Stick Figs

this is what happens when you're killing time in a hotel room:

i doodled the picture in the hotel that rich's brother, simon, was staying at in san francisco. rich and simon drove up to sf last thursday, and i met them there. we all went to see kings of leon in concert, and afterwards, rich and i drove back to santa cruz while simon kicked it in the city. i had to go down to fresno for the weekend, so rich drove back down with me on friday. when we got to his house, and walked into his room, the picture was sitting on his nightstand. apparently simon got a kick out of my so-called "artistic ability" and couldn't leave it behind. that alone made me laugh! i'm glad he saved it though...my stick figure portraits are one of a kind, not to mention all that i can freakin draw ;)

Cuppycakes!

last wednesday i flew to la for my bff's bachelorette party. the festivities didnt start until friday, but i went a couple of days earlier to have some bff time and im so glad that i did. my trip consisted of soooo many fun-filled activities, but my favorite thing had to be the cupcake decorating party. when shannon picked me up from lax, she mentioned that she baked some cupcakes and had bought a few things to use to decorate them with...boy did she ever! all sorts of candy, sprinkles, food coloring, and a set of those metal tips that you use with the frosting bag to make cute flowery shapes. she also had a book that had super duper cute ways to decorate cupcakes, but it was way beyond our skill level. we didn't care though. we just blasted some tunes and made do with what we could come up with.

VOILA! our yummy creations!

GO DODGERS!

guess what team my niece and nephew play for in their t-ball league?

i love it!!
(if only you could see the happy tears streaming down my face)

Rolling With the Homies

In one of my older blogs, I wrote about 3 of my bestest friends: Shannon, Rebecca, and Naomi. Well this past weekend, I got to spend time with all of these ladies! Seeing how I live in Santa Cruz, Shannon is in So Cal, and Reb and Na are in Madera/Fresno, it’s very rare that I get to see all of them in one weekend. It just so happened that a friend of mine and Na’s was having a birthday party on Friday night; Shannon’s bridal shower was Saturday; and Rebecca wanted to get her boogie on, so we went out Saturday night. I got to see Na again on Sunday as we were being good Catholic girls and went to Palm Sunday mass. I was a busy girl with all these events, but I had sooo much fun being able to share them with my besties. After that fun-filled weekend, I can’t help but say, “YAAAAY!” because of how much I enjoyed being with my girls!

Naomi and I had a good time at our friend's birthday dinner. We have so many inside jokes, that once we start going off on them, all you hear and see is us laughing hysterically. Naomi always has to cover her mouth to keep from doing this screaming type of laughter that she has, which always gets us in trouble, which she then blames me for.

Shannon's bridal shower was ridiculously cute. Her mom and sister did a great job of putting it together. The decor was simple but very unique and beautiful. It was wonderful to see the excitement in Shannon's face through out the whole party. It was even more wonderful to hang out with her and her family later on in the day, as we dined on some bomb ass tri-tip that her dad bar-b-qued...YUM!

What can I say about my night out with Rebecca, other than we tore up the dance floor like there was no tomorrow! We have this thing about busting out with some random, old-school dance moves. Yes, we probably look like fools, but that doesn't stop us from doing the Roger Rabbit, Running Man, and whatever other crazy move pops up into our head. Rebecca told me she almost peed her pants three times that night,which meant she had one hell of a time...that or she has a bladder infection?

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

Doh! I haven’t had time to blog lately, so I’m a little late on writing about my mom and her celebrating another birthday, which was March 30^th. Although she had to work, her coworkers made it special by throwing her a little luncheon and showered her with cute gifts. My gift to her was a gift card to Macy’s, which, for any woman, is something you can NEVER go wrong with. She loved it and was happy, and is ready to buy something pretty.

Like my dad, my mom is very young at heart. She is the cookiest lady I know. I love how she laughs at her own jokes. And its not like a “Ha. Ha.” laugh, it’s more like a “OMG! I’m gonna pee my pants” roar of laughter. Sometimes the joke itself isn’t even funny, but seeing how she thinks its funny, is what really makes it funny—you know? (by the way, I can’t stand when people say that, but I included it in the sentence anyway, even though it bugs me so much). Don’t even get me started on when she starts to laugh hard. That quiet, hard laugh that has her gasping for air and makes her eyes all watery just gets me rolling on the floor, dying of laughter. It’s even worse when her and her 5 sisters are together and laughing up a storm…oyie! Gotta love it though.

A long time I ago, my mom gave me this pillow that said, “A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be a friend.” I’m so glad to have my mom be one of my bestest friends. She’s always been the type of person who I can tell anything and everything to. She has supported me through everything I’ve done in life--school, sports, hobbies, work, and my love for JT (because deep down she loves him too). I always look forward to our bonding time; whether it’s when we’re out shopping, getting manicures, having lunch, or just picking on dad, we always have a good time together and every minute of it is special to me.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Love you, mucho!

Pretty...

even on a cold and cloudy day, this field of bright yellow flowers stands out so beautifully. for the longest time i've been meaning to pull over on my way home to get some pictures of it. i finally got myself to pull off the highway to enjoy the scenery at zero miles per hour. had it not been so wet and muddy out, i would have had a "little house on the prairie" moment and ran through the fields so happily and freely. if i were still able to do cartwheels, i might have done a couple of those too.

Happy Birthday, Pops!

it's my daddy's birthday! turning a year older didn't stop this old man from going on his traditional saturday morning bike ride with his "bike club" buddies. while he was out riding, i went out and got him his birthday gift (last minute, i know). i decided to go to the trek bike store in san jose, thinking i'd find a whole mess of stuff to get him. when i walked in and started to look around, i realized that i don't know a darn thing when it comes to cycling. i didn't know what my dad had or wanted or needed when it came to his trek bikes, which are like his babies! so i took the easy way out and got him a couple pairs of cycling socks and a gift card. he loved it and is ready to redeem the heck out of it. so guess where we're going tomorrow? =)

i love my dad and i love how he is so laid back and easy going. he is seriously the funniest guy i know--it's pretty scary knowing where i get my sense of humor from. he's the biggest kid (just ask anyone who knows him), but at the same time he carries a really, really big heart. i can't even count the number of selfless things he has done for his family and friends. i think, by far, my most favorite memory of him pulling one of his funny and thoughtful acts of kindness was at his 50th birthday party. he was the first to hit the pinata, and when he busted it open, out of nowhere, he threw one hundred dollar bills into the air. of course it was a mad house with everyone trying to catch flying money. it was like screw the candy, get the green paper stuff!! i even got tackled as i was innocently going to pick up a dollar bill. there i was minding my own business, then OOOF! i won't say who did it, but it rhymes with schmariana.

happy birthday daddy!
love ya!
(he drooled over this bike for hours)