I did it! I took a class on doodling. I have been wanting to get back to drawing and I took this super fun class on doodling. I learned many things, but one that struck me is that perspective matters in whether or not we can manifest our dreams and follow our passion. An example is some of the doodlings that may have looked all weird at first. With some ingenuity, coloring markets and creativity, they ended up looking pretty cool! Here are some of them (I am having trouble uploading my favorite but will as soon as I can):

A blob once, a lovely couple now.

The same blob, turned upside down is a little grumpy ball monster!

A lovely flower 

My favorite: A potato! I have always wanted a potato tattoo on my leg. 

This one was a blob too. I turned it into this drawing. 

Things I love and how they make me feel:

I love chocolate chip pancakes because they are delicious and make me feel silly and playful and quirky. 

I love the ocean. Specially this Puerto Rican playa—playa Flamenco. The ocean makes me feel peaceful, expansive, serene.

I love cuddling with my dogs. It makes me feel serene, calm, playful, giddy. (That is actually my sister cuddling with them, but it is difficult to take a photograph of me cuddling with them. I hope she never sees this site).

 I love Glee…and all singing ventures. This makes me feel buoyant, light, giddy, and yes a bit silly.

I am a sucker for good writing. Good grammar, good content, all that. It makes me feel centered, wise, capable. 

Walking and Talking. I like em both. One makes me feel free and healthy, the other connected and smart.

Speaking of walking, did I mention I love shoes? These are chocolate shoes! Even better because I am coco for choco. Why shoes, you may ask? I feel stylish, secure, grounded, creative. Chocolate, well I just love chocolate. I also think it’s a comfort and decadence thing—an enthusiasm shared by many a lady.

Gah, remember Mr. Bubbles? I think I became a bath enthusiast then. Not only do I love baths, I love bathrooms. I love being in them, reading in them, singing in them. They make me feel at peace, and calm, decadent too.

My obsession with makeup began early on, when I purchased Revlon’s Toast of NY. Didn’t you have that color too? Today, playing with makeup makes me feel stylish, creative, artsy, and decadent (there’s that word again)

One of the reasons I love makeup is because I love colors. Colors make me feel happy, silly, like I’m floating, creative. 

Colorful fractals? Even better. Fractals should be my symbol. Chaotic and creative, orderly and rational. They make me feel creative and smart and calm and wild all at once. 

I loved learning about fractals back in middle school. My math teacher told me they were too difficult for me to understand, I took that as a healthy challenge and did a project on fractals for the math fair. That’s the kind of precocious child I was—the kind that loved learning. I still do. Learning makes me feel smart, responsible, grounded, wise. By the way, I kind of agree with that boy. I still love learning. Also he is so darn cute. 

I bet he would look absolutely cute in a onesie—another one of the things I love. Mine is black—like a penguin. Boy, would I love some colored ones, like these. They make me feel comforted, secure, silly, playful, joyful.  

Much like cake decorating. I am not sure how I came to love cake decorating. One day I was working on my MA and suddenly the house was filled with cakes. Then I worked as a cake decorator for a while. I still miss it. This is the funnier cake I have made to date..one of my first. Decorating cakes made me feel absolutely creative, silly, and yet grounded, calm (two big ones there).

The other place that makes me feel very grounded is a cemetery. I hesitated to add this one because I am not sure people will understand it, but cemeteries make me feel calm, at peace, and appreciative. I will not post a picture of a cemetery here, but I will post a picture of my next favorite thing (since we arrived at the obscure things I love): POOP. The word! The word. The word poop tickles me. Makes me feel silly, joyful, childlike. The word poop is not on this picture, but the picture evokes the feeling I get. 

I took a pause just now to drink some chocolate milk. Another favorite. Chocolate milk takes me back to my childhood days. Close to the chocolate milk is the chocolate milkshake, which I love to pair with fried pickles. FRIED PICKLES. Yum. These all makeme feel invigorated, playful, and secure.

Now that we have moved on to the simple things in life, here are a couple I enjoy. They tap into my creativity, desire for mental stimulation, and encourage me to be mindful. 

A good book will always catch and keep my attention, stimulate my intellect and transport me to new places.

Puzzles and board games challenge my intellect and keep me on my toes. When I was younger, I passed out playing Memory. 

When I was younger I used to get puzzles and board games for christmas. Presents galore. Another favorite. I am not sure I even need to explain why I like presents. Why not? Presents make me feel cared for, special, decadent, pretty. So do the holidays. So I offer you my other love: Holidays and presents. Holidays that include presents? Even better. 

This last one is extra special because it includes some of my favorite things. Coffee, brunch, mallorcas (a delicious spanish sweet bread), Puerto Rico, and my sister. It is absolutely specific. Whenever Maria and I find ourselves back home, we go to this delicious little place called La Bombonera. The waiters know us there already so they are absolutely charming. We order the same thing every time: two coffees, two ojs (freshly squeezed), two croquetas, two mallorcas with ham and cheese, cinnamon and lots of powdered sugar, pleeease. This is what is all looks like. This makes me feel divine, loved, cherished. 

Why, I declare that doing things that make me feel divine, quirky, smart, healthy, creative, peaceful, silly, joyful, decadent, secure, mindful, capable, serene, buoyant, pampered, nurtured, wise, and playful make me tick.   

Here is a little story of the things I love. 

I wake up and cuddle with my dogs for a bit before dragging our tuchus to the kitchen. An ocean of coffee, chocolate, and chocolate chip pancakes await. My very own magic elves—they wear bright yellow onesies—treated me to brunch this morning. What a lovely present! Bless their adorable blue and orange shoes (sometimes they wear other colors too).

Munching away, sending off little chunks of chocolate to breakfast cemetery, I hanker for some edumacation. I grab a good good book on Fractals and rejoice as colors bring chaos and order to life. Fractals are so bendy and puzzling. You would think they spend their life in all sorts of yoga positions, but the truth is that they simply are. You can actually find them anywhere. They are more like miracles than yogis. They are also inspiring. I want to draw all sorts of shapes after looking at them.

And I do, first on the water as I take a bath. I draw little shapes on the bubbles. One looks like poop, which tickles me, as I find the word very funny. Then I get to draw on my face with makeup. Joyful event when I get to play with makeup. Later, I will play with frosting, piping away silly “Happy Birthday”s—all in good writing. An equally elating experience. Just thinking about this makes me feel like singing. So, I do. I belt out a song I heard on Glee yesterday. It’s a Christmas song. It’s March, but I love Christmas music, so I sing away. Every day is a holiday in my world.   

Will you believe me if I tell you that I don’t remember the first thing about the Little Prince? I read the book many times and watched the movies even more times when I was a youngin. I mostly remember the feeling of wonderment, commitment to life and honesty the Little Prince had. He is my role model. Hence my nick. I have enrolled in this super cool course to help me recapture my essential Petit Prince, thedeclarationofyou.com, and I am going to use this space as my Declaration of You cyberspace. This is my first stab at using tumblr…should be a fun ride. Wheeeee.