below to visit the fabulous and fun blog Adventures of Modern Mom to find out the simple steps to submit your entry! These two are a great duo, you'll be in for a treat with all the great stories they have to tell as well as some gorgeous winter outerwear made by talented hands!

Now that you've entered for a chance to win warmth in ultimate fabulosity by entering Adventures of Modern Mom blog's giveaway, your next step is to enter for a chance to win a Vitamin 5200 Blender from nutritionist Kimberly Snyder. Your scarf will keep you warm and while you're shielding yourself from the bitter cold within your four walls you can treat your body to the ultimate amount of nutrients by preparing yourself fresh juices and fruit smoothies with this "make it simpler" blender. And if you are not going to make them, then back off and leave the odds greater for those of us who will ;) Seriously. <--I mean that in the cutest way possible.

And last but certainly not least, you've had the opportunity to receive, now don't forget what's expected of us in America this time of year. It's giving time mi gente! What is this you speak of? Your credit cards are still maxed from last years holiday season? Boy do I hear ya!  That don't mean a thing to whoever made up these rules baby dolls, but I'll tell you this much, my dollar is going to the people; the indie talent get the dollar! Get your shopping on early with Olga Ayala's Hecho a Mano (made by hand) November discount. I know you'll be greedy and want to grab yourself something...go ahead, you're worth it! Check out the variety of handmade high quality items Olga has to offer and enjoy a 20% discount at the check out with promo code: PROMO1313 Click on the pic below and if you want some fab ideas on how to wear some of her things check out my article later this week on Nifty Thrifty Stylist Closet and 3 oldies, but goodies, in the archives of the "Arteseña" section of this here blog. 

Thank you for reading baby dolls and hope you have a supercalafradulistic start to what's starting off as a supercalafradulistically schizophrenic winter!

Besos, Beijos, Filakia, MUAH!

Lisa xo

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