Guilty

Hello, my name is Kaleena and I am addicted to the Real Housewives, any of them really, except maybe the new one in Miami, I haven't been able to really get into that one.  However, I am addicted!!!  Can you imagine my reaction then when I went shopping at my local mall and right there in the Nordstrom shoe area was Tamra Barney from the real Housewives of OC?!!  I died!!!  I questioned for a long time whether or not to go up to her and say hi and ask for a picture but if any of you have ever watched the show, she isn't the nicest of gals.  and that day, she looked exceptional ticked off.  And a little tore up, I am just sayin, I am sure she gets plenty of hair and make-up to get her to look glam and ti made em feel better knowing she walks around with greasy hair with the extensions clearly showing and not a stitch of make-up on her face.  She was still gorgeous and tiny, don't get me wrong, but she was un-done quite a bit.  Anyways, as was mentioned, she is not always so nice and I had a quick flash of me being nice and asking her for a picture and her giving me the devil stare and yelling at me and having everyone look, so I moved on, not after 15 minutes or so of pretending to look at shoes so I could see her and wonder what she was buying, ha.
So, this brings me to where I am currently.  I am leaving for a getaway this weekend and I am super stoked.  I have been doing laundry and packing and planning and realized while all of this was happening that I am white.  Ok, so it wasn't a big realization since I have known this since birth but seriously, my legs could be a beacon in the dark to get planes, trains and automobiles home safely, it is nutty.  And people always say they aren't that bad, until they see me in a dress and it is always hard for them to hide their shock, how white can legs be?!!!  So, since I will be wearing dresses on my excursion, I decided to spray tan.  I am sure you can only imagine my excitement when I found out that my local place here is the same place that spray tans the Real Housewives of OC and they have been on the show.  I am seriously addicted people.  So, the appointment was booked and in I went.  I have to say, it is a really embarrassing place to be if you are not 100% confident with the fitness level of your body.  I was told to wear bottoms and nothing else.  They give you a robe but once inside the curtained area, it must come off.  I did a swift move of whipping it off and using my hands as shields so no one could see anything but the sweet girl quickly told me to put my arms in the air.  Lets just say it was an awkward 20 minutes but she was sweet as all get out and made me feel comfy, even when she told me to stick my butt out so she could get it properly, yes ma'am.  Now get this, you cannot shower for 12 hours after being sprayed, the tan needs time to set in your skin so it will last.  Ok, no problem, I shower in the morning anyway so it is not a big deal.  That is until I woke up this morning with brownish orange all over my bed (which does wash out, no worries) and my daughter telling me "mom, you look like a rotten orange", really?  Great!  That was EXACTLY the look I was going for.  I drove her to school wondering if people laughed as the rotten orange drove by but I was hidden under my Jackie O glasses and a hoodie, I was not taking that much of a risk looking like a crazy orange.  As soon as I got home it was shower time and thank goodness I am ok.  I saw tons of color go down my drain and wondered if it all came off but the orange and sharp color came off and I am left with a nice tan.  I am super stoked and now probably addicted to the spray tan.  I may need an intervention soon, or maybe a guest role on the Real Housewives, I feel like I am one of them :)

Helpless

I hate feeling helpless.  I hate that a nation is grieving its lost and hoping to have their lives spared as well.  Even more so, I hate that one of my very best friends lives in that country and is experiencing it all first hand.  My mom called me last Friday because she was worried about the tsunami hitting us.  We are only 1/2 mile from the beach front and we are beach level, we are not one of the lucky ones sitting on a hill.  Ok, we are lucky to only be 1/2 mile from the beach,. anyways.......I had just woken up so I had not seen the news so I had to ask why on earth we were on tsunami warning and she told me about the earthquake in Japan.  My stomach dropped.  I ran downstairs and turned on the news and the only words out of my mouth were "Oh my God, Julie!!!"  I immediately picked up my other phone and the sweetest voice came on the other line.  "Oh my God, you are ok!!!!!"  I normally am not one to use the phrase "Oh my God" but I felt it worthy in this instance, I thank God that my friend and her sweet kids are ok.  I listened to her tell about the earthquake and what has been happening since.  When I am not talking to her on the phone, I am glued to her Facebook, looking for updates on her and her husband who is in the water pretty darn near everything, so much so that the whole ship is wearing radioactive gear to keep them safe.  I watch our news to see what is happening and my heart sinks everyday when the news of the power plant gets worse.  Then I got news this morning, she is being evacuated.  Where to?  No one knows.  She will get a knock on the door sometime soon with the news that it is time to go and her and the kids just need to follow.  I feel helpless!!!  I cannot imagine the fear.  I cannot imagine having to choose what belongings I need to bring with me because Lord knows what might happen to the rest of it before I am able to get back.  I want to shelter her, i want to shelter that whole nation of people who are suddenly in fear of their lives, not knowing their future.  I know a lot of people are not the praying kind but this is a situation where you need to get on your knees, thank God for your health and your family and pray for those who don't have any of that any more.  If I feel helpless and scared, I can only imagine what they feel being in the thick of it.  Julie, I know the last thing you are doing right now is reading blogs on the internet, but please know how much I love you and am praying for you.  You, Chris and the kids are not just friends, you are family and I love you!!!!!  Stay safe my friend, I know you don't feel it, but you are a strong woman and can get through all of this.  And then one day when we are 80 and still dancing on the bar at Coyote Ugly, we will look back and reminisce about the strength you had in this horrible situation.  To the people of Japan, you are constantly in my prayers and I pray that God gets you through this and you are able to get back to your lives as quickly as possible.  And for the thousands of people who are grieving for those lost, you too are in my prayers, I cannot imagine the pain you are going through.  God bless you all!!!!!!

UPDATE: The evacuation for some reason has been called off.  Obama swears that our American citizens in Japan will be evacuated but my dear Julie was supposed to leave yesterday and they now tell her it needs to be on her own dime.  Airline tickets right now are at $3,500 a pop and she has 4 kids plus herself.  Who can afford $10,000 for plane tickets?  Please, contact your local congressman or mayor or whoever and let them know that our military families need to be evacuated and it needs to happen now.

Birthday Fun

Last week was my birthday, I am officially kicking off the last year in my 20's, my farewell tour if you will.  And because I have super cool and amazing friends, they came down and took me out to dinner over the weekend.  I have been friends with these two amazing girls for almost 14 years now, geez that makes me feel old!!!  So, out to dinner we went and luckily there was a nice little wait to eat and there just so happened to be a wine place across the street that does wine tasting so we were able to have some fun even before dinner began.  It was nice to kick things off.  This year alone one of these lovely ladies will be getting married and hopefully one if not both will be starting their families.  I am so excited for the festivities of this year and hopefully 14 plus more years with these amazing girls!!!!!

Last night.......

Last night I had a great nights sleep.  I had a dream about my brother.  Nothing in particular, we were just hanging out with our kids and just having a good time.  I could seriously feel him hugging me, it was a fantastic dream.  And then I woke up and realized, he is gone, it was just a dream.  And I have to admit, that is pretty darn depressing.  Today is my birthday and one of my dear friends Pattie called me bright and early and she told me to think of it as a blessing.  So, I sit here with tears in my eyes, thinking of my brother and what he would be doing right now if he were still here but I feel like I got the best birthday present anyone could ever give me.  I know that he is not here, that he is in heaven but I swear it felt like he was right with me and it made me feel fantastic.  I would kill for another hug or another "I love you" and I know I cannot get that until I am up in heaven with him so I will take what I can get.  Maybe it was his way of making me feel special on this day and I can tell you this, I do.  So today started off on the right note and thank you to Pattie for helping me realize how much of a blessing this is!