Rachel Erin

Typical

2011-08-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

He's never liked me lol.

Painting Spree

2011-08-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

So last weekend my mom finally got in the mood to paint. And so that's what we did. We painted everything. The kitchen, the living room, and the hallway. 3 different colors. All in one day. Oh my gosh, we were both SO exhausted! But, it looks so good! I'm so happy to finally be decorating our house. We've lived here about 6 years now and are just starting to decorate- it's about time!!

Before pics of the living room:

No before pics of the kitchen, sorry. But trust me- it was ugly with horrible wall paper everywhere! haha

We couldn't figure out how we were going to paint this back corner. Finally, we decided to duct tape our paint brush to our broom stick and I sat on top of the fridge and reached the corner! We're so smart ;)

And here's the after of the living room! (except we've actually put some stuff on the walls since I took this pic)

Love this wall

The kitchen

Summer Vacation

2011-08-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

I've been so behind on blogging...oops! ;)

My family went on a trip to Arizona last month. We stayed in Flagstaff, and went to see the Grand Canyon and spent a day in Sedona. Both beautiful places! So glad we got to go on this family trip- our last trip before Kyle graduates next summer and goes off to college in Washington :(

Done!

2011-07-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

I finally got my headboard done last weekend! I went down to the fabric district in L.A. on Saturday and got the fabric, batting, foam, and buttons, and then got plywood at Home Depot on Sunday, and finished the project pretty quick! The hardest part was the buttons- first I had to make them, using the scraps of fabric from the headboard, and then thread them all through. We had a hard time with that cuz the thread kept breaking, and we were trying to pull it as hard as we can. But it turned out great! I love it!

Saving my butt off

2011-06-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

Starting right now, I am going to start saving every bit of money I can, because I have a big goal- I want to be able to move out of my parents house in a year. Whether I just get my own place here in the AV, or I move back to NC, or I move to some other random place lol, who knows where it will be, but that's my goal. I know it's kind of weird, but my brother will be graduating and moving to Washington next summer, and I don't want to still be living with my parents and my little brother has already moved out lol. So that's my goal- from now until next summer I'm going to try to put half of every paycheck right into savings... Wish me luck! lol

Summer!

2011-06-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

I am SO happy that it's finally summer! Bring on the sunshine, sunblock, beach trips, and bon fires! :)

99% Done

2011-06-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

Well, my room is basically done! All I have left to do is make my headboard, and who knows when I'll get around to doing that project lol. (This is what I'm wanting to do- http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/01/diy-simple-tufted-headboard/)

Haven't figured out what I'm going to put in those frames yet...lol

This is my mom's china that she got for her wedding :)

One Year

2011-06-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already been a year since this...

It's crazy how much my life has changed just in this past year. I would have never imagined that so many things can happen within just one year. I moved to North Carolina- by myself, became depressed, came home on a whim, became even more depressed, started taking college classes, started having panic attacks, dropped out of my college classes, started taking medication for anxiety/depression- as well as thyroid medication, got a job at Learning Tree Preschool, and now starting attempt #2 at taking college classes. Standing there on that stage that night, I NEVER would have imagined that this is what my life would be like in a year. I totally thought that after I graduated I would be heading off to NC with my best friend, get a job so that we could get our own place, meet some great new friends, start a photography business, meet a great guy, and start living out my dream of falling in love and living in the country. None of those things happened. And that was really hard for me for a while. But looking back, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm so grateful for everything I went through, and I'm really starting to be happy again. I'm taking a summer class online, and it's going well, I LOVE my job, and even though I don't really have many friends anymore, the couple that I do have mean the world to me and I'm so thankful for them. I guess the biggest thing I've learned this past year is that life doesn't always go as planned. But that's okay, because even when it doesn't go as planned, it still always works out for the best, because there is someone that has a greater plan for me than I ever had for myself. :)

Bedroom

2011-06-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well, my bedroom is almost done! The only project left is to make my headboard, and then I just still have a few more decorative things to buy. Oh, and my mom needs to make pillows.

Happy Birthday Mom

2011-06-15T19:59:00.001-07:00

My mom's birthday was Sunday (June 12), so I made her some cupcakes! Not to brag, but they were sooooo good! haha. Chocolate cupcakes dipped in bittersweet chocolate ganache...YUM!

Cabinet Makeover

2011-06-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago I found this hutch on craigslist for only $60! So my parents went to pick it up, and it was in worse shape than it looked like online, so my mom and I now had a new project to work on.

First, we had to primer it.

Then on to the paint...RED!

We found this fabric at a store that's going out of business...only $1.60 a yard!

We glued the fabric to the back with spray adhesive

Then we painted the hardware black

And finally, we antiqued it a little bit by rubbing black gloss into the crevices

TA-DA!

Missing Wilmington...

2011-06-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

I know it's crazy, but I'm really starting to miss Wilmington, NC. I don't wish I had stayed, because I know I needed to come back. I had lots of things I needed to work out, but now that I'm better and healthy again, there's just something in me that's starting to make me want to move back. It's hard though because I really do love living here in California, but I don't know, there's just something in me that's pulling me back there. I miss living so close to the beautiful beaches, I miss all the green trees, and I really miss the church I attended while I was there. It was such a great church, and I went every single week I was there! There's one thing for sure though, I won't move by myself again! It was too lonely. And now, my aunt that I stayed with is actually moving back to Michigan. So I really NEED someone to move with me if I ever decide to move back, because I'll have to rent an apartment....

Anyways, I just have been thinking about this a lot and decided to update my blog :P

Girls Trip

2011-05-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

My cousins Becca and Megan and I went on a little getaway up to San Francisco last weekend. I had so much fun! I fell in love with SF, it's such a cool city. Definitely a place I want to keep going back to :)

Dreaming

2011-05-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

I have had one thing on my mind lately... I want a new car so bad! Now that I have a job I just want to hurry up and go buy a new car, but I have to keep telling myself that I need to be smart and save up a few thousand dollars for a down payment and build up some good credit so I can get a good loan....but MAN, I am so impatient! So until then, I'm just going to keep dreaming about what kind of car to get...

VW Tiguan

Honda CR-V

Toyota RAV4

Happy Easter

2011-04-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

We spent Easter at my grandma's house this year. We had a full house- 22 people I think...lots of fun! :) And the girls had someone else to join them in the egg hunt this year- Becca and Adam's niece. The girls loved having baby Julianna there!

Then we also celebrated Isabelle and grandpa's birthdays :)

Painted Furniture

2011-04-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

My furniture is finally done! Well, I did it a couple weekends ago, just haven't gotten around to blogging lately haha.

First I did the vanity...

I used spray paint because it's easier and dries faster.

And here's the before and after!

Then the next day I tackled this big, ugly dresser lol.

And the before and after...

My new glass knobs

My next project: making a headboard!

Shelves, Lamp, Furniture

2011-03-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

Time for another update on how my bedroom is coming along... it's been a really slow process lol.

I hung up new shelves...

I got a new lamp, which I'm in love with! I had been looking for a lamp everywhere and couldn't find the perfect one....I finally found this one on eBay!

And just this past week, I got 2 new pieces of furniture. I had been wanting to replace both my desk and dresser because they both were just that cheap laminate material, and I really wanted some good, old, real wood pieces that I could sand down real good and paint white.

I got this desk/vanity from a lady that I house/dog sit for. I was over at her house with my mom and she said she had this in her garage, had tried to sell it at a garage sale but didn't, so I could have it! It's perfect for my room :)

Then just the next day, my mom was looking on craigslist for a dresser for me, and found this one for just $5.00! So we drove over and picked it up in the rain haha. It's a really nice piece, definitely worth more than $5.00! My mom thinks it's a real vintage piece.

So I'm going to try to sand down and paint the furniture this weekend, and then I'm going to buy some new knobs for the dresser, make it look real pretty :)

Little Miss

2011-03-09T21:51:00.001-08:00

Little Miss down on love
Little Miss I give up

Little Miss I'll get tough, don't you worry about me anymore
Little Miss checkered dress
Little Miss one big mess
Little Miss I'll take less when I always give so much more

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
Yeah, sometimes you gotta lose 'til you win
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
It'll be alright again
It'll be alright again, I'm okay
It'll be alright again, I'm okay (I'm okay)
It'll be alright again, I'm okay

Little Miss do your best
Little Miss never rest
Little Miss be my guest, I'll make more anytime that it runs out
Little Miss you'll go far
Little Miss hide your scars
Little Miss who you are is so much more than you like to talk about

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
Yeah, sometimes you gotta lose 'til you win
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
It'll be alright again
It'll be alright again, I'm okay
It'll be alright again, I'm okay (I'm okay)
It'll be alright again, I'm okay

Hooooooooooold Ooooooooon
Hooooooooooold On, you are loved
Are loved.......

Little Miss brand new start
Little Miss do your part
Little Miss big 'ole heart beats wide open and she's ready now for love

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
Yeah, sometimes you gotta lose 'til you win
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright
It'll be alright again
It'll be alright again, I'm okay
It'll be alright again, I'm okay (I'm okay, it'll be alright again)
I'm okay! (It'll be alright again)

Day 31

2011-03-03T21:21:00.000-08:00

Last day!

Day 31- A picture of yourself

Day 30

2011-03-02T20:45:00.001-08:00

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

Well, I've thought about this one, and I decided that I actually don't really miss anyone. All of the people that I love and that love me, I either see or talk to regularly. So, instead I'm going to post a picture of a place that I miss, which is Lake Tahoe! My favorite place <3

Day 29

2011-03-01T16:14:00.004-08:00

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

This is my favorite picture... pure happiness :)

Day 28

2011-02-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

Okay, I'm not even going to post a picture of what I'm afraid of, because I can't even stand to see them....SNAKES! Ugh, just thinking about them is freaking me out!

Day 27

2011-02-27T16:14:00.000-08:00

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member

My cousin Becca and I at her wedding :) Love her!

Day 26

2011-02-26T16:13:00.000-08:00

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you

My family! They all mean so much to me <3

Flipped

2011-02-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching this movie, and I can not stop smiling! It was the cutest movie ever! I think it might be my new favorite movie lol. I already want to watch it again <3

Day 25

2011-02-25T13:59:00.003-08:00

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Well, I'm not doing a single thing today, because I'm still a little sick, but this is what the weather is like today. It.Is.FREEZING! There is supposedly like the winter storm of the century on its way lol. It looks like it's about to rain any minute now, and supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. BURRR!!

Day 24

2011-02-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change

I wish I didn't stress out so much. I stress about literally everything, and it's so bad that it seriously affects my body and my health. I try to not stress so much, but I can't stop :(

Skip to 23

2011-02-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

Sooo....I'm a little behind on my 31 day photo challenge. Actually, I'm a lot behind. And I don't feel like going back and catching up on all the days I missed. Yes, I am that lazy lol. Therefore, I'm skipping to day 23! :)

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book

Well, I honestly love a lot of books. All of Nicholas Sparks' books are so good, I love all his books. But these have got to be my favorite (and I know technically they're 4 books, but I'm just going to clump them together into 1 lol). They really are just so good; a million times better than the movies! I could read these books over and over, I love them!

Day 15

2011-02-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

I want to go to all 50 states...the ones with a check are the ones I've been to :)

Day 14

2011-02-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

These 2 girls, I love them SO much! <3

Day 13

2011-02-13T22:10:00.000-08:00

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

What a perfect day for this question, on the night of the Grammy's ;)

Well, since Taylor Swift is such an obvious answer for me for this question, I'm going to go with my favorite band...

Lady Antebellum, love them! <3 And they won the most awards at the Grammy's tonight, winning 5 awards! Yay!

Day 12

2011-02-11T14:19:00.003-08:00

Well, I'm blogging day 12 a day early because I'm not going to be here tomorrow, I'm about to go to my aunt's house to babysit the girls :)

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

The beach <3

Day 11

2011-02-11T14:19:00.001-08:00

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

Well, as pretty as this picture is, I HATE winter! I hate being cold, I hate having to wear so many layers of clothing, I just hate all of it.

Bedroom Update

2011-02-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

So there's been a little bit of progress on my bedroom...

A couple weeks ago I painted my room. I went with "Candid Pink"...I liked the name ;) lol. But before I painted, I decided I wanted to finally take down all the seams that I had on my wall.

Here's an old picture of my room (I forgot to take before pictures)

So I had to rip all those seams off my walls, then spackle all the seams with drywall spackle (3 coats on each seam, and we had to sand it down between each coat which made a MESS) then I had to paint drywall primer over all the seams, and I had to primer my dark purple wall since I was painting my walls a lighter color, and THEN I could finally paint my walls. It was a 4 DAY project! It took forever, I wanted to shoot myself lol.

On this corner I turned it into a rounded corner. My mom bought a plastic rounded corner at the hardware store and we nailed in on and then spackled and painted over it.

And here are some pictures that I took tonight of a couple of things I've added...

Here's all my jewelry. I love my "jewelery girls" as I call them lol. And my mom's friend Diana just gave me that hook thing today, and it's perfect for hanging my long necklaces!

These are my 2 favorite things in my room so far. I found that Couture canvas at JoAnn's on clearance for about $12, and the curtains I fell in love with as soon as I saw them, but my Target was out of them so I had to go to the Target in Santa Clarita to get them haha. They were on sale too, I got both panels for about $45.

The curtains are velvet (well, fake velvet lol) and you can't really tell in the picture, but there are actually stripes.

I also got this new curtain rod at JoAnn's. I had been looking for one with glass knobs on the end like this and everywhere I looked, the knobs alone were like $15 each! So I was stoked when I found this one on clearance for only $10!

Day 10

2011-02-10T13:47:00.001-08:00

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the craziest things with

Well...I have to admit that I'm not much of a crazy person lol. I don't do crazy things very often, but throughout middle school/ high school if there ever was a time that I did something "crazy", it was usually with Ashley.

Day 9

2011-02-10T13:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, this time I actually totally forgot to blog day 9 lol. Whoops. I was at school all day- going to class, crashing a class. I was so tired by the time I got home, so here's day 9 now.

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

Mrs. Puglia has gotten me through so much! She's an amazing teacher (even though she's not my teacher anymore), and she always knows what to tell me, even if it's not what I want to hear haha.

Day 8

2011-02-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

Isabelle's face cracks me up in this picture! LOL. Aunt Jill is making carne asada and Isabelle's face is just priceless haha. I seriously laugh out loud every time I look at this picture.

Day 7

2011-02-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item

This one took me awhile, cuz I couldn't think of an actual item that I treasure. But one thing I do really treasure are memories, and my camera helps to capture my memories, so I guess that means I treasure my camera lol.

Day 6

2011-02-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

Okay yes, I forgot to do day 6. Well, actually I didn't forget, I just didn't remember until I was already in bed lol. So I'm just going to pretend that I didn't "forget" ;)

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

T. Swift. For obvious reasons, such as:

1. I love her.
2. She's awesome.
3. I love her.

Day 5

2011-02-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory

Our yearbook whale watching trip my junior year. It was a BLAST. It was the best trip ever, I'll never, ever forget it.

Day 4

2011-02-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

Day 04 - A picture of your night

I'm filling out my calendar for the month of February, stressing out about starting classes next week, and about to watch some episodes of Grey's Anatomy. That's my night, lol. Oh, and I'm going to eat some fudge that's still left over from Christmas, you know, cuz of the stressing.

Day 3

2011-02-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show

I'm a TV junkie. I love a lot of shows, so it was hard to pick a favorite, because I have a lot of favorites lol. But I was good and picked just one, even though I wanted to pick 5 lol.

Glee! I really love Glee. It makes me so happy when I watch it. I love the music, the dancing, the drama, all of it! :)

Day 2

2011-02-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

My cousin Kelsey :) We're only 6 months apart, so we've been close our whole lives. We always have fun together and she's always there for me, I love her! <3

31 Day Photo Challenge

2011-02-01T12:23:00.001-08:00

So I've seen people doing this photo challenge on facebook, and I thought it would be a cute thing to do on my blog :) And it will get me to blog more haha.

31 Day Photo Challenge:
Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 04 - A picture of your night
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the craziest things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture and a letter
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss
Day 31 - A picture of yourself

So here we go, day 1-

1. I'm a huge dreamer. I believe in fairy tales. A lot of times having big dreams causes me to have big let downs, but I have to believe that dreams come true, because it's just a happier way to live.
2. I love sparkle- glitter, sequins, etc. If it sparkles, I love it!
3. I'm very organized, and I love it. I love organizing things.
4. I HATE winter; I'm a total summer girl. I would have it be 100 degrees every day of the year if I could.
5. I get bored easily. I don't like routines.
6. I love baking! I can't cook at all, but I can definitely bake.
7. I love taking pictures.
8. I can't listen to music and not sing along. I love to sing and if I could sing well, I would maybe pursue a music career. But I can't lol.
9. Even though my favorite number is 17, I don't like odd numbers.
10. I love names. I like knowing people's full names and I'm always thinking of names for my future children.

Girl Scout

2011-01-24T20:00:00.000-08:00

I now have my own personal girl scout to order cookies from! haha. Isabelle joined girl scouts this year and called the other day to take our order. I love girl scout cookies, and now I get to order them from my adorable Isabelle :)

Anyone else want some girl scout cookies? You should order them from Isabelle, cuz she's cute ;) lol.

Pinks

2011-01-20T16:36:00.000-08:00

So I'm re-doing my room... kind of doing a "shabby-chic" look. I have my fabric for my duvet cover that my mom is going to make, so next step is to paint! I picked up some paint chips today, and there are so many choices!

(The blue fabric will be my duvet and the ivory fabric will be my bed skirt)

So many pinks to choose from....

Dreamland...?

Ballgown Pink maybe?

Hydrangea Bud perhaps?

Or Candid Pink?

Or maybe Pink Thread...

Sweet Blush? Hmmm...

Well, I've got 5 choices taped to my wall, so we'll see how long it takes me to decide! haha

P.S.- I love the names of paint chips lol. Wouldn't that be a fun job? To just name paint colors? haha

The Truth Is

2011-01-19T22:41:00.000-08:00

So I'm just sitting here thinking...which I've been doing a lot of lately. It's actually pretty much all I've been doing lately. Since I've moved back home, I've been kind of down. Don't get me wrong, I'm SO happy to be back here, and I don't regret any decision I've made for a second. But life is just so much different here now. Before I left, I had just graduated so I was still in that "high school mode", if you know what I mean. I had all my high school friends, and did so many high school activities, and was so full of dreams. But then I left and started moving away from that "high school life"... and so did everyone else here. Reality is, all of my friends have moved on without me, because I wasn't here. And that's okay, I get it...high school doesn't last forever. But even though I understand it, I've still been really struggling with it since I've been back. Loneliness was something that I had a really hard time with in NC, and now I still feel really lonely. I mean, it's not as bad as it was there, because at least now I have all of my family...but it's still really hard to come home and realize that I don't really have any friends anymore. Then add on the fact that I have NO idea what I want to do with my life. So I sit at home, missing my friends that I don't have anymore, having nothing to do, and not even knowing what I WANT to do! It's depressing. And I hate that. I HATE being depressing. It makes me feel so pathetic. And I don't want anyone else to know that I'm pathetic. I guess if I really think about it, that's probably part of the reason why I don't have friends anymore. Because truth is, I could probably call up one of my old friends and tell them all of this, and they would probably be there for me... but I don't want them to feel bad for me. I don't want them to see me depressed. They've all moved on, and I don't want to bring anyone down. But at the same time I just LONG for someone to talk to. See what I mean? I'm pathetic lol. I'm really trying to work through all these problems. It's a daily struggle. Some moments I'm able to talk myself into feeling that everything is going to be okay... and then other times I feel useless and pathetic. And I hate that I feel that way, because I know I have so much to be thankful for, but that's just the truth, and I can't really hide it. I've never really been the kind of person that could easily hide how they feel ;) Anyways... this actually isn't even what I was thinking about when I first started this post, but this is what came out when I started typing haha. So if anyone actually read this post... sorry it was depressing! But it made me feel a little better letting it all out.

Bucket List

2011-01-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally have a full, permanent bucket list. I've always had one, but I've always been adding things to it, or taking things off haha. I was trying to make it a list of 100 things, but I couldn't think of that many, so I cut it down to 50 ;) So, here is my list! And I've even already accomplished a couple of things :)

1. Go Skydiving
2. Go Bungee Jumping
3. Go on a cruise
4. ~~Go on a road trip~~
5. Go TP'ing
6. Ride a motorcycle
7. Go to all 50 states
8. Go to Paris
9. Go to Australia
10. Go to New Zealand
11. Go to Europe
12. Go to Africa
13. Fall in love and get married
14. Have kids
15. Meet Taylor Swift
16. Ride in a hot air balloon
17. Go parasailing
18. ~~Go zip lining~~
19. Go to a Chicago Bears game
20. Learn to dance
21. Name a star
22. Get a tattoo
23. Swim with dolphins
24. Go to a Super Bowl
25. Spend New Year's in Times Square
26. Sleep under the stars
27. See the Grand Canyon
28. Drive a convertible
29. Donate lots of money to a charity
30. Go ice-skating
31. Ride a horse
32. Take a cake decorating class
33. Learn to play piano
34. Go to Disney World
35. See Mount Rushmore
36. See a real castle
37. Go to a fashion show in New York
38. ~~Drive from coast to coast~~
39. Go to a movie premiere
40. Drive a dune buggy
41. Ride in a race car
42. Go on a mission’s trip
43. Fly first class
44. Go skiing/snowboarding
45. Hike half Dome
46. Have my photography published in a magazine
47. Stay in the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas
48. Plant a garden
49. Go to the Mall of America
50. Read through the whole Bible

Hopefully I can cross a few more things off this year :)

Catch Up

2011-01-16T17:16:00.000-08:00

Well, once again I have fallen WAY behind on my blog and I need to catch up. I'm just going to keep this post short and sweet, and I'll try to not let myself get so far behind again ;)

Spent Thanksgiving at my grandma and grandpa's house, and then celebrated my great grandma Loretta's 92nd birthday the day after Thanksgiving, like we do every year :)

I went to Disneyland in December with my mom, Mrs. Puglia, and Becca and Adam met up with us after they got off work :) I love Disneyland at Christmas time, and I got to see World of Color for the first time!

Spent Christmas at my aunt Jill and uncle Scott's house, like we do every year :)

It snowed on January 2nd; a fun way to start off the New Year!

I also went to my aunt Jill and uncle Scott's 25th wedding anniversary party last weekend, but I didn't take any pictures.

Also, I went to the fabric district in LA yesterday with my mom and cousin Becca and got fabric for my mom to make me a new duvet cover for my bed :) I'm re-doing my room and so I'm going to be doing a lot of DIY projects soon, so I'll post all of those as I go! :)

The Girls

2010-11-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

I took some pictures of the girls for my aunt Stephanie for their Christmas card. I love these girls so much!

Pilgrim's Place

2010-11-22T21:10:00.000-08:00

I couldn't wait to see the girls when I got home! Just a few days after getting home, I went to their house and surprised them :) It was so cute, they were both so surprised! I stayed the night, and the next day we went to Pilgrim's Place. It's like a little fair that happens this time every year. A bunch of old people dress up in pilgrim outfits and have crafts, and a train ride, a Mayflower ride, face painting, and all that fun stuff! It was cute and the girls love it! :)

Isabelle and Caroline and some of their friends with the train conductor and a pilgrim lol.

My aunt Stephanie, her friend Heather, and all the kids.

Coast to Coast

2010-11-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

November 5- Day 1: Left Wilmington NC at 6:00 AM, had a break in Raleigh NC, had lunch in Asheville NC, another break in Knoxville TN, and then stopped for the night in Nashville TN.

November 6- Day 2: Left Nashville at 6:00 AM, had a break in Memphis TN, lunch in Little Rock AR, then stopped for the night in Oklahoma City OK. Didn't get pictures of either of the state signs this day :( The Arkansas border is the Mississippi River, so the sign was on a bridge, so we couldn't stop. And we couldn't get to the Oklahoma state sign because they were doing construction! :(

November 7- Day 3: We left Oklahoma City at 5:30 AM, had a break in Amarillo TX, had lunch in Santa Rosa NM, another break in Gallup NM, and then stopped for the night in Flagstaff AZ.

November 8- Day 4: Left Flagstaff at 8:00 AM, had lunch in Barstow CA, and then made it HOME at around 2:00 PM!! :)

Last Days in Wilmington

2010-11-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

Ashley flew in to Wilmington and spent my last few days there with me before we started our drive back home!

As hard as it was for me living in North Carolina, I am still very thankful for the experience. I learned so many life lessons that I never would have learned had I not gone. I went, gave it a try, and now I'll never have to regret not going and wonder what would have been. :)And I'm so thankful to my aunt for letting me stay with her. It's definitely an experience I'll never forget! :)

Home Sweet Home

2010-11-16T22:21:00.000-08:00

So, as everyone now knows, I'm home! After grandma and grandpa's trip, I decided to move back home. I just missed everyone too much. I missed my family, my friends. I missed California! I'm a TOTAL California girl! haha. So Ashley, who had booked a flight to come visit me November 1-8, changed her flight to a one-way ticket, came to Wilmington on November 1st, and then we drove back home November 5-8! I'm SO happy to be home! I kept it a secret from everyone, except most of my family, since it was such short notice I decided it would be fun to surprise some people! haha. Well, I'll blog more about everything later, and post pictures of the road trip- too lazy to post pictures tonight :P I'm off to bed!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

Growing up I LOVED Halloween! I mean, what little kid doesn't? I loved getting to wear my costume to school and walk in the Halloween parade, and then after school my brother and I would just sit around in our costumes waiting for it to FINALLY start to get dark so we can go trick-or-treating! :) And we'd come home with so much candy, we never even ate it all. Nowadays, I never do anything for Halloween. At my age, the only thing for me to do would be to dress up as a "sexy ________" (fill in the blank with whatever you want lol) and go to some party where people think it's cool to get drunk and I'm just not in to any of that. I have no desire to dress in a skimpy outfit and do something I know I would regret. Call me lame, but I just miss the days when all Halloween meant was I got to dress up as a princess and go out with my neighborhood friends to get candy. So this year, instead of partying like most people my age, I'll be home passing out candy to all the little kids in their cute costumes :) Happy Halloween!

Me at age 2. I was Raggedy Ann and my cousin Tyler who is 5 days younger than me, was Raggedy Andy. :)

Our Trip

2010-10-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

So grandma and grandpa are gone now :( But we had so much fun and did so many things! I'm just going to do this in list form, because it would be way to much to write everything out lol.

In Wilmington we:
Went to the Cotton Exchange
Walked around downtown
Battleship tour
Carriage ride tour
River tour
Airlie Gardens
One Tree Hill Studio tour
Burgwin-Wright Mansion tour
Saw "The Secretariat"
Had Kilwin's ice cream...twice

We stayed at Middleton Plantation for a night, which is right outside of Charleston, SC.

In Charleston we:
Did a carriage ride tour
Harbor tour
Nathaniel Russel Mansion tour
Aiken-Rhett Mansion tour
Walked around downtown

In Beaufort we:
Walked around downtown
Shopped
Carriage ride tour
Verdier mansion tour

Grandma & Grandpa

2010-10-13T12:07:00.001-07:00

I am so excited! In about one hour, my grandma and grandpa will be arriving here in Wilmington to visit me! I can't wait to see them! They're coming over for dinner tonight, and then we'll spend Thursday, Friday, and Saturday here in Wilmington, and then Sunday we're going to Charleston, SC for a couple days, then Beaufort, SC for a couple days, and then we'll come back to Wilmington for a couple more days until they leave on Sunday the 24th. I'm so excited to see them, and to travel a little bit and see some cool things :) It's going to be so much fun, and I'm sure I'll have tons of pictures to blog by the end of the trip!

God's Will

2010-10-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

"Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'"
- John 6:28-29

I've been thinking a lot about God's will lately. What's God's will for my life? Was it God's will for me to come here? Is it God's will for me to stay here? Is it God's will for me to move back home? Can I screw up God's will for my life? How do I know if something is God's will? So many questions, and it left me feeling so confused and frustrated. Then I began to realize something- God's will is simply for us to believe in him. To know that he is Lord of all, and to put our complete trust in him. To live every day for him, and for everything I do, to be for his glory. No matter what city I live in, what job I have, who I'm friends with- as long as I'm living for God, I am in his will. I don't know where I'll be 10 years from now, 5 years from now, or even 6 months from now, but I know that I believe in God, and I trust him, and in the end, that's all that matters.

20.92

2010-09-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

20.92- that's how many inches of rain we have had here in Wilmington since Sunday. 20.92! And it's still going! On Monday alone we got 10 inches! I have never seen so much rain in my life. I love the rain and all, but I need the sun!

Living the Dream

2010-09-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, so as I was just now driving home from the post office, it suddenly hit me- I am LIVING my DREAM! For a whole year all I dreamed about was moving out here and I looked forward to being here every day, and now I'm ACTUALLY HERE! I did it! And not only that- I did it ALONE! For so long I've let that bring me down and it's kept me from realizing the fact that I'm REALLY living my dream! Yeah, it's been hard, but mostly because I've been making it so hard on myself. All I've been thinking about is that fact that Ashley didn't come and it's been keeping me from enjoying life! So from now on I'm not focusing on that anymore- there's nothing I can do about it and I shouldn't let it affect MY life! :) I'm LIVING MY DREAM!

First Paycheck!

2010-09-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this isn't REALLY a paycheck (as you can clearly read, stamped on the paper...I just get direct deposit to my account) but it shows all the information and I HAVE to document this momentous occasion :) haha.

Land of Bugs

2010-09-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am in the land of bugs. They are everywhere. I hear them constantly. Thankfully, I have managed to keep a safe distance from them and I have yet to have been bitten or stung by anything *knock on wood* lol. However, here is proof of the kind of things I am now living amongst. It gives me the heebie jeebies if I look at the picture for too long. I mean seriously- what the heck kind of a bug is that?!

I'm Just A Girl

2010-09-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I want, So don't ask me, cause I'm still trying to figure it out.
Don't know what's down this road,
I'm just walking.
Trying to see through the rain coming down.
Even though I'm not the only one,
that feels the way I do.

I'm alone, on my own, and that's all I know.
I'll be strong, I'll be wrong,
Oh, but life goes on.
Oh, I'm just a girl, trying to find a place in this world.

Got the radio on, my old blue jeans,
And I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve.
Feeling lucky today, got the sunshine.
Can you tell me what more do I need?
And tomorrow's just a mystery, oh yeah,
but that's okay.

I'm alone, on my own, and that's all I know.
I'll be strong, I'll be wrong,
Oh, but life goes on.
Oh, I'm just a girl, trying to find a place in this world.

Maybe I'm just a girl on a mission,
but I'm ready to fly.

I'm alone, on my own, and that's all I know.
Oh, I'll be strong, I'll be wrong.
Oh, but life goes on.
Oh, I'm alone, on my own,
and that's all I know.
Oh, I'm just a girl, trying to find a place in this world.

Oh, I'm just a girl.
Oh, I'm just a girl.
Oh, oh.
Oh, I'm just a girl.

Wilmington, NC

2010-09-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, time to catch up on my blog...*deep breath* haha. (I decided to just keep using this blog too, not starting a new one). Okay, where to begin? Well, I left Lake Tahoe on July 27th and flew out of the Reno airport at 4:15 PM. From there I had a layover in Phoenix, then Vegas, then Charlotte, and then FINALLY landed in Wilmington on July 28th at 8:30 AM. It was the longest, most exhausting dang trip I have ever taken in my life! I was a zombie for like the first week, all I did was sleep, I barely even ate because my food schedule was off and I was never hungry. It also had to do with the fact that I was so utterly homesick that I was literally sick to my stomach. That first week was not a pretty one for me, we'll just leave it at that. Then on August 8th, I got a car and things started to get semi-better. I was able to go out and do things, apply for jobs, and I spent a lot of that week helping out one of my aunt's friends, Kelly, set up her classroom. I started going to a church that I really like on Sundays, and then on the 17th their college group started back up again, so I started going to that. I like it a lot, it reminds me a lot of what chapel was like at school. Then on the 19th I had two job interviews- one at Charlotte Russe and the other at Kohls. Then other interview on the 20th for Sears Portrait Studio, and I got hired right then and there for that job! I started work the next day, the 21st. And ever since then that's pretty much been my life. I go to church Sundays and Tuesday nights, and the rest of my week is filled with work. So even though things have definitely gotten better since that horrible first week because I'm busy and have other things to focus on...things are still pretty hard. I'm still homesick every day. I still want to go home. I'm still not sure I'm meant to be here for very long. But those are things I'm trying to figure out. I'm just getting through day by day, doing my best, praying that God will show me the answers.

Downtown Wilmington

Some battleship lol...took this pic for you Kels, knew you would appreciate it haha.

First day of work :) lol

Backyard

I spent A LOT of time on this swing that first week.

Swinging :)

Starting again soon!

2010-08-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

I know, I know... I've been a horrible blogger lately! Things have just been kind of crazy, and I'm still adjusting and trying to figure things out. I've barely even taken any pictures since I've been here either. I know, I'm bad lol. But I get my Internet hooked up on Monday, so I promise I'll start back up again! I set up a new blog a while ago that I planned to start blogging on once I got here, so I'll post the link to that one once I start it! :)

Adjusting

2010-08-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

I've been in Wilmington, NC for 10 days now. There have been some really bad days, and some really good days. It hasn't been easy. Lots of homesickness, but I know things will get better. I'm adjusting.

I Love Tahoe!

2010-07-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Lake Tahoe

2010-07-23T21:18:00.001-07:00

I'm in Tahoe until Tuesday with my family, and I'm in love with it ♥

Ch-ch-changes

2010-07-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm now flying to North Carolina, instead of driving. Alone. I'm going on vacation with my family to Lake Tahoe for a few days (it was always their plan to go to Tahoe for a week the day I left) and then I'm leaving from the Reno airport on Tuesday at 4:15 and flying all night and getting into Wilmington at 8:30 Wednesday morning. It's going to be weird going alone now, but I know I'll be okay :) I can't wait to see new things and meet new people! Even though I'm going to miss the people back here like crazy... it's going to be a great experience for me :)

iPhone

2010-07-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

Got an iphone today :) I'm blogging from it right now, testing it out....

Caroline's Birthday Party

2010-07-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th birthday, sweet Caroline Grace!

10 Days

2010-07-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

Blonde Again!

2010-07-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

Gosh- it's freakin hard to go back to blonde! It was a three day process, with lots of frustration, but FINALLY I'm back to blonde. I'm still not sure it's exactly the right color (I like how it looks in the pic...but it looks kind of different in real life) but I probably just have to get used to it.

I Love Cupcakes

2010-07-10T23:54:00.001-07:00

Tonight, I went out to dinner with my family at Bex- super yummy new restaurant, and then after dinner we went to the new bakery right next door....cuz I love cupcakes ;)

They were YUMMY!

I love this one- cuz it's sparkly ;)

Hollywood Sign & Griffith Observatory

2010-07-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

After our fun day in Hollywood on Monday, Ashley and I went to stay at her grandma's house because we had fun things planned for Tuesday and Wednesday too. However, neither of us expected for her car to get hit while parked on her grandma's street, and have to be towed away, leaving us without a car haha. So, her grandma brought us home Tuesday night, and we returned to Hollywood on Wednesday- in my car this time. Our goal for the day: hike to the Hollywood sign! We got there about 3 and started our way up! It wasn't very hard, but it is 2.5 miles both ways, and it was hott! But once we reached the top there was a cool breeze and the view was amazing!

While we were up there, we saw that the Griffith Ovservatory was really close, so when we got back down, we headed over there. It was really cool. We walked around looking at everything for a while, and then bought tickets to see a show in the Planetaruim. It was really good!

Super fun day!! :)

Hollywood Blvd.

2010-07-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

So, now that Ashley and I are about to leave California soon, we decided to do some fun things that we've never done before. It's crazy how we can live here our whole lives, but never do some of the typical California things. Like Hollywood Blvd. I'd never been on Hollywood Blvd (that I can remember). Crazy, I know. So that was our first stop. We spent all day Monday on Hollywood Blvd., going into all the souvenir shops, and the Roosevelt Hotel and did some shopping at the Hollywood and Highland Center and ate at California Pizza Kitchen. Fun day :)

Micky Mouse was the only star I took a pic of haha. Too crowded with tourists for me to stop and take pictures of all the people I like.

4th of July

2010-07-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July we just went to my aunt Jill's house and hung out with my aunt Jill and Kelsey, and their friends Matt and Lori and Grace. Then we went to a nearby park to watch fireworks. Best fireworks show I've ever seen! We were right in front, we could see the people that were doing the fireworks, and they were SO huge, and so many different kinds. It was really cool :)

Good Lordy

2010-07-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

I don't even know what to say, except... HOTT!!

Is that green helmet for me?? ;)

Okay, seriously? Those abs should be illegal they're so hott.

Can I PLEASE marry you?? Pretty please?

Disaster Has Hit

2010-07-01T23:28:00.000-07:00

After seeing this, and realizing I only have 3 WEEKS until I leave, I figured it'd probably be a good idea to start cleaning out my room and packing. Well, this is what my room looked like through the process:

I looks like DISASTER HAS HIT in my room! It has never been such a mess in my entire life!

I tried to be organized, but it was out of control!

Everything that I own, I have to decide whether it's trash, or if I want to keep it, but not take it with me, or I want to take it with me, and can pack it, or if I want to take it with me, but can't pack it yet. It's CRAZY!

I did this for like 4 HOURS! And all it left me with was a HUGE MESS!

This is going to take forever.

Summer So Far

2010-07-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've been slacking on my blogging since graduation, so I'm going to catch up all in one post. I went to a couple graduation parties in the days that followed graduation. Then the 23rd-25th, I went and stayed at my aunt's house in Apple Valley to hang out with my cousin Kelsey. We weren't able to go to each others graduations, so I wanted to see her. We saw "Knight and Day", and then I saw "Karate Kid" with Megan, then Kelsey and I went to Victoria Gardens and did some shopping. She just got a job at Pier 1, so she needed work clothes! Then, on Sunday (27th) night my aunt Steph called asking if I could come down and watch Caroline because she was sick, so she couldn't go to VBS, so I drove down that night and watched Caroline Monday and Tuesday. I also took both the girls to see "Toy Story 3"...it was so good! I probably liked it more than the girls, because I grew up with Toy Story, and am the same age as "Andy"...going off to college. It was really cute. Then, I came home Tuesday afternoon and went straight to the movies to wait in line for ECLIPSE! Ashley was amazing and got in line for our group at 1:00, because we found out that morning that people were starting to line up, but I was watching Caroline, Mrs. Puglia and Steph were at a fitting for Steph's wedding dress, and Emily was having to do something at the DMV, so poor Ash had to wait in line for all of us! But she made friends that gave her water and a little fan, and then I got there at 2:30, Em got there about 3:00, and then they let us in at 3:15, so Em and I saved our seats and Ash went home to shower and stuff lol. Then we all waited in the theater for 4 HOURS! lol. Twilight started at 7:15, then we had a 15 min break, then New Moon, then another 15 min break, and then ECLIPSE started right at midnight! Oh.my.gosh. it was so dang good! Best one yet, for sure! Definitely worth the long wait lol. Then today Ashley and I went to Starbucks for a couple hours with our friend Lexy :) It was so good to see her and catch up. Hopefully we get to see her, and Jess, a couple more times before we leave! Well, that's been my summer so far. No pictures or anything, because it's just been pretty chill, but Ashley and I are planning on doing some fun stuff soon, so I'll have pictures soon! :)

Yum!

2010-06-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
**and then I also added a teaspoon of cinnamon, and a little bit of milk because my dough was real thick at first.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

I'm a Graduate!

2010-06-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

June 17, 2010 I officially became a graduate of Desert Christian! I still can't believe it... it really hasn't hit me yet. It doesn't even feel like the school year ended, because I didn't have any finals, so I just feel like we're on some sort of little break and I'll be back to school in a week lol. I can't imagine not going to school every day anymore... it's so weird! Graduation was something I've looked forward to for SO long and I was constantly wishing for it to come as fast as possible, and now it's over. I've graduated. I'm done. And now I'm thinking, why the heck did I want it to come so fast?! Looking back, high school totally FLEW by! I don't even feel like I had a senior year, it went by so fast! Now I actually have to grow up and get a job and be responsible. HOLY CRAP! lol. I mean, I am SO excited to move out on my own and start a new life in NC, but now that it's actually time to do it, it's kind of freaking me out! For so long I just wanted to fast forward to this time, but now that I'm here, I just want to rewind or pause for a little bit! But sadly, I can't... and if there's one thing I've learned, it's to not wish to be in a different part in life anymore, I need to live in the now. I'm so thankful for my high school years; I'm thankful that I got to go to DCHS, I'm thankful for the friends I had, I'm thankful for the teachers that cared about me, and I'm thankful for my parents who always made sure I was happy and well taken care of. But now, it is time for me to grow up and move on. As nerve-wrecking as it is, I am so excited to see what God has in store for my post-high school life!

We Got It!

2010-06-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! We actually did it- our yearbook won the All-Book award from Walsworth!! Out of like 6,500 yearbooks, we were one of 12 to win across the whole country! I'm just so amazed that our little staff of 11 kids actually won! I'm so extremely proud of all of us! I'm so honored to have been a part of the yearbook staff for 3 years. All of our hard work paid off! :)

Yearbooks!

2010-06-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

We passed out the yearbooks today! My last time ever passing out yearbooks. It's such an exciting day when we pass out the yearbooks...I'm gunna miss it :( But I'm so proud of this yearbook, my last yearbook, and I hope everyone loves it! :)

3 Things

2010-06-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

There are three things I really want for when Ashley and I move. They're all electronic things, and I've never really been a huge electronic person (beside like computers and phones...basic stuff lol) I'm not really good at electronics haha. But these things would be super useful :)

1. A GPS- very necessary for driving across the country and getting around in a new town lol.

2. A Flip video camera- for documenting our road trip and other fun milestones of our first year living on our own :)

3. A Wii & Wii Fit- so that we can exercise and not gain weight...we're both still afraid of the "Freshmen 15" even though we're not going to college haha.

So time to start saving up! haha :)

Universal Studios Hollywood

2010-06-06T22:45:00.000-07:00

After Senior banquet, Senior Celebration continued on Saturday by going to Universal Studios. I was excited to go because I had never been before! It was SO MUCH fun! Not exactly because Universal is like the best place ever, but because it was just the perfect day! I got to hang out with friends I love to death, the weather was perfect, there were no crowds or long lines, no drama... it was just the best day!

Senior Banquet

2010-06-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

On Friday night we had our Senior Celebration Banquet. Unfortunately, it was the same night as Kelsey's graduation :( I hate that I missed her graduation, but I had a really great night at banquet. I was an emotional train wreck all day though- from the beginning of the day at our last chapel ever, all the way to the end of the night at Denny's with Mrs. Puglia after banquet. Graduation is getting closer and closer and the fact that I'm leaving is becoming even more real as it nears.

Congrats Becca!

2010-06-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

My cousin Becca graduated from Biola on Saturday :) I was so happy to be able to go to her graduation, because I wasn't able to go to her high school graduation. Plus I got a nice little tan from sitting outside for 3 hours ;) lol. After the graduation we went to Becca's sister-in-law's house for a party. While we were there we took pictures of Becca, Kelsey, and I in all of our cap's and gowns since we're all graduating this year! :)

Grad Nite

2010-05-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Grad Nite was SO much fun! We met at the school at 6:30, stopped at In-N-Out along the way for dinner, and then waited around in our bus when we got to Disneyland until midnight when it opened. We kind of got off to a rough start because we lost our friend Regina after she lost her ticket and couldn't get in, and there were SO MANY DANG PEOPLE there, and we didn't know what to do...some of us in our group wanted to dance, some of us wanted to ride rides...lol. But eventually we started having fun and by the end of the night (well, technically morning) I had had a blast! But then the end kind of sucked too, because they had a SUPER confusing system to get us back to our busses that no one explained to us, so it took forever to find the bus and my feet hurt so bad they felt like they were on fire! But then we got on the bus and I was happy to sit and relax :) haha. When we got back, I went to Ihop with a few friends because we were STARVING by then. Then Ash and I went back to her house and we really weren't tired and we wanted something to do, so we went down to Victoria Gardens :) lol. By the time I went to bed, I had been up for a full 40 hours! It was such a long day, but so much fun!

Paramore

2010-05-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a Paramore concert in Bakersfield with my cousins Becca and Megan :) It was so good! Hayley Williams is such an amazing singer.

Relient K opened for them. I hadn't listened to Relient K in years, so I didn't really know any of their songs, but they were good.

Paramore! :)

Who Passes Out at an Eye Appointment?

2010-05-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Oh that's right, I DO! lol. You would think that eye appointments would be safe from my curse of passing out, but no! No where is safe, apparently. I went to the eye doctor yesterday because my eyes had been really red for a while and were hurting, and while he was checking my eyes he flipped my eyelids to see under them and all of a sudden I felt myself going out! Talk about embarrassing. So yeah, that's me. The girl that passes out at eye appointments, lol.

P.S.- This is my 200th blog post! Woohoo!

Yearbook Banquet

2010-05-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

On Monday we had our yearbook banquet. My last yearbook banquet ever! I still can't believe it. I can't believe yearbook is almost over- all that's left is to get the yearbooks and get them ready to pass out. Yearbook was such a huge part of high school for me. I did it for 3 years! It is definitely the best thing I ever decided to do in high school. It's taught me so many things that I need for "real life". I am so extremely proud of all the work our staff accomplished this year. The yearbook this year is AMAZING, I can't wait to show it to everyone!

Cora is missing from this group picture...don't know where she was? :(

The original 4...we all started together 3 years ago, and now we're actually all ending together. Mrs. Puglia isn't going back to yearbook next year :(

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

Today my mom and I planted flowers for our porch and then went to see "The Backup Plan".

Make A Wish

2010-05-08T12:52:00.000-07:00

Poppy Reserve

2010-05-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ashley and I went to the poppy reserve on Monday since we didn't have school :) I had been wanting to go for weeks, but never got around to it! Kinda bummed I didn't go see them sooner because there weren't as many, but it was still beautiful :) (just so dang windy!)

LOVE this picture of Ash :)

Isabelle's Barbie Party

2010-05-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Isabelle had a Barbie themed birthday party. It was so cute! I was in charge of the "Barbie Beauty Salon", putting make up, nail polish, and glitter on all the little girls...although most of them wanted to do it themselves haha. There was so much pink...so much cuteness!

My Aunt Stephanie made this adorable cake!

I just LOVE this picture for some reason...maybe it's all the pink! haha

Isabelle and one of her best friends, Ashley

Isn't this card so cute?! :) lol

April Birthday Lunch

2010-04-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had our family birthday lunch at the Spaghetti Factory for our April birthdays- Grandpa (April 28) and Isabelle (April 29).

Isabelle read all of her cards by herself! (with a little bit of my help on some words) She's such a big girl now, makes me sad :(

Prom 2010

2010-04-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

Honestly, there's not many good things to say about prom, so I'm just going to post the pictures :)

I love my bestie, and I'm so thankful for her.

It was a Hollywood/red carpet theme, and they had a star for every senior on the wall :)

Woohoo!

2010-04-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

I've FINALLY figured out how to make my blog look the way I want it to! So my blog is now under construction- time to make it cute! :)

Random Thoughts

2010-04-20T17:03:00.001-07:00

I'm just really in the mood to blog right now for some reason, but I don't really have anything to blog about...so I'm just going to post some random thoughts :) haha.

I watched the ACM Awards on Sunday night...I LOVE watching the ACM's. I love watching all award shows actually, but award shows for country music are even better! This year Carrie Underwood made history by becoming the very first female to ever win the highest award, Entertainer of the Year, twice! And she won it two years in a row! So happy for her, I LOVVVVE her. Really want to see her in concert. Only bad thing about the ACM's this year was that Taylor didn't win ANY! :( I was shocked. Can't even remember the last (music) award show I watched that Taylor left empty-handed...craziness I tell you! haha.

I started making my "official" bucket list a couple weeks ago after watching the show "The Buried Life" (LOVE that show! Hadn't ever heard of it, but then I watched the whole first season in 1 day! lol). I've always had a bucket list, but now I'm being serious about it and making the full list of 100 things...so far I have 63, so I'll post my full list when it's done :)

70 days until ECLIPSE comes out!! :) haha. I'm reading Eclipse again right now...I just love those books! Hope the movie is good!

It's raining again today. Looks like we're going to have a storm for the next few days. I HATE it! Usually, I love the rain, but enough is enough! I am soooo ready for warm weather. I'm sick of looking at my pale white skin, I need to hit the beach and get a tan! lol.

I just realized I don't think I've posted on my blog mine and Ashley's updated plans for after graduation haha. Not that it matters much, everyone who reads my blog probably already knows...but maybe there's one lonely person out there that reads my blog and doesn't know my plans? lol. Okay, so the original plan of going to stay with Ashley's aunt in Rock Hill, SC fell through. It just wasn't going to work out for us to stay with them. So that sucked. But then my Aunt Barb, who lives in Wilmington, NC, offered her extra room to Ashley and I! So that is now the plan :) I still have yet to get a job here though, so I still don't have money saved up, but my mom has told me she and my dad will help me out with money, and I just have to pray I get a job super quick once I get over there! I am seriously so stoked to move to Wilmington. It's a GORGEOUS city (never been, but I Google ;) LOL) and it's right on the beach. Although, I'm not sure people love the beach over there like us Californians do here. I don't think people just spend the day laying out on the beach like we do here. But oh well, it's still pretty. And you better believe that on a nice day, *I* will be laying out on the beach, even if that's not what people do over there! haha.