Weekly Warrior Queen Links #8

Woah, this week has been such a roller coaster for me. I missed all of my fun blogging time and the support of you wonderful ladies!!

I think next week I'll probably post a "life lately" type of post so you can see just all of the craziness that I've been dealing with over here! But, I feel like I can handle things so much better now! Yay!!

These links seriously inspire and touch my heart. I hope you enjoy them :)

Llinos from Inspiration After Illness captured my heart with her "Stay in the Picture" post last week. She has had a journey of strength and is such an inspiration to me.

My girl Kerensia - a high school friend - just started this Youtube Channel for her Yoga classes and, boy am I excited! Also, is it weird that I still have a pair of boxer shorts I borrowed from her 10 years ago? They still fit!

Kid President is AWESOME. I love his list of 20 Things We Should Say More Often.

We stand together, in solidarity. Choose yourself!

Love is my religion, and these 15 Love Truths tug at my heart.

I've always loved Tegan and Sarah for their music, but this behind the scenes look at the two of them, makes me love them even more.

These gorgeous photographs a mother took of her one-handed daughter are breathtaking.

We're always talking about women protecting themselves from rape. Some argue that we should focus more on men to prevent them from raping. I think we should do both. This new nail polish can change the world for some women.

What do you guys think of these links? Let me know!



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Avocado Egg Salad

This might be the world's worst recipe blog but you'll have to forgive me. I ate the most delicious thing for dinner on Tuesday night and then again for lunch yesterday and I can't stop thinking about it...

I didn't take any pictures though, because I totally messed it up (or  created a new type of dip) Anyway, enough with my cryptic speak again (Sometimes I'm good at it, especially after a 12 hour + traffic work day)

Here is a screenshot of Google's image search of the deliciousness. Since I didn't want to steal anyone's photo I screenshot a bunch. Not sure if that counts, but hey, I'm showin' that they come up top on Google's search!

I used the recipe from The Pioneer Woman, mostly because I had all of the ingredients she used and also, she has wonderful recipes. But then I changed it...because we're weird in my family.

I took 11 eggs. 
2 avocados.
5 1/2 tablespoons mayo
4 teaspoons red win vinegar
salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic, paprika and onion powder to taste.*

I then stuck them in a blender. That's where the whole plan fell apart. You see, she uses a food processor and I think someone stole mine one day because I haven't been able to find it and never used it (but won it at Dave and Buster's). So, I thought a blender would be the next best thing...

It was, if I wanted to make a delicious Avocado-egg dip. Which is totally my next party treat. It was THAT good.

Also, my friends (some of them) thought it was gross because it looked like baby food. The boys and I devoured it and then I made it my Facebook status, so you know that ish is delicious. Also, this might be the weirdest post I've written in a long time. I used to write blogs like this, as a delirious 20 year old.
 
P.s. I scheduled this on Wednesday night because it's my second day of school tomorrow!
P.p.s. Don't ask how the first day of school went. Just refer to my instagram.

*This star means something. These are all of the seasonings I swear by...literally put them in almost every dinner dish I make. I have to  buy them in bulk or my household is sad.

P.p.s.s. I tweak a lot of recipes and make them my own but absolutely delicious so I should probably share them more...like my spicy mac and cheese is the best (and easiest) to make.

P.p.p.s. I don't think ^^ that is how post script works...??

I'm away laughing on a fast camel! (Name that book series)



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Wedding Wednesay: Bridal Party Sillys

Well, we've reached the end of my wedding photos to share. I've saved the wedding party (the best) for last!! I know I didn't share too many family pictures, I do that out of respect for my family members. 

Instead of doing regular bridal party pictures, we mostly did silly ones. Well, I did at least. I wanted to have a picture with each of my bridesmaids, while Iman preferred to do a bunch of group shots with the guys. 

We took most of our pictures in the same area as our ceremony. I sort of regretted it, immediately, but I know now that my favorite pictures are the candid ones. 

They were so much fun (but I was sort of bossy because I was so ready for pictures to be done, and we were running late). 

This is my Maid of Honor! 

We made her dress slightly different than the others, so she stood out as the maid of honor. Plus this dress looks rocking on her.

This is my best friend from first grade. 

She stole my best friend in 1st grade, but that didn't stop us from being best friends ourselves. We're really similar and she stays the night like 2 nights a week. She'll probably kill me for saying this, but we got spray tans before the wedding and this is the darkest I've ever seen her. She looks amazing tan and I've been trying to convince her to go in the sun ever since.

This is my work wife. 

She's my partner in crime whenever I need to go to a concert or on a crazy adventure. She's pouting because I'm now a taken woman, hence my huge grin. I still call her wifey so, whateva. Funny story, her boyfriend's last name is the same as my maiden last name (which isn't hard) and she used to pretend to be my husband's sister to get free pizza...so, basically we have a twisted family. 

This is my "sister in law."

 Her husband is Iman's best friend and best man. I'm so happy how close we've become in the past few years. The only problem we have is that she's allergic to cats. NO!! 

This is my "little" sis.

She's one of two junior birdesmaids, though I can't seem to find a picture of my cousin and I. Iman downloaded the pictures from the wedding website, so he might have missed some :P Both girls are 13 and had a different color dress than the bridesmaids. I'm pretty sure it was their first time wearing high heels and they walked like a champ.

This is my high school best friend. 

We were on the newspaper staff together and worked my first job together. She's pretty much the reason I didn't get my driver's license until I was 17 - she was always driving me everywhere. 

Here's all of us girls being goofy!! (There wasn't a picture where everyone had their eyes open)

Now for these handsome boys! Iman had his two brothers as junior groomsman, four of his best friends and my brother. 

I love their seriousness with Iman's grin. And the shoes, oh I love the shoes. 

See, the shoes... 

Note the Warrior Queen wristbands!!!

And here are the husband's shoes in all their glory!! 

You've all seen this picture before BUT I noticed last night that Iman's brother (on the right) happened to grab his moustache place card and had it on his face!!

THIS picture! Ahhhh! 

So, Shutterfly sent me a huge free print of this. I'm looking for the perfect frame but I love it...even though I yelled at everyone to stop talking while this picture was being taken. 

Next week I'm going to start this whole wedding process over! I'm going to give you all of my tips from engagement to honeymoon!



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Introducing Warrior Queen Monthly

Lately, I've been dreaming up new ways for Warrior Queen to get out there in the world, and one of those ways is to create a newsletter. I have had some people sign up for the monthly newsletter. I'm going to be sending my first newsletter out on September 1st, so I thought I'd make it official with a blog post about it!

Right now, it will most likely be a recap of the past month, but I want to start doing a Warrior Queen spotlight, etc.

I always love getting newsletters from fellow bloggers and have been dreaming of one for awhile. This school year, I'm really wanting to take things up a notch. While, I didn't move to WordPress like I had hoped, I will probably end up there eventually.

Other changes you can look forward to: sponsor changes - making it more about Warrior Queen stuff - #FightLikeAWarriorQueen t-shirt designs, more ways to give back, an awesome wedding series and that cryptic new opportunity I mentioned last week (note: there may be an e-book in the works).

Things are so exciting, and I can't believe how far this blog has grown in the past year! This time last year, I was just getting into the habit of posting daily, and my friendship with Paulina was just beginning. (That girl teaches me so much!)

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Weekly Wishes #5

How is it already another week? Last week was more productive (a little anxious, but overall, relaxing because I was given some days off of work). How was your last week?

1// Have a date day with Iman. We had a couple! On Weds, we walked from our apartment to a Pho place about a mile away, then on Friday we ordered in and watched movies just us two. 

2// Get the kitties teeth cleaned / check up. They are healthy as can be! They were really entertaining when they were coming off the anasthesia.

3//  Meet my cousin's baby!!!! She's here! 

4// Make a blog calendar for September

5// Set up some doctor's appointments. I still need to find a therapist and set up a dentist appointment! 

This week's goals!! 

1// Start school on a great note. I have prep for my classes this week, and I'm hoping to start it out grounded. It's a lot more running around than last year, but I am excited.

2// Pack lunches. Since I'm only working in LA two days a week, this shouldn't be as difficult as it was for me last year. I'm hoping to get into the habit, and of having healthy breakfasts in the morning - even if they are just breakfast carnation smoothies!

3// Eat breakfast everyday. I royally suck at this, but I know it is so important. I am going to go grocery shopping and get the essentials.All of my Zone Perfect Nutrition Bars should help out!

4// Set up my doctor appointments that I was supposed to set up last week. I was unsure what my schedule would be, but I did set up an oil change for my car!

5//Return our last few wedding gifts. We have a couple of duplicates left that I want to return so that I can get some new black shirts for my restaurant job.

What are your goals for this week? How can I motivate you to complete them?



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Weekly Warrior Queen Links #7

Over the years, Barbie has always been controversial for her looks - but her career path has always been on point (I never thought I needed to look like my Barbie like some people say). Finally, there is Entrepreneur Barbie - along with an Entrepreneur program for young girls! STOKED.

This Warrior Queen (literally, she is nicknamed that by her friends, like I am), is fighting like a girl!

I'm loving this 13 year old girl who pitched the first shut out game in Little League World Series history.

Every girl should feel comfortable about all parts of her body. Note: NSFW.

Calling Miley Cyrus a slut is wrong on so many levels, especially the one that allows women to have sexuality.

Well, that's all I've got for you today! I've been trying to get all prepped for back to school next week (and write all my blog posts) Wish me luck!!



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Friday Beach Day

It's the last Friday of my summer vacation...I suppose I should FINALLY go to the beach...

Happy Friday!!



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Working For My Future

I am addicted to working. Not in a workaholic way, but in an "I hate to be sitting at home" way. I really do. I like to go out and do things, but I can't go out and do things when I don't have any money. Some people might say that you can still go and do things on a budget, and others might say that I make more than enough money to be able to do things.

The truth is, I do make more than enough money...if I lived anywhere other than sunny Southern California; if I didn't pay for college myself; if I didn't pay for my wedding myself. I'm okay with doing all of those. Everything I've paid for (besides when I mess up and get tickets), is an investment for my future. I might not be seeing any immediate financial return (like if I made a literal investment) but, these are all emotional investments.

I'm happy to have made them. I'm also happy to work. I am so lucky that I have so many opportunities to fund my dreams and so many opportunities to network and socialize with people.

I've been thinking about all of this because my work schedule is a little iffy after this week. I start back at schools next week, but my schedule didn't work out exactly as we had planned so I only am teaching two days a week. The other days I will be continuing work on my company's website database that we've been building all summer.

I believe I get to work from home those other days. Not having to drive 100 miles a day in traffic is exciting. What's even more exciting is that I can work at restaurants the other days. I bring up the topic of work (again, for the millionth time) because I was approached yesterday with two amazing opportunities.

One is through the grapevine - that Buffalo Wild Wings wants me back. Working as a server is amazing because I can work a 3 hour shift and make $100. I vote yes. At the same time, I love working at my Mexican restaurant and I have the potential to make more money there in the long run. Currently, I'm a host because there are no serving positions open. We're a small company. I'm thinking of working 2 days a week at Buffalo Wild Wings, 2-3 days at Mi Casa, 2 school days and the work from home stuff. I probably will not have a full day off of work for the next few months, unless I request it off.

Working this hard is important to me. Iman and I want to pay off our debt and be able to go on a few trips + buy a house in the next few years. I'm not sure when I will get pregnant, so I believe that now is the time to work like crazy. I only worked one job for the past year because planning a wedding is like working another job.

My other opportunity is going to be sort of cryptic because I believe I've found another calling of mine. I don't want to give too many details before I work out the nitty gritty, but I've figured out something that I am going to market through what I've learned in blogging. This idea comes up, because I have been given the opportunity to work with a teenager to start her blog. I have always worked with older bloggers - out of high school, and now I'm thinking why not work with younger kids? I do teach blogging in my schools, after all.

I am so excited. I also want to thank so many of my blog friends and real life friends for constantly motivating me to continue this little blog and to grow. I started it with such a big goal in mind and no idea how to reach that goal, and I now see so many doors opening up to me. Most notably, thank you to: My Papa Perry for paying for my webhosting & always fixing things for me (or getting your coworkers to fix them), my Iman for your endless support, Lauren and Krystal for reading my blog religiously because you guys love me (I get so excited whenever you say, "Oh yeah I saw on your blog today.."), AJ for being so excited about my stats and being filled with ideas...you seriously are THE BEST, Paulina and Jess for being the best blog besties this girl could ever ask for, Brittany and Cassi for your beautiful ideas to change the world and do good (and asking me questions so that I feel like I know what I'm doing), my other blog friends who constantly support me, my momma and bubsy for always wearing your warrior queen bracelets and doing whatever you can for me, Bryan for suggesting everyone wear the WQ bracelets at the wedding, Jimi for not batting an eyelid at the weird stuff I do to blog, the rest of my supportive family and friends, aaaand my amazing readers!! You all make me so happy and keep my heart happy and motivated to keep working on this little project of mine.

aand, here's a fun giveaway!! :) 

___________________________

a Rafflecopter giveaway



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Wedding Wednesday: Dancing Fiends

Everything at our wedding was crazy fun, because so many people were so pumped to be there. I can't believe how many people filled the dance floor, stayed for the night and met us for barhopping afterward. It was amazing!! 

Iman and I did not take dance lessons or rehearse for our first dance - although technically he danced me out onto the floor in our entrance. Most of the dance I look like this - looking up at him because of our huge size gap. I'm pretty much used to always looking up anyway. 

Iman really likes to spin me around, though so I didn't spend the whole time looking up.

After our first dance, we moved into the Money Dance. If you're not familiar with this dance, it is a way for a bride and groom to make money for their honeymoon. Iman thought it was going to be the weirdest thing on the planet, but my Mexican family definitely insisted on the tradition. 

We made a lot of money doing this! It was pretty awesome, and so fun to get to dance with everyone. I love that it gave us the chance to spend dance floor time with our family members. Here is Iman and his grandma (as you can tell, he gets his height from her!)

My little bother (aka brother) came and danced with with me. Super sweet man! I kept talking while we danced because I can't keep my mouth shut.

Throwing the bouquet was super fun! I love everyone's faces in the back! For the record the tattooed girl on the right caught it :) 

Iman's crowd wasn't as excited to catch the garter. Probably because they're boys. I'm pretty sure his little brothers caught it, which is awkward but they are over 6ft tall soo it makes sense.

I think the rest of these picture are hilarious. They totally show how animated Iman and I are as people. We're somehow both the life of the party. Usually, we switch off and one of us is quieter, but when we're surrounded with all of our family and friends, we just can't help ourselves.

I can't tell you how many pictures have us making hilarious faces because we are so animated.

Iman in the middle of a dance circle, of course. 

Just doing the cupid shuffle. Our ring bearer did not like that song apparently...

Somehow in the midst of all of our dancing, someone took the ribbon off of the chairs and put it on their head. It quickly spread throughout the whole wedding party and security ended up collecting them as people left for the night. Freaking hilarious! The kids and adults were wearing them.

Next week I'm sharing our wedding party pictures, and then September means DIY tips!!



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The Ice Bucket Challenge and ALS

Let me preface this: I think that the Ice Bucket Challenge is a wonderful idea to raise awareness, just like The Invisible Children's videos were a wonderful way to raise awareness. I am not criticizing anyone who participated in any of these causes or in any causes in general. On the contrary, I am ecstatic that people are taking part and raising awareness and donating. I'm not bashing on any of it, merely asking you to think deeper, care deeper.

I've done a lot of research on this challenge in the past few days.

Ever since I heard about this challenge I had mixed feelings. It annoyed me that people were promoting it as "do the challenge or donate $100. Yes, it is wonderful that people are raising awareness, and I know that not all of us can donate, but the way it became such a fad - in the same way The Invisible Children became a fad - really made me sad about our society.

Here's a Vlog I recorded about Kony 2012.

As I've said in a Facebook discussion, I think that it should have been marketed differently. If we had people sponsor our Ice Bucket Challenge, we could raise more money! Iman's cousin shaved his head for Saint Jude's Children's hospital. He had a fundraising website and people helped him raise money for his goal.

My friend Ariana, regularly does UNICEF's "Live Below The Line" where she raises money and eats off of a few dollars for a week - just like children who are starving in other countries do.

I think these are wonderful ways to raise money.

At any rate, it makes me sad that the people who do the ice bucket challenge don't all donate. I am sure some donate - especially since the challenge has raised $15.6 million. Are we only going to do a challenge like this or raise money like this because the social campaign is innovative and becomes a fad?

No! We should be doing this because we actually care and want to make a difference and raise money for a cause.

On top of that, I've been getting pretty annoyed with Californians for doing this. Some people say that there isn't much water being wasted on this challenge, but the fact still remains that water is being wasted.

We're in a drought in California. I've written about it on the blog before, and I seriously try as hard as I can to save water. I haven't washed my car in months. I get annoyed when people wash sidewalks. I would prefer to have an eco-friendly desert-scape yard. I shower every few days, and my showers rarely last more than 10 minutes. We wash our clothes once a month and wash the dishes every couple of days.

Doing the Ice Bucket challenge seems to waste water to me. Even when people do it over a pool - pools (and boy do us Californians love our pools) waste water!

As you can see, my issues with this challenge and others like it are on a deeper level. I want us to think more about this challenge. To do more. If we don't challenge ourselves, then what good is the challenge? 

P.s. This article says everything I think about this.


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Weekly Wishes #4

Last week's goals...

1// Start waking up earlier. I tried. That counts, right?

2// Send the letters I've been meaning to send. Oops.

3// Finish changing my name I did some of this. I really just do it as the opportunity arises.

4// Go shopping for some new bras.  As Ady said, "Treat yo'self" I splurged at VS. 3 bras, 2 yoga bras, 2 shirts, 5 pairs of panties and a sweatshirt!

5// Be there for my cousin as she has her baby!! She hasn't had her baby yet!

Well, I sort of failed last week. Last week was another week of dealing with my anxiety and trying to live in the moment. I keep running all over the place and feeling so overwhelmed. This week's goals will hopefully be easier! 

1// Have a date day with Iman. We haven't had a date day in awhile since we've been broke most of the summer. We've just been hanging out at home, but this time we have to do something! 

2// Ge the kitties teeth cleaned / check up. To be fair, this is scheduled for today because they are bug bombing our apartment so I needed to get the kitties out of the house. But it's been a goal for awhile.

3//  Meet my cousin's baby!!!! She's due on Wednesday.

4// Make a blog calendar for September

5// Set up some doctor's appointments. I need to find a therapist and set up a dentist appointment! 

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Weekly Warrior Queen Links #6

How do you get the perfect bikini body? You put a bikini on your body. I love this.

Woah, this blogger did something that every girl is terrified to do - and the world's better because of it!!

We all struggle with self-esteem, but for some of us it is much harder. Awareness leads to change!

As a Warrior Queen, I try to go through life with as much grace as possible. Check out these tips on simple elegance.

What's your favorite position?

Buzzfeed tells us these things that we should never be ashamed of. I agree!

This video:

If it's almost that time of the month, read my confidence story and pick up your free sample!



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Mental Illness and Anxiety

I wrote this post out in my head and had the perfect opening sentence (I can be reallllyy good at leads), but I was driving and by the time I got home to write it down, I forgot it. So, I guess this is the opening of this blog post. Yet another real look into my life and anxiety.

I've  been on my medicine for about half of  a month now and I can actually say that I feel like I can face my days with less anxiety, though there are still some days that are physically impossible to face. That's the thing with mental illness, it's a silent struggle, but it isn't all in your head.

Of course, the reasoning behind my anxiety and panic stems from somewhere in my brain - somewhere during processing events and feelings and thoughts. Something many people don't understand though, is that it usually turns into a physical feeling.

You're limbs can go numb; your eyesight can get fuzzy; and any number of physical things can happen. My most common is to have a tight feeling in my chest (which, I have as I write this, for reasons unknown) and difficulty breathing. I'm still breathing, but I feel like it is difficult to breathe, so I breathe faster or deeper and sometimes that can lead to hyperventilating. Other times, my heart pounds out of my chest, pumping so fast and pumping adrenaline through my body.

It's no wonder people who don't realize they have anxiety, go to the ER for panic attacks. It can feel like a heart attack.

It is so crazy to think about how the chemicals in our brains and bodies can control all of this based off of a thought that we had or a reaction or something we felt, but we don't even realize it. That's another thing about anxiety disorders, oftentimes, you can't place why you're feeling this way. You can only take steps to prevent and relax yourself.

This photo is circa 2009 right before I moved home from Ohio. I'm smiling, but I had been panicking and crying moments before. 

I know I've mentioned before the time in my life where I had upwards of 20 panic attacks a day. My therapist taught me to face my emotions, and the number decreased. I didn't realize I wasn't facing my emotions or feeling them; I thought I was. But, she taught me to get angry when something happens, instead of just accepting it. If only because getting angry would force me to address the event and come up with a solution.

I've been facing my emotions for years now, but it doesn't fix everything. This time around, my anxiety is so general, I can't seem to find where it stems from, besides feeling overwhelmed. There are only so many steps to take to stop feeling overwhelmed, save for hiding from everything - but that doesn't really fix the problem in the end.

I take my steps and I go through some rough days and I go through some amazing days. My medicine makes me feel pretty go with the flow and I really like that feeling. I imagine it is a feeling that "normal" people feel often. When everyone told me that it would just make each day more manageable, I didn't know what they mean, but now I understand. It means that each day isn't scary; it's exciting or happy.

Of course, I still have my days, like on Tuesday when I spent most of my day focusing on breathing because it seemed difficult to do. But then I woke up yesterday and today, feeling the exact opposite.

I am glad that people are trying to be more understanding of mental illness after Robin Williams' passing. Really, the best thing to do is to try to be understanding. Don't just spit out "comforting" words, because those words might actually make someone's feelings worse. Instead, ask the person how you can make them feel more comfortable. They may not know the answer, but they will appreciate your effort to understand. Oftentimes, people who struggle with mental illness have done so for so long that they have their tricks. If you ask, they will gladly share.




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Wedding Wednesday: Our Moments

I have a confession to make.

I cannot remember the order of my events at my wedding. Sure, I could probably go look at my emails to Liz and see what order we put everything in, but really it's just one big blur of happy things, with some awkward moments mixed in.

My dad kicked off our speeches. It was short and sweet and welcomed everyone, pretty much.

They made me drink Champagne.

Iman's dad's speech was so touching. We all cried. When he got choked up, I just lost it. I just love that man.

I love this picture of my mom and I! She helped me put on my converse.

Here's a funny story about when we went to cut the cake. Our DJ announced it and I got up from the table to go over and midway there I froze.

See, my garter had not been cooperating all day. It fit, but once I started moving and my leg got sweaty (which I never realized happened), it would just keep falling. 

We tried a ton of different things, and finally used carpet tape to tape it to my thigh. This worked for the longest time. At least a couple of hours. Until we went to cut the cake and it started falling. 

So I froze. Liz quickly came over and discreetly fixed the problem for me. 

I knew then and there that she's the best wedding coordinator a girl could have.

We really wanted to do cupcakes, but still have something to cut. So my mom's friend made us a little cake, too. It's currently in our freezer.

We played nice with the cake eating...although, I'm a midget next to Iman so I am sure it looked funny.

I can't get enough of this picture. It's got our shoes and us kissing and ahhh.

This is the best stolen moment picture from our wedding. 

I know I've just been sharing wedding pictures, but I am really excited to begin posting my DIY projects and tips! They're coming soon!!! 

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