Livin' La Vida Without the Loca

Mase - Welcome Back
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Oh Heavenly Heavens! I had never heard this song until the trip. It was on a mix CD Greg made and I fell in love with it. I won't tell you how many times I've played it since being back. And we played it as we rolled back into Provo on to University Ave Monday evening. I just love the [black] children singing! And maybe you first heard this in 2007. I tend to be out of the loop when it comes to "black people" music. Sue me.

Listen, I'm gonna have most of these pictures and more on Facebook soon enough. So just chill out about the collage format of them. I get excited about collages and I just went with it. Okay?

Party people guest list:
Lindsey Muir (gal pal also studying ComD with me. we go way back)
Greg Johnson (Lindsey's cousin)
Jacob Taylor (Greg's freshmen roommate/Lindsey's arm candy)
Hannah Banana Montana Fontana ( coolgirl with the shiny hair and Asian eyes)

Automobile of choice: 1998 Buick Le Sabre (we later named it Mishu [MEE-shu]. long story.)

Destination: Irvine, CA where Lindsey's from

Day 1:


We left Provo Thursday afternoon around 4:30 PM. We stopped in St. George for din din at Denny's. I was already giggling my head off by then. Turns out, Greg is a very goofy boy. Almost too goofy. And it also turns out, Denny's dinner food is not that great. Take my word for it.

Day 2:



On Friday we headed to the beach for lunch before the rain came. Ruby's on the Pier! Of course I took a picture of my food. This food happens to be called the "Super Ruby" and it's a burger on Parmesan sourdough bread with provolone and avocado. Deliciouso? Of course. Did I keep track of the calories consumed this weekend? Of course NOT.

We went to Downtown Disney that night (it's the shops and restaurants just outside the entrance to the Magic Kingdom) and walked around.

Not pictured: My new Lego astronaut keychain from the Lego store. Me with giant characters made from Legos like Woody, Transformers, and a cutie giraffe (opulence. i has it) how could i resist adding my favorite line from my favorite commercial featuring a giraffe?

We ended the night with Yogurtland frozen yogurt. I wasn't expecting much considering how many different places we have in town, but it was honestly impressive and so tasty. My new fav!

Day 3:



Saturday started out lovely with no rain clouds in sight. It was a tad windy, but still gorgeous. We headed to the place called "OC Great Park" where there is a giant orange hot air balloon on cables that citizens can ride for free and see all of the area from the sky. Due to high winds, it wasn't operating. But we still rode the merry-go-round and took lots of silly pictures. Next on the agenda was the Spectrum shopping center and Chipotle. I went over my budget and bought a few lovely things from H&M and the huge Forever 21. Don't tell my Dad.

My older cousin and her family live in San Clemente (just 20ish minutes outside Irvine) and so I spent the evening with them while my party peeps went to an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Lindsey's lil bro. I enjoyed take out from Panera and old school Mario on the Wii with my cousin's kids. Complete bliss.

Note to self: Grow up. Get married. Have beautiful mixed race children. Move to San Clemente.


Day 4:



We went to Lindsey's home ward Sunday morning. Elder Christofferson's brother is from there. He spoke. It was awesome. Then we headed down to San Diego where Jacob's fam lives. We ate yummy dinner and had the time of our lives. Turns out Jacob is also an oldest child with really young parents- JUST.LIKE.ME. They were hilarious and so much fun. That's his pretty blonde sister pictured with us. Then we went a little further to see the San Diego Temple. We walked around, but mostly took approx 890 pictures. Then we headed back to Lindsey's casa and played Skipbo with her fam.

Last day:



We woke up super early Monday morning to head back to Provo. Greg snapped this picture of Lindsey's dog, Barney, who happens to be my favorite English lab in the world. Oh, I just love him! Then we stopped in Vegas for lunch at In-N-Out. I keep thinking of things to write to make this sound more exciting or funny, but its all a bunch of inside jokes that you wouldn't find funny.



I decided to share some pictures that I find cute. And maybe to display how much Greg makes me laugh. The booty shakin' picture is due to a dare. Every time we ate out somewhere we played the sugar passing game. When we played at Ruby's we decided that if I won, he had to kiss the pier outside covered in bird poop. (But not a bird poop spot, gross!) And if he won I had to shimmy, booty shake, and body roll in Jacob's personal space at some point. And there you have it. I lost and performed my tricks at Yogurtland and it was AWESOME.

All in all, this was seriously an amazing weekend and I had a really fantastic time. I'm so glad we did it and made it safely there and back.

But now my willpower to do anything productive has dropped so low it's astonishing. Por ejemplo: I put off studying for my Floral ID Exam until 1 hour before. I almost didn't take it for fear of failure. But because I am one heck of a memorizer [40 questions about common names, botanical names, root words, inflorescences, etc. ] I was able to pull it off and ace it. Or so I think. We'll see next week.

It will take every last drop of brain power I have left to make it through these next 8 weeks. I seriously hope I don't drop out!

xoxo

Booty Shakin'

This picture may or may not sum up my whole trip to California.

JOKES! (That's what Canadians [JB is Canadian] say, so of course I say it too)

But it is just a teaser of plenty more pictures to come. And in case you were wondering (ahem, Corrine Collins), I had the time of my life and I already miss spending every moment of the day with these lovely people.

Now back to reality where I pretend to study and work until I graduate in 2 months exactly!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Mr. President George Washington! I scored a cute belt at Gap today for $3.50 thanks to you ;)

Cali.For.Nia.

Please enjoy the music while your party is reached.

Okay, alright. I almost linked to the "California Girls" Katy Perry music video on YouTube, but then decided it might be too inapprop. But I seriously always have that line "please enjoy the music..." stuck in my head because I make a lot of phone calls at work and people have that service with their phone. Sometimes I put it on speakerphone to amuse myself. Sometimes "Gold Digger" is playing. Sometimes classical music is playing. Sometimes "Yellow" is playing. Sometimes I call the BYU operator just to listen to the classical music while I'm on hold. Wow wow wow, this post has gotten out of control!

The point I was trying to make is this: I'M JUST CHILLING IN THE OC FOR THE WEEKEND.

2 boys +2 girls + Southern California= Best time of my life! (EMNJBB, Northern California with you will always be my favorite -_- )

And who isn't excited about the Gap 44% off sale this weekend celebrating 44 presidents of the USA? Or H&M right in town?!

Let's get this party starteddddddddddddddddd.

XOXO

OH! And for your viewing pleasure:



Just in case you can't handle a post without pictures. Or you just really wanted to see me and my 2nd floral arrangement titled "Valentine's Bud Vase Design".

Or how about just a couple of babes and a heart shaped pizza? (On Valentine's Evening, duh!)



And if you really wanted to know, I passed my first American Heritage exam! Some thought it might be nearly impossible considering I put off studying until 2 hours before I had to take it, but I DID IT! Senioritis will not conquer me!

Never say never.

I met Justin Bieber this weekend. JOKES! I didn't meet him. But our relationship did go to the next level after I saw the midnight showing of his movie "Never Say Never" on Friday. I really did not like him or find him appealing in any way and I had super low expectations for the film before I saw it. I was kinda just going for the experience (Katie Swainhart Derrick gets even more obsessed/excited about things than I do so these types of events are SO MUCH FUN with her) and because I'm a senior skipping homework for a movie is what I'm all about these days. And I gotta say, I was blown away and I have a new found respect and love for the Bieber. I laughed, I cried, and I had the best time of my life. Plus as an added bonus, I was surrounded by dozens of awesome high schoolers making t-shirts on the floor and flirting with each other every second. And how can I even pass up complimentary Diet Coke and Kettle Corn from Katie?

Most amazing time of my life? You bet.

Just one more instance for me to look slightly Asian.

Day late and a dollar short. Literally.

I'm late. I said I'd do this yesterday. Instead I ate free Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets and watched Modern Family. I don't regret it at all. I also considered scratching this whole thing altogether. I don't know what I was thinking. Lets try this out for one day and see how it goes.

Day 1 - recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself



This is me and Vera (BFF Savannah's new puppy) over Christmas Break.

1. I'm petrified of grasshoppers. And actually any bug or thing that can crawl. Even ants!
2. I had my cell phone stolen in 9th grade. My mom left a ransom message on my voice mail. I think I paid some money to get it back. The trade took place in a bathroom stall with a scary Black girl. I left school crying. But at least I had my phone back and I have never left anything unlocked again.
3. I met Elder L. Tom Perry last summer. He came to my BYU Single's ward to check out how things are done in these parts.
4. I am terrible at writing thank you cards. But when I do, I write it all out beforehand on separate paper or on the computer. That actually goes for any kind of card, not just thank you's.
5. I played in the Bell Choir in 4th grade. I took it very seriously, thankyouverymuch.
6. I used to throw away pennies when I found them while cleaning my room.
7. The Lifetime channel made a movie about the cheerleading scandal that took place at my rival high school.
8. One time I was a bag of jelly beans for halloween. Also a cell phone. And maybe the Y2K bug.
9. I plagiarized a book report in 3rd grade. I just wrote verbatim what the back cover said. Oops.
10. I have never seen the LOTR movies. Maybe only a few clips of each.
11. I think I get asked weekly, if not daily, what my ethnicity is. Most of the time people guess Korean, Japanese, Polynesian, or Phillipino but never Hispanic. I go with it, obviously. (one time I memorized the state fish/bird of Hawaii to recite to someone so they actually believed I was Hawaiian. Awesome)
12. I love participating in research studies on campus. IT'S SO EXCITING. In fact I'm late for one as we speak.
13. One summer I had a hair wrap thread thing ( the kind you get on the beach somewhere cool on vacation) on a few strands of my hair, and instead of patiently trying to take it out I just cut the piece of hair off. At the root. You can imagine how sexy I looked.
14. I made a Build-A-Bear on my 20th birthday. FOR FREE! It was National Hug a Bear day and OF COURSE I subscribed to their emails to find out such a thing .
15. I joined FFA my senior year of high school to better my chances of scholarships. I even competed at one of their FFA shows and wore the navy blue jacket and everything.

Wasn't this fun?

30 Days of Blogging

Okay. I'm a trend follower. I confess! When I see something like this floating around blogs, I kind of feel like it might be fun. And since this blog is mostly for my own benefit and the benefit of my children someday, I'm doing this. Whether you like it or not!

30 Days of Blogging

day 1 - recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
day 2 - the meaning behind your blog name
day 3 - a picture of you as a child
day 4 - a habit that you wish you didn’t have
day 5 - a picture of somewhere you've been
day 6 - favorite super hero and why
day 7 - a picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you
day 8 - short term goals for this month and why
day 9 - something you're proud of in the past few days
day 10 - songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad
day 11 - write a bucket list of things you want to do before you die
day 12 - write a poem to someone you love
day 13 - your 5 favorite books and why
day 14 - a picture of you and your family
day 15 - put your ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
day 16 - a picture of yourself
day 17 - someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
day 18 - plans/dreams/goals you have
day 19 - write about a sweet memory from your past
day 20 - write a letter to someone
day 21 -a picture of something that makes you happy
day 22 - what makes you different from everyone else
day 23 - something you crave a lot
day 24 - post your favorite quote or verse of scripture and why
day 25 - what I would find in your bag
day 26 - list 10 things that you are thankful for
day 27 - my day job verses my passion
day 28 - cruise a thesaurus and pick out 10 words you like the sound of
day 29 - favorite TV shows and why you like them
day 30 - movies you can watch again and again

Doesn't this look FUN!? HOW EXCITING! (My floral design professor literally screams phrases like "look how BEAUTIFUL!" "STOP COMPLAINING!" "How EXCITING!" and I love it so much I thought I would start doing it too)

Get ready. This is happening starting tomorrow.

(Corrine, this post won't entertain you but get on Gchat and I'll entertain you with a few Hasselblad stories)

For my Momma. And for my Posterity.

WARNING: This post is loaded with pictures and captions because it's Sunday and I'm "journaling". Get over it! Also, I am not a professional photog nor will I ever pretend to be one, so these pictures are hardly edited and you'll most likely judge the lighting yada yada yada. And Mom, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger if you wish!

What's that? I haven't posted for a few weeks and you're dying to see my picture with James Franco for the 68th time? Okay, chill out! I'm back and I'm here to post pictures of my birthday (mostly for mi madre) (& maybe I think I look really REALLY adorable so I have to show someone) and of other shenanigans going on in my life this winter season. And if you happen to stalk my Facebook or talk to me on a regular basis, you've probs already seen these before. TOO.BAD.SO.SAD.

Birthday Update:



The night started out at SLAB pizza and my dear friend Emileigh Norling treated me to my favorite food in the universe. PIZZAAAAA. (If you haven't been here yet and tried their delicious thin crust pizza, get a hold of yourself. Seriously. Go there NOW!)



This is the "Spinach" pizza. I might be slightly obsessed with Feta cheese. If Feta cheese were a man and Google were already married, I think you know what would would happen.



Here I am, enjoying my 22nd birthday with friends, cupcakes, Hello Kitty, and the Wii. Don't I look PR.EC.IOUS? And wouldja look at that? Kitty and I have matching bows. CUUUUUUUUTE!



Kendal, my new roommate, made the cake and this cute banner and decorated everything. She is so crafty and fun and I'm glad she moved in. But no one can replace my obsession with Corrine Collins. How can you compete with this British black girl?



Here is a glimpse of what the goodie table looked like. I made little cards to go with each flavor of cupcake. Katie automatically won "Cutest Cupcake Award" on account of she's married and has adorable things like a "cupcake stand" and perfect homemaking "cupcake skills", etc, etc, etc.... But my sister probably won "Most Delicious" on account of she cheated and made mini cheesecake bites instead of cupcakes. As you can tell, they were very tasty as they are the ones mostly gone on the green plate. Win-Win situation!



Here I am with some of my beautiful best friends. A few of these lovely girls also helped make delicious cupcakes and also I love them.



I might have hired a few professional dancers to show us how its done with "Just Dance 2" for the Wii. And when I say professional, I mean these girls have almost every routine memorized and I'm jealous.



I also received a coupon for a FREE Red Robin Burger, so naturally I could not pass that up. Here is my roommate Kendal at the restaurant because I'm sure you're awfully tired of seeing pictures of adorable old me.



I also went out to eat later that week with more girls (boyz are overrated!) because lets be honest, how can you not celebrate your birthday out at a fun restaurant?

I should also mention that I received some very lovely, thoughtful, and charming gifts from aforementioned friends and I am so thankful for them and their amazing friendship to me! (you better believe I Googled "aforementioned" before publishing this)

James Franco:



You may or may not already know this, but I touched James Franco at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT. I like to consider it his early birthday present to me. He's getting his PhD of Literature at Yale and hosting the Oscar's this year, so it sure was kind of him to show up and be in a few pictures with us. We also caught a glimpse of Fred Armisen from SNL and the Convict from the Office, but sadly we didn't get any pictures with them.



If he looks unhappy, don't be fooled. He's actually beyond thrilled to have his hand on my shoulder. If you think otherwise, you're most likely beyond jealous of me. (Emily knitted that headband for me, don't care if you think it's out of 'style', and so it's like she touched JF too)



(I may have made a collage of photos from the trip to Park City to display at my birthday party just 2 days after meeting him. It's FINE!)



(at the restaurant called Bandits right after meeting JF) And it's a darn good thing he could only see my coat and not what was underneath. He would have mistaken me for a Candy Striper at the local hospital instead of the real me: Sweet, Sassy, Gorgeous, Asian girl just looking for love!

Floral Design:

The last part of this post is dedicated to my first floral bouquet I arranged on the first day of Floral Design lab. I did it ALL BY MYSELF-even the wrapping! I am pretty proud of myself. Mabes you should be too. Mabes I'll do my own wedding arrangement someday. JOKES! That could never happen considering the way I tend to handle stress.



Don't you even worry about the card I stuck in there. Written to myself. NBD.



I can already hear the beginning murmur of "poor lighting" comments. I tried my bestttttt. Geez louise!

So to quote Kelly Rasberry from the 'Kidd Kraddick in the Morning Show', "That's all I got! How'd ya like that?"

xo.