To my women

Today is the International Day of Women. So I want to take a moment to pay homage to the women in my life who have shaped me and blessed me with their camaraderie, friendship, sisterhood, and care.

My girlfriends: My ladies (as I like to call them) have shown me that female friendship is vital to the feminine soul. My husband is my best friend, but he will never ever understand what it means to be a woman. You need girlfriends in  your life to share the ups and downs of being a woman. No one else gets how creepy it is to have a million empty elliptical at the gym and having that ONE DUDE pick the one next to you. Only my girlfriends can follow my tangents and how we can be talking about one thing, jump to another topic, and ultimately go back to square one.  My girlfriends have taught me that friendship with women doesn't have to be filled with drama. We build each other up, push each other.

My fellow female runners and co-workers: You guys have taught me the importance of ambition. Nothing pushes me to run faster or learn more than a women who knows runs faster or knows more. Not because I want to be better than you, but because I want to be as good as you. We need women who push us to be better versions of ourselves.

My Sister: My sister is the epitome of giving. She has shown me the giving nature of the female soul.  She is the sweet to my sour. I wish I could be as giving and nice as she is. My sister isn't also just nice, she has this underlying quiet strength. Like a river that looks calm and subtle, but the current underneath is one to be reckoned with.

My cousin: She is like my sister cousin (which sounds really backwoodsy; she's just my first cousin). My cousin is someone who gets me...I mean genuinely gets me. She understands my internal struggles of personal growth, my tugs and battles with the possibility of motherhood. She has also taught me that soul mates don't necessarily have to be the opposite sex, or sexual, or that there is just one.

My mother: The baddest of them all. My mother has taught me so much. She has taught me to love my body and my not shy away from my beauty. My mother taught me the importance of being "Cachimbona" (Salvadorean slang for being a badass). She praised and lauded me for every student of the month, understood and never shamed me for my academic struggles. She encouraged and valued my quirks and artistic desires. Knowing a bit of her past (my mom can be a bit of an enigma to me at times), she has got to be the strongest woman I know. Without her, I would have no scaffold of how a woman should be. She has taught me to work hard/play hard. She's taught me to run free and love travel. She has taught me the importance of sisterhood and family.  She has taught me to be the mother I want to be.

To all the women in my life, I value you you so much, you have all taught me the beauty and wonder it is to be Female.

M.I.A.

Woah, it's April, screw that, it's actually May, this day is half way over. Let's just call today May already. Its been many months, 6 to be exact, since I last typed. I've had so many thoughts as to what direction to take this blog that I am so neglectful of. I was thinking of starting another one called "Paws and Pens" focusing on this new marital adventure I'm embarking, but then that would just be a 3rd blog I have started and would potentially fail to follow up on. So why flake out on a third when I can sporadically flake out on this one. Let's catch up with what I've been up to these past 6 months:

1) The Dude and The Lady get married: We had decided to stop living in sin and got hitched in December. It was a beautiful day! Let me tell you, I look back at the pictures and relive the excitement and utter stress that was planning this day. I have never been so happy to see my groom than when I saw him at the end of that aisle because it meant that the insanity of a year of half of planning was drawing to an end. We still haven't taken our honeymoon because my job sucks like that, so we'll see what the summer brings us.

Kitty Favors that we gave our Guests (Left: Dr. Unagi Righ: Disco)

2) I ran the LA marathon again: And I PR'd that shit! I shaved 30 minutes of my time. With everything that happened in Boston, I wish I could qualify so I could run next year in solidarity, but alas, I'm supah slow.

3) I passed one of two state exams: I'm trying to get licensed in California to remove the I from the MFTI I constantly have to sign. Last year I failed this test by 1 point. 1 POINT!!! Needless to say I drowned my sorrows in tears and fried macaroni balls from Cheesecake factory. When I passed I went back to the Cheesecake and ate those macaroni balls with the taste of victory in my mouth. TAKE THAT BBS! I can't get too cocky though, I have to pass my next exam.

4) Dr. Unagi gets asthma: When I heard her awful coughs The Hubs (i.e. The Dude) and I thougt the worse. We thought for sure this big fat tuxedo cat would have some congenital heart disease. We took her to the vet and turns out she and I have something else in common other than our love for belly rubs and catnip. Dr. Unagi has allergies which triggers asthma attacks and some pretty bad dandruff. We now have to give her this disgusting medicine that makes her puke, but will keep the asthma and dermititis at bay.

What are my plans for 2013, well I'm not promising anything, except reflections on running (like I was doing before) and incorporating more musings regarding therapy and mental health issues.  Oh, and cats, more blogging about cats, because cats are great!

Dre-Dog out!