One day it'll make sense

A couple years ago I made the decision to take more pictures. Not just take pictures of what I'm eating, or a cool place I'm at, but to take pictures of important moments and print them. It all started when I was going through my moms photo albums looking for a picture of my dad with a mullet. Doing so, I realized that I don't want to not be able to look back on my life. I would hate for everything to be stored on a phone and have nothing physical. I love looking at pictures with my mom and seeing how different things were.

When I first started I remember going to Target for a photo album and asking an employee where they were at and he said they only had one option because people just don't print photos anymore. As of right now I almost have 2 whole photo albums full. I know doing this isn't for everyone, but I do suggest it. I always say if you keep something long enough it becomes vintage, and one day someone might say "look at these photos from the last century!"

I get all of my film developed at a family ran store called "Photo Shack" right by UNLV. It costs slightly more than doing it at Costco or Walmart but I like supporting a local company. 

A lot of the pictures I take don't all make sense, but they aren't supposed to. To me they make sense, and one day it'll all just be another memory. Who knows maybe one day far from now, my kids will be looking through my photo album looking for a picture of their mom surviving 2020, or the time she was a Lifeguard one summer. You never know.

Flindt Landing

In 2019 I went on an 11 day fishing trip with my dad. A million years ago (maybe just 25) my dad said him and my uncle went to Flindt Landing for the first time and said one day when they had kids, they'd come back. Fast forward and I went with my dad, two uncles, and 9 boy cousins. I've usually always been the only girl because I'm the only one that enjoys fishing.

The place we went to was called Flindt Landing in Ontario Canada. Most people don't know about it, and the only reason my dad found the place was because an old lady from the little lake town he grew up in had told him that in the summer seasons she runs a fishing camp. Before she ran it, her father did and so on. The camp can only be reached my train (it only stops once a week), or by seaplane. Flindt Landing is so remote that there's no WiFi, cable, anything. If you have to call for help you have to call 911 through the radio. Everything in the cabins is ran on propane. The camp sits on one little island in the middle of a lake full of other little islands. 

For 11 days I was up before the Sun, ready to pull the anchor for my dad each day, and ate fish every way you can make it. I love how inventive the woman is who runs the camp. You pretty much have to be when your resources are so limited. The picture below is of my little cousin (the youngest of all of us) and he caught the largest fish of the season. The woman who runs the camp showed us that herself and her father had been keeping track of big fish as far back as the 50's! So for the summer of 2019 my 7 year old cousin caught the largest fish.We measured him on the boat, took a picture for proof, and tossed him back. Before the trip, we had all found out it takes those fish 17 years to get that big! Decided that maybe in a few more years we'd catch him again. I wouldn't go here every year, but every few years would be nice. Living so simply is good for the soul.

"Every kid needs a champion" -Rita Pierson

 I often think back on things I let slip away, or things I told myself I no longer have time for. Mostly activities I use to participate in. I use to run 5k's and practice running half marathons with my mom, and go to obstacle courses. When I was younger I use to love to paint and draw, and when I was in middle school I was in a school anime club. I would go to anime conventions and would practice writing books.

More often than not, I always wish I stuck with the artistic hobbies I let go. Myself, maybe like many of you, come from a very traditional family. You know, the one where you have to get a traditional well paying job. Truthfully, I think it's really normal for parents to want the best for you and to take the safe road. I think of all the occupations I told myself I wanted, and how I told myself no because they weren't "safe."

It's just something that slips my mind sometimes.

The not so smart debate team.

 Now I don't know about your friends, but mine love to "debate."

Mostly about topics that don't matter in the grand scheme of things, but the "debates" mostly resemble an argument. Some of the topics we've talked about include (hear me out) if the Earth is flat, the meaning of Deja Vu, and if dogs are actually color blind. More topics include things like why do we eat what we do? Like who saw a chicken pop an egg out and think to eat it? I myself always wonder why people chose to eat cows, versus eating an something else? By no means are any of our debates scholarly, but most of the time they are just interesting questions (well to us).

Do you yourself ever wonder things like this?

Plant Children

 I know I've made a post before about my favorite plant, however I'd love to talk about my plants in general. As crazy as it sounds, something about caring and watching plants grow is so satisfying. I don't have too many plants but the ones I do have I take a lot of pride in. I check their moisture levels frequently and have a humidifier just for them.

My plants are somewhat symbolic to me. Sometimes when I was sad I would go buy a plant to make me feel better, or even happy moments in my life I would go buy a plant. For instance, when I got a job after Covid, the first thing I did was go buy myself a baby Snake plant.

Years ago I got my grandma a bunch of succulents, and when I potted them for her there was one too many. I decided to keep the extra one for myself and here we are almost four years later, and that succulent is now ginormous. Ever since then I just started getting more and more plants. 

The attached image is of my baby Polka Dot plant. I love it any think it's beautiful, but I wouldn't recommend it to people who are just starting their plant journey. It's a pretty high maintenance plant.

Happy Days

I commend people who have a good work/life balance. I find it extremely exhausting trying to find time for everything. The days I go to work I do nothing but wake up, have a couple hours for homework, and then have to start making my lunch and getting ready for work. 

With that being said I'm always caught in this mindset of "I'm going to die anyway" or "I should be budgeting my money tighter." Every time I want to buy something I tell myself that. Probably not the smartest thing I do but maybe 5/10 times I get the answer I'm looking for. 

I think it's sad we all just work to live, and are trained to live for work. I hope you're all having a good week and even if it wasn't the best, or maybe it was the greatest week of your life, we all made it.

Isla del Encanto

One of my favorite places is Puerto Rico. A big chunk of my family still lives there and its my home away from home. My family lives down South in Patillas, also nicknamed the Emerald of the South because of the beautiful greenery. A couple of my favorite things about Puerto Rico are the beaches, the people, the natural beauty of the island, and the food! There's so much history to be known about Puerto Rico and no matter what municipality you go to on the island, you can always find a trace of history. I've met some of my best friends in Puerto Rico. Boricuas are some of the most kind and resilient people I'ved met, and every trip I've made out there I always come back with more friends.

Some of my favorite things to do out there are to visit the small islands of Puerto Rico (most people don't know there's more than one), go to the rum factories, visit museums, go to the rain forest, and lay on the most beautiful beaches I've seen.

I miss it a lot and I hope to return soon.

The attached images are one of my favorite beaches in Culebra  and the second is the view from my abuelitas house on the mountain.

Before Corona

There are a lot of things I miss about life before Covid. I miss going out to drink with my friends, I miss not having to make reservations at restaurants, going to $5 movies on Tuesdays, not having to wait in line to get into a store, and I miss my old job at the casino. The list goes on of things I miss, but one thing I miss in particular is the yearly fishing trips I would take with my dad. 

We've fished a little bit of everywhere, my favorites being the Florida Keys, and Canada. Fishing in the Keys was the most fun because it's very unpredictable, and you never know what you'll pull up. Ive seen sharks, turtles, pulled lobsters off trees, and the water is warm enough so you can hop right in and go spear gun fishing. Canada on the other hand, is slightly more predictable but is very relaxing and beautiful. The only downside to fishing in Canada is a lot of the fish there have teeth so they will try to fight you.

I know there are a lot of worse things going on in the world, and some people are being affected way worse than others by Covid. This is just one little thing I think about from time to time. I hope by 2022 life can start slowly going back to normal.

Gizmo and Mogwai

 

Meet Fiona (Ginger Merle) and Blue (Blue Fawn) my barely one year old female French Bulldogs. Fiona is named after Shrek, and Blue is my little Blue Bayou. Fiona is the most angelic and human-like dog I have ever had. If she is sitting next to me and wants something she'll make a small howling noise to let me know she wants attention. If she wants to go on a walk she'll go by her leash and give me a small howl until I acknowledge her. The last thing Fiona does that makes me believe in a past life she was human, is the way she sleeps. She will get under all the blankets and put her head on the pillow to sleep like a human.

Blue on the other hand, is the complete opposite of Fiona. Blue is the most attention seeking dog I have ever met. She is extremely hyper and demands all the attention whenever I have new guests over. If she wants me to wake up and play with her she will come right on my pillow and snort in my ear until I wake up, like a Gremlin. Blue also tries to pick fights with bigger dogs which isn't smart considering she's 25 pounds... Even though she is a handful, she's still a great and loving dog. The best part about her is she's a guard dog. Well, in her head.

Life would be extremely boring without dogs. I don't think of it as having a "good" dog versus a "bad" dog. Even though my dogs are completely different, the dynamic is fun.

If you have pets what are some of the weirdest or coolest things they do? I'd also love to know your pets name and if you named them after anything.

My favorite plant

 

I figured for my first blog post I should at least talk about something I enjoy. The image to the left is my Monstera Deliciosa, also known as a Swiss cheese plant. Although I have many plants, this plant in particular is the most rewarding to watch grow.

The picture to the left are the newest leaves. They are the only two on my entire plant to have that many fenestration holes. Once a Monstera reaches at least three feet, new leaves that appear will slowly start having fenstration holes. Good lighting helps too.

If anyone is interested in Monsteras or any plant, the best advice I have is to join Reddit groups that are plant oriented. Reddit groups always have a ton of people who are willing to help and give advice specific to a problem you're having. For example, I myself have submitted pictures of my plants when I'm not sure how to care for them. In return, the people of Reddit never fail to let me know their own tips and tricks to plant care.

The following links are the Reddit Threads I suggest following if you're interested in house plants or Monstera plant care.

Monstera Reddit Thread 

Indoor Garden Reddit Thread