Beach memories!!

Perfection

I am now back from my weekend escape to the westcoast with a little bit of a sunburn, a bout of exhaustion and amazing memories of fun adventures!! here are some pictures... more to come from the other two cameras (Laura's and Ashley's)... but this will work for now.

of course... a picture of the CA sign... now entering vacation time

this staircase has been a fixture in southern CA scenery for as long as I can remember... I have no idea why it is there or where those stairs go to.

the sunset on the beach...

our first hostel in downtown san diego... just one block west and you were in Horton Plaza

Day at the beach - magazines, snacks, and the ocean in front of us...



I get freckly when I get sun

henna tattoos... from bottom to top - Ashley, Laura, me

After the day at the beach we played cards at our second hostel (the only one in california that is right on the beach)



We were actually playing a game called "jacks" which is a way of playing MASH with cards (you know MASH, the game where you find your soul mate... I'll take another blog to explain the game if you are all curious enough)... long story short Ashley's soulmate is Michael Cera from Superbad and Arrested Development fame.


the beach bungalow hostel on the beach... the room arrangement was quite interesting... I was in a room with all boys... haha... super interesting... since I went to bed before midnight that meant that no one else was in the room when I fell asleep but when I woke up, filled with young european/australian/and some american male backpackers.

After the long weekend this was me in the car on the way home.

More pictures eventually... as soon as Ashley and Laura email them to me.

San Diego trip...

I am so excited!! Laura Mills, Ashley Mertz, and I are heading to San Diego for Labor Day weekend to hang on the beach and soak up the sun. I have not left the state since New York and I am in need of a road trip!!! Anyway I will come home with lots of fun pictures! I went to Old Navy and bought a new bathing suit top for a couple bucks - yay end of the summer sales. So I am more than jazzed about beach time and hopefully getting some color!

Jr. High celebrity crush revisited...

When I was in Jr. High I was a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer... I even had a crush on the character Xander Harris (played by Nicholas Brendon) from the show. I even have a diary entry devoted to my celebrity crushes and actor Nicholas Brendon is featured... I was/AM a huge nerd I know, but I was 13 so give me a break.

Cut to today... looking through the pictures of my friend Amy's pictures from her friends Christian and Avalon's wedding... low and behold Christian's brother is Nicholas Brendon... I laughed and couldn't help but email Amy and tell her. The whole thing made me think of my 13 year old self... and reminise... I even went back and read some of my diaries from back then... filled with clippings from magazines about my favorite movies (Ever After), tv shows (X-files - shakes head), music, etc... (make shift scrapping... I should post some when I get a chance if I deem them not too embarrassing). I even have my top ten lists of the biggest actors/actresses - where are you now Seth Green and Freddie Prinze Jr. and favorite songs - oh Matchbox 20. LAME.

Well there is an insight into my dweeby past.

sick day

Called in sick to work today... felt like poo when I woke up - sinus pressure, sore throat, drainage, yuck. So I slept it off. I still feel stuffy and blah, but I am up and moving. I have Days of our Lives playing on the TV as I type... I guess you could say this is my soap. Stefano is back... who knew!! It's like I can go for years without watching this bloody show and watch one episode and I am completely caught up. Quality storylines... (gag).

So here is my apartment in pictures including some favorite vingettes:

First stop - living room

New throw pillows


Designer tissue box... livingroom decor inspiration


Dining room and kitchen:
light is from Ikea


Art work from Big Lots


Bathroom:

My bedroom... rather barren. Its my next decorating project.

Jewelry hook on the other side of the mirror




Also discovered this hole in my window in the living room... covered it with tape so bugs and hot air doesn't get it... it is actually just the size of a pin... but bummer.

Random day off...

Fun random day off work. Gave dad a massage, shopped for apartment (got awesome throw pillows... pictures to come), cleaned, and got to hang out with Ashley and Shannon... shopped for the perfect cocktail dress... I finally remembered to grab my camera and got some pictures of our adventures... enjoy

Shannon with Ashley's glasses... stylin'

Our driver... paying attention to the road...

me

Cool cloud picture

In the fitting room at Marshalls


Then we came home and made mojitos... yum.

Bought the album "Little Voice" by Sara Bareilles off of iTunes today (would I still call it an album if I just bought the MP3s?) I have had 4 songs dowloaded already from the album but I finally got the whole thing and listened to it... AMAZING. I love her voice, her writing style, her musical style... just wonderful!!

my idea weekly schedule would make it so I have office hours on monday morning instead of a class right away... I need to ease into my week better. I would also not work a lot of mornings in general... I am not a morning person and my sensible train of thought is lacking... therefore my students suffer because I don't make sense.

Saw Becoming Jane tonight. It was lovely... I am trying to figure out when I can see it again! If you know the story of Jane Austen's life, you know the ending, but still it was lovely.

I do have to say I have been crying at romantic movies recently (more than usual and even with the romantic comedies... I am a basket case). This movie was no exception... cried and cried. The movie was also beautifully directed and shot... the costumes were just flawless... the chemistry was just how Jane would have wanted it - filled with wit and flirtation with a perfect amount of sizzle.

Aaron, Laurie, and Ashley Mertz all were my movie companions. We went out for Gellato afterwards - forgot my camera (which has become an unfortunate habit).

Good Night...

I am sitting in my apartment watching Sex and the City while it thunders outside - AWESOME!!!
Work was fun tonight. In Injury class I lead the whole class through hands on stroke by stroke and as everyone works Leah (my awesome TA) and I walk around and make sure they are doing it right. Well this is the graduating night class and so after almost a year of massage school there is a minimal amount of correction going on so Leah and I are left to our own vices and ways of entertaining ourselves... So my way this evening was to lead them through the hands-on time in an English accent... super fun and kept the class alert and paying attention of course. It also made everyone laugh, which is a plus. It seemed that the campus was in a joking mood today - this afternoon Jonnie placed a fart machine (that I confiscated several quarters ago) in class and during hands-on time kept making it do off... made us all crack up. The mood was a welcome change for the regular melancholy that permeates among the faculty... I had a fun day.

Tomorrow I am having some friends over for food and fun times. I hope everyone else is having a great week so far!!

Girly day...

After a busy week at work, I have neglected my blog - no surprise I know, I stink and the blog updates.

Got paid today... I love days like that. So what did I do? I went and got a hair cut, headed on over to ulta and for the first like in my life I bought some decorative make-up... I have never bought stuff like eye shadow or blush before. I usually stick to the bear essentials: foundations, mascara, chapstick... So because I spent a certain amount of money on specifically ulta products I got a gift bag of products worth $65 for free!!! YAY!!! Here is my loot



Also my hair

(I know it isn't drastic, but it is shorter and lays so nicely... I love it!)

I also registered for an 8 week class at MCC that starts in 2 weeks. Awesome!! I am actually excited to be a student again. The class is His100 which starts at the dawn of time so to speak and goes until the middle ages... my favorite time period because we'll cover rome, greece, etc, etc. I really am excited!

kid's dinner

A week ago Shawn and Nicole came over for dinner and Nicole made up a delicious stir fry. It started lightly raining and so we decided to eat outside on the patio surrounded by the rain. It as really fun and we had some laughs of course. We then settled back inside for a trip down memory lane continuing our venture through childhod videos. Found some good ones of my dad's 40th birthday party... seeing the Lynch's, Warrens, Walberers, etc over 15 years ago was hilarious. Enjoy the pictures of our kid's dinner.

Faith & Tim pics

I was finally able to procure some pictures of the Faith Hill and Tim McGraw concert thanks to KNIXcountry.com... this will give you a good idea of how close I was to the stage...

Faith & Tim

The concert was absolutely incredible!!! Stephanie and I were so close to the stage I could have been drenched in sweat if I would have taken a step forward!!! After leaving from Mesa at 7pm to make the 8pm show we didn't show up to the Jobing.com Arena (formerly known as Glendale Arena) until 8:15... ugh!!! But no worry the opening act was on and we hadn't missed a thing!!!! So we head on down to our seats and realize just how close 5th row is-a mere 20 feet from the stage!!! The stage lay out was in the center of the arena and had four catwalks extending from the four sides of the stage. The performers would come out from the center of the stage trap door of sorts.

So to start off the concert after the opening act Faith & Tim did a cover of Snow Patrol's Chasing cars (not a great song for them to cover, but still). Then Faith did her whole set which was so great! Great song selection - all the best. Then she finished with Mississippi Girl and went off stage. Without a break at all the both of them came out and sang a couple of their duets. Then Tim did his set! Now I have to be honest I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Tim McGraw's set even more than Faith's... he really knows how to get the crowd excited and in an uproar!! And man is he very nice to look at!!! I had so much fun!!!!!!!

Stephanie and I before the concert!!

Faith and Tim

in just about 2 hours I will be at Jobing.com Arena seeing Faith Hill and Tim McGraw live in concert!!! So overly excited!!!!

Saw Harry Potter 5 in IMAX 3D with Nicole... it was rocking!!!

Sometimes I forget I have a blog...

Sorry for the silence... but I want to make up for it by showing you one of the craziest music videos I have ever seen... it is just beyond words. And yet a great song.

Nicole, if you could please show this to Misty... I thought of her.



I enjoyed the dancing ninjas and the flying alter boys... I just don't understand and it scares me

HBP casting

New cast members for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince... Naomi Watts (Narcissa Malfoy), Joseph Fiennes (I bet you anything he plays the younger Tom Riddle Sr. - being Ralph Fiennes real-life brother and bearing the strong resemblence), and lastly Stuart Townsend (I gonna say either Fenrir Greyback or Bill Weasley - leaning more towards Bill if they can get his hair color right.)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Spent the entire weekend reading Harry Potter book 7. I didn't want to leave my house without finishing it for fear of any spoilers. So my dad and I spent Saturday afternoon till 1:30am this morning reading!!! It was really awesome to read with my dad... we would stop and share our theories (always trying to figure it out before the book revealed it), It was also really fun to react with someone when something happened - including me jumping around the room in excitement, and also having to hand off the book a couple times because I was crying too hard. With that said I will enjoy telling my kids that Grandpa and I spent two entire days held up in the house reading Harry Potter (something I would love to do with my kids too). It was really fun!!!

Now onto the book - I WAS PERFECT!!!! I could not have written a more perfect and wonderfully amazing stupendous ending!!! I wouldn't change a single thing because it was flawless!!! I laughed hysterically, cried uncontrollably, and beamed from ear to ear throughout the whole thing!! I am going to start reading it again!!

Oh also in honor of "Harry Potter Weekend" I bought my dad and I each a pack of Berti-Botts Every Flavor Bean - based on the candy from the book - they have all types of flavors from marshmallow, lemon drop, earwax, sardine, dirt, cherry, earthwarm, blueberry, and vomit. The worst I tried before giving up due to uncontrollable gag reflex were sardine and to my dad and mine's entertainment buttered popcorn... I heard Wild Flower Bread Company was selling pumpkin Pasties and butterbeers on friday and somewhere you could buy chocolate frogs, althought I couldn't find any.

I had a great weekend.

Quota time...

So work has certain sites filtered so I have to use quota time to view them... eonline, imdb, hpana, people.com... etc were all filtered. Things like your blogs were not filtered... now it has completely switched!!! your blogs are blocked and so I can only view them for 50 minutes per day. Sad times.

I am 3/4 of the way through Harry Potter book 6. It'll be a fast read from here on out.

I am seeing Hairspray this saturday with Kendra... AWESOME!!! I am listening to the soundtrack in preparation. I want to play Penny so badly!!!

My apartment is messy, but every moment is spent reading, so I will have to wait till I am done with book 6 to pick up the house... it that obsessive of me? I mean it is not disgusting, just not tidy... okay don't judge me!!!

I have one last class today and then I have office hours the rest of the week. YAY.

Harry Potter and a rain storm...

who could ask for more. I am sitting here curled up in my comfy chair circa 1960's that has no arm rests so I can sit cross-legged. It is position next to my big picture window where just outside I can hear the rain beating down on the hot pavement... this moment makes me happy. My heart seems to purr that I live a pretty sweet life. I am desperately trying to finish the 6th book of Harry Potter so as to be ready for the 7th and final book this weekend, but I am only halfway through and with the week ahead of me and my proclivity to get sleepy when reading, I am slow going.

went shopping today... I LOVE SHOPPING!!! I got some new clothes at Old Navy because they are having a GINORMOUS SALE right now... and Kohl's finally had my white tank tops in so I bought two... I am so excited to wear a new outfit tomorrow.

So I have had a very pleasant evening to be more pleasant by a visit to my favorite place... Hogwarts.

Sunday Sharing...

shared this morning as part of John's message. Glad it is over... it was an awesome process to sort through my heart and brain and figure out what God has taught me... very therapeutic!

So it was basically about the "dreaming" blog from a couple weeks ago... but if you weren't there and you want to listen to it go here.

It probably won't be up for a day or so... but keep checking.

Harry Potter OotP

Saw the movie last night... LOVED IT!!!!! Pure magic... literaly. Umbridge and Luna were cast superbly and Bellatrix was absolutely fabulously evil!!!! I am so pleased! I need to see it again now, because like all the other HP movies I have sat through them a little on edge praying that it won't be horrible! So now that I know it wasn't horrible at all I will enjoy it more the second time thru.

Harry Potter theory...

I am watching a special on A&E about Harry Potter and a theory has struck me.

I am reading the 6th book in preparation for the 7th book coming in two weeks, and I have picked up a lot of ideas about things that are going to happen in the last book of the series... The big specualtion is that Harry is going to die at the end of the book. A big reasoning for this is because Harry is in fact a horcrux and must die in order to kill Voldemort... here is my theory - Harry is not the Horcrux... just his SCAR is. They talk about his scar being very special and only coming from being touched by dark magic... He can always sense when something is up with Voldemort through his scar... and the last word in the book (JK rowlings has said) is "scar". So I think Harry's scar will be gone but Harry will live in the end of Deathly Hollows. I don't think JK is going to kill Harry - it isn't her writing style... the nature of the way the book is written wouldn't kill off a main character. Now Amy, you may contradict me because I am no literary scholar, but I just don't see Harry dieing in the end (hence my scar theory).

Another "pro-Snape" theory is that Dumbledore put him in the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position knowing that the post can only be filled for a year at a time due to the curse Tom Riddle placed upon the teaching position. Dumbledore knew Snape would be leaving the school by the end of the year... I still think Dumbledore had Snape kill him for reasons of his own and that Snape is still good inside - he just has issues with Harry. I think Snape also was in love with Lily and that is why he hated James so much and why he switched sides from Death Eater to Order of the Phoenix after her death.

None of you guys really care - I know... Amy you may appreciate what I am saying. But I had to share my ideas.

"More than Meets the Eye"

Saw transformers last night.... I can honestly say that I have not been as impressed by any other movie this year than I was by Transformers!!!! It was awesome. Going into it thinking like most others did that the special effects would be pretty awesome, but the plot line mediocre, I was amazed at everything. The special effects blow your mind and the plot is actually legit and easy to follow! I was smiling ear to ear and even clapped at certain points, it was so incredible!!!

I also loved the subtle GI Joe tie-in. I had forgotten that GI Joe and Transformers often crossed over in their storylines until I read about the franchise on wikidepia. So the movie incorporating the American armed forces makes so much sense... I recommend everyone go and see it. It is the surprise hit of the summer I am telling you!!

Lazy July 4th

It is days like these that I love... I slept in this morning... spent time rearranging my second bedroom - still don't have it the way I like it, but I am playing around with stuff. Then I ran errands... Office Max and Fry's. I have been passionately in love with a Whole Foods sandwhich (that I created myself), but it comes to about $7, which is creating a huge whole in my wallet after eating there so often. So I was determined to create it myself. I found a recipe online for a pesto aioli spread (which was the only thing I couldn't find readymade in the grocery store... so I popped in and got all the ingredients!! I came home, turned on the food channel (because you have to cook with the food channel on) and made my sandwhich to perfection Turkey, Swiss, cucumbers, lettuce, red onion, and pesto aioli spread on grilled french roll (George Forman, i love you)- I am quite the cook if I must say.

So now I am watching National Treasure (in honor of July 4th) and enjoying my lunch. Later this evening I am heading over to the parentals for the night to hang out and possibly catch Transformers on the big screen... I have been hearing very good things.

For Aaron

Aaron - you'll be very proud of me... I watched Boondock Saints this evening... just finished actually. I can now call myself and american (which is nice seeing as July 4th is tomorrow)... Awesome movie... true sense of juctice... and the irish accents - especially Sean Patrick Flanery made the movie a pleasure to watch... lot's of blood and language so not for the faint of heart... but man I feel all riled up now I want to form a vigilanty group!

They are also planning a sequel with everyone coming back except Willem Dafoe... should be stellar.

a lot of dreaming...

So I have no idea what God has in store for me, but I feel like He is preparing me for something... The last 3-4 weeks at work have just been odd. There has been a low morale as well as a lot of shifting in employees, duties, etc. (which I don't handle well). On top of that the messages in church the last couple of weeks have been about taking risks, living life, being young... It has been really speaking to my heart. I am 22 years old and I am already working a 40 hour a week job, living on my own, paying bills, being a grown up. I love my life and wanted everything I have and God has blessed me with a security I didn't think I would have, but I am starting to feel restless. I have settled into stability a little too soon. This is my time and I need to take advantage of my youth and the freedom I have right now. I am not married, I don't have responsibilities or obligations right now, so I should take full advantage of that. So I have started dreaming again... asking myself where I feel my heart is being called - no logic or rationale needed - I am going full on "the passion of my heart and the desires of my eyes" (Eccl. 11:9). I have no idea what God has in store for me... I don't know how I got here... I just know that there is more I am meant for than teaching massage... so pray for me as I dream that my heart would be protected and my steps guided by "Him who is able to do imeasurably more than we ask or imagine."