The wise words of Margaret Thatcher…

“Being a leader is like being a lady, if you have to go around telling people you are one, you aren’t”

Brilliant I say.

A little excerpt from Thatchers bio is as follows “Margaret Thatcher’s political career has been one of the most remarkable of modern times. Born in October 1925 at Grantham, a small market town in eastern England, she rose to become the first (and for two decades the only) woman to lead a major Western democracy. She won three successive General Elections and served as British Prime Minister for more than eleven years (1979-90), a record unmatched in the twentieth century”.

On a different note, the countdown to Austrailia is ON! 15 days to go. My family and I fly out together and Raoul comes down a day after. Christmas in the summer? I still can’t get my head around that…what on earth do I pack? Physically my body is wanting to hybernate, restore, cuddle up by the fire and instead BAM! I have to whip out the bikinis, flip flops and mega sunscreen. (I’m not complaining) it just goes against my natural bio rythms.

I also haven’t posted about our epic trip to Washington DC and New York City over Thanksgiving. I will post a photo montage to recap the week. Until then, here is a preview.

I’m a….Explorer-Promoter…

Our team at work is currently embarking on a two day team building exercise. I love this stuff.  This morning we did our Team Management Profiles.  Check out the wheel below.  I am a Explorer-Promoter.  Tomorrow we work on our Team Goals and Mission then head out to Fiesta Island for “Leisure Olympics” for the rest of the afternoon. Sa-weeet.

To summarize, I am more extroverted than introverted, more creative than practical, follow my beliefs and values slightly more than analytics, and am more structured than flexible in the work environment (It must be years of regimented schooling, practice, rehearsals, peforming, etc that has made me so structured and for that I am grateful).  I find I can be structured for a period of time and then just like I wrote in the ‘About Me’ section I love to “throw it all away and jump in the ocean naked”.  I love finding carefree abandon, floating around in the blue sky, and then slowly come back down to earth.  It feels SO good.

Here is an excerpt from my profile “It is your outgoing approach, combined with your creative insight, which has a major influence on your work style.  You are, therefore, enthusastic and somewhat impulsive, particularly when you believe strongly in the issues at stake”. 

On another note, bon voyage to Alyssa and Donna they leave today to go dance in Europe.  I am so happy for them!  I saw them perform last weekend and it made me a bit nostalgic, we all danced together at UCSD and THOSE WERE THE DAYS!   So here is a happy picture of me dancing in Puerto Escondido this past summer.  I call it “I am always dancing in my heart” xo Now if only I could convince Raoul to take salsa lessons with me. lol

Iron and Wine…

Last October we travelled to New York city and saw Iron and Wine in concert. It was hands down one of the best concerts I have ever seen.  What’s even more exciting is that we will be there in less than 2 weeks for Thanksgiving!  The Flamenco in this video is outstanding and the black birds that fly from her dress at the end are so magical. I am trying to find some pics from this trip last year….I’ll keep digging. Happy Hump Day!

All dressed up with no where to go…walking with a dead man…

I love Oingo Boingo, its such a great Hallows Eve song to jam as you get ready to go trick-or-treating or glam it up for a Halloween party.  I posted a few pics from last weekends Halloween parties and my day today at work.  I went from Circus Ringmaster to Tacky Tourist.  If only I could dress like this everyday my work productivity would increase ten fold.  LOL. Check out the strongest man in the world as well, he didn’t even have to dress up he is so strong. xo

You gotta whip out the crimper to achieve this look.  That thing is a prized possesion, I don’t know what I would do without it.  Ladies, I think its time to bring crimping back…

The full ensemble a la Sheila Lewis.  My favorite part was the hat with the attached veil.  The veil definitely got me into character, well that and the whip…

Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages…Introducing to you the STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD!!!!!! I ❤ him.

Lastly, here is a group pic of the Product Marketing Team as “Tacky Tourists”. My favorite line was “Does anyone speak American around here?!?” I also made sure to carry my water bottle with me where ever I went, god forbid I get dehydrated…

Happy Halloween!!!

The wise words of Lewis Carroll….

Would you tell me please which way I ought to go from here?

That depends a good deal on where you want to get to, said the Cat.

I don’t much care where…said Alice.

Then it doesn’t matter which way you go, said the Cat.”

So Alice in Wonderland what a trippy film right?  Lewis Carroll is a genius.  I selected this quote for inspiration today.  Randomly enough it was in my 7 Habits of Highly Effective People book I was just skimming through (part 2 of my training is tomorrow so stay tuned to learn about the next few habits).  Do you ever get asked “what do you want to do with your life?”.  Funnily enough, I get asked this question quite a lot and what I’m learning is its important to clearly define your goals and be able to say them out loud.  That’s the kicker, becuase then you are held accountable.  So try this, set one goal for this week.  Then set one goal for this year (remember we only have 2.3 months left).  It can be personal, financial, work related.  Anything, but make sure its realistic and measurable. Set a goal and tell a friend.  Watch your world change.

Oh and in case you were interested.  My goal for this week is: BUY A NEW BED, this is looooong over due. and my goal for this year is to slowly change my circadium rhythm.  ie: go to bed earlier so I can actually wake up feeling refreshed and be more productive in the morning!  xo

 

Photo :Annie Leibovitz: Alice and the Cat.

October Roadtrip – LA

Hi Friends and Lovers,

So last weekend we went to LA to see Mark Farina DJ at the King King. I love road trips. I loaded up the car with some essentials for the weekend: candy corn (an all-time Halloween fave) swedish fish, chips, coconut water, 2 bottles of Prosecco and a huge gallon of water. We cruised up in record time and barely hit an ounce of traffic. We stayed at the Mondrain. We arrived at 6pm and our room wasn’t ready. Really Mondrain? We are paying you $400 dollars to stay in this swanky place and our room isn’t even ready? Good thing the customer service was EXCELLENT and we got hooked up with 4 free drink vouchers.

Check out the rotating orange mirror (insert sassy comment) go on….I thought the same thing ;)! The hotel was full of these sorts of things, white leather couches in the lobby, a purple velvet swing right by the check in desk (which came in handy when they had us waiting for our room). The Mondrain definitely tempts your senses and transports you down the rabbit hole for sure. Not to mention people come here to be seen. The women prancing around the pool were gorg, but I’m pretty sure at least one thing on their body was fake and they exist solely on nicotine and alcohol, but hey where else would Ricky Avalon get so inspired? The women of LA are awesome!

We went to the Red O for dinner it was a pretty nice restaurant we sat at the bar enjoyed a delicious margie and some apps. Headed BACK to the Mondrain to meet our friend and get this? This is classic. We told the front desk we were expecting a friend to arrive later and to give him a key when he checked in. When we got back to our room he was no where to be found…..we called him and he said he was in 413. DEFINITELY not our room. Creeeeepy right. Imagine coming back to your room and finding a 30 year old guy in a white boa and sunglasses dancing on your bed! Tisk tisk Mondrain, talk about “security”.

The King King. Outstanding venue. If you ever get the chance to see a concert here in LA do it. Mark Farina. Outstanding DJ. Here is a pic of me in the crowd. Can you find Ambersinwonderland? Hint: polka dots, not stripes.

More pictures to come.

The next day we went to Santa Monica and ate at The Reel apparently it’s the best fish shop in town. I would have to say it was a bit overpriced for the quality I experienced. Anyone ever eaten there?

It’s raining…its pouring…

Alert the masses!  It’s raining in San Diego!!!! But do not fret my friends, it will not last….( I can hear all my sun worshiping beach babe friends jumping for joy) it’s supposed to be back in the 80s next week.

Don’t get me wrong I LOVE warm weather, but like most things unexpected in life my motto is “seize the moment” and today that is exactly what I did.  I am rocking a full on fall ensemble.  Tights, brown leather skirt, sweater, ankle boots.  Hell I even stopped at Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte.  Cheesy I admit, but I was feeling festive and have a little fall/winter pep in my step.

Okay….where am I going with all this?  Ah yes, rain. Rain. I love when it rains and that is partially because I directly coorelate rain with all the beautiful friends and family I have living across the pond in the UK.  Which then got me thinking about what I was doing this time last year and sure enough I was in England for my lovely grandmothers funeral.  So in honor of her and the nurturing rain San Diego is getting today I thought I would share these photos.  Funny thing, it didn’t even rain on that day….

 

It’s customary to wait at the kissing gate and follow the procession in… 

Family photo after the ceremony, only people missing are my mom and bro.

Loving light from above. xo

It’s All for You

I choreographed this flow for my students on October 1st, perfect for the fall and soon to be changing of seasons. Music is “video games” by Lana del Rey. Video quality is sub par so you will need to turn up the volume – I hope to record a better quality version soon.

Can you hear my breath? And watch out for devil eyes at 2:05. Heheehe.

Join me next Monday at Sculpt Fusion Yoga in Carmel Valley 8pm candlelight! You can also follow me on Instagram: ambersinwonderland.

Hugs!

Speculoos? WHO KNEW?!?

Have you tried this stuff?  It is amazing.  It tastes like Christmas in your mouth! I’m not joking.  You can get the said “cookie butter” from Trader Joes it is traditionally from the Netherlands and called Speculoos.  I just had a delicious banana with this spread all over it. What a heavenly treat.  Happy Saturday!

Words to Live by…

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous” -Coco Chanel. Yeah girl. Words to live by. Thinking about awesome chicks, I just LOVE Bridget Bardot. She is a former French fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She has such stunning features. Anyone know where I can rock a sweet white romper like the one in this pic? lol