Cakekitty Land

PROUD TO PROMOTE....

2008-09-07T01:28:00.002-04:00

"Groovin' Blocks is a music-based game like no other. It adds innovative musical gameplay to an addictive action/puzzle game. The game features 27 different stages for everyone, from casual to hardcore. It also includes 15 levels of unlockable bonuses, cooperative play and a head-to-head mode."

Featuring music by my favorite band/label, Mercer Friendly.

If you have a Wii check it out... it's a downloadable game. If you DON'T have a Wii console, then check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXHfAeNmVfE

AND if you STILL want to hear more and are curious about MF, then check out http://mercerfriendly.com/blog/

AND if that's STILL not enough, their album will be on sale shortly featuring the music from Groovin' Blocks.

Milestone birthdays...or where does the time go??

2008-08-27T08:16:00.002-04:00

I remember the day I would actually be excited to turn a year older. Each year brought new possibilities, new abilities, more permission to do something I couldn't do the year before. With each new year as a child, I could cross the street by myself, come home after school instead of being baby sat. As a teen shave my legs, go into the city with my friends, stay out all night on prom night. As an adult drink legally, date, and all that fun stuff. With each birthday came a new freedom. When did that stop? When did that change? When did it turn from "the world is your oyster and you have all the time in the world to do EVERYTHING" to "Wow, you need to get cracking, time is ticking, you should have babies, you should get married. You know you're no spring chicken, you really need to grow up. What are you doing with your life? Stop wasting time. etc...." More importantly, why do we let it happen and how do we prevent it? I recently went on to a social network site I belong to and came upon a group created by people I went to high school with. Some of these people I knew from the halls or from classes.. the "cool" people? .... um, i guess. Anyway, i was looking at their profiles and their photo albums and some people are just..... WOW! There were a couple of girls that looked like they belonged in a porn movie... HOT! And the guys weren't bad either! All I could think was, " I went to school with these people??" But they look so different.... so mature.... like they've been around( OK, not in a bad way!).. and I still feel like a kid. I still feel like teenage me who couldn't stand other teens and who thought I was WAY more mature than everyone else. I still feel like I did when i was 17... 21...25....26...27...28...29..........ok, maybe not 29! Age is what you make of it.... age is a just a number.....you're only as old as you feel.... Age! What it really is, is a mental state and yeah your body goes along for the ride. It sweeps you up, like a wave.... you either let it carry you or fight the current. Which one will I do? AND what does that mean "let it carry you or fight the current?" I mean if I ride the wave does that mean just let it happen? Act the way a person my age is "supposed" to act? DO the things that people my age are "supposed " to do? Pop out a kid just because my eggs will dry up and the only way to feel like a woman is to make your body go through THE most grueling experience and then push something the size of a watermelon out of something the size of a....of a......VAGINA! OR do I fight the current and avoid all the things society tells me I am "supposed" to do and go on doing what I am doing now....whatever that is. Do I let the good ol' eggs dry up and fore go the "feminine experience" just because I don't want to be told what I SHOULD be doing b/c I am out of my 20's & it's time to "grow up". So, what does ride the wave or fight the current mean? Maybe it doesn't mean any of the above and I am just giving my fear an outlet and maybe I feel like if I did any of the things I think a 30something SHOULD be doing (b/c society says it and history too) then life as I have known it will be completely over and I will truly be an adult. Can someone hit me over the head please or shake me so I snap out of this ridiculous depression!! My life isn't over! So, what gives??? PS. I apologize for the bullshit you have just read! Life doesn't end at 30.. I know it's just a beginning of something great. BUT right now I am having a bit of an issue with myself. I need to re-connect and re-learn some things in order to make 30 a fawesome(F*&^ing + awesome) year!

No such thing as coincidences

2008-06-06T10:44:00.004-04:00

So, I decided to take the day off to spend some time with my best friend before she goes on a 3 month journey to South America. I figured I had some time to kill before I met up with her, so I went on Amazon to buy a camera I've had my eye on. Well, wouldn't you know my password isn't working and I can't remember it. So i have them send me an email with my password, etc.. (you know the drill... in this day and age we're all familiar with the process!)ANYWAY, I am sitting there waiting and nothing, so I decide to go into my SPAM folder(which i NEVER go into) and I find this email from my friend Joseph Dumas, who is a FANTASTIC psychic medium. It's basically a link to his interview on Dr. Laurie Nadel's radio show "The Sixth Sense" (on WebTalkRadio.net). Now, I have known Laurie for what seems like forever. She's a FANTASTIC psychotherapist and spiritual healer.... see where i am going with this??... So, after my 2 minute freak out about this being a small world, etc. I realize that I was the one that hooked them up a few years back. Ok, i TOTALLY forgot about that. HAHA Space cadet moment, i know! SO I click on the link, all excited to hear 2 of my favorite highly evolved spiritual connections. I sit through the show, like a kid back in the day before TV existed and radio was the best form of home entertainment. Hanging on to ever last syllable, imagining what they are talking about and the entire time feeling this energy rise up and awaken within me. I am supposed to be listening to this... i am supposed to be hearing and taking this in and learning from this. SO as the interview nears the end, Laurie mentions the prayers of this French spiritualist Alan Kardek... my heart stopped! This means nothing to whomever is reading this I am well aware.. but bear with me. Let's rewind so I can set this story up better.
I come from a line (not sure how long or short)of healers. My whole life I have been surrounded by gifted people(psychic, mediums, healers, shamans, etc.)in one way or another. One of them was my aunt Elena who would perform these cleaning's on us with very little ritual(well, from what we could see) but they ALWAYS made us feel better. I'd go over to her apartment and she would have me grab an egg from the fridge,hold it in my hands for a while and then she'd take me into her room, sit me on the edge of her bed, have me close my eyes, and then proceed to run the egg from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and all around. All the while saying some prayers i never heard, thinking intentions i can only assume were good. The cleansing process only took a couple of minutes but afterwards she would hold my face in her hands & kiss my forehead and stroke my hair and clasp me to her chest like a baby. She'd ask if I wanted to talk or if everything was ok. Typical loving mom/grandma type stuff. IT was the safest & most comforting times of my life growing up. Our time to bond. Not to mention I would always feel good afterwards... lighter.
Sometimes Tia Elena(Tia=aunt) would hand me copies of prayers (Psalms usually) and tell me to say them on my way to work or in the mornings or when times were rough. There were always certain prayers to say for certain occasions, like, a prayer for what I thought was calming my anxieties, or a prayer for protection. She was VERY gifted, all knowing i thought. She always sensed when something was going on and knew the right thing to make it better. Tia Elena died 7 years ago this July.. 7 years!So much has changed since then. The world is a different place, MY world is a different place. When we were cleaning out her apartment(she never married or had kids)I found her prayer book and her journal. Aside from her handbags and scarves(she was an accessory WHORE just like me!!),that was the only other thing I REALLY wanted to keep. So, i started reading the prayers in the book, all for different occasions in life. All prayers by Alan Kardek!
When I met Dr. Laurie Nadel, I was her new patient. Never having been to a therapist I figured, "Hey WHY NOT!" Laurie quickly became a friend and a mother figure...similar to Tia Elena. She didn't quite clasp me to her bosom but she did give me that sense of protection and nurturing that my Tia had done my whole life. Then I find out she's a spiritual healer and one day she says Oh i have a prayer for you..... wouldn't you know it, it's an Alan Kardek prayer.. and not just ANY A.K. prayer, but one that i had already been saying from my Tia's prayer book. SO i knew this was a sign.
A few years later, I'm on craigslist, of all places,& I come across this ad for a medium looking for clients. So, i say, never having been to a medium, "HEY WHY NOT!"And that's how i met Joseph!!! he told me things that would blow any one's mind! Meanwhile during and way before all this, I had started my own journey into the spiritual world. So much so that when my Tia died, my family thought with her died the cleaning's, the prayers, the spiritual side of my family, the last of the healers. Little did they know that although Tia never physically taught me how to perform the ritual cleaning, or what they meant, i had learned by watching her and was following my intuition. I had no clue what i was doing, but i knew i was doing something. I had no clue what prayers to say but i knew to say something and hell why not A.K.'s prayers.! at least it was something. So, that's what i did... i read books, learned how to do readings with Angel cards, started to meditate, all so i could follow in the family footsteps & follow what i thought(hoped) was a gift.
Fast forward to today.... it's been a LONG time since I have done ANYTHING to expand this gift. I am lazy & hate putting in the work, the time, the emotional energy involved in this process. I emailed Laurie some time ago and asked her to be my teacher.... but I let life get in the way b/c I was(am) afraid of what I will learn. I know my hands heal, bring comfort, i KNOW i help people but the thought of doing anything about it is frightening. I don't want to become that kid in the "6Th sense" who "SAW dead people"..lol I don't want to be like Joseph who is having a conversation with you and having spirits/energies trying to get through and distracting him. BUT at the same time, I DO! HA Who knows if that is even a gift of mine.. it may not be! But the struggle is there. So, I go about my daily business pushing Spirit down. I haven't spoken with my Angels in ages, I haven't read the books, I have stayed out of touch with Laurie & Joseph. ALL b/c i am scared and lazy.
SO, this morning I am in the shower and I get this flash of a dream I had ( i guess this morning).. .it was my TIA ELENA, who hardly ever visits( well, i shouldn't say that, i think she does, i just don't remember the dreams), but when she does, NEVER talks. Well wouldn't you know it she talked! The message was for me but it's really for someone else but the point it SHE TALKED! And then , I decided to stay home and do some online shopping while i waited for my best friend and the rest is history.
SO, the point of this VERY long post, is that there is no such thing as coincidences! AND i should really get back into it b/c I feel a hell of alot more alive when I am around it than when i am not. AND if i don't get back into it, i am afraid that I will lose the gift forever.

I dedicate this post to the memory of Tia Elena. Gracias por tu visita y por tu proteccion siempre. Te quiero mucho y te llevo siempre en mi corazon!

It's spring already!!??

2008-04-15T20:57:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it's spring already! How is it that time flies? I read somewhere that it' s like a bandit that steels in the night. You can chase after it but there is no catching up. It bobs and weaves, baiting you like some sort of prankster. And just when you think you've caught up, ZOOM!! off it goes again. Time is a floosy! Time is a.... well, for lack of a better word, a "cock tease". lol But if it makes sense, in a good way.
To say that time flies in a negative way, means that you regret what you are leaving behind. Yeah, it's hard to move on, to change, to adapt, grow older, but it's what makes the world go round. It's what we all have in common. So, maybe it's a positive thing after all. Who knows! For now, I;ve made my piece with it. Let's see in a few months when I turn 30!! HA!! Maybe I won't be so forgiving... or maybe I will.

Ps.
check out:
http://mercerfriendly.com/blog

it's funny what a little time does to the soul

2008-01-22T19:24:00.001-05:00

It's funny what a little time away does to the soul. A few hours before, you're on a plane ready for a much deserved vacation and hours later you're in paradise. Just like that. Same clothes, same person, different environment and pace of life. The best part is, all the negative feelings, the stress, the anxieties, all of that melts away with the life you left behind.
What is it about being in a tropical area, by the beach, the sand, the breeze, the fruity drinks, that makes me want to eat less, meditate, be good to myself, and enjoy life? I mean there are beaches, sand, breezes, and fruity drinks here(well, ok, not so much in the middle of winter, but you get my drift) but I don't get the desire to improve myself as much. The laziness sets in, the depression, the monotony, life. Or at least my view of it.
How can i get everything I had on vacation when I am back home? Some people can just come back as if nothing, lament they are not on vacation but go back to their lives, just like that. DO i take my life so seriously and consider myself that important that I come back only to lament what i have left behind and stay focused on that lament? Life DOES go on after all, but why does it have to go on the way it was before vacation? If i am a changed person because of my experiences on vacation, how can i continue that now that I am home?

quick quick quick

2008-01-13T07:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, ok, so before i jet set myself to vacation land, here's a must see(hear) blog I proudly and highly recommend:

http://mercerfriendly.com/blog

Hop to it people.... this music is awesome!!!

Hasta luego!!! Beach, fruity drinks, sun tan lotion here I come!!! YIPPY!

Old New Year, New Year

2007-12-31T13:57:00.000-05:00

5, 4, 3, 2, 1..... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! For old acquaintance be forgot, blah blah blah,blah blah blah blah.... OK, what the hell does this song mean? AND why must we sing this every New Year? Is it good luck or something? I mean if we don't sing it will that make the new year we have just entered all shitty? The funniest is hearing the song in spanish, with a salsa beat... WHAT is THAT about??!!! hmmm... definitely a song for the ipod. :)

What can I say about this last year? I mean there were good times, not so good times, fun things, not so fun things; just like every year. For me, this year was a year of complete change and new beginnings. Marriage, freelancing, nesting, communicating, all of it new. There was death, illness, hospital visits, but overall it wasn't a bad year for the health department. We were blessed with tons of work, which sometimes didn't seem like a blessing, but it was. Work=money... money=security..... security=comfort... comfort=bliss... bliss=a good life. So, there was plenty of money!!! Overall, i can't really say anything awful about 2007. All i know is that all the good and bad combined and alone are blessings we are fortunate to have.

Welcome 2008!! I welcome abundance, good fortune, happiness, good health, long good lives, blessings, financial success, great work, love, good sex, passion, good communication, fun, motivation, self control, flexibilty, new hobbies, travel, and a great bond with my family and friends... I welcome all of this into my life and the lives of those that i love. The Universe provides, IT has my back, and IT blesses me always. THANK YOU UNIVERSE.

tis the season

2007-11-26T19:41:00.001-05:00

Ah, we've come to that time of year again.... tis the season to be jolly.. fa la la la la la la... bah humbug, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love the holiday season. All the eating, partying, drinking, eating, baking, eating, and gift giving.... did i mention eating??!! How could you not love the holidays? So, why is it that with all the happiness, comes depression, sadness, manic thoughts of negativity and self deprication? Ah the holidays! With everything else in my life finding the right balance of happiness and generosity with bitter sweet sadness and depression is an interesting feat. So, with this I say, a happy and healthy holiday season to all and to all a good load of sanity! :)

Recharging your batteries

2007-10-22T12:38:00.000-04:00

This past week has been an interestingly difficult one. After the loss of a loved one last week and all the pomp & circumstance leading up to & including the final goodbyes, the funeral, I did what I have never allowed myself to do. I recharged my batteries! The weeks leading up to his death were draining for everyone involved but I actually did bodywork on him to make him more comfortable. My hands were able to help someone on their deathbed, do you know how amazing that is? My energy, my hands and the comfort they were bestowing on him in the end made me feel like i had been a part of something truly special, inexplicably beautiful. Seeing him lying in that bed suffering wasn't beautiful, i am not that twisted!...but the energy I felt was. It felt like I was helping him in a way cross over peacefully.
However, i have never felt drained like i did after all was said and done. Is it depression, am I hiding from the world, am I preventing myself from living b/c i am too afraid of losing again? All these thoughts crossed my mind but then I realized, I was recharging my proverbial batteries. The best part of that realization was allowing myself to do it... being ok with the process. Well, I am still charging the batteries and little by little going out into the world. But how do I do that without wasting what little energy I have already acquired? And at what point does it turn into hiding from the world, depression, not living? Where is that balance or at least how do I find it? And what if this particular moment in time, is the Universe's way of showing me my true life path??? What is the Unviverse telling me that I am not hearing? What does the Universe have in mind for me after this? I guess these are all questions that have come along for the ride in the battery charging zone.

Time

2007-10-01T17:31:00.000-04:00

How is it time just zooms by? When we are little, it takes forever. I remember sitting in class and looking out the window or looking at the clock and the day just dragging on.... 3 more hours til lunchtime/recess.... 3 more hours til i get to home.... 4 more days til Friday... uh! drag drag drag! Now, it's the extreme opposite. I find myself saying, " How is it noon?... Holy crap it's 5? How is it Friday???" It's funny sometimes. I mean who isn't happy to leave work at the end of the day or for the weekend, right? Well, there's a price to pay for that I guess.... when you start noticing grey hairs, or your joints & muscles aching, or you're just plain tired all the time.
Those things are normal I know and not as freaky to me as say seeing someone turn 21 when you changed their diapers and carried them as babies. THAT's freaky! And yes, it's happened to me! The worst thing though, is seeing the people you care about, your parents, their friends, your elders, growing older by the minute. WIth every birthday or New Year comes new aches, pains, injuries, diseases, surgeries, and death. How do we get to this point and how can we deal with seeing those people that once took care of us and protected us growing fragile and eventually dying? How do we prepare for that? Is there a way to prepare to lose your parents/granparents/aunts/uncles/friends,etc. And how does one, as an aging adult, say goodbye to their friends who are dying or sick?
We spend our whole lives trying to find people to relate to and some of us are lucky enough to find that community. What happens 30, 40, 50 years from now when that community starts dying one by one? That saying,"it's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all", I don't know how I feel about it anymore. I mean, YES, it is better to have loved and lived than to hide your life away. OK, agreed! BUT when you are the one losing the people you love and you're left behind, alone, then what? Is it still better to have loved and lost and lived? Left with your memories, the voices of the past, and, for those people lucky enough to commune with the spirit world, left to communicate with souls... never to see their loved ones again or touch them.
LIFE.....

it's been too long since my last blog!

2007-09-28T00:13:00.000-04:00

ok, so, i am treating this blog, I've noticed, the way I have always treated my journals... uhm, I write enthusiastically in the beginning and then something comes up and I forget to write in it! UGGGGGGG!!! BUT I am writing now, so better late than never, right? ;)

Ok, OK it's time for the shameless plug... I'd like you all to check out an amazing photographer, who not only takes lovely pics, but is also a total quality person. I am glad to call her my friend and wouldn't have used anybody else on my big day last year! SO, check her out... Jennifer Shea and you can check her out in my "talented people to check out" column. Both her blog and her website are showcased there. Show her some people and give her business! :)

oopsy! need to make a correction...

2007-09-19T18:04:00.000-04:00

hey hey hey,
SO, after 6 months of going to my acupuncturist, I now find out I have been spelling her name wrong this whole time! DUH! Her name is Karoline Gostl (no "r").... lol I have corrected on her link but figured I shoud actually say something in regards to it. Thanks Karoline for calling it out! See ya Monday ...lol :)

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2007-09-13T23:15:00.000-04:00

What is it about red velvet cake that makes people's sweet tooths swoon like a teenage girl in love? I never saw the fascination with it, especially after watching Steel Magnolias and the bleeding armadillo grooms cake... YUCK! Well, tonight I decided to get over my distaste for R.V.C. It happens to be my best friend's favorite dessert and since she's leaving for a much longed for and much deserved vacation, I am seeing her before she takes off. I figured it would make her happy and what a great way to try a new recipe out, right? Well, I am all sugared out and have no idea what they taste like. Once I taste them I'll post my review.. but in the mean time, you can look at a pic of them and have sugar filled dreams...lol :)The end result was Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla & Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting.... yeah ok, it sounds damn good... IF I say so myself! lol
Will keep you posted!

Fall's in the air

2007-09-12T20:15:00.000-04:00

It's mid September(sort of) and time is flying. How is it time just zooms by & sweeps you along with it when we're older but it lags behind when we're kids? I didn't post anything yesterday, mainly I just had nothing to say. That happens alot in my life. So, it's funny that I chose to start a blog when for the most part I have nothing to say. Go figure. Maybe it's my way of learning how to get out of my shell & connecting with my inner self. Who knows. ANYWAY, I am digressing!

I went to acupuncture last night, and if you've never tried it I highly recommend it. I went in completely anxious, depressed, exhausted, on the brink of tears. My therapist, Karoline, suggested it might be b/c of 9/11. We were all affected by it, especially if you were in any of the areas directly associated with it. I made sure not to watch any of the news yesterday , which kept replaying images of the WTC going down and all the mass hysteria. I even forgot about it throughout the day. I did feel badly about that but life goes on and yesterday so did I. .... OR so I thought. I didn't think that subconsciously I was feeling the negativity and vibes associated with the day. Will it be like this always? Not only was I feeling this way, but alot of people around me too. I offered up a prayer for everyone affected and called it a day, but it wasn't until I got to acupuncture that I realized no matter what, this day is ingrained in those of us who lived to tell. Funny how the mind works, huh!

And speaking of acupuncture, if anyone is in the Queens, NY area or in the NYC area(and willing to travel), please check out the BEST acupuncturist ever. Her name is Karoline Grostl and she ROCKS! She's funny, calming, sweet, and she knows her stuff. She makes sure you feel like jelly by the time you leave her office. I am attaching her link to my blog so you can check her out.

Oh and before I forget, the other reason why I started this blog was to promote the talented, creative, amazing people around me. I will be adding people's links to this blog and proudly will pimp them out! SO, please support these wonderful talents and help them do their life's work.

OH and one last thing.... check out James Wolcott! He's this incredibly talented composer and musician from NYC by way of Nebraska. His links are also on the blog under "Required Listening". His bands include U.S. scientists, Six Demon, Hasteur, NE ,all under the umbrella of Mercer Friendly. Currently, he is working with his musical/business partner Jason Merritt (also on the link of talented people to watch as "Jemicus") on soundtracks for video games. They are both amazingly talented individuals who deserve many a chance in the spot light. Check them out and enjoy!

Baking and working....

2007-09-10T20:17:00.000-04:00

I rediscovered my passion for baking this weekend. I took a class at the ICE with my very good friend Elaine... "Making and Decorating Perfect Birthday Cakes". I hadn't forgotten what it was like to make something from scratch but I really had forgotten the accolades that come with a fantastically delicious dessert and how it good it feels to 1.feed people & 2. get compliments. I guess that's my "chicken soup for the soul" except in my case, it's more like "baked goods for the ego"...lol
We made 2 very decadent cakes... the 1st was a white cake with chocolate ganache and raspberry filling. The 2nd was a devil's food cake with a chocolate mocha buttercream... YUM! Definitely not for those on a diet or afraid of butter...lol
Just had a thought.... i should just bake more stuff more often and take it to my freelance gigs... somewhere along the way I am bound to get a paying customer and maybe, just maybe it might turn into a business. It's a thought......
In the mean time, I am watching History of the World, Part I... I love this movie!! Why I don't own it is beyond me! Oh to be Madeline Khan's character of the Roman empress... best character ever!

Factory Girl....

2007-09-09T00:42:00.001-04:00

Why do creative types(artists, musicians, etc) have to be ass wipes? I know that's a generalization and I know that not ALL creatives are ass wipes. But after watching this movie, it just seems like it. Andy Warhol was such a shit.... using people around him to gain fame and credibility. How many updated Warhols are out there now in Hipster land? With daddy's trust fund being spent away as they live the "artist's life"... tre bohemian... viva la vie boheme. And yet they are the ones that make the connections... they are the ones that make it work and get known, get credit, get richer? !! But someone like me or MY creative types get SHIT! B/c we don't schmooze, b/c we don't kiss ass, b/c we don't connect with the new Warhols and Sedgwiks, hipsters and their wannabes. Things don't change I guess and maybe I should find some comfort in that. But the only thing I find is true and utter disgust. And now, I am truly depressed!

Welcome to Cakekitty Land!! Post 1

2007-09-08T20:32:00.000-04:00

So, this is my 1st "blog" and I am not quite sure what the hell I am doing or what I want to write about. HAHA... WELCOME TO CAKEKITTY LAND!! A rollercoaster ride into my world of uncertainty, insecurities, silliness, and confusion.... WOOHOO!
I want this blog to be my journal, my sketch book, my silent buddy in which I write in when I remember it exists.
To those who read this, good luck! HAHAHAHA Kidding! I'm really not a complete "Eyore"( ok, the donkey dude in Winnie the Pooh....lol... constantly down and depressed throwing pity parties for himself). I have my moments of "Eyore-ness" but then i bounce right up again like "Tiger" and sometimes get all sweet and gooey like "Winnie the Pooh". WOW! I am making Disney cartoon references about myself... SERIOUSLY!! I think it's time for "waffles"!!
So, this is me.... nice to meet ya all. Nice to meet me....lol :)

Let's see where this rollercoaster takes us.

Peace out!