My Cat Knows He’s Dying… And He’s The One Comforting Me

Scruffy relaxing on the couch under the lemon tree

Scruffy has been my feisty fearless  cat for the past 14 years. He was always energetic, playful , and had the most upbeat cuteness about him. I first got him back in 2000 at the SPCA in San Francisco (when I was in high school). I was grieving over my last cat (Lani passed away and I still miss him to this day) and I wanted to save a kitten and give it the best life possible.  In a room full of cats at the adoption fair , that’s when I spotted an adorable tiny black persian cat with big green eyes , jumping on the other cats and running from one side of the room to the other side as if he’s going 100 mph. This little black fur ball  was so spunky and everyone at the SPCA would point and laugh at Scruffy in amazement. That’s when I told the attendant “that one! I want that black kitty.”

Throughout Scruffy’s life, he seized every moment to live carefree. Scruffy loved to sunbathe in the backyard, chase the birds, play with my dogs, and was always friendly to anyone who came in contact. At times , he would cuddle with me, but for the most part, he lived to be free and adventurous. There were some occasions where he would bring a dead bird at the back door and meow loud and proud, and I remember my mom would scream and have me rush Scruffy to the vet to see if he had any diseases. He loved to play with anything, whether it was a ball, my makeup brushes, crumpled up paper, plants. If he was sleeping and I put some yarn on him , immediately he would chase after it as if he’s sleeping with one eye open.

Now, after 14 years, Scruffy’s temperament has changed. He no longer meows loud. His energetic persona has vanished. He no longer sunbathes, plays with the dogs, or run around. Instead, he hides in little corners and he yearns to be on my lap, seeking attention. I looked in his eyes and there was a thick build up of mucus. He was standing in the hallway with drool coming from his mouth. He looked gauntly and sad.

I took him to the vet and was told to expect a call about his blood work the next day. Two hours after, Scruffy was vomitting blood and I rushed him to the emergency room. He stayed there overnight. He was diagnosed with kidney failure, heart murmur, ulcers in the mouth, and upper respiratory infection. He had a catheter with iv fluids hooked up , and he was not eating. He stayed another night and when I went to visit him, he looked miserable inside a cage. The doctors wanted me to keep him there for 5 nights to see if there’s any improvement but it was just too expensive. By this time, I had already spent close to $3ooo (mind you, I am unemployed) and  more importantly, I knew he wanted to come home. If Scruffy was going to live his last days, I would want him to be in a place where he was happy and surrounded by people who love him- not in a cage with strangers. That was 2 days ago.

I woke up this morning and Scruffy was on the floor by my bed looking at me. I put him on my bed and we made eye contact. His eyes were watery, drool was coming down his chin, and he looked so weak and helpless. That was when I started to cry heavily. I held him close to me and he rubbed his head on my cheek. He put his paw on my hand as if he was telling me that he knows it’s his time to go soon and he wanted to thank me for giving him a wonderful life.  I held him for a couple of hours. It sounds odd but I felt that there was a connection between us, where he was  telling me not to worry and to never forget about him.  I don’t know how many more days he has left with me, but having him in my arms and giving me kisses is comforting me more than anything. I love you , Scruffy!

Easy Gold Glittery Shimmery Smokey Eye Makeup

When it comes to smokey eye makeup, I go crazy over it! It’s sexy, sultry, and it really makes your eyes pop. You could be wearing pajamas with this make up look and still look hot! Here’s an awesome tutorial (with step by step pictures ) to help you get that glam diva look. And remember, it’s not about the “brand name” makeup. Here are some makeup items you can buy from Walmart and Walgreens that you can use for this make up look.

Now, with the items above, you can simply replicate this same look. Remember, when you buy expensive makeup, you are just paying for the name. [I constantly reiterate this because people always think that spending more means you are getting what you paid for. When it comes to eye makeup, that is NOT true]. After several years of using all types of makeup and splurging on expensive name brands,  the end result is the same.

Have fun with this tutorial!

2014 Nail Art Glam Pop

Going to the nail salon to keep up with your beautiful pedicures and manicures can get pretty expensive. I don’t know about you, but I am all about saving as my hard earned money for a rainy day. I found a really awesome nail art tutorial online and wanted to share it with you. Not only is this nail art style fashionable but it’s classy and easy to do.

Not only is it less expensive to do it at home, but you can be creative and try other fun glamorous nail art of your own. That beats the hell out of spending $25 . Have fun and enjoy!

Hairstyle Trends For 2014

What ever style your hair is , it definitely says ALOT about you. When you have a gorgeous hairstyle, not only will you have confidence and poise, but you feel marvelous and beautiful. In order to achieve that, you must pick a style that frames your face. Below are the hairstyles that I feel will fit anyone, whether you have a long face, wide face, square, or oblong shape. Here are my top choices of hair style trends for 2014:

If you don’t already have a hairstylist, do some research and find out about the salon and the hairdresser. Do some research by asking around, and read up on Yelp reviews. Find a hairdresser that will sit and consult with you on your hair, the cut you want, color and definitely ask questions. Bring a picture of the hair style that you want and see if it can be replicated. There’s nothing worst than going to the salon and spending hours and $$$ on hair that will make you look unflattering. Have fun and Good Luck!

For 2014, I Promise To Love Myself Just The Way I Am

When you look in the mirror, there are some things that you’d like to change about yourself, whether it’s your weight, arms, stomach, nose, thighs, buttocks, or height. Or maybe, you’d like to change your personality, to be more extroverted, less shy.  Or perhaps you’d like to change your job or relationship. We can all relate. But, life is full of complications. Life is difficult and full of challenges. There are a lot of things that we can’t change and we need to just “deal with it” and hope for the best.

Well, I can tell you a million things I’d like to change about myself. Sometimes I end up pushing myself too hard, putting myself down a lot, and criticizing almost every little thing about me. If it’s not my looks, then it’s my education, or my job, and blah blah blah. And you know what? That is NOT healthy. it’s true- you are your own worst critic. We live in a society where women are supposed to be skinny and beautiful and flawless, with an exciting career , living in a upscale neighborhood , having an unlimited amount of money to go on shopping sprees every weekend. That’s what we see in the media.  Real women don’t look like Beyonce or Kim Kardashian. Majority of us don’t have skinny wafer like bodies, like Kate Moss. And we don’t have a husband like Angelina Jolie’s, either. That’s not how the real world is.

We can’t change our lives to depict what we see on t.v. All we can do is “accept” ourselves  and change our thinking. We must learn to appreciate what God has given us.  I’ve decided to make a promise to myself to love me just the way I am without  saying anything negative. I’ve decided that life is too short and enough is enough. I need to be happy. I need to focus on the positive things in life. I need to appreciate the littlest things . And most importantly, I need to love me. 

Here are some awesome and inspirational quotes I found online:

 

Look in the mirror and learn to love yourself. Life is too short to stress over the little things. Be your own best friend and stop putting yourself down. God made you the way you are and you are perfect. You are beautiful inside and out. You are intelligent. You are brilliant. Promise yourself that you will love you just the way you are!

Daily Skin Care Regimen! A Must Read For All You Beauties!

 

When I was younger, I was blessed with having acne free skin. I was lucky enough to get away with not using any type of foundation or powder. I figured my skin would stay the same my whole life and boy, was I wrong. When I was in college, I started developing pimples, blackheads, yellowheads, and acne. Sometimes I’d have a date on Fridays with my fingers popping them suckers. Gross, I know, but we’ve all done it. If you still do it, STOP! Your fingernails are full of bacteria , thus infecting those pimples and leaving scars.

 Some people have the same routine of washing their face and slapping on lotion and they’re out the door, while others spend a mass amount of money on chemical peels, botox, and monthly spa treatments before a wrinkle or a pimple pops up.

 Remember, the older we get, our skin changes and that is when we need to anticipate a tailored skin care regimen.

 If you are in your late teens to 20s, the late night partying, oily greasy food, lack of sunscreen, heavy makeup can take a toll on your skin. At the bare minimum, follow these simple steps:

My must have: Cerave facial moisturizing lotion sold at Walgreens for $16

1.  Day Time: Use a gentle cleanser , toner, and moisturizer (preferably a moisturizer that contains sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection. If you apply liquid foundation, opt for a SPF protection foundation. It may be a bit more expensive but it sure is worth it.
2. Night Time: Use a gentle cleanser and make sure that you remove all your make up before going to bed. Apply a moisturizer for your skin

If you are in your 30s, this is the time where you can see some visible wrinkles. ACK! I know, it’s not pretty. By this time, sun damage and fine lines are showing and your skin may experience some sort of dryness to it. Follow these simples skin care steps:

1. Day Time: Use a cleanser that gently exfoliates and contains chamomile and aloe. Hydrate your skin with an antioxidant rich moisturizer and invest in eye cream serum (to help diminish the fine lines aka crows feet). Afterwards, apply sunblock.
2. 2. Night Time: Make sure to wash off all makeup with cleanser and apply an antioxidant rich moisturizer.

If you are in your 30s and over, treat yourself to the spa and get a facial. Some times it can be a bit pricey, so check out to see if you can get a discount via groupon, living social, yippit, bloomspot or travelzoo. Here’s to a New Year and to a new skin care regimen!

5 New Year’s Resolutions That Might Actually Work

This is an awesome post!

Oh Hell No ! I Hiked Where The Zodiac Killer Took The Life of One of His Victims

One of my New Year’s Resolution was to lose weight and ease my way back in to running. My bf and I decided to go hiking at Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo, California. As soon as we entered the parking lot, already I felt chills down my spine. The park looked dead and for some reason, I felt a negative vibe from it. There were some families there. The park was big and clean, and there were patches of grass around with benches and there was a nice walk way, but again, It didn’t feel ‘right.’ We hiked a mile up into the mountain. By this time, I usually start feeling the adrenaline kick in but I felt out of it. There’s an abandoned house built on stilts right in the middle of the park with boarded up windows. Seems kinda odd. Here is how the park looked like:

After that short hike, I went home and decided to do a yelp review when I stumbled up on this:

Holy 5hit! I can’t believe I went hiking where there was an infamous murder by the Zodiac Killer. I’ve watched movies about the Zodiac Killer, read articles and newspaper clippings about it, but to actually be on the same site as the murder that took place some x amount of years ago, it still frightens me. Never will I go to that park ever again. It scares the hell outta me knowing that the Zodiac Killer is out there and he’s probably somewhere in the Bay Area. Damn!

2014 New Year’s Resolution: Lose Weight!

New Years means new beginnings and this is when people start the whole “starting next year, I will…” blah blah and so on. Some times we stick to it (for a couple of months and then we stop) and other times, we just say “to hell with it, I’ll do it next year.” Yes, been there done that. The most popular New Year’s Resolution I hear from everyone is losing weight and being healthy. Losing weight has been my New Year’s Resolution for the past several years. I am older now, and yes, I am more than ever knowledgeable on all the different types of diets out there, including low fat,  no sugar, low carb, low calorie, liquid / shake / green tea / whatever the hell you call it diet.

Last year, my goal was to lose weight and to run a marathon. I succeeded in running 3 marathons and I am very proud of myself . Did I lose weight from running? HELL NO. In fact, I gained weight. Why? Let’s just say that my body craves more fuel when I am running and for some stupid reason, I kept thinking that I can cheat on my diet if I ran miles and miles. That is not the business. We all have different body types and our bodies react different when losing weight. Some people lose their belly first, and others lose weight in their arms or it shows in their face. When I lose weight, I start to lose my buttocks and my breasts. Talk about being lucky. LOL. Ugh, I just don’t get it. Well, starting today, I will do the following:

No Carbs

I will not visit the cupcake bakery any more and I will not subject myself to eating my mommy’s mouthwatering goodies.

No More Fast Food

I will NOT be visiting KFC, Mcdonalds, L & L, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell just because I am hungry and I want something right away. This is going to be hard!

No More Daily Weighing!

There is nothing worst than constantly weighing yourself every day and feeling like a failure when the numbers are not going down. Yes, your weight fluctuates but I have this whole mental thing in my head where if I don’t see the numbers drop fast enough, I get discouraged, so I will NOT use the scale.

 

Losing weight is important for your health but before you start a diet, please do as much research as you can, get advice/ consent from your doctor and do it in a healthy way.  I will be posting here daily with a progress report so if you’d like to follow me on my journey, check back . Happy New Year!!!!!