Swappity Swap Swap

I grabbed my mom & sister and took us to our first clothes swap this weekend! I didn't know what to expect but I brought a bag full of clothes to swap and between the three of us, we left with 5 bags full of "new" clothes. That's right, we stuffed those bags like if Saks was burning down and we were trying to save all the clothes. haha no but really, we worked it! When we arrived, there were so many people and it was so overwhelming, there must've been 200 people in this tiny space. My mom, sister, and I looked at each other, opened our bags, and started to dive in.  There were multiple piles of clothes/accessories/shoes and barely any room to move or breathe, at that. It got pretty intense and people started jumping in the middle of the piles to catch that one item that was thrown back in. I even saw two girls try on some dresses that I brought and my sister scored a pair of Ugg's!  I was able to take pictures as the swap ended with much less people there. Please excuse the messy pictures as I was trying to take a picture and eat my $1 locopop and guard my bags all at once. I loved this event even more because after the swap, there were craft and sewing demonstrations. As a new crafting wannabe - I was thrilled! I learned how to make a no sew scarf with different fabrics and sew different kinds of flowers. Oh I also took some leftover clothes with great patterns for sewing projects. I can't wait to do it again!

This picture is courtesy of Redress Raleigh during the swap. It was madness! 

It's Freezing out there!

It's been so cold out!! Pictures from our Dominican Republic 2010 trip brings me back to warmer memories...

I love this picture

Scared to death about my bathing suit coming off that I tied it too tight! Please focus on the starfish lol!

Warm Sand!

My heart was stolen

If you know me, you know that I like to keep myself busy. Unfortunately for Carlos, it's not with cleaning but with hobbies, interests, and goals. It has been a really nice month just working & relaxing and not having to worry about school or homework assignments since graduation but - it's not over yet.
My long term goal is to become a Pediatric Occupational Therapist and for this I have to go back to school to get a Master's Degree. During my research I have found that I will have to take a few prerequisites, take the GRE exam, and put in A LOT of volunteer hours into OT...so it's going to be a long road until I actually even get accepted into the OT program. The good news is that I have already started the volunteering part. Yesterday was my first day volunteering at an OT office. I had some kind of idea of what I would be doing but what I didn't know is that within the 2 hours I was there, my heart would be stolen by the three patients we saw. One of them wanted to talk to me through the entire session and when it was over she said she hoped that I come back for next weeks session, I could have cried at that moment! I could not stop thinking of all three kids on the way home and all evening and how I wish their bodies and brains could function like mine and how unfair it is to them and it made me sad and I cried.
Despite all the disorders/developmental delays that these kids have, their spirits were undeniably unique and uplifting! Then I came to the realization that this is it, I want to help and I am completely 100% sure that this is the career path that I want to pursue. And this made me happy.
It was the first time I worked so closely with children with special needs and my first experience was unforgettable. I'm also very grateful that my OT mentor allowed me to help and interact with the children. It was also exciting to see that OT includes various activities & materials that we use in Montessori! I will be going back tomorrow and every week, twice a week!