i'm backkkkkk....

hahaha...ok, so i kinda abandoned this blog for bit, but now i'm back....for now, at least!

so, this is what i did on my summer vacation (from the blog and from life)...

1) went to portugal...and loved it. everyone told me i'd love portugal but ppl said that about spain and paris (two lovely places that i do not necessarily love). but portugal surprised me, kinda like how italy surprised me by how much i loved it there. it's like spain's uglier little sister...but more homey and down to earth and unintimidating. i don't know if that makes sense, but that's the only way i can explain it. kinda more grimey, but that's part of its charm. plus the weather was amazing and the food was surprisingly good.

2) went to hawaii....and still loved it. i'm luckier than most people in that i've been to hawaii many many times (i know how obnoxious this will sound, but i've honestly lost count of how many times i've been there...i think it's around 7 or 8 times, but i'm not sure). and even know i had one of the worst experiences of my life there that i thought would make that visit my last ever trip there, the draw of hawaii is just too strong for me to deny. kinda like how i automatically connected italy and portugal, hawaii was one of those places i connected to right away. since we've been before, we were able to skip all the touristy things and live almost like locals. the weather was amazing, finally got the tan that i've been without for too long, and shopped like a crazy woman (but on the cheap....15 pairs of shoes for me and my sis for less than $200. amazing). and the food was also so so good.

portugal and hawaii were killers to my workout/eating regimen. i certainly lived the good life there and the extra poundage i put on, sure shows it.

now, i vow to get back on track. my "personal stylist" keeps giving me the cutest pants and jeans that "almost" fit so my goal is to fit into those pants!

first steps to this have been to cut back on sugar in the form of ketchup and pop. and i know that killa will have something to say about this, so i will clarify. i'm avoiding added ketchup to stuff...i used to eat ketchup on almost everything: noodles, fried rice, eggs, etc. so i won't do that. but say i order a burger that has ketchup on it, i will eat it. i won't like scrape it off. haha....yeah. and i think i might cut out juice and reintroduce diet pop in moderation only because i can't only drink water. i get sick of the tastelessness of water.

anyway, yeah...that's my new goal. i'm aiming to fit into those pants by march. i'm told it should be dec but i dont want to set myself up for disappointment.

anyway...here are some random pics.

moorish castle in portugal


main entry way to the centre of lisbon


overlooking lisbon

matsumoto shave ice (a hawaiian must have)

ko olina lagoon

and look how big my baby is getting. she can stand on her own now, is days away from walking and chatting up a storm. so so cute. almost a year old soon. time sure flies.

modelling the leather jacket and boots i got for her in portugal.

little monkey

my 2 babies

standing!

melissa's half assed movie reviews!

i was sooooooooooo sosososososoo excited for the deathly hallows pt 2 to come out. not psycho crazy, stand in line at midnight in costume excited, but excited enough. we even saw it in avx, which, in my opinion, is the best way to watch movies. extra large seats, that you can choose and reserve. that's the best part. anytime i'm going to see a movie on opening weekend, i will see it in avx.

anyway, harry potter didn't disappoint. well, no, i could have gone for a bit more action...it kind of felt like it was almost going to sorta pick up and be amazing, but never quite got to amazing. it got to really good tho.




ugh. i can't even remember this one because i think i fell asleep somewhere in the middle and didn't wake up until the very end. i swear, it's becoming a problem. but a clear, clear indicator of a movie's worth, in my opinion.


i had seen the trailer for this movie for months and never quite understood it. and i never quite understood why i went to see it. however, it wasn't bad. it certainly wasn't good, but it was entertaining. i don't think i fell asleep but we also saw a matinee on a sunday.


omg. my favourite movie of the summer. the cgi of the apes so believable and really well done. i kept thinking about my doggie and putting him in cesar's place and it pulled on my heartstrings. there were times where it was uncomfortable for me to watch because i was so emotionally attached to him. even the next day, my friend said that she thought about cesar all day. and i love james franco. loved it. i would see it again.

really?

jeffrey campbell sporty

come on, now.

summertime!

first long weekend of the summer...in pics!

thursday:

dancehall party with my bf. i look like crapsicles here, but she is pure dancehall.

friday:

spent the day chilling with my baby girl. we played on the hammock.

then went to see the roots and watch fireworks downtown.

then i fell asleep on a balcony.

saturday:

dressed my baby up in the cutest outfit.

then went to get her ears pierced!

gorgeous!

then had a family bbq.

maia got a new chair and a new shirt.

sunday:

pride with my bf. was kinda boring tho. not enough scandalosity.
this dude was the best thing all day.

then went to see transformers 3!

good movie. soooo much better than #2. i didn't fall asleep at all. it was very action packed. annnd megan fox was not missed at all!

all in all, a very good weekend! so happy.

melissa's movie reviews

it's been awhile, but i'm back...and with movies under my belt!



i always loved the story of thor, so i really wanted to see this movie. but it sucked. i think i slept through half of it. it was so not what i had expected it to be. it felt almost half assed. boooo. :(



finally saw fast five with my old highschool friend. his wife was away, and being a dude without his lady, he was at a loss for things to do. i made him watch the entire franchise so that i could finally see fast five.

i liked it. it kept my attention. it reminded me of the first one + ocean's eleven. i call it ocean's fast five. it was good.



good movie. funny enough. not as hilarious as everyone hyped it up to be. i kinda nodded off during the "storyline" parts, but it was a long day. we had gone to buffalo earlier in the day and i did a lot of the driving, so i was a bit sleepy. nonetheless, it was good.



ok, i didn't love the first hangover. i didn't think it was that hilarious. i found get him to the greek funnier. but i liked part 2. i didn't fall asleep. i laughed out loud. it was funny.

(i know my reviews are not very informative...haha..sorry).





we had a double feature movie day on the weekend. we watched an early show of super 8 and then xmen right after. both were good movies, but i think super 8 had a slight edge. it's very goonies-esque meets et meets dawson's creek meets district 9.

xmen was cool too. the magneto parts were the best. that's all i can really say about that.



we watched this last night. well, i slept through about 2/3 of it because i was sooooo tired, but i woke up and watched the end and i could tell it was a good movie. matthew mcconaughey should be a real lawyer.

hi!

so much to say, and yet, i don't think i will.

instead, i will bless you with pictures of my baby. she's 6 months old now and going on her first vacation this weekend. soooo cute! she has the cutest face ever.

feeling this