Optimism Contagious?

"I've got this friend, who is lonely. She's afraid she'll never find her one and only, " sang Faith Hill.

This last weekend, I spoke to two of my dearest friends and they both shared that they were struggling with being single. I then shared that for once, I was feeling really optimistic about being single.

A week ago, I watched my brother (who is seven years younger than me) get married to his lovely fiancee. I couldn't be happier for them! I have a new sister, whom I love. I thought back to a time when I was really struggling. She and I were on the phone chatting about my (then) current guy situation and she simply asked, "Can I pray for you?" I said yes and as she prayed with me, I broke down in tears.

Looking back, I think that was the start of my new positive outlook.

This weekend, I was asked how I could maintain my optimism, despite being single. I just replied that I believe that God has a plan for me and my life; I just need to be patient. I shared this with both of my girls over the weekend and I hope it made a diffence in their lives.

In any case, I hope that my optimism is contagious. Life's too short to worry about where you should be or who you should be with. Enjoy each moment that you've been given.

Love you dolls!

Birthday Reflections

As another candle was added to the cake, there was no melancholy for once. As I was enjoying my facial and massage today, I couldn't help but think about my life and how truly blessed I am.

Last night I had the privilege of celebrating with family and friends. I had an amazing time and it was very cool that because of Facebook, friends from Asia, Australia and Europe were sending birthday love last night. Throughout the day, my phone was blowing up from all of the texts and notifications of Facebook wall postings.

A high school friend recently passed and it was another reminder to me that life is so precious and you can't tell someone too many times how much they mean to you.

Thank you to all of my family and friends who wished me a very happy birthday. You have no idea how much I appreciate all that you are and all that you do. Thank you for supporting and loving me. This is my ode to you!

Must Love Camping?!?!

I recently jumped back into the online dating world and the one common denominator of all of the men who post is their love of CAMPING!

If you know me, you KNOW that camping is not really my thing. My idea of camping involves a hot shower and flushing toilets. If I have those things, I can probably camp for a few days. However, I can't say that MY idea of camping is probably what most people think about camping.

My family really didn't do much camping when I was younger, but there are a few photos that exist but show us in tents in Yosemite with cots. Not exactly roughing it...

My sister, brother in law and their children are all about camping and visit Yosemite at least once a year.

What's most ironic is that I have all the gear to go camping: a sleeping bag, a really nice sleeping pad, tent, camp chair and a latern.

Instead of camping, I'd rather be in a plush hotel room in a fluffy robe, a glass of bubbly in my hands, and a spa appointment for a massage.

Perhaps Mr. Right can change my mind about camping? I'll guess we'll have to see ...

10 Pounds!!!

10 pounds! That's the milestone I hit earlier this week.

It's been nagging me that I've neglected you, my trusty blog, but I wasn't very inspired to write anything until this morning. I woke up a half hour before my alarm rang and just knew.

Two posts earlier, I was down in the dumps about shopping and how nothing fit. Yesterday morning, I put on a pair of khakis that hadn't fit in over a year and I couldn't believe my eyes! I was so happy that I told everyone at work! But the 10 pounds hasn't been without hard work. I tried a boot camp class and seriously injuired my back, which sidelined me from working out for a week.

I never realized how many of my social activiities involved food, until I embarked on this weight loss journey. It's so easy to say, "let's meet over drinks or dinner," but since I don't eat "regular" food anymore, that isn't an option. Instead, I've had to meet my friends over coffee, go to a movie, or workout with them. It's just as fulfilling, but not filling.

I can see the weight loss in my face. I don't worry about taking photos at a specific angle, as to not get the dreaded double chin. And with the recent weight loss, I've discovered that I have dimples ... or that they've become a little more prominient.

I still have about 20 more pounds to go, which will put me at the lowest weight in my adult life, but I can't wait to accomplish my goal.

I want to give a shout out to all of my friends who have been so patient with me and those who encourage me. Please know how much I appreciate you asking how I'm doing and complementing me. It's what makes this so much easier, so thank you!

Travel Expands Many Horizons

I recently uploaded some photos of a recent trip to NYC to Facebook and one photo in particular caught my eye. It was a photo of my best friend, Starving with a Side of Sass in St. Louis, and our friend TD. We met TD on our Contiki trip to Egypt in December 2009/January 2010 and became fast friends. This was the second time I've been to NYC since we returned from Egypt and both times, I've been able to meet up with TD. The last time, I even stayed with her at her gorgeous apartment in Brooklyn.

It's pretty amazing that it took a trip on the other side of the world to connect us. We talked about it when we on a sightseeing trip around the city, how oh so "cosmopolitan" that we can say, "Oh I have a friend from  NYC/SF that I met while in Egypt and we're going to see each other when I'm/she's in town."

As I peruse my friend list on Facebook, I see so many friends I've made during my travels. Friends from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia, Brazil, and U.S. make us the myriad of my friendship group.

More than just making new friends, it's pretty amazing to travel with my BFF. Traveling with Starving with a Side of Sass in St. Louis has been so much fun to share my travel experiences. She will sometimes text me something that we said during our trip and it will make me laugh out loud.

I've never really created a Top 10 list of our travel, but highlights include:

• Almost falling out of our bunk during a really hard stop in the middle of the night during our night train to Luxor
• Slipping in the bathtub during our Nile Cruise and creating a slip 'n slide in our bathroom with our shower curtain
• Haggling over tunics in the night market in Luxor
• Becoming so bron in Nha Trang that it hurt to put clothes on for days after
• Seeing her freak out when a baby monkey jumped on her in Cambodia
• Realizing I can never trust her with a map while wandering aimlessly in Old Town Hanoi
• Treking 12k in Sapa in four hours, through rice paddies with the assistance of pre-teen girls wearing open toe flip flops

How else has travel enriched your life? Sound off with a comment!

Haven't Been Starving and It Shows

I have money ... and it was burning a hole in my pocket. I was in the mood to spend, spend, spend and update my wardrobe. I wanted to pick up some clothes for my upcoming NYC trip but alas, I was fruitless.

I did so much shopping but only bought one shirt, one skirt, one purse, two pairs of shoes and perfume. The problem was that nothing appealed to me and nothing fit!

I was so mad because I'm in between sizes and it's not the size I want. A few weeks ago, I had a good week where I worked out four days in a row and then last week, it only was two days of spinning. I have to get back on track with my diet and gym routine. The little blue diet pills aren't working on their own, so it's time to kick it in serious gear and rededicate myself. There are some big winds of change (I think, hope and pray!) coming my way and I'm ready to meet them head on.

Let's do this!

To Kiss Or Not To Kiss? That is the Question

Is it aproprate to kiss on a first date or better to avoid it? On this particular date, my choice was to avoid it.

Although I had a good time and thought it was possible we'd go again, I wasn't quite there. Since then, we've hung out a handful of times, sometimes alone, other times with a group. I have a great time with him and feel so comfortable but still haven't felt like it was the right time for a first kiss.

So tonight I opened up explained my conservative nature and told him that I was still healing from a breakup and that I wasn't sure if I was really ready to move on. Even though I put the breaks on things, it seemed to have the opposite affect on him...grabbing my hand after dinner and reaching around me for a hug.

The moment came when he pulled inf ront of my house and asked for the third time to walk me to my door. Leaving the choice to him he walked me to my door made a silly plight to come inside. That's when it happened he went in for the kiss and I obligied.

It wasn't great but wasn't terrible, my preference wouldve been to wait especialy regarding my recent past, but now where do we go? I'm ready to press pause but he seems to be stuck on play.

Starving with a Side of Sass in St. Louis

The Ex Factor

Ahhh Facebook...What to do when you get a friend request from an ex? Do you accept it, then block them so they don't see all of your photos or wall?

I'm blogging about this because tonight I got a friend request from someone I was recently dating. We didn't make it past the three dates/major discussion about religion phase. It didn't end badly, but it ended. I sent the obligatory, "I don't think it'll work out because of X reason ..." So, why does he want to be Facebook friends?

I only have one ex-boyfriend as a friend on Facebook and I can say he is not a restricted friend. Of course, we are friends and there were/are no hard feelings.

Thoughts? Should I accept and block? Should I accept with full access? Just some random thoughts on a Sunday night.

Coco Chanel Was a Genius

She once famously said, "Dress shabbily, they notice the dress. Dress impeccably, they notice the woman."

Today, I was planning to workout after I watched Sex and the City 2 (more on that later), so I was wearing yoga pants, T-shirt, grey North Face fleece and some trainers.

I was a little early for the movie, so I swung by the Kiehl's at the Westfield. My mother recently asked me for some help with finding a cream that removes age and dark spots. I asked for some assistance with one sales team members and I saw him look me up and down.

While I can't 100 percent say this was the reason, but I felt that because I left the Jimmy Choos at home, I felt I was unfairly judged by what I was wearing. It could be that I just received poor customer service, but at that moment, I felt really strange. I didn't feel like I was dressed shabbily, but I probably could've sassed it up a bit more. I didn't feel that because I wasn't super dressed up, didn't mean that I couldn't afford a $52 cream.

What do you think? Have you ever had that happen to you? Maybe more when you were a teenager? Sound off and let me know.

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

This post is courtesy of my BFF who will occasionally guest blog.


It's 3:30am i'm not sleeping...I've tried my usual tricks, turned on the fan for white noise and gone to the bathroom.

Instead of turning on the TV, I turned to my iPod. First, I blinded myself with the bright white glow. After getting one eye to adjust, I now have to figure out how to type with my right hand since the left is asleep...if only that was the case for the rest of me. I try laying on my side so I can type with one hand and not hold the iPod, which only leads to a crick in my neck. I fumble with it, clicking back to the main screen only to realize it's upside down, which helped inspire this post.

I wonder if it's a female thing - not sleeping. I haven't slept since my early twentys. Is it preperation for children? If you ask my mom, she hasn't slept in 33 years. I used to wake up and worry about work, now I just think, "Why can't I sleep?" I'm not thinking about work, although it creeps in there. I'm definitely not thinking about kids (yet). There seems to be nothing in the forefront, so what is it?

Was it my dinner and the overindulgence of cheese butter spread awesomeness (which was btw NOT on the diet)?

Obvisouly I haven't gotten my answer...back to fumbling in the dark waiting for sleep to overcome me.

~Starving and Sleepless in St. Louis

Saying Goodbye to TV Shows

Tonight saw the season finale of The Biggest Loser and Parenthood. However in the Fall, these shows will be back.

But what happens to shows that don't come back?

The series finale of LOST was on Sunday and it was the topic de jour around the watercooler on Monday. On Tuesday, I said goodbye to Jack Bauer and 24 and a friend (who shall remain nameless) said he got a little misty-eyed at the end.

The series finale of MASH still remains the most watched series finale, followed by Cheers, Seinfeld and Friends. We invest so much of our time and lives into TV shows that when they're over, there's something that is missing.

For me, that show is Gilmore Girls. Tuesday nights will never be the same. I don't know what it is about this show that appeals to me so much. The awesome mother/daughter relationship? The obscure pop cultureal reference? The insane pace of the conversation? Small town (idyllic) life of Stars Hollow? The tension between Luke and Lorelai? Seeing Rory got to Yale and thrive? Through DVD's, I've been able to return to Stars Hollow whenever I want ... and lately, I've been visiting a lot (Currently through Season 3).

Welcome to Starving With a Side of Sass!

Wishing all of you a hearty welcome to my inaugural blog post, from the city by the bay.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. I hope you laugh with me (and at me), cry with me, argue with me, but above all, I hope I make you think about your life, blessings, friendships and relationships.

I don't profess to be an expert, but I'm glad you've chosen to join me on this adventure. It's gonna be a bumpy ride!