But it’s ok…

Dear younger me,

Relax..you really don’t know it all, but that’s ok.  You will make crazy decisions that you will be grateful for having the kahoonas to make. You will rebel, push the limits, and make mistakes, none of which you will regret. You will be surrounded by loving family and friends who will support you through whatever crazy decisions you make.  Have faith in life, in them and most importantly in yourself. You will be known for taking risks and jumping into things too quickly…dive in girl!  You will meet some naysayers and people who will want to change you.. ignore them.

Never change, only grow.

Be confident, be strong, be sensitive.  It’s ok.. people won’t confuse it with being weak and vulnerable, it’s a strength.    You will love freely, love hard and be heart-broken, but it will all be worth it.  You will try doing everything, never pick anything and continuously be looking for something, but that’s ok.  You will go through hardships and struggle to see the silver lining…give it time, you will laugh at yourself and your stupidity shortly thereafter.

You will laugh at everything and anything, even in the face of adversity.  You will rarely cry at trivial things only at happy ones, but it’s ok…because that’s what makes you who you are today.

Much love,

Your older and slightly wiser self…Ms. Navio

Love sucks hairy ballz!

How do you know when you have met “the one” ,”my soul mate”, or my “can’t live without you guy or girl”?

This is a question my girlfriend once asked me when I was in a relationship with my ex (at the time boyfriend that I bought a condo with and planned on spending the rest of my life with).  I replied ever so naively but strangely with such confidence ”Well [let's call her Sally], I never had that instantaneous feeling that some people describe, as love at first sight…I call bull crap on that one liner by the way, but that’s a whole other post.  I think it’s more of a decision, a level of commitment that you are willing to give someone who you feel compliments you the best when it comes to sharing the same values, morals, interests and personality traits.  I believe you know it’s the “one” when it is effortless and he makes you secure, happy and strong.  He accepts you for all your quirks and faults, but adores you for all the things that make you who you are.  He should bring out the best in you and want to make you a better person (I know, I would have puked in my mouth a little too after reading this but it’s soo true!)   He should be your biggest fan no matter what life may throw at you.

He should be your one constant in life…

I know I may not sound like a true romantic but I sure am a realist.  I have been in relationships where I experienced extreme highs and lows.  The intense relationships where you didn’t think you were capable of loving another human being the way you loved them…but I learned hard and fast that those relationships were based on a whole lot of insecurities and inexperience with life in general.  Yup, that golden time was my 20′s.  I was just figuring myself out and the guys I dated complimented my insecurities with their huge ego’s, fast cars and false confidence (basically they were the biggest douche bags known to man kind!)

So I bet you’re wondering what happened…

Well people…life happened.  That’s the only answer I can give you right now.  You see, I’m still trying to figure it out myself.  I guess we both made mistakes but if we were really meant to be than we should have recovered from those life lessons, right?  I guess it comes down to how well two people can get through life stresses together.  It often is not how you get along during the good times that measures the strength of ones relationship but how you get through the rough times and manage to rise up stronger.  If one person is in all the way and the other isn’t able to be there with you then it just plain won’t work.  Like the song says “it takes two baaaaaby! Just you and me…la la la la!”

So what did I learn?  Some people are just plain freakn lucky when it comes to finding true love, for others it’s a matter of trial and error, for me…well it’s shit luck.

Haha!  Ok…that’s not what I took out of this experience.  I learned to love with all that I got…no holding back!  Make compromises but do not change as a person…remember they fell in love with you for a reason.  And most importantly, I learned that I have a lot of love to give someone, and that someone is out there looking for me too.

The heart-broken (temporarily), but spirit stronger than ever,

Ms. Navio

R-E-S-P-E-C-T…find out what it means to me

I’ve recently started a new career in a management position.  I knew there was going to be challenges but I wasn’t prepared for the reason for the resistance.

My biggest challenge is gaining the respect that I deserve.  It seems to be a topic of discussion around the office of how young I am to be in this position, but little do they know how much life experience I managed to cram into my mere 3o years on this planet.

So when do people automatically deserve respect?  Is it after your first few grey hairs?  When your wrinkles begin to deepen and cast shadows of their own, or when you blowout 40 candles on your birthday cake?  All I know is since I have been working in this new position, I have found a fistful of grey hairs, my wrinkles are much more than the crows feet…they are Eagle talons!  So I guess I am almost there.   However, I will still only need one quick breath to blow out my bday candles this year vs the long-winded, go grab my freakn puffer, breath that I will need down the road.

I believe that you should treat everyone with respect until they do something so utterly stupid that you need to remove yourself from their world of delusion.   Or another way to look at it is to treat people the way you want to be treated… you know the golden rule thingy.

This is dedicated to…. well you know who you are.

What you want, Baby, I got
What you need
Do you know I got it?
All I’m askin’
Is for a little respect when you come to work (just a little bit)
Hey baby (just a little bit) when you get to work

sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me…

True Friendship…defined by me.

What is your definition of a real friend? Someone who stroke’s your ego?  Lies to you just to make you feel better when you’re down? Tell you what you want to hear..but not necessarily what you should be hearing? Or is it someone who tells you the truth…even when it hurts.  Someone who tells you’re wrong but will stand by you anyway. Someone who you can laugh, cry and argue with all in the same day and it doesn’t seem odd at all.

Well…the latter description is who I define as my friend…my family.

I am fortunate to have great friends in my life.  I consider myself an independent woman but if relying on your family and friends for support, love and guidance in life is considered dependent…well then, I guess I’m one strong, dependent woman. I’ll drink to that!

Virgin Blogger!

Me!

Hello World!  So here it goes…I’m ready to bare my soul.  Why you may ask?  Well like most bloggers, I guess I want to put my own mark on this tiny planet of ours.  If I could inspire just one person by my experiences; the people who I meet along the way; the new and sensational foods that I love to try; the books that I read and the goals that I set and try to attain in front of all of you…well then it would be worth it!  And hopefully, there is some therapeutic benefit in it for me as well.