Finding Your Inner Kid

Back in February in all places Cosmopolitan I found this article about "finding your inner girl" which then sent my creative muses on a rampage. In this article it says that experts say it pays to reclaim some of the qualities you had back when you did not care what playing in the snow did to your blowout. For me, this translates to the time of innocence and play and to the point that the world was rose-colored and you had your ideals. I also learned that by playing pretend or doing any of the stuff you loved when your toy chest was still G-rated is a proven way to chill and enjoy life. Here is how I let my inner kid free as I want to enjoy my life as best as I can because you know what they say -- you only get one.

Steps to Finding Your Inner Kid

1: Go ahead. Eat the last cupcake. I bet your eight year old self had no problem with being selfish when the situation arose for it to be. Besides, why pass up frosting? That is the best part!

2: Write a fan letter. I do this all the time for David. It is an excellent way to connect to someone. Write it to someone you idolize -- a former teacher you had, a favorite co-worker, or if you are feeling brazen that boy or girl you have your eye on. Sign your name too!

3: Sing or dance like no one is watching. You did not care what others thought of you when you danced or sung or when it came time to show off. Reclaim that spirit!

4: Ask a lot of questions, but do not be so egotistical about it that people think you are being a know it all.

5: Get onto a swing! Pump those legs! Don't worry if you will fall -- a lot of playgrounds now have rubber mats to break your fall.

6: Imagine what you want to be when you grow up. Dreaming that you would grow up to be an actress, rock star, writer, princess, firefighter, gave you the drive and inspiration then. There is absolutely no reason why it can not do the same power to you now.

7: Have a ridiculous celebrity crush. Mine is Zachary Quinto, even though he plays for the other team. It is fun to fantasize and hey now that you are all grown up you might have a shot!

8: Play in the snow during the winter/Blow bubbles and pop them during the spring. I always played in the snow and blew bubbles then when I broke my ankle that fun stopped. Now that I work with kindergarteners, that inspiration came back. So what if you get wet and turn red? Your clothes will dry and your face will go back to normal in due time.

9: Take a nap. This is my absolute favorite thing to do especially during rainy days. If you are tired, do not reach for that energy shot. Take a nap! Your body will tell you if it is tired. Powering through tiredness will only make your body and health worse. Is that what you really want?

10: Say " I love you" to your parents. No brainer. Do it. Do it right now.

11: Enter a contest. I imagine when you were a kid you would have crazy races in your playground that would push you to do your best. Get that same rush now. Enter a local run, a baking contest, an upload your best YouTube video competition, passes to a movie you are dying to see, and so on.

12: Buy a piece of jewelry for yourself and your best friend. Since you have some cash now, it of course does not have to be one of those best friend half hearts that ultimately turn your skin green thus you not wearing it. Give your best friend a piece of jewelry you know he or she will appreciate and it is a fun way for both of you to remember how important you are to each other.

13: Ask people their favorite color. A student of mine asks me every day what is my ultimate awesome favorite color. I would turn around and say purple and she beamed with delight because she loves purple as well. I want that same delight too. It is an acceptable way to determine whether or not people you know have things in common or not.

14: Do not look in the mirror in the morning. Did you criticize yourself when you were six years old? I did not think so. Look only in the mirror to inspire yourself and to say affirmations to make yourself happy, not to criticize.

15: Be amazed, not annoyed, by your body quirks. Right now I am dealing with a torn knee. I was annoyed by it at first because I am in a lot of pain but do you know what else it means? It means time to pamper myself and to enjoy the things i like slowly instead of rushing.

So what about you? What do you do to find your inner kid?

I Went to Miami B***h! Tales of Wrestling and Fun!

This past weekend David and I ventured down to Miami, Florida for a wrestle-cation. We went to WWE Wrestlemania Axxess, WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony, WWE Wrestlemania 28, WWE Monday Night Raw, as well as the first official game at the new Marlins ballpark which was Miami Marlins vs. New York Yankees. It was a fun trip with one major bump along the way which I will talk about as i write this blog.

We boarded our plane at 620am and landed safely in Miami on Saturday March 31st. I bought my Miami souvenirs early as I did not think I would have any time during the trip, which turned out to be true. We checked into our hotel and took a cab to the Miami Beach Convention Center to take in Wrestlemania Axxess. We did not really care if we met anyone; just wanted to see the exhibits and walk around/mingle with others, We saw people dressed up as The Hart Foundation, Macho Man, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, and Hulk Hogan. I hugged every Edge poster and standees I could find and had interesting conversations with international wrestling fans ranging from England to the Netherlands. Here are some pictures from Axxess.







We left Axxess to walk to catch the bus to the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony which was held in the American Airlines arena. Little did we realize that it was supposed to rain and it did. Hard. I was splashed with rain water from a speeding car and rained on until the bus came. Luckily enough I got a seat on the bus even though it was crowded as I told people about my knee injury. The ride took about 45 minutes with traffic and the stairs into the arena reminded me of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. If my knee wasn't torn and healing, I would have tried to run up them.

We entered the arena around 730pm and found our seats. It was an excellent Hall of Fame as always. One bad thing was Alberto Del Rio staying in character while he inducted his uncle Mil Mascaras but other than that it was a very nice ceremony. Best part of the night for me was of course Edge's induction but also hearing stories from The Four Horsemen. Here are some pictures from HOF.







After HOF was over, getting back to our hotel was a major cluster. Here is why -- public transportation stops at 9pm and taxis do not bother to pick up their phones because who is to say they will pick up the person who called them? So David and I walked over to a Holiday Inn and hailed down a cab and I limped it all the way through. We luckily got back to our hotel around 1230am, had some food, and went to sleep.

Sunday April 1st -- Wrestlemania Day! It was also the first unofficial baseball game in the new Marlins Park. We took a cab to the ballpark as finding a bus was just taking too much time. The ballpark is small compared to other parks I have been to but this one has a retractable roof and air conditioning pumped through it. It was very nice! We got concessions at Taste of Miami which had authentic food from Miami. We got pork sandwiches, plantain chips, and for some reason David wanted oysters because who in the heck eats oysters in a ballpark? We stayed until the 5th inning because we knew we had to catch the bus at a certain time to get to SunLife Stadium at Wrestlemania 28.

Now getting the bus to SunLife Stadium....that was FUN...*end sarcasm*. We had to take one bus to another bus which got very crowded and it was an hour ride. The time went by smoothly as we chatted with a lot of people on the bus. What is it with me and talking to strangers? Queen of Small Talk I guess. Anyway we arrive at SunLife and we had to walk all the way from the parking lot/practice field to the stadium. I stopped numerous because of my knee and then wrapped it.

After finally getting into the stadium, we found our seats. now this was about 5pm. Sun is still out. HELLA NO AM I SITTING IN THE SUN GETTING SUNBURNT! I went back inside to a cooling area, got some lemonade, and you guessed it -- talked with more fans. This time fans from Buffalo, NY and Colorado. That is one of the great things about professional wrestling -- it brings people together from all over the world.

Around 630pm I went back to my seats and got ready. Camera in hand, excitement building in my throat, knee throbbing in pain. Now I am sure most of you who read my blog and are wrestling fans know the results of WrestleMania 28 so I will not go into too much about it. I had the same reaction as most fans when Daniel Bryan lost in 18 seconds. I stayed on my feet for about 75 percent of Rock vs. Cena which was an awesome match, and that is coming from a hater of John Cena. Best match of the night -- Triple H vs. Undertaker. Would I have liked to see the streak broken? Yes but I know that will never happen. I am just floored by the age of both of these guys and that they fought for an hour. They gave it their all to the fans and it showed. Unforunuately most of the fans were spent after that match but we still tried our best for Jericho vs. Punk, Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny. Our energy came back during John Cena vs, The Rock. Here is the stupidity of the night -- two fans got into a fight in my section simply because one was a John Cena fan and the other was a Rock fan. I mean, come on -- you paid all of that money to see that match and you go and get yourself kicked out? Smart huh?

Now the show ended at 1100pm. Got out of SunLife Stadium around 1130pm. Public transportation as you already know in Miami sucks. So we had to wait for a cab. FOR TWO HOURS. Thats right TWO HOURS because cabs were not coming into SunLife Stadium quickly. This should not be. I wonder how it is during Dolphins games. Anyway, what do i do to make the time pass? Thats right -- talk to more fans! Fans from United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Denmark, Kentucky, Wisconsin, South Carolina....it made the time go by so much. Finally got a cab at 130am and back at my hotel by 230am. 3am I was out like a light. The link for my Wrestlemania 28 pictures is down below.

Monday April 2nd: This day was Miami Seaquarium and WWE Monday Night Raw day. Also a chill day which David and I both needed. While we were at the Seaquarium, I saw a killer whale and dolphin show in which my phone and myself got completely soaked. My phone was deemed useless most of the day as it had to dry out. Yay for hand dryers in bathrooms! Anyway, this aquarium is basically Sea World South. My mom recommended it as she saw loads of tropical fish here butt that was 40 years ago. Can not blame her for trying. We stayed at the aquarium until 5pm and then took a bus to a cab to go to the American Airlines Arena for WWE Monday Night Raw. Again most of you who are fans already know what happened but here is a video I made after Raw went off the air.



We found a ride back to our hotel right after the show and got back around 1230am. Flight home was at 650am so I stayed up for a while packing and reading. i then woke up at 240am in a heart attack mode as my watch was upside down and i thought it said 840am and that we missed our flight. Luckily i calmed down and went back to sleep until 330am. Checked out of hotel at 430am, got to the airport around 5am, went through check in and security which involved a molestation as i refuse to go through the body scanner and boarded the plane at 620am. This was all on Tuesday by the way. The flight was not full at all and in the back of my head I thought "maybe a WWE wrestler will be on this flight?" Surprisingly enough there was....ZACH RYDER. David spoke to him and Zach promised to take pictures with us after we get off the plane and he kept his word.



i was back home around 1200pm and in my bed by 130pm for some much needed sleep. Thank you very much if you stayed throughout this whole blog to read! It was a fun trip but I doubt I would go back to Miami, Florida any time soon simply because of the transportation system.

If you want to see all of the pictures from the events I went go here.

WWE Wrestlemania Axxess

WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony 3/31/2012

Miami Marlins vs. New York Yankees 4/1/2012

WWE Wrestlemania 28 4/1/2012

WWE Monday Night Raw 4/2/2012