California's On Fire

There's no easy way to say this, but if you've been following my tweets you might have some idea.

California - the promise land - is struggling right now. And it's real. Not in #TheStruggleIsReal but in the way that it is actually real.

Real lives are affected. Real homes. Real businesses. Real pets. Real people.

Today, my students aren't allowed to play outside during their recess. They aren't allowed to do P.E. They may sit in the shade or climb on the jungle gym but any sort of physical activity over walking is strictly prohibited.

The Smog is bad in Los Angeles today, but San Diego is a million times worse. The weather down there is described as Smoke. We're on fire and it's months before our fire season begins.

It's hotter than Vegas. It's hotter than the desert I go dirtbiking. It's supposed to cool down after the weekend, but how many people will be affected by then?

As of this blog post, these are the fires we have raging:

Highway Fire (San Diego) - 500 acres affected, 40% contained
Coco's Fire (San Diego) - 800 acres affected, 5% contained
Tomahawk Fire (Fallbrook & Camp Pendleton) - 6,000 acres affected, CAL Fire is on scene
Pointsettia Fire (Carlsbad) - 400 acres affected, 60% contained
Freeway Fire (Camp Pendleton) - CAL Fire is on scene
Miguelito Fire (Santa Barbara) - 632 acres - 90% contained
River Fire (San Diego) - 100 acres, almost contained
Bernardo Fire (San Diego) - 1,548 acres, 75% contained

These are the BIG fires. There was also a small fire by my house yesterday afternoon; and I drove past a small fire on the freeway Tuesday on my way home from work. When we woke up yesterday morning the Bernardo Fire was the only fire.


Tweets about "#SanDiegoFire"


Many people don't realize that Southern California is a desert. Our expensive green lawns beg to differ. We are paradise, right?

Our summers are usually wonderful until September or October hits. That is when fire season usually begins. The Santa Ana winds pick up and our dry plants light up and we're ablaze.

This year we have had less rain and snow than usual. It hasn't been bad like this in a long time. My dad says the last time it was like this was the late 70s. Before this year, I can't remember hearing radio commercials about California being in a drought. I remember learning how to save water. Every year we here Flex Power commercials reminding us not to use our dishwashers / laundry machines until after 7 p.m. because we don't want black outs. We end up with some brown outs, but California's pretty good at avoiding black outs.

I wish this were an easy problem for us to fix. Of course, there are ways. We could take shorter showers. We could turn off the water while we brush our teeth or do the dishes. We could get water efficient toilets (they are EVERYWHERE in the Netherlands). We could be more drastic (an approach I approve of) and instead of the green grass lawns and parks, we create environment appropriate landscapes.

Please send us your thoughts (and water...jk...well...if you could figure out a way to send us enough). Our fire fighters need all of the help they can get right now as they battle fires and I know I'll be bringing some cookies to the fire station soon.

I've never been evacuated myself but some family members have and my high school boyfriend had our big OC fire in his backyard. But I also know the damage that fire causes from my own house fire.

If you feel like donating, here is a great link to help those displaced by the fires. You can also donate through the Red Cross.



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Happy World Water Day!

Happy Saturday!

I know it's not like me to stop by on a Saturday, but today is World Water Day!! I'm not sure if you know me and my history with water...

• Up until recently, I never drank water.
• California is perpetually in a drought, but this year especially.
• As a kid, I was always worried about running out of water and yelled at people to turn off running water. As a result, I can't shower for longer than 15 minutes. It's impossible.
• Recently, I was posting about the UNICEF Tap Project and easy ways for you to provide clean water. For more info. 

Today, I'm here with a few other ways! But first, let's get educated.

I was contacted by The Nature Conservancy to talk to you all about Liquid Courage. [fitting, since I talked about courage in general last week].

This is their mission:

For over 60 years, The Nature Conservancy has been working around the world to
conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. The global shift to cities, where
70% of the world’s population will live by 2050, presents us with an enormous opportunity
to transform and shape the world around us - particularly our water supplies.
Through our Securing Water program, The Nature Conservancy is helping cities and
surrounding communities and businesses chart a more sustainable pathway to growth by
recognizing the value of and investing in the natural systems on which they rely. But we
can’t do this alone. In your lifetime, you can help change the course of your children’s
lifetime and chart a new course of environmental stewardship.
We work with nature because nature works. Join us.

They've created a cool interactive website for us to learn more about water.

The easiest thing that we can do is get educated and vote accordingly. If you want to do more, check out their website and become a supporter.

So do you think you could have #LiquidCourage?

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Wedding Wednesday: Vendor Cancellations, Oh My!

side note, I decided to use summer camp pictures to embellish this post. I am sort of a character, so I hope you enjoy their ridiculousness and embrace the fact that really, they have nothing to do with my wedding... 

Woo, it's another exciting Wedding Wednesday and things are really starting to count down over her. We've got less than 60 days people!! I am so-ooo excited about this except for one thing...well two...sort of small things...

okay, I lied, two very big things. 

This is me upset...well, at summer camp, upset. Imagine I made this face when I got my bad news  though. 

Last week, both our DJ and our cake vendors cancelled.

Yep, they cancelled. Our cake decorator had a baby last month, so I was expecting the possibility of this.
Our DJ apparently moved to the Phillipines.

You might remember reading that we have a lot of family and friends helping out with the wedding. Both of these situations involve someone very close to us, and thus was very touchy.

Calmly solving problems...? 

Let's start with the cake. Because I want something super simple - vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, no decorations - my pastry chef friend volunteered to do them as our gift. Easy peasy! Then she found out she was pregnant with her second child. As I mentioned, I was expecting this. We discussed this possibility early on, and she spoke with another pastry chef to be our potential back up.

We aren't going with him, afterall, because he lives over 100 miles away, but we were still prepared. It ends up, my mom's coworker is going to make them for us! My mom is my all time favorite baker, but she's already making my wedding dress so...she's a little stressed. Problem solved!

Our DJ is a little bit more difficult to replace. My uncle is paying for our DJ and, it was his friend who was supposed to be our DJ (but then moved to the Phillipines without telling anyone!). For this, we never had any official papers signed. I don't recommend following in our footsteps. If someone is offering to do something for you, get it in writing and deposits down.

We aren't overly stressed about finding a DJ because we actually have one in attendance. We're only going to use him as a last resort though, because we want him to enjoy dancing with his girlfriend! Our wedding coordinator has helped us find a replacement. I would recommend always having a list with a few back up names in case something like this happens to you!

Then I celebrated my win! 

We're the type of people who plan things out, things fall apart, and then eventually work out. I'm used to this being my life so I didn't freak out. Just calmly tried to find replacements. Although, if it were within the last 30 days of the wedding I would be worried.

Remember, some people plan a wedding in 30 days! If you are doing that, I would definitely recommend checking out The Mad Dash Down The Aisle, by Liz Coopersmith. She happens to be my day-of-coordinator and her book is chock full of great advice in last minute planning.

There's also this amazing website that I lost. But then I found a different website called Bride Rush where you can find last minute deals.

Has disaster struck in your wedding planning?


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Bloggers Give Back Sponsor Search

Hey Warrior Queens!

I am just bursting at the seams with excitement about all of the love and giving back I've found in my corner of the blogging community. I hope you're loving it as well :) 

After all, this is one of my biggest identifiers as a warrior queen - the ability to share my love and be the best of me. A few weeks ago [or maybe it was a month ago] I won the Bloggers Give Back Giveaway and, in typical Raewyn fashion, I asked how I could participate in the next one. Not only can I participate, but you can too! 

Lesley @ By The Porchlight was kind enough to share her post reaching out for sponsors with me. Below you can find all of the information to also sponsor this giveaway! 

Remember the first round of Bloggers Give Back when Raewyn, from the blog Warrior Queen, won a $120 donation to to the charity of her choice? She chose the wonderful cause "To Write Love On Her Arms" and was so enthusiastic about the giveaway that now she is going to help me co-host the second round! Very happy to have her.

Now, in case you don't remember Round 1, let me tell you about this very unique giveaway! The entries work just like any other paid giveaway BUT this time all of the money raised will be donated to the charity of the winner's choice!

Would you like to get in on the action? Here are the giveaway entry options - and remember, it's all for a charity!

1 Bloglovin' or GFC entry = $5

+ Facebook AND Twitter entries = add another $5

+ Pinterest = add another $5
+ Instagram = add another $5

Interested in ALL options? That's a total of $20.00, all for a good cause of the winner's choice!

The giveaway will take start on November 3rd.

If you choose to sponsor this giveaway, please send me all your links, an unedited photo of yourself and tell me what your charity of choice would be! Money should be sent via PayPal to lesleyaraymond@gmail.com.

This is going to be a great round of Bloggers Give Back! I hope you'll join in!

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The Work-Budget Dilemma

Obviously, I don't write in my blog regularly and this time I cannot blame it on lack of inspiration, motivation organization, or any other -zation that applies. Instead, I can blame it entirely on...drum roll please...the work-budget dilemma that I've faced for the past several years.

I'm just going to put it out there that I have been working for 8 years...and I have worked for Mervyns, Faculty Club, Pottery Barn, Campfire Kids, Columbus Nanny, Fruitti Yogurt, California Terriyaki Grill, Buffalo Wild Wings, Mi Casa, Lazy Dog Cafe, Victoria's Secret, Planet Bravo, BMW, Kymberly Marciano Photography, Buffalo Wild Wings (again), La Habra Collision, Hollywood Music Magazine, Live Magazine, LA Parent, University Link 15 different companies. This does not include either of my two internships, two freelance magazines, or consistent babysitting jobs that I have had.

I know, that's a lot of work. Usually I am working at least 2 jobs at a time. Everyone calls me the busy bee, and I have lost some friendships because of my busy schedule. I like to be busy, but I also have a lot events in my life that cost money. Some are planned (roadtrips, moving out, concerts, wedding). Many of these events have been unplanned, like my house fire*, luck with Tut-Tut and the saga of driving a 1988 pick up truck*. I wouldn't change any of these events.

Now that I'm planning my life with someone else though, the exhaustion of two jobs is so much heavier than it used to be - or maybe I'm just old. Unfortunately, it is a necessity. Throw in this economy and I'm broke. Not poor or rich, definitely in debt but still not working out a great budget.

It's a vicious cycle. I am literally only home to sleep most days, so there is no time to prepare food or even go shopping. So then I eat at Buffalo Wild Wings at night, or somewhere for lunch; sucking up more of my money, forcing me to work more hours. And then I decide I need a break from all of my work - so I splurge on a vacation to Vegas or a much needed date night.

Something has to give. I cannot work these crazy hours and ruin my relationships, exhaust my body and make no dent on my debt or bank account. I didn't mean for this post to seem a little ranty. Yesterday, I actually wrote about mine and Iman's story, then decided against posting it. For the past week my head has been swimming with a post about friendship and earlier Laura sent me this awesome picture about self-doubt. I really, really want to write about those things.

But I'm going to go drown myself in more coffee, face plant my desk, and prepare myself for my last 14 hour work day until Monday.

P.S. I swear I've written posts on the house fire and Chuck the Truck, but I have not. I will share, because they've made me such a stronger WQ. Yay for exciting upcoming posts!