Tha ish: presence, not presents

I wasn’t particularly looking forward to Christmas this year. I’m not really into the holiday season anymore (I am fully aware of scrooge-ish that sounds, but hey..), but my mood was exceptionally crappy this year. I was worrying about the recession, worrying about my job; basically I really wasn’t in the mood to be joyous. I even let my friends and family know that we should forgo giving gifts this year and just celebrate the holidays in a low-key kinda way.

Without getting caught up in selecting the “perfect” gift for everyone, I was able to really enjoy Christmas. Instead of exchanging gifts with my friends, I met up with one of my best friends and I had an amazing night. We indulged in a little girl talk, and indulged in a lot of wine. I completely enjoyed every minute of it.

One of the reasons I’m not a big fan of the holidays is that most of my family lives away (Trinidad, California, Georgia) and it’s usually very quiet in our home. It’s just me, my mom, my sister and brother. So it’s not too different from any other day. However, this year I was able to see family that I haven’t seen in years. I saw my aunts, uncles and cousins that I rarely get to see. It was sooo nice to have the house filled with my family. As the sound of laughter rocked our house, I was slowly but surely getting into the Christmas spirit.

Having the opportunity to see family may not sound like a big deal for some. But it’s not everyday that I get to see them, so spending the few hours with them made me happy. Honestly, I rather spend quality time with loved ones instead of spending hours and hours unwrapping a mountain of gifts.

tha ish: Merry Christmas

I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy holiday season.

p.s. don't forget to eat lots of turkey!

Tha ish: Making jewelry

About 2 months ago I wrote about my newest love—making jewelry. And after much persuasion, I have decided to start selling my pieces.

I decided this after I gave a few necklaces away to friends as gifts. I received such a great response from everyone that I have decided to pursue making jewelry and possibly start a business down the road.

I attended the One of a Kind Show this past weekend, and I spoke to a couple of jewelry designers who gave me great advice. For now, I will continue to hone my skills and try to perfect my craft, and in the very near future, sell my jewelry.

Please take a look at my latest creations. Feel free to e-mail me at this blog or at michelledesigns08@yahoo.ca if you would like more product info.

Tha ish: my list of don’ts

Being a single girl, I’m trying to be a bit more “out there.” Simply put, I want to be more proactive in the dating game (psst..so far I’ve been pretty relaxed…..ummm lazy is a better word!). I promise that I will throw myself recklessly into the game soon.

While I was mentally psyching myself up to start looking for that certain someone, I unfortunately ran into a bunch of Mr. Wrongs. They reminded me of the things that I try to steer clear of. But on a positive note, they did inspire me to write an entry for my blog.

Here is a short list of the things I’m NOT looking for.

1. A guy that drenches himself in “old man” cologne

I love cologne and I absolutely love smelling cologne on men’s skin, but as soon as I catch a whiff of Old Spice or Brut, that’s it! I am outta there! They are two of the most offensive smells….ever! Honestly, if you smell like your dad circa 1979, move it along!

2. A guy who smells of liquor before noon

Please don’t smell like liquor first thing in the morning, or mid afternoon for that matter. It speaks volumes about your personality and behavior that may or may not be true. It tells me that a) you ain’t got no job, b) you might have an alcohol problem and c) you might have some self control issues.

True these are very harsh assumptions, but can you at least wait until after hours before you get your drank on! Damn!

3. A guy that wears excessive amounts of jewelry

I’ve written about this numerous times and my sentiments still ring true. Any man that feels the need to wear a 50lb gold chain and grillz might have his priorities out of whack. Hence, he ain’t the dude for me!

* Well that’s my brief list of no nos. Either I’m too picky (nah!) or I’m meeting all the wrong guys!

Tha ish: crush update

Okay, I haven’t seen my crush in over a month, so I’m officially not crushing on him anymore. I admit that I completely miss his scrumptious muscles, cute smile and tender voice, but I haven’t seen him in such a looong time and I doubt that I will see him any time soon. We both didn’t make a move when we had the chance, so I guess the moment’s gone. I’m forced to get over my rather superficial crush. It was nice while it lasted.

Tha ish: Colour in the White house

I spoke about how happy I am that Obama won, but I didn't get a chance to write about it on my blog. Sorry for the delay.Here's a few words...

I am not an American (I hail from Toronto, Canada), but I am EXTREMELY happy that Obama has been elected as the new President of the United States. He is eloquent, intelligent, and a man who wants to make a positive change. For those reasons, I am happy that he is the new President.

It also warms my heart to know that the new president is a person of colour. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would witness that. I am completely happy and proud. It gives hope to those who think that they can’t achieve anything because of “barriers” in their way (race, gender, etc). I am so happy that so many Americans chose to elect him.

I was on the cruise with my family when we found out, and it was hard for us to hold back our excitement. Even though we do not live in the states, we are still happy for him and support him fully.

Congratulations, Obama!

Tha ish: my totally fun Caribbean vacation

I got back from my Caribbean cruise this past Sunday and I feel like I can seriously hop back on board of that amazing ship (I sailed on the Royal Caribbean). We travelled to Labadee, Haiti, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. We also had a chance to visit Cancun (BTW, it is very NICE!).

I had sooo much fun and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I met cool people, got hit on by “friendly” Jamaican men….basically life was good!

The reason for the cruise was to celebrate my mother’s birthday. She wanted to celebrate her monumental birthday big, so she wanted to go on a cruise.

I have never gone on a cruise before, and to be completely honest, I wasn’t that excited about it. I don’t really like being enclosed anywhere and I rather do my own thing on vacations. Knowing that I would be trapped on a boat for seven days was a bit daunting.

But being the good daughter that I am, I decided to take my mom on the cruise (actually, it was me, mom, and my sister that went on the cruise).

After experiencing this cruise, I have COMPLETELY changed my opinion of cruises. They are incredibly fun! I got my dance on on the ship’s deck at night, attended every dance/ comedy show, went skating (yes, I left the freezing Toronto weather to go skating on the ship!? heheh), and had some libations (the pina coladas were sick!). I can honestly say that this vacation exceeded my expectation.

Oh, I can’t forget the staff. They were fantastic (shout out to Albert, Rock, Rosefil, Baker, Kewin, Andre, Jason and everyone I came into contact with!). I have never been pampered like that in my whole entire life. They really take care of you. I loved every minute of it.

For anyone still not convinced that cruises are for them, take a look at this pic. Enjoy!