Today is momentous. Sure, it's Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday and all. It's also the day that marks the first appearance of the Democratic donkey in political cartoons. The Coca-Cola company, Chad Lowe and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority all owe it's existence to this day. But more importantly, today is the day that the boyfriend (let's just call him "Mr. Big & Tall") makes an actual guest appearance on the blog, instead of the usual "omg, I love my bf" comment from yours truly.

Mr. Big & Tall's choice of blog topic is actual perfect as today is also the day that the first Superbowl was played in 1969 between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs. I wish I could take credit for this stroke of genius, but it was more of coincidence than anything else. 'Round here, we take coincidences seriously, and so I'll hand it over the man of the hour (or day?).

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5 THINGS GIRLS SHOULD KNOW FOR THE BIG GAME

1. Know who the hell is playing.  
Maybe you don't wake up to Sportscenter. But prior to the big game, I know you've seen billions of commercials and billboards about who is playing and which star quarterback is ready to turn up. One of the biggest mistakes made by a person that's not interested in sports is to confuse team names. Don't call the Denver Broncos the Denver Nuggets. And don't be surprised if the guys look at you crazy for screaming "Go Sixers!" when the Niners are playing. "You're not a sports fan, are you." Make sure you do your research or politely ask somebody the names if the teams before hand. And look up a stat or two. Throw out the fact that the Seahawks had one of the best defenses in the league this year and people will think you know your shit.  

This video is just sad. 

Fun fact: Each Super Bowl has a home team and an away team. Home teams wear dark colors while away teams wear white. The NFL determines which team is home by alternating based on the number of the Super Bowl.  This is Super Bowl 48. AFC teams are home on even years and NFC teams are away. That means, of the four teams in contention this year, either the Broncos or the Patriots will wear navy, and the 49ers or Seahawks will be in white. 

2. There's no dunking in football. 
A touchdown and a dunk have nothing in common, except when Jimmy Graham scores.

I love basketball but don't confuse it with football, where men take concussions like punishment each and every play. It seems like a no brainer but there are a lot of people who don't know these things, so learn them! One of the most aggravating things you can do is make somebody explain the simple rules of the game, especially at a time like the Super Bowl. Honestly, you'd probably just get sent to make me a sandwich. A touchdown is 6 points with an extra point for a kick afterwards. A field goal is 3 points, but it's not a three-pointer. Scream "3 pointer!" and  the whole room may go quiet. So save yourself the embarrassment and know the basic rules. I even included a link below that will give you everything you need to know about the game of football. Click here for an embarrassment-proof Super Bowl Sunday.

3. Speak now or forever hold your peace.  
It's fine to speak during commercials,if you must, even though during the Super Bowl is when the best commercials are shown. But when the game is back on, no unnecessary conversations please. Once you see that ball get kicked off, men are focused and excited about the most watched game in the world and breaking our concentration for something that can wait until later will just aggravate us and make us wish we were watching it somewhere else. And then you will get sent to make me a sandwich. Sorry ladies, but it's the truth.

4. The bandwagon is full.
If you happen to choose a team, stick with that team regardless the outcome. Nobody shows love to the bandwagon rider. First quarter: Woo hoo let's go Niners but 4th quarter and now it's let's go Pats!?!?!? "Huh?" Real sports fans are gonna think you're fake and not respect your opinion at a sporting event ever again. Don't abandon your team.


5. Be a lady but don't be afraid to be one of the guys, too. 

Don't be weird and quiet in the corner. No one likes the girl who looks like she doesn't want to be there. Eat a damn chicken wing. A girl covered in BBQ sauce is always more attractive then a girl with perfect makeup and a stank look on her face. Watch the game, chime in (with the right shit) and relax. Don't sit on your phone for entertainment; sit your ass down and enjoy the show. It's the most watched game in the world and this year Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers will be performing at the halftime show. Drink a few beers and have fun, but at the same time, don't get white girl wasted. This isn't the time and place, and I'm not looking forward to carrying you home, although I will because I'm a gentleman like that.

1 ; 2; 3; 4 

Romance > Logic

I was almost convinced I'd be a Spencer, but part of me knew I was also an Aria.

To begin, big shout out to Elisabeth @ My Cup of Sparkle. Sometime last week, I stumbled across her post with her quiz result and decided to follow suit. She's such a darling so her result wasn't surprising at all.

Back to my quiz results. As soon as Aria Montgomery's face popped up, I knew the results were right without reading the description.

This is me. Today. At this very moment. The reason I thought I might be more like Spencer Hastings is because that's how I use to be. In high school, I was all about definite answers and straightforward questions. Now, I embrace the flexibility of my surroundings and have learned to be okay with the cloudiness of life and it's tumultuous relationships. At 25, romance trumps logic.

If you don't know, both of these characters are from the ABC Family show, Pretty Little Liars, a mystery-thriller that first premiered in 2010. Four friends unite after the funeral of their missing friend Alison. Before Alison went missing, an intricate web of secrets connected the five friends, and after the funeral, anonymous texts from "A" threaten to use the secrets to tear their lives apart. And seasons later, "A" has evolved into an "A team", yet its members are still mostly anonymous to the girls. Episode after episode, Spencer, Hannah, Emily and Aria follow clues to find out who is harassing them and who killed Alison. And surprisingly, it never gets old.

A younger Kari would've definitely been dubbed a Spencer without question. Spencer, the daughter of a wealthy family who expects nothing less than perfection, is the intelligent friend with a competitive nature, even towards her older sister. ...As a teenager, I tried my hardest to be perfect. I didn't really have time for boys. I had As to earn, gymnastics routines to nail. When report cards were distributed, I'd scan it quickly to be sure all grades were above 95%. I remember getting a 94 in chemistry and walking to my teacher's office in tears, promising to do extra credit and stop speaking out in class if he gave me the extra percentage point. I spent almost 20 hours per week at gymnastics practice. And I constantly felt the pressure from my parents to do everything just right. I'm not saying that this pressure was a negative thing; I'm just saying that it was definitely there. I was Spencer. All situations had logical answers and could be explained by reasoning them through. The heart must be ignored in favor of the brain knows it all. It was a black and white world.  

Now, there are times I wish I was still a Spencer. Logical, strong and secure. These days I feel more like an Aria. That's not a bad thing necessarily, but it can get a little... messy. See, Aria leads with her heart. She's impulsive and loving, which leads her to fall in love quickly and sometimes with the wrong people. I don't think I fall in love easily, but when I do, I love hard. Once I've opened my heart to someone, it's really hard for me to close it, almost impossible. I'll fight with you, but I'll fight for you that much harder. Over the past few years, I've become a person who loves love, gushes over grand gestures, and rereads (or rewinds) sappy, romantic scenes. Although Aria can be offended easily, especially by those whom she loves most, she always has their back no matter what. She's a fierce friend. I like that about her. I like to think that I'm a fierce friend too. I've become somewhat of a confidant for many of my friends, who can call me in the middle of the day to gossip or in the middle of the night to cry on my metaphorical shoulder. Instead of aiming for perfection, I find that I try my hardest to be there for the people I love, to be a good person. I see things in gray tones now, understanding that I don't have all the answers and that's okay. In fact, somedays I don't even know the question. Seeing people excited is one of my favorite things and it makes me emotional to see someone brimming with happiness. The only thing better than seeing someone's eyes light up is being the person who lit the match.

Now that I've typed all these thoughts out, I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with it. When I took this quiz a few days ago, I had this idea in my head about it - how I've become a different person over the years, not better or worse, just different. I may be more creative and open-minded and more willing to take risks, but I know that I can also be strong and secure, that I'm capable of figure things out if I need to. In order for romance to trump logic, both have to exist in me in the first place.

Now that I've official rambled on for paragraphs, go take the quiz and see what your results are. Are they what you expected? Tune into Pretty Little Liars Tuesday night and try to compare yourself to your "pretty little liar personality." I should be watching tomorrow at 8pm , and I usually do a bit of live tweeting during commercials. If you watch, let's live tweet together!

Ps: Did any of you cuddle up with a cup of tea and watch the Golden Globes last night? Breaking Bad & American Hustle did pretty well for themselves, didn't they? :) Here's my favorite moment from the night. As if I could love J.Law any more.

 
Happy Monday!

Sweating for Summer (Even If It's Freezing Outside)

Getting fit (again) has been one of my perpetual new year's resolutions and this year is no different. Two days ago, I stepped on the digital scale I have tucked in the back of my closet for my sanity safe keeping, and the highest number I have ever seen popped up on the screen. I'm currently the heaviest I have ever been. And strangely, this didn't send me into a panic that began with a shattered scale and ended with a blubbering Kari slumped in the corner of my room. I just looked down at the number and calmly put the soul-crushing device back in the closet. My panic then commenced in the form of list-making. When things feel like they're spiraling out of control, I make a list of what I need to do because it grounds me. So, on Wednesday, I tore four marked pages out of an otherwise blank notebook and scribbled out a plan.

I've created a 25 week "Sweat for Summer" plan which will end on July 2nd (it began on Wednesday the 8th). During that time, I will be "checking in" every 2.5 weeks or so, which works out perfectly to 11 check-ins. This checking in business serves two purposes: (1) it keeps me on track for my ultimate goal, and (2) it holds me accountable. Three years ago, when I first lost quite a bit of weight, I had a fitness tumblr, which I'm convinced made a big difference because it provided support but also held me accountable . I won't be dedicating entire posts to check-ins as was the fitblr community norm (ie. no posts solely about how much weight I have or haven't lost & how I did it). But I do plan to add a line or two about my progress on check-in days, and I aim to write fitness- or health-themed posts on those days. Just in case you're interested, here are those dates: Jan 24th, Feb 9th & 25th, Mar 13th & 29th, Apr 14th & 30th, May 16th, Jun 1st & 17th, July 2nd.

Over the next 5+ months, I expect my fitness goals and routines will change, but for now I'm focusing primarily on interval running (one of my resolutions) and secondarily on a Valentine's Day themed workout. I recently discovered the lovely Karena & Katrina over at Tone It Up, whose fitness videos have already taken the YouTube and general community by storm, and I've been loving their Fat Burning Treadmill Workout.

Let me be clear. I do not complete this run as is. Let me be clearer. When I first found this right after Thanksgiving, I tried to run it as is. I died by the end of the first jogging interval. I'm terribly out of running shape. In fact, because I was never a runner, that doesn't really pertain - I'm just out of shape in general. So, I modify the hell out of this routine. I don't increase the incline at all, and I dramatically decrease the mph for each interval (ie. I jog at around 4.0 and sprint at 5.0). Even though I followed this workout on-and-off throughout December, Wednesday was my "starting over" day as I was out of the gym due to the holiday and caught a cold on New Year's Eve. But I'm really pushing myself every time I run, and hope to run at least according to the speeds above by the end of the month. Strangely enough, after downloading an app that beeps with the change of each interval and adding custom songs to each part, I'm excited to hop on the treadmill for 30 minutes most days. It also seems that this routine will teach me to pace myself when I run, making it an easier transition to running outside (which I really dislike at the moment but want to be able to do. I think).      

There's also the Tone It Up Love Your Body Series, which seems like such a wonderful, confidence building workout. I'd love to add this to my routine as soon as I can plan it all out. The ladies of Tone It Up created this 6-week series to motivate women to get fit for Valentine's Day by finding their "confident, fit, and fierce" selves. Every Sunday, the weekly schedule is posted and it's as simple as following it. Plus, they are giving away prizes each week from both TIU and Victoria Secret Sport. I'm talking at you about all of this, and you're probably staring at your screen all like Kari, you're about a year late. Okay, well, why did you didn't tell me about this series then, huh? :)

But I bet you didn't know they have a t.v. show called Toned Up! (If you did, please don't kill my vibe.) I'm watching last week's episode as I type. Tune into Bravo at 10:30pm on Thursdays to watch.

I'm eager to start this "fitness journey". I expect this accountability is just what I need to kick my booty into gear. What are your fitness goals for the year? Let me know in the comments and let's keep each other motivated!

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Why I'm Still Crushing on The Rock

Why does that feel like some huge admission? Ten years ago this would've felt more like a "duh" statement and less like a confession. Back in 2002, it would've been excusable to be crushing hard on The Rock. Well, aside from the fact that Triple H was my favorite WWF wrestler and he & The Rock had major beef, so I wasn't actually allowed to like him. It's kind of like not being allowed to like BSB because you are an NSYNC fan, but jamming to "Backstreet's Back" in your room when your friends aren't around to judge you. But now it's not a make believe beef that makes it shameful, but rather, it's the fact that Dwayne Johnson is just over 40 years old and a rather low-key celebrity, breaking all unwritten laws that celebrity crushes must be twenty-something and media tabloid worthy. But, if you ask me, this more than makes up for, well, anything.

Now, being extremely muscular isn't like a prerequisite for me (I'm normally not a fan of it), but it surely isn't a deal-breaker either. Apparently, the reason he's so fit is because he's training to play Hercules in the upcoming film adaptation. Not that I really care why he looks like a creature of perfection. When the world gifts you, you don't ask questions; you shut up and you silently say thank you with a nod and wide eyes.

He's not afraid to let you know: even he has a difficult workout sometimes. His Instagram is full of workout photos captioned with words like "When it comes to success, consistency is key. Consistent hard work that we may not like, but for a payoff we'll love #Earnit". He also posts motivational videos where he stops and yells "focus!" in the middle of a set to a gym full of people. He works hard, and he lets us know that all that glorious-ness (yeah, I made that up) doesn't come easy.

He conquers roller coasters. As if a mere roller coaster could scare a man who can curl 80 pounds. That's right. Eighty pounds per arm. His arms are almost the size of his head, and he's cruising down this mountain like he owns it. I'm not understanding the fear of everyone behind him. As if anything could possibly get past this rock of a man (see what I did there?). And the guy in the back? That would totally be me, crying because I'm not close enough to hold on to one of those amazing biceps. Just sayin'.

He looks at home with a spatula. How can you not love a man that cooks? I'm sure that when I found out my boyfriend makes a pretty tasty pan of lasagna, he became my own personal Mr. Big (& Tall) right then and there. A man who can, and does, cook is after my own heart, for real. And breakfast is my favorite meal even if I'm eating it after noon. I smell what he's cooking and it's blueberry-banana pancakes, ladies. I doubt anyone would mind waking up to that.

He gets into the festivities and isn't afraid to be silly. How could any Christmas lover not get in the spirit with this picture of perfection? A fully decked out tree, gifts galore and a beautiful man in a santa hat. Only 351 days until the season. And he has no problem drinking with himself. Here, he is ringing in the New Year with a personal bottle of champagne and the second-best looking guy in the room.   

And let's be real, he's gorgeous. Featured on the cover of Essence magazine in August of 2013  
and interviewed within, he states that he wants "someone who can trust that my big hands are going to take care of them." Swoon. Well, if I didn't have a pair of big hands taking care of me already, I might be tempted :)

Who is your celebrity crush? Do you share mine or do you have a steamy one of your own?

 1; 2; 3; 4; 5, edited by me; 6

I Resolve...

There are people who refuse to make resolutions for the new year and have lots of reasons for that. I respect it (and even get it to a certain extent) but I am not one of them. Yes, I'm one of those people that makes resolutions every year. And yes, every year I forget at least a few if not many of them. But that never deters me from making them. I like the exercise of having a "clean slate" (although everyday is arguably one) and writing down my yearly goals to becoming a better person.   

I remain on a quest to become an early riser, to drink more water, read 20 books and buy more fresh flowers, but on this first Monday of the year (first Motivation Monday, if you will), I'm going to share a few of my main resolutions of 2014 from the list of nearly 20 I've scrawled in my notebook.

Be on time. I'm notoriously infamous for being late. I've embraced it as part of me because it's always been who I am, but honestly, I don't like it at all. When it comes to professional things, I really need to embrace the concept that "if you're 5 minutes early, you're on time." And personally, it's definitely a funny joke between my friends and I, so I don't hate it entirely. But I can't knock the feeling that I'm letting people down when I show up late. I'll probably always struggle with this in one way or another, but this year, I'm trying at least.

Continue to build my blog & have the courage to publicize it. I have been blogging for, what, 5 months now and I have yet to tell most of the people in my life about it. My boyfriend knows and 2 of my closest friends read it occasionally, but that's it. Sometimes, I'll post related things on both my blog and my social media accounts (i.e. you'll probably see one of these photo quotes on IG/twitter today), but I've never connected them. Whenever I see an IG post captioned with "check out the new post about ______ on the blog", I silently wish I could just do that. It's just a pretty big deal for me to put myself out there like that for people that I know in real life. It probably makes no sense, but writing is kind of an intimate part of me and for some reason, it's a lot easier to expose to the general internet. But sometime in 2014, I'm going to have a captioned pic and a blog link in my IG profile, damn it!
I also plan to continue to build my blog actively. I'm going to focus on 3 posts per week (like MWF) and really concentrate on the content I put up here. Although I loved Monday Morning Motivation and Friday Favorites posts last year, I don't think I'll be doing it weekly this year. There may be posts that are also motivational on mondays (like this one, sort of) or related to my favorite things on fridays, but they won't be a simple photo kind of post. It feels like cheating. If it's a quick photo post and really nothing else, they'll be "add-ons".

Become a runner. Disclaimer: I'm not someone who's always wanted to run but never thought she could do it. Granted, I probably can't, for the record. But I actually hated running for like ever. I have nightmares from my gymnastics training days about running around the track and my dad chasing behind me on a bike yelling "move faster". It's a strong word, but I hated it. Strangely enough, at the end of 2013 I began running on and off, and I've found that I actually enjoy it. Tides change. I'm slow as shit though, of course (I can hear my father yelling on that grandfather bike now).   

Love the home I live in. You've already read about how I need a cleaning schedule to prevent my apartment from descending into total disarray. It's such a task, even more so in the city. City apartments are small. And when I say small, I mean, take the normal idea of small and think ⅓ of that. We live on top of one another in cupboards of apartments with running water than is at times far too hot and radiators that are far too cold in the dead of winter. I'm making the city sound so unattractive right now, but I love living here, as I've said a million times. I want to love my home too, which requires that I really streamline my possessions (the tinier the space, the quicker it becomes a mess), conform to a cleaning schedule and decorate to turn my apartment into my itsy-bitsy castle.

Stop being afraid to be a "writer." It's not as if I haven't written about this, so this is a continuation from the progress I made last year. Late last year, I finally found the courage to post some of my fiction, but I'm still not completely confident in being a writer. Sure, I can tell my friends that I write, but I'm not at the point where I can introduce myself as "Kari. Attorney and writer." Part of the reluctancy is my lack of "credentials" for lack of a better word. Graduating law school serves as my credential for my first title. But for the second, what? I like to write? I'm still figuring it out, but I figure that taking a writing class could be a good start to answer this question. And always carrying a good pen. Because anyone who walks around with a fancy pen must have it to jot down brilliant prose, right? Right.

The notebook that I've written these resolution in has this quote on the cover. I'm obsessed.

Travel more (as always). I'm sure this is on everyone's list for 2014. I spent a single weekend outside of New York last year. One. And my poor wanderlust soul is screaming "let me out" because of it. It would be heaven to get out of the country at least once this year (I haven't left the U.S. since the summer of 2012), but I'd also settle for a few weekend trips. I've always had this urge to adventure and discover, and I want to do a lot of that in 2014. "London, Paris! I'm talking about you two beauts!"

Fall in love with my life. This is pretty much the theme of 2014 for me. Live. I want to live a life that I love. A few weeks ago, my Instagram feed was flooded with "Best Moments of 2013" videos. Almost instantaneously, I felt like my "best moments" weren't enough. I've accomplished quite a bit in 2013 for sure, yet I viewed my year as quite - I'm just going to go ahead and say the thing you're not suppose to say - boring. I'm being dramatic (& maybe I'm letting social media factor in too much), but I don't want to be bored with my life.

1; 2 edited by me, 3; 4.  

Got any goals for 2014? Tell me about them in the comments!

Gettin' Fancy :)

I haven't written a proper blog post in, what I don't know, like a week, but I wanted to check in for the new year with a few new things.

So if it hasn't happened already, it's happening momentarily - I'm getting fancy, dear! And by fancy I mean, a new blog/domain name and a new layout. I'm working on getting everything to "play nicely" so to speak (the layout, domain name, social media links), but once it's all in place, it'll be the new and improved "The Kari Diaries."

But, what about "Lipstick Stains and Coffee Cups"? I thought you really loved it. There's no denying that I did. I thought about my blog name long and hard before I really began blogging and trying to become a part of the blogging community. You can see here how much it symbolizes to me. Then why change it? Well, have you seen how long it is? 5 words, 27 letters. Eeep! For a pretty long time, both my boyfriend and my friends that know about my blog, couldn't remember the url for the life of them. Also, not only did my name give no indication of what my blog was about, but my blog was (or rather it is?) slowly becoming something more than it's name. It's not just about beauty and thoughts. I mean, it includes those things but it also encompasses so much more than that. "The Kari Diaries" is shorter, sweeter and informative - this a blog about me, my innermost thoughts and desires as well as any and everything else. And I love it. It's here to stay :)

Welcome to The Kari Diaries. Do stay a while!

And because I'd feel weird leaving this post so simple, here are two songs that I've been playing on repeat for the past week. I really enjoy ABC Family shows and sometimes, I'll hear a song on an episode and rewind that scene a hundred times just to hear it again. These two from Ravenswood (which I'm catching up on at the moment) and Pretty Little Liars, respectively, are really great songs. Both of them have introduced me up to music by both The Civil Wars and The Rescues, two amazing groups with harmonies that are out of this world. I really love the sound of musical harmony :)

2013 has brought so many great things along with it: 

The view of the Empire State Building from my block. It's always been there, but I've come to appreciate it much more this past year.

My favorite professor placing the doctoral hood over my head, signifying my completion of law school & welcoming me into the ranks.

Starting this blog, which helped soften the blow of studying for the bar everyday for 2 months.

A 5 year relationship still going strong & getting stronger day by day.

Receiving the email announcing that I passed the New York Bar. 

Special moments with my dad (& my mom, too!), as he learns to see me as the adult that I'm becoming & I learn to remember that I'll always be daddy's little girl. 

.     .     .     

2014, I'm ready for you and I plan to make you an amazing 365 days - please, be good to me :)