The Small Stuff

Have you been outside yet tonight - and looked up?

What a beautiful sky it is out there tonight! Totally makes you appreciate the little things, like a completely clear sky with a zillion little stars and a new moon. It's a bit cold, but does it really matter?

I still can't wait until the warmer weather/summer comes. Life just seems so much better frolicking around in a bikini, a sundress, and dolce vita sandals. I can't wait. 

Enjoy the small stuff!

Jenny Lewis

It continues. Never fails. 

It never ceases to amaze me, how many people I actually look like. I used to get Lindsay Lohan, then I got "the girl from Orange County - the movie, which, by the way, scares me how similar we look), then Hanna Montana, but now, I've stepped up my "You look like the girl from ..." status. Last night, some girl, totally freaking out because she was so excited, I guess, came up to me and said, "OMG, you know who you look like?" I began to list the people that I've already heard I look like over and over again, until she stops me and says, with her eyes practically bulging out of her head, waving her hands, with her mouth opening way too wide to get out each word, she says excitedly, "You look like Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley!!!!!" 

What? Really? I had to jog my memory of what this chick looks like exactly, because that can either be really sweet, or it can not be anything near a compliment. But to my surprise, this chick kind of rules. And I can totally see the resemblance. I've posted her picture above.

What do you think? Try to picture me with guitar en tow, for good effects. I do it all the time....

A Vintage Store Is Like A Treasure Chest

I have been so incredibly inspired lately - for my wardrobe, that is.

It's come to that point in between the seasons, my friends. Where the wardrobe you behold must be updated. I've been hunting viciously through racks and racks at stores which will remain unnamed, in fear that you just might steal, copy, or duplicate my style. (There is nothing worse than a double-lived wardrobe. At least in my world.) Vintage stores have been my key this season. There's just way too many good things in there. A girl would need a serious stack of credit cards to get her hands on all the little treasures I've been finding. There must be some seriously stylish people cleaning out their closets.

So far, I've found these amazing nude butter-soft nude leather lace up ankle boots, which I am convinced have completed my wardrobe forever, a really great pair of black slouch leather platform ankle boots with the chunkiest wooden heel you will ever set eyes on, not to mention, they are the most uncomfortable footwear I have ever experienced in my life. Twenty four hours later and my feet STILL hurt. It hurts to be beautiful. I've also dug up this super sheer white tank that has loads and loads of fabric draped in the front (thank God for the fabric overload, or there would be some serious bra showing going on), distressed denim shorts that have feathers hanging from them - call me crazy, but I think they're amazing, special thanks to the feathers, along with the new additions to the wardrobe family, I was able to dig up some pretty awesome pieces in my very own closet. I should really take an inventory of what I have. On second thought, I kind of like finding pieces two years later, it's like creating a new invention with recycled goods.

The silliest little things have been inspiring me for new additions to my wardrobe. From the colors on a cupcake, to the silhouette of a fancy $7 water bottle, to what I see someone wearing an outfit that does not look cute - then mentally restyling the outfit in my head. Then, of course, there's the "every hour, on the hour" inspiration I get in this little head of mine. Constantly, all day long, I even have dreams about it, I can not stop creating outfits in my head. I find myself toying with the drawer overflowing with belts and scarves, turning scarves into belts and belts into head pieces, cutting off a part of one dress, to turn a sad, sorry shirt into a one-of-a-kind newly refurbished masterpiece. 

Yesterday I spent 5 hours of my day slaving over this dress I'm creating, cutting out a zillion little petals to sew onto a very drab looking white cotton dress. It's going to be amazing, but the labor involved is much more intense than I had anticipated. Hey, beauty comes with a price. And this price tag says blisters all over it. So worth it. I'll post a picture when the production stage is over.

I would really love to create a blog, or incorporate into this one somehow, a look book of all of my outfit/wardrobe ideas. Any of my photographer friends who are looking to build up their portfolios, here's your chance! I think it'd be really fun. Not to mention, most of the outfits I come up with are not New Jersey friendly. They are much too high fashion/runway worthy for the streets of New Jersey. These are wardrobe function that only the streets of New York can handle, and socially accept. If anyone knows how to add multiple pictures onto blogspot, PLEASE give me a lesson. I'm so jealous of all the people that have rows and rows of pictures. 

Speaking of New York ....

I've finally begun apartment hunting. Anywhere in NYC or Brooklyn would be key. (Of course, I'm leaning towards Brooklyn.) A friend of mine has some serious hook ups with finding and getting our hands on some really sweet places. So, Lord willing, I'll be living there within the next few years. I'm making a vow to myself right now, that if I do find a place to live there, I will be running full force towards my dreams, most likely in some super sweet vintage ankle boots and a really cute outfit. So watch out, fashion world, it's all about to change.

A New Project!

It's been a few days since I've been able to post a blog here on Hipster Sister.

It's not that I've abandoned my loyal readers, and it's not that my blog is phasing out. I have an exciting new project going on.

Going on the missions trip to El Salvador, I was asked to blog the entire trip, being that I blog my daily life already. (You can view this blog by going here: www.ccobmissions.com) Because of this, I was approached in church by a Pastor to create a daily devotional blog. This was a pretty amazing request that, to be honest, I didn't think I would be able to fulfill. I did not think that I was equipped, or that I was even an eligible candidate to do this mission. Those are big shoes to fill. But after a few days of praying, I finally brought up the courage to do my first daily devotional. After rave reviews, I knew I was touching some hearts. 

Maybe the Lord will be able to use this simple blog as a mighty work. Maybe my prayers of being used by the Lord to work in others lives were finally becoming a reality. I'm happy with the outcome of this blog, and I'd like you all to take a look and visit the site.

The name of the daily devotional blog is Kingdom Citizens. I urge you to please visit the website: kingdomcitizens.tumblr.com. If you ever need encouragement, if you ever feel like you're going through something alone that nobody else is dealing with, if you ever need an answer to any of life's questions, then visit this blog, and I can guarantee that your void will be filled. 

I will continue to post blogs here on Hipster Sister, but will simultaneously be updating on Kingdom Citizens as well. Now you have two really awesome blogs to read, one to make you laugh, the other to help you along through this little disaster that's called life.

God bless you guys. And keep looking up!

The New Breeds

I'm having a hard time coping with the fact that it snowed on the first day of spring.

Weather. It never ceases to let me down. On the days where I have something fun and outdoorsy to do, it rains. The days where the weather men tell you that it's going to be just gorgeous out, it snows. And the days when you plan something big around the weather, it fails you. At the rate I'm going, I'm pretty confident that the weather will fail me on my wedding day, hurricane Katrina will resurface and sweep me away in a mudslide, waving goodbye to my almost husband that it took an entire lifetime to find. Just to be safe, maybe I'll change my dream custom made white Vera Wang wedding dress into a brown one. I like to be prepared, mudslides and all.

This Hipster Sister blog you're reading has tossed the name Ali Pinho into a whole new meaning. I was a Web-born baby, learning how to navigate through the internet in only grade school, waiting for an hour to sign onto AOL via dial-up, only to have to wait longer because there were too many people signing on at once, only to find out that the friend that you were supposed to meet online an hour ago signed off because you took too long, or because they sent too many instant messages to their other friends at once, resulting in getting kicked offline for Instant Message Log Overload. Oh how the internet has advanced. I can now navigate the interweb on my Blackberry, googling facts about mini arguments had over coffee break at work. Hipster Sister has been a spring board to mini-fame, unintentionally. I'll see friends, or people I haven't seen in a while, and hear, "Oh I've been reading your blog! You're a really good writer, your life is ridiculous, and definitely entertaining. You need to blog more often." Blog more often? I blog every single day! Unless you'd like to financially support me for your personal entertainment, I am sad to announce that I can not turn this into my full time job. 

It's funny, and pretty amazing, that so many people actually read Hipster Sister. What started out as a simple blog I started because I was home sick with Walking Phenomena, and then having close to two dozen mishaps of life compile me, it's turned into what most of my friends and acquaintances read, right after hopping off of their Myspace and Facebook accounts. The traffic hits of my blog just blew my mind. I'm just happy to be as equally entertaining as both of those mega cyber-social sites. Just don't cyberstalk me. Am I on my way to being a mini cyber-celeb?

There are two things that I will never fall into, Stickam and YouTube. As big as those sites are, I could just never be ok with the fact that I sit in front of a computer for hours upon hours a day, videotaping my life for you. I love you all, but no. I will never fall into the same category as the girl you see at the mall with cotton candy pink hair, snake bite piercings on her face, sporting a hello kitty purse, wearing a neon pink tee shirt that says 'Paramore' across it in big bold block letters and an Avril Lavigne ring tone blaring from her pink cell phone.  I already have a twitter account, which I was talked into, and I'm pretty sure that's my limit. Even so, I can't even bring myself to update you every ten to twenty minutes of what I'm doing on a minutely basis, unlike some of the Twitter obsessed that I annoyingly know. Ironically enough, that same "pink hello kitty girl at the mall" is somehow following me on twitter. How she found me, will be forever a mystery. Stickam and YouTube deal with a consequence that I bet they never saw coming. Pairing live teens with live cameras: Celebrity. And if you've ever passed by a National Enquirer, People Magazine, or heard of TMZ, celebrity is not a good thing.

The world is cyber-based. Offically. And really, I'm not upset about it, nor can I complain about it. It's actually quite convenient. I'm sucked in, so I guess I really have nothing negative to say about it. Instead of getting people's phone numbers, you get their myspace account address. Then  you get their phone number. You don't get business cards anymore, and if you do, there's a website address on it. I dare you to find a business card from 5 years ago that you were given with an email address and/or a web address on it. We just weren't havin' it 'back in the day'.

It's only a matter of time before the world turns the internet into Big Brother himself. Beware of the little camera on your mac, the whole world can see you through the peep hole of privacy you once had. Police men and investigators worldwide alike are already using super cyber-social sites such as Myspace and Facebook to bust kids on drugs and find pedophiles daily. Are we supposed to feel a little bit safer , or totally uneasy about that? I'll raise my hand on the 'uneasy' vote.

The difference between Hipster Sister and all of the other web-based, personal-life revealing blogs, video accounts, etc.? Hipster Sister is genuinely created to reveal the mishaps of life of a perfectly normal twenty four year old adult. Amidst the unfortunate mishaps, are jokes to lighten the terrible, but-only-for-a-moment-happenings of a girl's life, an inside view of the life of a girl that you might think has it all and is insatiably happy with all life has to offer - but it really isn't all as it seems. Hipster Sister was created so that others can learn to laugh off the terrors of life that we face in our young years, to intimidate the intimidations of life, to make you realize that, no, you're not the only one who faces challenges on a daily basis.

 I'm here to keep you sane, even though all of my own insanity sometimes. I never, ever want to fall into the category of a "blogging, social cyber kid". I don't want to necessarily be known specifically for Hipster Sister. I just want to share, no cyber-fame needed. This blog wasn't created for attention, just like the kids on Stickam and YouTube, which are begging for attention, comments, etc. It's created from lessons learned and humor induced stories. So laugh at the stories of the life that isn't yours, learn from the lessons I have myself learned, and know that I am perfectly content with Hipster Sister being completely anonymous, unlike the pink hello kitty girl. There is no stardom to be reached here.

Because you can't spell attention starved, without S-T-A-R.

It Can Make A Hipster Weak In The Knees ...

Have you ever been totally in touch with every single one of your senses, completely realizing every little emotion of every single moment?

Tonight.

Maybe I was just scared of the outcome, maybe I was just nieve, but I've blown someone off for over a month. And now that I've given in, I've come to the realization of how much time I've wasted. I guess sometimes you have to miss a couple of shots to realize what's actually in front of you, and how good it really can be.

Have you ever tried to imagine what someone is like in your mind, only to come to the truth, that they are so much more than you've made them out to be? Moral of the story? Never judge a person, or a situation, on what you think it might be all about, because chances are, you're only blowing it for yourself. Don't cut yourself short, most importantly, don't cut that person short. If you want to see the whole show, don't leave before the encore.

My dreams of becoming a rockstar have come true, thanks to a special someone and a jam room full of instruments that would make any hipster weak in the knees. I think I'll take up drums, once and for all.

I've never smiled so much in my life.

Consider The Obvious

Four hours of sleep and my arms's length of a venti coffee from Starbucks. The result? A surprisingly awesome day.

If I were having a contest, I'm pretty sure I would have blown the number of people that I made laugh off the charts. I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of ridiculous today. Probably a result of not sleeping more that 5 hours a night since my serious lack of sleep coming home from El Salvador. Diagnosis delirious. 

I was listening to a song today and part of the lyrics spoke volumes. It perfectly put into words exactly where I'm at right now. Maybe you can relate. 

I'm sailing on a ship that's bound for life.

I wrestle with the winds against the tide.

I'd leave it all behind to reach for more.

I'm sailing on to Your golden shore.

- 'Sailing On A Ship' - Phil Wickham

Life gets rough sometimes, there's no doubt about that. We've all had our share of falls. But keep looking up. The thing to remember, is that the outcome is more than likely nothing you can understand while you're stuck in whatever situation it is that you're stuck in. It will be an amazing, positive, beautiful outcome. And if it's not? Then the journey isn't over yet. The lesson hasn't been learned. Watch out, because the tide might be pulling you just a little harder, until you reach the end. There is an end. And believe me when I tell you that ending's aren't always sad. There is a such thing as happily ever after. And you just might be on your way there, but how will you know if you give up?

Fight the good fight. Give it all up and reach for more. Because with every storm you face, you'll find a greater grace.

Consider the obvious.

The Secret To Happiness

Those are my El Salvadorian babies. They will be all mine someday. Someday ....

After reading a few of my past blogs, I noticed two things. One, I live a ridiculous life/lifestyle/my norm is your "this is out of control". Two, I don't explain things very well. Not to mention, people have been asking me, why, in my right mind, would I go to El Salvador.

Allow me to explain.

My last post, El Salvador - Day By Day, I just straight up go on an an El Salvadorian roller coaster ride. I'm a missionary, which is why I went to El Salvador. I didn't go for fun, I didn't go to vacation (I'm pretty sure any sane person wouldn't "vacation" in a third world country.), I didn't go for my own personal pleasure. I went because I'm a missionary, I serve my God, I spread His love all over the world. That's just what I do. And someday, I hope to do it as my job. 

If you still don't get what a missionary is, Google it. Then become one. The world needs more missionaries. (This means you've gotta be selfless, kids. Eat some humble pie. Put on your work boots and do some labor for the Lord.) 

Because there's nothing more satisfying that living your life for the sole purpose of helping others. 

El Salvador, Day By Day

Wow. El Salvador was incredible. There was so much to take in. I felt so incredibly blessed to be there, it almost didn't seem real. Every morning I woke up in my bunk bed, smiling because it wasn't a dream.

Here's a little recap. Getting into details will result in a million-sentence blog. Not that you'd hate that or anything ...

Day One

We got off the plane and stepped outside into a utopia  of 95 degree (without an ounce of humidity), beautiful blue sky, beaming sun and palm tree paradise called El Salvador. Welcome to one of the most beautiful, but poverty stricken places you will ever visit. I kept wanting to call it "a little piece of paradise", but looking around me, paradise was the furthest place I was in. Day one was actually very relaxing. We were able to settle in and get ourselves together. We were introduced to what was going to be our home for the next eight days, a sweet little bungalow on the premises of Potters Field Orphanage. There's something amazing about PFO. It's located on a dangerous, poor, poverty stricken area, on a very scary looking street. It looked as if there were more wild dogs than people on that street. It was surrounded with high concrete walls, a guard was standing at the gate holding a gun a gun that was so big, that it gave me chills just looking at it. The property was so beautiful, the lawn was cut, the trees were beautiful, the flowers were colors you couldn't imagine. The place was beautiful, really. But on the outside of that wall, was literal hell. The people on the other side of the wall were truly struggling just to survive through the day. They probably ate one meal a day, if they were lucky. They were covered in dirt and walked around barefoot, not because they were used to it, because they didn't own a pair of shoes. You just want to give them all a dollar or two, give them your lunch, give them your shoes, anything. If I could have the worlds biggest yard sale, I'd have a free one in El Salvador for these people.

Day Two

I'm a member of Calvary Chapel. Now, there are Calvary Chapels all over the world, so there is nothing cooler than visiting your church in another country. Day two we went to Caplary Chapel San Salvador. These kids were awesome. We helped serve the kids breakfast. This was heartbreaking, because this was the only meal a majority of these kids were going to get all day. You've never seen such grateful people in your life. I could only wish that everyone was this grateful for every meal they got. 

What I found hilarious, and adorable, is that every teenage boy wanted a picture with me. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. I am such a little American white girl ...

Later on, we went to this little church in Apopa. This church started from a simple vision, a man was lead by the Lord to start a church. So after much praying, he finally did. However, this wasn't a normal church, it was a tin roof, supported by four beams, a pulpit, and what looked like 50 - 60 chairs. This little outdoor church gave me the realization of how simply they live their lives. It reminded me that you don't need fancy seats and a big fancy building, it's what you do on the inside that counts.

Then, we took the boys to a water park. This was a HUGE deal for them, because they never get to do anything outside of the orphanage. I don't know who had more fun, me or them! Seriously, I can't even tell you how many times I went down that water slide. So that's why my neck hurt so bad ..... 

After the water park, we took the boys to pizza hut. And no, American pizza hut and El Salvadorian Pizza Hut do not taste the same. It's better!!!

Day Three

Today I was Teacher For A Day. There's a school on the Orphanage property that the orphan boys and some of the kids in the area attend. I don't think I mentioned that in El Salvador, they ONLY speak Spanish. Can we say "challenge"? It was rough, because I'm not fluent in spanish, although I can speak a little bit, but I had SO much fun with this. It was really cool to be in charge of a class full of kids. I taught them about Easter (which they don't celebrate, btw), we had an Easter Egg Hunt, we made a really cool craft, and had way too much fun. I'm still upset that this day had to end. 

At night, we had a bonfire. This was AWESOME. There is this really awesome guy names Brennan, he's 21 and works with the orphanage. He was with us the entire trip, and really helped us out. Imagine the funniest comedian you know. Now imagine someone ten times funnier. Brennan. I think I lost 20 pounds just from laughing so hard. Anyways, aside from being funny, he has this incredible voice. So around the bonfire, we sang worship songs all night. It seriously was a little piece of heaven. The perfect ending to a perfect day.

Day Four

As if the arrival on day one wasn't humbling enough, by day four, we were so humbled, that we were face down on the ground. You get a sense of guilt thinking about the things you have when you look around yourself in El Salvador. People get by with a tin roof over their heads, and blankets as walls. Yet we complain about how horrible we have it, sitting in our million dollar mansions. Throw away your sirloin steak and eat some humble pie. You're life isn't that miserable, trust me on that.

On day four we went to a children's hospital (one of the VERY few hospitals in all of El Salvador) to visit children in three units, the unit which held children on Dialysis, the terminally ill, and the children waiting for kidney transplants. You enter our hospitals here in America, and you're greeted with marble floors, water falls, fancy assistance desks, elevators, and way too many floors and square feet to even count. You enter a hospital in El Salvador, and you're greeted with ... well ... not much. It's dirty, it's old, it's so run down that it looks as if it should have been shut down a long time ago. But it's all they've got. 

Here's where I've decided to never complain again. The children in dialysis had such high spirits, they just wanted to love you, and be loved. They were happy. We are fortunate to be able to walk around and be healthy every single day, yet we find ten thousand things to complain about. The terminally ill children will never leave their hospital beds, yet they still were able to smile. The children waiting for kidney transplants were so full of life, they were laughing, having fun, forgetting that they were even in a hospital. Yet some of them had been there for years, and they are just children. It was a big slap in the face of how lucky I am. 

Day Five

On day five, we went to this little town called Suchitot0 (pronounced sushi - tot0, my new favorite word, for obvious reasons). This was a little church was was, again, started with a vision. We blessed the town and painted their church for them. It was so much fun. We were covered in sweat and white and green paint, and we were loving every minute of it. Then, we were treated to this amazing, incredible dinner outside at this restaurant where the view was just breath taking. You look out and you see these enormous mountains and a huge blue lake. It looked like a whole separate world, it was just unreal. You'd never see anything like it. After dinner, we went to a church service in the church that we painted earlier. 

Before I go any further, I need to tell you a little background history of Suchitoto. There's a LOT of spiritual warfare here. (Spiritual warfare is where ever there is work being done for the Lord, in this case, we were missionaries helping the town by painting their church and spreading the word and love of God, bad things happen, attacks are made on the people and the place where this work is being done.) It's known in the town of Suchitoto that there is a very "hard" feeling when you go there. This is definitely true, you can just feel it when you're there. There's been really heavy spiritual warfare there ever since the church went up. For example, when they do alter calls (when the pastor invites anyone in the church up to receive the Lord as their Savior), a marching band will go by and completely interrupt everything. (True story.)Things like that happen almost every service they have. Well, during our service on Wednesday night, the Pastor was giving an incredible message, which was about thanking God for every single thing in your life. Just as he was about to deliver the point of the message, fireworks start firing off out of nowhere outside, right above the church. You couldn't hear a thing. It went on for about twenty minutes. It was just crazy how much spiritual warfare there is there, and how consistent it is.

Day Six

If I can pick a favorite day in El Salvador, I'd have a hard time picking a single day, but this day just might take the cake. We visited a town called La Angustora, an extremely poverty stricken town that has nothing but windy roads and dusty streets. I have to give you the short of this day, because I can go on forever about it.

This man names Manuel, had a vision to start a church. He tried SO hard, but everything failed him, literally, everything. He had the hardest life, that I can't even imagine living it myself without giving up two dozen times. This man relied on the Lord for every single little thing. It was such an inspiration, and a reminder that we really can't do everything on our own. He wanted to badly to start this church, that he moved from his nice house in San Salvador, to a literal shack in La Angustora with his family of two children and wife. To this day, there is still no church, but a shady spot under a big tree, where they have their church services. This amazed me, jaw to the floor, couldn't believe it, inspired me a thousand times over. I was blown away. Well, to make a long story short, they were able to purchase land to build a church someday. We started building a drainage system for them, which was an enormous blessing to the people there.

Afterwards, we were invited into the Pastor's home, something that is never ever done in El Salvador. What an incredible honor. They served us fruit off the trees in their backyard and instant coffee. Such amazing people this family was. The even more amazing part? That the entire family, including the wife and the two children, who couldn't be older than 7 or 8 years old, were out there shoveling dirt with us in the heat, without any shoes on. These are some incredible people.

If I have never been thankful for everything last thing I have, I am more than thankful now. If I have ever taken for granted any single thing, I have given thanks a thousand times over for it now. If I ever again have the nerve to complain about anything, I should be ashamed. I live an amazingly fortunate and blessed life. It's important to never, ever forget that. You can't always compare what you have to a country that has next to nothing. But it's a good idea to, because how else will you know how fortunate you are if you keep your eyes on the bigger and better? 

You can view pictures from the trip on my facebook or myspace account. If you have any questions, please ask. If you want to know more, I am more than willing to tell you anything you want to know. 

I just ask you one thing, be thankful for what you have. If you believe in God or not, because as American's, we don't realize how fortunate we actually are.

El Salvador Bound

So I'm off to El Salvador for a week! 

I won't be writing any blogs, mainly because I won't have any time, and that's not why I'm there. 

I will miss you all SO much!!! It's going to be a long, but fun (not to mention hot ... 95 degrees and SUNNY!) week. Take care of yourselves and be good!

It's already past my bed time (I'm getting about three hours of sleep until I have to wake up at 1am), so I'm going to have to cut this short and hit the hay. 

I'll update you all when I get back!

Love Yous!!

I Won An Award

So today was fun.

I got an award at work, I guess for being good at my job and totally ruling Macy's East. My winnings? Three personal days to use whenever I want! SWEET!!!! That's totally awesome. But isn't it ironic that getting an award at work, enables you to have three days off from work? How am I supposed to win more awards and do my job if I'm not there? Hmmmm. Is this some kind of conspiracy...

After work, myself, my sister Nicole, my sister Stacey and her friend Christine went to try on bridesmaids dresses. I totally got stuck in this "eighth grade dance" looking monstrosity with metallic beads and sequins across the top. Worst neckline ever, it looks like something you'd almost have to wear in order to cover up your training bra. I had to put it on "just for color". Suuuuure. Whenever someone asks me what my most embarrassing moment was, I now have that moment to remember. 

Really, not much else has been going on. I've been inwardly freaking out (in a good way) about El Salvador. It's scary going to another country, but so much fun at the same time. It hasn't even hit me yet that I'm going. I think I'll realize what's going on once I board the plane. Which is probably for the best, since there is NO way to turn back. Not that I'm having second thoughts ... I mean I kind of can't. I am just way too excited. I want to GO already!!! 95 degrees and sunny, here I come.

So that's that. I'll be able to do ONE more blog tomorrow, then I'll have to leave you blogless for an entire week. Don't hate me. I am doing a blog for this trip (I know, I should take this up as a career), so if I'm able to hop on my own blog, I'll drop the website in a blog so that you can see what we're up to over there. 

Take care kids!

The Doctor Visit. A True Story.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Poodle. Get into it.

Ohhh, you guys are going to love this one ....

I thought February was over. Ok, let me rephrase that. I thought February's brutal attacks/happenings were over. I will never get away from this little black cloud of doom hovering over my congested little head. It's staying put. I bet you twenty bucks.

As you are already aware, I leave for El Salvador on Saturday. So, being that I have been sick for the past ... ohh ... I don't know ... two years of my life (ok, two weeks, but I swear it feels like two years with all of this on again, off again sick stuff.) I decided that I need to go to the doctors today to get some meds and clear up this inner self destructive freak immune system of mine. (Is it possible for your insides to have a nervous breakdown, or perhaps your immune system? Do I even have an immune system anymore??) Get this ....

My name is called in to see the doctor. The nurse comes in, sticks a thermometer under my tongue (which, by the way, she needs to practice because I'm pretty sure she almost pierced my tongue backwards with that thing). She's looking down at the digital box she's holding, but she keeps looking up at me, trying to be all nonchalant about it, but I totally see it. 'I know what you're looking at.', I think to myself. 'She probably thinks I'm high or something.' (My eyes are so, ridiculous red today. I woke up with it, and it never went away. Look in the mirror. Now look at the whites of your eyes. Now imagine them being blood red. Thank you. I am completely aware that I have been a walking freak all day.) 'Gosh, just stop looking at me. This is getting weird.' I think, getting antsy. "101". She speaks. "Degrees??" I asked, realized how stupid that just sounded. "Yea, you have a pretty high fever.", said the nurse, half laughing. "No wonder I felt like I was going to pass out all day. I need a new thermometer.", I said, not sarcastic at all. The nurse proceeds to laugh as if I just told the best Yo Mama joke she's ever heard.

Nurse exits, doctor enters. Now he's looking at me weird. Great. "How are you?" Ok, stop right there. WHY do doctors always ask that? I'm here because I just felt like visiting, totally fine, definitely not sick. I feel great. And how are YOU? Please. Why don't they just ask, "So what brings you here today Miss Pinho?". Because everyone in the room knows that I'm here for a particular reason. Take a stab at it, but I bet you'll guess that I'm not feeling well. The conversation continues, he asks me what's wrong. I tell him. (I'll spare you the details.) He turns around and looks at me weird again. Then he gets real close to my face, and pulls down my eyelids, with no warning. 'Oh, ok. Sure, dive right in, Dr. My eyes are your eyes.' I'm thinking, blinking erratically and pulling away, but trying not to. "Wow .. (long pause) .. that's pink eye." He says, making this face like he just assisted in birthing a baby with 3 arms attached to where his legs are supposed to be. "Shut up." I say without thinking. Oops. "Who gave me pink eye?" I asked him. Why am I asking all of these stupid questions? I blame the 101 fever making me delirious. "Well, you gave it to yourself. Your so congested, that the mucus is ... well ... it's coming out of your eyes." The doctor explains. Well gees, doctor. Why don't you tell me how you really feel? Mucus coming out of my eyes? Does that actually happen, or was he just feeding me false facts because I told him to shut up. I'll take his word for it, he's the doctor. 

So, boys and girls. My body has managed to impress me, once again. Never ceases to amaze me. My very own human body has gotten itself so, congested and nasty inside, that it has nowhere else to store mucus, so it sends it to my eyeballs. Great destination place, thank you. So with a 101 fever, homemade Pink Eye, swollen glands, a throbbing head, and a partial ear infection, I'm going to go lay down before my body implodes. Because I'm pretty sure that's the road I'm walking down ...

Bring The Spring

It's going on 12 in the afternoon, and I just woke up. Still in bed, sipping on my Puerto Rico mug filled to the brim with piping hot hot chocolate. I'm gonna do this snow day the right way.

I am literally snowed in. The plowers gave up once it started snowing hysterically all over again at 8:30am, on top of the foot that looks like is out there already. And the little mexicans that come and shovel our porches, steps, and side walks were no shows. Fail. I don't even own a shovel, so I'm in a bit of a pickle. Can you tell me why we pay a $250 maintenance fee every month, please?

I am so pumped for El Salvador. March 7th is sure creeping up pretty fast. I have to brush up on my six years of spanish that I once learned this week, since nobody there speaks english. This should be fun! I actually learned SO much spanish in Puerto Rico. I was walking around, talking to random people in spanish. I would never do that in NJ. I'd get kicked in the shin.

Expect a little BDA (Double Blogging Action) today. It's a snow day, and I probably won't have much to do, which brings me to bloggin' away.

Spring, where are you?

Hipster Music

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart .... That's all I've read in every hipster magazine, heard coming out of people's mouths, they're even featured on Myspace every so often, but not heard on the radio. And that's how I like it.

This band is a definite must hear. If your in the mood for something you've never ever heard before, then you'll love this. If you're going to check them out, I suggest hearing out "Everything With You". The video is just as sweet as the song. This little under-the-radar indie band is just starting to break out into the music scene. Get out from behind the curtains, TPOBPAH, you're name is in bright lights out here. Speaking of their name ... even the acronym of the name of this band is long. Who do they think they are, Fall Out Boy with their long titles?

I can't believe I'm saying this, but after many refusals of listening to NeverShoutNever (solely for the fact that I've seen way too many scene kids wearing the tee shirts, which means that it's way too mainstream for my liking, and probably involves a lot of whining), I bumped into a song of his. (I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it's a one man band with a guitar and a ukulele en tow. Check out "Trouble" and "LoversLoveLiarsLie". It's not my new favorite band, but it's tolerable. Maybe once he hits puberty, his more mature songs will rock the charts. Oops....who said that?

Thanks to Rob, I am now completely head over heels in love with Bowerbirds. I can't even suggest a song for you to listen to, because they are all incredible. www.myspace.com/bowerbirds. Get into it!!!!

I should really take this up as a career ... or lessen then free time I have on my hands.

Get Into It!!!!!!!!

Last night I made it a point to spend as much time as possible with my friends before leaving for El Salvador this coming Saturday.

Turns out, we all really wanted to hang out with each other for as long as possible, because our night didn't end until 5am. Get into it!!!!!

I have the best friends in the world. Julian is my life line, and the rest of them are waaaaay too much fun. The two characters above are my two favorite hipster kids, Julian and Andrew. We have way too much fun for our own good.) Oh and I learned the coolest game last night. It's called Black Magic, it totally sucks at first, because the object of the game is to figure out how you play it. Totally mind blowing. It took me nine hours to figure out how the game works. I can't even think about it, it makes me mad. 

Last night, while walking down the streets of New Funswick, I heard the best line ever ... an older lady (kind of) yelling in an italian accent on the other side of the street, "Who are all these hipsta kids running through the streets?" It made my night, for sure.

Friends make everything easier on life. You forget about everything that just isn't going your way, and listen to your friends' bands' new song, live in their living room, and life just got a little sweeter. And you just can't be bitter over the garbage that happened earlier in the day, when you're skateboarding across the kitchen floor with Ricatelli squeezed onto the back of the board. TLJDTSC -  The Leather Jacket Double Team Skate Crew. We rule. And you definitely can't be mad when two of your friends show up at the same party with the exact same outfit on. Akward. But really funny. Hipster Twins. It happens. Get into it.

Sorry for the lack of blog yesterday, and sorry this one was kind of irrelevant. I've just been SO busy packing and trying to get my life into one piece of luggage and trying to make sure it doesn't go over fifty pounds. You know what, I never thought about that. How DO you fit your life for one week into one rectangular bag, and keep it under 50 pounds. That's rough and totally mind blowing. 

OH .... Update ... I WILL be bringing my laptop to El Salvador, because I'm going to be blogging the entire trip for the church. Funny how THAT worked out, isn't it? Looks like Hipster Sister is starting a little trend here with all this blogging action. It's contagious. BUT, just because I have my laptop, doesn't mean that I will be on AIM and Myspace and Facebook and what not. Because I will really probably just not go on it at all while I'm there.  The only communication I will be able to have is via email, so is you're having a hard time with my lack of existence in NJ for one week, feel free to email me. My email is alipinho@mac.com. Send me love letters. Again, I will still have no cell phone there. Verizon doesn't work there, obviously. 

Get Into It!!!!!!!