Frankers taking an afternoon siesta on the couch…
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Tag Archives: humor
project 30 – sharzad
14 Aug
Sharzad, 31
What would your 30 something self tell your 20 something self if you could?
I would say don’t change a thing! I am not a fan of regret. Everything that happened in my 20’s both good and bad has made me who I am right this minute, and I’m very happy!
What do you wish you took more seriously in your 20’s?
MONEY! Whenever I had a nice payday I immediately wanted to spend it. The concept of saving was foreign to me. Luckily I married someone who is much better at handling his finances and has definitely taught me a thing or two.
What do you wish you took less seriously in your 20’s?
My WEIGHT! I was always preoccupied by it. Once I drove to Tijuana by myself to buy diet pills that were illegal in this country. Can we say desperate and obsessed!?! YIKES! Lol
Favorite memory from your 20’s?
There are sooooo many wonderful memories that come to mind. The two that really stick out are the day I graduated from UCLA and the day I married my hubby. Both those days were perfect and led to new exciting chapters in my life. Other than that, my 20’s were when I was able to do the most international travel and I’m so thankful I got to see the world. (But I have LOTS more to see)
And where were you by 30? What did your life look like?
30 was one of the best years of my life. I started hosting a variety of fun shows on YouTube with a dynamic group of diverse woman. I also got preggers and had the cutest little baby boy ever. I turned 31 in June, and I don’t know how I can top last year, but I’m going to try! So far 30’s are looking good.
In your early 20’s where did you think you would be (work, live etc) by 30?
In my early 20’s I honestly didn’t think much about my 30’s. I was focused on much more important things like what club I was going to that night and what I was going to wear. On a more serious note, I did know I wanted to do something fun that involved travel, people, creativity and freedom… I just wasn’t sure what it was. (Hosting shows on YouTube wasn’t really around back then!) One thing I always knew was that I wanted to stay in LA.
Were you ever worried that it wouldn’t all fall into place?
I always knew I would end up doing something faaaaabulous… but of course there were periods of time when I was stressed, unfocused, confused and frustrated….However, it was all those emotions that forced me to hustle and create my dream job.
What is the greatest gift about being a woman in your 30’s?
I’ve never appreciated being a woman more than I do now. Being able to carry my little peanut in my belly and bring him into this universe is f*cking awesome!
When you look out onto the horizon. What do you hope your life looks like at 40?
At 40 I hope my life looks like it does now with the addition of at least one more bambino, a nice house and have a few more stamps on my passport and most importantly, I hope everyone, including myself, remains happy and healthy. Of course I have hundreds of big/little goals I want to accomplish every year but it’s too many to list here!
What’s a quote/ saying you try to live your life by?
“If you fail to plan you plan to fail!” That rings true to me in so many areas of my life whether it’s my daily activities, career, weight, exercise or how I travel- I love a good plan! It keeps me on track.
connect with Sharzad – website / facebook / twitter / instagram / youtube
project 30 – rachel
12 Aug
Rachel, 33
What would your 30 something self tell your 20 something self if you could?
I used to think I would want to tell her it gets better but now that it actually has gotten better I realize I wouldn’t want her to change any of her emotionally extreme or indulgent ways. I spent a good part of my 20’s heartbroken and lovesick. Whether I was getting over a break up or deeply falling in love with someone I always felt heartbroken. In retrospect I know that I had to work through a lot of emotions and traumas. Karmically I was attracted to certain people who allowed me to work through those emotions and come to a deeper understanding of myself which ultimately allowed me to truly love myself. So I think if I were to go back and tell that innocent lovesick girl that it gets better, firstly she wouldn’t believe me and even if she did I wouldn’t want to take any of the pain away from her because it allowed me to become who I am today. So with all that said I think I would tell her to travel more and write in her journal everyday and not just when it suited her.
What do you wish you took more seriously in your 20’s?
I wish I had saved more money and learned the value of saving and not spending. It’s still something I’m working on. I also wish I had developed a more serious workout regime when my body was more willing to adapt.
What do you wish you took less seriously in your 20’s?
I might have said heartbreak at one point but now I wouldn’t give that up for anything. I did take myself and my work very seriously then and I still do now but I think it gave me the drive to accomplish what I did, so I guess I don’t have any regrets when it comes to that.
Favorite memory from your 20’s?
Walking around the streets of St. Petersburg Russia in the dead of winter while trying to get over a broken heart. I know it sounds morbid but it was a really beautiful time in my life and having that kind of really pure solitude allowed me to learn how to be my own best friend. It was an extraordinary adventure.
In your early 20’s where did you think you would be (work, live etc) by 30?
I thought I would be living in New York city happily married with 2 kids making films and playing music. I’m still doing writing, directing, acting and playing music but I’m in Los Angeles and waiting for the day when I can make a living solely from my work.
Were you ever worried that it wouldn’t all fall into place?
I still am but the worry is less angst ridden and more fueled by patience, passion and gratitude. I have learned to appreciate and love where I am even though I am still working on fulfilling all of my dreams. Some days I do feel overwhelmed that I’m not where I want to be and I have to be vigilante about correcting that and being grateful for where I am and all the dreams I have already fulfilled.
What is the greatest gift about being a woman in your 30’s?
Self love and self-knowledge. In my 20’s I had to go through a lot of heartache to understand the importance of self-love. Once I learned how to love and understand myself I no longer felt that I had to hold onto things and people that were no longer working for me or supporting my journey. The things and decisions I used to obsess over in my 20’s are now for the most part easy to include or eliminate in my life now and I’m very grateful for that clarity and wisdom.
When you look out onto the horizon. What do you hope your life looks like at 40?
By 40 I want to have a beautiful home of my dreams living with Blake (currently my fiance). We will have at least 2 children and we will both be thriving in our careers. I will be making films and TV shows as a writer, director and actress and Blake will be making his music and producing for other artists as well as thriving as a visual artist. We will have a garden where we will grow all of our produce and herbs and at night our children will walk barefoot into our garden to collect the fixings for our dinner. We will also have an incredible music studio where we will record our music. Together as a family we will travel the world and experience other cultures and languages and we will always be involved with making the world a better place through art and our humanitarian work.
What’s a quote/ saying you try to live your life by?
“In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” – Anne Frank
The first time I ever read this quote I was living in New York city and was walking around the upper east side where I was currently living. It was Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and someone was holding up a big sign that had Anne Frank’s image featured prominently with this quote below it. I saw it and immediately burst into hysterical tears. If someone like Anne Frank could say something so profound, insightful and hopeful than we can all follow suit. I don’t believe people are born evil but they can be taught, which means that evolutionarily speaking they can be untaught. Treating all people with love, kindness and compassion is one way I can contribute daily to making this world a better place and I make it my mandate to do it everyday even if and especially when someone else is unkind to me.
connect with Rachel – website / twitter
her projects – Without A Home / They’re With Me
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Ho Chi Minh – day 3
4 AugAfter eating breakfast at the hotel we headed back into the sweltering heat to explore. First up, a very sobering morning at the War Remnants Museum. So sobering in fact, I didn’t even make it through parts of it due to the graphic nature of some of the photographs. You forget how truly devastating the Vietnam War was. The morning left me in tears. Don’t worry this post gets less depressing.
After the museum we decided it was time to try the southern Vietnamese pho. As I mentioned in a previous post there is a bit of a debate as to whether the northern or southern pho is tastier. After polishing off a big bowl of southern pho, I came to the conclusion that it was the winner. I found it lighter and more fragrant. There were also more options with the vegetables you could put in, including basil (although basil is a herb isn’t it? but you get the point), which added such a nice kick. For Brian the pho debate was more of a tie…noting that he liked the meat better in the northern pho. So there you have it folks!
After filling our bellies (thank God we were walking as much as we were otherwise I am convinced I would have gained 20 pounds on this trip) we headed to “antique street” to look for…you guessed it, antiques! Brian and I love to come home with treasures from our travels- my favorites include…a bright blue woven hammock from Nicaragua, a plush orange blanket handmade in the mountains of Nepal and the colorful bells from Nepal that hang around water buffalos necks on the trekking trails to warn you that they are coming. I make Brian wear them around the house sometimes. HA.
That day I was on the hunt for a small elephant statue with his trunk in the air, which supposedly brings good luck. Brian was much more open to what his treasure would be. We strolled from tiny hot store to tiny hot store.
After hitting the whole block we circled back to our favorite one to do some bargaining- something Brian excels at and I fail miserably at. You can pretty much sell me anything. On the table…one elephant with his trunk in the air, one buddha head and two opium pipes (to be used as table art and not for smoking said opium). I let Brian do the talking while I continued to explore the shop. I can’t even watch people bargain with out getting uncomfortable. Finally I heard Brian say, “Do you take American Express?” and I knew we had a deal. We were now the proud owners of an elephant, a buddha head and two opium pipes. Winning! Clearly our antique street success called for Bintang beers so we decided to head back to Tiny’s in the backpacker district.
After a few Bingtangs we headed back to our hotel for the routine three-hour afternoon break in our air-conditioned room, but not without a stop at the famous pastry shop, Tous Les Jours. Yes, this trip to Vietnam was becoming quite indulgent. Because of the French invasion in Vietnam many French influences can still be felt and I quickly learned I had a favorite…the baked goods!
After picking out a few (I blame Brian) we walked back to the hotel where we then proceeded to eat pastries in bed while sipping on iced Vietnamese coffees.
After our siesta, we went out for Greek food followed by after dinner drinks at Casbah. Casbah had a completely different energy than the previous evening. The place really livened up as the evening wore on. It was packed with people and there were even belly dancers! The place was jumping. Luckily we found a quiet spot outside and away from the chaos. After imbibing in a few too many beverages, Brian and I decided it was the perfect time to face-time with Frank (yes, you read that correctly), via my sweet mama who was staying at our house to watch him. We both did the math and concluded it was 10am in LA, so we dialed and eagerly watched the phone as it rang. Suddenly my moms sleepy face appeared on my screen and she confusedly said “Kate??? Hi honey. I can see you? I can see Brian? Why are you guys calling me at six in the morning?” Two thoughts crossed my mind at this point…shit we woke her up!….and….I can’t believe she’s never face timed before? It was then she shrieked “Does that mean you can see me?!! OMG I’M NAKED!!!”. At that point the screen went black and all I could hear was yelling. Poor thing! Not only was she rudely awakened at six am but now she was convinced her son-in-law just saw her naked. I was laughing so hard I was literally crying. Moments later she reappeared in a robe and just as I was about to reassure her that we couldn’t see anything the volume of the music went from 0-100 and a belly dancer appeared in front of our table. Clearly, it was our turn for the show. I tried to yell over the music but she couldn’t hear me and there was only one thing to do…wave and hang up. She must have thought we were insane.
After the required belly dancing show we strolled back to our hotel laughing about the evening. My heart and my belly feeling very full that night…day three in Ho Chi Minh was a good to us.
365 til 33
30 Jul
If you’ve been following along with my blog since the beginning then you know that I come up with a list of goals to tackle each year. The first year, 365 til 30 my goals included driving across the USA, learning French, learning how to tango, going camping, spending a week at Tassajara, Learning how to cook, volunteering, getting a French bulldog & publishing my writing. I was pretty damn successful that year in accomplishing my goals. To the point of obsession actually. Accomplishing those goals before turning 30 was all I could think about for 365 days. Brian was very happy when that year was over. HA. Over the last few years I have continued to create a list of goals…doing so helps me focus on the things I want from my life…a framework if you will.
365 til…33!
Travel
Every year you can pretty much guarantee that one of my goals will be travel related. I am a travel nut! Seriously, why can’t I just travel the world and get paid for it? (Is anybody listening? I’m totally available if you want to pay me to travel) During 365 til 30 my travel goal was to drive across the country (check!)…during 365 til 31 my travel goal was an overseas trip (Brian and I went to Hong Kong and trekked Nepal!)…365 til 32 my travel goal was again an overseas trip but this time for our honeymoon (we took a month off and went to Vietnam and Bali) This year my travel goal is much simpler, all I want to do is take a road trip with Brian. I love road trippin’ with that man. Actually, it was on our first road trip together that I knew I loved him. We were only a month into dating when I asked him if he wanted to take a road trip to Santa Fe with me to visit my friend Chantal. He must have thought I was crazy. Who would want to sign up for that many hours in a car with a person you’ve only been dating a month? The answer to that question is ME! And him I guess Brian as well because he said yes. Luckily, it was a total success. This year I’m thinking a road trip from LA to Seattle. My ideal stops along the way would be….Big Sur, San Francisco, Ashland, Eugene, Portland, Olympia & Seattle.
Learn
This year I am dying to learn more about photography. For a girl who appreciates a beautiful photograph, it is a crying shame I can’t shoot one as well as I’d like to. Especially when it comes to this blog, I would love to post higher quality photographs. Well, I guess I do sometimes but sadly they are not shot by me and instead by my photographer husband. With that said, I will be signing my ass up for a photography class as well as making Brian teach me all his tricks. He even has an extra Canon Rebel camera waiting for me. Winning!
Writing
You can also pretty much guarantee that one of my goals each year will also have to do with writing. This year it is travel related. I want to publish my various travel (road trip, Hong Kong, Nepal, Vietnam & Bali) essays. Wish me luck!
Health
I want to go vegetarian for a month. Ever since my gallbladder surgery a few months ago I have had the hardest time with my digestion. It’s been driving me crazy! I’ve decided that meat might be the culprit. This coming from an Irish gal who loves a good steak. Sigh. I thought what better time to test out vegetarianism then now! Oy…I’m scared. Any vegetarians out there want to offer some advice?
Home
Decorating our new home has been on hold for a bit now…between shelling out money for our wedding and honeymoon we have been neglecting our home. The space totally deserves more! I plan on decorating with the help of pinterest and my very talented interior designer mother. So here we go…one room at a time.
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Ho Chi Minh – day one
16 JulDay one in Ho Chi Minh was hellish. Hands down the worst day of our whole trip. It was the perfect storm… Brian was terribly miserable because he was covered in a thousand mosquito bites (I swear that boy must be super sweet because those mosquitos LOVE him). I was terribly miserable with cramps and a rough bout of pms. We had a truly miserable flight from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh with a snotty and sneezing old man seated next to Brian and two very loud and annoying kids seated next to me. I honesty didn’t know two hours could feel so long. When we finally arrived in Ho Chi Minh it was 100 degrees and humid as F*%k, which made us both even more miserable. In addition we happened to arrive in Ho Chi Minh on a national holiday (May Day) and everything was pretty much closed (great planning on our part). Do you see where I am going with all of this? It was just one of those days.
We took a cab from the airport to our hotel, The Hotel Continental, which is a beautiful historic hotel located in the heart of district one (upside of the day). After settling into our room, we attempted to shake off our nasty moods by planning a fun afternoon. First up, we headed to Cholon, Vietnam’s “Chinatown”, home to over half a million people, making it the largest Chinese community in Vietnam. The area was something I was dying to see during our stay because I was keen on going to all the Chinese medicine shops. Sadly, most of the shops were closed due to the holiday. So instead we aimlessly walked the sticky, hot and humid streets of Cholon in silence (total grumps). Finally we stumbled upon one Chinese medicine store that was open- WINNING! I excitedly walked up to the two women behind the counter, equipped with my fancy English to Chinese translation app on my iphone and eagerly asked them for the magical herb I was on the hunt for. They both stared at me with a look of disgust and then rudely waved me off. I’ve never been so offended! Clearly, they were not fans. I left the store defeated.
We spent the next twenty minutes continuing to wander the sticky, hot and humid streets of Cholon, while I recounted the Chinese medicine shop experience over and over to Brian (clearly, unable to let it go). Then suddenly (as if things weren’t bad enough) the sky turned dark and it began to rain. This day was officially a wash. At that point we decided to call it quits and hailed a cab back to our hotel (which took forever due to the national holiday), where we holed up in our air-conditioned room reading our books for a few hours. It was exactly what the doctor ordered. I’ve learned that sometimes it’s ok to hole up in your hotel room while traveling. It’s impossible to be on the go non-stop for thirty days.
After recharging our batteries we went to a fabulous dinner at a romantic little restaurant Brian found, May restaurant which served French/Vietnamese cuisine that was delectable. After stuffing our bellies we went straight back to our hotel room and climbed back in bed.
END SCENE.
inspiration, gratitude & surprises
27 Jun
Considering this week has been a bit of a blah week. Did you read my post on Tuesday? I am convinced I must be feeling the effects of Mercury Retrograde or something because everything has been a hassle the last few days. Because of this I thought what better time to do an inspiration, gratitude & surprises post, right? Taking stock of the little things always helps me remember to be grateful for this lovely, messy, exhausting & fabulous life. I am looking forward to a very mellow weekend. Tonight we are staying in…my absolute favorite thing to do on a friday night…probably because I am old now. Saturday I plan to continue my “yoga every damn day” challenge with a morning yoga class and at night we are going to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for a movie date night which happened to be one of the things on my summer to do list. We are going to pack a middle eastern picnic, grab a nice bottle of wine and curl up on a blanket in the grass. I could do without the movie we are seeing (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) but you can’t win them all, right? Sunday we have absolutely nothing planned other than a morning surf for Bri and a morning yoga class for me.
what inspired me this week?
my friend Rachel decided to cancel her Facebook account because she was tired of being a slave to it. I immediately thought the idea of canceling my facebook account sounded fabulous too! It gets a bit exhausting comparing yourself to others on a daily basis, you know? Not to mention it can be such a time sucker. Sadly, I’m not saying I was brave enough to cancel mine too but I still think it’s a great idea.
this quote…“Don’t worry about the how. That is up to the universe to determine. The universe lives in endless possibilities while our ego dwells in limited options. Which would you trust?”
what am I grateful for this week?
My husband…always my husband. Not only because he surprises me with flowers but because he’s my best friend and biggest support.
Taline…she knows why
A much-needed pep talk from my friend Melissa
A sense of humor
long morning walks with Frank
sushi dinners with my family
our blooming garden (all due to Brian and his green thumb)
netflix
my momma
what surprised me this week?
I realized I am turning 32 verrrry soon. How the heck is it almost July 8th?? It’s not only my birthday but it’s this little blogs bday! Happy almost 3rd birthday blog!
I also found my first grey hair this week. Yeah, that was a bad surprise.
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365til30.com 