Link Back Contest: Fourth of July memories

Since I have the holiday spirit, let's find out more about each other? Post these four questions, about your favorite Fourth of July memory and your answers on your blog, link back to Under the Sheets-shhh and comment back to me when you’re done. I promise to link back to your post.

So I get to have fireworks and a link back contest? Finally all of my dreams are coming true...

The Four Questions are:

1) Do you have a favorite firework that you wait to see every Fourth of July?

2) Tell me the one Fourth of July memory, that makes you smile.

3) What food do you crave at a Fourth of July picnic?

4) And for my fashionistas, what is the perfect outfit to watch the fireworks in.

And the answers to my own questions are:

1) Do you have a favorite firework that you wait to see every Fourth of July?

My favorite firework that I look forward to seeing, is the sparkler. As a little girl, I use to love writing in the sky with sparklers and would try to complete the alphabet before my sparkler would burn out.

2) Tell me the one Fourth of July memory, that makes you smile.

When I was in High School, I use to love watching the fireworks with my friends on Balboa Island in Orange County, CA. There was something magical about that slow and friendly island.

3) What food do you crave at a Fourth of July picnic?

For me, its always been and will always be, hot dogs and lemonade.

4) And for my fashionistas, what is the perfect outfit to watch the fireworks in.

As I'll be watching the fireworks in San Francisco, layers, layers and more layers. Sandals are great to wear, if it doesn't get too cold at night. My fireworks outfit will probably be; a summer dress with leggings, large oversized belt, long heart necklace and I'll try to remember to bring my camera.

Now its your turn to enter the Under the Sheets-shhh link back contest. Have a wonderful Fourth of July sweeties!

Cable Car Confessions: New Years Eve

Ding ding all aboard. "Next stop Powell Street Chinatown. Tickets please show me your tickets please." At the end of December I start to look back at my year to see what was learned and what I could have done better. This is also the time of year where we start to figure out what we will be doing for this New Year's eve. Here is my own cable car confession from last years New Years 2008 in San Francisco.

It's usually hard for people to think that the cable car is my form of public transportation. Like all public transportation the cable cars have good and bad days. On the bad days, the cars have a hard time functioning like if there is a traffic jam or a cable car ran off the tracks. It seems that whenever it really counts and there are no cabs around, I hear the ding of the bell and I am rescued by a cable car and taken through San Francisco.

We brought in 2008 with some really good friends and their cousins to a party on top of the Bank of America building which is located in the financial district. My home is only 8 blocks from the Bank of America building and it usually only takes me ten minutes to get there, but because it was New Year's it took us thirty minutes. We were all dressed up, taking pictures of each other and yes I was wearing glitter and a red New Year's hat. Weren't you?

The party was at the Carnelian Room, which has a 360 degree view of the city, and usually a stuffy restaurant, filled with tables and business men having after work cocktails. For New Year's the Carnelian Room became completely different. The room was turned into a club, a poorly run club, with too many people and questionable outfits. We had fun, watched the fireworks over the city, danced until 2am and then started to feel claustrophobic :) Well maybe I just did.

Honey and I left the party at the Bank of America building at the end of the night. We left the party thinking that it would be difficult, but not impossible to find a cab. It was actually like Mission Impossible. All cabs were already taken or the cab prices were up so high that it felt like highway robbery. While standing on the street we were approached by a Town Car that wanted $20 to take us the 8 blocks, but the cable car was right behind the Town Car calling to us. This cable car was decked out in white lights, A New Year's sign and people waving to us. I thought "There's my cable car smiling and welcoming us."

We boarded the cable car and sat down on an outside seat in the open air. This was such a nice and romantic start to a brand new year together. We waved to the cable car driver and wished him a Happy New Year. He was bundled in warm clothes, holding onto hand warmers and his cheeks were rosy. He smiled to us and then shouted to the cable car next stop Grant Street.

The cable car happily pulled up the California street cable car line while the riders talked and sang together. When it pulled up the hill I could look down on my city and start to make my New Year's resolutions and be thankful for how far I've come. I held my honey's hand tight and smiled at him. I said out loud "Thank you for a wonderful year. Here's to 2008 being the best year ever!"

I am planning to spend this New Year's low key. I wonder what will happen on this New Year's. Do you have plans yet? Are you going to be with lot's of people? What do you think 2009 will bring to you?

Miss Independence Day

I started thinking a lot about what Independence means, over the weekend as I watched the fireworks from my rooftop in San Francisco. Our country has been and has been going through so much. Which led me to appreciating when I too got my own independence. If you’ve been reading my blog, then you know that I left a very serious relationship and moved to San Francisco from L.A. My independence began as soon as I broke away from my old life and started again in a new city. It was one of the hardest and most worthwhile decisions I ever made.

Some of the things were:

I changed careers to what I was interested in; advertising and marketing.

When I became comfortable in my own skin, I started writing and realized I had a lot to share with others.
I rediscovered my love for ballet and began dancing again at the age of twenty-eight.

I dyed my hair different colors. (So far my favorite is red!)

Music became the soundtrack to my life when I discovered all different kinds of artists like: Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Imogen Heap, Marvin Gaye, Bill Evans and Gary Go.

How did you declare your independence and what decisions did you make?

Our Love Story: The kiss

We had finally arrived at my San Francisco apartment. I had waited 5 months, gone through a lot of pain and worked hard to get to this moment. Over the past months I had reevaluated where my life was going, found out who was there for me and decided that I needed to reopen my heart and welcome in a future... I had always wanted.

Future Honey helped me get out of the car and up the stairs to get into my apartment, before leaving to park the car. Once I had made it to the top of the stairs, I looked around at the familiar surroundings. Everything looked the same and yet different. "Chloe" helped me sit in my favorite, oversized, beige chair in the family room. Things were calm around me and I could hear the familiar sound of the cable car bell in the background.

"Ahhh," I thought to myself "I've missed those sounds."

I was finally home and then Honey walked in.

After catching up over tea, I realized that the football game was on. Chloe and Honey watched the game while I went to see my bedroom. Something that usually took me seconds to do took me forever - crutching down that corridor.

I opened the door to my bedroom and could see that there was a lot to do to feel comfortable again. I had rented my room out to a stranger on craigslist - my clothes, bedding and picture frames were all tucked away in drawers. Unexpectedly, future Honey followed me. He approached me from behind and gave me a "spoon hug" which made me feel excited and then also comfortable all at the same time. Do you know that the excited feeling? All I wanted to do was twirl some of my hair around my finger and giggle like a school girl.

The game ended and Chloe went home. Future honey and I went to my room and starting talking there for awhile. We laid down on my bed, stared into each others eyes and talked for what seemed like hours. I am sure I gave him my best kiss me eyes.

I kept thinking to myself, "Is he going to kiss me? Is this it? Does he want to? What will it be like?"

We talked and talked, but no kiss. We stood up together and I thought we were walking back into the family room when he stopped me in the hallway in front of my room. The hallway was dark. There was some light seeping into the hallway from my bedroom. Future Honey pulled me close to him, kissed me slowly on the cheek... slowly on the chin... and then...

Finally..fireworks....future Honey had just become my Honey.

The kiss was so warm, so nice, so right When he pulled away from me and looked deeply into my eyes he said "It took me long enough."I knew my life had forever changed. Tell me about your first kiss with your Honey?